In hindsight was it right to leave Highbury?

[GoonerOwl]

Had to be done.

Ideal situation would have been to develop Highbury and get best both of worlds but with that not been possible and landing a stadium i really like, can't complain too much.

[SteveO 35]

Under this ownership regime we will never know because despite the tens of millions in additional profit per year about to be delivered, none of it will be reinvested into the very thing that matters most to fans i.e. the first team playing squad

I'm sure we'll use it to set up global academies in all the emerging economies to 'spread the brand' and buy up more commercial property in Islington that we can develop for further profit. It must piss Kroenke off enormously to have this horrible soccer franchise bolted on to the side of his property company

[nut flush gooner]

No one can complain about the stadium arsenal built. It wasn't possible to build highbury up to even 50,000 with the ground being surrounded on three sides by houses. Look at the spuds, they are facing a massive bill to redevelop shite hart lane. It leaves Daniel Levy with little or no choice to sell players like bale because there is no way he will fund the redevelopment out of his personal wealth.

The fact we are richer but more frugal in the transfer and have worse players is coincidental. The same outcome if not worse would have been the case if we stayed at highbury.

[SteveO 35]

....and deny us the chance of making history by winning the Emirates Cup again this Summer ??!!

Are you mad? Why would we want to stay at that poxy place where we won absolutely fuck all and never came close to the CL crown.........err, hold on a sec

[DB10GOONER]

No one can complain about the stadium arsenal built. It wasn't possible to build highbury up to even 50,000 with the ground being surrounded on three sides by houses. Look at the spuds, they are facing a massive bill to redevelop shite hart lane. It leaves Daniel Levy with little or no choice to sell players like bale because there is no way he will fund the redevelopment out of his personal wealth.

The fact we are richer but more frugal in the transfer and have worse players is coincidental. The same outcome if not worse would have been the case if we stayed at highbury.

Erm... not having a pop at you personally here, mate - but I can certainly complain about the soulless AnyStadium that Arsenal built. We moved from the most beautiful recognisable iconic stadium in the world to a lego kit bowl that could sit in any American city.

Also, tbh, no one can know what would have happened if we'd stayed at Highbury. Our only EVER appearance in a CL final was off the back of Highbury. One of the things that "seems" to be keeping Wenger in a job is the income generated by the CL qualification every season. That income is supplimented by the increased gate revenue from the The Conglomerates and this steady income has helped pay off the stadium and housing project debts.

Here's a "what if" for ya! What if we had stayed and we were only bringing in the gate return on 38000 to add to the CL money? Not needing the steady income to pay off the stadium debt and the housing project, would the Board have been as patient with Wenger not winning trophies? By staying would we have gotten rid of him when the rot truly set in after the 2008 capitulation?

[LewisT92]

http://i.imgur.com/WaPDR.jpg

I just wish it was unique looking..

I will never accept it though as I'm to much of a nostalgic.

With hindsight I wouldn't care if we scraped for fourth each season and had less success if we stayed at Highbury. It was the essence of all that was Arsenal and was the soul of the club. It grates me every time I watch a clip or video of the old ground knowing it is no more. I know for some nothing but silverware matters but as a supporter, to me, having a sense of identity that your proud of means a whole lot more. Highbury was our identity. The marble halls, the architecture. It had a feeling about it which was unmatched anywhere. As much as I love the club I can't help but think we don't have any of that now, and thats the worst part. Even if we win something it will have been won by corporate Arsenal PLC from the copy and paste concrete bowl instead of 'The Arsenal' from that little humble gem.

Don't worry though guys. When I'm a multi trillionaire I will buy out Arsenal and commence operation return to Highbury!!!

[beck]

TBH I think we were fucked no matter what we did. If we had stayed at Highbury we would have had better sponsorship deals and perhaps have been able to keep Cashely and others. On the other hand the invincible era was coming to an end anyway. I'm going to be in the minority on this but I think moving in hindsight was a huge gamble that has paid off spectacularly. Liverfool, chelski and Spurs are all trying to do it now so we were ahead of the curb. Remember people the dorught started at Highbury in 2005. It's not an Emirates curse or anything. Whilst I am sure the board knew that we were going to have to tighten then belt and hold on for dear life, I don't think they anticipated that a russian billionaire in a mid-life crisis would spark such a frenzy of financial dopers. It's like playing a game of Monopoly and having a player start with 10* more cash. But I can't emphasize how lucky we are that it paid off. What if we didn't finish in the top 4 in 2005/06? What if Spurs got there instead?

Our failures are internal really. Our scouts are fucking awful: Park,Santos,Squillaci and Chamakh all in the past few years. To make matters worse is they are/have been paid far too much money in our 'socialist' wage structure. Our Physios are a joke. Is that a scrape on the knee? No it's AIDS. A slight knock? Concussion. A twisted ankle? Cruciate ligaments. Have a great player? Lets not extend his contract lets wait until the final year. Have a 8 games a year Abou Diaby? 5 year extension. Have a great player, like Cesc, who has more than 2 years left? Flog him anyway. Then there is the slow-mo transfers, haggling over which club pays for the flight ticket. The club likes to brag how it's well run and operates on sound economic principles. The only reason the club makes profit is because of the champions league revenue. In the past 8 years 3 seasons we have had to go to the final day of the season needing a win to qualify. The fact that we have is not testimony to how well run we are as it is how down right lucky we have been. We pay 32m more a year in wages than Spurs yet we finish just a point ahead.

Oh another thing thing: Our youth academy is overrated and overhyped.

we earned a champions league place in 10/11 after our 1-0 win v man utd with 3 games of the season left

[Clash]

No one can complain about the stadium arsenal built. It wasn't possible to build highbury up to even 50,000 with the ground being surrounded on three sides by houses. Look at the spuds, they are facing a massive bill to redevelop shite hart lane. It leaves Daniel Levy with little or no choice to sell players like bale because there is no way he will fund the redevelopment out of his personal wealth.

The fact we are richer but more frugal in the transfer and have worse players is coincidental. The same outcome if not worse would have been the case if we stayed at highbury.

Erm... not having a pop at you personally here, mate - but I can certainly complain about the soulless AnyStadium that Arsenal built. We moved from the most beautiful recognisable iconic stadium in the world to a lego kit bowl that could sit in any American city.

Also, tbh, no one can know what would have happened if we'd stayed at Highbury. Our only EVER appearance in a CL final was off the back of Highbury. One of the things that "seems" to be keeping Wenger in a job is the income generated by the CL qualification every season. That income is supplimented by the increased gate revenue from the The Conglomerates and this steady income has helped pay off the stadium and housing project debts.

Great post!

[Clash]

http://i.imgur.com/WaPDR.jpg

I just wish it was unique looking..

I will never accept it though as I'm to much of a nostalgic.

With hindsight I wouldn't care if we scraped for fourth each season and had less success if we stayed at Highbury. It was the essence of all that was Arsenal and was the soul of the club. It grates me every time I watch a clip or video of the old ground knowing it is no more. I know for some nothing but silverware matters but as a supporter, to me, having a sense of identity that your proud of means a whole lot more. Highbury was our identity. The marble halls, the architecture. It had a feeling about it which was unmatched anywhere. As much as I love the club I can't help but think we don't have any of that now, and thats the worst part. Even if we win something it will have been won by corporate Arsenal PLC from the copy and paste concrete bowl instead of 'The Arsenal' from that little humble gem.

Don't worry though guys. When I'm a multi trillionaire I will buy out Arsenal and commence operation return to Highbury!!!

Agree with every word of that, well said mate!

The fact is, we didn't just move stadiums, we became a different club. That is the really unforgivable part!