I'm still trying to figure out where along the way Bendtner became a "top young prospect" in all of Europe. He's a decent player at the moment with a physical aspect that few players have... But exactly when did that somehow translate to him being some AAA prospect that we are somehow neglecting by not starting or by potentially loaning (though, I agree... seems dubious, though I'd do it )? He's not a Fabregas level prospect, whose talent alone demands to be played. He's just a decent player with solid potential whose size has allowed him to get pushed through the pipeline a bit faster than most.
I agree, and for now I'm second-guessing the decision to get Eduardo. It's very possible that he'll turn out to be a fine player, but he's a thin skill guy from a continental league, so you'd have to think he'll take some time to adjust in any case. Carlos Tevez, Nicolas Anelka, and Obafemi Martins were all available, and all of them had at least a year's worth of EPL experience already. For the money spent, and the particular needs of the club at the time, this is who we should compare Eduardo against.
Exactly. We are unbeaten, joint top of the league, and people are already complaining that we didn't sign this guy or that guy. Would that make us any more top of the table? Can't please some people.
It's not a bad thing to suggest that Obafemi Martins would have been a better signing than Eduardo. I would agree with that statement. Martins has scored some stunning goals, is younger, and would have been for only a few million more. I'm happy right now, but there's always room for improvement. Just because we're joint top of the league now doesn't mean we're going to win it for sure; and it is legal for us to speculate on what would give us more of a chance to be champions. I'm not unhappy with the Eduardo signing, I just think Martins would have been a better one.
If you like. Newcastle weren't even sure how old he was, remember? If I recall the rumour was that he was as old as 26 and there wasn't any conclusive proof as to how old he was.
Easy to say when you're not writing the check. I've got a Manure friend who doesn't care one bit about how expensive a player is. He said he'd gladly have paid 30mil for Ribery after the WC. I thought he was daft.
Well there you go. The question you ask is whether or not the investment is worth it. I trust Wengers judgement, and I don't doubt that over the summer he did look at these players very carefully, but he is obviously happy with his squad and thus far, so am I.
This isn't 30 million, though, I heard the number to be around 11 or 12; certainly not too far off of Eduardo. Also, Wenger himself has said that money is no longer a problem. I doubt 12 million would have been impossible as opposed to 9.
I thought I'd heard that 15mil was the release clause for Martins, but my memory's a bit hazy on this one. Even if it was 12 thats still a significant amount of money. A lot of clubs don't have a transfer budget of 3mil. We can buy a lot of young players for that. We paid 500K for Anelka. How much for Cesc? I think it was 800K. I realize that the money's gotten crazy, but a million pounds is still a very great sum of money.
Do you think Martins and Eduardo get the same salary too? I'd guess that Dudu isn't making half of what Martins is on. Add that and the price doubles, doesn't it?
I sincerely doubt it doubles, but you've made a good point. Regardless, I think we could handle the price. Again, Wenger said money constraints aren't a huge problem anymore. For a massive club like the Arsenal, I don't think five or six million pounds is a huge ordeal. Plus, we'd just sold Henry.
Money becomes an issue when your backup players are making more than your starters. All of a sudden, people aren't happy and everyones wages go up. I'm sure Martins was getting at least 60 grand a week from Newcastle.
Right, and IIRC he was asking for 75,000 in a restructured deal with Newcastle – he surely would have wanted that in any move he made.
I'm not going to go so far as support the positions in question, but I agree with the notion that the money shouldn't matter. I don't have a problem with adding a 15 million pounds striker on 60,000 a week... As I've said 100 times, we're not battling for a special trophy for "most goals per million." But you do have to weigh if the player you're signing is actually going to be better than another player who could fill that role cheaper. It's stupid to avoid signing a great player to get a good player just to save money... But it's equally stupid to pay 13 mil for a good player when you can get a similarly good player for 8 million. As well, I'd point out that there's nothing wrong with questioning the move and wondering how the team could be better. I don't happen to agree, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to improve.
do u dislike bendy or something skizz? i dont get why u blindley defend ade as well, he is a very average player and i know bendy can do as good if not better role than him at a mer 19 years of age as well as ade going to the african nations as has been noted and vp being very injury prone we cant loan him out
Have you ever thought that you might be overrating Bendtner just because he played for your favorite club and you watched him play live?
It is a business. The money matters. If you want to increase the wage bill or transfer kitty then you have to make it somewhere. Most likely in the price of tickets. Now ask the people who go to the games if they're willing to pay 100 pounds to see Wigan. This is the basic argument against the Glazers. They won the league, spent big on transfers, but the price of tickets has gone way up.
I don't "blindly defend" him, I just defend him from unconstructive, biased and unwarranted criticism from fans like yourself. I know you'd love to be able to say that a player who played for Birmingham (albeit on loan) was good enough to play for Arsenal, but you talk about him as if we're putting Pele on the bench. Any random who looks at what you write about him would think he is Pele when he really isn't not. Is he talented? Undoubtedly. Will he get games in the future? Of course. Has he done anything to prove to Wenger that he deserves to start, or is experienced enough, or has the quality to start? No. It's not a case of me disliking Bendtner, I'm just looking at it objectively like I do with every other player. If someone doesn't pull their weight I will call them on it. But as I said I don't see what's going on with saying he should start ahead of Ade or anyone for that matter. Think about it, if he was as good as you make out he is, he would be ahead of RvP in the pecking order. So just to pick on that last statement, what has Bendner done to show, in your words, that he "can do as good if not better role than him at 19 years of age"?
You do realize how much more money we will make this year than 2 years ago between Emirates revenue and the new media rights deal? Not to mention that we sold our highest earning player and had a net positive in transfer fees? The money is there. It's not like we have to imagine some new funds to afford a player 3-5 mil more expensive. We make that much more in a month at the Emirates over the Highbury revenue, I'd imagine. Not to mention the tens of millions more guaranteed through the TV deal.
I don't think its a matter of the money not being there as you've already said. Wenger had the choice of Martins, Anelka, Eduardo, whoever - he chose Eduardo. That's it really.
And that is fine... Martins isn't an amazing player, I don't have any problem with him not being here. Tevez - as much as I like him - has been poor thus far. Anelka has been solid, but I think that bridge has been well burnt. I have no problem with the signing of Eduardo. I'd just like to know that in the future- as we have these piles of cash laying around - that Wenger will be willing to spend some of that on a difference-making player even if the price is a little high. What worries me is that he will continue to judge players' values based on what the transfer prices were 8 years ago.
Well he's shown in the past that if he thinks the player is worth the money, he will spend it (Reyes, Henry, Wiltord,......Jeffers). Then again he says he works best when he buys youngsters for cheap and turns them into brilliant players. Hell, I d'no.
Skizz you seem to be ignoring Bendtner's record. He's scored against powerhouses like Colchester, Crystal Palace, Hull, Wrexham, Leeds, Sheff Utd, Coventry, Burnley, Southampton, Plymouth, and Wolves. Ade's goals last year came against shit teams like ManU, Watford, Everton, Sperz, Wigan, Portsmouth, Blackburn, Bolton and Fulham.