Mega bids roll in for young superstars, blame Arsenal, not Real.
So line them up, Anelka, Petit, Overmars, Edu, Flamini, Cole, Campbell, Diarra, Henry, Vieira, possibly Hleb and now Cesc Fabregas, our future.
Do we blame Real, why? It’s Arsenals fault. Why? Well everytime we get to the close season and win no silverware the players get fed up, understandable but not enough to leave, then the players get their heads turned and everytime we let them go, everytime.
It matters not whether they go on to bigger and better, it’s the attitude we have, ‘if they want to go you have to respect that’ how many times have we heard that? We are fast becoming a feeder club for Europe’s elite, the players know it, we know it, it seems to me the only people that don’t are Arsenal FC.
Do ManU get that problem? No. Do the Chavs? No. Do Madrid, Barca or Milan? No.
Every year we seem to be building a team and every year we win nothing. What we do though, is lose the players we adore and have been patient with.
Don’t blame the rules as no one follows them, except for us.
Liverpool go for Barry, Berger says he should go and what do Villa do? They sack Berger, that’s the spirit Martin, we should learn from that.
Last season if memory serves me, we sold Henry, Freddie, Ralph, Muamba and Larsson, we brought in Eduardo, Fabianski, Diarra and Sagna, we actually made a profit and were a player down, the season before we were 3 players down, so that makes 4, do the math, oh and then we sold Diarra, before Flamini decided to go, cracking bit of business boys, if Diarra wasn’t what we wanted, why sign him in the first place?
Keegan says he would need £150 million to break into the top four, why? We spent nothing, over the last 12 years. We’ve only spent £20 odd million, against huge amounts coming in, so where does it go? Who knows, maybe Arsene does eh?
Keegan and Redknapp talk rubbish, Newcastle have spent as much as ManU and Liverpool since the Premier League was formed, they just didn’t buy good players.
Wenger has bought well, that’s why we’re top 3, so huge credit to him, but every year we go through the same old, same old.
We can talk success but we’ve never won back to backs and we’ve never won the European Cup, and we won’t as long as we keep giving in to players and big clubs.
Time to make a stand, buy some big players and show Cesc we mean business.
Why should he waste his career here with a club obsessed with youth? Come on Arsenal, you owe it to the fans.
Lets give the boss a shopping list and email today’s findings to Arsenal.
Let me say that this site loves Arsenal, loves Arsene and loves the way we play football, but we love trophies more, so lets start trying to win them, all of them, not just 2 of them, just like the other top clubs try to.
We’ll give you all the list that Le-Grove wants tomorrow, we’ll refine it to the best 4 players, plus a Flamini replacement and a Hleb one if he goes.
People power is the way forward, we are paying customers, we pay more than anyone and we deserve better.
AKB’s stay away, we don’t want your opinion. We already know it.
Have a good ‘un Grovers, today we make history.
May 7, 2008 at 9:24 am
Morning
it was actually Patrik Berger that recommended Barry should go to Liverpooh.
If he had suggested Arsenal, what would have happened,a slap on the wrist or a shot to the head? lol
May 7, 2008 at 9:24 am
Morning all, yesterday the newies were asking what is an AKB? Pedro has written a link, click on AKB’s
May 7, 2008 at 9:24 am
morning people!!!!
wel have money to spend!!!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/05/07/sfnars107.xml
whether he does is another thing.
May 7, 2008 at 9:25 am
Well corrected, Barros is at Pompey!
May 7, 2008 at 9:26 am
Great post Geoff. I think we should try to buy Shaun Wright-Phillips. Good player, would suit our game and is obviously going to leave Chelsea this summer. Stick him on the right wing and move Theo in the middle. Hopefully he has earned enough money at Chelsea the last couple of years that he would be happy to take a pay cut and join us!
May 7, 2008 at 9:26 am
I would have him James.
May 7, 2008 at 9:27 am
morning Geoff, so will the signing start immediately next week? thats what i want to know? can we start up a tote on it?
May 7, 2008 at 9:27 am
Fuck me T-Buzz, you read that quick!
I’ve amended it!
Great post Geoff, you get close to summing up my anger at Arsenal.
So a creative player and a defensive player… that sounds very much like only 2 players… even after we lost the Flamster!
Worrying…
Traore is clearly being lined up as our winger next year…
May 7, 2008 at 9:28 am
Ha! Just read the AKB criteria, quality!! lol
May 7, 2008 at 9:29 am
Lively post today. Can’t say I agree with much of it, but we are all in agreement that AW needs to sign a big name player.
A name never mentioned is Ronaldinho. The man is a genius. World player of the year twice, a creative left-sided player, ans INMHO perfect for us.
He has the kudos we lost when Henry left. His shirt sales alone would pay his wages, and London is a town where he could indulge his party habit. Plus we have some Brazilians to mak him feel at home.
And he is only just 28
May 7, 2008 at 9:29 am
Great post Geoff, and spot on again. Just wait to hear the usual moan from AW re other clubs showing a lack of respect for talking about our players, that wont stop them doing it though will it? I just hope that Cesc does not follow the Euro, if his agent and his fellow spaniards (while at the euros)start putting thoughts in his head, the boy aint staying pass next season!
Love the AKB link Pedro!! Spot on!!
May 7, 2008 at 9:30 am
Pedro, dont you know this is the best gooners blog site in history? Half my time at work is spent on this site!! lol
May 7, 2008 at 9:30 am
Morning Evo, I think we should, start with what the odds on signing a big name? 1-9 or am I being optimistic?
May 7, 2008 at 9:31 am
That AKB link is an excellent piece. I have a couple of fans at work I need to show it to asap!
May 7, 2008 at 9:31 am
Thanks guys! I’d like to know what bits you don’t agree with Raddy? curious is all.
May 7, 2008 at 9:33 am
yeah 1-9 is about spot on id say!
May 7, 2008 at 9:36 am
can we clarify that Kleb cannot leave, Wenger has to trade him correct?
May 7, 2008 at 9:36 am
BTW prediction for next season is 3rd, and those odds should be more like 1-20!!!
I also came back to see spuds have signed Modric, and saw on Sky last night that Valencia are having a clear out and Villa is def going to Real!!
Great summer ahead again folks!
May 7, 2008 at 9:40 am
Choy,
You might want to read that article through again. He always says Arsene has money but can I just point out one of the other paragraphs which says:
“It promises to be a summer of change at the club, but Hill-Wood said he was confident Wenger could continue to find superstars on a shoestring.”
Complete & utter fu**ing joke!!
May 7, 2008 at 9:40 am
I’ve just left some other blogs & there are some rabid types out there wanting to kick our Gaffer. Its nice to be amongst some civilised fans here @ Le Grove. Phew!!!!
May 7, 2008 at 9:41 am
Great post again!….AKB piece is top quality ha ha……..ha ha
May 7, 2008 at 9:41 am
Evo, wrong, Hleb can buyout his contract if he wishes to. We would get around 4 million which Hleb has to pay!!
May 7, 2008 at 9:43 am
From BBC’s website
Guardian - Diarra going to Tottenham from pompey!
Various - Palacio to Manure from Wigan (the same Palacio AW recommended to Bruce after he had a trial with us, because AW didnt think he was good enough for us!!) Am I missing something here?!!!
When the fuck did we start recruiting for the rest of the premiership!!
May 7, 2008 at 9:44 am
ok thats good to know, i thought it was next season he could buy out.
May 7, 2008 at 9:44 am
AW been talking about bringing in a big comanding CB, ….Anton Ferdinand anyone?
May 7, 2008 at 9:45 am
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/7387081.stm
May 7, 2008 at 9:50 am
Do you really want to keep players at a club who want to play elsewhere? Do you guys really want a money grabber like Flamini?
The reason it happens to us is that we are on a lower tier to United/Chelsea/Barca etc.
We don’t pay stupid wages and this means that the Flaminis will always be tempted.
We all know this, yet some of us still need to accept this - you buy the ticket, you take the ride.
May 7, 2008 at 9:50 am
Geoff. The feeder club bit. It was right to let Henry, Vieira, Petit, Edu, Cole and the others leave. The money for Anelka and Overmars was too much to turn down. As to the rest, Either THEY decided to get out or they were coming to the end of their useful life (e.g. how sad was it to see Vieira struggle against us - I could make a case for all of them)
And who says we obey the rules…… how did we get Flamini in the first place? I recall Marseilles being very pissed off about it. Same for Cesc and Barca.
Furthermore, with so many rich clubs around, fed by dodgy money, it becomes increasingly difficult to get the desired player. Look at last summer, according to the press, we were after Ribery. Bayern paid a fucking fortune for Ribery, and my guess is that we were in for him and lost out in the bidding war. You could say that AW should have just got his man at any price, but sad as it is financial prudence is part of the Arsenal way.
Other than that, I thought the post was as usual excellent, and as always thought provoking.
May 7, 2008 at 9:50 am
I doubt Hleb would invoke the Webster clause (This is
probably because of the gentleman’s agreement between G14 clubs not to
do the dirty on each other).
May 7, 2008 at 9:53 am
Link
May 7, 2008 at 9:54 am
Er..just read the link there Odub….the only thing linked with arsenal was Lasagna Diahrea going to Spuds and Wenger complaining about Real Madrid re:Cesc!!
No (decent) players linked with arsenal as usual.As much as I agree that Bakery Sagna was the signing of the season for us, we still need some reasurrance from the AW and Le Board by them signing a few recognised+quality players!!
May 7, 2008 at 9:55 am
Depressing to read a page full of transfer gossip and the only mention of Arenal is about other clubs in for our players. Where the fuck is the team spirit? Ronaldo seemingly wants to go back to Spain but you never feel that Fergie and United are going to let him go, but you don’t get the same confidence from Wenger and Arsenal. Flamini is a proper cunt and is anyone that foloows him: shame that 55grand a week isn’t enough. Get fucking Adams in and he’ll teach the players fighting spirit and meaning of loyalty. Oh and buy English for once
Arseburgers
May 7, 2008 at 9:55 am
Herdee string, not paying Stupid wages is commendable on a level… but when your rivals are paying them, and they are winning things and retaining players… maybe those stupid wages are just the going rate?
Maybe Arsenal are just cheap skates?
You buy an extortionate ticket, you expect that the money from that ticket to go towards paying market rate. If it doesn’t, why are we paying more to see Arsenal in a bigger stadium?
Even when the debt is cleared I doubt we will compete financially.
May 7, 2008 at 9:57 am
cant say i agree with anton ferdinand… i got a few mates who r west ham season ticket holders and they think hes shit… SWP… no thanks… somone said before hes just another eboue and i have to agree… would rather have ashley young every day!
May 7, 2008 at 9:57 am
We wanted rid of Petit, Overmars, Edu, Vieira, Henry, Campbell and sold them as a result. Anelka, Diarra, Flamini, Cole did go because they wanted to leave but no arsenal fan in their right mind would want dickheads like them to stay at the club, regardless of their talents personalities like them have no place in the dressing room. Fabregas had constantly said he’s not leaving as well, the rumours are only from Madrid constantly saying they want him, which is wrong. Hleb we don’t know about
May 7, 2008 at 9:58 am
Spanish giants Barcelona are reportedly interested in a summer swoop for Togolese hitman Emmanuel Adebayor.
The Arsenal striker has been in fine fettle this season, netting thirty goals thus far in all competitions.
And with Thierry Henry looking out of sorts and Cameroon star striker Samuel Eto’o poised for a move away from the Nou Camp, the Catalans are interested in Adebayor leading the attack.
Hilarious!
May 7, 2008 at 10:00 am
damn chelsea players are going to get 600,000 each…if they win th PL and CL
May 7, 2008 at 10:01 am
see Bayern wrap up the title and all the players had huge steins of beer, thats the way to celebrate!
May 7, 2008 at 10:01 am
I actually started laughing upon reading your post Pedro!! So he’s now being courted by Real, AC , Manure and Barca!!
No wonder AW came out yesterday with that daft comment about Ade becoming a nobody if he leaves arsenal, he knows the boy’s agent’s on a mission to flog him!
Well, another one bites the dust!
May 7, 2008 at 10:02 am
Pedro, I’m guessing it’s this stance over wages and transfer fees that drove Dein from the club. He wants arsenal to join the races and sign players no matter wht the fee or wage demand. Thing is, not only is the board against this but Wenger too, so what Usamov offers is a wholescale change at the club, probably a new manager and certainly a new transger policy. We would be Chelsea MK2, but we would certainly be signing the players we talk about daily and we certainly wouldn’t be losing twats like Flamini and Hleb to Italy, or even contenance losing Cesc to Madrid. There’s a small price to pay however: the soul of the club
Summer’s only just started and already it feels more fucked up than ones before. Maybe I’m just being cup half empty, but Dein is right: football is changing, and seems to be doing so at an ever increasing rate. Are we going to keep up?
May 7, 2008 at 10:04 am
Pedro -
Yes - the club cannot pay top dollar based on its financial predicament right now. Indeed, if you can explain how Man United are able to I would be ‘all ears’ because I just don’t believe the figures add up - you cannot be paying those wages/buying £60m worth of new CUNTS each summer and sustain yourselves.
I agree that Arsenal will never be the top payers. Wenger’s philosophy is to balance the books - and he’s right. Obviously, I appreciate that paying out extortionate amounts for a ticket doesn’t make the reality easier to swallow but on the bright side -
Isn’t it more likely that with such a wage structure we have SOME players who are passionate about the club? Can Chelsea or the other big boys say the same? I doubt it…
May 7, 2008 at 10:05 am
I think its time AW stopped getting upset, and started getting better. Start sending out the vibe that he wants Ronaldo, Rooney, Drogba, Vidic, etc. The worst thing that could happen is that one of them might actually want to sign, & imagine how purple the sweaty sock fergusons face would get with rage. But seriously, what about Anton Ferdinand, or Barry or Wright-Phillips?? They would be good to get.
May 7, 2008 at 10:05 am
ade agent is such a cunt, all that bollox he sad the other day about other clubs always asking about him… why doest wenger talk to our players and tell their agents to either pipe down or fuck off
May 7, 2008 at 10:06 am
Why does anyone think Anton Ferdie would be good for Arsenal? I dont think so.. hes not that good. Put it this way,do you see him playing next to his bro at Man-Ure, or play regularly for the likes of Liverpooh and Chelskie? Me thinks not!!
Isnt he a sicky like Rosicky too?
May 7, 2008 at 10:08 am
herdee..Terry/Lampard/Carvalho/J Cole look passionate enough to me .. more so than Eboue and co.. your argument doesnt stand up
May 7, 2008 at 10:08 am
ferdinand is awfull… and such a cunt, ive seen him in a club near me a few times… such a big-time look at me type of prick… he goes out with all these huge blokes then hides behind him when people react to his shit… hes another pennant
May 7, 2008 at 10:08 am
It is such a relief that other informed, intelligent, well-opinionated fans are recognising the scourge that is the ‘AKB’. I posted some mild criticisms of Wenger policy (more observations really) at the end of last season. I was truly shocked at the mindless vitriole that was hurled back at me from some Neanderthals. It almost put me off of posting or reading anything again on any Arsenal websites.
Fortunately common sense is prevailing as per your article above and most of the responses.
Having endured 90 minutes of mind-numbing boredom at the Emirates on Saturday (the only slight compensation was that Everton were even worse than us) I fear for the future unless drastic action is taken, which includes keeping our current best players..
With travelling expenses, it cost me £80 for that privilege and have to ask did I get value for that. I can imagine a goodly amount thought the same and if we have another season like this one then Arsenal may find it not so easy to fill those 60,000 seats every game and the whole pack of cards could tumble.
May 7, 2008 at 10:09 am
Anton Ferdinand is not good enough for Arsenal, end of. Is he better than Senderos or Song? No, he doesnt even get in ahead of Lucas Neill and Matthew Upson, so hell no!
May 7, 2008 at 10:10 am
Ok! Scratch Ferdinand then.
May 7, 2008 at 10:10 am
Well Herdee, I would say JT, Joe Cole and Lumpalard are all pretty passionate. Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo seem pretty dedicated to the cause.
I don’t think you suddenly lose passion when you get paid well. Ok, so there are cases where this is true… Shevchenko is a prime example of this.
I can’t take solace from a good balance sheet. Before the Window Glazers, ManU were a mega profitable company… and we make more money per game than them now? Even Spurs can sustain themselves and they have had no where near the same sort of success/champs league football we have had.
3rd Richest club in the world according to Forbes… 3RD!
We can afford it (See Thierry ‘£10million last season’ Henry), we just choose not to be a big player.
May 7, 2008 at 10:11 am
Oh my God when will we ever have a trouble free summer? Why cant we be like the other teams in the prem? Why is it that when other teams are enjoying there summer ol we do is worry about Nicolas Anelka, Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, Edu, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Ashly Cole, Reyes, Thierry Henry, Matthieu Flamini, Alex Hleb, Cesc Fabregas leaving. Why do we always lose this talent cos now its obvious they always leave. Oh my God Arsenal. Why? Why? Why?
May 7, 2008 at 10:12 am
you guys should read arseblog.com
wenger says he will get 1 defender and 1 Creative player for sure and says that he is not going to let anyone else go.
May 7, 2008 at 10:13 am
Some more good Cesc videos..
http://www.skysports.com/nikelivefabregas/
May 7, 2008 at 10:13 am
SkySports.com
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has laughed off claims that Arsene Wenger’s job could be in jeopardy after a third consecutive season without silverware.
The Gunners failed to last the distance this term after their campaign was victim to a detrimental drop in form during its latter stages.
However, Wenger will continue to receive the board’s full backing, with Hill-Wood confirming that the Frenchman is under no extra pressure to secure a trophy next campaign.
“He is not very happy we didn’t win anything. He takes it very much to heart but he seems to have recovered,” Hill-Wood said in The Daily Telegraph.
Laughable
“I don’t feel depressed about it. Overall, it’s not been a bad season. Other clubs would have been happy to be in our position.
“I was very happy with the way we played, but we are in the results business and I’m disappointed with the final result, I suppose.
“It’s laughable to think he doesn’t have the support of the board. We are very happy with him and I think he is with us. He knows where we are coming from.
“Clearly we want to win but can we survive when we don’t win year in, year out? Yes, we can.
“We will start next season with the aim of winning something. If we don’t, I will not be jumping off Tower Bridge. It’s not easy winning the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League.”
Hill-Wood also confirmed that Wenger, who is rumoured to be keen on signing a defender and a creative midfielder, will be strongly supported during the summer transfer window.
World-class players
“We have never denied Arsene Wenger a penny,” Hill-Wood continued. “Whenever he has wanted to buy, he has.
“What he is not prepared to do is to buy a big name that everyone will be happy with until they see them play.
“He is a very good judge. He has brought in so many world-class players, some of whom people had not even heard of at the time, and I am sure he will continue that.”
Is that the dreaded vote of confidence! WENGER IS GETTING SACKED!
Kidding…
May 7, 2008 at 10:16 am
we loose em beacuse every other club sees us as a bunch of pussys who will sell and wioth players who arent hugely loyal… nobody bothers tryna get players like giggs, scholes, terry, essien, cech, gerrard etc beacuse they know both the player and club will say no chance, we need the likes to big tony back to make these players understand its an honour to play for the arsenal
May 7, 2008 at 10:16 am
So he’s not under any pressure to produce a trophy next season?!!! AGAIN!
What the fuck?!!
May 7, 2008 at 10:16 am
Well 2 players have already gone. 3 if you include Diarra from January. Wenger has already said on numerous occasions that he wants Gilberto to stay but its up to him to decide so that could be 4 & he has no control over Hleb or Gallas leaving if they so wish!!
Don’t always believe what Wenger says!!
May 7, 2008 at 10:17 am
pedro !
now thats one bit of transfer gossip i would welcome!
sell the cunt and get in VILLA !
before they find out !
May 7, 2008 at 10:19 am
Juve prepare Schweinsteiger move - fuck we’re going to get no one!
May 7, 2008 at 10:21 am
I don’t really think our player’s are especially passionate about the club (remember the FA Cup tie at OT, 9000 fans, players did not give a shit), most of them are passionate about Wenger and play for him. If he left quite a few of them would follow him out of the door. That’s how Wenger likes it, he likes dealing with player’s who owe him a huge debt of gratitude for being where they are, ie Cesc, Ade etc. He knows if he sighs experienced players that they will quickly lose patience with his policy of buying kids because they know you will fall short when it comes to the big prizes, as we have so frustratingly done this season.
But the loyalty of these players will only last for so long. Who really thinks that Cesc will be with us for more than another couple of years? Eventually he will move on for more money and the chance of wiining trophies, because I cannot really seeing any silverware arriving at Emirates Stadium next season.
Remember a few years ago when CL qualification was the top two in the league? If it were still the same now our transfer policy would be different because just been best of the rest would not be good enough. We would have to get in front of two of the other big three and we would be spending the pennies then.
At boardroom level there is a disticnt lack of ambition on the playing side. God forbid it ever happens but if one year we finsh fifth you would be surprised how much money the board would find then. They are happy just being in the CL each year.
May 7, 2008 at 10:22 am
Schevchenko’s lack of pace has been badly exposed in the premier league & I think Villa’s would as well. Torres is better in the air & about 20 times quicker than Villa so he gets goals.
My choice would still be Benzema.
If that AST stuff is true & Wenger is going to buy a player to cope with route one balls & a creative player then its clear he isn’t looking for a striker anyway.
May 7, 2008 at 10:24 am
GMR your funny is up with another sneaky one, check the funnies!!!
May 7, 2008 at 10:24 am
“At boardroom level there is a disticnt lack of ambition on the playing side. God forbid it ever happens but if one year we finsh fifth you would be surprised how much money the board would find then. They are happy just being in the CL each year.”
spot on… after reading hill-wood saying ‘i was dissapointed i suppose’
u suppose? what a fucking bottle job, he should saying hes fucking gutted! why does everyone at arenal just pussy-foot around each other!?
May 7, 2008 at 10:25 am
James, the board would probably wait to see how lucrative a run they could have in the uefa cup before trying to find money to get back into the CL.
They’re all a bunch of tight c**ts.
May 7, 2008 at 10:26 am
Chris, thanks for doing that it looks good!!
May 7, 2008 at 10:26 am
Great piece Geoff. Its a pity that in some ways were not run like Barcelona & Real Madrid where presidents are elected based on their “manifesto” and ambitions. On the football front we have lacked ambition for at least 4 years and it has been proven by the lack of silverware on display. Too much emphasis has gone into building the new stadium and the flats that came as a by-product, that the club let the footballing business ebb away.
Now the crunch is, if we are to be treated as customers as opposed to fans, then as a customer who has been a season ticket holder for over 20 years and a fan for nearly 35 I expect a lot more for my money. as a fan I insist on winning things. I also don’t want to be lied to and I dont want to be told this is the best team ever, when it quite clearly isn’t.
Now going back to my original point, if we had presidents then a host of faces would of have been sacked a long time ago which if I’m to be honest would include Wenger. Let me make my position clear I love the guy but I love Arsenal far more. I accept that to some extent his hands have been tied and he has done a decent job with the little he has but and its a big but I haven’t celebrated a trophy for a long time. He has also toed the party line and been part of the lie that promised us a World Class player in each position. Does this include Eboue & Senderos? I don’t think so. Plus all the others who are simply just up to the standard we had only a few years back.
We now have 3 1/2 months to read who the big clubs are making eyes at, which includes our players while we’re looking at a reserve player at Helsinborg. My other gripe is why isn’t the club trying to generate more money by going on tours to the states or the far east? Why always Austria? Surely if the club demonstrated a bigger ambition and attracted more “customers” then surely more money would come with it?
Up the Arse.
May 7, 2008 at 10:27 am
You are probably right on that one GMR.
May 7, 2008 at 10:30 am
Oh yeah, I forgot to say thanks Chris! Very funny!
Pablo, while I don’t like the whole ‘President’ malarky, at least they appear to do what is best for the fans… as they are mostly fans.
I wouldn’t like to see Wenger canned, but a toe up the arse would be nice!
What PHW said sums up what I have been thinking for a while,
There isn’t a winning culture at Arsenal.
Why try, when 3rd is ok?
May 7, 2008 at 10:34 am
PHW is not an Arsenal fan, I’m totally lost as to why people think he is. He inherited his shares & sold them off as soon as he possible could (the stupid bloke even laughed in DD’s face for buying them saying it was dead money, how foolish that statement must seem now).
That article that Pedro has pasted up is just further proof. Whilst the club are making money & the fans are still coming through the doors, why should he care if we win trophies or not??
Fiszman is a fan, but first & foremost he’s a businessman so again whilst he’d like the club to win things his first priority is profit.
I’d love Kroenke to get his foot in the door. He has a genuine love of sport & although he’d also want to make a profit he’d do it by making the club successful on the pitch & by marketing the club in area’s where it is really weak. Usmanov on the other hand doesn’t offer anything but money & I could see him ripping the club off for his own gain!!
May 7, 2008 at 10:36 am
i think a complete foot up the arse is needed pedro
also i would staple the fucking cheque book to his hand !
get out there now !!! start workin it arsene ..
It seems the big clubs are already starting to wind up and play LETS MAKE A DEAL !
i hope arsene makes 2 or 3 signings before the euro’s and i dont mean 17-18 year olds either ..
am i asking for 2 much ???
May 7, 2008 at 10:38 am
Please don’t start that Board shit again. Arsenal don’t need or want filthy money from Russia , or a profiteer from the States.
May 7, 2008 at 10:39 am
Pedro - You do realise that the only difference this season between us and Utd was one game, likewise Chelsea. If we’d just held on to the lead in either of the games against them in which we were ahead then we would be finishing the season no ahead of them. That is a really tiny tiny margin. It’s like losing in a cup final, and I wouldn’t say that our champions league performance in 2006 was atrocious. I really don’t understand how the feeling around fans and the club has got like it has when the difference between us winning the title and finishing third was so miniscule, and had VP and Rosicky been fit, and Ronaldo and Rooney injured, things might have been very different.
May 7, 2008 at 10:40 am
From that meeting Wenger had with the AST’s:
‘On transfer activity. He said he was looking for a defensive player, to
address the team’s weakness defending route one. He said we defended as
well as Manchester United and Chelsea from set pieces and open play; but
not the long ball aimed down the middle and he would address this. He
also said he wanted a creative player and told Ken Friar that he
shouldn’t plan for much of a holiday as the phone would be busy.’
So he tells Friar not to plan much of a holiday but only wants to sign two players!! How would that make Ken busy having just two deals to do?? Unless of course he was referring to the fact most of our squad want to leave, now that would make him busy!!
May 7, 2008 at 10:41 am
Pedro,
When the club is run like a business and brings in a fantastic amount of revenue why would they risk less profits by paying high prices for top players and wages, when the difference between 1st and 3rd is not really that great except for the prestige of winning trophies?
May 7, 2008 at 10:42 am
Blimey! There are 4 clubs in this country that ‘insist on winning things’. You can’t win every year. It goes in cylces. We were close this year and should go closer next year. This has been the most painful season for years - but only because we know we were good enough to win. Hard to take but let’s have a bit of perspective.
May 7, 2008 at 10:42 am
Players like Zidane, Ronaldo, Cruyff, greats never stay at one big club they move about. It is a British thing of the past where a player stays loyal to one club…
You could probably list just as many leaving from any top club in the world it is just who they replace them with is the difference.
Arsenal tend to find never heard of players who become great (sometimes) where other teams try to buy the finished article.
May 7, 2008 at 10:43 am
Big Raddy,
No they don’t need it, I’m sure the board are quite happy ripping us off as it is. Why should they want to change that!!
However I’d like to see someone who knows about sport takeover, thats my opinion & I’ll post it if I so wish!!
May 7, 2008 at 10:43 am
Not sure why we’re giving AW such a hard time. If we beat Sunderland, we finish on 83 points, enough to have won the Premiership more or less six times in the past 12 years. We were cruelly, even unfairly, knocked out of the Champions League, and we competed with Chelski and Manure until pretty well the last kick of the season. We fell short, yes, but we’ll continue to battle it out with the best of them.
My prediction: we’ll sign 3 new players over the summer, and next season we’ll see more and better from Walcott, Vela, Traore, Denilson, RVP and hopefully Eduardo. Not sure things are so bad…
May 7, 2008 at 10:44 am
In my opinion the current biggest weakness in the club is the irrational pessimism and wonderful ability to forget just how close we came this season and how well we competed. The fans are the ones who have and continue to create the losing mentality, I just really hope following a summer where we don’t sign Kaka or Messi, but another Cesc or Hleb instead without paying silly money, they have a look at themselves in the mirror and achieve a sense of reality before turning up next season with the sort of attitude that they ended the season with, or it could have a big negative impact on the team
May 7, 2008 at 10:45 am
Just need to open another bottle of red…be back shortly!
May 7, 2008 at 10:45 am
Let me say that this site loves Arsenal, loves Arsene and loves the way we play football, but we love trophies more, love trophies more love trophies more love trophies more smell that
Let me say that this site loves Arsenal, but we love trophies more, love trophies more love trophies more love trophies more smell that
http://arseblog.com/WP/
Despite what people say, we have £360 million debt. So we have to respect the wages structure or we will go bust. Therefore it is not that you cannot respect the wages structure, we cannot afford not to do it.The simple fact is that even going out and buying a player, spending the money on a transfer fee and his wages over the course of his contract is the most cost efficient option.
May 7, 2008 at 10:46 am
Aha but Pedro and the other dude -
Can you really say that they would be that passionate were there not that amount of money involved?
Lest I mention that fag Terry wanted a ten year contract and the right to be a manager at the end of it - sounds money motivated to me…
geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez
May 7, 2008 at 10:49 am
The PHW quotes are entirely wrong Arsene should be delivering trophies and be told that the club, fans and board expect trophies.
My wishlist for the summer would be Micah Richards Miguel Veloso, Loic Perrin, and Hatem Ben Arfa however I think three of them would be too expensive.
Someone mentioned Ronaldiniho I Would have loved to see him playing for Arsenal a few years ago but now I think his best days are behind him plus he would demand far too much money.
May 7, 2008 at 10:49 am
Despite what people say, we have £360 million debt. So we have to respect the wages structure or we will go bust. Therefore it is not that you cannot respect the wages structure, we cannot afford not to do it.The simple fact is that even going out and buying a player, spending the money on a transfer fee and his wages over the course of his contract is the most cost efficient option.
May 7, 2008 at 10:53 am
A, zero trophies in 3 years is not irrational pessimism… it is rational pessimism.
I don’t get excited about almost winning the league, especially when we pretty much threw it away this year. All we needed to do was strengthen during Jan… like every man and his dog said.
You don’t want a Kaka or a Messi? You’d prefer and £11million player who takes 2 years to bed in and then when he does… fucks off?
£11million is quite a hefty outlay for a player who gave us 4 goals and 7 assists (Roughly?).
I am not asking players to be loyal to Arsenal… we know that money talks. I am just wondering how long the stadium can be used as an excuse? When the stadium is paid up… will we be able to compete with Barca and Madrid? Or will they still be poaching our players and will we still be replacing them with unknown diamonds in the rough?
That goal of the stadium was to allow us to compete with the big boys…
Do you think that will happen even when it is paid up, or will we still have the same wage structure?
May 7, 2008 at 10:54 am
Chelsea players getting a £600,000 pound bonus x 16 or whatever players play, comes out of a billionaires pocket ,if Arsenal do it it would put the season ticket prices up even higher.
Thats the difference why we cannot just buy everyone.
May 7, 2008 at 10:54 am
I wouldn’t say Arsene should be delivering trophies regardless of anything else. Arsenal “should” be competing at the top and trying to win trophies, as “should” Chelsea, Utd, and Liverpool. Utd and Chelsea have superior spending power therefore “should” be better than Arsenal. If one looks at this season, the successes and failures, at the very worst we have done as well as we “should” have compared to Utd and Chelsea in terms of their superior starting positions and competitive advantage.
Man City have so much money Richards would only leave for a Rooney-esque fee, which he isn’t worth. Ben Arfa is a definite possibility, Utd probably have first option on Veluso
May 7, 2008 at 10:55 am
Our season was not lost on one or two games. We clearly weren’t clever enough to hold on to our lead in those games just as we were’nt clever enough to beat Birmingham home and away despite holding the lead against them in both games. In addition how many games at the Emirates were we forced to play the not-so-beautiful game chasing a draw because of naive defending?
We threw the possibility of a title away because as a team we lost concentration at vital points and having a very thin squad that ran out of steam.
May 7, 2008 at 10:57 am
‘Despite what people say, we have £360 million debt. So we have to respect the wages structure or we will go bust.’
You can’t just quote Arsene Wenger and take it as gospel. We’ve all seen the annual reports… The Stadium debt was organised over 20 years so it wouldn’t have a big impact on operating activities.
You can’t come out in September and say, ‘Arsene could spend £70mill’, then in May say we have to respect the wage structure or we will go bust. If the wage structure was so precious, how did we afford to pay Thierry £10mill over the course of a year?
Young talented players = Saleable assets and low wages.
May 7, 2008 at 11:02 am
A does that initial stand for Arsene!! You’re comments echo the manager such as the difference between us & man utd was one game!! Can you qualify that statement please because it doesn’t stand up.
“The fans are the ones who have and continue to create the losing mentality”.
Sorry this is the most ridiculous statement I have read. Our players leave because they realise Arsenal don’t have a winning mentality, just go ask Vieira!! So its the fans fault that Arsenal could only win one game against the other members of the top 4.
May 7, 2008 at 11:04 am
Hi all,
I agtree and disagree on different issues.I’m fed up of other clubs going for our players evry year but that means that ours are good.i want Wenger to go for some class to add to the youngsters so they feel the confidence around them.I would certainly go for Robinho and Ben arfa.get rid of Adebayor and replace him with eto’o or Huntelaar.Ade has scored 30 goals this year but can you imagine how many he should of had?Can you imagine how many goals a natural scorer with a killer instinct like these two would score with the chances we create?More importantly we need to get carlos vela in,give theo games every week.Not necessarily all but he has to give him a proper run just like cesc got when viera got injured and look what happened to him.We need 2 powering centre backs.Sell senderos.Get Micah richards and one between caceres and Zapata from udeinese.The guy is class.Hopefully he will get rid of those 2-3 fringe players like senderos,gilberto and maybe that Gallas which should not thow tantrems with his experience.Flamini used this season to get a big contract but he should have got one last year or at the beginning of the season and not when the whole of europe saw what he did against the mighty kaka in the champions league.Too little too late.If hleb wants to go it would be a damn shame but what do players do once they leave Arsenal? (viera,petit,overmars,henry,edu) The only two to have played well but only one winning so far have been anelka and pires.My only two regrets have been this year losing Diarra that would have ensured the right quality in various positions to have won champions league and the premiership.I have no doubts !!! also the injuries to eduardo RVP and Rosicky.I just hope fabregas stays and we finally get the bloody cheque book out for the right 4-5 players.
May 7, 2008 at 11:04 am
Hleb was more important this season to Arsenal than Fabregas, or any other player, without him we didn’t tick. It’s not all about goals or assists, Hleb made us work, he was our creative heartbeat. Of course I’d love a Messi or Kaka, but I’d rather Hleb, Rosicky, Eduardo, Sagna for the same price, as those four player would make more of a difference than the one player who would take two seasons transfer budget.
Even when the stadium is paid up with Arsene at the helm we won’t be signing Galacticos. Arsene is a philosopher, he loves his socialism, he has a unique style of play, and very few players have the technical ability to play in it. That’s why he brings in young players, so he can mould them in the Arsenal mentality, and style of play. It’s all about the football for him, and that’s what he wants it to be about for his players too, if players are more interested in earning silly money then he’s happy to let them go, as he doesn’t want players at the club who have different ideologies.
We’ve had three seasons without a trophy yes, but this season we didn’t win the league on one game. Any one game when teams are close could go either way, anything can happen in football as the cliche goes. We are so closely matched with Utd and Chelsea that anything could have happened. With the quality we’ve got, and performance we had this season we could have been the ones about to win the league and champions league, without a single bit of strengthening occuring that could have happened. So the doom and gloom and saying we “need” this and “need” that is very irrational, as we are already competing on par with the top clubs in Europe
May 7, 2008 at 11:05 am
Bollox did we lose the league against the mancs and chavs!! what about the 4 fucking games on thr trot we drew?!!! (Birmingham, Villa, Boro, Wigan?!!) We werent unlucky WE WERE NOT GOOD ENOUGH!
We do not have decent players in all departments, players that will stay fit for 80-90% of the season, nor do we have decent back up for when they go missing! (how many of Diaby,Eboue,Almunia,Senderos,Bendtner,Traore,Hoyte,Denilson,Gilberto based on this seasons performances would have got in to the chavs,scousers or manure squads..Honest answers please?!!
Let’s stop deluding ourselves ffs!
May 7, 2008 at 11:07 am
GMR Vieira left because Arsene knew his legs had gone and wanted to sell him and pave the way for Fabregas…. Only Anelka has left whilst being a top top player and with his personality despite his ability he isn’t a great loss.
Do you not remember when we went ahead against both Chelsea and Utd, the atmosphere was still one of expecting to concede. I don’t detach myself from that, I couldn’t control it, I had the same irrational pessimism, but there is no way it wasn’t sensed at least to some extent by the players
May 7, 2008 at 11:09 am
Geoff, you say that the Le Grove ideals will be emailed to the Gaffer. Well can he please understand that the old saying that nice guys come last is also the same as the saying nice guys come 3rd. Its time he stopped bleating when things go against AFC, & start acting like the man who snatched Sol Campbell from under Hotshit s noses & went straight up to Big Fart Lane & rubbed their noses back in it.
May 7, 2008 at 11:09 am
Odub, if we beat Chelsea we would have finished ahead of them in the league, if we beat Utd we would have finished ahead of them in the league. And yes, as you say even if we had still lost to them we still could have won the league if we’d just won two of the games we drew. To me that just shows how good we were, and how unlucky we were. If the penalty hadn’t been wrongly given against Birmingham we would have won the league as well
May 7, 2008 at 11:10 am
I am a little split in my views. the glass is half empty and half full. im sick and tired of the glamour clubs of Europe being disrespectful to our club every summer and making comments and all the rest for our players. we have had it every summer now since Anelka left.
agreed it is a wind up. but until we start to (should i say , can afford to) pay our top players the going rate, we will continue to do so.
i am young enough to understand the growing trend in football to throw enough mud at the wall that eventually some will stick, with regards money, but i am old enough to be disgusted with the way our game is going. it is all money money money now. how can matty flamini now be on £144,000 a week at Milan?! insane.
we operate on a budget similar to that of Bolton and West Brom, yet consistently achieve high. are we punching above our weight?
i read on a link that ManU are seriously in debt. but they gambled and it paid off. leeds gambled a few years ago, it didnt pay off. i think we need to get a little bit of debt to move forward. u need to speculate to accumulate. u need to take bigger risks to get better yields. football is now business. the sport side of things has gone, when u see Chelsea get to champions league final you know the game is up! they have had £3/4 billion spent on their team, and consitently announce record debts but they are successful. not long ago Madrid were in huge financial trouble, they are owned by the king. he bought the training ground off them, then gave it back for free!
the board at Arsenal are being short sighted (even on player level - re. Diarra) and need to move with the times.
OR, maybe there is an impending “bursting of the bubble” due, and then who will be laughing? maybe Wenger (im an AFC fan not an AKB member, though for a while they came hand in hand) in his wisdom of economics sees the trend will end soon, especially with current credit crunch in economy.
we can debate and all give our 2 cents worth as much as we like, but the truth is, we dont know what is happening behind closed doors. we never will.
we need a world class keeper, a world class centre half who enjoys heading the ball away in a flurry of boots, a decent experienced left winger and a decent experienced central midfielder.
Players like , though i am not suggesting these players cos we cant afford to buy them or pay them what they want, nor are they available (!!); casillas, vidic, a wright phillips with a left foot, essien … these type of players . i dont think our problem is scoring goals.
on the “Arsene knows” front, i see what you are saying as too many players seem to come to us cos of Wenger, rather than the club itself. we need to keep hold of players like Jay Simpson if he is good enough. he loves the club. Tony Adams was offered numerous deals to join other clubs. it wasnt George Graham or Arsene Wenger who kept him at us. it was Arsenal.
but we need to be careful we dont overstep the line and become like our lovely neighbours down the road and demand Wenger out and boo the team. criticism is fine, but structured only. Wenger has been a great manager for us, but maybe he was lucky to have the back 4 when he arrived and DB10 and David Dein hanging about. now it is Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal … lets see where that takes us ….
May 7, 2008 at 11:11 am
Odub NONE, because Chelsea have overspent £500 million pounds, no stadium, high season ticket prices, just to buy every player who can walk.
To a lesser extent so have Man U over the years.
May 7, 2008 at 11:13 am
a
THATS STRAIGHT OUT OF THE ARSENE HANDBOOK
where we fell short was after birmingham , failing to pick up points because ade had a 10 game goal drought ! all those draws they we lost 2 points on !
we very seldom can beat man U or chevski .. home or away ..
we will take them when we get them but we needed to do better by converting them
games after christmas ! were we let s 5 point lead slip !
even if we beat either chevski or man U the other one would still be 4 points infront of us
do the maths ..
May 7, 2008 at 11:14 am
A, Vieira said on many occasions that Arsenal didn’t have a winning mentality. He said the difference between Arsenal & Juventus was immediately evident, he is not the only player to have made such statements.
If we had beaten Man Utd we’d have still been behind them in the league so how exactly does that equate to us finishing above them??
May 7, 2008 at 11:15 am
so we would be 2nd and still have won nothing !
oh great that makes me feel so much better
NOT !
May 7, 2008 at 11:17 am
A, the atmosphere at the bridge was not one of being scared that Arsenal would concede. Infact if you was there then you’d actually know that it was the chelski fans who were terrified of losing their home record. The pressure their fans were putting on Avram Grant & the team should have inspired Arsenal players, instead due to the losing mentality of the players they froze & fell apart!
May 7, 2008 at 11:17 am
LOL!!! I’d said it before, and I’ll say it again: arsene is clueless about keeping players. Look, if you are the president of a major football club (e.g., madrid, barca, milan, inter, etc.), ambitious, hungry for success, and importantly, with LOTS of $$$$$$$$$. You then of course know very well that in London, there is a club that is like a nursery, recruiting and training and producing young skillful players, and whose players are so talented, maturing quality players. What will you do? Of course, you will want to buy these players to improve your squad!
Now, with the “wage-structure”, for whatever the reason, imposed at arsenal (by whom, it remains a wonder), it will be natural for these young players’ heads to be turned whenever these big clubs start to make appreciative comments about them and show some interest. Arsene should forget about the loyalty thing; money talks!, and expecially if you have no trophy to boast about.
May 7, 2008 at 11:18 am
Ethan last season out of the top four minileague we had the best record so it’s a bit silly to say we very seldom do well against them. It would have been 8 points if the ref hadn’t had a mare in the last minute against Birmingham, and I doubt we would have let that slip.
If we’d beaten one of them the other would be one point ahead of us.
The difference between winning and losing is so miniscule, yet if we’d won people would be saying we were the best team ever, and it would be Arsene’s greatest achievement as Arsenal manager, if we lose then it’s simply not good enough. Thats football fans for you I guess
May 7, 2008 at 11:18 am
A, I admire your love of all things Arsene but the reality is against the big teams we let ourselves down miserably. Apart from the mistake by Cech in conjunction with the push by Gallas, we would have not won any. We also conceded 4 against Liverpool when we should have won, 4 against Man U in the cup and it could have been more and 5 against Spurs. I accept the last two games mentioned we fielded a weakend squad but it highlights against top teams our squad is simply not good enough.
May 7, 2008 at 11:19 am
we are 4 points behind right ?
so if you take 3 points off man U and add 3 points to us
they are still ahead !
buy 1 point !
your maths dont add up ..
A
your quoting arsenes statement of 2 weeks ago ..
it didnt make sense then either !
thats for thinking it thru !
May 7, 2008 at 11:20 am
Because of the draws against Birmingham etc…. we were never going to be able to beat Chelsea. Confidence breeds success, and we had zero going into that game.
I don’t buy into all this rubbish about Arsene knowing when to sell players.
Mark Overmars was on top of his game, we missed Petit, he didn’t want Thierry to leave, Cashley was young, Diarra was young, Anelka was young… Paddy was the biggest loss.
Don’t believe that all those players we just about to turn bad… Juve won the Scudetto with PV04, then Inter did. I don’t think it was a coincidence.
Sometime people try and put a good spin on bad management.
David, ManU have bought lots of players over the years… look at their trophy cabinet! It shows! Whilst I don’t agree with the Chelsea formula… buying world class players works.
May 7, 2008 at 11:20 am
Vieria is not going to say “I made a cock up joining Juventus” “I won more with Arsenal” same with Henry they jumped ship and fucked up.
May 7, 2008 at 11:21 am
A explain this to me, we managed to win the league pre AW without breaking the bank, and also managed to keep players for the best part of their carrers, and even then we werent spending as much as everyone else but managed to sign established players like Begkamp,Wright,Overmars,Seaman,Winterburn,Dixon.
Are you now saying because we’re not prepared to mortgage our future, we shouldnt expect any decent signings for the forseeable future, and should get used to year in year out of mediocre seasons punctuated with the odd carling or FA cup triumph?!
May 7, 2008 at 11:21 am
Yes we gave the league a good go this season but when the going got tough we went missing for eight games, embarking on a run of relegation form at the most crucial time. And to try to bring it down to the games at CFC amd ManUre is ridiculous. The league was lost at home to Birmingham, Villa, Boro and the scousers, with Brum and Wigan away thrown in for good measure.
This squad will fall short again next season if we stand still. I dont think anybody is saying we should spend silly money but there must be £30 to £40m there to improve it. Spending is no guarantee of success but not spending is a sure fire way to guarantee failure.
I. for one, am not having the wool pulled over my eyes about how good we are suipposed to be.
May 7, 2008 at 11:21 am
If we sell all our players we will have almost have no stadium debt left and we would still be able to beat Derby and spuds Lol.
May 7, 2008 at 11:24 am
Since Vieira left Arsenal he has won more winners medals than Arsenal have trophies!! That means he made the RIGHT decision to go.
May 7, 2008 at 11:24 am
2 Scudettos and a Super Cup, not bad in 3 years!
May 7, 2008 at 11:25 am
Good idea Danish!!
Sell the lot, clear the debt and build from scratch with the youngsters, we’ll win the league by 2012 which is what’s going to happen now anyway!! lol
May 7, 2008 at 11:28 am
Bring on the cricket.
May 7, 2008 at 11:29 am
GMR if we’d beaten Utd we would be ahead of them in the league.
Pedro we got rid of Overmars and got in Pires, who was the best player in the world at one point. Petit wasn’t a massive loss either, replacable. Vieira’s legs had gone - he’s been apalling in Italy!! and Henry is done as well, Barca hate us for offloading him onto them and getting 16 million too!! Vieira and Henry were massive losses for us, but we lost them as such when Vieira’s knees went, and Henry’s back, before we even sold them. People forget that they weren’t dominating the premiership when they were sold, that was before.
Odub we managed to win the league pre Arsene, but that was also pre Abramovich, etc. Without Arsene, based on our spending power we’d be a mid table team by now. He does things a different way, and if we had someone else we wouldn’t have been able to compete financially in the last decade, and would be very average by now.
May 7, 2008 at 11:29 am
Pedro, looks like he’ll win it again this year.
Lucky he didn’t have a winning mentality!!
May 7, 2008 at 11:29 am
equally yes, if we had turned the fixtures against Birmingham and Middlesbrough , home and away into at least 2 wins, rather than 3 draws and a loss, we would still be in with title shout.
its a funny old game.
May 7, 2008 at 11:30 am
Man U live on there fan base, started with a plane crash then winning the European cup 10 years later, then glamour boy George Best, Bobby Charlton etc.
We are catching that up fast, we were the same as the Spuds in the seventies and eighties, now we are richer (soon for spending 2009) more successful and they may struggle with a new stadium.
We either get takenover by a Russian bankroller or we stay as we are or go into debt.
The bit that frustrates me more is the lack of communication from the club but it is probably better that other clubs don’t know who we are after or how much we have to spend.
May 7, 2008 at 11:30 am
GMR yes Vieira has won trophies since he left Arsenal, but Arsenal are stronger for him leaving, and it wasnt the right decision for him to make as such because he didn’t make it! Arsene did! If Arsene had wanted him to stay (which would have been incredibly stupid) he’d still be here now!
May 7, 2008 at 11:32 am
Almost as bad as the AKB are the AKFAB (I’ll let you work that out). Still, the debate is healthy and I certainly agree AW is far from being above criticism. Me? I’m in the APKBTYB!
I get frustrated and angry as hell so often with Arsenal and Arsene for all the same reasons as most on here. Just occasionally I put my sensible head on. When you have massive debt you have three choices: 1) live within your means 2) chase the dream, take massive risks with the financial dsicipline inside the club and hope the club finds (buys?) success and doesn’t “do a Leeds”, 3) find a sugar daddy to cover the aforesaid massive debt. Option 2 might be exciting but makes little real sense, option 3 might be the inevitable (if unpalatable) future and so for now, we’re really stuck with 1. And, stupid wages that you can’t really afford are still stupid wages even if they are the going rate (at a handful of clubs).
The fact is that Arsenal still doesn’t have the cache and spending power of Real, Barca, Man U, Milan, Juve, Inter and probably also Bayern. Add to them Chelsea who’ve just got the pull of massive cash resources, and possibly Liverpool who’ve still got the cache these days. We are still in the second tier of top clubs and as such are vulnerable to raids on our best players from these clubs and are still likely to lose out on the proven established top quality players. Dare I say it, we are still really competing with the likes of Spurs in the market place (I reckon they pay more on average!) and can only trump them for now with regular CL football. So, in a sense we are a potential feeder club, particularly when the gamble on up and coming or previously hidden talent doesn’t quite pay off in terms of trophy success. Still, it is unjustifiable to lump all the departures from Arsenal under Wenger in the same category, as Big Raddy demontrates better than I can.
Good stuff though!
May 7, 2008 at 11:32 am
take your pick
Pep Guardiola will push to have several of Barcelona’s fringe players offloaded should he succeed Frank Rijkaard as coach.
DiarioSport says those Guardiola doesn’t see as part of his plans for next season are Eidur Gudjohnsen, Ronaldinho, Pinto, Thierry Henry, Edmilson, Giovani dos Santos, Santi Ezquerro, Lilian Thuram, Oleguer, Yaya Toure and Albert Jorquera.
May 7, 2008 at 11:33 am
‘Without Arsene, based on our spending power we’d be a mid table team by now.’
I am sorry, but that really is a load of rubbish.
What basis have you got for that argument?
Do you think David Dein would have had a crap manager in? We were 5th the season before Wenger took over… hardly mid table obscurity. George Graham won trophies as well.
We would have been successful regardless of who had come in becuase we have a good board and we have a brand name in football.
That is not down to Arsene, it is down to our history.
May 7, 2008 at 11:33 am
A- you are talking nonsense.
You are basing it on todays league table. If we’d have beaten Man Utd then at that point we’d still have been behind them in the league. Do you really think Ferguson would have rested players against the likes of Chelski if either club had been closer to them?? Not a chance, he knew that losing to chelski wasn’t a problem because of the goal difference & it wasn’t the only game he rested players either.
Just keep telling yourself that it was one game, if thats rational thinking then i’ll stick with the irrational!!
May 7, 2008 at 11:34 am
arsene knows fuck all brigade?
fucked if i can work out the second one
May 7, 2008 at 11:34 am
We are certainly not a feeder club shooy, and financially yes we are probably competing in the market with Spurs, but we don’t try and compete financially. We only want players who want to come to Arsenal for the style of football, and those sorts of players choose arsenal over other teams offering more money.
May 7, 2008 at 11:36 am
yaya plz! and did PV4 only get one league win cos of the match fixing thing… plus the year after was a piece of piss for inter the italian league is awful these days
May 7, 2008 at 11:36 am
Silly Season is amongst us, so which 11 players are leaving this summer……….. any ideas anyone??????
May 7, 2008 at 11:37 am
A
Agreed chavs have benefited from abramovich’s dosh, but how do you explain the scousers getting to 2 CL finals? They didnt have any cash injection to achieve that did they?
And trust me I would have loved to get to more CL finals (sick and tired of scousers in my office going ‘5 times!’ every time they walk past me - cnuts-)
Also the mancs were winning back to back PL titles for fun even before the glazers turned up, and that was before they started buying players for 20 mill (Veron,Van Horse face)
I doubt we’d be a mid table team without AW mate, as has previously been stated on this blog, plans were being discussed pre AW to move to a bigger stadium, so we would have eventually got to a stage where we could have competed.
May 7, 2008 at 11:37 am
There is merits in a lot of the points put forward, but I don’t think listing players and stating they wouldn’t get in any of our rivals team carries much merit because you could do exactly the same with their squad players, saying which one’s would we have. For example at MAN U would you take O’Shea, Fletcher, Saha, Neville, Brown, Silvestre, Park etc ? At Chelsea would you take Ferreria, Alex, Ben Haim, Kalou, Shevchenko, Pizarro etc ?
May 7, 2008 at 11:38 am
I couldn’t work it out?
Arsene Knows Flamini And Bendtner?
May 7, 2008 at 11:39 am
We only want players who want to come to Arsenal for the style of football
yes and once those players think the grass is greener they fuck off and ARSENAL are left to rebuild and start again ..
how is that buying for the future ..
buying for the future doesnt work .
you need to buy for next season
EVERY SEASON !
May 7, 2008 at 11:39 am
kjs, actually alex yes, ferreria probably, kalouu probably ,
May 7, 2008 at 11:39 am
Pedro I said by now, Abramavich, the spending power of Utd, and massive investment now in teams like Man City, Villa, West Ham, Portsmouth, Newcastle, and even Spurs would make them all financially superior to us, and without our very unique playing style and squad we wouldn’t be able to compete for players at all, as it’d all come down to money. Football’s changed massively in the least decade, and it’s only Arsene who’s kept us competing despite being given so much less to work with than so many other managers.
May 7, 2008 at 11:40 am
no pedro i am sure it is arsene knows fuck all brigade
May 7, 2008 at 11:40 am
Ethan no players have fucked off that we really wanted, apart from Flamini, who was far from moulded in the Arsenal mentality - he refused to play left back!
May 7, 2008 at 11:41 am
Agreed chavs have benefited from abramovich’s dosh, but how do you explain the scousers getting to 2 CL finals? They didnt have any cash injection to achieve that did they?
errr yes torres cost them 27 million !
when have we ever spent that much on one player ????
May 7, 2008 at 11:41 am
Good call Geoff, fear not though because we’ll get some good players in:
“Last season if memory serves me, we sold Henry, Freddie, Ralph, Muamba and Larsson, we brought in Eduardo, Fabianski, Diarra and Sagna, we actually made a profit and were a player down, the season before we were 3 players down, so that makes 4, do the math, oh and then we sold Diarra, before Flamini decided to go, cracking bit of business boys, if Diarra wasn’t what we wanted, why sign him in the first place?”
We also brought Nordveit in, but as you can see Geoff, Arsene DID bring in 5 top quality players. Admittedly we sold one but that wasn’t all down to us, Diarra himself orchestrated the whole procedure and did it in a way which left Arsene no choice because once a play starts saying he wants to leave unless we meet his conditions, he’ll go to the employer which provides them. Diarra wanted more time, we couldn’t guarantee him that. Diarra is good no doubt, but he still wouldn’t have got the time he wanted, he wasn’t really looking for an Arsenal career but a Prem League club who would let him play.
We promoited players from within such as Flamini and Toure over the years, small signings once who became big which is why we’ve kept on delivering quality. Going by last seasons excellent track record, do we not think Wenger will go out and bring more top quality into the squad??
We need to trust a guy to do a job, and Wenger needs the rope he’s been given, we’ll make some great signings but I would never ever take on the defeatist argument, there are those favouring such a stance secretly hoping it will happen so they can say they were right but we had that same lots making shit suggestions for signings last season
( none of them have proved to be anywhere near as good as what Arsene got us)while at the same time implying we had no chance of achieving anything beyond fourth.
After the window closes we can make our assesments…..and I’m sure there’ll be the usual bile of “shit…we might finish mid-table” instead of the confidence of supporters such as those who have cheered Arsenal onto first, that from the beginning of the season gave the team a chance.
The same people thought we’d crumble after Henry, that we wouldn’t even be in the race this year then caught the buzz and are back to their old square 1. Keep waiting to catch the buzz, I’m giving our team and our management a chance. Hill Woods statement shows a man who understands football, who’s an Arsenal guy and of course we want to finish first, but there is no team that wins trophy after trophy and in the grand scheme of things you have tremendous compeition. The point is what we;ve achieved so far is playing football at such a high technical level that no-one can compete with us overall in that area, we bring in proper footballing players, not negative spoilers which some people would like to see in our team. Eboue is the closest thing we have to a spoiler but we don’t need to play football like that.
We’ve achieved so much with major deficiencies, it’s not a whole building we need to build, we just need a few furnishings. I think choy mentioned how far we’ve got with Eboue on the team, and he;’s right, we’ve almost been playing like there have been 10 men on the pitch when he’s there, not much quality from him,.
Someone in that position to bring us an extra 5-10 goals would make a huge difference. Flamini is replacable, if we can afford to put someone in his position and expect such little finished product, it shows how much we compensate for it in other areas. So 2 holes already found in the squad, the team are producing end product almost exclusively without Eboue or Flamini. Flamini’s technicall skills are not his main asset, it’s his intelligence and workrate which flowed the ball through to technically superior players, we can get an intelligent hard worker and train them……with no end product you can train a good player with limited technical skills for it.
Now what if we had….a technically skilled Flamini replacement (workrate + distribution player) with a higher end product. Eboue’s job is work rate and distribution as well, too little was expected of those 2, and those are 2 holes we could improve upon, and an extra 10 goals at least could be generated in those positions. 10 more goals could win us the title so the red alert positions are:
Flamini position, Rosicky position
May 7, 2008 at 11:42 am
too fucking right I’d have Alex, Silvestre or Kalou, the last 2 wouldnt hurt as back up would they?!
May 7, 2008 at 11:42 am
reyes ? Hleb ? flamini diarra ? TH 14 ?
May 7, 2008 at 11:43 am
Ethan, Torres happened after the 2 finals!!! Keep up will ya!! lol!
May 7, 2008 at 11:44 am
Out of interest Chris which of those players would you put in our 1st team and ahead of who ? Also remembering they cost well over £20million between them.
May 7, 2008 at 11:44 am
cole ?
do you really think arsene didnt want any of them to stay ?
May 7, 2008 at 11:44 am
those finals were long before torres arivved ethan… they got with fucking cisse and harry kewell in their team!
May 7, 2008 at 11:45 am
odub
my point is liverpol realize what they need to do to stay in touch ..
when will we learn ??
May 7, 2008 at 11:47 am
Exactly Ethan… we could have afforded Torres/Tevez/Ronaldo, but Wenger won’t pay unless he is getting a potentially undervalued player.
May 7, 2008 at 11:47 am
Interesting comments, let me add one.
We are not £450million in debt. it will soon be paid off, that’s a fact.
If the stadium was such a millstone around our necks, why did we buy it? answer is, it’s not, it’s just a convenient excuse.
I’m a shareholder, I’ve never been paid a divided, so the money is going somewhere. Not to the shareholders though.
We do not have a wage structure, another myth. Campbell, Bergkamp, Pires, Freddie, Gallas and Henry were all on huge salaries for a start and what does everyone t