Fabregas WILL go home as soon as Barca and you Goons can settle a fee. As for Nasri, as you say, it's fairly simple, if he signs a new contract, he's staying - if he continues to refuse, then it's matter of do you sell now, or risk him walking for nothing next year? If you don't belive that Fabregas is homeward bound, you're even more deluded than Whinger.
and that he was looking forward 'to winning an important trophy with this team' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Has he forgot you couldn't even beat BFC to win an unimportant trophy?
Fabregas is under contract with Arsenal, so any move to Barca (or another club) will only happen if and when Arsenal decide. In the meantime, he has said that he is 'happy at Arsenal, anything else would be speculation'. So people can speculate all they like about his state of mind at Arsenal, I'd prefer to listen to what he actually has to say about it
The thing that doesn't quite wash with me about that is how ambiguous and almost forced it sounds. I just don't understand when theres all this speculation around a player that they just don't outright say that its all a lie, I have no idea where they're coming from, I want to stay etc. Like Dawson did on the very same day a report was released about him moving. Instead, it always seems to be poorly worded comments. "(I'm) happy at Arsenal, anything else would be speculation" can read as "I'm happy at Arsenal currently, but its not my first choice." and "speculation" doesn't necesarrily mean "untrue". I'm not saying that he's leading you on, or that he definately wants to go to Barca. But, I can't help but think that if he wants to stay, just make it clear.
I understand where you're coming from. I think Fabregas does want to go back to Barca at some stage of his career. Most Gooners know and accept that. He's already given us eight years of service, so we couldn't complain too much if he does go. However, I do believe him when he says that he's happy at Arsenal. He has said many times that he loves the club and I think he's determined to win a trophy with us. It remains to be seen whether he'll be sold to Barca this season, next season or the one after. But the fact is he is an Arsenal player and will only go if and when Arsenal decide.
Totally agree with everything here. The crux of the problem is the first thing an incoming player wants (well a top tier player anyway) is Champion's League football. If we cannot guarantee that, there is a financial penalty that we have to pay to attract a player. Citeh demonstrated this to an idiotic degree with the likes of Toure, but it was not merely payed for the sake of it; That is what a top player costs for sides who are not in the Sky 4. Not only can we not afford to pay top level wages to a player, we cannot pay these plus the premium involved for not being in the Champions League. The only way this situation will alter anytime soon is for us to move to a bigger ground. The Modric situation is this: He has proved he is a player who can operate at Champions League level. However he has signed a six year contact barely a year ago. To replace him, that is with a player who can play at the same level, we would have to pay significantly MORE than we got for him and dismantle our clubs wage structure to pay his replacement, which would also cause problems with the rest of the squad. Does that explain it Crazy Horse? Levy is not merely being stubborn, he is in a corner and doing what he has to.
I agree that he is likely to be happy at Arsenal for the time being, and I think you've got a slightly better situation with Fabregas then we do with Modric. Fabregas has a soft spot for Arsenal, so wants them to be happy with the deal too. Whereas Modric is only looking out for himself and doesn't care what Spurs get in return. This allows you to keep him until your valuation is met and Fabregas is willing to wait for a move. But any meager offer received for Modric and he'll get in a hissy-fit when its rejected.
I think, reading between the lines, what Fabregas means is, "I've had a happy time here at Arsenal, but I'd like to go home now, please" I am sure that he is grateful to Wenger for giving him his chance so young, and for helping to turn him into a world class player. However, as I said earlier, it is not exactly a secret that he wants to go, and that only his respect for Whinger is stopping him from putting it in writing. There's very rarely smoke without fire, Piskie. And, on this one, there's been enough smoke to cover a medium sized country.
Nail on the head, SF and Chirpy, though I'm not sure how we can keep Modric now, with all of the dirty tricks involved. If Sneijder does leave Man Utd and Inter come in with a serious bid, then I'd tell him to either take their offer or shut up and knuckle down. Drop van der Vaart into the role that Modric currently plays, get rid of some dead wood and make a couple of decent signings. It's the same old **** all over again, but we all know that it isn't going to change, unless the stadium's sorted out. On that note, I really don't get why Liverpool and Everton don't build the stadium that they both want on Stanley Park and share the thing. Neither can afford it separately and they both need the extra income.
Rivalries aside, I have to say that I really feel for Spurs fans over the Modric situation. By coming out publicly and saying that he wanted to go to Chelsea (not the flower show) it was a massive kick in the teeth for Spurs. If it wasn't for City's obscene amounts of cash, Spurs would have been in the CL again this season and Modric would want to stay. I know Levy wants to play hard ball and threatening to make him 'sit in the stands' is an understandable reaction from an angry chairman - but ultimately he's going to have to take the pragmatic approach and sell him to highest bidder, who undoubtedly will be Chelsea.
I don't think that this has anything to do with the Champions League, to be honest, Piskie. Chelsea are offering him at least 50% more than we can and that's the end of it, in my opinion.
Effectively, he won't be playing for Spurs next year regardless if he's sold or not. He'll either play for Chelsea or rot in the reserves as he won't be willing to play at his full potential. Probably best to sell him now and get it over with tbh, but I think Levy will see that as making us weak (or a "feeder club").
I think he can have a year on the bench for his disloyalty (can we loan him to Lincoln?) and then sell him next year when we have CL football to offer his replacement. He will still have a long contract, so the value wont have gone down.
Totally agree. If Modric is that desperate to go, O.K. fine, let him go. But NOT to the Chavs - unless, of course, they want to pay something obscene - like £50mm+
Cardiff fan... A vote of confidence for the manager is like saying a player is not going anywhere. Do we always get told the truth I ask myself, Harry and Levy got together and said "how much do you think we can bluff them for" It is notable that while various other players are being touted for sale the wait is on for the Modric money before you can start buying.
