So Arsenal fans have been talking a lot over the last few days regarding the amount of transfer cash we ‘could’ have over the summer.
Can I just say firstly, I am no expert in finance, but if Keith Edelman says we have £70 million to spend… I am going to trust his words on the matter. An amateur assessment over the size of our transfer kitty based on the same facts any fan could view is not going to get me worried.
It is interesting that the story was not published on the AST’s website which would again reinforce my opinion that the article was speculative.
When you run a business like Arsenal, you are responsible to shareholders and customers, in other words the supporters, you can’t go public with a statement which says you have £70 mil for players if you haven’t. Simple. You can’t tell porkies in an annual report that’s audited, it’s illegal.
This is the cave man assessment of our debt, in other words a very rough guide.
Out - £450 million for the stadium.
In - £150 mil from Emirates up front, £50 mil for the shirt sponsor (Emirates) up front, £250 mil from Highbury.
That’s kind of washing it’s face. Now then you add to that match day revenue, concerts, International matches, prize money from the EPL and Uefa, TV money, Nike, Internet, shirt sales and money that hasn’t been spent over the years, I think you’ll find he easily has £70 mil to spend purely on players.
Salaries come out of cost of sales, same as with any other business.
Foreign Ownership
So the debate rages…
Argument 1: If we are skint why don’t we get a big old sugar daddy to takeover?
Argument 2: We need stability and a board that have the interests of the club at heart.
My argument…
Actually we don’t need either?
We have been prudent as a board and have a well run club, Wenger has a £70 mil transfer fund, why? because Edelman publicly said so. If ‘intellectual’ blogs try and tell you he doesn’t and you believe them, that’s your prerogative. We don’t believe them.
The budget is Wenger’s and if it’s not spent, that’s down to him, not the board, a sugar daddy won’t cure that.
Arsenal TV are very cleverly showing you the new generation of kids, and we’re all salivating at the prospect of the new Gazza, the new Bergkamp and the new Liam Brady, that way if no significant signings come in, we won’t care because we’ve been pre conditioned.
Very clever Arsenal, but that’s papering over the cracks, bring in some players and some silverware so we can brag to the rest of the premier league, we already brag that we’re still English and not owned by people that don’t care.
David Dein said this,
“As a devoted Arsenal fan I don’t want to see them left behind.”
He was a fool for selling up, but you can’t deny he is Arsenal through and through. Maybe he is right with what he is saying? Could another summer of underinvestment see us lagging behind the rest for a 4th season running?
Lets hope that Wenger is bluffing when he says he doesn’t have much money available… otherwise Usmadein and the Kroenkenites may find themselves with a little more support than they had last summer.
The measure of any well run business is the dividend it pays to its shareholders. The measurement of success of a football club is silverware, that is the dividend a football club should look for.
Don’t forget people, we are supposed to be a Football club, not a case study for a well run business…
Anyway, enough of my thoughts… how about a few of yours!
See you in the Comments section!
April 24, 2008 at 9:09 am
Good post Pedro - like you I totally agree that if we’ve been told there’s £70M in the kitty then that’s the budget. I think the bluffing is coming from AW; he rightly doesn’t want to be seen to have a big transfer kitty, just inflates already inflated prices!! He’s playing it downbeat and hopefully working behind the media glare on a couple of deals for good quality, experienced players.
I noticed a couple of weeks ago AW saying just 1 player but have heard recently him say 2…..who knows by the summer he’ll be thinking our figure of at elast 4!!! We can hope.
April 24, 2008 at 9:15 am
Good and intelligent post Pedro, Stupid if you’re reading I hope it sets the record straight in a reasoned and well thought out way.
April 24, 2008 at 9:19 am
Very good post. I am afraid I am in a very cynical mood these days and I think Wenger knows if he spends the money he will be under pressure to deliver silverware, whereas if he just potter’s along and finishes in the top four alomst everyone will say what a marvellous job he has done with no money and kids etc etc.
AW I am waiting to be proved wrong.
April 24, 2008 at 9:25 am
top class pedro arsenal are full of spin my season ticket costs £2,500 a season and you get the same crap every season from the club “renew next season this YOUNG team are going to peak” etc… its all spin but at the liverpool league match you could get a ticket of a tout at FACE VALUE outside when has that happened before and last week v reading lots of empty seats,you see i think the board and arsenal are in the comfort zone happy to spend no money make loads most expesive seats in WORLD FOOTBALL and we should be happy to finish fourth.after all fourth or first is more or less the same in profit terms once we are in the top four the board are happy full stop how many time in recent weeks have we heard from wenger and the propoganda at arsenal tv etc.. that everyone tought we would be mid table all SPIN SPIN SPIN!!!!!!
April 24, 2008 at 9:36 am
does everybody think real madrid are a big club?
they waited 5 (five) years for a trophy…
i don’t think we have to wait that long….
and we haven’t received the 250 mill from the sale of highbury flats have we?
and i think we’ve even had to spend on the construction of the flats?
April 24, 2008 at 9:37 am
Good post but at the end of the day I don’t care what goes on in the board room? is the dimond miners money less doggie than the russians? who cares! I pay as much, if not more for my tickets why can’t i watch world class players come to my club.
and who’s AW respect thing aimed at i’m hoping the press, I’m aloud to say he doesn’t know what he is talking about i pay his wages!
April 24, 2008 at 9:38 am
I fucking hate the money in football, it is repulsive how much players are paid and the transfers to buy them but that is another debate entirely.
Point is Mourinho was right, where else could Wenger have four trophy-less years (fa cup does not count) and not get the boot out of the other big teams? Try that shit in Spain - Barca and Real he would be out within two seasons. There are prime examples of clubs that are football clubs not businesses. They are constantly in debt and being bailed out by the government banks. Remember Real selling their training complex for £132m? Then just being allowed private access to it whenever they wanted? Joke. They only care about trophys and that is what Arsenal need to do a bit more of. Spending to accumulate. Build the brand….start winning trophies suddenly your worldwide support base expands rapidly. Buy superstars, your shirt sales quadruple!
Is it just AW?
April 24, 2008 at 9:41 am
Cash does not equal profit. The balance sheet at the end of May 2007 showed a cash balance of £70m. This cash balance has to be used for salaries, maintenance and on-going costs attached to Emirates, London Colney and Shenley. £30m is covenanted against the debt - we have to keep this figure at bank or else technically we will have defaulted on the debt. Meaning that theoretically the bond holders could take the stadium. In any event, to breach covenants would put our credit rating at serious risk and is not good financial practice. A further considerable sum is offset against future performance and appearance payments on players already bought. Further, with the advent of Bosman and now Webster, we have to continually raise the salaries of players or risk losing them after 3 years for the cost of their remaining contracts. This is why Wenger is talking about his main priority being to keep the squad together - we can lose players for small sums under the new legislation who will have to be replaced for large sums in transfer fees.
The fact is that too many lazy or biased or ignorant journalists either do not understand or choose not to understand the financial statements published. There is far more chance of someone buying a newspaper if the headline screams “football club has huge amount of money to spend” than if it says ” sound financial management at centre of strategy”. This is compounded by financially illiterate supporters following their natural instincts to believe what is in the papers. For an easy to understand summary of the position, please go to Arsenal News Review where a contributor posted an excellent and easily understood exposition of the actual situation with regard to finances.
Yes we do all pay a fortune. Unfortunately this is the way of the world. We are 3rd in the league not 11th. We have already amassed more points this season thatn lost with 3 games remaining, 2 agaisnt relegation fodder. We got further in the CL than last season and only went out due to dubious refereeing decisions.
April 24, 2008 at 9:46 am
arsene wenger is a very smart and inteligent man why would he go out and say we have 70 milion to spen weve seen it before when Chelski said money was no object you saw average players ala bridge parker wright philips etc treble in price if we say we have 70 mil. you wold see the targets were after do the same wenger is like a poker player slowly building his hand ready to pounce.
April 24, 2008 at 9:48 am
you want us to sell the best training ground in England to buy players?!!!
April 24, 2008 at 9:50 am
Pedro - regarding the budget. Yes the AST have not published the 25m budget on their website but “Arsenal Supporters’ Trust Members will be receiving copies of the AST’s latest review of Arsenal’s finances this weekend.”
To see the details see the ANR link below:
http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=957&cntnt01origid=30&cntnt01returnid=42
Which figure do I believe, personally the one AST are suggesting.
April 24, 2008 at 9:51 am
Hi Pedro,
Nice post.
As you pointed out the nice “conditioning” made on the official web site and TV (Article of Nordveit, Theo, Barazite to name a few are always nicely timed with events happening) you’ll agree that Wenger has no choice to play down his potential transfer activity.
That is the only choice if if wants to get the players he wants at normal prices.
We have all the right to critize him for that lack of transfert for the last 3 years but if you look at the whole football world picture, we all know that the Club needed to make a step back in order to progress.
Just imagine the club in the state of 5-7 years ago now (when we were signing ready made replacement (Pires, Henry…) when players were sold). We would not be able to compete now.
Now the “transfert inactivity” was the price to pay for:
1) A top class academy now close to full speed
2) A world class stadium ready for the next 20 years.
My view is that in a year or two, we’ll be able to sign 2-3 to players per year (when needed) to complement an already good squad.
But I also find it difficult to have to wait and see our competitors getting the silverware.
April 24, 2008 at 9:51 am
Top post Pedro, some questions raised that dont look like we’ll ever get the answer to, also all this bollox about money being spent on the redevelopment of highbury seems like a smoke screen to me! What do I care about building projects and all that crap? I dont support Laing O’rourke construction FC!
Bottom line is this, we’re skint AGAIN, no money to spend on big name players AGAIN, so we’ll be buying Billy no names and kids AGAIN!
Goody gumdrops!
April 24, 2008 at 9:54 am
Having money to spend means nothing to AW, he’s on a 1 man mission to win things by not spending big, i even believe we will make a profit in the transfer market again this season, hopefullly i’m wrong and the manager will swallow his pride and bring in the 3 or 4 top players we need to take us to the next level.
April 24, 2008 at 9:56 am
Do u really want Arsenal turning into a club like Real Madrid…??? im proud of our club, our team, i love watching arsenal and only arsenal play. U know why, becos we play the best football in the world, we all know that, every1 else knows that! So why is every1 talking about the need 2 spend money all the time?? we could have easliy done the double this year, we came very very close, but luck wasnt on our side.
Next year our best chance of winning a trophy is to keep this team together. I really want to see a couple signings come in, we need a couple players that will guide our players to success. Up front we have plenty of firepower, on the wings we look short, but we have Vela coming as backup, maybe one more will help. Wenger will make changes, when has he ever said yes i am going to buy this player? never is the answer so wait and see.
April 24, 2008 at 10:02 am
The problem I have is that whilst its easy to dismiss the AST’s report, the fact remains both Wenger & Dein have both said Arsenal don’t have the money to spend which is backed by the report.
The only person to say we do have money is Edelman, so if it’s true why isn’t he correcting the manager??
DD wouldn’t have just sold up without reason, I’m not saying he was right but there is more to it than people think.
April 24, 2008 at 10:03 am
I am quite happy with the way Arsenal goes about its business, and to be honest, our transfer policy is spot on. We have usually got 1/2 good signings per season/ albeit unknowns, but they usually do well. I think snapping up talented youngsters is also great even if its only to give them a football education the Arsenal way.
But what I really dont like is the fact that some players have been given the benefit of the doubt for far too long! And Wenger needs to take action. Rosicky and Hleb are great players, but what is with AW buying players and then playing them in unfamiliar roles. Rosicky, Diaby are not Left sided players
April 24, 2008 at 10:03 am
Clockendrider… read the ANR piece again. Its is guess work, there are a lot of ifs in there.
Regurgitating what you have read on another site is what I would call ‘Lazy posting’.
I am more inclined to believe the words of a man who is associated with the club, rather than a mere speculator… this men being Hill-wood and Edelman.
The point of the article is that all the other clubs around us are spending like there is no tomorrow. Now, I don’t want us to spend for spending sake… but to here the same ‘We’re poor’ line repeated over and over again does not wash.
We have been a top 5 team since 96… how many teams below us earn what we earn? So why are we still struggling…?
I suspect it is more down to Arsene than the actual funds we have.
April 24, 2008 at 10:06 am
Pedro just to add to that list of cash, Arsenal got 55 million in July ‘06 from Nike as per the agreement regarding the stadium & they also got a total of 60 million from Granada, that was 30 million upfront & then another 30 million when the financing of the new stadium was sorted.
The 100 million from Emirates was actually only 90 million but that included both the stadium naming & the shirt sponsorship. Arsenal were badly ripped off there but done it because the money was upfront. It will be a total of over 100 million based on certain criteria being met.
April 24, 2008 at 10:06 am
IF YOU BELIEVE THIS…..THERE IS NO MONEY.
I’ve not seen seen an actual quote from Edelman stating we had £70m as a transfer kitty, however two of my goon pals have been friendly for a few years with the immediate relative of a1st team coaching team member & he told us last April was no real money to spend, which proved true. We actually made money !
Three weeks ago he told us exactly the same thing & said ignore what is being reported in the press about funds of £50/70m. He stated it was no where near that & the board ‘would not give Arsene any real money to spend’. He also told us that the old ground is using alot of the revenue. Then 2 weeks ago another esteemed member of the staff at L.Colney repeated that Wenger will get no major funds & that he’d have liked to have bought Torres last season.
If, as I believe this all true then maybe this is why Dein’s recent mag interview stating ‘We need a outside investment to compete’ was done with Wenger’s blessing as he cant come out & state against the board.
Either way fans need to know as there will be those bollocking Wenger for not spending, when in fact he can’t.
April 24, 2008 at 10:07 am
the womens team’s good
April 24, 2008 at 10:10 am
well done pedro ,
goes a long way to point out my little hissy fit this morning .
However your 2nd option and wenger are one in the same ..
Wenger sits in on the board meetings .. You wouldn’t survive the club if you didn’t agree with the board .. DD is living testament to that ..
So if the moneys there or if arsene can spend it .. Im sure its a group decision
with arsene the monkey who grinds the organ for the boards decisions ..
Sure blame him publicly .. question his youth methods?! but the real telling fact is looking back over the past 4 years .. Do people want our club run like a business ? too marvel at the British ownership .. (like that will last forever!)
Win fuck all for the next 4 seasons to come?
Sure we are set up for a fruitful future ! good stadium .. good training grounds etc..WE WANT RETURNS!!! THIS SEASON !!
But when will we start winning things?
WE wont if people DONT want to change with the times !
Sorry but buying world class players work !! ESPECIALLY STRIKERS !
you only need to look at who is always above us on the leader board every season to realize that .. Having blind faith in arsene is just pure stupidity ..
And the second a player is worth there salt they want to leave !!!! WHY ????
And with that said , we will get nowhere unless we start to win !!!!
We are a selling club currently ! and thems the facts ..
April 24, 2008 at 10:10 am
clockendrider can you explain how when at highbury we were paying henry,dennis,pires,cambell,viera,freddie all much more than we pay hleb,fab etc.. so at a bigger ground we have a smaller wage bill and we make profit from transfers etc.. as we all remember we offered cashley £55k and he almost crashed his car and this was when we had henry on huge money cambell on over 100k a week not to mention dennis and viera yet know we cant pay our most consistent player this season more than 50k its all spin we were told we would make 30million more from emirates then highbury a season and we have a mortgage of 14 million a year these are arsenals figures,put like this if your 20 year house mortgage is£800 a month and you take in 2,000 a month in wages would you put the kids in below par college to have cash in the bank this is what arsenal or doing there figures contradict what they said a few months ago
April 24, 2008 at 10:12 am
And I quote Kieth Edelman,
Clockendrider… you might want to take up your financial expertise with Kieth… clearly you are more in the know?
Link
April 24, 2008 at 10:18 am
As for DD ..
Lets face it he is the Director for red and white Co. he sold his shares to the Russian because with the proceeds im sure he was going to buy more !
DER!
It makes perfect business sense .He has the pull locally to snap up shares from the local populous !. The problem arrived after he did so .. the board sensed it and closed down anyone attempting to get the further 4 or 6 % needed for a take over .. Am i the only one who can see it ???
then he and the Russian would be share owners and take over the club ..
END OF …
April 24, 2008 at 10:19 am
We had over £70 million of cash at the end of the year, and if Arsene wants to spend that money we will make it available.’
HAD ???
doesnt he mean HAS !!!
HAD is in the past ! …
HAS still means its there !!!
April 24, 2008 at 10:20 am
to be fair. if wenger spends £25m then it will be more than he has ever spent in one summer ever before. if he really does spend £25m I will actually be very pleased. I think £25m represents 2 big signings. Wenger can get world class players for £10m when everyone else spends £17-£20m.
If we keep Flam AND spend £25m, I would put us as PL favourites for next season.
As for Flam, we will have to buy if he goes. his potential replacements at the club are not first choice all season long type players. Gilberto - too old and inconsistent, Song - too inexperienced and potentially not good enough technically (unknown quantity), Denilson - too inexperienced and small/weak. Diaby - too attack minded (is a replacement for cesc not Flam).
April 24, 2008 at 10:25 am
when he says spend THAT money. does he mean all £70m of it, or just referring to money in the bank? Maybe Edelman was being optimistic to make fans feel happy. the truth is some of that money is being used for other things.
maybe he is trying to prevent a takeover from usmanove by making it sound like we are not in the financial shit that we are actually probably still in.
April 24, 2008 at 10:25 am
Brilliant post Clockender! I just wish some of the impatient ’supporters’ would read these educated posts and realise you have to accumulate before you can speculate otherwise you risk being another Leeds! When the Stadium debt is off our hands and the Highbury flats are sold we can take more risks but in the meantime new training facilities, the new 60K seater Grove, the promise of more magical football skills (Arsene-style) and brilliant production line kids coming through with an almost fully successful team can’t be bad, can it? Next year could be the year the successes start
April 24, 2008 at 10:33 am
all big fancy foreign owners do is get the club into masive debt…. do u really want that at arsenal….. what do u think will happen when glazier get bored at man utd or abramovich gets bored with chelsea or hicks and gillette get bored at liverpool….. they will leave and leave all the debt with them and the clubs will be in turmoil. Unless someone else takes over but if they dont then these clubs are shafted!!!!!! i know there will always be big fancy owners to takeover at clubs like man utd and chelsea but what happens if there isnt one day??????
Besides these foreign owners only buy football clubs because they can!!!! they arent fans of the team they just buy a football club so they can say….. i have a football club!!!!
As much stick as we get for having not alot of english players in our squad has anyone in England actually praised us for being one of the few clubs who are still owned by Englishmen??????…. and this is coming from a scotsman!…. i can be classed as a foreign supporter but even i appreciate the foundations of the club are still english!
We get slated for it but man utd, chelsea and liverpool get away with being foreign owned!!!!!
Next time anyone is phoning in 606 ask Alan Green why Arsenal get stick for not having english players but its ok for the rest to be foreign owned????
April 24, 2008 at 10:38 am
Patrick, using the Leeds as a comparison is such a poor analogy…
Plenty of clubs spend big, who are less successful than us…. and guess what? They didn’t go bust.
Sunderland, Spurs, Newcastle, Villa… Everton…
You have been totally suckered in by Arsenal.com.
Magical football and great production line… its embarrassing to read someone so taken in by the Arsene ideology.
‘Next year’
That should be Arsenals mission statement.
Understanding business is not something you need to preach over here.
Jeez, people read one article and take it as gospel…
Gazzap, I understand that maybe he wasn’t talking about blowing the full £70mill this summer… but the lowly figures that are being bandied around are ridiculous.
April 24, 2008 at 10:39 am
I deal with enough bloody balance sheets p&l schedules and provisions at work to have to start trying to figure out arsenal’s accounts as well!
We need players, the current crop will improve in some departments to some degree, but enough. which means we need to invest in certain positions, mainly at the back.
Anyone who cant see that is deluding themselves!
April 24, 2008 at 10:40 am
***but not enough
April 24, 2008 at 10:41 am
Kenny, what happens when people don’t buy tickets to come and see Arsenal anymore?
Its a similar question to what you are asking regarding Abramovich and co.
I don’t want foreign ownership. The article didn’t say that?
The mancs, liverpool and the Chavs will bolster heavily in the summer and the chances are that we wont.
I just don’t want Arsenal to be left behind.
April 24, 2008 at 10:41 am
I really don’t believe Wenger is on a mission to hoodwink fans.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/arsenal/article2520179.ece
This is the article that is causing the furore, apparently the figures mentioned here don’t add up to what Arsene has recently said is available.
Has anything changed? There is an explanation which hasn’t been clearly put forward in front of the fans…Hill-Wood has a duty to give us an update and compare the two statements.
Either way, I believe Arsene is telling us the situation as it is, he cannot make such publicly scrutinised statements without being able to back them up.
I don’t believe for a second we won’t be fixed up to take on Europe next season, Arsene was talking trophies the other day, so whatever he does, next season should be a trophy winning season.
Are we good enough to win the Carling and FA Cups? Yes, we should be aiming for the triple every season, and winning trophies within our reach instead of allowing them to be squandered on Portsmouth and Tottenham.
April 24, 2008 at 10:44 am
technically he wasn’t lying when he said £70m.
£70m is the maximum available for transfers and wages if we chose to take out a loan.
£25 is the real figure,
knowing Arsene, he will not take the loan option unless its absolutely necessary.
April 24, 2008 at 10:46 am
Finestcuts… Arsene also said in his interview yesterday,’what is better, the champions league final in 06 or a carling cup win?’.
That suggests the same approach is being taken again next year.
Champions league and the Prem first… the rest if we get lucky.
Every summer Wenger says there is little to spend… every summer the board come out and say they would never deny Wenger.
April 24, 2008 at 10:48 am
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=561689&in_page_id=1771&ito=1490
Damn right.. we need answers.
April 24, 2008 at 10:50 am
yeah theyre running the entire academy just to brainwash all gooners into accepting no transfers over the summer. You total and utter bell-end.
April 24, 2008 at 10:51 am
I wonder how someone can just blindly believe that we will keep in touch with all the big clubs without buying world class players!! I’m really sick and tired of all these closet AKB types!!
Everyone knows we dont pay top dollar, if we develop a player and he becomes a world class performer, what’s the first thing that happens? they get linked with a move away from the Arsenal!
How many times does it have to happen before we realise we cant keep going on like this?!
Every summer, all gooners go thru the heart ache of our top performers being touted around Europe (Vieira,Henry,Anelka,Hleb,Ade,Fab), what used to be our saving grace was that we were winning trophies, but if we continue to fall short, and have nothing to show for our efforts, what player would think to themselves,,hmm,, I want to play for arsenal..why?.. becasue they play great football, compete for major trophies, but just fall short, and oh yeah they’ll pay me 25k a week less than the other big clubs! Very enticing!
I’m not saying get the Abramovich equivalent, but maybe it’s time we bought a couple of big name charlies, pay them top doller and watch them bring out the best in or youger less experienced players. FFS, shirt salews would bloody go thru the roof, and you’d have people from all over the world wanting to come and see our games anyway, so they’d make the bloody money back!
April 24, 2008 at 10:51 am
Bravo the Arsenal spokesperson who dismissed the speculation:
“Even if there was a figure, we would not disclose the amount.”
£25million is a ridiculously low amount and I don’t believe it.
April 24, 2008 at 10:52 am
Yeah a CL final is definitely of much greater value, the audience it attracts is huge, but we shouldn’t overlook English trophies, they’re the ones we have the most chance of winning, and they should be treated seriously, we should be the defending champions of those trophies every season.
April 24, 2008 at 10:55 am
Yet I will remain positive and look to the sunny side of life….where is it again?
April 24, 2008 at 10:55 am
Whether there is plenty of money or not, it’s obvious that AW won’t spend huge money yet again. So all I’m hoping for is find us another SAGNA!!
April 24, 2008 at 11:06 am
AW doesn’t need to spend as much as we all think. A couple of Sagna types will be welcome. The Superstar will only make our profile look good and not the team. AW should just think about his tactics next season. Play the form players in their positions. Play the way we do but keep it tight at the back. Powerful CM will help the defence and a quality keeper. We need a winger who can score some goals and this could be Vela. Everyone goes on about the Mancscum spending fortunes but the truth is 25 Mill for Hargreaves is way over the top so to Carrick and probably Nani and the very over rated Anderson. They helped them win the Prem but thay are only good players not Superstars. Is Huntellar a Superstar ? Could he be an improvement? Villa is close to being a Superstar but will he score more than Ade? I don’t think so. We were very unucky with injuries. Dudu was targeted at the time by red noses pals as he looked the real deal. We were given poor decisions by refs after the rant from red nose following the FA cup tie. Thats when we lost it. AW made terrible decisions later in the year that probably destroyed morale for the likes of Mad Jens who had a good run in the team (clean sheets) to be replaced by that fraud. Then Big Phil who got dumped for Toure. Theo said he knocked on AW door a few weeks ago. Would love to be fly on the wall for that. Boss why do you play a right back in the team before me, a shit one at that? Also am I the only person who thinks Clichy got a shout at the end of the Birmingham game from Our Spanish waiter. He took the rap for that mistake that led to the Pen. Why would Gael leave the ball like that? And by the way it wasn’t a Pen. No wonder Aw talks constantly about our mental strength. Angry players waiting to explode as the Professor fucks them about. I am not an AW hater, its just that he has done this for a few years now and someone else should tell him. Who can that be.
April 24, 2008 at 11:06 am
I get fed up with people saying we play the best football in the world. What a load of cobblers. At it’s best our fottball is very good but there are plenty of other days when it’s not. Villa, Boro and Liverpool at home in the league were turgid games.
We play good fottball but I wish some of our fans would stop being so arrogant about how good we are. Football is about both end’s of the pitch and defensively we are certainly are not good enough. A sense of perspective is needed when reviewing the quality of our game.
A common theme amongst staunch Wenger supporters is that we have over achieved this season and who would have thought we would be where we are etc etc. I agree with that! That’s why we need to buy. The current squad did over achieve and I cannot see them doing the same again next season.
I am not saying Wenger should go mad in the market but I am sure we could spend upto £30m on transfers without going into financial meltdown. The place needs a big signing to give us all a boost this summer.
April 24, 2008 at 11:08 am
Daily Mail have just ran a story confirming we might only have £25M to spend and they are quoting AST.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=561689&in_page_id=1779
Good post but I must disagree today. I have had a funny feeling for some time that we don’t actually have any money to spend. Why would DD walk out on the club in protest against our inability to invest? unless it’s true of course. Pedro you say keith is part of the club so why would he lie about our budget.
Here’s why, no Arsenal fan gives a shit about keith Edelman or any other board memeber for that matter . Therefore, for a board who convinced the fans they are better equipped to run a club than rich foreigners by saying we have lots of money, it would be a contradiction to then come out and say we can’t compete financially. Arsenal fans are very loyal to Wenger however, so they are letting Wenger take all the stick when in truth Wenger has no option but to be frugal.
In short all Directors lie!! that’s their job. They lie to keep us less intelligent folk happy while they run their business. Saying that, they’re not doing anything bad as far as AFC is concerned. Fans are impatient and short-sighted so they can’t appreciate long-term financial planning. I don’t know about you guys but I’m happy to finish 3rd for the next 3 or 4 seasons so my son can grow up watching the players in the world in an Arsenal shirt. Look at the bigger picture please.
April 24, 2008 at 11:12 am
Keith Edelman and PHW are both idiots .. early on in the Kroenke saga did they make derogatory statements about the former..unnecessary and low comes to mind
they have also been disrespectful to DD when sacking him ungracefully from the club
now I have no doubt that there is less money available than our board dickheads went on to boast about .. in fact, most comments by KE are just a pile of shiit
Wenger, for all he is worth, is not a lying scumback and despite the perceived club’s interest to downplay how much we have available, it is totally impossible that the club would have more than 20/30 million to spend
at this stage of the Highbury project, money is being consumed .. I fear that AFC might get their timing wrong with the current mortgage problems and subsequent slump in the property market
I believe that we need DD to return to the club and help find a solution to the current financial impasse
the worst case scenario would be for next season us to drop out of top 4 due to losing key players and not replacing and the Highbury project running into financial trouble/eating up more and more cash ..
this is the risk we are running right now.. I dont think that our current financial position is satisfactory and clearly not good enough to develop a sustainable successful football project .. the club’s position is far riskier than most of us fans realize
April 24, 2008 at 11:13 am
pedro, i think you make a lot of sense. we can’t always pretend we don’t have money.
wenger needs to run a club and not some manufacturing industry. by the way, is arsenal a car factory? why should we be humiliated & bullied by drogba, essein, & rooney season in season out. i am so tired watching arsenal struggling against any of the big three. why can’t we get our super stars who will help us comfortably beat Man UTD, chelsea , & liverpool. wenger spend the money to make the fans happy. when was the last time we even defended our title, chelsea did & utd is about to do it. what’s happening to us.
we have 70m, we can spend it like this and win two trophies next season:
lucio ————–10m
benzema———- 20m
robinho ———-20m
micar richards —–15m
diego ————–15m
wilson palacios——5m
TOTAL—————–80m
difficit (15)
sell:
Sanderos—————–5m
Hoyte——————–3m
gilberto——————-4m
M. randall—————-2m
diaby——————–5m
djourou——————4m
TOTAL—————–[23m]
so that’ it. we have no problam as selling the above players can clear our difficit. benzema will be our mian striker since VRP is always injured(we can’t sell him though)
lucio will be the anker of our defence(i haven’t seen him bullied before by anybody) kolo or gallas could partner him. M. richards arsenal fan could also partner him or any of them and i can asure you he will die for this team. richards and gallas could be valuable covers for clichy and sagna. in CM palacios & kolo could also cover flamini while diego and rosicky could cover for fabrigas, the boy is tired my people. robinho will be on the LM providing goals for the strikers and scoring too. he too could be covered by vela, risicky, & merida. RM will be for hleb and walcott.
imagine us havung this team full of compatition for places that will give AW seletion problem? ade will score with every chance he got, gallas won’t lift his hand in the penalty box. every body will be careful. let wenger do this or some thing similar to this and see if we will not win two trophies next season.
April 24, 2008 at 11:18 am
I have supported ARSENAL for many years and seen the scummers up the road outspend us on glamour players for most of them years. They win fuck all. That is not the answer. It would be nice to have some class but not a prima donna who will turn the younsters into big time Charlies. How can anyone want a Big time Charlie at our club? I hear moans about Ade being a big time Charlie, it would cause chaos having more of them. The team are ok it’s the Managing of this team that needs overhauling. Why the fuck did we let that Manc cunt Beckham train with our boys. What a fucking joke. Do we need him to raise our profile. Its like letting Queroz watch our training sessions. Chavs away 1-0 up 20 minutes left. take off Diaby and invite them to have a go. Same at Pool and Birmingham etc. We are the bollocks when passing the ball around. The other team can’t score if we have the ball. Last 10 minutes lets hoof it up and give possesion away. Yes we scored lots of late goals but most were equalisers. We also conceded a few late goals later in the year. Probably knackered by then.
April 24, 2008 at 11:21 am
Armchair,
‘Fans are impatient and short-sighted so they can’t appreciate long-term financial planning. I don’t know about you guys but I’m happy to finish 3rd for the next 3 or 4 seasons so my son can grow up watching the players in the world in an Arsenal shirt. Look at the bigger picture please.’
Happy with 3rd for the next 3 seasons?
What is the bigger picture? We are a football club… we are there to win trophies, not business awards.
You can have all the sound financial planning you want, but at the end of the day if you are not signing world class players and winning competitions you are failing?
We play great one touch football when we fancy it… but James, like you said… it will count for nothing at the end of the season.
April 24, 2008 at 11:25 am
beckham+Colorado Rapids +(owner) Stan Kroenke + Arsenal = higher international profile +more money
looks like a marketing and finachial opertunity EL Tel that arsenal took advantage of,
April 24, 2008 at 11:26 am
Them Playstation Manager games have a lot to answer for. It would take all these Superstars at least a season to bed in. Back to square one and next season we would need more superstars.
April 24, 2008 at 11:28 am
Torres didn’t take long to settle in?
Anderson didn’t either… how about Hargreaves?
Great players don’t need as much time to settle as great youngsters.
April 24, 2008 at 11:28 am
But El Tel, not all the big time players are disruptive influences. A CB who comes in and gives us an extra 5 clean sheets, and improves the rest of the defence would be most welcome!
April 24, 2008 at 11:28 am
Chris, who got the best of this deal AFC or the Rapids. We ars still skint. Just like our playing potential does our profile have potential too. He’s a Spud supporting Manc ffs
April 24, 2008 at 11:29 am
Sagna didnt take more than 10 minutes to settle in!
April 24, 2008 at 11:29 am
settling periods are something that we fans sometimes use as excuses while we hope for greatness,
April 24, 2008 at 11:31 am
probably neither EL TEL and LA Galaxy get the dividends
April 24, 2008 at 11:32 am
Hargreaves,Torres,Anderson as I said were good not great players and settled in well but if we had sgned Hargreaves or Anderson would that have made you happy. Torres yes he could be a Superstar, lets see his 2nd season first.
April 24, 2008 at 11:32 am
Somebody called Patrick said we have to accumulate to speculate, really? what do you think we’ve been doing all of Wengers reign then? look at our total spend against players sold in the last 12 years and it comes to less than Sunderland spent this season.
We have a new ground but we have that covered, we charge our fans more than any others to see us win nothing, were you watching us last night or the Mancs, I know what I’d sooner be watching.
April 24, 2008 at 11:33 am
Good post Pedro and Odub I tend to agree with your sentiments in the 10.51 post -well said .By the way Odub its 28oc here in Spain and clear skies …Oh I also agree with your always look on the bright side of life but as you may recall its sung in the life of Brian whilst they are being crucified -lets hope we aint crucified during the summer transfer window …and if you aint got the cash borrow some youve got enough security
April 24, 2008 at 11:35 am
Exactly Sagna was unknown bwfore he arrived and yes a CB would be fantastic. So too would a keeper. Who really believes that Gallas will take sitting on our bench as back up will happen. He hated playing LB at Chavski.
April 24, 2008 at 11:35 am
Why are we talking about money? Have i missed something over the last few days?
April 24, 2008 at 11:37 am
sadly ollie a degree of economics and spin is a requirment accross the arsenal news spectrum which is nightmare, the times links above these comments shoudl assist,
April 24, 2008 at 11:37 am
Mike, cheers for that!! we fly out next tuesday!
Hopefully I come back and we’ve found another 50 million from somewhere!! Doubt it though!
April 24, 2008 at 11:37 am
Torres ‘could’ be a superstar…
£26million, 25 goals in his first season after a slow start?
I think we can safely say, he is a superstar.
I would have been very happy signing Anderson. We didn’t need a Hargreaves… but Anderson would have been good.
This isn’t my point anyway… my point is we’d have bolstered in the positions we needed to… we probably would be in a better position now.
Patrick was a big time AKB Geoff.
April 24, 2008 at 11:38 am
Gallas can fuck off for all I care, Kolo’s comments in the media today give the impression he’s lost everyone’s respect since the brummie game!
April 24, 2008 at 11:40 am
pedro
i think you can firmly blame the board !
Edelman and PHW they are on the board right ??
its edelman in september giving us the magic figure of 70 mil ?
Arsene is just there hand puppet and just a small fish in this big pond .
If you read the ANR .. it definitely states in the summary (which i advise you all read ) that 20 mil is being held for player securities on the loans still outstanding .. that cuts the figures off at the knees before you start ..
and buying 2 hleb style signings is just leaving ourselves open for them to come good and leave again !
Its a vicious circle ..
Clubs achieve greatness by having players over 30 play ..
we fuck off all our experience by making them sign a 1 year deals ..
pires being a good example..
they are all talking bollocks .. i said that in yesterdays blog ..
just money hungry business men ! who have struck gold and
wont sell up even thou they are so far out of there depth its screwing up our
club .. Lets face it there are tight wankers who dont want to spend money , yet bleed the fans dry with increasing price rises !
THOSE ARE THE FACTS and WENGER suits them ..
Now you can see why im open to a change of ownership ..
Someone who wants to step up like dein and bring this club back to GREATNESS !!!!
April 24, 2008 at 11:40 am
One hit Premier league player who no-one semms to mention is Santa Cruz, he came straight into the Blackburn team, opened his account on his 3rd touch, has scored 20 for them. Obviously Torres is better but a Santa Cruz would definitely do us.
He’s the right age as well with plenty of experience, 26, he’s 1.96m tall so an arieal threat, we could make him oeven better and he’s ready made. He’s worth 10-15 milll and worth it too, of course i would prefer Huntelaar, but both of them would do.
Eduardo was bought for Henry, but who do we have for Eduardo?
If you go back to the beginning of the equation you have Henry, meaning we need an Henry replacement, ie. a world class striker, and they are bloody expensive, if Wenger wants huntelaar, he better be prepared to do some part exchanges plus cash, maybe sacrifice Hoyte or Lansbury or any of those lads coming back off loan + the transfer fee, Van Basten will be interested in some of our youth talent and we have one of the perfect bargaining tools when wanting to strike a top deal.
Lansbury, Gibbs or any of those wouldn’t do badly to go to Ajax.
April 24, 2008 at 11:41 am
Cheers Chris.. the only thing i got was something about a takeover, and that ended in an arguement!
So we are trying to work out how the $70m turned into 25m?
April 24, 2008 at 11:43 am
Question?
When Cesc first started to break into the first team he had the likes of Henry, Vieira, Bergkamp, Campbell, Pires etc etc to learn from in training and more importantly in first team games………
Where are our world class match winners now? Who can Theo, Song, Vela, Merida et al learn from now?
How can having 2, 3 or 4 world class players hinder the development of younger players, surely it would enhance it.
If this squad of ours (and let’s not forget this is OUR team) had the 2, 3 or 4 top quality players they so badly need, we would piss this league.
April 24, 2008 at 11:43 am
Pedro you are right Torres scored lots of goals and settled quick. But guys are saying me or you could get them amounts in our team. The point is Torres is a great player and we would love to have him but choose the Pool player tou would most want for our club and I would be surprised if Torres came first. SG anyone. Yes Odub Gallas can fuck right off. The Chavs and media said he was best CB in the world. Bollox.
April 24, 2008 at 11:45 am
Ethan… £25million has to stay in the bank account for sercurities… but we have a £40million overdraft facility?
Why would the bank say… you can’t touch that £25million cash you have there, but we’ll give you £40mill in your overdraft?
April 24, 2008 at 11:45 am
Yeah Ollie. Basically Hill Wood says that was the cash available. If he gave Wenger that cash we’d need to borrow more to pay the other bills.
It’s like me saying, hey I’ve got 200 quid, you can have it. But if I give you that 200 I still have to pay for my groceries this week which means I’ll have to use my credit card to pay the bills and pay off with cash i ‘ll earn next week..
April 24, 2008 at 11:48 am
Safe to say El Tel that’s he’s not even one of the top 10 defenders in the world!
Romford Pele, here’s an easy solution mate, dont bother reading the comments, leave people to air their own views/opinions, and stop telling people theyre wasting their time or dont know what theyre talking about. Works for ma and Im sure others will concur!
April 24, 2008 at 11:48 am
Right… I get it now! Im useless with this sorta stuff..
I thought this was a football club.. not an Economical Debating site….
April 24, 2008 at 11:49 am
Correction on above comment
**thought it was a football Blog
April 24, 2008 at 11:49 am
romford pele, i quite enjoy hearing some of my e-friends opinions, even if i disagree,
April 24, 2008 at 11:50 am
World class players yes Big time Charlies No. We have world class players Gilberto WCW. Gallas WCW. Germanys number 1, Sicky, Toure. Explain world class. And if Torres had a slow start was this because he didn’t settle quikly? ADe 28 goals good start poor middle and strong end of season Not 26 Million and Pool could end up winning fuck all and are below us in the Prem.
April 24, 2008 at 11:50 am
Finestcuts, Pizzaro,Makay and Santa Cruz were turfed out by Bayern, I’m thinking Chelsea got the bum deal out of that lot!! Good player Santa Cruz.
April 24, 2008 at 11:50 am
Yeah sorry about that comment…
Good one Romford Pele… no one talk about anything Arsenal or question anything, classic intelligence and with demonstrated by a retard.
Closet AKB I reckon.
April 24, 2008 at 11:52 am
Here Here, we dont all agree but thats why this is the best blog. Its like being in the pub with your Gooner mates.
April 24, 2008 at 11:54 am
exactly, no need for the whole fuck off you dont know what youre talking about crap! shows a lack of respect in my book. Lets move on chaps,
Pedro’s got his finger on the button!
April 24, 2008 at 11:56 am
Yup, got to give Mark Hughes credit, he knows how to bring the best out of class players. He’s a stinge like Wenger, and they’re the club that spent the least in the transfer window, they’re number 20 in the 5 yr table (Arsenal are number 18!).
If we want ready made Prem League quality we only need two players, a midfielder and a striker if we’re going for the bare bones, therefore:
Bentley. Wenger would be buying back a player who has raised his game, has improved in class, he’ds the finished PL product, worth the money.
Santa Cruz
A great out and out striker, with our service he could be knocking them away on a regular basis and he is Physically an ideal player.
Would adding those 2 improve our team?
Yes
Nordtveit is the answer in defence.
If we’re looking for ready made players who could do the job for us, and are players we could afford, it would be those 2.
April 24, 2008 at 11:57 am
pedro, the flip side of arsenal tv is that any upcoming star may net higher “cash monies prize” due to the exposure, i.e. the inevitable ones that wont make it through may therefore get the club a better fee from transfer
April 24, 2008 at 11:57 am
We all love the same team, we all have our ideas, we all respect each other.
April 24, 2008 at 11:58 am
bentley has burned his bridges cuts,
April 24, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Santa Cruz - yes, Bentley - hell no!!
April 24, 2008 at 12:01 pm
World Class as in current World Class, not trading on past glories……….
Ask yourself this, if any of that list - Bertie, Gallas etc were put up for sale, how many would end up at Chavski, ManUre or Scouse?? Probably only Toure. Bertie (God love him) is way past his best, as is Mad Jens, Sicky you can’t call a player who player who plays 12 games a season WC, and as for ‘our mate’ Gallas…….
April 24, 2008 at 12:01 pm
This would be an Awesome midfield.
Almunia
Sagna, Toure, Nordveidt, Clichy
Walcott, Fabregas, Diaby, Bentley
Santa Cruz, RVP
Thats a winning team….
April 24, 2008 at 12:01 pm
pedro
Of the near £70m of cash balances, £25m is unavailable as it is used to partially secure future repayments of the debt facilities and one also assumes some is set aside to meet the probable £20m of additional transfer fees payable on existing squad members.
This does however leave maybe £25m for the squad building (transfer plus wages) that appears all too necessary to sustain a season long challenge for honours on several fronts.
April 24, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Chris… great point. Why stand about in the rain when you could pay £8 a month to scout from your living room!
Finestcuts, I have to disagree with you. Nordveit is only young… can you imagine someone with a frame that slight dealing with a Drogba or a Kenwyne Jones?
My mate used to play for Arsenal and he said CB’s struggle to break through until they are older because the strength of the senior players is so much more apparent compared to a youngster. This is in the last 3 years… so I’m not talking back in the 50’s…
April 24, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Replace Bentley or Cruz with any World class players, we already have options all over the park.
April 24, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Pedro, we have to throw them in at the deep end, he is technically ready and with Arsenal’s training programme has bulked up muscle and is ready to take those players on.
April 24, 2008 at 12:05 pm
I was asking a question Ethan… why are we entitled to a £40million overdraft facility?
I don’t understand why you would be afforded that option if you had to have £25mill in cash available?
Does the overdraft exist, or am I way off the mark? I’d like to understand the process… becuase it is not making much sense to me right now!
April 24, 2008 at 12:05 pm
bentley can get fucked (preferably by someone with aids).
Santa Cruz could be good but again… not the WORLD CLASS player we expect at one of the top clubs in the world… we should be seeing the Ribery’s, benzema’s and Robinho’s of this world at our great club
April 24, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Mate Ive got a 15 mill overdraft here and we go into it every month! You’re afforded that facility based on previous and cash flow That’s what it’s there for ffs! Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!
April 24, 2008 at 12:11 pm
15 mill over draft and you are too tight to get arsenal tv?
April 24, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Eh chris, the company I do the accounts for has a 15 mill overdraft!! Mine’s 50 quid!!!
April 24, 2008 at 12:16 pm
So Odub… if you have to keep £25million cash set aside for securities… would you be allowed to go £40million into an overdraft?
April 24, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Every day of the week Pedro!!! Surely the bank would have prior knowledge of what the firms assets are especially fixed ones, before they authorise the OD.
So my answer again is hell yeah!!
April 24, 2008 at 12:21 pm
well to have an overdraft you have to have money in your account .
its like a flexible loan isnt it ?
they will lend you (your 40 million based on previous earning capabilities to pay it back)
and if you get stuck into any portion of the 40 million you need money to pay it off
like a loan style repayment .. thats why i presume the 25 million is in there ..
for if or when the club spends.. the 25 million acts as the loan repayment for the year …
it just sits there like a line of repayment .. if you dip into it ..
im sure we currently arnt using it .. (the 40 million ) well the club might use it for
sundries .. but they sure as hell aint been using it on players
April 24, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Fucks me off something chronic when diehard idiots defend Wenger because he changed that, because he changed this. Errr. One major flaw with that. What has a successful past got to do with a shite present? Brian Clough bought success to Forest then got them relegated. Prime example of making and breaking a team. If Arsenal win nothing much within the next 5-6 years, you’d still get wankers defending Wenger because he changed the dietary methods 20 years ago, and won league titles 15 years ago lol. Remarkable.
I used the same scenario once before. If your married for example of 20 odd years and your wife has bought you so much happiness and changed your life etc etc, and one day you found out she was fucking other guys recently, you gonna defend her and keep ahold of her because of the happy past? Or are you gonna consider the present and cut your losses? Maybe work something out, Wenger has had 3/4 years. Plenty of time to deliver but hasn’t. In football, you judge someone in the recent past and present to be fair. And Arsenal’s last 3/4 seasons have been in general shit and trophyless.
Oh, and maybe stability breeds success, after all, look at the incredible success and trophies Dario Gradi bought to Crewe after so many years of being manager.
People also wonder why on earth Wenger plays Diaby and Eboue etc all the time, and call the man a genius. Answer is, the bloke is an idiot. Why would a genius make the same old simple mistakes eh? Bunch of Wenger asshats. And does a so-called genius go a total since they have been at a club of around 6-7 years without a trophy? And does a genius who has had such wonderful, world-class players at their disposal have such a shit general record in Europe and never won a CL?
Bloke wants to admit defeat, gain respect by fucking off to Japan or France. Prove how good he is by building a youth team with a small club over there. Then if he makes them worldclass, then we can say he is a genius. What a prick.
The joke is. Wenger’s glass is always half full when it should be half empty. The idiot thinks because they were top for long periods, they were just unlucky etc with injuries and whatever. Thinking theres’a conspiracy against Arsenal is typical of being a cunt and decisions etc go against him. But he reckons with this squad, players be back from injuries and be better next season. WRONG! Yes, Arsenal will be better, but it isn’t about that, it is the fact United etc, will be EVEN BETTER next season. They won’t rest on their laurels. Wenger is an idiot and doesn’t realise that. Even if we had a fit first 11 all season, we still aren’t good enough.It amazes me why people continue to defend this man to the death. He is seriously fucking up Arsenal, to a point, if he did leave, no world-class players would want to join Arsenal anyway. You lot must like seeing United etc win the league and stuff and/or be crowned European Champions. Get used to it. Won’t ever change under Wenger. All true and the truth hurts. With a French git who speaks such shit and thinks the World is against Arsenal. That is why I dislike Wenger, not just because of the lack of success recently, it is the refusal to learn from the ultimate, simple alot of the times mistakes, and the constant “bigging” up of his team when they aren’t good enough, and the repetitive shite he continues to spout. Whatever he once achieved at Arsenal is history. He will be remembered as the maker and breaker. Most successful manager, but also the most underachiever. Fact.
Plus, although I am not particularly bothered by the lack of British players in our team/squad, BUT, Wenger goes on about how wonderful our foreign kids/team is, well, what have they actually won eh?
Maybe I was quick to jump the gun by slating Wenger in 2006. But in 2007, and 2008 same old shit. Slating is justified. Nuff said.
Just remembered something… Wenger said in the summer of 2005, when he sold Vieira, he had a “Masterplan”. I guess that plan, was to finish with fuckall 3 seasons on the trot, whilst watching your fiercist rivals sweep the lot between them. How wonderful. The cunt’s ego is writing checks his body can’t cash (lmfao “Top Cunt”) and he is a skinny fucker. Starved of success. Whilst everyone else involved with the Arsenal has to suffer.
Seeing United etc win shit, you’d think would agonize and make Wenger etc more determined to do something about it.
Wenger apologists always point out we were “shit” before Wenger came along and were a “mid-table team”, which in parts is utter shite, because it was only around twice (1993 & ‘95) we were mid-table.
So, where’s the people who are gonna try and shoot me down with facts I have proved about us being a mid-table team prior to Wenger eh? 1993 and 1995 was the only real time in recent years prior to Wenger we were mid-table. Yet, in 1993, we still won a cup double which was a first in those days, so not at all a bad season. So in fact, 1995 and 1996, was only 2 shitty seasons we had until Wenger came along. In fact, Graham only finished outside the top 4 like 3 times in his 9 seasons or so he was at Arsenal. And 1995 would of been different if it wasn’t for a certain cunt named Nayim from the halfway line..
So suck on that fuckers!!
People are also quick to harp on about how we wouldn’t even be where we are today without Wenger. Well maybe, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Same people, however, aren’t as quick to notice that the past 3/4 seasons, which have been shit are also thanks to Wenger. So, whilst tonight yet again, and even another months time etc in the Final, we have to look forward to our most hated, fiercest rivals win things. After 2004, it is sure shit to be an Arsenal fan. But hey, of course, why shan’t I go support the Mancs or Chelsea, or even Liverpool eh? Maybe as well, we don’t have the funds to get players in because the the new stadium etc. Well, if that’s true, sounds like a right hash job and not thought through, with crippling debts. Might be good for the future, but by then, probably be a lower division side. Yet again, you can blame Wenger, seeing as he was the one behind the new stadium. Though apparently, it was a fan that found the Ashburton Grove sight. Could end up being the worse decision ever to build a new stadium.
Thing is as well, I wouldn’t want Mourinho at Arsenal, but Arsenal fans speak shit anyway. If we had him or some boring cunt like Koeman, and we won titles every season etc, noone would complain because we were winning things. Then again, some idiots would probably say they didn’t want trophies playing less attractively and would rather win nothing under daddy Wenger. Brilliant times tho eh? After we won the FA Cup (undeserved) in 2005, we have had to watch Liverpool win the CL, FA Cup, Chelsea back-to-back titles, an FA Cup, and no doubt Man United back-to-back titles this season, with quite possibly one of them being crowned Champions of Europe again.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, to be an Arsenal fan.
“It is unacceptable for a big club to go 4 years without a league title.” - Arsene Wenger on Real Madrid.
No league title for Wenger for 4 years and trophyless for 3 and counting…………
April 24, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Yup geoff i would agree, this post does set me straight.
Pedro, the best post i have read on this site.
Very well written, you have swayed my way of thinking with a sensible, articulate piece of writing.
Keep up the good work.
April 24, 2008 at 12:25 pm
That was one hell of a first post Gelbs, you sound like you’ve been debating with AKB’s (Arsene Knows Brigaders)…!
Let it all out my friend!
Some great points in there.
April 24, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Lol. I usually post on GunnerBlog. I did post something smaller the other week on here. Just been adding to it lol. They hate me something chronic over there.
April 24, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Gelbs mate, you’re my inpiration pal!! That brought a tear to my eye…well almost, but I can see there was some rage in that post, but most of it was spot on!!
April 24, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Nice one Gelbs, particularly the last comment, thanks for the kind words Stupid, I’m glad you like it!
£25million cash set aside for securities, that has to be on top of the £70, otherwise he wouldn’t have said we have £70 for new players?
April 24, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Let me guess Gelbs they told you to ‘fuck off’ and said ‘Arsene Knows’?!
April 24, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Way too far Gelbs. I agree with some of your points but to call Wenger an idiot is ridiculous. We’re lucky to have Le Boss. He would walk into almost all the top jobs in europe right now. He revolutionized football in this country, the diet, the training, the style, the ethos, he has impacted everything around him. Teams like Man City and Blackburn want to play football the Arsenal way, whereas before Wenger they would’ve continued with the English way of playing. Look at Pompey - Harry wants to create a little mini arsenal with very fit and quick athletes who can zip the balls amongst the defence. Coincidence that he has so many former arsenal players? No.
Wenger is a fantastic coach, absolutely second to none. He needs to work on his starting line-up choices, his impact subs and his transfer dealings and contract talks. I would hate to lose him though, he is more important to this club than any of the players in the current squad combined.
April 24, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I think Wenger’s biggest charachter flaw his is stubborness. It’s almost as if he plays eboue and diaby on the flanks in spite of the rest of the footballing world screaming at him to drop em.
Lets not diss the man to much, to call him an idiot is a tad OTT.
He is by far the greatest manager this club has ever had, and very likely to be the best for the rest of our lifetimes.
Like greats in all areas of life, they all have there flaws.
April 24, 2008 at 12:34 pm
They are ardent supporters of anything Arsene and we would be mid-table if it wasn’t for the messiah We should be happy with 3rd. Go and be a spud. Why don’t you manage the team?
Some of the familiar lines you are unlikely to hear over here!
AKB’s, you can’t debate with them… so we don’t.
April 24, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Wenger is also lucky to have The Arsenal!
April 24, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Both parties are lucky to have each other, would be a better way of putting it.
April 24, 2008 at 12:36 pm
TH14…
‘He needs to work on his starting line-up choices, his impact subs and his transfer dealings and contract talks’
That is a lot of flaws for someone you rate so highly!
I think Arsene is a great coach and I wouldn’t change him, but another year without a trophy wouldn’t look so good on his CV.
April 24, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Well said Stupid/Gelbs.
April 24, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Bottom line is both parties have brought the best out of each other, we just need to get away from this idea that we would be nowhere without him!!
April 24, 2008 at 12:38 pm
there is more to this than the AKB and the ones whom are not, there is a middle ground
that post is certainly going to seperate a lot of bloggers,
April 24, 2008 at 12:39 pm
If Rijkaard can be looking at the sack after 2 trophyless seasons, and having won back to back titles and the CL, where does he rate in the world of managers?
April 24, 2008 at 12:41 pm
So, what if we go next season without winning nowt…
do we seriously consider giving the tin tack to le boss?
April 24, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Like I said as well, since Wenger has been at Arsenal, he has had a total of around at least years of not winning anything. He isn’t as wonderful as people makeout. Not to mention a shit record in general in Europe. 3 League titles in around a dozen years, isn’t exactly a fantastic ratio neither. George Graham won 1 less trophy than Wenger, and 1 less league title. However, he did bring in a major European trophy. No-one is debating what Wenger has done in the past. But it is the recent present you judge someone. Every dog has it’s day, and Wenger has had his and needs putting down fast!
April 24, 2008 at 12:43 pm
depends on the board though doesnt it? I get the impression he’ll never be sacked as he’s running things on a budget, and making them money, so results seem secondary as far as I can see…
April 24, 2008 at 12:44 pm
6 years of not winning*
April 24, 2008 at 12:46 pm
i honestly think if we get a 3rd season on the trot where we throw away three titles/cup in the space of a couple of weeks ( as per this season and about the same time last season )
he will walk.
he may think he has taken us a far as he can, and if this team begins to break up and leave the club, it could be the final straw for him.
he really does rate this group, i honestly