may 6th
Barca want Gio. Gio wants Barca. AW wants Gio to stay at Barca. AW also wants a few bob from Barca. Barca will most likely offer some cash that they’ve printed themselves, a large botifarra and an oak barrel of half-decent Rioja. They may even chuck in the young defender, Gerard Piqué Bernabeu, that Man United are sniffing around.
Whatever happens it looks like Gio’s time at Arsenal is finished. I never really saw him as an Arsenal player to be honest, and while Sol Campbell was obviously a success, the rest of AW’s purchases that summer did not give us value for money. Richard Wright and Frankie Jeffers are keeping each other company as they don’t play for Everton, while Gio suffered with injuries before being loaned out at the start of this season. It looks as if Barcelona suits his game more, and he’s playing his football and living in a nice place. He always seemed like a decent bloke, so let’s hope there’s no real hassle over a fee and we can wish him all the best in the future.
Thierry Henry has called on the critics to lay off Jens Lehmann. Yes, he’s made a couple of mistakes this season, but no more than any other keeper whose played the same amount of games. It just seems that he’s been tagged as a ‘dodgy keeper’ when the majority of his performances have been anything but. Henry says “It is hard for goalkeepers because they are not allowed to make a single mistake. I can miss a chance and no one says anything. But if a keeper makes a mistake it’s a goal and he is treated as a sinner.”
Elsewhere, Edu and Gilberto have been called up to the Brazil squad for the FIFA centenary game against France. I can think of better ways to celebrate 100 years of FIFA, most of them include re-enacting Mel Gibbon’s ‘The Passion’ with Septic Blatter as Jebus, but I suppose France v Brazil would be more enjoyable from a footballing perspective.
Ooooh, I nearly forgot. Chelsea. Take it away, Nelson.
You’ll be pleased to hear that the clouds that have blanketed Spain for the last 10 days appear to be gone. Looking all around me, there’s nothing but blue sky, and I can see quite clearly now. Hurrah. Is this the start of the summer?
