tmonkey

Distin and Woodgate. One on a free and a rarely injured, consistent, pacey performer at Premiership level, the other should go for a reasonable price and is a world class centreback prone to injuries. Both have played for us, both are currently playing for clubs with considerably less potential than us.

Things like signing a backup left winger for 5mill and 70 or 80k per week dont help. The point had already been covered about the players who had come in/gone out, the lad was asking for other reasons as to how the wage bill could have increased. It was an attempt to bait someone, for which ive been warned. Anyway, with regards to the increase in wages/salaries, from that list of outgoing players, we may not have been paying Viana's wages, we still might be paying part of the wages of some who have left (eg Boumsong, Bowyer), Shearer hasnt left the club's payroll as he may be getting a wage as ambassador, weve surely appointed more staff with the addition of Roeder (Bond, Pearsen), some players will have signed new contracts - eg Zog, Given(?), or recieved a pay rise (as you say, Dyer).

That was me after being brainwashed by TalkSport. I immediately went online and used the speech recognition software to copy/paste what that bloke had said because I am out to get the board.

Problem with the original post is that tackling stats fail to prove a player is an effective or good defensive midfielder, since positioning, discipline, and reading of the game are as important, if not more important, than the ability to win the ball cleanly. Butt has those attributes, whilst it looks like Parker lacks them.

You've been listening to Talksport, haven't you son? I heard this in the car, it's almost word for word what one of the Talksport wankers was on about. Like you, they spout mainly s****. A player is EMPLOYED by a club, they are RELEASED to represent their country. The suggestion that a player injured while playing for their club could result in a compensation claim by the FA is total bollocks, so I'm not surprised you're putting this forward. No, I dont listen to TalkSport, "father". Anyway, if youre right, then fair enough. If you could read properly, I was asking a question, not making a statement. Although reading is a hard skill for the mentally challenged, so you are forgiven my child. I don't think there is a member of this forum who knows so little as you do about football who attempts to come across as knowing so much. Your posts appear to be from some kind of bible of clichés or the obvious. The post I mentioned earlier is almost verbatim something I heard on the radio, yet you deny listening to Talksport. Clever how you do that, like. mackems.gif What the f*** are you on about you utter spaz? I dont listen to Talksport, or any radio show, for that matter, so what exactly are you attempting to achieve by claiming I do like the prick that you are? mackems.gif Rather this tripe than you trying to babble on about football. More amusing is your inability to defend the signing of Duff, and consequently resorting to "omg you know fuck all about footy LOL you are inferior to me ROFL" tripe yourself.

Good post. Don't expect many to agree though. All we need is a left back.... mackems.gif Disagree. We need to sign a 3rd left winger. What happens if Zog has another because-hes-a-youngster dip in form, and Duff gets injured? Milner, Luque, Dyer, Emre, CANT play on the left wing, theyre not good enough even as backup. If the club has any ambition, it needs as many left wingers as possible to succeed. You obviously have no idea how immature and pathetic you come across in that post. It's an absolute classic. Well done for that anyway, you've given me a laugh on what has been a bad day for me. Why? We need more left wingers, especially if its a top left winger who is available. If Robben moves in the summer, we should snap him up. You need top wingers to win titles, not fullbacks. Babayaro and Huntington will suffice. Or can you not handle the truth?

You've been listening to Talksport, haven't you son? I heard this in the car, it's almost word for word what one of the Talksport wankers was on about. Like you, they spout mainly s****. A player is EMPLOYED by a club, they are RELEASED to represent their country. The suggestion that a player injured while playing for their club could result in a compensation claim by the FA is total bollocks, so I'm not surprised you're putting this forward. No, I dont listen to TalkSport, "father". Anyway, if youre right, then fair enough. If you could read properly, I was asking a question, not making a statement. Although reading is a hard skill for the mentally challenged, so you are forgiven my child. I don't think there is a member of this forum who knows so little as you do about football who attempts to come across as knowing so much. Your posts appear to be from some kind of bible of clichés or the obvious. The post I mentioned earlier is almost verbatim something I heard on the radio, yet you deny listening to Talksport. Clever how you do that, like. mackems.gif What the fuck are you on about you utter spaz? I dont listen to Talksport, or any radio show, for that matter, so what exactly are you attempting to achieve by claiming I do like the prick that you are?

At least hes acknowledging he needs to improve his form. Makes a nice change from interviews with the likes of Shola "I want England callup" Ameobi.

From memory, I think the Ginola sale was more down to Dalglish - probably saw him more as a 'luxury' player when he was trying to tighten us up with a 'defensive' style of play, and probably couldn't handle him, unlike Keegan. For the same thing, basically think of how Laurent Robert was handled by Robson and Sounes respectively. In my opinion, Ginola was great when he first arrived - noone knew how to deal with him. However, he got kicked up-a-heigth at Arsenal one night, got sent off for reacting, and never seemed the same player for us again. He was also linked with Barcelona which seemed to turn his head. It wierd how the club never seems to handle 'Gallic' players very well - you wonder how long Cantona would have lasted, has he found his way up the A1??!!!! What was annoying was that Ginola went on to be the best player in the Premiership for Spurs in his first season for them. PFA and FW player of the year, some spectacular wonder goals, and all round top form throughout the season.

You've been listening to Talksport, haven't you son? I heard this in the car, it's almost word for word what one of the Talksport wankers was on about. Like you, they spout mainly s****. A player is EMPLOYED by a club, they are RELEASED to represent their country. The suggestion that a player injured while playing for their club could result in a compensation claim by the FA is total bollocks, so I'm not surprised you're putting this forward. No, I dont listen to TalkSport, "father". Anyway, if youre right, then fair enough. If you could read properly, I was asking a question, not making a statement. Although reading is a hard skill for the mentally challenged, so you are forgiven my child.

If we can ask the FA for compensation because our player got injured whilst playing for England, then couldnt the FA ask us for compensation if a key England international player got injured for a club? The "we pay their wages" arguement is irrelevant to an extent because the FA could argue that they contribute to a player's income because on increased sponsorship deals and media coverage/reputation due to the players' England performances. And surely they get bonuses when playing for England. And what happens if as a result of this, the FA start paying a basic wage to England internationals based on a fee per callup? Theyd have even more right to ask for compensation if a player gets injured for a club. It could get a bit silly. Shepherd knew he was injury prone (unless hes an absolute idiot, but then he did think Souness would be the man to bring us trophies ), and knew he was an England international, when we signed him, so why should he complain when Owen gets injured playing for England?

Good post. Don't expect many to agree though. All we need is a left back.... mackems.gif Disagree. We need to sign a 3rd left winger. What happens if Zog has another because-hes-a-youngster dip in form, and Duff gets injured? Milner, Luque, Dyer, Emre, CANT play on the left wing, theyre not good enough even as backup. If the club has any ambition, it needs as many left wingers as possible to succeed.

Things like signing a backup left winger for 5mill and 70 or 80k per week dont help.

Mid table, because theyd really be playing with 10 men every game. Mid table, because sheva & kalou hardly scores And theyd have gone an entire season with two strikers because theyre penniless and have no buying power.

Craig Bellamy - our best outfield player at the time he was shunted out of the striking positions and ultimately kicked out of the club. Partick Kluivert - didnt perform well for us, but could of had he been partnered with Bellamy and used as a target man. His touch was still utter class at times. Aaaron Hughes - never a top 6 Premiership fullback in terms of being a first teamer, but he was absolutely rock solid and reliable when filling in in either fullback position, and a considerably better backup centreback than the likes of OBrien, Bramble, Ramage, etc. Weve suffered so badly because of a lack of a competent fullback on one flank or the other, and have been knocked out of Europe twice because of shiite players at left back being one of the biggest factors in the resulting defeats (Elliott vs Depor, Huntington vs Alkmaar) as well as alot of goals conceeded because of shiite like Carr and Babayaro occupying the fullback slots. Hughes, although never a "good" player, was a vital player for us because of his consistency and reliability in these important positions.

Mid table, because theyd really be playing with 10 men every game.

ManU would probably do what Real did with Owen, ie be smart and not sign him to play in every game and be the club's talisman player like we did. Theyd most likely rotate him and rest him regularly, something that would help him to avoid injuries as it did at Real. That being the case, would he go there then, just to be 'rotated'? Is that not why he left Real Madrid? Reports suggest Fergie was planning to bid if Owen returned this season and 'proved his fitness' - How does playing in a max of 4 games prove that fitness? Also, rumours are that Man Utd are gonna ditch Saha as he is injury prone - then why take the risk on Owen then?? He left Real because they spent big on another two forwards (Robinho and Baptista) on top of already having Raul and Ronaldo. With a Brazilian manager in charge, he was set to be 4th choice forward at best if Baptista was to be counted as a midfielder, or 5th if otherwise. Saha may possibly leave, but whos to say ManU are looking at only one forward? Larsson wont be there next season for certain, and ManU have already been linked with a move for Gudjohnsen in the past week. Maybe they want to sign two forwards, and hence maybe thats why theyre interested in Owen and his release clause - why spend 25mill on a top goalscorer when you can spend 12mill on Owen and use a similar amount to get another forward in? For ManU, its not a huge risk if Owen returns to full fitness. 10-12mill on a quality goalscorer would be a good deal for them even if hes injury prone purely because they wouldnt be heavily reliant on his fitness.

ManU would probably do what Real did with Owen, ie be smart and not sign him to play in every game and be the club's talisman player like we did. Theyd most likely rotate him and rest him regularly, something that would help him to avoid injuries as it did at Real.

he's not. yes he is Indeed. Hes lazy and sulky because the tabloids say he is, as well as everyone else. His face shows it too, rarely smiles and has that arrogant nose. Of course, his performances suggest hes the opposite, but they obviously count for nothing.

Anelka's all round game is miles better than Martins'. His touch, control, vision, movement - hes quite simply the better player, and easily so. Martins has youth and potential on his side, so he may turn out to be the better player in the longer run. I think theyd be a strong partnership together. And with regards to the "vs", it should be Anelka vs Owen, because thats when we were closest to signing him under Souness and his vision for 4-3-3, when we ended up with Owen and a 4-4-2 system Souness clearly never favoured. We should have signed Anelka, big mistake to go for Owen.

There are better left backs than Konchesky playing in the Championship. Woeful player.

Give him as many games as Damien Duff on the left wing.

I admire your optimism but I can't imagine a worse scenario for Arsenal than Dein leaving. He was the driving force behind Arsenal progressing to the level they are now, he knows that in the long term the Emirates will be the catalyst for future progress but at the moment it is the cause for £260m debt with interest payments of £15m pa. It's that debt and interest which is shackling the ongoing progress in the club and then on the horizon came Kroenke. He is the person who could reactivate the progress by injecting transfer funds without worrying about how the interest payments will be made. Dein recognised that and wanted the buyout to go ahead. But the Fiszmans and Carrs, not forgetting the good Lady Bracewell-whatsit have buried their heads in the sand, the latter two because they still cling to the prestige of owning Arsenal while Fiszman thinks he will get more for his retirement in Switzerland by selling later, not sooner. The simple fact is that Arsenal was more or less run by two people, Dein and Fiszman who hadn't spoken to each other for years, Dein running the football side and Fiszman the rest. The footballing brain has now gone,the man who kept things going in Arsenal's favour in the PL, FA and Uefa, Wenger is already the number 1 target for the FA when McLaren gets the old heave ho, and the club will probably be sold to Kroenke when the club is running into disrepair. I can't see, in your words, " the club will move on, and get over it. " without the intervention of Kroenke's dollars. Signing Wenger was the best decision Arsenal ever made. Getting rid of Dein is undoubtedly the worst. But unless Wenger goes, will there be any difference on the pitch? Theyll continue to qualify for the CL, their youngsters will continue to improve into world class players, theyll continue to snap up the next batch of ridiculously talented youngsters, and so on. As long as Wenger and his scouting network remain at Arsenal for the next half decade or so, theyre secure. They can already afford to release players like Henry and Gilberto if they really want to because they have decent enough replacements already playing for the B side or rotated in the first team.

West Ham in the championship next year then.

Tevez has the biggest potential by far of those on the list. And the best footballer out of them by a country mile. Would really like to see him here, hes someone we could build the team around better than we could Martins or Owen. Even if hes not scoring, hes always a danger, is pretty creative, holds the ball up well, and takes good free kicks and corners. Good all round player with the effort, work rate and aggression to match, and if he manages to turn more of those "nearly" efforts into goals, which he looks to be already improving on steadily, hell be one of the best in the league. IMO definately worth cashing in on Owen or Martins to get him, although wed need to rely on someone else for the more regular goals.