Although I've been a member here for quite a while, I haven't actually posted much so this is my first thread. Please feel free to completely ignore if you're not in the mood for a long read! After what's been a terrible weekend footballwise I think the reality is sinking in now finally. We've done well over the last few years to get amongst the top teams but I think the next season will be an ever bigger season in terms of shaping our future. That Chelsea result could set us back years or even decades if we don't react in the right way.
The most direct result of that shootout (the one time you're actually desperate for Germans to win on penalties they fcking let you down
) could be Modric leaving to Chelsea. If this were to happen it would be a double blow as they we'd be significantly strengthening one of our main rivals and weakening ourselves. They could really do with some creativity in the middle and with that one penalty kick they have improved their chances of getting just that. With their resources I'd be surprised if they aren't competing for the league next season as they really should be. Anything else is failure on their part. Unfortunately they're gonna be here for a while unless Roman disappears or the FFP rules actually work. Neither is likely so it makes things much harder for us.
If Modric does leave it will be a big big blow even if we get a huge fee like 40m. The reality is we won't be able to buy anyone as good and proven to be effective in our team. Even though Arsenal appear to lose their best players on a regular basis they can still attract higher talent as long as their in CL. The quality of players we'd be able to attract are likely to be of lower quality. Another problem would be the low wages we can offer. This is why Modric is worth so much more to us than players with similar ability at other teams. If Modric is on 50k and someone like Nasri is on 170k at City, we're saving 6m a year by keeping Modric. Over the 5 years on his contract that's 30m we'd be saving that can be spent improving our team elsewhere. Basically this is a really long way of saying I think Levy should reject all bids for Modric unless they are bordering ridiculous.
There might be a lot of interest in Bale this summer but I think with how unrealistic our demands will be, we shouldn't really have to worry about this. Unless of course Man City are interested and then we might be in big trouble as if they wanted him I think they'll pay whatever they'll have to.
More positive news though is Adebayor and Levy appear to be sorting things out. Initially I thought there was no way this would be possible as it would mean Ade accepting no CL and a big reduction in wages. I'd be delighted if this happened. He's crucial in our formation and his contribution is underrated (even though he got 18 goals and 12 assists). Without him we have no one able to play the lone front man and he has a great all round game. Admittedly his finishing is a bit wasteful sometimes. Defoe is too one dimensional to start for us.
Vertonghen still looks a possibility from some of the things I'm reading. Was again surprised by this. Would be a great signing IMO. Young but experienced, strong and good on the ball. Very prolific for a defender too which would be a great asset considering how little Kaboul contributed from set pieces given his size. Might be the actual delivery that's the problem but I sometimes don't think we attack the ball as much as other teams. Whilst we're buying from Ajax, I would be over the moon if we tried going for Christian Eriksen although unlikely. Very talented midfielder. Maybe give them 30 mill or so to Ajax for both of these players if Modric is going.
I'm also looking forward to Huddlestone coming back. We've missed him a lot this season. He makes our midfield strong and can the move the ball very quickly to Bale and Lennon. We need to start thinking about a new keeper soon although Friedel could still do a job for a season. Wouldn't mind Foster from Birmingham. Would be relatively cheap. Could perhaps do with another striker too but that could be extremely greedy.
In the space of a day I've gone to no hope to optimistic we can still compete with the top teams and can aim for CL again. I'd be delighted with this team:
Foster
Walker Kaboul Vertonghen BAE
Sandro/Parker Modric
Lennon VDV Bale
Adebayor
On an unrelated note, I'm surprised how much Arsenal and fans enjoyed the Chelsea win. The rivalry aside, but with the obvious improvements to Chelsea it makes things even tighter for the top 4. If Chelsea really push ahead to fight with the two Manc clubs it leaves only one CL spot available as opposed to two before. Chelsea can now offer CL and more money to players they were competing with Arsenal for.
The most direct result of that shootout (the one time you're actually desperate for Germans to win on penalties they fcking let you down
) could be Modric leaving to Chelsea. If this were to happen it would be a double blow as they we'd be significantly strengthening one of our main rivals and weakening ourselves. They could really do with some creativity in the middle and with that one penalty kick they have improved their chances of getting just that. With their resources I'd be surprised if they aren't competing for the league next season as they really should be. Anything else is failure on their part. Unfortunately they're gonna be here for a while unless Roman disappears or the FFP rules actually work. Neither is likely so it makes things much harder for us.If Modric does leave it will be a big big blow even if we get a huge fee like 40m. The reality is we won't be able to buy anyone as good and proven to be effective in our team. Even though Arsenal appear to lose their best players on a regular basis they can still attract higher talent as long as their in CL. The quality of players we'd be able to attract are likely to be of lower quality. Another problem would be the low wages we can offer. This is why Modric is worth so much more to us than players with similar ability at other teams. If Modric is on 50k and someone like Nasri is on 170k at City, we're saving 6m a year by keeping Modric. Over the 5 years on his contract that's 30m we'd be saving that can be spent improving our team elsewhere. Basically this is a really long way of saying I think Levy should reject all bids for Modric unless they are bordering ridiculous.
There might be a lot of interest in Bale this summer but I think with how unrealistic our demands will be, we shouldn't really have to worry about this. Unless of course Man City are interested and then we might be in big trouble as if they wanted him I think they'll pay whatever they'll have to.
More positive news though is Adebayor and Levy appear to be sorting things out. Initially I thought there was no way this would be possible as it would mean Ade accepting no CL and a big reduction in wages. I'd be delighted if this happened. He's crucial in our formation and his contribution is underrated (even though he got 18 goals and 12 assists). Without him we have no one able to play the lone front man and he has a great all round game. Admittedly his finishing is a bit wasteful sometimes. Defoe is too one dimensional to start for us.
Vertonghen still looks a possibility from some of the things I'm reading. Was again surprised by this. Would be a great signing IMO. Young but experienced, strong and good on the ball. Very prolific for a defender too which would be a great asset considering how little Kaboul contributed from set pieces given his size. Might be the actual delivery that's the problem but I sometimes don't think we attack the ball as much as other teams. Whilst we're buying from Ajax, I would be over the moon if we tried going for Christian Eriksen although unlikely. Very talented midfielder. Maybe give them 30 mill or so to Ajax for both of these players if Modric is going.
I'm also looking forward to Huddlestone coming back. We've missed him a lot this season. He makes our midfield strong and can the move the ball very quickly to Bale and Lennon. We need to start thinking about a new keeper soon although Friedel could still do a job for a season. Wouldn't mind Foster from Birmingham. Would be relatively cheap. Could perhaps do with another striker too but that could be extremely greedy.
In the space of a day I've gone to no hope to optimistic we can still compete with the top teams and can aim for CL again. I'd be delighted with this team:
Foster
Walker Kaboul Vertonghen BAE
Sandro/Parker Modric
Lennon VDV Bale
Adebayor
On an unrelated note, I'm surprised how much Arsenal and fans enjoyed the Chelsea win. The rivalry aside, but with the obvious improvements to Chelsea it makes things even tighter for the top 4. If Chelsea really push ahead to fight with the two Manc clubs it leaves only one CL spot available as opposed to two before. Chelsea can now offer CL and more money to players they were competing with Arsenal for.
