As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
some good memories in this article with Keown and Vieira - and some sad thoughts, particularly this one :
'Us ex-Arsenal players question why he is at City and not Arsenal. I have found out why. He was a falling star and City rescued him, offered him direction. He does not forget. He is not an Arsenal man at City. He is a City man and they are lucky to have him
Paddy on Management :
He has decided he wants to be a manager, one day – 'I am 200 per cent sure,' he says. He is also aware that a black manager being successful would be significant. 'I would be naive if I didn’t recognise that, but I will only leave here if it is the right choice. It is important that I succeed; I want to be a great manager.' Like everything else at City, he seems to be on a journey.
maybe he will one day return to us from the dark side, and bring what they are doing at City with him ?
maybe paddy has a desire to do what wenger couldn't bring the CL to N5
there is another quote in there " if i leave this club it will be with their blessing"....to me that means only two places - The Arsenal or Serie A (where he failed 1st time, and 2nd time won FOUR Scudetti).
The idea of the circular dressing room was (yes I knowwwww) brought into football by Wenger.....at least that's what was said by Pravda.com when the bowl was built.....
Seems like such an obvious but very beneficial idea...
City come in for him and give him a year or two's playing time then say we're gonna put our trust in you to run things within the youth setup, put your own stamp on things, take control, be an ambassador for the club and spearhead this fantastic project to redevelop our training complex. Or you can come and work for Arsene. Where you'll do exactly as you're told and put out the cones.
If you've got any integrity and ambition there's surely only one choice.
Dennis Bergkamp is in my opinion the best footballer ever to play for The Arsenal and I hope that somewhere down the line he comes back to work for the club in some capacity, BUT PV4 is the one ex-player above all the rest that I would want back in a managerial/coaching/director of football role. I would have more trust in him to make the hard decisions and not allow his history with wenker to influence him because above all else he is a winner I know that it is a point that I continually make, but as a club we lack a really steel core that every successful team and club needs regardless of how much talent they have
I just actually wrote to a friend saying how if Ancelotti was not next manager I think it would be interesting to see Vieira as boss with Bergkamp as Head Coach/Assistant Manager.
Neither would shy away from tough decisions.
QuartzGooner wrote:I just actually wrote to a friend saying how if Ancelotti was not next manager I think it would be interesting to see Vieira as boss with Bergkamp as Head Coach/Assistant Manager.
Neither would shy away from tough decisions.
i thought the same last night when i posted this - i had no idea paddy had moved up to Reserve/Elite team manager. I think paddy is a very smart cookie, and a couple of years in that role and he'll be ready to step up - i don't see him as biding his time as assistant. Dennis as we know suffers from anxiety and doesn't want a manager position.
they are very much our 'dream team' i think - much more so than TH14. i wouldn't sniff at MVB & DB though either.
augie wrote:Dennis Bergkamp is in my opinion the best footballer ever to play for The Arsenal and I hope that somewhere down the line he comes back to work for the club in some capacity, BUT PV4 is the one ex-player above all the rest that I would want back in a managerial/coaching/director of football role. I would have more trust in him to make the hard decisions and not allow his history with wenker to influence him because above all else he is a winner I know that it is a point that I continually make, but as a club we lack a really steel core that every successful team and club needs regardless of how much talent they have
I was recently watching the 2001/02 season dvd, and when I saw PV4 on the sidelines due to suspension he just looked like a manager. The way he was watching the game and making observation he came across as the boss. Whilst I was extremely disappointed that he didn't come back here, working at city with Mancini, Pellegrini, working with title winning managers can only be a good thing learning away from Wenger as he will not learn anything new from him. Deep down he is still an Arsenal man (watch the Vieira/ Keane programme), captain of the Invincibles and like David O'Leary,and George Graham, no matter how much he denies or criticises Arsenal he will come back home.
I can actually see Bergkamp going to Spuds before us as part of a new management team, then what will we do with his statue?
Nos89 wrote:
I can actually see Bergkamp going to Spuds before us as part of a new management team, then what will we do with his statue?
FDB and Dennis were offered it in the Summer - although both were Boyhood spurs/hoddle fans they turned it down due to money issues. spuds wouldn't pony up enough money to make CL qualification realistic.
my hunch is that if FDB had taken the job, he would have taken Philip Cocu from PSV as assistant. Cocu has already taken one 'step back ' to step up a level - mark my words, Cocu will manage at the very top one day, Holland included.
QuartzGooner wrote:The new City complex looks incredible.
But over time such places inevitably get surpassed as the next club matches and then improves on what exists.
What hurts more is that Vieira is there and not with us.
Hate it.
Everywhere you look there's former Arsenal captains playing key roles at our rival clubs: Vieira at Citeh, Fabregas at Chavs and RVP at United.
Would be very interested to see Vieira as a manager. Like others it pains me to see him at Citeh. Although despite the money spent and press coverage their academy has still done fuck all.
Seems like such a calculated hard bastard. Great quality as a manager.
northbank123 wrote:Would be very interested to see Vieira as a manager. Like others it pains me to see him at Citeh. Although despite the money spent and press coverage their academy has still done fuck all.
Seems like such a calculated hard bastard. Great quality as a manager.
Don't think they will ever rely on their academy.
Why waste time on a potential when you can get someone established for £30m? Same goes for Chelsea these days.
Fuck I miss Vieira. I remember a few years back watching the Invincibles' season highlights DVD. It was weird watching for a number of reasons - not least seeing so much of Highbury in the highlights - but the one thing I found so compelling was Vieira. I just honestly never realised how good he was at the time, I knew he was a great player but looking back he was just immense. Although the game has changed and the focus is far more on midfield playmakers or dynamos a la Silva, Hazard etc etc, Vieira just used to run the midfield. Put him up against anyway, pair him with Remi Garde or Gilles Grimandi, he'd run the show.
You would just kill to have him around in any capacity. All this Steve Bould hardman drilling the players into shape nonsense, all this Henry imparting his wisdom and experience crap, just imagine the immense respect Vieira would demand from any player on the planet.
Him and Bergkamp are the two most media-shy of the high profile members of the Invincibles and it's no surprise that they are the ones primed for potentially fantastic careers in management whilst the likes of Henry and Keown toy with the idea then end up bleating shit on MOTD.
yow-zah!
I know that it is a point that I continually make, but as a club we lack a really steel core that every successful team and club needs regardless of how much talent they have
