Bleacher Report - Articles by Tahira Adams

Arsene Wenger Under Fire: UEFA President Michel Platini Launches Attack

Tahira Adams — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:25:25 -0400

We all know of UEFA President Michel Platini, for better or worse. This man is hailed as one of the greatest football players of his time, and rightly so. He won numerous club honours and individual honours, including the prestigious "World Football Player of the Year" award. His credentials don't lie.

But football is a funny old game. Very rarely do the good times keep rolling smoothly if you're still involved in the game. We have bore witness to such things, and for me the best example was the incredible change of events for Leeds United. Once Premier League Giants, they now reside in League One.

It now looks like the tides are changing for Platini's reputation, as well. Maybe not to the extreme lengths of Leeds, but, I can safely say that many people now look at Platini in a different light.

Over the last two years, Platini has come out with some hugely controversial remarks concerning football, and, moreover...England!

Who could forget Platini's attack on English clubs for "poaching young players," and then he tried to tell the FA who to appoint as their new national coach; worst of all, though, was when he called Manchester United and Chelsea "cheats of the game," "because of their debt." What a coincidence that this comes up after the all-English final in Rome.

This brings me to the topic at hand. Platini has yet again made a set of controversial remarks involving an English club, but to be fair it was really aimed at their French manager, Arsene Wenger.

Platini was quoted saying the following during an interview:

On treating the game like a business

"Me, I only want to talk about football, [Wenger] only cares about business. We must shut up about Wenger and everything."

On Wenger's view of goal-line technology

"I would not mind [technology being used]. It would make me happy that Arsene Wenger never sees it."

On the beautiful game

"The fact that Cluj beat Roma is very interesting, don't you think? This is the beauty of the game, where small teams beat big teams, something Wenger does not like because it is not a business approach."

I first saw this news appear on the Arsenal Young Guns Web site, but did not want to believe it. I wrote this article and kept it to myself until I was sure this was the truth.

Sure enough, early this morning it was plastered all over the Web.

It is appalling that the head of UEFA would say such things, but, then again, Platini has shown many times before that he can take a very ugly approach.

For Arsene Wnger's responce to the story see Marie Ofeire's article

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/60650-arsenal-boss-arsene-wenger-hits-back-at-platini

Who Will Win The Premier League This Season?

Tahira Adams — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:39:53 -0400

After a long absence from Bleacher Report, I finally found the time to present my tenth article. The question I would like to ask all you folks out there is:

Who Will Be The Holders Of The Barclays Premier League This Season?

I know it is far too early to speculate the outcome of the Premier League, but in all honesty it’s good to know what people think about their team’s chances as well as the other competitors in the game. So to tie this article together, which of the "Big Four" stands a greater chance of winning the league?

Will it be Chelsea?

Last season was a hard pill to swallow for all Chelsea players and fans alike. Even though the faith of the Premier League was in the hands of Manchester United last season, it is still fair to say that Chelsea was agonizingly close to winning the league as well.

They also made it to the Carling Cup final and were widely expected to win, but lost shockingly to Tottenham.

They still had a chance to grab some silverware and gain something from the season as they had made it to the Champions League final, only to lose in the cruelest manner during the big penalty shootout against none other than Manchester United.

Faith had truly played against Chelsea last season.

This season however, Chelsea looks to put the pain of the past behind them and start their title challenge with a roar. They appointed the notorious Brazilian coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, as their new manager and bought Portuguese midfielder Deco to bolster the Chelsea team.

So far every thing seems to be falling into plan for Chelsea as they find themselves unbeaten in the league and lying in 3rd place with a game in hand.

Could they carry this form all the way to the end…they certainly have the depth to do so! Or will they suffer are cruel faith like that of last season?

Will it be Liverpool?

Last season Liverpool got off to a bad start and unfortunately never found their footing. They found themselves fighting to keep their Champions League place after facing tough competition from their closest rivals Everton.

Liverpool however had a good run in the Champions League, beating fellow Premier League rivals Arsenal in order to reach the semifinals. Things were looking good for the Merseyside team until a header from Liverpool’s own Jon Arne Rise sent Chelsea to the final.

So the 2007-08 season was not the best season Liverpool had, but a least they grabbed a Champions league spot, finishing 4^th in the league.

Liverpool is keen to make sure that they do not make the same mistakes as last season…and they surely have not! They bought Ireland’s Robbie Keane from Tottenham in the hopes that he will strengthen their attack alongside Fernando Torres. So far things are looking good for Liverpool as they are currently lying 2^nd in the league and are also unbeaten.

But will this season be any different for Liverpool? They showed some intent by defeating Manchester United for the first time under Rafael Benitez and created quite a buzz, but, drew disappointingly with new boys Stoke City at Anfield. Big money signing Robbie Keane is yet to get on the scoreboard and his partnership with Fernando Torres is a bit far from a lethal strike force.

Who knows maybe things will change for Liverpool this season, but, they will have to do a lot more than beating Manchester united in order for people to deem then as genuine title contenders.

Will it be Arsenal?

Ah…so close but yet so far for the Gunners last season.

Arsenal had another frustrating season last season, as they started off with a bang but slowly fizzled out coming down to the end. They ultimately ended up trophy less…again.

After a promising title run, Arsenal found themselves finishing 3^rd in a Champions League playoff spot, getting beaten soundly by bitter rivals Tottenham in the Carling Cup semifinal and suffering an early exit in the FA Cup.

Arsenal had an okay run in the Champions League, beating AC Milan in order to make it to the quarterfinals, but were beaten by Liverpool, who went on to the semifinals.

Arsenal starts this season with the belief that they can indeed win the league if they learn from their mistakes last season. Things are certainly pointing in that direction for Arsenal as they sit 1^st place in the league at the moment, but, one can argue that this was the same situation last season as well!

Though not fully writing off the Gunners, many are quite skeptical about Arsenal taking home the title this season. They have lost experienced players like Gilberto Silva, Alexander Hleb, and Mathieu Flamini—while barely adding to the squad.

Could Arsenal hold out to the end? Or will they fizzle out again? If Arsenal does win it this season (as we gooners do hope) it will be a remarkable achievement for the Gunners!

Will it be Manchester United?

The Red Devils were the most successful of the lot without a doubt. Manchester United experienced a memorable double as they won both the Premier league and the Champions League, at the expense of Chelsea on both occasions. Their domestic poor cup runs were clearly forgotten as they basked in the ambiance of glory and praise.

As defending champions, Manchester United has a lot riding on their shoulders this season. Many expect them to carry their form from last season into this season and quickly shoot up the table…but we all know Manchester United never shoots out of tracks first. This is proved again as they are currently sitting in 16^th place with two games in hand.

Manchester has however strengthened their squad this season bringing in Bulgarian striker Dimitar Bebatov to complement the likes of Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

On paper they do look like the team to beat, but Manchester United has been unfortunately plagued with injuries and find themselves using a lot of their back up players at the moment. For any of the other big four Manchester look quite vulnerable at the moment and Liverpool proved this by pegging three points off the champions.

Will Manchester United defend their title again this season, making it three times in a row? Or is this slow start and growing injury list something to worry about? Things look a bit uncertain to me at the moment.

In Conclusion

Whoever the winner may be, what we do know is that we can look forward to another great season of the Barclays Premier League. Who knows, maybe one of the other teams will shock us and snatch it for themselves! For me, I certainly hope Arsenal can win the title this year!

What is your prediction?

Newcastle's Obafemi Martins Admits That He Would Love To Play For Arsenal FC

Tahira Adams — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:05:14 -0400

The almost certain departure of Emmanuel Adebayor has left Arsenal no choice but to seek a replacement striker. Many names have been mentioned, but the most recent is that of Obafemi Martins.

This is not the first time the Newcastle man has been linked with the Gunners. In fact Obafemi Martins has been on Arsenal's radar for almost two seasons, but he repeatedly dismissed rumors that he was moving away from Newcastle to join the Londoners.

Today we see a different story!

Obafemi Martins seems to have had a change of heart when he openly admitted that he would love to play for the Gunners. He was quoted:

“Arsenal is a big club that everyone wants to play for. I am thrilled with their interest and it will be nice to play for such a team. But, now that I am a Newcastle player, there is nothing much to say. If it is true, both clubs would have to reach an agreement.

Is Arsenal a good club? Yes. Would I love to play there? Probably, if Newcastle are ready to listen to them. But if Newcastle says no then it’ll be no. Because I still have a contract, I expect the club to speak to me when I get back. I am not saying I want to go but, if anything happens, that’s football.”

Obafemi's price tag is reportedly worth around 15 million, a price in which Arsene Wenger would find himself mulling over—but if Adebayor is sold to FC Barcelona, Arsene would have enough to buy two Obafemi Martins!

So once again another player is linked with the Gunners, and hopefully Arsenal will be able to put pen to paper on some of these deals.

Barcelona Crashes Arsenal's Dream With an Official Bid For Andrei Arshavin.

Tahira Adams — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:55:22 -0400

If Arsenal or any other club had dreams of signing Russian ace Andrei Arshavin, it has now been blown to pieces. Russian Club Zenit St Petersburg announced this morning that FC Barcelona has made an official bid for the 27 year old.

Arshavin has made it no secret that he loves and supports Barcelona and his dream would be to play for the Catalan club. He was quoted saying:

"I have supported Barcelona all my life. Barcelona are my dream. I never thought I would have a genuine chance to play for the club. Let's see how the situation unfolds."

The news of Barcelona's bid would seem similar to the sound of scraping nails on a chalkboard, to the ears of Arsenal FC and other hopefuls.

The news of the bid has led many believe that Barcelona are only interested in Arshavin due to his recent success, the amount of big teams that want him and of course his outspoken desire to play at Camp Nou.

However, Barcelona vice president Ferran Soriano insists that they have been tracking Arshivin for a good while. He was quoted:

"We are interested in Arshavin. But it won't be easy to sign him because all teams want him now. Our interest isn't sudden since we have been following him discretely for a few months now. We were under the impression that he played in midfield, but now we have seen that in big games with his national team he plays on the flank. That has dispelled any doubt and this is the profile of a player we would like to sign."

Barcelona have now taken the lead in the Arshavin race and are more than likely to win his signature.

The one question that remains for Arsenal fans are does this mean Barcelona will let up on Emmanuel Adebayor? Barcelona could loosen their grip due to the Arshavin bid and try to buy the Russian alone, or they could simply try to get both Arshavin an Adebayor to join the long list of waiting Barcelona strikers.

Either way this story is expected to unfold in the coming days!

Arsenal’s Transfers: A Step Forward or Just a Balancing Act?

Tahira Adams — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:31:09 -0400

The transfer window has just opened and Arsenal is fully involved, whether it is for the better or for the worst.

Arsene Wenger, who is linked with a lot of the big names and young talents, has just signed Aaron Ramsey and most likely Samir Nasri. The arrival of these two players should prove to enhance the current Arsenal squad and give them a solid run for the Premier league title.

Present stars like Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy have also re-signed with the Gunners, and Arsenal’s wiz kid, Carlos Vela, has returned. They are filled with the faith and belief that their club and manager will achieve success this season.

Things are shaping well for Arsenal, and without doubt more players would be calling the Emirates their new home this season as well.

Unfortunately, football isn’t always that simple! What goes up must come down, and apparently when one football player arrives one must depart as well.

Mathieu Flamini left the Gunners at the beginning of the transfer season, and Alexander Hleb and Emmanuel Adebayor are set to go as well. How accurate are the rumors of their departure? We will never know until some action is taken between the players and the respective clubs involved.

What is certain is that it has definitely given Arsenal a cause for concern.

This now brings me to the topic at hand. Is Arsenal’s transfer movement a step forward or just a balancing act?

The Balancing Act:

When something is empty you refill it! Some of the Gunners have recently become impatient with the club and are threatening to leave. Obviously, Arsene Wenger is left with no choice but to fill the empty void.

Many are saying that Aaron Ramsey and Samir Nasri are the refills to the spaces left by Mathieu Flamini and the possibly departing Alex Hleb. If this is the case, then Arsenal have not improved or added to the squad.

In fact, the squad might be worse off!

To bring in new players would mean that they would have to adapt to the Premier League and Arsenal, and not everyone is a Bacary Sagna! This of course would mean that Arsenal have found themselves back to square one…again we have to shape another team for the future.

The Step Forward:

When one door closes, another opens. While reading this, you might think that Arsenal is a sinking ship that everyone wants to jump off…think again! Even though some players might leave the club, it is not the end of the world. A lot of positives will come out of those transfers.

First of all, the Transfer season is a newborn baby. The fact that Arsenal has already signed one player and is on the verge of signing another is great. This could only mean that they have a head start in the race for more signings.

Secondly, the sale of players who are unwilling to stay is high…for other teams. Arsenal will make the profits in order replace those players and still add to the squad. Not a bad deal.

Now don’t get me wrong, I would love to see all Arsenal’s players stay at the club, but if there is nothing we can do about it and it’s better to look on the bright side—and trust me, the side is very bright.

So is Arsenal's transfers a step forward or just a balancing act? I believe it's a step forward, and we've only seen the beginning.

David Villa Snubs Chelsea, but Is Liverpool Too Tempting?

Tahira Adams — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:44:31 -0400

Spanish superstar David Villa has made his summer destination slightly clearer by saying that he does not want to go to Chelsea and in fact would like to remain in Spain.

Chelsea have made Villa one of their main targets this summer but have encountered stiff competition from Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona, who are also after the striker.

Roman Abramovich, however, would seem to have the edge with his notoriously deep pockets and is ready to make Villa the highest paid player in the Premier League.

But Villa insists that money is not a factor in his footballing career as he was quoted saying:

"Money means nothing. Of course everybody works to earn money, but if you are not happy then material things mean nothing. My only target in life is to get better at my job."

David Villa's advisers would quicker see him move to Real Madrid or Barcelona than move to Chelsea or the Premier League, but with Real Madrid obsessing over Manchester United ace Ronaldo and Barcelona offloading and assessing their squad the move seems slightly over shadowed.

This leaves the Premier League door wide open with Chelsea and Liverpool in close pursuit. The striker however seems much more attracted to Liverpool as he was quoted saying:

“Liverpool and Chelsea are both big clubs with a lot of attraction and Liverpool have a Spanish coach and I also have a lot of friends there.”

He also spoke about Rafael Benitez's previous bid for him:

"When Rafa was coach at Valencia and I was at Zaragoza there was contact about me joining Valencia but I couldn't arrive until the year after he left there."

David Villa's future is far from figured out and with Spain advancing into the knockout round of Euro 2008, Villa's full attention will be with his Spanish squad.

We may have to wait until the end of Euro 2008 to get a decision from the striker.

Money Kidnaps the Beautiful Game of Football

Tahira Adams — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:18:34 -0400

It was not too long ago when we had players who shared the same passionate views as that of the fans of their clubs. They played with heart and fought for the colours they wore on their backs.

"My Oh My" have those times passed!

PASSION AND LOYALTY IS REPLACED WITH MONEY

Passion for the game is no longer what drives our players these days, instead these players prefer to play all for the money. Loyalty, pride, moral values have all been strewn to the wind as our players join the shameless race of who can bank the most cash!

Players have become so obsessed with money that they actually give up salaries of around $800,000 (I would love to work for that amount) for some millions!

Honestly I did not mind this at first, because i just saw it as a career move, but now it's happening on a much larger and alarming stage.

This is just PURE GREED!

I also recently realized that slowly, players are not being judged by their footballing skills but by the price tags that they wear. The higher the price of the player, the better he is. The lower the price of the player, the bigger waste of time he is.

Though a player who has been purchased at a low price shows a "surprising amount of skill," it is suddenly robbery and a case of "how did we let that slip through our fingers?"

Even the clubs have become less like clubs and more akin to businesses! It is hard and very sad to admit it but these are mostly our big clubs like, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, etc!

Everyday they find new ways of making money and plot different schemes in order to make a profit. In the end the only people who suffer are the fans, who are subject to paying ridiculous prices just to see the teams that they love and supported all their lives.

Like I said before... PURE GREED!

Our managers are also being affected by this new craze. Over eight managers have been axed ruthlessly by their clubs this season in the BPL. Don't get me wrong, if you are doing poorly "consistently" then it's time to leave.

But that is simply not the case!

Not too long ago managers were able to get sufficient time in order to organize their teams and develop their clubs. However, these days, managers are being sacked because results are not being shown instantly.

This will never work because if every manager was to show instant results the ultimate result would still be the same... one winner and one loser.

Then what's next? We must be patient.

NOT EVERYBODY IN FOOTBALL IS LIKE THIS, THERE IS STILL HOPE!

At the end of every dark tunnel there is a light, the same can be said for football. There are a notable few who have stood up and brought about these points.

Some classic examples are:

Sir Alex Ferguson who has been at Manchester Untied for 21 years and stands tall on the discipline of his players. "No player is bigger than his club" he has said it many times before.

Arsene Wenger who has served 12 years at Arsenal absolutely refuses to have players walk over his club and run it as well. He is known for saying if a player wants to leave then let him because "I will never give in to greed!"

There are so many more people like this in the world of football, the biggest group of course are the fans! We are the soul behind the game and without us football would be an empty shell.

It's high time that players and owners realise that we care for the game and don't really need them as much as they think.

In fact, they are the ones who need us!

TO CONCLUDE

Money has truly kidnapped our sport. It is not wrong to make money while involved in football, because many people use this game as a way of escaping a hard life or simply see it as a career opportunity.

But what IS truly wrong— making money the driving force in football and all that it stands for!

This is surely not what we have come too?!

Carlo Ancelotti to succeed Avram Grant? Mark Hughes to manage Manchester City?

Tahira Adams — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 05:40:34 -0400

It was breaking news on Sky Sports today that Carlo Ancelotti is the number one contender for the Chelsea job, and may already have agreed to a deal. Reports say that Ancelotti's representatives are currently holding talks with Chelsea, even though the AC Milan manager himself is not present in London.

AC Milan have refused to let Chelsea hold talks with the manager as they have expressed their desire to keep Ancelotti at the club. This, however, may not be possible since Ancelotti seems set to take over at Chelsea!

Mark Hughes is another manager on the move, as Blackburn have reportedly reached an agreement with Manchester City after he fell out of contention for the Chelsea job.

Manchester City are set to unveil Mark Hughes as their manager in the coming weeks, and will pay Blackburn around five million pounds in compensation for the manager.

Without doubt we will see more shocking transfers in the coming weeks as Inter sign Jose and AC Milan and Blackburn might now seek new managers!