With the under-20 World Cup going on Speakers' Corner will be an abbreviated version for the next two weeks.
The big news from the Guardian this morning is Arsenal signing Eduardo da Silva. A player who scored for Croatia against England in Euro qualifying but has never cropped up in any of the speculation that I have seen. Does he fit the identikit picture that was posted on the blog after Henry signed for Barcelona - I will let you decide.
Jonathan Wilson wrote a piece on da Silva and his impact on Croatia's Euro 2008 drive a month ago.
The Freedom of Information Act has been used to find out why Jock Stein never received a knighthood in the UK when Celtic won the European Cup forty years ago.
A list of Premiership players who are out of contract and available for "free" - free that is if you don't include millions in wages. Can you make a decent team out of this lot?
I truly believe Thierry Henry leaving may be the best thing to happen to Arsenal in years. It would be a tragedy if Arsene Wenger were to leave.. but i always found Thierry Henry to be really full of himself and always plays hot and cold .. Drogba said a couple of years ago that Henry was his idol... i found Drobga a level above Henry as a stricker.. Henry's best days are two years behind us.. He is no longer good. good riddance.
Arsenal needs a stricker the class of Drogba who find a way to put the ball in the net.. Imagine a pure stricker at Arsenal with the ball possession they maintain against any team.. they will beat any team
Wenger should get Fred from Lyon or bring KANOUTE back to the the EPL.. pure strickers to put the ball in the net when Fabergas brings it up the field... hope this Brasilian is a pure stricker
Those "free" players...best case, I think, is the compiling of a team that'd be comparable to Man City vintage '06-'07.
My guess is that da Silva will prove to be a very nice signing for Arsenal. I heard so often last year about how Arsenal played "pretty football" and moved the ball around nicely, yet little of it translated into goals. And certainly, I did observe for myself that Arsenal had no problem getting the ball into the box, but that last touch would be lacking. So given the likelihood of the same being the case this season, why not add a young poacher? RVP is clearly more of a modern multi-function forward, so it's very easy for me to imagine the two complementing each other well (and seeing more frequent results like the Liverpool trouncings this coming season).
Kanoute has stated he will see out his contract with Sevilla, Guiglo. Also, Fred fractured his metatarsal at Copa America and was sent home, so he'll be out of action for some time.
I haven't watched the guy so I don't know whether it's the right signing but if he can translate his goal scoring form from Dynamo to Arsenal the he sure is one hell of a signing.
I saw Lampard has refused the contract offered to him by chelsea. Interesting to see who will want him. I read a blog and some one suggested that Arsenal should buy him coz we need a goalscoring mid. But unless Arsenal is getting him for free we DON'T WANT HIM.
l am not so impressed to be honest, he seems to be a good goal scorer but l will reserve my judgement, l feel we really need a benni mcathy or anelka just someone who knows to score in the prem, but lp feel he is worth 8m pounds as sky reports it is a better option than 27m on torres and a 100k a week, l could not resist a dig at liverpool
Agreed, Lampard doesn't seem like he'd blend in well at Arsenal. That's not intended to be a disparagement of Lampard at all...just the wrong piece to fit the puzzle, and particularly at that price!
H14, give the guy a chance to prove himself. You indicated that you need Anelka... You forget that initially it was Wenger that brought him to the EPL. So give him some credit and wait to see what the new guy brings to the table. He just might surprise and make a bigger impact than Henry.
l am not convinced torres is a 27m pond player and the difference with benitez and wenger is that they get almost two player of similar potentail but the other 19m pounds cheaper what in the blue hell did you do to yourself mas maz.You just have to love Wenger. Everyone is going on about Eto'o, Tevez, Owen, Martins, etc..and he comes out with a Croatian lad.
I have always considered Henry a great asset to the club. Despite this, Arsenal needs more than Henry in front of goal, as he often fails to produce when he is needed the most. More importantly, the team seems a bit too dependent on Henry and i feel our overall effectiveness and efficiency will be improved now that he is gone.
If you ask me, henry should have been sold last year, as such a sale would have generated more funds. I strongly believe we were robbed, as we should not have settled for less than 20 million. Bent went for 16 mil and he does not have 1/100th of the ability that Henry has, so why should henry be sold of equal or lesser value? One has to wonder what Wenger and the board are thinking. Bobby, what do you think?
Also, why are we spending so much money on a NOBODY? We could have used the money in a much better way. Why not go for Tevez? He seems like the ideal replacement.
And why does Wenger want Sagna. We have Eboue and Justin Hoyte, why buy a another right back? Hoyte is no good if you ask me, so we should sell him but i think we should find a a talented, young right back. Wenger should concentrate on a center back, one with good height and aerial ability. We should sell Gallas to fund this, as Gallas is not needed and his best days are behind him. Gallas and Seneros are whats wrong with the Arsenal defence. Gallas is short and easily beaten, Senderos is prone to silly mistakes and needs to have his head checked. I would much rather see Djorou in the starting line up. Any comments? Bobby, yours would be appreciated.
Question, did we really spend 16 million pounds on da silva? Or is this some sick rumor? I find it hard to believe that Wenger would do such a thing? Does anyone think that we wasted money by spending so much on this kid? Surely we cannot really know if we have wasted money until he plays and we are able to judge after a season or couple of years from now. But i ask you all to judge based on what you have heard of this player and what he has accomplished, is he worth so much? Darren Bent has arguably accomplished more and i would never buy him. If i did, i would not buy bent for more than 5 million. Let me know what y'all think.
If you cast your minds back to the summer of`99 ,Wenger signed an unrated french winger/forward with a poor scoring record ,I don`t think it turned out too bad!
If I where an Arsenal supporter ,I would trust in Wenger`s judgement.
Judging by the article on Da Silva that Bobby provided a link too. He has accomplished more and has more potential than Darren Bent. So it could be that is his price tag. However, he is relatively unknown with no other current interested clubs. So I doubt Wenger paid that much too. Regardless, I think he will be great. I think without Henry, the team will build on their passing game. Da Silva and RVP should make an interesting partnership.
Yo IceMonkey realize that Henry could have left last year on a free transfer, he signed a contract for his mentor Arsene Wenger, I believe this deal WAS done last year. Arsenal fans should truly hail King Henry he gave them 16M pounds.
Bobby,
Milan and Inter seem to be linked to a 17 y/o Brazilian named Pato. Have you heard of him and if so, how do you rate him?
I am also curious to know what you think how Henry will impact life at Barca. Can Messi, Deco, Ronadinho, Eto and Henry all play together? To me, it just makes more sense if two of them sit on the bench. Otherwise, it will be the Brazilian '06 WC team and they didn't do very well.
Just seeing those names in the same sentence makes one wonder why Gudjohnsen is talking up staying in Barcelona...I suppose it's an image thing, because his influence there certainly won't be great....
Dinamo has claimed the fee is 16 million pounds but I would be very surprised if the fee is that high. If it is then I would have to think that the deal includes a significant number of bonus clauses related to da Silva's and Arsenal's performances over the length of the contract. Maybe 6 to 7 million up front with bonuses to a max of 16M. I just can't see Wenger paying 16M pounds up front. In terms of Henry's transfer you have to make sure that is an apples to apples comparison. Henry is 30 next birthday with a sciatic nerve problem. RVN went for around 11 million pounds last summer at the same age with no injury problem. Ronaldo - same age - went to AC Milan for around 5M pounds. Luca Toni suppossedly cost Bayern Munich around 7.5 M pounds same age. Henry is at the top range for a nearly 30 year old. Should Spurs sell Bent (now 24) in a couple of years he will have a resale value - Henry's will be minimal if anything.
CIAO - Alexandre Pato is 17 and playing at the under-20 World Cup. He has been linked with every big club since he made his debut for Internacional in November 2006. He scored in the World Club Cup Finals and so he is very much the flavour of the month. I would be surprised if a big European club would spend big money on him within the next 12 months. From what I have seen he could be great - in a few years - but at the moment he is a work in progress. I don't think you would see him start regularly for any of Europe's big clubs at present.
Actually I don't think they'll change the formation. Barcelona has so many games in their schedule that its' going to be more of a rotation system. with one of the four coming of the bench. So if they start Ronaldinho - Eto'o - Messi the next game could be Henry - Eto'o - Ronaldinho and so on. Keep in mind also that Messi will be tired after Copa America participation. Also Eto'o will play for Cameroon at African Cup. Besides there will be injuries last year Barca had little cover when Eto'o and Messi were injured. Also Ronaldinho wasn't able to rest when he obviously needed it.
Ciao - Pato is gifted it reminds a bit to Shevchenko. Still needs lots of development though. Still somewhat inconsistent,
MasMaz - In 2006 I think Henry had a year left in his contract so he wopuld not have been a free agent until 2007. Your point of Arsenal making 16 million pounds still holds however if he had chosen not to sign a new 4 year contract. I would have got very messy last summer if Henry had refused to move and refused a new contract. I did see one comment in an article that placed the Henry decision in an other context. That was the neeed to have Henry as an Arsenal player when the new stadium was opened.
Bobby-i believe that arsenal need to buy two quality strikers to compete in the prem and europe. Originally i believed that Rafael Sobis from Real Betis could fit in. Da Silva seems to be the first of two strikers that Wenger needs to bring. I think that the second should be John Carew from Villa. Carew is 26 or 27, 6-4, good in the air, fast, and has good feet. Last year in the Champions League with Lyon he made Cannavarro look absolutely horrible when Lyon played Madrid. When he came to the Prem he adapted quickly, established himself as a danger man, proved he could score and played a great target forward. Since Van Persie and Adebayor are by no stretch of the mind conventional strikers they would combine well with Carew. Also, it has been proved time and time again that every player has his price. So, why not spend the other 10 million pounds from Henry's sale on Carew. What do you think?
Madrista7 - The problem with Carew is that he is terribly inconsistent. With his size and pace he should be one of the most valuable players in the world. Instead he has avaeraged something like a team a year over the last eight seasons. That alone should be a warning sign.
henry14 - I really don't know but I do think you have to acknowledge that Wenger has made many more good decisions and bad decisions in the transfer market. Da Silva is good in the air, has international experience and has the potential to score 20 plus goals a season. He is a very interesting signing and one that I don't think anyone saw coming.
Madrista7 I love John Carew but I don't think there is need for another expensive striker. Arsene already has 4 strikers I'don't see him buying another one. Also very very hard for Wenger to buy a player in the Epl cause like we've seen in the Bent deal Prem players are over priced. What we might see is a Defender or Winger that we all haven't hard of coming to Arsenal, that's how Arsene works.
Da Silv or as they call him DUDU which actually means insect in Swahili, might be a make or break player like every player that comes to the EPL. Like one of you mentioned who new that 8 yrs later Henry would be one of the all time greats in the EPL history.
RINGO he better not coz there is nowhere else were he'll get to start only at Chelski. Lampard that is.
My signing for Arsenal would have been woodgate. I don't think Henry changed these past 2 seasons as much as the team change around him. Arsenal hasn't looked the same since Veira left. Henry had to create offense in 2005-coming back to collect the ball rather than be on the end of the play in the box. Fabregas and Gilberto are better this year, but still lack the control of midfield Vieira gave. Strikers suffer when you change the midfield on them (Vieira, Peires, Bergkamp gone in a couple seasons-similar to the shaky play at United when Berkham and Kean left). I joke with my Gooner friends that Arsenal is too Euroweenie. They need some good solid British boys-especially at the back (set peice defending). So sure you need to replace a striker-but is that all Arsenal needs?
Flame away
BOBBY what do you make of 27m pounds on torres and 100k a week do you feel benitez could have used that money to get two good but not well known players because if he does not fire in the first season will he suffer the sheva fate and how will the board of liverpool trust benitez with such big money moves
I believe Arsenal needs a center-back more than anything. We have serious defensive problems and they must be solved if we are to seriously challenge for the title. As mentioned before, Gallas was a mistake, we should have taken cash for cole instead of gallas plus cash. But i believe we will be ok defensively once we buy a good center back, as we are fine at left back (clichy has proven himself and i think he is already better than ashley cole and abidal), eboue is a good right back and toure is a fanatastic defender.
Saviola is available on a free transfer. Would any of you sign him for Arsenal? Would you Bobby? I would, as i feel he could thrive in our system. Despite this, i sincerely doubt whether Wenger would even give this idea any thought. But i think it would be worth considering as he is talented, can create for himself and would be our most experienced striker. A left and/or right winger are also necessary, as we have no true wingers, except for ljunberg whom i would get rid of (along with gallas).
the notion that henry could be unsuccessful, much less a flop on any team in the world is one that i struggle with. age, sciatica, and all, he will win games in spain.
how about a word about a different club: newcastle. i'm not a fan but the team absolutely fascinates me, what with their great talent, die-hard fans, and complete lack of success. i think they are up there with bayern and barca for most effective transfer activity thus far. the big question on my mind now is 'what about sam?' i really like the guy. hard-nosed, no excuses, good eye for talent, and determined. i just wonder whether bolton's much-maligned style of football (long balls, set pieces, and hard tackles) was a function of sam trying to grind out results with inferior players or just his own style, which he will now bring to newcastle. i'd love to hear some thoughts on this, and also who you all think have been the most effective clubs in the transfer market.
icemonkey, I don't understand why you don't rate Gallas. To me, he's a better player than Cole, so you could say Arsenal stole 5 million from Chelsea.
h14, Rafa (or any other Liverpool manager) hasn't ever made any big money moves (on the order of Chelsea or Man U), so let's wait and see how his decisions turn out. Could he have gotten two good players for 27 million...sure, but the goal is to get a world class striker, and usually strikers that fall in that category (whether correctly or not) are over-priced.
Arsenal fans...Fowler is available on a free. Care to take him?
You know its strange that everyone says you need a 20 goal a season striker to win the league.Which was the last team to win the league with their striker scoring 20+ in the prem ? We would have to go back to Arsenal's "invincibles" I think.And I'm almost certain that the Prem has been won before that w/o a 20+ goal a season striker.The one year Chelsea got one we lost the title (ironic huh).Of course a such a striker helps but its not a necessity.If the coach can get the midfield and a rotation system to work properly then a team with a 12-15 goal striker can still win the league.
I think that Manu, Barca and Bayern have had the greatest success during this transfer window. And as much as it pains me to say this, i think Manu has been the best, as they have acquired young talent with great potential. The only thing that concerns me is the price tag of all 3 players, as i believe Manu paid excess for all 3, but i guess thats what happens when you are called ManuU, Chelski, Barca or Real. Another thing that concerns me is whether Nani and more so Anderson will be successful, as Nani is regarded as overrated and south american players have not done well at Manu.
I think we need to trust Rafa,he seems meticulous enough to not waste 20+ million quid.I don't rate Torres that highly but im sure Rafa will get the best out of him.
if torres was a s good as people say he is madrid and barca would have been in for him , they will pay what ever it ttakes to get the best players in their team , so that tells us something
USAEngland,
I agree that Newcastle are tantalizing. Will Big Sam make them less Minnesota Viking-ish (or are the vikes newcastle-ish)? But his moves are not without controversy. I am a big Scott Parker (Fan-box-to-box with heart) and wouldn;t want Bad boy Barton instead.
ManU I like the moves for the future-but how good remains to be seen. I think they see the money as underpaying later rather than overpaying now. But ManU has some subtraction coming Smudge, Heinze and Richardson are heavlily linked away, Saha rumored. There is question if Rossi and Pique will be sold. The subtraction may leave holes.
i think Portsmouth has quietly done well, Hammers too-shame if they end up relegated.
In terms of EPL
What United and City or Everton and Liverpool are
is conperable to Atletico and Real. Barcelona is also a big club, so it is likely they have football fans that don't like them either. So besides he may hate both of these clubs, the fact that he would also have to play against Atletico (his boyhood club) may not be appealing to him.
Bobby,
I just happen to catch some video on Jay Jay Okocha, I actually have never watched one of his games. He seems like he is very skilled. Do you know why he never joined a big club?
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