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No Sympathy For Arsenal
The summer wouldn't be complete if Arsenal didn't have a big excuse...err, sorry, I mean injur ...before the season has even kicked off. Samir Nasri showed glimpses of being a good Premier League footballer last season and I am sure two months off at the start of this season will not adversely affect his progress a great deal. Tomas Rosicky may even stay fit long enough for Nasri to return. It is ironic that a day after Arsene was singing the praises of the fitness of the squad that another one falls off. I am almost getting to the point where I feel sorry for Wenger and Arsenal but almost is the operative word, years of enduring Goon(er)s mouthing off even though the club has been firmly put in its place over the last four years ensures that they'll be getting little sympathy. More chance of Phil Brown returning to a less radioactive shade.
Parmjeet Dayal
Why Does This Always Happen To Arsenal?
Are any other Gooners excited by the news of Nasri's injury? I thought we were going to be without our regular excuse of 'injury woes' to make our fourth-place finish palatable, but here we are with less than a month before the league opens and we've got our excuse back in our back pocket. Now we can all sit back, relax and play the 'what if' game.
But seriously...the medical staff can't be blamed for things like this happening all the time. They don't make the breaks and muscle pulls and ligament tears, and they do a pretty fine job of repairing our permanently crocked XI (hell...they even dragged Rosicky back to match fitness). So the real question is 'why does this keep happening to Arsenal?' Is it because Arsene insists on hiring midgets and pretty boys? Is it because the Arsenal fitness regime, which makes them undeniably the fittest of clubs, takes a massive toll on the athletes' bodies, making them injury prone? Is it simply that Arsenal tends to buy injury-prone players? Whatever the answer, Arsene needs to buy someone healthy and strong when he goes shopping for our defensive midfielder or defender (yeah, right). But we'll probably start the season with what we've got.
I can't wait to tell my Dad about Nasri. The object of his man-crush injured in pre-season. It's going to break his heart.
Brad Simkulet, Canadian Gooner
...Bad news for Arsenal fans with Nasri being out for 3 months. Cheer up though lads, you can look forward to seeing him back in action about January 2011 or so.
Kevin, Dublin
...Samir Nasri out for three months. Seriously, what goes on at Arsenal training sessions? 30-man Royal Rumble followed by Jackass impersonations?
Hulk Hogan
...So now Nasri has a serious injury that will keep him out for three months. It just never ends does it? What are the odds on Rosicky's nuts and bolts loosening and falling out again during the season? Wenger seriously needs to bolster the midfield with some of that £25m. I don't know what the statistics are for the last five seasons but has any other Premiership team had so many long-term injuries?
Cliff Mallinder
More Incredulity At Zlatan Deal
Can someone please explain to me why the f*** Barcelona are handing over around 40m Euro, Samuel Eto'o and Hleb for Zlatan Ibrahimovic? I think Laporta was sniffing glue when he brokered that deal. For a start, Eto'o is a better striker than Ibrahimovic, HANDS DOWN!!! Then we have the small matter of throwing in a ridiculous amount of money on top of that! How can this idiot be worth that sort of money? I admit, I like him as a goalscorer but for me, this guy goes missing way too much! He does not merit this sort of transfer seriously. Eto'o has been even more prolific than him for a lot longer and I really can't see the sense in this deal.
I'm sure Inter Milan and Sir Jose Mourinho are absolutely rubbing their hands, but I firmly believe this is Barcelona's knee-jerk reaction to Real Madrid's madness this summer. Why not just go and spend the money on David Villa? Proven in spain, goal machine and all-round better player than Zlatan...This summer has been f***ing ridiculous when it comes to transfers. Silly season is an understatement...
Matthew English, Belfast
Sign the Dutchies
Every day for the past month or so I've wondered why on earth nobody has signed Arjen Robben and/or Sneijder from Real Madrid. They're both young, they're both quick, and they're both outrageously skillful. To my mind, Robben is almost as good as Ronaldo, and better than pretty much every other winger in the Premier League (if not Europe). Likewise, Sneijder is easily better than Alonso/Barry (and up there with the Gerrards and Fabregases). Plus, if the rumours are to be believed, they're on the market for somewhere between £7m and £15m each - as little as a quarter of Alonso's supposed value, and an eighth of Ronaldo. Yet in any sensible list of the top 20 players in Europe, they'd easily feature. Possibly even in the top 10.
So, where's the hype? Why haven't Rafa/Fergie/Wenger etc - or anyone else - tried to snap them up? Is it their lack of sexy Latino names? Is it that their northern European features, and, in Robben's case, balding head, might scare the kids and thus not shift many shirts? Is it the fabled Dutch 'ego' issues?
Can someone please enlighten me?
Matt Bishop
Beckham > Fritzl
After reading a few articles about the David Beckham incident in L.A, I was quite astounded to read one of the banners being held up saying:
'Is evil something u are...or something u do.'
A bit melodramatic! It's not as if he's Josef f*cking Fritzl is it???
Chris Roche
Doing The Nouble Thing
It really is quite funny just how certain people's interpretations of football scenarios change depending on what clubs are involved. Imagine this at a lower or mid-table Premier League club: a younger player, clearly gifted in that they've made it into the youth and reserve teams of a top-flight club, but not yet in any way spectacular, rejects terms from their club on the grounds that, despite being unproven at any real level, they were not promised first-team football in the very new future. Most people would reckon the kid has a bit of an attitude problem, right?
Not so if it happens at Chelsea. Frank Nouble is now some sort of 21st century hero to people with football-related blogs and a Golden Age complex because he looks set to join West Ham, after rejecting Chelsea's very decent (in terms of money and football opportunities) contract offer. The lad looks a decent prospect but is by no means a starlet or 'wonderkid' and that is the regard everyone at Chelsea has held him in for the last few years. Obviously he'd have had to work hard to get any first-team football, and even then would have struggled, but it would not have been impossible. Good riddance to him and anyone who thinks that this is some sort of victory for football should take the anti-'big Four' shades off.
Dan, Shepherd's Bush
...Congrats to the West Ham fan in this afternoon.s Mailbox lauding the decision of youth striker Frank Nouble to quit 'megabucks' Chelsea and head off to West Ham and the promise of first-team football.
Can they write back in with the date of the open-topped bus parade as I'd like to pay my respects?
Seriously though, I haven't been this gutted since Carlton Cole went the same way.
Remind me how that one went again.
Mark 'Man City til I die' Kelly
...FK - I agree that it is a refreshing change to see someone like Frank Nouble plump to continue his footballing education at West Ham rather than being stuck in Chelsea's reserves without ever really having much chance of breaking through. However, if he makes it, make the most of him while you can, as in all probability he'll be going back to Chelsea when he's 21, although you will have a nice £15m windfall.
Money talks - such a shame.
Andy, London
Call Their Bluff
If Chelsea are so keen on keeping John Terry then surely the best thing to do is to turn round to Mark Hughes and claim that his club simply cannot afford him. Then perhaps we will see how deep the Sheik's pockets are. Seeing as Hughes is acting like the poor kid who was bullied at school because he couldn't afford the latest cool trainers or gadgets, and now in adulthood is trying to compensate buy throwing around money I would expect him to retaliate with a massive bid. So when he does offer £150 million, Chelsea, bite his hand off. Average at best anyway.
Matt (thought really hard for ages, but still nothing) WHU
Isn't The Real Football Exciting Enough?
Is anyone else thinking that FM2010 is going to be incredible? What with the shenanigans at Real Madrid and Citeh, Newcastle in the Championship, Burnley in the Premiership and clubs being bought left and right by wealthy consortiums, I really can't wait!
Simon, London
The Crouch And SWP Show
Peter Crouch often comes across as a personable, self-depreciating and articulate chap.
I'd hire him as pundit the second he retires.
With Shaun Wright-Phillips sitting on his knee as a kind of hideous Orville type character...
"That was clearly on-side, and should never have been disallowed. What do you think little Shaun?"
"I need a wee-wee."
"Would you like me to do the Robot?"
Etc.
Can't be any worse than Lawro and Hansen.
Jeremy (brackets, I spurn thee) Aves, Cambridge
More Future Pundits
As far as future pundits go I think that guy was right in identifying David James as a good prospect. I'd like to add to that list the names of Danny Murphy and Dion Dublin who have already done a bit of it and are miles better than your Redknapps, Sheringhams and Shearers.
Looking to the current batch of players, I think the list of acceptables would look very similar to the list of players you'd like to have a pint with. I think you could be relatively confident that Peter Crouch, Garry Barry and Jimmy Bullard wouldn't bore you senseless, be irredeemably stupid, glass you for spilling their pint or set you on fire for not owning a Ferrari. Ergo, get them signed up to Sky or the Beeb.
The list of definitely nots is clearly much longer, and unfortunately chock-full of likely candidates. Sol Campbell would make Ray Wilkins look like a fire-breathing clown on speed he's so boring, Joe Cole (who gave us a frightening taste of his future media involvement last year) is a dimwit of the highest order, John Terry would be in jail if he wasn't a professional footballer and Ashley Cole is to the common man what Nick Griffin, in my humble opinion, is to the concepts of tolerance, fraternity and intelligence.
There's a couple of players who could go one way or the other. Rio Ferdinand is growing in my estimation but I can't quite get away from the belief that he's a complete tw*t, Gary Neville's funny, but we're all laughing at him rather than with him, and Owen Hargreaves accent might just freak me out.
On a final note, what about Paul Scholes? I know it's unlikely, but seeing as lunar eclipses come round more regularly than him giving interviews, you know you'd be hanging on every word he said.
Will O'Doherty
Not Punditry...Prizes
I have to agree with Buxx, I cant see many (if any) current footballers becoming pundits let alone semi-decent pundits at that. However for some reason I can see quite a few getting jobs in the media after they hang up their boots.
I shudder at the thought of Rio Ferdinand getting a job at Radio 1, but I can see it happening. As well as Jimmy Bullard bringing back Jim'll Fix It. The most disturbing thing is that I cannot seem to get the title 'Michael Carrick's The Price Is Right' out of my head. Has strangely nice ring to it.
James Le Beak
