one for soccer fans

[Ken Gargett]

one for the soccer fans, especially those of the glorious gunners. ramsey is an 18 year old signed a year or two ago by coach wenger - he really does have the most fantastic eye for young talent. this is a goal he just scored for wales under 21s against italy. he was also man of the match. not bad for an 18 year. go the glorious gunners!!!

http://goonertalk.com/2009/09/05/what-a-go...st-italy-u-21s/

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[zuma]

That kid is bloody skilled and talented...

[rckymtn22]

Good thing they have him, Arsenal is going to take a major hit because of the one year signing ban.

[Ken Gargett]

Good thing they have him, Arsenal is going to take a major hit because of the one year signing ban.

one year signing ban? something i've missed. can you provide details?

[rckymtn22]

Here you go Ken from the BBC site

Transfer embargo hope for Chelsea

Chelsea could be allowed to sign new players in the January 2010 transfer window despite a Fifa ban.

Football's governing body handed out a ban until 2011 after they found the Blues guilty of inducing Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Lens in 2007.

But Chelsea could get a reprieve if they delay lodging any appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

Cas has indicated that if Chelsea take the full 21 days to appeal, their ban may be frozen while a decision is made.

"It depends on the filing date of the appeal," Cas secretary general Matthieu Reeb told BBC Sport.

"If we have an appeal within the next week, it seems realistic we will have a hearing in November and a decision in December.

"If it goes a little longer, we'd have to wait until next year but then we'd have a problem with the January transfer period.

"So there is a possibility of Chelsea requesting a stay of the Fifa decision so it is frozen until the final decision of Cas is rendered.

"This means the enforcement of the Fifa decision would not be immediate. It could be postponed and then if the sanction was finally confirmed by Cas, the suspension would be postponed to the next transfer window."

As it stands, Chelsea are barred from registering any new players, nationally, or internationally, during the January or summer 2010 transfer windows.

The Blues have already confirmed that they will launch the "strongest possible appeal" and they have 21 days to do so from when they receive Fifa's full decision.

The Cas decision can be appealed only before the Swiss Supreme Court.

Manchester United could also face an investigation after it emerged that another French club, Le Havre, are going to ask Fifa to look into Paul Pogba's move to Old Trafford last month.

Fifa say they are yet to receive any complaint over the transfer of the 16-year-old midfielder.

United told BBC Sport last month that Le Havre's accusations that they had stolen the French youngster were "complete nonsense".

A French football agent, who wishes to remain anonymous for professional reasons, told BBC Sport: "If Lens or Le Havre were legally able to sign the two players to contracts they would definitely have done it already.

"But French law prevents players from signing contracts if they under 16 and haven't achieved the requisite level at school.

"The clubs can make agreements with these players that say they will give them a contract when they have attained the right educational qualification of turned 16.

"It is a pre-contract. It is called an 'accord de norm sollicitation' in French. It is a written agreement between club and player.

"That is what Kakuta and Pogba had. Fifa is clearly now saying these accords are as good as contracts, while Chelsea and Manchester United are saying they are not."

Fifa punished Switzerland's FC Sion for a similar offence to Chelsea's in April and the club was told it could not sign players until the 2010 off-season.

Sion have appealed to Cas, which has frozen the sanctions while it considers the case, allowing the club to trade before the current season began. A ruling is expected later this year.

Italian club Roma were banned from signing players for two transfer windows in 2004, over their move for Auxerre's Philippe Mexes, after they appealed to Cas and their suspension was reduced to one window.

The arbitration panel will be made up by one judge selected by Chelsea, one by Lens and the chairman will be from Cas.

French Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes, meanwhile, is pleased with the decision to punish Chelsea.

He said: "We had alerted Fifa and the Football Association against such misbehaviour. We are perfectly happy to see it being sanctioned."

[Ken Gargett]

thanks for that. much appreciated. but that is chelsea, not the gunners (they should be banned for decades). won't affect arsenal. not that they do much trading anyway.

[rckymtn22]

Sorry about that I thought I had read on another web site that it was Arsenal. Went to the BBC site to cut and past so didn't read it properly.

My mistake

[Ken Gargett]

Sorry about that I thought I had read on another web site that it was Arsenal. Went to the BBC site to cut and past so didn't read it properly.

My mistake

gunners might not do much trading but that would still be a worry - i reckon where you might have mixed them was when chelsea got into a bit of strife for approaching ashley cole, i think it was, in the same illegal way. he was at the gunners at the time and much fuss.

[asmith]

Is that it???

They can have him.

[Ken Gargett]

Is that it???

They can have him.

it is called scoring a goal. liverpool should try it sometime. it might briefly halt their inexorable slide from top four status to mid-table mediocrity and inevitably, relegation.

[jquest63]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!

[bunburyist]

it is called scoring a goal. liverpool should try it sometime. it might briefly halt their inexorable slide from top four status to mid-table mediocrity and inevitably, relegation.

Liverpool will indeed struggle this year having sold and not replaced Alonso, but don't kid yourself about the Goons, they'll fall away soon enough, get knocked out of every comp going and all the talk from Arsene will be about how the average age of his players is 13yrs old and how it's not fair and how he didn't see his players diving and ho..whinge ad infinitum.

With Manchester City's millions/billions and the sleeping powerhouse that is the Spurs finally awakening from their long slumber, I'd be more worried about Ar5ena1 dropping out of the top 4, than crowing over Liverpool.

[Ken Gargett]

Liverpool will indeed struggle this year having sold and not replaced Alonso, but don't kid yourself about the Goons, they'll fall away soon enough, get knocked out of every comp going and all the talk from Arsene will be about how the average age of his players is 13yrs old and how it's not fair and how he didn't see his players diving and ho..whinge ad infinitum.

With Manchester City's millions/billions and the sleeping powerhouse that is the Spurs finally awakening from their long slumber, I'd be more worried about Ar5ena1 dropping out of the top 4, than crowing over Liverpool.

there is a little to what you say as the glorious gunners are a young and ever-improving side but will it be enough?

as for the diving, my first reaction was that he should be banned for a month but then if you actually watch it, the bloke does not even claim a penalty. given how he was hacked down and his leg almost severed from his body last year (a crime apparently on a par with accidently tripping yourself according to the morons in charge), understandable he is a little gunshy but how the hell do you suspend a bloke for trying to unfairly influence the ref when he doesn't even claim a penalty??? moronic and appalling decision.

as for the spurs, rip van winkle had a shorter slumber than those blokes. sounds as tho someone snuck something other than good clean cuban tobacco into whatever you re smoking. it is a long season and spurs have only one way to go. it won't be pretty but it will be fun to watch. spurs are as likely to make top four as - well i can't think of anything quite so absurd.

[bunburyist]

there is a little to what you say as the glorious gunners are a young and ever-improving side but will it be enough?

as for the diving, my first reaction was that he should be banned for a month but then if you actually watch it, the bloke does not even claim a penalty. given how he was hacked down and his leg almost severed from his body last year (a crime apparently on a par with accidently tripping yourself according to the morons in charge), understandable he is a little gunshy but how the hell do you suspend a bloke for trying to unfairly influence the ref when he doesn't even claim a penalty??? moronic and appalling decision.

as for the spurs, rip van winkle had a shorter slumber than those blokes. sounds as tho someone snuck something other than good clean cuban tobacco into whatever you re smoking. it is a long season and spurs have only one way to go. it won't be pretty but it will be fun to watch. spurs are as likely to make top four as - well i can't think of anything quite so absurd.

Hi dived, cheated, squealed - whatever you want to call it. I'm glad they've made an example, and only hope it becomes standard. It's been the obvious solution to diving for years - just ban players retrospectively if you don't want to use video refs. Only doesn't work in cup finals of course...

So absurd we were one bout of food poisoning away from finishing above you under Jol. Spurs can actually go up as Chelsea lead the league for now. We'll see how serious Spurs are this year after the next few games against Utd and Chelsea. Enjoy your last season with Wenger. No trophies this year will be 5yrs in a row with nothing, and if you fall out of the CL the club will be screwed for the next 5yrs at least. The two best Goons last year were Toure and Adebayor...and you sold them both. Tragic.

Edit: as for having a young squad.....Arsenal have had one for years now and it's got them nowhere. Play nice football but don't win when it matters. Need experience.

[Ken Gargett]

Hi dived, cheated, squealed - whatever you want to call it. I'm glad they've made an example, and only hope it becomes standard. It's been the obvious solution to diving for years - just ban players retrospectively if you don't want to use video refs. Only doesn't work in cup finals of course...

So absurd we were one bout of food poisoning away from finishing above you under Jol. Spurs can actually go up as Chelsea lead the league for now. We'll see how serious Spurs are this year after the next few games against Utd and Chelsea. Enjoy your last season with Wenger. No trophies this year will be 5yrs in a row with nothing, and if you fall out of the CL the club will be screwed for the next 5yrs at least. The two best Goons last year were Toure and Adebayor...and you sold them both. Tragic.

Edit: as for having a young squad.....Arsenal have had one for years now and it's got them nowhere. Play nice football but don't win when it matters. Need experience.

i do agree re the needing experience and surprised wenger didn't bolster the squad accordingly. can play the most glorious football and lose - absolutely agree (and i am not someone who thinks that the result doesn't matter if you play well - like them to do both).

toure past his best and the gunners must be over the moon with the dosh they got for him. he was a fration of the player for us last year compared with past years.

adebayor can be good. a few speccy goals but his time at gunners had run its course. he was better off elsewhere and we were better off without him. and again good dosh. when fit, the fabulous fab and van p and a few others clearly streets ahead.

wenger is a man of loyalty. if he says he is staying, he will. shame a lot more sportsmen don't follow his lead. and if you are thinking food poisoning has spurs below the gunners, i suspect it is magic mushrooms they've been eating. but i do understand the residual bitterness of spurs' fans.

there is still every chance that the gunners will greatly surprise people this year and give the whole thing a serious nudge, if key players stay fit. ashravin is one of the most talented players in the comp. fab is brilliant. walcott, van p, the new belgian, clichy, that swag of frogs, the kids like denilson, wiltshire and ramsey, i saw talk of almunia possibly being picked as england's goalie - assume he ahs completed residency - it is not a bad line up. much will depend on injuries, as always.

as for the dive, a fairly robust view given they lined up half a dozen of brit's top footy writers and they were split as to whether he did or not. i suspect he did but if any doubt, how the hell do you condemn.

and i say again, he made no claim. how then do you get suspended? from everything i've read, the strong view over on dank island is that the authorities have acted stupidly and made a rod for themselves.

what is the difference between this and if a cricket umpire gave a batsman out caught behind, incorrectly, and the keeper had not appealed. do you ban the keeper? not sure i can see any difference.

[bunburyist]

I wasn't thinking that Arsene will leave, rather that the pressure will get to the board and they'll push him. He's one of the premiership's greats...but football is business and you've got to win something, especially at Arsenal.

I have no qualms about calling that a dive. Football lives in it's own vacuum as far as umming and ahhing over whether a player dived or not. 5 mins of watching a no. 8 pick up form the scrum and take 3 defenders with him, or a running back smash through a d-line....and still stay upright. It takes a lot to knock someone over who wants to stay on their feet...footballers don't seem so keen.

Aside from that, Arsenal have a decent enough starting 11, but no strength in depth. If Arshavin or Fabregas get injured it's game over.

And for reference, the food posioning came from a bad lasagne before the West Ham game.....had Arsene fingreprints all over it if you ask me...

[bunburyist]

sorry to get away from the start of the thread, but now I've learnt how to embed vids I can't resist......on the topic of diving:

Laugh....or cringe? 2:28 is my favourite, but the last one surely wins points for athleticism.