[quote]Most of the hate for Ade [including the song] is based on quotes from THE SUN and THE NEWS OF THE WORLD! I mean come on, those very papers have been accussed AGAIN of making up quotes just the other day with Ferguson. Not enough evidence for me to justify turning on him, but we need this thing to be sorted out for the sake of the squad.[/quote]


And of course the damming interview on Sky Sports News only hours after he said he is staying at the club.

No matter what your opinion on it, abusing your own players from the terraces isn't the best way of helping the team win.

Finally i have found the interview that kicked all of this off.

go to u tube and search 'Emmanuel Adebayor - Should I Stay Or Should I Go?'

Frankly it looks to me like the reporter was putting words in his mouth. Certainly he is angling for a pay rise but now having seen the 'damning evidence' i am not at all offended by it.

As for the rest of the stuff in the tabloids, it's all a bunch of lies.

[quote]Im dead serious. I will not celelbrate a single thing he does until either A) He apologises to Arsenal and the fans for him and his agents behaviour or B) Categorically states he has never made any of these demands or seeked a transfer and that it is merely press nonsense and apologises for not saying so quicker.[/quote]

Now i have seen the interview i don't think he has done anything wrong.

I didn't see it at the time but was hearing that it was damning and he was openly holding the club to ransom. now looking at it i cannot work out what all the fuss is about. Adebayor now has a clean slate with me, he just needs to improve his game!

Just been looking through all of the actual quotes and these two are the worst.

“Barcelona have made a good financial offer and there is also the chance to play alongside great players. Yes, I am still under contract to Arsenal but it’s up to the directors to satisfy my demands or I’ll leave.”

“But the career of a footballer is soon over. My good goals aren’t the only things I am going to enjoy at the end of it. I have to prepare for my retirement as a player, too. Even if you’re not scoring fine goals and you have money, you can enjoy a happy retirement. The time for preparing for that moment is now.”

However whilst not particularly great reading they are not worthy of the massive overreaction that he is getting. Also bear in mind that Ade is not a particular favourite of mine and i have argued that we could do better anyway on football terms.

[quote]Now i have seen the interview i don't think he has done anything wrong.

I didn't see it at the time but was hearing that it was damning and he was openly holding the club to ransom. now looking at it i cannot work out what all the fuss is about. Adebayor now has a clean slate with me, he just needs to improve his game![/quote]

I watched the interview at the time of original broadcasting and felt that it was 'sound bite' pieced together to fit a sensationalistic agenda.

[quote]I watched the interview at the time of original broadcasting and felt that it was 'sound bite' pieced together to fit a sensationalistic agenda.[/quote]

Yeah similar thoughts to me. I had spent so much time trying to wade through the press lies about Hleb that when the whole Ade story came along i started doing the same. To be honest there wasn't much in it. However after spending a week out of the country i came back to an absolute furore. Everyone was swearing that they had seen the interview and it was damning evidence, Ade had stabbed us in the back etc etc etc.

Looking at about 40 stories in the the Sun and the NOTW i found a handful of actual quotes (obviously discarding those made by people other than his actual agent). The two i copied above were the only two i had any issue with and frankly the situation looks like a very clumsy renegotiation of his contract.

He's not a player i love particularly for football reasons but the reaction he is getting seems out of proportion to me. It just shows how easily the tabloids can manipulate some peoples minds.

Ade wants a payrise, fact! Nothing wrong with that but players HAVE to stop demanding more after every season. Give him £60k pw and that should make him a top 3-4 earner in the club. Show us that you can deliver for 2 more seasons Ade and I'm sure the club will reward you with a better contract.

[quote]He's not a player i love particularly for football reasons but the reaction he is getting seems out of proportion to me. It just shows how easily the tabloids can manipulate some peoples minds.[/quote]


Well he had his critics before all this went on anyway, I can't speak for anyone else, but I wouldn't be surprised if some are just using this as an excuse to get on his back

[quote]Well he had his critics before all this went on anyway, I can't speak for anyone else, but I wouldn't be surprised if some are just using this as an excuse to get on his back[/quote]

I agree with you there.

I am probably one of his biggest critics and could spend about half a page criticising his game, but i do see some potential in there somewhere. I also realise that he would be a very difficult cog in our formation to replace.

Whilst i would like to see him either improve or be sold at a massive profit, i don't think we should let the tabloids dictate that we should treat one of our own players so badly.

Christian, I've thought about the 'quit demanding pay raises after a year of good performance' arguments. I sincerely doubt that there would be more than a handful of sales persons who wouldn't be either looking to enhance the terms of their contract agreement with their companies or to going where they could if they were one of the two or three top sales performers in the country. I'm not sure that players performing exceptionally well should be excluded simply because they are footballers.

What I am becoming more and more convinced of is that there has to be a very strict code of ethics for clubs in relation to unsettling players under contract and that the penalties must be severe and strictly enforced. And, that instead of having a standard weekly wage rate, the wages should be set so that a certain amount is attainable given performance; for example, instead of £60K a week, pay £40K and make the additional £20K based on a variety of attainable goals (not goals scored, but rather tasks). It certainly might then encourage some players to get off the injury table faster and others to strive a bit harder when we are already one up.

GO ADEBAYOR GO

Sierra, I agree with you. But what I think top sales people would do is to ask for a slightly higher basic salary but more importantly, a better performance related bonus scheme.
I would love to see something like this in football but for it to work all clubs have to agree on this. I can't see this happening though in a marked dictated by agents and players.

It's also very difficult to know what's going on because I never believe in figures quoted by the sun and other rubbish newspapers. I also DON'T believe in stupid supporters signing negative songs about current players without having a clue about what really goes on. Arsenal is a very private club and we never really know what goes on with regards to negotiations.

I started a very good thread here .

Today's the day he's due back from holidays isn't? If he hasnt showed it would be big news by now