Arsenal-Mania

Flip-flops and whispers

By Gabo Camnitzer on Monday, July 7, 2008

The "flip-flop," the most blatant and brazen act of hypocrisy, usually reserved to legislative politics, is something that's becoming more and more common in the football world, but for different reasons. It's hard to maintain good face while ensuring you're not being exploited by your club.

A week ago, I woke up and hit refresh on Sky Sports, hoping for news of Nasri confirmed in or Ronaldo confirmed out, only to read the headlines - Adebayor declares loyalty to Arsenal.

"Well, well," I thought, "that's nice of the chap, reiterating his loyalty in the face of the growing speculation over his future and that of several of our other players." I even watched the clip from the press conference and admired the similarities between his speech and his style of play, his blasé English, with its unpredictable speed, strange cadence, dipping and ascending with each word flowing unassumingly into the next, all the while with an unmistakable, though sometimes misplaced, confidence. But I realize now my naivete; at the time I felt this was a non-story, "Of course he was staying, how dare he even think we thought he was leaving," so I should have seen what was coming.

I went from 99% sure he was staying before the story, to 99.9% after the story, to about .09% an hour later after his now infamous "flip-flop." Why was I so sure he was staying? He scored 30 goals, has pace and size, and potential for more, and Arsenal is paying him a pittance compared to what other clubs would. The thing is, I always thought of him as one of Wenger's babies (babes if you will). A player who, if not for Wenger, would be trotting it out in obscurity in Ligue 1 or worse.

Thus I never lent any merit to the idea of him leaving, first due to his debt of gratitude to Wenger, and second because I couldn't believe Wenger would be willing to part with another prime example of his genius for anything less than the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and that any club would be willing to actually pay us the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a player so clearly a product of his maker. I for one don't buy into the mystery of the curse of Arsenal, that when players leave, they fail. It's no mystery. Wenger is the master gardener of exotic plants. They look beautiful and everyone wants one, but whenever Le Jardinier decides to sell one, they are doomed to fail, for the intricacies of their maintenance are far too complex and demanding than other clubs realise, and rather than care for the plant, nine times out of ten they end up giving it away to an even less competent owner.

If you go back to January of 2006, when we signed Ade from Monaco, few of us were saying, "Yes of course, saw that coming, mile away." On the contrary, most of us were saying "Who, what, where, why?!" Two and a half-years on, Henry is gone and Adebayor has a price tag in the range of Henry and Ronaldinho combined. I still can't wrap my head around how fast this has all happened. But I have digressed.

As could have been expected in the wake of his "flip-flop," a lot of animosity has built up for Ade-boy amongst us Gooners. Thus if he does end up staying, he will have some serious mending of fences to do. But that said, I still think the silent majority would be relieved if Ade stays. And I say "silent" for a reason, for a great majority of the blogging Gooners say otherwise. In this situation it seems the ones who want to hold on to Ade don't feel like its an opinion worth arguing, for arguing for the status quo is never noteworthy, and usually deemed reactionary, stirring up more unrest than it puts to rest.

Here I would like to present the argument of the hushed Gooners, those whispering voices in the pubs by candlelight. They, not surprisingly, want to win something next year, ideally the league, and they believe continuity is the key to this. They understand United are only getting stronger, and that they are doing it by adding, through exorbitant spending, to their core structure; they are ensuring their future without threatening their equilibrium. This is why Ronaldo leaving would be such a coup.

It would not only signify United's fallibility once again, but it would upset their equilibrium - well, at least for a year. The point is, we came within touching distance of the title last year, with a squad that could only improve. Failure, studied and understood, paves the way for success, but only if the variables remain constant. Otherwise, you lose the grounds for a sound hypothesis. And the variables of our starting XI are the key here, much more important then the transactions of the other 19 clubs. We lost the title last year, United didn't win it. What cost us was our inexperience and relative youth. In order to reap the benefits of our own failures last year, it's imperative to keep the squad intact. We can view last year's campaign as a learning experience or as a failed experiment which needs total revamping.

Some may think it's too late to stay the course, now that Flamini has left. But I beg to differ. I think any player consistently partnered with Cesc will look good, for Cesc offers any holding player the opportunity to flourish, as he can compensate for their mistakes quickly and without incident. Yes, Flamini was the top passing holding midfielder in the league last year, but looking back at some games on tape, you quickly realise the majority of those passes were one-twos with Cesc, and if there is one thing Cesc doesn't get enough credit for, it's his ability to receive passes as skilfully as he distributes them. But to get back to Adebayor.

I recall watching the second meeting with Derby last season. Derby had mustered up a rare goal in the first half, and Wenger brought Ade on for RVP during the break. After Ade missed two sitters in the first 10 minutes of the half, the Gooner bartender at the establishment I was attending, turned to me, the only other person, let alone Gooner, in the place, and said, "I'm tired of this, he's just garbage." Recalling Ade's hat-trick in the encounter with Derby early in the season, I grunted something between affirmation and indignation. By that point in the year, all was lost, I was looking for anyone to blame, my dog included, so I was pretty much open to anything. But my ambivalence was soon rewarded as Ade went on to score another hat-trick in the ensuing 35 minutes. No mean feat, even against the worst club in history.

I've heard a lot of people say Ade went missing mid-season last year, (yes, after cutting his hair). But I think this is only when you compare him to himself - his early season form was extraordinary. As the season wore on he did prove inconsistent, but I believe this was partly due to the fact that in the wake of Eduardo's injury, added to the already crowded injury list, Wenger was forced to overplay Ade, and Ade began to wear. And though his goals became less frequent, they never became less important (Milan, Liverpool, United, the latter two being losses, but due to no fault of his own).

Of course people screamed out whenever he missed a sitter, but the stats show he wasn't nearly as bad in front of goal as people seem to think. The guy is only 24, when compared to Henry at the same age, Adebayor is actually better head-to-head statistically (by a hair, I must admit) but still, a better finisher (Martin Tyler is the one who figured that out). While I do not think this entitles Ade to demand the same wages Henry was receiving in his prime (after all its only been one season of good form), I do think he is entitled to some kind of pay raise, as last summer, when he negotiated his current contract, he wasn't being appraised as one of the top strikers in Europe. So of course he should seek affirmation for his good work in the form of a re-evaluation of his contract.

But what worries me most about Ade's potential sale is not necessarily losing our top striker, but the precedent it would set. If we can't hold onto players once we've cultivated them, what are we other than a feeder for Europe's "top guns". We should be setting an example in keeping Ade. €40 million is a lot of money, but as we know from experience, Wenger is not going to spend it on a big name replacement. And any striker brought in below the €20 million isn't going to come close to Ade's tally in their first year with Arsenal, thus making likely another year without silverware. This is what the hushed Gooners are whispering about in the pubs by candlelight.

Any potential replacement for Ade will come bearing unknown risks. Roque Santa Cruz, who seems to be a leading candidate, is truly something special - charismatic, unafraid, and strong as he is quick, but I've followed him for ages now, due to some fellow roots in South America, and am wary of his proneness to injury, something all too familiar to us Gooners. Rovers were lucky to have him fit for an entire season, something he never managed at Munich. I would love him at Arsenal, but we'd have to offer him extra protection from teams precisely like Blackburn, who are out to kick us into the ground. With Blackburn last season, Roque was surrounded by a keeper, two decent wingers, and 7 maniacs with razor sharp studs, even after Robbie Savage left. No one in their right mind would have pulled a "Deutsche studs-up" on him while he was rolling with that crew of thugs. I don't think we can offer him the same protection.

Perhaps Arsčne knows something we don't and thinks Ade's season was a fluke and it's best to cash in now. But barring that, I don't see how he could sell him. I don't think Ade wants to go, he just chose an awkward and embarrassing way of seeking a pay hike, and is now in over his head. While the current wages of players across Europe are ridiculous, and only continuing to spiral out of control, I don't think Arsenal's wage structure is sustainable. In fact, it's anachronistic. The only way to slow down the wage explosion is a general salary system with a cap imposed by the governing body, UEFA. Arsenal can't be the lone voice fighting the trend. We'll drown out and die.

Moreover, Adebayor's leaving would precipitate trouble for us in the long run as any new signings, such as Nasri and Ramsey, will be off as soon as they can demand bigger checks and play in front of 70,000+ heads at home. Because let's face it, if you're not English, that is the be all end all for a footballer. Speaking of Flamini's departure, having been to both the Emirates and San Siro myself, I'd say that at Arsenal he was doing world class art films, but now at the San Siro he'll be doing opera. It's night and day. Champions League or not. I don't care for the theatrics of Serie A, but let's not forget Flamini's French upbringing and Italian ancestery.

He didn't come up dreaming of wearing the Red and White. And regarding loyalty, we always hear of players growing up supporting Barca, Real, Milan, Juve. (i.e. Ronaldo, Arshavin) Why can't we sign players who grew up Gooners. An entire generation of footballers is coming of age now who grew up with Wenger's Arsenal and thus dream of playing here, now. We've reaped some of these benefits through Clairefontaine and our academy in Shenley, but we are now a global club, and our net has spread wider than Islington and France.

If we got our hands on some Gooner kids from Argentina (yes, they exist), they'll show the same loyalty that Xavi, Raul, Pirlo, Maldini, Buffon, Adams have shown. Colin Kazim-Richards for example, is a life-long Arsenal supporter. He impressed during the European Championships and while his patriotism could be questioned in playing for Turkey when the boy doesn't even speak Turkish, I would welcome a born and bred gunner in our midst.

User Comments

39

DublinGooner

Posted on 11 Jul, 2008 at 05:37 PM - Reply

Great article.why not sign michael owen.if fit,great scoring record and aurter boruc,great goalkeeper.the holy goalie

38

:)

Posted on 11 Jul, 2008 at 01:33 PM - Reply

He's from Togo not Congo lol apart from that good article.

37

Sav1

Posted on 11 Jul, 2008 at 12:40 PM - Reply

Micha Richards is a gooner!! His fav player was Paddy Vieria and I would love him at Arsenal!!

36

topgunner

Posted on 11 Jul, 2008 at 11:40 AM - Reply

best article ive read in a long long time.given me a few insights.ade.i would have been the last to want him to go.but...if we can get a good price and garcouff thrown in to the deal,then lets sell. falcao or huntelar could be got for the cash.maybe in my dreams david villa.(a clear admirer of arsenal whos already rejected big offers fron united and chelski so would be loyal).also a german defender whos an arsenal fan and whos name escapes me.

35

charles

Posted on 9 Jul, 2008 at 02:48 PM - Reply

i think adebayor is just acting like a kid demanding for candy as the only way to get him happy after he hears praise from other kids on the block on how good he is doing for so little.but i think he should appreciate wenger's patience and confidence in him.anyway he could leave but he should ask anelka what happens to such kids as himself in the business

34

Arsenal_17

Posted on 9 Jul, 2008 at 07:28 AM - Reply

A wonderful article. Ade needs to stay, if not, Wenger won't be going to splash money on a world class goal getter, but instead, he will turn Bendtner into another Adebayor and watching this will break our gooner-hearts.

33

ojaimo

Posted on 8 Jul, 2008 at 07:08 PM - Reply

Spot-on Article. Please Ade shud stay and be part of our campaign next season. Scoring 30 goals (whether it was tab-ins or clumsy head-ins) is no fluke. Arsene knows and even stated that Ade had surprised him by scoring double of the no. of goals he expected. Do u think Arsene is stupid? In Arsene we trust. Ade may not be worth 120k a week but he worth more than the 35k a week he is being given. Come on Gooners how many leading strikers among the big four in EPL is being paid 35000 pounds a week. Let's be real here.

32

Yusuf

Posted on 8 Jul, 2008 at 05:37 PM - Reply

This is a fantastic article Gabo, although you got a bit carried away with the poetic 'whispering Gooners'. You have produced a very valid point that should be obvious to all but doesn't strike people too often; get Gooners! The Board would love to hear your input I'm sure. Keep it up!

31

gooner argentina

Posted on 8 Jul, 2008 at 02:45 PM - Reply

Of course there are gooners in argentina, I am one. I love the arsenal style and football. Personally, I would like to see some footballer from my country in the squad (in the last days I was exited about saviola's departure from real madrid) but the club should take a look on great footballers at low cost in this country (Palacio, from boca juniors for example, or Zarate, now in Birmingham). I mean, there are excellent footballers who would kill for play in such a team like that, and are much more modest.

30

Life LongGooner

Posted on 8 Jul, 2008 at 10:24 AM - Reply

All this talk of this article being too long...
Makes us gooners sound a little dim, this is only a few hundred words... and brilliantly written, flows well and is very easy reading...
My own thoughts on Ade, hmmm, well he definately should not have cut his hair, completely different player after that :)
The Togonator is not the finished product by a mile.
Did you see that, I had to start a different sentence in order to mention Henry's name, nuff said.
It's not so much about how good or bad you think Ade is, it's more about continuity of the team and whether Arsene is ready for them to go.
I am sure that given the choice, Arsene would have kept his entire squad from last term and added a couple of players.
Someone has already touched on the further ramifications of this, but if the Flamster, Togonator and Phlegm go... Can we truly consider ourselves amongst the elite clubs in Europe?

29

MrsWenger

Posted on 8 Jul, 2008 at 08:59 AM - Reply

You are right, but then an unhappy player wont do anything. Unfortunately for most people law of diminishing return always take time to set in but it will. I dont care if d guy plays in the moon but when lacking respect and integrity, they should be allow to leave. e.g ashley cole. At the moment, d madness is everywhere but soon d insanity will be corrected and things wont always be like this. Im an african and i know what ade is about and shame on him

28

M.I.S

Posted on 8 Jul, 2008 at 08:52 AM - Reply

Good Job Gabo , i like your article and it's meaningfull ....

27

RC8

Posted on 8 Jul, 2008 at 05:50 AM - Reply

Fantastic article. We are lucky to have you writing for A-M.

26

Cyril

Posted on 8 Jul, 2008 at 05:49 AM - Reply

Loved your style.

From the jungles of Congo, by the power invested in me ; I demand DR of Congo + Messi for Adebayor.

Selling your stars because they want to go or showing a mercenary attitude is not the same as selling off because your club is facing bankruptcy.

Anyway Barcelona and AC Milan want to buy our whole team which is flattering but very dangerous for us

25

frank

Posted on 8 Jul, 2008 at 04:45 AM - Reply

Truly lines.
On the other hand ,german full back left Lahm also is a really gooner.I think we need to do a move for he.

24

steve

Posted on 8 Jul, 2008 at 01:53 AM - Reply

How about writing yours so we can check to see if it's less lengthier than this....Oh and I'm guessing it'll make less sense also....Just wondering how you'd be able to squeeze so much sense into a shorter article. I personally don't see any wasted words in there. What are you delboy? A critic?

23

moudro

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 11:46 PM - Reply

never like the player.....arogant,as anything!!!!!!exactly what his former team-mates said after as monaco exit......arsenal dont need players of his character.

22

René

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 11:37 PM - Reply

really nice article
yeah, just wanted to show my support to this page.

21

Sean (Lukic Love Child)

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 10:34 PM - Reply

I usually dont read these articles, but that just got better and better as it went on. I dont agree with all of it, but it makes sense, which is rare in these parts!!!! Fantastic

20

alex

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 10:12 PM - Reply

ade deserves a pay rise for the great season he has had but not tje 120000 he is askink for.i work for a company i dont love so much and if i got a better money offer would leave so it is the same case woth alot of footballers today.if he does leave i believe we can still survive.as far as helb goes i do hope he leaves and we replace him with a real goal scorer!!1long live arsenal

19

GUNNER FAN!

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 10:02 PM - Reply

if ur talking abt a true gunner fan... how abt david villa who came out n said that he would love to play for arsenal because he's a huge fan n wenger was the one 2 refuse............. an opertunity that does not come around every day..

btw really nice artical..

18

Shoeboy

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 07:53 PM - Reply

Great article. Correct me if i'm wrong but Kasim-Richards was never forced to choose between England and Turkey as England didn't want him. I don't think you can question his patriotism on this account.

17

Asifcott

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 04:58 PM - Reply

Great article, love th 'candle lit pubs'. Ade had a lucky season, if we dnt sel him now for 30mil, we gona sel him next season for 10mil. He is not a special talent.

16

rodney

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 04:41 PM - Reply

micah richards is a gunner im happy about this because the mancs will 1 day make an offer for him and he will turn it down and come to us:) dunno why we cant sign him now before the end of season Danny Fizman said Wenger has 75MILLION!!! to spend and then a few months later it is a different case??

15

terfa255

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 04:24 PM - Reply

Nice work Gabo.I agree with most of what you have said while the cost of building a new stadium hangs over us we can't sacrifice that for laurels we have to step up player salaries to keep some of these guys if not Arsene will continue building new teams every season.I bet if we don't won anything this year Fabregas won't be here and Arsene better knows this.As for Ade it's a wrong way of asking for a pay rise.The money can be bitter sometimes.Remember Nicholas Anelka?

14

Rahul Sethi

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 03:43 PM - Reply

Can't blame him for wanting more money, what's wrong with that? He is worth more (now) than 45,000 pounds. He's not worth 120,000 pounds or whatever. Its entirely reasonable for him to leave.

Since, we can't pay him, its a good idea to sell him. A great ROI. This is situation where everyone wins. I wish him luck. I hope he grows his hair back.

13

gooner10

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 03:32 PM - Reply

henry's goals...well...most of them...were a work of art. the curling majestic freekicks and shots. the floaters, the perfectly weighted through passes (from pires and bergy of course). ade didnt offer any of this kind of entertainment: this was why so many of us watched arsenal: the entertaining style...epitomized by henry's style and will to score the perfect goal.

ade didnt offer many of these spectacular goals. henry showed up in big matches. ade only did so inconsistently and irregularly. his skill is nowhere that of henry, his pace also needless to say, is substandard. the goals he gets are goals nonetheless, but they are not entertaining. theyre tap ins, headers with power, and clumsy goals.

henry perhaps was willing to try more shots, most curling just wide. ade's when his shots miss...they miss by a mile, to be honest.

12

George

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 03:30 PM - Reply

Micah richards is a gooner. Why can't we get him?

11

Toba: The only Gooner

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 03:20 PM - Reply

Beautiful piece. This has captured everything. I think we still need Ade around having faith that he is going to have another beautiful season. Silverware would surely come next saeson with Eduardo and Rosicky back, and Santa Cruz around to help Adebayo. Let us keep him!

10

eddy

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 03:14 PM - Reply

You know your stuff gabo and it was a good read, you have made me question a few things concerning todays players.
Loyalty most players dont no the meaning of the word but one thing i have lernt is its dog eat dog, a lot of player are looking out for them selves by seeking more money and silverware and all the glory it brings.

9

Elliot

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 03:01 PM - Reply

Very good article, good length I thought, if it is good then there is no such thing as too long! However, I too must disagree about Kazim-Richards, I watched him 3 times in the Euros and apart from hitting the bar against Germany he really was crap. But you are right, I would love to have players who love the club. Micah Richards is an Arsenal fan, but he would cost a little bit..

8

Rusty

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 02:46 PM - Reply

Marvellous article...where have you been Mr.Gabo?..you speak sense,so does Che...I don't think Le Boss thinks Ade is a one-season wonder..I am sure if we have to sell,it would probably be the most expensive transfer in Arsenal history till date...Finding an apt replacement would be a nightmare for a manager,but Arsene knows and In Arsene we trust!!

And i love the signing of Gooners for Arsenal(Micah Richards spring to my mind)!!

7

Mark

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 02:40 PM - Reply

Interesting article. i wish people would stop commenting to tell you to make it shorter. i get enough short articles with little to no insight at bbc, guardian and espn. reading analysis specifically for arsenal, i like to see a little more depth and detail, which i think you've done. keep writing substantively.

6

Rocky

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 01:51 PM - Reply

The best article on the Adebayor situation i have read. Period! Hill-Wood has gone on to iterate the same views you have extolled in this article. Absolutely brilliant!

5

elninio

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 01:14 PM - Reply

Nice piece! Couldn't disagree with you more about Kazim Richards though, thought he was rubbish and clearly only playing for Turkey because he would never get in to our brilliant(?) England squad. Ade has put his foot right in it and I agree, we Gooners haven't appreciated that one bit especially having read how much respect he has for Wenger for plucking him from virtual obscurity. The one thing that gets me is this team spirit thing... there cant be that much team spirit if players just want away at the first sniff of a bigger pay packet. I dont get it... you are never going to be destitute playing the Arsenal so how much more do you need. Is it not enough to play some of the best football ever seen, in a team that needs and appreciates you and be loved by the fans and be heroes in there own right. Romance... misplaced.

4

Rob Moir

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 01:04 PM - Reply

I've always felt that Adebayor is (was?) a lot like Sylvan Wiltord playing for us: *incredibly* frustrating to sit and watch but scores important goals and has good stats at the end of the season, even if you're not sure how

3

cem

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 12:38 PM - Reply

very long but a very good artice in deed. Personally I would like Ade to stay. He gives us much more options up front. With him we can play the direct style if it's demanded.
I would also have wanted flamini to stay but he is not as important as Ade, we just need another very hardworking player like him. His game was based on hard work nothing else, he didn't give us options going forward.
We need to set an example and not sell Ade at any price. We are not a selling club, we only sell our players when we want to.
Speaking of Heb, I really enjoyed his footwork but other than that he didn't provide enough. He's very skillful but he has not end-product. As skillful player as him should score 10 goals a season at least. Roiscky will probably play in Hleb's position and he is much more dangerous.
I really want the season to start asap, it's boring without football.

2

delboy

Posted on 7 Jul, 2008 at 12:17 PM - Reply

good article which i agree with in the main. Just a word of note, Don't write such long articles it puts people off and dont pontificate when its nor necessary.