I haven’t had much time to update the site recently but in light of Ray’s departure toMiddlesbourgh  I thought I’d say a few words.

Firstly, Ray has been in the media recently for non-football reasons due to his famous divorce case. Personally, I feel that although it has had a huge amount of media attention and make a big impact on divorce law as we know it, it is still a personal thing between Ray and his ex. I feel it would be wrong of me of me to start pointing my finger at Karen Parlour, calling her this a that because only she and her ex-husband really know what happened in the private life. I know by the messages I have received that a lot of you feel very strongly about the situation and thank you for your e-mails.

So back to what this site has really been about football. At the time of writing this it looks very likely that Patrick Vieira will leave Arsenal and I just hope letting go of Ray isn’t a huge mistake. By the fact Wenger has let Ray go at such a huge time of uncertainty seems to imply that he was either convinced he could persuade Vieira to stay or he has a replacement lined up.  Either way, it seems a strange time to let Ray go.

It’s a shame Ray didn’t the testimonial he deserved so fans could say a proper goodbye but Arsenal did the right thing by giving him a free transfer meaning he( or rather, Karen) could get a fat signing on fee. Ray will get plenty of first team football at ‘Brough and Steve McClaren is building a solid, experienced squad. It might prove a good move for Ramond

I once attended a lecture by Wenger the day after Arsenal completed the double in 2002 by winning the FA Cup against Chelsea, aided by Ray’s wonder goal.    One of the Directors of Arsenal asked Arsene what he has seen in Parlour that he hadn’t seen in the other George Graham era players that he had released. Wenger simply said, determination and a willingness to learn.  That sums up Ray nicely. Goodbye to a loyal and reliable servant of Arsenal. I think Ray will be remembered by Arsenal fans with great fondness for a very long time.

Good luck for the future and thank you, Ray. Hope you have loads of success unless you’re playing Arsenal, and then hope you score a hat trick of own goals.