Comments on: The Guus That Played the Golden Leg

By: Arshavin and Arsenal / Lift in a Dark Light - The Run of Play

Arshavin and Arsenal / Lift in a Dark Light - The Run of Play — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:22:18 +0000

[...] about a transfer since I don't remember when, let me state for the record that I'm an Arshavin skeptic from way back. Just so this doesn't look like some kind of player-advocacy [...]

By: Russia 0 - 3 Spain: Mercury Parallel Parks - The Run of Play

Russia 0 - 3 Spain: Mercury Parallel Parks - The Run of Play — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:59:12 +0000

[...] gushing about Guus Hiddink for the adroit way in which he eviscerated Holland, I was disappointed in his tactics last night. I [...]

By: Linda

Linda — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:47:12 +0000

Apparently Arshavin fancies Spain, if it makes any difference. Makes sense for him, really, given his style of play.

He does look rather like a peer of Leo Messi rather than Ronaldinho in terms of age.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:11:20 +0000

Interesting. You’re saying he’s like a reverse Greg Oden. A karmic counterweight to every 22-year-old Little League pitcher, Dominican shortstop with a missing birth certificate, and high-school quarterback on the junior-high football team.

I like this idea, especially since it means Arshavin could be scoring 20 for Everton when he’s officially 42 years old.

By: Zach

Zach — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:41:25 +0000

Is someone on here talking about becoming a Spurs fan? On the real tip, yo?

Anyway, I don’t believe Arshavin is really 27. He doesn’t look like he shaves. Um, no pun intended.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:34:59 +0000

That’s it for me, too: I’m afraid Modric will have to do too much and find himself smothered by the responsibility.

And then, I’m afraid the lumbering centurions he’ll be meeting in opposition midfields will be given free rein to bend his bones.

Rosicky and Hleb work for Arsenal, but Arsenal is an island, as Wenger once said in a different context. I think it could work for Tottenham and Modric, and I really want it to—so I’m not despairing, just anxious.

By: ursus arctos

ursus arctos — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:42:29 +0000

For my part , it has a lot to do with the absence of anyone approaching the effectiveness of Flamini, Gilberto Silva, Diaby or Clichy in Tottenham’s midfield.

Zokora was supposed to fill that role, but has never really given indications of doing so since arriving in London.

By: A.

A. — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:14:23 +0000

Why so much concern over Modric’s effectiveness in the EPL? If Fabregas, Rosicky and even Hleb can do okay, why not the Croat, he looks as strong as any of them?

By: roswitha

roswitha — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:51:28 +0000

I’ve been thinking of ditching Arsenal for Spurs for a while now. Part of it has been my growing distaste for Wenger’s attitudes to football and footballers. Another is Modric. And then the chance to escape the Champions’ League for a year* [and hope that the PL is won by Blackburn] in which the UEFA Cup will be stuffed full of exciting teams — in spite of the fact that Milan will also be there. We’ll have the Italian van Basten’s Ajax, Ramos’ Spurs, a Valencia at least marginally better than the bizarro Ches who’ve been in operation this year, a Cassano-led Samp, and gosh knows who else [the last being part of the immense charm of it].

Cesc’s hair is a disaster, but my residual affection for him makes me glad he scored the winning pen last night. To see one of the overpriced young stragglers from their forward line do it would have killed some of my buzz at seeing Giorgio Chiellini’s monster performance.

* – Fiorentina and Roma apart, of course. Bless that Daniele de Rossi, though, he does cut a bit of a tragic figure, doesn’t he?

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:09:29 +0000

Ursus — Probably less distressing to me than it would be to Fabregas!

I think Chris N’s point is that video games don’t over-emphasize age. I haven’t played it in, well, ages, but if I remember right Winning Eleven has several different development models: some players peak at 22, some peak at 35, some drop off sharply at 30, etc. The same is true for Football Manager, although it might be a bit more severe.

I hope Arshavin keeps getting better till he’s 39 and retires at his peak. But if I were a team about to invest a fortune in a player who had spent his entire career in St. Petersburg, I do think 27 would look different to me than 21. You know you’ll have a smaller chance to mold the player, a smaller chance of dramatic improvement down the road, a larger probability (even if nothing is certain) that he’ll decline after a few seasons.

The only reason I’m making the point is that, British media idiots aside, TV coverage over here seems to have given a lot of casual fans the idea that Arshavin is very young. I talked to a guy yesterday who had the impression that he was 19 and was shocked to learn that he was just 10 months younger than Ronaldinho.

I share everyone’s fears about Modric. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Ramos will find the antidote for England-ness.