(UEFA) Football Thread - Football not Soccer

[dragunzng]

Sad to see Keegan go, I was really rooting for him. Not sure exactly what's going to become of Newcastle now to be honest.

Man City... what a surprise. It'll be interesting to see how they perform over the season.

Suprised (not really) Arsene didn't sign anyone, rumor has it Alonso really wanted to sign but Liverpool and Arsenal couldn't agree on a sum. Shame, I think he would have been a great addition to the midfield.

[Tomalak]

Alonso wasn't for sale unless we could get Barry, so it was never going to happen on deadline day. Unless perhaps we got silly money for him.

[dragunzng]

Yeah, it would'a been pretty silly to sell Alonso with Gerrard still out.

[BRG]

Tomalak wrote:

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I wouldn't go that far. Not every player is a mercenary like Robinho. The very best will want to go to the very best clubs, and at the moment City is not one of those.

Indeed, I was really just enjoying a laugh at the Prawn Sandwich Brigade.

But I would point out that Man City are hardly the "wee team with no history" that I have heard some fans say. They may not have the support of United(lets face it, nobody comes close) or the success of Liverpool, but they are a huge club, with a loyal fan base, with a history that can stand up with any team outside Liverpool, Man Utd, & Arsenal.
Chelsea were hardly world-beaters until Abramovich, yet they quickly achieved a level with the best. If done correctly, I stand by my claim that City could do likewise within 3 seasons.

However I do agree with what Starkers said. Sooner or later these rich sugar daddies are going to become bored with football, and pile their cash into the next fad. I fear the arse could fall out of English football, and many great clubs could end up with fates far worse than Leeds.
BRG

[Gagh]

Hermiod wrote:

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You did notice the part where we were already competing for league titles before the Premier League era began, right ?

We did win the league in 1989 and 1991.

Yes, but they didn't field 15-strong squads of wholly foreign players then.

[Hermiod]

Gagh wrote:

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Yes, but they didn't field 15-strong squads of wholly foreign players then.

That has nothing to do with "selling out" or "profiteering".

[Gagh]

Hermiod wrote:

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That has nothing to do with "selling out" or "profiteering".

It does. Maybe tenuously: they have profited by winning trophies with squad largely (sometimes entirely) comprised of cheap overseas players sourced as youngsters by Wenger's network of scouts. In several cases these players have been sold on for a good profit.

Nothing wrong with that, if you're into the idea of a cosmopolitan footie team made up of a blend of talented youngsters from all over the world.

[Roger Wilco]

Hermiod wrote:

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You did notice the part where we were already competing for league titles before the Premier League era began, right ?

We did win the league in 1989 and 1991.

Of course. But Arsenal is one of only 4 clubs that have won the league since 1992, and they qualified for the European Cup consistently, which makes them one of the winners in my book.

[Hermiod]

Roger Wilco wrote:

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Of course. But Arsenal is one of only 4 clubs that have won the league since 1992, and they qualified for the European Cup consistently, which makes them one of the winners in my book.

We did that on the pitch with rivals who have consistently spent more money than us. Our club record transfer fee is the £16.9m we spent on Jose Antonio Reyes. That was in installments based on performance, most of which we never even paid out. We got £13m back for him from Atletico Madrid too. Mid-table sides spend more than we do on players.

Five of our starting line-up on Saturday cost us nothing and the rest put together wouldn't pay for Berbatov.

Money has very little to do with our success.

Gagh wrote:

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It does. Maybe tenuously: they have profited by winning trophies with squad largely (sometimes entirely) comprised of cheap overseas players sourced as youngsters by Wenger's network of scouts. In several cases these players have been sold on for a good profit.

Nothing wrong with that, if you're into the idea of a cosmopolitan footie team made up of a blend of talented youngsters from all over the world.

No, you're right, we should sell Adebayor and Fabregas and buy Joey Barton and Emile Heskey.

[Garak]

OH man, Chelsea should have never started printing those shirts up. What a mistake.

Saying that though, Real is just impossible to deal with, and Calderon is a fool.

Fuckin' Man City. At least Arsenal can kiss that CL 4th place spot goodbye.

[Hermiod]

Garak wrote:

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OH man, Chelsea should have never started printing those shirts up. What a mistake.

Saying that though, Real is just impossible to deal with, and Calderon is a fool.

Fuckin' Man City. At least Arsenal can kiss that CL 4th place spot goodbye.

We already did last season. We gave it Liverpool as a Christmas present.

[Gagh]

Hermiod wrote:

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We did that on the pitch with rivals who have consistently spent more money than us. Our club record transfer fee is the £16.9m we spent on Jose Antonio Reyes. That was in installments based on performance, most of which we never even paid out. We got £13m back for him from Atletico Madrid too. Mid-table sides spend more than we do on players.

Five of our starting line-up on Saturday cost us nothing and the rest put together wouldn't pay for Berbatov.

Money has very little to do with our success.

No, you're right, we should sell Adebayor and Fabregas and buy Joey Barton and Emile Heskey.

I'd address your points, but since you've decided to sign off this post by spitting sarcasm & hostility at me, I'm not going to bother with you.

[Hermiod]

Gagh wrote:

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I'd address your points, but since you've decided to sign off this post by spitting sarcasm & hostility at me, I'm not going to bother with you.

Oh come on, sarcasm and hostility (with a touch of xenophobia) is all we Arsenal fans get from ENGLAND FIRST types who can't accept that it is not Arsenal's job to prepare players for the England team. Arsene Wenger's job is to win football matches for Arsenal, not England and if they were asked Benitez (who told Cappello where to go when scheduling Gerrard's surgery), Scolari and Ferguson would agree with him.

Right now there's probably Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney, Barry, Richards, Ferdinand, Terry and maybe Joe Cole out of the England team who would get in the Arsenal side and we can't afford any of them because we to run our club as a business.

James is an old man, Brown is nowhere near Sagna, Cash Hole can't touch Gael Clichy right now, Heskey vs Adebayor isn't even a contest and Beckham's past it.

Maybe in a year's time we'll let England have Almunia!

[Gagh]

I never said I was for an all-England team, nor did I suggest that there should be English players in the squad. I was merely trying to make a constructive point about Wenger's methods turning in profit through turnover & trophies.

You got the wrong end of the stick. Now you're accusing me of being something I'm not, because you chose to read between lines that simply weren't there. Maybe it wasn't hostility - just a super-defensive attitude.

Maybe you feel Wenger's methods haven't worked?

[Hermiod]

Gagh wrote:

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I never said I was for an all-England team, nor did I suggest that there should be English players in the squad. I was merely trying to make a constructive point about Wenger's methods turning in profit through turnover & trophies.

You got the wrong end of the stick. Now you're accusing me of being something I'm not, because you chose to read between lines that simply weren't there. Maybe it wasn't hostility - just a super-defensive attitude.

Maybe you feel Wenger's methods haven't worked?

Your previous posts made reference to the number of foreigners in the Arsenal team. This is a particularly tired criticism of Arsenal.

If I misread your intentions then I apologise, but the criticism of our youth and transfer policies gets a bit old after a while.