Tag Archives: She Wore

Arsenal right to negotiate in crazy transfer market

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Why do Arsenal always negotiate? Why do they not pay the asking price?

That is what Arsenal fans have cried in recent weeks as we negotiate deals for Kieran Tierney and Wilfried Zaha.

It shows the media bias against Arsenal that they make such a big deal out of Arsenal negotiating the price. They make it appear that we are the only club to do so.

This week we have seen Juventus make an initial offer of £58.3million for Ajax’s Matthijs de Ligt. Juventus’ proposed offer includes £49.3m paid up front, with £9m in add-ons.

We then have Manchester United reportedly offering £70million for Leicester City’s Harry Maguire. Leicester want £90million.

Finally a deal that actually went through. Tottenham signed Tanguy Ndombele for an initial £56.5m but fee could still rise to £65m. Lyon were reportedly holding out for £72million paid upfront.

Negotiating is part of business. Part of every day life. Whether it is a transfer fee, players wages, a hour, car or building materials. Everyone negotiates. And if you go and buy a car or a house without negotiating, well more full you.

Yet it is only Arsenal that get criticised for negotiated.

Some might say that Arsenal’s problem is they always go in too low, and “incense” the selling club. But the reality is Arsenal will value a player at a certain price, and will begin negotiations at a lower price.

Take the Wilfried Zaha deal.

Arsenal’s 1st offer is £40million. Crystal Palace are reportedly demanding £100million. The clubs are a long way apart. What would be a “fair” price for Zaha?

Last season Manchester City signed Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City.

How does Mahrez’s stats for the 2 Premier League seasons prior to him joining Manchester City in 2018 compare to Zaha’s last 2 seasons?

Mahrez obviously had a very good 2015/16 season that is not included in the above. Man City also have history of over paying for players to secure them. They can afford to do that with their bottomless pit of money.

On the assists, it has to be remembered that Mahrez was a set piece taker. He also took penalties. Zaha does neither.

I think it is safe to say that £60million is probably a reasonable price for Zaha based on what Manchester City paid for Mahrez.

Some will now argue “If Zaha is valued at £60million, why do we not just pay £60million”. That is because Palace want £100m.

Starting at £60million leaves you with no where to go.

Picture the scenario. You are buying a house that is on the market for £500,000. You think you can get it for £480,000. £480,000 is not your first offer. You would probably go in at £450,000. 10% less. This gives you negotiating room.

If you go straight in at £580,000, it means when you negotiate, you can only negotiate above what you believe to be what you value them out.

Back to Arsenal. By offering £40million, it then gives them the space to do a deal up towards £60million. If Arsenal started at £60million, Palace would still demand £100million and Arsenal would have to negotiate up from there.

When you look at the prices being quoted, especially by mid-table clubs, you understand why teams are negotiating hard.

Leicester City reportedly want £90million for Harry Maguire
In turn they have reportedly been quoted £40million for Burnley’s James Tarkowski
They also reportedly have a cheaper option of going for Lewis Dunk for £30million

Now imagine a scenario where you have bought both Tarkowski and Dunk at their clubs “asking price”. £70million spent on a mid-table defence.

And that is why teams negotiate.

Keenos

The Fabric of Football | The Arsenal: This is Home

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“When you start supporting a football club, you don’t support it because of the trophies, or a player, or history, you support it because you found yourself somewhere there; found a place where you belong.” – Dennis Bergkamp

There are many different routes to becoming an Arsenal fan. Whether you were born into it or they were your local club. Whether it was because of Kanu or Thierry Henry. Or whether one day you were watching the 1991 FA Cup Semi Final on TV and decided to support the loser.

Regardless of how you become an Arsenal fan, what is important is that you found a place where you belong. You found a home.

As part of the new Arsenal kit launch, Adidas have produced a short film giving an in-depth look at the identity, community and values that make the club so unique.

Fabric of Football: This is Home calls on the experiences and insights of club legends, current male & female stars, hopefuls of the future, as well as fans to explore what makes The Arsenal a global club with local community at its heart.

The film – the second in the Fabric of Football series, following a similar look at the values of Real Madrid CF  – celebrates the progressive and inclusive mentality of Arsenal, with club legend Ian Wright speaking with typical candour and passion about the role of the club in his experience growing up in London.

As well as Wright, Mesut Ozil, Alex Iwobi, Mattéo Guendouzi, Vivianne Miedema, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Leah Williamson, Jordan Nobbs & Per Mertesacker, all reflect with pride on their own journeys with the club so far.

This is that film

SheWore

Before social media The Arsenal “did it for the badge”

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So Arsenal Twitter eh, what a club, what banter, what a time to be alive!

But before Social Media blew up, how did fans chat online? Well there were internet forums; Arsenal World, Arsenal Mania, Online Gooner, The Herd Forum, where fans went on and ranted. But before they became massive, there was the Arsenal Email Mailing List. It started in the very early 90’s and kids nowadays would think it as prehistoric as I am (so I’m regularly told).

You would send an email and it would go to everyone on the list which ran to hundreds of users. Fans would reply, which would again go to everyone on the list, and so on and so on. You could subscribe to just the digest option, which would be one email with all that day’s emails in one very long list!

It was a great way for fans to chat about the club, remember there was pretty much no other option back then. It had some really good contributors on it, such as Clive P, Simon Mac, Brian Dawes, Mel Melis and some absolute wands, like Chas N-B who I seem to recall got chucked off several times for his fuckwittery, nothing much has changed then.

I think Myles Palmer was on it, and we had a guy called Larry Gold, who was Gold by name gold by nature! We had a French girl called Josy who was banging Frank Lampard she said, but was probably my first introduction to a catfish! There was Jenny Cann too, who was an absolute star and a fan taken too early by far, so RIP Jenny.

There are quite a few Twitter users who were on it and the brilliant Mike Winnett was the guy who put a hell of a lot of effort in to running it and maintaining some form of discipline. It was pre troll days and was mostly serious grown up fans, so we were fairly well behaved. It was good for overseas fans to chat to local Gooners and was obviously how you could hook them up with tickets for games when they came over, saving them from the touts down Gillespie Road. I recall a meet up was arranged in Paris pre 95 final, but I think I missed that as otherwise engaged at the time.

I’m pretty sure around late 94 there was also a lot of GrahamOut chatter too lol.

Out of all this, we decided it would be good to arrange a few games of football, as an Arsenal fans team.

We called ourselves the Cybury Gooners (yes, I know) but I promise you that was about as geeky as we ever got! A few friendlies were arranged and we soon realised we were half decent, with players from all over London and surrounding areas, bulk of which was around Stevenage/Letchworth.

It came down to me and Mel Melis to take on the difficult task of running/managing the side. It seemed other clubs fans had already started similar teams, Leeds being the originals.

Eventually we arranged our first game against another team, a proper grudge match against Spurs, to be played at St Alban’s ground, November 1995. Both sides played with no less ferocity than the first teams had the day before, when we played the scum at the Lane and lost 2-1. Keen for some form of revenge, we won 2 nil, Darren Skeels the brace scoring hero. Over the years, we played Spurs quite a few times and I’m glad to say we managed to beat them every time. Scoring against them at Market Road was one of my personal playing highlights.

The team lasted almost 20 years, with a roll call of players entering a hundred at least.

We had players come over to play from Nigeria, Canada, Sweden, NZ, Denmark, Ireland, France and many more. Some of the guys I played with are now some of my best mates at the Arsenal.

The number of fan’s teams playing exploded, so much so that there became a league and also the “Worldnet” trophy, played each July, with almost 60 teams competing.

Over the period from 98 to 2004, we were one of the most successful teams around, winning several trophies, including our last league title win in 2000, but best of all the Worldnet trophy in 99, where we beat our biggest London rivals, Accrington Stanley Bowles (QPR) 2 nil in the final in Leicester.

Leeds became host of Worldnet for many years on and it became our regular JBO and a great weekend for 15 or so Arsenal fans to spend on the lash, birding it at the Bondi Beach Club or Majestyks and then getting up for a 9am kick off! We had a few Nigerian lads play for us, Usen Udoh being the star forward and eventually Arsenal Nigeria used to bring their own team over each year to Leeds.

It has to be said that Mel and I’s managerial style was a bit like George and Theo, it was interesting to see them dub Kos in the Adidas ad saying “Do it for the badge”, as this was one of the motivational rocks our success was built upon.

By 2005 though, most of the squad were over 35 and it was becoming harder to compete against the Northern teams who were basically Sunday league sides from that city who all supported Bradford or Celtic and were pretty mustard. It became clear that a vets tournament was required, so that was where we found ourselves for many years, until we had to eventually admit defeat.

But many great memories live on.

Nearly getting demolished by bouncers in Boro due to one of our lads getting lairy about his clothes costing more than all the locals in the queue put together.

Convincing some girls at Grantham services at 3 in the morning that our Swedish midfielder was signing for Arsenal the next day and I was his agent.

The cardboard cut-out of Sol Campbell we carried around Leeds with us just weeks after he signed. The following season, having won the double we took one of Fergie around with us!

Playing Hibs away in a first half snow storm, 2nd half sunshine. The “take it up the arse for a million quid” question at dinner Saturday night each year. Having 3 men sent off in the same game. One of our guys taking a penalty by two footing the ball. Driving to Preston to play a cup semi with only 9 men v Celtic and getting battered. Playing a Spartak Moscow team prior to our ECL game.

On a Sky Sports interview at Worldnet, one of our players referring to some team as a load of Northern monkeys. Playing on the hallowed turf at Highbury!

Anyway, it’s 20 years next month since we won Worldnet, so we’ve arranged a reunion game for this Saturday in Hertford. It’s over 50’s (plus any of their sons) versus the under 50’s. We have guys flying in from Canada, Ireland, US and Dubai to play. Some of us are still playing, some are getting the boots out of the garage and putting them on for one last hurrah. I’m sure most of us have varying levels of fitness and if it’s hot, it will be interesting how many last the 90. But afterwards, we’re off for a Turkish meal and then the nearest bar/club to relive our youth (thirties!) and talk about when we were one of the best teams in the country. And no, I don’t mean the Arsenal first team, I mean the Cybury Gooners.

I’ve seen attempts at something similar over the last few years, but that all seemed about self-promotion from certain caricatures. All we ever cared about was playing in God’s chosen colours, for the badge, for the Arsenal. How times change eh?

Mark