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Gimli (@GoonerGimli) is knee deep in snow & puppies and his Ark is coming along nicely and he is joined by :
GC (@SheWore).
Kate (@GoonerGirlKate).
Jason (@jasondavies71).
Danny (@The_GFP).
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Let it snow, let is snow, let it snoooooooooooooow.
By ‘ABW Guest Blogger’ Rory L. (@RoryLanganAFC)
İlkay Gündoğan ticks all the boxes of a modern Arsenal player – young, skillfull, nice to watch – but he also represents two of the more negative traits of our current squad, he is physically weak and injury prone. We’re not a physical team, there is no doubting that, but in this window we need a strong leader, crisp in the tackle, fearless in the air and someone who is not afraid to get stuck in to a team and grab a game by the scruff of the neck.
Do we have a player like that in our current squad? I would argue no, we don’t. We lack leaders, organisers and players who can stop a team from ripping open our defence. It is, and has been for some time, obvious that this is the kind of player we need to spend our money on during the transfer window. We have more than enough Gündoğan-esque players for now.
Please welcome new columnist, Neil R. (@chimpthegooner), as he talks about his experiences as a fan in his debut blog for A Bergkamp Wonderland – OG
Football is one of my earliest memories. My life as a Gooner began from birth; I guess you could call me a third generation fan. My Dad is, and has always been, my biggest football influence. He started taking me to Highbury from the age of three, and I have been lucky enough to have held a season ticket ever since. My Dad has just about collected every home programme from 1960 onwards so this gives you some indication into the Gooner world I grew up in.
I’m now into my 30’s and I have experienced so many highs and of course some low moments whilst growing up in this environment – which is natural being a football fan of course (!) and even more so being an Arsenal fan. The lows never really go away and still hurt. Let’s take for example Paris when we lost the Champions League final, domestic cup finals against Liverpool and Birmingham, and all the games we should have won, which is typical Arsenal. I also have firm memories of the high moments – I’ve seen some great away days, the stand out games for me, being in the San Siro when we won 5-1 and in Prague to see Thierry break Ian Wright’s record.
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Gimli (@GoonerGimli) has hard a hard week after he gave birth to 7 puppies and he is joined by :
Anders Limpar (@Anders_Limpar).
Geoff (@GeoffArsenal).
Raj (@RajPatel1809).
Matt (@Matt_Holmes1).
Danny (@The_GFP).
Problems using either of the two media players, try these :
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We had a living Arsenal Legend on tonight and we were all very well behaved.
This is Part 3 (and the final part) of my mini-series on the Wacky World of Transfers in which I cover Sources and What to Watch Out For. Enjoy and catch Part 1 which covers Perspective and Basic Transfers here and Part 2 which covers Complications and Arsenal in the Transfer Window here. Youknowit – OG
Sources of Information:
I love a good sauce: HP, A1, ketchup – all good in my books.
But seriously, I’d be remiss to not go over some common sources of transfer gossip and information. I’ve already covered that the club operate under a shroud of secrecy which means you should be suspicious of all sources – remember – not until it is on dot com. But amongst the bullshit peddled by the papers and on social media – there are always some kernals of truth – if you know where to look.
This is Part 2 of my mini-series on the Wacky World of Transfers in which I cover Complications and Arsenal in the Transfer Window. Enjoy and catch Part 1 which covers Perspective and Basic Transfers here and watch for Part 3 which covers Sources and What to Watch Out For in the next day or so. Youknowit – OG
Complications:
So we understand how a text book transfer works now (if not, link here)? Good – because they rarely ever go down like that. There is an endless list of things that can prevent the three parties to agree. Being a rival club could prevent the two clubs from agreeing a transfer; player swaps introduce another agreeing party which adds a layer of complexity; loan deals get crazy when it comes down to who is paying the wages, if there is a loan fee (payment to use the player for the term), if there is an option to buy at the end of the period (this one comes up regularly in our loan dealings – particularly outgoings). Two specific situations worth talking a bit more on are third party ownership and Bosmans.
This is Part 1 of my mini-series on the Wacky World of Transfers in which I cover Perspective and Basic Transfers. Over the next two days, watch for Part 2 which covers Complications and Arsenal in the Transfer Window and Part 3 in which I cover Sources and What to Watch Out For. Youknowit – OG
I am not ITK. Let’s get that out of the way early. Further, this blog will not tell you who Arsenal or anyone else will be signing this window (or any others). I’m not even going to talk about whom we’re linked with…and I’m not ITK. Did I cover that already? Good.
I do, however, really love the transfer window. Is this completely irrational? Yes. Is this completely irrational given I’m an Arsenal fan? Absolutely.
I recognize that for many of you, this blog will not even remotely interest you. That is, quite simply, down to the fact that when it comes to transfers, there are two distinct groups – those who would rather live in Stoke than talk about M’Vila’s latest medical; and those, like me, that cannot be pried away from the car crash that is a last minute loan deal for an aging Swedish international with a broken back.
We are all a bunch of transfer window lickers.
The year is 1996. The date is August 14. Arsenal are on the verge of a new signing.
The player in question is Patrick Vieira. A tall rangy midfielder who has struggled to make the grade at AC Milan, after showing such promise for AS Cannes – who he captained when he was just 19 years of age.
The fee is £3.5m. A sizeable amount for a 20-year-old who critics are worried may not make the cut at a top European club.
Now, imagine that deal – but within the world of Twitter.
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Gimli (@GoonerGimli) is now a publish artist after his photo of a snow covered Wales was shown on Sky New (seriously it was) and he is joined by :
Dom (@ozgooner49).
Jason (@jasondavies71).
Kris (@AFCfreddie8).
Danny (@The_GFP).
Problems using either of the two media players, try these :
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Its a 2am start for us in the UK so we might well all fall asleep.
In the world of football, transfers are usually king. In today’s game it has become such an integral part of the sport. So much so that the transfer of one player in or one player out can completely change the fortunes of one club for better or worse.
Whatever you think of Luis Suárez and his antics, could you really imagine Liverpool would be in this position if he had stayed? There have been so many examples even in the last 12 months, in and around us, that have changed teams for the better and indeed, worse.
Southampton are enjoying a rare season of success no matter what position they finish in. Who could have envisioned this after the great player exodus in the off-season? Of course it takes much more than just transfers to change the fortunes of a club, but for the sake of this article and who I’m about to discuss, it leads to my overall point.
