English Football Thread! 2007-2008 Season

[Psychotic]

True to some extent, but eh, he'd still get you 15-20 goals a season, and who else in the Arsenal team will do that?

What's the point in this entire season if he plans to leave the next one? Why bother to try to build up a team when you know you're not going to use it, especially when somebody new is going to come in and change all that? The board will probably be holding back money from Wenger so that they can entice a top manager with a very nice transfer kitty.

Also, without Henry, Arsenal will have a transitionary period until Christmas or so, just like they did when they sold Vieira. Without Wenger, again, they will probably have a transitionary season. May as well get both out of the way at the same time.

[charliepanayi]

There's no guarantee Wenger is going anywhere though. And that may sound hopelessly naive, but I'm not going to start concerning myself with possible events of next summer yet anyway.

And who else will get us 15-20 goals? Robin Van Persie for one. Though I suspect you mean who out of people who don't play for us right now...

[Cz]

True to some extent, but eh, he'd still get you 15-20 goals a season, and who else in the Arsenal team will do that?

RVP scored eleven in the first part of last season, before being injured in January and sitting out the rest of the year. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to suggest that he'd have ended the season somewhere in that range. Not that I'd say no to Darren Bent, of course, but a strong finisher isn't our primary concern, and we could get two quality players for the amount Bent would cost us.

What's the point in this entire season if he plans to leave the next one? Why bother to try to build up a team when you know you're not going to use it, especially when somebody new is going to come in and change all that? The board will probably be holding back money from Wenger so that they can entice a top manager with a very nice transfer kitty.

I don't see why the departure of Dein means Wenger's packing his bags at the end of next season. Clubs have been through far more uncertainty and still held on to their managers, like Man. United throughout the whole Glazer takeover saga. Saying that Wenger will leave at this stage is little more than speculation, and I think we all know that most summer speculation in football is a load of crap.

Also, without Henry, Arsenal will have a transitionary period until Christmas or so, just like they did when they sold Vieira. Without Wenger, again, they will probably have a transitionary season. May as well get both out of the way at the same time.

We've already played a good half of last season without Henry, and in many cases our performances were better without him. That's quite different from the situation with Vieira, who was a first team regular right up to his departure, and arguably played a more important role in the side.

I think that with six weeks to go until the season restarts, the team will have settled down by the time competitive football rolls around again. The MotD pundits will shake their heads and talk about how much we're going to miss him, but in reality we'll cope without Henry in the same way as we did last season: just fine.

[Psychotic]

Thierry Henry, talking about Arsene Wenger's role in why he left:
"Unfortunately and understandably he has said that at this moment he will not commit to the club past the expiration of his current deal which finishes at the end of the coming season."

Now get over it.

[charliepanayi]

That doesn't change mine and Cz saying that we're not about to get pulled into endless worrying and speculation. We know Wenger is not saying anything at the moment at staying beyond 2008, we just aren't going to kill ourselves panicking about it. Wenger usually leaves these things until the time comes, so we'll wait and see.

Besides, shouldn't you be more concerning yourself with how Liverpool (like Arsenal) are actually going to attempt to get closer to the Top 2 next year =P

[Psychotic]

I'll bet the pair of you £20 that he won't be your manager at the start of the 2008-2009 season.

I would, but we're using the Rick Parry transfer market strategy of dragging our feet and switching our mobile phone off on transfer deadline day (true story. It's why Michael Owen plays for Newcastle) and doing sweet fa. As such, I have to live through you gunners, with your excitement and upheaval and what have you. Although I could talk in depth about how Rafa announced today that Cisse will not be loaned out next season, if you like

PS: We have a great replacement for Thierry Henry you could have if you like - Craig Bellamy. £9m if you're interested. Fast, whiny, Welsh...you'll never notice the difference!

EDIT: Actually, speaking of Cisse, he's also fast and whiny, not to mention French. You can take your pick.

[charliepanayi]

Whining is no good unless you have the genius Henry had to back it up

And I'll gladly take that bet, I may end up wrong, but I'm prepared to risk it.

[Cz]

Thierry Henry, talking about Arsene Wenger's role in why he left:
"Unfortunately and understandably he has said that at this moment he will not commit to the club past the expiration of his current deal which finishes at the end of the coming season."

Now get over it.

"At this moment he will not commit" doesn't mean anything. In the past, Wenger hasn't engaged in contract negotiations until the final year of his existing deal, and we're still over a year from his current contract expiring. God knows why Thierry said what he said, but he's either misjudged the situation at the club, or he's trying to stir up trouble.

And as fast, whiny strikers go, I think I'd buy Nicholas Anelka back before I went for either of those two. At least he's got the talent to make him worth it.

[Hazzard]

So, Arsenal fans, do you think we can lure Samuel Eto' to the club, and I'm a bit disappointed at Henry's departure, but I understand why he left.

[Psychotic]

Let's chat about Rafa's goatee.

http://forums.eyesonff.com/attachmen...-liverpool.jpg

...and what it is doing as EoFF's background. :laugh:

[DK]

It's a mini-goatee within a goatee! It's amazing.

[Cz]

I don't know much about Eduardo Da Silva, but his record is pretty promising, and it's good to have another striker around. From what I understand, he's a pretty no-nonsense goalscorer, which is exactly what we need considering the number of chances we wasted last season. If he produces the goods, he'll be a great asset for us.

[Psychotic]

Bye bye little Luis. I love you. I love you so much.

Official Liverpool site has also announced that Torres has passed a medical, and they don't announce stuff until it's 100% so yeah, that's a done deal alright. Torres is a good player, but he is not what Liverpool needs. He hasn't even managed 20 league goals in a season. £27m flop, me thinks.

[Cz]

Official Liverpool site has also announced that Torres has passed a medical, and they don't announce stuff until it's 100% so yeah, that's a done deal alright. Torres is a good player, but he is not what Liverpool needs. He hasn't even managed 20 league goals in a season. £27m flop, me thinks.

I wouldn't be so pessimistic. He'll get better service at Liverpool than he did at Atletico, and we saw at the World Cup that he's capable of flashes of inspiration. Then again, £27m is a hell of a lot of money, and you guys haven't had a lot of luck with big name strikers in the past. If Torres turns out to be an exception, then that's great news for Liverpool. If not, it'd be a waste of money of Shevchenko-esque proportions.

[Heath]

With the might of Phil Jagielka and Jason Koumas Everton will steam roll all opposition and fight tooth and nail to gain that magical 10th position after spectacularly crashing out the FA Cup at the hands of either Chelsea or the Arsenal youth team. Aston Villa will defy all odds and win the Champion's League (having faced the might of League of Wales champions The New Saints in the final). This will surprise all pundits except Andy Gray who will somehow predict Villa to win despite them not being in the competition. Sven will last a record seven hours at Man City before he realises exactly what club he's joined and quits in outrage after being told that the assistant manager isn't a blonde. The League Cup will deservingly go to Chelsea after they carve 1-0 victories out all their opponents (the strongest being Norwich, Port Vale and Bristol Rovers). Newcastle will cease to have any supporters at all after hundreds of Geordies realise just how bad their team is, moments after Sam Allardyce falls head first into a deep-fat fryer. Skies will mostly be overcast with spots of rain in the north-east, while David O'Leary will become the new manager of West Ham half way through the season.

Oh crap, forgot to mark my spoilers.