The enigmatic career of Nicolas Anelka

Charlie Foley · Aug 6, 2020

SambaBoy said:
Yeah I read a piece from Gerrards' autobiography and he knew after a week of training with the 3 of them that the club had made a big mistake.

Not entirely related to the thread but my uncle had a copy of that autobiography and I remember flicking through it. I remember him writing about how much he hated everything about us and then wondering why United hated Liverpool. At another point he’s writing about watching England Argentina in the 98 World Cup, and a conversation with I think his dad during Owen’s goal, and it is the funniest read ever, you’d swear Owen was dribbling for a week the amount of stuff he gets out.

*i May be misremembering everything

Buchan · Aug 6, 2020

I watched the Netflix documentary tonight and having ‘sided’ with him early on when discussing his PSG and Arsenal stints, and somewhat during the Madrid portion of the film, all sympathy started to evaporate thereafter. Look at the state of the clubs he ended up representing by the end whilst still in his relative pomp.

Take the 2008/09 Chelsea season when he was won the Premier League golden boot out of the equation and he pretty much underwhelmed for a good ten years of his latter career. Scoring goals and looking decent for relegation-battling teams like City, Bolton and West Brom was a travesty for a player who took the league by storm as a teenager in Arsenal’s double-winning season of 1997/98.

I agree with posters above who believe he was probably difficult to strike a chord with as a teammate and definitely needed a specific set of circumstances in place in order for him to thrive. If you lost him early on, there was no return, it seems. Far too headstrong, too steadfast in his ways, and probably receiving poor advice, to boot. Definitely a case of a wasted career, which is remarkable considering he achieved quite a bit in terms of honours and individual accolades.

Well worth a watch, though, overall.

Charlie Foley · Aug 6, 2020

Number32 said:
Yes they would still bought him. Henry was unsettled at Juve and demand a transfer request to Arsenal, He was not a replacement of Anelka. They still had Suker and Bergkamp leading the front line, so Wenger just wanted to add more fresh young striker to the squad.

Anelka - Henry would gave Arsenal more titles between 2000-2005, but no invincible record. Because Wenger would not bought Wiltord, who was one of the most consistent player in that season.

I'd take that because We had won the titles in 2001 and 2003 with a big luck, then Moscow 2008. His enigmatic career was a blessing for us.

Eh. We won the league by 10 points in 2001, and that was with losing our last 3 games because the players had checked out by then. What’s the luck? Not sure about 2003, since Arsenal went into absolute meltdown that Spring I’m not sure Anelka is the man you want when everyone’s losing their heads. I’m not sure what extra titles you mean: the only reasonable argument is 2003 (they weren’t catching us in 00 or 01 and Chelsea would still win in 05) and even then it’s not a great one if you look at the context.

Number32 · Aug 6, 2020

Charlie Foley said:
Eh. We won the league by 10 points in 2001, and that was with losing our last 3 games because the players had checked out by then. What’s the luck? Not sure about 2003, since Arsenal went into absolute meltdown that Spring I’m not sure Anelka is the man you want when everyone’s losing their heads. I’m not sure what extra titles you mean: the only reasonable argument is 2003 (they weren’t catching us in 00 or 01 and Chelsea would still win in 05) and even then it’s not a great one if you look at the context.

Arsenal were short of squad depth, 2 or 3 injuries would impact their performance. It's lowkey similar to our squad today, they have the best starting xi when everyone was fit. Bergkamp was great but couldn't played every game, would've different story if they still have Anelka to help Henry.

Clermontois · Aug 6, 2020

Bullhitter said:
Loved him. Definitely underappreciated and probably down to an unfairly bad rep in my opinion. It's interesting to wonder when looking back if he was a victim of "rich, young, black footballer" type media bias/assassination as the likes of Sterling and Pogba in the modern era have been. I'm not saying he didn't make mistakes, he certainly listened to some wrong people in his younger days but I think he got an overly raw deal for far too lengthy a time.

Well said but those two are not accepting it like Nicolas did though. They fight the media and fans if need be which ties in with current events. More power to them.

SambaBoy said:
Yeah I read a piece from Gerrards' autobiography and he knew after a week of training with the 3 of them that the club had made a big mistake.

Did he say anything about how dirty and snide him and Carragher were?!

DarkLord said:
He always strike me as a type of lone wolf, very dark personality and hard to make friends with. Always sulking. Don't think I've ever seen him smile once. Still has a great career. He's won more trophies than some better footballers, almost every trophy he could have possibly won.

Buchan said:
I agree with posters above who believe he was probably difficult to strike a chord with as a teammate and definitely needed a specific set of circumstances in place in order for him to thrive. If you lost him early on, there was no return, it seems. Far too headstrong, too steadfast in his ways, and probably receiving poor advice, to boot. Definitely a case of a wasted career, which is remarkable considering he achieved quite a bit in terms of honours and individual accolades.

I am not sure how you lot know this from looking at someone but if we are going based on looks it sounds like you could be speaking about Zlatan.

Sayros · Aug 6, 2020

I’m watching it and it’s good to see him being able to look back on it and recognize some of his faults. He was such a young kid and with Ronaldo becoming a phenomenon, the media world was in overdrive looking for the next big thing. A classic case of too much, too soon.

He’s still had an incredible career even if most of the high points are in the first few years.

yumtum · Aug 6, 2020

Crap penalty in '08 - thanks Anelka.

On a more serious note, some of the 'big' names that played for Bolton is quite impressive.

Dancfc · Aug 6, 2020

yumtum said:
Crap penalty in '08 - thanks Anelka.

On a more serious note, some of the 'big' names that played for Bolton is quite impressive.

I can't help but wonder if Big Sam was more of a looker and/or played more attractive football he'd have got a lot more coverage for his work at Bolton.

He basically did what Wilder has done this season three seasons in a row (his last three), infact there's every chance he'd have made the CL places in 2005 with a bit more squad depth (they only finished 3 points off as it was) and possibly even 2007 (a win against Arsenal in April IIRC would have put them 4th, they lost then collapsed from then till the end).

Charlie Foley · Aug 6, 2020

Number32 said:
Arsenal were short of squad depth, 2 or 3 injuries would impact their performance. It's lowkey similar to our squad today, they have the best starting xi when everyone was fit. Bergkamp was great but couldn't played every game, would've different story if they still have Anelka to help Henry.

That’s not “luck”.

DDROGBA · Aug 6, 2020

Clermontois said:
Well said but those two are not accepting it like Nicolas did though. They fight the media and fans if need be which ties in with current events. More power to them.

Did he say anything about how dirty and snide him and Carragher were?!

I am not sure how you lot know this from looking at someone but if we are going based on looks it sounds like you could be speaking about Zlatan.

from what i saw he was really liked by the chelsea team.

thats why everyone was pissed that AVB made him train with the youngsters.

drogba did his celebration as a tribute to him either during his exile or just after he left.

Anelka was a great player end of story!

Hound Dog · Aug 6, 2020

I was always amazed at how scared he looked for that last penalty in Moscow, he always struck me as someone who does not care at all.

Dancfc · Aug 6, 2020

Hound Dog said:
I was always amazed at how scared he looked for that last penalty in Moscow, he always struck me as someone who does not care at all.

It didn't make sense bringing him on, Shevchenko was on form and fresh from scoring in that title deciding final day, he would have been more likely to have had a match winning moment out of the two.

TheMagicFoolBus · Aug 6, 2020

Dancfc said:
It didn't make sense bringing him on, Shevchenko was on form and fresh from scoring in that title deciding final day, he would have been more likely to have had a match winning moment out of the two.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa, you're telling me that Avram Grant didn't know what he was doing??????

ThierryFabregas · Aug 6, 2020

Number32 said:
Yes they would still bought him. Henry was unsettled at Juve and demand a transfer request to Arsenal, He was not a replacement of Anelka. They still had Suker and Bergkamp leading the front line, so Wenger just wanted to add more fresh young striker to the squad.

Anelka - Henry would gave Arsenal more titles between 2000-2005, but no invincible record. Because Wenger would not bought Wiltord, who was one of the most consistent player in that season.

I'd take that because We had won the titles in 2001 and 2003 with a big luck, then Moscow 2008. His enigmatic career was a blessing for us.

If that happens you probably don't get Henry being moved from left wing to centre forward. He'd be a creative goal scoring winger instead. Anelka was supposedly more talented than Henry in the French youth ranks so it would have been fascinating if Wenger could coach them both into their late 20s.

WeePat · Aug 6, 2020

TheMagicFoolBus said:
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa, you're telling me that Avram Grant didn't know what he was doing??????

The image of him walking about on his own with his hands in his pockets, while the team is in huddle motivating itself just before extra time in Moscow is etched in my memory.

GenZRed · Aug 6, 2020

I remember being disappointed when he chose to move to Chelsea because we was linked with him. Needless to say it was a few months before I changed my mind about that.

Adam-Utd · Aug 6, 2020

Saw a video earlier of him scoring 2 goals at Wembley against England wearing goalkeeper gloves?! what was that about.

horsechoker · Aug 6, 2020

Adam-Utd said:
Saw a video earlier of him scoring 2 goals at Wembley against England wearing goalkeeper gloves?! what was that about.

His hands were cold.

Adam-Utd · Aug 6, 2020

horsechoker said:
His hands were cold.

Were wool gloves not invented back then?! strange choice but it looked like something out of fifa pro clubs.

Superunknown · Aug 6, 2020

Dancfc said:
I can't help but wonder if Big Sam was more of a looker and/or played more attractive football he'd have got a lot more coverage for his work at Bolton.

He basically did what Wilder has done this season three seasons in a row (his last three), infact there's every chance he'd have made the CL places in 2005 with a bit more squad depth (they only finished 3 points off as it was) and possibly even 2007 (a win against Arsenal in April IIRC would have put them 4th, they lost then collapsed from then till the end).

Completely agree with this. Allardyce's work with Bolton has become forgotten but he had them playing some decent stuff and they were a pain in the arse to play against. His career didn't hit the same heights again after moving on from there. But, there's definitely a certain bias against him for the way that he looks and talks. He does look like he owns a car dealership more than a football manager.

GuybrushThreepwood · Aug 6, 2020

Superunknown said:
Completely agree with this. Allardyce's work with Bolton has become forgotten but he had them playing some decent stuff and they were a pain in the arse to play against. His career didn't hit the same heights again after moving on from there. But, there's definitely a certain bias against him for the way that he looks and talks. He does look like he owns a car dealership more than a football manager.

Allardyce is often lumped together with Pulis, but he has been a far better manager and his teams have been capable of mixing it up more, not least when his Bolton teams had Djorkaeff, Okocha, and later Anelka etc.

Arsenal in-particular and also Liverpool used to hate going to the Rebook Stadium when Allardyce's Bolton were an established top 8 Premier League team didn't they, although United and Chelsea used to do well there.

I'd imagine that the annual trip to the Reebok Stadium was Arsenal's least favourite and most dreaded fixture of the entire campaign.

Dancfc · Aug 6, 2020

Superunknown said:
Completely agree with this. Allardyce's work with Bolton has become forgotten but he had them playing some decent stuff and they were a pain in the arse to play against. His career didn't hit the same heights again after moving on from there. But, there's definitely a certain bias against him for the way that he looks and talks. He does look like he owns a car dealership more than a football manager.

He's also a pretty ungracious winner (especially when he scalps a big side and even more especially when said side is Arsenal :lol:

) which i imagine doesn't help his cause.

TheMagicFoolBus · Aug 6, 2020

WeePat said:
The image of him walking about on his own with his hands in his pockets, while the team is in huddle motivating itself just before extra time in Moscow is etched in my memory.

If only we'd been able to get Hiddink in for that season...

Dancfc · Aug 6, 2020

TheMagicFoolBus said:
If only we'd been able to get Hiddink in for that season...

Based on nothing more than gut instinct and connecting a few dots really but I'm sure Ten Cate was informally incharge that season.

TheMagicFoolBus · Aug 6, 2020

Dancfc said:
Based on nothing more than gut instinct and connecting a few dots really but I'm sure Ten Cate was informally incharge that season.

Yeah but it's not as if he was some great tactician either. If only Abramovich had invited Hiddink to his yacht sooner!

2cents · Aug 6, 2020

Were we ever linked with him? Would have been more use then Owen circa 2009-2011.

MetoTTT · Aug 6, 2020

For me this guy was the most naturally gifted striker since R9.

Riz · Aug 6, 2020

MetoTTT said:
For me this guy was the most naturally gifted striker since R9.

You’re not serious? He’s not even the most naturally gifted French striker in that time.

TsuWave · Aug 7, 2020

Guy played for every United rival (except Leeds) :lol:

2cents said:
Were we ever linked with him? Would have been more use then Owen circa 2009-2011.

Not sure, but in the documentary, after the Liverpool segment they say “PSG is in talks with two clubs in Manchester”

He himself said “You’re here (at City). No one else wanted you. Go for it”

ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg · Aug 7, 2020

Charlie Foley said:
Wasn’t there a statistic that at one point (before things went crazy) he was cumulatively the most expensive player in the world? I’m sure it was him.

Him and Robbie Keane at one point we’re very high on that list - both has lots of big money (if not massive) transfers.

MetoTTT · Aug 7, 2020

Riz said:
You’re not serious? He’s not even the most naturally gifted French striker in that time.

For me, he was more gifted than Henry or Trezeguet. I'm not talking about who became a better player, titles etc. What a waste that was! Rare and pure talent!

Gazza · Aug 7, 2020

MetoTTT said:
For me, he was more gifted than Henry or Trezeguet. I'm not talking about who became a better player, titles etc. What a waste that was! Rare and pure talent!

Nowhere near as gifted as Henry, behave yourself!

footballistic orgasm · Aug 7, 2020

Gazza said:
Nowhere near as gifted as Henry, behave yourself!

He was considered the bigger talent in the French academy. Henry went on to have the better career though.

GuybrushThreepwood · Aug 7, 2020

ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
Him and Robbie Keane at one point we’re very high on that list - both has lots of big money (if not massive) transfers.

I found Benitez's treatment of Robbie Keane at Liverpool quite weird. He didn't really use him probably, playing him as a lone striker, left winger etc, and kept subbing him off quite prematurely. IIRC he seemed to be settling and finding some form, notably scoring an excellent goal away to Arsenal, before Liverpool sold him back to Tottenham at a financial loss. At the time I was thinking, surely at least keep him until the end of the season with a title challenge and CL knockout games to come.

Mainoldo · Aug 7, 2020

Buchan said:
I watched the Netflix documentary tonight and having ‘sided’ with him early on when discussing his PSG and Arsenal stints, and somewhat during the Madrid portion of the film, all sympathy started to evaporate thereafter. Look at the state of the clubs he ended up representing by the end whilst still in his relative pomp.

Take the 2008/09 Chelsea season when he was won the Premier League golden boot out of the equation and he pretty much underwhelmed for a good ten years of his latter career. Scoring goals and looking decent for relegation-battling teams like City, Bolton and West Brom was a travesty for a player who took the league by storm as a teenager in Arsenal’s double-winning season of 1997/98.

I agree with posters above who believe he was probably difficult to strike a chord with as a teammate and definitely needed a specific set of circumstances in place in order for him to thrive. If you lost him early on, there was no return, it seems. Far too headstrong, too steadfast in his ways, and probably receiving poor advice, to boot. Definitely a case of a wasted career, which is remarkable considering he achieved quite a bit in terms of honours and individual accolades.

Well worth a watch, though, overall.

Have you got your timeline right? As you do realise the times spent at those mediocre clubs was before Chelsea? I might have misread you.

I also think it’s abit harsh to just blame his personality as this is football and personalities like his run strife throughout the game and still now. We just never know until they actually tell there story.

Mainoldo · Aug 7, 2020

Gazza said:
Nowhere near as gifted as Henry, behave yourself!

He was the biggest talent. Did you not live that whole Anelka experience or was you too young? I believe Saha was rated the brightest talent out of all of them.

TheMagicFoolBus · Aug 7, 2020

Gazza said:
Nowhere near as gifted as Henry, behave yourself!

In retrospect obviously but Anelka was rated higher as a youngster.

Clermontois · Aug 7, 2020

Gazza said:
Nowhere near as gifted as Henry, behave yourself!

Henry refined himself well but his raw talent was not on Anelka's level. Go look at their earlier careers.

ZolaWasMagic · Aug 8, 2020

Loved him with us. Terrific player when he felt like it

Red Devil 26 · Aug 8, 2020

Thought it was telling a lot of his peers spoke highly of him. Can't imagine him being as surly and divisive as he's made out to be when he appeared so respected by other seemingly big personalities in the dressing room.

The enigmatic career of Nicolas Anelka

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