We have a VERY special podcast to share with you. We were lucky enough to have the LEGENDARY David Dein on our latest podcast. He is currently promoting a book named CALLING THE SHOTS – How to Win in Football and in Life.
I want to win in both areas, so we had a lovely chat with one of the most iconic football execs EVER to have graced a boardroom. The man that pioneered the Premier League, the guy that plucked Wenger out of Japan, one of the most successful transfer brokers we’ve ever seen, and an extremely trophied man.
The podcast is wide-ranging, but we talk about all the good bits. How he worked his ideas into the club early on, meeting Wenger, selling the club on him, how he chased down Sol Campbell, and some great bits on the Super League. There are also lots of great threads about being good at business. I loved it. What an absolute gentleman he is.
If you love Arsenal, you will love this podcast.
It is also worth noting that by purchasing the book here, you’ll be giving to charity because all the proceeds are going to causes like the Twinning Project, which connects prisons and football clubs.
ENJOY THE WORK. Buy his book here. It really is a great read.
Very encouraging to see after a slow start that Mika Biereth is getting some minutes with his loanee club in Holland. Two goals in his teams 3-2 win last time out is definitely a step in the right direction.
allezkev, good to read that. From the little I’ve seen Biereth he looks like he has a decent chance to get to a high level.
Yes Bob, he came to us from Fulham and has been pretty good in our U21’s before going on loan, although he’s been a bit of a slow burner in Holland until now. It would be great if he develops up to senior EPL standard as a big centre forward is always a good option to have..
Bob ” I think it would be a better look if you simply ‘owned’ your views,” I would say i have owned my views , the problem is that it is too easy to wind nigel up which is probably down to his obsession with Arteta/Odegaard. .Odegaard is a very good team player who i like watching and is doing a fantastic job for the team , but i don’t have to agree that he is 1)A good dribbler, sorry i can’t see it , he rarely runs with the ball and limits himself by only taking the ball to… Read more »
Northbanker Noone should criticise Arsene Wenger for his management performance in the first seven years at the club. The issue is that he stayed too long in the job and the club’s performance level declined. I don’t want to comment too much on the David Dein Biography and Interview with Pedro. I am not going to read the Biography and frankly I switched off from Podcast after 20 minutes. The interview was frankly too long. What I did learn from the interview is that Dein is a salesman and likes to self promote himself. He does not seem to accept… Read more »
Pierre , I know you don’t care.. what people on here think.. because you have very low regard for anyone on here as you have said so many times… as you constantly post on here calling everyone names that you make up. Obsessives, Le Groaners, shameful… etc.. When in reality your posts come across as pompous, bitter and slightly angry .. The irony is you are the one that comes across as obsessed with the way things were 5 to 10 years ago and how things should have been in your mind and yet you come across the same way… Read more »
Just read why there is no early 12:30pm fixture this weekend. Sky Sports gets to broadcast 4 games per EPL round including 2 on Super Sunday, while BT Sport gets 1 game per week. Usually the BT Sport slot is the 12:30 pm Saturday fixture but this time they picked to show Everton – Manure and because Manure played on Thursday in Europe, their game could not be an early Saturday game. So we are left with no football until 3pm when there are 4 games played at the same time. Fuck me if any of this makes sense other… Read more »
Northbanker- When you make a positive claim, it is your responsibility to back it up with evidence. Making claims about Pierre’s previous comments means that it is your job to cite the comments when challenged. This is true for every claim anyone makes. How you can possibly pretend otherwise shows an astonishing lack of self awareness. Not long ago, positivity was outlawed on this blog. Now it is negativity. Why do people find it so hard to listen to opposing views? It is incredibly weak in my opinion and shows how fragile some people’s beliefs actually are. Arteta is doing… Read more »
GoonerDave – you really need to read comments more carefully and then put your brain into operation. I focused only on his comment whereby he refused to give Arteta credit for the progress of Nketiah – nothing else. I don’t therefore need the back catalogue of Pierre to cite because the comment was based on that one point. It is called debate. That is the point of this blog.
ES – another one who debates without reading comments carefully. My comments were there to purely demonstrate that the first 10 years of Wenger were not without some qualification. I was incredibly excited when he was appointed and argued with many people that he was indeed exactly the person we needed. That proved right over the years. But the fact remained that with his style of coaching he may have struggled without a legacy inherited of a solid and well-drilled defence. That was thanks to the work of George Graham from years earlier. That said, GG had done his time… Read more »
Nb
“””That was thanks to the work of George Graham from years earlier.”””
As Tom stated earlier, this week.
Three of Graham’s last seasons in charge were 12th placed finishes.
So the defence was clearly not fit for purpose
.
(Only Wenger could have motivated , coached and cajoled it back into a sober unit)
So busy , was Graham taking bungs and buying players that were not needed- He completely took his eye of the ball.
He has only himself to blame for his fall from grace.
CG – Some of that you’re right on although it is a bit simplistic. It was indeed time for him to go. BUT he built the defence and it was still intact when Wenger arrived – those players knew how to defend as a unit. Wenger dismantled and rebuilt the midfield and attack, which I agree were not ffp. He did little to alter the defence and quite sensibly recognised the value of what he inherited.
He also did well later to change gradually until he lost the plot with Senderos, Squillachi, Gallas, Cygain, etc
Nb “He also did well later to change gradually until he lost the plot with Senderos, Squillachi, Gallas, Cygain, etc”” That lot cost about £10 million Budgetary concerns, perhaps. The difference between A. Wenger and Arteta and most managers out there Wenger got less money to spend in the transfer market each season the better he managed , whereas Arteta gets more to spend the worse he manages ( to correct his numerous cock ups, William, Mari, PEA, Luiz, Runarsson,Soares etc) He is fortunate that he is financially doped by The Kronks these days-no other Arsenal manager has had that… Read more »
MidwestGun
I’m afraid you’re hitting your head against a brick wall with Pierre on this one.
I’ve been labelled an “obsessive” because of my perceptions on Wenger Mark 2 and Ozil and yet the proof is in the pudding.
I know, it doesn’t make sense to me either.
The positives of the present can’t hide the fact that under Wenger Mark 2, we became a bit of a laughing stock.
You know it, I know it, the vast majority of fans know it but ,unfortunately, a few didn’t.
Good Post ES, I don’t know if he does in his book, apologies if he does, but Dein doesn’t really take any responsibility for the in-fighting which he was right in the middle of. One small point Peter Hill Wood was Chairman by then, Denis, my Dad’s old boss, was gone, in more ways than one, by then! Fair enough, so far as your post goes Pierre but the little digs about Odegaard that you set to wind Nigel T up with (your words) are just that. You can then hardly make out that regular readers respond negatively, to them… Read more »
I know the majority of fans consider Gallas’ stay here a failure but at the time of the leg-breaker vs the Birmingham cunts we were leaders in the table with 5 pts advantage and our defence had conceded 18 goals in 26 games. He and Kolo formed a good CB pairing and Gallas even finished the season as our 6th highest goal scorer. I consider that season the biggest chance we had to win the title while Wenger was still in about his prime. The meltdown at Birmingham proved costly and Gallas crying on the pitch didn’t help at all,… Read more »
Ummm I might be a bit late here but am I the only one finding it odd that the charity is for prisoners instead of people who actually need the help?
Such an awesome post and then I read that haha.
CG – he bought a succession of poor players – all the ones mentioned in my posts today plus numerous others such as Chamakh Sanogo and Denilson. Was that just because he had a low budget? Or was it poor judgement? What about when he got a bigger budget and had the Summer 16 blow out of Xhaka, Mustafi and Peres? That was £100m. MA didn’t buy Luiz btw. I’m not saying he won’t make mistakes and hated the signing of Willian but his signings are now largely all improving the club. You stock to your doping BS though if… Read more »
Afternoon Graham, what I would think about, in defence of the die hard Wenger fans in the last 5 years or so of his managership , is it that surprising that there was a ‘blind support’ for Wenger after those golden years which provided the best footballing times in the fifty years I’ve been supporting the Arsenal? The residual respect and love for Wenger was understandably ingrained deeply a hardcore part of the fan base. Not saying he shouldn’t have left after say Wigan FA cup win but I do get why some wanted Wenger forever! It may have contributed… Read more »
Graham-
Oh I know.. Im just handing out, free advice as per usual. It is a public forum in that regard. Probably comes down to that old Le Grove thing… if you post on here long enough .. you can’t then call yourself a seperate entity because you are now part of the collective.
In other words, Pierre is just as much of a Le Groaner obsessive as everyone else here if not more when it comes to recent events in Arsenal history.
Tomorrow is gonna be a dog fight. I could be wrong but I doubt klopp and Arteta have many warm feelings between each other. Also Jota and Firmino always seems to have their best games against Arsenal. Thank God TP 5 is healthy, I’d have been terrified facing that team with Sambi the Bambi. We’ve gotta smash those fools to really let the doubters know we are for real. Plus it means we would have created a seeming insurmountable gap between us and Liverpool. Keeping fingers crossed but this will be a dog fight. Just hoping Chaka doesn’t lose his… Read more »
Ummm I might be a bit late here but am I the only one finding it odd that the charity is for prisoners instead of people who actually need the help? __________ Goober .. you would have to listen to the podcast.. David Dein explains why he picked that charity as he was one of it’s founders. Basically it’s about giving people a second chance after they have done their time and getting them to be a productive member of society again rather then going back to prison because they have no means of supporting themselves. . Obviously it would… Read more »
Graham
””””””’The positives of the present can’t hide the fact that under Wenger Mark 2, we became a bit of a laughing stock.””””””””’
Laughing Stock? …..
CL every season and a cup final most seasons. And balancing the books every season for x 20 years and he was not financially doped like Arteta and allowed to post £100 million losses.
Like to hear your take on George Graham Mark 2 , when we finished 12th , three times at the latter part of his reign.
We can skip, the part where he sullied the clubs reputation for illegal bung taking.
Only a fool would say ” allow yourself some joy ” for stating an opinion and you are in danger of joining the fools like Nigel, AfC , simple and a few others who believe that unless you are up Arteta’s arse , you can’t get joy from our performances.
Pierre
Oooof. Don’t hold back mate 🙈
Just seems you’re looking for negatives when there is so much to be happy about
Outside of the United game it’s 100% win record since July, playing some great possession based football and scoring a high number of goals
NB
”””You stock to your doping BS though if it makes you feel better.””’
If the club post another £100 million loss this year- they are being financially doped by KSE
Thats why Klopp will aways be a greater manager than Guardiola.
He WINS and BALANCES THE BOOKS.
CG – you really need a bit more flexibility of thought. In your world everything under Wenger was bliss no matter what dogshit player he bought. Everything done by any other manager it seems is appalling. Arteta can’t manage because he has to compete (at a lower level) with the sky high transfer prices that the market requires. So if we hadn’t bought White, Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Jesus, Zinchenko, Partey, Gabriel, etc do you really think we’d be challenging just with our Hale End players?
You need to get out of your time warp
NB
I know they all do it now- spend millions and millions on players.
(And In Guardiolas case over a billion and in Arteta’s half a billion.)
Just pointing out – that the real skill in management are the ones that create successful sides without resorting to financial doping or sugar daddies.
Eg Wenger, Klopp
David Derin initiated a boardroom putsch and was pushed out the process.
I’m sure he’s doing very well for himself and I don’t get this hair pulling that’s going on.
CG is right There’s skill in taking the exact players you want and making them act out a perfect plan But there’s much more skill in taking players who aren’t your first choice and getting them to be successful Early wengers achievements far eclipse anything I’ve seen from Pep. Pep has demonstrated explicitly that given an absolutely ridiculous squad and unlimited budget he can be extremely good. He’s still failed at winning the CL for god knows how many years. Give him 2010 arsenal and fuck all money and see how many CL qualifications he’d have got tho. I have… Read more »
CG: You make a habit of criticising Arsenal players and coaches — its really odd. But dissing George Graham — have a word with yourself.
I take it 89 didn’t happen for you or maybe you just read about it?
Please don’t respond with any holier than though tosh either. GG will be remembered for what he achieved with and for this club, not accepting a bung ffs
Matt
”””’GG will be remembered for what he achieved with and for this club, not accepting a bung ffs”””
You can remember him for what you like,
But I remember him for the Liverpool title win AND the illegal bung taking and him joining Spurs and walking out of Leeds United.
Lol @ the commentary for this Chelsea game
They’re waxing lyrical about how amazing this Chelsea squad is. Sorry I don’t see many even in this starting 11 I’d be jealous to have.
They might win this game but Chelsea are nothing special as far as upper teams go
This wolves team is awful. This Chelsea team is extremely underwhelming as well in spite of the agenda that Chelsea are amazing which the commentators are trying so hard to push
China.. true but if a weight lifting competiton breaks out… my money is on Wolves.
We annihilated Chelsea 4-0 in the summer. That was a sign of how good we were going to be
CG – Wenger spent £100m in 2016 – (for 3 crap players) that was financial doping. Klopp has spent a small country’s national debt in building his team We couldn’t pay what he paid for VVD.
Wolves will be contenders to be relegated if this performance is anything to go by. Couldn’t be shitter
When did Wolves get that cunt Diego Costa? And how did I miss that?… hahaha
I wanted us to get Trippier when we were on the market for a RB. He and Bruno G single-handedly have transformed the Geordies. Both would have added class to our lineup. Especially Trippier – big leader, superb in set pieces, warrior, stable both in offence and defence. Sadly, they are making other fans happy instead of ours.
It’s not like there aren’t any other players but them, it’s just that those 2 were quite obvious and for a good reason.
Im pretty Happy with our fullback situation to be honest…. TT and Ben W, Tierney and Zinchenko.. midfield depth is a different story… but Im not sure how happy Newcastle fans are compared to Arsenals at this point in the season.
Can Conor Gallagher not afford socks without giant holes in them? or is that the fashion these days?
raptoraOctober 8, 2022 15:32:44
I wanted us to get Trippier when we were on the market for a RB. He and Bruno G single-handedly have transformed the Geordies. Both would have added class to our lineup. Especially Trippier – big leader, superb in set pieces, warrior, stable both in offence and defence. Sadly, they are making other fans happy instead of ours.
Rap…we’re top if you hadn’t noticed.
I’m really happy.
Middy, you know that a team can always be improved. I like Tomi and White, they are good but not excellent. Trippier is on the level that we need to target if we want to build a title-winning team. I’m talking about class players like Partey, Jesus and potentially Saliba, Saka, Martinelli and Zinchenko. I can’t add there White and Tomi yet, especially since Tomi is building a reputation of being a crock and White as much as he’s done quite well, he hasn’t really set the world on fire. He’s an able full back but not someone who makes… Read more »
Wolves woeful defense finally gave in… unfortunately.
I’m sorry but the commentators in this Chelsea game can barely even be arsed to hide their joy at Chelsea scoring. How embarrassing
Trippier is 32 and will soon be yesterday’s man. Given that we have White and Tomiyasu, both top top RBs, and improving with age, why ffs would we want Trippier?
Not sure what trippier would add to this arsenal team that isn’t already here
Tomi and white are two of the best RBs in the league
And we have others who can take set pieces
“we have White and Tomiyasu, both top top RBs”
Okay…
I’m talking about quality similar to Jesus, Partey and co, I guess White and Tomi are that good. Where would you put Reece James, Trent, Robertson and Cancelo, although Cancelo is just not fair to be compared to any full back. I guess White and Tomi are of that class.
Raps.. I personally don;t think Trippier fits what we do .. so Im not sad we missed on him Bruno.. was a missed opportunity. i would say. Regardless overall im satisfied with or recruitment in general.. more worried about keeping what we do have healthy and that for me is managing minutes moreso than adding depth to where we already have depth. Who would we have sold to make room for Trippier? Cedric? if so then Trippier is bascially 3rd choice. Bruno for sure could have helped our midfield perhaps in place of Lokonga but also he has been injured… Read more »
China, Both Northbanker, myself and others rated Nketiah years ago, along with Pierre. He’s not some visionary in seeing that Eddie had a knack for goals. You’d only have to look at his youth scoring record for Arsenal and England. A comment like this from Pierre: “As far as I was concerned he always knew how to play the game, , meaning score, hold the ball and link the , play , for me his ability was never in question”. Again, as I always say about Pierre.. read the details. It’s all nonsense. We all know Eddie was a poacher…… Read more »
Middy, I meant when we bought Tomi we could have bought Trippier instead. I understand some fans wouldn’t agree on it, but Trippier is actually a difference maker. Neither Tomi or White have shown they have that in them, maybe one day they will.
Raps.. Oh ok.. hmmm eh.. I suppose., I actually think TT might end up playing left CB at some point. Might keep him healthier then running up and down the wings. But regardless I think the way we play we have one fullback who is progressive and the other who is defensive.. seems to work. Sort of like Bacary Sagna back in the day.
Haaland hasn’t scored today – is he awake?
Pulisic finally scored … only took him about 6 shots. Save that for the WC.
Rap,
Trippier use to play for The Spuds, he was their worst defender and coast them a lot of points. They couldn’t wait to get rid of him. He’s now in mid table team and doing ok, what made you think he’d have been ahead of Tomi or White?
Middy, yeah I get that comparison to Sagna. Bac was tough as nails. I see the resemblance in footballing aspect but he’ll have to play more regularly in the next seasons to deserve it.
Man I hope we win tomorrow.. Would be nice to finally get one over Klopp’s Pool side.. we have a bit of a mental barrior against them. They tend to leave the midfield wide open at times so it most likely will come down to a midfield battle and not letting TAA dicatate play with long passes.
SW,
I mean, Simeone bought him, he must be at least alright defensively. In Atleti’s title-winning season he started 28 games, the other 10 he couldn’t play because he allegedly passed on information on his transfer to his friends who then placed bets on his transfer. He started in all of their UCL games too. He must have been rated alright.
I have been reading that Trusty has been having a very good loan at Birmingham scored two today.
Haaland another lovely finish 4-0 good chance Hassenhutl be gone tomorrow or monday.
Ah Haaland felt he was missing the party.
Trippier isn’t better than either of our two best RBs. I wouldn’t take him over either at the moment
Man Chelsea are so average. If wolves had anything close to resembling end product and hadn’t been dismal in the first half they’d be in trouble today.
If Bournemouth win vs Leicester I’ll say they are my big surprise so far this season. £24m spent on players and started the season with 3 losses and a goal difference of 0-16. Since then 3 wins and 3 draws. Top stuff.
Raptora, At the time I wanted Trippier. Excellent, even underrated player. Those free kicks are just a little below Ward Prowse. Great crosses too. I realize that would have been the typical choice before Arteta and Edu. A little too old, a big contract that we’d be saddled with down the line. Long term, I think we’re much better off with the way it turned out. Not to mention a much lower fee, and much lower wages with Tomi. Especially now that he’s not a nailed on starter because of White’s play there…. So the financials and the future matter.… Read more »
That COVID title he won with AM was weird one. However, at Spuds he was and still level below Tomi and White. Add to that his age, transfer, injury record, Spuds history and wage, and it’s no no and no.
Spuds going with 3 DM and 2 up top.
They’re moving boring into new level lol.
City are going to have a ridiculous goal differential this season. Should break the goal record of 106 at this rate by like 20 or more goals.. Which is outrageous and disgusting at the same time.
Anyhow.. almost time to become a Brighton fan for a couple of hours.
Mid,
That’s good what and City doing, we going about our business quietly while the country going Haaland’s crazy. When tomorrow and we’re still above them.
Brentford are back to championship level, they’ve given Newcastle 3 goals as gifts. Second season and all that.
Southampton manager asking Pep if there’s any job at City. He’s dead man walking.
How many of the Chelsea starters today would start in our team?
Koulibali for sure
Reece James, ok
Can’t see anyone else there
Their midfield is so average. The few times wolves didn’t shit themselves and give the ball away, they were able to run straight through the Chelsea midfield. Never once got the hype for Jorginho and co. One of the most overrated players of this generation
If Chelsea play the same against a decent team it will be points dropped. But wolves were so bad it’s a 3-0. Very flattering
Northbanker
I did read carefully your comments.
I would not disagree with your analysis that Wenger benefited from a solid defence created by George Graham, although some credit should be given to Arsene who managed to prolong the careers of Dixon, Winterburn, Bould and in particular Tony Adams. Adams acknowledged the
training regime and diet introduced by Wenger for the longevity of his career.
One thing is for sure any success delivered by the current Arsenal Team/Squad will be down to
Arteta and Edu. Most of the recruitment and development is down to these two.
If we win tomorrow, we’ll have more points than the four Midland teams combined, I appreciate it’s not worthy of a trophy but…..
Trippier is an overrated player. His skill on dead balls (and it’s considerable) makes a lot of people overlook his defensive and positional weaknesses. I’ll take BW and TT over him every day of the week.
Come on Brighton!!!
Howe is quietly doing impressive work at Newcastle, credit to him.
Hasn’t even spent a lot of money yet and they’ve lost 1 game this season. Bruno Guimaraes really does look a top quality little player.
We can take Liverpool tomorrow, I want us to show them as little respect as Napoli did.
We were unlucky at Old Trafford and played without fear (albeit naively). We have the frontline to blow away their well out of form backline. Home support will be huge, I am genuinely optimistic that we can win.
Bob N16October 8, 2022 16:57:58
If we win tomorrow, we’ll have more points than the four Midland teams combined, I appreciate it’s not worthy of a trophy but….
This made me laugh 🙂 Definitely worth a Trophy. Invent them, hand ’em out. Big fan of this idea
Raptora
Both white and Tomi are a level or two above Gabriel6
Others are really starting to wake up to it now
You gotta wonder if this is Kane’s last season as a top player. He’s still scoring goals but he moves like he’s 40.
Haaland is going to make a mockery of the PL goal record, 15 already in less than 10 games is silly.
I was very surprised by this new play by Spurs… Not often we see something different from them.. Son assisting Kane.. brilliant idea from Conte.. Must have spent hours perfecting this at training..
Must be fucking with Kane a little, this is a guy that swore on his daughter that he got a touch on that ‘goal’ let’s not forget that he is now so clearly behind Haaland as the league’s best no.9.
Like unanimously across the board Haaland is top dog now.
See the spuds have stolen the saliba song for bisouma twats
WE,
Wouldn’t surprise me if he finishes the season at 45+. When everyone comes back from the WC carrying injuries, he’ll be tanned and refreshed. Hopefully they’ll finally win the CL so Pep can pack up and leave.
Serge
Not as bad as them pinching Southampton’s ‘Oh when the Saints…’ Now THAT was embarrassing
Fuck me that’s a nasty tackle. Borderline red.
Bissomua is so average
Yves Bissouma
exactly where he belongs.
on a team that never wins shit
Even has the demeanor of a player who takes things casually
Weagle
Kane is the league’s 3rd highest goal scorer in just 8 seasons.
Rooney and shearer had 16-20 seasons
Laugh all you want but the guy is the best out and out goal scorer in this league since shearer hung up his boots
You put Kane in this side when he was 24/25 and he’d likely have similar numbers
Credit to him for staying put.
I mean this city side
FB, I was just about to mention that piece of disgusting cultural appropriation of ‘The Saints……’. shameful!
Tony, I am slightly scarred by Liverpool always hitting their top form against us. Obviously hope tomorrow is a turning point!
Un,
Not sure he deserves credit for staying out considering he was kept there against his will by Levy last season and the one before that.
He’s probably staying put now whether he wants it or not. City have their striker and there are no other obvious options in the PL or the top 2 in Spain.
Too many horror memories of past Liverpool games. I never feel confident although logically you look at current form and we should rip them apart, especially as we seem to be at almost full strength
Who is laughing at him Un?
I have a lot of respect for Kane the player and goalscorer but it is a simple fact that Haaland is a superior ST.
And Kane doesn’t score at any better a rate than Henry or Aguero did so I disagree with you that he is the greatest goalscorer since Shearer.
I also disagree with you Un sure Salah hits his numbers as a wide forward too Kane without pens is decent to good at best
Eagle Aguerro played for the most loaded attacking side of all Time. Virtually on cheat mode. Not to say he wasn’t a great but Kane has surpassed him in less time. Henry too. No doubt Henry was The superior player but as a goal scorer then Kane clearly ranks higher. Henry had 8 seasons in the premier as has Kane. So as an out and out goal scorer Kane is superior to everyone bar shearer. Had van Nistelrooy played out his time in the premier league I’m sure he’d be up there too. As goal scorers in this league those… Read more »
Eagle, in less time and in a lesser side
Put Kane in that city side or the arsenal side Henry played in and his numbers would be even higher