"Derisory"? Yes, but I don't see anyone laughing
(I'll leave Paul with the unenviable task of reliving yesterday evening's truly nightmarish start to the new season, but feel compelled to comment on the Dreamboat situation.)
One of the benefits of our poor performance last year is that our prized assets, many of whom were distinctly off-colour, have been somewhat forgotten about over the course of the summer, with the club not forced to entertain or respond to any bids. All that changed yesterday, though, when it was revealed that Dreamboat had been the subject of a £10m bid from Arsenal.
Like ourselves, the Gunners have endured a summer of frustration, missing out on Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Gustavo and (thus far, at least) failing to secure Luis Suarez's release by Liverpool. All that stress, compounded by an alarming opening day defeat at home to Villa, appears to have got to Arsene Wenger - normally dour, he's suddenly cracked up into quite the comedian. Our French captain in waiting was arguably one of our most underachieving players last season, but even still £10m is indeed a "derisory" amount and we'll be fully justified in rejecting the bid out of hand.
Unfortunately, though, that's not the end of the story. As an irritated Silver Fox commented, "To bid on the eve of a game was not necessary. They could have bid when this game was over and it would not have been any further down the line." The upshot of the unsolicited bid was that while Dreamboat travelled to Manchester, he was left out of the squad, the Silver Fox claiming his "head had been messed with".
Not that it would take much to mess with his head, I suspect, given his previous talk of agents working busily for him trying to engineer a move to one of "the big clubs". Despite their distinct and embarrassing lack of silverware for eight long years, Arsenal would constitute such a club (particularly if they can negotiate their Champions League qualification double-header against Fenerbahce). All the same, while Dreamboat might be angling for a move to the Emirates, any deal would have to be struck on our terms - and that would mean the Gunners offering to stump up an awful lot more cash.
One of the benefits of our poor performance last year is that our prized assets, many of whom were distinctly off-colour, have been somewhat forgotten about over the course of the summer, with the club not forced to entertain or respond to any bids. All that changed yesterday, though, when it was revealed that Dreamboat had been the subject of a £10m bid from Arsenal.
Like ourselves, the Gunners have endured a summer of frustration, missing out on Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Gustavo and (thus far, at least) failing to secure Luis Suarez's release by Liverpool. All that stress, compounded by an alarming opening day defeat at home to Villa, appears to have got to Arsene Wenger - normally dour, he's suddenly cracked up into quite the comedian. Our French captain in waiting was arguably one of our most underachieving players last season, but even still £10m is indeed a "derisory" amount and we'll be fully justified in rejecting the bid out of hand.
Unfortunately, though, that's not the end of the story. As an irritated Silver Fox commented, "To bid on the eve of a game was not necessary. They could have bid when this game was over and it would not have been any further down the line." The upshot of the unsolicited bid was that while Dreamboat travelled to Manchester, he was left out of the squad, the Silver Fox claiming his "head had been messed with".
Not that it would take much to mess with his head, I suspect, given his previous talk of agents working busily for him trying to engineer a move to one of "the big clubs". Despite their distinct and embarrassing lack of silverware for eight long years, Arsenal would constitute such a club (particularly if they can negotiate their Champions League qualification double-header against Fenerbahce). All the same, while Dreamboat might be angling for a move to the Emirates, any deal would have to be struck on our terms - and that would mean the Gunners offering to stump up an awful lot more cash.
Labels: arsenal, transfer window, yohan cabaye
posted by Ben at 8:42 am
8 Comments:
I find it amusing that a newcastle fan would try and make fun of Arsenal not winning things in eight years. When was the last time you won some silverware (and no championship does not count)
1. Derisory? You paid £5m for him, one good season, one poor season, how has his value more than doubled? £10m is a decent "opening" offer
2. The bid was made on Friday. Ask your "Silver Fox" why they chose to make it public just before the game.
3. 8 years embarrassing? What word describes your 37 year lack of silverware?
You have some nerve 8 Years without a trophy? have you ever seen a trophy at The Sports Direct arena?
The Bid was made on Friday. What is Pardew smoking?
As an Arsenal fan I can honestly say I am truly embarrassed about the way we've gone about trying to purchase players. The board know Cabaye is worth double that yet, along with Suarez/Higuain/Bender, they put in these ridiculously low bids which waste their time and are insulting to the other club. £10m for Cabaye is a joke.
Bid was apparently made on Friday. Arsene and mr kinnear are mates so I wonder how much of this is Pardew posturing. If £10m is derisory, in hindsight, the bid which secured his services two seasons ago for signinificantly less is must make the toon look like derision is the ultimate in respectful and complimentary behaviour.
Every bid, by every club not accepted is now derisory. Please disembark the bandwagon here!
It would be nice if, just once, people read what's written rather than what they imagine has been said.
Two points:
1. I never claimed that we didn't get an exceptionally good deal when we signed Cabaye from Lille. Personally speaking, I'd agree that our offer was indeed "derisory", but that's not how Lille viewed it and that's what ultimately mattered. Of course, fans of a club that spunked £8.6m on Andre Santos should know all about derisory transfers...
2. I never passed any comment on Arsenal's lack of success in relation to our own. Our lack of silverware is indeed an acute embarrassment. But we don't have the megabucks that Arsenal do, or the fanbase, or the players. In that context, and in the context of their regular successes between 1998 and 2005, is "embarrassing" not the right word for the Gunners' subsequent trophy drought? I'd argue it is.
How's about we get away from petty inter-club sniping and instead commenters offer their views on what Cabaye would bring to the team and, indeed, whether they need him at all. I'd suggest not - to challenge at the top of the league they're deficient up front, in defensive midfield, across the back four and in goal, but they're hardly short of ball-playing midfielders (though Cabaye does admittedly have a bit more aggression in the tackle than some of those they already have).
Perhaps worth noting that our "derisory" bid for Cabaye triggered the release fee in his Lille contract. In that sense it represented his contratual value.
As Cabaye has no such clause in his Newcastle contract then regardless of how well he performed last season we don't need to sell, we know Arsenal have loads of money burning a hole in Arsene Wenger's pocket and we're unlikely to sell Cabaye on the cheap (see our negotiations with Liverpool over Rocky for an example of how Jabba approaches negotiations for first team player sales).
Yes, our lack of silverware is embarrasing, but selling our best players is not going to help us change that. Something Arsenal fans should appreciate given the exodus of their best players to Manchester in the last few years.
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