Now Hiring
Jun 3rd, 2013 by 'holic
It is turning into not so much the night of the long knives, but more the month of the long knives.
Last Thursday came the confirmation that James Shea, Reice Charles-Cook, Sead Hajrovic, Jernade Meade, Samir Bihmoutine, Nigel Neita, Josh Rees, Conor Henderson, Philip Roberts, and Sanchez Watt were not having their contracts renewed and this followed the previously announced departures of Martin Angha, Kyle Ebecilio,Β Jordan Wynter, Elton Monteiro and Craig Eastmond. That is a healthy chunk of senior potential academy graduates.
The announcements are set to turn to their peers. Although yet to be confirmed by the club Sky Sports broke the not entirely surprising news that Denilson and the club have agreed he can cancel his contract with a year to go. Clearly he has a club willing to take him on a reasonable salary but unable to meet a fee. It makes sense for him to come to an agreement that suits all parties. Hopefully he will be the starter for around another three or four senior players to make room for fresh blood in the first team squad.
The trimming of the squad and some of those with dreams of promotion leaves plenty of room for Arsene Wenger to manoeuvre this summer. There are still youngsters knocking on the door but who may be lined up to gain experience elsewhere. Still to be announced are the plans for those who have spent parts of this season, or longer, on loan to gain the aforementioned experience. It is unlikely the exit door has been slammed shut quite yet.
All of which suggests there may well be some real fire behind the billowing smoke of rumour filling the news aggregators and social media sites. As usual I would suggest the usual advice. Wait until it is on .com before getting too excited. New commercial income, the creation of vacancies, the clear need for strategic strengthening of the squad. All of the planets are aligning.
I’m almost looking forward to it, in a strange way.
198 Responses to “Now Hiring”
I’ll throw my name in the hat…
a flock of doves released, and now the seagulls of the media are going to be hovering for scraps.
wagner aht!
Just warming up the old hamstrings right now.
Apologies H2H, you were caught in the crossfire there, posting as him as he was posting as you! Funny as fuck though π
No problem ‘holic, thought as much.
I don’t blame you for taking it down, just thought a taste of his own medicine might do him some good. π
Probably won’t make much difference though.
He’ll tire of wasting his time soon enough.
Am I the only one that has started to questioned our youth system??? I don’t really regard players that we sign as 17/18 year olds from foreign fields and turn into first team players as products of our youth system. Gibbo and Jack in recent years. After such a wonderful conveyer belt from a few years back should we expect more? Is our youth system good value for money?
We can only hope ‘holic.
Steve T.
I wouldn’t call our set up a waste of money, not by a long shot, we are giving future players, many English, a sound foundation. Realisticaly speaking, the chance of bringing through more then one or two players every few years is pretty slim, chances are limited and only the very best and highly motavated will make it through, but the ones that do make it will understand what it is to be a gunner.
More fuckwit problems????? Some people just have nothing of value in their lives.
I would love to know the total costs H2H. I would love to see us produce more from the youth set up. I do think it is a real shame when we see so much potential just disappear off of the Arsenal radar.
The posting rate is higher than during the season! π
Post 4 explains what I thought then.
Post? Drink, sorry!
There are very few clubs and without financial constraints at the top of the football table that bring many first-teamers through youth.
It’s more common in France though (I think that when Bordeaux beat Newcastle, they had about 10 players trained at the club in the squad).
Lyon, who finished third, have a substantial number of players coming from their youth system in this year’s squad too.
Of course, Bordeaux won both the Youth Cup and the normal cup this year, so there is hope of the conveyor belt carrying on at their very modest level.
I think they bought zero player last summer, and only one this winter (having lost their top scorer to Newcastle).
Being the club that has played most games in France this season (57), it’s little wonder they didn’t do so well in the League (7th).
But I digress.
I think we have a decent youth system, but this year’s cull shows that some years don’t produce much.
I saw practically all of those culled this Thursday in an U19s (or was it U21s?) game vs Norwich last season, and well, let’s say I am not too surprised.
Costs would probably be merged into the everyday running of the club, Steve. In Germany it is mandatory that all bundesliga clubs have a working youth set up, it should be enforced in the U.K too, one only has to look at the German national team to see the benifits.
Problem with bringing through the talent is the rate in which certain individuals mature (or don’t). A worldbeater at 15 can be forgotten by 19. Stamina and injuries take their toll too. Look at Jack, he’s been at the club since he was nine, when he finally came through, he played down the severeness of a “niggle” and it cost him a year. Will he get back to his best? No-one knows, but we all hope so.
Players that come through too young can also burn out too soon, classic example Michael Owen, and the herald as next best thing, Wayne Rooney, is not looking too great nowadays either. the clubs need to manage the kids well and not over work them, easier said then done ofcourse, especialy with the zealos of youth. If you look at the Ox this term, he had a bit of a flux in form, was benched, but finished the season reasonably well. Easing him into the team will keep in good sted for the future (imho).
This is great to see the club being quite ruthless this summer…
It’s a shame that it didn’t happen more last year. Wenger
has adapted again and the future is bright! The 1st team has got
more difficult to break into for the youth players due to the money spent
by the chelski’s and citeh’s so good to see the club evolving as they should…was Liam Brady’s departure earlier in the season connected?
Evening Ollie.
Steve, there have been rumblings that Liam himself wasn’t happy at the lack of opportunity afforded to one or two more of the youngsters, hence his decision to step down.
As usual though that is just hearsay, and difficult to believe, given the number of kids who have featured, in cup ties in particular.
There does seem a lack of quality coming through. But its really difficult to know if it is a problem in scouting, coaching, or just a dry well. Truth is, if we can get one that comes through each year that is about as much as one can hope for. Any more is a bonus.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I have gotten giddy at the prosepct of an erm, prospect coming through the ranks; JET, Bentley (ewww), Lansbury, Barazite are just a few I can recall having sky high hopes for, yet didnt make the grade.
But you cannot say any have gone on to prove the club wrong. Hopefully they will all go on and make careers for themselves and in a lot of cases the club more than recoups the costs of training through transfer fees and the oh so lucrative sell on clauses.
I know I shouldnt, but I have sky high hopes for Nico Yennaris. Well, that’s his Arsenal career down the toilet now then.
Oh and evening to all. Long time no read. π
Sage advice ‘Holic as too much transfer euphoria can be seriously detrimental to one’s health. My excitement is tempered by the fact that this is the time when the club are most likely to encourage this sort of speculation because it may sell corporate boxes and expensive season tickets.
While experience tells me that we will always buy less than Fleet Street suggests my instincts suggest that one really big signing is possible. It makes me laugh when people take the Daily Star seriously so any suggestion that they make like we cannot put a package together for Rooney is unlikely to be properly sourced even if it is likely to be true. I think Rooney is unlikely to leave Old Trafford and I doubt he would see us as attractive enough to join as potential trophy winners but if he does it would indicate we had done a strong selling job on him. I would think Cesc is a bigger possibility but the most likely signing is Higuain. I also expect that the Cesar deal is likely ( not sure he is what we want) and Ashley Williams may be recruited as a utility defender. I was idly speculating that we might be able to trim about Β£450 k a week from our wage bill this close season. The Denilson news suggests we are starting that process and I pray it may continue. Arshavin and Squillaci are definitely off and Bendtner may well end up being given a free which is a big blow to the ego of the world’s greatest striker
History tells us Wenger isn’t always predictable in terms of targets even if he is in terms of type of player and scale of fee.So I guess we just have to wait and see. News may not be long in coming. We usually make a signing early for reasons I mentioned before
Welcome TommyD and welcome back Norris.
Hope all is well.
Evening ttg π
I suspect this all speaks to the difficulty of spotting with any certainty the development potential in young teenagers β not so much of their raw talent, but more of the physical, mental and emotional attributes that are necessary to turn a promising youth into a professional footballer of Arsenal first-team grade. Then, if nothing else, the numbers are against any Academy player graduating to the first-team squad (even in this temperate, reflective bar, we don’t hear too many voices screaming for youth promotions in preference to buying proven world-class players). The miracle is that as many players get from the Academy to the first team as do, not that their number is so low. And not many come to mind of which you’d say we let a gem slip through our fingers.
Exactly that Ned. We still have more than most in the squad, although not all are destined to remain there, I fear.
Cheers Holic, all good thanks.
Speaking of our youth, I still have high hopes for certain misters Eisfeld and Ryo, the japanese winger especially. From what I seen from him, he looks pretty much like combination of Gervs in term of ability to get past the man and Theo in terms of pace.
I really really hope that this seasons injuries were last ones for long time and that they did not affect his development too much.
Wasn’t he sent off again last night?
Cheers holic! Would be a pleasure to have a beer one day… Mine is a
punk ipa (brewdog style). It is the future!
They sell that in my local Sainsbury, Tommy. I will buy one on Wednesday just for a taster.
He was indeed, Good news. Fourth time during his loan spell, I read π
I read somewhere that our Academy costs us around Β£10million a year. IF that is true then it means it costs us just the price of one average player every season, that, in my opinion, is a very small price to ‘gamble’ on the possibility of getting a Jack, a Gibbs and a Sczeszny every now and then.
It’s true that we bought the likes of Gibbs, Fabregas and Sczeszny at 16 years of age but then they won’t have joined us if we didn’t have a functioning academy with worldclass facilities.
Evening all,
If I may just return to Tabs’ “Al Jazeera” link in the last set of drinks:
I was quite struck by the difference in Arsene Wenger in that interview.
At times recently, he has seemed to be struggling to express himself as clearly as he once did. Phrases had become twisted, grammar very strained, and responses to questions had become cliched and evasive.
In the Jazeera interview though, it was a very different person speaking.
Relieved of the need to guard his every word from a sniping English press, he was once again the relaxed, interesting and fluent Arsene of old.
Gone were the constant “Well, errrrrs” and “You knows” of recent times, designed to give him room to manoevre around a dig about spending money, replacing players, and not winning anything for eight years.
Instead there was insight into his perceptions of Ferguson’s final season, Moyes’ succession, and Middle Eastern football in particular.
Also interesting was the fact that, although he claimed PSG had not made him any offers, he had recommended them to the Qatari group who bought the club.
Strange that a manager who stands so robustly behind the self sustaining model at Arsenal, sees PSG and the Qataris as so highly mutually beneficial.
If you haven’t already heard it, it’s well worth popping back for.
Buy 2 holic! Serve it cold and in a good beer glass with a head…pour
a quarter of the bottle and top up as it empties and the head recedes π I think it is Β£1.67 in waitrose. A bargain i say. I had 36 delivered today!
I do hope the clear out continues…the failure to be more ruthless
last year must have cost us an extra quality signing…
Cesc has apparently now told Spanish radio he’s staying put, as expected. Maybe next year, eh?
Will be interested to see if we manage to do our business early. I think Cesar and Jovetic are both likely, but the latter might be a slow burn.
Cent’Berry, sound points. Sales of those who didn’t quite make it probably cover the marginal operating cost of the Academy each year, making ny graduate we keep a free bonus.
Speaking as a fan, and not someone who is an expert on finances or the skill level of the academy youngsters like Jeorge Bird, I always feel a little sad when we release youngsters from the club.
Looking in from the outside it seems that we spend so much time battling with other clubs for the signatures for these kids and then just release them unceremoniously after a few years, so I sometimes wonder what’s the point of it all?
I know the gap between the Under 21s and the first team is big but sometimes I wonder if there is any plan to promote the academy youngsters at all…
Of course I realize that academy graduates who make it (at any club, not just ours) are few and far between but I still feel like over the years a couple more could probably have made it with us. Let’s hope for the best for the rest of the academy starlets. It would be a huge lift if we can have some more solid players coming through in the future, or at the very least, if we can have some solid backup for the first team as we try to push on and compete in the various competitions.
I’m hoping to see more of Miquel, Eisfeld, Gnabry and Ryo in the Capital One Cup, I think they look like they have what it takes.
A question to all holics; between Frimpong and Coquelin, who do you think has more of a future with us in the long term?
10 million for the academy is not bad value, although it would be very nice to see more who join as kids actually graduate into the first team.
Eisfeld is an interesting one for me. He is 20 now but apart from the league cup has not made an impression. I would have thought that if he had any chance of making it then it has to be this season.
Cannons. I would be surprised to see either figure next year to be honest.
Morning Steve
We spent 10 quid on our Academy at the Golders Green Ramblers
back in the day.
That was the Bar Tab during Pre Season when we recruited wannabe Young Bloods to cover any missing first team personnel,who were regularly detained at her Majesty’s Pleasure during the season.
Only problem was most of the Young Bloods ended up detained as well.!!
Made life very difficult i can tell you.!!
Cheers
Nostalgic Sweeper.
http://www.football365.com/f365-features/8755839/F365-Focus
Very good read, that.
Morning Holics. The radar seems strangely quiet. Suggests feverish backroom activity hopefully.
Morning ‘holiest…absolutely glorious weather here on the Jurassic Coast – hope it is the same for you.
Indeed an interesting read Ollie, particularly in regard to Monaco. Where does Platini’s FFP sit in all this, bearing in mind Monaco’s relatively low paying spectators. Any leeway allowed will no doubt be seized upon by other perpetrators if they start to get squeezed by UEFA.
Btw, where do Monaco stand in your cuntabilty list of ligue 1 clubs Ollie?
Bloody predictive text…should read morning ‘holics not holies lol.
Good question, Uplympian.
So far, despite the ridiculous spending, they haven’t displayed the arrogant cuntery of PSG.
I suspect it might all change when the season starts. We shall see….
A big jump up that list may be expected.
Morning Sweeper – I appreciated your colourful stories of the GGRs and how you replenished your squad. Given the amount of time spent at HM Pleasure, I’m wondering if a ‘twiffic little club wiv a twiffic manager’ might not benefit form the GGRs ‘business model’ and start recruiting from the fellas who reside in Du Cane Road? At least they’ll be able to stop worrying about player commitment.
Trev/tabs – Great link. Arsene with the handbrake off?
Nice link Ollie.
Big yellow thing in sky radiating warmth…. might very well go check it out.
Good day all.
Another point to consider in the academy debate is the demands of the league on the bodies of these prospective first teamers, some of these youngsters are blessed with talent but do no have a body that can be able to comfortably absorb the challenges posed by first team football, a good example is Ryo, he is obviously talented but the past two seasons has shown that his body might not be able to handle the demands of first team football(I hope he proves otherwise) Eisfield had a bad injury record before he joined us so it could well be that Arsene is trying to manage him carefully to avoid another Ryo like situation.
This is what I will refer to as the ‘800 pound gorilla in the room post’. π Hey all. Was wondering Holic when you (and the holics!) would have your say about the culling of our youth. π Cor, while I share your sentiments (very much so), sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. Trying to find any news on my fav, Miquel, is near to impossible. I did come across an article which (reminded me?) that he was the only player outside our first team, who Wenger picked to train with us ahead of our game against Bayern. Think he must rate him highly. The question is, does he loan him out, or promote him. At 20 yrs of age, his future is in part, in Arsene’s hands. Fingers crossed for him. Eandy, Ryo is so energetic, but he does seem injury prone. Holic, your last thoughts on Arsene. Can’t imagine him being immune to the feeling we got away with it by the skin of our teeth, this season. Too close for comfort. And with SAF’s retirement, that surely has AW thinking about his own legacy. Me thinks the fires will be burning brightly, this summer π
Cheers ‘H, thanks for the post.
There will always be a huge turnover of staff at Youth level. I can’t speak of the younger lads released, but of those that made it to U-21 level – Hajrovic, Henderson, Watt, Eastmond, Embecilio – none of them were going to make it at Arsenal. Better, and kinder, to let them go rather than prolong any misplaced hope. Both Meade, and to a lesser extent Angha, looked half decent but with their route to the first team well and truly blocked, both have, I would have thought, made the right decision in choosing to pursue their careers away from Arsenal.
There are probably many things for which Arsenal can be held to account, but the Academy isn’t one of them. They do a magnificent job. In the present age, if you get one through to the first team every three years then you are doing very very well.
No other Club has more players from their academy still earning a living from playing the game. That achievement speaks for itself. Nor have there been any players that have been released and come back to bite us on the arse.
The academy pays for itself. Off the top of my head I can think of Sidwell, JET and Bentley that have all garnered big money for the Club, both immediately and subsequently with the provision of sell on clauses. I’m sure there are more.
Because of the 90 minute travelling time restriction on the “catchment area” for the 11-16 age group, there will always be a huge effort to bring in the best of worldwide talent at 16 when they no longer have to meet that criteria. At 16, these boys still have it all to do. To say that Scez, for example, has not been brought through by our academy, simply because he didn’t join until he was 16, is a nonsense. Players like Jack and Yennaris, who have played for the Club since they were 9 are not just exceptions, they are minor miracles.
The point is demonstrated by our latest youth signing, Dan Crowley from Villa, which will not be announced until he is 16 in August. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether he turns out to be either another wonderkid like Jack Wilshere or a hyped disappointment like Luke Freeman, but there is a real noise about this kid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=860qDU6IZRw
Good luck to him. No matter how talented he is, he will need it.
Trev @32 – Completely agree with your take on that AW interview, although I guess the format of the one on one interview will always be a more comfortable environment than a press con, especially if he has a working relationship with the Broadcaster. Shame he doesn’t do more of them.
And agreed. His stance on the Qatari group was pretty intriguing.
Canons @36 – Coquelin is the better player imo. Don’t think Frimpong will make it and he’ll probably be on his way this Summer. Coquelin may get another year, but he himself may want to go somewhere where he plays more regularly, so again I wouldn’t be surprised to see him leave this Summer.
Clive @38 – π
TS @44 – Hope so.
CoR.
I see no future for Frimpong at The Grove, I also believe Le Coq will look elsewhere as first team opportunities have literaly dried up.
==
Good stuff Tabs, said what I wanted to say, only better.
Nice vid link, that guy looks small, but holds his own against the bigger lads (well in that vid anyway) as always, time will tell.
==
From the beeb;
Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna confirms he is in talks to extend his contract, but has not ruled out a return to France in the future.
Sagna, 30, is entering the final season of his current deal, with Paris St-Germain and Monaco said to be monitoring the situation.
Speaking to L’Equipe, Sagna said: “There are talks but I still haven’t extended my contract. I am talking, and I am not at a bad club either.
When asked whether he could return to play in France, Sagna, who is currently on international duty, added: “It is possible.”
==
Abb – Re Miquel, I thought it was pretty telling that AW chose to play Sagna at centre back at Sunderland when hit by injury and suspension rather than Ignasi.
He’s at an age where he needs to be playing. I hope he goes out on loan this season. I like him, I think he’ll make it at the top level, but somehow I doubt that it will be at Arsenal.
Afternoon H2H.
Cheers for the link. Still think Sagna will probably depart. I doubt that we’ll match what might be on offer to him elsewhere.
tabs, I have tweeted you π
Tabs
I havenΒ΄t tweeted you π
@39 – Great read Ollie. Depressing though.
Dr C π
Talking of the departed, Carlos Vela makes BBC’s La Ligua team of the season.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22680405
Top, top’top top, Top of the League….;
http://www.givemesport.com/349678-arsenal-finish-top-of-fair-play-league?tg=/
Does that count as a trophy, H2H?
Some encouraging words from Kosser???????
Articles like that, and the recent interview between Martin Samuel and Platini, only prove that FFP is a weak joke.
Funguscunt and Pubis may be gone, but doesn’t the return of the Special Cunt put ‘holic at serious risk to be banned from Block 32? π
Holic – your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to irritate Maureen to such a degree that he ‘loses his cool’ and tries to climb into the stand to assault you thereby getting himself banned from the touchline for 10 months. π
Bath, knowing Arsenal, they’d ban Holic from the Emirates for an even longer time.
Who’s gonna take the kick? ‘holic or the neighbour?
If I know Holic, he’ll absolutely insist that the neighbour gets it. π
Tabs @48 – good stuff.
And agreed about Miquel. He does seem to have that necessary urgency and awareness about him, but just hasn’t played enough to be trusted in a side challenging at the top of the league.
A season loan to prove his ability and his fitness could see him get a chance at Arsenal. And he’s a naturally left footed centre back.
Another season of reserve and Capital One Cup football, and I fear he would be a goner rather than a gooner.
Nothing to say about the return of the “Special One”, except that, by me, he will hereinafter be referred to as the “Specious One”. π
Or “the special cunt” (copyright Ollie’s Twitter)
Well hello again holics π Tabs, Since Miquel can play either at centre back or left back (the latter position I think he really shines in ), his versatility could come in handy when injuries start to take their toll. H2H @ 57, heh, that made me proud of The Arsenal ! Spuds @ #2 was a surprise though π (diving) ! But getting back to Fair Play, it made me wonder, just how much stock AW puts into temperment, when scouting for new players. Think about it, we don’t really have a loose canon in the bunch (maybe Frimpong ?). He’s done well selecting players who are team oriented and who manage to keep their egos (and tempers, in check) π
The return of Maureen will undoubtedly do nothing to add the slightest scintilla of class to a club sadly lacking in any Inthe first place. I was at a dinner tonight where Simon Hughes was talking about the effect Pietersen has on the England dressing room and it struck me that Maureen could be a highly divisive figure if things don’t start well. He has decisions to make about keeping a lot of s,all,neat players in midfield or going more for juggernauts like Essien.
One obvious difference between us and Chelsea is that if we had Lukaku on loan last season doing as he did we would be almost certain to run with him in the first team next season. But will Chelsea? They will almost certainly go with a big signing and let Lukaku stew on the bench. I may of course be wrong but it is a reason why I take pride in what we are trying to do as opposed to what Chelsea have done. They have won umpteen trophies but still remain a charmless example of most of what is bad about Premiership football and one can only hope that the return of the Specious One ends in tears- sooner rather than later.
Interesting we won the Fair Play League when I think we had the most red cards!
Ttg, West Brom had 4 red cards, Arsenal 3. We came in 2nd place also for yellow cards. West Brom beat us on that too. π As for Mourinho, would be great fun if Arsene was to get one of those zappers (when you shake someone’s hand and it gives them a little jolt!), sadly, don’t see that happening. Ah, we’ll just have to win the League, that would do quite nicely.
Thanks Abb I was recalling from memory.
I notice by the way Koscielny has been quoted as saying he will leave if we don’t win a trophy. So who blew the League Cup against Birmingham mate! Loyalty is a two way street. Actually Id be surprised if he was quoted exactly. The first part of the interview suggested he was very happy the second that he would need to move if we didn’t win anything. I like Kos but Arsenal have been pretty damn good for his career.
http://video.eurosport.fr/football/premier-league/2012-2013/arsenal-laurent-koscielny-n-exclut-pas-un-depart_vid280778/video.shtml
This is the video where Kos apparently said the same think RVP said last year, “I hope the club will show ambition, if not I’ll leave. Can someone who speaks French check it? Ollie?
Practise your French:
http://www.eurosport.fr/football/match-amical/2012-2013/laurent-koscielny-avant-uruguay-france-et-bresil-france-je-prefere-les-petits-techniques_sto3787751/story.shtml
Storm in a teacup really, and slightly agenda-led questions:
‘Isn’t it gruelling to spend trophyless season after trophyless season? What could incite you to leave?’
Heh, he’s only been there 3 years, cunty journalism isn’t exclusive to the Brits…
Now Ttg, what is wrong with Kos having ambition. Gosh, I’m going to put it out there once and for all. If we had been more consistent this past season, then Miquel, Bellerin etc would have played more. Holic still would have had to address this mass exodus, but maybe a star would have been born in 2012-2013 season. Just maybe.
Ttg – beat me to it @73. Totally agree.
It would increase our chances of winning things if we weren’t getting sent off vs Man City after 8 minutes.
And if we weren’t slicing crosses into our own net.
Having said that, his contribution to our run in was immense and he is potentially a great defender.
But who are Kos’ comments / threats to leave aimed at?
Sorry mate, but we fans are not the ones with the football boots on.
No translate button ! But he sounded very nice ( French is just plain beautiful ). Besides, he makes it clear he wants to win a title at Arsenal ( do you hear that Robin and Sammy!). I’m drinking Cabernet Sauvignon and it came with a cork! π
Abb –
Glad to hear it, but what have you done with the cork then ?? π
Oh Trev, perhaps I’ll give it to the ‘specious one’ π
Abb
We do want ambitious players but there needs to be a balance between ambition and collective responsibility and commitment. We might arguably have had a trophy but for Kos and Trev mentions some of his faux pas recently.
In reality Ollie makes the key point that journalists are jumping on words sometimes out of context and twisting them to suit their own agenda. Often on NewsNow you can see exactly the same quote expressed in totally contrasting headlines. For example if Wenger says ‘ I want to give opportunities to my best young players ‘ it might be headlined as ‘ Wenger says give youth a chance’ or more likely ‘Miser Wenger refuses to invest in the squad’. We can expect a lot more of this throughout the summer
Well said Ttg. Sure, Kos made some mistakes. But who doesn’t. Esp. when it matters (Cesc, back heel flic). That’s all part of the game. But I can discern the difference between this Kos interview and what Sagna said earlier in the season ( carrot v stick). He wants a trophy. They all do. If they don’t, somethings wrong with their mindset. But I certainly appreciate what your getting at.
@79 who’s not me.
Haven’t you got anything better to do?
Ok, Bentdner’s lifelong ambition ( I kid you not!) is to create a jewelry line for men. Jeez louise, and Kos is being questioned for wanting a title … c’mon people! One of you holics (can’t remember who) once said something about ‘original thought’. Cheers to whom ever said it. π
The Kos comments seem OK to me. Put in the context of the questions he was asked… nothing to worry about. Mad to think he spent the first half of the season warming the bench though; he feels a very important player for us now.
Re: Mourinho, he’s an uber-Cnut who only manages the short term (has he ever developed a single young player in his whole career), relies on a fortress mentality which eventually ferments into something more resembling Hitler’s bunker and then cocks off elsewhere for a big pay cheque leaving chaos behind him. He may win trophies, but I wouldn’t want him within a mile of Arsenal.
I’m sure the press will fawn all over him, but I’d love to hear one ask him if he feels a coward for going crawling back to Chelsea after the colossal mess he made at Madrid.
Re: Miquel, I’m with abb: he looks really promising from where I’m sat, I hope we either find a role for him or send him on loan. Was very impressed by his second half performance against Reading last year, until the injury. God, that game seems a long time ago now.
Abb,
I don’t think anyone is questioning Kos for wanting a title. What irks is the recurring theme that it is always someone else’s fault that they haven’t won one (or two).
It does seem odd now that Kos was on the bench for much of the season, but his early season performances were not great. Panicky clearances, some poor decisions and a tendency to give silly fouls away.
Clearly his spell on the bench gave him a chance to watch and consider how he could eradicate those faults, which he seems to have done to brilliant effect.
Could he have come back earlier ?
Who knows. Safe to say that he was perfectly motivated to improve when he did come back though.
What we could do without, are any sort of threats to leave, having nursed yet another player through a less than brilliant time.
I have just renewed my expensive season ticket again.
If we don’t win anything next season, I am going to have to fulfill my ambitions at another club.
Doesn’t really work for us, does it ?
Abb,
Maybe Bendtner is designing a line of diamante underpants to crawl out of his next car crash in.
Probably with the name of his insurer emblazoned on the waist band. π
Clive. I saw this and the first thing that came to mind was that this is the type of things the Ramblers would have done. It made me laugh anyway.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-22746038
“To say that Scez, for example, has not been brought through by our academy, simply because he didnβt join until he was 16, is a nonsense.”
Tabs, I do not think I have ever disagreed with you more. if a player joins at 16 he is not a product of our academy system. You could say that he graduated from the Arsenal Finishing School but I am not having Academy.
I get the catchment area bit and could not agree more. It is another bizarre rule brought in by the FA.
βI want to lift trophies and to have a winning record. I hope the club will give me the means. If this werenβt the case, Iβd look elsewhere. I want to win titles and I hope the club have the means.β Laurent Koscielny.
I must say that I am not exactly impressed with the comments. Let’s be fair, this is not the first time we have heard comments like this form a player is it??? Perhaps some of the players are now questioning the ambition of the club as well as some fans. As Trev points out, sadly we do not have the luxury of jumping ship if the going gets a bit tough.
Perhaps its stating the obvious but:
Kosser’s first language is not English.
Footballers, in general, are not the most intelligent, or articulate sorts. I think a wide berth should be applied here.
I wouldn’t be too quick to make a mountain out of this molehill. But I agree with above – since when are ambitious players a bad thing?
Imagine the blow back if he had something like – “I want to win titles. But if not, I still get paid. 4th place isn’t so bad now is it?”
I’d much rather he said what he did! Kosser has had some eff ups, but i like the man generally. He’s no Adebayor FFS, lets not paint a good strong player into a corner b/c some journos a lazy.
CHeers all.
Homer,
I may have missed something here but who exactly has said that ambitious players are a bad thing.
That is as misplaced and as lazy as any journalism.
What Steve, ttg and I have said is that we are a bit tired of players stating, in any language as far as I am concerned, that they will want to leave if they don’t win anything.
It is up to them to win something, not us fans. If they cannot, then they have to accept responsibility for that, judged against whatever circumstances, and make their decisions, and not keep making public statements about intending to leave if they, or the club, fall short.
I think we all like Kos, and I can’t see where anyone has compared him to Adebayor, so I don’t really get you “FFS” either.
I’m not sure what your “paint a strong player into a corner” is all about either.
Do you interpret some of us saying we don’t take kindly to threats of leaving, as forcing him to leave ?
If so, I think there is only one person here making a “mountain out of a molehill”.
Trev
Strong post. I applaud the vigor. Though i think you misinderstood me, or are spoiling for a debate. Or maybe i wasnt clear.
But, the tenor of the bar a on Kosser seemed a bit negative to me.
I was offering a differnt perspective than was heretofore aired out here.
As far as ambitious players i think i theres no disagreement there.
My feeling was that Koss was passively avressively being excoriated – not attacked so much.
And as far as painting a guy into a corner well maybe that was a bit strong. But we all know how things go in the media. Things take on a life of their own. Exhibit A is the cesc rumor. That was rubbish from the start. We all knew it. But spent days thinkng about it.
As far as making a montain from a molehill, your attempt to turn that (admittedly tired) cliche back on me was inapt:
The brother is French. And here we all are examinig the meaning … Er translated meaning what he said. I dont speak any french so im ignorant of his literal statements and was relying what was repeated. If you have French well then perhaps youre more informed.
Also, the lazy comment was unnecessary.
Top of the Fair Play League? Pfft! I liked it better back when we were top of the red card league … and winning trophies!
As you say, TTG, it would be nice to see some early marquee signing/s. With Neymar, Falcao, Navas and others already bagged, at least one for us can’t come soon enough for me.
Apparently Mourinho is interested in Jovetic, I hope this doesn’t end up like Mata.
Higuain as second prize doesn’t cut it, imo. I’d rather have DΕΎeko who, rather surprisingly, was actually Mansewer’s top scorer last season despite starting in less than half their games.
Oskar
Apparently Wayne Rooney has been seen visiting Kings Cross. Surely he must have been looking for a new house for him and Coleen?
Heh TTG@95. Must be house hunting. The slappers at Kings Cross are surely far too young for him.
Fair points Oskar @94. Dzeko not being linked by the gutterpress. Might be a runner?
No criticism of Kos from here. Committed player, ambitious and wants success. Asked direct questions, gave straight answers. Up to the club to make us the place he, and players like him, want to play.
*Curves ball across 6 yard box.*
Oskar, you’re just trotting out an old clichΓ©. We’re second in the red card league, so not so bad.
As you may have read elsewhere, the ‘Fair Play league’ involves loads of other stuff like fans behaviour and attitude of players and club officials to refs and the lot…
Haha, I had absolutely no idea that I was just in front of goal.
*celebrates instinctive finish*
Bath@98. Spot on Sir. It is up to the club to show some drive and ambition. I know it is early days but I really feel that the fans will not tolerate another lacklustre wet lettuce type of transfer window from the club. The shortfalls with the squad have been apparent season upon season. Burying your head in the sand is no longer a board option.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22762040
heh
Well in Ollie. Natural finisher.
Good morning ‘holics.
Damn it’s early, but at least the sun is shining.
Re Kos.
I agree with a lot of the above opinions, but I think Bath (@98) nailed it.
Well in Ollie.
SteveT @89 – Fair enough, disagree away. You’re wrong though π
Arsenal “finishing school”? Come on, you say tomato, I say tomarto. Finishing school? Academy? All amounts to the same thing. If the semantics bother you, let’s say Arsenal “youth system”.
Scez arrived at Arsenal as a 16 year old in 2006, which owing to his nationality and geographical location, was the earliest he could have joined. He played for the Academy side for 2 years before progressing to the Reserves in 2008. He didn’t make his Premiership debut until December 2010, 4 and a half years later. Some “finishing” school!
David Rocastle and Michael Thomas joined Arsenal as 15 year olds. Did they just go to Arsenal “finishing school” too? You might think that that extra year makes all the difference. I’m afraid I don’t. To me it is merely drawing an arbitrary and faintly ridiculous distinction where none exists. They are clearly all products of the Arsenal youth system.
As for the wider point, I stand full square behind my original assertion that Arsenal’s youth system do a very good job indeed. Their record stands comparison with any other Club in the Country, especially given the increased competition in London for young talent and the catchment area rules.
The Academy system is still very much in it’s infancy and I have no doubt that it will get even better, but if you’re waiting for a whole clutch of kids from Hertfodshire who have been at Arsenal since they were wearing short trousers to come through, having overcome the vagaries of physical development, technical ability, injuries, luck, and the influx of both nationwide and European talent at 16, you’ll be waiting a long time.
To moan about Arsenal’s youth system is, to my mind, an exercise in futility.
Anyway, I’m off to learn how to descend a staircase, hold a cup of tea, and pronounce my aitches.
Finishing School innit π
As for anyone moaning about Kos, perlease.
What Ollie, N7 and Bath said.
What he said was perfectly reasonable, especially so given the questions he was asked.
When pronouncing my aitches, I always lay the accent on the preceeding B.
Haha π
Boilk.
Tabs knows @107 and 107
So good, he knew it twice. π
Wassup Cent? Hit the ol’ amber nechtar too hard yesterday?
Oh dear! Heh @112, I meant to write to 107 &108. Attended an impromptu party yesterday night, well, let just say I’d love to attend more of them. π
Pseudo-ITK post warning.
I had a brief chat with a colleague who randomly bumped into some journalist from BeInSport at dentist’s party (or something bizarre like that), who seems totally convinced that AW will join PSG at the end of next season.
I doubt it, but we’ll see.
Did the dentist fill him in?
Do you think that’s the tooth, the whole tooth and nothing but the tooth?
Was he undercover, a kind of molar?
Is it wisdom to garnish info in such a way
Over to Trev…………………
Great effort, H2H!
Anyway, we can brush this one under the carpet for now.
Nice to see the .com running the transcript of an interview with Junichi Inamoto.
I wonder how many Arsenal fans give 2/5 of a fuck?
Loads of our Japanese fans, Camberwell? We’re playing games over there this summer.
It’s certainly more interesting than the nonsensical transfer bollocks spouted here and there too.
You have to be really really desperate to complain about this π
Kos the best defender in Europe. If not, then pretty close. That means he should be playing for the Arsenal.
Cheers Ollie.
It will be my crowning achievement.
This from Premier League News (Facefook)
Gonzalo Higuain: “I have offers many outside Spain, but I decided to accept the offer of Arsenal, but that does not mean that I have finished all the procedures move to Arsenal, but there are still negotiations between me and them”
“I decided to go there because I’m still young and I see that the way the team played for me too and you’ll get used to there quickly”
Make of it what you will.
I make it a totally invented quote π
Ollie, I hadn’t thought of that but I just posted because I’m already bored out of my tiny head without regular football.
Thank god for FIFA 13 but I can’t bring it to work!
Gotta find a job at EASports, CG π
I make you probably correct there, Ollie.
I googled it and found only a link back to the page I saw it on, nowhere else.
Silly Season in full effect.
Ollie, every time I think of that my thought process goes like this:
“Wouldn’t it be cool to get paid to play Playstation!”
“I should apply to EA Sports.”
“Actually the only guys who make money there are probably nerdy programmers with like 3 degrees.”
“Come to think of it: aspiring to play computer games all day? What am I, 16 years old?”
As pretty much expected, Roberto Martinez takes over at Everton. Will be interesting to see how he handles a significantly bigger club with much more fan/media pressure on him than Wigan.
Same with Moyes at Man U, really.
Hmm a question, in regards to that Higuain rumour, how do you rate this guy anyway? I take that “interview” with huge pinch of salt, but would you actually want him to be one of those “statements of intent” kind of signing this summer?
Personally, I have not seen awfully lot of him since LaLiga in general holds no interest to me, but from what I gather, he pretty much forced Benzema to fight for his spot in Real for majority of his spell there.
So anyone willing to give some sort of briefing on this guy? π
Re Moyes and Martinez, they both need to bridge that gap from smaller club to larger. I’veneerie feelin they may buckle.
Eandy, Juve are supposedly interested in him. Wouldn’t get to excited just yet π PaGooner, One would hope that there would be some goodwill afforded to both, by their fans. Ollie, I truly hope there’s nothing to that bit about AW to PSG. If there is, then once and for all my suspicions about the board’s intentions will be proven correctly. Let him spend, please.
Good point@128, Ollie.
abb, arsenal-mania transfer rumors page shows juve having just about brought in tevez…so higuain or jovetic are probably not on for them.
based on that calculus, maybe h2h’s is the tooth?
Nothing much excites me these days. But the thought of planets aligning and hope for a phoenix rising.. Ah. nice.
great short and sweet article ‘holic. Cheers. Put a smile on my face.
Eandy @ 129: The most important thing you need to know about Higuain is that he was born in France and holds French nationality. π
All jokes aside, a very very good player who suffered due to injuries. Clinical finisher, strong, technically gifted, good with link-up play and though not say as fast as Pato (whatever happened to him) or Aguero has very quick feet and speed of thought.
100+ goals for RM in less than 200 matches is an impressive statistics as well.
Yet he plays for Argentina.
H2H @ 136: Yes, he holds dual nationality. He grew up in Argentina having left France as a kid with his father, Argentinian, who was playing football in France.
IMHO, he is a more balanced player (in technical aspects) than the ‘real’ French striker, Benzema. There is more awareness and subtlety to his game, whereas Benzema is over-reliant on power and strength.
Tabs.
π
H2H136, that makes him like a reverse TrΓ©zeguet.
(I mean hin terms of nationality choices, because, both were born in France and grew up in Argentina, to be fair, though TrΓ©zeguet came back to Europe earlier I think).
just got my follow up tetanus shot from the nurse
apparently this is a new thing
one does you for ten years
evidently ten wasn’t enough for the doctor that saw my butchery
i’m guessin he thought my arse is just a bite magnet
mind you
i don’t want to speak ill of the etcs
but
wha ?
mind you i didn’t pay for it
the # owner of the lovely wolf #
paid
as indeed he should
feckin bitin a gooner goin about his less than interesting business
although – thinkin back
i may have attracted the wolfs attention by being there breathing in and out
arsehole is lucky i didn’t plant my foot up its eyebrow
anyhoo
i’m now tetanus repellent
i may go out to find a rabid heffalump for a mexican stand-off
bite me ya bollix !
.
howdy ‘hol and ‘hols
π
oh
and
thoroughly enjoyed your thingummy zico
bit jealous about bein in london in the 70s
i didn’t make it there ’til the mid 80s
a fine decade but
hey ho
although i did walk behind 2 thirds of bananarama for a distance
twas a religious experience
you coulda bounced tins o beans off their backsides
.
i didn’t
.
renaissance man , me
i’d really like multi name boy to pretend he’s me
what with all my insights
Not possible mate.
You are the inimitable cba! π
feelin small at the minute
the wee patch of daisies out me back yard by the back wall are closing up
.
if a wee plant
indeed
several
wee plants
tell you its bed time
who am i to ar-gue maith thu !
a reverse TrΓ©zeguet.
Sounds a bit ominus, Ollie. Like something out of one of those wierdo wrestling bouts…..
“And Captain Steriod has The Masked Loony pinned down with a reverse TrΓ©zeguet.” π
howdy h2h
“anyone got any veras ? ”
π
Evening all,
a bit late to the game today – work an’all.
cba π
Homer (from yesterday),
No I wasn’t spoiling for a debate – not at all.
It was a fairly strong post I suppose, but I was annoyed that the slightest criticism of Kos was turned into “what’s wrong with ambitious players?”
The answer, of course, is absolutely nothing.
It’s not often I disagree with anything that Tabs or bath write, and having actually now seen the leading questions that Kos was asked, that context maybe makes criticism of the player a little harsh.
However, I still can’t see why, even when asked “what would make you want to leave”, players under contract to the club cannot simply reply “i do not want to leave at all”.
There would then be no outcry from fans, no suspicions, however good or bad their form, that player’s hearts weren’t ‘in it’ and, even if they were thinking of leaving, we wouldn’t know and could, therefore, finally relax for a whole summer.
That was the extent of my criticism of Kos who is, by the way, one bloody fine player that I hope to be supporting for many seasons yet.
Unless he doesn’t win anything, in which case he can piss off aahhttt of it π
Multiple hehs.
And cba is inimitable indeed, and we’ve got him, hooray!
trev has a job ?
Shirley Knot
π
Yes, Trev has a job, cba.
Shirley comes to see me when she’s in knots.
But not when she’s in Notts π
and howdy ollie
i saw you’re latestestest media whore-ery – just above the no6 and a wee bit to the left of the woman who was lookin elsewhere
you’re lookin mighty
π
trev
you are a coiled spring aren’t you
*POW*
cba.
veras?
Why, you rollin’ ?
Trev, when trying to work out why certain players say whatever, I always take into consideration that those interviewing them are trying to guide them to what they want to here, many have language differences, they are young and (the clincher) most of them aren’t exactly the sharpest pencils in the box. π
heh, good spot and cheers cba!
Incidentally that woman sounded British (Scottish I think).
H2H – can’t get any simpler than “I am not thinking of leaving”.
It doesn’t alter any outcomes but it is the professional thing to do.
h2h
nope
i roll like a fat thumbed boxin glove wearin goof ball
however
i have – not unlike a so and so who tests the kings food – a herself who rolls like a feckin demon
syd barrett anyone ?
please
please
baby lemonade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNgxNxkUQF0
Can’t argue with that Trev.
Hilarious on .com,
Arsenal won the Fair Play League by edging Tottenham Hotspur into second place !!!
They can’t even finish above us in the Fair Play League.
Bottom of the table was ……… Stoke City. Who knew π
Hullo Holics !
Hoping that football bereft days are much more enjoyable to u than it is for me. have been following all these rumours like some a patient getting an iv feed π
OTT : Hoping you have followed Game of thrones so far (please do i you haven’t been watching !).
In case you guys have watched the latest episode , heres a wonderfull post by a very fine writer .. SPOILER alert for anyone who is planning on catching up on GOT ..
http://poznaninmypants.com/2013/06/05/game-of-thrones-red-and-white-wedding/#comment-2302
#160
hullo ?
hullo is it ?
i think you’ll find it’s “howdy” or indeed “c’mere snookums”
ya big jessie !
its gonna be another crazy night
what with the cattle an all
the hills i’m surrounded by
they’re miles away
an all around me
and
the black silhouettes of the moo-ers atop – against the night sky is really surreal
really surreal
“Hello , we’re Johnny Cash”
cba,
Unique, you are.
The real you of course.
Not sure about the other one, at all π
Trev
The most amazing thing was we had the most reds and the second most yellows and still won it! We must have had the best ironed kit or the nicest flowers in the dressing room.
This could have got us into Europe- ahead of the Spuds of course.
ha ‘hol
the real me ?
dear sweet mother of all thats good and holy in the world
if you find me or a close resemblance of
please let me know or indeed closely resemble severals
return to
donegal
dun na ngall
the fort of the foreigners
yup
i’m the handsome one with the cheeky red and white grin
not
the foreigner with the “i wanna know what love is”
i’ll tell you what it isn’t
your feckin song
turgid load a tripe that it is
baaaaa
mooooo
see above
Only got one Song mate π
dear mother o bollocks
d’you remember journey boston chicago toto asia
yup
wide ranging names for small ranging shite
thank god for jeffrey hyman and douglas colvin
.
hey ho
lets go
hey ho
lets go
they’re forming in a straight line
they’re going through a tight wind
the kids are losin their minds
the blitzkrieg bop
.
aaaahhhhhhhh genius !!!!!!!!!
‘hol
you gonna sing the frimpong song
needle eye poo
nying tong nying tong niddle eye poo ?
Jealous.
No song named after me on YouTube…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtdI_cjouPg
it’s not what you know its who you know
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6emQpBXe5Y
oh
and now that i’ve got your ear
d’you realise what you’ve created
?
i suspect a bit
you do
but
hey ho
i might only talk shite on here
but
i read every learned post
that’s learned that rhymes with earn id
not
learned that rhymes with earned
although
i do feel i’ve learned sumfing
an stuff
night night lurkers
G’night, big man.
cool video. per’s got mad skillz…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=70c9jzonRPY
cba @165. Another piece of brilliance. π
Nice link, Scruz.
Tabs@107. Curtsy. You have to learn to curtsy. And to peel a banana with a knife and fork. Then we’ll have to call you Tacs.
Been transplanted to a chicken farm on the other side of the river surrounded by Catholics instead of Protestants. The amazing thing is I’m not talking about Ireland but rather the elder of the Twin Cities, St. Paul Minnesota, where I even attended a class on urban chicken farming. What they told us is, if they don’t lay eggs, kick them out of the flock. π
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jun/05/arsenal-release-andrey-arshavin-denilson-squillaci
Wow –
drinking with CBA
drunker with every drink.
Eyes hurt. Brain melts.
Still class.
BMBD
Lonestar. cba is my new spiritual guru but i have a feeling he was originally inspired by your llama stories. π
8ball!
My man. Glad to hear things are well in the Land of a Thousand Lakes. Tejas is as busy as ever.
cba is one bad mutha… Not even my purest llama fattened on the stickiest of PIK’s Californian can come close to the stuff he is on. π
Anyways, you all be good… But not too good.
BMBD
#177
“i met her accidentally in St Paul , Minnesota”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBLgtKVwptA
what a line
what a song
what a guy
what the fup am i doin’ outta bed at this ungodly hour
oy
CBA
If i had a flamethrower mate,
If i had a flamethrower.
Fucking turgid Tosh.!!
It’s either the flamethrower or the Secure Unit.
Your choice.
cheers
The Sweeper
*laughs left leg off*
Morning all,
cba, Clive, 8ball, Lonestar, thanks for the early morning laughs,
π
Back to that job now, cba. π
CBA
I have checked the Secure Unit Patient register,and i see that you escaped in 2006,along with a 2nd Patient who’s name is only registered as ‘ The March Hare.’
According to the Ledger,neither of you were ever recaptured.
God save us all.!!
Cheers
The Sweeper
Hey holics, thanks for the feedback and sorry for the late response! So many meetings these daysβ¦
Personally, I think Coquelin may be a marginally better player but if I had to choose, Iβd pick the Frimpster, providing he keeps working hard. Think if it were up to him he would stay with us for the long-term as he seems to love the club. I feel like Coquelin will leave soon despite being preferred by Arsene. To be perfectly honest though, for the position Frimpong and Coquelin want to play, I think both need to be a little taller thoughβ¦
On the topic of the academy, as tabs pointed out, due to our limitations in terms of catchment area I guess we canβt be too harsh when considering our inability to produce large numbers of world-class players every year. However, I canβt help but feel a little disappointed after following members of the youth team during their training, reading the blogs about them, listening to their interviews online, seeing them make debuts for Arsenal in the Premier League, Champions League or the League Cup, going out on loan, but then being released after spending 6 years or more with us. I know itβs a familiar story for the majority of young footballers but I always wish for graduates to make it with us as opposed to somewhere else. Iβm a greedy fan, I want more academy youf π
Not too fussed about Kosβ comments to be honest. Too tired of the media and trying to decode playersβ coded messages to care any more about the content of summer interviews. If we do well in the transfer market and win something next season and itβs all moot anywayβ¦
What does have me upset is the fact that I may not be able to make the Arsenal v Nagoya Grampus match due to a stupid company meeting. ScheiΓe!! I guess with great power and all that. Ah well, at least I should be able to make it to the Urawa Reds match in Saitama. Look for me behind the goal if I get tickets!
Oh.
“due to our limitations in terms of catchment area”
As I understand it, that rule (i.e. players under a certain age must live within 90 minutes of the stadium) has gone or at least changed. That is why we were able to sign that kid from Aston Villa.
Frimps gets my vote every time. Purely for this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2067866/Samir-Nasri-scraps-Emmanuel-Frimpong-Arsenal-return.html
Sweeper
better the Secure Unit than the Insecure
same
howdy
and
indeed
doody
think on
I think we should keep frimmy purely because we don’t anything like him in our team and it’s always difficult to find a hard man who can also pass the ball a bit, his main problem is his game is not yet matured and at such he is still prone to the odd rash decision but I think he will overcome that with age and more time on the pitch.
trev
you do not work !
you don’t
you lounge majestically round your house
fantastic puns falling from the edges of your socks
genius insights into the arse finances cascading from your long flaxen locks
tabs comments absorbed on your bonce and thrown back with herculean grace
or maybe not
i want me dinner
Lars loses his virginity >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Cam’.
Frimpong was always up for it, played with his heart on his sleeve.
But, the same things that endeared him to the crowd, will also be his downfall (imho). He is rash, how many times has you seen him flying into a tacl=kle without thinking? Too many unnecessary bookings. That same attitude has seen him injure himself too.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy, alas I don’t really think he’ll have much of a career at The Grove.
Afternoon All,
Haha, laughing my tits off at Cba’s meanderings. Particularly enjoyed the idea of his goodself finding a “rabid heffalump for a mexican stand off”, and the suitability of the collective Bananarama arse for a tin of beans. Haha, nearly fell orf my chair π
Too many other laughs to mention by name but brilliant stuff.
Trev @147 – Think we’ll have to agree to disagree with this one mate. I can’t see for the life of me what was wrong with anything Kos said. Blogs excellently summed up yesterday my general reaction to it all.
And heh @150 π
Ned @176 – I’m working on it! π
Lars @188 – Fair enough, I didn’t realise that. I still think we would have been able to sign the Villa kid under the old rules though. Maybe I’m wrong, but I would have thought that any restriction beyond the age of 16 would be in breach of freedom of movement? 16 appears to be when all the foreign talent – Fabregas Scez et al – pitch up.
Holic/Cba @169
You ain’t no-one til you got your own song … π
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU7JS-sp6CY