Tony Adams

Tony Adams

Fourteen years as captain, 669 appearances and 10 major trophies, including League titles in three different decades. It's no surprise that 'Mr. Arsenal' himself is regarded as one of the Gunners' greatest ever players.

Adams was the ultimate one-club man - an increasing rarity in modern football - and a rock at the heart of Arsenal's defence. He thrived as the leader of the famous Back Four, developing an instinctive understanding with his centre-back partner Steve Bould and full-backs Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn. On an individual level, it's hard to think of a more committed, more gutsy and more inspirational footballer in Arsenal's history.

George Graham called him "my colossus"; Arsène Wenger described him as a "professor of defence". They were both right. Technically, Adams was a supreme defender - the timing of his tackles, his reading of the game and his aerial ability made him an awesome opponent. Add to that his insatiable appetite for a battle, his mental and physical resilience, his desire and, of course, his leadership, and it's easy to see why Adams was a hero to the Highbury faithful.

It was clear that Adams was a bit special from the moment he signed for Arsenal as a schoolboy in 1980. Three years later he made his debut against Sunderland, four weeks after his 17th birthday. It was hardly an auspicious start - Adams was partly to blame for a 2-1 home defeat - but he soon found his feet at the top level.

Eight months after winning his first medal at the 1987 Littlewoods Cup Final, Adams became Arsenal's youngest ever skipper at the age of 21. It was a position he would hold until his retirement but, in those early days of captaincy, Adams had to endure plenty of stick. The Daily Mirror famously depicted Adams with donkey ears the morning after he scored at both ends in Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Manchester United. Opposition fans soon latched on.

Adams' response was simple - he just pointed at his growing stack of medals. Eight weeks after his Old Trafford .....................

read the rest of this article at http://www.talkingfootball.co.uk

reBlog from Badge: Talking Football

I found this fascinating quote today:

All is not well between David Beckham and American soccer right now. After his longer than planned holiday in Milan, Goldenballs is due to return to MLS and resume playing for LA Galaxy in two weeks time - July 16th vs NYRB away. But he’s already been warned by US Soccer President Sunil Gulati to expect a less than friendly welcome back:Badge, Talking Football, Jul 2009

You should read the whole article.

All is not well between David Beckham and American soccer right now. After his longer than planned holiday in Milan, Goldenballs is due to return to MLS and resume playing for LA Galaxy in two weeks time - July 16th vs NYRB away. But he’s already been warned by US Soccer President Sunil Gulati to expect a less than friendly welcome back:

“I’m sure there will be some negative reaction from some fans,” Gulati told Bloomberg. “That’s inevitable, but in the end he’s a good player, a soccer icon and I think he’ll help his team and the league. But are there going to be some people that are upset? Sure.”

A few boos from opposition fans? I’m think Becks can handle that. He’s definitely done so before. But if Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl is to be believed, then Becks needs to win over his own team mates too.

In an excerpt from his upcoming book “The Beckham Experiment” (release July 14th) Grant Wahl paints Beckham as a man who failed to connect with his less illustrious team mates, commandeered the captain’s armband and wielded too much influence behind the scenes (it’s explicitly suggested that Beckham’s management hand-picked Ruud Gullit as Frank Yallop’s replacement).

But Wahl’s reporting does appear to be more than just rumour and conjecture. It seems to be based in proper journalism, with direct quotes from named players. Most notably this quote from Landon Donovan, apparently speaking to Wahl in August 2008:-
[quote]

“All that we care about at a minimum is that he [David Beckham] committed himself to us,” Donovan said. “As time has gone on, that has not proven to be the case in many ways – on the field, off the field.

“Does the fact that he earns that much money come into it? Yeah. If someone’s paying you more than anybody in the league, more than double anybody in the league, the least we expect is that you show up to every game, whether you’re suspended or not.

“Show up and train hard. Show up and play hard. Maybe he’s not a leader, maybe he’s not a captain. Fair enough. But at a minimum you should bust your ass every day. That hasn’t happened. And I don’t think that’s too much for us to expect. Especially when he’s brought all this on us.

“I can’t even say he’s a good team-mate any more. He’s not shown that. I can’t think of another guy where I’d say he wasn’t a good team-mate, he didn’t give everything through all this, he didn’t still care.

“But with Beckham, I’d say no, he wasn’t committed. Let’s say he does stay here three more years. I’m not going to spend the next three years of my life doing it this way … I don’t want to have soccer be this way. I’ve got to confront it somehow. If that’s the way he’s going to be, fine, then hold him accountable. Bench him. Just say, ‘We’re not going to play you, we don’t think you’re committed’.”
[/quote]

Who knew Landycakes had so much fire in his little belly? And he’s right of course. Doesn’t matter how famous Beckham is or how many extra seats he sells. If he’s not committed, he shouldn’t be playing.

And he’s dangerously close to having his spell in MLS be an unmitigated disaster. Word is that Beckham’s contract allows him to leave at the end of the 2009 MLS season and go play somewhere else if he so desires. But if he waves goodbye to MLS without accomplishing so much as a playoff appearance with LA Galaxy, ......................
read the rest of this story and more at www.talkingfootball.co.uk

Transfer News

Thought it would be an idea to give you a run down of some of the transfers that have been happening around the big euro clubs at the moment.

Real Madrid won't stop buying yet; after agreeing a €35m deal for Karim Benzema with Lyon, the Merengues are now expected to sign Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich. The Frenchman has told the press that if he leaves the Bavarians, it will only be to join Kaka, Ronaldo et al at the Bernabeu.

Also, Raul Albiol sailed through his medical at Los Blancos today. He will be unveiled soon as a €13m acquisition from Valencia. The Spain international could be joined in Manuel Pellegrini's back-line by Maicon, with the Inter defender's agent admitting that a 'transfer assault' from the Spanish capital was likely.

Less secure is a move for David Villa. The signs indicate that the Valencia front-man may join Barcelona over their eternal rivals but both player and club are remaining coy about the deal. Indeed, Barca could turn to Atletico Madrid's Diego Forlan if their overtures for 'Ej Guaje' bear no fruit. However, Villa's los Che colleague, David Silva is again being pursued by Real Madrid.

Florentino Perez's Galactico recruitment drive means that there is likely to be little space for the Dutch contingent at the Bernabeu but Wesley Sneijder has vowed to stay and fight for his place. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's future is less clear; Milan maintain their interest in The Netherlands international. The Rossoneri haven't given up hope of landing Edin Dzeko either.

Meanwhile, Barcelona could be ready to lose Samuel Eto'o to Manchester City. The Blaugrana are said to be disappointed with the behaviour of the player's agent with regard to recent negotiations. Eidur Gudjohnsen, though, could remain at the club, along with Aliaksandr Hleb, despite interest from elsewhere.

Juventus could move in for the Fiorentina midfielder, Felipe Melo, despite the player signing a new contract but the Old Lady could be set to lose David Trezeguet to either Atletico Madrid or Lyon.

Inter are still seeking a clutch of reinforcements, with Bayern Munich's Lucio and Lille's Eden Hazard the latest names to be linked with Jose Mourinho's lot.

Across town and AC Milan are trying to ward off Chelsea interest in Alexandre Pato and on a low-key day of business in England, the Blues are set to announce the arrival of Ross Turnbull from Middlesbrough.

Still in Carlo Ancelotti's sights is Stephane Sessegnon and today, the Paris St Germain midfielder hinted that he could be ready to depart the French capital.

Also leaving Ligue 1 is Kader Keita; the Ivorian is close to sealing a switch to Galatasaray.

Finally, Ze Roberto has confirmed his Bosman transfer to Hamburg, but insists that money was not the prime factor in his decision.

Right that's the up date to the transfers and possibility's for today, keep looking there may be more tomorrow.