So Stan finally decides to speak after 5267 days of Arsenal interest and his insight into what makes a great throw in Gridiron was stunning. The football talk, well, I guess you’ve just read first hand why the old guard wanted the American in over the Uzbek… He’s only interested in keeping the status quo. As long as the dollars keep rolling in and the club get enough touch downs to qualify for the European Super Series, he’s happy.
“With Arsène, it’s his decision and only he will know that”
Any owner who comes out and says the manager should be the one who decides when he leaves is clearly not the progressive type. I mean honestly, how can any organisation in the world run like that? Alex Ferguson said a few months ago that the demise at Arsenal wouldn’t be tolerated at Old Trafford.
He’s right, it wouldn’t be at any global brand trying to become the best. That interview right there is why you won’t hear Gazidis saying anything different. What power can he possibly have when his boss makes ridiculous commitments like that? He’s been neutered, rendered impotent.
Stan Kroenke just appointed Wenger as the CEO of everything… bar the boring bits of course.
He said he’s been following Arsenal for 12 years, but then follows that by saying the Cesc And Nasri situations were unique? How were they unique Stan? Our best players have been leaving regularly for years now. We’ve 4 unique situations arising next summer in case you missed that memo on Stan.K@arsenal.com e-mail account you never open.
There’s nothing more dangerous in any area of life than giving someone carte Blanche to do as they please. Wenger is out of control and he’s being given an open contract to indulge his developmental management as much as he likes.
If I wasn’t so engrossed in what is happening at the club, if I didn’t have the benefit of recent history, then I’d read that interview and I’d probably be over the moon. I’m sure there will be plenty of muppets out there nodding along to what Stan has said today, his words were energetic, they were warming but sadly they were scraped off the same Pravda script Hill-wood, Gazidis and Bob Wilson use.
Never so desperately have we needed a footballing man with ambition at the club. I had this conversation with someone last week, who in our clubs recent history could step in as a footballing man? You know, like Nial Quinn at Sunderland, Zinedine Zidane at Madrid, Bobby Charlton at Manchester United? Well, interestingly, one of the names I thought of last week was Frank Mclintock. He’s a winner, an ex-Captain, he’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers and he clearly sees the game and the club how it is.
“We’ve let in more goals from dead-ball situations than any other Premier League team. So you would think that somebody would sort this out and that will improve us by 20-30%, but it doesn’t seem to happen.”
Stan Kroenke told us all that baseball mastermind, Billy Beane idolises Wenger. He’s the baseball coach who uses detailed statistics when he buys players, unearthing under valued players who serve a certain roles in the team. He’d over achieve on his wage bill massively, very similar to Wenger. I wonder if Billy idolises Wenger’s past success, or the fact he can look at a stat like, conceding 52% of your goals from set pieces, and totally ignore it for 5 years? Why haven’t we got someone in the club steering Wenger on issues like this? Why is the power so in the favour of the manager, no one would dare tell him the obvious problems Frank Mclintock (I’m throwing it open, if you have better suggestions, drop a comment) can see?
This is the overriding issue at Arsenal, we reward history, ignoring the present and the damage it’s doing to the future. Looks like it’s a problem that’s here to stay though. Unless of course, the manager decides otherwise.
Robin…
Tevez wants to leave City. City want to get rid of Tevez. Arsenal have Robin Van Persie. We have each others paypal details. You do the math.
Would I be devastated by that move? I would be from a talent point of view. I would be from a captaincy point of view, I think he’s doing an amazing job. But if we could get £35million for a player who only turns up for 30 games a season, I’d say that represented a great deal. Providing of course, there is something better lined up than a one legged striker from a relegated 3rd division Bosnian team who has great technical ability.
Sunday…
So injury news ahead of Sunday is that Gervinho, Kos and Theo all have late fitness tests. I’d be happy going into that game with Song at the back, he showed more form in one match than Kos has all year.
Up top, for me it is vitally important we have Theo, Robin and Gervinho. Say what you like about Theo, he scares teams and he opens up back 4′s. Gervinho needs to refocus and think about his end product and Robin just needs to continue playing his game.
The midfield has been the problem, sloppy wayward passing has stopped us controlling posession, if we could play Coquelin, Yossi and Arteta, I think that wild give us experience to control the tempo and efficiency of passing in a game we can’t afford to concede possession in.
It’s a massive game, it’s going to be high scoring and with the right attitude we could nick it. That defence has to play tight though. Our full backs will be under relentless pressure and Ade will be playing like someone told him there was a truckload of football boots waiting for him in the changing room if he scores…
More from Geoff tomorrow… Happy Friday everyone!
Here’s a poll….Who do you dislike more….
Spurs fans…..
AKBs……
Omg its a hard one.
Bade: you’re on the transfers, Thomas on the overall finances, I’m on the league results. I think we’re covered on the joke sides
bade the gooner (bernard) – versus Lennox Lewis. It’s the dream comeback for both. I just need to convince their agents.
Is Vermaelen out for another month??!! Fuck you, wenger!!! You lied to us again!! He will be out for the season again, this is exactly the same situation as last year. And you knew it! And you only bought Mertesacker! Just fuck off! Fucking senile! He wouldn’t have bought Mertesacker if vermaelen was not injured, that is another proof that we have money but wenger doesn’t want to spend it! He is a fool! If we play frimpong agains the spurs, we will get overrun in midfield. It;s or Song or Coquelin. But wenger will go for frimpong. I fucking hate you, wenger!!!
Wenger out NOW – come on, don’t be negative let’s talk about what we do like instead, i’ll get the ball rolling, i like big butts, and i cannot lie…
Timao, I like tight little butts. We would make the perfect pulling team.
The point is that wenger knew that our two best players would be out for a long time. Wilshere and Vermaelen.
He had to buy A creative,young CAM and after Mertesacker another defender or keep Bartley. He did not do that, but he knew that wilshere would be out for nearly the season??!! He is such a stubborn, senile man.
And we also needed a Striker and DM. We got no DM and we got Park. Who is not given the chance. Instead of new signing Park, we have to see Chamakh week in , week out. Wenger can go fuck himself. He is doing everything fault, and he needs to shut up. This season will be a disaster and we all know that. But next season, we have to be title contenders again, and we all need to do something to achieve that. We have the money and the talent in the team. But some players are still shit and wenger is making the wrong decisions.
Wenger out NOW:
“Here’s a poll….Who do you dislike more….
Spurs fans…..
AKBs……
Omg its a hard one.”
Really ?
I would have thought it was staggeringly easy.
Arsenal over Spurs any day. You can disagree on how the club is run but you’re still better than a Spurs fan every day of the week and twice at Christmas
i think the real question that nobody seems to be asking is why is wenger given 100% power to do whatever he wants ?
is it because he has a gun to their heads ?
is it because hes blackmailing kroenke cuz he saw him giving a blowjob to george bush and tony blair in a sweatroom ?
or is it because they trust and have confidence in him so much to make the right decisions ?
And wenger has to know that RvP and other players want some ambition and worldclass players around them. So if wenger wants to keep them, they need to buy some real talent. It’s all in wengers hands.
WON,
don’t mix it
AKBs need sympathy, spuds are just scums…..
I go for AKB’s, they are as stubborn as wenger. And the future is in hands of the fans. They have the power to sack wenger. But there are to many AKB’s, who are unbelievable still believing in wenger.
I don’t understand it, how much can a man do wrong and still doesn’t get sacked. Pffff…
calm down Dutch, we have ignasi and squilachi no need to be worried!
No-one other than Wenger and a few others inside the club know for sure whether the injuries to Wilshere and Vermaelen were known to be long term or not so to state that Wenger KNEW is a guess pure and simple. I’d also say that in the case of Wilshere it’s incorrect otherwise why piss about with his foot in a boot for 8 (?) weeks rather than simply going straight to the operating room ?
THE CARLOS TEVEZ AFFAIR!
Tinyspuds: not that straightforward these days I’m afraid. What harm do Tottenham to us? Are they a threat in any manner?
And if they supposedly became, who’s fault is that?
As long as you’ll hear “one Arsene Wenger” sung (and not in an ironical way) and you’ll see “IWWT” banners at games, the real threat to our club remains…
People can say whatever they want about Wenger. Like Ghaddafi, freedom forces are on the way.
Naija: that question has already been answered. Kroenke believe Wenger is the right man to make more money and make it not a “sustainable model” as they call it, but a “profitable model”. And he’s the best in the “game”. Or “business” if you’re a banker.
It’s not about bringing success anymore.
so people are now claiming frimpong aint good enough. just about 3 weeks ago , same people where ready to drop song to include frimpong in the starting 11.
most fans base their opinions on players on one game rather concentrating on how the player performs in a string of games.
you ll see one fan claiming arteta is a great buy in one game only to come back in the next game to call arteta useless and wenger a douchebag for buying him .
fickle fickle fans.
@IvoryGoonz
What harm do Tottenham DO to us ? what HARM ?
They exist.
Nothing else matters. You should never have to compare any Arsenal fan to a Spurs fan however misguided or wrong you think they are.
PS are you really comparing Wenger to Ghaddafi ?
Seriously ?
TinySpuds: with the history of relapses to Vermaelen’s healing process, and Wilshere’s last big injury+fatigue burn-out, either you take precautionary actions and you hire a cover as soon as he got injured, or you’re just trying to save coppers. And Wenger went for the latter.
naija,
there is difference between class and one game display….
Tiny,
i believe arsene himself said he was forced to go to CB as Tommy had a recurrence …..
ivorygoonz
did kroenke gave you a phonecall and told you all that or did he gave a press conference where he said he only care about money and not success ?……or u are just making shit up like most of your brothers on here ?
@IvoryGoonz
As I posted yesterday Wilshere’s injury has little if anything to do with his burn-out. If he was ‘in the red’ then the consequences are going to be issues with muscles / ligaments. A bone fracture is unlikely to be anything to do with that.
Anyway that’s besides the point. The point is if Wenger knew that Wilshere needed an op and was going to be out for a long time then it’s extremely unlikely he would have him in a boot isn’t it ? I suspect that that decision was out of Wengers hands anyway.
So people accusing Wenger of lying and covering it all up are most likely wide of the mark.
With Vermaelen it’s harder to know. If he comes back in a couple of weeks then it’s no issue. If he comes back in 6 months as some of us fear then maybe Wenger does know something more than us. But again I’d have thought that Vermaelen himself might have come out and said something.
Tinyspuds….Spurs fans are really scummy we all know that. And the hatred they have for as is unreal. I really hate them and have been attacked many a time at white hart lane!! But….. they can’t harm our club like an AKB.
one arsen wenger…..
@Bade
Can you give me the link where Wenger says that signing Mertsacker was because of Vermaelen injury ?
Naija: fact is that we have to play Song finally where he’s actually useful. And that Wenger didn’t bring a better DM. So who would you put at DM against Tottenham? Afobe?
Tinyspuds: you should ask yourself why you need to include our arch-rival’s name to diss them in your nickname rather than just be proud to be a Gunner.
You are the one comparing fans and diverting team into fan. No one argued when you say any Arsenal fan is better than a Tottenham fan.
I could compare Wenger to Saddam Hussein if you want too. Ever heard of Despotism?
bade
i agree but unfortunately most fans are too emotional to tell the difference. even zidane had off days. i read somewhere yesterday that sagna is a poor right back and we should get a replacement for him. needless to say , i couldn’t believe my eyes when i saw that.
@Wenger out NOW
Well all I can say it’s a pity you think like that.
Tinyspuds… it was in the programme notes.
Financial are out… looking good as always. Wage bill was £124.4million.
ivorygoonz
simple , i ll play song at DM as i think hes great there unlike some people. the way we get overrun when song is not playing in midfield is not even funny.
then i ll play koz at CB if hes available.
Tinyspud….Its a fact
Is this the queue for sucking Spurs fans cocks? Looks like it.
Shame on you…
@IvoryGoonz
My nickname is not footie related
And I wasn’t the one that brought up whether a Spurs fan is better than an AKB. I simply couldn’t believe anyone would even contemplate it.
And yes you can compare Wenger to Saddam Hussein if you like just like I could compare you to Kermit from the Muppets but neither comparison would be realistic or of any worth. It’s simply dumb
Naija: just because you like “soccer” doesn’t mean you have to defend every American on principle, disregarding any proof that’s been shown to you over the months, you all come on here as if nothing was said yesterday and the day before. Some have memory and use it. I’m fed up answering the same questions over and over again from the “TRUE GUNNERS”. Like the dumbass asking for a link to a press conference of Wenger about Mertesacker. Ever heard of Google? Really usefull to find some info. You would actually read the whole blog, all the posts, all sentences to the end and understand punctuation and nuances, you would know that. But rather than doing your own research, you prefer to believe Silent Stan is Tinkerbell and Wenger is Little Red Hood.
Fuck me, the naivety of some people just has no limit.
@pedro
I’d be interested in what was actually written. I was hoping that Mertsacker was bought because Wenger finally realised how bad Squillaci has become and was going to do a Senderos on him.
TinySpuds: I was the one who posted that Wilshere’s last injury was a reminiscence of an injury not treated when he was 16 on here.
Still doesn’t change a fuckin thing. What do you think opened up his micro-fracture apart from over-playing?
ivorygoonz
My being American dont mean jack. My loyalty and allegiance lies with Arsenal not kroenke. I could care less if our club owner is an Iraqi , as long as hes a good owner.
Or the queue for sucking wenger’s and the board who are robbing us blind and fucking up our football club…..you decide wonderboy
Naija: but Kos is not available as far as now. You gonna rush him back to play in 2 days? You know what? I think I will stop wasting my time…
Tinyspuds: yeah right. I was hoping Wenger knew what he was doing.
History is littered with examples of where empires have fallen, very seldom was it the enemy out side the city walls who were the cause.
Just sayin’
- Et tu, Brute?
@IvoryGoonz
It was actually done on International duty but again you’ve missed my point I’m afraid.
Naija: you are allowed to take any BS from the outspoken Silent Stan, and the Spin Doctors that’s called freedom for you, enjoy.
Wenger out NOW, we’re all Gooners regardless of what we think… no Arsenal fan is harming the club.
@IvoryGoonz
Oh and as for insulting me because I asked Bade to come up with the link about Mertsacker the onus is on him to prove his point not me but carry on if it makes you feel happy
Wonderboy, what is the secret of your powers? Wonderboy, oh won’t you take me far away from the mucky muck yeah!
Ivorygoonz
Koz faces late fitness test , until hes ruled out , i ll include him in the starting 11.
i m not taking any BS from anybody. i believe only facts not fictions. thats why i dont agree with the things u said earlier cuz it aint fact.
until we get an owner thats going to spend 30-40 million on players , i am keeping wenger .
call me an AKB.
TinySpuds. Right. So despite the fact he played more than 50 games all together, despite the fact Wenger himself admited he overused him because he didnt have any other choice, despite the fact doctors linked it to that micro-fracture and that fatigue, burn-out are known factors for aggravating such past injuries further, you declare he actually picked up that through only the injury in that international game, and has no relation to the actual micro-fracture you even know about?
im curious Keyser,
why am I on the road to contradiction?
@Tinyspuds: care to actually tell what is your point then? Cause apart from defending the undefendable, I don’t see where you’re going…
“Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke: Arsène Wenger is one of the greats – he will be in charge for as long as he wants” (Daily Telegraph).
This title made me smile. It sounds as if that sky is the limit, like if Arsene wants to carry on until he’s 95, he can, no one will object to it. It’s so comical…
Yeesh.
ACLF has a post about how Alex Song is (has potential to) emerging as the creative replacement for Cesc.
Are we living in different dimensions that only coincide on the intraweb?
IvoryGoonz, thankyou my dear fellow. I might just do that. It seems you are getting deluged with ‘special’ people who are well and truly brainwashed and conditioned into believing Arsene Knows Best etc etc and blah blah blah.
Perhaps some people need to be reminded of Liverpool under Rafa. Yes he won the Champions league and then proceeded to trade on that particular glory, making unfathomable ‘tactical’ changes during matches and wasting vast sums of money on complete rubbish (ask any knowledgeable Liverpool fan). This along with their criminal yank owners almost led to their demise.
Anybody spotting the parallels here?
It was only because the Liverpool faithful woke up and did something about it that their club was saved from obscurity and possible relegation.
Look at them now. Under ‘King Kenny’, a truly great ex Liverpool player, and a genuine fan with Liverpool DNA, they’ll probably take our place in the top four.
naija = AKB
We have money in the back, which we can spend on 30-40m player
Why need a owner , when you already have loads of money.
Wenger doesn’t spend it.
And if you are going to say we have no money then……….
You are too stubborn to see it, look at the mertesacker transfer.
If vermaelen wasn’t injured, he would not have bought mertesacker and we would have had 10m more in the bank. .
Naija: I suggest you read Pedro’s post again. Kroenke told Wenger he can spend. It’s Wenger who refuses to spend.
And on Kos: pretty much what Wenger did, waited to see if Vermaelen would be back to the last day to decide to bring cover on the last day of the transfer window. So far, its worked out. Thanks Naija.
rushing back players from injury is one of the sources of the problem. But let’s keep doing the same, hopefully results will change…
Wenger Out Now is right in that whilst there is still a large group who are blind to the madness of Wenger and co. nothing will change.
Lets see what they say when we finish out of the top 4…probably be some excuse they can use like injuries, bad luck and bias refs…..only our team has these factors of course…
Pedro says:
September 30, 2011 at 16:15
Wenger out NOW, we’re all Gooners regardless of what we think… no* Arsenal fan is harming the club.
*except Wenger of course
Pedro says:
September 30, 2011 at 16:15
Wenger out NOW, we’re all Gooners regardless of what we think… no Arsenal fan is harming the club.
It didn’t feel that way against bolton when they all started the “One Arsene wenger” song, and he gave a little wave.
Must be honest, that poll I made up earlier was just a little joke, but I just dont believe in what the AKBs preach.
Billiken, madness…
He’s just been dropped into defence, he is nowhere near Cesc and never will be.
Notice that Arry is sticking up for Wenger in the press….where they once feared him they now pity him, what does that say about our team then?
hi tiny
i’ll try to
if not today is i’m going to an event then tomorrow….
sorry i was in middle of cocking and so…..
dutchman
We have money to spend but we dont have 30-40 milion to spend on one player. All the clubs that spends that much on players all have sugar-daddies. You think Man City will be able to pay most of their players 100- 250 thousand a week if sugar-daddy wasn’t around ?
We don’t have sugar-daddies so stop expecting us to spend that kind of money because Arsenal fc simply cant afford that .
@IvoryGoonz
If you want to know my point then read my posts and stop getting all sweaty and worked up.
As for the injury itself Wilshere did indeed get it on International Duty. Of course that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have happened at some point after that had he not played. As for you stating that doctors connect the over-playing and the stress fracture would you care to back that up or are you going to send me to google again
Tinyspuds: your the one comin on here with no fucking clue, a preset mind that we are all wrong and anti-arsenal on here, and on top we’d have to be your bitch and do all the work for you, AGAIN?
Like many you expect others to chew all the work for you. And when they do, you doubt them. Sorry, but when you say you know Wenger knows, and end up saying I hope Wenger would have brought Mertesacker for Squillaci, you just show what an AKB you are.
Pedro, sorry, but I’ll have to let you deal with those 2 timewasters. Iam masochistic but there’s only so much I can take, and I’d like to enjoy the London Indian summer for what’s left of it.
Gooner Sam
I’m all ears on what their excuses will be when we fail to qualify for the Champions league next season. I agree with you, it will be one long tale of woe about injuries and bad luck which as you say, only apparently happens to us. Surely anyone can see that steps should have been taken to counteract these problems before they actually happen.
But as we all know – ‘Arsene Knows Best’ doesn’t he? (NOT!)
Stephen Walnuts says:
September 30, 2011 at 16:26
It was only because the Liverpool faithful woke up and did something about it that their club was saved from obscurity and possible relegation.
Look at them now. Under ‘King Kenny’, a truly great ex Liverpool player, and a genuine fan with Liverpool DNA, they’ll probably take our place in the top four.
This would be the same Liverpool that got torn apart a few weeks ago by Arsenal’s opposition for this weekend.
I think a great many are premature in writing off arsenal, but that has been their saving grace before, Arsenal actually tend to play better when the pressure is off. 4th is still on, but probably at the expense of another trophyless season in all honesty.
Question is, come may, will that be enough?
Ivorygoonz
i dont disagree that wenger has money to spend but can he spend 30-40 million on new players on a yearly basis like the real madrids, barcelonas and the man citys ?
@Bade
No need thanks
I’ve found the quote.
http://www.3tailer.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/V/A/VA323.jpg
West Ham goalkeeping coach on hearing that Almunia is coming on loan.
“Gooner Sam says:
September 30, 2011 at 16:34
Notice that Arry is sticking up for Wenger in the press….where they once feared him they now pity him, what does that say about our team then?”
Actually, this probably has more to do with ‘arry being on a charm offensive so that if it comes to a popularity contest for next england manager, he is the least objectionable. Every week(for the last two seasons) he always bigs up the opposition, and the spurs fans hate it.
Seems odd that their most succesful manager in recent years splits the fans, and that he’s not universally loved by all. Not like arsenal, eh?
Anyway, who says ‘arry doesn’t do tactics?
@IvoryGoonz
You are funny you know.
If you put forward an argument then it’s up to you to provide your sources and reasoning. Otherwise it’s simply conjecture. Football or otherwise. So I’ll assume your point is merely conjecture.
BTW When you come back from sunning yourself could you please explain why my (incorrect) hope that Wenger bought Mertesacker because Squillaci has become shit makes me an AKB as I totally fail to see the connection. Or are you simply conjecturing again
YKY: it’s “tu quoque mi fili” in latin just in case.
Trouble is some people know Brutus is Wenger and some prefer to say it’s the messengers at Le Grove…
gooner sam
harry is not in a position to feel sorry for wenger. its not like his situation has ever been better than wenger’s.
Naija: no one asks him to spend a la City, Real and Madrid.
Just to spend what we actually gave him.
Tiny: I’ve always provided my sources, first of all, second, Pedro answered you, I didnt think it was necessary for me to just play the parrot. And if you actually read Pedro’s and Geoff’s posts, you’d realise that it’s been already posted as such, so I dont see why I should be copy-pasting same thing, as you just refuse to actually take them in and continue with the same blind faith every day.
But one interesting comment though, have you actually given any proofs of whatever you are saying? ever? just look at today, do you have anything to actually substantiate whatever you say? NO. so who do you think you are to ask this from me anyway?
Tinyspuds says:
September 30, 2011 at 16:39
@Bade
No need thanks
I’ve found the quote.
—-
see when you use your brain things work better.
So how much profit did we make lads?
“IvoryGoonz says:
September 30, 2011 at 16:49
YKY: it’s “tu quoque mi fili” in latin just in case.
Trouble is some people know Brutus is Wenger and some prefer to say it’s the messengers at Le Grove…”
maybe the messengers at Le Grove should club together to build a large wooden horse, as a peace offering if you like?
Tiny: and to your other question, it makes you an akb, because of this “assuming”. they all assume. please keep on, and make a fool of yourself. they dont check their own facts.
you’d have to be an akb with your hand in the sand to not actually know by now that Mertesacker came in for Vermaelen, and “hope” it was the reason he brought him in.
every non-akb knows that’s the reason. do I need to prove you that the sun can burn?
Yipeee, you may well be right on that one, Harry is always quick to ‘look for the prettier girl’ and boy are Spurs ugly.
Naija – Fergie gave the same sort of statements about Arsenal just before they spanked us the other week…my point is no-one fears Arsenal / Arsene, they think they can and should beat us becuase they have done before and now we are only weaker
Kroenke’s public sayings wont truelly reflect his true intentions moreover if he slates the manager in public it may have a bad effect on the team as the pressure will only increase …will take his words with a pich of salt
@IvoryGoonz
Where to start with your post ? At least
1) Good to see you provide sources. So which doctors linked Wlishere’s injury to him being overplayed ?
2) I’ve acknowledged that Bade was right about Mertesacker so I don’t refuse to ‘take them in’ as you claim.
3) Pedro response was ref Bade’s point. Nothing to do with your posts I believe.
4) And again I ask you why my point about Vermaelen and Squillaci makes me an AKB. You seem to be dodging that.
5) Who am I to ask you ? Because if you’re going to claim such as:
“despite the fact doctors linked it to that micro-fracture and that fatigue,”
then I’d like to know who these doctors are. They might be Conrad Murray and his mates for all know. They might be highly reputable and what they say backs up your point and you’re 100% correct but I’m not going to believe you simply because you say so.
Yippee: using Troie’s horse to call Le Grove “treators” would have got you banned if I was the admin. lucky for you, Pedro and Geoff have more patience than I do.
Now if you actually knew that story, you’d know the horse is not a treason act, but a search and recovery war to recover the kidnapped wife of a king. Menelas.
just for the note,
i thought in first Arsene brought Mertesacker to bolster the hapless defense, then i found that it was due ti an injury!!!!
that was unbelievable ta take at the time….
amazing he said after the last ended we were weak defensively, then he said we’re not weak defensively, then we got hammered 8-2 at OT, after losing at home to scousers, then he brought Per…..
i though it was the most logical outcome of the above, but yet again my twisted little logic failed to meet the master’s one……
blimey it’s almost as amazing as stating 4th is a trophy, which was one of the most gigantic statements i ever heard all my life. ever. in any field of the life…..
Kushagra:
he’s the owner, if he really thought Wenger is not fit for his task (bringing money in), he’d just replace him.
I’m off again!
The financial results have just been released. They are still short on detail until the full glossy release comes out on the 3rd Oct. For example I can’t see the director’s wages breakdown etc. But, I Gazidis earned 1.8m last year.. Remember that figure for later!
There’s a reason I mention it now.
Overall I find the results disappointing. Profit is down. The match day income is stagnant and the commercial income has made no progress even though they say it is early days in their efforts! Against the efforts of most other PL clubs however, they are not bad to be fair. But we await the release of other clubs reports.
Interest on the stadium was lower at 14.2m. This was because we made interest on our cash in the bank and this is the net amount paid. (Plus capital, not mentioned but it will be about 6m)
We now have 160.2m cash in the bank. Can’t buy players anyone??? (127.6 last year)
Match day income fell slightly to 93.1m from 93.9m last year.
Players wages rose to 124.4m which is 55.2% of turnover. (49.7% last year). This is a worrying sign as it moves us closer to the 60% set out in FFP and doesn’t leave us with a whole lot of room to go.. But still a bit of room nevertheless. (The cash released from Nasrigas sales and others will probably drive this down a bit considering Nas was our highest paid player).
And here’s the shit kicker in my humble opinion. Commercial (sponsorship) income was 33,078,000.
Last year it was 31,360,000. That’s an abysmal effort considering in last year’s report they mentioned they had assembled a team to deal with this. Net increase = 1,718,000. Remember Gazidis’s salary from earlier? And fuck knows how much Tom Fox and his enlarged commercial department are costing us on wages? This is the net result of their year’s efforts. 1.7M!
The number one way to make room for player’s wages is to increase commercial income and drive revenue higher and thus the 60% limit higher. At 55.2% there is not much room for a couple of Rooney type salaries in there!
That’s it really. We can buy a few big players but the commercial income needs to rise in future years to pay them big wonga salaries. The report does mention that there is promising signs that this will happen. I hope so!
now i’m really off, they’re calling me out…..
keep it nice boys…… keep the dirty words and emotions for the Sunday Derby, the scums deserve it more!
now,
BOOZE TIME!!!!
It’s interesting that Kroenke gets so much stick… as if he has lorded over this 5+ year decay on the field.
To me he is just a (for lack of a better word) stooge of the board and Wenger. Albeit a billionaire stooge, but a stooge nonetheless. He fit the bill for the kind of owner they saw was the future of football clubs instead of a domineering moneybags type owner.
last nice duty,
pedro, cheers for the ref…..
tiny,
i never state facts i didn’t read and though as reliable ones, otherwise i restrain it as my reckoning or so…. but not always i remember the source, i just remember the fact. it’s enough…..
@IvoryGoonz
Aha an answer ref. Mertesacker. Hurray!
I was ‘hoping’ not assuming. If you read my posts (and your response to them) you’ll see that. Even so had I simply assumed that to be the case it doesn’t make me an AKB. It makes me an assumer. Not really the same thing at all. Sorry
For the record and to be serious for a second I don’t agree with labelling people as AKBs in just the same way I don’t agree with the ‘Doomer’ tag. I think Wenger knows more about managing Arsenal than me and probably the vast majority of the people who claim he’s a moron and they know better however I also think he’s made regular mistakes some small some large over the years and will probably continue to do so
Good news.
We should be debt free in 2 years. 3 at the most.
IG m8 he may sack him on Monday …….my point is he wont discuss it on public forum no one does…
Seriously, doubters are starting to take it on me too, and I’m gonna take some time off reading comments and posting. converting, evangelising, preaching the gospel, is tiring.
joke friday has been “almuniaed”
FACK
Kushagara: Kroenke’s got no balls, his wife got them. why would he sack his most profitable trader? you’d kill your golden eggs chicken?
Tiny: AKBs are all hoping too. they are all assuming. and they all need to open their eyes and do their research.
@Tiny: I posted a huge response, every point, including the link, but just doesnt appear on my screen.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/sport/32537-wenger-defends-medics-over-wilshere-injury.html
seems it’s been censored.
Thomas: %age on transfers? and director’s wages are always hidden.
nice one btw
We now have 160.2m cash in the bank. Can’t buy players anyone??? (127.6 last year)
—–
knew the new figure would be above 120m, but 160? ffs
.
and on the staff’s wages, that’s what I was afraid of too…
good evening Bade
@Ivory
If that link you posted @18:18 is meant to be proof of your statement “despite the fact doctors linked it to that micro-fracture and that fatigue, burn-out are known factors for aggravating such past injuries further,” it doesn’t do anything of the sort. It’s simply Wenger defending the way the medical staff treated him against Capello’s suggestion
Which is all pretty pointless as neither Capello or Wenger know enough about it. Capello is probably just trying to cover his own back and Wenger only knows what he’s been told by the medical staff
Incidentally it also backs up my point about him sustaining it on international duty
IG the thing is that if this persists he would be delivering wooden eggs more than anything……
Tiny:
I’ll refer you to Bade’s comment a little above, he said an important part of my “dead comment”
“i never state facts i didn’t read and though as reliable ones, otherwise i restrain it as my reckoning or so…. but not always i remember the source, i just remember the fact. it’s enough…..”
it’s exactly the same for me. cause the more I read these, the more I get angry, and I really need to chillax on the weekend, or I wont last a season.
@Ivory
‘Doomers’ are hoping / assuming too. Simply because someone does so doesn’t categorise them into one or the other so even if you’re now changing your argument you’re still wrong.
If anything I would have thought my statement about Squillaci being shit would suggest that Wenger had made a mistake in signing him and therefore would be critical of him rather than praising him
PEDRO AND FELLOW GROVERS
I have been reading and sometimes contributing to the fine Le Grove blog for sometime now.
The current ongoing shambles that once was a world football team in past and modern football,now negatively dominates the press and solid supporter alike. This is rock bottom time.
The leaderless board and yes men will continue to work on gullible fans with their contradictory style of Bullshi*, and of course AKB.
My own mind is now made up. Fearing another barren time to match the 1954 – 1986 (1 league Championship) I will be hanging up the plastic card in May 2012. There will be others.
Losing revenue is the only way AFC will take notice and change.
Already some supporters have stopped spending money within the ground.
CLOSING REMARK FOR DISCUSSION
Arsenal FC have thrown in the towel and conceded the GLORY DAYS to Manchester and Chelsea.
Tiny: that’s Wenger saying in that same article, proof of the first part of my statement “despite the fact doctors linked it to that micro-fracture”:
““It changed because the fracture didn’t heal. What I’ve been told is we had to go in quite quickly to repair it. “He had an early fracture at the age of 16. That healed but around that area it created another opening.”
for the second part of that statement, “and that fatigue, burn-out are known factors for aggravating such past injuries further” I could refer you to any orthopedist that does his job properly.
I’ll refer you to a french article, excuse me, but that’s an expert talking:
http://www.maitrise-orthop.com/corpusmaitri/orthopaedic/mo86_saillant/saillant.shtml
the article being quite long, I can only suggest you to try a translating tool. But basically, overuse, too much training, too many games, are aggravating factors.
and Im sorry, but in the case of Wenger, he’s paid 7m to do this job correctly. not just being a heartless banker.
Kushagara: he still has plenty babies to sell…
The table in May
1. Man City
2. Manure
3. Chavs
4. Liverpool
5. Newcastle
6. Arsenal
7. Spurs
8. Everton
9. Aston Villa
10. Stoke
11. Sunderland
12. Fulham
13. QPR
14. Wesbrom
15. Bolton
16. Wolves
17. Wigan
18. Swansea
19. Norwich
20. Blackburn
Tiny: and you dont get it about Capello. Wether he picked it on international duty or before that, is irrelevant. he didnt “pick” it. he already had it, it just came to a point where Wilshere actually felt the pain, and it happened it was during international duty.
But Capello is right, cause Wilshere should have been diagnosed before, and shouldnt have to play 50 games and follow the training they get.
The overtraining, the overplaying, the pressure, is what makes those micro-fractures worse. not international duty.
Tinyspuds says:
September 30, 2011 at 18:34
@Ivory
‘Doomers’ are hoping / assuming too.
———
no, not really.
we dont hope, we dont assume about wenger, we check our sources
—-
ok, listen, you’re not an AKB, just a moron who likes to talk, and assume, happy?
CEL: I know I did too. welcome to the resistance.
IVORY
OTHERS WILL FOLLOW
IvoryG. Thanks mate.
The directors salaries were in last year’s report in the full 60 page glossy version.
Ivan Gazidis Cost the club 1,818,000 in 2010. (667,000 2009)
Salary: 938,000
Bonus: 669,000?
Benefits: 111,000
Pension: 100,000
Ken Friar, received a package worth 1,016,000 in 2010. 700,000 of this was a bonus.
However, it’s impossible to find out what the divide is between the playing squad and the rest of the club employees. Of which there were 417 at the end of last year.
Very disappointed with the commercial results. I do believe though there is still room in there to buy some decent players and pay some decent wages… (Bigger than anything we pay now)… But we’ve got to drive the revenue up in the coming years to do anymore I reckon. That 160m in the bank! Ditto FFS!
And here’s one last one that will get a few going! The club spent 9.6m on stadium dining facilities at Club tier, The clock… AND… Wait for it!…. A state of the art medical and rehabilitation centre at London Colney! Well at least someone at the club is showing a bit of forward planning and foresight!
Anyway, now that the 2011 results are out now and so are Man U’s I’ll try to get some time over the weekend to do a comparison to see where we are.. although I suspect without doing it we’ve fallen a little bit behind again after closing up in 2010 as I think they reported a profit of around 30m and their salary bill of 153m was still only in the mid 40′s % of their revenue..
Tiny: and here’s a scaning technology that permits to see such fractures, if im not wrong
http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/243/16/1647.abstract
we just put him in a boot for 6 weeks?
Thomas: saw that new medical center, it’s on arsenal.com, supervised by our great doctor and physio.
Check that:
http://www.arsenal.com/first-team/coaching-staff/colin-lewin
@Ivory
Well that link is a start. My French isn’t good enough really to go through it though.
However I was kinda hoping for an article where doctors actually linked Wilshere’s specific injury to overplaying rather than a generic article which seems to suggest that fractures can be caused by excessive training rather than aggravating an existing one.
Anyway as you’ve already backed up MY point that the injury did indeed occur on International duty I’ll give up now. I’ve tried re-reading your point at 16:22 and the latter part of it doesn’t make much sense to me (sorry) so that’s the only thing I’ll declare. It wasn’t even the point I was making but since you took it off track I’ve forgotten what it was. Off for beer now.
In the meantime feel free to compare people to Hitler (I think he’s next on your list) make incorrect assumptions (tch tch you AKB you) about my nickname or (and I missed this one earlier) accuse me of suggesting you’re all anti-Arsenal. Deary me
1. IvoryGoonz says:
September 30, 2011 at 18:21
Thomas: %age on transfers? and director’s wages are always hidden.
Sorry, missed the first part.. tried to post a reply but it’s not showing? maybe gone into moderation for some bad word? although I didn’t use a single ‘cuss’!
the amortisation of player registrations was only partially offset by profits on the sale of player registrations, the main contribution to which was from the sale of Eduardo. As a consequence, there was a net loss on player trading of £14.6 million (2010 – net profit of £13.6 million).
Ivory – it should be remembered that surgery is always a last resort, or should be, in the best interests of the player. if there is a 1/10 chance of the thing healing up by itself they did the right thing. as it turns out the procedure was successful but it carried a risk and even could have ended his career. that is why the medics always try other alternatives first.
Arsenal’s annual accounts reveal a club pedalling fast to keep up with their Champions League peers. The inflation spiral in player wages forced the club to raise their total salary bill to £124.4m in the year to May 2011, according to accounts released on Friday. That constituted a 12.4% increase on the previous year’s wage cost and took the ratio of wages to football turnover to 55.2%.
To put the relative rise into perspective: Manchester United describe a 50% wages-to-turnover ceiling as their golden rule. With senior players such as Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott in the final two years of their contracts, there could be further pressure on player costs.
However, although cash profit from football operations before tax and interest consequently fell by £10.7m to £46.5m, the past years of careful financial management have paid off. By releasing funds generated by the sale of properties at the old Highbury stadium, Arsenal could ensure their football costs were affordable.
“Our investment in player wages, which means not just a significant current cost but also represents a high level of committed future cost, is underwritten by our accumulated property profits and cash reserves,” wrote the club’s finance director, Stuart Wisely.
Total bank balances at the year-end stood at £160.2m, up from £127.6m the previous year, a position of strength that allowed the Gunners to invest a net £14.6m in transfers (against £13.6m of income the previous year). This relates only to the trading during the summer 2010 and January 2011 transfer windows, and does not include the sales of Cesc Fábregas and Samir Nasri.
The Emirates Stadium debt, long considered a millstone, is in fact encouragingly cheap. The club saved £4m on the previous year’s debt payments, down to £14.2m from £18.2m. Considering this expense allowed Arsenal to earn £93.1m from matchday revenues, up from £44.1m in the final year at Highbury (which also staged several more games due to Arsenal’s run to the Champions League final), this underlines how manageable the Gunners’ debts are.
But although property developments could drive a £40m windfall, Arsenal cannot rely on past reserves and property revenues forever. This means they must grow football revenues to maintain their self-sustaining template.
Stan Kroenke, Arsenal’s majority shareholder since April, separately said on Friday how he intends to bring Arsenal’s commercial revenues to the level of Manchester United’s. The annual report gives an indication of how big is the gap between the two clubs in this area. Arsenal’s commercial revenues were marginally up to £46.3m, gaining £2.4m on the previous year; over the same period United’s reached £103.4m.
This could continue to constrain Arsenal in the transfer market until the headline shirt-sponsorship agreements with Nike and Emirates expire in 2014. Ivan Gazidis, the chief executive, is clear about the challenge.
“To give the club the best opportunity to achieve success on the field we must drive a virtuous circle of increased revenue, increased investment in the team and a larger engaged fan base, and we must do this in a way which is self-sustaining and protects the long-term future of the club,” he said.
Tiny: He picked up that micro-fracture when he was 16! AGAIN!!!!!!! That’s Wenger saying it in the first article.
This international duty “injury” is just a consequence of this.
Micro-fractures of the legg bones for joggers, footballers, are a consequence of over-training. That’s a fact. I think it’s also in the second article somewhere.
And micro-fractures are also aggravated by Overuse, overtraining, too much sollicitation, just search for that word in the article. anyway.
whatever man.
Silent Stan Kroenke finally broke his silence on Arsenal’s troubled start to the season telling the Daily Telegraph in an interview this morning that he has full confidence in manager Arsene Wenger and that he has a long term vision to try and emulate Manchester United’s commercial success.
But a look at their latest financial results for the year ended May 31 2011 tells you just how far they have to go.
On the face of it Arsenal Holdings Group’s performance is very impressive. Turnover of £255m and a group operating profit of £50.5m.
But this includes the proceeds from the property side of the business associated with the move from Highbury to Emirates back in 2006. These reached their peak in 2010. Strip that out and there is a very different story.
Yes, unlike Manchester United, Arsenal are paying down their debts and it is a credit to the board’s self sustaining model that the club now has net debts of £97m. When you consider they have moved to a new ground and taken a risk on selling off their old home as luxury flats, that is no small achievement.
But the problem is the football operation is now at near to full capacity. Turnover on the football side of the business is up slightly, by £2.5m to £225m.
However wages are increasing year on year and now account for 55% of the club’s turnover – high for a club as traditionally prudent as Arsenal. There was a £14m increase in 2010/2011 although these figures don’t account for subsequent changes to the wage bill following summer player trading (Major transfers out: Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Eboue and Gael Clichy. Major transfers in: Mikael Arteta, Yossi Benayoun, Gervinho, Per Mertesacker, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ju Young Park and Andre Santos).
On top of that there is another £55m in other operating costs which barely changed over the last 12 months.
On the commercial side Arsenal pulled in £33m. This has been much the same ever since the club signed long term deals to 2014 with Nike and Emirates. This provided cash up front to help secure the stadium move but now look under valued compared to deals being done by United and Manchester City.
In commercial terms alone Arsenal are £70m behind United whose global strategy of packaging up their rights and selling them off territory by territory allowed them to break through the £100m barrier for the first time in 2011.
In overall turnover terms they are more than £100m behind.
And yet Arsenal and Wenger do have cash in the bank – according to these accounts, £115m. (That will have changed following the £60m sales of Nasri and Fabregas and the money subsequently invested on new players.)
Arsenal’s reluctance to spend big is not only philosophical, designed to remain within the spirits and laws of Uefa’s financial fair play. It is also pragmatic. While they could easily afford the transfer fee of a major player, servicing their wages over five years would not be sustained by a business which will soon run out of flats to sell.
This is why many fans are now asking billionaire Kroenke to dig deep and invest some extra money on top of the £500m or so he is committed to spending on buying his 66% stake and controlling position in the club. They fear that soon the financial gap with the rest of the top teams in the Premier League will soon be too big to close.
1. At 17:55 30th Sep 2011, rjaggar wrote:
Just remember: Utd have to service bond payments of around £50m a year with £500m odd to repay toward the end of the decade. Arsenal should be clear of debt by 2015 if they either stay in Champions League or sell a major player each year for £20-30m. Utd need far more in revenues to service their debts than Arsenal do.
Arsenal’s issue is their salary structure to be honest now. They have a more narrow bandwidth than most which may have been sensible for a group of youngsters but isn’t consistent with retaining the Henry’s, Fabregas’, Nasri’s and possibly van Persie’s of this world.
Their commercial revenue is also a major issue and that will depend on future performance on the pitch. You won’t get revenue like Utd’s not being in the champions league.
So Mr Kroenke has to take a hard-nosed business decision about hwo to stay in the Champions League.
The Press reads like it has already been pre-ordained that they won’t do that.
I do hope if that is so that all football fans with season tickets will get a 100% refund for fraud.
I have no evidence that it is so, but the way the Press reads is not consistent with a fair fight.
Why is that?
timao: the real issue is not the operation in itself. traditional doctors see operation with re-education as the end, as “the solution to the cause of the problem”. But the real source of the problem, is obviously overtraining and overplaying, and/or mis-training for all our players, not only Wilshere, that’s the common cause to most injuries to professional athletes.
Wenger speaks on Sky News.
so Lawrenson reckons sp*rs would in by 2 – 0.
what an ass.
RR: check Thomas’ posts please.
“I want this club to be the best in the world.”
Thanks Arsene.
or at least give us the link
no one’s gonna read such a long one 
RR: the press usually knows more than they say. just like players. they’re just not some time legally allowed to say it.
52m is the cost over 5 years for a 200k player (without bonuses and without transfer fee)
39m, 150k
31.2m, 120k.
tell me we can’t sign a big player, just tell me.
West ham going down
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VjQRrPYTHs&w=420&h=315
this is soft-porn for gooners
and tell me we wouldnt free lot of wage bill and allow us to sign 4-5 top players by letting go players that don’t bring enough?
Squillaci
Djourou
Diaby
Arteta
Rosicky
Arshavin
Benayoun
Almunia
Vela
Bendtner
Lansbury
Denilson
timao: try without “[youtube “
Radio Raheem says:
September 30, 2011 at 20:00
1. At 17:55 30th Sep 2011, rjaggar wrote:
Just remember: Utd have to service bond payments of around £50m a year with £500m odd to repay toward the end of the decade. Arsenal should be clear of debt by 2015 if they either stay in Champions League or sell a major player each year for £20-30m. Utd need far more in revenues to service their debts than Arsenal do. ….
—————————————————————-
RR..where did you copy that post from? I didn’t see it earlier?
Anyway, rjagger is wrong!
Arsenal will not be clear of debt by 2015! The remaining stadium debt will be paid off over the next 20 years up to 2031. This year the net interest was 14m and the capital will be about 5-6m.. (the real interest on the stadium is about 18m or so.. that net figure is offset by the interest we received on a big bundle of cash in the bank)
The stadium debt is on a fixed interest rate and will be paid off much like a mortgage over time. The debt will reduce proportionally over this period.
Hi ivory, I’ve just pasted stuff from the net. None of my 3 posts above are my opinion…just hoping to shed more light on the situation. Did I? I hope so
see Thomas, he’s the financial expert
“IvoryGoonz says:
September 30, 2011 at 17:29
Yippee: using Troie’s horse to call Le Grove “treators” would have got you banned if I was the admin. lucky for you, Pedro and Geoff have more patience than I do.
Now if you actually knew that story, you’d know the horse is not a treason act, but a search and recovery war to recover the kidnapped wife of a king. Menelas.”
I was aware, to follow the analogy,Pedro and Geoff could sneak inside and steel their precious arsenal back.
Wonder how long Wenger’s destiny will be in his hands if Arsenal starts playing to empty stadiums and no money is coming in from Arsenal accessories sales? This also means all those transfers we are dreaming of in January just evaporated.
Thomas is taking his information directly from the report, not from some other blog I believe, and I’d rather read his view on it, especially if you dont understand the content. just the Transfer fund was last year’s.
YKY: you’ll have to accept that was dubiously written. my excuses nonetheless
yes Ivory, its weird because that seemed to get added in when i hit the post button. redoing it now and there is definitely no [you tube bollox in the code as i’m posting it.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VjQRrPYTHs&w=420&h=315
Ivory,
Thomas said,
“The financial results have just been released. They are still short on detail until the full glossy release comes out on the 3rd Oct.”
I think we should hold our guns until we have all the info. The texts I posted deal with what we know prima facie. They might not be accurate but they cover the main issues better than anyone else on here has!
balls!
anyone got any suggestions?