Tuesday, 05 August 08, 09:42 PM
Been busy lately, but I'm gonna get back into this.
Couple noteworthy things happening since my last post:
The biggest being the Robbie Keane to Liverpool transfer. Well, this certainly pleased me thinking about how many yids were probably pissing their pants when they heard this. Anyways, he's not worth the twenty million quid that Liverpool shelled out on him, more like 12-15. However, should be a decent fit with Torres. So they have two good strikers finally, but they're still complete crap on the wings. I really am not to worried about them.
That Andrei Arshavin sure changes his 'dreams' quite a bit. He's a good footballer, but it's pretty sad how his agent is putting words in his mouth. From Barcelona and Arsenal to Tottenham. The man has really given up on himself!
The Ronaldo transfer saga is still hanging around, but has really died down for the most part. Maybe it's just because no ones gives a shit about the cunt? I sure don't...well at least until he finally leaves for Spain and I can laugh at some crying mancs.
Been a couple decent friendlies with all the big teams doing pretty well. Fulham beating Celtic was quite shocking to me, but in retrospect isn't nearly as big of a deal I thought originally.
Now onto some Arsenal talk...
I was quite impressed with a lot of the reserves through the earlier friendlies and even during the Emirates Cup. Obviously, it was a poor result against Juventus, but to be honest they played their best XI and we played our kids. I'm guessing they though they'd be able to contest Hamburg with their reserves (wrong!) and we though Madrid was going to be the tougher match. Well, we did decent on Saturday but Juve had a strong team out and were able to barely get by. On Sunday against Madrid we were very good. Solid performances all around and a good victory put quite a smile on my face. Solid pre-season so far. And where the hell did Jack Wilshere come from? He wasn't just outstanding against the small teams, but he also impressed in his two cameos over the weekend. Today he was given the #19 kit and a first team spot. Well done to the lad!
Anywho, we're still being linked to a shit ton of central midfielders including De La Red, Alonso, Barry, Veloso, Inler, and probably some African boy who plays in Ligue 1. Personally, I like Alonso the most. He's experienced, gets along well with Cesc, and along with his abilites to hold in a deep lying position, he can add an extra bit of creativity. He would fit well with our system. For those doubting his defensive abilities, well, he was the leader in succesful tackles in the Premiership before they bought Mascherano and he was pushed into a different role in the midfield. He plays there for Spain behind Senna and is very capable.
De La Red is another one who interests me and would be cheaper. Still hoping for Alonso, though.
Anyways, off topic, has anyone seen that Colin Farrell flick with Brendan Gleeson called In Bruges? I highly recommend it! It was damn funny and all around a real good show.
'Til tommorrow...
Friday, 11 July 08, 09:14 PM
Arsenal have finally unveiled the signing of Samir Nasri. Thank the good lord, as I was even starting to worry. I'm really excited about him in the red and white (eh, well the new home kit anyways) as he's got fantastic skills. He runs down the wing very well and is great with the ball at his feet. He's very much a direct dribbler who will run at defenders, which is something we greatly needed. He can score goals and make the cutting edge pass. Is he the next Zidane as he's been touted? Eh, probably not, but he certainly will make a positive impact at the Emirates next season.
In other news, that Portugese cunt at Manchester Utd. continues to be disgraceful to the game by again saying that he should be allowed to go to Real Madrid and agreeing with Sepp Blatter that players nowadays are 'slaves' to their clubs. What a fucking cunt!
Couple more stories to comment on. Apparently we're about to sign Klass Jan Huntelaar from Ajax. He's got a fantastic scoring record, which greatly pleases me, but he's not that technically skilled for me and there's quite a few other strikers I'd much rather have.
Another story says we're on the verge of signing Falcao the wonderkid from River Plate. I do watch a bit of the football in Argentina and usually try and see River Plate matches. I've seen a fair bit of this kid and I must say he does have quite a bit of promise. A very good technical dribbler with decent pace and solid finishing. Plays more as a second striker from what I've seen. I wouldn't mind him being signed for around five million quid.
Good gossip on BBC today: 'Sunderland keeper Craig Gordon says players look forward to five-a-sides as boss Roy Keane joins in and the squad see it as a "chance to kick the manager".'
I hope they kick the shit out of that dirty bastard!
And finally, it appears we're stuck with a second long dramatic transfer saga to go along with Ronaldo to Madrid. It appears the Fat Frank Lampard to Inter transfer is going to be very drawn out.
Anyways, get some drinks in tonight!
Tuesday, 08 July 08, 07:47 PM
Well there wasn't much about Adebayor today, but Hleb is making plenty of headines. Earlier today he was quoted talking about Wenger and Cesc. Some interpreted the quotes as bashing his manager and supposed friend. His attacks on Wenger were nothing more than saying that he and the manager did not share the same opinons about his role in the team. Doesn't really sound like slammng to me. Then he said of Fabregas, "With scoring opportunities he's more selfish than I am. Given the chance to shoot he always goes for it - unlike me." Again, I don't really see this as nasty. More just stating the truth. To anyone who remotely follows Arsenal it's obvious Cesc and Hleb are friends. I think this was more stating their differing styles of play. Finally, he spoke of his future, "I don't know where I will play next season. It's being negotiated with two clubs and will be decided soon. I would prefer to move to Barcelona." Well, I'm sorry Mr. Hleb, but I don't think they're really in for you. I really wish you would give us a chance and realize the big clubs really aren't after you. We could use you as you are a great player.
Now, that was much earlier today. The interesting bit is that later on today he gave another interview stating, "In some newspapers it was mentioned that I have attacked Arsene Wenger and Cesc Fabregas. But let me tell you: This is not true! The statements in the papers are definitely not my statements. I would never ever say something disrespectful about them. And there is a simple reason for this: Cesc is a very good friend of mine and Arsene is one of the persons I respect most." As I said, the media is rehashing old quotes to make things interesting. I really think Hleb has realized the fact Barcelona aren't after him. There's no room for him in their attack and he'd likely be on the bench. In my opinion, there's a good chance of Hleb staying at the Emirates. And that won't upset me one bit when you think about the depth we'd have on the wings or in the slot:
Rosicky, Hleb, Nasri, Walcott, V. Persie, Vela, and the cunt Eboue can all be effective out there, especially the first four.
Now on to Chelsea news and Scolari's interview. Chelsea turned down Inter's first bid (less then seven million quid) for Fat Frank. It's being reported that their next bid won't be any higher than £11 million. Scolari, however, said of Frank, "I asked him if he wanted to stay at Chelsea, not only for this season but for more time. He told me after 15 minutes that he wants to stay and he wants to play for Chelsea for many years. " Well, I don't know if that's what Chelsea supporters wanted to hear or not. If I were them, I'd prefer him to leave and let Ballack be the focus in the midfield. Scolari then went on to say, ""Drogba is part of my plans 100%. No, 200%." I really didn't think that was the case. I didn't figure Drogba to be wanted by Big Phil. Anyways, I still think Drogba may want to leave and I'm not sure how Peter Kenyon would go about things then.
On the Arshavin front, the Russian forward's agent Dennis Lachter made the headlines again today. "It's going to be a very big transfer," Lachter added. "Zenit will definitely not accept an offer of less than 30million euros (£23.8m)." I personally don't see it being that expensive, I'm fairly sure Dick Advocaat and Zenit are resigned to losing their superstar. As it's looking more and more like England for him, it's becoming obvious that the reports of Chelsea and Arsenal are pretty spot on. I do believe his favoured choice would be the Emirates but I don't see us outbidding that cunt Abramovich if Big Phil says he wants him.
In other news it's reported that Villa will accept a bid of £15 million and Steve Finnan for Gareth Barry. If Alonso leaves and Barry comes in, I really think their midfield will be much worse. Alonso is the only one in the center of that midfield (Barry, Gerrard, Mascherano) who has great technical ability.
And Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe for Pompey next season should be pretty dynamic.
Have a good day all, I'm off to have a couple drinks. I'm thinking some Jim Beam and Coke?
Monday, 07 July 08, 10:12 PM
Nearly forgot to express my delight at Ajax signing the Serbian teenage striker Miralem Sulejmani from Heerenveen. I was very impressed with this kid last season as I watched a lot of Heerenveen. He should turn out to be a great striker and Ajax is the perfect place to develop. Another reasons it excites me, apart from being an Ajax supporter by heritage, is that probably means Huntelaar is leaving. I really wouldn't mind seeing Huntelaar at Arsenal and according to several sources we're one of the main clubs after him.
I'm expecting to see major news regarding Huntelaar by the end of the week.
Cheers everyone! Really enjoying OleOle so far!
Monday, 07 July 08, 08:28 PM
Dave Chappelle is one funny son of a bitch....
Andrei Arshavin's agent Dennis Lachter was quoted talking to a Russian newspaper:
“Now Zenit is negotiating with several clubs,” Lachter told Sovetsky Sport. “We are waiting for a call from (Zenit president) Alexander Dyukova, after which negotiations have already progressed themselves.
“Most likely, it will be England.”
Very interesting considering just the other day he said that Arshavin wanted Barcelona and nothing else. Obviously, if you've been following rumours, Arsenal and Chelsea are the two big clubs after him as of right now. I don't know if there's any valid proof to that, but it would make sense to me.
Chelsea are obviously in the mood to spend money this summer with Deco already captured and heavy rumours linking them to Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Kaka, Robinho and just about every other big name player across Europe. With the obvious Russian influence at Chelsea, a new manager who wants to revamp the squad, and the willingness to double every other club's wage offers, Stamford Bridge seems a very likely destination for the impressive Russian star. Fuck you Roman Abramovich!
As an Arsenal supporter I really pray reports that we're leading the chase are true. He'd be an awesome fit for us. He'd provide some very direct dribbling and goal scoring that we've lacked for a couple seasons. However, I wouldn't like him as a striker. I'd much rather see him on the wing. He played there quite a bit for Zenit and did a fantastic job. As a striker for us, I don't think an Arshavin RvP forward line would work that well. I still think we should sell Adebayor and find a player who isn't a cunt. Adebayor is very overrated and if a 30m pound offer comes in I'd be a happy, happy man. I'm also looking forward to Eduardo coming back if he can recover, because he can do a fine job up top.
Peter Hill-Wood says Adebayor is not for sale for any price. Goddamnit!
Another Arsenal rumour today involves Ruben De La Red. It's reported that Arsenal, Spurs, and Villa are all after the Real Madrid and Spain midfielder. He's one of many bright young prospects at Madrid right now and spent last season at Getafe. I saw him a few times in La Liga and several times in the UEFA cup last season and he really looked to be quite some player. An industrious midfielder with a very good shot and good technical abilities he would be a great partner for Cesc. He made one appearance in the Euro's and scored a thunderous equalizer for Spain against Greece.
I was hoping for more news about the Ronaldo saga today, but all I can find is some rehashed Calderon crap and news about the surgery. Unfortunately it went well.
Just stumbled upon some bad news for Spurs fans: Diego Capel insists he will not sign for Tottenham. Apparently Spurs were after Van der Vaart as well, but he also turned them down. My god, Ramos has made Levy and Spurs quite an ambitious club.
Van der Vaart told Dutch weekly Sportweek: "The interest has been there for some time already, but they (Tottenham) are not the club I want to go to. Tottenham are not a club I want to swap Hamburg for. The chance that I will stay at HSV is really big. As long as no team comes by which makes me immediately excited, I see no reason to leave. And so far none of those clubs have called us."
I really can't believe Spurs are the biggest club out for VDV at this time. C'mon Arsene make a bid!
On Some Hleb, Chelsea shite, a little more Arshavin, and a few others.