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Feck Cesar. . .
Things becoming desperate enough to start warming to paying over the odds/salary for Aston. . .he would have put away Girouds chances against Chelsea at least
Diame still makes me frown. . .cheap so why should I be surprised but so were Ba and Mwbia
Not sure how effective he'll be in the sweeper role, tbh.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cripps
Wouldn't complain with Isco and Villa coming in but don't see it happening. Quite damning on the French league there though...have to say I'm envious of Newcastle's scouting system in France. Cabaye 4million, Ben Arfa 6million, Yanga-Mbiwa 6.5million all capped for France all better and fitter than diaby I'm afraid to say and all have had more impact on the teams they've played for than diaby. I honestly believe Yanga-Mbiwa will be excellent for them. 23 years old, captained his club since 21 and already looks the business as a CB and has obvious leadership qualities that we are literally crying out for in our current lot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grebbo
Begovic has been the stand out keeper in the last 2 prem seasons behind Hart. Cech finding some form this season, but if we were to have a pick of any keeper in the prem (bar Hart) I'd choose Begovic, although I wouldn't complain if the Cesar rumours were true, we are in desperate need of a goalkeeper just as much as a striker in my opinion. Last time we won something we had Lehmann - excellent, crazy goalkeeper who could kick, shot stop and go walkabouts...Szez good at the shot stops (mostly) and good at going walkabouts too - but cannot kick - I really don't think he's going to learn to do that now if he hasn't already.Quote:
Originally Posted by ollie the optimist
If Begovic is behind Hart (the most overrated player in the history of everything) then he must be pretty shit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergkampwonderland10
Wow - do you really feel Hart is over-rated? I'd be interested to hear your top 3 keepers in the prem perm boy?Quote:
Originally Posted by Grimandi's Perm
Not sure why people on here are splaffing about average players like Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Gouffran etc. They're not good enough to play for a side that wants to win trophies and we have options in our midfield that quite comfortably shit on them. As for Mbiwa, there's a reason no top club was interested in him.
Don't see how people on here clamour for star quality and then wet themselves when average talents move to average teams.
I didn't mention Gouffran...but how you can claim that Cabaye and Ben Arfa are average is beyond me. And I'm pretty sure you haven't seen enough of Mbwia to make that kind of judgement. Would have been more than happy with those 3 players in our squad...instead of Squillacci, Arshavin and Bendtner...just for example...that's if you want to talk about 'average' players!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss
I'm sure Arshavin and Denilson would 'shit on' Cabaye and Ben Arfa ;)
The prem is full of poor keepers. Hart isn't even better that the likes of Given.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergkampwonderland10
Would still like to hear your top 3, if you feel Hart is the most over-rated of all players. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Grimandi's Perm
Based on this season, think it would look something like..
1)Hart
2)Begovic
3) Cech
Boss, any particular reason you've changed your opinion on Wenger/the direction of the club in general? I remember you used to want Wenger out.
I'm not talking about you specifically, the last couple of pages are littered with posts regretting that we weren't in for such players.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergkampwonderland10
As for Arshavin and Denilson, they're squad players that would have been sold by now if anyone wanted them. Doubt either Cabaye or Ben Arfa would come here to play on the bench, and they're nowhere near good enough to displace our first choice midfield (Cazorla, Arteta and Wilshere, nor Diaby as first backup). They've both been ultimately disappointing for Newcastle this season (either due to injuries or poor form) and neither would warrant the 15M transfer fee they'd both command.
Ultimately, I thought people wanted us to challenge for trophies, not consolidate our top four position. Thus, we need players that are better than what we have. Fair enough if people moan about players like Villa, should he move somewhere comparable for a reasonable fee but average players (in terms of world talent) are not what we need and thus I don't care if we miss out on them.
Ben Arfa is brilliant to be fair, he's totally good enough to play for a side looking to win trophies.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss
In the past I used to be heavily against Wenger, way too caught up in the seven years without a trophy thing but I believe if you look at it rationally, there's not much we can do and I do believe the club has a long term goal that will hopefully see us competitive once again. In the past I used to get hung up over players joining our rivals that I thought could improve us (Carroll, Enrique, Parker, for example) but realised that they wouldn't really make a difference to our current plight.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joker
I've said on here a few times I think it's near impossible for Arsenal to win the league given the competition we have and have been laughed at but I still believe that. Clubs have outspent us by millions to try and compete for our spot in the Champions League and every single year we outperform them. Higher up the table, clubs with more resources than we could ever think of spending have wasted in one window what we've spent in ten to try and compete, and chopped and changed managers with little success. Chelsea spent 75M this summer yet we're as close to them as they are to the top of the league, we're still in the Champions League and so on.
I believe we've looked at it in a pure financial point of view, which fans may not like but it's the best thing to do during these times. We could spend 100M and really go for it one window - which would probably see us in serious trouble if it didn't pan out (unlike Chelsea or Man City), or we can continue to make a profit, pay off debts and rely on Wenger to get us CL footy, waiting for FFP to level the playing field. Wenger is a manager a level below Ferguson, I believe that but I also think he's streets ahead of anyone Chelsea or Man City have employed over the last few years.
I wouldn't pay the 15million transfers for either Cabaye or Ben Arfa when it's the other areas of the pitch that need reinforcing. My point is more the prices newcastle picked them up for originally. Hardly Average and very good options to have, just as Mbiwa will be. The fact is, we need a strong squad. On paper we have a good midfield, but if you look at the injuries over the last 2 seasons, Wilshere out, Diaby out, ramsey out, now Arteta ...Cabaye and Ben Arfa would have been good options last season and this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss
We watch all our games so we tend to think our players are shitter than everyone elses but there is a reason Newcastle are currently 16th in the table. Ben Arfa started less than half of Newcastle's games last season and has been quite injury prone this, his goals scored tally was matched by both Benayoun and Vermaelen last season which doesn't say much about him. He scores a couple wonder goals and everyone wets themselves because the most people have watched of Newcastle, not being their favourite team, is a couple of highlights reels.Quote:
Originally Posted by Arse n Wonga
He may be a good player but that's all. Nowhere near good enough to start for a top side which is why none have ever been interested.
:gp:Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss
I think people on here are just desperate for signings. But I've said all along that for us to improve significantly we need game changers, we need a bertie big bollocks, we need a star.
These French players will get you top 6 but they wont get you top 4.
Nicely put. But the fact he bent over and sold Van Persie to Man utd and to do it for half of what he should have gone for ...coupled with the fact that he does himself no favours by opening his mouth at press conferences and spouting a lot of repetitive rubbish (with some gems thrown in), coupled with the fact he can be tactically very suspect at times, and places too much faith in players that don't deserve it....has lessened his credentials in my view. Ferguson is light years ahead of anyone...Wenger a rather tame second perhaps these days...but I am sure there are other managers in world football that could come in and do a job for us.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss
Wenger is probably one of the most intelligent people in football with a huge dose of ethics and values both of which don;t get him too far in today's modern game. It's sad but true. Football has changed and he hasn't - or refuses to.
Do we want to challenge for the league or consolidate what we have? We need a stronger first team to win the league, our squad is fine and adding Cabaye and Ben Arfa for 5M wouldn't have changed much. For all the talk about injuries, Ben Arfa has averaged 20 starts a season or less during the last five years and Cabaye's output isn't good enough for the level we want to be at.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergkampwonderland10
Would we have challenged for the title last season if we had both in our squad? Nope.
To be fair, under Wenger am sure Ben Arfa would have developed just as the way we saw nasri begin to develop before he pissed off and did nothing. Ben Arfa was on the receiving end of a horrifc leg breaking challenge which def stunted his developemnt but if you watch him, he has wonderful close ball control, can take on players like they're not there, good vision and if he played in a team that allowed him more freedom...would prob be one of the stars of prem...having said that we don't need another injury prone player...but the reason why Newcastle suddenly went from relegation fodder to competing for a top 4 spot last season was largely down to the strength of a fit tiote, cabaye, and ben arfa.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss
Add a fit Tiote to that and I'd say we would have done.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss
:gp:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergkampwonderland10
Tiote :lol:
Still waiting for your top 3 prem keepers curly tots! Hart being the most over-rated of over-rated players of course ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Grimandi's Perm
Yes, no cabaye, no ben arfa, no tiote = no midfield....could be a small reason why.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss
That great midfield is the reason Newcastle finished ahead of us last season.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergkampwonderland10
No, the fact we had Van Persie meant they didn't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grebbo
At the end of the day, not everyone is screaming out for star-quality signings - just effective ones that can make an instant impact. Would David Villa? Yes. Would Begovic? Yes.
I'm not sure why everyone is so hung up on saying how shit Newcastle's recently signed midfielders are when clearly they were the reason why the barcodes were so improved last season. Their signings are just being used as an example of how we don't necessarily need star names - just effective players who give a shit. I don't know why we just don't cancel the contracts of players like Denilson, Bendtner and Squillacci or just give them away to clear permanent space.
If we can sign a keeper, a CB and a striker in the next week I will be more than happy.
Good post that. But to put a bastard's spin on it, I'm not bothered about top players going to our rivals either. Unless it happens to be RvP. Scandalous. That transfer had our ambitions written all over it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss
It may be near impossible for us to compete at the top, then again maybe not. A couple of signings at key moments and we stood a much better chance of not having to talk about this 7 year trophy thing. They didn't make those key signings. They do make signings when CL revenue is threatened though. I don't think there's an absolute demand from the fans to win a trophy but I do think there's an expectation for us to compete, make it a little tougher for our rivals, get a little close than 20 points a season. We're looking for a team of winners in terms of shooting for the top even if we don't make it. Our manager and our board make no secret about the fact they are aiming for 4th spot, going as far as to call it a trophy. The guys who run this club have a winning mentality on the balance sheet but are willing losers in terms of what happens on the pitch. Not good enough for a sporting outfit.
Then there's the business of financial prudence as we wait for stadium debts to be paid and FFP to kick in. Fair enough, we can't go out and spend £100mill without thought for the financial consequences. On the other hand we can invest £70mill in government bonds for a healthy return in interest. Somebody has their priorities wrong, from the fans' point of view at least. And the purpose of the fair play rules is to stop the big clubs with money dominating on all fronts thereby allowing the smaller clubs a sniff. Kroneke and the gang won't be fooled by this for even a moment and neither should we. The whole world is about consolidation of the most for the fewest and fuck the rest. So we are relying on a bunch of crooks who like backhanders (caught too many times to be worth disputing) to produce the first altruistic and socially just model ever in the history of the world and then administer it impartially. Seems naive to me if I have my polite hat on. FFP is Stadium Mk II - the fans are being asked to wait patiently while the club gets raped.
The only long term plan at Arsenal is for the yank to cash out with a lot more than he put in. It'd be great if there was anything more to it but Kroenke's commitment to the footballing activities of the club couldn't be clearer.
Are we to expect their injury problems to magically clear up had they moved to us? The reason Ben Arfa was so cheap despite being a huge talent is because he's a perennial crock.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergkampwonderland10
You wanted us to effectively sign Newcastle's midfield? If we look at our squad this year, we have Cazorla, Wilshere, Arteta as first choice CM, followed by Diaby, Ramsey, Coquelin, Rosicky as backup. I believe the first four are as good, if not much better than said Newcastle players, and Rosicky when fit* is as good if not better. Even if he's not, do we really expect players that are apparently good enough for last season's 5th finish to come to us and be 5th, 6th and 7th choice?
This isn't FM, we can't just stockpile players. Add to that I believe our midfield is fine, but we do need a defender or two and probably one up front. Only if they are super, super quality though**.
*Never
** Although when Wenger says this he's generally waffling for the press I believe in the premise.
Interesting that Wenger had a summer bid for Cabaye rejected then isn't it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss
And how you can call Rosicky and Diaby 'back-up' is quite amusing considering they're both never fit.
Maybe if you read my previous post, you'd see I wasn't talking about 'stockpiling' players - I was talking about getting rid of the waste and adding some depth. And just fyi...I've never played a computer game before but I have heard of football manager if that is what FM stands for.
Incidentally, if I had played a computer game before, I still think I'd be better than you and Grimandi's Perm combined in terms of my player selection :)
And they had Ba, who went to Chelsea, who you wanted us to sign.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergkampwonderland10
With regards our midfield there's a distinct lack of steel in there, we also really don't have many genuine wingers. We need someone more defensive minded and better at tackling, Arteta doesn't cut it for me and why should he, he's an offensively minded player by trade.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss
Rosicky is never fit, he's been here since 2006 and really never stayed fit, waste of money and space IMO, likewise Diaby. They've had long enough to prove their fitness, not sure why we handed Rosicky a new contract when he never plays, we should have put him on a pay as you play deal, of course that would have meant he'd be broke.
Only star quality will do anything to this team. French tat is not better than what we have. Begovic wont prevent our defenders from being fuckwits.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergkampwonderland10
We need a WORLD CLASS centre back, striker and holding midfielder for us to improve enough to justify the cost. We need 3 world class players. We don't need decent French players.
According to who? The Sun?Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergkampwonderland10
Ba doesn't really compare to Van Persie does he?Quote:
Originally Posted by Grebbo
And yes I wouldn't have minded Ba as a striking option and he's proving that at Chelsea right now as well.
No but you're saying we should sign Ba and Newcastle's midfield - neither of which were better than us last season or this season.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergkampwonderland10
Begovic might just stop our defenders from being fuckwits to be fair. Loved the way Szez didn't even appeal the penalty decision against him, against chelsea and didn't even have the balls to bollock Sagna for going missing. A leader at the back is a necessity for silverware. Start with the keeper. what world class centre back would you have out of interest? And world class holding midfielder too? which one? There are definitely a few strikers that carry the class tag...but how many CBs or Defensive midfielders are world class...please name a few.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grebbo
Sometimes it's about players and the way they 'fit' into a team. Look at Torres at Chelsea. All I was doing was using Newcastle's bargain basement midfield signings as an example to add depth to our squad. Cabaye over Arshavin, Yes I think so. Ben Arfa over Denilson, Yes I think so. Tiote as a holding midfielder, seeing as we don't really have one, Yes I think so. Would we look stronger with those players in the squad, yes I think so...did I say we should go out and sign them from Newcastle - no- it was merely to illustrate how you can build an effective team without paying 20million for a Henderson or Downing. Now that those three midfielders for newcastle have been injured most of the season - you can really see what an impact they had.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grebbo
I like the players Newcastle have managed to get in recent seasons but the only one I'd take here is Cabaye who I think is better than Arteta.