To make a bad weekend even worse, tragic news just dropped the Jose Antonio Reyes passed away after a car accident. A tragic loss of a young life. He was one of the most exciting ‘out of the blue’ signing from way back when and certainly an unsung hero of our invincibles era. Thoughts are prayers of everyone at Le Grove are with his family right now.
Onto football.
I took a pretty big swipe at our ailing manager yesterday, and many people felt I should focus more of my energy at the family running the show.
So let’s talk about what running a club with vision and purpose looks like. What better place to look than Spurs and Liverpool? (I know, it hurts so bad)
5 years ago, Arsenal had just finished the season in 3rd place. Spurs and Liverpool had finished 5th and 6th respectively. Neither team had broken 60 goals.
Arsenal were ahead of the game. We had built our stadium, we had better players, and we were still enjoying our superb run of Champions League football.
So what happened? As we wrote extensively at the time. The Kroenke family were happy to watch their fortune grow because they are real estate people. Sadly, they didn’t pay attention to the reality of what was going on pitch side. They couldn’t recognise the decline in the football, they didn’t understand what the influx of money was going to do to the competition in the league, and they only paid attention to the standard health metrics of the business… namely, that all financials were ticking upwards.
That said, here’s where so many fans get things brutally wrong. They’re not bloodsuckers. They have invested ample funds in Arsenal. We have had exactly the same chance at greatness as the rest of the teams around us. The single biggest failure of Arsenal was to keep Wenger on way beyond his sell-by date, the second biggest failure was on Ivan Gazidis for his cuck like behavior in not at the very least building an elite team around him. The third was the missed opportunities. Sign Sven Mislintat and Jurgen Klopp 5 years ago when we could have, we’re talking about a different Arsenal. We could have had Pep Guardiola. The list goes on.
Ivan didn’t have a real football vision for the club. He had some really nice platitudes that he’d parrot at the AGMs, but there was zero know-how for delivering his substanceless proclamations that we’d become like Bayern Munich (‘be like them’ isn’t really a vision).
No vision, no philosophy, no structure, and a bad manager was a recipe for criminal wastage… not just that, we had a placid fanbase that didn’t understand the damage their father like manager was doing (even now, people still talk about him like he’s an absent dad and it’s f*cking creepy).
Spurs and Liverpool didn’t have the same issues. They both embarked on a similar plan of attack. They hired in two managers that boasted vision, coaching skills, outrageous charisma, and absolute belief in the project they were taking on. A manager is step one, it’s always the simplest way to impact a club. Know what you want to do, then find people with the energy to deliver it.
Spurs wanted to bring through young players and coach them to elite levels. They wanted a core of British players that loved playing with each other and felt deep affinity to the manager and club (Arsene > Project Youth). They had a good crop of kids that blended in with very smart buys from around the globe. The football might not always be that technical, but the work ethic is a sight to behold. Their players are more than the sum of their parts, they are an uncompromising beast of a team.
Liverpool, it was simple, they wanted to play heavy metal football. Klopp made great strides in season one and slowly built players around his exciting vision. Power, pace, flair, aggression and warlike mentality from everyone was the absolute standard. No one has more fire than the manager, he’s someone they all love, and he loves them back.
Also, the fans knew what was coming, they bought into the energy and they saw actual progress on the pitch.
Both managers galvanised the fanbase.
‘But, but, but…’
The money, right? Stan K doesn’t invest, he’s a leech, he’s going to bring us down…
Not quite my friends. The Kroenke’s biggest weakness now is the one that’s going to sting them very badly moving forward. They didn’t take the time to understand what was going on at shop level. My guess is they haven’t wanted to be bothered because they’re making magic with The Rams. They don’t really get football, they’d like to succeed, but they’ve entrusted average people with the fortunes of the club, which was fine when elite average could get your top 4 every year, now the bar has shifted.
Arsenal has a net spend of €288m over the past 5 seasons. We’ve dropped almost €500m on players.
Liverpool, a team everyone calls cheque book these days, has a net spend over 5 years of… €204m! €84m less than Arsenal! Their outlay over 5 years is €710m, but 50% of that has come in the last two seasons because… the vision they implemented started reaping financial rewards!
Spurs success, as much as it pains me, is even more staggering. Their net spend sits at €42m over 5 years. Think about that, we’re out here crying that poor old Emery only had €83m to spend last summer! Spurs total player expenditure over a 5 year period has been €328m. (Numbers sources from Transfermarkt)
Wages paints an even starker picture. Liverpool has spent £990m on player wages (Swiss Ramble sourced) over 5 years, with Arsenal right up behind them having dropped a STAGGERING £975m. Spurs, a team in the Champions League final, having just built a new stadium, have spent £576m!
Let me put this into a harsher light… Spurs wage bill is actually £18m lower than ours was FIVE YEARS AGO.
Our weak leadership has consistently thrown their hands up and said we can’t compete because of money. As you all know, we’ve been saying that’s a loser mindset. The best thinkers always find a way to at least get themselves into the mixer. Atleti, Dortmund, Ajax to name but a few.
Luckily for Arsenal, all is not lost.
I have very little faith that current leadership is going to fix this mess. The vision for the club is meek at best, I don’t understand the action plan, and there’s no timeline against it. The shift we made this year is at least there’s now a loose idea of how a football club should be run, the problem is I’m not sure we have the expertise to deliver, even to the ‘proud’ part of it.
We’re going to feel the brute force of how a well-intentioned structure will always fail when average people are attached to its success. Arsenal is littered with people that don’t know what they’re doing, don’t understand the values of the club, and will ultimately fail. Also, please don’t think I mean that about everyone, the club is also full of a lot of absolute heroes who love the club and want to make it better.
There is hope. We are an institution, we are London based, we generate tremendous revenue streams, we have class, values and integrity… and we are a beautiful sleeping giant. When the Kroenke’s finally wake up, pull the wool from their eyes and take positive action by making people truly accountable for something exciting, we’ll be able to make the climb back up to the top.
… but what we can’t keep doing as fans is continue to celebrate average. We can’t keep groaning that it’s impossible to attain greatness. We can’t have such embarrassingly low standards.
Strong leadership shouldn’t be hard to find with the resources we have available. An exciting vision isn’t that hard to formulate if you are talented and ambitious. Moving Arsenal up a level in every department should be low hanging fruit.
… I just don’t think the reality has kicked in with those that own Arsenal.
Today is a dark day for Arsenal. Two teams that five years ago were in much worse positions commercially, financially and on the pitch are in the final of a trophy we’re not even good enough to qualify for.
The exec leadership can either lie down and accept it, or they can pull their finger out and get a little more serious about implementing an exciting vision for the future of our great club.
Let’s see where this summer goes, but for now, let’s all hide in a box and pray the worst doesn’t happen this evening.
x
Thank fuck for that…
Oh wow
I feel fuckingbgreat….
TR7 miles ahead of us?
You do talk a lot of rubbish when you are on your pochettino love in
They have stagnated.. Lost 13 league games… Finished 1 point ahead of us. They are not miles ahead of anyone.
Be worth it dissenter
Spurs are miles ahead of us, I mean just look at the league table.
Oh wait………
Normal service restored.
Forget about this season. Time to buy some players and see what happens.
Those were two poor finals. Trying to think who played worst AFC LFC or Spuds?
Cesc
I don’t think Wan Bissaka should be mentioned with the same breath as Trent Alexander Arnold…just yet.
Summer now begins
Maybe Poch will go now.
Feel like this is as good as it gets with Spurs a CL final.
And given their history he won’t be far wrong.
That’ll fuck em over.
Word of the day?
Begins with S and rhymes with Mersey……
It only took klopp 4 years to figure it out. His points tally this year was a title winning total aswel. City just a touch better. 4 years. It took wenger 22 years and he still hasn’t figured it out. Any big clubs desperate for his signature yet… thought not. Destroyed our club. Klopp was available. Gazidis selfishly offered wenger another 2 years. Wenger selfishly signed it. And now we are here.. smh
Dissenter
Of course not.
But what a selection choice going forward.
Just would like Robertson to have been born on the good side of the border.
We are not ready for big cup.
Only in it for money wrong reason
Should be init to win it.
Let’s surge next season
As you were
Did Spurs just play a CL final?
Forgotten already.
Bye bye Spurs. Bye bye.
Pool have now won it six times
We have never won it, that’s how far back we are
Well, I think I speak for all Arsenal fans when I say THANK FUCKETY FUCK FOR THAT.
It only took klopp 4 years
————————-
If Alisson would’ve played in last years final, they would’ve won it.
Spurs were not the better team, for Christ’s sake. Not even close. Liverpool are way better and were in cruise control the entire time.
Spurs lost, thats enough for me. Don’t give a fuck who beat them.
Versus
“Gazidis selfishly offered wenger another 2 years. Wenger selfishly signed it. And now we are here.. smh”
I don’t believe Klopp would have taken the Arsenal job if offered it at that time. He is made for Liverpool. He would have held out for the Liverpool appointment.
Premier league has not covered itself in glory these last few days.
Poor advert for ths Premier league.
CA
I’m so happy for you. You don’t have to buy that light house.
Justice were served
It would have been a disservice for ‘pool to finish the season without anything.
Jesus can you imagine Spurs celebrating like that.
The bug eyed cunt is the highest paid player across the 4 teams. And the least effective player from 44 plus subs. Tells you everything you need to know about Arsenal 2019
I’m off out. Getting fucked up. Buzzing. Mrs is frothing. haha LETS GO
I’ll admit (not to a Liverpool fan) that I’m well jell of Liverpool. They needed to sort out their midfield they went out and spent over 100 million on it. They wanted to sort out the back they signed up a legitimate world class CB. Goalkeeper problem? Forget about it 70 million and it’s sorted. 70 million on two fantastic attackers too. They have their act together and I admire that. We need similar things and until otherwise I’ve not got much hope that we’ll do similar
That wasn’t a great advert for the Prem
Yes not winning anything with the season Pool has had would have been tragic for them.
Azed
Haha!
Was not looking forward to that, was ready to go full beard and everything, change my name…the works.
The romanticism of Liverpool just continues to grow as is their commercial value.
I expect they will be beating United for revenues pretty soon.
Two consecutive CL finals is market gold.
BueleydaveJune 1, 2019 22:16:09
“The bug eyed cunt is the highest paid player across the 4 teams. ”
Travesty isn’t it.
A travesty and a disgrace.
I can turn my mobile back on now
Thank fuck for that
The ox has a winners medal. Why is it when a player leaves arsenal they end up winning things?
We played in the UCL final in 2006 and we were already in trouble then.
Spurs are in trouble now, declining league points, scrapping top four and a manager who is clearly unsettled
Miles ahead you say…..
I don’t think Wan Bissaka should be mentioned with the same breath as Trent Alexander Arnold…just yet.
Dissenter doing his usual routine. Why’s that dissenter? Wan Bissaka has in the last two seasons been in the top 3 for tackles and interceptions. He’s generally been statistically speaking one of the best fullbacks for two seasons now
Arsenal’s longest gap between titles is 18 years. We are now fast approaching 18 years. We are back to being pre- 1930’s Arsenal.
’20 minutes after the game I’m usually already half pissed…’
Haha.
we need a social media revolt to get Özil out
we need hackers to cancel his Fortnite account (activated at a new club)
get creative
Tottenham, the club of bottlers… now even on the biggest of stages.
I would not be surprised if this team is now slowly dismantled.
Versus
You shoukd know why. We are a club who, thanks to AW, have a team built in being complacent and happy to just make top 4. The winning drive we had in the first 10 years got slowly diluted by AW growing need for self preservation and delusions of grandeur.
A bit like Nasri or RvP who ended up winning silverware the moment they left us.
seems Bissaka has eyes for United and his price is..well..high
Delighted for Poch. I have a feeling that he was starting to get sucked into his own hype. He seems like the type who loves to smell his own farts
It’s like I’ve taken a viagra
Bubbling
No matter how shit we may or may not be…
Still better than them in trophies
It was so close but yet so far. No one will remember the 2nd place team. What a heart break for SPUDs.
No for poch to walk
Marko
What was all that he did chewing thevrefs ear off for a min ,,,
Motherfucker
Goonah,
United shopping at Selfridges and Harrods.
Arsenal will be window shopping at Lidl, buying in the pound store.
If Xhaka didn´t turtle sprint half the pitch just to lay a hand on AND trip the Brighton player we would be in the Cl and Spurs in EL with a world of troubles
You got to give it to Spuds when it comes to bottling it.
Liverpool were poor and Spuds were at their best.
Yet the bottlers lost.
Mislintat will be a DoF for a second division side then.
Everyone can take a sigh of relief and the mediocrity can quietly continue at Arsenal.
Lmao. So which club shopping at Waitrose?
Quite sad.
Two European CL Trophies in fourteen years.Three CL Finals in fourteen years.
One owner(s) in Hicks and Gillet railroaded out of Anfield,by the Anfield faithful.
New owners in FSG come 2010-
Football League Cup runner-up: 2015–16
UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2015–16
UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2017–18
UEFA Champions League Winners: 2018–19
===============
Arsenal under Silent Stan( 2007-minority shareholder-majority shareholder 2019):-
Europa Finalists
2019-Losers
FA Cups
2017 Beat Chelsea 2-1
2015 Beat Aston Villa 4-0
2014 Beat Hull City 3-2 (aet)
———
No more needs to be said.
Well done Klopp and FSG…!!!
Fabinho has been excellent in the second half of the season. By far the best defensive midfielder in the division in 2019.
Thank fuck for that.
I said to my missus at the start that choosing which team you want to win this as an Arsenal fan is like choosing which way you’d rather die between drowning and being set on fire!
Anyone but Tottenham and I’d have been supporting them against Liverpool.
Hopefully now all the Tottenham fans who’ve been here stinking the place out will fuck off.
Hoddle talking shit about the pen
Hilarious stuff
Fucking marvellous. Shame it had be Liverpool ( always the victim) assholes to win but can’t help laughing at the scum. Cunts
I don’t think it was a penalty. Sissoko had his arm up indicating to his team mates to watch the runners before Mane deliberately kicked the ball at him, and Mane definitely did it on purpose because you could see on the slow mo replay Mane looking directly at Sissoko’s arm before kicking it at him.
If we misuse this summer, we are stuck in elite mediocrity forever
Just stuck in mediocrity, can now lose the term elite
BennyD,
Looks like the way UEFA interpret it these days, any sort of contact using the hand or arm is deemed to be handball.
So, if Mane kicked the ball at sissoko’s hand on purpose, he was just gaming the new system.
Benny
You really don´t point or wave your arm at anybody in the pen area!!!
Sissoko fcked up. Clear pen.
The professionalism between Arsenal and Liverpool is staggering.
Klopp drops last seasons flop Keeper and replaces him with a £70m Keeper
Emery drops our No.1 Keeper for an ageing flop and plays him in a major Final.
Sissoko clearly brought his arm down when being shot at which most certainly could be interpreted as trying to prevent the shot going through. I think this is how the ref interpreted it, however much he was pointing.
Tottenham Tottenham
No one can stop them….
True. But he had his arm up before he ran into the box.
Apparently from next season any contact deliberate or not will be a penalty so are we going to be seeing attackers deliberately kicking the ball at defenders arms to win penalties beca that will be shit.
Red
You don’t know if at start of season
Emery said your my cup keeper, an was honouring his word.
Not sure what game Hoddle was watching but all he kept saying was how Tottenham were easily the better side.
They really weren’t
Can someone check on Guns of Hackney? He must be devastated.
It is always acceptable to laugh at Spurs. Always.
Red
I can only agree. It was a complete disgrace to have let that chav reject Cech play the final.
With all that was being said it was obvious that Leno should have played. This was a really soft Arsenalesque decision to have played Cech. All in the name of class… pfft. No decisiveness on Emery’ s part on this one.
The difference in Professionalism between Arsenal and Liverpool is staggering.
Klopp drops last seasons flop Keeper and replaces him with a £70m Keeper
Emery drops our No.1 Keeper for an ageing flop and plays him in a major Final.
fair play to Liverpool. Very little doubt in my mind that they’d beat Spurs tonight.
Arsenal are apparently one of a few teams looking at Kabak of Stuttgart now they’ve been relegated.
Interesting. Would mean dealing with Mislintat most likely!
On a down note
Poch is in it again next year
While Dick Emery ain’t
Firstly my commiserations to the family of Jose Antonio Reyes , a fantastic player who , if he had settled in London would have been a brilliant player for us for much more than the three seasons he was with us. Secondly….Ha fuckin Ha to all the scumcunts who have been sending me Facebook messages. I would message them all back but to be honest have been too busy having my sides sewn up after that final. Champions league final between two teams with a combined wait for a league title of 87 years.
Why all the fuss about Cech? He didn’t cost us the game.
Cesc Appeal
Gazidis wants Mislintat at Milan. That’s the type of player he’ll take there with him
LG summed it up well, piss poor Final but most are when there’s so much at stake and margins are so fine between glory and devastation.
Liverpool weren’t impressive but still they never REALLY looked in danger of losing at the same time, no doubt the PK made things much simpler for them.
Allison Motm but even the vast majority of not all of his saves were ones you’d expect him to make.
Happy for Klopp, he deserves to sit in that elite bracket of gaffers with a CL winners medal.
Bizarre decision not to start Lucas Moura from Poch.
Felt for the lad, never has a player deserved a CL Final start more than him.
Kane didn’t even look fully fit.
Exactly WE.
Bizarre decision not to start Lucas Moura from Poch.
This.
Lovely evening.
Sixth European Trophies-Let that sink in!!!
Shake my head…Elite my arse..Terrible..
*The sixth European Trophy
Dream10
So Mislintat moves again having just signed a contract a few months ago?
Something doesn’t smell right with him.
Yeah Pochettino made a bad mistake not starting Moura.
Oh well.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.football.london/arsenal-fc/european-champions-liverpool-show-arsenal-16366182.amp
Pretty much..
“The Gunners earned as much for Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck, Wojciech Szczesny and Serge Gnabry as Liverpool did for selling Dominic Solanke.”
*sigh*
CA
I was as relieved for you as much as anything when Origi buried the Spuds dreams with that lovely shovel.
Now you can at least use public transport and grace the pub once again, gloating comes later so I’m told…
PhD
We haven’t got shit to say to a Pool fan anymore, sad times.
Went from bantering off of everyone but United to being the butt of the joke from Pool and even Spurs fans, not to mention the Chavs.
A top rated post on Reddit the other day put up a post congratulating Arsenal on qualifying for next season’s… Europa League.
Dark times haha.
englandsbest
No real fuss other than it displays the inherent weakness in our club. We are soft instead of being ruthless in all aspects to try and achieve the win.
Weagle
Many good ebenings ahead, idk what you’re on about…
CC
I lamented at the time how the fuck couldn’t we broker better deals in the window when Liverpool sold Bournemouth a literal turd for 19 million pounds.
They bought Fabinho for the price of two Solanke’s. Outrageous business.
True CC, how can you hate Emery when he’s that adorable?
Weagle
What’s the priorities for you this summer?
you’re Josh Kroenke…..go..
Charlie
Player personnel wise? Or staff?
WE
Very relieved man over here
Weagle
Any and all, what does getting our house in order look like for you?
Gimme a rough timeline of what you’d like to see happen between now and opening day of next season
CC that would be the rams
Not sure, if there is or was a palpable sense of relief from Arsenal fans tonight, not witnessing Spurs winning the CL Trophy? As opposed to still digesting the humiliating 4-1 trouncing by Chelsea in the Europa Cup Final on Wednesday. Maybe,it was and is,the slow digestion and realisation of the debacle that awaits us over the forthcoming years,under the current owners. The political spin,the platitudes put before the very gullible eyes of the fans. Sack the manager the fans say? What is our budget?£40 million?£70 million?Is it -season renewal time? Stories of recruiting a Technical Director? Transfers in/Transfers out?… Read more »
Depends on a couple of things Charlie, what kind of bunce are we looking at? Big difference between having a 40m budget or a 100m one. In either case if it were up to me I would replace Emery, with who I’m not sure as of now. I’ve seen enough to feel that we’re not heading in a forward direction under UE though so why drag things out? As for players, ideally I’d sell Ozil, Miki, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Elneny, Chambers and Xhaka, I don’t like Iwobi but see the logic in holding onto him as a squaddie. That probably raises… Read more »
Poch: elite, “top 3” manager in the world, according to Pedro….still hasn’t won a trophy.
He needs to leave Spurs if he’s gonna win one.
Premier League and domestic trophies going to Man C or Liverpool.
Spurs’s run of lucky ECL wins won’t be repeated.
Stadium debt will start to bite.
Man U now closed off as an option.
Real Madrid also closed.
Juve? Maybe, but they prefer Italian.
Barca?