Theo In Brief And The NextGen Starts Here
Aug 29th, 2012 by 'holic
Enough has probably already been written about the Theo Walcott situation, so I will be as brief as I can on the topic.
Theo adds real value to the squad at his best. Look again at his performance against the neighbours in February as an example. However he also has days, usually against teams with a more defensive approach than our nearest and dearest, when his impact is minimal.
Because he is a mixed bag of a player the club have taken a view as to what he is worth in terms of a substantial weekly reward. Should Theo’s expectation really be far north of that figure then it is best for all concerned if he is moved on swiftly, for as much money as possible.
I’m feeling precious little for these players who are making abundantly clear what their motivation is. It wasn’t Arsenal who delayed these negotiations until this summer in either van Persie or Walcott’s case, (although criticism of them for allowing these situations to get this close to the wire are not without merit).
I am feeling for Arsene Wenger in this particular instance though. For as with Cesc last summer this is a player who has developed under his tutelage. Clearly he wanted to keep both. Theo may yet come to a compromise and sign, but the indications are not good.
There was a degree of inevitability about the leaving of Fabregas, what with his Barca DNA and all. Theo, however, must be a bitter disappointment to Le Boss. No DNA involved here, just a rather inflated sense of worth it would appear.
Such a shame.
NextGen Series Kicks Off Tonight
Arsenal Under-19s play the opening match of their inaugural season in the NextGen Series tonight against Marseille, kick-off 7pm. Terry Burton’s team will also play Olympiacos and Athletic Bilbao in the group stage of the Champions League-style youth competition.
Arsenal’s home matches in the NextGen Series will be played at Barnet’s Underhill Stadium. Entry to the games will be free of charge. I wish I lived a bit closer as this looks to be a step-change to the youth set-up, and well worth a look. I will have to rely on Arsenal Player for highlights I am guessing.
Someone who does live a bit closer, and will definitely be there, is Arsene Wenger.
“I will watch every single game because I want to see what the other clubs have, what is going on, and if there is some evolution with the young players. People don’t realise that the most important thing is to keep in touch with the top level, and the top level in Europe is NextGen. It is the Champions League for youth and that is interesting.”
Good luck to the lads in the opening fixture of this prestigious new competition.
1,122 Responses to “Theo In Brief And The NextGen Starts Here”
Now then.
Esso
(Just awaiting the third member of the Jamacian track team to arrive)
So who will it be then?
Holic, I think you’re going to need to do the arrow thing in the other bar mate.
WEll in Esso.
Good luck ‘holic (since you’re not at work I guess it’s not for leisure reasons)
I am at work Ollie. Lunchtime skipped 🙁
The only thing I would add to your post is that as a regular starter for us now, the team Theo finds him self in today is a lot different than that he signed up for all those years ago.
The same could be said for the rest of the departures over the last 12 months (excluding Le$bo).
Just saying!
Nice one Holic. Stopped me in mid flow in the last set of drinks. Probably just as well 🙂
Pint please and one for all in the Bar.
Be careful of the door on the way out, theo!
Agree, it shouldn’t have been left this late but
what can we do at this point.
Hopefully NB52 and AA23 follow as well as the
other 3. A bit worried we are not being linked
with any big names as things seem to leak
more these days.
Well we will be criticised if we keep him and harangued if he’s sold.
He’s never first on my teamsheet, so meh.
You tease @ 9 8)
I still hope Theo stays but when you think about it, he was good friends with Cesc, Clichy and Robin so I think he’s likely to go.
In any case, let’s hope this gets worked out soon.
Right on, maestro.
Not too early for a Guinness, is it? No, it is not.
Diaby called up for France. Hope they don’t break him.
Kos there too.
No M’Vila, but Mr Capoue is, of course, in.
Oh, sorry ‘holic. Was a sandwich not a more valuable plan that this particular blog or were you contractually obliged to big up NextGen before kick off time?
Just some thoughts on the “debate” and the use of the term AKB Dr Z 🙂
As for Theo leaving, I couldn’t get more horizontal about it. Paddy Barclay summed it up best when he said Theo joined us as a 16 year old ” with almost frightening potential” and will leave us (if he is to leave) “with almost frightening potential”.
Your long post yesterday was bang on the money. The last 24 hours have shone a light on the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” brigade.
Stop whatever you’re doing, and watch this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlYPmmAn7mc
The term ‘AKB’ should be banned, tabs, it means nothing, it’s probably been invented by the KGB.
I thought it would be a YouTube of Capoue, Snir 😀
Cheers.
Right?
Yeah not bad
Snir, Thoroughly enjoyed that. For all Arsenal Fans, who loved Tony, here’s one of my favorites, from Dr Seuss. “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened”.
@19 My point exactly Ollie. It is divisive, silly and ultimately meaningless. It is used as an insult and to garner a reaction. When the inevitable reaction occurs, the user then hides behind a disingenuous and fatuous plea for “debate”.
An instrument for those fond of mass debating ?
Theo’s very personable and likeable – you can imagine Mel’s parents breathing a sigh of relief and offering a prayer of thanks after meeting the “footballer” their daughter told them she was dating. And he is genuinely exciting to watch and sometimes produces brilliance. So I would miss him.
Regarding his value to the squad, ‘holic got it spot on. He quite possibly could get £100,000 a week and he’s got every right to squeeze the club for as much as he can get out of them. But if what is on offer isn’t enough for him, if the extra money elsewhere matters more than staying at Arsenal, then I will wave him farewell along with Arsene.
Back to the present. Holic, yeah, I worry more about Arsene, if Theo does leave. It has to be hard for him, how can he not on some level, take it a bit personal. As for me, I just so tired, my emotion nearly spent. Hard watching them grow up before your eyes, only to leave. But, I’ve made up my mind to concentrate all my energy on those who WANT to play for us, who still feel it is an honor and a privilege to do so. And I’m really wanting to see the youngsters take on Marseille, so anybody who finds a stream later, well that would be marvelous! btw meant to say “I’m just so tired” above (think it’s nap time).
Afternoon All. Thanks ‘Holic for another post that captures the mood of many so well.
Some tuppences on the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t brigade” and the genearl current situation:
The-o has suffered his fair share of attention from the BBBs over the past few seasons, some of it (aside from the booing or anything abusive) has been warranted.
However, I sincerely hope those same people are now singing The Club’s praises for taking a firm stance on perceived player value and trying to re-align our wage structure so that the best get paid the most. Surely, that is something to be lauded?
Like many, I’m fairly sanguine over Theo’s possible departure, although would prefer him to remain with us.
In an ideal scenario I wouldn’t have wanted any of our first-teamers to leave this summer especially the former captain.
Whilst we have made three excellent and early purchases, they have now become replacements as opposed to players that will deepen our squad to help put us in a prime position to challenge for the title.
Should we make further quality purchases before Friday’s deadline then I’ll believe that we can make a genuine push for the biggest prizes.
As things stand, we’ve got a great chance to finish Top 4. IMO only.
I continue to marvel at Arsene’s ability (albeit self-imposed at times) to re-build his squad season after season and still keep us at Europe’s top table. That is incredible. I doubt even SAF could achieve that if you put him in identical circumstances as Le Boss.
The timing of this latest potential wantaway player is the worst thing for me. Very little time to recover the situation and it all feels so avoidable. However, we don’t really know what’s going on behind the scenes.
The great start to Arsenal’s summer feels like it is evaporating into something of a ‘same old, same old’ situation and a bit of PR diaster too. One or two purchases would of course turn that all around.
Apologies for my rather discombobulated ramblings but feel better now for geting that off my chest.
As always, UTA! and another round of drinks for any that care to join me.
Ollie @25 haha 🙂
Wise words, Holic.
Feo epitomises the triumph of self belief over ability – a true child of the Blair era.
Not worth the pay rise and special added requests (alluded to by Arseblogs) that he demands.
Time for a new start. Clear out the serial underachievers and move on.
We will not miss Feo’s overall contribution.
Tabs @ 17, I had not seen Paddy Barclay’s observations before….excellent.
I forgot to add. I think that his request for the number 14 shirt showed conclusively that the boy lacks insight and common sense.
TS @ 28
That is a spot on post.
A pint of whatever you’re drinking, on my tab.
Full article here for you Bath.
http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/barclays-account-lets-applaud-arsenal-if-they-sell-theo-walcott-8092177.html
Paddy Barclay consistently rather more thoughtful and intelligent than the vast majority of his kneejerk journo chums in my view.
Great vid Snir – cheers.
And Nurse Abb, just wanted to say absolutely fantastic gift a few days ago to the Bar.Wonderful.
@ TS
I see what you’re saying, TS but this situation is forced on us by player power. I’m sure Arsene would have loved to be going into the season with RvP, Cesc and Nasri in addition to Cazorla, Podolski and Giroud, and not to have to be rebuilding two seasons in a row. So I am choosing to be cheerful about the new boys.
And there is an argument that the players who have left, great though they are, were not determined enough to drag us over the line. Where was Nasri in the final third of the 2010/2011 season? What happened to Cesc?
This clearout could end up being a good thing.
I like the Montpellier philosophy. Can we borrow it at certain times?
http://www.insidefutbol.com/2012/08/29/we-lost-olivier-giroud-but-wont-lose-mapou-yanga-mbiwa-stresses-montpellier-official/67867/
I’m not suggesting we take such a strategy for Walcott however, if he was (as reported) proposed wages close to parity with the Spanish maestro and he refused… towards the door is the best direction. And perhaps a slight kick in the butt!
If he jumps ship like all the rest will dear little darling theo be getting the same abuse as RVP?
FunGunner @ 35
Yeah I agree. But,
I’m not sure if we can call it a clear-out:
“Tidy up thoroughly and throw away unwanted stuff”
I’m not sure we can class RVP, Song and Cesc as clearouts.
But there is a whiff of damned if i do…about this Theo situation.
The party I sympathise with is Arsenal Football Club because players receive million each year and those who leave Arsenal usually increase those wages.
Arsenal on the other hand has to find more Millions to pay another potential diva more Millions.
Get your act together Arsenal. Let’s show what we can do this year.
Alright you guessed it I’m bored.
🙂
Dave @ 37-
If he talks shite before, during and after there is a strong chance mate.
I can accept it as a supporter that my wishes for the behavior of an Arsenal player are different from what my wishes would be if I actually were the same Arsenal player. Where you stand depends on where you sit, as an old professor of mine used to say. That doesn’t mean I am not thoroughly disappointed with players leaving and the reasons why they seem to be leaving with regularity. The latter being the more worrying of the two issues. 🙁
So I let my frustrations boil over last night. Probably to my own detriment. I don’t know what is going on I am far from in the know. What you do wonder is why 6 starters have left in the last 2 summers. We have made additions but the revolving door has to have a door jam placed soon. We can not continue to compete for the league championship if we are constantly rebuilding.
Yesterday there was a debate on whether to bring in Kos for Mert this weekend and the argument against was you don’t want to break up a back 4 that has 2 clean sheets. Well, what about breaking up a team every summer that is scraping for 3rd or 4th?
I understand the counter argument about what is going on with the team and the finances. I do. I am proud to be a Gooner and will be behind the team but I am frustrated with our turnover and uncertainty.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19407429
I blame H2H 😉
My understanding (I might be wrong) is that Darren Dein has a sticky finger in the Theo pie.
He also was heavily involved with the Dutch bloke and with Song, with whom he was pictured in Barcelona.
In the first Arsecast of the season Amy Lawrence spoke darkly of the Dutch bloke’s outlandish demands at his meeting with the Club that followed the end of the season. Those demands, she said, were not all about money but about “the running of the Club, concerning all sorts of individuals in all sorts of departments”.
In regard to Theo, Blogs himself writes this morning that “the sticking point with us is not the money”.
In both instances, specifics are not gone into. Indeed, on both occasions it is categorically stated that specifics cannot be gone into (presumably for legal reasons). Out of respect for ‘Holic I will tread as warily as both Amy and Andrew and not draw the clear inferences from those two statements.
I would however ask you to ask yourself these questions? What sort of demands could RVP have made which would render any future negotiation futile? Why would two respected and well connected Arsenal scribes not feel able to provide specifics? What sort of demands could Theo make, outside of financial ones, which the Club felt they were unable to meet?
One of the most eye-poppingly misconceived lines in an eye-poppingly misconceived piece in the last set of drinks was a jibe that “the core of the Cub was rotten”. Half right. There is a corruption at the Club but it is not at its core. The possible sale of Theo might just be the latest act in a concerted effort by the Club to rid themselves of those that fall under that malignant influence.
Snir just watched the link excellent. Where have they all gone ?
@43 – You are, indeed, wrong. Dein has no involvement with the firm dealing with Theo’s affairs.
Yep, I think the Feo case is a bit different, probably thought the rest of the situation could play in his favour.
And the club seems to be calling his bluff.
Oh and I would add that he is still with the same firm who turned down more money with Chelsea to bring him to Arsenal “for footballing reasons”, so it may well be that the supposed demands are simply something like asking for a more defined role, ie as a striker, because playing on the wing is doing him, and us really, no favours.
Probably the only Theo has ever said that is even slightly critical of his situation is that he sees himself as a striker and not a winger. As most of the people who watch him every week can see he’s not one, although he is capable of doing the job, maybe it’s not exactly an outlandish thing to mention his future role if he stays.
It doesn’t have to be a case of making a demand like a spoilt kid, he may simply have asked for a bit of clarification on what his role is. It doesn’t have to be a “bad thing” or an unreasonable thing, it may simply be a discussion that was had during talks and that the answer wasn’t what he hoped to hear.
Cheers N7 @ #32 – Much appreciated. I’ll have a pint of Guiness.
FunG @ #35 – Actually, I pretty much agree with everything you’ve written. There is also ‘club power’ (ostensibly a contract) to help offset ‘player power’ but it can be hard to enforce if a player goes on strike. Good point re: our super-talented departed players who all failed to push us over the line when we needed it most. The clear-out could well turn out to be a good thing provided that we supplement with a purchase or two and possibly compliment with one or two of our current fine crop of U21s. I’m pleased to report there’s some real eye-catchers in there inc. Eisfeld, Meade, Akpom and Aneke.
tabs & Snir – Thanks for those great links
bath – I will miss SOME of Theo’s abilities and contributions but will quickly get over it esp. if suitable replacements are drafted in.
Conspiracy theory tabs, or are you standing on something a little more solid? (I suspect the latter) 😉
Yeah, I was thinking Feo’s ‘demands’ may have had some positional aspect to them too.
Although to be fair, that may also be a bit rich from him in; I don’t quite see his qualities making him fearsome up top, certainly in the still current trend of only one central striker.
But heh, good luck to him with that elsewhere if he can get that role.
I mean ‘links to Liverpool and City?’ Can’t seem them playing centrally either….
Feo aside, TS, I’d say the ground is ‘quite’ solid, but then no real ‘ITK’ (heh) has expansively spoken, so….
@43 Fair enough, I bow to your obviously intimate knowledge of who Theo speaks to.
@47 Possible I suppose, but if that were the case I fail to see why it can’t be reported in the usual way. The need for secrecy seems a bit superfluous wouldn’t you say?
Got a shirt?
TS – Cheers. I take it you were impressed with what you saw at the Ems on saturday?
Taliking of ITKs Ollie, have a look at this “no sh*t Sherlock link”:
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/j322tm
C*nts being c*nts?
Apologies @45 and @47
All I’m saying is that his agent is nothing to do with Dein and I’ve dealt with them on a small matter in the past and found them to be perfectly professional and not in the slightest bit heavy handed, when they could have been.
Re: Theo, I have to say that a part of me wonders if a parting of the ways might actually be best for both parties.
At the age he’s at, a change of scene might actually do him some good, even if he continues playing on the wing, and from our perspective I reckon we might be better served by an out and out orthodox winger at this point.
I don’t think anyone would dispute that Theo has not really made the progress we had all hoped, and the next couple of seasons are probably absolutely crucial for him.
It looks a pretty major balls-up that this is all happening so late in the window, but I don’t think we should nec. assume that it’s money motivated or sinister. Sometimes, a player just senses it’s time to move on.
If he does end up going, and goes without slagging off the club/manager or issuing ridiculous statements “to his fans” via his private website then I find it hard to be too aggrieved. And I also think that his situation is quite different to those of Nasri, Cesc, Robin or Song. If anything, he’s more of a Clichy.
Just my tuppence worth.
Does Snir have any news for us on likely targets for the next 48 hours? I could do with a pick me up after all this introspection.
Afternoon all
Back from hols now, so hopefully will be able to pop into the bar with increasing frequency,.
It’s bastard hot here today (Trev, imagine treating patients in 33c heat, with A/C that is wheezing at best! 🙁 ), so an ice cold beer please…. followed swiftly by another one.
Salud! 🙂
@JWTelegraph: Walcott and Wenger held talks today. He won’t sign contract now but will not be sold this window #afc
N7 @ #56 – Theo remains respectfully silent. Far more Clichy-esque than those other two brigands.
tabs @ #52 – I was… very. Hard for me to tell if they’ll make it in the first team though when they’re playing at that level but the willingness to just have a go and get your shot away was so refreshing.
Snir – Is @JWTelegraph an ITK? It sounds like a plausible compromise but isn’t the next window just a fraction too late to avoid a Bosman deal beng struck in the meantime? We definitely do not like missing out on RoI. I’m just an IKN 🙂
Oops! Welcome back Dr.C. The Quackery has missed you. Has the Quackery missed you?
On the back of Snir (ahem!), atemporary end to the Theo saga???
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/9506826/Theo-Walcott-and-Arsene-Wenger-reach-verbal-agreement-to-keep-winger-at-Arsenal-in-short-term.html
Cheers TS, nice one. It is, as you say, a fool’s game to try and predict who might make the jump to the first team, though I have heard that the Club has very high hopes for Gnabry and Akpom.
And @49 Solids are for softies 😉
The sudden emergence of a genuine diamond in Gnabry has given Wenger options here.With AOC and Gnabry we have the pace of Walcott and certainly in the former case much more poise and ability. Gnabry has apparently astonished people at he club with his rise and Bould clearly believes fast- tracking him is an interesting option.
These will be a fascinating two days.While we do not trumpet our business from the rooftops there is a disquieting lack of noise compared to this time last season when our Supermarket Sweep was on. Not that we need he same sort of seep but we do need reinforcement in several places. A utility defender and another striker plus a strong anchor in midfield would all be welcome and I’d love better back- up goalkeeping strength but this is Arsenal and we must temper our hopes!
Ttg & tabs
Didn’t get to see Gnabry on Sat, unfortunately, but I’ve only heard good things about him. The German revolution could well be upon us.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19406655
Feo’s staying (albeit, not extending).
Good stuff above TS, Tabs, FunG.
Nonny Mouse –
You have clearly chosen your perspective on events, from which you make your points well enough.
I do, however, get a sense that it is a view that the club somehow wants to cock everything up when there is no need to.
Seems a bit unlikely to me.
Do you not feel, at all, that players who have spent around 50% of their fabulously paid time at the club unavailable for one reason or another, should, even in these mercenary times, show some semblance of gratitude or loyalty.
It’s not like he’s being asked to play for nothing. If his attitude was “right, I’m going to prove I can be a star here” for a year or so, he would doubtless get the elevation to star wages he would then deserve.
He’s been offered in excess of £10,000 PER DAY, to prove that he can consistently achieve. Should that be beneath him ?
BtW, I will await with interest, the queue of clubs that see him as a central striker in the Premier League.
I fear it may be a short one.
Catalan –
Oh yes. Had a dose of 32C heat here, a few weeks back.
Don’t like to use the air-con, unless absolutely necessary, around those tight muscles, but fun it is not.
Hope you had good hols.
Snir. Journalist+twitter : not my cup of tea, as you know 😉
Ollie – You do like to link francefootball and l’equipe ! ! 😉
Am I sensing a disdain for English papers/journalists ;)?
66 : TKB
Heh, no Snir. There is indeed a vast amount of bollocks on the francefootball website too.
It’s just that most people check the Brits links before I do (because I don’t, heh), whereas on the odd FF story that is not yet widely available, I sometimes link.
I don’t follow them on twitter though 😛
I don’t care where journos are from, I generally ignore Philippe Auclair as much as David Ornstein or John Cross 🙂
Ollie – If I would post here everything I got on my TL it would be the most hilarious thing ever.
Good thing I learned to filter it 😉
(Before you go crazy, yeah I know some things were wrong, but that’s how transfers are, eh? A bit harder when you’re not ITK, and all you do is collect snippets :D)
TKB indeed ! 😎
The change of mood came after talks between player and manager at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground, where Walcott left Wenger in no doubt about his commitment to the club….
So committed that the status quo continues?
Something not quite right with this picture….
Ollie, TS –
What is ‘TKB’ ?
Maybe Arsene promised him to try out his deployment down the middle. I for one think that in some games he could be devastating in that position, especially against teams which want to play. Just lob the ball behind the defense or play some neat through pass and let his pace do the rest..he doesnt need too much trickery once in that position and hes good finisher, so it could make sense.
By the way anyone having some link to stream of NextGen game? Wiziwig fails me this time :S
Trev Knows Best
Diagnosis for patient Trev: Symbolic castration.
Hah Trev,
Watch out, they’re gonna cut off your cymble.
Then they’ll drum the facts of life into yer…
arsenal 1-0 marseille, yennaris (8)
onwards!
Nurse? More chemicals for patient Trev please!
zico, quit giving trev stick…
arsenal 2-0 marseille, akpom (20)
up the arse, marseille!
Trev @ 66 – Loyalty is a two way thing. If you believe sources like Arseblog, who has been claiming it is about money but this morning says money is not the problem, then I suggest the sticking point is Theo’s role in the team. The club are asking him to commit the next five years of his career to them and, in turn, if he is asking for clarification of his role (ie not wanting to waste the next five years on the wing) and some kind of commitment from the club to him beyond the money, I think that is fair enough. He’s not throwing a strop, refusing to play or even refusing to sign, if you believe the BBC report which says both sides are committed to working towards a resolution.
If the club wasn’t happy with the way the meeting went and didn’t think things were going to end up positively, he’d be out on his ear ASAP. Both sides see Walcott as an Arsenal player in the next five years IMO, and I hope the average fan can see beyond the usual “Players are all greedy c*nts” viewpoint and see what’s (hopefully) going on.
Obviously if he walks on a free next summer I hope he has a shit career and ends up at Wigan 😉
zico watching stream of some sort or live commentary?..Dying to watch our youngsters play in next gen games.
Thx for the score Scruz. Let’s go young guns
TS, at the end of the bar is a small syring with a bit of ketamine and midazolam. Incremental doses for Trev is my recommendation every 10 minutes. When his eyes start twitching sideways you have reached his adequate dose.
not zico, but a sort of live commentary:
https://twitter.com/NextGenSeries
about as good as i could find. no video even linked to try, anywhere.
norcal@86, you’re welcome. and re: syringe, spoken as an expert 🙂
what a loverly pic:
https://twitter.com/#!/NextGenSeries/media/slideshow?url=pic.twitter.com%2FnDpUt5Od
think there are highlights on Arsenal Player tomorrow….
TaBS: an assist for Gnabry, and a goal and an assist for Akpom so far.
Scruz,
Purely professional uses of course.
@norcal, of course. what other uses are there? even were trev to be treated as such on the HT, that’s as professional as it gets…we’ve got a licensed nurse to supervise!
serge looking dangerous, per the twitter feed. let’s see him in the cups.
NorCal is a real doctor too! Who knew? 🙂
I’ll ask Edwin to re-stock the CMC.
Martinez rolls the ball out to Meade who thumps it upfield to Gnabry.
Excellent…. NorCal can take over the prescribing in The Quackery, and Mr T and I can get back to hitting people.
Happy Days…
damn long-ballers.
ah, but mr. c, where’s carlos when you need him? did he get lost on that sepptic assignment with shaft?
@ TS
Cheers – have a cold one on me.
***
I always say, don’t blame the agent/adviser (though I’ve no reason to think anything good about DD), blame the player. The player makes the decisions. The player asks for and takes the “advice”. The agent is just there to take the flak and be the pantomime villain.
***
If Theo completes his contract, even if he doesn’t re-sign with us, he’ll be playing for a massive payout next summer. So the upside is that we might get a special year from him. And we would avoid extra disruption. That may be how AW’s thinking.
BOOM!
hissing at darren dein…
The lurky centuries are the best 🙂
not mangeled by the swede…a brilliant ton, at root. color me oranje with jealousy!
What a finish, Lars 😉
Jaysus, had a look at the HT fantasy league table.
That top team is chock full of cunts.
Someone should be ashamed of themselves 😉
arseblogger said:
“And while it looked as if lessons from last summer had been learned with the early signings of Cazorla, Giroud and Podolski…”
I have a bee in my bonnet about this. It’s fundamentally misunderstanding the situation. The signings happened when the timing was right for all parties. The Podolski process started in Ma 2011. The Cazorla process began last summer and we were unsuccessful with our first attempt. All we can do is try – we can’t guarantee that the players we want/need will want us *and* be let go by their clubs at a time that suits us. This time, it worked out for us. How can we “learn the lesson” about something which isn’t in our control? It seems to me that this faulty logic forms the basis of the view that “We’re not doing enough”.
Rant over. 🙂
Superb, Lars!
And how apt!
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Boom
😉
Lars is the new striker we’ve all been waiting for. Sweden > The Netherlands?
And at a fee that we can afford, with wages we can afford, etc…
Eandy@76: I agree, it would be very interesting to see Theo as a central attacker against teams that are likely to attack us. One of Theo’s strenghts is that he is pretty accurate when one on one with the keeper from decent angles and against, for example, Man City away he’d probably get a few opportunities to run through if we played a few long balls. I’ve got no numbers to back it up, but his conversion rate in those situations must be up there with the best of them.
Holic, I must admit it was more or less pure luck – I refreshed the page and saw the drinks counter at 99 and took a blind shot 🙂
Ollie@107: heh!
TS@108: well, at least I don’t make demands about how the HT shall be managed!
…but now I need to return to doing some work 🙁
(on the other hand, that keeps me away from the insanity on Twitter – don’t think I’ll bother going there too much until the transfer madness is over)
Cheers Trev. Tight muscles mate? Do you need a physiotherapist? 😉
Mr C @90 – Welcome back mate. Yep there the two to look out for, or so I’ve been told. Gnabry has just turned 17 and is already close to the first team squad as was shown by the decision to take him to Cologne. Akpom is younger (17 in Oct) and not as close, but played for the U18s when he was just 15 and is spoken of in glowing terms.
there = they’re
TS – “NorCal is a real doctor”
Just sounds like a drug dealer to me ! 😉
Tabs,
Do try and keep up, old chap.
The tight muscles belong to the patients, not me !!! 😉
Trev – Let’s not split hairs 🙂
trev, i think norcal’s first name is robert.
Tabs,
“Akpom is spoken of in glowing terms”
What like “he’s on fire” ? 😉
Actually I think it was “he’s a bit warm” Trev 🙂
Scruz – sorry I’m lost. Robert Norcal ???
I sense I’m goung to regret asking this, but in my defence I’ve had a bad migraine today and am not thinking straight. ?
trev, maybe…according to the twitter feed: 54′: Double save from the Marseille’s Sy to prevent Chuba Akpom adding to his tally. Arsenal in complete control.
Mr. C,
Wait, you mean I don’t get to hit people?
Is this the kinder and gentler Quackery?
dr. robert, trev.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQK2ikupQB8
or, he might be an uncle. in that case…
Trev @116, that’s a shame. I was going to recommend my services.
Working on hard muscles is my speciality 😉
Scruz, are you on twitter? What’s your Twitter name?
Not at all Dr Norcal, but Mr C and myself are specialists in the field. 😉
@126 –
Is that another drug I haven’t heard of ?
I am pretty much a drug dealer. I just have a government issued DEA number that lets me do it legally. With as many drug shortages we have around here though, I may start purchasing on the streets.
I also like the way Aneke looked against Bolton. That ” boy” looks like a beast.
tabs, no. i refuse. i don’t generally look at twitter feeds, either, but this one is the only way i can get nextgen info live. to paraphrase ollie, “pourquoi?”
Don’t know how reliable this is but noises going around that we’re trying hard for Llorente.
In other news, NB is in Turin, to hire Mino Raiola to find him a club
love our names. chuba akpom. serge gnabry. chuks aneke.
pretty soon someone’s gonna get akpom’d, or be shattered by an aneke. if they’re not serged, first.
snir, dad just wasn’t getting it done…
The Feelgood Foundation would like to dis-sociate itself entirely from the rogue practitioner operating in the Northern Californian region.
Under no circumstances will we have anything to do with someone who operates under a government issued DEA number.
We have our reputation to think of.
*Message Ends*
that said, tabs, it doesn’t mean i’m not a twitt. as has no doubt been shown here, there, and everywhere in my life…:)
2-0, Fabulous!!! Come on lads! Thanks scruz. Trev, best thing for a migraine is to take a HOT shower, let the water do its wonders (really does help). Feel better soon.
cheers, nurse. now, i think dr. f is in need of some treatment, of the unregulated kind.
@130 Ah Scruz, got ya.
Snir, I’ve heard Billy Bendtner is in Italy to do a bit of pants modelling and snare another princess.
Though how he intends to catch the eye of a princess if his modelling is pants is anyones guess. #ITK
Heh, always scruz.
Trev, I’ve noticed these blinding headaches started since you graduated to the full pint.
Co-incidence?
I find that the best cure for a migraine is to remove Roxette from the immediate vicinity. Mastercard helps.
Good stuff Lars 112, I’m staying away from it for another while too.
tabs, yeah, not exactly the straightest of lines. robert can now be your uncle, if you like.
dr. f., i’ve always found that to lead to mastercard hell. and further migranes.
https://twitter.com/arsenallive
3-0!
It’s that man Akpom again.
Looks like they’ll really need Joey Barton in Marseille after all.
Oh, he can’t play NextGen.
on Theo:
I think we have to ask ourselves some key questions to evaluate him (and Song…and van Persie)
Has he reached his full potential? (I think most likely…unfortunately)
At full potential is he likely to be one of the best two or three in the league at his position? (No….he has one asset apart from being likeable)
Does he love the club? (This perhaps has no relevance but if the wage offer wasn’t enough I assume he thinks he is one of the 3 best players in the squad. He isn’t now and never has been)
With that said I would rather get him sold now than lose him on a Bosman although it seems he is sitting on the fence somewhat. It is a shame because I think he is a good lad, someone (most of us?) we’d like to see reach the top level but I don’t think it will happen. I do feel he should have had a run of 5 or 6 games as a central striker at some point over the last 4 years. Think back to when we tried Arshavin there. I can’t help but wonder if you would see more from him in that role.
Obviously he won’t land that role with City or Liverpool either so perhaps that makes him reluctant to leave.
ollie, he’ll be their twitt.
Baup was saying on Sunday that he still has to serve his ban, even in France and that was the reason why he wasn’t sure they were going to try and get him.
here’s one for wolfie: GOAL: Arsenal 3 – 0 Marseille (Akpom 83′) – *Olsson slips @Chuba10 in.*
Dr Feelgood, thanks for your helpful advice.
You could be onto something there, but my last pint was just before the Sunderland game 10 days ago, and the one before that was in May !!
However, if you would like to send Roxette down here, I will then remove her from the vicinity and see if that indeed works.
Don’t forget to pack your Mastercard too.
Thanks. 😉
arsenal 3-0 marseille, full time.
bravo, boys!
Abb – thanks for the advice.
I’ll try the HOT shower.
Does Feelgood have any spare Swedish nurses I can borrow.
Oh, probably not, ‘cos he’s sending Roxette down here anyway, and while the cat’s away ……
Ah, a casual semi ton for me then. 😉
Hey, Did I mention Juve looking good…(tapping my fingers). Oh the joys of a backup team. Now I have had the chance to read all the drinks (last post too). Delia, enjoyed your comments. As well as the tactical discussions re Per and Kos. Just the kind of stuff I can learn from. Nonny @ 84 Hello, glad you’re still here. But what’s wrong with Wigan? Ryo will benefit from playing there, I think.
Trev, I should have emphasized that you must stand directly under the stream of water, so it can message your scalp. Take the shower in the dark, that will help too.
Thanks nurse, most kind and comprehensive. 😉
Hey, Splelt massage wrong. But getting messages to your brain might notbe a bad thing either (sighing).
Many have tried Nurse …….
It looks like you may have to cheer for Berbatov now, abb.
Or maybe swap ‘have’ with ‘be allowed’
Shouldnt Arsene and IG be scouring the interwebz for Song and RvP replacements instead of the NextGen game?
Dr F,
Don’t let the DEA number scare you. They give them out to just about anyone. Plus I live in the middle of ” legal marijuana” country. Hey Trev maybe that would help the migraines. I have seen many a patient that seems to think it does.
Scruz,
We may need to move down there. The smoke is seriously intense today. I may be getting high every time I go outside from all the second hand smoke. I am sure someone’s pot farm has be lost in these fires.
Good job for the young guns. Sounds like they bossed the game from the outset.
These drugs are working, I feel a lot less bitchy and frustrated today.
TEst
Really Ollie? Wow. Bojan on loan to ACM, would have liked him at Juve.
Scruz @135 Heh 🙂 and cheers for the updates. Well done The Arsenal!
Trev @151 A migraine and a casual semi? What a man! 😉
You will want to do most things in the dark if I send Roxette down there….
norcal, is that the ponderosa fire, still? i thought it was mostly contained.
and just because you move to santa cruz doesn’t mean you can get away from clouds of smoke…i work on campus, and sometimes it gets bad. where else do they celebrate 4/20 @4:20 en masse?
tabs, you’re welcome. now, facebook is a different story (a true one, at that 🙂 )
Not confirmed yet, abb.
But I saw it in places that are not twitter.
Mr Northern California Drug Dealer:
Legal marijuana?
How preposterous.
Next you’ll be telling me the Beatles are splitting up….
Ollie,I will check it out. Do know Gigi says he has plenty of time to negotiate his contract, The Team Comes First, he implies.
Nurse !
Can I put the light on now ‘cos I can’t find me towel ?!?!
Dr.F @ #164
I believe Edwin has just come up with a use for all those unused black bin liners.
Goal, Real. 1-0 Talk about a mood buster.
Trev, very funny (lol).
Mascheranno must go, imho.
It’s the draw for the group stage of the CL tomorrow. I believe the pots look like this, of course we can’t get Man City at this point either.
Pot 1:
Chelsea
Barcelona
Man Utd
Bayern Munich
Real Madrid
Arsenal
Porto
Milan
Pot 2:
Valencia
Benfica
Shakhtar Donetsk
Zenit St Petersburg
Schalke 04
Man City
Braga
Dynamo Kiev
Pot 3:
Olympiakos
Ajax
Anderlecht
Juventus
Spartak Moscow
Paris Saint-Germain
Galatasaray
FC Copenhagen or Lille (still playing in extra time)
Pot 4:
Celtic
Borussia Dortmund
BATE Borisov
Dinamo Zagreb
CFR Cluj
Malaga
Montpellier
Nordsjaelland
Edwin, good work.
Anything that keeps her out of my hair (and wallet) 😉
Well done to the next generation at Arsenal.
Marseille are considered to be a good team.
Dear heavens, 2-0. Big muck up with goalie.
looks like barca could use a new dm.
oh.
Charlie,
If that’s the case we’ll get Kiev, PSG and Dortmund. 😉
Someone will have to explain to me how Dortmund are still in Pot 4, on seeing Pot 3….
Me too Ollie.
scruz, Song on the bench, right? Barca look lost. Victor having a mare. omg, 3-0.
Not 3-0, don’t know what happened!
abb, is he? how funny.
and pepe called for a nonexistent foul, real have scored their “allowed” goals this game.
Think this is Pepe’s first game back.
now barca down to 10. couldn’t have happened to a nicer club.
IOllie:
The pots are based on form in European competition over the last few seasons, Dortmund have had only one CL group stage appearance and two UEFA Cup/Europa League appearances (where they didn’t get far either time) in the last five years or so, so they don’t get seeded very high yet. It’s not especially fair, but these things rarely are.
Really frightful display from Barca.
trev, god try to be funny and give us zenit, moscow, and bate…
abb, hilarity is ensuing.
god *could*.
either that or i am subconsciously mastering pidgin.
What the heck. They can’t keep the ball and they’re not marking well.
So, who do you think will be in the LWC’s group after Thursday’s draw?
It’s quite deliberately done on a Thursday, isn’t it?
#FOYS
Cheers Charlie, it was kind of a rhetorical question but somehow I don’t remember PSG doing much in Europe recently. Guess going through a round or two of Europa League as they may have done is enough.
Messi, what a goal!
And I see Lille have qualified after ET, hooray I can go to sleep in peace. Although I’m guessing the rigged draw means they’ll get Chelsea. Wanna bet?
have to agree that that Argentinian has some left foot O.o
Good news abb, come on Barca!
Assist or goal?
Bang!
Yeah IOllie, PSG have made a UEFA Cup/Europa League quarter final and last 16 in the last four years, which I guess is just enough to get them a pot three slot. The coefficents are listed here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012%E2%80%9313_UEFA_Champions_League_group_stage#Seeding
HI Eandy and Ollie. Ollie, are you sincere?(smiling). Heys to everyone, Iv’e been rude not to acknowledge you, but I’m reading your comments and trying to process them all! You know I love Champs League.
As per Lars @ 102… The lurky centuries are the best but it needed a superb assist by Ollie to see my run through to the box un-noticed 😉
Actually just arrived home and logged on to see “opportunity knocks”.
GRazie Charlie. And well in Ups.
Uply, very decisive goal. Cheers. Charlie, will check out your link right now (1st half over).
Abb, I always support Barca when they’re facing Real.
Oh Ollie, yes I remember your comments about Madrid. Rightly so. Just a curious question. Do you get internet on Euro Star just at certain stations, or the entire trip?
Nice and subtle TS, nice and subtle
Worth noting that Braga are in pot 2 (above many bigger hitters) because of their Europa League final appearance two years ago.
Anyway Braga, Anderlecht and Nordsjaelland would be nice!
On Eurostar? Well you’ve got mobile coverage, but otherwise wifi in the lounge for me on the departure station.
Well then, you’re entertained then somewhat. You’re a devoted fan, Ollie.
What a way to begin the 2nd half, CR gives Pedro a hug.
Yep Song on the bench. Penny for his thoughts.
Song set to come on…
Thanks Ollie 204 & abb 205. Have now back drunk..for a minute thought I was wrongly logged in to a medics chat site. Maybe Arsenal’s medical centre should pass difficult cases onto our experts to find suitable treatment – if all else failed the threat of being tendered by Nurse Wolfie will get them back to fitness pdq!
Uply, are you watching the game? Song had a defensive lapse, could have been very costly. Don’t know why Cesc isn’t playing. And Modric on now.
@ Uplympian
supersub’s poacher’s goal
Song/Messi nearly teamed up for the last second winner …
… and Song saved a probable goal on the other end from Luka Modric. Not too happy about seeing Song playing for them to be quite honest …
Oh no don’t, seriously?
@ 218 sounds crazy
Missed that 8ball…good to see Iker and Barca players making nice, though. He has been outspoken for better relations between the 2 clubs, for the sake of the National team.
@ Goonertown
“nearly”. 2-1 is the score. RM win the Cup.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/arsenal-transfer-news-theo-walcott-1286203
Don’t mind the “Elsewhere, it would appear Arsenal are unlikely to make any last-minute moves for new faces.”
They’re just saying that because they DON’T know, as the club have been extremely quiet over the last few days, which as we know, is a good thing when it comes to Arsenal 🙂
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/theo-walcott-staying-at-arsenal-arsene-1286715
I have to say I’m disappointed that Theo is staying if we have an option to get Dzeko for him.
FG
And if I understand correctly, it was done with Modric in the team, right?
Modric was a late substitute for Ozil, even a later one than Song.
@ goonertown
My 223 was replying to your 220, which I thought was a response to bt8b’s 218, which on first reading I had seen as a report of Barca scoring a last-minute winner, before realising my error.
See – clear as mud!
FG 217 thanks..Song was meant to be tracking my run;-)
Hi abb…I wasn’t watching the game but with your on the ball commentary it was almost as good as 🙂 I was not a great fan of Alex, mainly due to his propensity to give away cheap free kicks and failure to track back much of the time. It will be interesting to see if BCN coach those traits out of him.
Ok, saw what you were talking about 8ball (on replay). Snir, if Theo is given the opportunity to play his preferred position, well I could get excited for him. Must say, it means the world to me, that he doesn’t want to leave us. btw, think Dzeko is too undisciplined (fouls).
Uply, from a purely tactical standpoint, feel Song should have started.
Already miss Song, I can’t help myself. I watched him closely this evening for Barca, he will succeed there and be one of their best players.
I can’t say the same for certain Dutch Bloke.
Regarding Theo having ‘confidence over ability’, Theo only had confidence in himself as a player. The is essential to bring out the best in an athlete.
His confidence level drops when he isn’t playing well, then usually Wenger takes him off.
On a technical basis he is in the right place to develop. Say if Theo was to sign for a further five years and improve technically, at 23 he could become a bright star.
Theo has won us games before , but I dont recall him losing us many, if any.
Afterall, loyalty works both ways.
Let’s put it this way, players reasons for leaving don’t always/only involve disputes over wages and trophies.
Yes FG, I hear you
Ignore the first paragraph of 233
abb / lurky….didn’t see the game so cannot give an informed opinion.
I tend to become indifferent to players who have become ex players. There may be some interest to see how they proceed but my main thoughts goes to those players who are giving their all for our club.
I wish the departed no harm…players move on – not just at Arsenal – its an unfortunate part of the game that we have to learn to live with.
I can’t believe the stick theo gets from some fans. Theo was compared to Thierry from the start and that is not his fault because he is not Thierry at all. I doubt he will ever reach Thierry’s level. But he is a decent player in Premiership standard. 11 goals and 13 assists is not a bad return from a winger. But he is not a 100 grand a week player. he needs to stop listening to his agent and concentrate on improving as a player. If he goes elsewhere I doubt he will get a game.
I think I read somewhere Arsenal have a first option to buy Fabregas if he ever becomes available. The Barca new coach doesn’t look like he fancies him, too early to say but he was left out of tonight’s game.
Some heart felt comments by you all. Perhaps a Guidance Counselor at the Club, is the answer. I realize this is naive on my part but to rely on your agent to have your best interests at heart, is also naive. Good points by you all, cheers.
I love this comment by Hector Bellerin:
“Everyone has been really nice and the football is unbelievable. I have learned things I don’t think I would have learnt at Barcelona so I am really enjoying it. I hope to be here for many more years.”
I know the tippy tapper- uppers will claim they injected some sort of genetic material in him on his way out the door but he sounds like a great prospect. He came in as a winger but is now making his mark as a fullback and credited Bouldy for his development in the defensive arts.
Also sounds like he gave marseille fits today.
Juventus director of football Beppe Moratta confirmed they have now switched sights to Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendnter.
He said: ‘We made all in transparency contacting the player after he refused to go to Fiorentina. Berbatov preferred stay in England for family reasons. Bendtner is available, we made an appreciation, but we can’t say we already bought him.’
240 into a new post and I only just finished back-drinking from the last! Now I have to start all over again
Fack me don’t anyone work around here? 😯
GT, Somewhere in yesteday’s drinks somebody said there are 3 Jamaican regulars on here. I think 2 of them are you and DapperDan, but who is the third, if you know?
The Impeccable1 is the only other Jamaican I can be sure of. I am not at all sure that DapperDanC is a Yardie but he’s a particular favourite Holic nonetheless. I don’t know who the other one is [its usually a Jamaican’s favourite past time to hide from fellow Jamaicans] … I would love it if TABs were Jamaican though but I am afraid that he’s English as Pie & Mash ..
🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIy5Ee42Vv8&feature=youtu.be
Watching SSN- The times, believe that we are stepping up our interest in Dzeko. City want 18m Pounds for him.
Booyaka, booyaka!
I didn’t realize there were so many Jamaicans on here, I thought they were all Man U fans like the rest of the Caribbean (Trinidad included) 😉
As a rather insightful Jamaican poet once said, “fack me don’t anyone work around here?” 😎
Back-drinking done and must say, many interesting exchanges once again!
Nice piece Gov, and as I’ve already intimated in the last drinks; 75,000/wk and no more! That’s all he’s worthy of at the mo! If not satisfied with that valuation, then please just fcuk off!
Not sure I understand this “they’ve reached an agreement that he won’t leave before Friday” malarkey?! What the fcuk does that really mean? Why don’t you just f-off already or sign the f-ing contract you deluded, 1-dimensional cunt! The more grateful next generation’s chomping at the bit already to take your egotistical place!
Wrt Real & Barca; both teams are full of cunts and i couldn’t give a fcuk what happens between ’em as long as there is some schadenfreude-value for one as a pure passing spectator! With all that said, I very narrowly prefer Barca and that’s purely for Cesc! Song on the otherhand can just fcuk off!
Good morning, statement over and COYBG! 😎
Gwan man! Ja Rastafari! 😎
Yo Yardie.
I see Snir has gone into full ‘end of the transfer window’ mode.
Next couple of days could be fun.
A signing sneaking in while the CL draw is taking place?
Theo was compared to Thierry from the start and that is not his fault because he is not Thierry at all
Agree to a large extent, but I don’t think the number 14 was forced upon him.
Snir, I can’t see Dzeko coming to us, because (can’t remember if I’ve made this point here or on the arses) taking a pay cut is one thing, halving your salary is another.
Clubs may agree a price but I can’t see personal terms being agreed.
And heh, abb, as alluded to in 240 by Snir, no Berbatoss to Juve, looks like he’s going to Fulham for family reasons.
Actually thinking back about the seeding in the CL, maybe even more surprising is City’s presence in pot 2.
CL draw?
What about the Milk Cup draw? The big one?
When is it?
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/champions-league-draw-who-could-we-face-
So what will it be?
Braga Ajax Malaga?
Zenit PSG Dortmund?
Benfica Anderlecht Nordsjaelland?
Will lovely destinations clash with work commitments?
I’ve made sure not to commit to anything yet but we’ll see.
Morning Ollie,
Wrt Snir, it’s going to be fun but I just wish he’d be correct wrt Arsenal with his updates! 😉
Regarding THeo 14, he alone thought he would be another THierry 14! He still may be too if he just realised instinctively what he needs to change and work on DURING matches! Even Arsene can’t teach him that!
Regarding Dzeko, oh God please no – Llorente’ll be far cheaper in the longer run! Thankfully too his wage demands, as you rightly say, will put an end to that scary prospect!
Merc City are a small European club, and will remain so, until they are in CL and get out of the group stages over several consecutive years! Money can’t buy you that you Oily fcukers! 😎
Enjoy the draw, hope it’s a corker for all concerned!
Oh yeah, Rumbelows Cup draw is today too, good point, Dr Z.
DanC, my surprise was not at them not being in Pot 1, but at them not being in Pot 3! 😉
What is all dis talk about pot?
Ollie….City oil slickers in pot 2 seems absolutely wrong, especially when Borussia Dortmund remain in pot 4.
Worthington E cup draw..at least we won’t have to travel to Middle Earth. In the league, we have returned from there unscathed plus we do not have to visit the likes of Bolton & Blackburn. What will the press talk about now without us not liking it oop north etc. 😉
heh Rastaman
242, 243 and 247
I is the other Jamo on here. Now let it rest. It is only an Island. In fact as Dennis Brown said; ‘no man is an Island’
But what I really said 8 ball if you go to the first/second posts above, was reference to the Jamaican track team who finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 200 meters at London 2012.
But I’m sure you knew that 8 ball, you’re as bad as goal.com twisting quotes. Heh!
WC
Interesting points.
What’s your poison?
Talking of Theo’s stats he was only one goal Shy of Kagawa last season with the same assists.
Is it just me or is the site particularly slow this morning?
262&263 suggest ‘not just me’ 😛
Well, ex-262 has now disappeared, heh.
264 it’s not just you
Regarding our interests in Dzeko.
I am in doubt over this. I think Giroud will find the net soon.
As mentioned earlier, most of the great Arsenal strikers have not scored on their full debuts. Plus I think we can share the goals around the team in the meantime too.
Server issue Ollie. Have seen on another blog on the same server they are ‘working on it’.
Apologies.
Enquiries. So we have made enquiries eh? How adorable. Our rivals are making real purchases and here we are – Arsenal Football Club – making enquiries with less than 2 days to go. All the good work done previously has been undone with the RvP and Song sales and a failure to replace either of them.
So let me get this straight – our attack for next season is – Poldi, Giroud, Chamakh — how inspiring.
Cheers, ‘holic!
Naturally, I hold you personally responsible ;P
@ 269
Looks like it’s fast again.
So fast N7’s post seems to have mostly disappear in a time warp.
My ‘ed’ too.
Woah, what happened there?
Anyway, my post was meant to say:
“Sajit @ 269
Not like you to be downbeat.
I’m not an expert, but I suspect most purchases probably start with an enquiry.”
@tancredipalmeri: Juventus found agreement with Bendtner.In next hours talks with Arsenal
@JamesOlley: Park, Chamakh and Bendtner all not at #afc training ground today. Park left with “two big suitcases” apparently. Suggests exits are close.
@JamieDalton82: Schalke look like signing Ibrahim Afellay on loan from Barcelona.
@YoungGunsBlog: Arsenal also have loan offers from Málaga and Beşiktaş for Marouane Chamakh. Will depend on sales. My story: http://t.co/kgDN4vpi
@KJ_Huntelaar: I want to welcome Ibrahim Afellay at #S04.!! Tomorrow training at 16.00.. Don’t forget 😉 wilkommen Ibrahim Afellay..!
Dan C – ill say this.
I’m not optimistic we’ll sign anybody. But I just don’t know. Arsenal are certainly looking but you know AW. He takes time to decide if to bid on a player and I’m not getting that desperate feeling from him, the one he had last season.
I do think however that if we get all our departures over with by today, we will sign.
Gtown @261 The only thing still to be determined then is which is the fastest of the Jamaican holics. 😉
Slow again, bah.
Swansea accept fresh bid from Man City for Scott Sinclair after rejecting initial £6.2m offer
No Theo for them then.
AC Milan in talks with City over NDJ. No AFC move for him then (good).
Italian reports say Maicon on the verge of joining City. Richards anyone??
Dutch Newspaper AD saying AFC are closing in on Gregory Van der Wiel.
In addition to the transfer talk above, I reckon there will be a late Defensive midfield signing.
Lorente appears to be the current available in form striker at present, who was also left out of last nights AB squad.
Therefore seems like Spurms & co could be trying to seal that one.
Right lunchtime!
Snir 275:
12.40: James Olley of the Evening Standard reports that Marouane Chamakh, Nicky Bendtner and Park Chu Young were not at the Arsenal training ground, and Park left with ‘two big suitcases.’
As Matthew Stanger points out, does this mean Park was living at Colney?
Snir 275:
12.40: James Olley of the Evening Standard reports that Marouane Chamakh, Nicky Bendtner and Park Chu Young were not at the Arsenal training ground, and Park left with ‘two big suitcases.’
As Matthew Stanger points out, does this mean Park was living at Colney?
The interweb is remarkably and unusually devoid of stories linking players with Arsenal.
@ 281 read that as well.
Sounds like Bacary could be out for a minute!
@JamesOlley: Wenger says Walcott won’t leave in this transfer window and “will stay and play for us”. Talks ongoing over a new deal.
@Arsenal: Wenger on Chamakh: ‘Again, we haven’t made an agreement with any club’
@Arsenal: Wenger on Bendtner: ‘There is a chance he is leaving. Where is not decided at the moment’
@Arsenal: Wenger on Sagna/Wilshere: ‘After the international break they shouldn’t be too far away from training’
@Arsenal: Wenger on transfers: ‘We are active but we don’t want to bring average players in’
Rather than looking left right and centre or refreshing this currently slow site, does snirblog.com exist for the latest transfer speak? 😀
Fuck me, I’m going to watch the Chelsea game in the Tollie, or whatever portion of the game I get, but seeing £87.50 (not including booking fee) for tickets that were £67.50 or so a season ago, I can see that the club’s clever new pricing policies is going to earn them a lot more money. It certainly is a bigger increase that the drop for other games. Granted there will be less ‘more expensive games’ than ‘cheaper games’, but still.
Clever cunts, eh?
Wenger on transfers: ‘I am relaxed… if we find a top, top, top player we will do it. We are working hard’
Personal opinion now – I wouldn’t be surprised to see us get Llorente, just because he HAS to get the fuck out of Bilbao. He’s been getting death threats, and the fans just don’t want him to stay at the club anymore. The Basque fans, aren’t simple fans, to say the least.
I expect him to leave Bilbao and all his destinations have already signed strikers.
http://www.arsenal.com/digest
‘We want a draw that gives us a good chance’
What? Not aiming for the win? NO AMBITION, SACK THEM ALL!
Oh. Sorry. 😛
Snir, do you mean the Basques are not plastic fans?
Or are they ‘plastic’ fans? ;O
As much as anything else AW’s transfer policy seems to be predicated on bringing in a sprinkling of players from every country. Not too many or too few of any nationality, basically, which leads me to put some credence in this Van der Wiel story because we have to replace Van Persie in that sense … 😉
If NB52 is off to Italy, and Chamakh also goes out on loan then we will SURELY sign another centre forward?
M’Vila and Llorente please Arsene.
@JamieDalton82: Gds say Bendtner to join Juve on loan with option to buy at €6m. Loan fee €1.5m and medical tomorrow.
Who/what is ‘Gds’ ?
Is Gds ITK?
Gazzetta dello Sport
Ah, I was trying with Corriere della Serra, the other one’s name suddenly escaped me!
Grazie, Snir.
della Sera, sorry
Transfer or Lurk?
Lurk it is then. 🙂
13.29: Yossi Benayoun has just been on the Twitter to confirm that he’s in talks with two Premier League clubs over a loan move.
He started the tweet by saying ‘Morning.’ Pleasant, but inaccurate.
heh
Completely ignored the post number, could easily have inadvertently self-assisted.
Well played, bt8, heh.
@JohnnyDuerden: Certainly looks like Park Chu-young is on his way to Spain and Celta Vigo
Barton has passed his medical in Marseille.
Transfer depends on M’Bia doing the opposite journey though.
No NB, no Park, perhaps no Chamakh.
Arsene, what are you up to ;)?
Theo as 3rd option?
Afternoon All
Snir thanks for the transfer gossip/news/updates. I have to say that the chances of us completing our ‘transfer out’ business TODAY are about as likely as us bringing in a new player this TW (with the possible exception of a loan). I know it’s only my opinion and yours is just as valid but it strikes me that with the Theo solution temporarily resolved, AW is content that his acquisitions are complete until Xmas (maybe).
PS: I’m having great difficulty accessing the drinks (stop cheeirng at the back!!!). I can access the posts no problem but when clicking on the drinks it generally pauses before declaring that the IE page has stopped working and needs to restart. Is anyone here experiencing the same or similar problems? I’m using a Windows 7, 64 Bit OS and IE9.
I’m starting to warm to the idea of signing Llorente.
The only issue for me is Wenger has not replaced RVP and no matter who he signs, if he does, it is not a given that striker will hit the ground running.
The Wenger plan has obviously taken a different shape than was expected this summer.
The countdown to the window closure continues.
GTerry, bashy man, Course mi is Jamaican breddy.
Wa a gwaan key? I an I got mi chalice and I bun whole heap a herb. Di Babylon naa badda mi,all fruits ripe.
Mi step out yah.Mi a Champion and mi gwaan hab a bashment.
Mi link yu up layta mi key.
TS
Has already been reported.
By the looks of things has also been sorted. Hang on…
Yes now sorted
…back up to ‘speed’ 😆
Ollie. I might be able to help you with chelsea tickets. Drop me an e mail and I will explain all.
Snir. Top gossip. Not sure anyone will notice no Chamakh, Bendtner or park not being at training????
tabs is bredren, who knew?
In my fevered imaginings, we are busy clearing space on the wage bill for Llorente and have had M’Vila on lock down all summer just waiting to low-ball Rennes in the final hours of the window.
Then I exhale, and realise that the most likely outcome here is no further squad additions.
It’s a great shame, as I think that this summer, for the first time in a while, there’s been some decent value to be had in the market.
Ollie @ #305 – clearly, they didn’t give him any psychological health checks.
PS: Will join you in Tollie for C*ntski @ home 🙂
8 Ball
has to be none other than me, Gooner Bolt
*strikes a pose*
Thanks Gt, my access to the drinks seems to be ok at the mo’ (stop booing at the back!!!)
Cheers Steve T.
Much appreciated.
But don’t worry. Going to a wedding in the Cotswolds on the Friday, haven’t looked at the travel options on the Saturday morning, I know it’s doable, but I don’t know what state I’ll be in, so for once might be a fairweather fan, not force myself to wake up early and just head to the pub to watch the game or what’s left of it when I arrive in London.
TS 305, are you sure? I think he’ll fit right in 😉
More from Wengers’ PC currently taking place.
** Koscielny back in squad, Szczesny faces test
** Wenger – Walcott will not leave this summer
** ‘We are active in the transfer window’
** Wenger – No transfer agreements in place
@ however going by the entries above, Esso is the quickest!
😉
@ 313
I had my suspicions, despite his pale skinned disguise.
It was the way his eyes went all starry at the very mention of grass – length of it, grass skirts, grass action…..he was always first to.
Yeah, his real name isn’t Wolfie – it’s Herbie. 8)
No worries TS.
You’re lucky you get boo’d. They just ignore me! 😉
Dr.z knows at #321 😎
Rasclat!
Awww… Gt needs some lurv bredren 🙂
@321
I knew it.
It’s Herbie Hide everyone. 😉
Thanks for putting in a good word for me TS!
😉
Ollie. So it was all a big fuss over nothing then? 😉
Let me know ASAP if you need tickets. May have 2 available.
https://p.twimg.com/A1jMA5FCQAACnzV.jpg
MCFC team photo.
No Dzeko.
It’s Herbie, hide everyone!
Actually I’ve just found Dzeko.
Next to Rodwell. Looking to his right.
Defoe has signed a new contract extension at Spurs.
Sky Sports understands that the Spurms are sneakily slivering around trying the flash the remainder of their Modric money around at anything their spies see Arsenal execs eyeing up (namely Llorente and M’Vila).
Right time to line up a few players for them to spend on:
Bendy
Schilli
*Where’s their shiny brochures when you need em?*
TS @313 – Wa a gwaan? Mi baan a Jamaican Yardie. Mi naa wrap up. Dat wicked nuh?
Berbatov is off the hit list as he is undergoing a medical at Fulham
Heh @ 332
More ex-Gunners to Citeh:
13.58: We didn’t see this one coming. Manchester City have replaced Stuart Taylor with Richard Wright as their third-choice goalkeeper. Nice work if you can get it.
heh
Steve T, I was just ‘marvelling’ as the new cat. A prices.
Wow. Frustrating to see how difficult it is to offload the Squillacis and Parks.
I think Squillaci and Chamakh will still be with us next week.
Dr Z Wha’ppun star? Naa mess wit no ragamuffin! Yu wanna romp wit me? 😉
heh at tabs.
Herbie ‘an’cock ? That’s still Wolfie.
At the draw rehearsal Arsenal had Zenit St. Petersburg, BATE Borisov and Galatasaray in their group. “On that front it is not too good [for journeys]!” Wenger smiled.
They have a draw ‘rehearsal’ ?!?
And people are still wondering whether it’s fixed? :s
Only joking Ollie. Mine are cheaper than that I’m pleased to say. I dread to think now much Trev’s seat is for a cat A game.
Tabs,
Wa dee hell yu taarkin aboht man ?
Haha Ollie 🙂 You all might think I’m a bit deluded with all this Jamaican yardie chit-chat, but by my reckoning you lot all started the delusional stuff with all the transfer talk!
Just tryin’ to fit in! And of course to please GTerry.
God knows Trev! 🙂
Trying to please GoonerTerry is a haarrdd task. 😉
Steve T – £100 last season – haven’t dared to look this season. 🙁
Good Day peeps! Been up to no good today, it’s what I do best, I’m afraid…Holic, at your convenience, please check your inbox (have courage, my son). Be back later to dissect the drinks. But so good to see Gooner Terry and Dapper Dan in the mix. And Ollie, I saw yours. And may I just say a quick hi to Fun (just cause)!
Steve T – £2,000 per season (all bar £45, and not club level)
Only takes just over 5 of us to pay Thee-o for ONE DAY !!!
Yardie over transfer horsesh*t all day long and twice on Sundays.
I’ll ask Edwin to prepare a translating device for The Bar.
Our work is done people. The departure lounge is loaded with Park and Bendy and I reckon that’s pretty much it. Arsene and Ivan are away from their respective offices tomorrow so there’s no-one to sign any new paperwork even if there was some 😉
Stand-down patient ging-gang-Geuli, time to kick-back and relax.
I’m choosing to get behind what we’ve got. It is what it is, should be good enough for Top 4 and with a following wind, who knows?IMO only, of course.
😎
Ollie, please keep yours covered up. 😉
TS – where will AW and Ivan be tomorrow then ?
Good to see nurse abb spreading some love action to Gt.
Ollie – Brilliant at #340. Eastern Europe it is. Don’t we have a chance to travel to Transylvania too??? Cue inordinate amounts of blood-sucking punnery.
Trev. Perhaps that’s where dear little Theo got his reality check from???? Put lije that makes you realise how frightening it all is.
Herbie appears to be going bananas
I thought you were our ITK man, Dr.T? 😉
All I know is that AW did his presser today and I’m fairly sure the fence-painter supreme is in Central Europe tomorrow.
@352 – as long as that’s all she spreads ! 😉
Don’t know how reliable this is, but certainly interesting.
@Aaronsenal: Make of this what you will. I have just seen this guy in a hotel near London Colney with an Arsenal water bottle and a folder from…
@Aaronsenal: … The premier league called Learning to speak English. He was accompanied by a much older man in a suit and went into a conference room.
@Aaronsenal: This is the guy (left) #AFC http://t.co/YjYYarhJ
Resembles Sven or Lars Bender.
TS. –
I have it from an impeccable source that Ivan has left a pile of pre-signed contracts in his office. 😉
Don’t ask.
Please, please please, let it be Bender!
Apparently AVB has ruled out all of the signings they deserve and has been coy on those also linked to us.
I see it hasn’t taken him long to catch on to the Haringey Happy Train!
Seeing Snir’s posts today, I can’t even start to imagine how he will be tomorrow?
And have UEFA no sense, making the CL draw in the middle of the most exciting 24 hours of the football season?
Rumors going around that Bellamy will announce his retirement shortly, despite just signing for Cardiff.
And heh at Wolfie.
You got to love The transfer window (even without Harry Redknapp).. Now apparently Cesc to Arsenal doing rounds on twitter.
LOL
Who needs twitter when you’ve got Snir?
Ollie – I’m skipping school tomorrow.
Not nearly as important as the Deadline Day 🙂
Any more draw predictions?
Seeing as UEFA like a ‘reunion’, I say we’ll draw either Malaga or Montpellier, Chelsea will draw Lille, and Spurs will draw Real Madrid.
How, hang on.
Snir 366 😀
Skipping school you know?
Yeah love transfer deadline news. Like:
* Lloris refuses to sign for Spurms even though Lyon has accepted the money**
*RVDV tries hopelessly to join Hamburg and is willing to take a pay cut*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Peri%C5%A1i%C4%87
Jumping the gun are we?
The pic does resemble him though 🙂
Brilliant Trev and a very cheeky heh! @ #356.
I am so hoping you’re right (about the paperwork, that is!!) and that one or two new faces turn-up so that we can put up a healthy and sustained fight for the title but I’m now choosing to be very laid-back about the whole tedious affair. I also note that Patient GGG is trying to get our juices flowing again. Oooh matron!
Snir, I can confirm that the picture you linked to looks very much like the inside of The Noke Thistle Hotel which is indeed quite close to LC. Other than that I say pffft with a large helping of meh on the side e.g. when was that photo taken? Yes, that fella could be a Bender (oooh matron again) but it’s very unclear.
Always happen to be proven wrong on these things 😎
Well Snir, his wiki page suggests he’s just signed for Santos, heh.
‘And have UEFA no sense, making the CL draw in the middle of the most exciting 24 hours of the football season?’
By ‘exciting’ I presume you actually mean ‘most hideously tedious’.
Hahaha, it did say ‘2012 – Santos’ when I first opened it, and now that I have re-opened it says ‘2012 – Arsenal’.
Heh at people who update that sort of things during the transfer window. Is it your work, Snir? 😀
Charlie, there might have been a hint of ‘irony’ in my post indeed 😉
Anyway, fuck this, I’m home so I can watch the CL draw and, possibly, make corresponding arrangements.
‘going home’ of course, not there yet….
@JamieDalton82: Oh look. It’s a Macedonian Goalkeeper. http://bit.ly/OLL6HH – Deni Illiev, 17, From FK Belastica – Thank you @JLefasie for the link.
Ollie – I don’t know how to do that crap, I once tried to edit a wiki page, and it was TH14’s.
The fact that he had a picture with a Barca shirt pissed me off. 🙂
Ollie –
They take so long to get round to the ‘actual’ draw that i’ll prob be home to catch it.
Boom boom! 😆
(I know)
Ollie – I thought there might be but best to never assume anything on the internet!
Strip yourself of any notion of the ‘internet’ when you are in ‘holic`s bar Charlie.
And watch out for Wolfie 🙂
So we signed a Macedonian for a keeper. Fantastic news!! Four legs instead of two, pees on posts and people who get too close, and has a ferocious bite. Picture:
http://puppydogweb.com/caninebreeds/sarplaninac.htm
Who’s Alvaro? :s
I’ve been home 10 minutes, and not a piece of paper has been put in a hat.
Or whichever way they do it these days…..
That’s a long speech just to tell us basically that the draw is rigged, eh?
Arsenal in group B
Schalke from pot 2.
Huntelaar vs van Persie.
Oh 🙁
Can’t get Dortmund now which is good news.
City getting Real Madrid – ha!
No Lille vs Chelsea.
Bizarre.
Olympiacos from pot 3
Olympiacos again then, maybe a good draw, but not a great trip, bah.
Not too bad so far.. Though Im tired of seeing us play the greeks every time.
I would have preferred Juve or PSG.. We need some real glamour ties in the group stages.
Otherwise really boring.
I would not have preferred PSG or Juventus!
Well there’s no glamour tie in that 4th pot since we can’t get Dortmund.
Monteipeller..Though will be nice..
Meh..
happy with schalke and olympiakos. now for a good pot 4!
As long as we avoid a loong trip in 4, anyting works.
i’d be happy with montpellier or malaga. santi helps us beat malaga makes a great story line. a true one, if you will.
looks like psg paid the right people.
montpellier! giroud goes home!
Yess!! montpellier
Montpellier then!
were going to montpellier
so group b has arsenal, schalke, olympiakos, and montpellier. nice, nice draw. let’s slaughter it.
who’s tottenham playing? ooh, sorry.
toughish group for chel$ki, hope mancs can get dortmund.
German, Greek and French food to savour. Who could complain about that? 🙂
manure gets a free frickin’ pass again.
*sees Man City’s group*
*starts laughing*
Don’t worry scuz I made the mistake of telling my spud mates at work the draw was about to start!
oooh, city is farked. group d is a killer: madrid, city, ajax, dortmund.
lol, goonertown. it’s thursday, so they must have thought they had *something* to do.
Scuz
Keh!
Apparently AVB cannot decide between Capoue and M’Vila
We should confuse them a little and enquire about Squillaci
(Yeah I know)
shalke great trip cheap beer ,great stadium,amazing ambiance, montpellier just to watch Nicollin circus and its a great city , please stop make us play the greek everytime its becoming boring now
but then it could worst we could play away at borisov , Nordsjaelland ( copy paste 😀 ) or get Man city group 😉
I want us to take Capoue , what do we have Toulouse?
Sorry.
I shall try to do Germany and France again this season.
The draw is extraordinarily similar to last year.
It’s quite naughty to suggest Spurs are interested in Capoue, when Snir is away, Gtown 😉
Karl Adams on Twitter: “As a Spurs fan, hearing about the Champions League draw is painful.”
Nurse ABB: Can’t we do something for this poor man? My heart bleeds for him..
😯
GT,
Arsenic, Hemlock, three silver bullets, or a wooden stake.
What will it take?
Silver Bullets & Stake to the heart might be more humane for the poor fella – don’t want him suffering too much do we?
🙂
Montpellier away is the first game!
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/arsenal-get
It seems to be cheap to get to Montpellier on the Tuesday, but not so cheap to come back from there either Wednesday or Thursday.
Will have to think it out tomorrow.
It’s still cheaper than London, despite being about twice further I think.
gt, how about telling him all about it, in detail, then? for hours? maybe even throw in a description of the europa league draw, discussing the quality of the teams in that competition? suggest maybe you can get him a date with a supermodel, but only on specific thursday nights in the fall, and if he can’t make all the dates without phone or internet connection he can’t have one?
So where are the outs.. So far we havent found any takers for Squillaci, Arshavin and Chamakh..
So thats the 17 foreigners then. Good news about Theo though.
Ollie
True. Sorry in advance Snir. Was a Joke 😉
montpellier away followed by city away. oly home after chelsea home. schalke home between norwich away and qpr home. schalke away after united away. montpellier home after scum home. finishing with oly away between swans and the baggies, both home.
ok, then. city away is the only tough ask here, due to the schedule.
**Transfer News**
AVB denies making rejected bids for Remy, Lloris and M’Villa after hearing we are not interested in neither.
The transfer window deadline countdown continues!
TGSTEL on for a juve medical tomorrow.
http://www.football-italia.net/24502/juve-bendtner-medical-tomorrow
Scruz
Wow Citeh better watch out!
This has to be the most amusing set of drinks in quite awhile. You fellas must have been a handful during your school years (sighing). No, really enjoyed them all. But I must say I don’t want Bendy tainting Juve. Maybe Gigi can set him strait. Disappointed that Player hasn’t shown any clips of our lads beating Marseille yet. Must learn to be patient.
So how hard is it to get multiple tickets to a Wednesday night CL game at the Em’s?
Do they release them to red level members like they do other home games?
NCA. Group games is often doable.
I think they’ve changed the ways or are changing this year.
Used to be no reserved tickets for Reds and no TX.
I think now they are going to release some for Reds, can’t remember.
But Tx will definitely work (never the easiest for multiple tickets together though).
Abb, there are highlights of the marseille game up on player
But yeah, no big ‘draw’ in this draw if I dare say, so I don’t think you should struggle for home CL group games, especially if you can get on the internet at the time they’ll be released to Reds.
Sparta Prague – Feyenoord …1:0 after 2:2 in first leg away. Take that former RvWhos team:P
Early evening all; and a special one to all of the regulars at the joint!
A large one for all please Barkeep in celebration of Merc Oil for an early departure from Europe’s Premier competion! 😀
Easy now Rastaman! 😎
Ollie @257,
For sure and now we see why! Group D for Death indeed! 😀
Snir @278,
Cheers bud! Now get on to Arsene and get him to hurry the fcuk up already!
Interesting shout on Twitter from a generally reliable source:
AFCAMDEN @AFCAMDEN:
Arsenal have enquired about three PL players and one Ligue 1 player. 1 of the PL players is Michael Essien
Thanks Ollie. Will keep my eyes open.
Like I said before I will be in UK for 2 weeks in Nov and want to see as much live Arsenal as possible. Spuds, montpellier, A Villa would be an awesome sampling if I can get the family boss to OK such things. If I try to include the kids I might get more leeway with such things
Glad am enlightened already,
fact, we will top our champs league group, fact, the nextgen looks promising because there is a saying i believe in- there is light at the end of the tunnel, if its still dark, u are not yet at the end of the tunnel! Fact, walcott will stay, he’s daddy’s only son, the other ones r as good as dead, cesc was adopted.
Norcalarsenal160, would lyk to be in that part of the world, stuck here with rudisha supporting arsenal. COYG
NorCal Thanks! Will check now. Wish me luck.
Michael Essien.. Very interesting.
Essien is a fantastic player.. But does his knees function anymore?
I’d take Essien on a year loan if cost effective. How about little Yossi again too!
Allegedly, the two Prem clubs Yossi has been speaking to today are Fulham and QPR.
Loved him last season, top man, but not sure we have such a pressing need for him this time round now we have Podolski.
Essien would be an intriguing proposition, and would suggest (to me at least) that Le Prof is placing a lot of faith in Coquelin’s development.
Not to mention Frimpong.. As NorCal said a loan would be ideal. I doubt we can meet Essiens full wages anyways and too risky to get such an injury ravaged player..
but no doubting his abilities though..
essien, dempsey, dzeko? plus capoue? yes, please, if it means no one else out other than squid, park, and chamakh…
coq, frimps, capoue, and essien as a “dm” cluster would certainly be tasty. especially if the latter were on loan, with chel$ki paying a big chunk’o’wages.
90th minute, sparta in 2-0 lead and czech commentator “Right now the possibility of Sparta not making it to Europa League group stage is pretty much the same as the possibility of our members of parliament giving away their immunity” ..gotta love that chap.
Without any hard information to back it up, I have a feeling we’re taking a long, hard look at Dempsey.
I have it on fairly good authority that we had a go at signing him last August before we got Arteta, so Arsene obviously sees some value in him.
Dempsey and Essien would feel like the kind of mid-range, cost-effective, give you a bit of a buzz but don’t exactly blow your mind signings that you might expect from Arsenal in the last week of August.
Anyway, tomorrow will tell. I get the sense that no-one has any bloody idea what’s going on tonight except (hopefully) IG and Le Boss!
So I watched and I’m a believer! Their crosses, long balls and timing with their assists, utterly fantastic. They really seem to have an understanding of team work and an appreciation of where their players are at any one time, making for what looked like a very fluid game. Cheers to these lads! Almost forgot to brag about those crosses they made, picture perfect.
If they even go close to Capoue……..
snir, you say that like it’s a bad thing.
fuck, Bordeaux are a goal down 🙁
Need 2 goals now.
just watched the highlights and I have to fully agree with abb, those lads looks like really strong side, pure dominance. Id dare to say this team would devastate vast majority of czech top flight league :O
Hey Snir, you wanna get yourself off to twitter sharpish. Bit of a bunfight between two Arsenal ITK’s. Things look like boiling over, needs your calming influence mate.
Mr C tried to pour soothing CMC waters on the whole thing but just succeeded in inflaming the hostility.
I predict the fallout might include lots of tasty gossip for you to feast on.
Need to give them some happy pills from the cabinet..
Ah Mr C, now where were we? 🙂
Fuck it I prefer a good old-fashioned punch up! All the Twatter – style “hostilitity” is for Poofs ..
🙂
Snir drew my attention to the Lyon ‘communiqué’ on their website (*washes hands*) and I have to heh it.
It basically says that Spuds are lying, cheating Scum.
1-1 but down to 10 men.
Need ‘holic’s lucky charm to work.
tabs: ‘fight between 2 Arsenal ITKs’?
Hahahahahaha
good goal bordeaux 2-1
Three hours left to get your competition entries in ‘holics.
And thank you nurse, on behalf of this motley crew 😉
Don’t know how you lot manage to keep track of everything on the WEB – I only follow 4 blogs regularly and visit only Goonerholic everyday and I can’t even keep up with that!
Maybe I should just not read every, single drink like Ollie – but that would be like cheating wouldn’t it? .. ah well now to see what Arseblog is moaning about today…
P.S. I love you too Trev becuase unlike me you are not hard to please at all .. now where did I put his whip?
🙁
Don’t know how you lot manage to keep track of everything on the WEB – I only follow 4 blogs regularly and visit only Goonerholic everyday and I can’t even keep up with that!
Maybe I should just not read every, single drink like Ollie – but that would be like cheating wouldn’t it? .. ah well now to see what Arseblog is moaning about today…
P.S. I love you too Trev because unlike me you are not hard to please at all .. now where did I put his whip?
🙁
2-1! But too much time left
To quote a Brian Moore tweet;
If a man makes a statement and no women is around to hear it. Is he still wrong?
🙂
Holic, do I need to put my entry in again on email, or do you have it from the drinks. (email was locked out at the time) ?
@470 – 🙂
You’re welcome Holic!!!
Tabs
I was on Geoff’s side until he started name calling.
All very funny though!
I don’t have the pictures, but looks like the Bordeaux game is turning into a mess.
With over 10 minutes to go, may be down to 9 due to having used all subs and being victim of an aggression (that seemingly only yielded a yellow).
This will end badly 🙁
Ollie – still 10 playing
Mind you this ref woudn’t look out of place in EPL – oh
Ah, I get it now: apparently Clattenburg is refereeing the Bordeaux game!
Hey Eandy, get this. Everytime I use spell check it turns your name to Randy, and then I have to start all over again (like now)! Anyway, what I wanted to say is that you might be right, they really look a proper team. Their crosses reminded me of Bechkam’s, back in the day. No TR yet, 2-3 more weeks, miss him.
Ah, cheers cognac, the francefootball text commentary had Gouffran going out on a stretcher but didn’t have him coming back!
Useless!
Mail would be easier Trev…
Oh, I have les Girondins v Red Star on. Allez, allez.
Mr C, to be honest all ITKs (apart from Snir) get on my tits. Dont mind that Geoff bloke though – he’s clearly got contacts at the Club and the stuff he does release at least has the whiff of truth about it.
That Camden bloke though just seems to me like a young kid after followers. I know several here have said that he’s reliable but I’ve yet to see it.
Firmly in Ollie’s camp.
As for the spat itself, hilarious.
oh dear 2-2
Will do, boss.
Oh dear 🙁
Wish I hadn’t found it now…
On a more important note. Basketball GB v germany in Paralympics on C4 Now. Mental
Good old Clattenberg 🙂
Bollocks, that’s ruined my day.
wot a pelanty now?
What a finish 🙂
Lucky charm…
3-2 the good uns
Ooooooohhhhh ! 😉
3-2!!!
Yayyyyy!
Surez just fucked up a good chance.
Hope it continues until Monday! 😉
Bordeaux escaped by skin of the teeth
Proper Arsenal-style lucky charm, ‘holic!
Never making it easy 😉
Fires home. ?!?
Gouffran!
Oh…..
Time for a route 1 long ball into the box..
Oh well, I was hoping that today was completely lucky, but someone else will have that half-millenium.
Taking a gamble, as there are only 499 as I type.
Olliepound on cognac.
Good rebound Trev…well in.;-)
Well that was cognac or Trev, I wanted to take a punt that had better odds 😉
Well in Trev.
I think you have to kick off from the centre circle, not from within the nets, UPs 😉
Deflects in the rebound, pulls his Paddy Pants up and runs off to celebrate……
The fuckin Reds seem to be plumping up Sahin to face the club he ‘snubbed’, by giving him the Royal box treatment at their games.
To be honest he looks bored shitless!
Sure he’s got better things to do on a Thursday eve than watch the team he’s been forced to carry for the next 8+ months!
Poor git!
Hahahah abb ..maybe your spellcheck knows me too much 😛 And as for TR, I cant wait to see him play along with Santi and Mikel, even in cup games this midfield combo would make my hairs on hairs stand!
Surez just titted another chance and kneed the keeper in the process! Heh!
Trev, no fair. I’m telling Gooner Terry! Ollie, wish I could have seen the game as it sounded like a cracker (lots of drama).
Goonertown, I’m just watching…
Me nurse ? What did I do ?
For an early tip about the ‘holic pound read tomorrow’s Talking Heads on .com
Ollie 504….with Mark Clattenburg refereeing the match, I assumed he didn’t see it cross the line 😉
Hey Eandy, that’s a pretty scenario you paint. Come to think of it, we have more than a few variations to the midfield, really something to anticipate and enjoy. And spell check has your #!
Oh Trev, just messing with you (makes me happy).
Re: Dr. C @470. Hilarious!! So good I would claim that as an original if I were you. 😀
heh ups!
You big mediawhore, ‘holic 😉
Looking forward to it.
Oh dear ..another one with my number :O ..I must stop being Giroudesque handsome 😛
Trev, thought the premature ejac…,
I mean shot was going to trip you up. But you showed the stamina and wear with all to “tip” in the rebound. Well done sir!
Suarez would be a lot better if he could shoot.
515 abb…hope mrs Trev does not read the drinks 😉
Glad to be of service in that case, abb.
Well in Trev .. now aren’t you glad I’ve been whipping you into shape? 😎
NorCal –
50% of my goals have been rebounds off the bum. The rest have just been lucky. 😉
Thanks Mr Whippy. 😉
Multiple chuckles earned by the holic
abb
Yeah it’s just the same old boring shit!
IKK part 1:
RVP had issues with personell – there you go!
haa Liverpool being held by hearts. Good ole Reina
Roll on Sunday! Heh!
holics! Oh dear, Pepe just had a howler, and I went a little mad.
ITK Part 2 :
Wenger has met with Essien – There you go!
Sorry not IKK (durr)
Hey Uply! The gang is here. Darn Suarez, goal…
FOR FUCK SAKE
What shit defending
Them damn Hearts worked hard for that freak goa tool! Muppets!
Home to Coventry in the League Cup
Goonertown, look at it this way. They have to recover from their exertions, before they take us on.
abb…hope that’s Suarez quota for the next week or 2.
Home to the sky blues in the capital beer milk cup….that’s Coventry not ManOilSlicker. Good opportunity to play some of the yoof.
ITK Part 3:
The Scousers are seriously considering joining the Llorente chase now they have constructively dismissed Andy Carroll!
abb
Yes, even though they tried to rest most of their starting XI, the players which carry them were all there baby!
Could be a Sunday Roast!
Frogs legs with that anyone?
Goonertown – the combined cost of that team of muppets would buy you about 1per cent of Jordan Henderson.
Just have a think about that….
Well, in the eleventh hour – quite literally! – I managed to come up with a suggestion for the abb-sponsored stone. One item of e-mail has been sent!
Uply, hope so. Suarez will be tricky, he’s such a worm. Later on we must worry about Torres and Tevez.
Lars, that’s wonderful. Good luck and cheers!
Apoel went from the darlings of the champions league last year to not making the group stages of Europa league this year. Cruel sport this game is.
And how did manure get such a easy draw AGAIN. And mancs get “group of death ” AGAIN.
Suarez is such a slippery bastard. I still like Kos as his personal marker this weekend.
Shock! Horror! News from the UK Meteorological Office.
Apparently the weather in the UK has been bloody awful this year.
Who knew?
Night all.
Roxette wants to send some flowers to Nurse Abb for finding a way of restricting Dr Feelgood to saying just a few words.
A skill set that Mrs Feelgood is keen to acquire, so she says.
For the record, Feelgood struggled to find words with 14 characters that didn’t say Jagerbombs x 2. 8)
Oh Zico, bless you lad. Good luck and Hi Rox, you’re my hero.
Snir is back on the main page of Arsenal Player 🙂
Heh Zico ….maybe 2cnd line…..on Lars tab 🙂
Heh, Nice one Ups, wish I’d thought of that.
Maybe Dr Disorder can put his own entry in, should he ever regain consciousness….
Zico – Hopefully Dr Disorder remained unconscious till past the deadline as I fear his entry would be against the spirit in which it is being donated by Nurse abb 🙂
Scruz – I meant Spurs.
Tabs – He correctly revealed Cazorla, Jack’s setback, Arteta’s injury in January, Song leaving, etc. He’s reliable.
I got Dr C to send me highlights of anything important while I was in class.
Fuck this, I can’t do this no more. I’m skipping school tomorrow!
Snir into Warp III. !
Snir skipping class, tisk tisk. Never cut class. My teachers were Nuns. Cleaned their bird cage after school. Hard job being a teacher (professor). Grading papers and judging competitions, not for the faint hearted! But in your case Snir, you deserve a break. Enjoy the ensuing madness.
abb- I’m pretty sure I can afford to miss one class for the Transfer Deadline Day. My GPA is the best it could be (4.0).
🙂
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2196041/Arsenal-want-Michael-Essien-loan.html
Just for info. Makes a bit of sense to me I must say.
Was already rejected Steve.
I would take him, to be honest. Was a world beater before his long term injury in 2010.
Snir . come on, the kid is 21. He might know someone at the Club but he gets fuck all that isn’t already out there.
As for Cazorla, injuries, Song, all that stuff is generally already public knowledge. It is utter nonsense and is merely a juvenile quest for followers.
Where was that Snir? Have I missed something?
I think it makes sense to me but not sure it is even a possibility. I agree with you, pre 2010 he was simply awesome.
Tabs – I’m not his friend and I haven’t talked to him in my life. All I know is that he released info that WASN’T in the public domain when he released it.
Only after he tweeted it, it became news stories and common knowledge.
And I’m certain of that.
Go back to January before Swansea away. I just started following him, and wrote here that I have no idea how reliable it is, but he tweeted that Arteta is out (even though AW and the journos didn’t say anything about it), and it turned out he was right.
http://www.football365.com/f365-features/8009965/F365-Focus
laurent koscielny, the man who doesn’t make sense.
funny.
It was on twitter that it was rejected, but there’s still life in it.
Everton also tried for Essien, and were rejected as well.
I have a feeling we will get Essien. It would happen if AW pushes for it, which I assume he would if he’s stuck with no signings late at night.
Jol giving out signals that Dempsey wants a Champions League club, or a potential CL club.
I still believe we’ll bid for him.
Essien, and Dempsey tomorrow? Doesn’t sound too far-fetched.
Top, top, top quality ?
top, top, trev. or maybe just top.
Snir. Dempsey is a pit bull terrier who grew up in a Texas trash heap so he certainly has a nose for goal. I would be thrilled to see him at Arsenal.
bt8b, agreed. a little snarl in our front line wouldn’t go amiss. same thing with essien, if his knees aren’t shot. there’s a gravitas there we haven’t had in the midfield since pv4 left. and between kozzer, chezza, and tv5, it’s there in the defense.
I’d take both Snir. I think they each offer us something we don’t have at the club. Dempsey is pretty versatile and can find the net. Essien a big strong on the ball type with a great outside shot.
Both on loan? Or has Clint pissed the waters too much in Fulham to just be a loan?
What about a versatile defender? None available for us? Ah well. Really hope we do better with injuries this year then.
I concur. I’d be happy with Capoue and Dempsey to top off a decent window for us. By the way, I’ve no problem with us keeping Theo,as long as he’s true to his word of wanting to sign a new contract.
Dempsey won’t play for Fulham again, after he fell out with the club this off-season.
They’re asking 7-8m pounds. We can of course offer AA23, who is rumored to wanna stay in London as he and his family are settled in London, especially after Mrs. Arshavin gave birth.
Impec1 – If we get Capoue, I’ll be dancing around here.
But we won’t.
Ghana web reporting AW will try for Essien again today. Club willing to pay 60% of his 100k wages.
Regular drinkers will remember that I plumped for Dempsey before the transfer window even opened. Despite his recent disappointing behavior, I still feel he would be a terrific asset for us.
I’d still be excited to sign him (then we can sing The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You), but I’d feel a little dirty about rewarding the type of player behavior I despise.
I’m meh on Essien. He’s not the “same Essien” I loved to hate (because he was such a monster).
Roll on Friday (so we can end this transfer guff) and let’s really take the Mickey from the mugsmashers.
BMBD
Damn, Snir… now you’re reading Ghanian interweb stories? C’mon bro 🙄
BMBD
Snir: I bet you would as I know you’ve been singing Capoue’s praises for a while now. I think he’s a good, disciplined player and would definitely add to the dynamics of our squad but as you said, it’s not going to happen. As it relates to Essien, I think those bad knee injuries have taken their toll. Thus, I’m not too excited about him but if we actually get him, I might feel different. Dempsey would be good though as he’s a very versatile player who seems hungry to play at a big club.
I think it’s more to do with the loss of confidence from AVB and RDM that took its toll on Essien, rather than the injuries, because he wasn’t half bad when he came back.
As soon as Ancellotti left, Essien started to get to know the bench, as did fat Frank.
Dempsey is a great signing. Great player. Much better than Sturridge, who we’re rumored to be interested in.
Snir:
What time does the transfer deadline end, US time?
Here we have the Arsenal management team sitting up plotting transfer strategy:
http://blogs-images.forbes.com/toddhixon/files/2012/06/Smoke-filled-room.png
It looks like they received a phone call from someone who wants to buy Bendtner, Chamakh or both. 😉
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rnuk/2467995003/
Bad news. It looks like an agent has distracted AW from his Subbuteo game.
http://www.toonpool.com/user/17876/files/transfer_window_1417925.jpg
Gedo,
Window closes at 11 pm London.
So, 6 pm east, 5 central, 4 mountain and 3 pm here in smokey Northern California.
I am afraid AW closed the bringing in part of the window weeks ago. Hope I am wrong even if it’s a loan deal.
Nice 8 ball but we don’t use credit. Haha
No thank you as it relates to Sturridge. I don’t rate him at all. He’s a player who thinks he’s way better than he actually is. Sturridge is a hybrid of TGSTEL who we’re desperate to get rid of.
Thanks NorCal. With all of the drinking in the bar tomorrow, I’m forecasting a unproductive day in the office tomorrow. C’mon Arsene, make it happen.
6 P.M EST
It does close on the 4th of September in France though.
Too much work not leaving enough time for back drinking. Got to knock that on the head. Silver lining is that most of the dog-end of the transfer window has slipped by me unnoticed. Any deadwood shed or tomorrow’s deadwood arrived?
NBN. Bendtner seems to be on his way to Juventus if preliminary reports turn out to be accurate. As far as tomorrow’s deadwood, may they rest in peace at Tottenham Hotspur FC. 😉
Essien has twice ruptured his cruciate ligament and had meniscal damage to his knee in between. Since the first rupture he has played a total of 14, 33, 14 and 11 league games in the four most recent seasons for Chelsea. How badly banged up is he? Or is the idea that we’d get a dozen games each out of him, Frim and the Coq?
bt8b: Tks. If it was a choice of Turin or Stoke, I can see why TGSTEL would head south.
Today is Snir day. Morning all.
Essien? No thanks, he’s nowhere near the same player he used to be and as Ned points out, not exactly Mr Reliable.
Dempsey? Yes please. I think he’d be a great addition to our squad.
Morning all….. It seems the deadwood stage is a riding on into town & some of our deadwood will be leaving…..let’s hope so. However very quiet on any newbies. Maybe if Ollie could say for sure no further signings today, the infamous “Ollie Curses” will ensure otherwise. 😉
Lars I agree with you re Essien & Dempsey. Mind you with your infamous tab, I agree with all your pronouncements. 😉
I think we’ll get a player or two, Ups.
Now that’s doomed.
I find iz time for allyuh to watch meh spit hot fire.
For de first time innuh my God-given, man go be seeing all a dem good-for-nuttin slackers get signed for new teams and nothing but the toppa-top players coming in!
Listen to me brethren and you go realize who’s the new see-er-man!
Liquid.
I can’t believe that I’m actually updating Gang Goolie whilst he sleeps!!
He’s got me copying all relevant rumours to him, hardwiring it into his brain, so that he’s fired up and ready to go on waking….
I kid you not…
Morning all,
The missus has tampered with my Sky Go subscription and now I cannot log in, so until 5pm I’m going to be relying solely on other sources for the TDD updates.
Stay tuned here for ITK #4
Coming soon! 😆
“hardwiring it into his brain, so that he’s fired up and ready to go on waking….”
Imagine what a accidental extra ‘n’ could have done to that sentence…
Heh, the irony of trying to be funny about extra letters and then accidentally droping just that letter from a word in my own drink 🙂
I must say I have changed my mind – I am now quite looking forward to watching all the ITK:s on Twitter go into complete meltdown tonight. I think it might be quite hilarious to see all those with massively overblown perceptions of their own importance (yesterday I saw one ITK that said “Tomorrow I will be tweeting about transfers. Please RT”. That’s good to know, because if you didn’t then no one else would, right?) trying to pretend they were actually right about everyting they said even though they never had a clue to begin with.
ITK #4
Man Citeh have enquired about Yann M’Vila!
heh Lars. I think I will still be avoiding twitter like the plague today.
Especially now that I have sorted my Montpellier trip.
(although I still wonder at what stage will the boss ‘validate’ those days off…..).
@ 597
That’s how rumours start
I truly am the king of assists, voluntary or not!
Well in Gtown
ITK #5
Aston Villa agree fee for Clint Dempsey
Ollie @ 601-
I didn’t know anything about it, (must have been deflected by my knee) but saying that…
*skids along the floor and kisses the Totteringham clock before being bundled by the rest of the squad *
ITK #6
Ryan Babel is available on a free
ITK #7
Van Der Wiel in advancde talks with PSG
ITK #8
Park and Bendtner both having medicals (two down, one the go)
You’re worse than Snir 😉
Dempsey on his way to Villa?????
ITK #9
Rennes are refusing to budge on their asking price of 17 million Euros
@ 607 just providing mild competition. 😆
Dempsey to Villa sounds very odd to me. Why would he go to a club in a far worse state than Fulham?
Because it looks like he’s burnt all his bridges with Fulham and simply has to go ‘somewhere’, Lars?
ITK #10
Remy interested in Arsenal move (I bet he is)
I’m essentially cool with who we have at the moment, and think a lot of people (not necessarily here) are forgetting what great signings we have made, but…
This bit I don’t understand: If we knew we were going to get rid of Bendy and Park (not hard to work out), and we haven’t got anyone lined up to come in, why let Afobe go out on loan??
At least keep him until the last minute as cover. If no one else comes in, who would you want on the bench to get you a goal… Afobe or Chamakh??
Odd….
Playing devils ad here Catalan but me thinks Wenger rates Aneke higher!
As long as we keep Eisfeld Wenger can sell the remainder of the academy if he wants. 😆
Boom boom!
GT
Aneke not a striker though….
…more a CAM / No 10. Isn’t he?
ITK #11
Man Citeh are planning to hijack any good transfer leads going around today
Gtown. Quite a celebration @603. 🙂 Maybe this is why they call you the “bolt holic”?
Good Morning Deadline Day
@ 618 yes but I think AW will tell us he can play upfront too!
I don’t know how he works it all out to be honest!
But yeah no 10 more!
8 Ball –
It was a pleasure.
I love this bar.
*Kisses the clock again*
Aston Villa and Dempsey at impasse over money (what else). Barton passes medical (no psyche exam). Pep (ITK @ Camp Nou) wants to go to ACM. Afternoon all.
abb joining deadline day mayhem 😀 joy to watch …I am so glad I have no twitter account so I can purely rely on info shown here 😛
abb, wouldn’t it be great if a club said “well, he passed the medical but bombed on the psyche exam so we’ll have nothing more to do with that nutter thank you very much”? 🙂
Hey Eandy, no Twitter for me either. Sky Sports for me. Couldn’t sleep!
Afternoon Lars, amazing, lol. Betcha I could sell them some swamp land in South Florida.
ITK #11
Liverpool hijack Arsenal’s ‘enquiry’ of Sturridge and now say he is their priority today!
Keh!
I still think we could do a ‘jedi’ style Squillaci move today!
Probably should clarify about my Pep. Bojan discussed this when he arrived at ACM.
I see no new signing on .con, but a bigging up of Mannone:
LANS?
The main question of the day though is:
WHERE IS SNIR??!
Surely he should be up by now!
ITK #12
Clubs put off by Cabaye valuation
Goonertown @606 –
“Bendtner and Park having medicals”
Haven’t we got them already ? ………….
Ollie, don’t know if Woj can pass fit test…
Don’t we get an extra 2 days to complete our deals anyway ?
Charlie Adams arrives @ Stoke for medical. He has Bale’s kneecaps with him. He should fit in nicely there, methinks.
Only if it’s snowing lightly, Trev!
I see Rafael Fanny-Fart is heading for Hamburg. Great news, every semi-decent player leaving Spurs is a good thing 🙂
Juve and Celta Vigo respectively
Celta say Park has signed and Juve are only interested in a loan!
Meh!
😆
Lars
Fanny fart was wasted at spurms but Hamburg are no oil paintings themselves!
Abb @635 –
Thank you, most informative. FFF. 😉
Park has signed ?
Gnashing of millions of South Korean teeth accompanies sounds of shirts being torn up.
According to the Guardian, Milan have agreed a contract for Nigel de Jong – weekely pay of no less than £120.000. Madness.
abb, he should fit in very well but he’ll not see much of the ball unless he’s looking up in the sky as the Stoke keeper hoofs it towards Crouch…
abb 635, I somehow suspect he won’t.
Not sure what’s up with Fabianski either.
ITK # 13
Chelsea has started to receive further queries regarding Essien (a no brainer)!
Arsenal and Chelsea however are advanced and only need to agree terms!
Oh well, back to work…
Fab his back, right? Hey guys, this is kinda like Christmas and we’re all kids again.
Ollie – 632 – I’m up! Look at 621!!
@JamesOlley: Tottenham have agreed a fee with Porto in the region of £20m for Joao Moutinho. Personal terms to be discussed now. #thfc
No news on incoming 🙁
2 hours ago – which is year’s on TDD.
@JWTelegraph: Arsenal expecting one addition today. They have inquired for Michael Essien and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.
ITK # 14
Dempsey has expressed a wish to join Liverpool and as such, has rejected the move to Villa
Yep Snir, I can confirm that!(smiling).
Andrea Pirlo to Sydney…what a waste.
Ha! Welcome back, Snir! 🙂
You mean Del Piero surely, abb?
ITK #15
M’Vila has reiterated that if he does not get the move he ‘desires’ today he will remain at Rennes for ‘one more year’.
Rennes expect YM to leave in the next transfer window!
(Prob due to a lower price tag!)
It’s not about the money, money, money, we don’t need your money, money, money!
Hi Ollie, Don’t get it, just floors me.
Given the new price structure for games most definitely means an increase in ticket revenues for the club, it would be very very very nice if we’d buy a couple of players today….
abb, I don’t blame him. If Juve were not going to renew his contract (WHY?!?), Sydney is a nice place to go to.
I’ve always liked Del Piero a lot.
I knew it!
Gtown, I was surprised you were only at #15.
I can spot a #11 at 629 AND 619!
@YoungGunsBlog: Celta Vigo confirm the signing of Park Chu-Young from Arsenal. He will be presented at 5pm Spanish time tonight.
Picture to go with it.
http://twitter.com/AnnieEaves/status/241501004829446145/photo/1
Bordeaux vs Newcastle in Europe League.
@mattspiro: PSG have competition for Ajax right-back Gregory van der Wiel: Arsenal and Newcastle are also keen, according to RMC radio in France
Ollie well spotted!
@rccelta_oficial: Park Chu-Young, nuevo fichaje del Real Club Celta, será presentado en el Estadio de Balaídos esta tarde, a partir de las 17.00 horas.
Jamie Sanderson @YoungGunsBlog
Chu-Young signs for Celta on a season-long loan with view to a permanent deal. Club website calls him ‘an extraordinary talent’
hahahhaha…. define “extraordinary” !!
Snir
Thought I’d re-post it in Arabic too!
بارك تشو يونج، المنضم حديثا من نادي سلتا ريال، سيتم تقديم على ملعب Balaidos بعد ظهر اليوم، من 17.00
hmm…Sparta with Lyon and Bilbao, Plzen with Tel-Aviv and Atletico ….so far interesting groups ..might go watch some games here in Prague at least.
haha Gtown
Hope they murder Lyon, Eandy!
Ollie
I just wanted to see if anyone was paying attention 😉
An hour and fifteen minutes later
@JWTelegraph: Arsenal not expecting any permanent deals. Could be some loans out. Club will have made profit of around £10m this summer…
@mattspiro: Reports gathering pace in France that Manchester City have opened talks with Yann M’Vila
well might aswell happen Ollie, the way they dealt with Feyenoord in play-offs was kinda impressive and refreshing to see. Will see if this rather young Sparta side will make it out of the group or not 😛
Etudois Partir is leaving !!!
Woj to have fit test for rib injury…and even though I’m a vegan, crow is on the menu for me today(sighs).
@samuelj29060: The Guardian linking Arsenal with last-minute move for Edin Dzeko. He scored 4 goals against Spurs you know…
Trev 673: haha
SSN say a deal for Lloris has been agreed between Lyon and Spurs, in addition to Moutinho.
I don’t like this.
The only consistent French ‘keeper at the moment seems to be Landreau, I wouldn’t worry too much about that, Snir.
As for Moutinho, no idea. His name sounds a lot like Mourinho which makes him instantly dislikeable.
Spu*s can carry on dreaming and eating lasagne.
@DaveHytner: Hugo Lloris should sign as well for #spurs today
Odd that no mention of Dzeko with City update on SSN.
@samuelj29060: OFFICIAL: PSG sign Van der Wiel from Ajax. #Ligue1 (via @TheMilanGuy )
Lloris about as good at crosses as our reserve Pole in the Goal, from what I’ve seen.
Always remembering I know nothing. Ever.
Know what you mean Snir at 677
That’s why I didn’t mention it.
Big cause for a bollockache
Apparently Citeh have other targets but see YM as a back up!
Pete Etre-Rester may be staying now ! I can’t keep up. 🙁
@RyanBabel: RT @TheBabelcopter: London, here I come!
Please, no!!!!!!!!!!!
You’re spoiling us, Trev.
There are a few clubs in London, Snir.
Babel???? My guess is Brentford.
I was plumping for Watford, but yeah, might be right, Steve T.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/ju-young-park-joins-celta-vigo-on-loan
It’s official!
It’s oh so quiet. TRansfer window?
OR is everybody being ready to shoot at 700?
Afternoon all
Snir,
Park has gone to C.Vigo on loan and Bendy will sign for Juve and blossom into a player that will make Messi look like…er…. Park.
With the possible exception of Chamakh out on loan and our successful if dramatic SWOOP for a 17 year old Macedonian goalkeeper, I believe that’s our business concluded until Xmas at the earliest….
…. although there are rumours from @ArsenalGent that we are still in for Frankel, Manfred von Richthofen AND Klumpen Leberkäse. Now that’s what I call good business.
I hope you are enjoying your day off school 😎
Blows whistle for freekick following offside trap beautifully organised by the new Bouldy defence. Waits to see where play heads.
South Korean, Fook Tif Ino, has no idea where he is going ………
‘Oh-whoa Vito Mannone’ rolls the ball out to Lukas Pod-Ollie who has dropped deep to cover for Santos who is finishing a cigarette in the Liverpool penalty area….
….Santos puffs furiously and gets back on side….
Scores ?
Off the bum again …..
Bingo?
Thanks for the assist, Trev!
Bangggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
Bongo….. Goooooool Pod-Ollie!!!!!!
Late again??? Story of my life……
I have to say I am amazed that I refreshed and it was there.
I expected the number to be maximum 698.
It’s all about the (random) timing…
Welcome Ollie.
Nice timing Steve T. 😉
I must say, if we finish yet another transfer window in profit I will be just a tad miffed.
Steve T, I believe the HT is kind enough to wait for late passengers.
As I said the other day, I don’t believe the situation has yet changed compared to what Arsène said last summer, so not soooo surprised about profit.
Yet, surely there’s profit and profit and well, one or two more signings….pretty purrrlleaaaaaaase.
Clearly not got it anymore Trev. Some would argue, and with good cause, that I never had it.
As the saying goes……
The older I get the better I was……….. 😉
Is it the best it can be Ollie?????? If yes then I am on it. If not, then I will wait for a bit for the upgraded version. I would like to sit in first class please?????
I think you’ll have to check with Edwin for that, Steve T.
I will hang fire just yet. Still a long way to go yet.
Apparently we have sold someone called Park??????????????? I have no idea who that is?????
Ollie/Steve T
Oh for a little more positive risk taking in terms of player acquisitions. For the past half dozen seasons or so, we always seem to be 1-3 players light to mount a serious/sustained challenge for the league title.
I know we don’t really know what’s going on “Behind The Arse” but as a generally very optimistic supporter, this is starting to grow old.
Maybe Snir can will us a couple of signings in the next few hours, after all?
The again, there’s always the HT which is as good as the sum of its parts allow it to be 😉
TS – I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Squillaci, AA, and Chamakh just yet, although less likely.
I ain’t feeling optimistic re signings.
I have to say this is frustrating the fuck out of me. Once again we’re two players away from greatness.
Yeah, I agree TS. Some of the goodwill generated by early activity seems to have evaporated somewhat.
Even for me.
Not much to do with vanCuntie (we knew by early July that he was a horrid cunt and that he was gone) or even Song (half-expected), but I just expect(ed? a few hours remaining) a couple more solid signings.
Ollie knows…
I mean hopefully Jack and Bac will be LANS brothers, but some actual shiny new players. Bah.
Hope we’ll still cope, and I think we have a good squad, but was kind of hoping for a more radical change of the pattern this summer (it STILL feels less negative than the last one for me though).
I end up fearing that this is the year we fail to qualify for the CL. Even though I think we’re way too good not to.
Snir
Squilly out would be good in my book.
I feel that we might well need to hold onto Chamakh & Arsh given our current lack of cover up front.
What are the chances of Poldi and Giroud both being out at the same time some time during the season?
Experience would suggest quite high. We’re going to need bodies to fill those gaps unless we’re going to draft in a couple of U21s.
Go Chuba & Chuks???
Don’t forget to add Rosicky to the LANS list Ollie and yes, overall, we’re in better shape now than where we were this time last year but it’s close….. mostly down to the loss of VanC*ntie
Won’t have been such a long injury for Tommy: he was still playing at the end of last season.
Mind you, it’s not as if we know when he’s going to be back….
Just saw Rodgers’ presser. Gave an Arsene smirk when asked about Theo.
FFS.
Ollie
You can’t call him vanCuntie! It’s too vile!
More appropriate language would be Cunt-Judi!
😆
Now top that!
Is TDD over yet?
Are people mental??? Trying to link AFC with Drogba.
Bah, meh and shit. Better than last year but still not great. Why do we keep thinking injuries won’t happen. I like the young guns that are looking strong but they are not good cover for the PL yet.
Bring on liverpoo. Let’s storm into the season fully committed now.
I agree with TS and Snir above. I have been saying it for years now. As we have said we have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. Just look at last year. I will wait and see what finally happens before passing final judgement.
Personally, Steve T, I shall abstain from ‘passing final judgment’, too much responsibility 😉
Snir: yes, people are mental 😉
Anything move into the Ems and sign a piece of paper yet?
SSN saying Essien is waiting for Cheldea and Arsenal to agree terms.
Haven’t put it up until now, so maybe things have developed.
Snir
It’s quite possible that a deal has already been struck for Theo to leave at Xmas in return for a chunk of change from The Smashers, in which case we may well have also lined-up someone tasty for Xmas.
BUT, that would still be replacement vs strengthening IMO.
Way too much speculation there… it must be your bad influence 🙂
May I remind you that the transfer window isn’t open until New Year, TS? 😉
I think a loan deal for Park is a good idea because the boy obviously has something, apart from confidence.
http://www.football365.com/f365-features/7782192/Done-Deals
Judging from this, I can’t see much of a positive bank balance (well the positive is about the size of the Vela fee, I guess), which doesn’t make me positive about the next few hours.
One or two loan deals maybe.
This could be a sharply contrasted last day of the transfer window compared to last year.
Gtown, I think Park can do OK in a much less physical league.
I think physique is his main problem, still can’t see how we signed him.
Or maybe he didn’t have a medical at the club… 😛
Ollie
Rightio!
😆
I think if the lesser Park (according to Korean fans) can do well at United, Chu Young could more than do a job for Arsenal. Maybe it’s the pressure of playing in England?
Maybe if he actually does his military duty he’d come back tougher and ready to gun down teams 😉
ITK #17 (Thanks to Ollie numbers are now back in sequence)
There appears to be a scent of arrogance regarding these loan negotiations.
Currently clubs discussing the Essien loan cannot agree on fees and/or permanency of deal.
Options to buy are being discussed/disputed again!
Someone should just say ‘buyout clause’ again to scupper this one!
Getting fed up with the whole thing now!
TS, Ollie, Steve T,
Also fed up with the “we are trying hard to get someone” bit “only of super quality”.
I don’t mind that we can’t outbid Citeh, but there are players who can improve us, and I don’t want to miss out on all of them and finish another window in profit.
I’ll do it for ya:
‘buyout clause’
Trev. Agree totally….. Especially when you go back a few days to our conversation about ticket prices?
See above for ticket prices 😉
The new pricing structure is a very very very clever bit of business, maximising revenue while pretending to offer more to ‘customers’……
I’ll live with it, but yes, as I said, even I am getting a bit fed up….
Think you nailed it Trev (again I’m not that bothered about profit or not, I have no grudge with us being in profit on a transfer window, as long as it’s only a random side fact; it’s just about getting the players who can improve us and who, as you say exist somewhere out there).
Less than 8 hours to go; now to sit back and enjoy the last minute meleé and deadwood ditching! Sweet! 🙂
Panic- buying LWCs! It’s not gonna help you AWB!
AKB! COYBGs! 😎
Ghana news are reporting that only Essien may come to Arsenal today…but we’re debating whether we want a loan or a purchase….
Im refusing to post pre haste just in case by some miracle somone at Arsenal finds the missing chequebook but if this squad is not strengthed significally by the close of the window prepare for a volcanic diatribe tomorrow 🙂 Kroenke must be pissing himself.
@TheClosetGooner: Montpellier vice-chairman confirms that Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa is staying put. #Arsenal #Chelsea
CoR – Park doesn’t need to go to the military anymore. He got an Olympic medal.
ITK #18
Yann M’Vila wants to be a gooner.
He is frustrated that events which took place before the Euros were affected by those which took place during and after.
This deal may be the first purchase of the next summer window
(I know, don’t shoot the messenger)
‘Ghana news’, at least that’s an original source for transfer speculation, even if he’s from there.
Snir, I never got the talk ofY-M or any other central defender to be honest. Pure journo fantasy….
Ollie
Personell changed
@oluwashina: West to North: It’s confirmed Arsenal and Chelsea are currently discussing loan terms regarding Ghana midfielder Michael Essien – #afc #cfc
You know one thing that annoys me more than twitter itself?
Hashtags.
Arsenal supporters are some of the biggest cunts on the planet – they make me want to get baseball bat to the feckers!
That is how I am feeling right now – Its a shame we don’t have a Transfer Window for supports ..
🙁 [imagine this is an angry face]
Ollie #knowwhatyoumean.
i realize that we’re not going to pick up some big name players now, but i don’t realize why we wouldn’t be seriously looking at dempsey. he’s a pretty versatile player, read can play on the wing or more centrally, with a chip on his shoulder, looking for a move anywhere offering anything close to CL football. he’s a proven goal scorer, not in another lesser league but this one. best of all, it looks like someone could get him for less than 10 million. on top of that, i believe he’s been a pretty sturdy player so we could count on him for a few seasons despite his age. we need probably 10 or more goals from someone to make up for the departure of robin, to bridge the gap to the champions, and to make up for the possible underperformance of players adapting to the epl from another league.
Essen he can’t even stand up any more !!!!
Ollie, regarding Park — I think given a chance he could have been a reasonable back-up striker. He has got good finish and skillful — not Eduardo skillful but decent — and his international record (granted many of those are against inferior opposition) does speak about his scoring abilities. Maybe he should have been played a little bit more from the bench, and not only just in desperate circumstances thrown into the mix? The Carling Cup goal he scored was classy.
I don’t think we could have really expected any significant transfers in on the final day this time around. The in-and-out have financially evened out with leaving a little profit and that surely is a telltale sign that no big purchases are being planned.
It seems Arshavin and Chamakh are staying put. Don’t mind if they can both rediscover their best — and let us remember that one was genuinely world class and another one very good at their peak for Arsenal — and have the correct attitude to contribute coming off the bench. The Afobe and Ryo loan decisions then make more sense, maybe Arsene had all along wanted to give those two a second ‘second chance’?
@ArseGlory: Arsene Wenger has left London Colney #AFC http://t.co/SQ4glHPk
@samuelj29060: Besiktas board member confirms club would “love” to sign Chamakh from #AFC but admits transfer unlikely – http://t.co/3PxJP5Ia
Cheers, Dr Faustus. Whatever you did with your blood, you are a very sensible man! 😀
Anyway, I’m off.
…continuing
If, on the other hand, we are merely saddled with Arshavin and Chamakh because of no buyer then we have made serious mistakes in not providing enough cover for the forwards. Unless there are call-back clauses on Afobe’s and Ryo’s loan agreements, we are two injuries shy of not enough willing bodies in the front line.
Dempsey would have been a decent backup.
Ollie — I have donated all the blood to the charities for the common nutrition deficiency disease called “unable to challenge one’s own convictions” … 🙂
@johncrossmirror: #afc Essien is NOT joining Arsenal. It’s not something they’ve been pursuing today. #cfc
Snir
We’ve been two players away from greatness for the last 6 years!
Boom boom! 😆
There’s an air of frustration growing amongst supporters.
Even the ‘I told you so’s are starting to appear. Getting ready to deliver that age old saying.
Drum roll!!!!
This day for Snir must be like Christmas Day for a seven year old. No offense intended Snir. Cheers 😉
It would be if we fucking sign someone!
@ArsReportLive: All clubs are asked if they’ll do business, so that the FA can prepare accordingly. Apparently Arsenal informed FA no deals would be done.
Chill people. Have a good long look at your expectations.
Limpar on Swedish TV
@SweGoon: Limpar says Everton turned down offers from Fellaini form Chelsea and Baines from Arsenal
I don’t think people have unrealistic expectations holic. As Trev said earlier, we know we can’t compete with the likes of Citeh, Chavs and Mancs. Throw another 3 it 4 other European clubs in to that mix as well if you like. Apart from that there should be no one we can’t actively compete with in the transfer market. If we want to that is?????
To honour the transfer deadline day, I am now going to transfer the contents of my glass of beer to my belly.
Anything happened while I was travelling?
Unrealstic expectations . balls.
So thats it then.
Well. Wenger has [again] taken a massive risk and put so much of our season on potential. So now our season basically depends on how the 3 new signings end up and on how guys like Ox, Aaron and Jack and Coq step up.
Would any other manager [and board ]get away with such crap?
I’ll be honest with you all, I don’t at all fancy Dempsey, so meh.
That’s fair enough Steve, but outside of the Clubs you mention, what player has moved that has had you scratching your head and wondering why we weren’t in for him?
I will admit to being mildly peeved that the LWCs were seemingly given a free run at Dembele, but outside of him, there hasn’t been one transfer thus far that has had me wondering why we weren’t involved.
Well , lets see if Wengers faith in his players is repaid.. Dont call me negative when I point out how repeatedly his unflinching faith in his players has been repaid with pathetic performances and annual collapses.
Onus on him and the players to prove the doubters wrong.
Sajit, ffs grow up.
Well. ok.
Sajit, sorry mate but that is the reality of where we are as a club. I can not understand why it is so difficult for so many to understand that we have been priced out of the top-range players and were so years ago. We can’t afford players like Aguero, Tevez, Hazard (who is reportedly on £200k a week at Chelsea) and others. We have to find the previously undiscovered gems and we have to gamble on potential more than ManCity/Utd and Chelsea do. Like it or not, but that is the harsh financial reality we live in.
Hey Lars! Good one! Bada boom!!
Stella for me today. On your tab, of course.
I have to disagree Lars.
There are plenty of players who could improve the squad.
Our first eleven is excellent and can mix it with the best of them, but there are plenty of players who can improve our squad a la Yossi. Not every signing has to be of Aguero, Hazard proportions.
I don’t know about you but relying on Arteta to play 38 games is unrealistic, as is relying the same from Diaby.
I for one would like to avoid relying on Coquelin to fill in as second choice to Arteta, or JW who hasn’t played in over a year, or even worse, Theo as third striker.
Essien or any other DM or CM would be great additions to the squad, as would Clint Dempsey.
This would have been a truly excellent Transfer window — despite the departures — with only two more additions: a traditional ‘physical’ DM and a proven PL goalscorer. Neither of them needed to be exceptional world class but disciplined and professional squad players to ensure enough variation and adequate back-up in case of injuries. And if I am to be greedy, maybe another Right Back.
Not complaining, didn’t expect to happen in any case. Could still be a great season.
SG @ 781 — exactly!
Yossi was an excellent example of the value of having squad depth in terms of experience and professionalism, if not spectacular talents.
And what happens if Cazorla gets injured? We sold the only other player capable of creating clear cut chances.
tabs@775: and while Dembele is a player I like (or did like, he’s an LWC now…), let’s not forget that the position he plays in is one where we are well stocked. Spurs have had a far worse summer than we have – King gone, Modric gone, Fanny-Fart gone and while they have bought a few players, not one of them (of the ones bought so far anyway) would have had many of the moaners happy had they been bought by Arsenal instead. They will also be without Kaboul for at least four months according to reports yesterday.
Tabs. As I said, I will reserve judgement until this show is over but there are certain positions that we need to strengthen. It does not just involve those players that have moved elsewhere. We must have had certain targets that for whatever reason we have not pursued.
As I said, we will wait and see if there are any surprises first.
Lars — my 780 was in response to your 771. But the more I think of it, it could also refer to your 779, unfortunately.
Have a pint on my tab 🙂
Boring! boring! boring! Yawn! Yawn! Yawn!
Snir, Dempsey would, as I have repeatedly said, have been a great addition to our squad. But I seriously doubt he’d be a starter.
And in Cazorla’s place we can play Chamberlain or Arteta. And if Jack is really fit again I have no doubt he’ll be up to speed again pretty sharpish. You don’t lose all that class in one year when you’re 20.
“We sold the only other player capable of creating clear cut chances.”
A year ago, would you have expected Song to be that player? No, because none of us did. Who knows what might happen this season?
Come on everybody, relax and enjoy the ride 🙂
All indications are that there won’t be any surprises Steve.
I would have liked additions as much as the next man, but of the players that have thus far moved, none (with the exception of Dembele) have grabbed my fancy.
I don’t think it’s reasonable to talk about players who for one reason or another have not been available.
Roberto@787: cheers, my beer here is about to run out soon so another one will go down very well 🙂
Tabs. Almost every single player has a price as we know only too well. It’s whether you want to pay the money or leave it in the bank.
My honour to get you a virtual beer Lars. I’ve noticed that your wallet takes a massive pounding here. It needs a rest now and then.
Lars – do you honestly think, we can relax and that we don’t need (at least) another signing?
We are well in the black in this round of transfer market dealings, need I point out.
I’m not confident in our FBs other than Sagna (injured) and fat Santos going forward (not defensively). That’s a glaring weakness in our squad, from where I sit.
Baines would have been nice as our LB. Just saying.
lurking
We’re also lacking some steal in midfield now that Song has sung.
I am quite happy with the shape of our team – just for the record 😎
Goal line clearance to save a certain goal
In time for an assist or so?
On the positive side, I hear Bendtner is about to go to Juve 🙂
Now!
Or even a goal, heh!
Cheers GT.
(count was 796 when I posted, but I hadn’t just refreshed, so I gambled)
SG @ 784 — that is surely a bit of a hyperbole brought on by the frustrations of an inactive transfer deadline day… 🙂
TR7 can create clear cut chances, Arteta if he is played up front can, Jack definitely can, and as Lars said there may be someone stepping up…maybe it would be Ramsey this season, who can see and pass, it is the speed of execution that lets him down which he might be able to improve this year.
If we can get back a fully fit TR7 and Jack quickly, and can prop up the remains of Arshavin into a reliable (sigh!) super-sub kind of player, and have Poldi/Giroud fitting in quickly this may be a much better season compared to the last few years…especially if the team starts without any pressure.
Too many ifs, that is the only concern…
Bounces to Ollie .. ah well 🙂
I almost got an away goal!
GT, surely you would have seen your post at 799 and this isn’t a come back to the attempted self-assist days? ;D
You win the tabs prize though, Roberto, not to be sniffed at.
Snir, define “need”.
If we want to be favourites for the league, we probably need five major signing.
If we want to be in with a decent chance of finishing in the top three, then no. The team we have is certainly capable of pulling that off.
I want us to sign the best players we possibly can. But there’s fuck-all I can do about it, and there’s fuck-all we really know about what players we are trying to sign. This season, we will win some games, draw some and lose some and in the end we’ll finish somewhere in the league no matter what I do so for me it’s actually quite easy to sit back and just see what happens and then support the crap out of whatever players we have. Why should I get myself worked up over something I have very little control over and demand answers for questions I know will never be answered?
Tabs,
Dembele has indeed proven to be a descent central midfielder for Fulham but if the Spuds are the height of his current ambition, then he’s deluded enough to be a LWC! Furthermore, he’d never have been a regular starter with us with the depth we have in the middle of the park! Yohan Cobaye on the other hand is a different story entirely! Far better, responsible and proven in the EPL! I’d also have hoped we’d have picked up a mature experienced goalie and a defensive midfielder! Essien would’ve been good enough till M’Villa and Capoue sort their heads and lives out with their clubs!
It’s called passion Lars. We all do it. That’s why we do what we do.
Do we get bonus points for having the most players on loan?
*votes LArs again*
Ollie I don’t give a shit about yours or anybody else’s rules [Dr Zee cured me of that and I am eternally grateful to him for that] – I play by my own rules! I am also not interested in scoring goals and only expect to save goals this season. Did you not see my announcement?
😎
The complete breakdown of the “scoring” rules GT?
TDD has a lot to answer for.
Cheers Ollie. A consolation prize is better than none at all. Sort of like that invisible trophy Arsene has anointed to us these days for qualifying for the Champions League 😉
What do you mean if I want? We all want us to challenge for the title. We don’t need five major signings because like I said, our first eleven is awesome, but the squad needs tweaking.
Faustus – Arteta isn’t as creative as people give him credit for, albeit having some creativity, TR has barely created any chances (have a look at our first games of last season before Song became a playmaker, we didn’t create), and JW has been injured for over a year.
I’ll say this. If JW comes back and plays thirty games, then we only need a signing up front, if he doesn’t, we might have a problem.
Steve: well, passion can express itself in many different ways. I understand why people are getting worked up, but we will probably never ever know exactly what is really happening behind the scenes so getting worked up over things we don’t even know if they are true is an exercise in futility in my personal opinion.
Nice blind shot from outside the box Ollie.
GT is a lurking defender. I don’t think he ever leaves his near post.
I too have some frustrations that I not so eloquently expressed the last few days. I would have liked so squad depth. I don’t think anyone who is regularly here who thinks we will splash the cash on a high dollar signing. But even in this market there are many signings in the mid-range who can add depth and competition at some positions.
Fullback for example. I know we have pitched 2 shut outs to start the season but they were also against 2 of the least ambitious clubs in the league going forward.
Bah, let’s go.
tabs, are you suggesting we send GoonerTerry out on loan for a while to teach him some Holic bar manners? 🙂
DanC, I get all that, but I refuse to work myself up into a tizzy over unsubstantiated internet rumours and then chuck my toys out of the pram when, lo and behold, those rumours are shown to be just that.
Was Cabaye ever available? And if he was, was he ever available at a price that was realistic? None of us will know but I suggest no. Is the current Essien (and not the Essien of 3 years ago) any better than what we already have? Dubious at best.
Steve, I get your point but I think comparisons with players that have left us is flawed. With the exception of Fabregas who was a special case, Nasri, Adebayor, VP, have all left for money which we, rightly or wrongly, refuse to pay.
@samuelj29060: Szczesny out of game with Liverpool on Sunday – #AFC – (via @GoonerTalk )
Tabs, the current Essien is much better than Coquelin. PL experience is vital as we know.
Snir, Song wasn’t, isn’t now, nor ever will be a playmaker!
Who said we needed the Hazards and Agueros.. Though I would like to argue that there are probably 3 teams in the PL with whom we cannot compete financially – ie Utd, City and Chavs.
All we needed were a couple of meaningful PL experience players – like Arteta.
Well its a massive gamble Arsene has taken. Let us see. Im done for today. Disappointed.
Snir, that’s a very subjective opinion re Essien. It appears Arsene agrees with me.
Take the squad we currently have. Work on the assumption that some people at the club have actually done their job and all the dead wood had moved on. Then add to that squad Fabregas and Van Persie????? Now, is that a squad that can challenge for the title? In my humble opinion quite possibly. Now there lies your problem, especially when there are profits being made on deals year in year out. We can’t keep talking about out only signing “special players” when we let the “special players” we have, depart.
Lars @ 818 – good point and very philosophical. In situations like these my only measurement are results. And if you’re honest, we havent had results commensurate with our club in terms of trophies or the transfer market (unless you’re a bean counter, like me) for quite some time.
It hurts, to be honest.
Lars, @820 🙂
SG @ 817 — I think you are underestimating TR7 a bit. He was coming back to fitness and form in the first half of last season, and in the second half he was truly peaking. By ‘creating clear cut chances’ I think you are talking about the Hollywood pass a la Cesc and with less percentage rate of success Song. The thing is relying on that pattern is not going to yield sustained success. TR7 is much more creative than Song ever was, and I am saying that as a big admirer of Song, and at his best TR7 can coordinate and control a match better than most CAMs in this league.
I don’t think we have problem in creativity department, it is just the squad depth that we could have improved.
Lars: Holic Bar manners? What are Friday’s for? Can’t I get drunk and swear a little in the corner? What is this a fecking Wine Bar?
😎
… wrt to a loan move .. no thanks. I enjoy the wages here 🙂
Terry: ok then, but only because it’s Friday 🙂
Snir, I am far from convinced Essien really is better than Coquelin these days. And do we really want a player that has played more than 15 games only once in the last four seasons? Sure, maybe he’s past his injury problems but what if he breaks down again two games into the season?
tabs @ 821 – all those players you cited sans Adepaymemore also left for a better chance at winning silverware. Painful but true.
tabs @ 824 – I’ll be the first to say that Song isn’t Barça quality but he was the leading assist maker on our team last year. He also set up the departed clogger more than anyone else. Sounds like a playmaker to me mate. Let’s deal with facts.
Cheers. A beer on the bar for you tabs. On my tab.
I’m off to watch that UEFA Super Cup thingy.
Lars – we said the same about Yossi, and he turned out to be a successful signing.
Tabs – Song created the most clear cut chances for Arsenal, last season. Call it what you want, but we were missing creativity from others.
Squads take championships. In 2010-2011 we had JW, Kos, Sagna, Song, Cesc, Nasri, Theo, and RvP and we still didn’t win the league because of the replacements.
Our current first eleven is wonderful, can our backups carry us over the line? I’m not sure they can. I’m just hoping Coq will step up, as will Chamakh.
At the 11th hour, Roxette has made a bid for the Orlando Pirates, all 11 of them.
See, you’re not the only ones disappointed when your “moves” amount to nothing! 😉
Tabs @821,
Agreed but isn’t getting one’s self into a tizz the whole point of “silly season” and in particular D-Day?!
15 Million offer to tempt Yohan would’ve been interesting I’m pretty sure?!
@BluesChronicle: RDM confirmed he left Michael Essien out of his side tonight because of a possible loan deal. No word on club. But am hearing NOT Arsenal.
My computer is acting up, has it gone all mad from all the TDD madness it has had to display in the past few hours? 🙂
@GeoffArsenal: So there is nobody coming in, underwhelmed to put it lightly but must be positive, we have a good squad full of intl’s so get behind them.
Evening chums,
Is this a place of refuge, or as psychotic as out there?
RDM has said Essien will go on loan, but not to Arsenal.
Psychotic?
Falcao!
ATM 1-0 Chav
Fuck Chelsea!
@bbcsport_david: Arsenal were in talks earlier over Chamakh exit but Bendtner/Park moves mean Wenger needs him. No arrivals as things stand #bbcfootball #afc
Holic, it’s a lot calmer than Twatter anyway…
We wouldn’t be scoreless in two matches if that Columbian wore a cannon on his shirt. That motherf*cker shouldn’t be trifled with. He’s the real business 😎
As close as I’ll get to kneejerk, and owes much to a few Guinni…
Chelsea, first grade A game sold out to silvers at prices from £62 to £123.50, and that isn’t club level. Wage bill cut. Squad depth cut. Why are we overpaying just to top up the bank account?
Hopefully I will be able to answer myself in tomorrow’s preview.
Cheers, ‘holic!
(and I’m with you tabs, wouldn’t mind signing S.O’meone-Else, but today I’d rather have Coquelin than Essien).
2-0 Athletico! Champions of Europe?! Mr Arse! Put a bid in for Falcaó Arsene! There’s 3hrs 50 mins left! 😎
Get in there!!
Falcao 2-0 Chavs
Fuck Chelsea twice!!
Are our scouts *cough, cough* aware of this Colombian? How about our bean counters?
Falcao is conservatively three times better than Giroud.
Sorry. Forgot. He’s far too expensive for us. A club that generates the fifth largest revenues and far more than Atletico Madrid.
Schadenfreude, I think you’d do better job than RDM!
No way Chel$ki do anything in Europe without DogBreath! One man team if ever there was one!
Dear God no. Not Football Manager again 🙁
Sorry people. Watching this match just pisses me off about our club.
I really shouldn’t apologize.
I apologize for apologizing.
Holics mate
Am having a few b’day drinks so stay tuned for G’town in overdrive
I’ll just say this.
Even AW knows our squad is short. He said so himself.
Last week, he said he wants to sign someone in defense cos we’re short, and that we’ll replace Song if he is sold.
How can you not be infuriated?
It reminds me how we didn’t sign a replacement for TV in January of 11, because he was weeks away, but when it was confirmed he will come back only in May, AW said he knew he was dive for the season.
Someone’s having a laugh at our expense.
I’m livid.
Evening Holic.
Roberto – “Lets deal with facts?” Ok then. Football is not nor ever will be a stats based game, however many people wish it to be so. The “fact” that Song played the final ball to VP more often than anybody else last season does not a Playmaker make. Stats are useful guides and nothing more.
Cheers for the Beer though.
Dan, that’s fine mate, if you want to have a tizzy then great 🙂 I, however, will keep my own counsel and do what Lars suggests we all do @810
A shame we didn’t add to the squad… If we really were involved in the chase for Sahin, its a little strange that there wasn’t a back-up plan for an alternative.
I think we have a great first 11, but my main concern is what happens when either Poldi or Giroud get injured?
Snir@846. If we have kept Chamakh because Arsene “needs him” then is it any wonder that fans vent their frustration?
Snir
Besiktas are trying to thrash out a deal for Chamakh but I don’t think it’s working. Heh!
ITK # 19 (is that right Ollie?)
🙂
861 Steve T: especially as he’ll be off (will he not) for the Africa Cup of Nations?
Stopped counting, Gt.
Surely it should be about #47 now?
@ 849 –
Et tu ‘Holic?
*looks at boots*
There’s been a whole lot of shite stirred up in this bar over fack all. It matters not about transfers, ticket prices, or trophies… just give your all on the pitch.
For me… that’ll do.
(But what do I know, I’ve been a Dallas Cowboy’s fan all my life, and we’ve won fack all since 1996.)
BMBD.
Snir
AW believes there isn’t good enough (affordable) quality available (in midfield and defence).
Looking at what went on today I’m inclined to agree.
The best midfeilders went earlier in the window and we copped one.
In addition the average ones floating around were/are not worth the trouble.
But it’s only 8:23, I could be proven wrong.
Ollie
I had to eat! 😉
“It matters not about transfers, ticket prices or trophies.” Did you really mean that? You don’t think those three mean a thing then?
LG @ 865
Heh! 🙂
Steve T @ 869
Heh!
🙂
GT – the Besiktas avenue won’t happen. Their chairman said as much.
Holic – I don’t think it would surprise anyone to know I was the Israeli head researcher for CM4 and CM 03-04. Did I mention I’m addicted to football :)?
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/championship-manager-4/credits
Tabs @859,
Tizzy well and truly on! I want Falcaó! 😀 3-0 Humiliation of the Chavs! DDay pleasures!
Chelsea torn apart again, 3-0!
Re: Tabs @859. OK… I’ll immediately do what Lars said to do @810!!
Oh wait. I’d better go and look what Lars said to do before completely committing myself. 😉
SG
See?
Heh!
Up tha Gooners!!!!
😆
So ive been on holiday the last 2 weeks.
Returning to the homestead on the morrow.
What did i miss??
Oh … Right.
GT – I disagree. Capoue and Cabaye are worth anybody’s money.
Lars and the rest – don’t get me wrong, I have believe in the first eleven, and I think we’ll challenge, but I think we’re leaving to much to chance and lady luck re injuries.
Heh Dan, good man! 🙂
8Ball, Lars is the fountain of wisdom. Trust me (and him) on this one.
Just had the briefest of looks on Twitter. Geez !!!!!
Lars just doing what Lars does, apparently. Saying a bunch of reasonable stuff based on his liberal Swedish education whilst buying everybody drinks. 🙂 🙂 🙂
I’m getting ready to pay out my annual share towards the social security this Sunday!
Heh! Bring on those curly permed b’stards!
Tabs. Falcao. There’s a name for you?
SG
Cabaye and Capoue are clearly unavailable or unaffordable etc..
…otherwise
Maybe we should bye this Falcao fella during the half time when nobody expect.
Turns out that posting from the iphonenreally does work!
Isnt anyone thinking about liverpool?
Happened to catch the second half of the match against city.
They looked quite good i thought.
Young jenks will havhis hands full.
Liverpool not expecting any more arrivals. Dempsey surely won’t play for Fulham again. Why not try????
There’s no point mooting names nobody can get.
I can do that.
*Gotze*
8ball@879: 🙂
Cabaye would leave for 20m, Capoue for 15m.
We have that money.
I am taking the transfer deadline day surprisingly calm because of the amount of Pilsners I had and the bottle of red I am sipping now. I do agree that we could make at least one more signing in this window but if it doesnt happen …well Arsene knows. Our starting eleven is fantastic and able to cope with any team in PL, I just hope that given our injury history, the usual injury plague will take its toll when our currently injured players are healthy already.
Hypothetically said, given our full squad being healthy, I do not feel any urge for more additions ..but since we all know how it is..Yossi-like signing today would be really welcome….oh and I have gut feeling that we are so going to thrash Liverpoodlians this Sunday its beyond imagination. Time to make some positive headlines..
Steve, I would love Falcao, but as far as I’m aware he’s not available. He appears to be playing tonight! I believe his buy out clause is £50m. Don’t think it will happen somehow.
Snir @888 – Cheers for the info. Amazing that that info seems to have passed Arsene by!
SG
With all due respect I don’t think Cabaye is worth 20.
As for Capoue, is he available? I’m sure not.
The story goes…
I am sure that some of you might remember that we were after Falcao 4 years ago, when he was in River. We offered 4-5 mil. euros as I remember, they wanted 8-10 mill. The player himself wanted to come badly. The transfer never happened. Five millions away from the worlds best attacker at the moment.
I wouldn’t mind this story, of course, but this is the story of my life as an Arsenal fan. There are no special players. The market is crazy. The prices are high. If we find quality we’ll buy. Was Falcao quality then?. Is he quality now? The same goes to Ronaldo, Yaya, Drogba etc. The story goes like that. Every year. A perfect circle.
What is important is that the books are balanced, the pockets are full. Every year.
The strange part is that I don’t give up being an Arsenal supporter. As I sad to myself. Next year, we are going for the title. We are not that far, just 2-3 players away. Every year.
Roll on Sunday.
Transfer window a ball of hot air. Maybe we should start thinking about Liverpool away. Is that of interest to anyone? If not, I did watch the CL draw yesterday and the biggest excitement seemed to be whether Steve Macmanaman would drop any of those little balls …
GT – today’s 20m is the 10m of ten years ago.
That’s where we used to shop. Now we still shop in the 10m market although the standard has changed.
Snir, if it’s that easy, why haven’t ManU bought Cabaye? Why are they still relying on Scholes to a) stay fit and b) still being able to hack it at age 105?
Steve T @ 868 –
Yep. I meant every word.
Herm Edwards (mildly successful NFL head coach) once said, “You play to win the game. Period.”
As long as the 11 players we field game-in and game-out play to win it…I’ll be satisfied.
Not elated, but satisfied. Perhaps Arsenal will win silverware in the future…I hope I am around to see it. Perhaps Dallas will win trophies in the future…I hope I am around to see that as well.
But if winning trophies, instead of experiencing a competitive game which, with hope, our boys find a way to win, is your sine qua non –
if finding some rational connection between ticket prices and on-pitch performance is essential to your enjoyment –
if revealing unknowable answers to questions over players brought in, players retained, and players released is what you need to find ultimate satisfaction as a supporter…
then yours, my friend, will be a woefully bleak existence as cold, desolate, and arbitrary as so many specks of dust and gas swirling about the galaxy.
Now then, who cares for a wee bit of Macallan as we prepare to battle the scousers?
BMBD
Tabs @878,
Cheers Bruda! Where’s Hazard et al! Man I need a big ass Jamaican joint! Where’s GT and Rastaman! 4-0 Athletico! Hee! Hee! Hee! 😀
Lurking.
BMBD
TDD almost over..thank fuck. No need to watch SSN for Frantic Freddie standing outside a football ground taking to some sado waiting outside in order to get his mug on a tv screen 😉
We’ve bought 3 super players during the window, some dis-interested ex employees went out through the revolving doors and the deadwood stage rode into town and picked up some deadwood passengers and rode them out again. Let’s move onto sunday 1330 and cheer on our boys give a football lesson to the bin dippers. 🙂
Either Ping or assist.
BMBD.
Boots it
Suarez to Falcaó through ball!
LG – you’ve gotta stop quoting Herm Edwards. He’s shit 🙂
Lars – I didn’t say it was easy, but as we know, AW never says something without thinking about it 300 times and if he said we’re signing someone, I find it baffling that we haven’t (yet).
Plus, SAF would argue that he is relying on Cleverly and Carrick, not Scholes.
Damn you Lonestar! That was Clint Dempsey’s all the way!
Lars – and why on earth are we not trying for Dempsey? We have the 7m. Surely he’s preferable to Chamakh, no?
Well in Lonestar…I’ll join you in that glass of The MacAllan that’s on offer. Cheers.
Well in Lonestar, a cheeky 900. Well deserved.
Just to add to the D&G, if The Ox is now a MF player, we’re 2 injuries/suspensions/restings away from have a front 3 of Gerv-Chamakh-Theo.
Just saying….
Where’s Drogba to bail you out you Bus Stop cunts!
Snir, how do you know we are not/have not been trying for Dempsey? Maybe we have asked and got the answer “not interested”? At Liverpool, he’d be pretty much guaranteed a starting place but with us he’d start most games on the bench, maybe he wants to maximise his playing time?
908 Dan…busy having a Chinese somewhere in Shanghai. 😉
Lurky. Not to worry. We saved the money and rely on the likes of Campbell, Wellington and Vela to be the next best thing then? Oh no, that’s right. Vela had already gone and the other two???????
Lonestar. I agree you support your team regardless. But if you are not bothered about the quality of the 11 we put out it how fans are treated by the club then I would humbly suggest that you are way off the mark.
@YoungGunsBlog: Just checked in at Arsenal. All quiet at the moment. Inquiry into Chelsea’s Michael Essien only that. Not likely to happen.
Oh well, no signings. We still have a great team, but we have to hope that for once, the injury table is kind to us…Just this once…
Or how the fans are treated even……
Lars, Dempsey wasn’t interested to join Villa, but they still bid.
If we woulda tried, you woulda heard of a bid/enquiry.
Not to mention that I think CL is more attracting than first team at a EL team.
Cheers, holics!
Snir – that’s 10 demerits for your gratuitous slight of Coach Edwards 😉
TS –
Flipper / Chamakh-attack / Fee-O. What’s NOT to like about that attacking line up? [now THAT’S cheeky]
I’m off, but before I go, I must say I hope we win if only to improve to quality of the TC podcasts. 2 shows. 2 offerings of complete moaning. Best part of this week’s episode? The reprise of Freddie’s song around the 35th minute.
“WE LOVE YOU FREEDDDDDDIIIIEEE!”
BMBD.
@samuelj29060: Arshavin: “Yes,I will remain with Arsenal.” http://t.co/txDX7GCV
Not easy this management lark. Just went to check my fantasy league team this weekend to find I only have eleven players with fixtures, and two of them are goalkeepers!
I resign…
Dan @897 Tug, tug pass … 😉
You are having a fucking laugh!!!
@RorySmithTimes: Dempsey’s at Spurs Lodge.
Uplympian @910,
Heh! 🙂 Chicken Chow Mein!
Raises his hands in applause and appreciation of Arsenal’s next signing in January; the Colombian Falcaó! 😎
Spurs landed Dempsey. -_-
Tabs @918,
Man, this is some good shit! 😎
It’s on SSN now Snir…..
Oh well, at least we have managed to hold on to Chamakh.
Lass to Anzhi, Essien to Real Madrid.
Chelsea is finding the post-Drogba world not that easy to navigate through…what a surprise!
Steve T — if I may, I think the final words may have not been said about Campbell yet. But I fully agree with your point that Arsenal have had a few too many near misses in terms of world class player potential in both directions (missing out on players who turned out to be great, and getting players with great potentials who turned out to be not so), and I haven’t read any truly meaningful analysis of why that is.
Vela and Bendtner are two classic examples — what really did go wrong? Were it all players’ fault? Was Arsene a little too avuncular and not enough of a ruthless boss? Or we we just unlucky to have nurtured talents with inherently bad attitude? Just a couple of years back Arsene proudly used to say that how he likes Bendy both as a player and as a person, and I don’t think he was inauthentic in his statements. And I know I am in the minority here, I think both Bendy would Vela would come good eventually, and Bendy may have found his perfect match in Serie A where he would have more time on the ball.
Let us for a moment assume Bendtner playing for another club, has 45 goals in 150 odd appearances and many of them from the bench, and has a good Euro, and evidently has both physical and technical abilities, and is only 24 … many Arsenal fans would have clamored for us to get him.
I think many Arsenal fans want a miraculous repeat of the history … Arsene’s glory years … and in the process impatient about the current talents who are yet to fully mature but who has great abilities. Wouldn’t Vela and Bendtner have been reassuring 3rd and 2nd choice strikers? Why cannot a big club like Arsenal convince a 24 year old and 23 year old to be patient and fight for their places?
I don’t know the answers, but I don’t know whether if anyone else has attempted the same. The simplistic argument of “players’ attitude problem” cannot be applied to all these cases…
I cannot believe that Spurs get hold of Dempsey.. who is anyday better than Chamakh.
Now there you go Lars… Here is your example of a particularly valid reason to get totally frustrated with Arsenal.
Sajit, the twat went on strike to get a move without a club to go to. We don’t want that sort of character anywhere near the changing room.
Super quality? Is he fuck.
Heh, holic on one side you say that we dont have the resources to fight for super quality signings ..
So Wiltord went on strike for a move to Arsenal. Dunno if you complained then?
I think we might beat the 1000 again.
And ‘holic knows.
In fact, I saw a picture of Dempsey earlier, it revulsed me, I didn’t like his face and I thought ‘don’t want this striking cunt’. He’ll fit right in at the Lilywhites.
Well in Lonestar at 900.
May, 2013 is already written. Sad but true.
Drop till we bop…or…
Dempsey “Super quality? Is he fuck.”
The voice of reason. Cheers Holic.
tabs knows too.
Drrrrrrrrrrrrrink!
Sky Sports on twitter have just been reporting that Pool have offered 12M for Walcott. Considering how many Arsenal “fans” have been piling on him in the last few days I guess they’ll feel better now.
That’s hypocrisy and you know that.
Wiltord was on strike at Bordeaux and he’s loved by AFC fans worldwide.
Tabs, Holic – surely he’s better than Chamakh, no?
People say we dont have money to go for the Hazards and Agueros (super quality) then… atleast to go for second tier strikers, who btw scored 17 goals and FFS is better than our bench option.
No but. We are Arsenal. We only go for the best.
Yes, I would have liked Dempsey as a squad player. But this hysteria because he’s gone somewhere else reminds me a lot about the furore over Arsene not getting Samba or Cahill and instead bought that useless no-name Koscielny. Let’s also not forget that while Dempsey scored 17 for Fulham last season, the previous four he scored 6, 7, 7 and 12 goals respectively. He would never in a million years have been the difference between fourth and first.
Matt, I don’t know which account you saw that on but I assume it’s a parody or something cos it’s not on sky sports nor on sky sports news account.
Better than the third choice? If that is the limit of your ambition then it’s time to pack up.
Top quality, or promote the kids. Don’t buy more deadwood on silly money when we are still clearing out the current lot.
Have a think please.
Chamakh scored 1 goal. I think, I think, we could do with 10 goals. 🙂
Not the correct comparison Snir. He wouldn’t play as a lone centre-forward for us.
Is he better than Diaby, Wilshere, Arteta, Rosicky, Ramsey, Ox, Cazorla?
Err no.
Oh and what Ollie said. Bloke thinks he’s a rapper. Must be a tosser. Far better off at the rabble down the road.
And he’s got squinty eyes.
Just back-drunk after veeery long drive home. Cards on the table; I defy anyone to be a bigger Arsenal fan than I am, but because of my domestic and employment situation, I don’t get to many matches – VERY few. I’m not an Arsenal member of any description, so I don’t actually contribute much to the coffers.
Maybe this explains why I’m not as exercised as many about the fact that we make a profit on transfer dealings. Hell, I even find myself thinking that since we have a manager who is exceptionally talented at developing players it would be extremely disturbing if that part of the club didn’t make a profit.
As fans, we are the ONLY set of people connected with the club for the long term – players come and go, managers come and go (although in Arsène we appear to have found a manager who really is ultra-loyal to the club) and no-one expects owners to stick around for all that long. Given this, I find it incredible that drinkers in this bar express the opinion that Arsenal should trade at a loss.
They express these opinions so eloquently that I am convinced that they have hold them honestly and have thought them through, however it’s a belief that I find so far-fetched that I simply don’t understand it. it isn’t just that I don’t hold this belief, I cannot imagine how it can be justified. Please, someone, explain to me how deliberately not making a profit can be a basis for running an enterprise in the long term. Please.
Lars – but AW, didn’t sign this time. And Poldi, and Giroud are replacements for RvP and we both know that.
We are short.
We can get over the line, but we need luck on our side. Last season City were last on the injury table. Let’s hope we’re last this season.
Fundamentally, Chamakh is better than Dempsey. I have absolutely no doubt about that.
But that particular Chamakh is, alas, dead to Arsenal it seems.
Disappointed we didn’t get a couple of additions but not at all disappointed we didn’t get Dempsey.
Well atleast I have some good news personally. Got my 1971 home kit delivered.
Yaay
Ah ‘holic, don’t ya love me? 🙁
…or do you all remember the outrage when we didn’t sign Joe Cole two years ago? How on earth could we let him go to Liverpool? Or Ryan Babel a few years earlier? Bloody hell, that french git was such an idiot for letting such a sure-fire success go to the scousers! And why the hell did he never buy that Portugese whizzkid Quaresma? Oh, and why… ad nauseating infinitum.
What Lars and Holic said.
The hysteria is fuckin’ hilarious.
I gotta agree with the barkeep regarding Dempsey. As much as it pains me to pass on a Texan who was doing the business in England, his antics at Fulham are wayyyy past acceptible behavior.
“I won’t play until I get the move I want?” That’s bad juju. Now I wasn’t around for Wiltord’s or for Viera’s antics, but I suspect i would not have appreciated it then either.
You can’t have bad characters around your dressing room…
Steve T @ 911 – I’m not saying supporters can’t be concerned about the quality of players the team puts on the pitch, but, realistically, what is any supporter gonna do? Either (1) bitch and moan about this and that and still plunk down the cash for a game ticket, (2) slag off the team and manager until the team starts winning… and then claim to have been a “true supporter” all along, of (3) just roll with the tide and support the squad we have.
Every person has to choose for himself. I choose option 3.
BMBD.
Maybe Feo will be given a run as 3rd striker…all a part of the “agreement” made between them ?
So, I largely agree with Tabs on the transfer thing but –
Holic, irrefutable criticism of pricing policy vs transfer activity vs topping up the bank accounts.
Lurky @ 892 – very hard to disagree with that too.
Lonestar @ 896 – i get your drift but –
“if finding some rational connection between ticket prices and on-pitch performance is essential to your enjoyment”
Ticket prices are pretty important to a lot of people.
Holic has pointed out that mine, for Cat A games, now costs £123.00.
A match day mate of mine who used to sit in the row behind has, after 53 years as a season ticket holder, had to give his ticket up this year as the cost is just too high.
Fair enough, you may say, that’s life.
But as Holic said, and to answer your point, what exactly is the justification for raising prices to this level, only to cut the wage bill, reduce the squad depth, and completely destroy the enjoyment of my mate, ‘cos he can’t afford to go any more ?
Hmm, sorry.
In my rant above I suggest that there are some who suggest the club should trade at a loss. I apologise. They don’t.
People whose views I otherwise respect do, however, suggest that the club should spend more buying players than the bring in by selling other players. I find this incredible.
COYR ICDDR
Dempsey to the LWCs! Deluded fcuker! I’m gonna enjoy St Tott’s day immeasurably this year with their “super quality” squad!
A Guinness for all please barkeep in celebration of the Chavs premier performance against the Europa League’s champs! Lovely jubbly!
Ollie. A particular Chamakh is worse than a fundamental Chamakh? Clear as mud, if you ask me. Are these direct translations from French that somehow lost something along the way?
Holic – but that’s the thing, our third string aren’t quality and they should be if we don’t wanna rely on luck for the rest of the season.
Would promoting the youngsters help us win the title?
You guys are talking as if he’s absolutely shite. Most of you wanted us to sign Yossi permanently, wouldn’t that be silly money then?
Have we bought Bender yet?
Nah Snir it’s a joke account, I’m just really happy with the end of the transfer interlull. Not that there isn’t something fishy with the hoarding of transfer money but at least the season starts for real. Now it’s the team we have that matters.
Let’s start with a brilliant Sunday.
Let me go out on a limb there and say we didn’t get anybody new with an hour to go before the deadline (I haven’t checked for about six hours btw).
Aresenal bloody Arsenal …
Well, we appear to be about to place a very large bet on the players we already have. A finish outside the top four and there will be a lot of fingers pointed at the board and management.
Have to say I’m a bit concerned. After last season I’d hoped we would send a message and strengthen. Instead, it appears we’ve just about stood still and hoped others will be weak again.
I am fully behind the team and fully behind the gaffer, and will roar them on all season, but it’s quite clear Le Prof is being asked to get by on less and less, and that ain’t right.
I’m not asking for us to spend like City. I just want us to spend SOME fucking money, or at least let us know when we expect to stop having to turn summer profits.
Bit glum, will be okay by Sunday. At least the LWCs have bought tat.
COYG
Snir, Dempsey entirely different to Yossi.
Wolfie — Bendtner? Didn’t we just off load him?
Ah Wolfie, you’re always looking for a Bender. A right proper bend over )
Lonestar @950 –
I don’t often disagree with your comments, but your choice of extreme alternatives are a bit unnecessary, and not the only two possibilities exercised by a majority of fans.
😉
TaBS @ 942 – don’t go and get all abusive on Dempsey now. He is a Texan, after all. I might have to go round up NorCal and “defend” our fellow “r”epublican if the anti-Dempsey comments get too pointed. 😉
BMBD.
We are actually how much, 10 mill. plus this transfer window?
Once again.
Sold 2 of our best 4, last year players.
Once again.
So disappointing.
Snir @ 888 – Exactly. Well said. Succinct and to the point. End of.
All of you, and I repeat all of you wanted us to sign someone leading up to this day because you thought we needed a bit more in the squad.
You all wanted signings knowing exactly who the targets are.
Now we haven’t strengthened and you’re acting as if you never wanted any signings and you’re content with the squad.
Something’s gotta give.
Yes, lets promote 1-2 of our youngsters, if need be otherwise I’m more than satisfied. 1 nil to the Arsenal on Sunday (just first half!).More goals in second. Anyway, have to work tonite, so good luck to all those who were brave enough to get stoned (big smile).
Sajit, I am sure you remember Chamakh of the Bordeaux days and Chamakh in the first half of the 10-11 season. Do you think that Chamakh is inferior compared to a 29 year old coming off a single good season and without any CL experience? I am not saying that we shouldn’t have bolstered our back-up attacking options, on the contrary, but I think comparing players’ innate abilities and qualities may not be as obvious as sometimes it appears …
Let us hope Arshavin and Chamakh can stay professional and perform up to their potential coming off the bench.
Cheers, Matt!
And yes, I’m with you Trev, on discovering the new Cat. A prices, I’m feeling a bit miffed that we can’t find a couple of quality players for the right price (but not Dempsey, no thanks 😉 ).
lurky, about 5 million, I think. As I’ll keep saying it’s not a massive surprise given what Arsène said a summer or two ago.
The disappointing thing is that we couldn’t shift more of the deadwood for money and/or spend a little more.
Anyways massive massive massive season for the youngsters. Im looking at Theo, Ox, Jack, Aaron, Gibbs, Jenkinson, Coq.
Nowhere to hide. Step up or die. Or something like that.
What N7 says. I fully agree.
Well Chamakh did say that he would fight for his place if RvP left.
Well this is his chance. I guess he could start by stopping to smoke pot.
Im with you Snir.. Its just a case of sour grapes here.
I am 100% sure if we had got Dempsey , everyone would have been drooling about how we sold the mercenary captain and got the 4th best PL striker for half the price..
And now he looks like a mug. 🙂
Well, anyone in a LWC jersey looks like a cunt. but thats besides the point.
Now we haven’t strengthened and you’re acting as if you never wanted any signings and you’re content with the squad.
Snir, did ANYBODY say they didn’t want any signings?
No. Just not Dempsey for me, but I’ll say it again, I was hoping for a couple of quality signings.
As for being ‘content’ with the squad, it’s more that we now have the squad that we have, if I may allow a trivial pronouncement.
Moaning won’t change it, supporting it might help its performances.
Lonestar – apologies 🙂
Snir – no, don’t project your own feelings on the rest of us (or at least me). Of course, I would have loved Falcao, Jovetic, Llorente, Capoue et al .
BUT I don’t get taken in by silly ITKs on the internet, and don’t get wound up when their fantasy “chases” amount to bugger all.
And when we don’t get the “super quality” I really don’t give a flying fig that we haven’t bought players like Dempsey etc.
Sorry let me rephrase that first sentence:
Did ANYBODY say they are happy that we didn’t sign anyone?
West Ham have agreed a deal to sign Yossi Benayoun on-loan.
Andrei Arshavin has confirmed that he won’t be leaving Arsenal soon?!
Dempsey for 6 mil. Steal.
Fuckfuckfuckfuck
Off to bed!
No, Sajit, I would have groaned at the signing of Dempsey.
Well, lets hope it works out Ollie.
As I said massive step up needed by the young guns. Surely has to be a team effort if we are to have a decent season.
SG @ 968: I definitely wanted a couple of more signings to ensure squad depth and some variation. And I am sure Arsene wanted the same, as he himself said so. Obviously there were attempts, but either the finances of those transactions didn’t work out in our favor or maybe we were expecting to sell a few more that didn’t pan out. Even though I wanted the signings I was certain that unless the transfer dealings lead to break-even or net profit they wouldn’t happen. So loan was a perfect option, but evidently a good match was not found…
I am sure Arsene is not a masochist, and I am sure there are no great Machiavellian plan from Ivan to hoodwink the supporters’ to believe in insincere attempts as some have implied…just like any other business transfer dealings are messy, and given the very reasonable self-imposed restraints of profitability Arsenal operates in, best intentions regarding transfer dealings may not always come true …
Roberto, not Bendtner tsk.
Bender from Dortmund, who apparently was sitting in a hertfordshire hotel with Arsenal officials a couple of days ago, if you believe all those wise ITK types.
Snir@968: I can of course only speak for myself, but I don’t agree at all with your interpretation of people’s reactions. For my part, I always want us to buy better players if we can but if we can’t then so be it. If we can’t find players that are better than what we already have then it’s basically just a waste of money. And again, we still don’t know WHY certain players are or are not bought. All we can do is guess and for me that feels more and more like a waste of time because we are not very likely to get any reliable answers for many, many years anyway. No matter how upset I get tonight, it’s not going to affect what Arsenal do or don’t.
I just wonder how the mood today would look like should Giroud find the net in that chance against Sunderland and should his audacious attempt go in against Stoke… ask yourself ..would you be crying out loud that much for additions to our squad should we be on 6 points instead of 2? It is just matter of inches ….how lauded AW and board would be if that happened?…think in bigger picture ..Dempsey would be quality addition to the squad but definitely not season saviour…when I mentioned that we could use one or two signings I was talking about Capoue/MVilla kind of players ..not Dempsey …*drunk talk*
Ollie, Tabs- I was talking about signing the targets we knew about today, i.e Dempsey and Essien.
I am extremely underwhelmed. We had a real chance to strengthen the squad, but once again, we’ve replaced, not strengthened.
Which means I think we can challenge for the title, like I thought last year and most of the people here laughed at me, but knowing our history with injuries, we need a bit more bodies.
What can I add to Lars’ words of wisdom?
There is a reason why is The Guardian of The Wallet!
Dempsey and Essien? Were targets in some bizarre people’s ideas.
I certainly didn’t want them, not at any point this summer.
Capoue, on the other hand….. but there was never any serious talk of him going anywhere.
Faustus – why do we need to break even even after its been five years since the move to the Ems?
We’ve made £25m on Queensland Road, and around £9m profit from sales.
That’s more than enough.
Heh, cheers Ollie 🙂
Expect a Usmanov statement if we don’t beat Liverpool….. ?
Oxon @943 –
I don’t think that many of us are demandng that we deliberately execute every transfer window at a loss.
I don’t think it is unreasonable, however, to expect that weanesses in the squad are addressed to the extent that we break even on transfer activity.
Last summer it was generally accepted that there was about £40 million available at the start of the window.
We then sold Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy for a total of £67 million, and spent around £38million on arrivals.
Up to the start of today we had spent £40million and recieved £40million.
That is why paying fans grow frustrated at our failure to deepen our squad when it repeatedly costs us the chance to win the biggest trophies.
For the record, I think our squad looks very talented and, if and when our injured players return, looks very strong.
I also think we are taking a big risk in the striking department if we suffer an injury there, we need a backup keeper that the manager is happy to employ, and our first choice right back is trying to recover from two adjacent fractures in the same bone in his right leg.
They are risks that, with our bank balance, we do not need to take.
Cool. So now its done. Lets get 3 points at Anfield.
Thanks for that tabs @ #942, it reminds me….
“Never trust a man who can’t look you in the eyes properly.”
I hired ‘a squinter’ many years ago. Jumped thru’ hoops of burning fire to get him the deal he wanted. Agreed terms. Presented him with his contract. Got everything signed off. Prepared his training programme. He called me up a couple of days before he was due to start and told me his was feckin’ of to Oz with his girlfriend. A naiive Storey learnt a valuable lesson that day.
Some of the comments I’ve seen today re: transfers have made my own eyes boggle. Some deluded twit on twotter made a genuine plea for Heskey! Emile fuggin’ Heskey.
The mentality is like a mad scramble at the sales. Buy ANYTHING. Buy EVERYTHING! Just BUY, please BUY!
A double meh! to striking, squinty Dempsey and a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders to Essien, Tiote or any other bollix player rumour made-up or real.
Yes, our squad needs strengthening.
Yes, in it’s current state it can still probably still compete for prizes.
Yes, Arsene and co have a master plan.
No, I have no idea if it will succeed this season.
Throwing money at things does not fix fundamental issues. It just makes the fundamental issues even more costly.
Per ‘Holic think before you type before you tweet.
Oh, and f*ck you very much Sky for staging this ridiculous, high-jinx transfer window nonsense. It’s total shite.
*rant ends*
Just to say: couldn’t give a toss we’ve not signed Dempsey. We don’t need him.
The LWCs have spent a packet and hardly improved their first team at all. Very happy to see the back of Modric, King and VDV. Very happy they didn’t sign Moutinho.
More concerned as to why we’ve not signed a def mid. Why was Song sold? Why didn’t we take the Sahin loan if we didn’t have a replacement? What happens if Arteta, Jack and Diaby are all crocked at the same time (hardly out of the question)?
All in all, I suspect we’ll be OK. The LWCs are still weaker than we are. Liverpool are pony. Newcastle have the Europa to tie them up. But I still think our squad is crying out for a def midfielder and I don’t understand why we haven’t gone and bought one.
Ah well, onwards and upwards. A win at Anfield on Sunday and we’ll all feel much better.
The more I think about it, the more I see his stupid face in a white (Fulham) shirt, the more I think Dempsey was made for the LWC 😛
He’s their level too, about decent.
*assists for the big one*
I want to be in Lars’ and Ollie’s gang.
Lurks
Ollie knows at #993.
Trev@994: just one thing – that “generally accepted” sum was still just guesswork. It came from a Swiss Ramble post so while it was a very educated guess it was still a guess.
Receives a pass late in the game off lorries who throws to vanhorsething out to mvilla who trades passes with dempesey(mercenaries united)looks up to see lorente and wonders if that window is closed yet b4 whipping over a beauty of a cross…
Just one more reason to be in Ollie’s gang! 🙂
We are being pissed on ! its a joke ! we are now a fucking joke !! Let’s look for fourth (so that’s ok with some) NO we are the ARSENAL and we should be no ONE !!!!
Missed the transfer deadline. 😉
Tabs gets the ton! Well in!
Beauty, tabs!
Oxon, I don’t think people are calling for arsenal to lose money thru all of their endeavors and run the club far into the red. The club has numerous revenue streams. Where most of us are asking them not to show a bang up profit every year is in the transfer market. Again none of us are asking for exhorbitant expenditures that puts the club in debt but a small negative balance in the transfer market this summer by adding a few players in positions of need would not cause the club any major issue and if it led to a league title, I would argue that it would make the club money. The club generates plenty of money outside of player sales that we could tolerate a negative transfer budget and still not cause harm to our philosophy and financial position.
Replaced not strengthened. Could almost be our new motto.
Ollie @993. You might well be spot on.
heh Steve T, how do you say that in Latin? 😀
Well for the big 1000 -the dream team of Ollie & Tabs. 🙂
Ah, the prestige, magic and glory of 1111. Not something to be casually sneezed, coughed, or belched at.
Well in tabs seems my legs are giving up on me virtually too 🙁
TS @996 Every word .
tabs@1000: you’re welcome to join, all you have to do is buy me and Ollie a pint each before the Sunderland game!
Ollie. Expert assist at 999 and congratulations Tabs on the big one. No, not that big one you perve. 😉
Cheers Trev. I think we had the same answer for oxon. you were just quicker and probably better spoken.
Drinks on me!
…and of course, the reward for that pint is one pint in return from both of us 🙂
TS@996: agree with every word.
Trev @994 – whole I’m not a season ticket holder, I agree with every word you wrote.
I just wanna strengthen and not replace again.
SG @ 991 — let me put it this way, there is a certain equation in play here, a delta that must be maintained vis-a-vis the net transfer spend, which is either 0, positive or some negative amount that is pre-defined. It is not unbounded, and I cannot in good faith be critical of that self-imposed delta amount by the board as I don’t know the full details of Arsenal finances, or our real long term plans, but knowing that profits are always put back into the club.
Football is a sport that is sometimes, albeit rarely, elevated to the level of art. The rest is shit. Necessary shit, but shit nonetheless and not to be found yourself too deep in it.
Let us now go and teach the pretenders this Sunday what beautiful football really looks like … 🙂
Lars, 1017, time-travelling ? 😉
Re: Ollie @998. Like I said, Dempsey grew up on a Texas trash heap so his preparation may be just the thing for the marsh creatures.
Lars, those terms sound acceptable . I’m in. See Theo, it’s bloody easy this contract malarkey. See the terms and sign up. 🙂
I do of course owe my success to Lars and Ollie for the inspiration for the drink and to Ollie for the pinpoint pass.
😎
TS @996 – great stuff.
We didn’t win the league last season because of our start and because of January. In between we were magnificent.
We were playing with our backups during those times.
All I wanted was better backup do we can win the league…
Nice milleni-ton Tabs. 😉
Re: TS @996. I genuinely thought Dempsey would be a decent signing but that is in the past. I no longer would countenance dealing with scum the likes of him. 🙁 🙁
Snir. I have been saying it for years. For done reason we don’t do it. We should be lucky that we have players that have years on the sidelines so they “feel” like new signings.
Ollie. Replacious norus Strengthous. That should do it.
Thought the same NorCal.
Ollie@1023: feck, getting all confused by this here transfer pony. Before Southampton, of course!
Dembele, Adebayor, Dempsey and Lloris for the price of Modric.
Like it or not, good job for the neighbors, at least on paper.
So what are Bilbao going to do with Llorente now?
Play him, at least away from home where the fans might not boo him?
To be fair, Lars, I had been confusing these two fixtures before the first one actually happened.
Bloody S-clubs in red&white stripes.
Lurky –
Dembele is the only one of those I would have wanted.
Remember their mega-activity is only a desparate attempt to catch up with us. 😉
Well thank God that’s over! I hate the so-call transfer window. As far as I am concerned it makes people who tend to be prone to hysterics to become – if anything – more hysterical. I have never seen the point of it but if the must have it then they should confine it to the closed seasons only ..
Now who’s ready for the footie on Sunday? 🙂
6 minutes and 25 seconds to go !!!!!!!!!!!!!
lurky: good job? Well, I fail to see how their dealings will have made them (on paper at least) stronger than last season. Modric and VdV are substantial losses and unless Lloris have learned how to catch crosses in the past few months he’s not much better than Friedel.
SSN, Ian Dowie “every manager in the top ten would sign Clint Dempsey for £6million, all day long”.
Funny how no manager actually did.
And what is Ian Dowie ?
Oh yes. A sacked manager !
Trev 1038, is there a closing ceremony? :p
45 seconds !!!!!!!!!!!!
Heh, indeed, Trev, that’s what he is.
Trev, speaking of Dowie – I found this gem amongst a million unbelivably stupid tweets:
“Iain Dowie thinking the only difference between Moutinho and Dempsey is their age is probably exactly why he’s out of work. “
*starts fireworks*
Oooooooooooooooooooh.
A few brave souls seem to still be in it for the 1111 quest …
lurky oliva @1033. It might appear to be good business at first glance, four for the price of one. Until you consider Adebayor being one of the four. 😉
You’re a very brave man, Lars, being out on twitter tonight. 🙂
Ollie, yes Jim White’s head blows off ! 😉
Trev, OVER !!!! 🙂
tabs, Trev, Lars – many thanks fellas.
8ball – Dempsey had a very good last season. He is a decent player, no question, at least as good as Fanny Fart. With all the so-called ‘mental’ issues that we seem to face right now, we can do without a “striker” in the squad, if you get my drift, oh surreal one 🙂
Drinks all round, on my tab please.
*looks for Snir collapsed in a heap*
Trev and NorCal.
Whilst “not many” people are calling for Arsenal’s player trading to be run at a loss, I think that at least one person said exactly that. Or does ‘and we’ve made a facking profit on transfers again! Why?'[1] mean something significantly different.
As someone said not far above[2], Arsène probably has a plan. (My “probably”.) Someone else said above that at the end of the season, should it not go as well as they (and all of us) hope, they reserve the right to complain about the business done during this transfer window and to call for the manager’s head. good luck to them, they have an absolute right to say whatever they like, within reason, and as long as they adhere to the unwritten rules of this bar. At the same time, I reserve the right to point out that the management of AFC had to make their calls in real time, and didn’t and don’t have the luxury of sitting on the sidelines until the effects of those decisions are known and bleating endlessly if they look wrong at any point.
Recall that the acronym is AKB, not AKE nor AKIAR – “Arsène knows best”, not “Arsène knows everything” nor “Arsène is always right”.
[1] I recall someone saying something indistinguishable from this above. I’m sorry – I can’t face back drinking to check, and to retrieve the exact quote. It’s not the effort required, it’s the need to trawl through so many well-expressed opinions that I literally do not understand.
[2] Much more recently, but for reasons of symmetry I haven’t checked to see who said this either.
COYG ICDDR
Same here Trev. Good player Dembele.
And they are desperate, but they are closer every year. Their weakness is AVB, wants to play in positive way, but too young and naive sometimes.
As for us, I am genuinely afraid what this year might bring to us. Hope I am wrong, but I’ve never been so scared and uncertain. Not even last year. Not even close.
So, that’s it.
It’s finally over.
We are not talking here about Roxette’s fixation with pirates, (or one-eyed, one-legged brigands of any sort, now that I come to think of it). No, we are talking about the closure on the damned transfer window.
We can stop gnashing those teeth, wringing them hands, clicking “refresh” on our digital devices. The window is shut. It slammed unceremoniously, as we added pretty much the square root of zip, to our earlier acquisitions, leaving our squad at best on a par with where we ended up last season, or, if you’re glass is half-empty, with 2 “unproven” strikers, recruited to fill a 30 goal gap which opened when RvPs stomach rumbled with the voice of a little boy.
I’ve been lucky as I have missed most of the madness today as I traipsed around the Peak District, but even I have to admit to starting to get a bit infected on the journey home by all the twitter-angst I was reading (and I have a reasonably calm TL normally), and then I remembered something:
There was mega moaning going on in the very same place not so long ago, when Arsenal decided against spunking the £10m fee that was being quoted for a guy who was going into the last year of his contract – that player was Marouane Chamakh. We ended up signing him for nothing, I think. Then I read tonight people railing that we had got “rid of the good one (Bendtner) and kept him (Chamakh).”
Only on Twitter, eh?
The point is, that spending just because the money is there, but making the wrong purchase, is no more right than holding on to the profits from sales-to-date, is wrong. Some people seem to think that the universe will right itself if we just shell out millions of pounds, irrespective of what it buys.
I share the frustration that many are articulating that we are two or three players short, and I am fundamentally concerned about the likelihood of turning 1 point matches into three, if we get hit by further injuries. I also agree that on the face of it there appears to be players available who would have made our squad better. But I say “appears” as I don’t have the inside track on why we haven’t bought anyone else and whilst I worry, only time will tell whether the Arsenal Board are taking for granted the skills of Wenger, the Alchemist.
Worry is a waste of nervous energy though.
Time to look forward. Last time I looked, we were still in four trophies, with a favourable draw in the Group stages of the Champions League. We have all to play for.
Starting with the thieving Scousers on Sunday.
COYGs.
Ollie, I’ve only made a few short visits. Been equally depressing every time. People who are normally quite sane seem to have been caught up in some sort of mob mentality.
Where do I sign???
So we didn’t bring in any fresh meat on deadline day and all the regular Kool Aid drinking types at the bar really think we’re going to compete for the title? Really?
No chance for top three and a struggle to get that fourth UCL spot. Reminder: you’re gotta play your way into the group stage for that one.
Fuck me sideways. Same old bean counting board.
I need a vacation 😉
I’ll be gone before 1111, bt8.
In fact, I’ll be gone just now.
I’m sure they’ll announce deals through the night but meh, they’re not going to be for us I don’t think.
Goodnight, folks, it’s been quite different from last year’s Window.
Still, ask yourself if you’d rather have just lost 8-2 and signed players?
Still very disappointed but not angry.
Sweet dreams, Gunners!
Oh well.
Remember I wrote about an idea for the DM before Song was sold? It seemed unrealistic at the time but it looks very realistic now.
BFG, Kos as CB, and TV as DM, with Mikel and Cazorla in MF
@ 1056 Welcome back!
Well said, Doctor Zed
zico, well said. A pint is waiting on the bar for you!
Jim White needs to be tied by his hair to the horns of a temperamental rhino who’s on a charge to the nearest crocodile-infested river.
Dave Basset reminds me of the old boy sitting quietly in the corner of his OAP residential home with his cock peaking out of his jim-jams.
AL = LANS 🙂
Hey Reverend AL
Where you been kneeling, of late?
“What this club needs is an enema!”
Best thing for this club is to not qualify for the UCL for a season or two. Get rid of the deadwood (on the board), loosen the purse strings, and become a reasonable facsimile of the once mighty Arsenal.
Good night.
I’ve set myself a precedent for not naming people in this bar. One or two people have said things here with every word of which I agree. You know who you are. Thank you, it helps maintain my faith in the sanity[1] of my fellow drinkers.
[1] No insult intended.
COYG ICDDR
Tabs. Spot on be Basset.
tabs – I hope you mean peeking. The image is even more disturbing if you don’t.
I don’t think anyone knows yet if we’re in better or worse shape than last year. As usual it’ll likely depend on injuries (ours and the competition), how fast the team gels and the emergence/progress of youngsters (Ox, Coq, Frimpong, Jenkinson…).
Can’t wait for Sunday and not only because the bindippers won’t park the bus.
Well said Dr Z.
Alright AL. You just made the deadline, come and sign for the kool aid gang!
AL back in the bar – that’s great news!
Did we get Bevin ? 😉
@Snir: as for the DM, I want to see Coq fail (and it won’t happen) before we consider anyone else there.
Matt, I’m not sure if Frimpong is ready to give a major contribution this season but the other three you mention could be important cogs in the machine.
Cheers Steve.
Heh Oxon, I stand corrected 🙂
@1039Lars
Last season, VDV was a sub. for about half of the games for them.
Last season, Modric was out of form and already gone in his mind.
Last season, Dawson did not even play.
This season they bought
Dembele, Adebayor, Dempsey, Lloris, Vertoghen, Sigurdson.
If you want I can provide stats goals/ass/tack/pass% etc. on each of them, and try to show you they are not so bad players AT LEAST ON PAPER as I sad, even if they play for Tots now. But, I am sure you already know their last year numbers.
We may like it or not, they made good job.
Anyway, this is my last word on Tots this year.
Welcome AL.
Good work Dr Z.
Tabs @ Bassett. 🙂
Snir’s recovery begins.
Roberto S @1066 – mist stupid post of a mad night.
Djourou for DM ?
WITKE@1073
No.
**Ends**
I just hope Coquelin proves to be as good as I think he will.
COYRs.
@8ball, yes Frimpong may need some time to recover but there’s another youngster I forgot, also at an age where another season can lead to a massive progress: Rambo.
What Trev said about 1066 – well, +o -i
Djourou or Santos Trev???
Michael Owen still available??????????
😉
Oxon,
Fair enough. Yes there are varying degrees of opinion on here and other sites about what we should and shouldn’t have done. And I will repeat they are opinions. I think a lot of the frustration ( at least on my part) is that we have seen this same pattern again and again and ….. We have not stumped up the cash and really made a true run at things for years. We are treading water in the transfer market and hoping for some luck and for other teams not to pass us. We will fight for a top 4 spot but I think it will be a tough fight if we have any injuries or bad luck. We need more depth but I just don’t see it in some positions and had hoped we would have spent a little more to improve that. We now have to support the lads.
Lonestar, I got your back on defending a fellow Texan. But I am not too upset that we didn’t sign him. But at 6 million he was a steal.
Yes, that could work too Steve T.
Well, it’s getting late here in Sweden so I’m off to bed. I think I shall dream of a world where people have calmed the fuck down…
Heh! @ #1063 😆
Trev, I started drinking four hours ago to sink my sorrow in alcohol. The alcohol has nOw changed my mood from pissed off to bullish.
Let’s smash those scousers!!!
Trev @ 1078 — One step back for two steps forward. We’ve been like hamsters on a wheel for far too long. It may be acceptable for you if you’re a bird that doesn’t endeavour to spread their wings and fly high. From where I come from I call those pigeons.
No chance to talk about the color of Bendtner’s shoes this season, or the color of Song’s hair. What is left????
Coquelin is going to win us silver? Right then. I’m off to get some proper booze and contemplate that one.
Missing out on CL will not cause some miraculous awakening. It will only lead to harder summers and transfer windows. It will cost more money to convince players to join and the exodus could be worse. We have a philosophy and missing out on CL will not change that. Money would become tighter and youth would be relied on even more.
Bah, enough responding about BS.
Dowie on SSN: ” QPR have done well. They’ve given Mark head to go and have a go”. Ugghhh !
Good to say “halleujah” (how the hell do you sepll that word??!?) – to you cats too!
Zee, mostly before the porcelain font in places of public-house worship all summer, all about the place – and – noooooo – not in that way (chance would be a fine thing), i was chucking up!
New season, newish squad, bring it ishish onish (and be niceish to us till we gel, please).
Up The Arse (no ish)!
Roberto S –
Sorry I really can’t be bothered.
Don’t invent half of the sodding post and then start criticising it.
You’d be better off looking after all those hamsters and pigeons ???
no new signings? is the window shut? Oh.
a pitcher of your best lime koolaid, barkeep. with a bottle of fine añejo tequila, por favor.
now, here’s to getting behind the squad we’ve got…here’s to the greatest club the world has ever seen!
trev, it must be what’s for dinner, there.
@NorCalArsenal: I’m not frustrated or angry but I’m really curious to hear the rationale behind making another 8 figures profit and reducing the wage bill just when we’ve generated some more property revenue and with big contracts renegotiated in 18 months. Can’t help feeling the club is not seizing the opportunity.
slices it towards the far post…
Either that, or they provide his after dinner entertainment, scruz.
lol, trev, i wondered if the hamster was destined for a richard gere moment, at that.
Nice 1100 scruz, but I got the big ‘one’. 😉
the won ton? well in, then. looks like we are doing an ebouiaby down villa’s left for the quad’o’1’s…
Right, I got 1111 last time and had it cruelly taken away.
To avoid more disappointment, I’m off for an early night.
We’ve signed a new dog which we’ll be picking up in the morning.
blushes, oh i get it, the tabs ton…
i singed a pork chop for lunch, hoping its as productive as my last singing…
Just emerged from a whole week in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River in Colorado. Magic. Absolutely beautiful brown and rainbow trout on the fly. Americas wilderness at its very best.
Best of all, because the canyon is 2000 feet deep and only about 100 yards wide NO email or phone access. I recommend it to anyone who dislikes the “excitement” of the window’s last week.
Great summer for me. Poldi, Giroud and Santi in. Jack and Diaby back. Alex Ox and Le Coq emerging as kingpins and Bouldie marshaling the defense back to greatness. Oh yes, and a couple of average and one aging forward left for silly money.
Bring it all on. I’m ready.
so no one else up for koolaid and tequila? operators are waiting for your call, they are just off from the phone bank at the grove.
btm, you are blessed, i’ve only seen it from the top, gorgeous landscape. good fishing in that entire area, too. welcome back!
Matt,
I am with you but I guess more towards the frustrated side. I Just don’t know the answer. We have had the money the last few years to add some strength in the squad but have merely replaced. I guess project youth is still alive because in many positions our back up is a yut’.
Well, I hope we have a better than usual injury record this year. If they need help on the medical team ,I am only a phone call away!
Yes 1111!
Being cheered up by talk of Coquelin. Looks a quality player to me and I guess the events (or rather non-events) of this week show that the boss is backing him.
Also enjoyed where I come from we call those pigeons. Needed a chuckle, ta.
Bang up for Sunday and watching us get off the mark in style. The scousers appear even more pissed off than we are – loaned Carroll, sold Adam, no replacements. Hopefully we can increase the pain. Should help that half their first XI played 90 mins last night.
Will be good to watch some actual football and remind ourselves that, whatever SSN might like to pretend on nights like this, all that really matters is where you are come May.
COYG
well in, norcal, 1111 where we will finish in our four competitions this year…:)
Well we didn’t have a repetition of the panic buying we had on the last deadline day which is something.
The main take out for me is the excessive number of grossly overpaid drongos still on the books that we have been unable to persuade other clubs to take on loan (let alone buy).
I don’t share BtM’s optimism for the new season – I would be delighted if I’m wrong.
2nd 1100+ drinks post I’ve encountered…
eureka! it’s all stan’s fault! now I see…
NorCal@1099. I understand your frustration and anger – oh you’re neither frustrated nor angry – well, I understand your point of view. For myself, I cannot understand the rationale that explains why taking an eight figure sum and spending that on the contract of a player who a manager that I trust does not believe will improve the squad sufficiently is a Good Thing.
Let’s assume that Arsène believes that player would improve the squad sufficiently for it to be worth spending £5m on his contract. When the current owners of that contract are approached, they demand £10m. I think Arsenal are right to walk away from the deal under these circumstances.
I believe that this is what has been happening over recent weeks and recent windows. I find this a more convincing explanation than the others, which appear to be: 1) Arsène Wenger has a prejudice against spending any money; 2) Ivan Gazidis and/or Stan Kroenke do not accept it when Arsène says we need to buy in players or Stan Kroenke accepts that we need to buy players but wants to take the short-term profit from the transfer business rather than maintain the value of his investment.
Option 1) is contradicted by Wenger’s record of buying player contracts in the years before the stadium move; 2) would be strange given that Gazidis and Kroenke are prepared to pay Wenger to mahange the team and 3) doesn’t chime with Kroenke’s behaviour towards other sports teams that he owns.
OK, that’s enough for me. I’m going to rush off to bed without waiting for replies. Night all. Keep the faith.
COYG UCDDR
Bollocks. A few typos crept into mine@1119. I’m sure any readers can work out what I meant.
COYG ICDDR
Scruz,
Eureka buy a club sell its best players every season since taking over increase the price of your shares as the debt go downs sell out at a massive profit! Eureka!!!!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Oxon, it was Matt that wrote @1099
No worries. I get your points as well.
I am short term frustrated but also know that I don’t know squat about the true undergoings in the market. All well and good. Still have faith in club and manager. Will support both with gusto.
Proud to be a Gooner