By Walter Broeckx
Today is my last complete day in Cataluña. And I must say that I feel rather glad about it. I will be returning to a colder place, with less sunshine but with a media and press that is a bit more factual than the rubbish I had to see in the last week.
Today the headlines were about Cesc having a face to face with Wenger. Yesterday they told it was on Thursday, today they tell it is today and tomorrow …well they will invent something new I think.
One toilet paper, I can’t remember it’s name anymore, even had a nice flight plan on the front page indicating that Cesc was flying to London, in a very straight line and then had another line from London to Barcelona. I don’t have to draw that out to understand the picture I think. Cesc going to London to tell Wenger to let him go and then fly to Barcelona. Followed by a few pages full of all the claims Barceloanus has made during the summer on this subject.
And also a small article about Cesc being in the picture of the advertising of the new home shirt. They couldn’t understand this as Cesc was leaving, why would Arsenal put him in the advertising boards? Er, maybe because Cesc isn’t leaving my dear dumb Spanish newspaper making friends? If you are Spanish and feel offended by this I want to make my apologies as I don’t want to insult the Spanish people but yes I do want to insult the brainless chickens that make something they call sporting newspapers.
The other newspapers are following the same path and the same headlines al be it in other words. I could have missed it but not one of the sporting lying papers did raise the question: “Well we all want Cesc to come to Barcelona, but can they pay for him?” No the debt from Barceloanus is not important for them. A bit like the lonely battle Tony has been doing about the financial problems in the EPL and the official press never took notice until the bomb exploded right under their nose. So maybe there are a few people in Barcelona that understand that Barceloanus can hardly make an offer as they have almost no money left but it sure looks like they are not as easy to find as a needle in a haystack. In Catalan : una agulla en un paller.
Leaving a place where you have spend a (little) bit of your time is always a time to take a look over the shoulder. And I must say that back at home I didn’t realize what it really was in Spain to have to cope with the sporting press they have. I feel sorry for the people who have to face a press like that day in and day out. I think it is reasonable to imagine that after a while you live in another universe and you believe it all.
But when you imagine that it are those same papers who are running their stories like they do now and did last week, who not so long ago were proclaiming as a fact that: Cesc would sign for Barceloanus before the week was over (somewhere in May), Cesc would sign for Barceloanus before the start of the world cup (begin June), and the list continues. I wonder how on earth can any Spanish or Catalan citizen of this warm and sunny country believe one word these pathetic liars are selling them on paper? But it seems that they are buying the stories and maybe they don’t believe them all but they sure hope they become truth.
So this will be my last report as a special correspondent for the Untold Arsenal from Cataluña. I loved the weather, I loved the sun (the thing that is standing in the sky during the day, not the paper), I loved the people who are mostly very friendly even for persons who are wearing Arsenal caps, but the one thing I will love to not set my eyes on for the first period is the sporting tabloids that are printed in this country. They have the same class as Barceloanus FC this summer: none.
As I leave this place to go home, the Arsenal will kick off at the same moment against AC Milan. So I will not be able to see the game live and this is really a sad thing as I was looking forward to this game a lot. But that’s life.
Give my fellow gooners from the Benelux, who are coming to the game tomorrow a nice and warm welcome, and support our Gunners from the first moment and let us show them that even without our two best players, Cesc and RVP, we are the best team the world has ever seen.
See you in a few days, ens veiem en uns dies. This is the same but in Catalan so that Cesc can feel a bit at home in the Emirates, if his DNA is bothering him.
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The entire publishing team within the empire of Micrododo Publishing Ziggurat of Rutland who publish Untold would like to thank our special correspondent for his valiant efforts during the past week the face of overwhelming and insane provocation from the local media. We are all deeply grateful.
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Cesc Speaks Decides on his Future and Gives His Reasons
All the rest of untold Arsenal
What Walter should have been reading on his holidays, instead of the local papers
Good job Walter. Hope you make it out safely & get back to the real world unstained! Maybe you’ll write the article about where you (un)intentionally slap one/all of the mega-mouthed shit spewing inbreds round their enlarged heads with a shovel once you have exited their jurisdiction.
hmm, sorry Walter! i shouldn’t insinuate you with having violent tendancies, after all you’re not that type of tourist. You’re not english for a start! =p
good post.. i had a lot of respect for fc barca.. never in my life will i cheer for them. Jose will make them shed tears this season. Somehow i feel cesc should leave if he is so bloody obsessed. cant take a little disrespect for arsenal fc. We will survive and rule the footballing world and laugh at those barca donkey DNA’s
As long as Barcelona stump up 40m of Sterlings in one instalment follow by a buy back clause of 20m within 3 years should Barcelona decide to sell Fabregas, then we should accept the transfer deal and move on.
Fabregas is brilliant, but if his heart is not already with us, then reluctantly it will be better for both parties to part ways. Knowing Wenger, he must have got a plan B already. But can we find somebody in the same calibre of Fabregas? I hope Wenger will summon all his magic in the transfer market again.
Good job Walter.
Tommy et al: How come you guys don’t get it? Did Cesc ever ask to go? NO. Why are you so eager to believe those lying ‘Cnuts’? They want you to believe that Cesc actually wants or asks to go and you are falling, head over heels, for their FIBs. Why?
Please see beyond your nose.
@ Tommy, I think we already own 3 of the best talents in the world (Nasri, Wilshere & Ramsey) who will reach the calibre of Cesc, so i don’t see Wenger signing a direct replacement IF he were to leave next summer. Nasri may not have the same exquisite passing ability and vision but the other 2 definitely do and once their experience and consistency have improved the team will not suffer.
I like your idea of a buy back clause. You could imagine him returning to play out the remainder of his career with the team that made him the force that he his. It’s inevitable!
I am told that Billy the Dog is actually putting together a crack terror squad that will seek out and hunt down journalists of the type Walter has been talking about, and will then force them to watch TV re-runs of Tottenham v Bolton every day, until they stop writing what they write.
I am with the Cesc should go brigade, if Barceloana stump up enough cash for us to buy the 4 players (GK,CH,DM,CF) we need, make that 5 with Cesc going then i would be happy to see him go. The 5 i want are Stekelenberg, Vertonghen & Suarez (£40m to Ajax) Mertesacker and Ozil (£25m to W Bremen) If they cannot quite find £65m then i would take £50m plus Marquez & Hleb (Cos they still owe us for him) and leave Vertonghen at Ajax for a season and Ozil at W Bremen for a season. I could not see either Ajax or Bremen turning those deals down. So we would actually sign 7 players, 5 (Stekelenberg, Mertesacker, Marquez, Hleb and Suarez) joining us now and 2 (Ozil and Vertonghen) joining us next season. We would obviously lose Fabregas, spend £65m but recoup £50m. We could also sell Almunia & Denilson and get back another 87p
Nice post. I would have loved to read something about the several Barca players who have been talking. My point is, its not just their press alone; these guys are talking too much instead of minding how they assure their next pay! Didn’t Walter stumble across any of them? Or have they all been speaking from Bahamas or Bali?
@ Tony, I hope Shawcross and that Taylor guy make Billy the Dog’s squad.
I really really really hate when peoples write stuff like.. Fab’s heart already lies elsewhere.. I mean WTF? How the hell do you know you stupid baboons.. you not him, nor his close family.. and you goddamn similar to those f*king c**t that keep appearing on the toilet paper talking sh*t.
Moron.
Sorry, Tony.. but seriously .. its annoying.
Don’t despair, there’s no need to go to Spain to find some toilet paper!
The following is the Grunt’s edit of AW’s press conference:
“So our future will be decided not by who we buy but by how much we improve.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/30/arsene-wenger-arsenal-cesc-fabregas
I know English is not AW’s first language, but, well, his English is a lot better then the England managers. Here is what he actually said:
“So our future will be decided not by who we buy or need but as well by how much we improve.”
A subtle difference. One you’d imagine that people who get paid to write down words, would be aware of. Perhaps, English is not their first language. Are they ‘speaking in tongues’, suffering from Glossolalia?
I agree – Cesc has never said he wants to leave and the only source of that rumour comes from Spain, which Walter has already shown will be complete bollocks. Cesc has said he is proud to be a gunner and he even dedicated his W/C medal to us. What more do you want.
I also get annoyed at all those who constantly want Cesc to publically answer the rumours. To answer them is to give them some credit and I strongly suspect AW has instructed Cesc and everyone else involved to just keep schtum on the subject.
AnonymousGun, I’m with LRV here, give me a post where Fabregas specifically says he wants to leave now, and saying that his heart is already at Barcelona. Like you said, how the hell do you know you stupid baboons where his heart is?! Did he tell it to you?
Finsbury, Arsene Wenger is fluent in five languages and passable in six. That is six more than most journalists.
The sun is shining, I can hear the faithful gathering outside The Toppled Bollard, the cricket’s on in the background, and Milan are in town.
I think I’ll take the managers advice, & ignore the right orthodox whingers.
Looking forward to seeing more of JET.
Apparently, he needs to ‘nail’ down a position. (Thankfully no mention of the D**M position).
It’s a worry for some, that he has two ‘good feet’, and can play…
Hey tony will you let me know about using your articles on the members forums cheers
bc – people like you just dont get it. Transfer fees are irrelevant. The question is what effect would new signings have on the wage bill? What wages would Suarez, Mertesacker, Ozil etc etc request? And how would those wage demands affect our existing squad (for instance, if Ozil demands 100k a week, then Nasri will want a wage increase to that level, and if Mertesacker gets 90k a week then what would Vermalean, Djourou and Kos want in return?) and the overall level of wages versus revenue, which the club is attempting to keep at under 58%.
Dont just say “buy so and so, they would cost us so much”, instead actually give us a breakdown of what wages they might expect and how those wages would affect the clubs existing structure.
That is a bit more difficult isnt it? Now, you are starting to get an idea of what the club has to do every single time a new player is assessed. Having the money to pay for a transfer fee is the easy part and means nothing. It is all about wages.
I am happy to have articles reprinted elsewhere, but I would always ask that the following is stated
This article by Tony Attwood [or Walter Broeckx or Phil Gregory] first appeared on Untold Arsenal (www.blog.emiratesstadium.info) and is reprinted with permission of Untold.
At the end of the season, Arsene Wenger said he would get his squad rebuilding done before the World Cup and Ivan Gazidis told the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust the club would analyse where they were short and would get on with resolving these problem areas. So much for words. Not much has happened and in fact the situation has got worse in my eyes – leaving to one side the promise shown by some youngsters in a couple of pre-season jogs in Barnet and Austria, look at the state of our squad with just over two weeks before the season starts• The manager says publicly that he has not got a no. 1 goal keeper; is there another club in the country where this is the case? I don’t think so. How long does it take for even a top quality keeper to build a relationship with his back four? More than two weeks I would say.• Four centre backs have left, but only one has been brought in; our supposed first choice back-up (Djourou) limped out of the second game in Austria after less than half an hour – we need two more centre backs, not just one. I dread to think what will happen if TV5 is crocked over the weekend. Don’t be surprised if it happens.• The Spanish farce over our star midfielder and captain continues without any definitive statement from the man himself; through his silence, Cesc is bringing the captaincy into disrepute.• No defensive midfielder cover has been signed – are we really to believe that Eastmond or Frimpong can cover for Song if he is injured for more than the odd game or two?• One striker has left, one striker has come in – so we are where we were last season, i.e. a striker down• One of the 3 strikers still at the club (Nikki B) is also injured and will miss the start of the season, so we are two strikers down – and our most injury prone striker (RvP) has yet to return. I might feel better about this if I were convinced that JET or even Jay Simpson were to be given a fair crack of the whip as a striker, but I suspect one of the gnomes (Vela, Arshavin or Theo) will be more likely pushed up front if need beA few weeks back a couple of my sources indicated that there would be serious action in terms of signings. Well so much for their informed knowledge. Or has Arsene really convinced himself that Flapiflopski, Nordveit, Bartley (when he recovers from his injury) and the other youngsters are good enough. I fear self-delusion is setting into the manager’s mindset before a ball is kicked in anger. Maybe all will resolved soon and the giant Mertesacker or the relatively diminutive Jagielka will sign, may be Flamini will be brought back and may be we will get a people experienced but I doubt we will
CESC is our player, and will play in our team very soon
Arsenal just kidnappe player from our CANTERA with mafia methodes
in few words in september CESC FABREGAS WILL PLAY IN HIS HOME FUTBOL CLUB BARCELONA
ciao from Barcelona !!
No one can stop Cesc to realize his dream to play in Barcelona
I loved the match today, simply because because it was good to watch quality football again. I can’t believe I prefered this friendly match to some of the World Cup games.
The Emirates was rocking, yes really! – i’ve lost my voice from singing and shouting. Flamini looked a bit shocked that he was booed. Chamakh was really great. Gibbs has opened a new chapter in the discussion about him Vs Clichy, I think Arsenal will benefit from the competition. Frimpong looked like he was used to playing against teams like AC Milan week in week out and Koscielny impressed me. But then I thought the team overall did really well. Although we didn’t win, based on this performance I do think we look like a PL title challenging team. I loved it. Other teams better get their cheque book out and buy big before the window closes!
Walter, good reporting as usual.
Iceman – do you know anyone by the name of Munaf?
Wow, I wonder if people like theiceman realise just how ill-informed and ridiculous such posts make them seem. Mate, you are just setting yourself up for dissapointment by bringing up names like Jakielka and Flamini because we are not going to waste money on guys like that. But then it would appear that you try your absolute hardest to see negativity in just about every single situation. Cheer up, it isnt all bad. It could be far, far, far worse. After all, you could in charge of Arsenal. Now that truly would be a nightmare of biblical proportions. All of us really would want to commit suicide then. But luckily people of intelligence are in charge of our great club.
Paul C, you are so right, I think Iceman’s comments above can be used as the dictionary entry for Doom and Gloomer and anti-Arsenal Arsenal ‘supporter’.
Ha ha, yes indeed.
I also was reasonably pleased with what I saw today. Nice 1st half where Frimpong and Wilshire outplayed Gattuso, Flamini and Seedorf. That was great. Gibbs looked very pacy and incisive. I think Clichy’s spot may be at risk. And I thought Kos looked very sharp and composed as well. Great to see Djourou on as substitute after all the scare stories as well.
Not bad at all considering we were without RvP, Cesc, Diaby, Song, Denilson, Bendtner, and Ramsey. WHAT A CRAP SQUAD WE HAVE!!!!!!
@Paul C
I agree with you on the Arsenal, AC Milan match. It is a succinct answer to iceman. Kos, Nasri, Vela, Wilshire and Frimpong were really impressive. They are not finshed products yet nor are they as sharp as they will become as they get more games under their belts but they can mix it with the best…
People who always lust after names in other clubs need to look more closely at what is maturing nicely in the Arsenal backyard (a.k.a. Arsenal Youth Program). It is so very difficult for them to factor that in because they don’t have the vantage point that Wenger has nor his technical abilities as a coach; yet, they are loathe to hold their breath for awhile and watch…
FUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK U ARSENALLLLLLLL
CESC IS OUR PLAYER
FUCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKK U ALL
My Arsenal and the Ems is back… How I missed them over the last couple of months..
Kos6 looked brilliantly reading the game well and making quite a few interceptions.. Chamakh was outstanding considering this is his first game at his new home. Well taken goal and great understanding with AA..
The team is looking good with the younger guns performing very well especially Frimpong.
But the best part was the rocking Ems. I’ve never heard Ems this good for the full 90mins but today it was special. Maybe, Gooners must have got bored with FUFA WC and were desperate to see some ‘Football’. The game didnt disappoint in this regard even though the score was 1-1.
Hi Jorge, and can you answer the main question : Can Barcelaonus afford Cesc?
I think you are one of those poor people from Cataluna who believe all the rubbish I have witnessed the last week when I was in you region.
And Jorge, how would you describe the “kidnapping” of Messi from Argentina at an even younger age?
Everyone is still missing the point;where will Cesc play in Barcelona,s lineup as Iniesta,Xavi,Messi,Pedro,Bojan,Ibrahimovic
won,t relinquish their positions for Cesc and Puyol with his big mouth is a defender and his position is not under threat from Cesc ,so Guillem Balague needs to ask the abovementioned players where they expect Cesc to fit into their lineup on any given matchday ,then we,ll here the real issue concerning Cesc ,so how about ?
It’s no use saying cesc should go if they pay 40+ mil.they don’t have that moneyand don’t value him that highly in the first place. It’s not our reluctance to sell which holds this up, it’s thatbarca made a derisory offer and can’t afford more than that
I want to watch Barca crash and burn this season! Their scandalous antics this summer are nothing short of a declaration of war against Arsenal.
So come on Real, come on Valencia, come on Atletico, Sevilla and come on Villarreal, let’s see you all smash this horrid bankrupt club this season!
If I were Mr Wenger, I would offer Cesc to all clubs but Barca after what they have done. We should never do business with that club again!!!
I’m sure Cesc will not have the time to read this, seeing as he is currently working hard in pre-season training, well he should be but he is currently sunning himself somewhere after his hard summer of mainly sitting on a bench in South Africa. I digress, Does he really think we are all stupid ?YES Cesc we all know you are from Barcelona and love the club the area and love being a Catalan blah blah blah, which is why you left there at 16 years of age to come to London to train at The Arsenal. YES we know that one day you would love to play for the team your family follow and you followed as a boy, to be honest I would be the same about The Arsenal (If I was ever anywhere good enough). You have been given the honour, YES, IT IS A VERY BIG HONOUR to be named captain of The Arsenal and spent last season with a team built around you with the style of play that suits you the best and YES we have enjoyed seeing you perform for us.But you have signed contract after contract at The Arsenal and taken higher and higher wage increases whilst you learn your trade. Whilst everyone at Barcelona from the president to the manager to ALL the players and even the old lady that makes the half-time tea’s cat has been on record tapping you up, you remained silent on the issue until today’s very open quotes. Well guess what, everyone’s bored of it now, the club was here before you and will be here long after you leave, so it’s time to either commit to the last contract you signed or fuck off quietly..ta.source: http://www.fansonline.net/arsenal/article.php?id=519… I appreciate Cesc’s ambition to win trophies, but for the amount of time he’s been at the Arsenal, I do think he should honour his contract (I know, I know contracts mean fuck all these days) if he loves the club as much as says. I think he’s treating us like mugs
I have said it before but I will say it again….it’s time to sell him now In the same way that the club is bigger and more important than wenger so too does that apply to cesc. If we had of brought in some quality players then I think that cesc would have accepted wenger’s stance and stayed another season but that hasnt been the case and now we see the very real possibility of having a very unhappy cesc leading us this season I dont blame the guy for wanting to leave and in fact if I was in his shoes I would want away this summer too but tbh the whole saga is beginning to leave a sour taste in the mouth now – I can understand him saying fcuk all while the move looked a possibility but to say nothing then and to choose to come out with comments like he did yesterday when the move has been ruled out is annoying me and can only destabilise the club further