Arsenal Win One And Lose One, Thanks Kolo
Jul 29th, 2009 by 'holic
It’s hard to remind yourself you are lucky to have a job when for the second time in three days you have to rush to get home in time for the kick-off of a pre-season friendly! I can’t lock myself away in the office so I set up the laptop in the kitchen, but the management knows there won’t be much discussion.
‘I haven’t heard anything from my Mum’, she says, only to be interrupted by me yelling ‘YES’ as Cesc scores an absolute beauty, put clear by a fabulous ball from Robin van Persie in only eight minutes. The first-half seems to pass by in a flash. No sooner do I have a Spanish omelette plonked in front of me than it, and the opening forty-five minutes, are in the past. Both were excellent, and deserved to be savoured more.
Half-time is all about tidying up the kitchen and firing up the ‘big’ computer. I can adjourn to the office for the second-half, while she-who-must-be-obeyed catches up with Emmerdale. With Gallas, Fabregas, and Bendtner withdrawn the performance is more disjointed. The commentary starts to irk.
Now I loved Stuart Robson as a player, and he talks a lot of sense when pressed into service as the ‘expert’ voice on Arsenal TV, but I pray he won’t be banging on about defenders’ starting position all season. The fifth time he tried to ‘educate’ us with the same point tonight I wanted to scream.
Still, a 1-0 win in Germany against Bundesliga opposition is not to be sniffed at. Well done lads.
Thanks For Everything Kolo
Confirmation of the loss of Kolo Toure to Manchester City has provoked a not altogether surprising range of reactions. Now if you want to argue it makes little sense, from a footballing perspective, to keep Silvestre and release Kolo, then I cannot argue with you. You are right. If you say to me, ‘you are one of those who always talks about adding experience to this side, not selling it’, then you are right again, to a degree.
The thing is Silvestre wasn’t wanted by Manchester City, nor anybody who would shell out anywhere remotely close to Β£14-17 million. That sort of money for a player who most would accept was not at his best last season was simply too good to turn down. Particularly, I hasten to add, if it will be used to add to the squad. (Before you say it, yes, I know, but there are 33 days left to go, so give them a chance!)
The big difference of course between the sale of Kolo and Adebayor, is that the latter had only one good season under his belt. Kolo, of course, only had one bad one, and that was probably more to do with malaria than any loss of enthusiasm or ability. The last surviving regular starter in ‘the invincibles’ will get a great reception when Citeh come calling, which is only right.
The arguments about how we replace him can wait for another day. For now it is just up to all of us to say a huge thank you to Kolo Toure. Seven years have passed since he arrived from Asec Mimosas for a deal of between Β£150-250k. Two FA Cups and that undefeated Premiership success were the tangible rewards for that service. and now he can milk the riches available to him at Middle Eastlands. Few deserve these bumper pay days more.
Thanks To You Too
I would also like to thank just about everybody who contributed to the debate that developed in the wake of the piece on the Sportsweek interview on Sunday. It is a topic I feel sure we will be drawn back too, but I won’t be as worried about what appear to be entrenched and opposing viewpoints if they are argued as well, and as respectfully, as they were this week.
Thank you ‘holics, and guests.
34 Responses to “Arsenal Win One And Lose One, Thanks Kolo”
Good post, ‘holic.
Still love Kolo. Proper legend. His enthuiasm, recovery pace, and strenght was an integral part of one of the best Arsenal sides I’m sure most of us have had the good fortune to see. Thanks for everything, now it’s time for the Arsenal to move on.
Sad to see Kolo go.
*watched the Invincibles DVD*
Glass of Champers please, ‘holic
Agree with all you sayabout Kolo past and present.
Stewart Robson is a prat who has openly admitted on Arsenal TV that he is not an Arsenal fan.Surely we are entitled to indulge ourselves on our own channel and use people like Charlie George and even John Radford who are committed Arsenal fans.Just watch(if you really are at a loose end)Liverpool TV which is full of passionate,blinkered ex players.Good luck to them as that should be what your own channel is all about.
Wotcha ‘holic.
Good stuff as always.
Glass of red, please.
thanks kolo? he left us with a defensive crises for money only and for a rival club while he could have stayed no thanks from me toure
Thanks to Kolo. When he was at his best, he was very good. But again I think Arsene has done the right thing. Kolo is past his best now and, just as important, his heart was no longer with us. Why keep him, then, when we can get so much money for him?
I think AW will spend the money on ONE – and only one – new signing, and it will NOT be a DM. AW has great faith in Song, Denilson and, maybe, Diaby. The new signing will more likely be another central defender, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will actually turn out to be a striker, namely Huntelaar. I also have a very strong suspicion that we will do a lot better than most people seem to expect. There is no more pressure on us than on, say, Man. City and Liverpool. Nothing less than the title will do for ‘Pool, and City just HAVE to finish in the top 4, and I’m not convinced they can do it. We, on the other hand, have a squad of young, talented, hungry players, who know each other very well, and who, despite their tender age, have acquired valuable experience these last few seasons. The future is bright. Don’t let the doom mongers tell you any different.
I have no problem with Kolo leaving. He has been a staunch performer over the years and often warrior like. He has battled well for the club. I also believe that players can reach a period when they need a new challenge. Kolo last season was not the same player he once was. I know he had been ill but do not think that was the only cause. I wish him well and agree with you totally that if any player deserves the rich pension fund at Citeh then he does.
What I am expecting now is a very interesting month ahead. There will be continued unrest at the recent departures unless adequate replacements are purchased. AW stated at the end of last season that the most important thing was to keep the squad together. We have now sold 2 experienced players in a very short space of time. The media has already started to fuel fans hysteria with various articles about a financial crisis and struggling to make the top 4. I do think this now becomes a massive season both for the club and AW. Is a top 4 finish sufficient for a club like ours? I think not. I feel that we should be firmly challenging for the title each year. Making a large profit with two sales is one thing. But the team will need to produce on the pitch. Great leaders make bold decisions and more often or not get it right. Letβs hope that by next May we can firmly ram the words of the critics back down their throats.
Keep the faith
Kolo will be missed.
Pint of guinness please holic.
king kolo…..you’ll remember you always, now lets see what the ambition of our club is in the remaining days
gerat post, agree with you 100% i also agree with Roquentin!
Good stuff, ‘holic. Well reasoned and level headed. That’s what we need more of. I’m all for the emotion of being a supporter (I was yelling right along with you when Cesc scored today), but we also must temper that to a degree when it comes to the transfers because there are just so many elements that go into it beyond emotion.
I will miss Kolo. As a man and a player, he’s been top class as a representative of Arsenal. Absolute respect for him on both counts. And while I wish Citeh to fall flat on their collective butts this season, I do wish Kolo success and many, many starts for them as he deserves.
Tale of two halves, literally, today. Beautiful goal from Cesc that actually started with the fantastic chip pass from Bendtner to RVP, then a wonderful turn by Robin and spotting the opening and getting the ball through to Cesc. It’s a level of vision, trust and skill that really gets me excited for the season to come. Surprisingly, Bendtner looked quite good playing wide. He got quite a few touches and looked very comfortable on the ball, especially with his first touches. He struggled with that a bit last season (and previously), but it looks like an area of his game that’s seen improvement. We could have done more damage with goals, but I was well pleased with the one we got and am happy for the team to just work on the cohesion aspect of play in these early matches.
Song played a match, didn’t he? He was great in the first half backing up Cesc and providing extra coverage to the back four. He really played a solid game today and I’d love a seasons worth of performances in similar fashion. And Vermaelen seems to be finding his legs within the Arsenal system. The first half saw him noted at both ends of the pitch, and despite a few hiccups in the second half, looks to be a very solid addition to the squad.
I’m with you on giving Arsene til the end of the transfer window. I’m sure Arsene had an idea at the end of the season of what changes he wanted to make, but obviously had to wait and see what kind of cash he would be able to generate through sales before making significant moves on additions. As we all know, the devils in the details, and Arsene lives in a world of minute details. From his use of Opta and the ProZone video evaluation system, the details are not lost on Arsene. Given the impending departures of Ronaldo and other top players this summer, it was prudent to wait a bit and see what the market was actually going to be like before splashing out too much. Now though, we’ve made the moves out, accumulated cash and can effectively make additions. We could replace Ade, but I don’t think we NEED to replace him. We could add at CM/DM, and I think that’s going to depend on what formations Arsene sees as our strength for the upcoming season and just how much faith can be spent on Denilson and Song. I’ll call it 60/40 on adding a CM/DM at this point. And I do think we’ll add a center half. We do still need to bring in some height on the back line and must account for the fact that Gallas will be off next summer. Best to bring in his replacement now, if possible. Also, I think we’ll go for Eden Hazard and loan him back for a year as he’s really quite young. In any event, I think we’ll all be more comfortable come the end of the transfer window with how Arsene has done things.
Spare me the drama people.
-Kolo did not commit to the club. FACT.
-Kolo joined a rival PREMIERSHIP team. FACT.
And where are all our African players going? Eboue too on his way out?
Nice summation ‘holic. I for one wont forget Kolo’s contribution and if he gets 10% of his transfer fee then good luck to him.
Un Cointreau, sil vous plait.
snoopfrog i agree 100% kolo played 8 years for us and i am greatful 4 but now he is just another mercenary
SnoopFrog and gooner sems. I think you are missing a few points. To the best of my knowledge Kolo did not orchestrate a move. He was in Austria planning for the season ahead. We have accepted a substantial bid for him and he has signed. My opinion is that we have had the best years out of him and that we are quite happy with the deal. I do not see any drama unfolding. Just the fact that a good Arsenal servant has moved on.
My opinion is that it is totally different to the Adebayor situation. He clearly did not want to commit and had well and truly taken the mercenary pill.
Chelsea fan here… In my very humble opinion u guys need some outside perspective – s/o looking in from the outside…
I think u guys r in deep trouble. City will break into the top 4 eventually in the next 3 seasons… The obvious candidate to slip out is arsenal.. Unless u change s/t soon and splash out some cash on some battle hardened warriors it will b a top 4 w/o u… Ur best hope is for it 2 b a top 5 with a massive fight every season as to who will b no 5…
Honestly r u guys not worried bout city?
Worried or not, jackoblue, I, for one, always have and always will have high hopes for the new season ahead.
Call me a blind optimist but isn’t that one of the most fundamental aspects of being a Football fan? Life is as difficult as it is, so why add to the headache by trying to look behind your shoulder and wonder “i wonder how long before that team catches up”.
Hehe, i just contradicted myself there, guess i’m not such a blind optimist huh.
Anyway, was a good thing watching the team getting their gears tuned up last night…soooo good to be up at 2 am going “why eboue why?” again, eh ‘olic?
Up the Arsenal!
Vieira! Oh, oh, oh oh! Vieira! Oh, oh, oh, oh!
Is the Spunx 3rd kid Rednwhite?Why are we playing in their colours?
KIT??
I’m split 50/50 on Kolo leaving, I’m happy for him getting his big pay-day, but on the utter hand I’m a bit worried about the lack of cover it leaves us especially if Senderos amscrays (leaves) and now Eboue is looking to be on his way to italy, what do we do. AW cannot possibly be relying on Silvester the cat, can he??? Well my other fear is AW not learning his lesson from last season when he let a chunk of our MF go & didn’t properly replace’em, now he’s doing it to the defence, whats up w/ that Arsene? I’m not a “Doom & Gloomer” although my post may a ring of that in it, I just want what every Gooner wants and thats to lift plenty of Silverware this season and the next and the next and so on and so on…… Also injuries scare me a bit, and we all know this Arsenal side has bad luck when it comes to injuries, again where will the cover come from?? Now I live in the USA and I don’t get all the in depth news and tid-bits y’all do in the UK, so do we have anyone in Reserves that can come up for cover in the CB position?? Good job Holic, again love your site, and Up the Arse!!!!
Irish coffee, thanks.
Being an Arsenal fan has been a bit painful the last few seasons. We’ve seen some great moments and some gut-wrenching ones too, and it feels like make or break time.
We have two choices:
One is to call for a change, either in the manager or the board, or both. This is not something I would consider contemplating at this stage.
Two is to get behind the players, get behind the manager, get behind the board, and do what football supporters are supposed to do: support their team.
There will be ups and downs this season, but let’s give Wenger the benefit of any doubts, he hasn’t let us down so far. If we finish below the Scum next season and watch them life the FA Cup then we can justifiably string the lot of ’em up.
One Irish, coming up…
…and thanks, f4. To be honest the pick of the young centre-backs aren’t yet ready. If everybody stays fit you probably won’t see them i the Carling Cup this season either, because surely Djourou and Silvestre will step up.
In saying that I am assuming that Senderos is not staying, although he would have to be replaced if he left. We would be looking, I imagine, for an international centre-half, strong in the air, with experience in at least two of the major European leagues, and who has been all the way in the Champions league.
Now wait a minute….
I think I’m onto something π
Two for me, db10, but you knew that anyway, didn’t you?
I am really sad to see Kolo go as he has always been a fantastic player for Arsenal.
Now Wenger should use the money to sign the Arsenal rejects: Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart. That is just what we need.
well it looks like Arsene’s african affair is over.It’s bad enough losing them in the middle of the season to the african cup of nations but when one of your lynchpins returns seriously reduced for a year you start to look at other options.
Anyhow since we’re here I’ll have a pint of best bitter to toast King Kolo’s glorious reign at The Arsenal and wish him a profitable time in Manchester
Cheers for the memories Kolo and all the best!
Do you all think we will see more of the fringe/reserve players featuring this season?
Do you think Wenger is prepared to trust Vela/Wiltshire/Frimpong in the first team for a decent length of time?
Last season Vela played a bit part but to me seemed very capable when he played; the same with Ramsey.
Perhaps this season we will see if Wenger really believes in the young talent that he has at his disposable?
Perhaps a squad that is bigger than the 25 or so he prefers could cope better with a long season battling on all fronts?
It would certainly allow the fringe players to gel with the first team not just in training but during matches – there is no substitute for the experience gained in a competitive match.
Are the fans willing to support the fringe players who no doubt will make the odd blunder or will it be a repeat of the treatment that Nick B. got last season?
All I can say is that Stewart Robson is a hammer and he left us for them mid career, so why oh why is he in Arsenal TV?
That’s a classy post ‘Holic. Indeed many thanks to King Kolo who brought us so much in the last 9 (!) years. We will never forget the Invinvibles nor the CL final run.
Glass of champagne to you Kolo, wish you all the best at Citeh but just not at our expense π
If Vela doesn’t figure more often I would be really pissed off at Wenger.
My favorite 424 team:
Sagna, JD, Gallas, Clichy
Sorry,
Song-Fabregas
Walcott, Bendy, VP, Vela
Yup. So excited for the start of the season. Bendy and Dudu front line makes my mouth water.
Sad to see King Kolo go, but that’s life. Vermaelen, Gallas, Djourou and Senderos should be plenty of options. If Senderos goes I hope to see someone life Werder’s Naldo come in.
If Eboue goes I’d expect a RB to arrive. Since we’d only have Sagna (and four left-backs… hehe).
Cheers!
All the best Kolo….although clearly I hope you are struck with malaria only on those days you play Arsenal you understand π
I now expect there will be two more signings.
If Senderos leaves (now pretty well a cert) I think Wenger will get another defender. I still think he has an eye on Hangeland….even tho cup tied till the start of ’10 season.
If Wenger gets Vieira, forget any more signings in midfield. If not, maybe he’ll take a punt at someone else (can’t see it being De Rossi).
I personally don’t think there will be any more strikers.
Of course, who can know the mind of Le Prof…so my musings could be a load of old smoldering tripe.