Performances to make one cringe on and off the field

Published: September 8, 2011
THE CROW

THE best bit of business Arsene Wenger did during the transfer window was selling Emmanuel Eboue.

That guy played way too many games for Arsenal. What saddened me was the way some fans tried to turn Eboue into a cult hero. They celebrated his deficiencies and tried to generate affection for a player who did not merit it.

By cherishing Eboue, even in a jokey way, Arsenal supporters were simply underlining the way the club has fallen behind the Premiership front-runners. There was a reason he was booed off a couple of seasons ago.

It’s not only his performances that made me cringe, there were all those times he looked for free kicks and penalties too. I’m not saying he’s a diver but...  I am happy to say goodbye.

Too many times I’ve had to avoid Match of the Day because of him, like when he conceded that 98th minute penalty against Liverpool. Classic Eboue. That was the day I won the Eboue argument against those who think me harsh.

That wasn’t the work of a cult hero, it was the work of a doofus. A cult hero is someone like Perry Groves, who ran his guts off despite his average ability, popping up with a crucial assist in the League Cup final. Or Anders Limpar for scoring from the halfway line that time, like Beckham, yet nobody remembering it apart from us. Or Lauren for having a steely stare and kicking Ronaldo up in the air. Or Chris Kiwomya. OK, maybe not Chris Kiwomya.

And certainly not Eboue.
RICHARD OSLEY

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TRANSFER deadline day came and went with a whimper and not the bang Tottenham fans had hoped for.

With the sale of Peter Crouch to Stoke for an unbelievable £10million, I honestly thought we’d buy a central defender. It would have made sense to pay whatever we needed to in order to activate the release clause in Bolton defender Gary Cahill’s contract, but Harry didn’t; which quite honestly confuses me.

Rumour has it that at the last moment, Chelsea offered £40million for want-away midfielder Luka Modric: now if that’s true, why didn’t we take it? One of the reasons I suppose is what could we have spent it on when there was only seconds left before the window closed?

But I think it’s more about Daniel Levy’s ego, having already said he wasn’t for sale at any price. I say that’s an obscene amount to turn down, especially for someone who we’re going to have to fight to keep in January.

So with no Premier League fixtures, our attention turned to the English national team. Now I don’t know if it was the adverse weather conditions or the current financial climate, but for the 1-0 win against Wales, Wembley looked empty. In the Bulgaria game apparently racist chants could be heard by the players, but not by the TV or radio. If that’s the case then I’m disappointed with FIFA and their inability to kick racism out of football. Until an example is made, they never will.
TONY DALLAS

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