Thursday 29 August 2013

Five alternative ways for Arsenal to spend £70 million



A lot has been said and written about Arsenal's lack of spending in the transfer market. We have reportedly made offers for several high profile players such as Higuain, Suarez and Cabaye, but so far, despite calls to spend some f***ing money, Arsene Wenger has been unable to get rid of that huge wad of cash that's burning a hole in his pocket and the only signings have been Flamini and Sanogo, both on free transfers.

Many suggestions of players that they could sign have been made, but I think that's lacking imagination, so here are ten alternative ways that Arsenal could spend some of that £70 miliion:

  1. Use Champagne to water the pitch at the Emirates Stadium.
  2. Cover the face of the famous clock in gold leaf and encrust the numerals with diamonds.
  3. Buy an island in the Caribbean and set up a league there with just one team in it so that we can win the league every year.
  4. Buy Swindon Town - the whole town, not just the football club.
  5. Buy a week's supply of hair gel for Mikel Arteta.

But what do you think? Can you come up with something better?


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Friday 28 June 2013

Rooney fed up according to Manchester Evening News



Wayne Rooney is fed up at Man United according to the local paper, the Manchester Evening News.

Rooney has been at ManUre for nine years and it appears he is now bored with the prospect of playing and training for the most successful team in England and getting paid £200,000, plus bonuses, for the privilege and desperately wants a move (well, it's either that or he's after another pay increase).
'M.E.N. Sport understands the England international is still determined to quit the Reds – even after initially viewing new manager David Moyes’ appointment as the chance of a fresh start.'
Now I would normally dismiss this as absolute tosh, but the fact that it is the local paper makes me think there may be something in it as local papers often have all the insider gossip. They go on to say that:
'A move from Arsenal is expected to start a bidding war for the £25m-rated forward.
But Arsene Wenger is certain to face stiff opposition from United, who will be determined not to strengthen a domestic rival.
'That should also rule out a move to Chelsea – even though Jose Mourinho has indicated that he would like to take Rooney to Stamford Bridge.
'City will also be monitoring the situation following the departures of Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez in the past six months, but United will not even entertain the thought of selling to their fiercest rivals.'
To me this reads as if Rooney has told Merchandise United that he would like to leave and someone at the club has passed the story to the paper to try to drum up some bids. This is backed up as they go on to say that:
'With two years to run on his contract, United cannot risk allowing him to enter the final 12 months of his deal without an extension being agreed.
'That means this could be their best chance to cash in on him if he makes it clear that he has no intention of staying.
'But United do still have the power to determine where he goes if they decide to sell.'
They also say that 'Rooney has known for some time that Old Trafford's board will not countenance moves to Chelsea or City.

'Arsenal could be a slightly different prospect given that they have not been genuine title rivals in recent years.'

(Humph, the bloody cheek!)

However, much as I would like to see Rooney at Arsenal, I can't help feeling that his wages will be the key issue. He will as likely as not be looking for a pay increase on top of his already (reported) £200k per week and although Arsenal have said that they are now willing to pay higher wages than at present, I can't see them stretching that far to be honest.

My bet is that he will either sign a new contract and stay at Old Trafford or move to somewhere like PSG who can afford higher wages.

But I hope I'm wrong.

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Picture courtesy nasmac

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Friday 24 May 2013

Ashley Williams: First realistic sounding summer signing story


It's only 24 May and already we have the first realistic sounding Arsenal-related transfer story.

According The Metro (I know) and others, we are on the verge of signing Swansea centreback Ashley Williams.

Many will complain that Williams is not high profile the signing we need, but it's nice to see we're getting some transfer business done early, and I'm sure this is only the start of our summer signings.

In terms of centrebacks, I think he is exactly the kind of signing we need. BFG and Kos have been playing well and Vermaelen is also waiting in the wings, so we need someone proven in Premier League and (potentially) willing to wait for his chance. We need squad strength in the position, not starters.

Williams is 28 years old and six feet tall. He is captain of Wales (for whom he has played 41 times, including one sub appearance), so his leadership skills will come in handy. He has played 214 times for Swansea, including 37 and 35 times in his two seasons in the Premier League, so he is a proven performer.

I never get too excited about a transfer rumour until I see the player on arsenal.com shaking Arsene Wenger's hand, but this one has a ring of truth about it, in my opinion.

Picture courtesy j.a.holland

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Sunday 14 April 2013

Honest Harry, Millionaire



I was talking to my brother earlier today about a computer game we used to play back in the 1980s on the ZX Spectrum called 'Millionaire'.

'Millionaire' was an early management game. The idea was to create computer games and sell them to make a million pounds - hence the name. This involved writing new games, converting games to other platforms, duplicating cassettes, investing in copy protection, marketing, etc., etc.

Anyhoo, one of the things you could do in the game was to go and see a character called 'Honest Harry' who would sell you stuff like blank cassettes (obviously stolen) at low prices.

Does this remind you of anyone at all?

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Monday 28 January 2013

Arsene's coded messages


Arsene Wenger has been playing down Arsenal's chances of signing anyone in the January transfer window. Last week he said:
I don’t worry [about the market], what I worry about is getting the players who have been injured back fit, to get the players who play for this club to perform at full potential. If we perform at full potential we cannot expect any miracle from outside, we want to make things happen inside.
If someone else can strengthen our squad, we will do it, of course. But we have the resources inside to do well.
I live in the real world and the only question I wonder is not how we look to the outside, but it is how good we are when we are on the football pitch, can we pass the ball together? Therefore it is not to buy just because we look like we want to buy. We buy a player if we think he is good enough to play for us.
We have been linked with David Villa, like Chelsea, but there’s nothing concrete there. We are not on the case.
I can’t imagine Dortmund selling [Hummels] in the middle of the season and we have not made any approach there.
Belhanda? No. We are not on any French case, so you can cut all the French players out. You should go to Newcastle!

I can see where he's coming from. Aside from the normal thing of not wanting to sound too desperate to sign a player lest the selling club should sense weakness and push the price up, he does not want to damage the fragile first shoots of confidence that seem to be growing in the team by effectively saying: 'I don't think you're good enough, so I'm going to sign someone else.

Now, if Arsene were to sign some unknown from Bratislava and stick him up front to compete for a place with Giroud, I can image that he and the friends he has made at the club over the last few months would rightly be upset. Hence, I think, the quotes about 'top, top quality'

But imagine if we signed someone of the quality and stature of David Villa (apparently not now likely) or someone like him. Imagine what a buzz that would create at the club. You know all that nervousness, anxiety and negativity in the crowd at home matches? That would be gone and replaced by a hushed expectation and excitement.

Would Giroud be upset? Possibly, but he came to the club knowing that he may have toplay second fiddle to van Persie, so he could hardly complain. Competition for places is good for the team.

And what of the players who Giroud has befriended over that last few months? Will they be upset? Well, loyalty doesn't mean much in football. Just ask Robin van Persnatcher!

I personally don't think there is anything particularly wrong with Giroud as a striker. It's just that we need more numbers up front. I also think Wenger underestimates the impact that a big signing can have in terms of a 'feel good' factor. Or, he thinks that the 'shot in the arm' that a big signing can bring to a club is short-lived and not in the long-term interests of the club.

Anyway, we shall see.

No comment

Now, on a different topic, I don't want to blow my own trumpet, but a lot of people read this blog. If you do a search on Google for 'Eden Hazard humour', you will see that I come out top. It's been that way since last Wednesday when I did a short post about him asking for humorous comments to be sent to his blog. And I'm competing with national newspapers, football websites and both Arsenal and general football blogs.

But still no one posts anything in the comments section. Honestly, it's all take, take, take with you lot!

Do you have any Micky Eden Hazard jokes you want to share? Do you think I'm too soft on Arsene Wenger? Post a comment.

Do you think I should stop writing endless twaddle about Arsenal? Let me know. It would be great to get some feedback from time-to-time.

And finally, a thank you

I'd like to say a big 'thank you' to everyone who does take the time to read my blog, especially those who have agreed to write a guest post. I look forward to receiving your articles shortly.

If you like my blog, why not follow me on Twitter?


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Wednesday 23 January 2013

Eden Hazard has a sense of humour


I read this on Eden Hazard's website:
Eden does have a good sense of humor, and besides cheers and praise, footballers also get criticism and are made fun of. 
Well, that’s pretty normal of being a football player, and if it’s funny, hell, it’s funny.
Feel free to submit funny pics/links to twitters, etc… via the Submit News button on the top right of the website.
Cheers!
Do you think we should put that to the test? Go on, you know you want to. It's too good to resist!

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Ar5ena1 v West Ham highlights

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Monday 21 January 2013

ArseOnline blog - Guest posters wanted



Would you like to write for this blog, either as a one-off or, preferably, on a more regular basis?

Most posts attract hundreds of views, with the most popular ever reaching 3000 views. In future, I'm planning to sign up to NewsNow, so I expect the number of views per article to increase substantially. However, to achieve that I need to have posts appearing more regularly.

As you can see, I'm pretty bad at updating the blog, which is why I'm hoping to recruit some like-minded fans who'd like to reach an audience. You will be credited on any articles you write, and if you become a regular contributor, I will add your details to the blog homepage.

If you are interested, please email me at the address below.

Mark Wellington
mdwellington@googlemail.com


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