<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>So the dust has finally settled on William&nbsp;Gallas’ ill judged outburst with Arsene Wengers decision to strip him of the captaincy and replace him with Cesc Fabregas immediately. Wenger had to make a big decision in the circumstances and whilst some people may think his choice of the midfielder as his new captain as a strange one, for me it seems the natural choice. Fabregas is clearly Arsenals best player, a wonderful footballer with a quick brain, a&nbsp;fantastic range of passing&nbsp;and desire to do his best for the Gunners, inspiring those around him and in the stands. When Fabregas plays well,&nbsp;so do&nbsp;Arsenal and giving him this responsibility may make his performances more consistent for the team as a whole. He now knows that he is the leader, the man who has to make the team tick, a chance to emulate his hero, Pepe Guardiola.
His&nbsp;age has nothing to do with it at all. So what if he’s 21, he’s played over 200 games for Arsenal since getting his chance in the 2004-2005 season and in my opinion if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. I’ve seen numerous opinions saying he won’t demand the same respect as some of his older teammates but that argument doesn’t hold water at all. Fabregas demands respect because of his ability and experience for the Gunners over the last 5 seasons&nbsp;and with a European Championship winners&nbsp;medal in his locker for&nbsp;Spain, it&nbsp;shows that he can step up to the&nbsp;job of stabilising Arsenal and help settle things down on and off the pitch for Wenger. By giving Fabregas the armband, Wenger is showing complete faith in the player and the man. He won’t care a jot what anyone says about his age and he has history on his side too.
George Graham famously raised eyebrows back in 1988 when he gave the 18 year old Tony Adams the captaincy because Graham recognised that that Adams would run through walls for the team, his colleagues and the fans, showing over the next 14 years what an inspired decision it was at the time. Did Arsenal struggle with Adams as captain? Of course they didn’t, 2 league titles in the next 3 years showed exactly what Graham believed Adams could bring to the side and how many Arsenal fans would not name Adams as the captain of their greatest ever side? Did Dixon, Winterburn, Bould, Keown or Smith throw their teddies out of the cot and show Adams disrespect? It never happened, they knew&nbsp;that making&nbsp;Adams captain was the best decision Graham could have made and he proved it time after time for the Gunners. They wanted to win trophies and having a captain of Adams’ passion&nbsp;drove them on.
Fabregas can galvanise the&nbsp;current side in the same way.&nbsp;There’s no doubt that Wenger will have been well aware of the precedent of installing a younger captain, perhaps looking back through history made his mind up, I find it hard to believe he wouldn’t have been aware of Adams’ age when he took over the armband and thought if it was good enough then, why not now. Saturdays game at Eastlands was always going to be a no win situation, Wengers post match interview saw him downbeat, reticent,even demoralised. No matter what he said, it wouldn’t have been good enough and he steered well clear of the situation or pouring more fuel on the fire that Gallas’ comments had set off.
<div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" border="0" align="right" width="468" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20081124_WST_3840_Wenger2GETTY_468x439.webp&amp;width=468&amp;height=439" height="439" style="width: 369px;height: 349px"></figure></div>He looked hurt and who wouldn’t, the comments from Gallas would have cut him to the quick more than most, knowing his right hand man believed that the team was so rudderless and lacking spine and ultimately pointing the finger toward the way the club is currently heading under his stewardship. So what if he had a book to publicise, so what if the interview was with the French media, Gallas should have kept his own council or at least spoken to Wenger privately about his concerns and worries. He had no right to undermine his manager in a such a way and pander to the critics. For a rudderless ship, sitting 5th in the Premiership, in to the Quarter Finals of the Carling Cup and one point away from the next round of the Champions League, they seem to be doing better than that. Yes, they’ve lost 5 games this season in the league, but whose to say the won’t finish in the top 4 and win a cup?
The phone-ins and text messaging services are beginning to fill up with people questioning Wengers position, a situation I find beyond ludicrous, the usual critics who wouldn’t know their way to the Emirates if you drew them a map. Several first team players are missing or only just coming back to match fitness and it does effect the sides balance, anyone can see that but once they’re all back and fit, who’s to say they won’t hit a run of 10-12 games winning everything they come across.
Neither Liverpool or Chelsea have had a blip yet, Manchester United haven’t ripped up any trees either so to write them off is crazy, there are 24 games to play, 72 points to&nbsp;fight for&nbsp;and I’ve yet to see a season won in November as any Newcastle United fan will point out to you. Let Fabregas settle in to the role of captain, let Gallas prove that he’s sorry and let the injuries clear up before anyone judges Arsene Wengers future at the Emirates. His record alone demands that doesn’t it?&nbsp;The promotion of Fabregas draws a line under the last week’s turmoil at the Emirates and I certainly wouldn’t bet on him dragging Arsenal up by their bootlaces as the season progresses.

Age No Barrier For Fabregas - World Soccer Talk

Age No Barrier For Fabregas

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>The new Bundesliga season is just days away, so Bundesliga Talk writers Mark Moll and Double Pivot decided to interview one of the preeminent writers and authors on the topic of German soccer, Raphael Honigstein.
Many readers may know Honigstein best from his appearances on the Football Weekly Podcast by The Guardian. Here’s the transcript of the interview. Enjoy.
The Gaffer: What goals do you have with Footbo.com?
Raphael Honigstein (RH): We’d like to be the natural destination site for people who love football and want to discuss/enjoy/experience it with others online. You’ll see big new features in the next month or so that will radically expand our scope. Social networking is only the start for us.
Mark Moll (MM): Growing up in Munich, did you ever appear for a local youth side?
RH: My football education was somewhat unusual because I never liked the idea of organised sport as a kid. My parents didn’t push me towards that direction either, so instead of joining a club, we literally played football seven days a week with friends in parks and on school pitches – until the janitor kicked us out. We also formed a team that took part in Munich’s biggest amateur tournament every year. I only played my first game for a proper club when I was 18, in Munich’s lowest league (C-Klasse). A year later, I moved to London where I played for UCL (University College London) but I think it’s fair to say I found their interpretation of the football rules a little disturbing. In 90 minutes, there’d be perhaps one free-kick. I’m not exaggerating. After a few more years in a London Sunday league and three ACL surgeries later, I called it a day in 2002.
MM: You’ve been living in London now for 15 years, how did you get your start covering football?
RH: I started writing music features for Süddeutsche Zeitung’s youth supplement while at college. When my predecessor, the legendary Ronald Reng, decided to move to Barcelona in 2002, I inherited his job.
MM: Having written for English, German, and American audiences do find that you write in a distinct style for each?
RH: It’s not so much a case of different audiences in different countries – more important is the type of publication. In a broadsheet, you have to explain things a bit more because you can’t be sure about the detailed knowledge of the reader. The opposite is true for football or sports magazines, where you can concentrate more on the details. And writing for the Guardian online is obviously a writer’s dream assignment – there are no rules, apart from filing on time. That’s the most difficult part of it.
MM: If the Premiership is noted for its tough, uptempo play and La Liga for its technical virtuosity on display, how would you characterize the Bundesliga?
RH: I think the Bundesliga has traditionally tried to blend the controlled aggression and physical side of the English game with good technique. We’ve also had good input tactical input from Eastern European coaches in the 60s and 70s. 
It’s an interesting time now. After years of neglect, most teams are waking up to a more scientific approach when it comes to fitness and tactics. The stadiums are always full and cheap prices have insured that the core audience of young males hasn’t been alienated. I think the league is well poised to challenge La Liga and Serie A for second spot in the long term.
Double Pivot (DP): Last year, after a seemingly very successful Ligapokal, there was talk of expanding the pre-season tournament to as many as 32 teams. Yet this year, we find it canceled. What is the situation with that tournament, and how do you see it evolving in the coming years?
RH: Due to the Euros and the late return of the German internationals, they simply couldn’t find suitable dates this season. Its future is under review right now. There has been talk about staging it abroad, but I don’t see that happening in the coming years.
DP: Felix Magath has really turned around Wolfsburg and seems poised for a very successful campaign. If he does have success, could you see the Bundesliga moving from trainers to English style managers?
RH: It’s possible, but most clubs are naturally reluctant to give too much power to a single individual. I think it’s more likely that the continental model – coach + sporting director – will make headway in England rather than the other way round. A few PL clubs are already run that way because they’ve found that the task is too big for one individual. Even Ferguson or Wenger delegate a lot of work.
The continental model is also better at avoiding George Graham-type situations of “conflict of interest” when it comes to signing players.
DP: I would love to get your opinion on the capabilities and weaknesses of Germany’s bumper crop of young keepers: Rene Adler, Manuel Neuer and Michael Rensing. And when do you think Low will give these kids the chance they deserve?
RH: Adler is the best by far. He doesn’t have any obvious weaknesses. He’ll be a very serious contender for the World Cup, along with Hildebrand and Enke. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bayern had already secretly talked to him. I don’t think they’re really sold on Rensing, who is good but not outstanding in my view. He doesn’t dominate the box enough, lacks presence and is suspect when it comes to long-range shots. He’ll be given six months to prove himself. Neuer, on his day, is an incredible shot-stopper, with good instincts. But he seems to suffer from nerves and still makes too many mistakes.
DP: The well has dried up as far as Europe is concerned with Bundesliga sides. What do you think needs to happen for Germany to start catching up with the big three leagues in UEFA/UCL?
RH: In the Champions League, it will be a while before German clubs can compete on equal terms. The financial power of the big four in England, the top two in Spain and the top three in Italy is just too big. Bayern can and should make some sort of an impact, but for a more sustained attack, we simply need more TV money or oligarchs. In a way, the Bundesliga has also been a victim of its competitiveness: the top five, with the exception of Bayern, are very fluid, and without regular CL money, clubs like Hamburg or Stuttgart find it hard to sustain the challenge in Europe.
As for the UEFA Cup, I think there’s actually a good chance a German team will win it this season. Results notwithstanding, Bayern and Werder were the best teams in the competition last year, and decent results over-all have seen us over-take France in the UEFA rankings. Significantly, the Bundesliga clubs also got better results collectively than Italian teams last season. That hasn’t happened before in the last ten years. Similar results this season would put us on course to wrestle third spot from Italy in the UEFA rankings in two years time.
Visit Raphael Honigstein’s page at Footbo.com.

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Age No Barrier For Fabregas

European Competition

Interview With Raphael Honigstein: Aug. 2008