Jay-Z's a gooner

"I'm glad Arsenal now know it's them I support. It would be good to chat with Cesc and some of the other guys over lunch. The next time I'm playing in England I would like the Arsenal playesr to come and watch my gig and then come backstage afterwards."

- Jay-Z, as gushy as a kid in a No.4 shirt

Apparently, Jay-Z supports Arsenal and his favourite player is Cesc Fabregas. He has a wish to meet the Arsenal players one day, and organise a time when they can come backstage with him one time when he does a gig in England. I find it quite remarkable that a guy like Jay-Z, who has everything the world can give, can come off sounding like a fan-boy when talking about the Arsenal.

It clarifies a few things, though. I always wondered why Adebayor was so pissed-off and regretful about leaving the Arsenal. It couldn't be because of the money. It couldn't be because of the trophies. And it couldn't be because of missing the opportunity to head-butt a team-mate on the pitch - with Craig Bellamy on the team, they're bound to start fighting one day.

I think Adebayor's regretful because he's going to miss the opportunity to meet Beyonce. If Jay-Z wants to meet the team, they would've met her one day. Didn't he once compare the chance to play for Barca or Milan to the chance of dating Beyonce? At the Arsenal, he would have had an opportunity to meet her, and maybe even impress her with the reflected glory of the Arsenal. But now at Man City? Fat chance. No one thinks playing for Man City is impressive.

I wonder how Jay-Z would react if an Arsenal Adebayor was to chat up Beyonce? I wonder if he'd be chuffed like a fan-boy that Adebayor was chatting up his wife?

Goodbye, Adebayor

We salute you too, Adebayor.

It's lovely how the sale of Adebayor has brought us all together. It wasn't so long ago that gooners were split between the rational, intelligent, good-looking pessimists, the insanely optimistic crazy people, and the band-wagon jumping crew who have long since given up on the Arsenal. We've been at odds for so long over the direction that the current Arsenal management is taking us, so it's nice to realise that there still are some things we can all agree on.

Selling Adebayor to Man City for £25m was one of them.

I don't think we should dwell on who we're going to replace him with, whether it's Chamakh, Huntelaar or internal solutions. That'll be divisive. Instead, let's savour the afterglow of this transfer and be happy that, for once, we can all agree that this remarkable transfer was 100% correct.

In a way, it's a pity it's come to this. On the days he wanted to be a good striker, Adebayor was one of the best in the world. However, once he thought he'd made it, he stopped trying. That to me is the real shame. There's so much to like about Adebayor's game, and it's not nice to see it go to waste.

Let's hope he can peak next season against Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd... everyone except us, really. Because when he's focused, he's a bloody hard striker to play against.

An Adebayor's Tale

It's been a frantic couple of days for Adebayor watchers. Reports have been flying in, and it's hard to work out what's happening. It's even harder to believe most of it is probably real.

This is what I understand:

Man City offered Arsenal £25 million for Adebayor. Ivan Gazidis accepted, and then apologised profusely for literally biting Mark Hughes' hand off.

"I didn't realise it was a figure of speech," a shocked Gazidis told the press. "Honestly, Man City offered £25m for Ade, and my mind went blank. Just think about it - £25m. I was expecting £10m, £15m tops. Who pays that kind of money anymore? Hell, I'm taking the rest of the summer off and going to Disneyland!"

The deal looked to be in jeopardy hampered as Hughes was rushed to hospital, but was later completed when Hughes signed the agreement with his mouth.

"I'm not letting Adebayor go," Hughes said tersely. "First Kaka, then Eto'o, now Ade-fucking-bayor? If he rejects us as well, we'll be the laughing stock of the Premier League... eh, even more so."

Adebayor then received a work permit to play for Man City. An inside source said that while he might have failed the exceptional talent criteria on the football pitch last season, he more than made up for it with his snazzy fashion sense and dance moves.

"I can't wait to see him on the dance-floor," gushed Artie the Man City tea-lady. "Can you imagine him and Robinho hitting the town next season? It'll be like the Hacienda days again!"

However, Adebayor then had second-thoughts. He realised that signing a £150,000 a week contract with Man City might look a bit mercenary to his fans back in Togo. He understands that the media can twist a guy's words, after all, and he was worried that his eagerness about joining the Man City revolution might be construed as an act of money-grubbing greed. And as we all know, he's not the mercenary sort.

"There's more to life than just money," Adebayor mused. "I wouldn't leave Arsenal purely for money. I also want all the stuff you can buy with money."

After he thought through the implications of the move, he decided the best way to retain everyone's good opinion was to get his agent to hawk him out to Man Utd for £170,000 a week.

"I thought they'd buy him," Adebayor's agent explained sheeplishly. "I mean, we bought Silvestre last year, so Ferugson owes Arsenal big time. And if they're desperate enough to buy Owen, they're worth a shot, right?"

And back at Arsenal, our proposal to buy Marouane Chamakh has hit a snag - Bordeaux has insisted that we throw Silvestre in the deal as well. I'm worried about this one. Transfer window closes in two weeks - I hope we can stop laughing in time to accept that bid.

Honestly, if it weren't on the internet, I would've thought that this was all made-up.

Spending Adebayor's Millions

"Manchester City were last night closing in on an incredible £25million deal for Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor after finally completing the signing of Carlos Tevez."

- The Daily Mail, who seem very excited about transfers

I wouldn't call it incredible, since this is the summer that Melo was valued at £21.5m, Tevez at £25.5m and Valencia at £17m, but it is a lot of money. Actually, considering City are willing to throw £30m at John Terry, I thought they could've given us an extra £5m or so. Adebayor dances a lot better than Terry, after all.

I really hope this one goes through. Adebayor might not be what City need, but getting him out of Arsenal is what we need. Adebayor offers a lot to Arsenal, but it's doubtful whether he's motivated enough to deliver. And if that money can be re-invested in a really, really good player, then we're almost good to go.

I suppose Chamakh's the favourite as the replacement, but to be honest, I'd rather keep the money and splurge on that defensive midfielder we really require. We've van Persie and Eduardo as our main strikers, with Bendtner and Walcott as our reserves. That's fairly strong, provided we can keep everyone healthy. It's stronger than our midfield, at any rate. We really do need someone to partner Cesc, someone preferably more experienced than Blaise Matuidi.

The transfer market is inflated at the moment. Even Alex Ferguson finds it a bit over-priced. So maybe we should prioritise which positions we really need to strengthen. I'd like us to make a bid for Diarra from Real Madrid. He's 28, a destroyer in midfield, and has the experience to lift our youngsters to the next level. And even if he'll cost us 80,000 a week, he'll still be worth more than a disinterested Adebayor.

Adebayor's flip-flop

"All I can say is I am a footballer and if a club like Milan are interested in me then I cannot lie to you, I am happy, because it is Milan. But the thing is that it stops there – I am very happy playing for Arsenal, and this is what I always say."

- Emmanuel Adebayor, talking out of his arse

I'm puzzled as to what Adebayor's thinking at the moment. First he presents himself to Milan like a baboon in heat. Right before a Champions League semi-final. And now that the season's shot to pieces and we're trophy-less yet again, he wants to stay?

I don't get it.

An ambitious man would've kept his mouth shut while we were still in contention for trophies. An ambitious man would've raised a fuss after the season's over, and we're still stuck in 4th and not likely to advance. The fact that Adebayor went about things the other way, shows that he's not an ambitious man.

Maybe Adebayor likes the comfort of 80k a week for a half-arsed job. Maybe Adebayor likes a club that almost guarantees him Champions League football, and the certainty of not having to compete for his position. Maybe the guy wants to cruise on what he has at the moment, and not want to maximise his God-given potential. Maybe he's had enough of working hard and running hard, and he just wants to be a superstar who doesn't have to work. And maybe that's the reason he still wants to be with the Arsenal.

I don't know, and it shits me off. The Arsenal shouldn't be a lazy paycheck. Players should want to play for the club because we're challenging for trophies and we're one of the best clubs in the world. The fact that Adebayor's wanting to stick with us because it's easy shits me off. We're the Arsenal, and we're not the soft option.

I don't know whether we should keep Adebayor. On a good day, when he's switched on, he's one of the best strikers in the world. On a bad day, he's worse than Nicky Bendtner. It depends on which Adebayor fronts up next season. If we get the casual Adebayor of this season, we're better off selling him; for whatever we can get for him.

Man Utd vs Barcelona tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll getup early to watch it. I'd like to see Henry win the Champions League. He was a gun for the Arse, and it's nice to see him achieve his ambition. Awful sad that he couldn't do it at the Arse, though.

Bye, Bye Adebayor

"If I feel that a player should go or could go, why not sell him to one of the other top four?"

- Arsene Wenger, about Adebayor

There's a poll at the Guardian over whether we should sell Adebayor to Chelsea. 

It's feasible. Carlo Ancelotti, the man likely to the appointed the new Chelsea manger, fancies Adebayor and would like to work with him. Drogba's likely to leave at the end of the season. And if Chelsea are going to stick with a lone striker, they'll need to replace Drogba with someone with similar physical characteristics. There aren't many players who can play that role at the highest level. And Adebayor's one of the ones who can. 

Adebayor doesn't work as a lone striker at the Arsenal. He's offside way too often. He doesn't impose himself on games anymore. He doesn't work for his team anymore. Instead, he drifts off to the left and tries to be Thierry Henry. He scores the odd great goal, and then fluffs easy chances. But I imagine he'll improves dramatically under a tactically astute manager like Ancelotti. 

If someone tells Adebayor where to be, when to run, and to work like a packhorse in the mountains, then he will do so. Rio Ferdinand said he was the hardest striker to play against in the Premier League. Adebayor's fast, strong, tall, and has a penchant for the spectacular. He has a lot of gifts that are currently being wasted. Wenger's indulging him at the Arsenal, and if he was playing under someone who wouldn't tolerate nonsense, he'll probably thrive. 

So I think Adebayor to Chelsea would be a good move for Adebayor. It'll be a good move for Chelsea. But more importantly, I think it'll be a good move for the Arsenal. It'll give us £25 million pounds and the chance to buy David Villa. Or Sammy Eto'o. Or Karim Benzema. Or ANYONE who isn't offside 5 or 6 times a frigging match...

The Offsider

And we're Arsenal
Arsenal FC!
We're by far the greatest team
The world has ever seen!

- Emirates Stadium, on a glorious European night

I've been thinking about it, and maybe Adebayor doesn't understand the definition of offside. He's been offside three or four times now, and he's always just offside by half a body-length. Once or twice, it even looks like he checks and intentionally positions himself offside to receive the ball.

It's not like it's that difficult to get onside. On the 10th minute, Theo received a lovely layoff by Cesc and just ran through the defense. He was marginally onside, and he checked his run to make sure he was. So it's possible to score a goal without being offside for the first four chances.

Then again, maybe Adebayor is fatalistic? Maybe he thinks that he can run wherever he wants, and if it's offside, such is life? It's the infuriating thing about Adebayor. He's got all the prerequisites to become a great striker, but he's really casual. That goal against Villarreal in the first leg was exceptional, but he missed easy chances before that. And yet, he's fast, strong, works like a beast when he wants to, and he scores a lot of goals.

So what the hell is wrong with him?

60th minute, and Adebayor scored. 2-0 to the Arsenal, and the tie's pretty much over. That's the thing about him. He does a lot of bad things in a match, but then he does one decisive thing that secures the game for us. Lovely goal, got the through ball when he was about five metres onside. I think maybe that's the way we've got to play him now - when he's so deep that there's no chance of him getting offside.

And still, you wonder if we'd be better off selling him in the summer and getting someone who's more reliable. Someone who understands what offside means, and who tries in every game. Someone like David Villa.

3-0 to the Arsenal. Walcott was hacked down in the penalty area, Villarreal lost their heads and argued with the ref until they got a man sent off, and van Persie converted the penality.

Semi-final with Man Utd awaits. C'mon the Arsenal.

P.S. You know, I predicted this result. From the post a week ago, Arsenal vs Robert Pires:

"And at least he'll be able to trot out onto Emirates for the first (and last) time next week, and suffer the indignity of a 3-0 thumping."

How good am I?

Cesc on Adebayor's goal

"It was an incredible goal. It reminded me of a great goal I saw Rivaldo score once for Barcelona against Valencia, but maybe it was even better because I think the pass I gave him was a little bit more difficult to control."

- Cesc Fabregas, about Adebayor's goal.

I don't really think of footballers as people. They seem so ethereal and untouchable on the pitch that it's a bit strange to think of them as people off the pitch. It's a shock to realise that they were once just kids who loved playing football, who loved a club to madness, and who had pictures of their favourite players on their bedroom walls. So when I come across a quote like the above, it makes me smile.

I remember that goal. Barcelona in the Champions League, I think. Rivaldo, with his back to goal, chested it up, then did a textbook bicycle kick into goal. I was in university at the time, so maybe seven years ago. Which would've made Cesc about twelve or thirteen years old.

It's cool to think of Cesc as just a kid, walking up to the Camp Nou with his mates, climbing the ramps that circle the stadium and entering the stands. It's cool to think of him before all the fame and super stardom, when he was just another guy obsessed about Barcelona, and salivating over Rivaldo and Figo, and revering Pepe Guardiola. It makes him more approachable. It makes me realise that, despite everything, he's just another guy with the same experiences and feelings as me.

Makes him seem more human, I suppose.

Adebayor's goal was pretty damn cool - caught it on the chest, flung himself back, bicycle kick into the corner. A really great goal in a really tight period of the game. It's the kind of brilliance we've been missing since the Henry years. It makes me really enthusiastic about this new Arsenal, about the potential we've got and the games we've still to play. There's a decent chance we can get past Villareal and Porto, and then get absolutely hammered by Barcelona in the final. Wouldn't that be fun?

But what strikes me as really cool is that in a few years' time, some Arsenal starlet will be talking about some great goal from their last game, and then reference it to THAT Adebayor's goal. It's exciting because, if you think about it, that kid's already in the Arsenal academy and training under Liam Brady. He goes to the Emirates with his mates every other Saturday afternoon. He's training at the club he's supported since he first started following football. He loves the Arsenal to madness and his bedroom walls are plastered with pictures of Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Emmanuel Adebayor...

I love thinking that at the moment he's another anonymous kid toiling away at the academy, but that one day, he'll be our next superstar. It gives me tingles.

Adebayor vs Cameroon

"Adebayor! Emmanuel Adebayor! A-De-Ba-Yor! Adebayor! Emmanuel Adebayor! Adebayor!"

- the rather excitable commentator of the Togo vs Cameroon match

Emmanuel Adebayor's been out of action for ten weeks because of a hamstring injury. But he managed to fly back to Togo for a World Cup qualifier, and he played well enough to monster a defender out of his way and score the winner. He looks pretty fit to me. 

There are conspiracy theorists out there who suggest Wenger's benching Adebayor to retain his transfer value. According to them, Adebayor's leaving at the end of the season. Wenger wants him out of public view so that interested clubs won't realise how complacent, lazy and mistake-prone he's become. It's the approach Wenger took with Henry before his sale to Barcelona. 

Meh.

I think Adebayor's potentially a world-class striker, but he's been disappointing this year. After the heroics of the 30-goal season last year, he's declined as a player. The old Ade was never a great finisher, but he would contribte so much to the team with his pressing and his work-rate. This season, I haven't seen much of that. He still misses absolute sitters, but he doesn't work as hard off the ball anymore. 

Anyway, things move on. We've been playing van Persie and Bendtner recently, and I like what I'm seeing. Bendtner can't shoot to save himself, but he's got a nice range of passes, good vision, and he'll improve his finishing with time. He offers a lot to the team. Given the choice, I'd rather Bendtner and his lime green boots than Adebayor. If we could sell Adebayor for £25 million, and use the proceeds at the Valencia firesale this summer, I'd be quite happy. There are a couple of Davids in Valencia who would look rather smart in a red shirt with white sleeves.

The News of the World has been really busy with Arsenal news. Normally, I trust the NOTW about as far as I can throw their Sunday supplement, but two stories are quite amusing:

1. NOTW claims that Cesc Fabregas has become arrogant and big-headed since his European Championship success, and wants a transfer to Barcelona. And that since Spittinggate, he thinks the English media have it in for him and want to drive him out of England. I wonder if NOTW editors chuckled at the irony when they printed this story?

2. Wenger's going to bid for Joleon Lescott, the £10 million rated central defender from Everton. Now, I realise we'll need a central defender after Gallas leaves, and I realise that everyone wants us to buy British, but why do we need to buy someone this ugly? 

Quelle horror!

****

P.S. I was checking out Sergio Ramos' Twitter, and found this entry:

"Estoy leyendo El Retrato de Dorian Gray, y es muy interestante hasta ahora. A mi me encant las obras de Wilde."

It's weird to think that, over on the continent, footballers know how to read and enjoy doing so. I could never imagine Ashley Cole snuggling up to Dubliners.

4-0 to the Arsenal

Adebayor, Adebayor

Give him the ball, and he will score

- the Arsenal away fans at Ewood Park, Blackburn

I'm thinking I should write to Danny Fizsman and ask for a season ticket. You see, I've seen three Arsenal games for a combined score of 11-0. In those three games, we've been lucky, brilliant and brilliantly lucky, often in the same half. This can't be coincidence. 

I think I'm a lucky charm. 

It was a lucky performance by Arsenal this time around. 4-0 can be a misleading score. Blackburn were unlucky to go into the break 0-2 down. They broke through the centre of the park with alarming easy, and Santa Cruz was scarily efficient at receiving long balls. If it wasn't for poor finishing, we would've gone in 2-2. 

That said, we DID win 4-0. Which is a lovely, lovely result. So I can't complain much. Only about the necessity of a monster at centre-half and a tank in central midfield. I'm really impressed with the way Walcott fronted up after the England match - he made nice runs, rode the inevitable tackles, and always demanding the ball. And I was impressed with Song when he came on in the second half - he looks the part as our anchoring midfielder, and he'll be awesome for us in a couple of years. 

And Adebayor - it was a nice touch when, after his second goal, he looked at the Darwen Stand (the Arsenal stand) pointed at the crowd and beat his chest. Corny perhaps, and definitely pre-meditated, but it felt heart-felt. Here's a guy who acted like a tosser over the transfer window, and who wants to make amends - at least until Barca come sniffing after him again. 

It was the first time I saw Wilshire play, as well. When I saw him step off the bus, I got a huge shock - the kid looks like a kid. Then, I realised he was only sixteen. Hopefully he's still got a bit of growth left in him. Remarkably, he did okay; the game was over by the time he came on, but he didn't look out-of-place. 

I'm at the Liverpool Apple Store right now. I really should think about buying a MacBook - it's probably just an acute case of tech lust, but they are very, very pretty machines. 

Dirty, dirty Arsenal

You're a dirty, dirty man
Oh in so many, so many dirty ways
You're a dirty, dirty man
And you've been hiding your little dirt all over this here place

- Joss Stone, Dirty Man

Adebayor is a dirty, dirty man. And he wants Arsenal to be a dirty, dirty team.

As Adebayor said after the FC Twente game:

"A lot of people talk about us and say we play good football. Good football is good but we didn't win anything [last season] and you play to win.... Sometimes you have to be dirty to win some games... Sometimes you have to forget about playing beautiful football and just make sure you win."

I agree with Adebayor wholeheartedly. It's nice to be the Harlem Globetrotters of the Premier League. It's a nice hook upon which to hang our hats. But it's also a self-limiting restraint. The object of football is to win, and the ulitmate objective of a Premiership football team is to win the league.

I think that, in pursuit of Wenger's vision of perfect football, we're losing sight of that. It is easy to sit back and be content with what you've got. It's harder to step out of your comfort zone and do things you're uncomfortable with. However, that's what we need to do to be successful. At the moment, we have a side that has great technique and which is very easy on the eye. However, what we really need is a side which doesn't concede weak goals and which can finish off defensively-minded teams.

And to get there, sometimes you've got to compromise on our principles. Sometimes, the ends really do justify the means. Sometimes, you come across something you want so badly that you're willing to change everything you are just to have it, because you've realised that nothing else matters but that.

Sorry, bit of a tangent there.

Actually, we were pretty close last year. Gallas' captaincy was remarkably effective in the first half of the season, and Flamini gave us a bit of bite in midfield. We were tight at the back, and we were scoring late goals all the time. That's the kind of mentality we need. We need a bit of luck, we need an early winning streak, and we need a bit of fortitude when the setbacks start snowballing.

And that's as dirty as we really need to be.

3-2 to the Arse

"We were always dangerous going forward but we had two lapses of concentration and they scored two fantastic goal. Ajax were sharp and incisive and they took advantage of every mistake we made."

- Arsene Wenger, 3-2 to the Arsenal

So, we're dangerous going forward, but we lose concentration at the back. Gotcha. Arsene Wenger should record that sentence right now, because he's going to be saying that a lot over this season. I know it's still the pre-season, but it's very scary considering we're playing FC Twente next week.

Ajax lost to FC Twente, y'know.

I want to believe. I really do. Wenger's been talking the good talk lately, saying how the pain of last year will drive us on, and how our players are one year older and one year cannier. But it doesn't matter how much pain and how much canniness you've got, if the problems of last year don't get addressed, we're still going to concede goals via high balls through the centre of defence.

Maybe I'm being too harsh. There are three little birds in my head, telling me not to worry about a thing. Because every little thing's going to be alright. We did come back from two goals down. Adebayor keeps on scoring, which is nice. And as Wenger said, as long as we keep on scoring more than the opposition, we're sweet.

Whatever the case, I shouldn't be tearing out my hair in frustration. Not yet, anyway. The season hasn't even begun. There's still time and there's still hope. And I should leave some hair for those crucial games up north where we lose 0-1 against dodgy opposition. Or maybe I should shave it all off first. At least that way it won't be physically painful.

On a brighter note, here's an Adebayor song I thought of in the shower, to the tune of the Toreador Song from Carmen:

Adebayor, that lying, stinking whore
Adebayor, he'll leave us for sure.

Who fucking cares as long as Ade scores?
Three goals or more, one goal for sure

Adebayooooor,
Adebayor, Adebayor, Adebayor, yor, yor.

A gooner scorned

You play well and show that you are ready to fight for the shirt and for your team. You know how it is - if you score goals people forget the frustration quickly."

- Arsene Wenger, about Adebayor, after the Real Madrid match

I fully understand the reaction Adebayor's getting from us gooners.

Love, in the purest footballing sense, is unconditional. We can love skillful players, we love poor players, we even love ugly, bald players. As long as they try their hardest on the pitch, aren't complete tossers off it, and remain loyal, we'll like them.

However, hell hath no fury like a gooner scorned.

As Wenger says, most of the ire regarding Adebayor stems from our profound sense of betrayal. We loved him unconditionally - well, most of us did. We loved him for his work-rate, his athleticism, for that physical presence that none of the other players provided. We shrugged off those horrible misses as an endearing, lovable foible.

And then he prostituted himself to Milan and Barca.

Football morality is simple. There's a clear delineation between heroes and villains. You can swear and boo and abuse Ashley Cole and not feel like a complete prick. You can believe that your football club is the champion of all that is pure and good in the world, and every other club is a bastion of corruption and evil. For ninety minutes each week, you and regress back to your ten-year-old self and pretend the fate of the world hinges on a football game.

From that point of view, it's clear cut. Adebayor did us wrong, so he's evil. Therefore, we boo him. Wenger's right, though - this hatred is momentary. It'll fade. We'll love him as soon as he starts scoring goals and giving his all to the Arsenal.

In short, we'll love him again as soon as he starts loving us.

On hypocrisy

A short one, today.

We castigate Adebayor for wanting to move to Milan because they're willing to quadruple his pay, and because he wants to play for one of the "top ten clubs in Europe". We complain that he's nothing but a mercenary, and he that should honour the terms of his contract.

However, we want to flog Adebayor to Milan if they're foolish enough to pay 30 million pounds. He's not worth that much money, and we could get a good replacement for half that amount. Every player has his price, and we're just following good business principles.

It's called hypocrisy. Either the contract is sacred and no one violates the terms of the deal, or there is a price above which it is acceptable to break the deal. We can't have it both ways.

Look at it this way - if you've been offered an job for four times your current salary, with similiar responsiblities and duties, you'll want to explore the possibilities. If you're happy with your current job, you'll probably go to your employer and ask for a pay rise. If you're unhappy, you'll probably tender your resignation and fuck off to your plush new job.

Now, I agree that Adebayor's bound by a contract to play for Arsenal. It's a bit different from a normal job. Arsenal have to pay his wages regardless of performance or injury. Adebayor's traded his right to walk away for the security of a contract. It's perfectly legal for Arsenal to reject Milan's offers and keep Adebayor at Emirates.

But Adebayor wouldn't be human if he didn't feel pissed off about it.

Whatever the case, it's undignified for this drama to be played out in public. Not a very classy thing to do. But you can't deny a guy the possibility of advancement. Not really.