Vermaelen Surgery?

[GunnerFan4Life]

GoonerTalk Chris Wheatley
Thomas Vermaelen requires surgery on his left ankle, according to @northbanklower. Could mean another lengthy spell on the sidelines.

This curse will NEVER end. We'll be saying how things could of been if Verm was playing again.......

[Maestro]

In that case, sod it.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

It wouldn't be a huge surprise because ankle injuries are hard to get rid of completely but...wasn't he out with a thigh injury this time?

[KESSLER]

Fuck sake, what's the fucking point if we can't have a month without 101 injuries. Sort it out ffs

[fakeyank]

Looks like we will have a new signing in March :dance:

[Niall_Quinn]

Why so many injuries when we've hardly played any games? Is Diaby back in training or something?

[Niall_Quinn]

Should have bought Cahill in addition to Merts. We all knew we'd lose TV, Chesney, Jack and RvP this season.

[fakeyank]

Should have bought Cahill in addition to Merts. We all knew we'd lose TV, Chesney, Jack and RvP this season.

Do not worry for Chezza's replacement.. we have Almunia! :yikes:

[Darth Vela]

Chill, we have Mertesacker as a good replacement and with him as the senior defender I'm confident that even Djourou will look more assured (he will not be playing on Saturday though, which is somewhat reassuring). It does leave us one injury closer to Squillaci playing though so for that reason, pants should be prepared for possible soiling.

[Niall_Quinn]

Chill, we have Mertesacker as a good replacement and with him as the senior defender I'm confident that even Djourou will look more assured (he will not be playing on Saturday though, which is somewhat reassuring). It does leave us one injury closer to Squillaci playing though so for that reason, pants should be prepared for possible soiling.

Bad news, Kos and JD are shit. We don't want it to be true but it's true. Even if we don't accept it, PL strikers from up and down the land know it and that's all that really counts. Have we really reached the stage where we are relying on a player who hasn't even made his debut yet to pull or defence together in the absence of our latest in a long line of permanent casualties? Squillaci is no better or worse than Kos and JD, they're all liabilities and shouldn't be anywhere near our first team. Let's hope this TV news is just a smokescreen to lull Swansea into a false sense of security.

[GunnerFan4Life]

Chill, we have Mertesacker as a good replacement and with him as the senior defender I'm confident that even Djourou will look more assured (he will not be playing on Saturday though, which is somewhat reassuring). It does leave us one injury closer to Squillaci playing though so for that reason, pants should be prepared for possible soiling.

Miquel is above Squillaci so there is enough bodies in the way from him.....(jinxed it now...)

[Darth Vela]

Well, Squllaci was allegedly injured when Miquel sneaked onto the bench so I'm going to keep the panic button within reach until he leaves the club and the danger is completely gone.

[Niall_Quinn]

Do we train on a minefield or use live rounds for shooting practice, or what? Or are our players some sort of freaky science experiment, running up and down in radio vests with broccoli sticking out their aresholes and Wenger feverishly recording his stats until they all drop? What do his stats tell us about our fucking eternal injury list? I thought we were getting this sorted, last year we managed a mere disaster in terms of players missing - well up from the usual cataclysm. Back down the hill though.

[fakeyank]

I am hoping we can revert to 4-4-2 and have Song in the CB position with Mertesacker. The 2 CM positions can be filled by Arteta, JW (next season), Rosicky, Jew, Ramsey, Ping Pong

[Darth Vela]

I am hoping we can revert to 4-4-2 and have Song in the CB position with Mertesacker. The 2 CM positions can be filled by Arteta, JW (next season), Rosicky, Jew, Ramsey, Ping Pong

Why, when we have two CBs better than Song, would we move him back there?

[hobson's choice]

Grear just fukking great, and of course Wenger will keep continuing with this idiotic high line nonsense

[Darth Vela]

Nowt wrong with keeping a high line if the rest of the team pitches in and most of the back line are mobile and organised, those are the things you pretty much need for any defence anyway so it's not much of an issue.

[Marc Overmars]

Don't give a shite about these injuries anymore, they're pretty much part and parcel of what to expect.

[hobson's choice]

Nowt wrong with keeping a high line if the rest of the team pitches in and most of the back line are mobile and organised, those are the things you pretty much need for any defence anyway so it's not much of an issue.

Come on dude, our attacking players, pretty much hang our defenders out to dry, and now with Kos and Mer as our two CB's, we are playing with fire playing a high line.

We better hope RVP and Theo don't get hurt, cause our only chance this season is simply out scoring team, any team with a decent attack is gonna work us over.

[Darth Vela]

Come on dude, our attacking players, pretty much hang our defenders out to dry, and now with Kos and Mer as our two CB's, we are playing with fire playing a high line.

We better hope RVP and Theo don't get hurt, cause our only chance this season is simply out scoring team, any team with a decent attack is gonna work us over.

Our attackers shouldn't though, with a competent midfield and a little more work from our wingers it's very workable, especially against the smaller tems that sit back more, I'd like to see us sit deeper at times against the big teams as we did against Barca but in general it's fine. Incidentally, Kos is very well suited to this strategy actually, as he has decent recovery skills and reads the game well, Merts lack of pace could be an issue but as long as we stay organised he'll fit in fine.

[hobson's choice]

but as long as we stay organised he'll fit in fine.

Organization at the back:lol::lol:

[Niall_Quinn]

Kos is very well suited to this strategy actually, as he has decent recovery skills and reads the game well, Merts lack of pace could be an issue but as long as we stay organised he'll fit in fine.

I don't get this at all. Are you saying Kos may have to account for Mertesacker's deficiencies? Kos can barely keep his own shit together, he's a skin of the teeth defender with even the simple stuff stretching him to his mediocre limit. If Mertesacker doesn't give us twice as much, pace or none, then we've just thrown £10mill down the drain again, as we did with Kos last year. Some of our defenders are so awful it can make players like Kos look good, but he isn't good by the standards of any other PL team and he wouldn't get in any other PL team. Remember, it was his unique reading of the game and his general inability to kick a ball that started our ongoing collapse.

[Cripps_orig]

Kos is the worst CB we have. If this is true about Vermaelen then we truly are fucked. Tempted to give Miquel a chance. Can't be any worse than Djourou, Toto or Kos.

[Master Splinter]

My prediction of Sagna, Gervinho and Szczesny dying has been brought forward to next week.

Song's children to be our backline by the Spurs game.

Platini's curse is showing great stamina.

Come on Meee-Gwell :bow:.

[fakeyank]

Why, when we have two CBs better than Song, would we move him back there?

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3796574/Thomas-Vermaelen-has-Achilles-operation.html

Which are the 2? First of, we dont know how Merte is going to fit in the English PL, TV is out for the season, Kos is promising but not ready for 1st team and Squid is not a football player. I think Song moving back frees up the squad and also adds a player at the back who we know for a fact is good!

[Master Splinter]

Song has been shit recently.

Surely moving him back to a less comfortable position would be asking for more trouble?

Just fuck it all and play 2-8-2.

Sol is a free agent though.........

[Niall_Quinn]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3796574/Thomas-Vermaelen-has-Achilles-operation.html

Which are the 2? First of, we dont know how Merte is going to fit in the English PL, TV is out for the season, Kos is promising but not ready for 1st team and Squid is not a football player. I think Song moving back frees up the squad and also adds a player at the back who we know for a fact is good!

Don't forget Arteta, Rosicky, Theo, RvP, Coquelin, Ramsey, YFB, Young, Mertesacker, Chesney, Sagna, Santos, Chamberlain, Arshavin, Fabianski, Gibbs, Diaby, Djourou, Koscielny, Frimpong, Gervinho, Fabianski and Gunnersaurus are injured and out for the rest of their careers, so that only leaves Squid, Chamakh, Song and Almunia. Song will have to play in the middle, at least until he is injured for the rest of his life.

[Syn]

Oh this is fucking pathetic.

[Daniele]

what with injuries, shambolic defeats, masterpieces of incompentence in the transfers, THIS CLUB HAS TURNED INTO A TOTAL AND UTTER JOKE.

[KSE Comedy Club]

Worse news:

the sun is the only one reporting that he'll be out for a month. Everywhere else is saying 2-3 months.

Why the fuck didnt we buy another CB?????

[Özim]

Worse news:

the sun is the only one reporting that he'll be out for a month. Everywhere else is saying 2-3 months.

Why the fuck didnt we buy another CB?????
2 reasons:

1) Wenger saw Djourou, Squillaci and Koscielny as good centre backs when they are in fact sh*t
2) Vermaelen was like a new signing and Wenger never took into consideration the fact the guy was out for a year and probably need to be brought along very slowly, as after such a long period players tend to be more prone to further injuries - a la Eduardo

There's another reason too to be fair, we're cheap and wanted to make a profit this summer, that's why we also bought the German barge, he was relatively cheap.

[Ashburton2006]

2 reasons:

1) Wenger saw Djourou, Squillaci and Koscielny as good centre backs when they are in fact sh*t
2) Vermaelen was like a new signing and Wenger never took into consideration the fact the guy was out for a year and probably need to be brought along very slowly, as after such a long period players tend to be more prone to further injuries - a la Eduardo

There's another reason too to be fair, we're cheap and wanted to make a profit this summer, that's why we also bought the German barge, he was relatively cheap.

This has completely wiped out any joy that we gained during the transfer window! Wenger and the Board MUST have known that Verm had a bad injury! We were tight with the money again and only bought one CB when we really needed two. They should have offered 15m for Cahill and we may have got him. I also hear that Theo has a hamstring problem. When are we going to get rid of our so called Medical team? We are a joke, and it is depressing.

Is there going to be a demo at the Swansea game?

[Fats]

It was mentioned more than once that we needed two centerhalfs not just one.

These idiots couldnt organize a piss up in a brewery.

Please leave our club you incompetant fuckwits.

[AKBapologist]

Thankfully this injury is on the other foot and not a continuation of last years injury. It was sustained during a challenge in undine - not a muscle/stress injury so this points towards unluckiness more than anything else.

[selassie]

Central Defence has been a mess for years, if Wenger was pragmatic he'd have bought at least one more quality centre half in addition to Mertesacker.

If Vermaelen is injury prone and continues to miss large chunks of a season then Arsene absolutely must buy in the January Window and he must buy a QUALITY centre half.

Aside from being garbage, Squillaci & Djourou don't have much left on their contracts and should be tossed aside, Miguel is too young and should be loaned out, Kos should be 4th choice and we should bring in someone like Cahill to duke it out with Mertesacker & TV (when fit).

Not forgetting Bartley who is still learning and should be loaned out until we've sorted out the mess in Central Defence.

I'm sick of Wenger and his passive nature towards Central Defence.

[Grebbo]

And that my friends is why we needed to buy two CB's this summer - not one.

DJ and Squillacci cannot be called CB's.

So that leaves German and Vermy.

Now we just have the German.

Oh so predictable.

:rose:

Wenger

[IBK]

I agree with Syn - this is absolutely pathetic. Definitely tempers the lift that the transfers have given us.

Still - look at Spurs :lol: http://www.physioroom.com/news/english_premier_league/epl_injury_table.php

[Darth Vela]

I don't get this at all. Are you saying Kos may have to account for Mertesacker's deficiencies? Kos can barely keep his own shit together, he's a skin of the teeth defender with even the simple stuff stretching him to his mediocre limit. If Mertesacker doesn't give us twice as much, pace or none, then we've just thrown £10mill down the drain again, as we did with Kos last year. Some of our defenders are so awful it can make players like Kos look good, but he isn't good by the standards of any other PL team and he wouldn't get in any other PL team. Remember, it was his unique reading of the game and his general inability to kick a ball that started our ongoing collapse.

That's precisely what I'm saying, Kos has zero leadership but is a damn good defender (I know I seem to be pretty much alone in this so feel free to ignore everything else), Mertesacker knows how to organise and has the leadership to pull it together, I believe the technical term is 'partnership'.

[Özim]

That's precisely what I'm saying, Kos has zero leadership but is a damn good defender (I know I seem to be pretty much alone in this so feel free to ignore everything else), Mertesacker knows how to organise and has the leadership to pull it together, I believe the technical term is 'partnership'.
From what I've seen it's been mentioned Mertersacker isn't really a leader, certainly not a vocal one anyway.

[Flavs]

That's precisely what I'm saying, Kos has zero leadership but is a damn good defender (I know I seem to be pretty much alone in this so feel free to ignore everything else), Mertesacker knows how to organise and has the leadership to pull it together, I believe the technical term is 'partnership'.

no i agree with you son, Kos has done well IMO or at least as well as any other of our defenders who are left to get swamped by our useless DM's

[Cripps_orig]

That's precisely what I'm saying, Kos has zero leadership but is a damn good defender (I know I seem to be pretty much alone in this so feel free to ignore everything else), Mertesacker knows how to organise and has the leadership to pull it together, I believe the technical term is 'partnership'.

Bit of WUMming there, DV?

[Niall_Quinn]

Worse news:

the sun is the only one reporting that he'll be out for a month. Everywhere else is saying 2-3 months.

Why the fuck didnt we buy another CB?????

How do they know how long our players will be out when we never seem to have a clue? When I hear so-and-so is injured these days I just assume that's the last we'll ever see of the player until he becomes as good as a new signing the following season and then gets injured again.

[Cripps_orig]

So who out of the 3 CBs should partner Mertesacker?

Djourou - Hes shit but playing him will keep the black/white CB partnership

Squillaci - Hes shit but he was good once upon a time for previous clubs so hoping he can get that back but unlikely

Koscielny - Hes shit and the worst CB we've had in my lifetime

There is no right answer.

But if i had to choose, id go for Djourou.

Knowing Wenger, he'll go for Kos.

We're fucked

[Darth Vela]

Bit of WUMming there, DV?

I wish it was, if our defenders just sucked it would be a lot easier to get our defence fixed but it's more about the team in front as well as the organisation at the back, things that don't get solved with just bringing in better defenders.

[Letters]

Your WUMming is getting quite tiresome again, Ach.

[Darth Vela]

no i agree with you son, Kos has done well IMO or at least as well as any other of our defenders who are left to get swamped by our useless DM's

Glad I'm not going completely mental.

[Daniele]

So who out of the 3 CBs should partner Mertesacker?

Djourou - Hes shit but playing him will keep the black/white CB partnership

Squillaci - Hes shit but he was good once upon a time for previous clubs so hoping he can get that back but unlikely

Koscielny - Hes shit and the worst CB we've had in my lifetime

There is no right answer.

But if i had to choose, id go for Djourou.

Knowing Wenger, he'll go for Kos.

We're fucked

Andy Linighan - tough but can't pass the ball

Colin Pates - scored against Benfica but pretty much useless

[Cripps_orig]

Your WUMming is getting quite tiresome again, Ach.

Calling our CBs shit when they are shit isnt WUMming tbh

Calling them pretty good when they are shit is WUMming.

Anyway i wouldnt be against getting Sol back. Hes a free agent, we can still sign him, play him for a couple of months til Vermaelen is back

He surely cant be as bad as the other 3

[milla]

Calling our CBs shit when they are shit isnt WUMming tbh

Calling them pretty good when they are shit is WUMming.

Anyway i wouldnt be against getting Sol back. Hes a free agent, we can still sign him, play him for a couple of months til Vermaelen is back

He surely cant be as bad as the other 3

We can ask Bolton to give us loan deal for cahill :lol:

[Letters]

Calling our CBs shit when they are shit isnt WUMming tbh

Calling them pretty good when they are shit is WUMming.

Anyway i wouldnt be against getting Sol back. Hes a free agent, we can still sign him, play him for a couple of months til Vermaelen is back

He surely cant be as bad as the other 3

This:


Koscielny - Hes shit and the worst CB we've had in my lifetime

is WUMming. You were alive when Stephanos played for us...

[Niall_Quinn]

We can ask Bolton to give us loan deal for cahill :lol:

That would be our style. We could even ask then to pay for the taxi and then bum a smoke from them.

[Cripps_orig]

This:



is WUMming. You were alive when Stephanos played for us...

Stepanovs was better than him.

Ive said as much in previous threads yet the 6-1 back in 2001 is always used against him by people who conveniently forget the 9/10 games in a row he played the season after partnering Sol with Adams and Keown injured and he did very well. He was also fine before the 6-1

Will the 8-2 defeat be used against Kos the same way? Bear in mind hes been largely shit before that game as well unlike the Latvian before the 6-1

[Cripps_orig]

We can ask Bolton to give us loan deal for cahill :lol:

We'll get him in Jan.

And if not then Wenger has to walk

[Niall_Quinn]

Glad I'm not going completely mental.

Just a leettle bit lacking sharpness of sanity because it's a pretty insane situation in defence at Arsenal. All the years we've known the defence is lacking both in terms of players and the tactics and nothing done about it. We brought TV in and one more significant CB at that moment could have made all the difference. We've done the same again this season. It's actually worrying now how much faith everyone is pinning on Mertesacker before he's even played a game, but let's just hope that works out. Flavs makes the point Kos has done as well as any other of our defenders and that's true enough. It;s also the main problem, doing as well as any of our defenders doesn't make you a good defender. Most of our players are 90% good enough, that's the problem. That 10% we are lacking costs us over and over again. It's not just a case of us being unable to compete for the big names. Cahill has only really become a big(ish) name in the last season, we looked at him last season and wouldn't pay the lower price. Cahill's an average PL CB from what I can see. He's sound. He doesn't have those flaws that Kos and JD demonstrate. We should have signed him, we needed him. But Wenger's doing it again, investing his hope in flawed players who aren't suited to this league. And we'll inevitable get the same result as last time.

[Letters]

Stepanovs was better than him.

:lol:

[Niall_Quinn]

We'll get him in Jan.

And if not then Wenger has to walk

The damage will have been done by January.

[Cripps_orig]

:lol:

Like i said, conveniently forget the good run of games he had, something which Kos hasnt had.

Good wumming though :good:

[Cripps_orig]

The damage will have been done by January.

Yes but hopefully Cahills signing can save us from relegation

[Darth Vela]

Just a leettle bit lacking sharpness of sanity because it's a pretty insane situation in defence at Arsenal. All the years we've known the defence is lacking both in terms of players and the tactics and nothing done about it. We brought TV in and one more significant CB at that moment could have made all the difference. We've done the same again this season. It's actually worrying now how much faith everyone is pinning on Mertesacker before he's even played a game, but let's just hope that works out. Flavs makes the point Kos has done as well as any other of our defenders and that's true enough. It;s also the main problem, doing as well as any of our defenders doesn't make you a good defender. Most of our players are 90% good enough, that's the problem. That 10% we are lacking costs us over and over again. It's not just a case of us being unable to compete for the big names. Cahill has only really become a big(ish) name in the last season, we looked at him last season and wouldn't pay the lower price. Cahill's an average PL CB from what I can see. He's sound. He doesn't have those flaws that Kos and JD demonstrate. We should have signed him, we needed him. But Wenger's doing it again, investing his hope in flawed players who aren't suited to this league. And we'll inevitable get the same result as last time.

Rather have Cahill than Djourou, no argument there but the major problem has been lack of organisation at the back as we only had one defender that could take a bit of responsibiltiy on that front, adding one more makes our options at the back a lot more secure, one of Merts or Vermaelen can form a good partnership with Kos and maybe help keep Djourou's head in the right place (i.e. out of the place it seems to get stuck in).Ofc, if it turns out Mertesacker is shit then we're in trouble.

[Niall_Quinn]

Rather have Cahill than Djourou, no argument there but the major problem has been lack of organisation at the back as we only had one defender that could take a bit of responsibiltiy on that front, adding one more makes our options at the back a lot more secure, one of Merts or Vermaelen can form a good partnership with Kos and maybe help keep Djourou's head in the right place (i.e. out of the place it seems to get stuck in).Ofc, if it turns out Mertesacker is shit then we're in trouble.

But don't we have a track record of Kos being shaky (if we are kind)? I agree we have no choices now and we go with what we've got. I wonder when the club knew TV needed surgery? Before or after the transfer window closed? If it was before then Wenger is again saying Kos is good enough to start for us, or maybe JD is good enough. I think they have clearly demonstrated they are nowhere near good enough. Not sure what Wenger is looking for or what he sees in them. He also appears to count Squillaci as a viable option when he speaks about us having enough CBs at the club. This is the heart of it. Wenger says one thing and all the evidence contradicts him.

[Darth Vela]

But don't we have a track record of Kos being shaky (if we are kind)? I agree we have no choices now and we go with what we've got. I wonder when the club knew TV needed surgery? Before or after the transfer window closed? If it was before then Wenger is again saying Kos is good enough to start for us, or maybe JD is good enough. I think they have clearly demonstrated they are nowhere near good enough. Not sure what Wenger is looking for or what he sees in them. He also appears to count Squillaci as a viable option when he speaks about us having enough CBs at the club. This is the heart of it. Wenger says one thing and all the evidence contradicts him.

Yeah, he's made mistakes and he's had bad games, most of them coming early on in the season whilst adapting but it's as if people expect players to be perfect at all times which simply doesn't happen.

I'd have liked another CB as I don't trust Djourou and Squillaci isn't even really a defender but if you simply focus on errors instead of considering the effect of different partnerships and personalities on the synergy and efficiency of a defence then you're gonna ignore a large part of putting a team together.

From where I'm standing we have two senior defenders who can organise things and two junior defenders who need one of the others there due to their own lack of organisation in Kos' case and inability to concentrate in DJ's case, I reckon Cahill would fall somewhere between those two so would have been more useful than Djourou. It's not perfect but it's a damn sight better than last year.

As for what Wenger thinks, who the fuck knows? One thing I will say though is if Squillaci gets any gametime this season I will consider this summer a complete and utter failure.

[selassie]

Glad I'm not going completely mental.

Or you both could be mental? ;)

FWIW I see the potential in Kos I just don't think he's at a stage yet where he can perform at a high level every week.

Moreover our alleged lack of defensive drills in training will not do him any favours as he needs to learn and to an extent be babysat.

I think Kos can be quite useful as a 4th choice, he really isn't a bad back up option.

[IBK]

Or you both could be mental? ;)

FWIW I see the potential in Kos I just don't think he's at a stage yet where he can perform at a high level every week.

Moreover our alleged lack of defensive drills in training will not do him any favours as he needs to learn and to an extent be babysat.

I think Kos can be quite useful as a 4th choice, he really isn't a bad back up option.

I think Kos could be very good. But I think its near impossible to evaluate the relative quality of our defence against players from other clubs when the cover they have from midfield is non-existant; the line they hold is suicidally high; our interminable possession game almost invites the opposition to pull us out of shape, and we neither attack the box or exploit set pieces - meaning that our defenders cannot train to hone this side of their game.

[Özim]

It's a sad state of affairs when a 26 year old defender can't stand on his own two feet and thus still needs babysitting.

As has been said before, good defenders are good defenders regardless of who is beside them, they don't need to rely on others to make them look good.

There's an awful lot of excuses for Koscielny's poor play, he's not a 19 year old kid at the end of the day.

[Cripps_orig]

It's a sad state of affairs when a 26 year old defender can't stand on his own two feet and thus still needs babysitting.

As has been said before, good defenders are good defenders regardless of who is beside them, they don't need to rely on others to make them look good.

There's an awful lot of excuses for Koscielny's poor play, he's not a 19 year old kid at the end of the day.

:gp:

[Joker]

Oh dear, we're going to have to play either Koscielny, Squillaci or Djourou with Mertersacker until at least November it seems. God knows how many points we'd have lost by that point, and how many defensive calamities we'd have had to endure. What awful planning from Wenger and the board, he should have bought Cahill in the transfer window, if he had our defence would have had at least a semblance of competence assuming Metersacker and Cahill would have started most of the games until Vermaelen came back.

I don't know what's happened with Wenger. He used to be a smart manager, now he's one of the least capable managers in the EPL IMO.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Arsenal.com say he'll be back in training in a month, which I think will be when the next international break is. :lol:

[AKBapologist]

Weren't the same people saying we shouldn't make excuses for Koscielny blaming Zack Knight for Boltons defensive shocker vs Liverpool?

Reality is that you need a stable back 4. If you can get the same 4 players playing 20 games or more they'll be half decent. All this chopping and changing throughout the side is no good.

[Daniele]

Stepanovs was a far worse player than Kos and Djourou.

[Cripps_orig]

Stepanovs was a far worse player than Kos and Djourou.

Not really

[Daniele]

he couldn't even chest the ball down and pass it. wasn't even able to run like an athlete.

[Niall_Quinn]

Weren't the same people saying we shouldn't make excuses for Koscielny blaming Zack Knight for Boltons defensive shocker vs Liverpool?

Reality is that you need a stable back 4. If you can get the same 4 players playing 20 games or more they'll be half decent. All this chopping and changing throughout the side is no good.

If all the defenders in the PL were lined up and we got to pick 5, who would we pick? How far down the list would Kos, JD and Squid be? A long way down I'm thinking. You can have 4 out of 5 at the back doing a great job but one sub-standard player can bring it all down. We're supposed to be a top PL club, that's the image being given out by the board and the manager anyway. 2% away from greatness they tell us. Unlucky all the time, had too many injuries, the fixture list is crooked, Internationals are getting in the way, the refs are against us, excuses, excuses. Fact is we haven't spent enough to be genuinely up there challenging. We have sub-standard players in key positions and - as we have seen (have we not?) - Kos is one of them. Djourou is another, Squid is a joke and Chamakh is shit. You hire shit and you get a shit job. TV is not the best defender in the world but he's up to the job. More like him, less like Kos and JD and the defence is sorted. We should have bought another decent CB in the window. We didn't, we'll pay the price instead in terms of poor results on the pitch.

[Daniele]

If all the defenders in the PL were lined up and we got to pick 5, who would we pick? How far down the list would Kos, JD and Squid be? A long way down I'm thinking. You can have 4 out of 5 at the back doing a great job but one sub-standard player can bring it all down. We're supposed to be a top PL club, that's the image being given out by the board and the manager anyway. 2% away from greatness they tell us. Unlucky all the time, had too many injuries, the fixture list is crooked, Internationals are getting in the way, the refs are against us, excuses, excuses. Fact is we haven't spent enough to be genuinely up there challenging. We have sub-standard players in key positions and - as we have seen (have we not?) - Kos is one of them. Djourou is another, Squid is a joke and Chamakh is shit. You hire shit and you get a shit job. TV is not the best defender in the world but he's up to the job. More like him, less like Kos and JD and the defence is sorted. We should have bought another decent CB in the window. We didn't, we'll pay the price instead in terms of poor results on the pitch.

I'd pick Vidic, Ferdinand, Kompany, Terry and Luiz. Kos and Djourou wouldn't even make my top 10. Or 20.

[AKBapologist]

If all the defenders in the PL were lined up and we got to pick 5, who would we pick? How far down the list would Kos, JD and Squid be? A long way down I'm thinking. You can have 4 out of 5 at the back doing a great job but one sub-standard player can bring it all down. We're supposed to be a top PL club, that's the image being given out by the board and the manager anyway. 2% away from greatness they tell us. Unlucky all the time, had too many injuries, the fixture list is crooked, Internationals are getting in the way, the refs are against us, excuses, excuses. Fact is we haven't spent enough to be genuinely up there challenging. We have sub-standard players in key positions and - as we have seen (have we not?) - Kos is one of them. Djourou is another, Squid is a joke and Chamakh is shit. You hire shit and you get a shit job. TV is not the best defender in the world but he's up to the job. More like him, less like Kos and JD and the defence is sorted. We should have bought another decent CB in the window. We didn't, we'll pay the price instead in terms of poor results on the pitch.
Mate, there are stats from pro-zone to fantasy footy that show exactly what your talking about. Form changes, the biggest factor? Injuries. There was a period last year on which Kos and DJ were in the top 5. Then what happened? Same happened with united and chelsea's defence tbh. Stability is good and often enables players to find some form.

Wasn't helped by the fact Squilliaci is exceptionally shit mind. :coffee:

[Dog Toffee]

Best he had this surgery early on in the season, hopefully he'l recover quickly and wont have recurring problems. It sucks we wont have him for at least a month but good decision to have surgery IMO.

[Maestro]

I'd pick Vidic, Ferdinand, Kompany, Terry and Luiz. Kos and Djourou wouldn't even make my top 10. Or 20.


:good: D


I'd pick Terry, Vidic, Ferdinand, Hangeland, Kompany, Jagielka, Luiz, Vermaelen, Cahill ...then Lescott, Smalling, Jones and your Ridgewell, Dann, Agger, Skertel, Gallas ......

maybe even a few more out there before I even contemplate Kos, Djourou or god forbid the Squid. Of the 80 or so registered CB's in the league I rate them at around at best 30th upwards in the ranking. I reserve full judgement on The Mert until I see him in action in this league, but again he is well ahead of our trajic trio.

Their mistakes are so elementary and consistently repeated. Simply not good enough for the level we aspire.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Verms being out = pooh and not of the Winnie the variety!

I used to think Djouru had some upside but so do 80% of participants of the Berlin Gay Pride march by the sounds of it so not sure if that is such a good thing......he was absolute crap against Utd......what is with the hands behind the back thing that seems to be the rage at the moment? (saw Smalling doing it against Bulgaria) - obvious answer is to prevent the risk handball but it also gives a more space for a player with the ball to skip through, because if you are too slow to react ala Gay Lion then you are asking for trouble.

Kos is better but only when he has someone better than him playing alongside.......and with Verms out the 'pooh' reaction in herewith explained!

Merts I hope will look after Baby Kos cos (:haha:) no one else can.......Squid? - FuckOff

[Master Splinter]

JSAO is close to complete malfunction :lol:.

That behind the back thing and ushering players to the touch line and consequently failing is hilarious, but mostly suicidal when Djourou does it.

Djourou :lol: I remember when he was good for about 10 games.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Like i said, conveniently forget the good run of games he had, something which Kos hasnt had.

Good wumming though :good:

just like you have forgotten the run of games he had last year, around xmas time till cc final where we concededed fuck all

[Ollie the Optimist]

and im glad to see some have written merts off without him even playing a game :rolleyes:

[Joker]

Koscielny is 26 now, I don't think we can make the same excuses for him as we can make for Miquel for example. He's put in some good performances in an Arsenal shirt, granted, but even in games when he's playing well, he's always prone to commit an enormous cock-up that costs us a goal. Moreover, I don't think he's a particularly brave defender, who'll put his head where it hurts and really relish a physical fight. He's good at making interceptions and nicking the ball off the opposition, but you need more to be a good defender. The only reason Wenger signed him last season is because he's cheap, and this sort of player may be good enough if your ambition is simply UCL qualification every season (although this is debatable), but he's nowhere near good enough if we want to win trophies.

So, ultimately, we'll have this chasm between supporters and management. Wenger doesn't care about trophies anymore, and is only bothered about the financial benefits of UCL qualification, so he's happy to play Koscielny and ignore his mistakes, while the fans will continue to tear their hair out.

[Niall_Quinn]

He cost £10mill didn't he? Who knows if it's true or not but it was reported the asking price for Cahill last year was £12mill. Kos easily did the equivalent of £2mill worth of damage in the CC final alone. I agree, if you want trophies you don't have a player like this in the team except as last ditch cover. But if you are prepared to accept the loss of points that makes the difference between 1st and 4th then he's good enough. Same with a lot of our players.

[Boss]

Fucking predictable.

Should have signed up Cahill.

[LDG]

How many CB's have we gone through in the last 6 years?

Gallas
Toure
Djourou
Squillacci
Vermaelen
Miquel
Mertesacker
Koscielny
Sylvestre
Campbell
Senderos

That's a fuck load of fucking about.

[Niall_Quinn]

How many CB's have we gone through in the last 6 years?

Gallas
Toure
Djourou
Squillacci
Vermaelen
Miquel
Mertesacker
Koscielny
Sylvestre
Campbell
Senderos

That's a fuck load of fucking about.

Song and Sagna also played CB on occasion, but Nick refused - wanker.

[hymppi]

the belgians heal faster, 8 weeks ------> 3 days.

oh, wait...

[Özim]

How many CB's have we gone through in the last 6 years?

Gallas
Toure
Djourou
Squillacci
Vermaelen
Miquel
Mertesacker
Koscielny
Sylvestre
Campbell
Senderos

That's a fuck load of fucking about.
We only buy super quality.