₦airaland Forum

allboyz:
that's the fact - so are you telling me to keeping watching the #AFC games this season - i mean 38 games in the EPL knowing fully well that i will be heart broken when we end up been 6th or 7th on the table? and there wont be any carling cup trophy or FA Cup trophy yet again!!!

EX-players /Legend clamoring for AW to sign new players aren't daft too bruv. . . even coaches in other clubs and national teams that love arsenal are saying AW should sign - isn't this quite obvious?

AW needs to tell us his target for this season then i will be fine - God knows if he says 'This team is ready for trophy that i will shoot him" #WORD

It is easy to tell someone to buy when yu're not the one responsible for those decisions, Arsenal needs players right now, that fact is not in contention by anyone even Wenger himself, what he has insisted on is that he has not seen the 'Right' players and there is no one better placed at this point in time to know the right players for Arsenal than Arsene Wenger

slimshay:
Allboys please let's not go into the matter again jare. I usually leave analysis to people on the couch in Skystudios.

All I can say is this, with everybody so adept at analysis, fans are forgetting their basic duty.
COYG!

True word, trust Slim to always focus on the main issues. I think people will get back to that once the window closes and these initial hiccups end.
First things first, we must cross that Udinese hurdle tomorrow.

debosky:
^^ The same young players that will depart when they become good?
Not only will we be outspent, we will be outspent by our rivals poaching off our best players, so they get stronger by making us weaker.

We cannot afford to be overspent consistently like that - the rebellion amongst fans shows that if we fall further behind, we'll end up playing to half empty stadiums.

Arsenal needs to rethink its wage structure - if we can't afford to pay comparable wages, we are in big trouble and our best players will be tempted elsewhere. Instead of paying youth players ridiculous sums, make the structure more performance-based with the world class ones making distinctly better wages.

If we get market value for them like Nasri and not personal favours like Cesc  we'll be able to make up the shortfall I think. I also think the wage structure will be adjusted now that Cesc has left, I don't think the board will be that silly to not know when adjustments are required. Its a difficult balance to be honest, at present the club is swimming against general public opinion and that is why we are the hated along with those who just hate Arsene for proving them wrong in the past.

debosky:
^^ FFP will never bring the reckless spending to an end. . . .on top of whatever funds clubs make internally, they can overspend by £30m every season provided the owner accepts the loss.

If Utd, Chelski and Citeh keep outspending us by £30m each season, we won't have a prayer.

I believe Arsenal can cope with overspending by 30m particularly with these players we're getting young and with Arsene at the helm, its these insane levels of spending I don't think we can cope with. If I'm not mistaken, Chelsea's investment within this calendar year is already past the 100m mark and city's approaching 80m or thereabouts.
I know City can afford to keep up something close to these levels of investment (if UEFA's investigation of the Etihad deal comes to nothing) and I don't know if Roman is setting up his own slush fund yet.
Keep in mind that the outspending covers both wages and transfers.

I don talk am, the way things are going Arsenal fans will soon start coming to blows. 

Example 1: At the stadium on Saturday, while some were booing the team after the match, others were telling them to shut the eff up.

Example 2: Emmanuel Frimpong and Piers Morgan having it out on twitter with Wilshere trying to arbitrate between the two.

Example 3. Debo and Duduspace being accused on NL of being on Arsene's payroll despite being on each other's necks most of the time in the past as to why things are the way they are. 

Personally, I think most Arsenal fans need to come to reality, there are hard facts which stare us in the face and can't be ignored. Any fan who insists on Arsenal winning a trophy this season is not facing reality. Chelsea spent 70m in January and look like spending the same this summer, who knows if the Mata deal never saw the light of day because Chelsea was in there all along? 

So far even with the mass exodus of players, I doubt that we have raised 70m yet people are saying to go and spend all the money we raised from selling Cesc. The only requirement I have for Arsene in these trying times is that we make the top 4 while we rebuild yet again and I'm confident he will do it as he has done for the past 14 years, I see nothing yet that tells me things will turn out otherwise.

City keep on spending like no man's business and even Manure has not relented and are going to the Stock market to make up the shortfall in funds (I personally pity anyone who buys those shares because it makes no business sense to invest in a business where your money is used to pay off debt or even to buy players if you imagine 50m of your own money being used to buy Fernando Torres  ), mind you what they are doing is exactly what Usmanov wanted to do about 2 years ago with a rights issue which was voted out by the board.

IMO, its either you believe in the Arsenal way of sustainability or not, the club's current ownership have said that it's modus operandi is SUSTAINABILITY, in the current footballing climate, it does not look like such a principle will bring any trophies, however that doesn't mean things will always remain this way. It is your choice if you consider that principle worth backing or not. Arsenal has always been a radical club with a defined way of doing things and I don't see that changing anytime soon whether Arsene is manager or not.

My backing for Arsene has always been and remains that he is the only one I see with the tenacity to keep the club competitive and close to these big spenders through this period of reckless spending  which I believe the FFP will bring to an end.

The future is between the Open Source Android and the Apple Iphone, you'll be soon left behind in terms of available applications if you're not on one of those platforms.

cicero:
Friend, it could be the best thing you ever did for your family, but just as you have to work smartly to achieve results in your present job, you need to do same and more to take this step.
If you are lazy and don't want to kick it, then don't.
If the indiscipline in Nigeria has become so 'concretized' in your person that you won't try to change, then don't.
If you are typical about women's role and status both in the family and society, then don't.
If you are and impulsive spender and you are not ready to change, then don't.
If you intend to be so occupied chasing money and other achievement while the tv raise your children, then don't
If sleeping with white women and African American ladies is your life-long dream and you must realize it, then don't
If you must not accept the fact that moving to America requires some fundamental changes that will test your endurance and intelligence, then don't.
Friend if you are willing to and you are sure destiny is beckoning you there, don't listen to anybody, just go. American is better than Nigeria in 1,000,001 ways.

What a wise man, you be real Cicero. 
My padi, ask yourself these questions and answer them truthfully without deceiving yourself.
Also consider your age and that you will need to adapt to a new system a lot different from what you've come to know and that you already have people who depend on you.

ritchboy:
I already knew Frimpong would get sent off once he got booked early, should have been subbed on the hour IMO.

Oh well. . .

The one error I think Arsene made in the match. Lansbury wasn't so bad when he come on playing against 10 men anyway so why wasn't he subbed on before Frimpong got the red?  it would have been better to replace Frimpong. I liked the fight the boys showed at least one knows these new set of players are capable of grafting if it becomes necessary.

presido1:
You should take your own advice on the epitaph thing cos u have written man yos epitaph a million times here and you will still write again when ever they lose a game. Dudu will man yo finish above arsenal this season? honest anwser pls.

I never gave you a time scale, all I know is that its a matter of time, you have already confirmed that you're in the market for funds. If things were so rosy on the financial front, you wouldn't be.  
Give the answer to your question first and we'll take it from there, and while you are at it, also tell us who will win the league this season.

presido1:
How? thought man yo is dead and buried.

Where is HNIC?

Neither are we,

these were the results of Manure's first 3 matches in the 07/08 season and we know how that ended, it is too early in the season to be rejoicing and writing epitaphs.

Manchester United 0-0 Reading
Portsmouth 1-1 Manchester United
Manchester City 1-0 Manchester United

proudly9ja:
We've now lost 2 left backs, 2 CBs, potentially another RB. I pray we don't lose RVP.

Before we lost Frimpong, lookign at the bench and considering we were trying to get a goal, asides Bendtner, who else could have come in? Chamberain or Miyachi?

E go better

That is what further illustrates the error in the buying crusade IMO, how big is your squad supposed to be again? 25 out of which 8 must be home grown and we've lost all that personel. Things are looking so bad right now just because a tough spell of fixtures coincides with a bad spell of injuries and suspensions but if it gets us an extra CB sha I'll be glad. This is what typically happens when we fall out in the busy periods in march, maybe just maybe things will turn out different this year.
Lets get past Udinese first (at least we'll have the likes of Song and Gervinho available) and try not to fall too far behind. 8 points behind Manure 3 games into the season is not good for our rep and confidence and is one hell of a bridge to get over.

debosky:


Sky just finished Wenger with their closing montage. . . .he didn't even give a post-match interview?

You know they'll rub it in naa, isnt that what they always do? Redknapp was almost shouting Gary Neville down when they were talking about Arsenal buying. It is amazing that Gary Neville seems to be the only one who backs Arsene. I guess they'll wear him down in time.

A bit fortunate the next UCL match is away and not at home, would have been sad to see the team getting booed even before the game started.
I can take losing 3 points to liverpool as long as the slide is arrested quickly, it is still a long season.

Everything that could go wrong went wrong, before and during the match but a number of impressive performances. Not one of the best games from Aaron Ramsey from both an offensive and defensive perspective, he was slow in getting out of Miquel's way.

Frimpong is only one match suspension right? maybe Lansbury shld have come on earlier.
Funny, the fans have behaved today, maybe they appreciated the boy's efforts so far.
what a cruel goal to conceed.

crying shame for Frimpong, he'll learn from it though.

eldee:
So Nasri is half-hearted huh??

He's grown into it, maybe he just can't help being a footballer.  
He's been better than Ramsey though, but the 3 players who have been immense today so far are TV5, Frimpong and Sagna.

Jenkinson should stop backing away from these attacking players, atimes I wonder if he knows where he is while backing off.

Ajibel:
I can see ASSnal winning this, lets go there, no more sexy football this season

Says who? it is a good thing if they add some grafting to good football. If there was anything wrong with the Cesc generation, it was their inability to graft. Frimpong is a fighter, Aaron Ramsey and Nasri aren't doing much apart from that run from Nasri.
Liverpool scented blood after Koscielny's injury but we've ridden the storm so far, and Vermaelen has kept Andy Carroll quiet today, he can jump.

denzel2009:
Injury again?

They are saying its a muscular injury of some sort, back spasms I hope he isn't out for long.

amblors:
If we don't win this Arsenal side, shame on us

Hope yu'll still be able to say that after the match.

Koscielny's injury looks bad, slipped disc I think. That might be a long time out.

Frimpong wants to maim Agger o.

So Nasri starts, hope he gives us a last hurrayh

Yeah JJCD, an extra body in defence would also be great, and there are rumors the banks might force Everton to accept our bid for Jagielka.

@Slim, you know I will always back Arsene to play our youngsters naa, Debo's concerns are valid but with what I saw of Nasri in pre-season and the way things are, I wouldnt play him. All these boys were backed by Arsene against everyone else but at the first sign of upheaval they upped and left. Good riddance to all of them, let the new generation show they are made of sterner stuff.

As far as I'm concerned, even Aneke should be allowed to join the first team frame, heard he brutalized Fletcher and Gibson in the Reserve game last week. 

slimshay:
Nasri with an average performance is not good enough for Arsenal. No sentiments. If he won't put in work, let him stay home. And from all indication it doesn't look like he'll put in work.

I think Debo is thinking more in times of protecting the younger players so they don't get damaged by the almost certain backlash from the fans if we lose. Its a very reasonable concern considering how damaged the likes of Denilson have been. Personally, I think its all part of the growing process.

Jencejyde:
Well said, but you just have to imagine how we all feel that we have such a talent as theo and we cant seem to get the best out of him,  On the frimpong issue, i would love if the medicals at Emirates could do a lil bit more to keep these lads fit for most of the campaign notwithstanding other commitments,  

I tend to look at the true nature of the game being a player and was full of admiration for the way he helped calm the storm on Tuesday night , Simply impressive! as inconsequential as it may sound, if the subs on the night had no impact, then the Italians may have gone on to snatch the equalizer or even win the game. (Food for thought).

On Nasri playing tomorrow, well i kinda see it more as a parting game and trying to put him in a more positive light with the fans at Arsenal. I really don't see anything wrong in that but then the main concern is how we play, the truth is that most of us fell in love with this club due to our style of play and not majorly cos of one or two individuals, (I may be wrong though)   The players that will be coming in should be able to understand and quickly adapt to the Arsenal philosophy more than just replacing whoever might have left. I kinda agree with Wenger on that, but the worry is why is it taking so long.

I have nothing against Fab or Nas and i wish them well, but then its up to our squad for this season to put out a strong message, couple of games played haven't been too convincing but i hope the manager gets it right not just on the pitch but off it as well, in order to prevent these types of occurrences in the future.

You are right about this, one of the things I was worried about and the first thing I asked about during the Newcastle game was if we were still playing the Arsenal way. I think that has become a culture at the club and you can see it in the players coming through whether its Frimpong, Wilshere , Afobe, Gibbs or JET, if the basics are ingrained, it is now left to the coaching staff to help the players utilize their individual characteristic within that overall team play to enhance it, be it Theo and Ryo's pace, Wilshere's creativity or Frimpong's tenacity. My grouse with Theo at the beginning was that he didnt have those basics in the first instance and stuck out like a sore thumb but he is looking much better these days.

IMO, we already have Cesc's replacement in Wilshere, that is if you can really adequately replace Cesc   , he still needs the experience though and the ideal thing would have been for a natural evolution over the next 2 years but atimes its also about making use of the opporunities available to you and Jack has excelled at doing that. What we need like you said is 1 or 2 players (in the age range 23 - 27 preferrably)who would fit into our playing pattern almost instantly, a good number of them have moved already (Turan has already moved to Athletico, Defour to Porto, Witsel played against us for Lisbon) and Arsene is ruling out Mata and Jadson, he might have his eyes on another unknown. We've never been linked with Oleksandr Allyev of Locomotiv Moscow but I've always liked him since he was about 23 and played for Dynamo Kiev.

debosky:
I disagree - he should play Nasri. Even if his 'mind isn't in it' 100%, it's better than throwing on completely inexperienced players to face Liverpool. If nothing else, he'll give them something to worry about and maybe free up other players to do damage.

Fair point Debo, but if he plays anything like he played in the first half of the Emirates cup match against Boca, even you would demand his substitution. 

OAM4J:
How more patient can the fans be? Patience has been the keyword for the past how many years?

They'll need to find even more patience and readjust their expectation for this season, spending the money gained from selling Cesc and Nasri IMO won't guarantee any trophy. You have an unsettled team that has to gel yet again while looking to the next generation. In the light of Nasri and Cesc leaving I am revising my previous timetable for a major trophy and tacking on 1 more year. This season will likely be 08/09 all over again but I expect us to recover quicker this time because of the additions like Gervinho and Miyaichi, money made from Cesc and Nasri sales as well as our youth system being more productive and giving us ready replacements like Wilshere. I totally expect us to make top 4 and if we get a massive dose of luck in the fixture list, one of the cups might be achieveable.

Jencejyde:
hmmm, (clearing throat)  I see some peeps talking about Theo haters, Its really difficult explaining at times what the criticism of theo is all about but let me once again emphasize( from my own point of view). I have said it countless times and i will stand by my words any day and anytime. Theo has the potential of being a great player just like messi, but until he improves on his footballing intelligence (as far as im concerned) there is no way i wont consider hammering on the fact that he is inconsistent.

A brilliant example of what i have said over and over again happened when barca took on real last night. Please for all those who watched the match from an analytical point of view, how many times was messi really involved in that game? But again his intelligence and class was the difference between the two sides. One assist and two goals (which were apparently the only shots he got on target) and end of discussion.

Truth is, I don't expect Theo to be messi but given his pace, balance and age. I really want to see him do more and become a likely threat whenever we play any team. I honestly admire the boy and will always be the first to get at him if he does not perform well, Not saying he will give us 100 % every match day but a reasonable level of consistency would be just fine. With the current departures, no one needs to tell the likes of Theo, Jack, Ramsey, Song and co that its now or never to get their games up. unless they want to be considered failures again.

On the bright side, I am impressed with what i saw from jerkinson and particularly frimpong on the night against Udinese,  His attitude (frimpong) resembles that of a Roy keane/Viera. anyone noticed that the young man actually helped to reduce the udinese tempo when he came on. For me that's encouraging but the lad now needs to mature and keep hi cool with some unnecessary rash challenges that he gets mixed up in. Wouldn't want the refs to see him as an ugly tackler and hence see too many reds and yellows flying all over him. At 19, he brought a strong presence not by the way he played only, but by the manner, zeal and passion in making sure the opposition never made progress beyond our 18 yard. Absolutely remarkable. Something that's naturally common in Manu players(wonder what ferguson places them on sef )

JJCD,  the boy works hard every day to get better and indeed gets better, I guess he'll always be a bit frustrating to a football purist but maybe it was his dedication that Arsene saw to give him his chance and not to other players like Vela who I believe to have been more talented. He might never become stellar on the wings but what he has learnt there will stand him in good stead when he goes central and he can only benefit from the versatility.

I have no longer any doubt that Frimpong will make it if I ever did, the fact that all these new boys also have Arsenal in their hearts can only be beneficial to the club, he is another one who might be injury prone though as he leaves his all on the pitch.

Arsene shouldnt play Nasri tomorrow for any reason whatsoever, professional or not his mind just can't be in it.

AjanleKoko:
The ear pulling on Tito Vilanova?

Okay, I guess this is sarcasm.

I couldn't believe my eyes, totally unbecoming of a manager and he was so cheeky later pretending as if he did nothing.

Mourinho is a thug and a disgrace to managers everywhere, please continue to help the footballing world put him in his place in Spain.
and you guys should be thankful that some arsenal fan curses about Cesc's legs didnt come true, shocking tackle from Marcelo.
Mourinho has turned almost all the Madrid players into hooligans.

Vieira:
The funny thing is I do not even believe that the site is still 100%

This can easily reoccur, what will we do then?

I squarely blame FPL, they also should have made the call themselves, either enforce a reset or do not bother, by putting the onus on the league managers they are putting the fallout of their error on others to deal with.

Classic dumping the problem on others.

Some people shouting no reset go dey embarrassed by the end of the league, that is why I no really care, it makes me more determined and will make the abuse sweeter if I overhaul all the "No Reset" crew!

Bring it on bit.ches

The PL is also economising like some managers have been accused of doing.
The coding of the Fantasy site was done offshore in Bangalore and Mumbai that is why it is so buggy, very soon yu'll be seeing mandarin characters on there.
Seriously, I don't think there is a need to reset the league sha, the same rules still applied to everyone at the end of the day and you be Don so yu'll claw it back.
The people at the top are never going to accept a reset.

dayokanu:
He is already doing a Michael jackson moonwalk to the bottom of the table again
You need to visit Prayer City or Olumba Olumba
Dudu repeat after me "Oluwa Jowo gbe mi soke,  Isale ti su mi" (Father Lord lift me up, last position don tire me)

wetin yu take settle police to release you?
I still dey perfect strategy, nor worry it is a very long season, don't exhaust your players yet with a premature celebratory palongo.

eldee:
@4llebruntu

UEFA bans are different, you don't get to even talk to your players before the match. . . I remember when Mourinho was allegedly smuggled to the training pitch for Chelsea years ago in a laundry van.

@eldee
I think UEFA are treading a very thin line here, except they go down an even more advanced NOTW route, any allegations are going to be difficult to prove. It seems some blockheads over there have allowed TV images again to dictate their response to issues rather than common sense. This will go exactly the way of the Eduardo "intention to deceive the refree" route. It is making a mountain out of a mole hill and totally unnecessary. Arsene should have turned up for the press conference though, but I think he'll only be fined for that.
It should be clear to everyone by now that their rule is not really enforcable in the technology pervasive world we live in and should only be seen for its symbolism. Its a bit like the team orders rule in Formula 1 but I think they've chucked that out now.

Damn, full scale rebellion, when are we rolling out the tanks?
Sir El, nip this in the bud before ritchboy and co start looting our Fantasy points.