January is the FA Cup and the transfer window.
February is the Champions League.
So work in 2009 starts in London on a cold Monday morning with snow on the ground and a blizzard of speculation. So far only one player, Wayne Bridge, a left back, has been sold by Chelsea, the richest club of the last five years, to Manchester City, the richest club of today
This transfer window, the first of the credit crunch, could be a yawn for most fans.Just a few loan deals.
But there is some hard news. Spurs have offered £15 milion for Jermain Defoe. Scott Parker is a player Man City need to avoid relegation, so that will be £12 million well spent. City are spineless and badly need players with bottle, not wallies like Jo or the clowns signed by Sven. Craig Bellamy isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but he’ll always snarl and scrap and he has the bottle to put the ball in the net.
Who will Arsenal go for? Nobody knows.
I hope they sign a couple of good players but I’m not holding my breath. Throughout their history, Arsenal have always had an excuse not to spend money. Since 1996, that tradition has continued, although some great players have been signed by Arsene Wenger.
Ask yourself : Do I feel in my guts that Wenger will sign a significant player? Do I think he has the balls to buy the players we all know he needs? Do I think he’ll sign a defensive midfielder? Do I reckon he’ll get a big, experienced centreback? Or do I think he’ll sign more French kids?
In today’s football, with today’s tabloid-led media, Arsenal need a new star and these days a star is a player who scores goals.
To use the phrase Wenger used three summers ago, they need a player of “super, super class”. Arshavin is such a player and footballers as gifted as Arshavin do not come on the market very often.
There are empty seats at the Emirates, more every month. People are already voting with their feet. When Eboue gets the ball, we hear groans. And Eboue now has a free role, so he stays far away from the ball. Bendtner was shocking against Plymouth, even worse than he was against Portsmouth.
What about the FA Cup?
Simple : Arsenal need to win five more games to lift the FA Cup and give their fans a trophy.
The FA Cup is winnable.
The title & Champions League are beyond this team.
So this season is about the FA Cup, whose semi-finals are on April 19. Fabregas should be back by then. Arsenal will need him in the semi and might need him before that.
Robin van Persie scored two goals and forced an own-goal as they beat Plymouth 3-1 at the Emirates on Saturday.
Sagna was superb and Nasri had a pretty good game. It was good to see Aaron Ramsey starting and he did OK. But the midfield lacked shape, as it would do with Diaby in the middle. He can only break forward and take people on. That’s why Diaby has never played in the middle until now.
Against Plymouth, Robin Van Persie should score a couple of goals. And French internationals should have good games in a home cup tie against a mid-table Championship outfit.
Cardiff will be a much harder game because it’s an away game.
Plymouth have lost 11 league games this season, Cardiff have lost four. Plymouth are 15th, Cardiff fourth. Cardiff were FA Cup Finalists last season, losing to Portsmouth.
Cardiff played Reading on Saturday and that was a home banker because Steve Coppell never bothers with the FA Cup. True to form, Coppell made eight changes and lost 2-0
When Arsenal played Burney in the Carling Cup quarter-final, I saw a caption on Sky Sports News : Paul Fletcher, Burnley Managing Director.
I didn’t recognise Fletcher. The last time I saw him he was playing for Burnley as a striker at White Hart Lane. He was a compact, skilful centre forward. He played a smart game, finding space and providing sweet touches. As an MD, he’s still smart because he’s hired Owen Coyle, a manager who plays good football.
In 1971, Paul Fletcher, signed fom Bolton,was Burnley’s most expensive player ever at £60,000. Tottenham’s most expensive was Martin Peters at £200,000. Arsenal’s was Alan Ball at £220,000.
The Spurs v Burnley first leg is on Tuesday night on Sky and it might be a surprise. Man United play Derby in the other semi on Wednesday.
The 16 ties in the FA Cup fourth round are
Liverpool v Everton
Manchester United v Spurs
Hull City or Newcastle v Millwall or Crewe
Sunderland v Blyth Spartans or Blackburn
Hartlepool v West Ham
Leyton Orient or Sheffield Utd v Charlton or Norwich
Cardiff City v Arsenal
Portsmouth or Bristol City v Histon or Swansea
Chelsea or Southend United v Ipswich
Cheltenham or Doncaster v Aston Villa
West Brom or Peterborough v QPR or Burnley
Torquay United v Coventry
Kettering v Fulham
Watford v Leicester or Crystal Palace
Derby County v Nottingham Forest
Birmingham or Wolves Wanderers v Middlesbrough.
Ties to be played the weekend of 24-25 January