As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
Barriecuda wrote:The idea that "we can't compete financially" should not mean "we won't compete on the field". There's great additions to be bought at more than fair prices. Scott Parker? Would have been a good addition at a paltry 8m. Vermaelen and Koscielny (in his second year anyway) have proved to be great buys at around 8-12m each; not a significant transfer fee in the modern market (especially considering if guys like Carrol can get 35m). With a club the size of Arsenal, buys at 10-15m should be quite doable and there are players at those values who can compete with the City's and United's. Just because City can spend a lot doesn't mean we have an excuse to barely make 4th place.
I believe we have not bought well in recent years. I feel like we spend $0.50 where we should spend $1, so to speak. We cheap out and pay for it in the long run. I feel like we pinched pennies over Mata, and lost one of the best players in the league this year. Chamakh and JYP have played at the level of 1-2m players, which is pretty much what we spent on them.
I'm in a bit of a hurry so this isn't my most concise post but bear with me.
World class talent costs 20m-30m. There is no reason we should not be adding a player at this level every 12-24 months, considering the size and revenue of our club, IMO. Look at the impact Arshavin had; imagine if we bought a better player, who was also younger, for a bit more than that. Arshavin gave the fans something to get excited about, filled seats, and gave us some exceptional performances, for a while. He's cooled off. Why not do it again? It's a hard figure to measure, but surely AA's contributions in that hot streak made the club a lot of money.
I'm not saying go out and buy 11-15 players at these values. But a couple of big buys at 15 or 25m here or there goes a LONG way. Arteta has been a brilliant addition. Spend the fucking money, get a Goetze or Hazard or whoever in there to provide some spark, and we'll be significantly better off for it. Chelsea and City and United and Sp*rs, for the most part, aren't spending figures that are out of our realm (or out of any top European team's realm). Wenger makes it sound like 70m is the going price for a decent player. We made how much on Nasri and Cesc's sales last year? Where did that go, anyway?
We could probably compete "financially". If we wanted to. I'd just love to know where our money is going. Are we stockpiling it? Is Wenger just being a miser? Is the board putting it directly into payments for the stadium? I think we'd all be a lot more content if they just honestly told us where the fuck the dollars are.
Good post.
With us looking more likely to finish outside the top 4, missing out on CL money means even less chance of getting players needed to turn things around, especially with our so-called self-sustaining model.
I worry big time that this decline is only the start. No CL money... empty stadium and lower revenues... If only we speculated a little and bolstered our squad regularly with quality over the past 3-4 years while the stadium was mostly full and the CL money was rolling in.
biglunn wrote:With us looking more likely to finish outside the top 4, missing out on CL money means even less chance of getting players needed to turn things around, especially with our so-called self-sustaining model.
I worry big time that this decline is only the start. No CL money... empty stadium and lower revenues... If only we speculated a little and bolstered our squad regularly with quality over the past 3-4 years while the stadium was mostly full and the CL money was rolling in.
I welcome it. Its only through a loss of revenue the wankers in charge will see its not working. We wont be far behind overall and it might mean we get rid of the senile old fucker and get a serious manager in, who is interested in trophies not finances. This is what im praying for anyway
I want us to finish 1st or 10th this season anything in between masks and continues with the problems at AFC
I suppose Wenger and the other leaders of the club are of the belief that the current situation with rich owners buying titles left right and centre will collapse eventually and they are preparing to be in the best possible position then.
They are tight because of the ownership structure and philosophy
The much lauded "lockdown agreement" prior to Kroenke's take-out of other major shareholders was the beginning of the tightness. In a situtation where there is no controlling shareholder, Lady Nina and chums were basically sat there waiting for someone to make a move (Usmanov or Kroenke) and take them out at a premium. In the meantime the club is run for cash, nobody votes in favour of any sort of investment that could be seen as harming the nice predictable cash flow of the business, and the business stagnates. I could give countless examples of this in other industries
Still, the club succesfully brainwashed the sheep that this was all in the name of 'financial fair play' and compliance and continued to persudae fans to part with more cash, whilst they racked up the value of their shares
Now we have the worst of all worlds. The guy who took out the majority is here for the 2-3 year journey. The remaining property developments and the cash from player sales etc should see the bulk of debt repaid and he will be able to sell on a debt free company at a larger premium. So Wenger staying till 2014 plays perfectly into his cash hoarding strategy.
If Usmanov had taken the shareholders out and controlled the club, things would look significantly better on the football front
so another poor transfer window has gone...just how many have we had to endure. like most fans i am stuck between a rock and a hard place...part of me wants to win the fa cup and part of me wants to see wenger grovel in a sea of mediocrity enforced on him due to his and the boards short sightedness. they couldnt actually ask us to pay more to watch this next season...could they?
lowerwest wrote:so another poor transfer window has gone...just how many have we had to endure. like most fans i am stuck between a rock and a hard place...part of me wants to win the fa cup and part of me wants to see wenger grovel in a sea of mediocrity enforced on him due to his and the boards short sightedness. they couldnt actually ask us to pay more to watch this next season...could they?
Yes they could, and yes they will
The annual report proudly announced that they were "fully subscribed" and they will feel that despite all the moaning and groaning about the 6.5%, the ticket price increase has been a success. In simple business terms they will be right too - they put prices up by more than inflation in the midst of a steep recession, and still they were 'fully subscribed'.
So what would stop them repeating the trick again this year. Maybe not 6.5%, but I'll be surprised if there isn't at least a 3-4% increase. I don't blame them for doing it either as they will succeed again
Arsene trots out that we can't compete with Chelsea or Man City and spend £50 million on on player - but no one I know is asking or expecting that, just to attempt to get in a couple of decent players with a little experience to upgrade us from also rans a couple of years ago and we would still be up there challenging.........
but no, we buy young promise that if fullfilled can be sold on again for a very healthy profit.
What good to us is money in the bank instead of points on the board ?
Does anyone know if Wenger gets a bonus based on making a profit on transfers ?
The reason that we have the Dross on at high wages is simple.
Wenger wasnt given any money to spend so instead he made sure that those who were left got paid well.
Edleman not Wenger fucked up the Flamini contract extension and had to resign over it ,Edu was wengers fault as he didn't rate him as highly as we did .
Im as unhappy with the fact that diaby (65) almunia(70) and fabinski (60) Squilacchi (80) are on huge money but more so with Bendtner (70) and Denilson (70) because their wages mean we cant sell them to anyone even if we loan them out.
Herd wrote:Wenger wasnt given any money to spend so instead he made sure that those who were left got paid well.
What a load of c**p. Honestly - Wenger indeed has made sure the substandard players he has in the squad have been well rewarded. Now that we are lumbered with a huge (£120m+) wagebill and a squad full of mediocre players that we cant shift or even give away, can you not see that Wenger has made things much much worse? Expecially as we are likely to miss out on CL money and less gate/TV money?
For this, Wenger needs to be put into a mental institution
