[quote author=the_khl link=topic=34869.msg914176#msg914176 date=1248866952]
[quote author=Delinquent link=topic=34869.msg914164#msg914164 date=1248864898]
[quote author=the_khl link=topic=34869.msg914159#msg914159 date=1248863692]
[quote author=Delinquent link=topic=34869.msg914150#msg914150 date=1248862936]
[quote author=the_khl link=topic=34869.msg914144#msg914144 date=1248862561]
[quote author=mike2903 link=topic=34869.msg914141#msg914141 date=1248862058]
[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=34869.msg914126#msg914126 date=1248859790]
Did they say how much??
[/quote]
3.5mil on the BBC website
[/quote]
Good.
I like Arbeloa but if he's going he should do so sooner rather than later. Same goes for Alonso.
Make up your minds and let's move on.
Arbeloa would play second-fiddle to Johnson anyways and seen in that light this is actually a good bit of business really.
[/quote]
No it isn't. I'm not sure what the circumstances surrounding this transfer are but considering the positions Arbeloa offers cover for, one thing it is not is good business.
It'll only be good business if we manage to find a player who can provide comparativley good backup across the entire back line for less than we sold him for. Which won't happen.
[/quote]
There isn't much point in keeping an unhappy player as back-up with his contract running down when you can get a decent fee for him is there? If Johnson stays fit for the entire Season (more or less of course) we won't miss Arbeloa one bit.
IF he get's crooked on the other hand then we're in a right pickle and probably need to play Degen (or hoepfully buy someone better).
But you simply can't base your strategi only on 'IF's though. Johnson is the man for the RB position hence to get £3.5M for a back-up players who's probably very interested to go back home anyways is a decent bit of business.
On a sidenote I believe Arbeloa is a player in great need of consistency, he gets better and better the more he plays and get trusted. When used in a few matches here and there as backup I reckon he's not of that much use. Would be preferable to have a hungry, determined back-up instead even if he's not quite up to Arbeloas standards at first.
[/quote]
We can't start a season hoping that Glen Johnson will be fit for all of it. That would be foolish in the extreme. We have to plan for the worst.
Besides, it's not just about 'back-up', is it? Are you saying we should allow Glen Johnson to assume that he will start every game irrespective of how he performs? He may struggle to adapt to Rafa's zonal defending, or have his confidence knocked by a costly error or two. It wouldn't be the first time.
We're a top club and we need competition. What's more, Arbeloa is better at defending, which can be a useful resource to call upon.
I appreciate that Rafa may have made promises to Arbeloa or that he wanted to return home but the fact is, it's world cup year so his motivation should not have been an issue. Neither will I begrudge Rafa for selling him but unless he has a trick up his sleeve, I can't see us signing anyone of similar quality for that price. As such, I don't consider it good business at all.
[/quote]
I would've kept Arbeloa if it was a viable option but it haven't really seemed like one to me. As you said yourself it's World Cup year and he'd very much want to play week in week out, a promise that we can't give him as we've just spunked £18M on someone playing in his exact position.
No one can really blame him for wanting away and as he could leave on a free in a year I think we could've done worse really.
It's not a good deal but it's decent. It's nothing that'll keep me awake at night at least as Arbeloa, whether you like it or not, would've been destined to be a fringe player this coming Season.
However we does look rather slim on the RB-position if Johnson for whatever reason doesn't make it his own as you say. Degen, Carra and maybe even Darby or Spearing would be the ones considered.
That said I still think it's important to underline the fact that Johnson arrives with a good reputation and the massive fee paid will at least entitle us to believe he will make it from the off even though there's no guarantees as you said yourself.
[/quote]
You've put an awful lot of emphasis on the fact that Arbeloa would be a fringe player here, ignoring the fact that he's off to Madrid where he'll have to displace Ramos. He's simply being bought to puff out their Spanish contingent. He'll get less games there than he would here.
Anyway, as has already been said, it's done now, so we just have to get on with it. I'm not going to pretend it's a good deal though, because it patently isn't.
