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Liverpool Just Trying To Cash In On Torres
Liverpool are clearly just trying to cash in on Torres. It has nothing to do with credit crunches or borrowed money. Essentially the dollar signs are rolling in the heads of the board who can see a lovely cash cow in Man City coming along in the transfer window. This story has leaked as a way of testing the water to see if they can get away with off-loading him without a supporter's revolt. They know Citeh will be coming back with a £50m bid and they want their new stadium badly as they can then cash in on 20,000 corporate seats like Arsenal do. Whatever happened to true footy fans eh?!
Stevie Sizzle
We Hope You Read This
I am finding the mailbox a bit painful. The minute one of the 'Big 4' loses there is talk of crisis.
On Saturday Man Utd lost so they are falling apart. Queue loads of mails saying Rooney is shit and Berbatov is a waste of money. A week earlier Berbatov had just absolutely skinned a West Ham defender and Rooney's new haircut meant he could finish every chance that came his way.
Last Wednesday Chelsea lost to Roma, so in come the cries of 'we have gone backwards since Mourinho' etc. 3 days later and they go another game without conceding and are lauded for being able to get results in terrible weather. Chelsea are amazing again.
The Saturday before Arsenal were dead and buried and out of the title race having lost to Stoke and some fans were asking for Wenger to be sacked. Now one week and one win later they are back in the 'closest title race for years' and playing 'beautiful football'. The kids are coming good.
Surely the answer to all of this is somewhere in between? I remember Rodney Marsh used to have a go at fans for knee-jerk reactions and would gong them off. It seems the F365 mailbox is the home of these knees and jerks.
Oh wait the title of the latest mailbox is 'Purring about Arsenal'. Does this mean the theme for next week is gonna be Wenger out?
Does all of the above mean that most people are just a bit thick and know nothing about football? Should I stop reading the mailbox? Or will I have to keep checking it in case you print this letter? I guess you have got me there.
James 'Darren Bent was crap two weeks ago and now he is amazing' Sullivan
The Kids Aren't Alright
As a Liverpool fan i just have one question:
If these Arsenal kids are so good then why is Wenger not trying them out in the league? Its obvious they're going to get nowhere near the league title with their first team so why does he refuse to play them? I'm pretty sure wilshere could do a better job than eboue, same goes for vela ahead of bendtner as he is truly terrible and belongs back at Birmingham. Fabianski should be ahead of Almunia...he actually saves shots. The double save last night was absolutely incredible. Everyone has literally been w***ing off about these Arsenal kids for the past 4 years or so...but has their first team improved at all? Doesn't look like it, so why do these youngsters never get the chance?
Maybe they're not quite as good as people make them out to be...
Pete, Liverpool
...In the not-too-distant future, it's Carling Cup semi final night. I canhear the punditry quite clearly : "The Gunners second team.....ooOOOoo...that second team. OooooOooOoo THATteam....that SECOND string of players!!!! Ooooh so young. OoooHHH SO youngon average! Ooooh and did you see what they did to Wigan? OoooOOOh wouldyou look at that! OoooOOh did you see what he did then? AAAh they make itlook SOOOO simple. OooOO this could be a massacre. OoooOOOh they ALL wantthe ball. OoooOoOo aren't they comfortable on the ball? OoOOOoh such neattriangles. OooOOoh so passy and movey. OOOoooh have you got a spare sock?OooooOOoOoOoO UUURGGH ooooooOOOOOOOOh aaaaaah uuurgh uuurgh UUURGHOooOOOOOooh .....oh.............they've lost. Errrm, well, of courseeveryone's been raving, but I always DID suspect they may be found wantingat the very TOP level. It's been a cold night and you could tell theyweren't up for it. Weren't up for it at all. Some of them had gloves on.
Steve Smith
...How come we have all these Gooners creaming their pants over the new kids every time they have a good result (I did watch the game and yes they were very impressive) but a soon as they get thumped 5-1 by a team much better than the kids they go on about how "they are only little kids". Double standards. It seems that whoever plays the kids of L'Arse are in a no win situation as if they loose its bad and if they win it was against the reserves.
Stuart (Campbell to score first and us to win 3-2 tonight) Mackenzie
Perspective
Don't get me wrong, I think Arsenal have an incredibly talented bunch of kids on their hands and it was a pleasure to match them take Wigan apart last night. However, I can't help but think that the main reasons they are able to play so well is (a) it's the Carling Cup and there is zero pressure on them; and (b) they're used to playing together, know each others games inside out, etc, etc.
I believe that if you only put one or two of them into the Arsenal first team (say Ramsey if Fabregas got injured or Vela if, sorry when, Van Persie gets injured) in a full-blooded Premiership match in December then they would get lost, out-muscled and completely overshadowed. This is because all of sudden there would be greater pressure for them to succeed and because they wouldn't be surrounded by their close mates playing football they know. I think Wenger also knows this, which is why you've not seen many of them in the proper Arsenal first team yet.
Maybe I'm being a little harsh, but I'm prepared to bet that of that squad last night only Ramsey, Wilshere and Vela (maybe Merida) have a chance of a long-term future at Arsenal. Middlesborough will buy the rest.
Andy Jones, LFC, Cheshire
Not Expensive At All
Firstly I would like to point out that I am a Newcastle fan and not an Arsenal one, but I feel compelled to respond to the hilarious diatribe from Mark Greaves.
I'm sure he's not just a bitter man, but from memory haven't Arsenal's Carling Cup side knocked out his beloved Blades for the last three years or so? I think that may be slightly blurring his vision (or maybe it was an elbow from Chris Morgan).
As a football fan I love watching Arsenal's kids, the promise they could show is the point of it, it's exciting to try to think of what these players could develop into, especially with so many of them eligible for the England team, it excites me to think of our future World Cup chances, particularly as they are yet to demonstrate that they are complete twunts, so as yet I have no reason to hate them.
Personally, I would delighted if Newcastle's first team could get through to a semi-final or final, let alone the kids team, I'm sure Mark is so thrilled with Sheffield United's cup and league form that he feels he can slate Arsenal's.
As for them being an expensively assembled team, last night's team was the following; Fabianski, Hoyte, Song Billong, Djourou, Gibbs, Wilshere (Bischoff 76), Randall, Ramsey, Merida, Simpson (Lansbury 76), Vela (Fonte 84). Ok, Ramsey cost £5m (or was it £6m), but none of the others cost anything that any other Premier League team (or Sheffield United) couldn't afford.
Mark should just get off his high horse, maybe he just enjoys p*ssing on other people's bonfire as it makes him feel superior, although I imagine he would rather watch the likes of Beattie and Webber than Vela and Wilshere and that invalidates his entire argument.
Rich, London
...I'm going to have to bite in response to Mark Greaves e-mail.
Of Arsenals outfield players last night, only Song, Ramsey, Merida and Vela cost them a penny, and on that point, they cost less than Jason Koumas and Lee Cattermole combined.
As for the point of teams actually trying come the semi finals...Sheff Utd although appearing not to try last month, most certainly did so in vain. The reserves (they aren't so much youngsters these days) are put in to represent this competition for Arsenal, not so much to win it.
Arsenal fans don't so much drool over them anymore, but we certainly are impressed by them. I actually thought they'd lose last night, and had a sly fiver on Wigan at 5/1 I'm ashamed to say - but I'm happy to lose that.
Problem being they couldn't all come through at one time for Arsenal, they'd need to be brought in one at a time amongst more established players bought in, such as Walcott and before him Bendtner, Senderos and Clichy have been. That seems to be Wengers flaw, he doesn't realise that these should be brought in aswell as established Internationals (purchasing Yaya Toure and a Centre Half above 5'10" would be great)
Arwyn Thomas
...Love the bitterness of Mark Greaves this morning as Arsenal's performance was due to how they kidnapped players and bought them with Nazi gold and was clearly nothing to do with the training they got from Wenger, Brady and Bould. Can I ask was it the "big transfer budget," that got Arsenal the likes of Randal, Wishire, Simpson, Gibbs and Hoyte? Do you realise that for the price you paid for James Beattie you could have had 32 Carlos Vela's?
As for Vela, I don't think it took "the world's most expensive scouting budget" to notice him taking the golden boot at the U17's World Cup in 2005. Do the parachute payments Sheffield United get not cover the cost of subscription to Eurosport?
Admitidely Gibbs came from the disbanded Wimbledon youth set up and Merida from Barcelona (we did pay over 2million for him by the way) but how about your dry you eyes and then ask Boromir to stump some of his cash to buy you some decent players or are you saving for Chris Morgan's bail!?
Brian The Belfast Gooner (thinks a 6-nil spanking is a lot more comical than losing 5-1 in the Semi's)
...In response to Mark Greaves of Lufbra,
Does the bitterness in your email emanate from the bitter you folk drink in your northern pubs?
"But also please be aware this is an expensive team of everyone else's best youth players assembled not using the manager's nous but rather the world's most expensive scouting budget, a big transfer budget, and also a string of feeder clubs."
The world's most expensive scouting budget!!!?!?!? As you seem so well-informed, perhaps you could give us a breakdown of how much is spent in airfares to recruit Wilshere (Stevenage), Hoyte (Waltham Forest), Randall (Milton Keynes), Lansbury (Enfield), Gibbs (Lambeth) and Simpson (London). Here's a clue to help you... they're all shandy-drinking towns in the south.
Richard Gibson (enjoying our mid-season slump) Gibson, Islington
...If Mark Greaves can't get excited about Arsenal's youngsters, I can't help but wonder what he does get excited by?
Exciting, free-flowing football ? Nope. Brilliant goals ? Clearly not. The future of about four international sides (including dear old dismal England) ? Keep it. Cup upsets ? Cross that off. Re-invigorating a tired, redundant competition ? You know the rest...
Apparently what excites Mark Greaves is Sheffield United. May I wish him and the charming Chris Morgan a long and happy marriage.
Thom (long-time listener firm-time caller) Hammond
A Mail Entitled 'High Expectation Kills Talent'
Hate to burst Stephen Marshall's bubble re the exciting future for England / Arsenal due to the performance of their kids last night but the acid test of greatness in football and all sport for that matter, is to perform the exceptional when it's expected of you. There's s a big difference when Wayne Rooney or Theo Walcott is bearing down on goal with all that burden of fully realized expectation on their shoulders and a "no name" (talented) kid who has nothing to lose and everything in the world to gain. In other words the transition from innocent raw potential to consistent top performance weeds out at least 90% of these kids world wide and probably 99% in celebrity hungry, too much too soon, I want it"now" England.
Dave Mack
'Tevez Is Awesome' And Other High-Brow Opinions
Tim Collins - I clearly know f**k all about football mate but I'd drop Wayne Rooney every day of the week for Carlitos.. I support LFC so I guess I should keep my nose out of scum affairs but Tevez is the ONLY united player I rate that highly and I can tell ya now I'd be more worried with his name on the teamsheet than anyone elses, Ronaldo VERY RARELY cuts the mustard with the big boys (FACT!) but will tear everyone else to pieces so yeah he's 95% undroppable and Wayne Rooney is more likely to get sent off than do anything of note..... He could become a great player if he ever grows up and learns to curb his temper and become consistent for more than 3 weeks at a time...Tevez is awesome, there is a reason he is so revered in Argentina (as well as Aguero), he is a constant menace, if he got more than 15 minutes per game you'd see a much bigger goal return.... If you don't want him I'd be happy to see him partner Torres and Keano.... Knowing that would never happen though would be nice to see him stay in the Premiership..
Oh yeah and can't wait to see the back of the yanks in January and hopefully we can finally have some financial stability.... fingers crossed...
Phil (The current year ends in 50 days, so at present this could be our year!!! J Let's just hope our form continues into 2009!) LFC Kopite
The Loveable Little Argy
365, its been a while,
Just writing to respond to the mail this morning about the possibility of United losing Signor Tevez.
While we clearly have an abundance of attacking talent, and I understand why he gets such little game time these days, and I know I may come across being a little greedy here but I and most United fans I come across are desperate for this lovable little Argy to stay.
To be simplistic, when you think about it it for all their talents Wazza is a foul mouthed thug (did I just say that?), Berbs is a grump and 'CR7' is a cocky lil shaper. Mi amigo Carlitos, like the other 3 has bags of talent, will run all day for us, and when he is given enough time this season he will produce the goods again like, like last year.To borrow from a mail from yesterday, and expand upon it, he is Dirk Kuyt meets Maradona.
He is a luxury, and a luxury in a resession , but just give him a chance Sir Alex.
Hugh 'Who's that boy from Argentina?' , Stranded in Cork
'Is There A God After All?'
If the Global Credit crunch means Liverpool finally run out of luck and have to sell their key players, and hopefully in an ideal world "do a Leeds", this can only prove one thing. This will be concrete, incontrovertible evidence, that shows once and for all, and forever more, that a benevolent, omniscient God does in fact exist.
Hallelujah brothers and sisters! Bring on the rapture.
Colin (praying to my new found Lord) Broon
Butch
Having read the lovely & well respected views from Ray Wilkins on Arsenal "Undermining" the Carling Cup last night, I would just like to know what exactly is his problem?
Notice how he doesn't have a dig at Man United & Liverpool (or even Bolton, for that matter) for fielding "under strength" teams when they don't do so well?
I tell you what is undermining Ray:
Pumping millions & millions into a failing youth policy that your owner has now come out and demanded more from...
Having up & coming quality players (Scott Sinclair) but never playing them, because you would rather go & spunk more millions on established internationals...
But having those same internationals being outplayed in the final of the same competition, by the same kids you are complaining about...
Now that's "Undermining"!!
Ohh, and nice to see you having a nice little dig at us not winning anything for a few years. What exactly did Chelsea win, last year? Hmmmm...
Undermining, considering the money you've spent, don't you think?
Stephen "Undermining" Gallagher
...I never used to have a problem with Ray Wilkins, despite the fact that he had played for both Man U and Chelsea, and always thought that he was one of the more intelligent pundits/ex-footballers out there. But within 2 months of re-joining Chelsea he has already turned into an utter classless tosser. His comments about Arsenal putting their kids out in the Carling Cup devaluing the competition are brimming with bitterness and jealousy. I would have liked to have seen Chelsea stick out a team of 19 year olds and stuff an established FULL STRENGTH Premiership team 3-0 and a decent Championship team 6-0 in a style that has the whole country purring.
So what that Chelsea have won the competition twice in 4 years (towards which Wilkins contributed a grand total of F**k all). They can afford to have a second XI that costs more than most teams first XI. Arsenal have reached at least the semi-finals in 5 of the last 6 years, and in the year they got to the final they battered a full strength Chelsea for an hour before fading away. How is that showing any sort of disrespect towards the competition? I believe that if Arsenal were to win the Carling Cup this year with this squad of players it would rank alongside some of the greatest achievements in English football.
Actually, given that the last Chelsea player to come through the ranks was John Terry, maybe its best that they don't have a youth to team to speak of. Could you imagine eleven C*nts like him turning out every week? The ref would need a bodyguard.
Tony (bet our 1st team dont beat Wigan 3-0 next month), London
Let Wigan Be Wigan
What blew my mind after watching Wigan just stay in the game in the first half, before leaking a goal, was that up to that point they hadn't played like Wigan. Or rather, they hadn't played like a Steve Bruce team. I don't like the man - he's got a big fat head, after all - but his teams are committed and pretty physical units.
Last night they looked like they didn't want to be accused of bullying the poor ikkle babies. I kept waiting for Cattermole to thunder into Wilkshire and give him a proper "welcome to real football". It just never happened. Palacios, who is a really good player, was gingerly tip-toing around, nick the ball off the young gun's feet carefully. I think even if they had added Heskey, Ivanhoe would have been in his full, sorry sir mood.
And then, after a first half when the team talk seemed obvious "get fucking involved bunch of gormless twunts", they went out and did it again. So odd.
Andrew M, Johannesburg
Brad v Robbo
I enjoyed Nick Naylor's erudite defence of Blackburn and former England stopper Paul Robinson and how he's a better keeper than Brad Freidel, except for the fact that it is, in one aspect a fatally flawed argument. I'd like to point nick in the direction of the current league table, in particular the goals against column which currently reads:
Blackburn (Paul Robinson) - Goals Against 22
Aston Villa (Brad Freidel) - Goals Against 16
Derick Yates
Lovely Bolton
After reading about Blackburn's tight-fisted behaviour this morning I felt compelled to give my own club, Bolton, some credit. Gartside and Co may have employed a ginger clown as manager, but they do look after the fans. The club have just announced free travel to our next two away games at Boro and Sunderland. These are the latest in a long line of free travel offers to away games, the only one since April that hasn't been free was Newcastle back in August.
For the club to provide free coaches to games in London (usually £25) and other far-flung places shows that they do value us as fans which is refreshing from a Premier League club. It is also worth noting that our away results (along with our away following: 2,000 to West Ham for a 1pm televised game; 3000 to Hull/Boro/Spurs; 5,000 to Chelsea) have dramatically improved since free travel was introduced. I'm surprised that clubs like Boro, Fulham, Blackburn etc. that also have small away crowds haven't introduced something similar.
So in conclusion, cheers Bolton for making it less expensive/embarrassing to be an away fan.
Joe (3 paragraphs but still won't get printed) BWFC
Ballsy? It's Just The Way His Trousers Hang
Interesting article from Nick Miller today and a very ballsy statement in predicting that West Ham will make the drop this season. Even more interesting are his reasoning -- while I agree with their current shambolic financial situation which might lead to the sale of several players, it should be duly noted that with their usual injury curse, several important players hardly ever feature during their regular season. Even worse is his second reason - Zola.
Gianfranco Zola was a great player, so great that he was voted Chelsea's greatest player of the 90s. After Chelsea, he agreed a verbal contract with Cagliari which was then later bought over by Roman Abramovich. He refused to renege on his verbal contract however, and single-handedly gained promotion with them the following season. This is a man that is revered by the clubs he has played for. He has integrity, something that is lacking in most footballers. And most importantly, it is not the size of the dog in the fight but the fight in the dog. I think that Zola will learn, and he will learn quick. West Ham certainly have the players required for a top 10 finish. What they now require is his inspiration.
Rohit "remember that lob against Everton" Vankipuram
Rating/Slating The Pundits
Jeff Stelling - The Godfather of Sky Sports News. O.K, we know that 95% of what he tells us is fed into his right ear by a team of online statto-monkeys, but he's still the best there is and I won't have a bad word said against him. He also supports Hartlepool don't you know?
Paul Merson - It's is generally accepted that this lad is an idiot and he rarely does anything to confound that notion. However, his views are interesting because they represent the reality (and simplicity) of the average Premiership footballer ("I only signed for Middlebrough cause they offered me the most money!"). He must be the most honest panelist on t.v. He just says what he thinks and isn't afraid to stick the boot into his old clubs or colleagues - which must deserve some recognition in this era of undeserved platitudes.
Phil Thompson - The only time you get any value from him is when Liverpool are getting gubbed. In that respect, it is entertaining watching him struggle to contain his rage. Unfortunately, as this season appears to be heading in a different direction for LFC, we are left with his smug grin and irritating nonchalance when they, inevitably, win!
Charlie Nicholas - His inarticulate manner masks the message he is trying to convey. Appearing to know nothing, if he could actually construct his thoughts and views into a coherent sentence we'd be in awe of his knowledge. The fact you need an Enigma Machine to work out what he is banging on about prevents this. But if you listen and concentrate very, very, very carefully...
Alan McInally - Possibly the worst ex-pro they ever have on the panel. He has literally nothing to say that is worth listening to. He doesn't even align himself in a partisan manner with his former club, Villa, or give us an insight into European football from his time at Bayern, so I'm not sure what demograph he represents.
I would also like to give a special mention to Iain Dowie who, last night uttered the bamboozling sentence "and he moved it to his right-hand leg and hit a shot that almost clipped the post"!
Whoever is responsible for putting him on live tv needs their jotters!
Daniel MacAskill
