january 29th
09.21 – Ok, so the Reyes stuff continues. The club confirmed today that he had passed his medical, and said that his shirt number was not yet decided despite media reports. I reckon the number 9 is his though.
The club also took the unprecedented step of announcing details of the financial side of the transfer, something they never normally do. We’ve paid £7.1m immediately, with £3.55m due in the next financial year. There’s also a potential £6.8m to pay over the course of his contract depending on appearances and achievements. It is very unusual for the club to provide such in depth information, but I suspect it was done to provide clarity to the banks coughing up for the Grove, and to put paid to the rumours that we’d paid well over the odds for the player. We’ve paid less than £7.1m for Reyes right now, while Fulham stiffed United for £12.2m for Louis Saha. Aha. Ahahaha. Ahahahahahahaha. Good work Arsene. Reading the Spanish press it seems Henry welcomed Reyes to the club in ‘perfect Spanish’. I’m not sure Henry would have understood anything Reyes said though. I was listening to an audio clip of him on the Marca site and found it very difficult to understand him. The Andalucian accent is very sing-songy and seriously difficult to get a grip on.
Zidane on Reyes. Helguera on Reyes. I wish Parlour had said something about Reyes.
You’ll have been well aware at this stage that the Carling Cup semi-final was called off due to bad weather. Nothing to do with the pitch apparently, nor was it anything to do with the fact that Ehiogu and Southgate were missing, it was all to do with the fact that the roads were impassable. Nobody’s heard of grit north of the Watford gap then. The fixture has been rescheduled for next Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, the FA Cup game against Chelsea will take place on Sunday 15th of February and will be shown live on BBC.
The Chairman reiterates what I said yesterday. Henry is not for sale. Tons of stories in the Spanish press about him moving, and that washed up old hack Breen-Turner that purports to be Talksport’s Spanish correspondent reckons the fact we’ve signed Reyes means Henry will leave. Bollocks mate. Stick to serving Piña Coladas in Marbella and playing classic hits to the ex-pats in Alicante. Fact is we’re likely to lose Kanu, Wiltord and Bergkamp in the summer. That leaves us with Henry, Reyes, Bentley and Aliaidiere. There’s no way Henry is going anywhere. I’d put my house on it.
Right, I’m getting paid today. That means putting the money in the bank and watching it disappear on bills and cc payments straight away. Hurrah for English teaching and the lavish lifestyle it affords me. I’m thinking of charging 5c per arse. I could retire on yesterday alone….
