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Arsenal balls: Messi to the Emirates for £1 a week
Is Lionel Messi going to play for Arsenal? No. Of course he isn’t. But the ludicrous story is doing the rounds.
It began on Monday, when the Daily Star’s David Woods thundered:
LIONEL MESSI wants a staggering £600,000 a week to play in the Premier League.
Why not make it a £1m a week? why are only Mn United, Cheslea and Arsenal eyeing the world’s best player – why not AFC Bournemouth or Aston Villa, too. After all, they cannot afford him just as much as Chelsea can’t.
The story continues:
The four-time World Footballer of the Year is open to a move to England after falling foul of the tax authorities in Spain.
But the Barcelona superstar’s staggering demands look to have priced him out of the budgets of even big-spending Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.
He had us right up til ‘Arsenal’, which pay less for talent than those other clubs.
The 28-year-old Argentina ace is understood to favour moving to London, with the Gunners his preferred option if he quits Barcelona.
If. He won’t. But three days on from that nonsense the Independent has more news:
Lionel Messi to Arsenal: Gunners fans start crowdfund project to pay Barcelona superstar’s reported £600,000-a-week wages
Not quite. One Arsenal fan tweeted a joke:
£1 is not enough to buy Messi – but it is enough to make a national newspaper write about it.
Posted: 18th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: ‘getting rid’ of players is easy for laptop managers
A charming story in the Daily Mirror catches out eye. The paper invites readers to suggest which Arsenal footballer should be put out of work, or at least on a reduced wage:
Arsenal keep or sell: Which players should the Gunners get rid of in the January transfer window?
Perhaps Arsenal players should poll their staff to see if the journalist who dreamt up that hideous feature should be sacked or transferred to a regional title in, say, Belgium?
Posted: 18th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Arsenal manager wants drug cheats exposed – why bother?
Arsenal manger Arsene Wenger wants more testing for drugs in football. Having already said his Arsenal side have faced sides using performance-enhancing drugs “many times”, Wenger said yesterday:
“I’m not satisfied with the level of testing because I believe blood tests should be done….Urine checks are superficial and not deep enough to say absolutely sure that we have no drug problem in football. Can you have 740 players at a World Cup and come out with zero doping? It’s a little bit surprising.”
But why not Let athletes take whatever drugs they want. If the drugs aren’t damaging their health, why not let allow drugs and so ensure all sportsmen are in the know?
And can any drug make a footballer more skilful? Can it sharpen the brain and muscles to good effect, more than adrenalin, caffeine or sugar? Should all steroids be banned – even the ones that aid recovery from injury?
Posted: 17th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Arsenal have a one in eight chance of beating Man City to Premier League title
The Times‘ football writers have ben indulging in a spot of international break chatter.
Final Premier League top four – predictions:
MD: Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur.
OK: Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur.
MH: Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur.
JD: Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur.
GC: Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur.
RS: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea.
AR: Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Southampton.
TB: Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United.
City are going o walk it…
Posted: 16th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Manchester City, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal and Liverpool ‘battle’ for Xhaka (who wants to stay in Germany)
Transfer balls: The trusty Daily Star says Liverpool and Arsenal are competing to sign Borussia Mochengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka.
The Star says Arsenal and Liverpool are in a “battle” for the player.
According to Bild, the 23-year-old is interested in a move to the Premier League despite committing his long-term future to the German club.
Other British newspapers log in and repeat the claim:
Daily Express: “Liverpool to upset Arsenal with £20m bid for star midfielder”
The Metro: “Arsenal ready to seal Granit Xhaka transfer”
The Sun: “Liverpool and Arsenal preparing to go head to head for Granit Xhaka”
Over to Bild, then, where we read:
Xhaka for 28 million to Klopp?
Any headline in the form of a question can be answered ‘no’.
Gladbach Leitwolf is according to British media on the list of two star-coaches of the Premier League: Arsene Wenger (66 / Arsenal) – and Jürgen Klopp (48 / Liverpool)!
The Bild story is sourced in the British media. But there’s no link. It’s a baseless rumour repeated in England and Germany.
Xhaka, who has extended his contract with Borussia to 2019, does say:
“As long as I feel comfortable in Gladbach, there’s no reason to change what. I’m really happy here. We play great football – with the captaincy, a childhood dream has come true for me. “
Such are the facts.
Posted: 16th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Chelsea chase ‘Arsenal’ striker Higuain
Transfer Balls: the Mirror says Chelsea are keen on Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain.
Any move leaves “bad boy striker Diego Costa fighting for his Chelsea future”.
But he’s not fighting. He’s a bit limp. He’s a bit rumbled. The sniping, feigning, cheating and histrionics have been noted. Costa’s not all that good when asked to simply kick the ball, scoring two Premier League goals this season.
Of course, the Blues also have in their ranks failing Radamel Falcao – represented by the same agent Jose Mourinho uses – and Loic Remy, a good player but no star turn.
So Chelsea are looking to Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain.
Well, so says the Mirror, which offers no evidence to supports its claim.
Of course, if you get your news from the Sun, Higuain remains an Arsenal player.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 10th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Chelsea, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Chelsea balls: Brendan Rodgers arrives via Tube (Christian Gross nowhere)
Brendan Rodgers has been “spotted in London”. The Mirror sees the photos and ads that the former Liverpool manager’s trip to the big city comes “as rumours of return to Chelsea gather pace”.
Rodgers worked with Jose Mourinho when the Portuguese was first at Chelsea. The Blues could do much worse than recruit the coach to their team. Rodgers has talent and vision.
The Mirror adds that “managerial posts in the capital have also recently opened up at QPR and Fulham.”
The Express contrives: “Ex Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers spotted in London to talk roles at Chelsea, Fulham or QPR?”
Echoed by the Mail: “Brendan Rodgers spotted in London… so was the former Liverpool manager using Waterloo Station to get to a job interview?
All those journalists on the football beat and not one has a clue.
It’s all utter drivel, of course. Rodgers was spotted not being whisked to a ground by car, but riding the Tube alone (no lawyer), having reached London via a train to Waterloo.
Joseph thinks seeing a man on the London Underground warrants a “Haha”. It’s the kind of laugh that says ‘Wouldn’t this be great if this was funny”.
But there is something thrilling about seeing a famous face.
Look out for Rodgers on a TV show very soon. It’s the media career they crave.
Note: It reminds us of former Spurs manager Christian Gross who travelled to his first press conference on the Tube. He showed everyone the ticket as a symbol of his empathy with the ordinary fan.
The idea that someone as vain as Rodgers would so reduce himself to the status of ordinary bloke is laughable.
Posted: 10th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: Wenger says he’s a Gunner until he dies
Arsenal PSG
The Mirror leads with news that Paris Saint-Germain are “anxious” to hire Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager.
Darren Lewis says PSG have Wenger on a shortlist. Other names on this list are, we’re told, David Moyes, Steve Bruce and the great Eddie Howe. No, of course not. Lewis, as with all journalists, just trots out the names of the usual suspects: Jose Mourinho, and Pep Guardiola.
The story contains not a single word from PSG. We do hear quotes from Wenger that he would never coach another English club if he were sacked from Arsenal before his contract expires in 2017 – and that “my attachment to Arsenal will remain until the end of my days… I do not see today I could have a managerial career elsewhere.”
Someone should tell the PSG list-makers to remove one name from it.
What’s odd about the Mirror’s story is that such palpable balls should feature ahead of a genuine news story. Inside the paper, Lewis has two more pages on Wenger, all based on an interview the manager did for L’Equipe Sport.
Although the Mirror cannot resist the urge to present the interview as if it were its own:
Wenger is quoted:
“I’ll give myself merit for one thing: I’ve always treated Arsenal as if it belonged to me. I have sometimes been criticised for it — because I am not enough of a spender, not carefree enough. I credit myself for having had the courage to apply my ideas and fight for them. Aside from that, I can understand why people might not agree.
“My great pride will be to be able to say the day that I leave, that I am leaving behind a good team, a healthy situation and a club capable of performing in the future.
“I could have said to myself: ‘I am here for four or five years, we win everything’, [then] I leave and leave the club on the verge of bankruptcy. For me, consistency at the highest level is the true sign of great clubs.”
Arsenal fans are blessed to have ben led by a man of talent, vision and belief.
What does he not like?:
“To be, after every single defeat, despite the consistency that we have put into our work at the highest level, questioned about everything that has been done; the ‘Everything down the pan’ reaction. A balance must be found between your masochistic capacity to put up with what you are forced to endure and your delight in accomplishment.
“Expectations have become much more important. The philosophical definition of happiness is when what you want and what you have align. And what you want changes as soon as you have it — always more, always better, to the point where it becomes difficult to satisfy.
“An Arsenal fan, when you finish fourth, will tell you, ‘Hey, for 20 years now we have been in the top four. We want to win the league!’ They don’t care that Manchester City or Chelsea have invested 300 or 400 million Euros. They just want to beat them.
“But if you finish fifteenth for two years, they will be happy if you finish fourth after that.”
And a word for those clubs who only chase the big names:
“To have arrived in London facing such great scepticism. My first championship title, my first Double. From ‘Arsene who?’ to he who became a pioneer — the first non-British manager to succeed in England.”
You’ll miss him when he’s gone.
Posted: 10th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Arsenal and Spurs balls: Vertonghen gropes Giroud, Kane is ‘immaculate’ but Ozil is the star
Arsenal drew 1-1 with Spurs in the Premier League yesterday. The Mirror leads with “GET A ROOM BOYS”, a comment based on a picture of Tottenham’s Vertonghen with his hand close to Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud’s crotch.
The Mirror says this is “just like” when Vinnie Jones grabbed hold of Paul Gascoigne’s balls. But it isn’t. Vertonghen never takes hold of Giroud’s tackle nor appraises his target by calling him “fat boy”.
But sticking with the foreplay theme, the Sun thunders: “Gunners will never win title with fluff-it Oli up front”.
From fluffed to fluffer, Giroud is the subject of Steven Howard’s opinion that Arsenal will “win nothing with Olivier Giroud as the main striker”. All true – if you don’t notice that Arsenal won back-to-back FA cups with Giroud as the, er, main striker. And all true if you fail to spot that with Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott injured, Giroud is Arsenal’s only fit striker with a goal scoring record. Yes, there’s Joel Campbell but he’s a makeweight, filling in on the right-wing as seven more accomplished first-team Arsenal players keep the medics busy.
The chief problem with Giroud is that he’s not English. Whereas the Frenchman is rubbished (goals this season in the PL: 6), Harry Kane of Spurs is “immaculate” (goals this season in the PL: 6). Kane scored one. He also missed a chance that would have put Spurs two up. He’s a very good player. But he’s not perfect.
One page back and the Sun’s Charlie Wyett also heaps praise on Kane. We learn that Kane” bullied Arsenal’s defence”. He didn’t. If any Spurs player did, it was Erik Lamela (not English), whose “terrier-like harrying” (Times) and all-round play is a massive upturn in performance from the player who joined Spurs for £25m in the post Gareth Bale shopping spree.
The Mirror’s Dave Kidd hails the best player on the pitch: Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, who has for the first time in PL history provided assists in six straight games. The German is also the Sun’s man of the match.
In the Express, Matthew Dunn mentions Giroud’s “nightmare”.
The Mail’s Martin Samuel says “Arsenal got away with it”. And they can thank Mesut Ozil, also named as the Mail’s man of the match. In a hyped Premier League, Ozil is one of the few players with genuine quality.
Posted: 9th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports, Spurs | Comment
Transfer Balls: Benzema signs for Arsenal (again)
Transfer balls: Arsenal target Karim Benzema set to make transfer to England, says Jamie Sanderson.
Fichajes says he’s set to be moved on in the coming months following news he’s been charged in a blackmail plot against Lyon star Mathieu Valbuena. It’s claimed that Madrid feel he’s damaged the club with a series of incidents, including this one involving Valbuena, and he’s now likely to move to England.
Posted: 8th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Arsenal: Eduardo’s missing leg, Manchester City victims of success and Liverpool are nowhere
Jamie Carragher, marbles-gargling, whale-voiced former Liverpool player-turned pundit, is using his Daily Mail column to talk about Arsenal.
Carragher reasons that getting kicked out of the Champions’ League in the first round will do Arsenal a favour. It won’t. Just as winning becomes a habit so too does losing. The Gunners have a slim chance of progressing in Europe and should go all about to achieve it.
Says Carragher:
This is the best chance Arsenal have had to win the title since 2004, up there with 2007-08 when they crumbled at Birmingham and William Gallas sulked on the pitch.
What Carragher fails to note is that before the sulk and the crumble (the away game ended 2-2) Birmingham City’s Taylor launched a tackle so appalling that Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva Eduardo’s leg shattered. This is how the Telegraph reported it:
Arsenal players looked distraught while the player was receiving treatment with midfielder Cesc Fabregas most notably shaken up by the incident. The tackle was deemed too horrific that even Sky television said they would not replay the incident.
Having ignored the foul that had a huge effect on Arsenal’s season, Carragher says:
I can’t see them getting close to winning the Champions League this year even if they miraculously reach the knockout stages. Wenger doesn’t have to worry about their place in the competition next year as they are all but guaranteed a top-four finish.
To which we would says: if you say so, Sherlock. Arsenal have three points from four games. And they are not guaranteed anything. It’s November.
Financial implications have nothing to do with it either, as Arsenal are sitting on a mountain of cash. They can afford to be out of it. What they cannot afford, however, is to lose impetus after their excellent start to the domestic campaign.
No, Jamie. Football is about winning and looking like you can win. You recruit the best by competing. If you want to see how far and how fast a club can fall when they don’t play at the highest level, turn your gaze to Liverpool. The Champions’ League is worth tens of millions to clubs in it. No team with ambition can afford not to be in it.
All their rivals have issues or distractions and this is why Wenger has to capitalise.
Issues and distractions… Are those the same as competitions? In Carragher’s absurd world, not being in football tournaments is good for a football club.
I don’t think Arsenal are the best team in the Barclays Premier League. I don’t think they have the best squad, either. Both those accolades go to Manchester City, who are rightly favourites because of Chelsea’s demise. But they are not certainties for first place.
Demise? Who died?
City, for all their talents, will have days again such as their 4-1 loss at Tottenham or the slip-up at home to West Ham. And Sergio Aguero’s injury record is a huge concern as he is arguably the one truly world-class player in the Premier League. Not only that, they are most likely to find themselves having a fixture pile-up in the second half of the campaign.
Poor old City with that fixture pile-up – the games brought on by success. And if injuries matter, Jamie, mate, Arsenal are the masters of that peril.
Liverpool, remember, almost won the title in 2014 by having a clear calendar. You will say: ‘What about the Europa League?’ But if Arsenal finish third in their group, Wenger should use those Thursday games to give matches to players such as Calum Chambers, Kieran Gibbs and Mikel Arteta. In fact, he should use them in the penultimate Champions League game and see where it leaves them.
No. They should go for it, Jamie. Football is the glory game.
He needs to protect his strongest team and after the international break, his injury situation should have cleared up with Aaron Ramsey, Hector Bellerin and Laurent Koscielny back and Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain expected to return by the end of November. But injuries have been a long-term weakness and it could yet derail them as much as City.
Yep. Which makes your point about Aguero pointless.
Wenger has seen football’s landscape change dramatically since the early years of his reign. When Arsenal were at Highbury, only one club were better than them — Manchester United — and the task of becoming champions was straightforward. If you finished above United, you won the title. That is no longer the case.
Right enough. Nowadays it’s Manchester City you need to finish above.
Next season, for instance, Chelsea will not be as bad as they are now. United will, inevitably, invest another £100million next summer and it is only a matter of time before the weight of their spending carries them back to winning silverware.
What about that mountain of cash Arsenal are sitting on? Maybe they will spend it?
Posted: 7th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Joel Campbell signs for two clubs and vows to stay at Arsenal
Transfer Balls: New now to gladden the hearts of every Arsenal player: Joel Campbell is here to stay.
The Metro says Campbell’s agent sees his client remaining at Arsenal for some time.
Campbell, who signed for Arsenal nearly five years ago, has spent significant time on-loan at clubs such as Lorient, Real Betis, Olympiacos and Villarreal.
And then he returned to become the Gunners fourth-choice right-sided attacking midfielder.
Many had expected to him to be sold in the coming months, but after scoring on his first Premier League start against Swansea last weekend, Campbell’s agent Joaquim Batica says the 23-year-old wants to stay at the Emirates Stadium and win titles.
He does his best. But with Campbell in the side, those titles look more elusive than ever.
The better news for Arsenal fans is that this is the Metro, a newspaper full of utter tosh:
Such are the facts…
Posted: 6th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal balls: Giroud good enough for Bayern, Joel Campbell nicking a living, Wenger ‘poor’
Arsenal get “Mullered” (The Mirror) and work “Nein to 5” (Sun) – papers reacting to the Gunners’ 5-1 thrashing against Bayern Munich.
But what about those points, the scores out of 10 dished out to the teams?
The Mirror’s John Cross is right: Joel Campbell was dire, an Arsenal player nicking a living in the shirt. But was Giroud that bad?
The Mail is more generous. Campbell gets a score of 5.5. This means he was better than Cazorla (he wasn’t) and on a part with Monreal, the overworked, exposed left back. Only Giroud and Cech come out with any credit, both collecting scores that would have got them into the Bayern side.
Posted: 5th, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Transfer Balls: Youri Tielemans wanted by Arsenal, Liverpool, Man United, Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea in full-house of tabloid TB
Transfer Balls: Manchester United and Manchester City want to sign 18-year-old Anderlecht midfielder Youri Tielemans says the Daily Star. In the paper’s “exclusive” we learn that United and City will have to pay £30m, for the “star”.
Paul Hetherington writes:
City’s strong Belgium contingent is headed by skipper Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne, an instant hit since his record £56m move from Wolfsburg in the summer.
Kompany and De Bruyne are the only Belgians in City’s first team squad.
For good measure this scoop also name-checks a load of other clubs:
Tielemans is also being linked with possible moves to Chelsea, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund.
But Spanish organ AS told us Tielemans had signed for Atletico Madrid:
The Express, sister paper to the Star, said the young blade was worth £14m and was heading to Arsenal or Chelsea:
The Star’s “exclusive” was the Mail’s story a week ago:
And that price is falling on the Express:
And in March the Star said he was on his way to Chelsea, snubbing Liverpool:
In May Youri Tielemans – a player linked by the tabloids bullshit.com to the six biggest clubs in English football – signed a new five-year contract with Anderlecht.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 2nd, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, manchester united, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Leicester City are the Premier League’s most efficient side; Arsenal shoot on sight; Manchester United are shot shy
If football is all about taking your chances, then Leicester City epitomise the mantra. The Premier League club have scored 23 goals from an average of 14.8 shots per match in the Premier League.
The Foxes are third place in the Premier League, one above huge-spending Manchester United, with 15 goals scored at a rate of just 10 shots a match.
Top of the table Manchester City have 26 goals at 18.7 shots per match.
Arsenal are the league’s most shot happy team, firing on goal 19.2 times a match with 21 hitting the target. The Gunners work to a different golden rule: if you don’t shoot, you can’t score.
Posted: 2nd, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Manchester City, manchester united, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: Giroud is lazy and excellent in a lige blog with, video highlights
Arsenal beat Swansea 3-0 in Wales.
Before we see the game’s video highlights below, a word for fans who watch the game via the BBC’s blogs, the digital age’s Ceefax service.
The BBC Sports Day Blog: “Anything Bafetimbi Gomis can do, Olivier Giroud can do worse. The Arsenal striker is found in space in the box by Alexis Sanchez but curls his effort wide of goal. It was a lazy, lazy effort.”
The BBC Match blog: “CLOSE! That’s more like from Arsenal. Olivier Giroud, who has been in excellent goalscoring form, fires narrowly over from just outside the area after Alexis Sanchez’s clever pass.”
Lazy or excellent. You decide:
Posted: 1st, November 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Arsenal: Wenger the dinosaur and what Raymond Verheijen knows about Wales
Dutch football coach Raymond Verheijen is all over the news. He’s been talking about Arsenal and the club’s injuries.
“Wenger was labelled a “dinosaur” by Raymond Verheijen, a fitness coach who used to work with the Wales squad and blamed Arsenal for the annual bouts of injuries” – Times
A dinosaur?
Speaking on the Hawksbee and Jacobs show, the outspoken Dutchman said: “If you look at the facts, what you see is that Arsenal are the number one by far in terms of injuries in the last decade in the Premier League…
“In the ’90s, Arsene Wenger came from France to England and he introduced revolutionary methods – methods that people were not familiar with yet in the UK. At that stage he was a revolutionary coach.
“He has been applying those methods for ten, twenty years and when you apply the same methods for twenty years, at some stage people will catch you up and they will develop further and then they will be ahead of you. From a revolutionary coach, you have all of a sudden become an old-school coach because you stuck to methods from twenty years ago…
“Arsene Wenger is responsible for fatigue and injuries and the medical staff can only cure the problem.” – TalkSport
Wenger repsonds:
“This guy looks like he knows absolutely everything. I am amazed that he knows more than all our physios and all our doctors”
Verheijen has spoken about other top sides before. His views are amplified in the mainstream media. But should they and we hang on his every word?
Manchester City 2010:
“During pre-season and the first half of last season Mark Hughes had all his players available,” Verheijen said. “City played each game with the same team. The team had the best Prozone [computer data] statistics of the Premier League during the first part of the season. The players had the highest number of sprints and the highest total sprinting distance of all the Premier League teams.
“After the arrival of Mancini things changed dramatically. He probably did not even look at the Prozone statistics and our best-injury record in the Premier League. He decided players had to do double sessions many times a week. Those sessions often lasted for two hours. Not surprisingly the players picked up eight soft-tissue injuries within the first two weeks of Mancini.” – Guardian
City replied:
“Mr Verheijen appears to have become a regular critic of Roberto Mancini’s training methods, perhaps not entirely coincidentally since his consultancy services at Manchester City were terminated by the club several months ago. We wish him well in his future practice,” a club spokesmen said.
Mancini’s City won a first league title for 44 years in the 2011-12 season.
Wales 2011:
Wales assistant manager Raymond Verheijen hopes the leadership of the national side will be decided on Monday by the Football Association of Wales. Wales were left without a manager after Gary Speed’s death last month . “Tomorrow FAW meet about future of Wales,” the Dutchman wrote on Twitter on Sunday night. Hopefully the board will respect Gary’s wish so [fellow assistant] Osian Roberts and I can lead the team to Brazil.” – BBC
Chris Coleman is made Wales manager.
Former Wales assistant manager Raymond Verheijen has accused the Football Association of Wales of destroying the “legacy” left by Gary Speed. Dutchman Verheijen served under Speed during his 11 months as Wales manager. “He [Speed] has left a legacy, although the dinosaurs of the Welsh FA, at least on the pitch, have destroyed [it],” claimed Verheijen.
“The legacy of Gary will be in the hearts of his players, of his staff members,” he said. “His [Speed’s] players one day will become managers and they will start managing and working based on the inspiration that Gary gave. “So, I think that within 10 years we will see Gary’s legacy at different clubs, at different levels and different countries. But for the short time I think with the Welsh national team, unfortunately, his legacy has been destroyed.”
In 2015, Coleman’s Wales end a 57-year wait to qualify for a major tournament by making it to the European Championships 2016.
What odds Arsenal win the Premier League this season?
Posted: 30th, October 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: Kieran Gibbs on the right, Bellerin busiest man in football, Joel Campbell derided
Arsenal are battling with their annual long list of injuries. The Mail has a question:
Wenger has ‘trust’ in medical staff amid injury crisis…but how will his Arsenal team line up at Swansea without these men?’
Crisis. Eight players are injured. But Arsenal are big club with a deep squad of players. And the Mirror has an answer:
Kieran Gibbs as a winger. What madness. What utter balls. Has the Mirror’s writer seen one-footed left-footer Gibbs play? Does Hector Bellerin, Arsenal’s right-back, stand a chance?
The Telegraph comes up with an even nuttier solution:
Did Wenger consider that? No. He tells everyone who can play on the right side of midfield against Swansea:
Campbell and Alex Iwobi. Santi can play there as well but he has become very important centrally. The problem sometimes is that you can destroy two departments if you move one player out. We control the ball better with Santi in the middle.
Mention of Gibbs: none. Arsenal fans can relax a little.
Posted: 30th, October 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal chase Hakan Calhanoglu who signed for Manchester United and two Mesut Ozils
Transfer balls: the Daily Express says Arsenal and Manchester United are after Bayer Leverkusen’s 21-year-old Turkish attacking midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu.
Hakan’s also wanted by Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. And he’ll cost £29m.
Is he any good? Well the Express says he’s has been “hailed as the ‘next Mesut Ozil'”. By whom we’re not told. And why would Arsenal need two Ozils?
The Independent says United are “readying a €40m bid” for the player. Its sources is German newspaper Bild.
But over there we find not a single mention of either Arsenal nor Manchester United. Bayer Leverkusenboss Michael Schade tells Bild: “We want to keep Hakan, but with us there is a pain threshold.”
The paper adds: “From a release of EUR 40 million Bayer should be ready to talk. At Bayer we know about the interest of the English.”
The English Press really is full of utter balls. After all, according to the Express, Hakim signed for Manchester United in the summer:
Such are the facts.
Posted: 29th, October 2015 | In: Arsenal, manchester united, Reviews, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal, Higuain and £68m going nowhere
Transfer Balls: The Daily Mirror says Arsenal are “preparing [a] sensational £68m Gonzalo Higuain bid’. Of course the Mirror is more conniving than that, adding a question mark to the end of the statement. Google doesn’t see those question marks so the poser is presented as fact to the unwary web clicker.
‘Gunners preparing sensational £68m Gonzalo Higuain bid?’
The simple answer is ‘No’. The golden rule is that any headline in a question form can be answered in the negative. But let’s see what the Mirror says below the headline:
The Gunners have been rumoured to be interested in making a play for the Argentine in the last few transfer windows, but any move is likely to have to wait until next summer, report Italian outlet Calciomercato.
Higuain has a £68million release clause in his contract in Naples.
Over there we read (via Google translate) highlights such as:
….the Argentine is still untouchable at Naples…
… The fact remains that the player’s head has always remained on Naple…
….Napoli plan to offer Gonzalo a new improved contract keeping him at Napoli until 2019…
…Higuain has desire to listen to the proposals that come mainly from the Premier League, Arsenal in the lead.
The single mention of Arsenal in 411 words is that they were interested in Higuain. There is not one word from the player, Arsenal nor Napoli. There is not even the “rumour” that Arsenal are planning a huge bid for Higuain. It is utter balls by the Mirror.
Posted: 27th, October 2015 | In: Arsenal, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal balls: Wenger quits in 2017 and stays until 2019
Arsene Wenger is leaving Arsenal. But when will he go? The Daily Mirror has been hot on the news.
Today Steve Stammers says Wenger will remain at Arsenal until 2019:
The big question is: does John Cross, also of the Mirror, know? On October 15 2015, Cross told Mirror readers that Wenger had named the day of when his Arsenal job ends. And it wasn’t 2019:
More utter balls in the tabloids every day.
Posted: 25th, October 2015 | In: Arsenal, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Transfer Balls: Arsenal offer Lavezzi a ‘ditch’, players agrees Barcelona deal, wants to join Juventus
Transfer Balls: Do Arsenal need another striker? Surely if Olivier Giroud is good enough score against the mighty Bayern Munich, and with Theo Walcott finding the net regularly, and Danny Welbeck on his way back from injury, the Gunners forward line is well stocked.
But the Mirror says Arsenal are to “launch a last-ditch attempt to sign Ezequiel Lavezzi”.
Lavezzi’s contract expires at the end of next season, and there has been talk of him leaving PSG. Barcelona are apparently also interested, but Arsenal are keen to take him to the Emirates.
Poor old Barcelona need a striker much more than Arsenal do. Yeah, that one makes sense.
The idea of Lavezzi to Arsenal is echoed in the Metro:
Arsenal make last-ditch attempt to seal cut-price transfer of Paris Saint-Germain star Ezequiel Lavezzi
As the Metro and Mirror report from within the echo chamber, talkSport says Arsenal can forget about it:
The broadcaster notes:
Liverpool and Tottenham target Ezequiel Lavezzi has agreed to join Barcelona next summer
Why would Bareclona want him? It makes little sense.
The Football Italia blog says no deal has been done because Lavezzi wants to play for Juventus. That chimes with earlier news:
Such are the facts when a player nears the end of his contract and his agent picks up the phone…
Posted: 24th, October 2015 | In: Arsenal, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Transfer Balls: Manchester United want Lionel Messi and Ronaldo
The Sun leads its sports coverage with the rugby World Cup news that Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City hope they each have enough money to “persuade Lionel Messi to swap Barcelona for the Prem.”
Would Messi come to Manchester or London? The Sun says the Argentine superstar has “given the trio the clearest hint yet that he is ready to listen”.
All three clubs are convinced that Messi is genuinely considering a move to a different environment and that he could become the Prem’s stellar asset for his last few top seasons.
If he signs we get to see the fading great. He’s 28 now. And he’s only coming for the money – “the Argentine growing increasingly angry at ongoing issues with the Spanish tax authorities. Messi and his father Jorge face trial over an alleged £3.1million tax fraud relating to image rights deals despite prosecutors recommending the charges should be dropped.”
Can you leave Spain be a tax exile in England?
Messi’s current deal has a prohibitive buy-out clause of 250million EUROS, making a move this summer infeasible.
Unfeasible for Manchester City’s trillions?
But by June 2017, when he turns 30 and with one year left in his contract, Barca may be more keen to sell, although the English trio would still have to smash their wage structure to accommodate Messi’s demand for a deal matching his current one.
Who wants to pay a fortune to eke a couple of years value from a 30-year-old Messi? Maybe Manchester United want him to team him up with an ageing Ronaldo?
Such are the facts…
Posted: 23rd, October 2015 | In: Arsenal, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: ‘devastated’ Ramey back in three weeks
“Devastating”
Arsenal Injury Balls: Having read about the “devastating” injury to Aaron Ramsey in the Metro and how the Welsh footballer will miss ’10’ matches, the Mirror says he will be out “up to a month”.
The Mail says he’ll be fit to play in…three weeks.
The Metro really is full of utter balls.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 22nd, October 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal balls: Ramsey and that ‘devastating injury’
The media loves an injury. Arsenal midfielder and Wales captain Aaron Ramsey was injured during the Gunners’ match against Bayern Munich. The Metro picks up the player’s medical charts. And gasps:
Devastating? Ramsay had his leg badly broken at Stoke City. That was devastating. This is a hamstring injury.
Sam Kearns writes:
Arsenal fear that Aaron Ramsey will be out of action for up to six weeks after the Wales midfielder injured his hamstring in the Gunners’ 2-0 win against Bayern Munich.
How does he know that, then?
….according to Goal.com, the former Cardiff City man is facing a six-week spell on the sidelines that will see him miss matches against Bayern Munich, Tottenham and Dinamo Zagreb.
Over at Goal.com, Greg Stobat writes:
Arsenal fear Aaron Ramsey faces six weeks out with the hamstring injury that forced him off during the 2-0 win over Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.
As we wonder out if Stobart and Kearns are one and the same, we read the BBC:
Wenger said Ramsey will miss Saturday’s Premier League game against Everton and could be out for some time. “He’s very down, he told me that the hamstring is a tough one. He’s out yes,” Wenger said.
In the Telegraph the news is fuller:
What had been an increasingly settled Arsenal team will be disrupted, however, by the loss of Aaron Ramsey. He suffered three similar hamstring injuries last season and, while assessments are ongoing, the initial sense is that he will be out until at least next month’s international break.
Those begin on November 13. That would mean Ramsey missing five matches, including a League Cup rubber against Sheffield Wednesday – not 10 matches, as the Metro thrills. If he is out for six weeks, that should see him miss 8 matches.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 21st, October 2015 | In: Arsenal, Reviews, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
