NEWCASTLE AWAY

[markyp]

i have to say regarding Gary nevilles comments that i 100% agree with him on everything he said yesterday.we are all entitled to our own opinions on whatever but for people here to continually disagree with what professional who work in the game are saying is a fucking joke on your part,dont think im trying to sound like Arsole Wenker either with the 'working 30 years in football comment' too but you have to remember whatever we may think or like to think on here none of us are in the 'clique' like an ex professional,for all you know Neville may know a damn sight more than any of us here about our fianancial affairs,to be honest id rather believe Him than someone who just posts here,who knows nobody in the professional game or directy attached to Arsenal,and thrives purely on assumptions,im not an AKB either,i want Wenker gone asap but sometimes just sometimes you have to sit back and listen to what a pro,ex pro,manager,ex manger,director,ex director etc etc has to say cos sometimes it is true be it an ex Arsenal man or not

[northbank123]

With all due respect I don't understand why people are changing their fundamental views on our club's policy based on Gary Neville. All he did was use a vague, throwaway quote commending our sensible approach and speculating that we might reap the benefits in the future - every single pundit every to appear on a TV screen in this country has said something similar, without fail. But because it's Gary Neville it's making people reassess the things they have been posting for months (if not longer)?

Gary Neville may have had a distinguished career, he may have excellent reading of the game but "inside knowledge" on finance? Absolute bollocks. He comes from a club where the players play football, the manager manages the team and the board worry about the finances. He has no specialist knowledge at all to place him above you or I regarding club finances and how to run a football club, and in fact I would back myself to have a substantially better understanding than him as I bet he's never studied the area (broadly speaking) or looked at our balance sheet.

[StuartL]

I found it quite sad watching the team and manager celebrating finishing 4th and qualifying for a competition they can't win.

I just can't get excited over it.

I did wonder if they are due some kind of huge financial bonus for achieving 4th ??

[SteveO 35]

Can anyone who was there please let me know whether the "One Arsene Wenger" chorus was belted out loud and proud yesterday afternoon?

Just wanted to know if my season long prediction came true (OK, I got the bit about goal difference wrong and should have known the mammoth 1 point margin would have been the case)

[Nick Bendtners Ego]

Can anyone who was there please let me know whether the "One Arsene Wenger" chorus was belted out loud and proud yesterday afternoon?

Just wanted to know if my season long prediction came true (OK, I got the bit about goal difference wrong and should have known the mammoth 1 point margin would have been the case)

Nope SteveO, the mantra was not sung.

Too edgy with the result far from certain but had we an extra goal or two of a cushion I'm sure a gusty rendition would have filled the air. Besides were too busy letting Tottnumb know how shit they are ....... Olé ...olé ...olé...olé

[dPmunky]

Out of town for the weekend and a bit late to watch the game. Glad we got the result but I cant imagine how much the team will celebrate if they actually do win a trophy and not a "virtual" one.

[Herd]

I've always thought Mr Neville was a grade A cant but every time Ive seen him he talks a lot of sense unlike the drivel emanating from shearer lineker hanson lawro camp .

[Clash]

i have to say regarding Gary nevilles comments that i 100% agree with him on everything he said yesterday.we are all entitled to our own opinions on whatever but for people here to continually disagree with what professional who work in the game are saying is a fucking joke on your part,dont think im trying to sound like Arsole Wenker either with the 'working 30 years in football comment' too but you have to remember whatever we may think or like to think on here none of us are in the 'clique' like an ex professional,for all you know Neville may know a damn sight more than any of us here about our fianancial affairs,to be honest id rather believe Him than someone who just posts here,who knows nobody in the professional game or directy attached to Arsenal,and thrives purely on assumptions,im not an AKB either,i want Wenker gone asap but sometimes just sometimes you have to sit back and listen to what a pro,ex pro,manager,ex manger,director,ex director etc etc has to say cos sometimes it is true be it an ex Arsenal man or not

Maybe you’re right; sometimes you do have to listen to professionals, like Neville. But if its only sometimes that must also mean that there are other times you don’t have to listen to them as well?

For me, this is one of those other times - where I don’t think an ex-professional footballer’s view carries more weight than anyone else’s. Why would it? There is nothing to suggest Neville knows any more than any of us do on the matter (as NB123 rightly said) and also his view simply isn’t backed up by any evidence.

On the contrary there is plenty of evidence that does not support Neville’s view at all. Let’s take Wenger’s salary as a quick example. Would a club severely restricted in what it can spend really be able to afford to pay their manager £7.5m every year? And if money is restricted what does that say about Wenger that he is prepared to accept this extortionate salary during such a tough period for the club? A man of such integrity shouldnt need such a huge financial incentive to stay surely? …

[Clash]

With all due respect I don't understand why people are changing their fundamental views on our club's policy based on Gary Neville. All he did was use a vague, throwaway quote commending our sensible approach and speculating that we might reap the benefits in the future - every single pundit every to appear on a TV screen in this country has said something similar, without fail. But because it's Gary Neville it's making people reassess the things they have been posting for months (if not longer)?

Gary Neville may have had a distinguished career, he may have excellent reading of the game but "inside knowledge" on finance? Absolute bollocks. He comes from a club where the players play football, the manager manages the team and the board worry about the finances. He has no specialist knowledge at all to place him above you or I regarding club finances and how to run a football club, and in fact I would back myself to have a substantially better understanding than him as I bet he's never studied the area (broadly speaking) or looked at our balance sheet.

Well put NB123 ! Totally agree.

[skizz_b]

great weekender, still struggling!

never heard any "one arsene wenger" nonsense apart from one guy in the boozer trying to sing "arsene wenger's red and white army" so a largely mong-free day

greatly enjoyable! fuk the tottnum

[Den10kamp]

Gary Neville on Arsenal - "They've spent £9million net in 10 years and maintained the level of consistency of getting in the Champions League.
"They've built a football stadium, they're paying off their debt and they're nearly there. If they move up now it will look like one of the most magnificent managerial performances when you look back in history.
"Half the Arsenal fans are annoyed because they think they should be doing more and should be doing better, but of all the madness and debt that surrounds football, what they have done is absolutely the right thing.
"What they now need to do, having nearly paid off their debt, is they need to go now. I think he knows, Arsene Wenger, that moment is now."

Must say he says it as it is, and is mostly right. Not a bad pundit Neville. Not like jug earred fuck face.

Neville is a good pundit when it comes to talking about what happens on the pitch but he is talking utter shite here. Its typical that people have pounced on what he said but its still bollocks.

How and why would Gery Neville know the details of Arsenal’s so-called debt? It sounds like he is just buying into the mythical bullshit that building a new stadium has hampered Wenger and restricted his spending even though there is no evidence for this.

I dont know why but fans and media alike almost seem to act at though Wenger had to come up with £400m out of thin air to build the Emirates and that something miraculous has been achieved by him. Isnt it too easily forgotten that we already owned a huge asset in Highbury and that by selling this we raised most of the millions needed? The rest was simply borrowed from the bank. There is no miracle and those annual repayments to the bank are dwarfed by the extra revenue the Emirates generates - meaning the stadium not only pays for itself, but that we are actually £30m a year better off. ( £50m extra in revenue less the £20m annual repayment ).

So tell me, where is the debt that is such a burden to us? And where is the justification for only spending £9m in 10 years? Wenger and the board should be crucified over that not lauded over it for ‘’doing the right thing’’, as Neville puts it.

That low net spend figure, due purely to greed and one man on an ego trip, means it is no surprise that the team has declined so alarmingly over the same period. And to such an extent that expectations have been similarly lowered to the point where thousands now celebrates pipping f---king Tottenham to 4th place on the last day of the season for he 2nd season running ... even at one time they couldn’t get near us.

But yet here we are again with people saying Wenger needs to spend this summer as though its his last chance … his last chance for the 3rd or 4th summer in a row is that?! Why are people falling for it all over again? What’s so different now? Does eight years without a trophy mean we've got to spend but seven years without one didnt? Does having a couple of new sponsorship deals and more money from Sky mean some of the £125m cash reserves can finally be released whereas before it had to sit there earning more interest?

Lets face it, nothing has changed this year and nothing will again over the course of next year! Which is why we’ll be hearing exactly the same things again this time next year. Probably after Wenger has extended his contract - as a reward for ''doing the right thing' and his ''magnificent managerial performance'' !

Bang on the money pal in fact id love to see the club respond to that

[highburyJD]

I imagine by saying: low net spend funded a high wage bill

Throughout the Highbury-Grove move we've been one of the top 4 wage payers
(even though those above us are admittedly miles ahead) and this has maintained our ChampionsLeague status.

Our big wage bill meant the club ran a structural deficit - this was covered through player sales.

Now, with new income streams developed (TV + Puma + Emirates) we can afford to expand that wage bill even more.
We don't have a structural deficit anymore - so we will now spend some of the accumulated money.

I thought it was a foolish gamble not getting another striker after vanStaplecunt left.
Apparently Wenger wanted Villa and wasn't willing to countenance alternatives - I thought a massive mistake.
If we get somebody like Higuain/Jovetic and manage to get our money back on Gervinho then I guess the gamble worked to some extent.

The financial 'handbrake' has been released - yes ManUre and the two Oilagarch clubs have more money
but everybody else has a lot less now

[SPUDMASHER]

I
The financial 'handbrake' has been released - yes ManUre and the two Oilagarch clubs have more money
but everybody else has a lot less now

Oh great, that means our fourth place should be a walkover next year then

[LDB]

Was away all last week and missed seeing the game. Just watched it all the way through, thought the game was exactly what I expected the QPR game to be like a few weeks back. Newcastle made a cursory effort at looking interested and a couple of our players had ropey first halves but they didn't really have the stomach to push us for the 90 minutes. Koscielny is the form defender in europe and for all we joke about Wenger signing flops from lique deux he's pulled off a cracker there and is complimented perfectly by Mertesacker.

A striker and a top class DM and we can push on next season although I'm not holding my breath.

Also watched the MOTD package of us and the knuckle draggers and the BBC commentators seemed to make little secret of the fact that they wanted Spurs to qualify which just made our win sweeter for me. Lots of talk about the marginal Bale penalty appeal and no mention of Podolski wrongly flagged offside when clean through, fine by me.