thanks for the kind words, bebo
of course u can, bobby. who am i to say what u can or cannot say or what should u feel!
besides i can certainly understand your point of view and sympathize with your position (as an arsenal fan).
but u see, one thing is saying "hey, i don't care about anything. this is our captain we're talking about, our most valuable asset, and i have all the rights to be pissed off at barcelona's approach, no matter what"...... a very different thing is to say that barcelona was "arrogant".
coz when u're saying that, u're implying some sort of an objective assessment, while, from a true neutral and objective point of view, barcelona wasn't arrogant at all.
because, by definition, there's no such thing as arrogance in a negotiation. arrogance means "bullying someone", taking something away from someone against his will. and this just doesn't apply to this situation, coz no matter how many expedients barca might try to get the player, arsenal will always have the power to just hold the player until the contract expires.
negotiate and respect just don't belong to the same sentence. if u have a negotiation, that means u have the power to sell (or not sell) the player. as long as a player is under contract, respect has to stay out of the equation.
for instance, palermo would need arsenal's respect in order to keep his under 18 talents.... coz we can't tie them with a contract, so u might just come and get em.... our only defense is to phisically kick arsenal's scouts out of our stadia and training facilities
(that's just an example of course).
but once a player is bound by a contract, u don't need any respect at all. u don't like the terms? just refuse the offer or make a counter offer. u shouldn't call someone arrogant just coz he doesn't agrees with your subjective economic valutation of a player.
last summer arsenal was competing with palermo for hernandez. luckily we managed to sign him first. one year after (this summer) arsenal came here and made an offer for him, an offer we refused. would u say arsenal was arrogant for offering a low bid? hell no! they were just trying to make their own interests.
so arsenal talked to hernandez' agent to see if there was a chance to put the player against the club and get the player by forcing palermo's hands..... they tried and failed. would u call this arrogance? imo it isn't. sure it isn't "fair" or "ethic".... but then again, ethics have nothing to do with business. a negotiation is all about trying to reach an agreement that favours u (not trying to show your respect or your "bon ton"). u see an opening, u take your chances. that's it.
and if trying to force the club or the player (by putting him a shirt or by remarking his bond to your club) can help u, u do it. and that's not disrespectful or unfair. it would be unfair if barca could just get fabregas at their conditions despite arsenal's will..... but that's never gonna happen as cesc still has 3 years on his contract.
again mate, u obviously can be pissed at barca, u can call them arrogants or bastards or whatever pleases u. i just think u're smart enough too see this whole thing from an objective point of view
. infact the only reason why i did even bother writing theese posts is because i have an high appreciation of u (at least that's from reading your usual posts)
but if u don't want to see it from a neutral point of view (wich is what u implied when u said "
doesn't matter if other teams do it and even if we do it" ), then it's ok. i certainly won't call u an hypocrite for that..... i guess the most appropriate label in theese case is "fan"....... maybe "
very, very passionate fan"
oh and btw mate....
that (almost) NEVER HAPPENS, as the hernandez situation between palermo and arsenal (that occurred just a few weeks ago) proved.
and i'm not trying to make a "hey what u wanna do, that's how life goes" point. this is exactly what is supposed to happen! a negotiation is a battle between parties which have opposing wills. it implies (by definition) fighting, compromising and recurring to dirty tricks. and that's not unfair or arrogant. that's just how it has to be.
