₦airaland Forum

Lemme give you a link since you fail to believe:

Quote:

Wenger coached Monaco from 1987 until he was sacked in September 1994. His side won the French league title in 1988 and reached the European Cup-Winners' Cup final in 1992.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960808/ai_n14071944

I was in England in 1996 mate.

Hannibal:
Late 1994?? My days!!!!
94/95 season must have u confused. . . . . .Wenger was sacked in early 95 before moving to Japan

OK - I see your confusion. Wenger took up his Nagoya job at the turn of the year - but he was sacked by Monaco in September 1994 mate.

7 - 0 (Add an extra point for persistent fouling)

Dayokanu,

Abeg tell these Naija-centric guys for me. Complete Football magazine and NTA should not shape your football view cos you get a distorted picture.

Wenger was fired in late 1994, you dumbo. Still trying to score cheap points, you boob again.

5 - 0

I did not say France played 4-2-3-1 in the final. I told you that Aime Jacquest CHANGED the system for the final. They started with 4-2-3-1 in the tournament but I dare you to produce my quote that they used 4-2-3-1 in the final against Brazil. Keep making things up.

I will not even answer your talk, I will just keep ticking off your mistakes as you make them. How can your knowledge be so porous as to make 5 mistakes in one argument?

OK Hannibal, I tried to be a gentleman but your ego couldn't take it. Now I gotta son you.

Firstly, stop using dodgy links to prove your point. This link you posted is the most inaccurate link anyone has ever used on Nairaland.

Hannibal:
Thierry's struggles could also be attributed to the departure of Wenger prior to the season, who left to manage in the Japanese First Division (and shortly thereafter went on to Arsenal). Thierry was comfortable under Wenger and struggled to find that same level under new manager Jean Tigana
http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Henry/Henry_bio.html

Really? Wenger left in 1994 when Henry was barely 16/17 and had only played a handful of games under him.

Hannibal:
It was the last few games he played in Monaco AFTER Wenger left them for Arsenal . . . He couldn't cope when Jean Tigana was the manager.

So from 1994 to Jan 1999 is THE LAST FEW GAMES Henry played after Wenger left?

1-0

Hannibal:
It was the last few games he played in Monaco AFTER Wenger left them for Arsenal . . . . He couldn't cope when Jean Tigana was the manager.

Wenger left Monaco for Arsenal? Look at who I'm arguing with. Absolutely zero knowledge of football. Even someone born yesterday knows this, but you don't.


2-0




Here is another quote from your dodgy link:


Thierry made his first professional appearance on August 31, 1994, in a 2-0 loss to Nice. He played in eight games during his first season and scored three goals.

Thierry had a mediocre second season with Monaco, appearing in 18 games and tallying only three goals. Wenger struggled to find the right place on the field for the teenager. Conventional wisdom said that a player with Thierry’s speed and skill would be a natural fit on the wing. But Wenger suspected Thierry could one day become a great striker, even if he didn't have the deadly scoring touch of past stars like Pele, Maradona and Klinnsman.
 
Under Wenger's tutelage, Henry became France’s Young Player of the Year in 1996, leading the country’s Under-18 team to the European Championship


Wenger left in 1994. Henry did not win anything under him in 1996. Henry's second season was not under Wenger. If Henry played 8 games in 1994, then Henry only played 8 games under Wenger! And this is the link you use to buttress points?

Hannibal:
There was no Tigana mistake . . .  .Henry struggled under Tigana and didn't develop like he woulda developed under Wenger.

And still you persist! Henry won France young player of the year under Tigana. He scored seven goals in CL 97/98 under Tigana. He completely shined under Tigana. Henry played 8 games under Wenger and maybe 100 games under Tigana. You wouldn't know because you didn't watch Monaco, you only get misleading info from reading it on google or wikipedia

Hannibal:
This is why i'm sure u don't know alot about French football back in the 90s.
Ikpeba was the star at Monaco . . . . . . . . His exploits at Monaco won him CAF player of the year, remember??

Yeah, I think Dr Kit mentioned that Ikpeba won the African player of the year at Monaco. Did nothing for his international profile though. Even when he top-scored in UEFA Cup 96/97, still no one gave a phock about him in Europe. Only in Nigeria was this profile so big. And he only had 2 good seasons at Monaco. Don't get it twisted! Yes, to you in Nigeria he was the star cos he is your country man. That is not the international perception.


I told you Sonny Anderson was the star at Monaco and you are here calling Ikpeba's name, even Ako. Please ask Dayokanu who the star was if you don't know. Sonny Anderson scored 51 goals in 91 games for Monaco (earning a move to Barcelona) whilst Victor Ikpeba scored 55 goals in 169 games (earning a move to Dortmund). If you watched Monaco at the time, you do not even dare dispute that Sonny Anderson was way bigger than Ikpeba in stature and profile.


Read this interview with Henry

http://au.fourfourtwo.com/features/3301,oneonone--thierry-henry.aspx

They ask him what it was like learning under Sonny Anderson. They didn't ask him what it was like learning under Victor Ikpeba. This should tell you who the star was at Monaco. Nobody is going to ask Theo Walcott what he learnt from Adebayor, they ask him what he learnt from Henry.


3-0


Oh yeah, and where is your link to show that Henry played 27 games for Juve?

4-0



Don't even bother replying because I wont respond. You have been completely sonned.

@ Dr Kit,

Victor Ikpeba is now a valid comparison to Henry? Is that what Complete Football magazine taught you? Please don't start. . . . . . The only guy at Monaco whose profile could match or better Henry's at that time was Sonny Anderson.



@ Jackal, are you still searching for that link?   . Please don't let your computer crash o!  

Hannibal:
Obviously, his performances at Juventus wasn't what made Henry crappy. . . . . 
It was the last few games he played in Monaco AFTER Wenger left them for Arsenal . . . He couldn't cope when Jean Tigana was the manager.

You know, I could have pulled you up on your statements about Tigana joining Monaco just before Henry left but I decided to ignore it for the sake of peace. Infact, Tigana was not even a direct replacement for Wenger. There was another dude there that Tigana took over from. You also stated that Wenger left Monaco for Arsenal - but Wenger made a pit stop in Japanese football with Nagoya Grampus 8 between Monaco and Arsenal. As Dayokanu stated above and as I stated earlier, Henry spent virtually his whole first team career under the tutelage of Jean Tigana. This is not the first time I have corrected your mistake so bear that in mind for next time.    You know, I never argued with Akola about Nigerian club football because he is the Baba in that area and I have limited knowledge. In the same vain, I would also advise you to leave debates on French football pre-2000 alone because that Tigana mistake could only be made if you were not watching French Footie at the time. Therefore when you made judgements on Henry, I was right to say that your verdict on Henry was based on WC 2008 and his Juventus experience. You never saw him in France. No beef, just saying.



Speaking of France, did you know they were one of the first to employ a 4-2-3-1 system as they did in that WC? Henry played on the right, Dugarry played on the left and Guivarch was their lone striker with Zidane behind him. It was the first time I had seen Henry playing right-wing and despite that, he did quite well, keeping Robert Pires on the bench for the whole tournament. I still don't know why Aime Jacquet changed the system for the final, but it definitely worked.






Anyway, BBC Gossip:

Robinho and Didier Drogba are poised for a £40m swap between La Liga and the Premier League, with £25m-rated Brazilian forward Robinho moving to Chelsea and Blues striker Drogba on his way to Barcelona. (Daily Mirror)

Well I read somewhere that Baba Iyabo is now worth N500bn. Others say he is worth N200bn. Same difference.

We will see next season. But we need another winger or two first, hopefully Robinho and/or someone else. We have improved at right-back with Bosingwa and we will improve with a new winger. I also think we need another DM although Ivanovic can also play there if Mikel and Essien are injured. Fergie better pray that Ronaldo stays and if he stays that he can live up to last season because if not for him, they would have been dragging third place with Arsenal. The only thing that scares me is that if they sign Berbatov, they will be unstoppable. He will elevate their play no end.

Hannibal,

I have told you I will not entertain any more debate about Henry being a small player. If Robinho is big, then so is Henry, even if lacking confidence. Jean Tigana took over Monaco in 1995, so Henry played a full three years under him and did well under him. He may have had a small dip at the end of 97/98 season but that was due to him not wanting to sign a new contract and thinking of pastures new, not due to Tigana.

Mwehehe . . .stop tying yourself up in circles. Lemme summarize this debate so we can move on and put the insults aside:

You have just insinuated that Tevez and Aguero are big players but refuse to put Henry of 1999 in the same category. Before you get it confused, I did not say Henry was world class in 1999 - that would be reserved for Ronaldo, Zidane and Del Piero during that period. But he was certainly big as in 'one of the top youngsters'. We are making a comparison between Henry of 1999 and Robinho of 2008. Nateevs classed Robinho as big - and said that you have to speng big money to buy big players (referring to Robinho) - so by Robinhos criteria, Henry was certainly big in 1999. I will not entertain any more arguments as to peoples definition of 'big'. I think you have mentioned Aguero, Benzema, Tevez - yes, they are all big in todays transfer market as is Robinho like Nateevs mentioned. Anybody above £25m is big.

The question is "Can Wenger sign any big player cheap?". If we have established that Henry was big (by Robinhos criteria), the question now is "Was he cheap at £10.5m?" Akola suggested that £10.5m was expensive by 1999 standards. I showed him other players who cost circa £30m at the time. Dayokanu suggested that Henry's value had fallen because of his poor form at Juve. My question was "Does 16 games disqualify you from being big?". I also tried to show that Henry's 'flopping' at Juve was not what it was made out to be by the media. Even if it was, does a big player become crap after just 16 games? Oya, so let us address the issue - "Was £10.5m cheap or not?" I think I have done all I can to show that it was - Dayokanu said it was only cheap because he flopped - I say, that is part of the economics of signing a big player cheap. So did Wenger sign a big player cheap or not?


Anyway, while you are sidetracking me, I will be waiting for your link, but until then there is nothing further to discuss. I hope you know that google and wikipedia carry more wait than jackal[i].[/i][i].[/i]com? 

Hannibal:
Apart from the league. . . . .There are other 3 competitions in Italy not to talk of super cup.
I can see google is not helping u neither is wikipedia. . . .so continue to dig.
When u are through, i would provide Henry's statistics in Juventus, u doofus.

Ignoramus, Italian Super Cup is the equivalent of our Charity Shield and is played at the end of August/start of September. Your idiotic ass might be enlightened to know that Juve did not win the League in 1999, neither did they win the Coppa Italia, so there is NO WAY they could have played the Super Cup. Infact AC Milan and Parma contested the SuperCup in 1999.

The only other domestic competition for Italian topflight teams is the Coppa Italia. So unless you are counting pre-season matches and testimonials, there is no way Henry could have played 27 matches for Juventus.

You have again been caught with your pants down and tried to duck the issue. Telling me about SuperCup. Do you even know what that is? I can produce you 50 links that show that Henry played 16 games for Juve. I just want you to produce ONE link to show he played 27 games.

How many times do I have to embarrass you? Please go and debate with your mates who were born yesterday. Your arms are too short to box with me.

Hannibal:
When u dig your head out of your ass, come back to me and have a proper debate. . . . The truth is WENGER made HENRY great!!!

Yes he did - at Monaco! Cos Henry scored 26 goals in his first season, that tells me Henry came to Arsenal already great - unless Wenger is a magician who can teach you all your skills within a month.

$20m is nothing. I am just glad it is not $5bn like Baba Iyabo. Do we realistically expect our leaders not to steal anything when they need money to protect themselves after they finish their term? Yar'Adua came in by electoral thuggery so do we expect bad fruit to produce good seed?

dayokanu:
Compare Benzema's value before the Euro cup to the value after.

It does not take long for the worth of a player to crash. One wrong move. Mario Gomez

So - if you buy Benzema or Gomez for £10.5m now, would you not agree with me that you have bought a 'big player cheap'?

Hannibal:
You still have the audacity to say Henry played 16 games?? Are u a slowpoke?
Henry played in 16 league games but appeared 27 times for Juventus in other crappy games he featured in.

You pathological liar! Please produce one single link where it says Henry played 27 games for Juve. Everytime you enter a debate, everything turns farcical. Henry was cup-tied from the UEFA Cup with Monaco so he did not play Champions League with Juve. As a Man Utd fan, you should know because he was not in the squad when you played them in the semi-final. Unless you are saying that he played 11 Italian Cup games (which is impossible), you are a barefaced liar!

Hannibal:
What makes a player big?? You even mentioned Nani as a big player. . . . .It seems u have a very warped view of the word BIG.
Nani has only got good potential. . . . . .Is he big now?? Hell No!!!! What has he done to warrant such stupendous adjective??
If Nani is huge. . . . .what about Cesc, Messi, Aguero, Tevez and many others. . . .How many individual awards has Nani won??

If you do not think Nani is a big player, why have you been screaming that Ronaldo should go because Nani has the ability to replace him? I do not judge big players on reputation alone. I prefer to judge players on skill and ability. You can join the rest of the crowd who only acknowledge a player after he has an international profile. That is not my definition of a big player because reputations fade as quickly as you can say the word "Shevchenko".

If Aguero is a big player now, what stops Henry from being a big player in 1999? Aguero is hardly proven with only ONE good season behind him, no Champions League experience and 7 caps with 3 goals. And yes, I agree he is a big player - so that means you also judge players to be 'big' based on pure potential and talent - just like I do with Nani. Afterall, Aguero hardly has a big international profile. The average English or Naija man would not recognise him. Infact, Henry had more international profile in 1999 than Aguero does now.

Hannibal:
After scoring an appaling 3 goals in 27 appearances for Juventus, Henry's value went down. . .

Again, you expose your ignorance. Henry made 13 starts for Juve, playing 16 games in total on the left wing, scoring 3 goals with 4 assists. For any winger, these are good statistics. How many goals has Nani scored and how many assists? Is Nani not a big player?

His value went down - yes - hence enabling Wenger to buy a 'big player cheap'. Is that not what we are discussing? Do you buy stocks when they are going up or after they have gone down? The only way to buy a 'big player cheap' is after his stock has fallen due to one reason or another. It could be lack of form, lack of fitness or expiry of contract. Well, Wenger was astute enough to judge that Henry's value had gone down not due to lack of ability but due to other factors (like being played as a wing-back!)

Question: If you agree that Henry's value had gone down, then why do you argue that he was expensive at £10.5m? Surely, if the value of something goes down, that makes it cheap?

Simple economics.

Hence, Wenger bought a 'big player cheap'

Hannibal:
Without Arsenal, Henry may have faded off like Denilson and so many other players . . .

Please do not argue in hindsight. It doesn't suit you. The fact is that my foresight was correct - and you can only agree with my foresight by your hindsight. Confused? Read my sig.

In hindsight, I was correct about Henry. If I told you he was cheap then, you would have argued. Well, he more than justified his transfer fee and proved to be very cheap.


Like you said, big player is relative. Yes, Henry was not Ronaldo - the same way Benzema is not Messi. But they are still big players by any stretch of imagination. A 'small' player does not walk straight into Juve first team at the age of 21, nor does he make France WC squad where Trezeguet and Anelka cannot despite scoring x amount of goals. Nor does Madrid and Monaco go to court over him at the age of 18. Nor do all the top clubs in the World have interest in him.

Well it is good that you exposed your ignorance on Thierry Henry. If you believed that Henry was a 'small' player before Arsenal, that speaks more about you and your lack of knowledge on football. If 16 games at Juve could form your opinion on one of the best youngest players in the World, then you obviously did not watch the three preceding seasons at Monaco. It is not like Wenger had to develop Henry in the reserves for two years before he became a star. He came to Arsenal READY - and scored 26 goals in his first season, displaying the type of skill that seasoned observers such as myself had seen at Monaco from 1996. Your experience of Henry was obviously limited to WC 1998 and Juventus. Do not excuse your lack of perfect information by calling Henry a 'small player'.


Another man who knew of Henry's special talent was Ranieri, even labelling Henry "one of the best in the World" as far back as 1997.


Quote:

http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACup/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2004/02/FACup_200304_5R_ArsvChel.htm


Claudio Ranieri may have special plans for Henry, given his open admiration for the player.

The Italian was at Highbury on Tuesday to watch the Arsenal striker in action against Southampton and the Chelsea coach recalled: 'I watched him a long time ago when I was manager of Fiorentina and he was playing for the French Under-21 team.

'I said to my chairman, "please buy him because he is one of the best" but it did not happen for some reason.

'I said to my chairman: "He is the Muhammed Ali of the football pitch because he has such elegance, such speed. He does everything with such style and grace."'




Even Ancelotti has apologised for not seeing Henry as a striker and said that his biggest mistake was selling Henry:


http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article42618.ece

CARLO ANCELOTTI admits he boobed BIG-TIME by selling Thierry Henry to Arsenal back in 1999.
The ex-Juventus boss says he did not see Henry as one of the world’s best strikers and said: “I think about that sometimes now, of course.”

But for Ancelotti’s blunder, Henry could have been turning out in tomorrow’s Champions League quarter-final first-leg clash AGAINST the Gunners.

The French star, now 28, fell out of favour with Ancelotti ? now boss at AC Milan ? but was rescued by Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.

Now Ancelotti admits he did not spot Henry’s talent before he was sold on.

He said: “Arsene Wenger turned him into one of the world’s best strikers.

“The only error I made was not to see him immediately as a striker.

“I only had three months coaching Henry. I saw he had talent but he was playing as a wide midfielder. Personally, I wouldn’t have let him go if it had been down to me alone.”




As you can see, Ancelotti says he WOULDNT have sold Henry but for his superiors at Juve, to which Roberto Bettega gives this excuse:


Juve vice-president Roberto Bettega insists the Italians were NOT wrong to sell Henry. He said: “Henry wasn’t really getting a starting place and he expressed a desire to leave ? and I mean a strong desire.

“There’s nothing we could’ve done, so it wasn’t an error on our part. And, remember, we are not talking about Henry as he is now. This was a long time ago.”




But this is a lie because even Henry himself said he started every game at Juve:


http://au.fourfourtwo.com/features/3301,oneonone--thierry-henry.aspx

After the World Cup, you moved to Juventus: what went wrong there?

There’s something I have to say here, something that needs clearing up. People often say I didn’t play much at Juve, but I always played. First of all, I only joined them in January, which explains the limited number of games. I played in all of the remaining 16 games of the season, starting in 13 of them; the first three I was on the bench because the coach, Marcello Lippi, was in the process of deciding to quit the club and thought it best to give me a bit of time. And in the last five or six games, I either scored or set up a goal. One or the other. It’s true that it took me a few games to get used to the system, because we played a 3-5-2 system I wasn’t used to, but I soon adapted and started to play well. I left Juventus for other reasons, which I’ve never wanted to go into. [FFT: But now you’re going to reveal all?] No.


So, these are the lies propagated in the media. Henry was on the bench at Juve - LIE! Henry flopped at Juve - I disagree, so does Henry! Henry was unhappy at Juve because he was playing almost as a wing-back in a 3-5-2. He happened to be on a plane with Arsene Wenger and he went up to Arsene Wenger and begged Arsene Wenger to sign him for Arsenal. That was how it happened. 3 goals and 4 assists in 16 matches (13 starts) is by no means a flop.

The English media, in trying to hype up Arsene Wengers magic at finding players made up a story about Wenger rescuing Henry from nowhere and unastute people bought the story. Henry was a big player before he came to Arsenal - big in terms of skill and big in terms of potential. If you have not been watching French football, then you may think £10.5m was too much money. But I thought it was cheap. Well I was right and you were wrong. Because it was very cheap - and he proved it was cheap from his first season to his last. So Wenger did sign a "big player cheap" as Nateevs called it.

Akolawole:
a.) Let me remind you, there are about 10 members you cannot teach footie here.

b.) Henry was a flop at Juve so his ratings reduced DRASTICALLY(Dayokanu 2008).

c.) Can you call Sheva or Jayjay a big player now?

d.) What is french league at that time?

a.) You are not one of them.

b.) If you can be a flop after playing 5 months and only 16 games in a new team, then what will you call Lampard who flopped for a year upon signing for Chelsea. What will you call Pires who took a year to settle. What will you call Drogba who took 2 years? The fact is that Henry was Juve's MARQUEE signing in Jan 1999. He was expected to produce at the level of Del Piero and such. Unfortunately he produced at the level of Ryan Babel whilst playing out of position. 50% of the flop was due to the expectation people had of him. People would not have this expectation if he did not come with a stellar reputation as "the worlds outstanding youngster" (Dayokanu, 2008)

I watched Italian football religiously every Sunday on Channel 4 at the time. Flop is hardly the right word. Juve signed him for £10.5 because he was not gonna sign a new contract with Monaco. His true value was circa £20m. So for Arsenal to sign him also for £10.5m is a bargain.

This attitude that Henry was nobody till he came to England is a typical Anglo-centric attitude. The English press does not respect you until you prove it against them or you play in their league. That is why they could not believe that Xavi is benching Fabregas for Spain until Xavi showed them why. In 1996, they labelled Zidane a flop cos he didn't impress in Euro '96. When Kenny Dalglish tried to sign Zidane for Blackburn in 1995, Jack Walkers response was "Who needs Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?". In 1997, whilst watching Brazil play at Le Tournoi, Ron Atkinson, ITV's anchor commentator remarked "I have never seen this Ronaldo play until today. He looks special" - I was embarrassed. This shows you the substandard level of English football press - the same people who set the agenda on Henry and made everyone believe that he was a nobody before he came to England.

If you ask anyone in France if they are surprised that Henry achieved what he achieved at Arsenal, they will say they are not. I have drawn a parallel with Benzema. In 1998, Henry was the outstanding youngster in Europe along with Raul and Michael Owen. Now it is Benzema, Fabregas et al. Benzema is NO highly regarded now than Henry was in 1998. Do you dispute? If not, then end this conversation right now.

c.) Sheva has flopped for two years straight. Henry had 'patchy form' from January to May 1999. If Fabregas signs for Barcelona and is unable to dislodge Xavi and Iniesta for the next 5 months, would you label him a small player? I think not.

d.) French League is no different then to what it is now. Their teams flirted with the quarter-final and semi-final of the Champions League. Henry made his debut in 1994 and played there till Jan 1999. During that time, the following players also played in France:

Zidane
Laurent Blanc
Claude Makalele
Manu Petit
Youri Djorkaeff
David Trezeguet
Bixente Lizarazu
Christophe Dugarry
David Ginola
Sonny Anderson
Christian Karembeu
Robert Pires
Vincent Candela
Lilian Thuram
William Gallas
Freddie Kanoute


I think you would struggle to find that kind of quality in French Football today. Marseille had won the Champions League in 1993. Nantes (with Makalele) reached CL semi's in 1996 and Monaco did the same in 1998. Now Lyon cannot even cross the quarter final. So in anybody's opinion, French League has no more quality now than it did in Henry's time except that the English media (and hence Nigerians) pay more attention to it because of Arsene Wengers French influence on Arsenal and because the Champions League gets more press coverage now.

In light of this, are Benzemas achievements any more noticable now than Henrys were back then? Please answer THIS question - because now anybody is labelled a big player after half a season (eg Adebayor). Back then, you have to work hard for two or three years to achieve any kind of status. Also people forget history because they are not living in the moment.

Don't you love it when players sign their contracts without fuss, unlike the greedy politicians (Lampard, Terry and Drogba)

BBC News:

[center]
Essien signs new Chelsea contract  [/center]

Chelsea's Michael Essien has signed a new five-year deal - following keeper Petr Cech and defender Wayne Bridge in committing his future to the club.

The Ghana midfielder, 25, has been a major success since joining Chelsea from Lyon for £24m in 2005.

He said: "I am very happy here. We have a great team and fantastic fans who have always made me welcome.

"With the addition of the new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, I am feeling very positive about the season ahead."

It was revealed on Monday that Cech had signed a five-year deal with the Blues, while Bridge put pen to paper on a new four-year contract last week.

Scolari, who has had to endure much speculation about the future of midfielder Frank Lampard since taking over as Chelsea manager this month, is delighted that Essien has pledged his future to the London club.

"I have not been here long but it is clear to me that Michael Essien is one of the best midfield players in the world," stated the former Portugal boss.

"I have always admired him and it is good news for me and for Chelsea that he signs for so long."

nateevs:
@ibime,

I thot Bridgey signed a new contract last week as opposed to the one month ago you said. Even TOCFCWS reports he signed last week.

No, the contract was signed a month ago - the story only came out last week.

Firstly, nobody is going to tell you "Hey here's Kaka, you can have him for half price. Just pay £20m and carry go." So, Nateevs question of "Can Wenger buy a big player cheap?" is a vague question. Of course you can buy a big player cheap if he is (a.) injured (eg Kanu, Santa Cruz)  (b.) old (e.g Deco) (c) Out of contract (eg Ballack) (d) off form (eg Henry, Ronaldinho)

You can also buy a big player cheap if he is a big player but lacks a big reputation. A big player is defined by his skill and stature. If you define a big player by his reputation alone then NOBODY can buy a big player cheap unless he is affected by the four factors above. We all knew Messi was a big player from the WYC even before he kicked a first team football. Zidane was a big player at Bordeaux. Henry was a big player at Monaco. If you watched French Football at that time, you don't need anyone to tell you twice. People say he flopped at Juve. It depends on your definition of flop. He was certainly no Shevchenko. People forget he was only at Juve for 7 months. Judging him from that period, his impact was no less than Ryan Babels at Liverpool. However, his reputation was so huge that the Juve fans considered that not to be good enough. He was played on the left-midfield of 4-4-2 and that is where his problem lay. He was unhappy and called Wenger to come and save him. People forget that before he moved to Juve, no less than Man Utd, Madrid, Barca, Arsenal and the like were interested. Small player? I think not.

Like Dayokanu said, "In 1998, Henry was the brightest young prospect in Europe." No ifs or buts. Who is the brightest young player now - Benzema? Huntelaar? Robinho? Fabregas? - How much would you pay for them? So was Henry cheap? People forget how big Henry was. For example, they forget that he was subject of a court case in 1996 between Madrid and Monaco when FIFA fined him and Madrid because he signed contract with them behind Monacos back. From 1996, anybody who was interested in football knows Thierry was wanted by the big clubs. I personally don't need to see a player win any award for me to know he is a big player (although Henry had won many awards). So, as history has proven, £11m was cheap for Henry and Wenger signed a big player cheap.

Yes o!

Asari even said during the TRC that he had no bad feelings toward Ateke and that Ateke was misguided.


Here is another quote:


Dokubo's NDPVF, the Bush Boys of Okrika and other militia
groups had overrun Tom Ateke's base at Okochiri, looted his properties
and smashed others. Scores of Ateke's men were slaughtered by the
penetrating Asari's coalition of the willing. Tom Ateke is the real cat
with nine lives, during the operation he also escaped unhurt.
Dokubo-Asari and Tom Ateke were later granted amnesty by the General
Olusegun Obasanjo's government. The duo later reconciled through the
efforts of Dr. Judith Burdin Asuni, the director of the Academic
Associates Peace Works (AAPW) who was arrested last year on trumped up
espionage charges with 2 German Journalists and her staff, Danjuma. The
charges were later dropped. When Dokubo-Asari was captured and jailed
on false charges of treason by same Obasanjo, Ateke joined other armed
groups in the delta to agitate for his release.


https://lists.mayfirst.org/pipermail/friends/2008-January/003060.html

Akolawole:
Yes, Henry was a world cup winner but NOT a big player in 1999.

Was Anelka any bigger than Henry in 1999? So what justifies the fact that Anelka was £23m and Henry £10.5m?

Would you call Benzema a big player now? Most people would answer yes. Is Benzema bigger now than Henry was in 1999? Capital NO!

By 1996, Henry was the young player of the year in France. In 1997, he won the French Ligue 1, reaching the UEFA Cup semi-final. In 1997/1998 he scored 7 goals in Champions League, reaching the semi-final. In 1998, he won the World Cup. So tell me what part of big is Karim Benzema that Henry is not? By any estimation, the 2008 transfer market is just as inflated as the 1999 market, no more. Yet Karim Benzema is £30m and Henry is £10.5m. What part of 'big player cheap' do you not understand?

Whether Chelsea fan or not, I respect Arsene Wenger when it comes to buying players.

Look, we are comparing Henry and Robinho. Henry was World Cup winner in 1999, well known throughout the whole world. Is Robinho of now any bigger than Henry was in 1999? Anyone that watches football knows that Henry was a big player in 1999 except the English man who does not watch any foreign football. What has Robinho achieved? He is not even guaranteed a starting spot at Madrid. Like someone said, we should not even be talking about Robinho when we mention big players because he has had 2-3 years in Europe and has not justified that status. At best, Robinho of now = Henry of 1999.


Dwight Yorke was bought in 1998 for £12m.
In 1996, Shearer was bought for £15m.
In 1999, Chelsea paid £10m for Chris Sutton.
In 2000, Leeds paid £18m for Rio Ferdinand.
In 2000, Liverpool paid £11m for Heskey.
Verons £28m move was in 2001 as was Nistelrooy's £19m move.

Wormy even mentioned that Overmars was the right price @ £7m in 1997 because he was the highest transfer. Well, Stan Collymore also moved to Aston Villa for £7m in 1997.


The fact is that although not as high as European transfers, £11m was still very cheap for Henry compared to other signings.

Wetin Kanu get to do with this argument?

Akola, why do you like to expose yourself - or do you want me to open your nyash for you?

Henry signed in 1999 for £11m. Anelka moved for £23m. Vieri moved for about £32m. Hasselbaink moved for £18m. A year later Crespo moved for £35m. and Figo moved for £39m. Overmars also moved for £25m. There was a transfer bubble in Europe from 1999 to 2002 and yet Wenger was able to sign Henry for £11m. Even in 2001, players like Buffon were selling for like £32m. And you are here talking nonsense. Todays market is even cheaper than the market of 1999 and Robinho now is no bigger than Henry was in 1999.  Infact, Madrid would have been happy to sell him 4 months ago for £20m. Now they are making yanga because we are chasing him too hard.

O-boy, you better go and learn some basic economics. As of 1999 you were busy watching Stationery Stores, now you are coming here to ask me how many players cost £10m in 1999.

Henry was a big player that Wenger signed cheap. So was Pires. And Overmars. They were already big players before Wenger signed them. Anyway, forget that argument.

nateevs:
Guys, news broke 2 days ago about a certain Nikola Kalinic, a 20 yrd old croatian we might be paying £8m for . . . The report also says he might be playing with the team in the asia during the pre-season games. I have a link but it's in croatian language. . there's no need posting it.

If you remember we were linked with him back in February or so. I saw him in the Euros in Croatias last game. He came on as sub for Ivan Klasnic but didn't do much. Anyway lets see . . . .

Goodbye Maka.

Feel free to come back and visit.

My favourite Chelsea player of all time.

In Niger Delta we call him the Federal Houseboy. Not prejudging him sha - he is an intelligent man. Maybe he can have a hand in solving this crisis.

Really? You expect me not to know when Vela and Song were signed? You must not know me. . . .

These people just dey embarass Naija. Like say UN no get better thing to discuss.

The more I read about this Kaka transfer, the more feasible it looks. I read somewhere yesterday that talks between them are believed to be at an advanced stage. The second factor is Scolari who is a favorite of Kaka. The third fact is that Kakas contract expires in 2010 so Milan are not in a strong position. By next summer his transfer fee will not be more than 20m because he will only have a year left. Also you have to consider that Milan are having a few financial hiccups. Add the fact that they are not in the Champions League and a deal starts to look feasible though not for more than 50m because we hold all the aces.

Easily if they become an overground group and are not concentrating on fighting the federal government. Infact, Ateke would down arms. Dont forget that many stakeholders in this Niger Delta ish are playing double-sides. As you know, Ateke is now on speaking terms with Asari and the rest and is part of the dubious Okrika peace process. Anyway, whatever the case he seems to be a lot more interested in his public image these days as is the case with most ex-militants. Odili himself will be killed like a fowl. As you know, he is now enemies with Ateke hence he enlisted the help of Soboma George.