By Walter Broeckx
That we have bought a bit of class with Özil is saying that the sun comes up each morning in the East. That Özil is one of the best (if not the best) player for the Nr. 10 position in the world is like saying that the sun goes down in the West.
People who follow football around a bit knew what a player he was and is. Nobody knows how good he will actually become in the next seasons when he will reach his full potential. But we do know that it will be us Gooners privilege to sit on the first row to watch it happening.
When we saw the reactions of his former team mates at Madrid it was one of : “How on earth did they allow him to leave?” Christiano Ronaldo was very unhappy with it and most players were. Ronaldo said: ‘He was the player who best knew my moves in front of goal…I’m angry about Özil leaving’
Even Higuain said this week that he couldn’t understand how Madrid decided to let him go. And he added that he has played with him and what an amazing player he was to play with. After the CL game they both hugged each other after the final whistle and had a talk as we could all see on TV. Higuain in civilian clothes going to congratulate Özil with his performance. A great gesture from Higuain. But also an indication about the human being Özil.
When the very negative reactions from the Real Madrid players came out in the media the president of Real Madrid felt the need to defend the sale. Or should I say the Bale? It was clear that Real Madrid had to sell Özil in order to fund the Bale deal. Apart from the hype I do think that Real Madrid has done a bad deal and that Arsenal and Özil have done a great deal.
But Perez tried to convince the fans that Özil was not as good as they thought he was. He came up with things about his personal life. Giving the impression that Özil was partying all night long with seven different woman each night. And that this party life was the reason for him not playing all the time.
But starting more than 32 league games at Real Madrid is not that bad at all. And he played in all the CL games in his tenure over there is also a bit in contradiction with the words of the Real Madrid president.
Özil could have answered in a sharp way and maybe could hang out some dirty linen from Madrid but he just reacted in a calm way pointing at the number of games he played for Real Madrid in his 3 years at the club there. Asking if I really would be doing all that could I have played that many games. But it was not angry shouting, just a simple answer to the allegations with a question. Did he learn that from Wenger?
On the other hand just imagine if Perez had told the truth…and that Özil still performed like he did even with partying all night long….wow…some stamina…
What we have seen on the field also indicates at some class. When he gets fouled he just has a look at the offender, you can see him almost thinking: ‘you’re not as good in football with the ball as I am you poor bloke.’ But he doesn’t complain about it (as long as the ref gives the foul) and gets up and gets on with the game.
Despite Özil being THE superstar we have bought, he doesn’t act like one in public. Now I have to be careful because we don’t see him in private with the rest of the team. He might be a prima donna who wants to be carried on the training field by his team mates in order not to make his boots dirty too soon. But I somehow doubt he is that kind of person. He seems to be very well educated and knows how to behave in all (or most) circumstances of life.
I follow him on twitter and there you can see how much he likes his friends and certainly Podolski and Per are his buddies at Arsenal. Knowing them from the German national team and having had Per as his team mate at Werder Bremen has helped his integration within the team.
But he is always very respectful towards other people. On Monday he said how he was looking forward to meeting his former Real Madrid team mates now playing for Napoli but warned them he had no gifts for them. We have seen what he meant.
I think Özil, just starting the best years of his career. will be of mega importance for Arsenal in the next years. He looks rather down to earth when we get to see him and seems a rather shy and friendly person. But on the field he is the ruler of things and runs the show. And I would say: let him run the show. Oh yes, just let him take control of things.
He also had one slip of the tongue. When he said that the fans at Bernabeu never really sang his name…until it was announced that he would go to Arsenal. Then suddenly the fans were in arms about him going away. They suddenly realised what they had and were going to miss. But that thing (fans not singing his name) was something that somehow stuck him.
Players like him need confidence. It is clear to see that Wenger has given him the confidence he needed and needs. Now it is our turn to give Özil what he needs. We do need to show him our love. I am quite sure that if Özil feels the love of the manager, his team mates and more importantly the love of the fans that he will become one of the all time great players for Arsenal. Of course Özil will have bad games. He is human or at least looks to be human. But whenever that would happen I think that by supporting him he will recover.
He needs the support, so lets give him the support. Sing his name in the stadium. Let him feel the Gooner love we can give. It will be no problem for people who like the Untold vision of football of course. And now with him playing like he does it is easy to love him. But like I said he is human and can have bad games. And then we have to show him the appreciation he seems to need. Don’t we all need it from time to time?
And does he have already a song?
Recent posts
- Stunned, shocked, amazed… And that how it felt in just the first 15 minutes.
- Blimey…this was unreal at times
- See Naples and die. Although preferably not today.
- Forza l’Arsenale! A few reflections on Napoli
The books…
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC: crowd behaviour at the early matches
We’re off to see the wizard! The wonderful wizard of oz! Because because because because of all the wonderful things he does!
OLIVER. That is (to use the technical term) fucking brilliant.
A regular reader and keeper of the faith! I hope my first comment was worthwhile 🙂 I agree with the philosophy of this site and agree with 95% of the stuff you all write. It is a shame that the negative people are just that. At least as of late it has been (with a little irony maybe) like a library as far as they are concerned 😉
Excellent article! I find it hard to believe the Madrid fans did not sing his name, how could you not want to support a player with such great skills, professionalism on and off the field, and from all indications an excellent person overall. I wanted him to come to Arsenal after watching the 2010 world cup and thought we lost our chance after he went to Madrid. It is great that he has finally arrived where he belongs, at Arsenal, under Arsene Wenger!
Also, wanted to let you guys, starting to see a little Untold influence in the media now a days:
1) A call for more PL refs at games: http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/9845?cc=5901
2) Reports saying that Arsene is currently discussing a 3 year contract extension with the club! Good times for all real Arsenal supporters indeed!
Oh! I dont have the link, but has anyone seen the Alan sugar comment to Pierce ‘him’ Morgan? A former Rottenscum Flopbird telling him will he apologise/retract the former negativity? (via twitter. I dont use it myself so i go by another sites say so)
Haven’t you heard the Fans singing his Name already?
Na Na, Na na na na, hey hey hey, Mesut (Hey Jude)
When I heard it I thought, that it was Great, a great Song for a Great Footballer.
He really is our new Bergkamp and he really is a humble Person.
And what is more, he is an Arsenal Man
COYG
i like the giroud giroud the giroud is on fire! we dont need van persie let the mofo burn!
I’ve been thinking a really long OOOOOOOOOOOOOZil sung by 50,000+ will sound really great in the Emirates!
Things are starting to fit in to place at Arsenal, and that’s just amazing.
just to clarify i dont ‘hate’ in the true definition of the word. just passionate 🙂
Without wishing to add to the Ozil signing euphoria, there can be little doubt that the arrival of a world class star has caused an immediate uplift in the fortunes of our great Club.
On the one hand those who advocated the spending of large sums on higher echelon players have been proved right and there are already signs that a similar policy may be pursued in the January sales.
However one must not forget the team’s resurgence which commenced during the latter half of last season. The much maligned defence started to gel and the signings of the previous summer, Messrs Cazorla, Giroud,Monreal and Podolski began to benefit from their first term in the tough EPL.
There is nothing like success to breed confidence and this season is no exception. The back division now look like a settled unit and the return of the prodigal son, Matthieu Flamini, bossing wherever he is on the field, has been a magical gift from out of the blue.
Ramsey has found his niche as well as his striking ability and we await the return of our wounded, Messrs Cazorla, Podoski, Chamberlain, Diaby and Walcott.
If we can keep our injury list to average or below, our horizon looks bright indeed.
@nicky
This ‘Change of policy’ thing really bugs me.
It is NOT a change of policy. The policy remains the same.
TO SPEND WHAT WE CAN AFFORD.
It’s just a point because I refute the inferance that all of a sudden Wenger has ‘seen light’ and now realise they have to spend big. The goal since the 1st stone was layed at the Emirates was to enable us to SPEND BIG. The fact it has taken so long, or at least longer than perhaps we all hoped, is down to a number of factors, not least the economic downturn and the arrival of the ‘Oil Billionaires’
It is not a new policy, just the next, natural progression of an ongoing policy of good long term financial management.
Walter, did you see the standing ovation he got when he went to take a corner kick? Everyone stood up in unison, as if it had been rehearsed.
@jambug,
Sorry to have bugged you.
All I meant is that we have never spent £40 million or so on a player, whether or not we could afford it.
And we nearly didn’t do so last month, either.
Our past policy has been to decide a valuation of a player and not pay over the odds. To that extent this policy has changed.
So,
if Ronaldio loves Ozil so much
and if
Suarez is going to Real Madrid
then…..
……what chance Madrid need to sell Ronaldio to balance the books??
We could always throw in a world class midfielder to sweeten the deal, we seem to have way to many of them these days…
@jamburg, I have to agree it was a natural progression to be able to spend big when needed.
@nicky, Arsene has always paid what he feels a player is worth, so in the case of Ozil, he felt the player was worth that much to the team, but at the same time he didn’t raise the bid for Suarez, because he only valued him at 40 million. Arsenal has stuck to their policy of paying the valuation of the player.
I don’t think any fans will have any regrets in the way it played out (Ozil > Suarez)! As fans, we have to let the football club’s officials run the team. i.e. Since I am not a surgeon, I’m not going to tell a surgeon how to perform a surgery. Likewise, I know football, but I don’t know how to run a professional team (like most fans), so I’m not going to tell them how to.
Best thing to do is, what Arsene said, Sit back and enjoy! It’s going to be a great few years!
Finally the fans seem to be getting behind the team at the stadium and long may it continue. Crowd support definitely boosts the team:
Arteta: “Not only us, but also the crowd at the Emirates – I think you can see the people are excited again to come and watch us, and he makes a big difference.
Arteta quote from the mirror http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mesut-ozil-transformed-arsenal-purrs-2331221#ixzz2ggeP4JZ7
@nicky
My point is wenger WOULD of spent £40 Mil+ in the past if we could of afforded it. We couldn’t.
You are still infering the policy has changed by saying ‘Our past policy’. As I said, that hasn’t changed as our policy reamains the same, to SPEND WHAT WE CAN AFFORD, it’s just that we can afford to pay more.
As I say nicky it’s no big deal I just find it frustrating that people just can’t see that we just couldn’t afford to risk splashing that kind of money on one player, whether he was worth it or not, until now.
Cheers Walter, some cracking comments as well. This is worth a read, verifies what we have been saying to some extent…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2442645/Chris-Foy-charge-Manchester-United-match-Sunderland–Graham-Poll.html
@Jambug,
I think we must agree to disagree.
I don’t think I could ever accept that the prudent Arsene Wenger would have spent £40 million in the past….afforded or not.
I suspect that at long last (possibly persuaded by the Yank) he accepts that to buy class you have to pay the going rate, inflated or not.
The Club’s policy on doing business based solely on its own valuation, has now changed.
Re fans getting behind the team, the man himself has spoken:
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/-we-play-better-in-positive-environment-?
How clear is that?! You may disagree with any or all aspects of how the club is run, but if you get on the players’ backs you are partly responsible for any adverse outcomes. End of.
When we have a bad run (although for some people that will be just a single draw) we need to remind everyone of this.
Things are really looking up, a couple great signings. And as much as international football can annoy me, let’s cheer Flamini right back into the French squad for the World Cup….assuming they qualify of course…
But he was only prudent because he HAD to be.
Are you honestly trying to say that if he could of afforded to by a player for £40 mil, say 3 years ago, he wouldn’t of?
Why wouldn’t he?
As I keep saying, surely the whole reason for building the Ems was so he had big money to spend.
Perhaps if you can give another reason why Wenger would commit £450 Million to building a new stadium, other than to eventualy increase revenues to buy bigger players, then your arguement would make more sense.
Sorry there is absolutely no logic to what you are saying.
Ever since his arrival, Arsene has practised the rigid doctrine of prudence in all respects. It is the inbuilt sense of not paying over the perceived odds for anything, least of all football players.
The change of policy only emerged during the Summer Transfer Window when, at Board level, Arsene was persuaded to amend his position. Fortunately he agreed and I feel that in January the policy change will be further confirmed.
nicky,
I know your granny is the tea lady at the Emirates (kidding) but has she by any means shown you the policy that you kept referring to? Arsene Wenger broke the club record for Arshavin and he has now also done it for Ozil. He has always maintained that when the right player comes along, the club will pay what they are worth. I have always believed him and I don’t understand your insistence that his policy has changed.
Changed from what to what? I will agree with you here if he paid £42.5 million for say….Henderson. Ozil is worth more than £42.5m as universally accepted, Arsenal can afford to pay £42.5m, so we paid up. I respect your views very much but you sound here like those who present their pre-conceived notion as fact.
You referred to the Yank probably influencing AW but that Yank came out only last week to declare that whatever Arsene wants, Arsene gets. I read the full interview and I strongly doubt that SK inteferes in football matters where AW is concerned.
My humble submission about Ozil is that a great player became available and because we have not wasted all our resources on every Tom, Dick and Harry that was suggested during the transfer window, we had enough funds available to snap him up. We did same with Carzola and Monreal, they just happened to come cheaper. But they are both worth much more than we paid for them, just like Ozil is even at over £42m.
I think those looking forward to January for a striker/RB/CB……(fill in the gap), are going to be disappointed. The club’s transfer policy remains, I believe, snapping up great players when they become available at good prices. Higuain was lost because his price became exploitative and ridiculous. I don’t think that there is any change in policy.
@jambug. Oh how frustrating it must be when those pesky” Oiks3″ just refuse to see it your way, especially when the evidence for your argument is there for all to see, or is it? In 2005 former CEO Keith Edelman said” There are sufficient funds available to the manager for transfers”, and two years later he said” We have got plenty of financial firepower to make the transfers Arsen wants to make. We had over 70 million pounds of cash at the end of the year and if Arsen wants to spend that money, we will make it available .” At the end of 2011/12 Premier League season Arsenal had 154 million pounds in cash balance , when the rest of the league had 181 million pounds combined . Arsen Wenger himself famously said “I would give it right back” when asked what he would do if the board gave him 100 million pounds . “We, at Arsenal don’t buy the superstars , we make them” is another recent quote of Mr Wenger’s. So there! , clearly there’s no policy change , Nick . How dare you upset these good people? Get in line!!!
Completely unrelated, but if you think the UK’s media is bad…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU-3jIAlnQmbbVMV6gR7K8aQ&v=EuXf9GmQln4#t=637
Walter, as a Belgian, you know this generation of younger Germans are rather more shy and non-confrontational , as compared to their more bellicose and arrogant ancestors. Ozil, is also an ethnic Turk and Muslim, and as such will not display excessive emotion or disrespect when harassed by lesser lights like Perez or the Spanish media, who surely appreciates their mistake now?
I have a feeling that that regret will be multiplied exponentially when Flamini, Ozil, Cazorla and company really start to perform (a taste of which we had on Tuesday night). Wenger has been roundly and unjustifiably criticized by all and sundry for ¨allowing¨ his superstars to leave but Ozil and Flamini prove that other Clubs are very short-sighted as well.
It only remains to be seen whether ongoing injuries and the PGMOL combine to try and sabotage our season once again. With the depth we now have, we should weather any shitstorm of bent officiating and Orc attacks fairly well.
@Tom and Nicky, If you have a serious look at the underlying financials of the club, Arsenal would have been losing money without player sales until this season when new financial deals and TV money starts to come in.
Otherwise you seem to be saying it would have made sense for Arsenal to be selling our best players and at the same time spending 40 million on another player?
As to the public statements, it is not as if the club would admit it didn’t have money to spend and couldn’t compete. But it also ignores the fact that this cash balance was there as insurance against not making the champions league and against the considerable loans for the new stadium and to spend it would have been very risky.
If either of you had made a sensible statement like ‘the club was a bit over cautious and could have risked spending slightly more during this time and may have possibly cost themselves a trophy’ instead of ridiculous statements like ‘Wenger won’t spend money because he is a scrooge and only grudgingly spent some because [idiotic] booing and chanting made him!’ then you would not be considered ‘oiks’ at all.
In my opinion the club has put itself in an amazing financial position which will only keep growing as success on the field will now drive increases in the only area we are currently behind the other top clubs, the commercial earnings and I would argue that was worth the 8 years without a trophy (that with fair and honest refereeing would not have been so long) considering that if we had spent all 154 million pounds that would still have been far far less than the 3 clubs above us did spend over the same period.
I think that even if we had that amount of money in the past he was unlikely to spend it due to him thinking we don’t need it or we can get better, cheaper etc.
Or this being when the oil clubs were in their pomp buying everyone and everything which raised the price 3 fold for everyone. Not to mention the one thing we love and respect about him is that he won’t bend over for anyone. Maybe we only had 50m and he knows that if we bid for someone, oil clubs will bid more, we got Ozil on last day, last minute cos if Chelsea or City knew then he would be playing with them for sure, regardless of what Mesut wanted.
Those teams can spend 50m on a gamble like it was nothing, whereas for us it must be a success. Then in 07/08 we showed we could win it but failed at last hurdles, so maybe AW thought that we are close and don’t give up on them they can do it. Hindsight is 20/20 vision and if we all had tier would be rich!
I don’t agree with Nicky, my 2 bob.
COYG!
I hate the Arsenal doesn’t spend, Arsene refuses to touch the money, arguments people make. It’s not like Arsenal was ONLY selling quality players and not buying anyone good back. Yes, Ozil was a great great signing, but guess what he’s also on an amazing Arsenal TEAM that was built over the last few years in the transfer window! Since 2000/01, Arsenal has spent more money on buying players then they have sold in every year except 4 years.
One of those years 09/10, we sold Adebayor for 25 million, which is also addition by subtraction as well, and we bought Vermaelen that year to replace Toure.
The key players we have bought the following years:
10/11 season: Koscielny and Ryo
11/12 season: Per, Arteta, Ox, Jenkinson, Gnabry, and Eisfeld
12/13 season: Giroud, Cazorla, Podolski, Monreal
13/14 season: Flamini and Ozil
That’s 6/11 starters that dismantled Napoli (and 4 on the bench) were bought since 2009/10. The other players Ramsey (08/09 season @ age 18), Szczesny (2006 @ age 16), Sagna (2007 @ age 24), Gibbs (joined academy in 07 at age 17 I believe), and Rosicky (2006 at age 26-27)
This great team was built over the years with great vision and foresight by the club officials (board and manager). One player did not just make this team amazing (look at the results to end last year as further proof). Patience is a virtue and we are finally seeing the fruits of the labor as they say.
Like Arsene Wenger said: sit back and enjoy! We have a great team for the next few years!
(Sorry I had to split up the posts, when I posted them all in one response, the posts were never getting published, maybe a character limit on the posts?)
@mk. Whatever gave you the idea that I detest the “oik3” moniker? As a matter of fact I wear it proudly and sensible reinforcements is exactly what I thought was needed over the years, not ones on the order of 40 million per player you seem to insinuate. As for booing or chanting offensive remarks, well I’m afraid that’s never been my style and even if it were , it would be impossible for me to boo the man who is the very reason I began following Arsenal 17 years ago. And it wasn’t to watch them win titles either(I care little for those) but rather for the beautiful style of play Mr Wenger has introduced . As for Arsenal selling their best players, unfortunately it’s unavoidable( new stadium or not) It happened in the past and it will happen again, because Arsenal will never be able to compete with clubs that can pay every other player in access of 200K per week. You suggest I take a look at the underlying financials of our club, well somebody has done just that and according to Swiss Ramble and Arsenal officials themselves , the club were in position to strengthen in the past but for whatever reason chose not to . Either way, it doesn’t matter to me why they didn’t as I’m no trophy junky but it’s clear to me that the club has to take its share of responsibility for sending out contradicting messages that exacerbated negative atmosphere around the Emirates. Further more, it seems to me some people on here have been cherry picking information coming out of the club to suit their own agenda and usurp the right to the only truth they can tolerate and any dissent , even when based on facts, is met with ridicule and insults. @Bootoomee. “I know your granny is a tea lady at the Emirates” ,really? I always knew you were a prickly little character but this is the best you can do in response to Nicky’s vanilla , over the top polite semi disagreement ?. If you are half as smart as you think you are , you would see that Mr Wenger’s previous statement “We at Arsenal don’t buy superstars , we make them” stands in direct contradiction with a transfer of the only superstar Arsenal ever bought, Mezut Ozil. Thus constituting change of policy.
@Tom,
Arsenals balance sheet is on the website for all of us to look into. And though the figures look good, I dont think Mr Wenger could have made a 30 million purchase and pay the player big.
Thanks to some good financial strategy, may be at the expense of footballing side to some extent, now we have the installments at a comfortable 20 odd million per year for the next 11-15 years (if I am right). Now that itself is around 300 million. And that is not a small amount. And we are not debt free as some people claim.
Whats changed this year is that our commercial revenue has increased by a big margin, and thats where the money to sign Ozil has come from.
Please keep in mind that just because a balance sheet says there is £x amount of cash, does not mean there is £x amount available for Arsene to spend. Any budget allocated by the board would be between the board and Wenger. It is clear player sales had to take place for purchases to be made possible, perhaps the common statement that ‘Arsene has money available’ was actually based on the fact we had offers on the table for players and therefore Wenger only had to sell them if he wanted to purchase.
@Tom, sorry if that sounded like I was implying you were responsible for booing, that was not my intention and that comment was more related to Nicky’s implication that Wenger only spent money because of the pressure of the ‘fans’.
The Swiss Ramble is a great blog and his posts state (in my understanding of them) that in recent years the club was a bit too conservative in their approach and could have spent some more given their financial position (not an unreasonable position to hold, but not one that other people can legitimately use to vilify the manager or the board in the manner that most of the ‘oik’ commenters have been doing).
If you were previously just stating that opinion in a reasonable and constructive manner then I’m afraid your coveted title of ‘oik’ would have to be taken away from you.
Anyway I’d disagree that it is a change in policy for the club, this is the first time that we have been been secure enough in our financials for the club to not deem it a risk and Wenger has just as often stated that he would buy a ‘super’ player if one became available, which sounds like a more relevant quote to me.
Just seen an interview with Özil on arsenal player. And the way he credits his team mates and speaks about the importance of the team shows his class once again.
Tom,
About nicky’s granny being the tea lady at the Emirates, it’s a joke that I believe nicky gets (as well as most regular Untolders). To avoid any confusion, I put the word ‘kidding’ in paranthesis. You of course skipped that so that you can have your little self-righteous crusade.
You quoted Arsene as saying: “We at Arsenal don’t buy superstars , we make them”.
Well, well, well, for someone who twist himself into knots to sound smart, you can be a literalist when it suits your argument. Arshavin, Vermaelen, Carzola, Monreal etc contradict your point because Arsene bought these stars. How come Arsene just broke that iron clad ‘policy’ when he bought Ozil?
Tom, give it up already because you are not half as smart as you think you are.
I hadn’t wanted to bring my Gran into the discussion but now she’s here, I must set the record straight.
She is a cleaning lady not a tea lady. She WAS a tea lady until the day she spilled a small jug of really hot water on to the lap of David Dein. He has never walked right since.
Gran has become a confidante of Arsene, ever since he discovered she entertained most of the Free French in London during WW2 and picked up quite a lot of French as well.
Recently, they were discussing the arrival of Herr Ozil when, completely out of the blue he said (in pure Alsace Lorraine) “La politique de notre Club a change”( The policy of our Club has changed).
And then he added in English “I wish all those who read Untold would take note of that there TOM bloke who writes a lot of sense”.
nicky,
Thanks for the correction. I knew you would get it for the joke it is.
As for Tom, sometimes I agree with him but he can be smart by half in his comments too often. I enjoy intellectually honest debates. I have on many occasions changed my opinions after engaging in debates with other Untolders. My position on Arsenal and Arsene on Suarez was softened after getting some perspectives from other commenters. I was against Flamini (out of anger about how he left us) until I was set straight with honest arguments.
I am happy to change my mind with honest, contextual points but I loathe those who play mental gymnastics to win debates.
@ Bootoomee. The only player out of the group of players you mentioned that can be called a superstar, is Santi Cazorla and certainly he wasn’t that at the time of his transfer to Arsenal from Malaga. To consider Arshavin, Vermaelen or Monreal in the same breath as Ozil is laughable and example of “mental gymnastics” you seem to accuse me of to prove a point. As for bringing ones family members into discussion( jokingly or otherwise) it isn’t very polite in my neck of the woods but if Nicky doesn’t mind ,then who am I to object. And finally , you will be pleased to know that I don’t hold a very high opinion of myself( my intellect or otherwise) but I’m capable enough to form an educated opinion based on facts without choosing only the ones that suit me or having to twist them.
The Candy With the Little Hole.
A teacher gave lifesavers to the schoolchildren .
The children began to identify the flavors by their color:
Red………………..Cherry
Yellow…………….Lemon
Green………………Lime
Orange …………..Orange
Finally the teacher gave them all HONEY lifesavers. None of the children could identify the taste.
The teacher said, ‘I will give you all a clue. It’s what your mother may sometimes call your father.’
One little girl looked up in horror, spit her lifesaver out and yelled, ‘Oh my God! They’re ass-holes!
The teacher had to leave the room!
Be strong honey !
A man escapes from a prison where he’s been locked up for 15 years
He breaks into a house and inside, he finds a young couple in bed.
He ties him to a chair. While tying the wife to the bed, the convict gets on top of her, kisses her neck, then gets up and goes into the bathroom.
While he’s in there, the husband whispers over to his wife,
“Listen, this guy is an escaped convict. Look at his clothes! He’s probably spent a lot of time in jail and hasn’t seen a woman in years.
I saw how he kissed your neck. If he wants sex, don’t resist, don’t complain. Do whatever he tells you. Satisfy him no matter how much he nauseates you. This guy is obviously very dangerous. If he gets angry, he’ll kill us both. Be strong, honey. I love you!”
She responds: “He wasn’t kissing my neck. He was whispering in my ear. He told me that he’s gay, thinks you’re cute, and asked if we had any Vaseline. I told him it was in the bathroom. Be strong honey. I love you, too.”
Tom,
You quoted Arsene saying: “We at Arsenal don’t buy superstars , we make them” and tried to use that to justify that he doesn’t buy stars. I gave you stars that he had bought like Arshavin, Carzola, Vermaelen and Monreal to prove you are wrong and that Ozil isn’t the 1st one although, I concede that he is the most expensive – so far.
I find your rejection of the players I mentioned as stars telling. Vermaelen was the captain of Ajax when he joined us. Carzola may not be known to you (and that says a lot about your knowledge of the game outside England) but he was a star in every sense of the word. Monreal is the 2nd LB of Spain, the current European and World champions. Arshavin was our record signing when he joined us and his arrival was greeted with kind of joy similar to that of Ozil.
They might not have cost £42.5 million but Arsene Wenger has always bought stars. You claim he doesn’t based on a quote that was probably said lightly and not meant as an iron-clad policy. Even if it was, I have just shown you that he has indeed broken that ‘policy’ before Ozil contrary to your position.
Bootoome.
If you did say that Arsene doesn’t buy ready made stars then I hate to say this to you (because I know much you are an Arsenal/Arsene long term supporter.
You know of the rivalry between us an Spuds. Before getting the boot at Monaco, Arsene built a winning team for them. He bought 2 English players who went on to win the French Lige.
One of those two players was Glen Hoddle from Spuds, already the most skillful English player of his generation. (Sometime I wonder if Arsene was already an Arsenal fan.)
When ever I hear Glen punditing he always speaks highly of Arsene.
I surmise that Arsene buys ready made players whom he thinks want to improve their game and will listen to him and of course will benefit the team and are available at a reasonable price.
With young players as we know it is not certain whether or not as well as playing ability if they have the character to realise their full potential.
It could be argued that a manager (not just Arsene) takes a bigger chance with a young player than a ready made player.
colario,
You were making my point!
Arsene is not against buying ready made stars. He is against paying ridiculous amounts for players, stars or not. £42.5m for Ozil is a lot but definitely not ridiculous because the player is worth more in today’s market.
We agree mate. It is those claiming that by buying Ozil, Arsene has changed policy that your Glen Hoddle point will help. I am with you already.
We should all wait for AW biography when he releases his book, and may it take a long long time to come, so he can be at AFC for a long while yet.
@mk
“……it is not as if the Club would admit it didn’t have any money to spend….”
Spot on. I did a piece on here a few weeks ago regarding that very suppersition.
Admiting that we had no money would of been tantermount to commercial suicide. As I said in my piece it’s not great to be ‘mislead’ for want of a better word, but alas it was an absolute neccessity. I had mates saying to me “all we want is the truth” Hmmm Really. Are people really trying to suggest that when we decided to build the stadium we wanted to hear……”Oh, by the way, we’ll probably win jack for the next 5 years or so and in addition to that the tickets wont be cheap either !!!” Come off it.
We needed to fill out the Stadium not empty it out!! To me if you couldn’t see through the spin, and accept it for what it was, then thats down to your nieveity. I honstly never thought for one second we was EVER in a position to splash the cash. Especially once the ‘oil money’ had turned up and inflated the market beyond any sense of normality.
Great article as always Walter. Have to say though as much as i love the inflow of great articles we have had in the past two weeks, i am really missing my dosage of ref articles series :P. When will the next one be up? The last one posted was Mike Jones if i am not mistaken