They say the next big thing is here,
that the revolution's near,
but to me it seems quite clear
that it's all just a little bit of history repeating
- History Repeating, by the Propellerheads
Mathieu Flamini's angry because he's going to have to play at full back for Milan. He had to fill in as a full back last year due to the thinness of their squad, and he hates the position. As he told Sky Sports,
"I don't want to play as a full-back, I am a midfielder. This year Milan will be strong in defence."
It's a shame, because he's quite good at it
Our 2006 Champions League cup run famously took the record for longest time without conceding a goal. It was such a patched up line up - Flamini, Senderos, Toure, Eboue - that you wouldn't have thought it possible that they'd hold out Juventus and Villareal, and come so close to upsetting Barcelona. It seemed contradictory that such a mismatched grouping could have had such sustained success. And yet, it did.
At the heart of the puzzle was the question of Flamini. He was a mediocre defensive midfielder who'd been shoehorned into the left-back position because of Clichy's injuries and Cole's petulance. He'd never played in that position before. There was no indication, other than his phenomenal work-rate, that he'd be any good at it. But it worked.
He took a stance the next season by refusing to play left back, claiming that he only wanted to be a midfielder. At the time, it seemed like an astonishing bit of petulance. He was a squad player as a midfielder, and probably first choice as a full-back. The pragmatic thing to do would be to play wherever he was needed. But he proved the doubters wrong in the end by playing that brilliant 07-08 season as our defensive foil for Cesc.
When he signed with Milan, I'm sure he did so with the expectation of playing in midfield. After all, he'd played there with Arsenal quite well. The last thing he'd expect was that he'd be forced to play at full-back again.
It'll be quite funny if it wasn't so puzzling.
What problem does he have with playing at left back? It's not like he's playing in a glamorous role at the moment. Flamini's role is basically to chase after the ball until the opposition get sick of the attention. And as Daniel Alves has shown, being a full-back doesn't necessarily mean you can't also shine as a winger, midfielder, striker, centre-back...
Showing posts with label Mathieu Flamini. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mathieu Flamini. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, May 3, 2008
The Fugly Duckling
"We are not naive enough to think it is not linked to money. He says he wants to stay and if he goes somewhere else that means it is linked to what?"
- Arsene Wenger, with regards to Flamini
I'm paid like shit to do a job I find very rewarding. There's something innately satisfying about providing a service for people who otherwise could not afford it. You get all warm and tingly when clients are genuinely appreciative of your efforts. You feel like you've done something worthwhile. At times, it's the only reason that makes you come back the next day.
However, I've spent five years working at this place, and it's time to walk away.
In my office, above my desk, there's a map of Australia. I've got pins scattered along the eastern coast, and post-it notes girt the sea. When I'm working, while I'm waiting for the local anesthetic to take effect, I walk over to the map and look at all the sleepy beach-side towns in Queensland and NSW. In my mind, I've already got one foot out the door.
Depending on where I go, I could make up to four times what I earn now. But when I sit in my office and daydream about the future, I'm not fantasizing about big wads of cash and convertibles. It's not the reason I want to move. Rather, I'm dreaming of the beach, sub-tropical weather, and that sound the sea makes when it hisses over the sand. I'm dreaming of a chance to change and reinvent myself. I'm dreaming of a fresh start.
It's not always about the money.
When you're the ugly duckling, sometimes you need to leave the nest before you truly start to believe you can be a swan. Self improvement is a nebulous concept. When you're stuck in the same place, surrounded by the same people, sifting through the same old thought processes, change is an incredibly difficult thing to accomplish. Whenever you try to leave, old habits pull you back in. If you're serious about changing, sometimes you've just got to cut yourself off from everything you know and love.
I think it's disingenuous of Wenger to say it's all about the money. Flamini has always been dismissed as Arsenal's ugly duckling. He's forced his way past Gilberto, Diarra, Diaby and Denilson, and he's been instrumental to our success this year. Based on this year's form he's matured into an exceptional defensive midfielder.
However, doubts persist, don't they? I still don't rate him highly. I still think he's an earnest trier on a very long hot-streak. I suspect Wenger thinks the same, and hence, the unrealistic contract offer. It's difficult to change the perceptions of the people who've known you the longest.
If I stepped into Flamini's shoes right now, I imagine I'd be feeling a lot of frustration. I'd have had my head turned by the superstar wages offered by Milan and Juve. I'd have had my ego boosted by the praise from all corners. I'd have the incredible satisfaction of knowing that I'd proved all those detractors wrong, that I WAS good enough to play for this side.
And yet, when that new Arsenal contract came along, I'd have been deflated. In this day and age, money equals respect. If I'd been the best player for the season, I'd expect wages comparable to the best in the team. Fair's fair. To be offered a contract substantially less than that is to told that, no, you're not that good and you're still a mediocre stand-by. It would be incredibly frustrating, and I'd be agitating for a move to a club where my qualities were respected and valued. I'd want to show the world that I'd changed into a swan.
If I was Flamini, I'd be stalling on that contract, too.
- Arsene Wenger, with regards to Flamini
I'm paid like shit to do a job I find very rewarding. There's something innately satisfying about providing a service for people who otherwise could not afford it. You get all warm and tingly when clients are genuinely appreciative of your efforts. You feel like you've done something worthwhile. At times, it's the only reason that makes you come back the next day.
However, I've spent five years working at this place, and it's time to walk away.
In my office, above my desk, there's a map of Australia. I've got pins scattered along the eastern coast, and post-it notes girt the sea. When I'm working, while I'm waiting for the local anesthetic to take effect, I walk over to the map and look at all the sleepy beach-side towns in Queensland and NSW. In my mind, I've already got one foot out the door.
Depending on where I go, I could make up to four times what I earn now. But when I sit in my office and daydream about the future, I'm not fantasizing about big wads of cash and convertibles. It's not the reason I want to move. Rather, I'm dreaming of the beach, sub-tropical weather, and that sound the sea makes when it hisses over the sand. I'm dreaming of a chance to change and reinvent myself. I'm dreaming of a fresh start.
It's not always about the money.
When you're the ugly duckling, sometimes you need to leave the nest before you truly start to believe you can be a swan. Self improvement is a nebulous concept. When you're stuck in the same place, surrounded by the same people, sifting through the same old thought processes, change is an incredibly difficult thing to accomplish. Whenever you try to leave, old habits pull you back in. If you're serious about changing, sometimes you've just got to cut yourself off from everything you know and love.
I think it's disingenuous of Wenger to say it's all about the money. Flamini has always been dismissed as Arsenal's ugly duckling. He's forced his way past Gilberto, Diarra, Diaby and Denilson, and he's been instrumental to our success this year. Based on this year's form he's matured into an exceptional defensive midfielder.
However, doubts persist, don't they? I still don't rate him highly. I still think he's an earnest trier on a very long hot-streak. I suspect Wenger thinks the same, and hence, the unrealistic contract offer. It's difficult to change the perceptions of the people who've known you the longest.
If I stepped into Flamini's shoes right now, I imagine I'd be feeling a lot of frustration. I'd have had my head turned by the superstar wages offered by Milan and Juve. I'd have had my ego boosted by the praise from all corners. I'd have the incredible satisfaction of knowing that I'd proved all those detractors wrong, that I WAS good enough to play for this side.
And yet, when that new Arsenal contract came along, I'd have been deflated. In this day and age, money equals respect. If I'd been the best player for the season, I'd expect wages comparable to the best in the team. Fair's fair. To be offered a contract substantially less than that is to told that, no, you're not that good and you're still a mediocre stand-by. It would be incredibly frustrating, and I'd be agitating for a move to a club where my qualities were respected and valued. I'd want to show the world that I'd changed into a swan.
If I was Flamini, I'd be stalling on that contract, too.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Goodbye, Flamini
"Flamini can earn more somewhere else that is for sure because it would be a free transfer - but how much is he ready to sacrifice to stay here?"
- Arsene Wenger with a variation on "how long is a piece of string?"
A long time ago, on a website far, far away, I said that selling Diarra and keeping Flamini would all end in tears. And it looks like my prediction is coming true.
How did it come to this? At the start of the season, Diarra, Flamini, Gilberto, Denilson, Diaby and *ahem* Song, were all queuing up like randy suitors to ask Fabregas to the ball. And now? Because we plumped for the ugliest, most money-grubbing midfielder, we're going to be left standing alone on the dance floor while other sides are slow-dancing to "Time Of Our Lives". We'll be watching Carrick tangoing with Anderson, or Essien and Lampard and Ballack groping each other in a darkened corner, and... I should stop with the dance partner analogy, shouldn't I?
Wenger says:
Anyway, I've two points:
1/ Flamini is really, really ugly.
2/ Flamini is really, really greedy.
Wenger knows this, and I think he's resigned to the fact that Flamini will move to a club that matches his greed and his countenance. Juventus are the club of the establishment, of old money, of greedy, ugly, inbred high society. Because of the free transfer, Juve are in a position to pay much more than we are (although, he came to us for free as well). And I'm sure he'll fit right in. That's very bitter, isn't it?
Goodbye Flamini, and thanks for all the fish.
- Arsene Wenger with a variation on "how long is a piece of string?"
A long time ago, on a website far, far away, I said that selling Diarra and keeping Flamini would all end in tears. And it looks like my prediction is coming true.
How did it come to this? At the start of the season, Diarra, Flamini, Gilberto, Denilson, Diaby and *ahem* Song, were all queuing up like randy suitors to ask Fabregas to the ball. And now? Because we plumped for the ugliest, most money-grubbing midfielder, we're going to be left standing alone on the dance floor while other sides are slow-dancing to "Time Of Our Lives". We'll be watching Carrick tangoing with Anderson, or Essien and Lampard and Ballack groping each other in a darkened corner, and... I should stop with the dance partner analogy, shouldn't I?
Wenger says:
"There is something in this team which is stronger than a few bucks here and there. What is really important is that this team says 'lets go to the end of our potential together and not walk out for any simpler reason' - and that is where I expect them to show strength, and care what they can achieve together. We are not any more in a period where you get £100 more at another club and it decides your life."
Part of me wants to ask Wenger whether HIS desire to keep this team together is worth more than "a few bucks here and there". Flamini fits in very well with our side, and it'll be difficult to find another player who could do his job. It could be the difference between challenging for the title next year, and winning it. But I understand his doubts about Flamini and his desire keep the wage structure. I wouldn't want to pay 70,000 a week for him either.Anyway, I've two points:
1/ Flamini is really, really ugly.
2/ Flamini is really, really greedy.
Wenger knows this, and I think he's resigned to the fact that Flamini will move to a club that matches his greed and his countenance. Juventus are the club of the establishment, of old money, of greedy, ugly, inbred high society. Because of the free transfer, Juve are in a position to pay much more than we are (although, he came to us for free as well). And I'm sure he'll fit right in. That's very bitter, isn't it?
Goodbye Flamini, and thanks for all the fish.
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