In one sense it looks like a race, with the FA, the EPL and UEFA all trying to get in first with ideas to reform European football.
Today it is the turn of Michel Platini who like the others chooses to ignore the corruption that is evident in Italy, and which has almost certainly seeped into the Champions League and other European leagues.
His new idea is to put in place measures that would have made Arsenal’s development of a series of brilliant young players quite impossible.
Under cover of establishing financial fair play, as he calls it, and with lots of references to Manchester Arab, he actually tore into Arsenal saying,
“The European commission talks of free movement of workers from the age of 16,” said Platini. “This might have seemed reasonable in the 1950s, but is that still the case today for most skilled jobs, at a time when many European countries have raised the school-leaving age to 18?
“I have therefore thought about this problem a great deal and I am now convinced that the international transfer – yes international – of players under 18 should be prohibited, fully in accordance with the Fifa statutes. Some people talk about the free movement of workers. I am talking about the protection of children.”
Most of the media will not pick up on this point and will stay with his comment that, “We are currently looking at the idea of limiting, to a certain degree, a club’s expenditure on staff – salary and transfer fees combined – to an as yet undecided percentage of its direct and indirect sporting revenue.”
But it is the attack on the idea of allowing younger players to come to a club like Arsenal and learn their skills early enough to stand a chance at competing at the highest level, which is the really retrogressive part of the UEFA campaign. Such a move will hardly hit the free spending clubs like KGB Fulham, Manchester Arab, Manchester Bankrupt and Liverpool Insolvency. It will hit at the financially stable Arsenal, however.
(c) Tony Attwood 2009
The return of Eduardo and the arrival of Arshavin have really uplifted spirits at Arsenal. And in perfect time too.
To see Eduardo even play again is a joy to behold. The effect it could have on the club could be massive.
Arshavin signing for the club, combined with Eduardo’s comeback, couldn’t have arrived at a better time. We Gooners needed a lift, we got it with these two.
Add Rosicky coming back to the fold, Cesc and Theo returning from injury, there are exciting times ahead.
A top three finish is very achievable. As is winning the Champions League or FA Cup. I really believe it.
A couple of posts ago I wrote that someone was going to get a hiding soon and it could ignite our season. We gave Cardiff a hiding and I honestly believe we will begin to start smashing teams now and go on a long winning streak.
I’m starting to look at the rest of the campaign with a real feel good factor. I’m feeling positive that we can achieve something this season.
Platini is a wanker that is only thinking about how he can raise his profile, cos at the end of his reign as president they will want to see what he has done. which except for some bitter comments about everything in football…isnt much. If anyone actually believes that giving a kid of 15/16 from lesser footballing countries a chance to relocate (usually with family) to a 1st world country earning more money than most and getting a quality footballing and general life education is wrong!! Then i dont know.
@Mason:All well and good as long as Eboue and Adebayor dont slot right back in. WE have seen what is possible with a slightly different team, lets stick with it and see where we go.
i agree with frichie he is a wanker and i think that we could do amazing in the league for a respectable finish. well done eddie, for the 2 goals now get us up the table
Mason – you seem to have undergone a personality transplant since making these comments on 29th January – no?
Mason 29th January –
“Thank fuck for RvP right now. If he gets injured then I reckon even the UEFA Cup is beyond us. We’ve even lost our passing game now – something I never thought I’d say. And if he dares to mention the word “spirit” about tonight, the flat screen will be flying across the room”.
And that’s not to mention you’re even more succinct comments regarding our MAJOR slide on the same day – a couple of weeks ARE a long time in football no?
*laughs*
Mason 29th January –
“There are 2 issues surrounding wenger and our decline and the 1st theory is obviously financial problems. It has been suggested that wenger has not got any money to spend and as a result is covering the boards ineptitude but I’m sorry but that doesnt quite wash with me. If you are operating on a limited budget why would you spend £15m on a winger when you have no strong commanding midfielder dominating in the middle of the park ? What is the point in having arshavin out on the wing but dependent on alex fcuking song to (a) win a fcuking tackle to get the ball & (b) be actually able to pass the ball to him ? Confused That to me dilutes any arguement about a lack of finances cos it shows a lack of awareness of where our problems and priorities lie and that is attributed to wenger and his coaching staff not the board.
It has also been suggested that wenger would be sacked if he came out and admitted that the board havent given him any money to spend but again that doesnt wash with me. We are all supporters who are witnessing a major major slide (although some dont realise how big a slide it is Rolling Eyes ) right in front of our eyes and are getting very frustrated as a result and are directing much of that frustration at wenger and the players – dont you think that the object of that frustration would change drastically if it turned out that it was all the boards fault ? Dont you believe that 60,000 would turn up protesting at the board and supporting wenger and that the board would rightly be afraid to sack wenger for fear of starting a riot ? Even those of us that believe that wenger has lost the plot want to believe that it isnt his fault at all and would be willing to back him over this Embarassed
My 2nd theory is tactical – some of you may look for financial excuses for wenger but you cannot excuse his woeful lack of judgement when it comes to some players. Prior to last night I had began to start feeling a bit more confident on our back 4 again with kolo and djouru looking like a good combination but for some unknown reason wenger yet again decides to restore gallas to the starting line up and if somebody can give me a valid reason (other than a fear of gallas demanding a move if he wasnt re-instated) then I would like to hear it Confused Wenger has spouted bullshit about his young players for 2 or 3 years now so why isnt he playing them ? Can he honestly say that ramsey isnt better than song ? Can he honestly say that vela or wilshire wouldnt offer us more on the wings than either eboue or bedtner ? Is he really serious than any big club can harbour genuine hopes of success with an almunia as 1st choice keeper ? These are all weaknesses in wenger’s judgement my friends and cannot be excused away by citing financial problems. Personally I would be much more willing to except our shortcomings if wenger was playing our vela’s, ramseys and wilshires instead of our songs, eboue’s and bedtners who are either nowhere near good enough or give a shit one way or another Mad
I have zero doubt that this board has past its expiry date and needs a total overhaul. At the moment they are trading on the confusion amongst the fans who dont know whether to blame wenger or the board for our problems and that is our fault and nobody else’s. We all talk about the need for clarity and honesty with the fans but how do we think we are going to get any of that from the board ? We certainly are not going to get it by discussing it amongst ourselves and imo it is way past the time where the fans need to get up off their arses and protest at the lack of investment in the playing side of the club but of course there appears to be no way that will ever happen cos we are The Arsenal and we dont behave like that Rolling Eyes”
why does anyone with anything to do with football have to be an idiot?
I’m surprised at your article Tony. Not about Platini who is showing himself as a typical Eurpean bureaucrat wanting to control the free market and individual liberty under the guise of ‘protection’ in one form or another.
No, it’s where you say that it won’t affect the ‘free spending clubs’. I thought that you believed that such spending and such clubs had no future in the current economic climate?
You make good points normally Tony, but you should perhaps be a little more consistent in your logic. Not go tilting at any old windmill that comes along.
Watch the ranting my friend. Notice the idiots starting to post on your site.
eboue, bendter and song should fuck off to portsmouth like all our other rejects.
Many of the world’s finest players come from poor backgrounds in impoverished or corrupt, backward countries, where the best possible solution is to ‘get out’.
These are kids/young players seeking to better themselves, their families and their countries.
Platini is attempting to cloak the idea of denying these kids’ dreams and opportunity as ‘protecting children’. Protecting them from what – the opportunity of a lifetime to follow their dreams and improve themselves??
Platini, a good player, and a complete and utter snob advancing his political agenda at the expense of children and the world’s poor.
Platini’s idea is linked to his hatred of Arsene Wenger. He wants to stop Arsenal signing young players, but what he is missing is that we do not ‘kidnap’ defenseless children. We invest heavily in their development and give them opportunities they might not get otherwise. Perhaps he should talk to Cesc Fabregas and ask him what he thinks of this idea.
Hm…as for injuries…players getting injured on other teams will be good for Arsenal…but i prefer to hope for a serious dip in form from the other sides instead lol And AW has taken some time to notice that Man U r pretty much cruising to the title at the minute. It’s funny that Liverpool are so close to them, yet most ppl don’t think they have a good chance at the title…more like an outside chance actually.
As for Martin Taylor, if he apologises, gud 4 him and if not, he’s not the “nice bloke” every1 talks about…as simple as that. Looks as if B’ham are coming back to the Prem nxt yr actually…so Arsenal v B’ham should be interesting. Point is, Eduardo is back & firing on all cylinders. What Taylor does is his business… If i were him and i really “came” to see Eduardo, but Eduardo says he has no recollection, the least he can do is visit “again” if he did in-fact visit initially.
Hleb’s dream seems to be going pretty well doesn’t it? lol He should not have left us in the manner he did…now he’s suffering for it. We were building something special, he left…but we got a surplus of creative/attacking midfielders. Imagine…Flamini & Hleb having a tuff time now that they left us…tsk tsk!
I wasn’t too pleased that Henry left. I thought he should’ve stayed. He was Arsenal through and through. His relationship with the fans and the manager and the sort of person he was generally, I’m sure all the fans were sad to see him go. Most seemed to accept that because he didn’t want to play for us anymore, that we couldn’t force him to, or feel spite or feel that his decision was wrong or unjust for us. Just like Hleb, who didn’t want to play for us anymore. I don’t understand why we couldn’t feel the same for him. Why couldn’t we just wish him all the best like we did with Henry. Afterall, a lot of players came to Arsenal because of all the big names like Henry, Vieria, Bergkamp, Ljungberg, Pires etc. When they started to leave, the newcomers must’ve felt a bit strange with all the kids around them. When you’re 25 I’m sure you want to start winning things if you haven’t already. Because after that there’s not much time left. Who knows when a player might get a nasty career-threatening injury. I don’t think it’d be right to feel spite or a sense of unjustice towards Hleb.
Platini’s is a anti-english agenda. If the french league was no 1 now then would he be at all this. would he shit.
whatever his faults, i think that platinis views on how clubs are run financially are basically sound.
we are not chelsea, manu, liverpool, we are not a free spending club, we are not a dinasour.
the flip-side of league-wide financial regularity is that the youth market will become more important, and thereby harder to access / take advantage of.
I just don’t understand some of you so called fans, Man U beat Derby 4:1 and they are able to win all 4 trophies, we beat Cardiff and our own fans saying it was just Cardiff. Where lies Cardiff and Derby? Stop those stupid talks , Chelsea beat Watford 3:1, Please let us support the team and we will move forward.
Why does this blog constantly attract so many nutjobs who comment on anything and everything EXCEPT the actual subject of the article?