FROM : LapHang
SUBJECT : Yaya Toure was once an Arsenal trialist
DATE : Mon, 2 June 2008
Dear Mr Palmer,
I have been reading ANR for the last 8 years. My computer have changed 3 times since and my internet browsers almost a dozen times (and seeing you changing server once and the web layout), but ANR is always the first bookmark I restore in my new browser/computer. Therefore it is quite amazing that this is the first time I click on the side bar to write a comment to you !
Anyway, my question is with regards to the recent rumours about Yaya Toure.
I can vaguely remember not too long ago, Kolo and his brother Yaya were both at Arsenal’s feeder club in Belgium when they were loaned out to get a work permit or something like that. I can also remember that the speculation then was that Arsene was planning to sign both on long term contract. However, after only one season, Kolo was in London while Yaya was no where to be seen in English media again till he went to Barcelona.
I just wonder whether it was a matter of capability or a lapse of judgement by Arsene (which I seriously doubt so) that caused Arsene not to sign Yaya back then. Now Yaya is costing 8m pounds, and I just wondered how much would it have cost Arsene if he made his move all those years ago. Arsene also doesn’t seem like the type of manager to turn back on his decisions.I would like to hear your professional opinion on this matter.
Best regards,
LapHang
Myles replies :
You can’t say Arsene was wrong not to sign Yaya when he could have signed him very cheaply years ago. Footballers develop at different rates. And managers need players in different positions at different times. AW may have rated Yaya Toure very highly as a trialist but had other priorities at the time. For me, in midfield in the EPL, size matters. Two big men, Vieira and Gilberto, were at the heart of the Invincibles in 2004.
At the same time, all managers make misjudgments.They keep players they wish they had moved on. And they miss out on talents who did not grab them enough. And every decision is a budget decision too. Arsene has an overall budget for wages and transfers, which he alone controls. That makes him very cost-conscious, prone to doing it on the cheap.
In 2006-2007, Barcelona had Edmilson and Marquez playing in that role. Neither was satisfactory, in my view. And since they signed Toure from Olympiakos in the Greek league, Frank Rijkaard must have had the same view as I did. Big Frank wanted to beef up that position with a colossus who is six foot three and very strong. He is big but technically assured. He can surge forward suddenly with the ball and feed the smaller Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. Last season Yaya played for months with two injuries.If he was 100% fit and playing for Arsenal, he would improve and be awesome. Not as great as Vieira in his prime, obviously. Nobody in the next 100 years will ever be that great.
If Arsenal signed Yaya Toure, I’d be excited. He is a proper Champions League midfielder. He is what they need. But I can think of other players who are what they need. And they will not be signed.
Don’t say : I don’t believe Wenger would ever make a mistake. That is unrealistic. Although he a very bright, hard-working guy, and has done truly amazing things at Arsenal, he is a bloke. He’s not the Dalai Lama in a tracksuit, not a messiah, a cult leader. Unfortunately, in football, many punters are prone to hero-worship. It’s human nature. At Arsenal, thousands nod sagely and say, “Arsene Knows” and hang out banners like IN ARSENE WE TRUST. They forget that Arsene Wenger is a bloke who is just as capable of a lapse of judgement as anybody else. He is capable of buying more kids and no experience.
Ken Friar told us three weeks ago that a signing was “imminent” . Arsene said he would sign a couple of players before Euro 2008 started. That has not happened but anything can happen in the future. However, it will happen at its own pace.
It’s a big summer for Arsene. The club looks and sounds and acts like an outfit which is strapped for cash. Arsenal do not have a lot of £££££££ to spend. The team needs three experienced players. When he signs one experienced player, like Toure, he will need two more. At the moment, having lost Edelman, Flamini and Hleb, it all looks a bit precarious. If Arsene gets it right, the team could be OK. If he gets it wrong, 2008-2009 might be his last season.
My advice to you, LapHang, is : Relax, be patient.
If you’ve been reading ANR for eight years, you have known at least eight summers without Arsenal playing matches. We are glad to have such loyal readers. That goes without saying. I’m writing, really, for the people who have been reading this stuff for eight years. Those readers are more likely to forgive when I write something stupid.
Let’s just wait and see what happens. We’ll be living the rest of our lives in the future. Arsenal’s first serious game will be August – and August will be here very soon.
We can’t spend the next 66 days worrying about whether AFC will buy somebody’s brother. We should not be neurotic for the next 66 days unless we are masochists who enjoy being neurotic. To pass the time, you should reach for the nearest guitar, pick it up, and write a song. If you can’t do that, buy a jukebox. If you can’t do that, do what this old beatnik did last night : chill out with a spooky ballad from James Carr or a classic trucking song from Dave Dudley.