A new era repeats itself

In summer of 1996 there was a fumbling french boy in the AC Milan football camp by the name of Patrick Vieira. He never really had much success on the football pitch. Then one day things changed. A fellow countryman by the name of Arsène Wenger had become the new coach of Arsenal and was looking for new recruitments. He saw somethin in this twenty year old boy that AC Milan coaches obviously had missed. He bought him for a measly three million pounds and brought him to England. A new era had begun. Things were difficult at the start; ask every foreign import... they will no doubt admit it. But as time passed by the little boy matured into a midfield maestro. He became a phenom, a cultured attacker, a bossy midfielder and a person whose influence permeated throughout all major European stadia. The footballing world rarely sees a player of such quality. No wonder Real Madrid have been chasing him for the past three seasons. For nine whole years this master ran the midfield of Arsenal.

But it was time to move. Perhaps the reason for his leaving was the fact that Arsenal had achieved very little in the European circuit. He probably wanted that one cup that had been eluding him throughout his life – The Champions Trophy. Maybe he was right; his quality was way too much for a club like Arsenal. He will no doubt be successful in Turin. But one thing is clear : his presence will be missed by everyone, the neutrals and the oppostion. We will defintely miss all the high tension meetings with Roy Keane. Best of luck Patrick Vieira... Au revior!

There is one thing we can definetely do: that is, place oodles of faith in Arsène Wenger. Letting go of Patrick maybe was not the best thing to do. But lets not forget that it was Wenger who brought him to England in the first place...he brought him into the limelight from oblivion. If he can sign an unknown player, nuture him and bring him to be probably the best midfielder I have seen for a long time then he can do it again. There are promising signs in the Aresenal camp already. The already present Gilberto, the prodigy Fransesc Fabrigas, Mathieu Flamini and the nick named ‘dribbler’ Alexander Hleb will have to have to do a lot of work to even come close to the reputation that Vieira had left at Highbury. And thus begins a new era again for the Gunners and English Football. Will Wenger succeed in his endeavours? Theres only one person who can answer that question : thats Wenger himself. He is a shrewd man, a thinker and a football philosopher. Trust me, he knows his way around the football market. So best of luck Arsène!

We want everybody!

Two seasons ago, the footballing world saw something that they never thought they would. The rather stormy appearance of the governor from a small town in Russia, Chukotka. Little did the English F.A. know that this would mean a change in the hierarchy of English and quite possibly world football. Mr. Roman Abramovich changed English Football. He bought Chelsea. But he did not stop there. He bought, bought and he bought. Not casinos, real estate, or five star hotels. He bought some of the best footballers there are today. Along with a stubborn yet charismatic manager, José Mourinho Chelsea FC are giving Los Galacticos a run for their money. They have literally two players per position on the pitch. When Steven Gerard had serious contract issues, they even put up a £32 million bid for him in just a few days. Of course little Stevie did not have the heart to leave his club.

Things are going good for Chelsea. They won the league... well almost hands down. They lost only three games last season! Astonishing! But the question on everybody’s mind is that how long can they go on?
Football is a funny game. On some days even the weakest teams can beat the Goliaths. The enormous amounts that Abramovich is pouring into the game can have an bad impact on the game. The exhorbitant wages that are given to the players might just make or break their career... or even their club. If a season or two goes without silverware, for a club of this size, they might have to axe their workers... probably even plunging the club into massive debt and then, relegation. Look what happened to Leeds United. And that day might just not be so far away. Whatever happened to those days when talent used to be nurtured at a club, not imported.