|
 |
IS ARCA STAYING UP WITH THE MACKEMS? 3-4-08
Toby Higgins
There is something strangely normal about watching a former player wearing the colours of another team.
People say things like “It’ll be weird to see William Gallas in an Arsenal shirt”, “I bet Ashley Cole looks wrong in Chelsea blue” and “I wonder what it would look like to see anyone with real quality play in a Newcastle shirt”.
Barring a few exceptions, we are, on the whole, quick to forget former players. Some players, such as Chris Brunt of West Brom and David Murphy of Birmingham are so forgettable that only the most shrewd fan will know that they were ever on our books.
There are players who have played big roles yet still don’t linger much longer in the memory than the likes of Brunt and Murphy.
James Morrison and Stuart Parnaby, also remarkably of West Brom and Birmingham respectively, both started the UEFA Cup final just two years ago, along with Chris Riggott.
Doriva, Ugo Ehiogu, Danny Mills and Joseph Desire-Job started the Carling Cup final in 2004 and while at the time we loved these players because they wore our shirt in the major games in the club's history, they are now instantly forgettable.
There are those who stay in the memory for a little longer. Franck Queudrue received the greatest reception ever seen by an opposition player at the Riverside when he appeared for Fulham.
In contrast, Bolo Zenden was booed every time he touched the ball while playing for Liverpool on the opening day of the 2005/06 season.
The final kind of former player is the one who leaves a club for the local rivals.
Mark Viduka leaving Teesside for Tyneside is a prime example and these are the kind of players the fans will remember forever. We feel wronged by them in some way and every time they appear against us, they will be treated accordingly.
The problem for the player is that he never feels accepted by either set of fans and just stands (or in Viduka’s case, lies down - standing is too strenuous) somewhere in the middle of both.
The most fickle of Newcastle fan will never accept Viduka and he will have to work extremely hard to win over the majority. Newcastle fans will never forget that he played for Boro and likewise, Boro fans hate him for representing the Toon.
Julio Arca is in a similar position to Viduka although the two circumstances are not identical.
Viduka’s move up the A19 was almost certainly motivated by money (why else would you leave one mid-table team where you are worshipped as a hero for another mid-table team where you are not?), while Arca appears to have moved for the sake of his international career.
"I spent several years at Sunderland and I was very happy there but you have to do what is right for your career,” were Arca’s words on the day he signed.
Another difference is age. Viduka is approaching the end of his career and could well have signed his last ‘big’ contract. Arca, meanwhile, is 27 and has a lot of football left in him.
However, while Viduka spent three years at the Boro, Arca spent six at Sunderland and having signed for them as a nineteen year old, he is almost an adopted Mackem.
It’s a tag he’ll never be able to shake off. A former Sunderland hero (he gained this status by not deserting them like fifteen others did in 2003 when the club were relegated to the Championship) playing for Boro is always going to find it hard to be loved.
The reminders that Arca is ex-Sunderland are everywhere.
Commentators can’t help but reference him as “the former Sunderland man” and anyone who drives north on the A19 to get to the Riverside will almost certainly have glanced at graffiti on the road sign just past Yarm which now reads, “Sunderland 33, Arca". 33 was the number donned by the Argentine during his Wearside days.
If that wasn’t enough, the rumours amongst fans and the media do nothing to quieten speculation that Arca wants to return to the Black Cats in the near future.
This article appeared in August of last year and while it was quickly hushed up, the background mumblings have persisted long into the season.
Returning to Sunderland is something most people, footballers or otherwise, shudder at the thought of.
However, it’s probably not inconceivable that Arca would want to go back. Sunderland look increasingly likely to be in the Premier League next season and if Niall Quinn, his disco pants and his cheque book can attract some big names to join Roy Keane at the Stadium to Light, they could be the North East team to beat next season.
Arca has never truly found his feet in the Boro first team. His horror debut at Reading in August 2006 meant Arca’s Boro career didn’t properly start until October.
By the end of the season though, Arca had out-muscled Lee Cattermole and George Boateng to take his place alongside Fabio Rochemback in central midfield.
Some stunning displays also meant that he not only robbed Boateng of his place in the side but also his captain's armband. He was in the form of his life.
There is almost something poetic about Arca’s style of play and indeed, his words: “First thing I understand is that you don’t fly high because if you fly high, you can come down at any moment. So it is better to keep your feet on the ground”.
As fate would have it, Arca did come crashing down and ironically, it was against Sunderland.
In the game at the Riverside in September, he gave the ball away in a poor position. This allowed Sunderland to score inside two minutes.
Then, after scoring the equaliser, he refused to celebrate in front of the Sunderland fans.
After this, Arca was stretchered off injured and didn’t return to first team duties until December. It was the beginning of the end of his season.
With the Boro floundering near the bottom three, maybe his performances were affected by the need for him to create some much needed chances and to score some vital goals, despite him being clearly not fit. Perhaps the responsbility of being team captain also played a role.
That he hasn’t looked the same player since that injury is something nobody can contest.
Gone was the all-action South American attacker who would arrive in and around the box to score vital goals and race back to tackle bravely in front of his own back four.
The ‘new’ Arca seemed lost in a midfield meadow of sideways passes and inherited a reluctance to get beyond the half way line, let alone the forwards.
Following the defeat to Cardiff, the worst performance of his Boro career, Arca has been surrounded by rumours of verbal and physical bust ups with fans and the senior management.
Having been told by Southgate that he needs rest, he hasn’t featured in the first-team since.
There is a chance he may never play for us again, although the signing of a new contract as recently as last month might suggest otherwise.
Expect the coming months to be full of whispers and media stories about Arca’s ‘impending’ departure.
An offer in excess £6million could be very hard for Gibson, Southgate and Arca to turn their backs on.
Same time next week
Up The Boro
RETURN TO THE ROCKLIFFE FILES INDEX HERE
A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £41.00 ON THE FA CUP FINAL
Did you know that it is possible to win money on Saturday afternoon's FA Cup Final clash between Portsmouth and Cardiff, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 3.00pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £41.00, whatever the result of the match. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions below and then sit back and enjoy the game. At full-time (ninety minutes), you will be at least £41.00 better off, whatever the result of the match.
We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now because if the odds change, then the figures here will be invalidated. If they have changed, let us know and we will rework the bet for you.
You can still do this if you have a Betfair account but your overall profit will be reduced by £25.00 as you won't receive the £25.00 cashback as an existing account holder.
If you are unsure about this bet, you are most welcome to call us on 01642 223229 and we will help you as much as we can.
We're going to lay out a total of £129.00 on the FA Cup Final and we will collect £175.00 if Cardiff win, £171.24 if Portsmouth win and £170.00 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 31%, a much higher interest rate than you will get in any high street bank.
Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.
1. Open an account with Coral. It is really important that you enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of BFB425 when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Extrabet
 .
This shouldn't take you any longer than a few minutes.
2. Make the following deposits into your new accounts.
Deposit £20.00 into your new Coral account.
Deposit £84.00 into your new Betfair account.
Deposit £25.00 into your Extrabet account.
3. Now make the following bets.
Place £20.00 on Cardiff at 5.00 (4/1) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on Cardiff as well. You will now have £30.00 riding on Cardiff.
Back Portsmouth with £84.00 at 1.78 (4/5) (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £25.00 on the draw at 3.44 (12/5) with Extrabet .
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £50.00 riding on the draw.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site.
If you are unsure about placing these bets, please feel free to mail us or call us on 01642 223229 and we will talk you through it, no problem at all. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
You have temporarily laid out a total of £129.00 on the FA Cup Final. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.
4. Here's what happens at the end of the game. All winnings are paid out on the ninety minute result.
If Cardiff win, you collect £175.00. That's £150.00 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Portsmouth win, you collect £171.24. That's £146.24 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If it's a draw you collect £170.00. That's £145.00 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Portsmouth v Cardiff match is a draw and you make £41.00 profit. However, if Cardiff win you make £46.00 and if Portsmouth win you make £42.24. That's a minimum profit of 31%, a much better rate of interest that you would get at any high street bank or building society.
6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the two bookies and enter the correct bonus codes or you may not qualify for the bonuses.
Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. If they have, let us know by mail or phone us on 01642 223229 and we will rework the bet for you.
Please feel free to contact us or phone us on 01642 223229 if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will help you as much as we can.
Please note that the bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case, mail us or phone us on 01642 223229 and we'll create an alternative bet for you using different bookies.
This method of betting was used very successfully during the 2006 World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.
We guarantee this bet
It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for four seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.
Only twice has our refund guarantee been triggered and that was when we did all the figures wrong and sent refunds out to those who had followed our advice and made a small loss.
Our refund guarantee works like this. If this bet doesn't work like we say it will and you end up out of pocket, we will refund your losses. Simple as that.
That means that you simply cannot lose on this, whatever happens and even if we messed up the numbers.
The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the refund guarantee, not that you'll be needing to claim anyway. Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.
|
|
|
|
