It’s been a long time coming but now is finally when Fabregas should return home to Barcelona.
Jul 22, 2011 2:34:00 PM
By Shane Evans
All signs are pointing to the fact that Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will return to his boyhood club Barcelona in a deal that has been a long time coming. Like the longest time. Years and years.
We have been at this stage before so I won’t get ahead of myself but I’m really hopeful that it happens this time. The transfer itself is just the beginning. The implications thereafter are what I’ll focus on in today's column.
To be blunt, and please, bear with me Gooners, this situation is a lose-lose for the London club. Keep him and we’ll have yet another season of rumors and talk of when the deal will go through. A constant annoyance for a team that is trying to build something. What that is, I don’t know, but an annoyance nonetheless.
On the other side, if the club sells him, as it likely will, Arsene Wenger will be without arguably his best player and difference maker in the midfield...with no sign of a replacement on the horizon.
Those are dire circumstances for a team that is coming off of another disappointing year in the English Premier League and has been struggling to find its identity going forward. Losing its captain (and possibly next most influential player as well) isn’t the way you prepare for a season.
It’s like going into a game of Pogs by giving away your best slammer before you start! Just doesn’t make sense. Thing is, keeping that slammer won’t work either because it’s too big for your hand. I know you loved that reference.
So let’s just assume that Wenger finally bites the bullet and agrees to sell Captain Fab for something like 40 million euros. What’s next for the Gunners? Well, the obvious answer doesn’t come in the form of a wantaway Catalonian or even an instrumental French wizard. No, he’s gritty, tattooed and from north of London. Yes, you know him as Jack Wilshere.
Provided Cesc goes...and Nasri, too, Wilshere will be the guy in the middle for Arsene Winger. His play came on leaps and bounds last season and his progression should definitely continue in the year ahead. With no Fab to take his minutes, he could be even better. Remember, he was the guy who shut down the very team that Fabregas is leaving for in the Champions League. If fab is worth 40 million, what might he be worth next summer?
He’s basically the team’s ray of sunshine. With the list of players being connected to the club, at least in the midfield area, in the slim-to-none range, he’ll have to be. No pressure, right?
It is very unlikely that both players will be sold, but if it does come to pass then Wilshere will have a heavy load on his shoulders. He’ll be assisted by the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Alex Song and Abou Diaby. It could also mean increased roles for disillusioned stars Andrey Arshavin and Tomas Rosicky.
Both have buckets of talent, Arshavin, in particular, but have become seemingly jaded in recent years. If given a more prominent role in the team’s attacking exploits, we could see a good year from the little Russian. There have always been questions about his motivation and drive. Maybe this will change things. You always got the feeling that he wants to be the main man. Now he’ll get his chance.
This season is really going to be a huge one for Arsenal. It has made one signing so far this summer, Gervinho, and appears set to lose its two best players. If the likelihood of trophies was low last year, the upcoming one will be even lower. With no players (outside of Jack) that really show emotion or drive on the pitch, it could end up playing a very ‘chicken without a head’ style. Just hard to be optimistic about this team right now.
The other members of the 'big 5' as I’m going to start calling it now...all are headed in the right direction. This summer has just been a step backward for Arsenal. Reaching the Champions League by the skin of its teeth last year, could the upcoming year see the club miss the tournament all together? Could its rivals in the north hop step them? Could this be Wenger’s last season in charge?
All decent questions that even the most devout Gooners must be asking themselves right now.
So as we wait to see how Arsenal’s season will go, there are other teams recently brought into the league that have even more mystery surrounding them. For this week’s top five thing that I have been doing this summer, I was thinking of giving those three recently promoted clubs, QPR, Norwich and Swansea a little crash course on life in the EPL. A five rules to live by, type deal.
After all, if you’re going to be playing with the big boys, you better learn how to fit in. Age old tale of acceptance. Doesn’t always work out. Just ask, Derby.
TFE’s Five Rules To Live By When Promoted To The English Premier League
1. Get off to a good start: This is paramount really. Often times, teams that come up and are something of a foreign entity to the established big league clubs have a fruitful beginning to the campaign, simple because they are an unknown. These early points come in handy later in the year when they inevitably start to suck.
2. Extra time is an deceitful mistress: Or ‘Fergie Time’ as it has come to be known. Fact is, the big clubs get more extra time than you do. If you’re losing a match to one of them, they’ll be two minutes added on. If you’re winning? Look for five. Simple stuff really and a perk of being a top club.
3. Keep it tight, keep it organized: Understanding that you don’t have the talent to really go places, at least in year one, is a must for these new teams. The name of the game should be a compact and supremely disciplined focus going into every match. If this is accomplished, those one-goal losses will turn into draws, those draws into one-goal victories and so on. Being all willy nilly and creative on the ball and flashy is for the birds. This is the top flight of the top flight. No mucking about. Get results, go home.
4. Grow a goatee, it brings luck: For a spell there, Phil Brown was the luckiest man in England. Every year he seemed to keep the Tigers barely above water. Even in defeat on the last day of the season a few back, Hull remained in the EPL. He then sang gibberish to the crowd like lunatic he is. For all his faults though, Brown managed to manage Hull to some good performances and it wasn’t all skill. The odd bounce here, the cheeky flick there, the auspicious fall there. All adds up in the long run.
5. Don’t believe the hype: Yes, you made it. An English Premier League team. Or a British Premier League team, if you want to include Swansea in this. That said, you could just as easily be headed from whence you came if you start taking it for granted. Every match needs to be played as if it’s the playoff final or you’ll be playing matches at Peterborough and Doncaster and Barnsley. Keep things calm and don’t freak out if you’re in the drop zone. There are plenty of matches to be played. Just remember where you are and what the goal is.
Wise words to live by, am I right? Of course I am. I know this league like the back of my hand and the curves of my Xbox controller. One in the same really. As always, let’s wrap this up with a healthy dose of Black Pudding. Nom nom nom.
And Finally...The Black Pudding of the Week
Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid: Guess who’s lives in Philadelphia? I do. Guess who is in Philadelphia this weekend? The. Special. One. Rarely as a journalist you get starstruck by those you cover and meet. Sir Alex accomplished that last season. I’m sure Jose will evoke similar feelings when Madrid take on the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. That is assuming he does a post-match press conference, like Sir Alex did last summer.
Word is that he normally doesn’t for preseason friendlies. Won’t stop me though as I will hunt him down in the depths of Lincoln Financial Field and send a question or two way. Obsession? Not really. Admiration? Definitely. Obsessive admiration? Seems fair. Leave you question suggestions in the comments area and I may run with one of them. Godspeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment