‘Proud of you’ vision uninspiring and lacking accountability

by .

via @t0wey (instagram)

The Arsenal joint leadership team dropped an impromptu exclusive with some of the hardest hitting journos in the game… I mean, kind of… I mean, they interviewed themselves.

The most choreographed tap dance since Michael Flatly swooned my mother with River Dance back in the day.

The piece drew applause from many people who were captivated by the vision.

Not me. Nor Matt from The AO.

The whole piece felt a bit wet.

TL;DR, the vision is ‘Making Arsenal fans proud’ and the execution is ‘the Arsenal way.’

A vision has to be measurable because ultimately, you have to be accountable for delivering results.

‘Proud of you’ is not measurable. It’s broad, extremely subjective, but it’s a crowd pleaser for fans that know no better. It’s a little bit like telling someone they do the dishes the best… a bit of flattery to cover-up a cop-out.

I am proud of Arsenal in the Community. They do incredible work across a broad range of categories. Unreal commitment. Is that mission complete? No way. I love the trimmings around the club and they remind me that I support a classy outfit, but ultimately, I’m in it for the football.

A vision needs to be more specific, and I’d have hoped for it to be more football oriented.

EXAMPLE

Vision: To be Premier League Champions inside 5 years

Strategy: Project Youth 3.0.

Details:

  • Arsenal become the number 1 destination for world-class talent between the ages of 17-23
  • We build our whole backroom team in service of identifying, training and elevating their talent.
  • We attract them by offering them good contracts that are heavily incentivised, combined with an elite platform to showcase their skills.
  • This is a 5 year plan. We’re going to be honest with the fans, but what we’ll promise in return is a footballing philosophy built around pace, power and explosive flair. Arsenal will be the most spectacular destination for attacking football in the world.
  • We’ll do this by hiring an innovative coach that believes in the vision. We’ll surround them with hand picked specialists, built to an American sporting model. We’ll hire the best of the best in every position in the club.

What did we get?

We’re going to promote kids, have tough conversations about contracts, buy smarter, and do things the Arsenal way.

They both said they want to win trophies, but there’s no timeframe. They both reeled off the Ivan-esque prose that it’s hard to win trophies, which again, felt like excuse padding. Also a bit weird to pump Emery and call the Europa his comfort blanket. If we’d been more aggressive about the league we’d have made top 4… the comfort blanket now has us in a roulette moment with Chelsea.

They said the owners are down with winning too.

“They are really passionate about how we can move the club forward, but also realistic. They know we’re not going to go from where we are to deliver our ambition overnight & know there’s going to be a whole load of work along the way to get there”

… delay, delay, delay. Arsenal are obsessed with things taking a long time, being difficult, harder to achieve than buying a loaf of bread. When you are communicating a plan like that, it shows you don’t fully believe in it. You’re already complaining. It’s tiresome.

Elon Musk sells the future like a hero. He over promises and under delivers every quarter… but you know what, the outrageous ambition he has shown has him sending spaceships to space and returning to land on a pad the side of a golf green. Did he set out to investors and say, ‘listen we want to have spaceships landing on these pads, but ultimately, it’s pretty tough getting a space permit, then there’s the recruitment thing, total nightmare, then there’s the budget, which can I just inform you is 5% of what Nasa spend.’

Fuck no. He was shooting for the literal stars, and if he fell short, at least he achieved something.

Overall, I was a bit flat coming away from it. There was no real substance. My only hope is they have something magic up their sleeves, but it doesn’t seem that way. For a piece that was recorded internally, they did a pretty uninspiring job of rallying the troops. What do the staff and players think? Are they on a wild ride? Are we going somewhere? Is there a mars shot going on here? I must have missed it.

This is my big issue with Arsenal. Our special sauce isn’t special, it’s just Heinz ketchup. There is nothing unique about having a desire to play young kids. There’s nothing unique about being financially prudent. We’re not the richest, we’re not the smartest, we’re not the most artful… so once again, we bumble into the summer with a manager that hasn’t really moved the needle guiding the vision of the club for the next two seasons.

Kind of bland, but really, exactly what I expected.

Arsenal, stasis through harmony.

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DM

DM

DM

2

Peter

4th

DM

Tr4phy

Samesong

5th

Mr Serge

Yeah a very uninspiring interview to say the least. Who are they trying to kid. Basically our next 3 seasons hinges on the next game end of discussion

Alexanderhenry

Pedro

It’s all so predictable. Plus ca change.

englandsbest

Spin, spin, spin. After ten years of lies, lies, lies, anybody who takes this seriously deserves what he gets.

The reference to Elon Musk is very apt, I bet Gazidis idolizes him. Smoke and mirrors. Tell people what they want to hear.

The American way is not a silver bullet, simply more smoke and mirrors. Like Wenger’s magic elixir.

CG

Sensational post. (My- we are in for an informative summer- with PedRo C B.E in this current vein of form.) Scrutinizing not cheerleading the preposterous Vinai and Raul double act.And I ,off course – thank you for your continued excellence. I can’t remember the last time- I witnessed a more uninspiring ,limp and frankly inept interview from such highly renumerated executives. Vinai was in particular a huge let – down. No tie. Badly ironed collars. Insipid and platitudes dripping from him. He has not a clue. Palpably out of his depth. As for The Spiv. He has the air of… Read more »

gambon

The problem is this is a club arranged interview. There are never going to be tough questions. The reasons we havent spent more on the team are broadly: – We fell out of the CL – We have been very poor commercially – We have been poor with contract management, buying and selling These are the things these guys need to be pressed on. Ask Vinai how he intends to add £50m to commercial revenue in the next 2 years (without the 2 main deals)? Ask them what happens if we lose to Chelsea, which is at least a 50%… Read more »

HighburyLegend

“Arsenal, stasis through harmony.”

Unai’s to blame.
(lol)

Words on a Blog

Pedro,

From Raul and Vinai’s point of view, why set out a detailed blueprint of a vision and a philosophy with interim and long term performance targets? It’s easier to set out vague aims, talk about long targets and “The Arsenal Way”, while singing the praises of the owners and their employers.

No real vision, no real accountability.

That comes from the top.

And it ain’t gonna come from Stan and Josh

Redtruth

gambon
“Ask Raul if its concerning that the team has scored less, conceded the same, taken less shots, conceded more shots, created less big chances, allowed more big chances, lower xG, higher xGA?”

And as a result more points gained. ..explain that….?

Redtruth

Arsenal were one win away from finishing 3rd despite all those negative stats gambon keeps trawling out.

Leftsidesanch

Not even sure what the whole point of this interview was. We were a Champions League club for years and didn’t kick on, we paid the price for a lack of ambition. We recruited badly in key positions which has ultimately seen us become a Europa League outfit.

Even if we win in Baku next week, not much will change. The same players that have contributed to our downfall will all be here next season and I can’t see the season panning out too differently to this one.

Bamford10

Whining about a promotional video featuring the club’s COO and CFO. “They talk like corporate executives!” “Why hasn’t the ship been turned around after 12 months?!” “They say it will take time—how dare they?!”

Jesus Christ, what nonsense.

Leftsidesanch

God, what is it with CG and the appearance of other men.

Bamford10

Leftside

“The same players that have contributed to our downfall will all be here next season …”

I think this is a little pessimistic. Mustafi will be gone, Lichtsteiner will be gone, Xhaka may be gone, and one of Ozil or Mkhitaryan will be gone.

And we will be bringing in a host of younger players.

It’s true that we might finish fifth again — it’s a competitive league — but we are moving in the right direction. It will take some time to right this ship, though.

Bamford10

Again, as Redtruth has also noted, the metrics that matter are total points and final place in the table: on that front we finished 7 points better, one place higher and 11 points closer to fourth. That’s improvement, that’s progress.

up 4 grabs now

pretty limp interview with nothing of substance really.

Is it me or is there just a vacuum of nothingness going on, or not going on as the case maybe.

Its like we make it up as we go along and wing it as the situation arises.

Leftsidesanch

I think this is a little pessimistic. Mustafi will be gone, Lichtsteiner will be gone, Xhaka may be gone, and one of Ozil or Mkhitaryan will be gone.

Hard not to be Bam, Licht will have left but he was less costly as the other suspects who I believe will all be here. I’d be delighted if they do leave.

up 4 grabs now

Im all for project youth mark three, if we are playing these guys rather than just bringing in a kid on a decent wage to play under 23 football then go out on two or three loans before quietly slipping out the back door. The team should be a mix of youth 19-23 year olds, 23-30, & 30-33. there’s a natural progression and the youngsters learn off the senior pros. as long as there good senior pros. that was one of the problems of the past, The invicibles broke up too quick, the team was stuffed with kids and inexperienced… Read more »

up 4 grabs now

Bamford I hope your right.

Hopefully, Mustafi will be gone, would probably look like a cross between john terry and sol in the Italian league as its so slow over there.
But Italian clubs don’t pay much even juve like there free contract ending players.

Lichtsteiner will be gone, why hasn’t this been announced?,
they were quick to bin off Welbeck ?

Xhaka may be gone, (again maybe the Italian league would suit him more or France/Germany?)

One of Ozil or Mkhitaryan will be gone.
( I actually think were stuck with both, no takers on those wages)

SpainishDave

Just missing fourth is not the question.
I nearly won the lottery I was only a number out!
I nearly caught the train I was only a minute out.
A miss is as good as a mile.
Our aim is to win the EPL.
No progress just muddled tactics, and poor management.
Pedro is right we have no strategy, the owner doesn’t understand in footballing terms what that means.
We are in the dark with our eyes shut

MidwestGun

God, what is it with CG and the appearance of other men.
___________
I don’t know.. but he uses words that are borderline bigoted (spiv) .. its pretty close to another term most Spanish would call offensive and comments on greasiness (lots of hair gel)on someone from Spanish decent. And all this from somebody who claims to be from S. Africa, a country where apartheid was a thing up until only 25 years ago.. So I don’t think he has much room to talk about peoples appearance and descent.

Redtruth

gambon

How did we end up with more points on such negative stats….

Redtruth

Winning the Europe league would undeniably mean progress and remedy missing out on top 4.

HighburyLegend

Am I the only one who think that there’s too many days between PL’s last game and the ELC final ??

The players can lose the rhythm of competition…

Redtruth

Winning the Europa league would undeniably mean progress and remedy missing out on top 4.

up 4 grabs now

Highbury,

we have a friendly behind closed doors on Thursday, I think
some Austrian side?

Moray

Pedro’s point is a fair one: we haven’t seen a marked improvement in our game since Emery joined, particularly defensively, and he hasn’t used any media opportunities to set out his goals for transitioning us from legacy Wenger. At the same time, we have had years of marketing fluff from Gazidis while falling behind our peers in the commercial area, so we are right to expect some transparent plan for how we can set our financials to compete in the transfer window over the next few years. The apparent lack of strategy and accountability from the Board is worrying and… Read more »

Bamford10

Kante is back in training, apparently, so he will be in their XI on the 29th.

Bamford10

Moray

Nah, that is all beside the point. They have stated quite clearly that the club will move forward on the basis of a commitment to attractive, free-flowing football. That Emery did not achieve that this season is down to a number of factors — practicality trumping philosophy, playing in many different set-ups out of necessity, a poor + unbalanced squad — not some absence of vision. There is a vision, but it cannot be achieved overnight.

CG

The timing of this ‘carve up’ ,of an interview too – was incompetence personified.

For Raul to put it out in the public domain- that Emery is basically fixated with the EL- above the Premier League – before The Baku Final is just comical.

I hope he has lots of egg on his face- by the end of next week.
When Emery managerial masterplan comes crashing down in Azerbaijan.

One would have thought- this interview and his announcements -Re Emery and EL should have taken place after the final.

Receding Hairline

I am not really one for interviews

Wenger used to say a lot of the right things while we drifted into irrelevance, so also did Gazidis right before he sailed off to Milan.

Don’t really care what they had to say, more interested in what they do.

Receding Hairline

“I hope he has lots of egg on his face- by the end of next week.
When Emery managerial masterplan comes crashing down in Azerbaijan.”

Super fan right there

MidwestGun

Moray- I agree with what your saying..it’s worrisome because it seems like more of the same.. same from previous administration. However it could be that they just don’t realize how much the fans have been kept out in the dark… for so many years. It was always kind of an aura of secrecy…. Don’t worry about it…. Arsene knows best. Kind of thing. The new people can somewhat understandably maybe not have a grasp of that situation yet from a PR standpoint. And when your owner is known as “Silent Stan” it’s hard to take them seriously when they say… Read more »

OleGunner

Again, I always have found it weird coming onto this blog this season and seeing supporters frothing at the mouth for us to lose (like the one a couple posts above mine). The anger that must be raging inside some…. Anyway the interview was a PR fluff piece as you would expect but I still thought there were some interesting nuggets in there like player contract decisions at 2 year mark and ”out smarting the market”, the ability to spend every penny we make. Some of this is stuff we have been yelling about as fans for years because its… Read more »

Samesong

Badly ironed collars.

“I hope he has lots of egg on his face- by the end of next week.
When Emery managerial masterplan comes crashing down in Azerbaijan.”

CG- This guy can’t be an Arsenal fan. Wanting Arsenal to lose. SMH

HighburyLegend

“Super fan right there”
Indeed…. lol

But CG = Charlie George’s brother, so where’s the surprise ??

Bamford10

Midwest I honestly think people are way over-reacting. No video from a COO and CFO is ever going to do what people here and elsewhere seem to imagine this video should be doing. Do you think a video featuring City’s COO and CFO would be more inspiring or less vague and corporate-speaky? No, it wouldn’t. Do you think a video featuring Liverpool’s COO and CFO would be more inspiring, less vague and corporate-speaky? No, it wouldn’t. All that matters in the end is whether the men running the club are ambitious and competent. I think they are, and I think… Read more »

MidwestGun

Bam-
From a PR standpoint I don’t think the Club has done enough.. given where we came from as an organization. I think the EL could be a good jumping off point as far as momentum… so that could be a good opportunity.. I do think people over react to everything in sports… however that is what being a fan entails. If it wasn’t sports maybe.. but sports are about emotions and “sauce: as Pedro puts it… that’s what sells tickets and makes more fans. Bottom line though… winning solves a lot of problems. So we will see.

gambon

“Again, as Redtruth has also noted, the metrics that matter are total points and final place in the table: on that front we finished 7 points better, ”

Yeah, if you arent particularly intelligent, results are all that matter.

How do you think Casinos make money?

Why do you think people buy lottery tickets?

gambon

“Arsenal were one win away from finishing 3rd despite all those negative stats gambon keeps trawling out.”

If UTD had beaten us at the Emirates 2 months back, we wouldve finished 6th.

HighburyLegend

“Yeah, if you arent particularly intelligent, results are all that matter.”

If you arent particularly intelligent, you will support the Chaves, in the hope that Emery will be sack if we lose the final ??

Goonah

I would love if we went for premier league proven players to sort the defence. Build for the rigours of the league. For instance a double swop for Wolves duo Doherty and Coady, both palyed a full campaign so are solid and reliable. Ben Chilwell for LB and Declan Rice as Xhaka replacement. Good mix of youth but still very experienced. If we win the EL and got an extra 30£M i would sell Bellerin for 30£M and try to get some flair in Pépé for 60£M —-Auba Lacazette Pépé—- —–Guen Rice Torreira—– Chilwell Sok Coady Doherty ————–Leno—————- That front… Read more »

Moray

Bamford: “ They have stated quite clearly that the club will move forward on the basis of a commitment to attractive, free-flowing football.”

How Long have we been hearing this for? There was still a perception widely held that we played great Football under Wenger in his last few Seasons but it was awful. Also, free-flowing football to me is just corporate speak for a poor defence and a fragile mentality.

MidwestGun

Bam- Also.. Liverpool and City neither one had the same manager for 2 decades.. making all the decisions. In an aura of secrecy.. They didn’t need to have the Ceo and CFo layout anything.. all they had to do was hire Pep and Klopp and people knew what they were getting. Our situation requires a little more PR. We are more like a Man. United situation post Fergie and I would say that Club didn’t do a good job of PR either post Fergie.. what where they trying to change or accomplish other then recapture what Fergie did.. ? Is… Read more »

Moray

Also, I could request my wife to be better in bed, but unless I start talking about what she needs to do to be better, it’s just a Long-term and vague goal.

Marc

The quote I’ve seen come out of this interview that might have more to it than spin is the comment about the EL being Emery’s comfort blanket. That might just be a shot across the bows about next season. Of course we all won’t to win it this season but the EL is not a season on season fall back option.

Gonsterous

Pedders Great post as per usual. I don’t think looking for powerful, pacy youngsters is much of an innovation. Every club and and their fans know that is the calibre of players to look at. I think the next innovative step would be adaptability. Something big club’s do. Looking at history, every type of play gets out dated. We had the tiki taka which got demolished. We had the counter attacking which got stopped. At the moment it’s more of a direct play approach. Get the ball and head on straight like aircraft’s in formation. We need to teach players… Read more »

Paul Mc Daid

Hilarious what people thing Emery should fix in ten months what Wenger took ten years to destroy.

Marc

Pedro

One question you mentioned wanting more defined goals ie winning the league in 5 years. As Klopp is about to go into his 5th season if he doesn’t win the league next season should he be sacked?

Leftsidesanch

Moray I hope the misses doesn’t read this blog!

If that doesn’t upset her, reading Charlie George’s consistent drivel will

Moray

Midwest, Football is an entertainment business these days. Or a techotainment business, if you want to be clever. The tricky thing is that while the fans are customers, many are indentured, and so will continue buying shirts and tickets regardless of whether they identify with the values of the club or not. I am all for giving Emery another season, but what has worried me is that I’m not seeing on the pitch a discernible change in our effectiveness, particularly when it comes to defence. Therefore I would expect the club to assure me that there is a realistic plan… Read more »

Bamford10

gambon Right, you’re such a deep thinker, mate. You’re looking at the metrics that REALLY matter, while the rest of us are looking only at the misleading surface of things. Question: is there any chance that these underlying metrics were what they were not because Emery is “out of his depth,” as you and Pedro allege, but because he adopted a hyper-practical approach to the season, deployed many different set-ups and emphasized results over style? Answer: yes, that is a definite possibility. Another question: is there any chance these underlying metrics were what they were because our personnel — specifically… Read more »

Dream10

Interview with Arsenal MD: on why being in Premier League “big six”, rather than the Champions League every season, underpins the club’s “robust” business model under Stan Kroenke

https://www.ft.com/content/5002bece-7ace-11e9-81d2-f785092ab560

Moray

Ha. She won’t escape from her cage, mate!

Dissenter

I think people were expecting Vinaimand Raul to launch a new smartphone and toothpaste.
‘Ladies,and gentlemen…I present to you the new Arsenal phone that can also be used to brush your text. This is the most advanced…”

The interview was fluffy because it was club arranged . The interviewer was bland and patronizing. Vinai looked sounds like a very smart chap and Raul seems lost in that position. Raul looks like he’s better served working behind the limelight.
I think Raul needs to work under Vinai. No more co-leadership.

jwl

Pedro – you want the club to announce five year plan but you also complain about how Arsenal are obsessed with things taking a long time. To me, five year plans are long time, everything could change this summer if we sell a few key morons and buy quality. Emery has exceeded expectations, we have more points than last season and we in European final and all those inane stats that you and gambon seem to love prove Emery did better than expected.

Dissenter

‘Ladies,and gentlemen…I present to you the new Arsenal phone that can also be used to brush your teeth , This is the most advanced…”
That didn’t come off well

gambon

Bamford So our players are weaker than the players Wenger had just one season before? Why has Emery overseen: – A fall in goals scored (despite having Auba for a full season) – The same number of goals conceded – Less shots – More shots conceded – Less big chances – More big chances conceded – Lower xG – Higher xGA Your point makes no reference to the fact that all of these metrics have fallen from the previous season A season where we had a senile manager in charge that had utterly lost the dressing room. A manager who… Read more »

Dissenter

Expecting the club to announce a 5-year plan is typical of what a marketing executive like Pedro will expect.
It’s no wonder Pedro got hoodwinked by Gazidis and his marketing scams.

gambon

And as for “Deep Thinker”

Tell us again how Neymar is useless on the big stage?

That would be Neymar that has scored in virtually every final he’s ever played in, who has won the league in 3 different countries, all the domestic cups, the CL and the Copa Libadatores.

Or will you do what you did last time, and pretend you were arguing a completely different point?

Leftsidesanch

UEFA are an utter embarassment by the way.

jwl

And I forgot Elon Musk would be awful boss of Arsenal. Musk main company, Tesla, is a disaster and not long for this world because of its owner’s mismanagement. Richard Branson or Jeff Bezos would have been better examples of space visionaries because they also run successful companies.

Bamford10

Midwest “Our situation requires a little more PR.” One, why? Does anyone have any doubt that the men running the club (Sanllehi, Venkatesham) are competent and ambitious? They shouldn’t, as there is absolutely no reason to think they’re not. Therefore, why does anyone need them to explain every last detail of their plan or vision? An intelligent person doesn’t need this. He simply says: “I’ll trust that the men in charge are doing their thing, and I will assess their progress based on what I see the team do on the pitch and what I see management do in transfer… Read more »

Bamford10

gambon

I never said he was “useless” on the biggest stage. I said he hasn’t shown that he can be the decisive player on the biggest stage. And I was right.

Receding Hairline

“If UTD had beaten us at the Emirates 2 months back, we wouldve finished 6th.”

If we had beaten Palace we would have finished third

If we had beaten Brighton fourth

If i was born in England i would be English

If i was born in China i would be Chinese

If…………………………….

Moray

I don’t mind a five year plan, so Long as it has clear goals set along the way. The Redknapp/Allardyce spit and sawdust approach is no longer sufficient in today’s commercial world of Football. All the signs are that we are struggling; we struggled to find a manager and we are struggling to bring on a DOF. This whole who the manager is argument is bullshit. It’s about how the club is run. If we are a confederation of talents now rather than a dictatorship, as seems to be the case, then each component needs to know what their goal… Read more »

Leftsidesanch

Whatever happened to a neutral venue that is easily accessible?

CG

Great Post Gambon.

One thing that really surprises me is How The Billionaire Kroenkes family allow such lifeless, listless and untalented corporate leadership to continue…

The current regime of Vinai/Raul and Emery will bring them insufferable grief in the months ahead- if they dont change tact.. and bring down the axe…

Is there a football club in Europe- that has more inept leadership.?

We wont be Top 6
We are heading for 10th

englandsbest

It’s the future, not the past, that matters, and listening to the usual bullsh*t, it looks decidedly dim. Who to blame? Ourselves. And in particular the season-tickets holders (who will line up, as per usual, doff their caps and pay up.) If there was ever a case of misplaced loyalty, this is it. Loyalty should be a two-way street. Supporting Arsenal is a cul de sac. You give loyalty and you get contempt. The core problem is he ownership. Why should Stan alter course, he is doing okay. There is only one way to deal with someone like him. Through… Read more »

Moray

“Does anyone have any doubt that the men running the club (Sanllehi, Venkatesham) are competent and ambitious? They shouldn’t, as there is absolutely no reason to think they’re not. “

And what evidence that they are competent, or are we just to accept that they are?

I wouldn’t choose to stay at a company with no corporate governance. Why should I accept that at my Football club which yet again has written off 70-80m of talent because of contractual mismanagement?

Freddie Ljungberg

Pedro

Can you talk to your buddy Elon about getting CG on his next trip on his rocket? Maybe launch him out into space with his collars immaculately ironed and nothing else on?

I for one would thank you for it.

cheers

Moray

Englandsbest, I wouldn’t hold out much hope, even if the stadium went empty for 6 months. We live in a fucked up world where companies can successfully IPO in the several billions even though they have never turned a profit and in some cases, likely never will.

Arsenal Fc is not a revenue generator for Stan. Merely a makeweight for his bank loans which allow him to take advantage of the rising commercial property market. It will take a lot for the estimated value of Prem Football clubs to drop any time soon.

Bamford10

gambon Right, now all you’re doing is lashing out and avoiding the actual points I’ve made. Again, might those underlying metrics reflect Emery’s having adopted a hyper-practical approach to this season, frequently changing set-ups, etc.? Answer: Yes. Might those underlying metrics reflect the fact that we have a very weak squad, including somewhere b/t the sixth and ninth best midfield in the league and somewhere b/t the sixth and ninth best defense in the league? Answer: Yes. If these metrics continue to look this way next season, then questions will obviously need to be asked. To be pointing to these… Read more »

Emiratesstroller

I don’t get the viewpoint that Arsenal have performed worse this season than in the final season under Wenger. 1. We have finished one place higher in the League. 2.We have won more games and scored more points than last season 3.We have beaten Chelsea, Spurs , Man Utd and drawn against Liverpool at home. 4.We have drawn against Spurs and Man Utd away from home. 5.We have reached the Europa Cup Final. Yes Emery has made some poor decisions as well, but when you inherit the squad he has inherited you cannot altogether blame him for our current situation.… Read more »

MidwestGun

Bam- I don’t know if they are serious and ambitious to be honest. Hell I’d take a 2 transfer window plan.. that were consistent.. Did they answer the question why they felt it necessary to only do a loan for a player in a position that we didn’t need when we had injuries all across our backline? That was weird to say the least and very Wenger like. Stuff like that needs explaining .. todays fans are way more sophisticated and in tune with things due to the internet we don’t need a 5 year plan we need to know… Read more »

Moray

“Is there a football club in Europe- that has more inept leadership?”

Ivan’s now at Milan….

up 4 grabs now

miki isn’t going to baku, just announced

Guns of Brixton

Watching that Interview was depressing.

Contentment in Mediocrity is all I heard.

Sucks to be us.

TR7

Bamford as usual acting as the PR agent of Stan and his men here on Le Grove. Stan, Raul and Emery are all frauds, no amount of sophistry from your side is going to sway the opinion of those who are perspicacious.

Marc

Emirates

Spot on mate.

Moray

“Right, but those mistakes were made by the previous regime.”

Welbeck and Ramsay were both still under contract when Emery arrived and therefore could have commanded a fee. I presume Emery’s famous dossier did not include the idea of letting Ramsay go on a free?

up 4 grabs now

Emirates at 12.18 great valid points mate.

Bamford10

Midwest ” That [January window] was weird to say the least.” I don’t think it was as weird as some think, though I’m not going to argue that they shouldn’t have handled the January window differently. I think this season was about seeing what we had in the squad. I think they handled January the way they did because, one, they wanted to avoid the kind of costly mistakes people sometimes make in January windows, and two, because they wanted to see what the players we already have, like an AMN, could do. Yes, Suarez was a complete bust, but… Read more »

Nelson

“We’ll invest every cents that we earn due to FFP restriction”. Why all 19 other EPL team owners are allowed to invest their own money? I know that there are some self-appointed FFP experts keep coming up with explanations. I am sure that there are ways to invest in the playing squad by the owner if he wants. (Just like the other 19 EPL owners)

Dissenter

Why isn’t Mykhi going to Baku? Thus is insipid decision making from the club. The Azerbaijani FAMguy publicly stated that they had given written guarantees and answered Arsenal’s fears directly. Does anyone think the Azerbaijani government will allow anything to happen to Mykhi especially when several Armenian athletes have competed in Baku . The reputation of all of Azaibajian will be in the line at the EL final. Nothing will happen to Mykhi. What did Arsenal really want? A battalion of soldiers guarding the hotel?. The president of the country personally guarding Mykhi’s from the airport? Arsenal didn’t perform satisfactory… Read more »

Dissenter

Emirates stroller is just calling it a he sees it. It’s not hard to see that people have wrapped themselves up with an agenda blanket.
It’s been that way from him for the last year.

Bamford10

Moray What actually happened with Ramsey remains a little murky, so I don’t think we can draw any definite conclusions there. I agree that if we weren’t going to re-sign him that we should have sold him last summer, but it’s clear that Emery regarded him as key to his plans when he arrived in July so I imagine that’s why he wasn’t sold then. What happened after that is, as I say, a little murky. As for Welbeck, I’m not sure what to say on that point. I’m not 100% certain we know what is going on there or… Read more »

Elmo

Would be interesting to have a poll on this site, as to what people would prefer:
Option A – Arsenal win EL final next week and Emery continues as manager
Option B – Arsenal lose EL final and Emery removed as manager the following week

I’d guess that the outcome here would be close to 50:50, yet in the general Arsenal fanbase around 90:10 in favour of winning the cup.

Obviously the Emery doubters would prefer option C: Arsenal win the EL final and the manager resigns saying he’s taken the club as far as he can!

Champagne Charlie

“I never said he was “useless” on the biggest stage. I said he hasn’t shown that he can be the decisive player on the biggest stage. And I was right.“

But he’s won various leagues and cup finals.

So, to use your Arsenal logic, they’re the only metrics that matter, the results.

Or are they not with Neymar, but are with Emery? Enlighten us all.

MidwestGun

I don’t think it was as weird as some think, though I’m not going to argue that they shouldn’t have handled the January window differently. ________ It was weird….. I didn’t accept it under Gazidas and Wenger and I wont accept it now either. It doesn’t inspire confidence or show ambition to me.. If there was a reasonable explanation they should have explained it in their PR piece as it speaks directly to ambition. Anyhow, they have a chance to rectify the situation this summer. But I think given our past it is reasonable to expect better communication and I… Read more »

HighburyLegend

“Hilarious what people thing Emery should fix in ten months what Wenger took ten years to destroy.”

Most pertinent comment of the year so far, thanks to Paul Mc Daid.

up 4 grabs now

Welbeck and Ramsay were both still under contract when Emery arrived and therefore could have commanded a fee. I presume Emery’s famous dossier did not include the idea of letting Ramsay go on a free? Moray, we had little money to redo the team and squad, with more pressing needs to replace players. we wouldn’t have sold Welbeck as a replacement for him would have cost as much as we got if not more. At the time we was only playing one up top who wants to come to be third choice? Eddie who has played almost zero first team… Read more »

Leedsgunner

“We need to outsmart the market, we need to make the right signings, do the right sales, the coaching staff needs to prepare the games properly like they do. It just means hard work and outsmarting the market. That’s the two, I would say, essences of success, if we want to be there.” This is, I’m afraid just hot air just to pump up expectations, and to buy fan goodwill. If Raul was serious about this why did he fire Mislintat, especially when we didn’t have a ready replacement in play? Plus, his absolute ineptitude in the January transfer window… Read more »

Dissenter

Pedro
‘Wasn’t anything murky about it, the deal was pulled because the manager didn’t fancy him’

Was that before Emery anointed him as one of the five club captain and spoke glowingly of him last summer.
I think your presenting your personal opinions as facts .

That’s just me I guess, those that believe will believe.

Dissenter

There’s nothing Vinai and Raul can say that will satisfy anyone.’
Action speaks louder than words. Judge them based in whatever they do, not on the voice words that they use or the style of cuff links that they wear.

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