The Football Thread - Season 2011/2012 - Part 2

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TriggerHappy said:
It looks as though the club have failed to convince RVP they will bring in the talent to challenge for trophies next season so he'll be departing. He's quoted as saying it's not the money on the table that will sway his decision, it's the prospect of success in the coming years. I believe he means that and I have to say I don't blame him. The lack of ambition shown by Kroenke is embarrassing. I'm genuinely fearful that Arsenal will follow the path of the clubs he owns in the US. He runs Arsenal fantastically well as a profit driven enterprise and that's all he sees us as. He rarely ever attends games and I honestly believe his concern with our results only matters in so far as the revenue we can generate rather than the trophies we can deliver. He views our excellent training facilities as a production run to produce great players who can then be flogged to the highest bidder when they reach a standard good enough to give us some hope of progressing towards league and tournament victory.

It's also a joke that Usmanov, who by regulatory standards has enough shares to be classified as an owner of the company if Kroenke didn't have more shares, is completely silenced in the entire arrangement.

People criticise the likes of Roman Abramovic but at least he's there at every game wanting his team to succeed and win at the very highest level. Imagine if Arsenal had ownership (and capital) like that combined with the truly exceptional management delivered by Wenger, which enables a team to over perform year in and year out despite glaring weaknesses in certain positions and depth.

I can't praise Wenger enough for his managerial ability. He might like a moan, and he's pretty damn stubborn, but what he gets out of the players is incredible. If we had a few weaknesses resolved and depth added to the bench we'd be a footballing force to be reckoned with. Of course, as long as Kroenke is here to sell the finest players our club can develop and then fail to reinvest the money we won't ever see the improvement that the fans and undoubtedly Wenger himself wants.

/rant
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Well, Wenger has to take a lot of the blame too. He has had considerable money available, and knew that we would lose Cesc and Nasri last summer yet waited until the last minute to do anything. He has claimed that Podolski will be our only major signing and that is not good enough!
 
cambsno said:
Well, Wenger has to take a lot of the blame too. He has had considerable money available, and knew that we would lose Cesc and Nasri last summer yet waited until the last minute to do anything. He has claimed that Podolski will be our only major signing and that is not good enough!
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When has he had considerably money available? The board have confirmed that they require a profit of £15-20m a year before he's allowed to spend anything. The only exception is the sale of Nasri and Cesc last summer and they both left late in the window and it goes without saying that capital can't be spent until it's in the bank which didn't leave him much time to make a deal. That being said, Arteta was a fantastic signing.

Additionally, you have to consider that gone are the days when transfer negations are led by the manager. There's far greater hierarchy above the heads of the manager these day and it's usually the Chief Executive who undertakes transfer negotiations - Ivan Gazidis in our case. Wenger will only have limited scope to partake in these negotiations; he isn't just given free reign to splash the cash all over the place on whoever he sees fit. Of course him and his staff decide who they'd like to target but the remit of carrying out the negotiations falls into other people's hands and requires senior approval.
 
Ruffy said:
He is going too Chelsea !!!!

You heard it here first and feel free to quote me on it in a few weeks time :)
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Not even close to first but it certainly does now look as though it's going to be Chelsea.

By all accounts he's going to announce it at 4:00pm today (rather than June 2nd) on Twitter which if true - doesn't sound like he's involved with United.

Back to Kagawa !
 
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cambsno said:
Well, Wenger has to take a lot of the blame too. He has had considerable money available, and knew that we would lose Cesc and Nasri last summer yet waited until the last minute to do anything. He has claimed that Podolski will be our only major signing and that is not good enough!
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Errr, considerable money!?

It's a shame to see an Arsenal fan being so critical of Wenger. I'd like to see who you think could possibly do a better job...
 
He has had money, we could have got Cahill but he was 'too much'. He chooses not to spend. The whole nasri and cesc thing was a joke. Artery is a good player but not enough to replace those 2.
 
PMK said:
You think it was Wenger himself who considered Cahill 'too much'?

He can only spend what he's given.
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Does anyone really know how much he does have? I though recently he had 50m burning a hole but was that truth or a lie? If he hasnt got the money then come out and tell us what the budget is, and then be realistic with our expectations. I have no issue if he says we are a million miles behind the Manc clubs, and even Chelsea but he seems to think we can challenge for the league with the squad we have.

I thought his handling last summer was a joke. He should have accepetd that Nasri and Cesc would go and planned accordingly. Arteta is a good player but in our terms, is knocking on a bit - benayoun is not a player who can force a 1st team place at a top 6 club. Where are the really good players??? Podolski is a great signing, experienced but still young but we need a few more if we really are going to compete. IF chelsea sign Hazard and another few players, then we will already be way of the pace for the top 3 next season.
 
dinners said:
Not even close to first but it certainly does now look as though it's going to be Chelsea.

By all accounts he's going to announce it at 4:00pm today (rather than June 2nd) on Twitter which if true - doesn't sound like he's involved with United.

Back to Kagawa !
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Its a done deal, it maybe announced at 5pm today, he has been at Cobham for medical today !!!
 
PMK said:
Errr, considerable money!?

It's a shame to see an Arsenal fan being so critical of Wenger. I'd like to see who you think could possibly do a better job...
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There must be more to it than Wenger not wanting to pay over the odds after chelsea and city have somewhat destroyed the transfer markets:( He has built some great teams in his time,so I personally think he's not been given as much as the media seem to think
 
Ruffy said:
Its a done deal, it maybe announced at 5pm today, he has been at Cobham for medical today !!!
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All I know is he's been training with the Belgian squad today.

Lots of rumours though. I love how the journo's get their leads from web gossip which in turn causes more web gossip. :lol:

Hazard has become a bit tiresome with it all though.
 
The way hazard has tantalised the media has really peed me off. He's a proper tart the way he talks up various clubs at different times to stir up interest. Stop being a dick and say who you're going to or shut the hell up!

I can't wait to see him play in the premier league. He's an awesome player!

I'd also like to see pastore, kagawa and lavezzi in the PL, amongst many others, but I'm not sure I want Arsenal's opponents getting stronger whilst we sell off Van Persie to pay for our lovely new stadium and keep Kroenke rolling in cash.
 
Can't see United being involved in all this public web & twitter tosh. Certainly don't think he's shown to be the sort of character that Fergie looks for. There will be Hazard action fingers on the shelves soon at this rate LOL

Kagawa is the one I want to see concluded.
 
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Sky Sports tweeting that Hazard's going to Chelsea.

Wonder if he'd be going there if they hadn't won the Champions League this year!
 
wibbly said:
Sky Sports tweeting that Hazard's going to Chelsea.

Wonder if he'd be going there if they hadn't won the Champions League this year!
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Well I think that had something to do with it, one club won the fa cup and CL whereas the other won nothing. It's bound to have an effect on your choice. Plus, there's probably an appeal about living in the capital rather than the grim north :lol:

Forgeigners!!! What do they know eh!
 
wibbly said:
Sky Sports tweeting that Hazard's going to Chelsea.

Wonder if he'd be going there if they hadn't won the Champions League this year!
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Thanks God that's over :lol:

He did go on record as saying (after being linked with City and United) that he was also now considering Chelsea because they had won the Champions League and would therefore have Champions League footy next season.
 
Not like he won't get that at United or City though. Sky Sport Jim White has made me proper laugh with his tweet:

Jim White ‏@SkySportsJim
#BeforeHazardDecides Eden Hazard's wife will have to go through a thorough 'medical' with John Terry. #cfc
 
joescrivens said:
What do they know eh!
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Well he's signed and doesn't even know who's going to manage him.

Strange indeed.
 
Panorama programme tonight highlighting hooligan and racism problems in Poland and Ukraine.

Obviously the clowns at UEFA don't take such issues much into consideration when choosing where to hold these competitions. Not great viewing I have to say :(
 
Oxlade chambalin and walcotts family not going to the euros because of racism. Surely they could put john terry in another hotel :)
 
Rumour has it that Hazard won't play for Chelsea until january because he's still yet to choose whether to fly to London via British Airways, BMI or Ryanair.
 
TriggerHappy said:
Rumour has it that Hazard won't play for Chelsea until january because he's still yet to choose whether to fly to London via British Airways, BMI or Ryanair.
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:D
 
I've just caught up on today's BBC Panorama episode about racism in Polish and Ukrainian football. All my excitement for the tournament has vanished. What Panorama showed was horrifying.
 
TriggerHappy said:
I've just caught up on today's BBC Panorama episode about racism in Polish and Ukrainian football. All my excitement for the tournament has vanished. What Panorama showed was horrifying.
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Glad I didn't watch it then, I still want to be excited about the competition.

I do remember seeing ross kemp on gangs about it though a few years ago. Pretty mental.
 
I'll probably try and catch it on iplayer tonight if it was BBC
 
reports on various sites claim the Kagawa deal nearing completion transfer fee upped to 15mil rising to 22,also some claims that city & united offered hazard more money than chelsea but were not prepared to pay a £4.5 million agents fee!!!!!
 
Another Classic England song.:lol::lol::lol: Proppa ropey and and proppa brill. Kammy is perfect as the Mr Bean of footie:lol: I'll even say that it's got my hopes up a bit more. Thanks for posting, Joe.:thumbs:
 
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TriggerHappy said:
I'd also like to see pastore, kagawa and lavezzi in the PL, amongst many others, but I'm not sure I want Arsenal's opponents getting stronger whilst we sell off Van Persie to pay for our lovely new stadium and keep Kroenke rolling in cash.
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Isn't Mvila tipped for Arsenal ?
 
dinners said:
Isn't Mvila tipped for Arsenal ?
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Rumours are all over the place. Last I heard was we were looking at another French defensive midfielder instead. Everyone seems set to wait until after the euros now, although with season ticket sales coming up I'd expect arsenal to release some news to entice people back into renewing their tickets. If that news is m'vila I'd be delighted because he's incredible! Giroud also seems hotly tipped to be on his way but I'm equally sceptical about that.

The problem with transfer rumours is most are made up, lots is old news and links republished as though new, very few have genuine interest between both club and player and fewer still actually happen. Doesn't mean I don't read it all though :D
 
TriggerHappy said:
I've just caught up on today's BBC Panorama episode about racism in Polish and Ukrainian football. All my excitement for the tournament has vanished. What Panorama showed was horrifying.
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joescrivens said:
Glad I didn't watch it then, I still want to be excited about the competition.

I do remember seeing ross kemp on gangs about it though a few years ago. Pretty mental.
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dinners said:
I'll probably try and catch it on iplayer tonight if it was BBC
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Just caught up on some viewing tonight including the Panorama episode.

I'm not sure it did anything to expose anything 'football people' didn't already know regarding the situation over there but for the casual observer it may have been an eye opener.

Don't want to get into the subject on here as it's not really the place but with regards to the racial antisemitism isue - it was interesting to hear the guy speak about how (for the majority) it's just what they do to bait the other fans. In some ways it reminds me of the old firm in Scotland where you still see young kids chanting sectarian bile because it's simply what you do to the other side despite the fact that in reality they probably don't really understand the meaning or indeed the historical relevance.

In terms of the Championships - I guess it's a case of wait and see but when asked if the choice of host was a wise one, the closing statement from Uefa read.....

"The legacy of Euro 2012 will be to help address racism in both Poland and Ukraine"

The program questioned whether this was merely a slogan ?

Plattini was too busy to respond however Uefa released.....

"Ueafa's 'zero tolerance'approach is still valid both on and off the pitch and ultimately the ref has the power to abandon or stop any match should racist incidents occur"

"Euro 2012 brings the spotlight on the host countries and clearly creates an opportunity to address and confront such societal issues"

The cynic in me will always question Uefa (or Fifa's) motives when it comes to awarding tournaments to winning bidders (and you can include Olympics in that) however - looking back to how the face of football has changed in this country over the last 20 or 30 years, it 'could' begin to do wonders for the hosts however, I'd certainly question whether more evidence of a clean up was needed in Poland / Ukraine before hosting in 2012.
 
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Apparently Kagawa has agreed personal terms with United.

So that's Hazard to Chelsea, Kagawa to United whilst Arsenal are closely monitoring Chinese sensation Fu-kin Noh-Wan (shamelessly stolen from twitter :D)
 
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