Merino Morning!

Hi Ambarish

Thanks for this piece mate. You’ve always been a skilled writer in my opinion but your material keeps getting better and better.

I can see the logic in the Merino signing if we’re going to continue playing 4-3-3 (or however you interpret how we played last season) but that then doesn’t make sense to me with the signing of Calafiori when we’ve got a first choice back 4 of Timber, Gabs, Saliba and White. Strength in depth is great but you build it when you’ve got a sorted first eleven.

So the only conclusion is Arteta genuinely thinks Havertz is a world class forward who’s going to lead the line and see us win the PL.

I’ve always thought (during his managerial career) Arteta was a twat who had a tendency to believe his own bullshit but this is David Koresh territory.

To be frank, a window of Calafiori, Merino and our “like a new signing” Keeper doesn’t represent a summertime win for me…far from it in fact…now if we can get Merino for around 25, on a 2-year term with a reasonable sub-100/wk wage, which shouldn’t be that difficult considering his contractual situation, then made a big splash or two up top, this would drastically change things for me…not sure if the latter is in the cards, unless MA is trying to underpromise and overdeliver, like a scheming brokeback hero

you all know my thoughts on Merino…in my mind he’s a settling/half-measure acquisition…even MA wanted his midfield partner considerably more, which speaks to our lazy and lacklustre recruiting practices…hopefully he’ll prove me wrong, but we’re turning into quite the blunt instrument outfit…where’s the craft and guile going to come from in a lineup that could see Rice, Merino and Havertz up the fucking middle…btw Ambarish the difference between Xhaka and Merino is the former is light years ahead of the latter when it comes crafting a pass…that’s twice now when I would have picked the much-despised Swiss fuck over MA’s replacement options

I think Calafiori is more of a signing of future. We are going to see White, Gabriel, and Saliba with LB options of Zinchenko, Kiwior, and Timber.

Calafiori will have to work his arse off to get into that back line, and I’m pretty sure we have got him to not fuck up our season in case either of Saliba or Gabriel gets injured.

LB is a conundrum. We should encash on Zinchenko and see if Timber can do what White does at RB. Tierney, Kiwior, and Zinni needs to be sold, we need more.

TRVL

Merino is coming cheap. 30m most likely and there would be a lot of performance related bonuses.

And sadly that means Havertz is our CF for this season.

Thanks KP, it’s always great to see you here.

the devil’s in the details and this deal with the 28 year old appears to be 4 years in length…pure stupidity

on another note, the loss against Pool proved once again why we need a clinical finisher or two, as we were wasteful in front of goal…when it comes to the finer margin affairs we will likely be second best, as per usual

Meanwhile back in London Garlick is in a fit of rage. Leicester have had a whip round for Reiss and have offered basically what they can afford. The AFC price is over twice what they are prepared to offer.
Eddie has agreed to take a cut in wages to get his move over the line – OM want to pay 25M euros max AFC want 45MGBP.
Had El B given ESR more minutes then I expect they would have got more than the 34M GBP (including add ons) that Fulham have agreed to pay.
If Havertz is our main front man this coming season I expect we will struggle unless of course a marauding Rice is able to score in double figures.

if I had to hazard a guess, Calafiori is going to be a day one starter, just not sure in what position, but knowing MA it won’t be in his best one…I think either Gabs or Timber will be watching from the bench come opening day

let’s face it, no one knew who the fuck Merino was 2 months ago, so any talk about Edu having a 180 page dossier about the 2nd best midfielder on a slightly above average La Liga side would be utter bullshit…it’s important to note that the only reason he was on the national side was due to his close connection to the “inexperienced” manager, who was his coach throughout his more formative years…he was a locker room cop just like MA under Wenger

Ambarish

You don’t pay £40 odd million for a defensive signing for the future when you have a huge hole up front and midfield issues that need dealing with first if you don’t have the budget to complete all the business you need to do in a single window.

I don’t have an issue with Calafiori – I have an issue with buying a player who’s back up for so much money when our main striker will do well to get a dozen PL goals this coming season.

besides Merino, there’s all sorts of chatter about Rabiot, Sane, Chiesa, Osimhen and Gyokeres

Rabiot’s another blunt instrument midfielder, who appears to have lost a step…he’s likely a backup plan should MA not get his flavour of the week Merino over the line…everybody loves a “free” transfer until you discover the term and wages…he’s not without pedigree, just look at his CV, but he’s clearly past his best

Sane is an interesting proposition, from a cover perspective…he’s a far better like-for-like option than Tross, but I’m not sure he would come without assurances…he still has goal in his boots and he’s much more direct than Saka, but the inherent costs might be the stumbling block, especially after the Havertz debacle…I wouldn’t be mad if he came, but only if priced right and with a reasonable term

Chiesa has always intrigued me…sometimes he looks like a world beater, then at other times he doesn’t seem to give a flying fuck…huge up-side if properly motivated and injury-free…both he and Sane will take on defenders, but I do worry about Chiesa’s nagging injury history, especially while at Juve…if this were two years or so ago, I would have given my left nut for his signature, whereas now I’m not nearly so sure the juice is worth the squeeze…his body language, like with Havertz, doesn’t fill me with confidence, but I do like that he has a little bite on the pitch…this is another one where the finances would play a decisive role in any such transfer evaluation…I would want an extraordinarily clean bill of health and proof that he hasn’t lost a step before entering into any serious talks

Osimhen and Gyokeres are the kind of profile Strikers we should be coveting…the former is a far more proven entity, regardless of his numbers dip last season, but he’s likely to be a far more expensive proposition…I do like what I’ve seen of Gyo, both at the championship level and in Portugal, but it’s still a small sample size and he did have some off-season surgical issues, which would require us to do our due diligence…I would prefer VO, but he can be a little messy in the locker room and beyond, so I think the VG would likely be MA’s preference…I’d be happier than a pig in shit with either, as both are substantially better options up top than what’s on offer now…not to mention, it would be a real statement of intent

TRVL
Agree with your thought from the last post and this. I have a feeling we’ll get VG as the clickbait says he wants to come and no smoke with out fire I’ll take here.

Calafiori could be good if he travels well; not many Italians have done in the PL. I agree with you Calafiori is a galvanized starter once settled. New toy so will get time and time and time even if he’s shit like Havertz and Willian before him.

I put up a good scouting report on Merino last week where his stats are ok for the league his in. He’s 28 and this is his last contract so it should be a big one for him, but his club is happy to let a player supposedly in his prime go for what is in today’s transfers peanuts at Euros30m. Pay peanuts get……….. let’s see if this guy is the real deal of a poor version of Xhaka only more mobile.

If Merino was the level we need to genuinely push us on, then why isn’t he costing £60+M? Like Havertz? I feel Merino is a “Pot Luck” singing in that we’ll get some decent performances out of hm, but not near enough to deliver a PL trophy.

Xhaka had one good season out of what, 9? He cost us points on numerous occasions and was bought instead of Kante, so let that sink in. Kante was too expensive and we needed up paying more for Xhaka I think.

Kante: Merino will never be. Eze: Merino will never be. I feel we’re buying another Fabio Vieira, not as a lightweight, Merino is 6’2″, but a lightweight in the locker skills department, where we need elite and we’ve got average compared to our needs.

We are still going to be right side attack centric where last season’s issues have not been addressed unless we buy VG to add a bullying presence centrally.

Just think if we’d bought Eze instead of Merino and VO as our statement striker?

Another worrying factor is that the Zinchenko problem is still at the club.

If we buy VG what happens to Havertz and Jesus?

Marc
Agree with your thoughts as per above.

Tony, Marc and Vieira

Good stuff lads. I enjoyed reading that. My hunch is that there might not be (m)any more signings.

My Haverfordwest County season begins in earnest tomorrow with a trip to nearby Carmarthen for a cup tie. Hot weather, plenty of endeavour, a few lagers and hopefully in the hat by 5pm for the next round.

Life at the non-Arteta end of football. I’m gonna use this year to visit some more away grounds I think.

Tony—there’s no doubting that Wenger’s decision to sign Xhaka instead of Kante didn’t age well, even though the former did raise his exceedingly low bar in his swan song season…this managerial boner was akin to the time when he refused to pay 12M for VVD, as he felt the defender was “too nonchalant”…of course he would later lay blame at the feet of an unnamed scout, vis-a-vis strategic leaks from our PR department…these are but two of the countless transfer missteps that would plague Wenger during his latter years, which doesn’t even include all the missed opportunities our former manager would bizarrely brag about with little to no prompting (Ibra, Yaya, Mbappe, Benzema etc…)

flash forward a half decade and I’m once again fearing the very real possibility that our current manager likewise lacks a keen eye for talent…when you look at those he’s gone out on a limb for, like Vieira, Lokonga, Zinchenko, Kiwior, White, Tomi, Timber, 14 Keepers and Nuno, only two, Timber & White, appear to have the skills required…that said, I’m still not convinced that White is the best partnering option for Saka on the left, even though he’s performed admirably since being shoehorned in year two…personally I would rather have Timber out there, as he can cut both inside and out, plus his wheels would provide Saka with ample 1v.1s….even so, he’s still no guarantee, as he’s played a grand total of about 70+ minutes of “real” football since he arrived on the scene late last summer

of course, I didn’t include obvious “no brainer” pickups, like Rice and Partey, or those with noteworthy CVs, like Jesus, Tross, Havertz, Jorginho or even Ode, who was once considered a Real blue chip prospect, as none would ever qualify as a hidden gem…of this latter group, only Ode and maybe Tross have exceeded expectations, even though LT didn’t really fit the script and could ultimately negatively impact Mart’s development…as for the rest, we would have been far better off if we had spent our monies more wisely elsewhere…in fact, I could have swallowed all the above discussed moves if only we had used the countless millions wasted on Havertz’s fees and wages on someone of real consequence up top, as all the others could be utilized as serviceable cover options on a team competing for things on multiple fronts…with this in mind, I agree wholeheartedly with your statement of intent options of VO and Eze, as that would have put us well within the European elite conversation

that said NOT in fact

as THEY would have put us

KP
I’d forgotten about your local teams with it being off season.

Good to hear you’re got plenty planned for the coming season; I assume Cardiff figures strongly, too. Look forward to the marauding stories of woe and wonder.

15 days to kick off and I can’t wait to have the new season start. Obviously, for the welfare and fortunes of our club, and hope against hope for the PL trophy, but also to be regularly connecting with you guys again, and hopefully new posters, too.

TRVL
We sing from the same hymn sheet re what we need.It’s not hard to work out what the missing pieces are, so I can only assume the elves pieces do not want to play for Arteta. In the same way they didn’t want to play for Wenger of Wenger didn’t want elite players who would challenge him.

Is El B any different?

To LIR soon be time to make our season predictions, would you like to make that one of your post’s Ambarish? First 10 games?

As much as we all see El B as not the man for the job, certainly not the future of the club, we’re stuck with him. I will try to be balanced in my critiques but there are no more excuses. He ran out of the rookie excuse on 2 years ago but still acts like a rookie.

I’ve lost count of phases and whatever…….. El B 100% has his own chosen team maybe not having bought all the key players, such as Saka, Willie, Marts and Big Gabs. The rest are his.

If El B stays beyond this coming season, these are the players I see El B moving on when he can or they moving on from him.

elite pieces

KP

It looks as if the locals in your part of the world were not that friendly in Roman times. The Romans needed to build a huge fort to keep them at bay.

NORG

Veni vidi vici. SPQR. I saw that too. For Romans then, read English tourists these days. I’ve taken to going round with some paper and a sharpie calling people selfish cunts when they park in daft places. I’m convinced it’ll make a difference!

Hi Tony

I think I will try to get nearer to my 92 grounds (long way to go yet) by watching Cardiff.

Plymouth, Pompey, Blackburn, Oxford United are on this year’s list and now junior and his mates have smoothly graduated to motorway driving, now might be the time to take a back seat with a hip flask!

I’ll let you know how that cup game goes tomorrow – it’s the nearest thing to a derby in this neck of the woods although County are in the higher division.

Welsh teams got fucking embarrassed in Europe this week. The Welsh champions – who actually play in Ingerland boo! – lost 11 – nil on aggregate to Legia Warsaw. Imagine if that happened in N5.

Marvellous race the Romans.

“I’m sad that Emile is leaving us, but excited for him to take this new opportunity at this stage of his career, when he needs to be starting matches and playing regularly,” What a steamng pile of horse shit by a manager that has rarely, if ever, spoken a truthful word in a public setting…maybe if he gave the same opportunity to ESR that he’s gifted to other less worthy options, he might be a regular starter by now…it will be interesting to see how he handles the rigours of the PL next season, as it will speak volumes about what truly transpired here since the time in which he saved Arteta’s ass a few years back…like I said before, it gives me cause for pause knowing that Fulham have made him their highest ever transfer acquisition

if the newest rumours are to believed it appears as if BHA’s Joao Pedro has just entered MA’s top 100 list of favourite Strikers…I don’t have anything really negative to say about the player, albeit I wasn’t really impressed whenever I watched him play last season…he has decent height, above average pace and he fits our old age profile, that is before MA started to go bargain hunting a couple winters ago, but this move appears to be far more about frugality than finding the best available option…with him onboard it will still enable Havertz to fumble his way into a starting gig up top on most nights…he actually looks to be more of a Jesus replacement, as he likewise can be deployed out wide…what we really needed is someone of consequence to come in and quickly show why starting Havertz can no longer be justified/tolerated

just to add one thing, it’s difficult to argue with most things BHA do, when it comes to recrutiment, so that bodes well, but we’ve struggled at times when dealing with this club and the player in question was their highest ever transfer purchase just a season ago, so chances are things could quite easily go pear-shaped during the negotiation process or, even worse, we’ll get fleeced again

TRVL

Buying players from the PL carries a premium – players who can be classed as good value are few and far between unless they’re really left field.

Brighton will not sell him on the cheap – they’ll want £50 million plus.

Marc-I agree, that’s why I said what I said…I wouldn’t be surprised if they demanded even more, considering his age profile and the fact he potted 20 goals in all competitions…shit, they made us pay 50M, some 4 years ago, for their 3rd best defender…the only thing that could help our cause is if the player involved themselves in the process by requesting a move

“A contract was agreed with the club but Obi-Martin wanted to move on because he had doubts over his potential pathway into the first-team and the club’s project…He feels his career development is best served somewhere else”

This was Obi’s response to questions surrounding his supposed financially-motivated exodus…once again it appears as if our PR department has tried to influence the fanbase by intentionally “leaking” fabricated stories…from what I can gather, this particular practice/tactic was first deployed during Sanchez’s last season, when unsubstantiated stories involving his supposed negative locker room presence and diva-like demands not so coincidentally emerged…this was clearly an attempt to sully his relationship with the fanbase, thereby making it easier to move on from him

now I get why one might want to pursue this course, as the potential benefits can be too tantilizing for some…unfortunately when you intentionally fabricate stories so as to avoid/shift blame, the potential costs can be devastating…lies generally beget more lies and when this becomes systemic in nature, which I believe could be the case here in relatively shortorder, the organization could take a massive long-term hit…if this were to be exposed, it could both irreputably damage the relationship between the club and it’s fans and/or ferment massive divisions from within the fanbase itself, as we know all-too-well…not to mention, it will undoubtedly impact our ability to recruit the best and brightest

there’s a reason why our number one targets have said thanks but no fucking thanks, as the players know far better than the fans at large about what’s truly going on within each and every club…simply-put, you reap what you sow and it’s clear that players of higher quality, with ample options, neither trust his word nor see him as the kind of tactician or motivator that’s difficult to refuse…he’s more fiction than fact, at least thus far, and these sorts of cult of personality lightweights tend to have much shorter shelf lives…unfortunately we’re far more susceptible to these types, due to our Wenger-inspired Stockholm Syndrome, albeit commonsense might suggest that our past should make us an impossible nut to crack for a second time in such a short span of time

TRVL
An absolutely brilliant precise of our current situation with El B.

Marc
Seem to remember that being your leading line re Calafiori a short while ago.

KP
Hip flask love it. It’s good when your kids grow up you get to enjoy privileges.

I’ll help you with some music for the drives if you need…….

Marc
“Mikel Arteta has spent £240MILLION on 11 defenders since he took over as Arsenal boss, with £42m signing Riccardo Calafiori the latest… so how have the others fared at the Emirates?”

Forgot to add.

Worth a read because TRVL was spot on with his early Slott heads up from last year, I believe. He looks the real deal where the Bin Dippers love him already.

Klopp who? Seems to be the attitude as Slott continues to impress players and fans alike. Pool fans only in the now moment lol.

We have City and Pool to beat to win the PL with a horrible run in.

We need better incoming.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13696353/Arne-Slot-Harvey-Elliott-Arsenal-Liverpool-SIX-THINGS-LEARNED.html

Something else to think of when we are losing our best talent to rivals, is why isn’t Josh and Stan asking questions?

The lack of questioning makes me wonder if they really understand how things work in football at a professional club.

The club is being run by El B an average footballer at best. After 5 years what qualifies him to stay as our manager? 88522? Do we call capitulating 3 seasons in a row progress?

Probably the biggest question is would Manure, Pool and Chavs still keep their winless manager in similar circumstance?

I think not.