Okay, maybe 'full swing' is a bit of an exaggeration. The transfer policy at the club reminds of when I used to hear old people break wind when I was a kid: 'Better out than in, they'd say.'
So far, we've got a kid from Charlton coming in and going out are a group of players, including Mark Randall. Much was expected of Randall. When I first saw him play in a high-profile pre-season game, I thought he did very well indeed. It was all downhill from there, unfortunately. He never hit those heights again . . . well, not in public view anyway.
Randall will probably get a League One club, that's my prediction, anyway. Surely, he's good enough to play at that level, but his critics would say that he didn't even cut it at League Two side Rotherham.
Another semi-big name to be released is Tom Cruise, who never really impressed when I saw him. Then again, he proved himself to be a solid defender, who makes few mistakes, so he will also probably find himself a League One club.
Roarie Deacon and George Brislen-Hall have also been released, so that makes four out and one in (if we can believe that Carl Jenkinson has signed a four-year deal at Arsenal).
Monday, 30 May 2011
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Benzema & Arsenal season ticket renewals, A-Z of transfer links
I have to say on a purely selfish note that I hope all the marquee signings this summer happen in mid June and not before. Why? If not, I'm never going to get to the top of the season ticket waiting list! Last year, I was about 47,000 and something. This year, I've climbed up about 15,000 places. At this rate, I've only got two years or so to wait, but I think the waiting list is about to be updated, so who knows? Maybe I'll have to thank our team's defensive ricks for a sooner-than-expected season ticket! So now you know, Arsene Wenger so desperately wants me to see every game at the Emirates that he's not prepared to really strengthen the squad until I get that much-coveted item!
Meanwhile, our cheeky boss is talking up renewals by saying that signing Karim Benzema 'does not seem impossible'. Well, he's French, so we must have a chance, albeit a dog's chance or should I say: le chance de le chien' (not sure if you can translate that into French, but it sounds good doesn't it, n'est pas?).
On the subject of transfer news,She Wore A Yellow Ribbon has an A-Z of players we've been linked with the summer (with my comments, if I couldn't avoid expressing my opinion, in brackets):
A. Alvarez, Amalfitano
B. Benzema (yes), Baines (not for us), Buffon (better late than never)
C. Cahill (no), Canales
D. Downing (no way)
E. Enrique
F. Falcao
G. Gervinho, Goetze, Gameiro
H. Hazard, Hargreaves (you're joking, right?)
I. Izaguirre
J. Jenkinson, Jagielka (yes, he's versatile and under-rated)
K.
L.
M. Mertsacker (yes), Mexes (yes)
N.
O. Oxlade Chamberlain (yet another promising youngster!), Olsson
P. Parker (yes, see Buffon!)
Q.
R. Reges
S. Subotic, Samba, Sakho
T. Tasci,
U.
V.
W.
X.
Y.
Z.
Meanwhile, our cheeky boss is talking up renewals by saying that signing Karim Benzema 'does not seem impossible'. Well, he's French, so we must have a chance, albeit a dog's chance or should I say: le chance de le chien' (not sure if you can translate that into French, but it sounds good doesn't it, n'est pas?).
On the subject of transfer news,She Wore A Yellow Ribbon has an A-Z of players we've been linked with the summer (with my comments, if I couldn't avoid expressing my opinion, in brackets):
A. Alvarez, Amalfitano
B. Benzema (yes), Baines (not for us), Buffon (better late than never)
C. Cahill (no), Canales
D. Downing (no way)
E. Enrique
F. Falcao
G. Gervinho, Goetze, Gameiro
H. Hazard, Hargreaves (you're joking, right?)
I. Izaguirre
J. Jenkinson, Jagielka (yes, he's versatile and under-rated)
K.
L.
M. Mertsacker (yes), Mexes (yes)
N.
O. Oxlade Chamberlain (yet another promising youngster!), Olsson
P. Parker (yes, see Buffon!)
Q.
R. Reges
S. Subotic, Samba, Sakho
T. Tasci,
U.
V.
W.
X.
Y.
Z.
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Arsenal's new signing - inspiring or uninspiring?
It's good that we've wasted no time in strengthening our squad in bringing in yet another one for the future: Carl Jenkinson from Charlton. But let's not get too excited.
The young defender is probably going to be a bit-part player at best next season. Why? He's only 19. He's played just a handful of games for Charlton, two divisions down from us. So let's not expect too much from him.
On the plus side, this £1m compensation package will not put a huge dent in Arsene Wenger's £40m transfer war chest, which he's so loath to touch anyway. It's funny this 'war chest' never gets any bigger despite Wenger rarely dipping into it and the club bringing in millions through various commercial activities.
Well, we mustn't grumble. Some transfer business is better than none at all! I reckon Jens Lehmann will sign a new deal soon, so that'll be two new signings effectively! Sounds like Scott Parker will move to Liverpool, so we're set to miss out on the Football Writer's Player of the Year. Maybe we should try to get West Ham's Robert Green or our former defender Matthew Upson from Upton Park. I'm not too sure about those two, but I'd love to see Parker in Arsenal colours! That would be a more inspiring signing than a 19-year-old with potential.
The young defender is probably going to be a bit-part player at best next season. Why? He's only 19. He's played just a handful of games for Charlton, two divisions down from us. So let's not expect too much from him.
On the plus side, this £1m compensation package will not put a huge dent in Arsene Wenger's £40m transfer war chest, which he's so loath to touch anyway. It's funny this 'war chest' never gets any bigger despite Wenger rarely dipping into it and the club bringing in millions through various commercial activities.
Well, we mustn't grumble. Some transfer business is better than none at all! I reckon Jens Lehmann will sign a new deal soon, so that'll be two new signings effectively! Sounds like Scott Parker will move to Liverpool, so we're set to miss out on the Football Writer's Player of the Year. Maybe we should try to get West Ham's Robert Green or our former defender Matthew Upson from Upton Park. I'm not too sure about those two, but I'd love to see Parker in Arsenal colours! That would be a more inspiring signing than a 19-year-old with potential.
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Changing times at Arsenal - an Asian tour?
Once the earthquake, tsunami and associated problems wrecked Arsene Wenger's 'plans' to take Arsenal to his former club, Nagoya Grampus, on tour, I thought that was it. No tour of Japan would mean we'll be in Austria again for this pre-season.
How wrong can you be? Although Japan is out of bounds for Arsenal right now, the rest of Asia isn't. Although that's welcome news for residents of Hangzhou, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Japan-based Arsenal fans will be very disappointed not to see the homecoming of Ryo Miyaichi. The youngster may well have a first team squad number this season, especially if Arsenal can secure him a work permit, which won't be easy as he hasn't played the pre-requisite number of games for his country to automatically qualify for one. However, Arsenal do have a chance of getting him a permit due to his exceptional talent.
The only thing is how do Arsenal convince UK Immigration? I mean, what do government officials know about football? I had the same problem trying to get them to issue a work permit to a Japanese national. They made my company jump through quite a few hoops before they would issue one and even then, they rejected the first application. They even started telling how much we should pay new staff and where we should advertise to recruit qualified people from the UK. They actually displayed an amazing amount of ignorance abt our business and were so against issuing a work visa initially that I was incredibly surprised that our member of staff eventually got a 5-year stamp in her passport.
So that experience makes me unsure we'll get Miyaichi a permit, this time around. UK Immigration seem to be awkward for the sake of being awkward, so I'm not at all optimistic.
I'm also not that optimistic about our chances of starting the season in good form after a trip to the Far East. Our players have been used to comparatively pre-season short trips with the club, but now they'll be whisked to the other side of the world. How will they react? We just don't know. It's a suck-it-and-see situation. But the decision was made by the money men, not Wenger. Let's hope they insist that Wenger uses the money earned from this lucrative trip to invest in the squad.
How wrong can you be? Although Japan is out of bounds for Arsenal right now, the rest of Asia isn't. Although that's welcome news for residents of Hangzhou, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Japan-based Arsenal fans will be very disappointed not to see the homecoming of Ryo Miyaichi. The youngster may well have a first team squad number this season, especially if Arsenal can secure him a work permit, which won't be easy as he hasn't played the pre-requisite number of games for his country to automatically qualify for one. However, Arsenal do have a chance of getting him a permit due to his exceptional talent.
The only thing is how do Arsenal convince UK Immigration? I mean, what do government officials know about football? I had the same problem trying to get them to issue a work permit to a Japanese national. They made my company jump through quite a few hoops before they would issue one and even then, they rejected the first application. They even started telling how much we should pay new staff and where we should advertise to recruit qualified people from the UK. They actually displayed an amazing amount of ignorance abt our business and were so against issuing a work visa initially that I was incredibly surprised that our member of staff eventually got a 5-year stamp in her passport.
So that experience makes me unsure we'll get Miyaichi a permit, this time around. UK Immigration seem to be awkward for the sake of being awkward, so I'm not at all optimistic.
I'm also not that optimistic about our chances of starting the season in good form after a trip to the Far East. Our players have been used to comparatively pre-season short trips with the club, but now they'll be whisked to the other side of the world. How will they react? We just don't know. It's a suck-it-and-see situation. But the decision was made by the money men, not Wenger. Let's hope they insist that Wenger uses the money earned from this lucrative trip to invest in the squad.
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Work rate worries but central defensive optimism
I’ve decided to post twice today. I feel impelled to say something more about Manchester City and, in particular, Carlos Tevez. What has he got that our forwards haven’t? Skill? No. Ability? No. Pace. No way. What then? Tevez has got an incredible work rate. Robin van Persie, for all the virtues, can’t match Tevez’s work rate. Few players can. And Arsenal need to sign a few more that cover every blade of grass.
My favourite player, Andrey Arshavin, has been tackling back more lately, but as Wenger rightly pointed out is ‘economical’ with his effort level. That means the rest of the team has to work harder, as they did when we had Thierry Henry in the team. The other had to compensate.
But now, if you go through the team you will find that we don’t out-run opponents anymore. When we lost Matthieu Flamini we lost the hardest working member of the side. He has never been replaced. Instead we’ve got a lot of players who operate in cruise control. That’s not much good when you’re battling, but fine when everything going relatively well.
On the train, I picked up a used copy of The Sun and in it they described us as inferior to City in the ‘willpower’ department. I personally think the ‘will’ is there, but the running power is not there. We need someone with an engine to supplement our squad this summer.
I don’t agree with The Sun that City have better players and management than us, but if Wenger doesn’t address this problem, we might have to conclude that our league position doesn’t lie.
Nevertheless, I don’t go along with the idea that if we don’t change anything this summer we’ll finish outside the top four. It’s possible, but unlikely, I feel. If we change nothing, we’ll probably finish fourth.
Why? Liverpool have had a revival under former boss Kenny Dalglish, but I think this revival will be brief. It’s true that the club have spent well (unlike Arsenal) bringing in Carroll and Suarez, but I think they still need to do some major squad rebuilding before they can oust us from fourth spot.
Spurs have come up short again and unless they spend big, they’ll be even further behind us next season. They have even worse defensive problems than we do, although I heard a Gooner at the weekend saying he wants William Gallas to come back. I never wanted Gallas to leave, so I can understand that sentiment, but I don’t think we should entertain the idea of a Gallas return.
I’m relatively optimistic about our central defence. Laurent Koscielny could be colossus, but not in the way Tony Adams was. Instead, I believe our Kos, who’s no lettuce, is a cultured defender in the mould of a Bobby Moore or a Franz Beckenbauer. Yes, you could say I have a lot of faith in Kos! Maybe it’s misplaced, it’s too soon to say.
The same applies to Johan Djourou. This guy is a great defender in the making. But maybe he’s too similar to Kos. Perhaps that’s why so many fans want Gary Cahill to join us from Bolton. I’m not so sure myself, but we do need a dominant traditional centre half. Could that be someone else with a Bolton connection, Kyle Bartley, currently on loan at Rangers?
Meanwhile, continuing on the centre-half theme, Thomas Vermaelen is many people’s choice as Cesc Fabregas’ successor as skipper (and let’s face it, we have to think about the armband as Cesc seems set to leave this summer).
So I have some optimism about our central defensive future. We do need an extra centre back though to add the squad. I’ve not even given up on Sebastien Squillaci yet, but he’s not inspired yet, has he?
My favourite player, Andrey Arshavin, has been tackling back more lately, but as Wenger rightly pointed out is ‘economical’ with his effort level. That means the rest of the team has to work harder, as they did when we had Thierry Henry in the team. The other had to compensate.
But now, if you go through the team you will find that we don’t out-run opponents anymore. When we lost Matthieu Flamini we lost the hardest working member of the side. He has never been replaced. Instead we’ve got a lot of players who operate in cruise control. That’s not much good when you’re battling, but fine when everything going relatively well.
On the train, I picked up a used copy of The Sun and in it they described us as inferior to City in the ‘willpower’ department. I personally think the ‘will’ is there, but the running power is not there. We need someone with an engine to supplement our squad this summer.
I don’t agree with The Sun that City have better players and management than us, but if Wenger doesn’t address this problem, we might have to conclude that our league position doesn’t lie.
Nevertheless, I don’t go along with the idea that if we don’t change anything this summer we’ll finish outside the top four. It’s possible, but unlikely, I feel. If we change nothing, we’ll probably finish fourth.
Why? Liverpool have had a revival under former boss Kenny Dalglish, but I think this revival will be brief. It’s true that the club have spent well (unlike Arsenal) bringing in Carroll and Suarez, but I think they still need to do some major squad rebuilding before they can oust us from fourth spot.
Spurs have come up short again and unless they spend big, they’ll be even further behind us next season. They have even worse defensive problems than we do, although I heard a Gooner at the weekend saying he wants William Gallas to come back. I never wanted Gallas to leave, so I can understand that sentiment, but I don’t think we should entertain the idea of a Gallas return.
I’m relatively optimistic about our central defence. Laurent Koscielny could be colossus, but not in the way Tony Adams was. Instead, I believe our Kos, who’s no lettuce, is a cultured defender in the mould of a Bobby Moore or a Franz Beckenbauer. Yes, you could say I have a lot of faith in Kos! Maybe it’s misplaced, it’s too soon to say.
The same applies to Johan Djourou. This guy is a great defender in the making. But maybe he’s too similar to Kos. Perhaps that’s why so many fans want Gary Cahill to join us from Bolton. I’m not so sure myself, but we do need a dominant traditional centre half. Could that be someone else with a Bolton connection, Kyle Bartley, currently on loan at Rangers?
Meanwhile, continuing on the centre-half theme, Thomas Vermaelen is many people’s choice as Cesc Fabregas’ successor as skipper (and let’s face it, we have to think about the armband as Cesc seems set to leave this summer).
So I have some optimism about our central defensive future. We do need an extra centre back though to add the squad. I’ve not even given up on Sebastien Squillaci yet, but he’s not inspired yet, has he?
Arsene Wenger's no Brian Clough!
18th May 2011
Yes, TLC was finally born on this day. If you want ‘Tender Loving Care’ though, you’ve come to the wrong place!
Last night, Man City blitzed Stoke 3-0 to virtually wrap up 3rd place in the Premier League. That means we have to battle through two legs to reach the group stages of the Champions League if we can’t better City’s score this weekend.
Great news for the money men, right? We stand to make £3m from the extra matchday at the Emirates. Will that extra money be used on players? What do you reckon? My guess is ‘no’.
And for us fans, it means we have to chew our nails or drink more (which is good for drinks manufacturers, I suppose) but will put pressure on our ailing health service, if I have to check in with a dodgy liver.
The truth is I’m so nervous when we play nowadays. With George Graham as boss, I could relax. 1-0 up meant game over. 4-0 up under Arsene Wenger gives me a feeling of insecurity. But strangely, I don’t want to compound that insecurity by sacking the guy.
Wenger has worked wonders at our club. He’s brought unprecedented success to us, but now his ego has, perhaps, got out of control. To be honest, I don’t know if it’s ego, it could be something else. It’s been pointed out to me that football geniuses like Brian Clough and Wenger’s countryman, the military genius Napoleon, eventually got found out.
It’s time to innovate again or evacuate. But Wenger may need to be told to innovate. His grand plan is working, but not to the level expected. If the experiment involves persevering with Manuel Almunia, Lukasc Fabianski, Abou Diaby, Emmanuel Eboue and Denilson then it is flawed. These players are not that bad, but they’re not good enough for Arsenal. I’m prepared to bide my time with the rest . . . and Wenger too!
Yes, TLC was finally born on this day. If you want ‘Tender Loving Care’ though, you’ve come to the wrong place!
Last night, Man City blitzed Stoke 3-0 to virtually wrap up 3rd place in the Premier League. That means we have to battle through two legs to reach the group stages of the Champions League if we can’t better City’s score this weekend.
Great news for the money men, right? We stand to make £3m from the extra matchday at the Emirates. Will that extra money be used on players? What do you reckon? My guess is ‘no’.
And for us fans, it means we have to chew our nails or drink more (which is good for drinks manufacturers, I suppose) but will put pressure on our ailing health service, if I have to check in with a dodgy liver.
The truth is I’m so nervous when we play nowadays. With George Graham as boss, I could relax. 1-0 up meant game over. 4-0 up under Arsene Wenger gives me a feeling of insecurity. But strangely, I don’t want to compound that insecurity by sacking the guy.
Wenger has worked wonders at our club. He’s brought unprecedented success to us, but now his ego has, perhaps, got out of control. To be honest, I don’t know if it’s ego, it could be something else. It’s been pointed out to me that football geniuses like Brian Clough and Wenger’s countryman, the military genius Napoleon, eventually got found out.
It’s time to innovate again or evacuate. But Wenger may need to be told to innovate. His grand plan is working, but not to the level expected. If the experiment involves persevering with Manuel Almunia, Lukasc Fabianski, Abou Diaby, Emmanuel Eboue and Denilson then it is flawed. These players are not that bad, but they’re not good enough for Arsenal. I’m prepared to bide my time with the rest . . . and Wenger too!
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