Stan the Man! Kroenke's Gunner Glory

[Danneskjold]

Wing Nutz

Rowley: “Pablo Piatti, Marko Marin, Nico Gaitan, Ibrahim Afellay and Gervinho for the starting spot.”

Cagigao: “Gervinho’s temperament puts me off just a bit.”

Orlandelli: “Afellay’s size is enough to put him ahead of Piatti.”

Keown: “I went over Marin’s tapes and I think he’s not a reliable team player.”

Orlandelli: “Nicolas Gaitan and Afellay aren’t very far apart. Afellay does have leadership potential.”

Me: “Let’s put inquiries out on Afellay and Gaitan.”

Rowley: “I still think we could get Gotze or Hazard and cover the holes with Miyaichi and Chamberlain.”

Me: “Steve, I like the big names too… but until Wilshire is back I can’t take the chance on being limited to a narrow formation or a weak wide one. We’ve got to start fast and stay consistent.”

(pause)

Rowley: “If that’s the way we go I’ve got your backups. Ivelin Popov and Pavel Niakhaichyk.”

Me: “Who?”

Rowley: “Trust me on this, boss.”

 

[Danneskjold]

Odds and Ends

Popov (Gaziantepspor - £7.25M) and Niakhaichyk (Dinamo Moscow - £7M) join the ranks leaving Eastern Europe and Asia this summer. Both look more than I could hope for. Niakhaichyk will give the announcers fits. The lads immediately dubbed him ‘Scrabble’ after the announcement.

Ibrahim Afellay is out of our price range. Apparently Barcelona is still stewing over our theft of Cesc Fabregas. They felt they paid too much to get back a player that was “rightfully theirs”.

Nicolas Gaitan to Arsenal for £14.5M.

Andrey Arshavin found someone willing to meet his demands. He turned down Malaga to rejoin Arsene Wenger at PSG. The £10M we received would cover our wage adjustment.

Sime Vrsaljko (Dinamo - £2.7M) is also inbound to cover the backup slot behind Sagna.

McDermott: “That is looking like a team. Our backups will hold their own.”

“I think so, Terry. Just one or two more to go.”

Here is the breakdown:

£13M – Fernandinho
£15.25M – Leighton Baines
£28.5M – Edinson Cavani
£13M – Nicolas Otamendi
£14.5M – Nicolas Gaitan
£7M – Pavel Niakhaichyk
£7.25M – Ivelin Popov
£2.8M – Sime Vrsaljko

Total: £101.3M

“Terry, what can we get for £41.7M in the way of two midfielders?”

 

[Danneskjold]

The Heart of the Matter

Terry: “At roughly £40M you can afford two very solid midfielders or one star and a backup.”

Me: “Just very solid?”

Terry: “This is an Arsenal that has told her fans to expect a title. You and I know that is an outside shot but the fan in the stands can’t comprehend that. By very solid I mean nearly world class.”

Me: “I’m listening.”

Terry: “Take this lineup and throw it up against Barcelona twice in a week with a game against Everton in the middle. You can’t win all three. They can. Their second team would finish 6th​ in the Premier League.”

“City is the same. Try to pick a front six from Tevez, Balotelli, Dzeko, Aguero, Silva, Nasri, de Jong, Toure and Barry. Which of those monsters do you tell they’re going to see a lot of the bench?”

“What do you think Arsene will do with three times our bankroll at PSG? Do you think Sir Alex won’t use 19 titles to win our targets when our needs are the same? How many players will we lose to these teams despite our best efforts? What if we throw in Madrid, Bayern, Juve, Milan and Inter?”

“Our boys will be good. We’ve picked them for that. These men will form a team. But if we think there aren’t three teams at least who have run the rule over each of these lads and said ‘Thanks but no!’ we’re not being honest with ourselves. We got them because they were surplus or they were too young for everyone else.”

“This is management. It’s not a game. Roman Abramovich won’t win his beloved Champions League until he starts to realize that you can’t buy thoroughbreds and just expect them to be a football team. Chelsea is paying more in wages to ex-managers than most teams have in total payroll because some oil tossed pretty boy can’t get that through his skull.”

“Buy another star and put a good young lad behind him. Tell them they will win because if you don’t… they won’t. But be damned sure you know that if you put them in the wrong place or tell them to push when they should pull, Messi and the ****** Horsemen of the Apocalypse won’t save you!”

Me: “Terry, you’re right again. Thank you.”

 

[Danneskjold]

Taking Care of Business

I was in a somber mood as I sat in the War Room. The afternoon’s meetings had gone well. It was now quarter ‘til midnight and I was the last one in the building.

What manager wouldn’t dream of £100+ million in funds and a group like Walcott, Sagna and Song to build from? It had started to feel like play, but Terry’s talk brought the reality back.

Every coach and player I had hired was depending on me to pull this off. I could make a huge fist of this and go on. With twenty or thirty years in me I could bounce all over the world just on the credibility given by walking out of the Emirates tunnel once. These players? The big ones would go on as well. Any of the second tier, viewed as failures if I hack it up, would be past their prime before they could recover.

Spotlight and pressure.

I stared at the names left on the board. I had decided on Jack Collison (West Ham - £4.7M) to fill the Cup Team role. The main spot was down to Lucas Leiva (Liverpool), Javi Martinez (Bilbao), Joao Moutinho (Porto) and Cheik Tiote (Newcastle).

Moutinho fell off the board first. Brilliant player but I need someone to fill in for Alex Song at DMC if he’s out or gone. Moutinho lags the other three defensively.

Tiote was next. He can’t cover for Song (Cameroon) when he himself is playing for Cote d’ Ivorie in the African Cup.

Leiva is massive. He would shut down everything but Javi Martinez can do the same.

What Martinez has that I won’t get elsewhere is the ability to mark the man, take the ball, pass it off or receive it and put it in the back of the net with his feet or his head.

I’ve got a sneaking suspicion he’d then turn around and tell someone like Ronaldo where to stuff it when he was done.

Javi Martinez to Arsenal for £28.5M!

 

[Danneskjold]

Gooner 'Til I Die!

2011/2012 Arsenal Football Club

First Team
ST: Edinson Cavani
AMR: Theo Walcott
AML: Nicolas Gaitan
MCL: Fernandinho
MCR: Javi Martinez
DMC: Alex Song
DR: Bacary Sagna
DCR: Laurent Koscielny
DCL: Thomas Vermaelen
DL: Leighton Baines
GK: Wojciech Szczensy

Cup Team
STR: Carlos Vela
STL: Marouane Chamakh
AMR: Ivelin Popov
AML: Pavel Niakhaichyk
MCL: Aaron Ramsey
MCR: Jack Collison
DR: Sime Vrsaljko
DCR: Johan Djourou
DCL: Nicolas Otamendi
DL: Kieran Gibbs
GK: Lukasz Fabianski

Notable Others
Jack Wilshire (AMC - injured)
Abou Diaby (MC - injured)
Nicklas Bendtner (ST)
Alex Chamberlain (AMR)
Ryo Miyaichi (AML)
Denilson (MC)
Emmanuel Frimpong (DMC)
Carl Jenkinson (DR)
Kyle Bartley (DC)
Vito Mannone (GK)

Terry McDermott (Assistant Manager)
Ragnar Danneskjold (Manager)

 

[Mckergan]

Doing well so far mate, keep it going..definately a different approach to Arsenal..

Was following through anyway, will keep checking though

 

[tobyg]

Great story mate, keep the updates coming! This is my favourite way of procrastinating from doing gcse revision

 

[Danneskjold]

Wycombe? Why not?

Our first friendly. Adams Park, High Wycombe.

I don’t know what it is, but the smell of the grass always gets me going. The memories of footballers always seem to come with the smell of sweat and grass. This moment would be added to my list of memories.

Warmups, handshakes and final instructions. These things drive away the memories and put the footballer back into his moment. If that player is anything of note, that moment is the present.

Wycombe came to play. Trying to muscle us off the ball? Good on them. It wouldn’t work.

Nikki Bull produced a couple of very good saves before Edinson Cavani opened the scoring in the 15th​ minute with a fine touch and shot from a Nicolas Gaitan cross. A Nicolas Gaitan cross would be a familiar call for the announcers.

We wouldn’t put in another until the 87th​ minute. Morouane Chamakh ran the ball into the left corner and produced a nifty turn and cross. Jack Collison smashed it home left footed on the half volley from high near post. Quite a remarkable finish.

Only 2-0 but we totally controlled the game. 23 shots with 12 on target and 4 blocks. Gaitan produced 8 runs and connected with 4 quality crosses before being subbed in the 59th​ minute. Theo Walcott and Edinson Cavani both had nice afternoons. Accurate shooting. It easily could have been 6-0 or 8-0 if not for a remarkable outing for Nikki Bull. If his was a job interview he’ll soon be getting a few calls.

First match, first blood, first win. A good start.

 

[Danneskjold]

A Nutter's Chalkboard

One match is too soon to tell how a tactic will work. Wycombe (apologies) is not the team against whom I’ll likely judge.

The coaching staff and I spent quite some time figuring out just how to employ our tools. Yes we could have borrowed from other teams and pieced together some Frankenstein method. Enough managers do it that way. Not me.

It’s not the shape. The 4-5-1 we used for the first two-thirds of the match would look familiar enough to Arsenal fans on paper. It is all in the execution.

Our wingers were picked with some degree of defensive ability as a requisite. We passed on several more offensive minded players to ensure that our fullbacks weren’t the first barrier teams countering down the flanks would come across. If Gaitan, Walcott, Popov and Niakhaichyk could just slow down their opposite and force them off a straight line, the defense would have more time to organize.

Offensively, the wingers would be encouraged to cut inside. Against Wycombe, defenders saw a lot Nicolas Gaitan’s heels and he chose to use this space to launch his pleasing crosses. Theo Walcott took a more direct route to the goal. Both had the same instructions. Their different choices actually worked well. This will be something I play with continuously until I know the team better.

Everyone would be expected to engage higher up the pitch. Most teams shouldn’t have the ability to patiently build against us. Cracking apart a counter attack at its genesis should prove effective. With quite a lot of speed, any ball we win in the opponent’s half should quickly be placed their net. It wouldn’t be direct play, but I won’t expect us to need as much possession as Arsene Wenger’s teams. We would be the deftly wielded sword. Parry and thrust.

The last 30 minutes we shifted to a 4-2-2-2. The anchor man gave way to a poacher, a compliment to our target man. I intend to throw this formation out in both balanced and unbalanced configurations.

Me: “Terry, here’s the catch. Most people would expect the 4-2-2-2 at Emirates and the 4-5-1 at their house. We’re going to do the opposite.”

“The 4-5-1 at Emirates, played our way, will shatter their counter. Our speed and early aggression will flip the counter on them."

“On the road, the bodies in their box should put our adversaries on their heels early. Our center mids can all pass and shoot. The balls will come from every direction. We have to be a multi-threat team. They can’t be able to disarm us by killing off one or two approaches. We want to hit them with five or six bodies and several looks.”

Terry: {chuckles} “Mad… raving. It just might work, though. Remind me, are we playing football or basketball?”

Me: “Exactly.”

I’d lay out my 4-1-2-1-2 and 4-2-3-1 ideas for him later. We and I need to master two new tactics first.

 

[mjd36]

Excellent story so far but you seem to have a HUGE squad is that not going to be a long term problem. Maybe loaning a few of the younger players out that might not get a lot of game time. Will be following I am enjoying this story.

 

[Danneskjold]

I ain't Lyon

15 July 2011 – Emirates (Showers)

Back home. Can I call it that when the only time I’ve walked out of the tunnel to a crowd was on Media Day?

Today would see an opponent more of our caliber in Olympic Lyon. Aly Cissokho, who we flirted with purchasing, would lead a good side against us.

We would start in our 4-5-1 (really a 4-1-2-2-1).

The first chance came in the 19th​ minute with Fernandinho banging a free kick off the woodwork. Theo Walcott opened the scoring with a nice drive after Laurent Koscielny alertly headed down a Gaitan corner. The possession was all Arsenal through the break but no more goals would come.

In the 58th​ minute, quite against the run of play, a long ball over a charging Thomas Vermaelen found Alexandre Lacazette with space from Johan Djourou. Far too easy a goal but the only shot Lyon would put on target all day.

Our subs had been lined up as the goal went in. The restart saw us in our 4-2-2-2. We retook the lead on 69 minutes. Kieran Gibbs centered the ball to Ivelin Popov. His header met the underside of the crossbar but Popov was able to sweep the loose ball in.

It ended at 2-1. We had taken 31 shots with 11 on target, 5 blocked, and 3 crashing against the woodwork. Theo Walcott and Nico Gaitan produced several nice runs in a game where Lyon came seemingly to practice defense. Fernandinho managed to bruise a few fans with seven of eight shots rocketing into the stands. They were thunderbolts. Get ‘em down and sting the goalie’s hands. I couldn’t fault him though as I had encouraged him to let rip.

We left Emirates a winner in front of 59,000+ fans. Welcome home.

 

[Danneskjold]

Exit Stage Right

Time to move on for several of our marginal players.

As I noted, Andrey Arshavin had already left for PSG. This left the fans £10M happier. Andrey has talent but not the consistency I need to justify top pay.

The supporters were less pleased with Tomas Rosicky’s departure. Tomas is a good man and a fair footballer, but he would fall 5th​ among the wingers. That assumes that Alex Chamberlain and Ryo Miyaichi wouldn’t make the step up this year. £2M in our coffers and a chance for Rosicky to play at Napoli was agreeable to both parties.

Manuel Almunia also left for a rather weak £1.9M. His fee was disappointing but no one seemed that interested. I didn’t want his presence to upset Wojciech Szczensy who I view as the future between the sticks. Arsenal need a clear #1 at keeper. It would not be ‘Manos de Aluminio’ – Hands of Aluminum.

Sebastian Squillaci generated a better deal. I sent him off to Newcastle on a £1.1M loan with a £3.4M future fee agreed. While Squillaci could contribute, I felt giving time to Nicolas Otamendi and Johan Djourou would better serve the team.

Other players lined up for a potential exit include Henri Lansbury, Ignasi Miquel, Pedro Botelho and Francis Coquelin. A myriad of minor figures and lackluster youngsters would join this list at the first opportunity.

The life of a football player can be unforgiving.

“You’ve been offered to other teams. Thanks for your service. Good luck!”

 

[Danneskjold]

The Network

Mr. Kroenke isn’t limiting his rework of the Arsenal system to Emirates or London Colney. Our affiliate list had been purged and reformed as well.

The association with his Colorado Rapids has been formalized.

Sao Paulo, Torino and Gimnastic Tarragona have been added as well.

Joel Campbell, Samuel Galindo and Wellington Silva were all offered to Gimnastic. Unfortunately, Wellington refused the loan despite needing only 143 days to achieve Spanish and EU citizenship. I sent Mr. Silva to Sao Paulo for a year, mainly to get him out of my sight. So close to being able to help his Arsenal. His future would be up in the air upon his return.

Adding an English partner would be my first formal request of the Board.

 

[Danneskjold]

Rotation

Keeping the boys fresh would require a lot of bodies at the club. Getting games for all of them definitely is an issue. Everyone in the squad needs to be at or close to match fitness. I also want them to be happy.

The only way to achieve this goal would be to rotate. Big EPL matchups with the likes of Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool would be primarily First Team affairs. The remaining 28 matches would see a planned rotation of players.
Champions League matches would depend on the opponent, but the Qualifiers and likely 4 of 6 group games would be first team.

League Cup would be our Cup Team athletes unless we were meeting another Big 6 team. I’ll sacrifice this Cup if necessary.

FA Cup matches would also depend on the opponent but getting close to the end I would play to win this trophy.

My estimate is that 36 ( 28 EPL + 2 CL + 4 LC + 2 FAC) matches would involve at least 3 Cup team players.

Here is the pattern:
Defense
(BS) Sagna
(SV) Vrsaljko
(LK) Laurent Koscielny
(JD) Johan Djourou
(TV) Thomas Vermaelen
(NO) Nicolas Otamendi
(LB) Leighton Baines
(KG) Kieran Gibbs

(DL)(DCL)(DCR)(DR)
R1(LB)(TV)(JD)(BS)
R2(KG)(TV)(LK)(BS)
R3(LB)(NO)(LK)(BS)
R4(LB)(TV)(LK)(SV)

Over 36 rotation matches each backup could expect to play in 9.

Midfield
(FF) Fernandinho
(JM) Javi Martinez
(AS) Alex Song
(AR) Aaron Ramsay
(JC) Jack Collison

(MCL)(MCR)(DMC)
R1(AR)(FF)(AS)
R2(AR)(JM)(AS)
R3(FF)(JC)(JM)

Over 36 Matches, Aaron Ramsey will expect 24 matches and Jack Collison 12.

Winger/Striker
(EC) Edinson Cavani
(NG) Nicolas Gaitan
(TW) Theo Walcott
(IP) Ivelin Popov
(PN) Pavel Niakhaichyk

(ST)(AML)(AMR)
R1(EC)(PN)(TW)
R2(EC)(NG)(IP)
R3(TW)(NG)(IP)

This will give Ivelin Popov 24 matches and Pavel Niakhaichyk 12. With both very flexible, these numbers could be swapped or swayed to give each 18 matches.

Morouane Chamakh and Carlos Vela will get primarily Cup matches with Niklas Bendtner picking up the junk.

Denilson, Bendtner, Bartley, Frimpong, Chamberlain and Myaichi will see most of their games in the Reserves unless injuries throw them into the rotation scheme. I’ll consider loans for these athletes, but only if I can recall them.

Goalkeeping will have to be managed less systematically and I’ll adjust the schedule when Jack Wilshire and Abou Diaby come back to fitness.

The Cup Team players would also pick up another 6-8 matches in the League and FA Cups to augment their rotation matches as listed above.

The First Team players will expect what you see in this rotation schedule plus about 20 more matches. Most would top out at about 40-45 matches. This should be enough to have somewhat fresh legs at the end of the season. The key will be for our coaching staff to identify potential fatigue and carefully rest players without compromising our results.

 

[Danneskjold]

Arsenal 6 - 0 Schalke... Wie schade!

18 July 2011, Emirates (Dry, 15°)

Perfect night at the Emirates. The weather was nice too!

The First Team played 65 minutes with the Cup Team finishing the game off. After a very clinical hour I felt it best to have the ovation shared by the whole team.

We didn’t manage as many shots as our last outing (18), put the accuracy was delightful (9 on target, 2 blocked, 1 woodwork).

Edinson Cavani saw the net in the 27th​ minute but saw his goal cancelled by a questionable offside call. In the 44th​ minute he put us up by heading home after Fernandinho’s wicked shot cannoned back off the crossbar.

On 50 minutes Cavani fed Javi Martinez off a nice Walcott pass. Javi struggled for possession of the ball with his marker but stabbed home the contested ball anayway.

At 56 minutes, Laurent Koscielny rose above Tim Hoogland to head home a Nicolas Gaitan corner.

In the 64th​ minute, Aaron Ramsey flicked a goal kick on to Cavani who raced clear and slammed the ball home.

Carlos Vela crossed the ball in at 69 minutes and Pavel Niakhaichyk pounced on a poor clearance.
Morouane Chamakh finished the rout with a nicely volleyed shot from Kieran Gibbs cross.

Defensively we clicked as well. Wojciech sat idly against the post reading a book and only had to glance up three times as wayward Schalke attempts went wide.

An entirely pleasing affair as a good German side was ground into bratwurst.

 

[Danneskjold]

To Russia with Love

23 July 2011 – Emirates (Breezy, 27°)

An enjoyable if toasty afternoon in north London.

I’m sure our Russian adversaries would have preferred to see their old teammate Andrey Arshavin. Instead they were subjected to a barrage of shots with five goals from five different scorers.

Another prolific display from a Gunner squad that seems to enjoy hearing words like “dominant” and “rampant” used to excess by their favorite broadcasters.

On 27 minutes, Nicolas Gaitan’s run ended with a perfect pass for Edinson Cavani to slot home.

Theo Walcott answered this clever play with a mirror image cross for Gaitan to head home in the 44th​ minute.

At 56 minutes, Fernandinho’s hooking shot from 40 yards met the bottom of the crossbar and bounced in just over the line. A strike worthy of replay after replay and certainly the most stunning in our friendlies thus far.

Our corners have proved deadly as well with the Gaitan/Koscielny connection again paying off 70 minutes in.

Pavel Niakhaichyk finished the game off with a laser beam into the far corner from 25 yards out in the 89th​ minute.

Another match with the flow of play in one direction only. Wojciech moved a few chapters farther into his book with another three shots wide of the goal as Zenit’s only efforts.

Nicolas Otamendi did twist his knee and would miss two weeks.

Arsenal 5 – 0 Zenit

 

[Danneskjold]

Singing in the Rain

28 July 2011 – Spotland, Rochdale (Rainy, 18°)

Our Cup Team was given a full run against League One Rochdale. This would also be the first full examination of our 4-2-2-2 concept.

Johan Djourou found himself unmarked and headed home Pavel Niakhaichyk’s free kick from deep in the left corner after 17 minutes.

Two minutes later, Ivelin Popov found himself alone at the top of the box and drove a pass from Carlos Vela into the right corner low.

Our finishing was somewhat wasteful, but Pavel Niakhaichyk made no mistake with a 25 yard thunderbolt into the near corner at the 82 minute mark.

At 84 minutes, Simon Hackney skinned Bacary Sagna and fired home while one on one with Lukasz Fabianski. It would be Rochdale’s only effort on target all night.

With the wakeup call received, the boys finished the game off. Pavel Niakhaichyk provided the service from corner for that man Laurent Koscielny to head home another. I’m pretty pleased with our corners and Koscielny’s consistent ability to rise over his marker so far.

Rochdale 1 – 4 Arsenal

The team is showing good early signs of becoming a unit.

 

[Danneskjold]

We all rip open Yellow Submarines

31 July 2011 – Emirates (Drizzle, 15°)

Villarreal came to town, but sadly without Giuseppe Rossi. He was fit but didn’t travel. The young Italian/American striker had played a few matches for Man Utd and Newcastle (loan) and was odds on to return to the Premier League at some point. I had hoped to get a good look at him.

At 3 minutes Laurent Koscielny once again rose to meet a Gaitan corner but this time went inches wide of the goal.

The match then moved into a period of breath-taking end to end football. This was the stuff that fans love.

Our passing and one-two play was superb. Villarreal answered with flowing passes shifting the effort from side to side down the field.

Nicolas Gaitan opened the scoring at 19 minutes. From the left side he curled a beautiful left footed shot around a charging keeper into the bottom left side of the goal.

At 35 minutes, with the game still open and flowing, Nicolas Gaitan skipped past his marker and squared nicely for Edinson Cavani to finish.

Our finishing wasn’t perfect, but through the first half we carved the Villarreal defense open almost at will.

After the break was no different. Nicolas Gaitan received a perfect cross from Bacary Sagna at the 51 minute mark and only a stunning Diego Lopez save prevented a 3-0 scoreline.

Our subs began to cycle in at 60 minutes but nothing changed. At 69 minutes Ivelin Popov took a Carlos Vela pass and bent it into the net from a ways out.

Vela added his own tally at 76 minutes by volleying home after a Pavel Niakhaichyk strike smashed off the crossbar. There would be some jokes in the bootroom about a certain Ronaldinho Nike commercial after the game.

Villarreal’s Cani denied us a clean sheet with a speculative long range drive that caught Lukasz Fabianski off guard four minutes from time. Fabianski would make amends by denying Marcos Senna in injury time.

Another pleasing rout for our fans. We continued with our prolific offense and Nicolas Gaitan and Theo Walcott both deserved praise for their devastating running along the flanks.

 

[Danneskjold]

Cursed International Friendly Injuries

Our preseason festivities ended on August 7th​ when a slightly reduced squad destroyed the Los Angeles Galaxy. Morouane Chamakh scored four with Nicklas Bendtner, Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen all adding a goal. 8 – 0! Emphatic.

We would open our season against Newcastle on August 13th​. We would do it without two of our players.

Aaron Ramsey, who I had intended to feature frequently in our midfield rotation, went down with a torn calf muscle just before halftime of Wales’ 2-1 friendly win over Australia. He would be out for months.

I had planned a five man rotation in central midfield but this would change things. Four men won’t be able to cover our heavy schedule. With Jack Wilshire and Abou Diaby out long term, Denilson and Henri Lansbury are the only options in the squad to cover the gap. Neither would do. Denilson, while technically gifted, doesn’t possess the physical abilities I desire in that position. Lansbury, a talented but young offensive player, would be something of a liability in a central role where I expect my men to press hard all over the field.

Management is all about Plan B. Someone has to move to generate money and space to add another midfielder to the squad. Denilson, looking more and more like surplus, would need to make way. If I can’t get anything for him, Plan C would likely mean selling Nicklas Bendtner. Bendtner would be hard to stomach losing… the **** of most of my jokes would have to change.

Our second friendly injury was more insidious.

Terry: “Boss, Nicolas Gaitan got hurt during Argentina’s match with Egypt.”

Me: “****… wait, Nico wasn’t selected for this match?!”

Terry: “Erm, well… ah, he was watching the match while he was training in the weight room…”

Me: “And?”

Terry: “Argentina scored a late own goal. Lost 1-0. Nico punched the wall. Hurt his wrist. The med staff says he’ll be out for two weeks.”

I shook my head. Welcome to football. You just can’t make this stuff up.

 

[The Ultime FM God]

Graet story so far, its just a bit hard to know whos who in the conversations and you ae meant to be the manager right, and not the chairman