Hello to you. Shall we start with the unbridled arrogance of FC Barcelona? Yes, we shall.
Their ‘sporting’ director, Mickey Burgerstain, spoke about Cesc yesterday to a Spanish newspaper. He seems to be under the impression that because of the way Cesc left the club when he was 16 that Barcelona would take some kind of moral stand and not pay a large transfer fee if they were to bring him back to the club. He said:
He is a great player but the circumstances of his exit make things very difficult. We cannot pay a great amount for a homegrown player that decided to leave us.
Oh, there I was labouring under the impression that a player’s past and previous clubs were completely and utterly irrelevant and that it was his current standing in the game, coupled with the length of his contract, that would decide his value. Silly me.
Honestly though, what a pack of cunts. Do they really think they’re making some kind of stand here? Let’s look at the facts. Cesc did not have a contract with Barcelona. Barcelona were compensated for the loss of Cesc in both monetary terms (a fee of around £500,000 was paid) and the arrival of a Dutch international, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, whose transfer fee was set aside and who went on to give them good service for three seasons. Yet they think that because Cesc played for their academy team they shouldn’t pay whatever his current value is if they wanted to buy him. It’s staggeringly arrogant and it really does make them look like complete and utter fools. Add to that it was Arsenal that gave him the chance of first team football, it was Arsene Wenger who took a chance and allowed his obvious potential to blossom and it’s Arsenal where he has developed into the player that everyone talks about as potentially one of the best in the world.
All this is academic anyway. Arsene Wenger will not be letting Cesc leaving any time soon. However, if it was a case that Cesc said ‘Right, that’s it. I want to leave’ then given his ability, his future potential and the length of contract he has then the transfer fee would be enormous. What Barcelona and Mickey Burgerstain think about that is entirely their business but his past has no bearing whatsoever on how much he’s worth NOW. Then, to top it all of, and to make it look like they’re a principled and honourable organisation he goes on to say about Cesc’s possible return to the club:
To start with he would have to show his desire to return.
Fucking hell, pathetic. It really is. They have all the morals of a rapist snake. This idea that Barcelona is a flag bearer for goodness in the game is so misguided. They are despicable, the way they conduct their business through the press is no better than Real Madrid and the way they seek to unsettle players at other clubs (not just Arsenal, just ask any club in Spain who have had a player linked with them) is about as sporting as I am twenty feet tall.
Of course they’re helped along the way by the Catalan press who this morning carry an interview with Cesc about his role in the Spanish team. Check these questions:
Q: Is it easy to play alongside Iniesta and Xavi?
A: Of course. It’s easy to understand them because we came from the same football school and we see football the same way.
Q: And would you like to repeat that (from last Saturday against Denmark) next season at Barcelona along with Deco?
A: I don’t know, that’s the truth.
He then goes on to talk about being a big fan of Deco, but it’s quite clear what they’re trying to get him to say and you can be quite sure the headlines would be dripping with Catalan cum if he said it. Jesus Christ these cunts make me cross. There are things, little things, which annoy the shit out of me but this is worse than Phil Collins poking me in the ribs while chewing gum loudly in my ear as the noise from the television is mixed with that of a radio in the background.
Now, I love Barcelona the city. I lived there for 5 years and it’s a wonderful place but the football club is the Haliburton of world football. An odious conglomerate that will cheat, lie and dissemble as it behaves with less manners than a tramp who charges into a restaurant and pisses on your main course. Grrrr. Honestly, they do my fucking head in. People might point to the way they play football and on its own it can be a bit special at times. However, what they do on the pitch is, for me at least, tainted by the way they conduct themselves off it. Cunts.
News reaches us from Switzerland (thanks Nicolas) that Philippe Senderos is going to be out for 1 or 2 weeks with a back injury he picked up at the weekend. Gallas was on the bench for the French (hah) against the Faroe Islands so he can’t be too far away. Although it is Raymond Domenech so you can’t be too sure. We have to hope he is fit because we do lack cover. One injury leaves us with just two fit centre-halves although we do have Gilberto who can provide short term cover there.
Speaking of Gilberto The Sun reports that Juventus are ready to make £5m bid for the Brazilian in the transfer window. His first team chances have been limited so far this season but the centre-half situation shows just how important his experience is to this squad. With the ACN coming up and Kolo away for some time then I’d be surprised if he was allowed to move.
Staying with The Sun it seems that Jens Lehmann’s expecations and Arsene Wenger’s reality are two different things. They say Almunia will continue in goal and the German will be allowed to leave in January. I can’t imagine Jens interview went down too well with the boss, to be honest.
Fran Merida talks to the official site.
And that’s really about it. I need more coffee and less FC Barcelona.
