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.
I have said many a time that Almunia is not the answer!
A club of our status deserves to have a keeper who is international standard and admired from afar by others!
However I really dont think that if Manuel Fawlty was to go up for sale another Premiership club would come in for him let alone ever taxing the Spanish national managers brain!
He will do for now.........but at present he is the lesser of two evils!
Jens for me
I quite miss the little ways with him on a match day at the moment such as his strange warm ups sessions & his attitude towards other players because he doesn't give a shit
Every keeper goes through a bad spell once in there time in football even the good ones such as Seaman he was too old in the end & carried on too late for us & England, is this the same with Lehmann?? I hope not as experience is the best thing for a keeper & we need that at the moment with such a young side & look how many times he has saved us & made history with the penaltys saved from Ginger nuts & Villarreal though i'm not saying that Blondie is a good keeper Mad J is number 1 for me
Almunia is not the answer but neither is Lehmann. Have fans forgot the mistakes Lehmann made at the end of last season v Man City and Fulham as well as the two this season.Almunia has not made a mistake which has cost us points.I would have sold Lehmann in the summer he reminds me of David Seaman at the end of his Arsenal career.He is 38 and not going to get better only worse.The one thing this team lacks is a world class keeper
No, I haven't forgotten those or his injury, nor have I forgotten the games he won us last season and the game against Sparta where he set up a goal and made a world class save
Magic Hat wrote:No, I haven't forgotten those or his injury, nor have I forgotten the games he won us last season and the game against Sparta where he set up a goal and made a world class save
This seems to me a repeat ot the situation 2 years ago. At the start of the season, Jens made some mistakes and he was dropped for Almunia. he then started off well but then became more and more unreliable until he was replaced by Lehmann (I don't think Almunia was injured).
I think there is a need for some serious thought about a new keeper for next season - assuming the plan isn't for Fabianski.
donaldo wrote:Almunia has not made a mistake which has cost us points.
Even if that's right (which I doubt), how about Almunia making a big contribution to losing the European Cup Final by letting in two goals on near post shots? Of course, Lehmann screwed up in getting sent off but Almunia's mistakes certainly have cost is in the past.
The question isn't whether Lehmann is the future or is as good as he was (though to say he's already as bad as the fag end days of Seaman is silly). The question is, what's our best goalkeeping option this season?
And I don't answer "Lehmann" only because I'm also 38, though I am getting a bit sensitive about all these references to 38 being over the hill....
I'd rather have Almunia over Lehmann but thats not saying a lot. Lehmann is a world class shot stopper, but his carry on has cost us too many points to be able to trust him (although I used to enjoy when he hopped around on one foot when someone stepped on his toe) Almunia also has incredibly bad judgment, but at least he doesn't get wound up as easily.
There's rumours that Shay Givens time is coming to an end at Newcastle, and if thats true we'd be crazy not to try and sign him.
Fabrestuta wrote:I'd rather have Almunia over Lehmann but thats not saying a lot. Lehmann is a world class shot stopper, but his carry on has cost us too many points to be able to trust him (although I used to enjoy when he hopped around on one foot when someone stepped on his toe) Almunia also has incredibly bad judgment, but at least he doesn't get wound up as easily.
There's rumours that Shay Givens time is coming to an end at Newcastle, and if thats true we'd be crazy not to try and sign him.
In one of this mornings daily rags we are rumoured to be looking at Robert Green of West Ham, apparently he will sign for us for £6 million, it also says that the only sticking point will be that he insists on first team football
Now, tell me why we should not have lehman back .. I reckon he has earned a reprieve, and I am sure he will not want to muck up again. Having him back will also ease the pressure to immediately find a replacement, and allow us till end of season to shell out (big money, if required) for a truly world-class keeper.
I know I was one of the guys who said lehman should not come back, but I now admit we certainly do need him .. perhaps, this has been AW's ploy too .. to show lehmana the number-1 position is not his forever however much he fucks up.
Robert Fucking Green ?? Are they having a laugh ? I know we are used to buying on the cheap but that move would be ridiculous in my opinion. We cannot buy him on the basis of 2 good performances against us otherwise we'd end up buying nearly every goddamn keeper in the league. I have a feeling that Given is on the rader and his age would be in line with wengers stratedgy on buying keepers plus he no longer looks a certain no.1 under fat sam.
Lehman has won us numerous games we should have lost. Why is it that after screwing up on two occassions, we all want him shot? He is the best & most experienced keeper Arsenal have got & should be given another go. Almunia just doesn't do it for me & I hold him responsible for the two goals against Sunderland. A halve decent keeper should have kept at least one of the goals he conceded.
Last edited by Zimgooner on Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
augie wrote:Robert Fucking Green ?? Are they having a laugh ? I know we are used to buying on the cheap but that move would be ridiculous in my opinion. We cannot buy him on the basis of 2 good performances against us otherwise we'd end up buying nearly every goddamn keeper in the league. I have a feeling that Given is on the rader and his age would be in line with wengers stratedgy on buying keepers plus he no longer looks a certain no.1 under fat sam.
Yes, they are having a laff !!!
if we are looking at him, then this is borne out of desparation .. more reason to let lehman come back and thus give us time to seek out someone appropriate.
Green is a good shot stopper but like most English guys in that position, he is not a goal keeper, never seen him dominate his box, be good in the air or anything else that he needs to play at the highest level.
I like Green but dont think he's the answer. Almunia is good but wont be world class and Chelsea have shown over the past couple of years the difference a truly top class goalie makes, and us for that matter in the invincible season(s).
Wenger said himself he barely ever buys world class players he makes them. We have one with the potential in Fabianski, no point buying another keeper and dropping a promising 22 year old further down the pecking order. Jens unfortunately has had his time with us and as good as he has been, he's now a liability and will not get any better so we need to look forward.
If we were to be in the market for a keeper I cant see any further than Shay Given. But what to do with Almunia?...Sometimes I dont envy the boss..
