Robin Says Yes, The Board Say No, And Ade's Value Plummets
Jul 8th, 2009 by 'holic
I was going to start by saying that there can’t be an Arsenal fan who won’t be delighted by the news that Robin van Persie has put pen to paper and extended his Arsenal contract. Who am I kidding? A good friend is one who would take me to task for that particular assertion.
For now though I have to say I am personally delighted we have secured the Dutchman’s services after a season in which he has largely avoided the injuries that had blighted his career to date. Four consecutive ‘player of the month’ awards on the official club site this winter were a just reward for his startling contributions either side of Christmas.
Having said all of that it will be interesting to see what sort of formation Arsene Wenger has in mind for the coming season, and where he sees van Persie fitting in. With Fabregas, Arshavin, and Nasri being joined by a potentially fit-again Rosicky, the temptation to adopt an aggressive variation of a 4-5-1 must be strong. Robin is not a certainty for the lone striking role if that is the case. We shall see.
Thanks Usmanov, But No Thanks
The least surprising news of the day was that having considered Alisher Usmanov’s offer to underwrite a rights issue, the board have opted to maintain the current situation. Officially, the wording from Ivan Gazidis was “Using permanent capital to pay down debt would not, therefore, radically transform the annual cash flow of the Club.”
Want a translation, and an explanation in English?
We don’t want the possibility that a rights issue that is not fully subscribed to put Usmanov in a position where he has control of the club by default, and a one-off influx of cash now will not significantly benefit us in years to come.
OK, so Mr Gazidis did not say the first bit, but that is what was meant. The significant part is the assertion that a windfall now might not help the long-term situation. That is debatable, it’s true, but I can fully appreciate the decision that has been taken, and the thinking behind it.
I do wonder, however, if the decision would have been the same if the offer had been made by Stan Kroenke?
Well Done Arseblog
It has been a strange couple of days watching the most popular Arsenal blog making the news rather than just offering a personal observation on it. The interview with Ivan Gazidis was a great read, and the Arsenal press office deserve a pat on the back for offering that to a blog rather than the usual outlets.
As a result of that interview hitting the press wires some bright spark at the Mirror took a longer look at Arseblog and decided to have a bit of fun with that Adebayor brochure. Then some lazy git at the Telegraph pinched it too, and all of a sudden something that was a bit of fun became a hot topic on newspaper websites around the world, and on Radio One news.
It has been strange watching the reaction though. A handful of people really do try to make all Arsenal supporters fall out with each other, don’t they? Do you really think that Ade is any more or less likely to move on as a result of that piece? Do you really and honestly believe that his value has fallen by even a brass farthing? Oh please!
Well played, Blogger.
23 Responses to “Robin Says Yes, The Board Say No, And Ade's Value Plummets”
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Ok so someone puts together a pdf with a few images and a little bit of text…. which isn’t remotely witty or clever in any way and everyone thinks it’s hilarious just because it’s slaggin off Adebayour. Arsenal fans really do seem to be like sheep these days… for fcuk sake at least put something funny in there if you’re going to bother at all
Well in ‘holic.
Cheers Esso, and Mickey, what is with the sheep nonsense. You are entitled to think it wasn’t all that funny. That doesn’t mean you are ‘right’ and others are ‘wrong’. It just means you have a different sense of humour, and that’s fine.
A good friend is one who would take me to task for that particular assertion.
Heh ‘holic.
MickeyGoons,
I think it’s more than fair to say that many, many people found the Ade brochure very amusing.
Mickey Goons’… That PDF was hilarious because most of it is true. It’s a bit of light hearted fun so get over it and yourself!!
I wouldn’t change Ade for anyone, but please let’s not sweep the guys ridiculous attitude under the carpet without laughing at it first!!! Give him the ball and if he scores fairplay… but if he gets caught offside (which let’s face it he probably will) then let the fun begin!!!
well said. i think with eduardo back, and a possible new striker to replace ade, our attack will be world class. we do need a holding midfielder tho, wouldnt say no to taking flamini back!
I wonder if Kroenke did already offer to do so but in private and it was cheerily rebuffed. Whereas the Uzbek went public with his oh so very generous offer and, as a result, the board had to be seen to properly consider it.
Just a theory.
No not Flamini he left us once already and i think fans should lay off Adebayor He had a bad season after having a great one before I think his head was turned by some of the rumours last summer but if he stays we should support him after all he will be a player for the team we support
You’re a disgrace to the name Michael, MickeyGoons.
Arseblog is the wittiest and funniest blog about Arsenal there is.
Unless, of course, you write one. (and are in the slightest bit funny or witty. Which I doubt)
Yours Goonersly
Michael. x x
The second funniest and wittiest is, of course, Goonerholic.
Arseblog only comes first, cos of alphabeticnessabilityistics.
Obviously……
Yeh.
Of course.
So the board have insisted that money cannot buy success.
It is indirectly saying the gunners cannot compete in the transfer market.It also implies as the newspaper highlighted
the purse strings will nt be loosened.The board says they have confidence in their stand.
Well wait for the season to start.All kinds of rumours have been flying around.For starters if Arsenal are left flondering after ten to fifteen matches, don’t be surprised at frenzied buying in the dec transfer window.
By then the damage will have been done and it will be another season followed by another season in transition.
Wait a minute. It’s not all doom and gloom. If AW manages to get the two players needed to shore up the gunners then it could be a different story.
I think Ade is a lazy ass who does not deserve half his weekly 80!that said, that “brochure” was pure shit,distasteful to say the least. i couldnt bring myself to finishing it.how many such materials are doing the rounds depicting berbatov,keane or bentley?…only gooners!no wonder we are such laughing stocks!
The comment above (from certified arsenalholic) illustrates perfectly the effect of that brochure. Not a surprise since Arseblog constantly slates some of our players, Adebayor among them.
BTW very good point about our team next year. With 3 players back (Rosicky, Eduardo, Senderos), one new signing and the youngsters growing, in the first team we now have 11(!) defenders, 9 midfielders and 6 strikers with only 4 younths counted (Wilshere, Gibbs, Traore and Ramsey). Arsene Wenger will have a lot of headaches trying ot keep everyone happy if we’re not plagued by injuries again (fingers crossed).
Having rejected the Russian’s overture,Arsenal must prove on the pitch they can compete at the highest level.If for some reason Arsenal are left f;oundering don’t be surprised if AW quits midway thru the season or the club go on a buying frenzy in the nex tw.
Of course it’s too early to write anything bf a ball has been kicked.But I believe these scenarios could come true if Arsenal ar found wanting.
I tend to agree that the brochure wasn’t all that funny, and I rushed through it a bit, but Arseblog is a fantastic site on the whole – very, very good; so I liked seeing it get some press.
I didn’t agree with the timing of the brochure. No doubt I found it a little funny, but at a time when Wenger has given the player a wide open door to leave, perhaps this should have been done after the fact. Gooners have changed dramatically over the years. I never once in my life thought I would ever see my fellow supporters boo our players while in the red and white, playing for this wonderful club. But I suppose this is what we’ve become. Eboue, who gives everything on the pitch and Bendtner who has so much potential and tries his hardest out there have been treated with the most disrespect I’ve ever seen from our fans. Arseblog is a great site once you get past the usual alcoholic ramblings of the first paragraph but I think maybe he went a little too far with this brochure and showed an immaturity and certain disrespect to the club and to Wenger who wants to get as much as possible for the player. Doesn’t it affect the price when the market knows a player is truly despised and unwanted Goonerholic? BTW, in my opinion Goonerholic and Gunnerblog are the top two Arsenal sites on the web with Arseblog a close third.
Norman has it right. Nothing wrong with supporters taking the piss and having some some fun at our players expense every now and then. The point is, Adebayor is staying at Arsenal and in exactly the same way as he needs to demonstrate his effort on the pitch Gooners need to get behind him and the rest of our players.
The Mirror’s publishing of the Adebayor parody was all about 2 things – firstly that Arsenal have become sick of seeing lowlife sports writers editors pursuing their own or other peoples (fat Kazakh gangsters who happen to have paid for their drinking and whoring trips to Moscow) agendas; Secondly it is a reminder that the published media is a busted flush and dying on its arse. There are new outlets for the clubs which disintermediate the traditional route fom club to fans – via the press. The Mirror, Sun and others are simply railing against this by trying to foment dissent between fans. Some of the less endowed of critical faculties will continue to fall for this rather sad ploy. Most people will, over time, come to see that there is no disadvantage to them in the published sports media disintegrating since the press produce football news in a ration of around 1:100 with the larger part being ill informed, partial rubbish. Witness the number of players linked to us this summmer – into treble figures isn’t it? Does anyone think Wenger has been looking at 100 players? If he were, I would be worried that he had no focus which clearly isn’t the case.
well said norman
Arseblog is a fantastic blog(as is Goonerholic).Informative,funny(sometimes hilarious)and written by a commited Arsenal supporter.
More commited to our club I would suggest than Adebayor is.
Yo ‘holic. Irish coffee please, thanks.
Great points rider, thanks.
Thanks all who have left kind words, and hello Ollie, a welcome visitor. You have been missed here and in toop!
Newspapers? Pah! Arseblog, Goonerholic, Goodplaya and A Cultured Left Foot – that’s all you need.