“Would Franz Beckenbauer seek to console Bayern supporters by suggesting they need not worry about an injection of new blood in the January transfer window, because he retained the absolute faith that everyone was doing a marvellous job and it was such a shame one key player derailed everything by leaving in July?”
In fact it is the range of excuses that Liverpool trot out that seems to annoy the paper’s writers so much (although it is of course more than possible that Liverpool has simply reduced the amount of booze the reporter can consume on a match day that has led to this outpouring). Here are the excuses the Telegraph found…
1. Luis Suarez left.
2. Daniel Sturridge is injured.
3. Liverpool did everything possible to sign Alexis Sanchez but he would not come.
4. There was no other striker available, so they had to buy Mario Balotelli.
5. No-one questioned the wisdom of signing the eight summer recruits at the time, every deal is risky, and there are not too many clubs in the Premier League who had a good summer in transfer market.
The problem with the excuses is that Liverpool, by speaking in these terms (and yes, of course, I only have the newspapers’ words for it, I wasn’t at the press conferences) are saying that they could not have done more.
Now I admit Untold makes excuses for Arsenal – we point to the injuries and the referees’ actions – but by and large Arsenal FC itself does not do this. Of course I am sure you can find one or two quotes from Mr Wenger we he does, but not as a wholesale policy.
But the big, big, big point is that Mr Wenger chose not to buy more defensive players because the right ones were not available, and we did have cover. Not enough cover in the end given the wholesale defensive injuries we got, but at least some cover. And he was right to sell Vermaelen, as his injury has stopped him playing for Barce. Liverpool chose to spend all their money – and now say, “but the people we wanted were not available or would not come”.
Of course they can spend again, but they are already under investigation for FFP breaches (although like Man C before them, they are in denial) – so spend spend spend in January, even if the money is there, is going to cause problems. And the manager boasted of not buying lots of middle ranking players.
As the Telegraph says, “the impression given is those responsible are telling themselves circumstances made it unavoidable. If that is the case, it is even more disconcerting for Liverpool fans than the sight of Martin Skrtel employed as an emergency centre-forward – surely the most damning indictment of the wretched recruitment of the club.”
And yes, yes, yes, I know, I am endlessly critical of the Telegraph. My point is that it is rather extraordinary that they have now taken time off from Arsenal bashing to bash the previously untouchable Liverpool. Indeed they have gone further…
“Liverpool went into the game with Basel with a goalkeeper who doesn’t know whether to kick the ball or exorcise it; centre-halves who you expect to be bullied by AFC Wimbledon next month; midfielders whose goals and assist record must be evident to the statistical wizards who are so revered by John W. Henry; and a 32-year-old striker who ran out of gas 72 hours before kick-off.”
Wow indeed. But then there is more – and this is where the comparison to Arsenal gets interesting…
“That is why those who want Brendan Rodgers out as a result of Liverpool’s performances this season are deluding themselves if they think it will change anything under the current set-up.
“Fenway Sports Group would interview another series of idealistic managers delivered fresh from the Uefa pro-licence course, each one no doubt adept at arranging training sessions and communicating his ideas. He’d still be at the mercy of the quality of Liverpool’s recruitment.”
(Underneath that last statement is a pic of Balotelli).
Liverpool have its Transfer Committee, because there probably was corruption in the club in the 1990s when transfer after transfer came through the same agents. A committee to run things was a pattern adopted by Woolwich Arsenal but abandoned in 1898 when Thomas Mitchell was appointed as our first manager. We’ve never gone back to it since.
But even then the Telegraph had not finished with Liverpool. For in a separate article they listed the players they think are not worth the transfer fee and give them marks.
- Rickie Lambert, £4 million 5/10
- Adam Lallana, £25 million 5/10
- Emre Can, £9.75 million 4/10
- Dejan Lovren, £20 million 3/10
- Javier Manquillo, loan 5/10
- Alberto Moreno, £12 million 6/10
- Lazar Markovic, £20 million 4/10
- Mario Balotelli, £16 million 3/10
Personally I think that the Balotelli mark is a bit generous, but I am still chuffed at the way Untold said that Balotelli to Arsenal was a vapour transfer. One nil to us.
Still it makes you think.
The books
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal
Liverpool is too pride of themselves, LOL. They still live in some pages of EPL history book chapture 1970-1980’s, so they can’t see the fact today.
It always disgusts me to see the media build up young british players and managers. (Ie rogers and wilshere) to be the next saviour of english football the jump on their back wen they dont live up to their astronomical expectations
–
Alain Pardew of Nouveauchâteau FC:
“Arsene Wenger has done an unbelievable job at Arsenal and in some ways their stadium should be named after him.”
I wish Pardew had sold AFC Cabaye. But then it probably wasn’t AP’s decision, no doubt he’d preferred to have kept two Key players for his squad, Debuchy and Cabaye.
It’s no wonder to me that AP has respect for the rebuilding at AFC over the last three years after initially losing not one (like. Liverpool or Tottenham) but two global megastars, two stars from the 2010 WC final. Keeping the club up there and managing to rebuild with two new megastars, with two of the stars from the 2014 WC. No wonder why most people who understand football, sorry that would be all people who understand football, understand and respect what has been achieved over the last three years alone at AFC, never mind the buzzcocks.
It takes some effort to ignore the above.
I had mixed feelings reading this, Tony. I agree with your main premise. Many LFC supporters and apparently the club itself are insufferable BUT I would add that there are a number of Arsenal supporters that act the same way toward smaller clubs. We must have pride in our club without being prideful. I often cringe when I hear Gooners say that we are a big club. It smacks of two boys claiming that their dad is bigger than the others’. I sometimes read/hear/see Gooners denigrating the accomplishments of other clubs. I am proud of my two sons but I hope that I would never cut down another boy’s accomplishments under the misguided impression that this would somehow make my sons ACTUALLY better. Just some thoughts.
I know its not relevant to this article but can anyone tell me who arsenal might get in the next round of champs league
Barca, Real Madrid, Bayern Muenchen, Atletico Madrid, Monaco, or Porto
That article is the sort of thing Arsenal fans have had to put up with from the media for years.
If Liverpool fans had to read stuff like that, week after week.
If Liverpool fans had to listen to there ex players constantly deriding the Club a la Merson and Robson etc.
If Liverpool fans had to listen to there ex players trying to encourage there best players to leave a la Wright.
If Liverpool fans had to listen to there Club being ridiculed, insulted and lied about, every day on prime time radio.
If Liverpool fans had to endure that level of criticism, and more, day after day, week after week, year after year, they would turn on there Club eventually, in much the same way many of ours have.
The problem is articles such as this are rare and do not endure. Yes I also heard some pretty damming criticism on SKY the other night, but I also heard ITV pundits nearly in tears.
When Liverpool where pressing near the end I’m sure the co commentator (Townsend ?) was ‘pulling one off’ on the sly, such where the moans and groans and the the ooohs and aaars in the background, every time Liverpool got near the penalty box.(By the way, isn’t he the little snake that let out a little cheer when someone scored, or almost scored, against us in Europe?)
Also I read on here that Talkshite where, despite everything, still bigging up ‘plucky’ little Liverpool yesterday.
Anyway my point is, yes it does make a change, and it is nice to hear somebody else get it in the neck for a day, but mark my words it will not last, and it will still be Wenger and Arsenal that are being trashed on National Radio again today on ‘drive time’.
It will still be Wenger that Reade and Howard in the Sun will be ripping the piss out of, if not this weekend then next.
It will still be ex Arsenal players trying to sell Ramsey and Sanchez for us because ‘they’re too good for Arsenal’, and not ex Liverpool players (to there credit) trying to push Stevie G out the door.
Sorry Tony, as nice as it is to see, I don’t see anything of significance changing any time soon with regard to who will be the medias favourite whipping boys come Saturday.
It’s wrong to rejoice in other people’s misfortune but I would have asked the media ‘its been how many years since Liverpool won anything?’
@finsbury
December 11, 2014 at 2:45 pm
–
Alain Pardew of Nouveauchâteau FC:
“Arsene Wenger has done an unbelievable job at Arsenal and in some ways their stadium should be named after him.”
Personally I won’t mind ‘The Arsene Wenger Stadium’
Media always need a whipping boy to publicly flog but never seem to like it when their own misdemeanors, illegal activities & double standards come to light.
Very good job Tony, very good job indeed. Thank you very much for all the work you and your team are doing on UA.
I’ve always known that the tables are bound to turn one day. The day of reckoning for the media will certainly come.The time will come, and it is closer than we think, when Arsenal will be the toast of the world. All the ingredients are gradually falling into place. The ones calling us names now will be unable to do so. They wll stick out like a sore thumb if they dare.
Keep up the good work Tony. Untold is doing a tremendous job.
It is a must that once Wenger is gone the stadium should be named after him. A MUST!
“The extra defenders that most people say were needed were not bought because the right men were not available; to the annoyance of the anti-Arsenal ranters Mr Wenger has held back until he gets the right man. Cue mega criticsm of Wenger.”
The same Untold Arsenal rubbish being spouted!
The overwhelming majority of neutral fans and sensible Arsenal fans alike can see that Arsene didn’t do enough to sign “the right men” in defence and that it was irresponsible and foolish not to pull the stops out and make deals happen.
I’m assuming that the AKB brigade believe that it’s a better strategy to go into a season with 5 experienced defenders and 1 young new signing? There can of course be no blame or responsibility placed upon the fragile shoulders of Arsene, because he NEVER makes mistakes does he!
This is compounded even further with Arsene’s knowledge of Gibbs’ injury record, ironically he wasn’t one of the long term injured! Next, as Arsene himself has commented we suffer more injuries post World Cup, well Arsene it may have escaped your attention that all those other people in Brazil weren’t just watching you play beach football! So given this knowledge he decided to go into the season with 6 defenders, a decision that had already ruined any chance we had of making a sustained title challenge by November!
It’s pathetic the way this site tries to explain away all of the glaring mistakes that are being made within the club and pass it off as hysteria from the un-intelligent AAA who lap up whatever the anti-Arsenal media and anti-Arsenal pundits write or say.
This site is so out of touch with reality it’s scary.
khitb77
“It’s pathetic the way this site tries to explain away all of the glaring mistakes that are being made within the club”
Please enlighten us as to what ‘mistakes’ you are talking about?
khtib77,
“The overwhelming majority of neutral fans and sensible Arsenal fans alike can see that Arsene didn’t do enough to sign…”
could you prove anything of that?
What is doing not enough? Paying over the odds for a not top class player? Should we have paid 50M for a Luiz? Is that doing enough?
And once the overwhelming majority of people in Europe looked down on people from Africa…. yep they where right… (sarcasm of course). Using phrases like the overwhelming majority is useless and means nothing. Apart from giving the impression that you just follow the masses…?
Alain Pardew of Nouveauchâteau FC 😀 😀 😀
Pardieu’s comments plus the abysmal, or at best hit and miss, transfer records of Liverpool, Spurs, Man City (Mangala for £30m, wtf), show how very difficult it is to get transfers right, contrary to what the know-it-all pundits and journalists say.
Pardieu should know as a fellow manager. We’ve got to the point where we simply are not going to gamble £10m or £15m or more (e.g. Mangala, David Luiz) plus wages on a CB that could turn out to be a Mangala, and have that player on the books for four or five years. We may have more money now, but we still aren’t swimming in it like some other clubs.
Anyway, I do think Liverpool’s players haven’t been given enough time to settle in, to be fair to them. Another problem is that they’ve brought in too many first team players, as Wenger has pointed out before, which makes it a lot more difficult for new players to integrate into the team, as Spurs well know.
Lambert was always going to be third choice at best. Except for Balotellitubby, I think the other transfers can come good given enough time. It’s hard to say what else Liverpool could have done, because they really needed the squad depth to compete in Europe, and in the light, Lallana, Can, Lovren, Markovic were all decent acquisitions (I’m not familiar enough with the others to comment).
As for naming the stadium after Wenger, of course I am all in favour, but isn’t there some restrictions in terms of our commercial deal with Emirates so we would have to wait a while? Even if there’s isn’t, simply because of all the fighting among Arsenal fans, I think it would be better to wait maybe five or ten years after his retirement.
And why have the media suddenly turned on Liverpool? We all know there are plenty of Scousers in the media, I think they are finally getting fed-up with the club they support. They’ve never been any good at hiding their bias.
In Europe, this is a straight red:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B4cUmtXCIAA4u4m.png:large
In England, this is just a yellow:
http://arsenalist.com/f/2014-15/stoke-city-vs-arsenal/charlie-adam-tries-to-decpapitate-alexis-sanchez.html
Maybe it’s time the PGMO caught up with the rest of civilisation. As well as demoting Anthony Taylor.
@khitb77 Reality? Your view of reality maybe but hardly accurate.
We went into this season with the same number of defenders that we went into last season – Vermaelen having been replaced by Chambers; Jenkinson (who is only out on loan anyway) by Bellerin. Last season we had one of the best defensive records in the division – spoilt only by 3 big away losses – all played with virtually a first choice defense.
How do you know what Arsenal did or did not do to sign ‘the right men’? Fact – before the season started Wenger said that the main problem we had last season was not scoring enough goals. Hence Bendtner was replaced by Welbeck and Gervinho by Sanchez. Defensively we’ve reduced the number of opposition efforts on our goal by 50% which, if maintained across a whole season, would have a significant impact on total goals conceded.
Wenger. being human, makes mistakes. But his supporters at least have facts on their side when they maintain that his mistakes are far fewer than most and way less expensive into the bargain.
And what you may not know (and I can’t blame you for it) is that the Clubs publicly declared intention is that it will produce a far greater proportion of its own players in the future – relying far less on the transfer market as a result.
Sound a bit old fashioned? Get used to it, its the future for just about everyone.
For all the people spouting rubbish that Wenger is losing the dressing room:
“Every player here wants to work hard for him [Wenger], we have proven that again,” Ramsey said. “He has been under some unfair criticism but we are in it together. We wanted to get the result for us and for him.
“Whenever we go into a game, he knows our qualities, always believes in us and gives us a great feeling. Every time we go out there we are representing ourselves, our club and our manager.”
http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/lay-off-arsene-wenger-aaron-ramsey-says-arsenal-boss-is-facing-unfair-criticism-9915046.html
Tony,
Great article as usual! Glad that another team is getting the criticism instead of Arsenal and Arsene, even if it is just for a day.
A little off topic, but can someone explain how ESPN and other websites are coming up with these odds for Arsenal’s potential round of 16 opponents?
Munich 24%
Monaco 18%
Barcelona 14.7%
Real Madrid 14.4%
Athletico Madrid 14.4%
Porto 14.4%
If it’s truly random, why wouldn’t the odds be more equal?
For Instance, Bayern Munich can face 1 of Juventus, Basel, Arsenal, PSG, Shakhtar Donetsk
That’s a 1/5 chance so should be 20%,
Same with Monaco, 1/5 = 20%
Barcelona, Athletico, Real Mardid, Porto 1/7 = 14.3
khitb77
“This site is so out of touch with reality it’s scary.”
And what pray tell is your version of reality?
Would it be net loses of £400 million in the transfer market a la City and Chelsea?
I wonder, because if that is your version of reality I’d love to see how you run your own finances !!!
The Arsenal have eight first team defenders in the squad, three goalkeepers, Jenkinson on loan and Stefan O’Connor rated good enough to feature against Gala. But dont let the facts………………….
Khitb77
Okay, lets add some facts here shall we.
Last 5 years, from 09/10 to 14/15 season here is what Wenger has had to compete with. I understand that experts like you would have had teh skills to achieve more but here are the facts:
Liverpool Net Transfer spend £127 Million
Man City Net transfer spend £391 million
Chelsea Net transfer spend £300 million
Man Utd Net transfer spend £148.5 million
Arsenal Net transfer spend £52.5 million
Now I am no expert but accourding to my maths any person claiming that Arsene Wenger has failed and should be abused, is living on another planet to teh rest of us.
Success in football matches spend. That is a fact. It is a shame but it is what it is.
Yes Wenger has made mistakes. But he has also had his hands tied behind his back financially.
You lot seem to be in complete denial of the financial issue. It is as if you beat Wenger up because he doesnt perfomr miracles. The bloke has done a fantastic job but unfortunately we have some fans who ignore facts and choose to beleive the crap they hear the nmedia churning out.
In the Champions League, despite spending a fraction of what Liverpool and Man City spent, we achived 13 points. This is the same as Liverpool and City combined. I woudl say thats pretty telling.
Go back to your blog and beleive all the shit that gets written on there by the tactical geniuses – the ones who never have to prove whether or not they are in fact the experts they beleive they are because its all guess work and speculation.
@Khitb77 and the AAA,
A little help with counting:
2 LB (Gibbs and Monreal)
+ 3 CB (Per, Kos, Chambers)
+ 2 RB (Debuchy + Bellerin)
= 7 Defensive players
Plus the youngsters (Hayden, O’Connor), Flamini capable of covering, and Jenkinson on loan
Not sure why people keep screaming only 5 or 6 defenders, as if 1-2 of our defenders do not exist.
Interesting to see The telegraph taking up a UA theme again;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/11287637/Premier-League-referees-have-to-stop-bottling-decisions-or-someone-is-going-to-get-seriously-hurt.html?WT.mc_id=e_3750986&WT.tsrc=email&etype=frontpage&utm_source=email&utm_medium=Edi_FPM_New_2014_12_11&utm_campaign=3750986
Balotelli like Bentley,Pennant etc is that strange new development of modern football of players who have the lifestyle without the career – and Brendan Rogers read his own press realises last year and thought he was the reason Liverpool had a one season wonder , not the actual one season wonder Suarez !
Its pointless trying to argue with people like Khitb77. People like that will believe whatever they are told to believe without basing it on any facts or or even just putting a bit of thought into it. They just regurgitate whatever bullshit they are fed. Untold is apparently “so out of touch with reality its scary” just because it goes against what the pundits and mainstream media say. Listening to people like that will give you a much more skewed version of reality, but i guess the advantage is, you dont actually have to think for yourself. Ignorance is bliss as they say and Khitb77 has that in spades!
khitb77 out!
—
Jerry
I think in the next round, any team drawn cannot play against another team from the same country. Which tilts the odds from being about the same.
Jerry
Not sure why people keep screaming only 5 or 6 defenders, as if 1-2 of our defenders do not exist.
In the same way I’m not sure how they can just say things like…
“The overwhelming majority of neutral fans and sensible Arsenal fans alike can see that Arsene didn’t do enough to sign “the right men” in defence”
….as a categorical statement of fact when in truth they haven’t got a clue how much Wenger did or didn’t do or what a majority of fans think.
And the last time I looked I was still waiting for khitb77 to expand on this little gem:
“It’s pathetic the way this site tries to explain away all of the glaring mistakes that are being made within the club”
I seriously dont understand why people like that dont just go and support another team. Clearly they are getting no joy supporting Arsenal and i hate getting tarnished with the same brush as these pickle-eating meat-heads.
khitb77
Another question.
Who, apart from the aforementioned oilers and there mega debts, and Manchester United, who recently fielded the most expensively assembled side ever, have done better than Arsenal over the last 5/10 years?
If they’re a bit tricky for you here’s a nice easy one for you.
Who, over the same period of time that all the oil money was sloshing around built themselves a nice shiny new stadium at a cost of some £450 Million?
Quincy @ 5:07 pm – I can’t claim the credit or the wit for that!
Most non-english media report Arsenal differently from English media.
Sad that English speaking fans are so easily convinced by nonsenses media report about Arsenal.
AW had bought enough covers during transfer windows. We just simply ran out of luck this season.
Being a fan mean we walk with Arsenal up and down .
from the telegrap piece above:
The reckless lunge by United’s Paddy McNair at Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere is another example. It was a poor challenge and Wilshere is, once again, out of the game for a prolonged period. And all he did was run with the ball. McNair dived in and felt he could do so. He should not have been granted that leeway.
which is exactly the correct description of what happened. But who is giving these Grants? That’s what I’d like to know.
I’d also have appreiated a list of the folowing:
Diaby
Eduardo
Ramsey
Sagna
etc.: because what the author is writing about has already happened!
Chambo missing for England at the WC as a result of the previous encounter with Dean’s heir etc. Surely he knows this? You’d hope…
From the Telegraph article Gf60 linked:
“It seems referees are simply appearing to let more go and are refusing to take responsibility. Maybe they want to be more low-key, maybe they believe they are allowing the game to flow – but they are forgetting their main priority is ensuring the safety of the players – and ensuring that talented play is rewarded and not beaten down by thuggery or a violent over-reaction. It is football.”
That could have been copied and pasted from Untold. Much of the rest of the article suggests to me Mr Jason Burt reads Untold.
They mention McNair on Wilshere, and rightly so, but fail to mention the Stoke thug on Sanchez and Cahill on Sanchez, at the very least. But it’s a start, at least, belated as it is, give them credit for that.
With so many English players now in and around the first team and under 21’s.
Even the English media will eventually cop on to the fact that if they are been butchered playing for Arsenal they won’t be available for England.
Gunnerjoe
For ‘butchered’ read ‘bullied’!!
Isn’t that right Jamey (Rednap).
On the BBC site today:
FIFA is going to vote on releasing a redacted version of their corruption report. My guess, is that they will release the report, but every page will be heavily redacted.
Chelsea has committed to the Living Wage.
Wenger is an idiot he clearly should’ve signed another 11 ‘top class’ players this summer while also reducing the price of a season ticket to £5 per person and in 17 years hes done absolutly nothing to fix the bad weather in england. I would suggest he be sacked and replaed by AVB with paul merson as assistant
Hot dang….
What a weird article.
we were short last season on decent defenders…so Wenger sold Verminator and let jenkinson go on loan. We got chambers and debucy – that means we are still short on decent defenders.
O wait everyone, and Tony Attwood – Nacho Monreal is the answer.
What a joke.
@Walter 4:28 pm
I dont know, it would be an near impossible act to follow. One thing is for sure once the Wenger goes the pressure on next manager will be immense.
Pound for pound and like for like, Wenger is unrivalled. It is a shame his reputation is being sullied by the ignorant media and the even more ignorant fan. If only the so called ‘fans’ who abuse him had 1/100th of his loyalty. It seems the modern fans are all football experts who believe everything they ‘think’ is true. There is no greater fool than a deluded fool. Even worse, a deluded fool with a flag.
Finsbury the telegraph article didn’t go through the whole list of Arsenal injuries because had the writer tilted the article to one club it would have been easily dismissed as biased. By mentioning the assortment of clubs there is more chance of his protest being taken up.
On a different subject!
I got the answer to arsenal injuries! Train them went to jump with a dirty 2 footed tackle and land on ankles oh yeah. The fuck with the gunners! they’ll jumping jack your ankles you little shit! 😀
Thanks for your brilliant insight Aliens…..On your home world what constitutes a sufficient number of ¨decent¨defenders and what exactly is a decent defender? We had the 3rd best defense in the league last year and we strengthened our defense considerably by bringing in younger, more promising players like Debuchy and Chambers, as well as promoting Bellerin. Vermaelen still hasn’t played this season for Barca and Jenkinson is learning his trade in order to prepare for his return to AFC next season but please don’t let your ignorance interfere with your prejudice.
@GoingGoingGooner
Same here.
It just hit me why the UK media’s(bosses) is/are so against Arsenal. It is because he is so successful on so little, and they are SCARED of what he will do with much more resources(which Arsenal are slowly gathering). If he was a British manager it would be praises, praises, praises on doing the impossible.
@khitb77
In today’s world one needs to take one’s opinion, and Untold’s (or an other) opinion, shake them up in a bag and then see what you make of it. Basically what i am saying is, change your perspective so you can look at the issue from another angle, sometimes you will find there are things in the way of your view from that first angle. One can always go back to the first opinion, but at least one has seen all the different angles.
Far East Gooner’s comments brought this to mind .
From the research dept. of the Medical Division of UA , comes this disturbing news flash…….
The Problem with Speaking English
Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
Germans drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.
In future , and for my health , I shall be writing in Latin . Some of you may even been thinking that I’ve been talking Greek all this while !
The British at University
A famous scientist, Arnold Nijmegen, was on his way to a lecture in yet another university, this one in Aberdeen, Scotland, when his chauffeur offered an idea.
‘Tell you what, sir, I’ve heard your speech so many times I bet I could deliver it and give you the night off.’
‘Sounds great,’ the Nijmegen responded.
When they got to the auditorium, the scientist put on the chauffeur’s hat and settled into the back row. The chauffeur walked to the lectern and delivered the speech. Afterward he asked if there were any questions.
‘Yes,’ said one professor. Then he launched into a highly technical question. The chauffeur, panic stricken for a moment, quickly recovered. ‘Ah, professor now that’s an easy one,’ he replied, ‘in fact, it’s so easy, I’m going to let my chauffeur answer it.’
“The extra defenders that most people say were needed were not bought because the right men were not available; to the annoyance of the anti-Arsenal ranters Mr Wenger has held back until he gets the right man.”
So Tony is that an assumption or a fact? Has Wenger actually said this?
Anyway I wouldn’t be so smug about being in the CL for fifteen years because Liverpool fans will just turn round and say they actually won it. Personally I’d rather have won it once than been it since 99 but each to their own. I’m certainly glad we don’t have Rogers at our club though, looking like a very overrated manager right now.
On another issue I see Chelsea are paying their workers a proper London living wage. I hope we follow suit. I wouldn’t want a club run by a Russian gangster looking down on us from a higher moral mountain top.
Rupert Cook – I have certainly heard it said in the club, and I have a feeling Wenger said it, that if the right player is not available there is no point buying someone else.
And I agree with you about the Living Wage. Untold has supported the petition to Arsenal about the Living Wage and earlier this year when I wrote a list of requests to Arsenal for this season, paying the living wage was one of the points I made on the list
The article was titled “Arsenal: can we have decent pay for cleaners, free water, crowd control, and dignity for the elderly?” http://untold-arsenal.com/archives/36972 We also mentioned it in our review of the AGM.
I can remember last season when certain people would post comments on this site, informing us with the utmost confidence that Liverpool would use all their resources, financially, in order to push for glory.
Using them as the counter argument to Arsenal’s more studious, careful approach. Spending all your resources was the sure fire way to do it, apparently.
Liverpool with the Suarez money, and before them Spurs with the Bale money, couldn’t spend it quick enough. The pair have virtually blown away the best part of £200M and yet I fail to see one single purchase worthy of a place in Arsenal’s squad.
For the record, I have some sympathy with both clubs. They both spent the money with good intentions, both aspired to a top four finish. But it’s not easy competing with Arsene Wenger in the transfer market without the benefit of oil money.
Porter, thank you. You’re correct.
I can be a little bit biased : )
@Taso; i donno, personally i would accept Erikson with open arms! Hes only about 22, so in a couple years i think that he will be a great great player. For only 14mil as well; got a great deal on that one in my opinion.
This morning the. BBC refered to the Arsenal manager as Monseuir Wenger. Ok.
I wonder. Do they refer to. Mourinhio as Senhor? Martinez as…etc. etc. etc.
Is it just me, or is the use of such language just a little bit odd? It’s not like we’ve seen examples of petty jingoism against AW on MOTD before, is it?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30406982
This article published this week starts and ends with the catchphrase “but what does he (AW) know?” Maybe I have misread this article? Maybe I cannot read? But this article on a wonder goal from a player moulded and supported by AW appears to have been turned into a snide comment on the manager. Perhaps I just don’t understand this attempt at light hearted humour? It must be me. Right? I hope so. Not like there’s any previous from the likes of MOTD, a consistent pattern here that can be easily recorded and observed (not an opinion then! Heh.).
If these are consistent examples of xenophobia and bias from the state broadcaster then it’s not an an attack upon the Arsenal manager, it is an attack upon Arsenal Football Club.
Or even “Monsieur…”
‘avatarWalterBroeckx
December 11, 2014 at 4:28 pm
It is a must that once Wenger is gone the stadium should be named after him. A MUST!’
Aren’t Arsenal FC getting €30M a year from Emirates for the stadium naming rights?
And if so, are you ready to forego that amount as easily as that?
Don’t we need every penny to compete with the mega-rich clubs?
Unles I’m wrong about the stadium naming rights fees, in which case my apologies , shouldn’t someone like you be a bit more , shall we say, reality based?
So today it’s khitb7…….
Is it just one person (e.g. Mike Riley) who continually changes his/her name or are there two or three of them who actually believe that if you shout something loud enough it becomes a fact?!!!
khitb77-Great post but your measured response will be lost on this site with the brainwashed zombies who blindly follow wenger and see no wrong.The akbs on here cant see
1.We went into the season short in defensive numbers.
2.We needed a combatative no nonsence defensive midfielder(unless flamini ticks the boxes).
3.Tactically we have been nieve all season.
4.Squad rotation is non existant and players have been broken due to the ammount of games played.
5.Substitutes are made at a pre determined time every game with no thought about the way the games panning out.
6.We dont change tactics to suit the opposition but play every game the same way.
7.Defensively we have been nieve and woeful.
8.Every time we have come across a top team in the last few years we have been shambolically exposed and put to the sword.
But fear not because most on here think its all the fault of
1. Referees.There is an agenda by all the referees to want arsenal to lose every game and cheat to do so.
2.Opposition players deliberately targeting our players for rough treatment and to take them out the game.
3.Every pundit is against us and is using the media to tarnish the greatest manager ever.
4.The clubs with oil money multi billionaires.
And Walter just 1 for you when you posted -The overwhelming majority of neutral fans and sensible Arsenal fans alike can see that Arsene didn’t do enough to sign…”
could you prove anything of that? I can prove that when we needed reinforcements in january to push on for the league we signed on a free kim kalsrom who was already injured.Are you telling me that he was the only player in europe that was available to us???If so you are a crackpot.