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Why Selling Adebayor Wouldn't Be Such A Good Idea
I know a lot of Arsenal fans will be thinking that if a 30 million bid for Adebayor really has come in then it should be accepted but personally I think I would be worried as an Arsenal fan if he did leave and I understand why Arsenal are trying to price him out of a move (I don't believe they really expected Barca to improve on 25 million). With Flamini already gone and Hleb seemingly about to leave Arsenal are looking at being 3 regular starters short compared to last year. Flamini has been replaced by Nasri who clearly has talent but is not the finished article, I think I'm right in saying he wasn't even an automatic choice for Marseille last season, he could easily fail to make a big impact in his first season.
If Adebayor also leaves and Arsenal don't find an adequate replacement then I don't see how they can challenge for anything next season. 20+ goals a season strikers are hard to come by in the Premier League and I think it would be a massive risk for Arsenal to get rid of theirs. There is talk of Santa Cruz being lined up as a replacement but I don't remember him tearing up many trees for Bayern in the Champions League. He is basically this seasons Benni McCarthy and who's to say Santa Cruz wont struggle to deliver the same strike rate in his second season in the same way as McCarthy. I know he would be playing for a better side at Arsenal but Bayern are the best side in Germany and he ended up struggling there.
Basically what I'm saying is I wouldn't take even 30 million for Adebeyor unless I knew I could bring in a proven world class striker to replace him, it's just to risky when you consider where Arsenal could have ended up without him last season. Unless Eto'o ended up being part of the deal or David Villa ends up at Arsenal then I don't see them being threat next season if Adebeyor is sold.
Martyn, (offering a neutral view) Loyal Royal
Don't Do Business With Arsene
Honestly how does Wenger do it?? £30m!!!!
The chap is barely worth £15m, tops! Reading all the Arse fans comments, they seem to agree with this. Throw in his disloyalty and his quite frankly ridiculous demands for Henry type wages (Try scoring thirty plus a season for about five seasons in a row before you make claims like that you fool!) and it has to be the simplest decision in the world.
A word of warning though 'Ade', ever heard of a chap called Nicolas Anelka? Well? Exactly.
So the moral of the story is, 'Never attempt to bargain with Arsene Wegner', what was he - a street trader before all this management guff?!
Dan Turpin
Lamps Probably Should Go
I am a Chelsea fan and, like other Blues fans, I am really anticipating an exciting few weeks ahead. But the thing that's pinching me right from the end of last season is the future of Lamps. Philip Cornwall says that if Lampard wants to move to Italy, the time is now. And depressed as I am at the prospect of losing my favorite Chelsea player (this year or next doesn't matter as I wanted him to retire in the blue shirt - not the one with stripes!), I think he should leave now.
Going to Inter would be a whole new challenge for him, and that would only improve him as a player. Jose knows him inside out and would build a team around him, which I'm not sure if Scolari is going to do. If I were Lampard, I'd obviously think about reuniting with the coach who made me what I am now, but more than that I'd want to prove my critics wrong by being successful in a foreign league.
I hated to see the back of Gudjohnsen, and I'd hate more to see Lamps go. But I think its best for him...and if he goes, I'd say thank you and good luck!
Rahul (please don't go, Frank!) Singh
Sacking Barton Makes Financial Sense
According to the F365 Guest Opinion, Joey Barton is on £63k/week, £3.2M/yr. If he's sacked, I assume we are talking a 'proper' sacking (as I also assume his actions amount to gross misconduct), rather than a football sacking, which seems to amount to a large paid holiday. Therefore Newcastle will save at least £3.2M (plus bonuses, which for him could be huge).
As damaged goods surely his transfer fee wouldn't be that high (£5M?) and therefore the financial loss really is insignificant compared to the loss of goodwill that Newcastle are generating.
Niall, Korea, I don't understand your point. In your first paragraph you state that it is not the club's responsibility morally or ethically to sack him, then in your third you state there is nothing in the law that says they have to sack him. I agree with your second point, but that's nothing to do with ethics or morals. His behavior was wrong, illegal, and disgusting, and for many people in less visible positions and companies these actions would result in sacking. I absolutely disagree with your view on the moral obligation of Newcastle FC.
Finally, Of course Dabo has a valid point. It is your right to disagree with him, but don't defend your defence of a thug by accusing others of lacking logic - none of this discussion is anything to do with logic.
John Malloy
An Ethical Responsibility
Niall in Korea correctly points out that Newcastle have no legal responsibility to sack the terrible human being called Joey Barton, but to suggest that they have no ethical or moral responsibility is ridiculous.
Going from the ridiculous to the completely morally bankrupt, he then implies that the transfer fee shelled out by the Toon should play a part in the decision! What?! So a player who came on a free transfer should be sacked more easily for the same offence, and a record signing should be permitted to get away with murder? (Literally, once they serve their time!)
Newcastle knew Barton was an odious little thug when they bought him but took the risk anyway. Anyone can see that he doesn't deserve the privilege of representing any self-respecting football club - or even a non self-respecting club like the hapless Toon. And what about his team mates? Would you want to have to work alongside a "man" who is a repeat violent offender, and in particular who has more than once committed an act of violence against a co-worker? Get real.
Dylan, MVFC
Whatever Happened To?..
Whilst perusing through the mailbox, one line from a particular mail got me thinking - what ever happened to the transfer tribunal?
Once I had "calmed down" enough from Neil Raines totally uncalled for use of a tired, old stereotypical description of Liverpudlians, (I'm "one of a touchy bunch" you see), I managed to continue reading, but found myself seriously questioning his next statement. "Liverpool know what Barry will cost them. If they don't want to pay it, that's their problem". Is it Liverpool's problem though?
Gareth Barry has admitted he wants to join Liverpool. Liverpool have admitted, by making three bids, that they want Gareth Barry. Even Martin O'Neill has admitted that the only thing that has stopped Barry moving to Liverpool, has been the stalemate between the two clubs with regards to the players valuation. Now surely this is the perfect case to go before a transfer tribunal?
Let an independent body decide how much Liverpool should pay, with the minimum being £15m and the maximum £18m. O'Neill has said Villa have based their valuation "on a number of straightforward issues" - well let's hear them all so we can decide whether they add up or not. The length of contract remaining, age, international experience etc. could all be issues up for consideration. At least then the transfer could be completed quicker and put an end to the incessant (and annoying) bickering between fans, players and managers alike, every single transfer window.
I'm sure there's a massive gap in my rational here (that will no doubt be pointed out), but I am seriously struggling to remember the last time a players fee was decided by tribunal. Compensation between two clubs for a manager is often decided this way, they are employees as well, so why not players?
Duncan McD, Liverpool
Research Is Often A Good Idea
Y'know, Manure bid for Senna at the end of the season where Villarreal had a run to the Champions league semi 2 or 3 years back. Villarreal were one of the teams who put them out at the group phase that year. They were offering £3.5 million or thereabouts, I recall. He was, understandably, enthusiastic, but Villarreal (who actually only have a handful of seasons in the primera liga under their belts) made it very clear he would not be sold, and that was that.
The recent Arsenal story looks like a very clear case of some journo putting 2+2 to make 5, in ignorance both of the history of the player and his club. Why would a fairly recently naturalised Spaniard want to move to London just after winning a European Championship, jeopardise his position in the national team before the World Cup, and make what would essentially amount to a sideways move (one overachieving, well run club, fighting giant bloated rivals runaway budgets, to another) with horrible weather as the only substantive difference?
Like so many other transfer rumours this was never, EVER, a runner, and could only be concocted by somebody who was too lazy to look at the Spanish league table and esteems all Spanish clubs other than Barca and Real about as much as MK Dons (no offence intended, Dons fans, to either of ye).
Andrew, Ireland
Patronising The Patroniser
Dear Mark (Rafa the Gafa knows best) Warrington,
Thank you for contacting Rafa on our behalf and having him explain his transfer policy to you. As none of us regular F365 readers have his direct number, you have provided information way beyond our meagre means. I can see what you mean about his 'Champs league' record though, 1 lucky victory is clearly having it 'sussed'. By that token, I suppose you might now say 'arry at Portsmouth has the FA Cup pretty sussed.
I have to admit though, that was an exceptional start to the season last year, drawing at home to Birmingham and Spurs! Drawing away to Portsmouth, that's a tough ground for a top half team to go to... And who can forget losing to Besiktas and Marseille? All of this before the end of October!
It's all well and good saying you need 'British grit and passion', but I didn't see Sir Alex complaining when Keane took Kieran Richardson off his hands? Now that Giggs and Scholes are moving towards retirement, did he purchase substandard British replacements? No, he went for talented international youngsters, who don't come cheap. We had to stump up the cash for Hargreaves, now you have to do the same for Barry. Hope you're enjoying your American owners; it's all downhill from here!
By the way, who's this "Silver" chap you mentioned, I've never seen him on Football Manager, is he any good?
Billy (Was my E-Mail even more patronising?) Manning
A Message To The Ad Men
I don't think you control the ads on your (rather good) website. Surely the Sky marketing dept oversees that.
However, I was wondering if you could maybe pass a word on to them. You see, there are a few 'celebrities' that I truly despise and, asides from ALL the wags and Cashley, Ross Kemp tops that list. So, please, please, pretty please with cherry on top, ask them if they could maybe remove his ugly face from this beautiful site (and his smug comments: "I'm not home often" meaning he's dodging bullet in some remote countries...yeah right...like his insurance would let him be in even the slightest bit of danger). I mean, it's already unpleasant having to see the Gladiators ads all over.
Seriously, haven't they realized we're football fans yet? I don't believe most of us spend their time watching Eastenders or Gladiators...so it's kind of wasted ad space....and seeing RK's face wont make me want to buy Sky+ (besides I live in Cyprus and you need a ten meter dish or so to get Sky, it's way overpriced here cause Sky doesn't have a very amplified signal)...
Anyway, hoping this can make it to the mailbox, I kept it short and used all the good words....
Ced32 (free marketing advise on demand) AFC
A Ridiculously Long Email That We've Stuck At The Bottom As An Indication Of Our Frustration With Them
Blimey! From pretty quiet beginnings the Liverpool and Rafa's transfers debate is getting a bit out of hand!
Firstly, on Gareth Barry - as a Liverpool fan I think most share the view that I have, which is that Barry is a good player and that while I'd still prefer Alonso Barry might be a better combination with our regular players, like Gerrard. Okay. I also agree with Villa fans that at this stage Barry really should hand in a transfer request - a loyalty bonus would be a joke given his very public statements and it might help resolve the negotiation. And yes, this is a negotiation - there is no obligation on Liverpool to pay the first price named. It's okay to offer less, it really is, it's just business. Despite having more money than most we're clearly not in the Man Utd and Chelsea financial league and are also clearly having cash-flow problems so to try to get the price down is prudent. We all know £18m is too much for Barry and that Hargreaves and Carrick were over-priced too - the only way prices ever come down is if the market stops paying the excessive opening prices. And Liverpool pretty much have to try to get the price down. I think this attempt to buy low and sell high is very sensible and don't get why everyone seems to think Rafa and the board are being stupid or slow to operate in this way. I hope it works and it makes a change if it does. Equally, I don't blame Villa for putting a big figure on a player they don't really want to sell, I just don't want us to pay it!
On the dirty Liverpool trying to unsettle him - I'm sorry, but it was a Midlands paper that leaked the sale, it was MON who first spoke publicly about the offer but in a surprisingly inflammatory way. Maybe he was misinformed about where the story came from or just angry at an approach for his captain but Liverpool didn't speak out first and, since Benitez' equally inflammatory riposte, have been very quiet in the press about it. And honestly - what do you expect Gerrard to say when asked whether he'd like to play with Barry "No, he's rubbish"? As MON has now admitted, Barry had already made his position clear to the club.
On specific transfer choices, well ouch - hopefully the Downing, Milner links are just paper talk, I don't know, although I can see how Milner at least could be a back-up to Kuyt, hardworking, not a classic winger and hence tying us to that system. And I'd love us to sign the likes of Silva and Villa but I don't think it's very likely as it doesn't look like we can afford more than one really expensive player. Is Aimar as good as he used to be (I've no idea)?
On the "touchy" fans - Nick Miller's article had some good points and despite the respondents being billed as "touchy" and having been "riled" all the printed letters were calm, well-reasoned replies. Other readers may or may not agree with the arguments and defences made (I broadly did) but you can't say they were blind and rabid objections. They weren't.
You might think "Well, that makes a change" and maybe the most chippy LFC fans heads had already exploded from previous debates but there you go. Provocation failed, no-one looked like an idiot. And yes, I know you stir with every club, pretty much, so I don't mind but you obviously feel Liverpool fans are easy pickings on slow-news days. I'm glad we kept a lid on it this time, maybe someone other club can take up the mantle! Or mantelpiece, as Rio Ferdinand has it...
On Babel being rubbish. Really? He looks good to me, had a gradual introduction to the Premier League scoring 10 goals on the way, publicly talks about wanting to learn and generally seems refreshingly humble. He also looked a possible starter for the Dutch team until his ankle injury. He's lightning quick, skilful on the ball, has a great shot and looks certain to get better. He isn't rubbish.
Finally, Arsenal's Stewie Griffin bangs on about Arsenal never spending any money and Liverpool spending a lot for no comparable domestic success, or even competitiveness. A couple of things - Wenger is one of the most well respected managers around and his ability to unearth (or nick on the cheap from smaller clubs) young talent is equally well known. He's very good at his job. And he's been doing it a long time. And Arsenal haven't won the Premier League for 5 years. They are just about coming good with another crop of young (-ish - I mean let's not get carried away) players. Maybe when Benitez has been around as long, and his title winning reserves and double youth cup winning squads have got a bit older we'll be in a similar position, as we have been following the Arsenal model in that respect more or less since he arrived. Chelsea and Man Utd have really upped the stakes with their recent spending and it's hard to compete but Arsenal are starting to, again, and I hope we will soon. Yes, I am aware that we spent a lot on Torres and Mascherano but we generally get quite a bit back when we sell players, as stated above. It's another policy and it all fits together. Winning the league is hard!
Finally, I'm glad fewer people are signing off with "That is all" - if it's the end of the email you don't need to point it out, we're not idiots, and if you're saying that's the end of the debate then you're clearly missing the point of the mailbox.
Sorry this is so long.
Nick Coulter, London
