Morning all.
Back in 2003, David Seaman finally left Arsenal having been released. He was snapped up by Kevin Keegan who was then the manager of Man City but it wasn’t long before the big guy ditched his gloves for good as injury forced him to retire. Jens Lehmann took his place and to be fair, he wasn’t bad at all. Temperamental and a tad dramatic at times but whilst at Arsenal, he helped his team go unbeaten in his first year and reach the club’s only Champions League Final.
As good as he was, Arsene Wenger really wanted the player he has now, Petr Cech, and The Mail have a story this morning which explains a lot. Certainly why the big guy never arrived but then I think we know why.
Sometimes he comes to my mind and it makes me just think I missed him when he was at Rennes, and how that could’ve changed for us had we signed him. We could’ve been quicker than Chelsea on the day. We weren’t sharp enough.
We can’t even lay the blame on the departure of David Dein as he was still at Arsenal when Roman and his millions made sure Petr Cech would become a Chelsea player rather than an Arsenal one..
There is no history of teams winning big things without having a great goalkeeper. I’m 30 years in the job and what you learn over the years is that the goalkeeper is the most under-rated position in football, and maybe the most vital one to win things.
You’ll always have in life the strikers being better paid than the goalkeeper, but are they more important than the goalkeepers?
In the big games that the number of shots on target shrink. But the one save can be the difference in the end result.
When Spain won the World Cup [in 2010] I came out thinking every game [Iker] Casillas saved a one against one at 0-0, or a decisive ball, even in the final against [Arjen] Robben. Instead of being 1-0 down you’re 0-0. At the end of the day he makes the difference.
These alleged quotes from Arsene Wenger certainly made me think, and wonder why for so many years, the manager signed and even persevered with so many goalkeepers who at best, have been average. Richard Wright, Manuel Almunia, Stuart Taylor, Rami Shaaban, Manuel Almunia and Vito Mannone to name just a few and the latter two were with the club for many years before finally being dumped.
A great goalkeeper is worth his weight in points saved and already this season, Petr Cech has notched up eleven clean sheets in all competitions. I know a lot might be down to the work done ahead of him on the pitch but no-one can deny he’s made some truly outstanding saves in certain matches, saves which I very much doubt Szczesny or even David Ospina would have made. Saves which have won us points.
But finally, back in the summer, Wenger got his man.
Petr Cech has done it all, you know. He gives you an aura, a charisma. He’s always important in the big games for players. You look around you in the dressing room and you think “are we strong enough?” and these kind of faces help you believe it.
He has brought his experience, calm and leadership. He’s good, highly focused. What I say could be a bit detrimental to [David] Ospina, but I don’t want to be because he was exceptional last year.
I must say I met him before he signed, we had a long discussion about the game, the job and his position. I was deeply impressed by his knowledge, by his professionalism and his detail. Since I have not been surprised because I got the whole package in one go.
It s a great shame we didn’t sign Petr Cech all those years ago as perhaps we’d have won the league a few more times during that period of time but that’s life. Arsenal were too slow on the day and missed out, just like they have with a few other players over recent years. I’m just glad the big guy is here now as he’s not only top class but he’s a winner, a confidence builder and a player who comes across as being one of the good guys.
Petr Cech can go into the record books tomorrow night with another clean sheet and that record would be no more than he deserves..
A few more Premier League medals would probably go down well too…
Have a good Sunday guys and don’t laugh at Utd, not yet…..
I wrote this yesterday whilst the post was on strike and it relates to yesterday’s thread . I hope you don’t mind me repeating it today
Why do Arsenal get picked out over other clubs who haven’t won the league?”
It’s always been the case, at least as far as I can remember. The press was always full of Spurs and WHam supporters when I was a kid. Spurs were the glamour club and West Ham the true cockneys but despite Highbury being closer to Bow than the Boleyn we were always interlopers , a team full of disparate Irishmen , not true Londoners at all , not like the happy hammers that won the world cup for us. We have never had the best end of the media’s tongue.Wrighty was a hot head ,not fit to lace Shearer’s boots , no plaudits there. Henry got under their collective skins but of course he was French and Wenger was responsible for building France’s world cup winning side in London on the quiet. George Graham turned it to our advantage he understood it having played for the club it didn’t come as a shock to him and created a winning team to challenge the media darling Scousers but the press could not wait to put the knife in when the Agency dealings came to light. How Cloughie , Revie et al survived the full might of the Fleet street investigation , who knows ? George wasn’t the only one for sure and had our esteemed journos dug deeper perhaps we might not have agents raping the games finances now. However it was The Arsenal and a scalp worth taking and it did not upset the powers or their favourite sons. The media have always had their favourites and we have never been one of them which is strange because apparently they are very well treated at The Emirates. We ply them with the best food and drink our facilities are meant toi be the best in the country but they always turn back on us when it suits. As soon as Spurs get their extra 1000 and W. Ham become all Olympic watch the stadium comments change and the new Ashburton will be pushed to one side and it will revert to the same old theme.
All you can do is just take pleasure of spiking their guns and when you are in your local and as we pick up our more frequent trophies that they don’t :- just stick two fingers up them ( metaphorically ) of course .
Interesting Potter…
How shallow some of the media are….
I think they’ve always disliked AW because of his nationality, yet by so many’s admission, he change English football and for the better…
Agree wholeheartedly about Cech. He may well prove himself to be the lynch pin to our eventual success. With him we could win everything. Without him I doubt we’ll do much better than top 4 and or another FA Cup success. 3 in a row, anybody?
Of goalkeepers, Bob Wilson has just said that he was part of a delegation of players who, in 1972-3 went to the manager and asked that, maybe even demanded, the Coach should be sacked. Don Howe departed at the end of that season. He also claimed that they had been part of a player power group who had turned against Howe and wanted him gone! He went! What price a similar insurrection at Chelsea. Highly likely I would think. Oh, although Sir Bob didn’t name the leader of the gang, he did say that it was lead by a prominent England international. Answers in a matchbox and sent to Rico if you think you know who he was alluding to!
The players do hold a lot of power and always have, and if you behave like an applicant for the local loony bin, the outcome is not likely to turn out well. It hasn’t at Chelsea and I doubt it will end in smiles at old toilet, either.
Time will tell, won’t it?
Morning all. Sunny and bright here. Makes a change. I think I’ll wash the cars! Well the little one, at least!
Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez had his transfer to Arsenal cancelled due to Tiago’s broken leg, according to El Confidencial.
The Gunners reportedly had a deal in place for the midfielder ahead of the January window and the Spaniard was on his way to London after Christmas. However, Atletico pulled the plug on the deal after Tiago broke his leg in the club’s 1-0 win over Espanyol in November.
Another interesting piece Wavy.. I hadn’t a clue that went on..
Did you see all the Chelsea fans declaring their love for the ‘departed one’…? A few headlines on NN suggest we are to offer Fabregas a way out which I certainly hope is untrue…
Now let me think about that England player….
Was his name kind of round and bouncy Wavy ?
Pep had announced he is leaving Munich at the end of the season
Please step down Arsene..
Kroenke and wenger out
Usmanov and pep in
Morning all!
Tiago is out 2-3 months
Goalkeeper: another important thing: the level of confident for the rest of the team. when the players know that have a very good goalkeeper, their confident level high too much in all the senses.
With a squeaky voice Potter? lol
Morning all.
I wonder where Pep is heading because he must have something lined up….
I would think shitty Rico
Hi Scott/Jm.
Pelegrini is out of contract the same time as AW…
If Pep wants a job in the summer, surely it’ll be Chelsea…
Wavy, didn’t Don Howe leave to join West Brom in the summer of 1971..,?
Just saying.
The Coach the players (Alan Ball) got rid of, was it Steve Burtenshaw?
Great post.
I read in an autobiography that “Little sneaky voice” was quite a disruptive influence in the dressing room at the time that Sir Bob talks about. It caused a problem from the day that he signed and was earning more than established players at the time. Doesn’t surprise me that player power was around then.
Hi Rico,
I believe Howe went in July 1972 to West Brom. His former club as a player.
Hi Kev, Marinello..
A lot of things were very different back in those days, heck, the players even used to drink alcohol… 😉
But seriously, players should never have such power imo, they get paid such vast amounts, they should just do what they get paid for and ultimately, if it all goes wrong, the manager will go in the end…
Now that is what I would call a very good Post, Rico. 🙂
How true it is that we have not had a ‘proper’ goalkeeper in many of the years since Safe Hands retired — but then Arsene has admitted that he has missed many super players over the years, and that brings us back to one of the accusations against him that he allegedly dithers when on the verge of signing players.
His admission regarding missing out on Cech that ‘we could have been quicker on the day’ seems to bear that out. Pity really. 🙁
Quite honest of him to admit it really Hb, but kind of irks me when we think of how much money has been wasted on crap over the years. Put all of that together with wages and we could have signed much better quality of players…
Weird really….
Trying to post on the desktop but no luck.
I think Howe went in 73 but Burtenshaw is a good shout. And the leader was Ball, of that I’m sure. I don’t think we had any other ‘highly respected’England internationals at the time.
Howe returned in 1977 with Terry Neill.
Still sunny!
The Chesea fans (well many of them) idolised The Sacked One, and think of him as the Messiah, but if as seems possible that he takes over from van Gaal at Manure that will soon make them change their tune.
He’s not the Messiah — he is just very naughty boy! 🙂
What a strange but fascinating season, with the likely replacement of Pellegrini by Guardiola, maybe Moany at Manure, Simeone at the Chavs, it is all change at the top, with the exception of Arsenal, where, last year, many fans and the media expected Arsene to be the one getting the chop/retiring.
Funny game football.
Not sure why that would be Potter…
Well, we could have won the 2006 ucl with cech in goal. Just watched the highlights again, almunia was next to useless in that game.
I reckon PP will will replace LvG too, what better way to get back at Roman…
Don’t blame Al it was Jens that threw that game in the first place , then Wenger taking off Pires and Henry having a I’m joining Barca conflict of interest.
I’m with you there re Jens. A sheer moment of bloody madness to get sent off. With 10 on the pitch, we had no chance…
And didn’t Fabregas all but set up one of their goals….?
Catch up later…
Wavy, I’m pretty sure that the summer after Arsenal won the Double in 1971, that Dln Howe wanted more control of things, basically team manager, with Mee becoming a General manager so to speak.
But Med didn’t wanna relinquish control of team affairs and How’d left, with the club physio and assistant coach, to take over at West Brom, where he was unsuccessful…
Steve Burtenshaw took over and then Bobby Campbell replaced him…
That’s all from memory, so I could be wrong mate..,
Another thing, I kinda recall rumours, doing the rounds, that Ball and Campbell wanted to take over team affairs after Mee resigned..
Terry Neill and Will Dixon came in instead with both Campball and Ball eventually leaving.
Again, that’s from memory so I could be wrong…
Did anybody notice my deliberate spelling mistakes? ?
Watford 2 up at h/t, it’s going to be a miserable xmas on Merseyside……
You are probably right Kev. Most of my stuff came from a dodgy memory and Wikipedia, it’s not renowned for its accuracy after all!
As an aside, I met Alan Ball or rather listened to him after a ‘men’s dinner do’ he was quite eloquent for a ball with very little brain! And obviously,very ambitious or had been. He restricted his talk to 2 topics, how his father taught him about ‘football’ and his England career. Arsenal and his other clubs only got the briefest of mentions. He made no mention of his pot stirring activities, but he wouldn’t, would he? Strangely perhaps, he was one of the better speakers we’ve had at the annual event. Tommy Doc was another, I thought he was rather rude and a lot unpleasant, all a matter of taste I suppose.
Afternoon. Things keep on getting better. Watford 3-0 over dippers. Just need to do the business ourselves tomorrow now.
Afternoon Rico and the house.
Like every one else I was unable to post yesterday , this is my 1st attempt today
You are spot on with the goalkeepers Rico we could have been winners years ago with Cech in goal.
Kev, Wavey just like you my memory is a bit foggy but I seem to think that the coach was Burtenshaw.
The player was Ball and I think that Howe had left the club before he joined which was ( I think) during the season 71/72.
I am saying Ball did not play under Don Howe.
Afternoon Rick and all…
I spotted it Kev, just thought you were trying to wake Lee and Adam up… Lol
Klopp now has worse results this season than Rogers… 🙂
Afternoon Rick and all..
Kev, I thought you were trying to wake Adam earlier… Lol
Klopp now has worse results than Rogers… 🙂
Wenger not so bad after all?
He’d be great Andrew if he just signed a few more players…
Cripes, John Barnes has put a few pounds on….
Exactly Rico, re Wenger, just never gonna happen. He had ideal chance to change in the Summer, and would now be a Premier superstar.
Such a great shame isn’t it…..
The current Watford Manager has done a great job getting them playing nice and tight at the back, ex Spud Gomez between the sticks and they move the ball quickly to the wings and forwards. I have no idea where the Manager came from but he appears to enjoy what he does and that seems to rub off on the players.
What were the betting odds on them beating Liverpool 3-0?
Evening Rico. Having sat through a couple of tedious games today and watched the dross served up yesterday, I would say that if we don’t win it this year it will be careless. 🙂
It certainly is beginning to look that way Adam.
Leicester keep turning teams over. Have been fortunate with no real injuries. But can they carry on winning or will they have a blip at some point?
We just have to keep on going, win a few games where we are not playing that well, get some of the injured back and see where we are come March time.,,
Portuguese isn’t he Marshall?
Evening Adam, I only watched a bit of the Swansea game but got bored very quickly….
Funny Liverpool losing again though….
Off to watch spoty, so catch up tomorrow…
Night guys..
Night Rico, the Swansea game was that boring i went to Lidl……lol
Lidl !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you see Arsene ?
No,
Arsene was shopping at Poundland! Where everything costs £1.00 andy you are assured of a bargain! L
Well I went to my Tesco Local this evening, so BT ain’t the only one on here who knows how to live on the edge…
That’s outrageous Kev, hope you can back that up with a receipt !
When I was at school and someone came out with a bit of a porky we’d rub our chin and say “Jimmy Hill, Jimmy Hill” ditto Malaga RIP.
Fair play to Leicester, bottom of the league this time last year, now top of the Christmas Tree, their fans must be living the dream.
Aldi, best of the lot… 🙂
Morning all…
Morning boss lady.
Aldi…. Ain’t that the celeb chef..? 🙂
Morning Wath..
Never heard of her…. 😉
Although is that Adam’s nickname he is a bit of a dab hand in the kitchen so Kev tells me..!
I’ve heard that rumour too, although I’ve never tried any of Adam’s culinary delights….
Morning Rico, Wath and all. I am flattered by Kev’s praise. 🙂
Morning Adam.
Morning Rico, Wath and all…
Mornin Adam, the problem was Kev started going on about naked chef and I was a little worried about the forthcoming info so I rapidly changed the subject….!
Mornin Ts….
Morning Ts.
Wath. Kev does like my special Cyprus spuds, slow-cooked in stock and garlic and slightly crusted on top. Finished with a tiny squeeze of lemon and a glug of olive oil of course.
Morning all.
Game day…..well, not for me, but we have a crowd ready to converge on our venue to watch us (hopefully) belt Citeh.
Are those Cyprus spuds made in just your Arsenal apron or does Kev watch such masterclass in just his Arsenal apron…. Do I even want to know the answer………………
I hope you have sorted out a driver Scott seeing as you won’t be in any fit state to………………
Hi Scott, are you not able to watch?
Adam, A mate of mine does the Cyprus spuds and swears blind they are supposed to be swimming in lemon juice….his version are rank…. lol Am not a big lover of anything with 2 much lemon.
The earth in Cyprus is a dark reddy /brown colour and the potatoes have a distinct taste of their own . Roasted with Lamb in a kleftiko oven and served with the local sweetcorn is a delight. Makes me want to revisit Limassol just thinking about it.
Wath. We neither. The lemon is optional really but it is only a having to balance the delicious oily thing. It is very easy to go ott with it so I usually leave a small slice at the side of the place. The red earth Cyprus spuds just soak up that stock though.
I’ve had many a Cyprus spud when visiting Larnaca and Limassol to see the folks…!
Potter, Kleftiko with Tavas……….. hmmmmmmmmmmm proper food..!
Quite like a Halloumi salad… 😉
Morning All
I would to put this on the record…
Whenever I have visited Adam’s abode, he has always remained, throughout my visit, fully clothed…
His Cyprus potatoes are a triumph…
Morning Rico, Adam, Wath et al…
It’s a beautiful sunny day in London Town.
More like April/May than December…
Halloumi fried and served with pineapple or watermelon ,
Thats the starter.
Norfolk too , it’s like an early spring day , looks like the grass will need cutting again soon .Crazy weather we are having, we need some snow and ice or next year a plague of biting insects will befall us. You have been warned.
Morning Kev, what about you?? 😉
Fried Potter, don’t think I’d like that…..
Cold, wet and windy here… Horrid actually…
Morning Potter. I just got sent the details for an interesting barn conversion in a place called Holt. What’s it like up there?
Grilled halloumi on the barbie……….. nothing like it….!
Yes funny how Kev makes no mention of his clothing attire…
I’ll be watching the game with Sean 🙂
Wath, no drinking at 7am for me….I’m not that keen lol
New post up now..
I was thinking you’d just not bother going to bed Scott and be on it all through the night….
The illusion is shattered so you’re actually a right lightweight…!
Spot on Wath, re both… 😉
Adam , Holt is a market town equidistant between the coast at Cromer , Sherrinham in one direction and Fakenham and Sandringham in the other and about 15 miles from Norwich. If you fancy a countrified life it would be very nice . It is one of the more select areas of North Norfolk and at the moment very nice to visit as the Christmas lights are quite good for this area. If you do decide to look at it , let me recommend a pub restaurant “” The Pigs “” at Edgefield only a few miles away which is definitely worth a visit. They run a passport scheme which you can download online and it gives you a 10% discount ( not to be sniffed at ).