Physically, I’m looking forward to summer, Arsenally, I’m not. Because, if today is any indication, it’s going to be a long, hard summer. Long… Hard… *sigh* That’s all I got folks.
Today’s two news stories are about two former Arsenal captains: Adams and Henry. Seems like both players are pining for their old teams.
Adams will be out of contract at Pompey here in a few weeks and is sort of stirring the pot at Arsenal to consider taking him on as defense coach:
I love the club, it was part of my life for so many years and if anyone at Arsenal wants to invite me back, I’m willing to give it a shot. I’m fully prepared and willing to do what I have to do.
And we all love you Tony, could you please be a dear and take out the garbage? Yes, he’s the one over there with the Gheri Curl mowhawk.
Look, the man’s a legend, a rock in defense and a truly inspirational leader both personally and professionally. Any team in the world would be proud to have him as head coach much less as the exact right man to lead a team of young and old defenders through the ropes. Listen to his philosophy on defense:
I always tried to lead by example [at Arsenal] and get out there and make sure they realised they were playing for the Arsenal. I tried to install in the team a kind of ‘over our dead bodies’ kind of attitude.
That’s EXACTLY what Arsenal needed at the end of this season. Or as the old timers used to say “a kick up the arse.” If I was Arsene Wenger… uhhh… that’s a quandry. How about, please Wenger, sign this guy before some horrible pack of cunts like Bolton do.
As for Henry, I really don’t see him coming back to Arsenal. I know, he text messages the boss daily, and they love each other, and there’s a special place in Henry’s heart but I just don’t see it happening, not in a playing capacity anyway. As a player in his last season he was too disruptive to his teammates; he had that Berbatov body language and was constantly upbraiding his teammates over the smallest stuff. I love the guy too, but he was just not a good fit for this team. By the way, what are Wenger and Henry’s text messages like?
Wenger — lolz i pwn3d barca wif u trade
Henry — tru dat, i lost 1337 hax0r skillz
Wenger — ALL BARCA £££ ARE BELONG TO ARSE!
Henry — LOLOLOLOLOL
The more likely scenario is Henry to the MLS, with Seattle and New York considered the front runners right now. As I’ve said before, I’m not sure if Henry can handle the mental pressure of playing with people who are so far below his standard. I mean, he was crabbing at Fabregas, for god’s sake, what will he do when he’s getting poor service from some dude who can’t get a spot on a League 1 English team? That doesn’t mean that he won’t come over to the states, just that if I was the owner of the Red Bulls or the Sounders I would think thrice before buying a gray old man with an attitude problem.
That’s it for today, I’m reading (can’t get a live feed) the Chelsea/Man U game and so far Ronaldo’s hair has NOT caught fire and set blaze to both teams and both sets of supporters. I’m still holding out hope.
Henry’s not coming back. Wenger is simply too diplomatic to laugh about it on camera. I’m sure he knows he made that deal at the perfect time and is quite happy to be done with it. Henry might come back in a few years in a coaching/PR capacity of some sort. I don’t think Henry would be happy with the technical level of the MLS either but he would put butts in the seats like Beckham does and would probably make almost as much money. He might be able to live with it if he is paid enough. At least for a year or two anyway.
Assuming room could be made for Adams, it sounds like he would make a good addition. Portsmouth have been tough to crack open for the last couple of years and he (rather than a new central defender) might make the difference. I’ve been playing as a back (left/right/center) for 30 years now and I kind of get the feeling that someone needs to remind the back 4 that THEY ARE THE BACK 4. It’s always fun to score goals and you have to be supportive when attacking but you ARE A DEFENDER. That is your primary job and nobody will get upset with you if you don’t score a goal the entire season from normal play. At one time or another, EVERY defender needs to be reminded of that. I know I have been taken to task for it. Granted I don’t have the talent, discipline or focus these players do but I’ve also seen it happen to much better players than myself. Adams sounds like someone who would not let them forget their primary job.
Anyway, nice post – have a good saturday.