dbchoong Posted June 22, 2007 Posted June 22, 2007 It's gonna get tougher for Arsenal to challenge for top spot next season as King Henry is now leaving for Barca.
yellowhandman Posted June 23, 2007 Posted June 23, 2007 actually, the henry/arsenal situation had reached the same point as the ruud/united situation...henry and ruud are both great players and were the undeniable stars of their teams, but over the years the teams had become over-reliant upon them. once a team becomes one-dimensional, it becomes easier to beat them. when united sold ruud, i wrote on my (now defunct) blog that united were better off without him, and that the team would blossom. as it turns out, that is what happened. i think the same thing could happen with arsenal. however, it's a bit trickier because they don't have other old vets (like a giggs or a scholes) to continue to guide the youngsters, and also the club has been destabilized by dein's ouster. also, unlike fergie who comes back hungry every year, wenger is starting to act and sound like a demoralized and spent force - i doubt he stays beyond this season if arsenal don't win big silverware. we will see...august can't come fast enough!
SiriuslyCold Posted June 23, 2007 Posted June 23, 2007 is it a done deal? will Barca let go of Eto'o? will Liverpool buy anyone at all? :-X
dbchoong Posted June 23, 2007 Author Posted June 23, 2007 What's the use of the contract he signed last season when he can leave at cut-cost £16m? Surely he's worth more than that. Don't really understand football business... ???
yellowhandman Posted June 23, 2007 Posted June 23, 2007 will Liverpool buy anyone at all? :-X diego forlan!
FookLai Posted June 23, 2007 Posted June 23, 2007 Kind of expected from his recent comments for Dein and AC milan interest. I dont think Arsenal will be better without him. Remember he is top scorer for 4 season in England. However, 16millions really too low for a player with Henry capability. Fook Lai
Pingu1624705792 Posted June 23, 2007 Posted June 23, 2007 Kind of expected from his recent comments for Dein and AC milan interest. I dont think Arsenal will be better without him. Remember he is top scorer for 4 season in England. However, 16millions really too low for a player with Henry capability. Fook Lai I agree. It's one thing if he had left last year. But the last season really showed how badly he is needed to turn good passing play into goals. The remaining strikers are a distinctling average lot. Even van Persie, his maturity and temperament is suspect though sometimes I feel he is the most natural finisher since Fowler. Wenger, the Arsenal board, they are still clinging to the old fashioned way of running a football club. Keep expenses really under control, careful with wages and transfers, keep only players you absolutely need. I mean just count the no, of promising young players who have left the club in recent years! I don't see the present crop of young players as being good enough, especially without the seniors. And I don't see Wenger buying any established class players. Besides, who would really want to come anyway, the prospects look bleak and the pay probably will be lower than many of the other EPL clubs, West Ham included. Suddenly the recent cable price hike doesn't seem to matter anymore... Still, here's to a truly exceptional player. Will look forward to him in Barca colours. Wistfully.
yellowhandman Posted June 23, 2007 Posted June 23, 2007 I agree. It's one thing if he had left last year. But the last season really showed how badly he is needed to turn good passing play into goals. The remaining strikers are a distinctling average lot. Even van Persie, his maturity and temperament is suspect though sometimes I feel he is the most natural finisher since Fowler. as a non-gooner, i must say i disagree...with henry, arse tended more and more to have more and more 'good passing', but less and less goals. maybe now that he has left, you'll have less passing but more goals...sometimes the direct route is better, even if it isn't as pretty.
Darthfunk Posted June 23, 2007 Posted June 23, 2007 Geesh what the hell was Arsenal thinking letting go Henry for 16mil! ???
SiriuslyCold Posted June 24, 2007 Posted June 24, 2007 Geesh what the hell was Arsenal thinking letting go Henry for 16mil! ??? "well, that's our weekly wage commitment down by 120K"
yellowhandman Posted June 24, 2007 Posted June 24, 2007 it's starting to look like next season is already down to united or chelski. arse and pool appear to be in a state of paralysis, or worse. the unravelling of arsenal is predictable. it was time for a change, and the team had become too dependant on henry. but i can't understand why liverpool - even after being taken over by the americans - has done nothing at all. people thought that rafa was waiting for the end of the spanish season, but it's ended and...nothing, except the forlan rumour. imho, both arse and pool are several players away from being able to challenge for the league. in contrast, united and chelski already have the squads to fight for the title, and both have gone on to make their squads even better so far. chelski's free transfer policy is a little surprising, but they have got decent players through it.
Pingu1624705792 Posted June 24, 2007 Posted June 24, 2007 as a non-gooner, i must say i disagree...with henry, arse tended more and more to have more and more 'good passing', but less and less goals. maybe now that he has left, you'll have less passing but more goals...sometimes the direct route is better, even if it isn't as pretty. 'good passing but less and less goals'? With Henry? The guy who happened to top the scoring charts almost every time he played a full season? And the assists charts as well? I would have thought the last season showed everyone how TH, Pires, Viera and Cashley were so badly needed for Arsenal's style of play to be productive. And yet not one of them has been adequately replaced. Arsenal had one good game without Henry, the game at Old Trafford, and everyone was praising Adebayoor to the sky. But how prolific was he when he was really needed? 'less passing but more goals'? I wonder where it's gonna come from. Not from the present strikers or midfielders for sure. Perhaps Kolo Toure to the fore...!
scoobydoo Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 I still remember one of the first times that I saw Henry play for Arsenal. He got the ball on the left touchline and there was no one near him. He wanted to dribble it down the left flank and instead dribbled it out of play. I was laughing my head off. But looked at what he had achieved from then on. I am sure when he came and took over from Ian Wright, Arsenal fans had their reservations on Henry. Given the track record that Wenger has, I am quite confident he will find someone to adequately replace Henry in time to come. 16 millions pounds for a striker approaching the age of 30 is good business, imho, for Arsenal. However the big question is whether he himself will stay at Arsenal. Another season of disappointment for Arsenal and Barca, he could very well join Barca next season.
armoury Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 The Mirror has an interesting article which in essence says that when Wenger offloads a big star, he usually gets it right, i.e. the star was just about past it, and he cashed in at just the right time. The only one whre he was forced against his will to sell was Anelka, and at least he made a 23 mil profit for Arsenal. The cited examples were Overmars, Petit, Vieira, and now Henry, the theory being that Wenger knows (or at least suspects) that with all those injuries Henry has racked up, he's past it. Although you may cite Vieira's success in Serie A (winning the Scudetto with Juve, although it was later stripped, and now with Inter), part of that may be because Italian football is played slower, so whilst Vieira could/can still deliver in Italy, he would not have done so at the pace of the Premiership, and it was really in both parties' best interest for Vieira to move. The same might apply to Henry now as well, after all if he's lost some of his blistering speed he would have been less effective this season. The other problem was that with his shadow looming large, the youngsters often felt stifled, and hopefully they'll now come into their own. The other reservation is I do think 16 mil was a bit cheap. 20 would've been more like it, but it's been said that Barca are required to pay up in full, not in annual instalments as would be the norm, so perhaps that's why there's a discount, since this makes the funds immediately available for the recruitment of Henry's replacement. I must say that I am concerned, but I think yellowhandman is overstating the case somewhat. It's still June for feck's sake, the transfer window is open until the end of August! Yes, ManYoo and Chelski got an early march on everyone else, and good for them, but the wheeling and dealing is far from done. And if suddenly the likes of Kaka or Torres becomes available for 25 mil, and Sir Fungus is told to pass by the Glazers because he's already blown his wad, and Maureen is told his squad (and wage-bill) is already full, leaving Arsenal and Liverpool to duke it out, it won't look quite so disastrous, will it? But that I will concede is a best-case scenario.
silencer13 Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 Wow, Barcelona fans must be smaking their lips in anticipation. Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Messi, Henry, Gudjohnsen - their strike force sure looks exciting. As an Arsenal fan, I see it with mixed feelings - on the one hand I'm sad Henry is leaving, after all he's been an Arsenal talisman. On the other hand, since the World Cup Henry hasn't really been that great actually, and maybe it's time he moved so that Arsenal can get someone to fill his boots. IMHO, the current Arsenal strikers all CMI. Would have been nice if Arsenal could have swapped Henry for Eto'o. I think he'd fit in perfectly to Arsenal's attacking game.
Spunky Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 The Mirror has an interesting article which in essence says that when Wenger offloads a big star, he usually gets it right, i.e. the star was just about past it, and he cashed in at just the right time. The only one whre he was forced against his will to sell was Anelka, and at least he made a 23 mil profit for Arsenal. Not only he got a tidy profit, he also got himself a world class legend in the form of Henry!! ;) 16M is not too low considering he's no longer interested and also there's only 2 yrs left of his contract. Don;t forget, he's hitting 30 next yr liao!
lewlian Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 Well well, it is a done deal. He gave me as a non-Gunners fan some nice memories and let's see what he can produce for Barca.
Pingu1624705792 Posted June 26, 2007 Posted June 26, 2007 The Mirror has an interesting article which in essence says that when Wenger offloads a big star, he usually gets it right, i.e. the star was just about past it, and he cashed in at just the right time. The only one whre he was forced against his will to sell was Anelka, and at least he made a 23 mil profit for Arsenal. It's all fine saying Arsene knows. It's also true nothing lasts forever, even Henry's goals and form. But last season clearly showed how the gooners dearly missed a good finisher to all the good moves they create. And they don't come much better than TH. Selling him without an adequate replacement is just not good football tactics. When Anelka left TH arrived. So unless something like that happens its going to be another needless transitional season, as Bergkamp would put it Btw, say what you would like, Cesc is no Viera replacement. Arsenal conceded so many goals on counter-attacks simply because there wasn't this lanky cunning fouling defensive midfielder in the the centre of the field.
Spunky Posted June 27, 2007 Posted June 27, 2007 Btw, say what you would like, Cesc is no Viera replacement. Arsenal conceded so many goals on counter-attacks simply because there wasn't this lanky cunning fouling defensive midfielder in the the centre of the field. Seriously, how many players of Viera's calibre can one find in the whole world. ;)
yellowhandman Posted June 27, 2007 Posted June 27, 2007 Seriously, how many players of Viera's calibre can one find in the whole world. ;) gattuso on his good days...
Ong Hai Peng Posted June 27, 2007 Posted June 27, 2007 Seriously, how many players of Viera's calibre can one find in the whole world. ;) Viera is indeed one of its kind. Chop up opponent's offensive at will and move forward with poise and gusto. Stevie Gerard doesn't defend much these days but is definitely a better player going forward.
Recommended Posts