Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
Do you think Emmanuel Adebayor realises that he may have brought all this upon himself? It always amazes me when footballers stand in front of the cameras and tell the world that their manager must start spending money on better players. They never seem to comprehend, even for a moment, that they may be the ones to make room for all these new signings.
The Togolese striker responded to the Champions League semi-final defeat by saying, "I think we have taken a step backwards...we need some players." Quite right. How about a big centre-forward who understands the offside law? If the headlines in the UK press this week are anything to go by, that's what Arsene Wenger is thinking.
Adebayor would have been better advised to keep his mouth tightly shut after a most underwhelming season at The Emirates. Far from being the consistent battering ram that he apparently thinks he is, he has, at times, been anonymous and unwieldy. His work-rate seems to have dropped in tandem with his strike-rate and the Arsenal fans have long since run out of patience with him. They're still angry about the way he behaved last summer. Adebayor insisted that he never had any intention of signing for AC Milan last year, but only after putting pen to paper on a new, big-money contract that now seems to have sapped his desire. Of course, in the weeks of speculation that preceded his pay-rise he stayed quiet.
Adebayor is only a poor man's Didier Drogba, albeit one who finds it rather easier to stay on his feet. He doesn't have Drogba's dynamism or his ability to bring his team-mates into the game. He is constantly caught offside, sometimes by yards and last season was only the first of his career that had brought more than 10 league goals. With the potential of Nicklas Bendtner, the guile of Robin van Persie and the patched-up talents of Eduardo, Arsenal won't be destroyed by his departure, especially if they can prise GBP25m out of a foolish club and spend it on someone more enthusiastic.
It's all something of a shame. Adebayor was a textbook Wenger signing. No-one in England had really heard of him before his arrival in North London back in early 2006 and his goalscoring record at Monaco was nothing to show off about. He was physically strong, but needed guidance and coaching. Wenger, as he has with so many others in the past, broke him in like a wild horse. He scored just 12 times in 44 appearances in his first full season, but the departure of Thierry Henry gave him the chance to shine and 30 goals followed in the next campaign.
Effective lone strikers are still quite hard to find. Adebayor had all the innate ability to be one of the best, but he needs confidence, patience and quality coaching. With the right mentality, he could have prospered at a club like Arsenal but without that support network, he could soon be just another money-motivated ex-star wandering the Turkish and Russian leagues sniffing out signing-on fees. Arsenal will certainly survive losing Adebayor, but can Adebayor survive losing Arsenal?
The Togolese striker responded to the Champions League semi-final defeat by saying, "I think we have taken a step backwards...we need some players." Quite right. How about a big centre-forward who understands the offside law? If the headlines in the UK press this week are anything to go by, that's what Arsene Wenger is thinking.
Adebayor would have been better advised to keep his mouth tightly shut after a most underwhelming season at The Emirates. Far from being the consistent battering ram that he apparently thinks he is, he has, at times, been anonymous and unwieldy. His work-rate seems to have dropped in tandem with his strike-rate and the Arsenal fans have long since run out of patience with him. They're still angry about the way he behaved last summer. Adebayor insisted that he never had any intention of signing for AC Milan last year, but only after putting pen to paper on a new, big-money contract that now seems to have sapped his desire. Of course, in the weeks of speculation that preceded his pay-rise he stayed quiet.
Adebayor is only a poor man's Didier Drogba, albeit one who finds it rather easier to stay on his feet. He doesn't have Drogba's dynamism or his ability to bring his team-mates into the game. He is constantly caught offside, sometimes by yards and last season was only the first of his career that had brought more than 10 league goals. With the potential of Nicklas Bendtner, the guile of Robin van Persie and the patched-up talents of Eduardo, Arsenal won't be destroyed by his departure, especially if they can prise GBP25m out of a foolish club and spend it on someone more enthusiastic.
It's all something of a shame. Adebayor was a textbook Wenger signing. No-one in England had really heard of him before his arrival in North London back in early 2006 and his goalscoring record at Monaco was nothing to show off about. He was physically strong, but needed guidance and coaching. Wenger, as he has with so many others in the past, broke him in like a wild horse. He scored just 12 times in 44 appearances in his first full season, but the departure of Thierry Henry gave him the chance to shine and 30 goals followed in the next campaign.
Effective lone strikers are still quite hard to find. Adebayor had all the innate ability to be one of the best, but he needs confidence, patience and quality coaching. With the right mentality, he could have prospered at a club like Arsenal but without that support network, he could soon be just another money-motivated ex-star wandering the Turkish and Russian leagues sniffing out signing-on fees. Arsenal will certainly survive losing Adebayor, but can Adebayor survive losing Arsenal?
