Ade Out, Whose In And Eddie’s Up For It

First off, it’s still rumbling on. Still no offer, Manchester City still wittering on about a deal to be done but now adding the word ‘possibly’ to sentences, hinting at either belated or utterly insincere diplomacy. Amazingly, the City way is exactly the same route that Chelsea followed when Abramovich came in: the basest way.

Reports suggesting that hacks ‘understand’ discussions about a Work Permit will take place today – surely a tad of a no-brainer considering that Adebayor has been first choice at a bigger club for the best part of, oooh, I dunno, since he arrived. A new Permit has to be applied for with any change of employer but even so the hearing ought to be stunningly brief: “Can I have a new Work Permit please? Yep“.

Ray Parlour then put the boot in:

He was too lazy at times last season and just didn’t do it.His body language wasn’t great. Sometimes if things are not going well for you, you have to show desire…At first I heard £30m bandied around, and I’d snap their hand off at that price. Then you go and get an excellent player who will work his socks off

And therein is the flaw in Parlour’s plan. 2007/08 was a season when Adebayor worked his socks off. 2008/09 was injury disrupted and yes, on occasion, he probably did not work as hard but he was still doing his job for the team in scoring every other game or so. Unfortunately, that is not enough for his detractors since the antics of last summer have not been forgotten or forgiven.

Parlour’s observations do have a flaw in them. Working your socks off is not enough on its own. Skill is needed and there are frequent accusations against players of this ilk that they are lazy at times simply because of their style of play. When a player is signed they will work hard but there is no guarantee that this will continue. There are lulls and peaks with performance levels affected by any manner of reasons on and off the pitch. It is far too simplistic to be dismissive as saying at times a player does not try.

Anyway, since he is going – according to the media – an indulgence has been craved and answered, with the search for his replacement. Hot favourite was Marouane Chamakh since Arsene has specified him as a target. Peter Crouch is apparently there for the taking at £11m which allows for the defensive midfielder so craved. Coming up on the rails is Demba Ba of Hoffenheim, a club Arsenal reportedly contacted or my own personal favourite, Mirko Vucinic of AS Roma. Why? Not on ability alone but more to do with this extract from The Guardian’s Fiver newsletter:

At the moment it’s useless to talk because there aren’t any offers. If one should arrive I will talk with the club and we’ll see. Obviously there are places where I would not want to go. Tottenham? Let’s reject that

And that has to be as good a reason as any to sign a player. Well, it puts it on a par with criticising Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.

Away from this circus, Eduardo has been speaking with the Croatian media:

Everything is great, nothing hurts me. Last week I worked with a fitness coach and physio. I did all that was required and Arsenal are very pleased with my recovery…We are leaving for Bad Waltersdorf next week, on Monday. We will play two games where I should get (playing) time in one

As boosts go, this is on a par with the official site suggesting that Tomas Rosicky will be part of the squad that goes to Barnet this weekend for the traditional pre-season opener. When does a fixture become traditional and why do we not use it for Premier League games against Liverpool, Manchester United, etc??

Hopefully the circus surrounding Adebayor will be resolved swiftly and replacements, if required, can