FTK Blog: Cesc Ignore your father and listen to your head!

For once I am totally confused… some of you may say I am always confused. I am very bemused by what is being presented by John Cross of the Daily Mirror which is clearly the party line from Ashburton Grove. The Daily Mirror congratulates Arsene Wenger and Arsenal Football Club for their dignified stance of silence, as compared with the tapping up crescendos coming from Barcelona, through the media, the officials and now even the players. But then Mr Cross goes on to say that there is nothing that Arsenal can complain about to FIFA, and apparently told Barcelona immediately that Cesc was not for sale at any price. Barcelona in return clearly didn’t hear those words or more likely it is almost as if they are saying to FIFA, “you cannot charge us all for talking about a player contracted at another club, try it if you dare.”

Apparently Mr Fabregas Senior said on Radio Marca the following, which is translated courtesy of the Daily Mirror and the full transcript can be found here.

“Barca have said not to listen to anyone else that is not Barca. That means that evidently there are other clubs that are interested and would not have the difficulty that Barca would have to pay the amount that Cesc would currently cost. To avoid that he wanted to clarify that he will only either stay at Arsenal or go to Barca.”

So if Barcelona have indeed spoken to the player, (Mr Fabregas didn’t actually confirm this), All he has quoted was the content from BArca but not to whom it was delivered. Does this mean that we should charge Mr Fabregas with tapping up? Maybe so, his role in these events needs to be scrutinised and his motives questioned. I recall seeing the domineering way that the parents put down Cesc on the Fabregas TV show. It was cold and gave me the impression that they didn’t want Cesc thinking that he was something special and not any better than they themselves thought of him. The parallels with the father of the late Michael Jackson springs to mind. I actually feel that Cesc’s father is the real destabilising factor in this affair.  Sons often hold their Fathers in positions of the highest esteem, they are often revered, respected and seldom ignored. So why I ask myself is Mr Fabregas being protrayed as doing the propaganda work for FC Barcelona? Perhaps in the fullness of time we will know, but until then his intervention is quite unhelpful.

So perhaps this is where it gets silly.  Why is there  silence from UEFA’s Michel Platini over the regular tapping up rituals by the Spanish giants? These activities are often  conducted prior to Presidential campaigns.  I suppose this might have something to do with the important regulatory meeting in Switzerland today when Clubs hoping to participate in future Champions League will have to vote on how to soften the blow of the financial requirements of only spending what you actually earn. If this measure is to be passed, then Platini will require the grudging consent of Barcelona and Real Madrid, teams that will be penalised most heavily by the new regulations as opposed to the intended targets of Man Utd and Chelsea in the English Premiership.

If as it seems that today Cesc may well be staying at Arsenal, then I am every happy even though it makes me looks like quite a prat for having blogged about his likely departure yesterday. But FTK is not one to hide when he gets things wrong. Those of you who want to enjoy shoving it down my throat (humble pie – that is…lol) then enjoy doing it while you can. Whilst I am tempted to breathe a sigh of relief, I just wonder if my annoyance about the way that our great football club makes it’s statements is perhaps still valid. If Arsenal have told Barcelona to politely and firmly to go away and not come back, might it not have aided their resolve if they published that version on the club’s own website? Why exclude the fans? Why allegedly brief the tabloids in advance of the shareholders? More importantly why hasn’t anyone told Cesc Fabregas the player of what was said in no uncertain terms to FC Barcelona? Who ever is the source within the camp Emirates which enabled John Cross to write his articles, then they must either be in the know and quite high up, or of course they are talking out of their backsides. You choose.

All I can do is put my take on matters. Barcelona cannot afford Cesc Fabregas at his current valuation as acknowledged by the player’s father.  Cesc  must now make a choice if he is going to be truly loyal to Arsene Wenger and to the Club and the fans who love him.  Arsenal Football Club for their part must be very careful  NOT to allow a Greedy Bayor mark II scenario to occur. If they are minded for once make a complaint to UEFA about tapping up of our best player, then let it be known NOW that they are considering it through the same sources that briefed Mr Cross.  Anything less will lead bystanders to think that their transfer strategy is being handled in anything BUT the Arsenal way. The impression would be given that they only want to fund the transfer of new players required at the club through the sale of Cesc Fabregas, and would suggest that they have in fact been negotiating covertly but have not been able to agree a price. Certainly not the stance of a Club intending to hold onto their best player at all costs, which is why I disagree with Mr Cross. So this is the time for the official statement of intent on the official site, not silence. Cesc is under contract at Arsenal Football Club for the next five years… END OF!

If Fabregas leaves the Emirates after the world cup, he will lose out on an unrivalled opportunity to be the architect of Arsenal’s return to greatness. An accolade that will guarantee that his name is sung loudly for the next three generations of Arsenal fans. A living legend in our time. But as one excellent comment from an Insider on the site put it today. Cesc has been a very silly boy, he has had his head turned, and now perhaps some might conclude that his future is being decided by his Father and the Presidential lobbyists of Barcelona. So instead Cesc should be saying no comment about the transfer rumours, and I remain an Arsenal player and its captain! Why should he need Arsene Wenger to tell him to be focused on the World Cup? His head must tell him that he would not like to exit the club like one Togalese before him.  I really don’t know what the truth is or how this saga will finish, but I hope that Cesc listens to reason and the prospect of true greatness at Arsenal rather than hanging on the coat tails of an established trophy machine at Barcelona founded upon obscene spending policies.

 So Cescgate continues…YAWN. Join me again next Cesc week on this Cesc Channel, oh, and don’t touch that dial Cesc fans.

FTK {jcomments on}

Fabregas_The_King

Tony aka FTK co founded Arsenalinsider.com in November 2006. often found on the site having a rant about the topic of the day.

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