The Beautiful Groan

One thing I think we’re all in agreement on is that football agents talk complete tripe most of the time, mainly aiming to get their clients into the newspapers, either to engineer a move or a new contract.

Vincenzo Morabito, who is rapidly becoming a pain in the neck, is again talking about how Arsenal are looking for Adebayor’s replacement, but unfortunately for him he loses all credibility with the names he comes out with:

“The names being talked about are Peter Crouch, Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz and Germany forward Mario Gomez. Until that search is over, the negotiations won’t reach the final stage, but I am fairly optimistic.”

So what he is saying is: once Arsenal have agreed to sign one of those three, Ade will be allowed to join Milan. Okay, let’s break it down.

Santa Cruz has been around a long time, and until his renaissance at Blackburn had been struggling for a couple of seasons. A talent he certainly is, but like McCarthy the previous season, he is shining at his level. He is older than Adebayor and has not his power.

Peter Crouch cannot get into a Liverpool side that only has one striker of any note. That same Liverpool side came below us. Granted, Crouch should be playing more as he is better than Benitez seems to realise, but he certainly isn’t the answer. As for Gomez, his stock is crumbling after a dismal Euro 2008.

I cannot see that any of those three will be arriving, so by Morabito’s reckoning, that stops Ade leaving, which is exactly what he isn’t trying to say. Nice one.

Elsewhere, Miguel Veloso’s agent, Paolo Barbosa, has claimed contact from an Arsenal representative. In case you haven’t noticed, Barbosa says this roughly once every three months, and so far nothing has happened.

So the only interesting thing going on at the moment is the finale of the frankly excellent Euros. Turkey were superb last night, but a combination of luck and ruthlessness saw Germany through 3-2, although Lehmann had an absolute nightmare. He must be relieved that they’re in the final, otherwise that would’ve been a terrible way to complete his international career.

Tonight’s Spain-Russia game should be a cracker, and with Cesc still involved, it holds some Arsenal interest. My gut says it’ll be Russia though. Enjoy.