Arsenal News Review

Jonjo Shelvey / Michael Owen / Roger Federer

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:57:07 +0000

Jonjo Shelvey is a wonderkid from Romford.

A goal-scoring second striker who is 17.

Wenger wants him, Chelsea want him. I gather the kid will not be at Charlton for much longer. A reporter pal has seen him play : "He's good, very good. He's powerful, got a big frame, no hair- he's got alopecia."

I hope Arsenal sign Shelvey for £3 million. And I hope he's better than Walcott

Other Arsenal transfers?

Impossible to say what's going on and I don't follow the signals from hour to hour. We can only guess. My guess is that all the club's money is tied up in the flats at Highbury Square.

Fans insisted Wenger bought a centreback, so he bought Vermaelen for £10 million and he's now done his money. He needs to sell to buy and none of his babies is keen to leave the comfort of the Colney Creche and move into the real world. Especially as the boss loves to give pay rises to mediocre players who have won nothing.

Talking to friends about Michael Owen going to Man United, a couple think he will be a success there.

One reckons Owen will score 15 goals next season.

I'm baffled and shocked. Why has Sir Alex signed Owen now when he had so many chances to sign him in the past? Owen going to Old Trafford on a free has shocked me more than any football transfer since Ardiles joined Spurs in 1978.

I'm convinced that Owen is past it. He can't run. He's a box striker now, a Gerd Muller. I last saw Owen play against Arsenal in August when Newcastle were beaten 3-0. He was stranded on the halfway line because he could not run away from Gallas or Toure and he never attempted to do so. He was impotent. He never had a kick. Fabio Capello was there that day and his verdict was similar to mine : Forget it !

Yes, Owen can concentrate, sniff out chances, and is still hugely ambitious. He's gone to United on £20,000-a-week basic because he hopes to get back into the England team with his mate Stevie G and win the World Cup. A commendable ambition but England will NOT win the World Cup without a goalkeeper.

Roger wanted 15.

Roger Federer wanted to beat Pete Sampras's record of 14 grand slams. And Pete had told him that if he ever had a chance to do so, he would be there to see it.

Pete and his blonde arrived at 2.15 pm when the score was 2-1 to Andy Roddick in the first set. He sat in front of Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England.

Tennis players used wooden racquets and then titanium and then graphite. They're all baseliners now because the money is so big that coaching has become more defensive. Serve-and-volley has become serve and serve and serve and serve and serve again.

That's what Roger Federer and Andy Roddick did in yesterday's marathon final, the longest grand slam final in history. The fifth set was threatening to become the first two-hour set in tennis history.

But I enjoyed it. I love to watch athletes with talent and character and bottle. I love to watch the best play the best and bring out the best in each other. Since I was a kid, I've enjoyed seeing the best compete with the best, it's been a constant in my life.

I really love Andy Murray and will make time to watch him in the US Open from August 31. He was 22 in May and is still improving.

At Wimbledon, Roddick beat Murray in the semi by serving better and having a superior game-plan.

When Roddick was about to serve the first game of the final, I heard myself say, "If you win this, son, you'll be on the cover of Time magazine."

It was bang! bang! bang! and 4-4 in 21 minutes. Then Roddick broke serve to win the tie break 7-5. During the second set, Tim Henman said it was very different from any Federer-Roddick game he had ever seen. The next three hours proved Tim right.

Roddick had four set points in the second set tie-break but Federer levelled to one set each by winning six points in a row and Roddick was so dazed & confused that after they sat down, he went to the wrong end. But the Yank recovered well and played boldly until his legs went in the last three or four games. That's when he wished he hadn't been chasing the ball so much in that exhausting five-setter against Lleighton Hewitt. At the end Federer was holding his serve to love.

Everybody felt for Roddick, who played superbly. He didn't lose his serve in the first three sets, which all went to tie-breaks. Then he won the fourth.

On Saturday I had a Wimbledon bet.

I put £50 on Serena to beat Venus and the odds were surprisingly good. Then I watched the British & Irish Lions' third Test against South Africa and they won by 28-9 in storming style and when I switched over to BBC, Serena had won 7-6, 6-2. So I got £115 back.

Wish I won £65 every Saturday.

Let's face it, Adebayor is negative equity

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:55:09 +0000

Adebayor was on the bench at Monaco for disciplinary reasons.

French reporters were amazed when he joined Arsenal on January 13, 2006.

In 2007-2008 he scored 30 goals in a vibrant side that made 150 chances for him.

He was a one-season wonder and Wenger knew that better than any of us. He scored 19 league goals but six were against Derby County, statistically the worst team in Premier League history.

Then Adebarndoor got a new contract on £80,000 a week and behaved as if he had won the lottery. He said : I don't care if I don't score another goal this season as long as Arsenal win something. And later, when he was linked with AC Milan again, he admitted, yes, I talk to Galliani on the phone.

In February, the flaky giant told Arsenal TV :

“I know having scored 30 goals in a season that people will always be waiting for more this season but the most important thing is to keep on going and to progress. I have 12 already but to score another 18 now would not be easy. But I don’t care if I stop on 12 goals if we win something with the club.

“To win trophies is more important than scoring goals but if we are to win trophies we will need to score some goals. This club needs trophies and that’s what we are fighting for.”

He actually claimed he was happy with his form: “I am getting assists now too and getting closer to being a complete footballer. I can score with my left, score with my right and score with my head too, which is good for a striker.

In March there was another communique from Planet Adebarndoor.

He said, "I knew that Milan and Barcelona were interested in me but in the end I chose Arsenal. Arsenal are a club that I want to repay with important victories for having allowed me to become one of the great players in world football. "

So there you have it. He's a complete footballer who scored two hat-tricks against Derby, a relegated team, he's one of the great players in world football, and he talks to Galliani on his mobile.

The next six weeks will be crucial.

If Wenger and Gazidis can sell Adebayor and bring in a fast, sharp striker and combative midfielder, then next season might not be more of the same. Thousands of fans fear more of the same

Everything else is irrelevant right now. Adebayor is the main issue among Gooners. He is the fundamental issue. And the present impasse is an ongoing farce that should never have been allowed to evolve. In Wenger's portfolio of footballers, when he looks at Adebayor, he's looking at negative equity.

As you know, many clubs to do a lot of commendable fund-raising work for charities.

The Teenage Cancer Trust had a dinner at Chelsea a couple of years ago. The format is you have big tables and a meal, and two players from the first team squad join your table for dessert, coffee and a chat. Towards the end of the evening they have an auction where fans bid to be in next season's team photo. The lucky winner puts on a shirt and the club photographer takes an extra shot of the fan with his heroes. This usually goes for about £4,000 or £5,000, I gather. At the Chelsea dinner, John Terrry, Lampard and Joey Cole each gave £80,000 to the Teenage Cancer Charity.

That charity recently had a dinner at the Emirates, same format. Eboue and Adebayor joined one table for dessert, coffee and a chat and were suitably charming. But Adebayor was sitting next to an aggressive hedge fund guy who'd had a few drinks. The auction started for the team photo and the bids were going up and up and up again and everything was jolly and hunky-dory.

Then the hedge fund guy turned to Adebayor and said, "You should bid for that!"

He thought Adebarndoor would be sold and should be sold. So he thought Ade's best chance of being in next season's team photo was to bid in that auction and buy a place in the photo.

A very rude remark but a funny one.

THIS MORNING I'm told that most Barcelona fans expect to sign David Villa but not Fabregas.

Arsenal board delay decision/ Wilshere / UEFA warning

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:38:09 +0000

There was no conclusion to the boardroom discussion on the proposed rights issue, and a decision is likely next week.

The money would come in handy given the debt, but there are fears that Usmanov, who has pledged to underwrite the issue would gain too much control. Also there's a distinct lack of cash around at the moment.

Wenger said on www.arsenal.com on Jack Wilshere's long term contract:"It is such great news that Jack has signed a new long-term contract. Jack made great progress last season, playing at under-18s, reserves and first-team level and we all witnessed what a great young talent he is. At still 17 years of age, the potential is huge for Jack and we’re all delighted that he has committed his long-term future to Arsenal Football Club."

Meanwhile, partially triggered by the Gazidis remarks on a salary cap, Uefa said it would announce decisions on "financial fair play" and discuss it with clubs and players at its Professional Football Strategy Council meeting at the end of September.

UEFA said in a statement: "The key principle on the road towards a fairer and more transparent game is that football should reward those clubs living within their means.This means that clubs shall need to reduce their spending. To be viable, salaries and transfers should be proportionate to the generated income. Clubs should invest in their youth sectors, and use their homegrown talent to reinforce their squads."

Gazidis wants wage cap/ Cana/ Ozil/ Agogo

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:56:00 +0000

Wenger himself said Arsenal fans are divided into different groups including international fans who drop in now and again to see a game and corporate visitors. And to some of those, questions about where they stand on Wenger are irrelevant.

Also it is an artificial question, as some fans, one week think Wenger should go, the next, not so sure. Some think in their heads, maybe he should go but in their hearts, being Arsenal fans, support the club, warts and all. And of course who would replace him?

Some others now see football as a cultural not a sporting thing. Why bother about finishing higher than clubs who spend £300m more on players in a league which masquerades as sport and regulators [see the article on money laundering and the Premiership in yesterday's press] hell bent on maximising the honey pot.

So in that respect it is great to see Arsenal ce Ivan Gazidis saying the Premier League should consider introducing a salary cap for its clubs as a way of encouraging financial stability and more even competition.

In an interview with The Guardian, he says: "I think it is worth our while to investigate whether there are elements of the salary cap system, which they have in US NFL and baseball, which would benefit football," he said.

"Clubs have a duty to provide more stability in our business models and some form of wage restraint is one element worth looking at. There are many different ways in which it could work."

There are powerful vested interests against it. I once asked David Dein - what are the chances of wage cap, and he said it had to be worldwide, FIFA based, and therefore unlikely. But at least Gazidis is putting a marker down.

Somewhat ironic then, today is the day the Arsenal board decide on Usmanov's call for a £100m rights issue, to which Gazidis says: "I am open-minded and we have commissioned Rothschild [the merchant bank] to advise the board. We have to be sure it can make a real and lasting contribution to the club."

Gazidis is part of a European clubs' association working group considering improvements to the financial running of football.

Meanwhile, the squad is taking shape for next season. William Gallas confirmed (Sky Sports) he has no intention of leaving and looks set to see his contract out. He said as much last season.

"I am at Arsenal, my contract is still valid for a year, so I am an Arsenal player. We have not talked about renewing the contract, but I am relaxed and looking forward to next season with Arsenal."

Aaron Ramsey has signed a new five year deal

Wenger, in a press briefing, revealed he is unllikely to sign more than two more new players. "In my opinion, to recruit more than three players in a transfer window, as Real plan, is taking a technical risk."

The Express says Wenger is switching his focus to Spurs target and Marseille skipper Loik Cana.

Cana said: "The door remains open for a departure, even with three years remaining on my contract. I will talk with my family and my representatives. It will then depend on what I want to do. Of the possible destinations in the future, England and Germany are the two leagues that attract me the most."

The Irish Examiner says Udinese’s Gokhan Inler is another midfielder on Wenger’s radar, and probably a better all round player than Melo.

The Daily Mail reckons Aston Villa are keeping tabs on Philippe Senderos.

The Guardian rumour mill says Wenger is after Mesut Ozil, who mesmerised England u21s in the final. Unlikely as he's filling Diego's shoes for Werder Bremen. Also Sweden's Marcus Berg, who also interests Spurs and Boro Goalie Ross Turnbull who interests Chelsea.

Young Arsenal right back Abu Agogo has signed a two year deal with Dagenham & Redbridge.

Arsenal board meeting looks at Usmanov rights issue proposal

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:42:51 +0000

Arsenal have a board meeting today.

To discuss the rights issue suggested by Usmanov.

Clearly, there will be no rights issue.
We are sure of that - and so is Usmanov.

In the meantime, Gazidis has been doing a series of interviews with broadsheet reporters like Mathew Goodman (ST), Roger Bitz (FT) and David Conn (Guardian).

As you know, Arsenal want to be sensible and sustainable over the long term.

The headline and sub-heads on David Conn's feature are as follows:

Arsenal chief executive calls for salary cap
Ivan Gazidis calls for wage restraint in Premier League
Former MLS deputy commissioner hails 'profitable' Bundesliga

Can you see a salary cap being agreed by the EPL?
I can't.

The UK is a deregulated warzone where everything is for sale and almost everything is allowed, even now, after greedhead bankers have wrecked the world economy.

Can you see Arsenal lowering ticket prices to match those of the Bundesliga?
I can't see that either.

Did Arsenal bungle the maths on their property development at Highbury Square?
We don't know. No reporter has been told the facts.

Presumably, Danny Fiszman and MD Keith Edelman did the maths on that.
Long before Edelman was sacked and, eight months later, Gazidis hired.

If Gazidis knows all the numbers, he won't cough them up to David Conn or Roger Bitz, will he ?

The MLS do transparency.
Arsenal don't.

In Arsene We Trust ? Are you in that camp?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:38:54 +0000

When 2008-2009 ended, Gooners divided into three camps.

The first group are the Arsene Knows loyalists.

In Arsene We Trust.They suck on their banners like a comfort blanket. They think AW can do no wrong, he gave us fantastic football, more exciting than we've ever seen before, gave us titles, cups, the Invincibles, and they reckon more glory days are just around the corner.

The second group admit : He's lost the plot but his achievements at Arsenal are so huge that he deserves one more season.

The third group is probably the smallest group.

They think : Wenger must go, he's a flawed character with a flawed strategy, obsessed with youth and pace, delusional, lucky to be retained so long by a timid board who still have no Plan B, he'll always sell us the future, always move the goalposts, saying: Judge me in two months time, judge me at the end the season, judge me in two years time. And he'll always keep his job because the squad is so young that nobody else could work with players who are so pampered and protected that they couldn't perform for any other coach.

Which group are you in ?

Melo extends contract/ Arsenal sign-up 4

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:55:27 +0000

Fiorentina and Brazil midfielder Felipe Melo has agreed a contract extension of a year with the club, taking him up to June 2013.

A statement on Fiorentina's website (www.violachannel.tv) said an unspecified escape clause would be inserted into the deal. Melo has been linked with Arsenal and Inter Milan.

It reads: "Fiorentina announces that its sporting director Pantaleo Corvino met in Milan with Felipe Melo’s agent and an agreement was reached to extend the player’s contract until 2013 with a buy-out clause also included."

Meanwhile, Arsenal have given professional contracts to four defenders - Luke Ayling (17), Craig Eastmond (18), Cedric Evina (17) and 18-year-old keeper James Shea, all part of the successful FA Youth Cup winning squad.

Eight players have been released including Amaury Bischoff and Rui Fonte.

Meanwhile the Guardian emphases a second letter from an Arsenal fan, who first wrote last year about abandoning the white sleeves in the home kit, pointing out that the club have never won anything without the home/away combination of red shirt with white sleeves and yellow shirt with blue sleeves.

Stuart Pearce's donkeys could actually win the Under-21 title

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:55:03 +0000

Stuart Pearce's England are the worst Under-21 side I've ever seen - and the luckiest.

Don't get me wrong. I'm patriotic. I really hope England beat Germany tonight.

But I suspect we will give the Germans fewer problems than the lively Italians gave them in the semi-final.

Watching Andy Murray will be an upper but following that with England's dopey Under-21s is a rather grim prospect. Andy is on top of his game, England barely play the game.

We are donkeys who could actually win the tournament. Our two best players are Kieran Gibbs and Lee Cattermole of Wigan.

Micah Richards is a big lump who has forgotten whatever it was that got him into the England senior team. And the rest are so one-dimensional.

Germany? The children of immigrants are now doing very well for this German team.

Never mind that there is no Seeler, Hoeness, Schnellinger, Schwarzenbeck or Effenberg, no Gerd Muller or Hansi Mueller or Klaus Fischer.

They all have names like Aogo, Castro, Ozil, Boateng and Ben-Hatiko. And they're good players. Fabian Johnson has American parents and chose to play for Germany.

Never mind that blond right back Andreas Beck is Russian-born. A terrific player who scored with a thunderous 30-yard shot against Italy in the semi. The only goal of the game in the 48th minute.

They don't have a striker but at least they play a bit of football.

Dejagan of Wolfsburg has a shaved head and tattoos and a tasty left foot. Ozil, like Dejagan, is essentially an attacking midfield player.

OK, blond keeper Manuel Neuer is as German as you can be. Neuer of Schalke wears a blue jumper and is wanted by Bayern Munich. In any decade, that's German.

In the semi against Sweden, we could not build a 3-0 lead in 38 minutes - and could not even defend a 3-0 lead.

We allowed Sweden to score three goals, so it went into extra time and with Fraizer Campbell having been sent off we were lucky to survive,

Our hero was keeper Joe Hart. who took England's second penalty after Milner had missed the first. Hart scored and it was soon 5-4 after Gibbs slotted to put pressure on Sweden and their guy missed and that put England in tonight's final. Joe Hart was booked for gamesmanship (talking to a penalty-taker during the shoot-out) by a little Turkish ref who had already booked him in a previous game.

At best, England are a methodical outfit with a good work ethic and some powerful athletes.

I just wish we had the crafts and good habits to play proper football. I've watched the games against Finland, Spain and Sweden and we haven't played any football at all. Pearce fielded his reserves in the third Group game against the Germans and the understudies had the better of a 1-1 draw.

We got a flying start against hosts Sweden by scoring in the first minute from a corner. That was our third goal of the tournament from a corner. Right back Martin Cranie slammed it in, Agbonlahor tried to flick, and the ball went in off a defender on the line.

In 23, Agbonlahor jumped and led with his arm and his elbow split the eyebrow of Sweden's captain Bjarsmyr. When he was off having stitches, England got another corner and Onuoha banged in a left foot shot for 2-0.

The $64,000 question then was : Are we good enough to score a goal in open play when we are leading 2-0?

Answer : No. We are not good enough to score a goal in open play. We can't string three passes together. But we got another goal from a set-piece when Cattermole's flick-header went in off the Bjarsmyr.

So Stuart Pearce's heroes, a team without any rhythm, flair or intelligence, were 3-0 up at half-time.

Marcus Berg then scored the best goal of the game, converting a low cross from the right.

In 76, Toivonen's terrific free-kick went over the wall and beat Joe Hart for 3-2. Five minutes later Berg scored a goal that was even better than his first one. A good right wing cross went beyond the bar post, a slick backheel set up the chance, Berg smacked in for 3-3.

In extra time, Fraizer Campbell was on a yellow card and made sure he got a second booking. He knew Agbonlahor was out of the final, if we got there, so he made a crazy tackle and got sent off. What a dickhead! If we can't keep the ball with 11 men, how were we gonna keep it with 10?

Theo Walcott switched to centre forward for the last 16 minutes. After 111 minutes, Berg hit the bar and by then I was hoping Sweden would win. They had played some nice stuff and scored two good goals in open play.

It went to penalties and we won and Pearce's boys are in tonight's final in Malmo. Hart, Agbonlahor and Campbell are all suspended.

I wish I could say England Under 21s were a good side. But if I did I would be a liar. We are dire. We ain't very good. We've been dire in every game we've played.

Commentator Martin Tyler remains a master of understatement. He noted that Theo Walcott "has had a mixed time out here in Sweden."

After the semi, Smudger Smith admitted, "We've not played a great deal of football, have we? But three good balls into the box -you ask questions of defenders and they haven't been able to answer them."

Is that all we have to offer in the 21st century? Three good balls into the box? Is that the most we can hope for?

Fabio Capello has flown out for tonight's final. He knows that nobody in this Under-21 team is really reliable enough to be in his World Cup eleven. But a couple will be on the plane anyway.

If England win on set-pieces it will demonstrate that you do not have to play football to win a football tournament.

______________________________________

Update : England 0 Germany 4

Castro 23, Ozil 48, Wagner 79, 84.

Crowd : 20,000

You must read Rob Hughes on Keirrison and Traffic Sports Marketing

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:56:12 +0000

Good piece in IHT on Ronaldinho, Keirrison and a new agency

Fabiano, Elano make difference in superb Confederations Cup drama

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:07:06 +0000

USA 2 Brazil 3

Dempsey 10, Donovan 27, Fabiano 46, Fabiano 74, Lucio 84

USA started at 100 mph and scored two excellent goals.

Clint Dempsey shinned in a probing cross from right back Spector, foxing Julie Cesar in goal. It looked a bit jammy when he guided the ball off his calf and down and across and inside the post. But it was a good finish. That shot went where Dempsey intended.

Then USA scored again, breaking perfectly from a Brazil corner, when Landon Donovan exchanged passes with pint-sized buzzbomb Charlie Daniels, turned the ball sharply inside the last defender, winger Ramirez, and hit a brilliant left foot shot across Cesar into the opposite corner.

What a textbook counter-attack ! US coaches will show DVDs of that goal for the next 100 years : Look how simple football can be, watch two quick forwards who do everything right.

Not being 100% sure that Brazil would win, I had backed over 2.5 goals.
When it was 2-0 at half time, I knew it would not stay 2-0.

Within 40 seconds of the re-start, Luis Fabiano killed Maicon’s cross with one foot, whacked it with the other -and the ball went through Jay DeMerit's legs and past Tim Howard for 2-1.

The game was very fast and open now as Brazil took control. Intense, compelling, hectic, as wave after wave of gold shirts raced forward.

In 60, Andre Santos crossed and Kaka’s header looked over the line in real time. On the first replay it looked over. On the replay from the best angle it was at least two feet over before Tim Howard slapped the ball against the underside of the bar and it was cleared and play was waved on. Lucky USA! Sack that linesman before the World Cup, please.

A Dempsey shot was parried by Cesar, so USA still had glimpses, a faint hope.

After 66, two overdue substitutions: Dani Alves for left back Andre Santos and Elano for the clueless Ramires.

Conclusion : Dunga thinks Elano is a 20-minute footballer. Dunga could be right. A shame because Elano when he is trying is the finest right flank player for a decade. His crossing, passing and shooting are so clinical, so penetrating, so productive.

In 72, a Kaka dribble on the left took him beyond Spector to the bye-line, his low cross was very slightly deflected, Robinho shinned it against the bar, the ball bounced down very sharply and then flew up seven feet off the ground.

And Luis Fabiano headed in for 2-2.

He is a rugged, durable 28-year old predator who says : That's what I'm here for. Bang !

Luis Fabiano moves to score goals and stands still to score goals. He does nothing fancy and doesn't waste energy. He knows when to wait and where to wait. He doesn't move for the team these days, to play others in, to link the play. He knows his job and does his job.

Then big skipper Lucio headed in a sublime, deep, pinpoint Elano corner to win the Confederations Cup.

Lucio was very emotional at the end of a tremendous contest. A wonderful, spectacular match. USA won the first half 2-0, Brazil won the second half 4-0 - and the contest 3-2.

The USA played bravely and intelligently and fairly. Well done to them. But the Americans tired, the Brazilians took over, got three fine goals, one of which was disallowed, then grabbed the winner.

Excellent game, good champions, decent losers who gave it everything they had.

SUMMARY : Brazil won after Elano and Dani Alves came on.

Dunga said he always picks the hulking Maicon because "you need piano-carriers".

That is not an insulting remark. It's never an insult to be selected for the Selecao.

USA (4-4-2) Howard; Spector, DeMerit, Onyewu, Bocanegra; Dempsey, Clark, Feilhaber, Donovan; Davies, Altidore.
Subs: Guzan, Bornstein, Califf, Wynne, Pearce, Beasley, Kljestan, Adu,
Torres, Bradley, Casey, Robles.
Brazil (4-2-3-1) Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Luisao, Andre Santos; Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo; Ramires, Kaka, Robinho; Luis Fabiano.
Subs: Victor, Juan, Kleber, Dani Alves, Miranda, Josue, Julio Baptista, Elano, Kleberson, Alexandre Pato, Nilmar, Gomes.
Referee Martin Hansson (Sweden)

Dunga must give dynamo Dani Alves a bigger role

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:09:23 +0000

Tim Howard of Everton v Julio Cesar of Inter Milan?

Lucio of Bayern v DeMerit of Watford?

Kaka of Real Madrid v Clint Dempsey of Fulham?

Yes, the USA have a chance. Their organisation is good and their commitment phenomenal. They are 90-minute competitors and very disciplined, except for the odd bad tackle. We did not think the USA could beat Spain 2-0 but they did.

This is a rehearsal tournament and Brazil came into it off two tense, tough World Cup qualifiers.

The most boring Brazil team was the one Dunga captained in USA 94.That template is one nobody wanted to see repeated : one super-poacher (Romario), a tiny link-man who was perpetual motion (Bebeto) and eight defenders. In the final they beat Italy in a penalty shoot-out.

Dunga is now the coach and his fringe players have been bang average in this Confederations Cup. Their performances don't demand inclusion. Corinthians left back Andre Santos, Fiorentina No.5 Melo, and Cruzeiro right winger Ramires would not have got anywhere near any of Brazil's five World Cup-winning teams. Elano has a lot more class than Ramires.

Dunga's problem today will be scoring a goal, especially Luis Fabiano is a rugged centre forward of a type that USA may be able to handle. I'm a Fabiano fan, always have been, and I hope he scores tonight. But I won't be betting on it.

To win the World Cup, Brazil need to be more like Sevilla. Or, perhaps, like France were in 1998.

To play like Sevilla did in 2006 when they beat Middlesbrough 4-0 to win the Uefa Cup, Brazil need a player who can do what Ronaldinho did in 2002. A playmaker who is energetic, pro-active, combative, resourceful, a team leader, a dynamo who can drive attacks from the middle third and make things happen.

Unfortunately, there is no player anywhere who can do what Ronaldinho was doing in 2002. There is nobody with that skill, power, vision and invention.
That is clear.
Brazil don't have a player like that and neither does anybody else.

So what should Dunga do?

Move Dani Alves into midfield !

Combative, fiery and confident, Dani Alves is a treble-winner with Barcelona and he scored the 88th-minute goal against South Africa in the semi-final.

In my view, Dunga has six core players for the World Cup : skipper Lucio, keeper Julio Cesar, Kaka, Gilberto, Fabiano and Dani Alves.The others are good but not irreplaceable

He should keep the powerhouse Maicon at right back, and keep Gilberto and Juan, big men with big experience. That is eight pretty essential players in total. Robinho would only be the 9th player on my team-sheet.

Having watched Felipe Melo closely in three games, I can't see Wenger paying £12 million for him. He's not the answer for Brazil. Or Arsenal.

Brazil are unbeaten in 15 games and have won their last six and kept 10 clean sheets. Their defence is very good.

What doesn't work is an attack that relies far too much on Kaka, who now operates from the left flank, rather than making slaloms through centrefield.

Kaka is tired and the team he's playing in doesn't have enough personalities. If he played in centre midfield he would get kicked, blocked and battered. He would have less space than he does on the left flank where he mostly operates now. He is the key man. If Kaka has a bad game tonight, Brazil could lose.

The solution is simple: Drop Melo and put Dani Alves there with a licence to roam inside and join up with Fabiano, his former buddy at Sevilla.

What I'm proposing is a bit like what Aime Jacquet did in 1998, when he started Thierry Henry in the easy games and Karembeu in the hard games.

In that team Henry was a superfast right winger who could explode into one-on- one positions and score. Karembeu was an athletic half-back who could tackle and make short passes and help Deschamps, Petit and Zidane to control midfield. The more solid Karembeu made them, the more Zidane could get forward.

Dani Alves is a more creative player than Karembeu and Dunga must give him a bigger role. He's more reliable than Robinho and deserves a bigger role. Otherwise Kaka has too much to do.

What about tonight's final in Johannesburg?

It's on BBC3 from 7pm and it will be a rough, hard battle. Brazil to win by one goal.
--------------------------------------------------
In Paris in 1998, Ronaldo had a fit, should not have played, there was a fierce row in the dressing room after Edmundo was named on the official team-sheet and then put on the bench. Brazil did not warm up ! Henry was about to come on when Desailly was sent off for scattering Cafu. France won 3-0.

BRAZIL : Taffarel; Cafu, Aldair, Junior Baiano, Roberto Carlos; Leonardo (Denilson, 46th), Cesar Sampaio (Edmundo) Dunga, Rivaldo; Ronaldo, Bebeto.

FRANCE : Fabien Barthez; Lilian Thuram; Frank Leboeuf, Marcel Desailly, Bixente Lizarazu; Christian Karembeu (Alain Boghossian ), Didier Deschamps, Zinedine Zidane, Emmanuel Petit; Youri Djorkaeff (Patrick Vieira ), Stephane Guivarc'h (Christophe Dugarry).

After Bad in 1987, Michael Jackson's records were rubbish

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:02:52 +0000

Where were you?

Where were you when you heard that Michael Jackson was dead?

He meant so much to so many people.

Thriller sold over 60 million and Bad was another magnificent album in 1987 and, yes, we were a Jacko family.

We had kids in the Eighties, Michael in '82 and Caroline in '85, and we all loved Michael Jackson, played his CDs and listened to cassettes of Billie Jean, Beat It, Man In the Mirror and all those songs on drives to Wales and Oxford.

So did millions of other British families

For the first time in the history of the world, the biggest star in the world was black.

Michael Jackson was a fantastic dancer, a phenomenal ballad singer, a thilling singer of uptempo songs, a genius of dance music, the most super of superstars, dwarfing all other superstars - Prince, Springsteen and Sting were dull compared to Jacko at his best.

As a music journalist, I wrote about him from time to time.

On Sunday, November 12, 1972, I reviewed The Jackson Five at the Empire Pool, Wembley, for The Times. We sat in the second row and they were electrifying.

Some groups make music and a few make music happen. Most just play and sing but the Jackson Five, Rolling Stones and Tina Turner made music happen. I criticised the promoter for charging higher ticket prices than had ever been charged in London before : £2.50. The show was 25 minutes but it was so exciting, musically and visually, that you didn't notice how short it was. They did two shows that night.

At that time I was friendly with Alice Cooper and his manager Shep Gordon. Shep told me that they played an enormous basketball hall down in the south west somewhere and he was really pleased to sell it out. After Alice's gig the manager of the facility told Shep that the Jackson Five had played there the week before and had sold out four shows. "They're huge!" said Shep. He wasn't jealous, just amazed that any group could be so popular.

In Oz, putting together my 10-best albums of the year feature for Felix Dennis, my top two LPs were Music of My Mind and St Dominic's Preview, followed by Rod Stewart, The Eagles debut album, Jackson Browne's debut, the Jackson Five's greatest hits, and several other records including one by the Rascals, a white soul group.

For The Scotsman, I did a full page review of his Bad show at Wembley Stadium on July 23, 1988.

Later, for The Glasgow Herald, I did a huge piece about his Dangerous show at Wembley.

I explained in detail why the Bad show was phenomenally good, and why the Dangerous one was garbage.

Later still, when I lucked into a world exclusive story about a legal case against Jackson, I wrote it and sold it to The Observer and they ran it on the front page.

After that I didn't read about Jacko or write about him.

Bottom line : his albums after Bad were rubbish. Quincy Jones made him write great songs and he lost the plot after he split with Quincy, in every way.

I wasn't interested in Jacko the paedophile, Jacko the freak whose ridiculous "marriages" made him the most tragic weirdo in show business. Plastic surgery? Surgical masks ? Hanging out with Sheikh Abdullah of Bahrain? Sleepovers at Neverland? It was all beyond ridiculous and I just wasn't interested.

Being allergic to awards shows, I never watch things like the Brit Awards but somehow in 1996 I was lucky enough to see live, as it happened, Jacko the messiah leading a choir of children onto the stage, only to be interrupted by a drunken Jarvis Cocker. It was a wonderfully moral attempt to sabotage an outrageous, sick spectacle by a nutcase who was so rich and powerful that nobody dared say No! to him.

Jarvis Cocker said NO!NO!NO! to Jacko and that was a moment that made me proud to be an Englishman

Last night I was in Ladbroke Grove.

After a gig I arrived at a bus stop to find two young girls there, not together. One was talking into her mobile, saying, "Michael Jackson's dead. I feel like shouting it from the rooftops: Michael Jackson's dead!"

I spoke to her as a 52 arrived and as we got onto the bus together she said, "I think it's a publicity stunt."

I said, "I read his book. The Jackson Five used come home from school and rehearse every day. Their dad would drive them 200 miles to a talent contest to sing one song and drive 200 miles back. They'd go to school the following day and come home and rehearse again. With neighbours throwing rocks at the house and shouting, 'You'll never make it !' "

"Wow!" she said.

I sat upstairs on the bus and reflected on Book Slam, which had kicked off its first monthly event in a new home at The Tabernacle. Trinidadian poet Roger Robinson was marvellous, Patrick Neate read from his audacious new novel Jerusalem, and Soweto Kinch played electronic alto and did a freestyle rap and got all the girls to stand up and dance on one leg, as he was doing on the edge of the low stage. An entertaining, heart-warming night. The Tabernacle is more spacious and comfortable than 12 Acklam Road, less like a dance club, more like an arts centre. I'd only been there once before, back in 1990, when The Tabernacle was a funky community centre, for a Stones press conference where Mick Jagger did a hip, hilarious 14-minute Q&A that no other rock star could have done.

The 52 bus was crowded with young people but pretty quiet because everybody was tired. Then a girl behind me said, "Michael Jackson's dead, a heart attack." I turned round and she was looking at a text on her mobile.

When I got home about 11.45 pm I heard a voice from our loft bedroom.

"Hello," said Jan.

"Hello," I replied, shouting up the stairs
"Caroline phoned. Michael Jackson's dead."
"I know."
"How do you know?"
"A girl at a bus stop told me."

I went upstairs and found her in bed with Ian Rankin and we talked about Jacko and then I read her a poem from Suckle, Roger Robinson's new paperback, one he had done at the gig, a poem about his mother, who has prayers for everything.

Then I went downstairs to watch a Sky+ recording of Brazil v South Africa, fast-forwarding to 10 minutes, which was when I went out.

At 12.15am Michael came in and he had heard about Jacko too. He had been talking to two Asian guys on the way home. "One of them said, 'He can't be dead ! I've got tickets for his concert !' He looked crestfallen."

I'm not gonna read stuff about Jacko today. I know enough and I don't need more than Bob Lefsetz tells me in his music business newsletter. Subject line : The King is dead.

Bob's intro is good :

He missed his childhood and now he's gonna miss his old age.

How fuc*ed up is that?

Michael Jackson never had a chance. He had to succeed for his family, his parents' dreams were dependent upon him.

And a boy with that much pressure delivers. He works truly hard, so he will be loved. That's all Michael Jackson was looking for, love.

Chamakh will come to Arsenal after Adebarndoor leaves

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:06:55 +0000

Chamakh wants to join Arsenal.

He has told friends he's coming to Arsenal.

And Wenger would like to sell Adebarndoor before he signs the stylish Morrocan striker from Bordeaux.

The Bordeaux president says what he says because he has to say that. He knows, as we all know, that the day will come when he is obliged to tell his fans : We wanted to keep the lad, but he insisted on leaving us.

The timing of football transfers often has a lot to do with regulations and tax. It was impossible for Nasri to sign for Arsenal before June 30th due to the accountancy rules which govern French football clubs.

The timing of Chamakh's move will be subject to similar regulations.

But Marouane Chamakh will come to Arsenal, definitely.

As far as Wenger's concerned, the sooner the better, as pre-season training is very, very important to a guy who is a physiological manager as well as a developmental manager.

As I've been saying, unloading Adebarndoor will not easy now. Turning down AC Milan's offer of £23 million last summer was a colossal error and Wenger knows that.

It's a familiar dilemma.

If he buys Chamakh now, he send a clear message to Ade : get out ! But if he does that he also sends a message to potential buyers : Wenger wants rid of Ade.

So they think : if we have to pay him stupid wages of £80,000+ a week, we'll reduce the transfer fee. Because Ade's ridiculous wages are Wenger's fault.

Arshavin / Walcott/ Kroenke/ Bassong

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:55:29 +0000

Andrei Arshavin has ditched his agent Dennis Lachter, he of the tortuous quote which can mean two things at once.

"This is in no way connected with the drawing up of my contract with Arsenal," Arshavin told Sport Express. "In fact, I would like to express my immense gratitude to Lachter for helping me make the move."

"However, Dennis, who has a newborn son, is living in Israel and can not be close by all the time. It's simpler for me to solve things myself," he said.

But Arshavin does appear to be dissatisfied with his contract:"I have a problem with my contract. Certain nuances emerged linked to taxation and some other things. As a result, I'm getting less money than I expected. It's not critical but I still need to put it right," the player told The Mail on Sunday.

Meanwhile Blackburn's Martin Olsson has said it how it sees it on Theo Walcott, who he faces tonight. "He is extremely fast but not as good as everyone says," said the Swedish left back. "It's the players around him who feed him and make him good, so if we can shut them down I think we can prevent him from getting those passes. Against Finland, he had almost no chances and wasn't that much of a factor."

Ladbrokes put Fabregas's odds at 1-4 to be at Arsenal and 6-1 that he joins Madrid this season. Barcelona are 9-2.

See Silent Stan is building up his Arsenal shareholding by stealth. On 24th June he acquired another 3 ordinary shares at £7,025 per share and now controls voting rights over, 17,627 ordinary shares in the representing 28.3% of the Company's issued ordinary shares. On 15th June he got 9 at the same price, the same week a story about Usmanov being willing to undwerwrite a rights issue was circulating.

Whatever shame some of 'the money' can't go towards buying another reasonable defender. The Newcastle Chronicle reports "people in Bassong's camp have told the Chronicle that Spurs are the only would-be buyers to have expressed a firm interest in doing a deal with Newcastle at the price they want. That valuation may already have put off Arsenal."

Arsene Wenger is London's least popular Premier League manager in the eyes of his club's own supporters, accrording to an Evening Standard survey.

Research company Football Fans Census asked more than 2,000 supporters ‹ with a minimum of 100 from each club ‹ to rate their manager's performance last season. The top mark was +5 with the bottom grade -5.

Wenger got 2.1 compared to 4.6 in 2006, the capital's most popular manager.

An Arsenal spokesperson said: "We don't think too much emphasis should be placed upon the survey results as proof of our fans' strong and deep bond with Arsene has been demonstrated consistently over the years.

"Most recently, at the Stoke game when a march was undertaken in his honour by the fans and the vocal backing from them was clear.' Also it is not a really representative sample.

The Standard reported only 18% of Arsenal fans responding to the survey believed the players had justified their pay packets.

One player who certainly does in Keiran Gibbs who is set to sign a new deal when he returns from the u-21 tournament in Sweden.

Confederations Cup : Yanks celebrate, Spain slump, Italy look backwards.

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:00:10 +0000

Spain 0 USA 2

Fulham's Clint Dempsey made the first goal for Jozy Altidore in 27 and scored the second in 74 to end Spain's remarkable 35-game unbeaten run.

We all like a shock result now and again, don't we?

The champions of Euro 2008 have won their last 15 games but were muscled out of a place in Sunday's Confederatioins Cup final.

The USA were well-organised and played with huge determination to defend their 1-0 lead till half time, restricting Torres and Villa to a few scraps, a few glimpses of goal. It was one-way traffic after half-time as well.

Then the erratic Sergio Ramos took a sloppy touch to stop a Landon Donovan cross, hand Dempsey a gift goal at the far post. Ramos is a cavalier player and a powerful athlete but he lacks the good habits needed to be a top right back. If anything, his defending on the second goal was even more inept than that of Capdevila on the first .

In the 25+ minutes that followed, Everton's Tim Howard punched away a thunderous shot by Xabi Alonso. He made several good saves.

Midfielder Michael Bradley, the manager's son, was unlucky to be sent off after a 50-50 with Xavi where he showed too many studs to the referee. We would not want to see a player sent off for that challenge in the World Cup Finals.

Overall, the USA played forcefully and intelligently and made the most of what they had. Centrebacks Jay DeMerit (Watford) and Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege) were outstanding. It's a team game and the American teamwork was superb.

Spain boss Vicente Del Bosque always looks mournful anyway and he will reflect on those two moments of dopey defending by Capdevila and Ramos.

On the first goal, Capdevila tried to pinch the ball in front for the hulking Altidore, who then spun and buried a decent shot.

Playing at their best, Spain should still have been able to win the game from there. But without the sparkle of Iniesta, and the strategic solidity of Senna, they lacked balance and could not quite find the pass or cross that was needed.

They looked jaded, apart from Xabi Alonso, who was magnificent, although he did have a lot of space to play in.

This semi-final was 28 days on from Barcelona's peak in Rome, when they thrashed Manchester United 2-0 in the Champions League Final, but here was Xavi, still slaving to get Spain back into the game. Fabregas also worked his socks off throughout, left winger Mata looked tasty when he came on for Riera, but the Americans defended like tigers and won 2-0.

The other semi-final is Brazil v South Africa at 7.30pm on BBC3 on tonight.

Six foot four stopper Juan is injured and out of the tournament.

It's been said that Melo will sign for Arsenal after Sunday's final. But it's also said that, like Benzema, he doesn't want to move in a World Cup season in case he loses his place in the national team

The manner of Italy's 3-0 defeat by Brazil suggested it's time Lippi broke up his elderly team of World Cup winners.

Skipper Fabio Cannavaro, once a master of the interception and the well-timed tackle, played his best football when he was at Parma between 1995 and 2002. At Inter and Juventus, he wasn't so good, and he was well past his best when he captained Italy to victory in 2006. Released by Real Madrid, he's now almost 36 and has returned to Juve, after jumping ship when they were relegated following match-fixing by the crooked Luciano Moggi.

Having won his 126th cap against Brazil, equalling Paulo Maldini's record, Cannavaro should retire with dignity, at least from the national team. He is deluding himself.

Striker Luca Toni is average, always has been. They lack a Del Piero, a Baggio, a Totti, even a good poacher like Inzaghi. They really need some new blood to reinvigorate their team. Relying on thirtysomethings has become ridiculous. Pirlo just can't run any more. Simple as that. Standing still, he's the best player in Serie A but that won't do in the World Cup.

It's a strange country, Italy. Very inward -looking and backward-looking, and their football reflects that. I thought French people were the world champions of denial, but Italy shade France at that right now. If they're not bold enough to recover some dynamism, Italy will embarrass themselves in South Africa next summer.

On past form, they will bring Del Piero back. He is 34.