With all the press/fan fervor over every word that drops from the lips of Adebayor, Vincenzo Morabito, Wenger, the groundskeeper at the Stadio Olympico, and speculative bloggers, there were a lot of significant developments this week that were swept under the carpet.
First off, Alisher Usmaqnov’s handler, David Dein, reminded everyone that his boss is filthy rich and would like to use that wealth to leverage a buyout of Arsenal in order to use us fans as his personal piggy bank — doling out dividends, piling on debts, etc etc. What’s the reason why you fans should support such a move? Because, he claims that Usmanov’s money is the only thing that could save Arsenal from falling out of the top four.
Since that claim has now been leveled for three seasons and has been found wanting for three seasons I think it’s kind of comical for Dein to try that tactic again. What’s the basis for this claim, is it because Tottenham has spent £27m so far? hmmm… Well, given that their defense was one of the worst in the league, and the fact that they are only buying forwards (and crappy ones like Luca Modric at that), then I feel confident that they aren’t going to challenge for 4th place. So, who next then? Hmmm… Everton? Good team, good coach, not quite enough to get there. Citeh? That’s funny. Pompey? Maybe! That’s a strong team with a good foundation at every point on the pitch, but they aren’t getting there by spending loads of money, but rather through efficient management. Which is exactly what’s happening at Arsenal.
Which is exactly why Arsenal don’t need Usmanov. Thanks for reminding us though, Dave, I think some of us had forgotten.
Meanwhile, a drunken Michel Platini gave some type of interview in which he ranged from the Ronaldo story to debt in the Premier League. ThOn Ronaldo, he feels like Real Madrid has done nothing wrong {sound of a record screeching to a halt}. These few days after a Platini tirade are always a barrel of laughs so I thought I would sahe some snippets with you.
Speaking about Real Madrid’s very public courting of Ronaldo (including sending their fitness coach to meet with the player) Platini had this to say
It’s part of the system we have today. Players move from club to club and I can understand why Real Madrid want him.
No seriously, that’s what said. Which means that tapping up season has officially begun, folks: unless it’s an English club tapping up a foreign player, in that case, I’m sure he’ll be against it.
Platini continued his diatribe against England by also claiming that he wants clubs with (“excessive” — i.e “English”) debts to be banned from playing in the Champions League. Which means only Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, and Liverpool would be banned because other clubs with debts are well under his radar. I can’t think of a single move that would destroy modern football and the league structure more than this one proposed by Platini. If debt’s so bad (which I think it is in some cases) then why not let the Man U’s and Chelsea’s just eat themselves alive? Why interfere? Oh yeah, because this is a power trip plain and simple.
I really wish that Platini would just go away.
While the Adebayor story was (is) raging another neat story was glossed over; Walcott was handed the no. 14 shirt. That’s a big shirt to fill, there, son, good luck filling it. Seriously, I do think that this means we’ll start seeing Walcott feature for the first team a lot more this season. In fact, as I’ve said before, I believe that Wenger is going to bank the money if he sells Adebayor and start Theo up front with either van Persie or Eduardo (depending on injuries, etc). This means we’ll see Vela and Bendtner partner in the Carling Cup matches and as backups if and when they are needed. Of course, that is pure speculation… but why not, it’s silly season.
Speaking of speculation, and my regular readers know I don’t like to do this but what the hell anyway, Klaas Jan Huntelaar’s contract negotiations have suddenly fallen through, leaving the Ajax hitman potentially available to suitors like Arsenal. I like him a lot. I think he’s a big fish in a little Dutch pond and a step up to a big league like the EPL could be just what he needs to break out of relative obscurity and onto the world stage. I would love to see him in an Arsenal strip next season, but realistically this is probably just a ploy by his agent to get him a bigger contract with Ajax. Plus, Wenger doesn’t like to buy developed talent. Oh well, a blogger can dream right?
That wasn’t so bad, was it? I mean, not talking much about Adenayor for a whole blog. We can do it, folks, we can NOT talk about Adebayor and his money grubbing agent and the jerks in Milan for a whole day, right?
RIGHT???
Sigh… there will be a preview of the Chelsea v. Arsenal match (oh sorry, I mean Germany v. Spain), tomorrow morning. See you then.
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