Wenger: Paul Scholes is a dirty ginger bast...

[indi]

Well not quite, but anyway:

 

Paul Scholes's tackles are 'unfair' not clumsy, says Arsène Wenger

 

• Arsenal manager says United veteran has a 'darker side'

• Scholes's bookings often attributed to his inability to tackle

 

Arsène Wenger has admitted he would have loved to have Paul Scholes in his Arsenal team but the manager was also critical of the Manchester United midfielder's "darker side", suggesting that he had long considered him to be a dirty player.

 

Scholes has hit the headlines at the beginning of his 17th season as a one-club professional, starring in the Community Shield victory over Chelsea and the Premier League win against Newcastle United to invite plaudits from the game's leading figures.

 

Wenger duly obliged when he was asked yesterday about the 35-year-old's qualities but he undercut the tribute with a scathing assessment of Scholes's notoriously suspect tackling skills.

 

Scholes's propensity for picking up yellow cards is often attributed to clumsiness but Wenger seemed to be having none of that. His players have been bruised over the years by Scholes's studs and Wenger's comments betrayed the frustration that he has felt.

 

"It depends what you call clever and what you call dirty," said Wenger, who was asked whether he felt Scholes tackled unfairly. "Unfairly, of course, unfairly," he replied. "How many times have you watched Paul Scholes? Have you seen only fair tackles from Paul Scholes? I don't want to come out on one specifically but I can remember a few. [They are] a bit in the past, yes, but look at him playing now. He still doesn't hide.

 

"No, I don't [think his approach is OK]. You ask me about the quality of the player – who wouldn't like a Paul Scholes in his team? You ask me: 'Was he a fair player?' I say: 'No, I'm sorry, for me he was not a fair player.' I just think I respect him highly as a quality player. I did not like some things he did on the football pitch and I have the right to say that. It's not because you are older, suddenly, that you are a saint."

 

Wenger said that because Scholes was not a "media lion, who runs to be in the papers", he has perhaps not received the recognition that he deserves as a player. "I respect that a lot," Wenger added. "Paul Scholes is still one of the greatest football players in England and his contribution to the success of Manchester United is absolutely huge. The regret I have personally is he was not always the fairest player. There's a little bit of a darker side in him, sometimes, that I did not like."

 

Wenger hopes to complete the signing of Sevilla's France centre-half Sébastien Squillaci for about £4m and there remains a confidence at the club that he will also be able to add the goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer from Fulham, who have targeted Stoke City's Asmir Begovic as a possible replacement. Wenger has been linked with the Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given but he said that City wanted to keep him. "The proof is that they offered a new contract to Given," he said.

 

Arsenal offered £2m for Schwarzer at the beginning of the summer and, in the wake of the Australian handing in a transfer request, they wrote to the Fulham chief executive, Alistair Mackintosh, during the week to tell him that the bid remained on the table. It remains unacceptable, however, to Fulham and Wenger will have to raise the offer to close the deal.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/21/paul-scholes-unfair-arsene-wenger

 

Definitely has a point, the most annoying thing is how he gets a completely free-ride from the media, even the ManU fans I know don't put up much of a fight when I suggest this, yet the media continually trot out the old cliché despite everyone else knowing the truth.

[NG32]

Some pundits have a chuckle about it as well.

[Dinho lad]

Agree too.

[Guest thenorthumbrian]

Had "Scholsey" been playing for anyone else he would have had dogs abuse, but because he plays for Manchester.u. & the media are too cowardly to upset Ferguson. he gets away with it.

[Guest Heneage]

You can't be clumsy that often.

[Guest newcastleandrangers]

some of his, tackles are really, bad but hes not a dirty player.

[indi]

some of his, tackles are really, bad but hes not a dirty player.

 

Google: "UCL Final 09 Barcelona - Manchester Scholes brutal tackle" and open your eyes.

[Skirge]

Oh he knows what he is doing like, dirty cunt all the way.

[merlin]

Hilarious to hear Wenger whingeing about Scholes. I notice that he has always been able to see Scholes' bad

tackles, but somehow always misses those of his own players...strange, that......

 

Scholes DOES sometimes make bad tackles but I've never seen him make one as bad as Nolan's a couple of years ago - and who would you rather have in your side...even now Scholes is 35!??

[Guest n4e]

I remember reading an in interview with Beckham I think where he said Scholes was just as bad in training, always flooring everyone. I think he is just a really bad tackler.

[Guest James Godden]

Hilarious to hear Wenger whingeing about Scholes. I notice that he has always been able to see Scholes' bad

tackles, but somehow always misses those of his own players...strange, that......

 

Scholes DOES sometimes make bad tackles but I've never seen him make one as bad as Nolan's a couple of years ago - and who would you rather have in your side...even now Scholes is 35!??

 

 

Fantastic argument at the end.

[Chase]

With the Scholes jizzfest going on in the media over the last week I'm starting to get the impression that the PFA player of the season has already been decided.

 

Afterall, what did Giggs do last year other than be the media darling?

[Ishmael]

Scholes is quality personified.

[Guest BooBoo]

He should have been sent off a lot more than he has but gets away with being "not that type of lad."

 

Quality player but agree with Wenger for once.

[Cronky]

Good assessment by Wenger.

 

Scholes has played some of his best football in his 30's. He's not quite as sharp, but his reading of the game and his decision-making compensates for that. Against us, he was an absolute magnet for the ball.

[Guest guinness_fiend]

Nice to see that Wenger is stirring already.  I hope that Scholes breaks Fabregas' leg, just to prove him right.

 

Aye, Wenger, Viera was a choir boy.

 

 

[Guest thenorthumbrian]

With the Scholes jizzfest going on in the media over the last week I'm starting to get the impression that the PFA player of the season has already been decided.

 

Afterall, what did Giggs do last year other than be the media darling?

 

The football journalist types in this country have a little contest to see which of them can get their tounges the farthest up Fergies bum crack.

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

Nice to see that Wenger is stirring already.  I hope that Scholes breaks Fabregas' leg, just to prove him right.

 

Aye, Wenger, Viera was a choir boy.

 

 

 

Keown with his top rope double axe handle smash into RVN still makes me laugh and cringe at the same time.

[Spider Jerusalem]

Some pundits have a chuckle about it as well.

 

You mean like on Monday night.  Barton's a cunt with football boots on who should never darken the game again when he get's booked, basically for turning up, but after being booked for yet another horrible scything challenge from behind, Scholesey's just a cheeky little scamp who can't tackle.  If he didn't wear the deflector screen of the ManUre shirt he'd have spent most of his career n the sidelines banned and be public enemy number one with the pundits.

[Village Idiot]

some of his, tackles are really, bad but hes not a dirty player.

 

Google: "UCL Final 09 Barcelona - Manchester Scholes brutal tackle" and open your eyes.

 

I was watching the game with a ManU friend and when this happened he said "Sorry he did that, he just doesn't know how to tackle".

[Keefaz]

50/50. Genuinely think he's just awful at tackling, but sometimes puts his foot in knowingly. One of my favourite non-NUFC players, though, tbh.

[The College Dropout]

He should have been sent off a lot more than he has but gets away with being "not that type of lad."

 

Quality player but agree with Wenger for once.

 

Agreed. Scholes is a brilliant player but he's gotten away with a lot. He hasn't garnered a reputation for being dirty yet he's amassed something like a dozen red cards and could easily have had more.

 

The fact that he's small and little also helps him to be honest. He's lucky to have not seriously injured someone in his career. A Patrick Vieira challenge of similar proportions would look much worse because of stature.

[The College Dropout]

50/50. Genuinely think he's just awful at tackling, but sometimes puts his foot in knowingly. One of my favourite non-NUFC players, though, tbh.

 

That's not a good excuse. They are wreckless challenges often. Joe Cole's red was just a clumsy attempt. Scholes is often very late and out of control of his body.

[Keefaz]

Don't really understand how he can be so shit, tbh. You look at a player like Iniesta and he can tackle fine. Seems to be exclusive to Paul Scholes...

[Guest gggg]

Shocking how he gets away with it because of who he plays for.