Anger And Sadness As Hleb Departs
May 24th, 2008 by 'holic
The deafening silence from Alex Hleb tells you everything you need to know about his agent’s assertion that he is definitely leaving Arsenal. That news has sparked a predictable response from Arsenal fan sites.
There is something about the cowardly way that Hleb and his agent have engineered this move that sticks in the throat. I’m as angry as anyone about the circumstances surrounding his departure, but a little sad as well.
Hleb gave us, for a short while, the plan B that Wenger was accused of lacking. His ability in behind the lone striker enabled us to play an attacking version of the 4-5-1 formation. A couple of years back, at the height of his powers, Hleb was a significant component of the side that made the Champions League Final.
Yes, his lack of end-product was immensely frustrating, and that is a factor that contributes to the venom now being spat in his direction. Hleb will not be missed by many and he will not be leaving with the best wishes of the Gooner faithful.
As a potential replacement is courted it now becomes even more important that the broken Tomas Rosickbay is put back together to provide us with options. The Czech shares Hleb’s ability to hang on to the ball, but is not afraid to have a pop at goal every now and then.
So another of our experienced heads is on his way. I’m really hoping that a year from now Hleb will be cursing leaving a successful Arsenal. He will almost certainly miss us more than we will miss him.
41 Responses to “Anger And Sadness As Hleb Departs”
This is the best news of the summer.
Hleb must be some kind of twat imho – pathetic excuses and very bad behaviour, but these things have a beautiful way of backfiring … he will fade just like the others.
Fuck him, you are either in or out as far as I am concerned, Flamoney and Hleb will be replaced, no use going on about it, our season will start in August and we have had a glimpse of what’s in store.
Look at Manure they will have to replace Ronaldo when he goes to RM, the past is gone I look to the future and I like it.
worrying fact is how more games are Eboue likely to start in?
off all the players I wish him to leave
That just about sums it up…………….only I’m not sad he is going.
His work rate over 3 seasons wasn’t very exciting and I found his sending off very suspect!
fuk hleb!!! he won’t be missed…it’s not the fact that his leaving that gas pissed me off..it’s the way his leaving, like a coward.
once again fuk hleb and his agent. fuk flamini too.
this is a message to chelsea fans.
fuk john terry and frank lampard.
Hleb’s pivitol to the way we play and is someone who has been improving each year..the combination of Hleb, Fabregas and Flamini or Rosicky(when fit) is the reason why we’ve been able to go to places like Milan, old trafford, anfield, stamford bridge and dominate..anyone who doubts his importance in big games ought to remember the penalty against liverpool, the assist for Diaby’s goal, the two sitters he laid on for Ade at Old Trafford and Anfield, the pass to Cesc against liverpool in October..the list is endless…
even if you looked at hleb sitting on the last games at the emirates ,you could have notice something wasnt right
I hate arsenal players who are runing after money.Arsenal is a club more than individuals.It has been a decades before and will continue until life willnot quite on Earth.We know from history as players that leave this golden club haven’t succed…Veira,Anelka,Henry,Overmars….
Let’s look forward Arsenal will live without Helb.
so when Hleb leave ,we need a replacement for him,or is it Nasri?
and who is the playmaker Arsene talked about?
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23630749-5003460,00.html
Anger? Sadness???? WHO CARES good riddance to a player who was good pretty much only at masturbating with the ball….only 3 or 4 goals this last season and very few assisst. So once again GOOD RIDDANCE
I am afraid that if all of the Hleb rumourmongering is true then he has to go in the same category as Cashley. That Category is Back stabbing Cu*t.
What we cannot do though is start claiming that he wasn’t that good anyway, we wont miss him blah blah blah. He is a fantastic player and before you bombard me with stats about goals and assists, his movement created space for players like Fabregas to run into and score or assist, so view the wider picture.
All that saying we wont miss him etc does is let the club off the hook We must sign a replacement and he must be better than Hleb, although that won’t come cheap.
I feel Flamoney will be easier to replace as players like him can be built not born, but Hleb will prove more difficult.
I suppose the point I am meandering to is that if we want to wash our hands of him because he went behind our backs, then fine but let’s not turn into the Spuds and claim that every player that leaves is cack.
Without turning this into Championship Manager or whatever computer game is popular now, I would like to see just three additions at the club.
Martin Laursen CB
Elano or LM/2nd Striker or Aiden Mcgeady LM
and a snarling snapping midfielder that’s gonna run miles for Cesc say Barry/Nolan/Sidwell.
This would all be within budget and would strengthen where required and give us something a little different than what we have now.
I’m sure this Nasri guy is gonna be great, but I, like most people haven’t seen huge amounts of le championnat this season
Buy Diego. He’s better!
Hleb’s going and yes he was an important player for us but we will be stronger next season, i only hope arsenal squeeze inter, real, barca or where ever he ends up, i hope we get the max for him, coz we’ve let important players go for cheap in recent years.
And yeah, I’d put him alongside Cashley. But at least Flamoney’s agent kept quiet and let the fucking player speak for himself.
I really do not know what Mr. Wenger think about..he bought new players…develop them then they became better and better..other clubs come in…and can get them easily…young players is good for club..but what’s the point for them to develop their skills here..and join other club..Wenger what are u thinking?just not right…Arsenal wouldn’t succeed forever..not much players can stay loyal to the club like Maldini..maybe he’s at the big club..so maybe other clubs come in..the deal just cannot be done..now Nasri..if he’s going to play well next season..i’M sure other big clubs will woo him again and Arsenal just cannot afford to keep him..Walcott, Adebayor,Clichy,Sagna,Van Pesie,Denilson…if they going to be top players..and attract to other clubs..can Arsenal afford to keep them?i just feel Arsenal is not powerful enough..buy them and sell them next season..and keep on going like this..the team can win trophies?can be more experienced..?the team cannot stick together for a long time..that’s no point to mention about title and CL..sooner or later Liverpool and Tottenham..or any clubs will take over them..Wenger what are you doing..?you keep on buying young players because u see them got bright future..but after few seasons..they off…you got to replace them..and the new players got to adapt in the clubs for some moment..when they play well..other clubs come in..they off…continuous……
so…Arsenal when going to win title and CL?if keep on like this, that’s NO CHANCE..
Bye bye Hlebby. You were a useless twat at best and fuckin awful at your worst.
And if AW brings in the right players, we wont see Booeeeee on the wing again. More as a reserve RB.
I agree with Rosey that the way Hleb has handled this situation has pissed us off but we can’t say he was a crap player cos he wasn’t, although I don’t think he’ll succeed elsewhere, especially if he goes to RM where the fans will be pissed off with him after the first game.
Flamini’s situation was different-he was a free agent and had the right to wait and weigh up his options. I think he genuinely wanted to stay but if one of the biggest clubs in history comes with car loads of money, in his mother land then why wouldn’t he take the chance?
It’s a bit absurd that all of the top clubs are after these players when they’ve had one good season. Flamini was brilliant last season but before that he was no more than a utility player and Hleb was good but I don’t think he can handle the likes of Real Madrid.
I’m not angry and I’m not sad. For all the fancy footwork, he rarely delivered anything at all. When I think of Pires, I can think of dozens of fantastic goals from nothing. Someone give me one example from Hleb… Anyone? No. Thought not.
I’m quite pleased he’s gone – the dynamic of the team should be a whole lot less “forward 5 yards, stop, go back 10 yards and start again”
We need a player with drive who can blast through opposition defenders. Obviously, someone like Ronaldo, but there’s no one out there available that’s that good at it.
Hleb’s excuse of “I’ve played really well this year, but I don’t think I can next year” is one of the funniest I’ve heard in ages. “Sorry boss, I want to go because I played above myself this year, and I think I might actually be crap”. Well, Hlebby-boy, you’re bang on the money. You are crap, and Inter/Real or whoever are in for a helluva shock when they realise what they’ve bought.
ha!
I liked him, but fuck him and his cunt of an agent. It’s very similar to when Vieira had that slimy shit Marc Roger as his agent. Shitilevski can go on bleeding saps like Hleb dry for years. The worst thing is that the willem Dafoe lookalike never issued anything close to a denial that he wanted to stay. In my book, he’s a bigger cunt than Anelka; at least it was thick Nic’s brothers who persuaded him to take the Franco Peseta. What utter cobblers that he couldn’t adjust to London life, he lives in Hampstead for fuck sake. All the best to you, Alex, but fuck off soon so we can get other players in. I hope you fall down a well and get eaten by wide-mouthed frogs, Shitilveski, you cunt.
Glad to see that we haven’t all got short memories. While I fully accept that we will move on and find a replacement for Hleb eventually, it annoys me that so many of you regard him as being shit. He was easily one of our best players last season and one of the best players in europe, never mind the premiership. I AGREE that the way he has handle the whole situation is shocking and I am equally pissed off that he’s going but there is no denying that when Hleb didn’t play for us last season we weren’t the same team and lacked a lot of creativity.
Another concern for me is how this might all affect Cesc. He was best friends with Flam and Hleb off the pitch, so i’m hoping it doesn’t unsettle him too much as that would be a disaster. Any thoughts on that one?
“Hleb’s pivitol to the way we play”
You’re right. How often have we looked ponderous, lacked width and failed to turn possession into goals?
Pivotal.
Christ(!)
Good points (with a few examples from this season):
Nobody can twist and turn with the ball to buy a few meters of space quite like him.
Good sense of balance.
Can keep possession well 30 meters either side of the halfway line.
Two footed when dribbling.
Decent pace.
From time to time can thread a killer ball.
Can shoot low and quite hard with his right foot into the bottom left hand corner of the goal from the right hand side of the area, within about ten meters of the goal (Fulham at home).
Wins alot of fouls.
Recovers from injury fast.
Works hard and covers alot of ground in the game without losing energy.
Can cross (West Ham away).
Can play wide but best position is behind a main striker.
Bad points:
Five meter passes in and around the penalty area are timid and ineffectual, often resulting in turnover of possession to the other team.
Will almost always look to pass instead of shooting even though he regularly gets into goalscoring positions.
Cannot shoot from distance.
Doesn’t look for the ball in the area when the attack is moving in from the opposite wing.
No real heading ability.
Can nick the ball away but doesn’t like to tackle full bloodied.
His temperament is ok as he knows he is better with the ball at his feet than most people and he has a good engine but he gets shirty if someone has a go at him.
Refs sense he isn’t a diver but only give him two out of every three fouls because life’s too short.
Overall he is good at keeping possession but he has very little feeling for where the goal is or how to turn a promising situation into a goal.
Every now and then he gets it right and produces a sublime moment of
pure skill and vision which takes the breath away, but those moments are few and far between. To win trophies we need our top players to produce their best football week in and week out.
He slightly reminds me physically of Graham Rix. Hleb’s more athletic than Rix was and covers alot more ground than Rix did but Rix had a clear sense of where the goal was.
Rix had gallons of skill. He played for us at a time (at least after Brady and Stapleton left) when we played flick and fart football and never really looked like winning anything although we got to a few semi finals. Sound familiar?
Along came George and big Tone and that changed.
I don’t think we’re going to win anything with A. Hleb playing an important part in our set up.
Within a few years of Rix leaving we had Rocky, Limpar and a young Paul Merson operating out wide instead. A mixed bunch. None had Rix’s
pure level of skill but they were all in my opinion more effective.
Fingers crossed we get some decent wedge for Hleb and whoever comes in to fill his place brings more to the team than just skill.
Hleb is a great player and great man.
I wish him all the best.
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Thank god he is gone. Now Wenger should sell him to Real and get Robinho in return or use the cash to get Ben Arfa. THANK GOD HE IS GONE.
Dont forget signing Nasri is a replacement for him, we have not yet seen wenger’s two or three signings. He needs 4 more to cover Flamini.
Some good points Alan and well put.
G10, is that a hint of sarcasim? You’re right. Being second top scorers in the league proves that “we looked ponderous, lacked width and failed to turn possession into goals” ALL THE TIME!!!
As good as we are and just because we have lots of possession doesn’t mean we’re going to score 4 or 5 goals a game. Man Utd who have apparantely have got the best team they’ve ever had and a player in Ronaldo who hate him as much as we do, is definitely one of the best players in the world right now only scored 6 more.
As I said Hleb has been an important part of the team and i’m annoyed that he’s going but we’ll survive. More worrying for me is us lacking a bit of fight, someone how can get stuck in and Flam started to do that role, with us getting bullied a lot less than in recent years. I think as well as adding 1 or 2 attack minded players we still need another Vieira and Adams which are players you find easy.
G10…there was nothing wrong with our attack last season…in all the big games we scored first..the real problem was the defence..Hleb was undoubtedly our most important player and i think it’s gutting that he’s leaving…
Who does he think he is? He fails to justify his 11 mil price tag for 2 seasons then when he finally starts to play well he fucks off. Wenger and the fans showed so much trust and patience towards him when at another club he would have got so much stick. Alex Hleb is a professional Cunt.
Helb is a good player and I would prefer him to stay, but I have always had my doubts about his style of play. When Arsenal were at their best, they played with a fast direct counter attacking style (with Henry, Pires etc). When Helb was introduced inot the side he always wanted to slow things down, hold the ball, look around, and dribble. Teams would use this time to reorganised, resulting in the team having to break down 10 man defences. His leaving is a loss, but I feel other players will step up to the mark.
I thought I’d checked your blog earlier today, but no.
31st drink for me then. Cheers, ‘holic.
Rosicky is also grittier in the tackle. I hope his bionic tendons can hold up now.
Nah.. I am not gonna miss Flamoney and Crap. Crap is overrated anyway, he should perform in a circle.
i have a question which i am sure many will be able to answer.
i am missing the cowardice, shocking,, disgraceful element here.
he has not been badmouthing arsenal, demanding payrises, writing books etc. since he has been here he has done his business on the pitch (wether you appreciate his talents or style of play is a different debate)and been very quiet and professional off it.
an opportunity to move has come along and he has decided to take it. whats the problem? i would have more of a problem if for the last 6 months he had been talking to the press, saying how unhappy he is, how he is tired of carrying the kids or any other crap argument to get other clubs attention, but he hasn’t. he’s done his job here and decided he’d like to try another. his agent has done his job and found him a new club. much the same as any number of us have done when we have changed jobs i suspect.
we have plenty of time to find a replacement, so lets look forward to that.
He’s a good squad player and I’m sorry to see him go, but my mind has already moved on to next season. Alex Hleb will be a distant memory by then with Cesc, Denilson and Diaby driving the team forward and, perm any 3 from Ade, Robin, Theo, Nick Bendtner, Rosicky, and Carlos Vela (he’s going to be GREAT), keeping the goals flowing. Think it can be a big season too for Alex Song. Expect to see him playing further forward.
People please. The problem is not these players. The club or the manager is the real problem. These players must have some good reasons to want away. Find out why the’re leaving. Why did we se
let him leave if he cant make it at arsenal he wont make it anywhere worse still for belarus.he is one of the reasons arsenal failed to kill off big names coz he shoots like a school girl infront of goal
Thank you for “ANON 1” for shedding a little perspective on this. I must say I am very angry with he manner in which Hleb ( and his agent) have gone about this, and I can’t understand why on earth he’d want to leave a team seemingly destined for the top, which suits his style of play and allows him to express himself freely.
But aside from the way this come about, why has everyone turned on him? He has been a joy to watch for 3 years. He may not score often but he is the linchpin in our style of play (along with cesc). Almost every significant move goes through him. As “ANON 1” mentioned he was fucking brilliant in all the big games last season.
I for one will be sorry to see him leave.
FU(K HLEB
I COULDNT GIV 2 SH1TS…
OVER-RATED BALL HOGGER WHO HASNT REALLY JUSTIFIED HIS FEE.
IF HE DOESNT WANT 2 BE @ ARSENAL THEN HE CAN FU(K OFF BACK TO BELARUS ON THE NEXT EASYSET PLANE DEPARTING FROM GATWICK…
TIME TOP GET RUTHLESS WITH THESE FU(KIN MOANING PLAYERS.
WENGER NEEDS TO START BEING MKORE AGRESSIVE WITH THESE FU(KIN IDIOTS WHO COME OUT AND TALK SH1T IN THE PRESS.
HE HAS TO EARN BACK THE RESPECT HE HAD 6/7 YRS AGO AND PUT THE D1CKHEADS STRAIGHT.
WE AINT SETTLING FOR JERK-OFF THAT DONT WANA BE HERE.
ADE AS WELL… FU(K HIM. IF HE THINKS MILAN IS SUCH A GREAT CLUB HE CAN GO AND FU(K THE ROOSENORI IN THE ARSE TILL HES SHITTING PASTA.
WITH HIS FEE WE CAN BUY DAVID VILLA… AND LET THE IBERAIN INVASION AT THE EMIRATES COMMENCE….
TIME TO GET RUTHLESS WITH THESE B1ATCHES….
IM FU(KED OFF WITH THE SAME OL SH1T.
well said kayo.
not sure that wenger would buy d.villa though?! he had his chance before the euros and he fucked that right up. stupid french cock.
hleb is shite
I think we should try to be considerate about Hleb’s leaving Arsenal. He has been a good player for the gunners and we should show him some love and admiration. He has helped a lot and if he feels he want to leave then let him walk out that door, but in a manner befitting someone who Arsene Wenger has groomed so well. Who knew hleb before he came to Arsenal? Today Barcelona and Inter Milan and Juventus are all chasing him, which means Le Boss has made an impact on his career. So if he decides to leave Arsenal in pursuit of money and quieter life thats his bloody business. This is an advice for hleb: If you want to leave the gunners leave in peace and have Le Boss’s blessing, if not man you will end up like all those other wretched players who went in search of greener pastures, but have not found none. Here in Sierra Leone West Africa, we have a parable which says: “Put your eyes down so you can be able to see your nose”. So hleb if you want to leave thats fine but dont do it in that regretful manner. Like my people say “If you sit in an ungrateful boat, you will land in a regretful wharf”.