Fredrik Ljungberg (Out)

[Rohit]

Freddie was rubbish before the goal but I think he's been criticised a bit too much considering it was his first appearance after a long injury. Almost every player needs at least 20 mins to get back into it when they've missed so much football - apart from Hleb that is.

But his goal was definately 2002 vintage.

The thing is, and please let's not mention him destroying Assoit Ekoto as if he's the best full back in the world, that Freddie was rubbish for long spells before he got injured.

Sadly true, he is winding down, he is ok for a sub but a full game ? Likable character but we can't afford to be sentimental.

I don't think anyone supporting Ljungberg here is being sentimental because they don't want him to leave and believe he warrants his wages.

It's just that he has been a great servant for the club and deserves respect and not the kind of abuse he gets in here.

Sorry I have to disagree with you there about the dosh, I don't think he should be subject to abuse, no Arsenal player should be however, lets be real here he is passed his prime sadly and I for one don't think he warrants a huge pay packet for the kind of performances he has been giving. Nothing personal but I think he has passed his peak.

Huh,may be that was poor English but thats exactly what i am saying.I ll try and frame it differently.

What i meant was,i want him to be sold and i reckon most want him to be sold.Those that are speaking for him like me are not doing so because they want him to stay or because they think that he warrants his wages but we simply want him to be shown some respect,past it or not,for being a great servant,better ?

 

[1970*Gooner]

Freddie was rubbish before the goal but I think he's been criticised a bit too much considering it was his first appearance after a long injury. Almost every player needs at least 20 mins to get back into it when they've missed so much football - apart from Hleb that is.

But his goal was definately 2002 vintage.

The thing is, and please let's not mention him destroying Assoit Ekoto as if he's the best full back in the world, that Freddie was rubbish for long spells before he got injured.

Sadly true, he is winding down, he is ok for a sub but a full game ? Likable character but we can't afford to be sentimental.

I don't think anyone supporting Ljungberg here is being sentimental because they don't want him to leave and believe he warrants his wages.

It's just that he has been a great servant for the club and deserves respect and not the kind of abuse he gets in here.

Sorry I have to disagree with you there about the dosh, I don't think he should be subject to abuse, no Arsenal player should be however, lets be real here he is passed his prime sadly and I for one don't think he warrants a huge pay packet for the kind of performances he has been giving. Nothing personal but I think he has passed his peak.

Huh,may be that was poor English but thats exactly what i am saying.I ll try and frame it differently.

What i meant was,i want him to be sold and i reckon most want him to be sold.Those that are speaking for him like me are not doing so because they want him to stay or because they think that he warrants his wages but we simply want him to be shown some respect,past it or not,for being a great servant,better ?[/quote]




I couldn't agree with you more, he has earned RESPECT and deserves it, I will feel sad when he does go as it will be another end of an era but all good things come to an end, old father time comes for us all in the end. :wink:

 

[patrick42uk]

2002 was a clear case of a one off purple patch- Freddie never matched those heights before. Or since.

no, but he did score double-figures cosistently till as recent the season before last where he also had double figures assists as well.

 

[j'nuh]

I think the support for Freddie has grown again too dramatically based on last night. I appreciate he's an endearing lil fella, and you just get lost in his eyes, but lets get real for a sec...

How has anyone gone over the top? The viewpoint of the vast majority of people on here was that it was a brilliant goal (fact) and that he was pretty poor otherwise. As me and Alfonso have said, this could be down to the fact that it was his first game after being out for a while.

No one is doubting that overall, Rosicky and Hleb are all round better players. But Freddie offers us something they dont. At points at the start of this season we were all style and no substance. An on form Freddie solves that by offering us end product. I wouldnt be surprised if he returns to his pre injury levels for the rest of the season, but similarly i wouldnt be surprised if he gets us 6-7 vital goals, we'll have to see.

 

[IBL]

Fredy came on and offered about 30% of what Hleb did, but he still managed to score the best goal he's likely to score for the rest of his career. If, and only if, Fredy can chip in with goals like that every now and then is he worth keeping at Arsenal because otherwise his overall game just isnt not good enough to fit in with how the rest of the team plays.

 

[Lord Dula]

To all those who say Freddies wage is not an issue - of course it is. Fair enough the board offered him that but I'm pretty sure that they envisiged him bringing to the table a lot more than he is/has been doing.

If we were to sell him, those wages could be used elsewhere. I appreciate those who argue that Henry is on a lot more and that using my logic we should get rid of him, but I say shove that idea up your loop hole and swank on it.

Were we to get rid of Henry it would hit the club in other ways ie losing a talisman, captain, and one who other players look upto. It'd be similar to when we lost Paddy. Potential singings would feel that we cant hang onto true stars. None of that would be the case if Freddie were to leave.

 

[Timleaf]

We're lucky Henry and Freddie didn't ask for their wages to be back-dated to cover the last 5 or 6 years when they were both underpaid.

Stop whining about the money. It's not like we are missing out on top players because we can't afford the wages.

 

[YuenBiaoFan]

Hmmmm, you SURE about that?!

 

[Kenyonhater]

dula for all your sarcasm, its fact. hleb's better in possession, younger, more energetic and better in defending. this is all true, but he couldnt have scored a goal like freddie did yesterday.

why does it always have to be hleb vs freddie?

its a squad game and its good when a player's strengths makes up for another's weakness.

we all have to hope that this goal gives freddie the confidence boost to re-discover his goal scoring touch. particularly with the uncertain over rvp's fitness and baptista's adaptation. if freddie scores goals, arsenal has a better chance of getting a trophy. surely thats what everyone wants?

i almost get the the feeling that some would rather freddie hadnt scored that goal to be honest which is kinda disappointing. when freddie steps on the pitch i have no doubt he plays to the best of his ability even if thats clearly dwindling due to natural causes. he's almost certain to leave in the summer, but whilst he's here lets support the guy ffs.

Absolutely right. It really pisses me off when people bang on with their personal agendas and biases for or against certain players. Freddie scores a great goal but the thread has to turn into how crap he now is compared to Hleb. Hleb played brilliantly last night but he would not have scored that goal.

And you can guarantee that the same people who belittled Freddie's crucial role in the goal, i.e. actually scoring it, and handed all the praise to Aliadiere, are the very same people who've been slagging Ali for ages and wanting him to be sold. Now, when it suits them, Ali's a hero. Pathetic.

Freddie's goal is what's great about having a strong squad and we should all celebrate him doing what he does so well again in a big game. And give him a f**king break regarding the rest of his contribution- he'd been out for two months and was thrown straight into a manic FA Cup tie. Hleb was out for a similar period last season and took a long time to find his form again.

We should all want all our players to do well and anyone who secretly hopes a player will fail so that their favourite player will shine by comparison is not really an Arsenal supporter, more an obsessive, star-struck adolescent .

 

[YuenBiaoFan]

TBF to Hleb he did have an operation during that time, Fred to my knowledge hasn't.

But yeah you're right, he STILL is capable of bringing something to this team that neither Tomas or Hleb can.

Let's hope he can kick onfrom it because last season he was, frankly, pretty damned ****e.

 

[Timleaf]

I saw on Arsenal.com that Freddie was surprised he made the squad againt Bolton because he had only been involved in first team training on 2 occasions since recovering from his injury. I think maybe that explains why he was a little weak defensively against them. Whatever you say about Fred he always puts in a shift for you and he is usually very sound in his defensive duties.

 

[kel varnsen]

We're lucky Henry and Freddie didn't ask for their wages to be back-dated to cover the last 5 or 6 years when they were both underpaid.

Stop whining about the money. It's not like we are missing out on top players because we can't afford the wages.

70k a week is more than £3,5 mill a year. wages certainly affect our ability to sign new top players.

 

[patrick42uk]

how does image rights work? surely arsenal gains in a commercial sense from having the freddie brand in the team? so would it be possible that adds to his wages i.e. its deserving?

arsenal are a responsible club and i do find it hard to believe we'll be paying above market value for a player like freddie who has always been one step behind top class. 70k must be what he's worth, in whatever form that is and it should not be an issue IMO.

 

[>YounGunner<]

Patrick we wanted to sell Freddie on Jan.

 

[jester]

Patrick we wanted to sell Freddie on Jan.

according to the papers.

 

[patrick42uk]

so? wherever he moves now i'd be surprised if he got significantly less than what he's on. that why i said its his market value.

 

[Timleaf]

We're lucky Henry and Freddie didn't ask for their wages to be back-dated to cover the last 5 or 6 years when they were both underpaid.

Stop whining about the money. It's not like we are missing out on top players because we can't afford the wages.

70k a week is more than £3,5 mill a year. wages certainly affect our ability to sign new top players.

Hang on a sec, I think you've misunderstood me . Fred signed his deal 18 months ago, right? It's speculation, but I don't believe we have had to miss out on a player we've been interested in because of wages during that time.

Look, if Wenger thinks there are better options for the squad in the summer then that's fine, but given the fact that we were very stingy with our wages for years I think its quite petty to now claim that Henry and Fred aren't worth what we're paying them.

 

[Timleaf]

Btw, where does this 70k a week figure come from? I've always understood that a significant portion of the wages we pay are incentive based. I seem to remember during the Edu contarct saga that it transpired that the garanteed wages at Arsenal were less than nearly all the top clubs and a fair amount of money was based on the % of games played in each competition and a lump sum for winning a competition.

The point being, if Fred isn't playing he wont be getting paid as much--problem solved.

 

[Sammer]

how does image rights work? surely arsenal gains in a commercial sense from having the freddie brand in the team? so would it be possible that adds to his wages i.e. its deserving?

arsenal are a responsible club and i do find it hard to believe we'll be paying above market value for a player like freddie who has always been one step behind top class. 70k must be what he's worth, in whatever form that is and it should not be an issue IMO.

Completely wrong in my opinion. As far as I remember Freddie signed his contract at a time when his decline was not visible - neither for the fans nor the board.

Further, with our squad back then - which was much "thinner" considering the options we have now, it was probably the right thing to do in order to keep a certain stability.

However, he has not justified his wages at all. 70K/week is a pretty good paycheck, especially when your impact for the team is almost not visible (PLEASE do not cite his one goal against Blackburn as a proof of his class, that´s merely laughable).

Money is an issue - whenever the performance doesn´t match the paycheck.

 

[Lord Dula]

I completely agree with you Sammer. We are simply not getting what we're paying for with Freddie. When you factor in the fact that he is in decline and unless he has an indian summer, his performances are likely to worsen further, it only reinforces my belief in that.

Freddie has been a great asset to the squad but it's getting near to the time he moved on. I appreciate it was only paper speculation re his departure, but more often than not, there's no smoke without fire, and I'm sure Wenger is thinking ahead.