[shanghai_nobody]

Last Updated: Tuesday, 08 July 2008, 17:00
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Wenger steps down amidst board problems


Wenger leaves the Emirates in the lurch

Arsene Wenger has stepped down as Arsenal manager amidst growing problems on the Arsenal board, the London club have long been subject to transfer rumours ever since David Dein left the club. Wenger’s future was always in doubt once his closest ally Dein left the club, the former director was the man behind bringing the unknown Wenger to the club and heavily involved in transfers and contract negotiations.

Dein left in August 2007 selling his 9,072 shares to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov for £75million and in the process sparked rumours of a possible takeover. American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke also moved for a possible takeover around the same time, the future of Arsenal has been shaky since and it seems Wenger has grown tired of the situation.

‘I have been at Arsenal for a very long time and I am proud of the work I have done at the club. I think it is time for me to step down and take a back seat as a fan of the club and explore other avenues in football.’ Wenger said in a statement read to the press today, many people expect Le Prof to head to Spain or take up the job as manager of his national side France. When these questions were put to him Wenger was cagey in his response.

‘I don’t see myself heading into international management just yet, I enjoy the day to day running of a football club. I have no offers on the table as of yet regarding a new club but it could be anywhere, who knows?’

Real Madrid have been long chasing the French manager, some pundits have claimed Wenger prefers to build a club and the appeal of Madrid will be lost to him. The former Arsenal manager has managed in Japan previously so it could be anywhere for Le Prof.

Peter Hill-Wood the Arsenal Chairman came out to praise his departing manager ‘Arsene has overseen the most successful stint in this clubs history. He is already a legend of the club and the fans and staff including myself will miss him. All good things have to come to an end and sadly that is today, we wish him all the best in his future endeavours and welcome him back as a true legend at the Emirates any time he wishes.’

The Gunners Chairman was flooded with questions regarding a new manager but he swiftly sidestepped the issue for today ‘I think it would be rather tasteless to start talking about a new manager when Arsene hasn’t even cleared out his office.’

Assistant team manager and former Arsenal player under Wenger Mark Morrison took the team for their training session today, the Scotsman was hounded by press outside the clubs training ground ‘It was a light training session obviously not all the lads were focussed today because of what has happened. I plan to have the lads fit and ready for any new manager coming in that is my job, if I stay beyond that I don’t know.’

Morrison is expected to take charge of the team as they head into their pre-season friendlies and he says it will be business as usual ‘We will give everyone a chance, we want everyone to be fit and we will play the same attacking football that Arsene loved because that is what this team is built for.’

Arsene Wenger
Under Arsene the Gunners have claimed three league titles and a string of other trophies making it the most successful spell in the clubs history during his twelve year reign. Arguably the highlight of his career was achieving the double in the 2001-02 season when Arsenal claimed the league and FA Cup, while his lowest point would have been narrowly missing out on the Champions League trophy when Barcelona defeated Arsenal in the 2005-06 final.

Premier League: 1997-98, 2001-02, 2003-04
FA Cup: 1997-98, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05
Charity Shield: 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004

This post has been edited by shanghai_nobody: 28 May 2009 - 04:50 AM

[shan0811]

Good start mate looking forward for more..

[The Roll]

Good start mate. Does this mean the end for your Rangers story? If so,

[KD.]

Yeah I enjoyed his rangers story

[shanghai_nobody]

The Roll, on May 19 2009, 03:57 PM, said:

Good start mate. Does this mean the end for your Rangers story? If so,

KrisDwyer, on May 19 2009, 05:58 PM, said:

Yeah I enjoyed his rangers story

It won't be the end of the Rangers story, I have a few more updates for that which I might put up tonight.

[shanghai_nobody]

Last Updated: Thursday, 10 July 2008, 17:00
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Kroenke welcomed onto Arsenal board

American sports tycoon Kroenke becomes Arsenal director

Just days after the departure of Arsene Wenger American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke has been welcomed into the board of directors at Arsenal. The Arsenal board have been long staving off any attempts of a takeover from two parties, Stan Kroenke has been snapping up shares bringing him up to 20.5% at a cost of £42.5million while Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov holds 24% of the club through his company Red & White Holdings.

Peter Hill-Wood seems to have let in the lesser of two evils, David Dein was expected to come back to the club if a takeover was reached but with relations between the two strained it seems Hill-Wood will not allow that to happen. Arsenal already have close ties to Kroenke through an affiliation with the Colorado Rapids a club Kroenke purchased back in 2004. Due to this Arsenal have seen their profile rise in America a lucrative market all major British teams are trying to crack.

‘We are delighted to welcome Stan to the board of Arsenal. He brings with him a wealth of experience through his direct involvement in sports clubs in the US and we expect to benefit from his commercial insights and knowledge. Mr Kroenke fully supports the approach the board has taken in setting the direction of the club.’ Was the official statement released on the Arsenal site today.

With the arrival of Ivan Gazidis as the new Chief Executive it seems it is a time of great change at Arsenal with a new manager set to take up the vacant position left behind by Arsene Wenger. Gazidis was the former deputy commissioner of the MLS soccer league, Kroenke is thought to have played a part in sealing his move to Arsenal.

The South African born Gazidis is expected to fulfil many of the jobs Dein once controlled, the Arsenal board seem to be ensuring the club is able to run without Usmanov and Dein. The board also announced a lockdown in the sale of shares, no one on the board will sell any shares until at least September 2009 ultimately freezing out any move by Usmanov.

With loan repayments of £2million a month it seems the American billionaire has joined the board at the right time, along with him and Gazidis Arsenal are set to push forward in an attempt to become one of the world’s biggest football brands.

‘I am extremely pleased to be part of the Arsenal board, I fully back the club in how they approach the game. We won’t make any huge multi-million pound signings but instead continue to be clever in today’s market and turn a profit while being successful.’ Kroenke briefly stated today, as of yet the board have still refused to talk about any new manager who may join the new look Arsenal.

This post has been edited by shanghai_nobody: 28 May 2009 - 04:49 AM

[shanghai_nobody]

Last Updated: Sunday, 13 July 2008, 17:00
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Morrison could be made permanent


Gazidis may tempt Morrison with permanent contract

Former Arsenal player Mark Morrison could make his caretaker position at Arsenal permanent, the Scotland international has been pushed into position of manager after the departure of his mentor Wenger. It is thought that the Frenchman’s protégé has a certain amount of influence at the club and that was seen yesterday after John Fleck was spotted at the Emirates on the day of Morrison’s birthday.

Morrison is thought to be a huge admirer of the sixteen year old Rangers player, Fleck has long been the most promising talent at the Glasgow side and Arsenal look set to swoop. Despite not being the manager such is his influence the board are willing to back him in a proposed £2million bid for the youngster.

Although nothing official has been released it is thought the board are keen to keep stability within the squad during a time of change off the pitch. Worries have grown players like Cesc Fabregas may look for a transfer now due to the departure of Wenger but well liked Morrison could keep the team together.

With pre-season friendlies fast approaching if Morrison can prove his worth during the upcoming matches then the board may offer him a permanent deal. If not it is expected Morrison will leave the club to join up with Wenger if he returns to football management in the near future.

When asked about this Morrison said ‘I haven’t been approached by the board about a permanent deal or the chance of securing one if I do well in the pre-season. My only concern is making sure that the lads are ready for the new season, if I was offered a deal I would be insane to turn it down but that is not an issue at the moment.’

This post has been edited by shanghai_nobody: 28 May 2009 - 04:48 AM

[Fola]

Haven't you had about five stories with Arsenal now, none have seemed to have lasted?

I hope this one does mate!

Good start however!

[shanghai_nobody]

Fola, on May 21 2009, 08:12 PM, said:

Haven't you had about five stories with Arsenal now, none have seemed to have lasted?

I hope this one does mate!

Good start however!

Had one story with Arsenal in FM08 which I finished, think I've had one with them in 09 which I never finished. Almost finished this season so I assume it will continue.

[shanghai_nobody]

Mark Cook - Wednesday 20th July 2008
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Thirteen reasons to hire Morrison as manager

Adebayor was in stunning form against par-time side Boreham wood bagging four goals

There were thirteen reasons on display today for the appointment of Mark Morrison as manager, the caretaker manager led his team out for their first pre-season friendly. Semi-professional side Boreham Wood were treated with respect as Morrison fielded a strong starting line up including new signings Samir Nasri and Andrei Arshavin.

Meadow Park was packed to full capacity, the Boreham Wood fans expected defeat so an entertaining game would suffice and they got just that. It took just one minute and three seconds for Arsenal to open the scoring through Togo captain Emmanuel Adebayor. Arshavin showed his dead ball skills by planting a corner straight onto the head of Adebayor who lingered at the near post, from point blank range Adebayor had the net at his mercy and nodded home.

Just minutes later Arshavin set up another goal, after a corner was cleared Arsenal kept the pressure on as they would do for the whole ninety minutes. Clichy found Arshavin lingering at the back of the box and picked up him, the Russian played a delightful chipped ball straight onto Van Persie on the line who nodded home with ease.

The next major highlight of the match was not such a sweet one as William Gallas was given a straight red card twenty-two minutes in. Gallas attempted to win a loose ball in the Boreham box, Thomas latched onto the ball and Gallas lunged in with a terrible two footed tackle to try and gain possession. The referee had no other option but to send him off, despite Gallas going off Morrison did not bring on another defender instead option for a three man defence with Denilson tracking back to provide cover if needed.

Minutes later Arsenal showed attack was the best form of defence in this case when they scored again just minutes after Gallas was dismissed. A poor clearance from the opposition goalkeeper fell straight to the feet of Denilson who swiftly released Van Persie, the Dutch striker looked to size up a shot but sent Adebayor through with a cheeky through ball. Clear through on goal the Togolese striker drove the ball low into the corner to nab his second goal of the match just twenty-five minutes in.

Just after the half hour mark and route one football gifted Adebayor a hat-trick, Denilson lofted a freekick from the halfway line towards the Togolese striker who waited at the edge of the box. Adebayor waited for the ball to drop before lashing in a low hard volley leaving Vincent no chance of saving.

Minutes later Vincent was at fault for the fifth goal, Boreham Wood had finally constructed some form of attack only for Toure to break it down. The ball drifted to Arshavin who launched the ball clear, Vincent looked to be coming out to collect but was beaten by Van Persie who used his first touch to round the keeper, Van Persie jogged his way into the box before slipping the ball into an empty net.

As half-time approached Arsenal did not let up and were relentless in there hunt for more goals and a quickfire double would follow before the break. It was Van Persie’s turn to nab a hat-trick, Arshavin ran at the Boreham defence before cutting the ball out to Sagna on the right who floated in a cross, Van Persie was unmarked in the six yard box and latched onto the ball with a powerful header that guided the ball straight into the net.

Arshavin turned provider once again with a corner, Adebayor once again waited at the near post the Russian playmaker floated the ball in and Adebayor peeled off his marker to guide the ball straight into the net with a glancing header.

HT Boreham Wood 0 – 7 Arsenal

With the damage done in the first half Morrison brought on a host of young Arsenal starlets to complete the job. It took the youngsters a while to warm up but with twenty-minutes to go they began a relentless barrage on the Boreham goal banging in a further six goals before the end of the match.

Wilshere started off the move before slipping the ball into Bendtner, the Dane sought out Sunu with a nice through ball. The young striker took the ball in his stride and with a nice touch had rounded the keeper and slotted the ball home. Two minutes later and Wilshere had the ball in the net, Eboue launched a long throw in and even with three players around him Wilshere managed to take the ball down before turning and firing in a low drive straight into the net.

Lansbury finally got his goal with just over ten minutes on the clock, Lansbury had been bombing forward constantly since his inclusion and had a shot cleared off the line. Theo Walcott set up the young midfielder with a low driven cross, Lansbury took a swipe at the ball sending it straight into the goal from six yards out. Minutes later and Lansbury scored again Eboue launched a cross into the box and a poor clearance made it straight to Lansbury who poked it home with a stab of his foot.

Eboue got in on the goalscoring just five minutes from time, Silvestre drifted in a deep cross to the back where Walcott waited. Walcott dragged the ball back and Eboue curled in a low drive to bag the twelfth goal of the game. Wilshere continued a strong attacking performance when he surged on with only seconds left, Wilshere cut the ball out to the left wing where Silvestre awaited to flight in a ball to the back post, Lansbury threw himself forward getting a touch on the ball and turning it home to bag his hat-trick.

Boreham Wood: Vincent (Marsh ’69), Thomas, Carter (Bell ’43), Webb, Robinson, Bloomfield (Hume ’45), Clare (Clark ’45), Graham (Ward ’48), Dickinson, Corcoran (Smith ‘2), Black (Hemmings ’45)

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna (Eboue ’45), Clichy (Silvestre ’65), Toure (Djourou ’65), Gallas, Arshavin (Walcott ’45), Nasri (Wilshere ’45), Ramsey (Lansbury ’45), Denilson (Song ’45), Adebayor (Sunu ’65), Van Persie (Bendtner ’45)
Subs Not Used: Carlos Vela, Rhys Murphy, Mark Randall
Red Card: Gallas
Goals: Adebayor (‘2, ’26, ’32, ’43), Van Persie (‘7, ’34, ’40), Sunu (’69), Wilshere (’71), Lansbury (’80, ’82, ‘90+1), Eboue (’86)

Att. 4,460 (Meadow Park)
Ref. G.Hegley
BBC Man of the Match Arsenals Emmanuel Adebayor

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[shanghai_nobody]

Tried a new layout any feedback on it would be great, got a bit bored of the BBC one.

[Poolie Exile]

Nowt wrong with this so far Mark, layouts in both ways look good.

Perhaps you could switch between the two and possibly think of more alternatives. I know what you are capable of, so KUTGW bud :thup:

[KD.]

Great stuff. Keep churning out the quality! =D

[shanghai_nobody]

Mark Cook - Sunday 20th July 2008

Fleck in surprise move to Arsenal

John Fleck completed a £2million switch to the Emirates today

Mark Morrison returned to the Emirates with a thirteen-nil mauling of part-time side Boreham Wood under his wing but the Scotsman did not stop to celebrate. Instead Morrison has added fuel to the fire he will soon move into his former mentor’s office as permanent manager by bringing in a new face to the Arsenal ranks.

Despite having no permanent manager Arsenal have made their first move into the transfer market snapping up Scottish starlet John Fleck from Rangers in a deal worth £2million to the cash strapped Glasgow side. Considering Morrison was seen as a stop gap between Wenger and a big name replacement understandably journalists and fans alike have been shocked and confused as the board backed the former player in this move.

Fleck has spent the last week in London training with the Arsenal first team, due to his tender age of just sixteen it is thought the club were keen to make sure that he would settle in the area ‘I’m loving it, I came down with my dad and I’ve loved the experience and I’m happy it is permanent. The facilities are out of this world and London is a really exciting city.’

The Scottish striker has been Rangers brightest talent to come out of Murray Park in recent years, the nephew of former Rangers and Chelsea striker Robert Fleck found it difficult to leave the club he supported as a boy and still does ‘I was signed when I was thirteen and I love Rangers so of course it was difficult, the club needed the money and I thought I could at least help them by moving but it hasn’t been easy. One of the good points is I used to watch Mark [Morrison] as a fan so I came because of him. I would only leave Rangers for a huge club and I have done that by moving to Arsenal.’

Mark Morrison was dogged by questions regarding his position as ‘caretaker’ manager but the Scotsman stayed on topic discussing the clubs new £2million pound signing ‘Fleck is a natural talent, he loves to get forward and cause all sorts of problems and that is what the fans want to see. He is still young and might take a few years to bloom into his potential but it will be worth the wait.’

Robin Van Persie will play a part in getting that potential as he has been given the challenge of mentoring Fleck, the Dutch striker seemed eager about his new role ‘It is always exciting to work with young players, during training he showed skill and creativity well beyond his years. The manager feels we are similar and I could help him and I hope I do.’

Young Fleck will have a birthday present to remember when he turns seventeen on the 24th of August as a three year deal worth £4,000 a week with an added £4,000 per each first team appearance is waiting for his signature.

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This post has been edited by shanghai_nobody: 24 May 2009 - 04:50 PM

[The Rhys Johnson]

John Fleck is immense, brilliant signing there.

Keep it up man.

[craguuscool]

I don't agree with the signing of John Fleck, for some reason because he scored a penalty everyone went crazy about him, I don't rate him at all.

Anyway, good start and KIU.

[shanghai_nobody]

Mark Cook - Wednesday 23rd July 2008

Enyeama signs but no contract for Morrison yet

Vincent Enyeama turned down Chelsea to challenge Almunia at the Emirates

Vincent Enyeama turned down the chance to sign for Chelsea instead opting for London rivals Arsenal today, the Nigerian goalkeeper is highly regarded around Europe and with a lack of cover for keepers at the Emirates, the Nigerian is expected to provide some tough competition for a first team place ousting Polish keeper Fabianski as second choice.

‘I came to Arsenal because I have a real chance of first team football here and winning things, I did not want to go to Chelsea and sit on the bench I want to play.’ Enyeama said, the twenty-five year old international keeper penned a four year deal pocketing himself a tidy £10,000 a week.

Despite the small fee of £220,000 being paid to his former side Hapoel Tel Aviv it is the second time the Arsenal board have backed their caretaker boss in the transfer market so far this season, the Arsenal hierarchy have refused to name Morrison as the new boss yet but chief executive Ivan Gazidis did say this ‘Arsene [Wenger] identified we were lacking the goalkeeping department, Arsene trusted Mark’s judgement in past signings which have turned out to be brilliant ones for the club so we followed his advice and signed Vincent, we are still no closer to a manager yet.’

Morrison dodged questions about the possibility of becoming permanent boss at the Emirates and chose to talk about his new signing today ‘Vincent is going to bring some real competition to the first choice keeper which we have lacked since Jens [Lehmann] left and Manuel [Almunia] was pushing him all the time. A club as big as Arsenal should have two players fighting for every position and really causing the manager some selection problems and we have that now.’

Enyeama is keen to make the number one jersey his something he would not have managed at Stamford Bridge with Petr Cech the firm number one ‘I want to get training straight away, Arsenal are a huge club and I want to be playing in as many matches as possible. If I impress the manager in training and get my chance on the pitch I will take it and make myself the clubs number one.’

Once again today was not about the player but the caretaker, it seems the reluctance from the Arsenal board is beginning to anger sections of fans and players alike. Morrison is well liked within the club and many see him as the natural successor to Wenger, Cesc Fabregas was even dragged into the debate today and the clubs captain spoke out in favour of Morrison to the Spanish media today ‘Everyone at the club likes him, he helped develop the ethos that surrounds the club and makes us special. I would happily call him the boss.’

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[shanghai_nobody]

Page last updated: Wednesday, 23 July 2008, 17:00 UK
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BEC 0 - 3 Arsenal
By David McIntyre

van Persie congratulates Arshavin on his goal

Arsenal travelled all the way to Thailand to take on BEC in a friendly, Mark Morrison was taking charge for his second match and he would need another win if he was going to have any chance of claiming the place of manager for himself.

The first half turned out to be a hard slog for Arsenal, with a long flight to Thailand it seemed to have taken its toll on the players as they struggled to get in touch with the match. With a string of changes at half-time Arsenal finally took control of the game and the goals soon followed.

Denilson provided a wonder goal to break the deadlock, the midfielder stole the ball in midfield before breaking forward. With a glance towards goal he smashed in a stunning thirty yard strike that powered straight into the top corner.

With thirty minutes to go Arsenal sprung again, Arshavin seen his initial low driven cross untouched and to the feet of Walcott on the right wing. The nippy winger floated a high ball back into the box and it was Arshavin who waited to pounce with a close range header to double his sides lead.

Little more than ten minutes were left on the clock when Adebayor popped up to round off the scoring, John Fleck surged down the left wing and powered in a deep cross Eboue managed to latch on with a powerful diving header that the keeper could only parry to the feet of Adebayor who was left with a simple tap in to finish off the scoring.

Arsenal caretaker manager Mark Morrison
‘The boys were a bit jet lagged heading into this match, despite the jet lag we went into the match and done exactly what was expected of us today. We lacked our usual flare and pace but that is down to tiredness.’

BEC: Suwannachote (Chaipan ’90), Paphunga, Jarernsuk, Inkul (Sangsri ’82), Yannick, Akassou (Sornchaiya ’74), M.Sangthong (Sritharo ’90), N.Sangthong (Phrawong ’82), Wichaidit (Sangsri ’82), Thong-in (Tongsew ’74), Kamdem (Suwannachote ’74)

Arsenal: Almunia (Enyeama ’45), Sagna (Eboue ’63), Clichy (Silvestre ’63), Gallas (Toure ’63), Djourou (Song ’63), Walcott (Lansbury ’63), Nasri (Fleck ’45), Ramsey, Denilson (Wilshere ’63), Bendtner (Adebayor ’45), Van Persie (Arshavin ’45)
Subs Not Used: Sunu, Murphy
Booked: Sagna, Gallas

Goals: Denilson ’56, Arshavin ’62, Adebayor ‘81

Att. 4,967 (Sasana Stadium)

Ref. A.Mirzaev

BBC Man of the Match Arsenals Denilson

This post has been edited by shanghai_nobody: 28 May 2009 - 04:47 AM

[shanghai_nobody]

Mark Cook - Friday 25th July 2008

Morrison jets back to permanent deal

Morrison was named as Wenger's replacement early this morning

Mark Morrison returned from a long tiring flight back to London from Thailand and into contract talks with the Arsenal board late into the night. Peter Hill-Wood and the rest of the board seemed to have finally caught up with the general opinion of players and fans alike that Morrison is the man to continue to work of Arsene Wenger.

Morrison a former player was groomed for the position of manager but no one had expected him to take up the role so soon not even Morrison himself, the Arsenal board seemed to have waited patiently accessing how Morrison ran the club as caretaker manager and the squad harmony and the fact none of the clubs big stars such as Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie or Emmanuel Adebayor demanded a move proved he was the man for the job.

The thirty-five year old signed a deal worth a staggering £58,000 a week but the contract is only for a year showing a slight hesitation from the board to commit ‘I want Mark to be a success, in a year’s time I want to be battering down his door to offer him a new deal. Sadly all I can offer is a year at the moment I have to safeguard the club first.’ Peter Hill-Wood said today, in safeguard he means if Morrison flops he can swiftly sack the manager without paying out a huge compensation.

Cesc Fabregas spoke out regarding the decision of the board ‘Amongst the players he was our choice, we were getting a little worried they had not offered him a deal yet but finally they have. We are looking forward to playing for him and doing well so he can remain here as manager for a long time to come.’

Morrison was hounded by press and the tired looking manager gave a brief press conference ‘I really wanted the job I love this club and I know what it means to be the manager of Arsenal, the fans are hungry for silverware and I want to give them something to celebrate. We have a great squad and with some additions we can challenge on several fronts this year.’

The Scotsman was asked if he would continue the Wenger ethos of living within the clubs means and bringing up youth instead of splashing on big names ‘Of course I agreed with the whole plan for the club that is why I worked here, I think we will have to spend bigger to bring in some experienced talent to take the club forward but I won’t go beyond our means. I want Arsenal to be a profitable and successful club which isn’t easy to do Arsene just made it look so but I will do my best.’

The new Gunners boss has been handed a hefty warchest by the Arsenal board who have already backed him in the signings of John Fleck and Vincent Enyeama. Morrison has £20million at disposal but he is in no rush to spend it ‘We got talent at a low cost because we took our time with signings, we will continue to do that so I don’t have any targets at the moment.’

One thing that seems certain is no players will be leaving the club in the near future ‘None of our big names are leaving I can promise that. As for some fringe players I will give them all a chance to prove they have what it takes to wear the Arsenal jersey.’

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[KD.]

Loving your vocabulary in this.

KUTGW!