By Walter Broeckx
I must admit that for many years I loved Gael Clichy. Maybe it was because of the fact that he reminded me of my oldest son. He also played left back and always played his heart out. He was rather small so had to be clever. He had a tremendous clean tackle in his foot (something he got from me, I guess LOL). Not the greatest player in the team but a player that would work his socks off and who always tried to do his best.
At first it seemed as if the whole Arsenal supporters community took Clichy in with open arms and loved him. I think this had a lot to do with the way the left back before him went away. The money grabbing C…..ole. I know Clichy couldn’t score but you never expected this from him. But he always gave it all.
The first bumps and bruises between Clichy and a part of the supporters came after that terrible game at Birmingham in the season 2007/2008. A part of the supporters blamed Clichy for us not winning that game. I don’t agree with this. It was Mike Dean who cost us that game. Yes Clichy made a mistake when he let the ball run but he corrected this by kicking the ball away again. It was then that Dean invented a foul and gave a penalty to Birmingham from which they equalised. It was also Dean who seconds earlier didn’t give a penalty to Arsenal when Adebayor his shirt was almost pulled to pieces in the other penalty area right under the nose of Dean who did nothing.
But suddenly a part of the fans turned on Clichy. And he became a scapegoat for them. When we conceded a goal: it was because of Clichy. Even if it was a goal from the right hand side.
But things got worse for him. It was Clichy who slipped against Tottenham and with this slip was guilty for their come back in that 4-4 draw. I think no player will slip up like that just for fun. This is just one of those things that can happen.
But from that moment Clichy was one of the main targets from a part of the fans. I say fans. Because real supporters understand that there will have been no one more down after that than Clichy himself. Real supporters would have said: bad luck, come on Gael keep your head up, better next time.
Well that is the message I like to send to players if I had the chance after something like that happening. But others disagreed. He was called useless, sh*t, and someone who we had to get rid of. I remember on Untold and on another side a blogger trying to show that if you looked at the statistics Clichy was one of the best left backs in the PL. But it all was in vain for a particular part of the fan base: Clichy was found not good enough and we should get rid of him.
Now I am not saying that Clichy did not commit mistakes. He did. Just like any other player makes mistakes. But you could see he cared about Arsenal and he certainly did not made those mistakes deliberate.
Up to today I wonder what the real reason was for Clichy leaving us. Was it because he felt that he couldn’t do anything right for a part of the supporters? Was it for the name calling he got from some part of the Arsenal blog world? Seeing your name spelled as “Clishit” by a part of your own fans is not a nice thing for a player.
Was he sick and tired of that abuse? I don’t know. As far as I know Clichy never said anything about it. I think he loved Arsenal and the supporters for a long time. But just imagine getting abuse from the ones you love every day. Just imagine how it must feel for a player to hear your own fans constantly moaning about you and saying what a rubbish player you are.
As far as I know Clichy has in general been kind for Arsenal. As far as I know he remained respectful for the club and our manager.
What we do know is that when City came along and bought him the supporters who wanted him out were happy. I was not. I cried (just a way of speaking) in silence because I still rated him as one of the best left backs in the PL. I also rated the fact that he never made a big fuss about things. He just went on and did his best.
The fact that he went to Manchester City should have rang a bell for those who considered him as not good enough. Manchester City can spend all the money they want on a left back. And yet they wanted him. Manchester City who only buy what they think is the best and pay all the money in the world for those players. Could it be that those supporters who wanted Clichy out were the ones who were wrong?
Last Sunday I turned on the TV to see how the game between Newcastle and Manchester City was going. A win from Manchester City was needed for us. Who really cares who wins the title this year? The money grabbers part of Manchester or the diving part of Manchester. The important thing for us was that Newcastle would drop points.
And they did. I didn’t feel joy Manchester City winning the game. I felt joy for Newcastle dropping points. But I do admit that there was a moment when I did felt happy. When Clichy gave the assist to Yaya Toure to score the second and decisive goal I felt happy for Clichy.
When he has played for City he has been doing what he always has done for us. Just doing his best. It was not good enough for a small part of the Arsenal fans. But now at the end of the season his assist sealed the game for City. And apart from a very strange event next Sunday will have sealed the title for City.
If Clichy left us because he was sick and tired of the abuse he got and for the way he stayed respectful for our club and manager after leaving us, I can congratulate him with the title.
And this might be another good example of how a player that a part of our fans wanted us to get rid of because he was not good enough suddenly turns out to be not that bad after all when we let him go.
So should Wenger listen to those same fans who want us to get rid of Ramsey? I bet SAF will snap Ramsey up in a second and he will be winning things with United. And yet those same fans are doing the same like they did with Clichy. Once the love is broken the player will leave. So be careful, there might come a time when you see a player you wanted out because not good enough celebrate a title with another team.
When will they learn that they know nothing about the real value of a player and that abusing our own players will never help our team and the player in question. Never….?
I will not be happy if City buy the title with money they didn’t earn. I would not be happy if United dived for the title with some help from the refs. But for this one player I will make an exception. I hope Clichy still remembers the other supporters who supported him even when things went wrong. And I hope that some of those morons who abused him in the past will grow a brain and stop abusing and booing our own players and driving them out.
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Totally agree. I wished you have written it earlier.
I miss Clichy. Great leftback, shame he left.
That’s a very nice story but you know it isn’t true.
I rated him also (much better than our options at the moment, for sure). But last summer he was told by Wenger that he won’t be offered a new deal because Gibbs was to be the new left back in the first XI. So he was sold. And then Gibbs got injured (unfortunate but not unexpected, sadly) so Santos was bought as cover.
One thing is for sure- apart from Na$ri, hardly any player cares about what fans are doing on the internet. It would be masochistic of them to read the comments, don’t you think?
City man here… good commentary and i think you are onto something with the way you sometimes boo your own. Clichy has been, pound for pound, up there with the money we spent on Kompany. He gives his all every game, is full of running, can attack and defend (better than i expected) and is easily better than Kolarov.
I think though, Wenger banked on Gibbs being the next Clichy. He probably will be if he can stay fit.
Peace
Gael came to play in front of proper fans who support him and the rest of this wonderful team. Oh btw Samir Nasri is enjoying himself too. You could perhaps remind Piers Morgan about his bet LOL.
I have nothing against him. Completely agree with you.
Heci your comment might have more validity if you give a source for this inside knowledge. I don’t have a direct line to the club and certainly not to Mr Wenger, but nothing I heard anywhere from within the club made me think that is right.
Great article.
I noticed Kompany congratulating Clichy after his gritty performance in the mancy derby. But then, what does Kompany know about defending?
Not too sure that Nasri has enjoyed himself. 28 games this season, including league cup and other exciting affairs, plus a very public dressing down from the manager about the need for him to try harder.
Totally agree Walter. Clichy was indeed a great loss. What the boo boys don’t understand is that every time a player does go, it disrupts the development of the team as a unit so we go back to square one. I wish the team was more advanced in terms of gelling and together-ness, (we are getting there but there is work to do yet), but I still also want to encourage the good performances rather than boo the poor ones.
clichy story tells us that arsenal don’t have bad defenders. they are just badly coached by wenger who doesn’t pay attention to defensive tactics.
Hi Tony,
My source is a Bulgarian journalist that has his own sources and so far has had very interesting insight that made sense.. but of course there is never any real evidence (as with all club insight). What I mean is that he has gotten it right every time he said something about Arsenal (he is a massive fan), but even if I did dig up some of his quotes (on his blog) it would be in Bulgarian.
I probably didn’t express myself well too- I was thinking the exact same things as those written in the article (which I do think may apply to some other cases) but it does make more sense that as Robbo said- Wenger banked on Gibbs.
And as much as we (well some of us) loved Clichy, his defending had one little problem which was concentration and syncing with the other 3 defenders for the offside trap. Hopefully Gibbs will step up big time.. for now he is nowhere near Clichy’s level.
Clichy made too many mistakes at Arsenal and he left not because of the abuse but because he was on £40k a week at Arsenal and City offered him £90-£100k a week on top of that he knew sooner or later City would be the top team in England and win many titles
Excellent writing!
You know something Walter? These same morons who were asking for the sale of a player then come and accuse players like Clichy as traitors…
I believe alot of it had to do with team tactics.
At arsenal he was told to play more like a winger as wenger does not care for defensive tactics too much I mean i can count the numerous times he was caught out og position and had to rely on his recovery speed, which didn’t work all the time.
Now He’s been told to be more defensive minded he looks a better player for it.
Clichy was a scapegoat of a poor team if Ashley Cole had Arshivan in front of hope and was left 2v1 on most occasions he would like piss poor.
Fact is that Clichy was always only average, don’t let the fact that’s he gone change that. He cost us a lot of points with his poor positional play and most games he would be caught the wrong side of the defence at least once.
The fact that he is doing well for City now doesnt change how poor he was for us.
He seems a nice guy and never said anything bad about Arsenal so I wish him well but I dont miss him or pine for the good ols days with Gael playing at left back.
Ashely Cole was 10 times the player Clichy is and both are better than Gibbs.
I think that one of the reasons Clichy might have been sold was due to the switch to 4-3-3 (or more accurately 4-1-1-3-1). It required the full backs to provide width and that was never really his strength. AW possibly felt that Gibbs would be better for that and the signing of Santos and his strengths reinforces that.
I can’t really comment about his performances for Man City this season and how he has been used in their system, as I haven’t seen enough of their games, but from my subjective standpoint, I feel our system has suited our incumbents much more that it did Clichy. Shame they were both injured at the same time for two months.
I was a bit ambivalent on Clichy leaving. A steady defender, but one who lost concentration from time to time and was completely ineffective going forward. Santos has already scored more for Arsenal than Clichy (ok he is not as good a defender).
What motivated him to leave? Was it the abuse or was it the almost doubling in wages he achieved by joining the oil barons? He is paid more than RVP at the moment and for a ‘steady’ left back, this is crazy. Clichy had some great games for us and will be remembered fondly, but HE decided to move on (for money in my opinion) so we all need to move on.
Underlying your article is the message that players should not be abused. I wholeheartedly agree.
will it be down to bould to put it right or with him already being at arsenal for a number of years you would think that what ever he knows about defending would be in a tactical ‘cloud’ shared by all. or is it just squad depth/tiredness?
Yes Gaël Clichy was
This post was rejected. Posts to Untold are mostly rejected because they are abusive, off topic, or come from a false email address.
Excellent article – balanced and well argued. Two point from me (i) In our invincible season fans ought rightly to remember Cole was injured for a substantial part of the start of that season he fitted the LB role like a glove and whether fans like it or not he earned his candor as part of the AFC ‘Invincible’ team. Ramsey if my memory serves me correct scored a goal that gave us champions league football? Stay of his back and ask yourself are you any better at football and media spotlight? I thought not!!
Stattos can confirm that last season in the PL the most effective LBs were:
Going forward – Baines (Lots of assists etc. from set plays to bump up already impressive stats).
Going backwards – Our very own Gael but you wouldn’t have believed it listening to some. I think I know what Mancini was focusing on.
Just one point – we are getting the usual collection of highly abusive answers. As is stated in several places on this web site, we don’t post abuse. What we like is reasoned argument. Posting abuse simply gets the poster banned from the site.
I try to stay as positive as possible I am a Akb but clichy was not good enough I believe Gibbs for his age and game time is a much better player and will go on to prove that clichy did not and still does not go fully committed into tackles he is looking better this year because of the type of player he has around him
I rate Clichy as well and always believe in him but must say, his form has dipped for quite a bit in his last couple of years at Arsenal. His lapses of concentration costed us from time to time. Still one of my favorite player. However, I’m not that bothered, Gibbs and Santos is up for the job! Gibbs is a bit more balanced on attack and defense. Santos gives us more drive in attack!
Clichy was battling with the offside trap and they often speak of players going through a dip around 26-which is what I think Clichy went through.
I think he is a top player and in general I always thought he was well supported and still is. Players like Arshavin and Chamack now about our abusive idiots!
The problem is that Wenger hasn’t helped Ramsey- If he was given a few second half appearance then he couldnt be a scapegoat but apparently our win percentage drops by above 45% when he starts.(not sure how true that is, there are Statistics, Statistics and damn lies)
Wenger should give the boy a break and allow him to develop then fans need to do there part and be patient as no player wants to underperform and Booing him wont help
Well i think clichy himself said why he left, ”to challenge for trophies”. Same thng nasri &fab said. Clichy wasn’t the best of defenders, but i’d take a third of him ahead of santos &gibbs, he’s got a better chance of becoming a world class defender under mancini though.
Oh and i remember how terrible he was in that 4-2 loss to city wen ade sprinted the lenght of the pitch 2celebrate in front of walter &tony.
Man City fan, if I had to sum up my thoughts on Clichy this season in one word, immense.
Another brilliant article. Untold Arsenal is by far the best Arsenal blog in the world. As much as I love The Arsenal, the corruption in football and the fickleness of the fans are driving me away. The scapegoating culture at Arsenal has cost us many talented players. I do not know if this will ever change.
Another purely speculative load of drivel from numerous posters on this blog. Nobody knows what Clichy was earning at AFC but like the stupid dupes they are they parrot what they think they hear!
Clichy’s reasons for leaving will always remain secret until he chooses to tell them,since AW and the Club always respect a former player’s right to privacy…truly an Arsenal thing. It does make sense to think that the hefty pay raise at Shitty along with the moronic AAAs constantly berating him, were certainly aspects he looked at before deciding.Another one was his desire to win a trophy and his lack of belief that the Gunners would anytime soon…perhaps a mistake in the long run,we will see.
I rated him as one of our better defenders but not at Cashley’s level and this season,Cole has really dropped in form as have the rest of the Cheatski clowns.
I’ve always thought Clichy was under rated and i was sad to see him go especially to another EPL team, i believe he would have been a great sub to shore up a 1 or 2 ( or 3 or 4 ) goal lead.
and as this is my first time commenting i would like to thank you guys/gals for some interesting(if not disturbing) reading
I have written an article myself last year during the season to defend Clichy as I got fed up with some people on some blogs calling him names and calling him useless.
It was only when seeing him giving that assist that I thought of how high I rated him.
Oh probably because I know nothing of players and so…. As does Wenger who believed in him, as does Mancini….
Gael Clichy is as good as LB’s get. Of course the AAA will never get that. They will want whoever they have never seen play. And yes Walter I have a big soft spot for Kolo and Gael apart from our legends. Also have a soft spot for all those players who might have made it with a little bit more support like Denilson, Senderos etc.
Ramsey will go elsewhere and win trophies? Why has he not won any for Arsenal. I know you will murder anyone who says Denilson was not good enough for us as well
Bang your dead…
Spot on as usual if I may say so.
Yours is a blog for intelligent people so I don’t expect many of those morons to read this. they will me on Le Grove and others shouting Wenger out! and spewing abuse at players unfortunately.
I watched that match and felt proud that our former player played so well. Clichy seems to be in his prime now and I can’t escape feeling I wish he was still with us…
Seems people already ready getting the guns out for Gibbs, really can’t understand why our fans turn on our youngsters. If they don’t make the standard the club will let them go, we should support them while they are learning their trade, not destroying them.
Gael was awesome, when he played well we were good, and its normal to have a bad day in the office, i think this season has taught all gooners a thing or two about supporting the players, a few however wont ever learn… That said, i think its sad that every season we seem to be rebuilding, infact we are already calling for players to be shipped and others brought in, to build a winning side i personally believe that the players need to have played together for sometime, until we are able to achieve this we will always be almost there.. but never there really.
Walter,
I enjoyed the sentiment of this article. The common line of thought must surely be that city offered clichy a huge pay rise that he would not likely to earn at arsenal based on the two variables of when his contract was running out and on improved individual performances. City may have offered him a raise that he may not have conceivably earned at any other point in his career as well and arsenal were not able to match and with arsenal wanting to get value for a player they have developed were left with no choice in selling him.
With clichy leaving impromptly, it does break up continuity in the team and defense and he was a good (1st choice) left back and with santos coming in, santos has needed time to adjust but thats football when you have a football (g)raping club that is man city at the moment when they can leverage their wage resources to sign almost any player.
I mentioned it above and to reiterate – how can you support the arsenal and forget our best attempt at football consistency and excellence? Then amongst that team you’ll see the name Clichey.
I believe CLichey wouldn’t have been 1st choice because he doesn’t “bomb forward” “overlap” whatever pundit “cliche” you choose enough for the football i believe arsenal are trying for.
however you lose some gambles and win some that assist was nice
i wish he was still at arsenal
as for the Ramesy comment no comment he needs time ok i lied there was a comment
I always liked Clichy, no disrespect to Gibbs, but was sad to see him go, there have been times when we could have really done with him. Not happy at selling all these decent players to City either. If some reports are to be believed, RVP was not too impresses at seeing…amongst others..Clichy go either.
Anything he wins, he deserves.
He has looked good for City this year when I have seen him. On that subject, with an Italian manager, City on the whole are better organised defensively than we are, maybe this has helped him, after all , at times, being an Arsenal defender, or for that matter, GK must be a scary experience. I hope that if reports of Mr Boulds promotion are true, he can help rectify this situation. As said earlier, we do have some good defenders, maybe changes in the coaching could make them more confident, reliable, consistant, organised and ultimately better players.
Still can’t fucking cross!
I refuse to accept.Clichy knew he has to prove a point that is why he is stressing himself,can he sustain it.If he does then he is an hypocrite.
Was Clichy the best left back we’ve had in recent times? no.
He started off exceptionally for a young player but never seemed to move on to the next level. Maybe becuase the 2 centre backs weren’t of the greatest calibre as a partnership, or because a certain Russian didn’t defend leaving him exposed.
What I loved him for was his total 100% commitment to the cause, in a team that had a fair few passengers and poseurs and sporadic deliverers at times (AA, EA, WG, ND) and as he always gave his all he always had my support. Was the Romford Pele as good as Pires? We didn’t love him any less.
Seems to me Arsene’s early success has gained us a lot of support that on occasion I’d rather not have.
Great write up Walter, many thanks.
Always liked Clichy, and I wish him well. Got to see just how quick the fella was whenever I went to a match. Lightning speed! And I seem to remember him keeping a certain Mr C. Ronaldo fairly quiet in the 07/08 home game against united (when a certain Mr Nasri scored twice). Was a good servent for the club, always spoke with general enthusiasm, respect, and seemed a likeable guy.
It was a shame to see him go for the reasons which seem to have driven him out. He wasn’t a rubbish player with a poor attitude, yet he got treated as such by small minded morons, the same people who give Ramsey a hard time even though he’s had a bad injury and only just completed his first full season. More than likely they’ll give the likes of Jack and Diaby a hard time next season. Disgrace. We don’t want “fan” like that amongst us.
@robl
You made a good point.
Clichy definately performed better what we used a 4-4-2 formation, no question about it, where he had Hleb and Nasri in front. The drop in his perfomances coincided with the change in formation, and he either had no one directly in front covering him (Denilson was his nearest covering player), leaving him more exposed to opposition attack, or was too far up the pitch in an attacking position.
@ Rusta Clichey or Ramesy? the can’t cross comment?
and a certain Russian frustrated me and delighted me in equal measure (ok later on he frustrated me more purely because he is a great player and it wasn’t working for him “que sera sera” (never passed Spanish in school)ps i hope that is Spanish or i will look a right fool
Is a player’s salary public knowledge? I see people quoting numbers as salary for any player as if they were that player’s tax lawyer or something.
I am just curious.
Mr Broeckx,
Though I can empathize when you say that Clichy was made a scapegoat, the tone of this article suggests Clichy wanting to leave even when Arsenal wanted him to stay.
Just as Mr Attwood above has so clearly put it, there is no reason to conclude that Arsenal wanted to sell him- just as there is none to conclude Arsene wanted to keep him.
In the cases of Fabregas and Nasri, Mr Wenger was very explicit of his desire to keep them both but I have never come across any such comments by him regarding Clichy.
This transfer is comparable to that of Kolo Toure. Toure was allowed to leave because Wenger wanted to give a chance to Djourou and could get good returns for a player who was not at his peak.
So why did Clichy leave? In an interview, he said “to win trophies”. Were Arsenal desperate to keep him? Nothing suggests that. Wenger even said that Clichy was sold so that Gibbs could be given a chance as he was now ready.(unless I’m much mistake as I cannot find a link)
“And this might be another good example of how a player that a part of our fans wanted us to get rid of because he was not good enough suddenly turns out to be not that bad after all when we let him go.”
Can you please elaborate and please name some such players?
Narendra,
Apart from the fact that he was a prick and behaved like one…. Adebayor.
I sat in the Emirates and heart fans boo him when he scored…for Arsenal
I know he went part for the money but the fact that he was booed by his own fans didn’t help him stay. And if I remember it correct Wenger was not happy with his departure
thank you walter for this lovely piece,
But as usual, rather than talk about what you’ve written, i am forced to talk about what others are saying.
I am hurt by the comments regarding gibbs as injury prone and somewhat inferior to clichy.
First i wonder if people actually watch the matches, because if they did, they’d note that gibbs is developing into a fantastic footballer, his ball control and passing betray his background in midfield and attack, his defending is improving a lot considering he has only played that position for a couple of seasons (intermittently).
secondly, there is no such thing as an injury prone player, this is pure media speak, it is a lazy way of saying the player has suffered a few injuries quite recently, the need the space to discuss in detail the composition of simon cowell’s latest enema or something equally tiresome! i actually voted him best performer for the norwich match, yes me and about 1.5% of the respondents (if you are curious, van persie won it, by a canter), so i am not completely delusional.
But hey all said the same about christopher colombus,alexandre song, laurent koscielny… ho ho ho who’s got the last laugh now?
Mr Arsene Wenger, that who.
When the boss speaks on any subject, it seems to split the human race into two groups,loosely based on the ability to understand a nuanced statement.
Clichy was not a consistent performer in attack and was slower in developing that side of his game, if we are to play the way we want to play, the wing backs have to produce offensively and defend, so the club has released a pacy left back to blood in a skillful wingback because he is ready, for a healthy profit. what’s to talk about?
P.s Can anyone remember that chipped pass to van persie to blast in one the best goals ever scored at the Emirates against barcelona? i loved him and all that but more was required, and we had clear out our squad, especially as barca were holding out with the fabregas cash!
I’m okay now, rant over.
I am getting a bit of free time soon, and i think i am angry enough to take on the phrase “injury prone” for untold, it really grinds my gears.
FYI,
I voted gibbs the best performer and clichy chipped the pass to van persie, now that i have cooled down a bit, i realise i might not made this entirely clear.
Great article Walter, probably one of my favourite ones that you’ve written. I do think Clichy is a loss but Gibbs could grow into the role – whether or not he does for me is a matter of how the last few years of injury troubles have affected his development.
Ugandan goon- re injury prone, have a look at an article I wrote a good while ago now http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3107846/Why-so-serious.html
injury prone is overblown, but to a degree it does exist – some players are prone to groin/hamstring injuries due to imbalances in their muscles, or one muscle being weaker.
I agree with you questioning its application to Gibbs though – his injury troubles have been varied, suggesting a run of terrible luck.
thank you PG,
got a bit carried away there. it just that the phrase is used in a derogatory sense without due attention to the causes of most of these injuries, take for instance the Boss making it a point to let it be known that Sagna’s right leg has been broken for the second time this season as the result f a kicking from the opposition, hence not an imbalance of bio mechanics or something else.
i would be interested to know how far back/what age you could investigate/look at a players injuries.
-13 or -9
some things happen early in life,(some kids are just sad from upbringing they support Spurs)(i’m joking well half joking)
If City build an empire capable of earning unprecedented footballing and commercial revenues, would that justify spending money they didn’t earn in order to get there? Scoff if you like, but winning the PL wasn’t conceivable 3 years ago, so give those chaps 10 years and we’ll talk again. Anyway, I didn’t stop to pick a quarrel over that, I stopped by to remark on said player. He’s the best full back we’ve had at this club for too many years to mention, and perhaps most importantly, the title run in has brought his very best form, which is the measure of the man. He’s rarely beaten in defence, as fast as any winger in the league, and this one at Newcastle was one of several very neat assists. A really wonderful player to watch and I’m thrilled he’s at City.
Perhaps the Arsenal boo boys would like to become aquainted with Stephen Jordan, Ben Thatcher (and his elbows) or Michael Frontzeck in his prime? They’d boo themselves breathless, and then quietly expire. Anyway, cheers.
PG,
Just read the article, Grinds your gears too, huh?
Don’t forget that Gibbs also suffered a badly broken foot in a game two seasons ago. Reports afterwards said it was as if he had a hole in his foot when they took his shoe out. That was the result of a bad kick in the last minute of a game also
off topic but then again not completely
Thanks to a link on twitter I found this about something Myles Palmer said about Van Persie in 2008.
https://thegoonerforum.wordpress.com/2008/09/30/taxi-for-myles-palmer-why-van-persie-should-not-be-sold/#comment-61913
Very funny and certainly the comments below add to it.
Ugandan goon – it does a bit, in the same way other football myths do. Don’t get me started on “form”!
Walter – im sure the same guy also wrote off Henry when he first arrived.
It’s a bit like in economics (my degree). The government take advice from all the economists and central bankers who didn’t see the crisis coming! I mean, the crash happens on their watch, they miss it, and people actually listen to them for solutions?
It’s the same with Palmer. He clearly doesn’t have a clue, and yet for some reason people still listen to him. Very strange!
Whenever I come on Untold there is something that lifts my spirits and this article did just that. You are right Walter. If you want to get the best out of somebody treat them properly. Don’t abuse them and sap their confidence and make them feel bad.
All our players deserve our full support.
Every football fan has, in the heat of the moment, given some stick of one kind or another to a player for an error of some kind but for the life of me I do not understand fans booing their own players.
Sadly, if you are a player or even a football manager that can’t take the stick, however uncalled for or abusive, then you are in the wrong job. It is the way things are. It’s wrong and I wish it wasn’t like that. Just go and read the comments on some other other blogs after Arsenal lose. It is shocking. Would these people say these things to somebody face to face?
So, did Clichy leave because a minority of fans gave him some stick? I don’t think so. Why? Because he’ll get the same stick at City should things not go quite so well. He left because he got a better deal for himself elsewhere and thought he would have a better chance of a trophy! Fair enough.
Also I don’t begrudge City their success. If somebody threw a shed load of cash at Arsenal I wouldn’t mind….as long as it was free money and we didn’t rub people’s noses in it. We can all get houlier than thou about this but when the goals start crashing into our opponents net and the trophies come we wont give the preverbial toss.
I for one , was sad to see Clichy go . Yes he made some mistakes while playing for Arsenal, mistakes that were magnified by our defense’s frailties as a whole. However raw and naive some of his play might have been , he has a quality you can never teach and that’s speed. Under Mancini , Clichy has a chance to become one of the finest left backs in the warld. Ramsey ,on the other hand , doesn’t have that type of quickness and therefore can’t afford making those mistakes. As far as Arsenal fans abusing their own players, well let’s just say, it is a sign of frustration . Here we have Arsen Wenger saying for the last seven seasons that we have the quality to win trophies, as long as the players stay mentally strong. The simple fact is that in the seven year drought , Arsenal have finished some 105 total points behind title winners, that’s obout 15 points per season . I don’t think mental toughness alone is responsible for our deficiencies .
I’ve always believed that Arsene let Clichy go for a tactical reason. He needs an LB who are good at going forward. Gibbs is definitely a better attacking LB than Clichy. Defensively though, Clichy is better but I’m sure Gibbs will learn and improve.
I love Clichy for his work rate and commitment. I remember watching a show called TEAMMATES, and Clichy was voted as the hardest worker in training. That shows a lot about him. And he never badmouths Arsenal or Arsene.
I wish him every success at City or anywhere else.
Mr Broeckx,
On the contrary, Adebayor himself says that he was sold inspite of him wanting to stay.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jul/24/adebayor-arsenal-fans-manchester-city
It was that move that led to Van Persie moving to the centre-forward role, so perhaps Wenger was not so uncomfortable with Adebayor leaving.
I am not sure if people said Adebayor was a bad player, his actions off the pitch were what led to him being booed.
And as for Clichy, here is one article.
http://defensiveminded.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/guest-article-gale-clichy%E2%80%99s-defensive-shortcomings/
Quotes Martin Keown, wrongly as it was Lee Dixon who said it, saying Clichy has regressed.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Former-player-Lee-Dixon-has-criticised-Arsenal-s-mentality-after-losing-to-Manchester-United-article651149.html
Perhaps Clichy’s regression and Gibbs progress led to the transfer.
I think Adebayor has said so many contradicting things in his life that even he doesn’t know what the truth is and what not.
Fact is I sat in the stadium when he scored and a part of the fans booed him.
So if a player has regressed (maybe because the player in front of him doesn’t do his defensive work enough and so he gets exposed) it’s fine to abuse him?
And another example could be Arshavin. Was it a coincidence that he got back to Zenit after being booed when he came on as a sub against MU? A part of our fans sure knows how to motivate our players. Arshavin helped them on the way to a new title by the way.
Clichy is/was a victim of our system. There is a little truth in some of the criticism he got – our defenders have to be alert for the whole game not just most of it. His obvious talent as a defender is much more apparent at City where he doesn’t have to be switched on for the full 90 because they don’t look to entice their opponents into a counter-attack like we do.
I’ve always liked Clichy as a player, he’s always seemed very professional and friendly to boot, and considering the amount Wenger paid for him and the subsequent near 7 million profit – he was an absolute bargain.
I personally don’t think he left due to a bit of vocals from the crowd, but simply because Man City made him a much better financial offer, with slightly more chance of a trophy, and if Arsenal were happy to sell – he was happy to go.
Although Clichy has had a good season this year, it’s easier to look good in the best defence in the league than it is one with some frailties, and I also think that Gibbs has great potential and maybe too much is being expected of him due to his age.
The key here however could be Santos, who has somehow managed to disappoint a number of fans who think he’s poor defensively, when he’s actually one of the best defensive fullbacks in the league!
I wonder if Santos however could be hounded out by the fans?
Funny how he doesn’t get booed at City and has been one of our most consistent players all season. Chicken or egg?
Arsenal have, for the last 20 years or so, been a laughing stock. So no change there then.
@Indy_bones – I’ve got a lot of man-love for Santos – he is one of a kind, top player!
The way some part (well the same part that abused Clichy I think) started abusing Santos after his first game was something that amazed me.
Insults were flying around…. totally disrespectful.
Chamack was the best header of the ball in Europe but he is a horrible player for Arsenal, you know why? Wenger.
I’ve read this blog a few times and when arsenal fail, the blog blames referees, fans e.t.c but never the manager.
Senderos looks an ok player in Fulham because Fulham don’t play a high line.
Until Wenger gets his tactics right, this things will happen.
An example to support my point.
When we lost our full backs this season, Wenger deployed Dj and Verm but those guys are not full backs and don’t have the pace full backs need in a 4-3-3 system. I expected Wenger to play a 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 during that period to make sure our full backs were not exposed but we all know what Wenger did.
Oh by the way, i don’t subscribe to the “Let them give Ramsy a break, it’s his first full season back e.t.c”
If he is not ready for the first team, he should not be in the first team.
He gets paid per week what most fans don’t earn in a year.
So if we are giving Ramsey that excuse, it should only be fair to give politicians, doctors, police, referess(insert a profession you like) a chance to be horrible too afterall, We are all humans.
Mr Broeckx,
I cannot see where we are heading…
Just because Adebayor has said many, many contradicting things does not make every thing that he says not worthy of consideration.
I cannot see how Clichy being at fault for wrongly executing the offside trap and lapses in concentration can be blamed on the winger in front of him.
Abuse cannot be condoned and nor am I doing so. Should the supporters feel the players are not doing justice to their team, they feel they have every right to be displeased and show that displeasure. However, is booing and abuse the way forward? An emphatic ‘no’. Do people understand it? That again is a ‘no’.
Arshavin has played seven matches with two substitute apperances contributing three goals in a forty-three matches league. I am not sure how important a part he has played in Zenit winning the Russian League this season nor how winning it can tell us anything about his performances in the Premier League with Arsenal. I am sorry, I do not follow the Russian League and will take a lot of time to go through this season’s record.
However, the most interesting point, Mr Broeckx, is your argument that Clichy regressed because the winger in front of him did not do enough defensive work. Apart from Nasri, the player who predominantly played on the left wing, in front of Clichy was Arshavin. So then is, Arshavin at mistake for Clichy’s mistakes? So someone is culpable for the weak defence on the left-wing. Pick your choice.
The fact is, these players are not at Arsenal and I have not seen anything to suggest that these players left inspite of Wenger wanting to keep them.
So if Wenger let them all go, it means they were not as good as you think there are though equally they are not as bad as those who abuse them hold them to be.
Sorry to Mr Clichy but to take the whole article and try and justify Ramsey is not on. We are where we are now because of Ramsey and i want him gone for better,hungry players. He thinks that he is in the league of Cesc.Wenger should get rid of Ramsey with immediate effect.
Should Arsenal suffer and miss CL coz Ramsey broke a leg? should we lose RVP because of Ramsey and Gibbs?These guys are British and many pple supports them but they deserve to play for Blackburn,Wigan,Bolton etc not Arsenal.Or And Johan Djuorou too