A small number of Arsenal supporters who dislike Arsene Wenger, Tottenham and KGB Fulham supporters happy to stir up any discontent inside the Emirates, UEFA dogsbodies who dislike the big clubs’ success, and national newspapers always looking for a story that needs no research, have combined to try and disrupt the current Arsenal regime.
Having retreated from their silly “Cesc to Real Mad” weekly headline the journalists have now found other approaches….
1: Top players are expressing discontent because Arsenal won’t win anything, and they (the players) are preparing a mass walk out
2: Arsenal is broke, and can’t afford to buy anyone
3: UEFA and the EPL are utterly embarrased that their structures and rules have been used to create super-clubs like Arsenal and Manchester IOU. It is the EPL that has created the income structures that reward the success of these clubs. It is UEFA that has created the financial structures of the Champions League that has also rewarded them.
Now they are trying to find ways to undo their own work. Bujt being the corrupt agencies they are, they will never admit to their mistakes, and so they try underhand methods.
The latest suggestion is to limit the number of players that the clubs can register for the league season – an approach that will make it harder for the clubs to bring through promisng young players (who might or might not make it) and instead stay with the established top players. It will result in more and more of the top players being gathered by the big clubs, and Arsenal’s wonderful experiment with bringing through young players will be stopped.
It will also result in fewer loan signings to EPL clubs since they won’t want to risk taking on a player who might only play a few games.
The newspaper stories concerning players not wanting to sign new contracts, and Arsenal only having £15m to spend can be treated with the contempt they deserve. One only has to remember the Mirror’s translation of the Danish interview that Bendtner gave, (or their childish “Arsenal will sign Crouch”) to know how these things are made up.
But these stories will be seized upon by the anti-Wenger lobby, which is clearly supported by those from other clubs who are endlessly angered by Arsenal’s success at achieving top four finishes and financial success.
What we can do here is at least recognise what will be published in the future, and repeat the trick of saying “that’s an old story – it appeared here weeks ago”.
So here we go…
Denilson wants to leave because he is homesick
Rosicky wants to leave because Arsenal refused to allow him to play again this season
Eduardo ditto
Clichy ditto
Adebayor wants to go to Milan, because he scores more than Rooney even though he plays fewer games than Rooney, and Rooney is now playing full back so why can’t he?
Theo wants to leave despite just signing a contract because he wants/doesn’t want to play in the middle/on the wing
Arshavin wants to leave because everyone else is taller than him
Sagna wants to leave because he is made to run up the field a lot
Gallas wants to leave because he’s not captain any more
Cesc wants to leave because the responsiblity of being captain is just too much for him
Gibbs wants to leave because when Clichy is back he won’t play enough
Nasri wants to leave because he wants to play in the middle more often
Song wants to leave because he doesn’t like playing midfield/central defence (choose one of two)
Carlos Vela wants to leave because he doesn’t get enough starts
Bendtner wants to leave because he plays too many games. (Actually I suspect even the drunken pressmen will soon realise that in the second half of the season he’s really developed as a young forward, and that Wenger’s judgement that he simply needed games has been vindicated).
So it goes on.
There is no doubt that booing an Arsenal player on the pitch has the effect of undermining the team and the management. Same is true with leaving early. The reality is that on Saturday we played without half a team of players who if fit would have been there (Gallas, Almunia, Djourou, Rosicky, Eduardo, Clichy…) and we still could hold the league winners. This should mean everyone is happy – I just hope that the people who have been booing Arsenal will realise that Wenger will be at the club next season, and that they would be better off selling their season tickets to people who actually support the team.
(c) Tony Attwood 2009
This summer is going to be even worse than most with the number of Arsenal are broke, finished, everyone’s going to leave, players we haven’t even signed yet want to leave stories. We really need Arsenal get any signings and anyone leaving done as early as possible so we can get focused for the start of the campaign. If Wenger has decided that he needs to bring in some more experienced players and there’s going to be a Arshavin value signing it would be nice to get it done early just to get the papers off our backs.
Already stories saying we only have £13 million to spend and Liverpool are going to spend £25 – £30 million on Tevez convinently forgetting the slight matter of an outstanding £350 million they owe to the banks.
Yes Tony, I hope I can find the willpower to only read your blog & ACLF during the summer- no more flicking to newsnow for those exasparating headlines.
I agree with you Mark but our problem will always be that we cannot go over the top to get the deal done, in a way that Man U etc are prepared to.
Now that Liverpool cannot win anything this season will they now attract the they haven’t won anything for xxx years. I bet they don’t.
I agree completely! Booing our own players brings shame upon our club and would never happen at Highbury!!
Also, about the summer, most of us will have realised by now that 98% of the stories in the press about us and players linked to us are complete bullsh*t. Wenger is famous for his secrecy as he knows only too well that when we go for a player, everyone wants him. And even if they don’t want him they’ll say they do to push the price up so we can no longer afford him.
It has already started and the season isn’t even over!!! We’ve been linked with Tevez (never in a million year will that happen), Santa Cruz (Wenger will never pay more for him that he spent on Arshavin!), Alonso (he’s said he wants to stay at liverpool and Benitez wld have to be an idiot to replace him with Barry), Upson, Cahill, Torres, many Russians and many many more.
I recommend you follow my set of rules during the close season:-
1. Don’t believe anything linking us to a player costing more than £15million. Thats the most Wenger’s ever spent and Arshavin was only just bought.
2. Don’t believe we’ll buy anoyone who has been linked to us all summer in the papers. Wenger does his business on the sly and advises his targets to keep quiet. If they blab he looks elsewhere.
3. Don’t aim too high as it inevitably leads to disappointment. We’re never going to buy David Villa, Carlos Tevez, Torres, Senna or any high profile player who’s wanted by teams with far more cash than us!
4. Don’t fret if nothing seems to be happening. Wenger traditionally does his business either early on or very very late in the window.
5. Don;t be disappointed if we sign a player you’ve never heard of!
Its ALWAYS been Wenger’s way and we’ve seen Vieira, Henry, Anelka, Toure, Fabregas and countless others. If Wenger buys him he will be good. Think Sagna and Eduardo!!
If you follow my rules you will have a far less stressful summer and may even get a pleasant surprise!
Tony what do you make of this?
http://goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2009/05/17/1270388/florentino-perez-makes-real-madrid-move-attractive-admits
I never thought we would see a direct quote from him… Im pretty concerned and I will be so pissed at the “fans” that drove him out if this is the case. It honestly never crossed my mind till I saw this
Absolutely not, Flint.
Only Arsenal have problems.
MOMONEY…
Arsene Wenger has never broken a contract which he has likened to breaking his word. he is not going to start now.
I would refer you to Gooner49’s excellent “survival guide to the summer” above your post.
Arsenal supporters should by now have realised that all these off-season transfer rumour articles add up to an equivalent of The “Ladybird book of sado-Masochism”.*
(*Available online for free, mainly from The daily Mail who for some strange reason have banned my email address from posting comments which I take as an enormous compliment)
Wow! I nearly forgot to extend a huge round of applause and congratulations to Steve Bould and all his young players who in the finest traditions of the Arsenal…..
Beat Totteringham 1-0 at White Hart Lane to win the academy league play-off and lift the trophy. Rhys Murphy was the scorer and it marked his second goal at White Hart Lane this season.(that’s it Rhys! Start as you mean to go on!)
Now only the FA youth cup final to go eh!
“Don’t aim too high as it inevitably leads to disappointment. We’re never going to buy any high profile player who’s wanted by teams with far more cash than us!”
Actually we did. Arshavin is a high profile player who was wanted by teams with far more cash than us, and finally he’s a Gunner, with a very surprising price (half price of Berbatov, huh?)
All hail Mighty Galzidis! We can expect many signs of this kind from him.