What a bitter, bitter man Graeme Souness is.
In a podcast with Simon jordan and Troy Deeney, he has sated that Arsene Wenger was not a football man, just a lucky man.
He goes on to claim that he inherited the “best back 4 in the world”, a “22 year old Dennis Berkgamp and Ian Wright” and got lucky that he managed in a time when “French football produced its greatest ever group of players”.
What a load of rubbish!
Now I get these days that the media these days is all about “creating viral moments”.
Driven by the rise of AFTV and the like, the likes of TalkSPORT now rely on their presenters making outlandish statements or going on rants that can then be clipped for social media in the hope it goes viral. In turn that leads to an increase in revenue.
And podcasts are like this on steroids.
The podcasting world is crammed with idiots fighting for airtime. With podcasters trying to say anything and everything in an attempt to go viral on social media. And this is why a gambling company would put Souness, Simon Jordan and Troy Deeney in a room together.
The Up Front podcast is not about providing an informative look on football by those who have spent decades in the game. It is all about creating viral moments that lead viewers to setting up a betting account.
Souness clearly has a grudge against Wenger. And this comes out later in his rant when he explains that Wenger was the “only manager that ever” came into his office after game and how after a game, he would go to Wenger’s office and Arsene would “never be there”. Jordan is probably spot on when he says “maybe he didn’t like you”.
As for the statement, I always laugh at the back 5 statement.
Yes, Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Keown and Winterburn were a fantastic defence, but Wenger made them better. But each one of those has spoken about Wenger and what he did for his careers. They all credit Wenger and his new fitness regime with letting them pay on so long.
As for his comments about Bergkamp and Wright….
The Dutchmen was 26 when he joined us. He had struggled for consistent form since leaving Ajax for Inter Milan at 24. In 1997, under Arsene Wenger and aged 28, he was named the 3rd greatest football on earth by FIFA.
Meanwhile, Ian Wright was on the decline. He lasted one season under Wenger as a starter before losing his spot to a teenage Nicolas Anelka. Was that lucky?
Wenger built an invincible team. His back four contained a Cameroonian midfielder signed from a mid-table Spanish team and an Ivorian midfielder/winger who had never played centre back, signed for £150k.
In midfield it was a Frenchman who was sitting on Milan’s bench, an unknown Brazilian playing in Brazil, a Swedish fella with red hair and a soft Frenchman who every pundit said di not have the heart to make an impact in the Premier League.
Up top was a former wonderkid winger who was found sitting on the bench at Juventus, An ageing Bergkamp. A Kanu. A player no one else would touch due to heart and knee issues.
Souness is attempting to re-write history with his slander.
I would rather listen to what Ray Parlour, Lee Dixon, Thierry Henry et al say on Wenger (Adams has become bitter in his later years due to being snubbed for a job. What he says these days is very different to what he wrote in his 1998 autobiography Addicted).
Souness is clearly a very unhappy man. Or is just peddling extreme views at the request of a betting company to get clips going viral. And if it is the later I guess I have fed the beast with this blog!
A final thought.
Arsene Wenger signed George Weah. He was discovered playing for Tonnerre Yaoundé in Cameroon. He would go on to win the Ballon D’or.
Greame Souness signed Ali Dia. He had never played a professional game of football before. He was signed following someone calling Souness and telling him Dia was Weah’s cousin. It is considered the worst transfer in Premier League history.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 