In light of yesterday's latest outbreak of long-term lunacy on Long Island, it's natural (at least to me it is, in the bloggerhia sense) to pick up on this item from this morning's Daily Mirror:
Cesc Fabregas has agreed a record £20million, eight-year contract to stay with Arsenal.
ASSOCIATED PRESS Fabregas: Food fighter signs on for eight years.
The Spanish teenager will sign the longest deal in English football next week.
Fabregas has pledged his future to the Gunners despite interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Longest in history? Not sure, but in the post-Bosman ruling era of free player movement and longer contracts, none others this lengthy pop to mind and a little web-searching this morning was no help. Kids, go to it.
Fifteen years for soon-to-be-25-year-old Rick DiPietro vs. eight years for Fabregas, 19. It's kind of like comparing apples to pomegranates, but that Islanders deal looks worse and worse on this scale, doesn't it?
Meantime, former Gunner Ashley Cole, having whined his way out of north London, is delivering the coup de grace in excerpts from his new book in the Times Online, in which he lowers the boom on Fabregas, among others:
Cole also condemns Francesc Fàbregas as an “unproven featherweight” compared with the “heavyweight champion” that is Patrick Vieira, criticism unfortunately timed given that Fàbregas is on the brink of signing a new eight-year contract.
In the most detailed account of the infamous Battle of the Buffet at Old Trafford two years ago, Cole hints that it was the Spanish midfield player who threw the pizza at Sir Alex Ferguson. Cole confirms that the culprit was not English or French and is believed to be referring to Fàbregas.
“This slice of pizza came flying over my head and hit Fergie straight in the mush,” Cole says. “All I’ll say is that the culprit wasn’t English or French, so that should narrow it down.”
An unproven featherweight AND a food fighter! Perhaps the Islanders don't come off so bad after all.
The Fabregas deal is a great one especially if you compare it with the DiPietro mess on Long Island. Cesc is a great young star and this basically puts a quick kibosh on Real Madrid's eventual attempt to buy him.
As for Cole's 'auto'-biography, the guy couldn't do more damage to his already bad reputation if he tried. Arsenal fans are one excerpt away from burning him in effigy. It's also funny to see him compare an 18 year old thrust into the limelight to a 29 year old veteran of World Cup and Euro winning teams. I guess (and you can tell by the book's contents) Cashley isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. Featherweight is a funny term for him to use considering he missed almost all of last season with a sore ankle. What a joke.
And if Cesc did throw pizza at Slur Alex then good for him!
Posted by: Julian | September 13, 2006 at 12:48 PM