Once upon a very long time ago, the end of the football season was a time to quit cold turkey, to no longer obsess over the next game, to not twitch nervously like an addict waiting for the next hit. As a compulsive coffee drinker, I have been there.
But the end of the football season means no let up to the craziness. Over recent years, the last day of regular professional football is simply the beginning of the race for the transfer trophy. This mythical competition starts long before the window opens on July 1st and apparently ends on August 31st when the media regales us with tales of winners and losers. Think the insanity of Jim White and Sky Sports deadline day shenanigans.
As most well-thinking football fans are aware, i.e. those who combine their experience with critical thinking skills, the transfer season is essentially a creature of the mainstream media. It is entirely “fake news”, a term football fans could have claimed exclusive rights long before it became associated with CNN and the mainstream media in general.
The English tabloids were the first to prove beyond doubt the commercial media could gain readership and advertising revenue propagating bogus transfer stories. The broadsheets and electronic media have followed suit over the years intensifying with the growing importance of the internet and social media. Like political coverage, the sports pages are now a sea of rumors, anonymous sources, sensationalism and fear-mongering.
Central to any bogus transfer narrative is Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. As I documented in my last blog, the ink had barely dried on his new contract before, that notorious rag, the Evening Standard ran the following headline:
Arsene Wenger given £100m to turn Arsenal into title winners with Alexandre Lacazette, Kylian Mbappe and Thomas Lemar among targets
Although totally unsourced this has not stopped the British and international media from running with this basic narrative. Nobody from Arsenal is ever quoted. To give it a cloak of credibility the press simply repeats related rumors culled from the foreign media who themselves are quoting the English mainstream media. What an incestuous self-serving circle.
There is nothing new here. Name any year past and it is fake after fake after fake. Last year’s bogus transfer news was centered around Wenger signing both Vardy and Mahrez. The fact that an unsuccessful offer was made to Vardy only intensified the cacophony around Mahrez. Three years ago there was the 100% “certainty” of Cesc Fabregas returning to Arsenal. Absent any facts, both stories failed the test of logic and reason, yet the mainstream media ran with them all summer.
Apparently, the panic-sowing and fear-mongering works. No wonder the commercial media repeat the same tactic year after year as a wide section of the Arsenal fan-base falls for it hook, line and sinker. If one reads the recent works of Bob-the-blogger and Tom-the-tweeter, it seems the most successful ever manager of the football club, who guided Arsenal to runner-up in total number of points accumulated in Premier League (second only to the biggest and richest club in the league, Manchester United) is a dithering, frugral, scrooge who is ignorant of the transfer market. The man who brought Henry, Vieira, Pires and Petit to Arsenal, and from them earned great success, is apparently incapable of identifying top talent. Not signing comparably talented players in recent years in their eyes has nothing to do with Arsenal being out-priced in the French market by bigger richer clubs in Europe, including the nouveau riches like PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City.
The latest round of stupidity being spouted by Bob and Tom is a variation of Tony Adams’ massive “revelation” that Wenger is not very good at coaching. Apparently he is “lucky”. Last season he was lucky when he panicked and went three at the back in April and had 9 victories in his last 10 games. They conveniently miss Wenger’s disclosure that he and his coaching staff had been pondering the change from the preceding November but were reluctant to impose it prematurely. Similarly he panicked two years earlier when he partnered Carzola with Coquelin and only lost 2 of the last 15 games, winning ten. The year before that, he also hit the panic button, when he made Mikel Arteta a holding midfielder, next to Ramsey, and made a storming start to the League, leading the tables up to January 2015 until the Welshman fell to injury. Being so lucky, who needs a manager with his experience and motivational skills who can empower players to confidently take on new roles and be successful at the highest level of the game.
So how do we inoculate fans from the stupidity of the transfer season and save them from self-harm brought on by panic and fear? As the Department of Public Health emphasized in my childhood the best vaccine against communicable diseases is to practice good hygiene. In this case I urge smart, knowledgeable fans to avoid the dirt and stain of the mainstream media.
- Treat transfer stories by the MSM as 95% lies and misinformation. Whether in print or electronic media, almost all transfer stories are unsourced and non-factual. Clubs do not disclose their transfer targets to the media as this is sure to sabotage their efforts. Competing clubs, agents and the selling club can use this information to their advantage and screw over the buying club. If a club discloses any transfer information to the market it is with ulterior motive or the transfer has already been made. The classic example is the transfer disclosures by Arsenal to David Ornstein @bbcsport_david
- Understand the specific characteristics of the transfer market. It is not like a retail store with players on the shelf with their prices disclosed for all to see. Unlike what we have been misled into believing by most economics professors, there are very few if any free markets in the world and the transfer market is particularly byzantine and opaque. Who knows if a player is truly up for sale unless he is eligible for a Bosman. Unlike a fish market, for example, there is no advantage in going early for a player because the listed price by the selling club is often higher than the underlying value. It is inherent to this market for the contractual price of a transferee to be subject to prolonged haggling, like a Persian bazaar, except in football this is done in secret. The selling club is incentivized to invite other bidders so as to inflate the price. As Arsenal fans should be familiar, most selling clubs, aided and abetted by the corrupt mainstream media, use Arsene Wenger’s supposed interest in a player as a sure-fire way to stimulate a bidding war. Only a sugar-daddy noveau riche club will rush-in early in the window and pay over the odds for a player or the buying club is Ed Woodward’s Manchester United.
- Be knowledgeable about the needs of your club. Despite overwhelming evidence and research by this blog demonstrating that Arsenal has The Lightest Midfield In 6 Years and the injuries over the past two years to Santi Cazorla, that magical deep-lying playmaker, wrecked any chances of Arsenal competing for the title, there is an avalanches of logic-defying stories by the mainstream media, ITKs, Bob-the-blogger and Tom-the tweeter suggesting that Arsenal is in desperate need of strikers. How many fans faithfully like and retweet posts suggesting Arsene is in for both Mbappe and Lacazette. It is utter and complete nonsense. Go wash your hands if you engage in such tripe.
In conclusion I will rehash what Arsene said one year ago as it is as relevant today as it was then:
I buy players that I feel can strengthen our team. Today you have to be very strong inside the club when you are responsible, not just to buy [for the sake of buying]. There’s always a wave of opinions. I must say people are better informed today – they know all the players. They tell you always that you should buy but when you ask them who to buy, they become much shorter. If you look at the market in Europe, there’s a lot of money available but not many players who really strengthen the teams. If you look at the teams that spend the most money in Europe, they’re not necessarily the teams that won the championships. The global investment of the clubs around us didn’t stop Leicester winning the championship.
Furthermore:
The best way to conclude transfers is not to talk about them, which is very difficult in … press conference! We are on the market but I don’t want to talk specifically about any player because that makes it more difficult for me – and it’s difficult enough.
I recommend the wisdom of Arsene Wenger, any day and seven times on a Sunday, over that of the mainstream media, without exception, not to mention Bob and Tom.
Follow me on twitter @shotta_gooner
PS: I am off on my summer vacation later this week so no more of my contrarian viewpoints for 3 weeks. But I will pop in here and on twitter periodically.
Positively Arsenal 
Only 95% lies and disinformation?
That is verging on credulous naivety. Not a point below 98% Bollocks.
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Never a truer word spoken Shotts. If only people would realise that the only trustworthy site for transfer news is arsenal.com
Whilst you’re on holiday if nothing better to do (banned smiley) pse see my comment on yesterday in reply to Fins. Would be fun knowing. Thanks again and enjoy your break.
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Anyone that says Wenger is lucky needs to step away from their own highly personal agenda and take another look at things…..Wenger is right, it is pretty sad what Adams is coming out with these days. Just don’t get him, he has been given chances at the club, along with other ex players, he chooses to leave, then blames the club for not giving ex players a chance.
There is no doubt injuries to key players has seriously hindered this team, losing Cazorla would hinder most. On that front, the news round on the Sages blog carries a report we are looking at an Aussie fitness guy to help out on the sports science front, not sure if true or not but there have been suggestions of investments in this area.
But, the fact is, if it gets to Independance Day, and we haven’t at the very least signed MBappe, Laccazette and that Limahl chap, then clearly there are grounds for mass and meaningful protest
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And we should sign Ronaldo as well And pay off his tax bill to get him
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I think anyone has to take a large cellar of salt when listening to anything Tony Adams has to say. Like Big Sol, Tony is in permanent recovery from mental issues and is a step away from reality. The rest of the transfer window is abit like Mother/Fathers day nice enough but in the end a money making scam by the media.
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Tell it, Shotta.
Have a beautiful holiday.
Thank you.
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A5 – What is 3% between friends? Lies and misinformation? OK then.
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To be fair to the hacks, selfless blaggers and gallant podcastateers many of them would prefer to do away with the footy and just focus on the transfer-mongering. Which is understandable from their perspective. The poor lambs.
Happy holidays Shotts. Beautiful summers day here in London. The cricket is on. I’ll watch this contest, early signs are that this one day match looks like it could be a good’un (yet to watch an IPL 20/20 match – not a result of prophetic foresight regarding the scandals that were predictable, just something vaguely familiar about the Scudamore and Risdale inspired ownership model for that league that didn’t inspire confidence!)
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Well PA, just to let you know I am on my 2nd cup of coffee here in the west. My vision is perfect. Banned smiley and all that.
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I really don’t understand it, how can Arsenal have extended the season ticket renewal date, and by so much, after all, there is no other explanation for it, today’s papers are full of Arsenal transfer rumors, and as we all know, Arsenal transfer rumors are fed to the journos by Arsenal FC, for the sole purpose of Selling Season Tickets, or so the ASB would have us believe.
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well gf60, isn’t one of the problems with Arsenal.com, the fact that they too run a section with media transfer stories.
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well the most laughable thing about most transfer rumors are that one rag makes up a rumor, and then every other rag repeat it, and then the ASB accuse Arsenal of feeding the story to their “cronies in the media”.
there used to be an arsenal blog, think it was called Arseweb, and they used to – about 10 years ago – run a list of players linked to AFC and gave each media outlet that ran the story, and you could see the trend as clear as day, there was anything from 100 to 300 linked in any summer, and a link made by the mirror would weeks later be made in the sun, and weeks later be made in the star, etc etc etc.
Remember that papers repeated a transfer link of a made up player, something to do with that football themed soap opera that sky used to have. The done the same with another fake name made up by a blog too. Yet fans eat up their bullshit and then blame Wenger, kroenke, gazidis, Arsenal for not being able to complete the signing of a player that they were never after in the first place, just look at the last week, I’ve never seen so many X “win race for Arsenal target”, a la pickford.
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I seen one big headline during the week,
“Arsenal will have to move quickly to sign target”
so I read the article and this or that club were supposed to be about to sign some player or other, sorry can’t remember who the feck it was about, some no mark. Nice big long transfer story, and there Arsenal in the main headline, but I read on and on, not a mention of Arsenal, right till the last line
player x, “was in the past linked to a possible move to Arsenal”
yes, the player had at some unspecified date in the past, been linked by an unnamed outlet, with a move to Arsenal, so that justified the headline
“Arsenal will have to move quickly to sign target”
I seen recently that already this summer, Arsenal have been linked to 97 different players. Dithers I say, dithers, 97 and not a player signed – Kolasinac does not count, or so it seems, as Arsenal blogs and twitteratti claim over and over we have not signed a player yet.
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All stars Cup for U15/16s Arsenal finished 9th
info from RYO_cleverfish @RYO_cleverfish
9-16 place playoff Arsenal 1-0 FK Dukla Praha
Goals:Bukayo Saka
9-12 place playoff Arsenal 2-0 FK Altinordu Izmir
Goals:Alfie Matthews, Ben Cottrell
9th place playoff Arsenal 3-0 FC Viktoria Plzeň
Goals: Josh Martin, Armstrong Oko-Flex, Bukayo Saka
overall results in competition for AFC
P9 W5, D2, L2
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well as for this story that Darren Burgess, Head of High Performance at AFL side Port Adelaide is to join Arsenal, it might very well be true, Arsenal are not slow to add top quality staff to that area, have been upgrading it for years now, Shad Forsythe and Takahiro Yamamoto were brought in over recent years. But till this guy signs I will think of it as just part of the Aussie media running a story about Arsenal and one of their own cos Arsenal are set to play two games out there next month.
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Olympiakos trying to sign Joel Campbell according to his agent.
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I really love how the Liverpool loving media are jumping on the rumor of ox to lfc, the best bit is the theory that he wants out of AFC cos of lack of playing time, when the reality is that last season Oxlade-Chamberlain played 45 for Arsenal while LFC had 47 games in total, at the time of ox’s inury near end of the season, he had actually played more games than lfc had at that time
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I have no doubt that the vast majority of any transfer info given to journos is done by the player agents. Before the rise of the football agents, transfer stories in the media were generally based in truth. But since the rise of the agents, 99% of transfer stories are completely fake. For me its two things from agents, and one major one from journos. 1. them trying to create a market for their player, be in actual move, or just a pay rise, 2. them trying to show their client that they are working on their behalf. The journos know big headlines, regardless of truth, sells, and that they can even contradict themselves from day to day and they will not be called on it.
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well seemingly these stories that Darren Burgess has been approached by Arsenal to become our new head of High Performance and Fitness are actually coming out of the ranks of the aussie rules media, and look to be reliable.
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I know that most (all) of the rumours are false and are there to generate traffic, either on or off line. But the part of me that is not quite growed-up yet enjoys it, especially when I have reason to want to waste a bit of time in the off-season. This morning, for example, I have become an expert on Thomas Lemar. I have read his Wikipedia entry (not too much to be gleaned from that, tbh) and watched a not particularly well-put together You Tube clip featuring a number of spectacular goals and assists in games played-out in front of far-from capacity crowds. I have then taken this info, dressed it up in Red and White, and seen the EPL trophy lifted courtesy of a number of stellar left wing performers.
By the end of the summer I expect to have done likewise with at least 20 more players, most of whom I have yet to have ever heard of. I have promised Arsene that I will let him know by the August Bank Holiday exactly who he needs to sign.
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foreverheady have you checked out youtube for Sander Berge yet
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Many thanks Shotta.
Wenger said we will
Probably Sigm 2 or 3 this summer, with a few squad players leaving.
He’s already done the best business in the Premier League so far with getting Kolasich on a free,
You are right that a Santi Mk II is the most important signing we can make, but I can see the likes of Isco, Modric or Reus coming our way. OX’s agent is showing the club zero respect. Radio silence from the club about Jack’s future too.
The club would be insane to sell Giroud, but you can see the types of ‘fan’ who think that is a good idea.
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a funny story about this aussie fitness guy, when at LFC, he had the players were monitors while at home, and he noticed that many of them got stressed in the evenings, and his investigations showed that they were playing the computer game Call of Duty
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I read a few reports suggesting Ox was a done deal regarding a new contract….perhaps the agent has demanded increased wages or something?
If true about Burgess, I am sure he will be a welcome addition to what seems to be a very strong team, don’t know much about the Japanese guy but believe Shad F is very highly rated
A prediction…Xhaka will take the league by storm next season, after having been written off by some who should know better
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heady@1:24 pm – Of all the names being bandied about as part of the fake news and rumor-mongering by the MSM, the most likely is Lemar. He best meets our most crying need and he is an outstanding player. But as I emphasized, nobody knows who Arsene is truly in for. He cannot afford to spill the beans for all the reasons I gave.
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I met someone, like you do, someone who had once been one thing, and now was another.
It was in a gloomy bar, near Manchester Piccadilly, the scent of cigarette smoke hung heavy and illegal in the alcohol tinged air, bringing with it a grimace to the disapproving olfactory senses of a non-smoker, as I tried to make some sense out of what was happening.
I had met the girl, as sweet as can be, and over a beer or two, she suddenly and sadly blurted out that she had a guilty secret, or two. “You will think I am terrible – a veritable Mata Hair – a Northern girl who actually is in love with the wrong guy – altho to be more accurate, the wrong club’ she said, in an agonised whisper.
Surreptitiously I dared to quietly glance around at the other revellers, fearing this was some sort of joke or a well plotted set up. But no – it seemed the girl was genuine, as a huge tear welled up in a beautiful brown eye and slowly slid down her cheek past her delicate slightly upturned nose. ‘I am an Arsenal fan!’ she wailed.
‘Wow, no need to cry about that’ I said, trying to comfort her, ‘they are a great club.’
‘Not in Manchester’ she grimaced, ‘but that is not the problem. I had become convinced that Arsene’s continued employment was detrimental to the well being of the club, but now know I was wrong, and my boy friend who is a Gooner and a WOB, from the south, is not happy with me.’
OK, any romantic ideas I had were instantly crushed, and yet I felt for her as she said “I love my guy, and cannot leave him, but I often sing a little song to myself, when he is not around, and it goes like this’,
The bar quieted down and listened wrapt as she sang the song, unknown to me, but filled with anguish;
I’m so blue, I don’t know what to do,
All day through, I want to say to you,
I did wrong when I said go away,
‘Cause now I dream about you night and day,
I’m so unhappy and dissatisfied
I’ll be so happy if you just pick the side,
If I could talk with you one li’l hour tonight,
And be free to say all those little things I might,
I want you to know your the greatest manager I know,
And I can’t wait to see you make those puppies go …
And then she fell off her chair.
Ahh, the magic of football, the love of the Arsenal, knows no bounds.
[Anything you do not understand, please refer to A5, as I have lost my dictionary, and have no idea myself!] lol
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Incidentally, I love Fake News, well some of it, it keeps me guessing and hoping, in an odd sort of way, and fills these seemingly never-ending transfer days. I am of course selective – I disregard all the crap which any self respecting connoisseur of football can detect – and I believe almost anything that presents the Arsenal and all top class players associated with us!!
If Fake News also upsets Trump, that cannot be a bad thing, and it could be construed as a bountiful bonus – even if he is the one who produces most of it. lol
Got to go – I think I hear heavy breathing, and A5 is not a man to be trifled with – especially as he pinched my dictionary!!
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Great parting Shotta!
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I saw Ray Parlour in the trash bin, Well played Andy.
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Enjoying the Confed Cup. Great game between Portugal and Mexico. Ended 2-2. Played their best XI but Man of the Match for me was the Video Assistant Ref. Ruled off one clear offside goal for Portugal. Great start VAR. You soon will be starting ahead of the PGMO. That corrupt, cheating son-of-a-bitch will no longer have the ability to fix games. Carmon!
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well shotta didi hamann was on RTE, and he is totally against the VAR, even though it “got the decisions right”
some waffle about it taking too long and stopping the flow of the game and of course it “under minds” the actual ref.
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Chambers comments on Mertesacker “In the last few years he was my mentor,” Chambers told Kicker. “I’ve never seen such a professional, dedicated player, I’ve learned from him every day.
“He kept me on track, reminded me of the little things that brought you where you want to go. He’s a great guy.
“To learn from such a player and such a personality – I could not have done better. I just got better because I could train at his side every day.”
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Fantastic that Shotts,enjoy your holiday mate.
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RTE commentary right in the middle of saying Alexis has done nothing since he came on, and our little man sets up the opening goal. Or as the very same commentary team said, “Alexis puts it on a plate for Vidal to score”
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exclusive picture of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in contract talks with whoever, AFC, LFC etc etc whichever story is being run on the day.
yeah, it seems the ox is actually on a sunshine holiday
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VAR just got another one right, goal that was ruled out for offside, is rightly awarded after review.
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Eddy: Only cheats and con-men don’t want the VAR. Now the PGMO will be truly subject to review for marginal decisions that always favor certain teams. Now Hamann will have to discuss tactics rather than a psuedo controversy with the refs.
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No – not only cheats and con men – also people who accept that refereeing football matches is a difficult activity and that, while officials do their best, errors may occur, as they always have occurred and even with VAR will still occur.
Also those people who believe that as football is a single worldwide sport that relies on very much part time and often entirely unpaid referees that the reliance on VAR will devalue all their efforts as – in the absence of required technology- they will be obviously incompetent.
For my part I am keen to introduce VAR but to denigrate anyone who takes an opposite view as a conman or cheat does not strike me as fair Shotts.
And as I have said elsewhere it does seem that VAR or no VAR a fundamental problem in football is systematic, organised cheating by players – endorsed by managers, clubs, broadcasters etc
If the ingrained cheating by players is not addressed then no amount of cameras or officials will make any difference
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yes shotta and anicol, it is clear from the comments of Hamann, and many other ex players who are now pundits, who are totally against the VAR, that they totally condone cheating, and some seem scared that they will have to, as said on here already, actually discuss tactics, formations, and maybe even the cheating by players, if Refs/VAR mean the big decisions are correct.
Jim Beglin said on RTE along the lines that “we want to see the action, and not analysis by the VAR, that analysis is for us(pundits and maybe the public) to talk about after the game”
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A5: I may have over generalized but imo there is great naivety about the corrupting influence of the absolute power wielded by the PGMO. In the words of Lord Acton “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” You in Britain knew this too well when you curbed the absolute power of the monarchs by a system of parliamentary democracy. The PGMO has absolute power over football games without any review and as I have demonstrated in my Penalties Against data it is wielded unfairly. The VAR will curb this power and subject it to review during the game, not after, when the damage has already been done. Others may want to emphasize the difficulty of the job, which is true. How can two men effectively see and process all the violations of the offside rule in a blur of motion on the field or the numerous fouls in the penalty box when defender and attacker contest the ball. I however want to emphasize the inherent abuse and potential for abuse when one man with a whistle is allowed to make game defining decisions. The VAR is important in making sure we have a fairer system of refereeing.
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Bundesliga Journal @bulijournal 3h3 hours ago
#Arsenal’s striker #Asano 🇯🇵 will stay at #Stuttgart for another season, because he failed to get a work permit in the UK. (Bild) #vfb
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Alexis’s ankle after the game tonight, he really should not have played, he sprained his ankle at training a couple of days ago.
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just a thought on the VAR, do we really think that in the BPL having a second PGMOL man as the VAR will change how the PGMOL crew “manage” games. Would Mike Dean as the VAR over rule Jon Moss sending off of Xhaka. I think not.
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I completely agree with your comment at 10:03, Anicoll – spot on.
[This isn’t me sneaking in another comment — just a figment of your imagination.] lol
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Asano’s (cheers autocorrect for changing that to ‘asian’. Got it just in time) work permit: not surprised. I hate having to trust them to be fair in those decisions.
Supposedly the ‘special talent’ element was going from rulings, but presumably Utd used something like that for the young uncapped American defender, Olusunde, who came in last season. They’ve had a few young Brazilians and a Uruguayan, but do have a knack of turning up some Italian grandparentage somewhere.
City got Iheanacho, presumably on the back of his stellar u17 world cup showing, while an equally good u17 world cup for Nwakali wasn’t enough. He won’t get one this year either.
Chelsea got one for Traore. Campbell was turned down even after reaching 20 or so caps.
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We just saw a top level sporting contest where VARs used on something as subjective as he LBW law was successfully used.
And this system is calibrated to respect and follow the on field umpires call.
It is a system that has a twenty year record of success, primarily in supporting the officials to do their job and also in stopping a fair amount of gamesmanship (the kind you don’t want as opposed to the kind you do want!).
There is no rational or reasonable explanation that can be supplied in order to explain why the officials in football have been denied similar aids.
To be comprehensively clear: anyone who wants to see the officials get the respect they deserve would support VARs.
The league cup fixtures were drawn in Bangkok? Seriously? I’m hoping that this story was a spoof…
There is no rational or reasonable consideration why any sane mind would object to VARs. Anyone who does like said plundit above, they deserve the critique of their “opinion”.
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<plundit = didi hamman
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I think one difference is that referees and umpires in rugby union and league, cricket, hockey, NFL etc started off with the respect of players and club officials Fins. Any competitors cursing an official on a cricket pitch or telling a RU referee to Fuck Off an inch from their nose would be straight off and face a ban.
Respect, even some basic politeness or reasonable behaviour from players towards referees, has never, ever been on the agenda in football.
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A5: Good call about respect. Well they will have to respect the Video Ref. The Chilean players and the bench went over to harangue the linesman about the waving off of Vargas’ 1st goal and their officials were quick to restrain them as they were all going to be yellowed. I just love what VAR will do for the officials. End the continual effery to harass and con them. Manchester United beware. Rooney must be happy he is basically done as a player in the PL. I just love it.
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Agreed Andrew but for the other sports it wasnt that way in the past, even if they were marginally better then the footy as you correctly ahighlight. The current mark of respect is linked to VARs. No doubt about it. Rugby which already had good standards will only improve further after the introduction.
it’s what everyone wants to see.
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