The football world is a disgrace. And I don’t know how much longer I want to be a part of it.

209 Replies to “The football world is a disgrace. And I don’t know how much longer I want to be a part of it.”

1. The king Kong of optimism arseblog writes with such gloom in his article today that goes to show how pathetic this management has become. No players coming in, the French idiot getting a high over beating teams 7 0, teams which would not last a mini second in epl. And as ever Walter you continue to back the french buffon who has got zero nous in terms of transfers.
   Don’t give me examples from the past about th, pv and so on. Those days are long gone. Talk to me why the club cannot mount a title challenge or even win a measly carling cup. Wengers time is coming to a sweet end. 7 millions a year from salary for what?

2. Brother, greate piece. You just said everything I wanted to say. With or without new addictions, will always support Arsenal.

3. Exactly Walter. I seriously hope we sign no-one else this season unless they are “free” to sign! Stop the this greed and avaris!

4. You either move with the times or die…and I feel wenger has been dead since 2005. So City wrap up the Jovetic signing, their second big name in less than a week. Yet we havnt even signed one player besides a young injury prone French kid with “le potential”. We struggled to get fourth last year and Wenger thinks just because we had a good strong finish second half of the season that we don’t need any reinforcements? It’s almost like every single year he doesn’t take injuries into account and leaves us with a thin squad. What’s it gonna take Arsene? Another 8-2 thrashing to get you to open up the cheque book? Sign some players for gods sake!!!!

5. I would like to say we have been messed around, but we all know Wenger is useless at pushing a deal through, I think it was more along the lines we did not pay an extra million or two and in the end Real thought stuff you we put the price up even more. Look at the Felliani deal, he is trying to pay below the valuation by about 3m and in the meantime everyone else has time to pip us to another transfer. We wont win anything with Wenger, he dithers too much and is not being helped by Gazidis.

6. This is just more than the truth.Many teams have decided to be fraudsters because of lousy players.If they were not scared of our Arsenal they won’t change their bargain price.They know what we can do when we get players because we know how to get the best out of what we have and that’s why i won’t bother or be angry if we go into the new season with what we have now.they say they’re not top class but they have kept us in top four every season.I call dat acheivement

7. @ Yudhoyono: I know the lack of a cup is slightly mystifying over the last few years, but take away the financial doping of Chelsea and City and we are still finishing only behind Utd in the league, despite the lack of funds due to the Stadium situation. I can’t imagine anyone else guiding the club through this, and personally I don’t care if we’ve missed out on a few bits of insignificant silverware if it means we will soon be in a position to challenge for the league.

8. @ Yudhoyono & joe – what are your simple negative comments supposed to achieve on this site?

   Arsenal right now are looking stronger than they have done for a while. I stated months ago that I thought we needed an additional striker, though the team looks very competitive in it’s form with what we already have.

9. “If I didn’t love The Arsenal as much as I do, I would turn away from football completely”

   You’ve summed it up completely for me there. Very true article.

10. The market is the market. We have become masters of missing out and the reason is that Wenger’s idea of true value is lower than the going market rate.

    It’s not like the car market, where manufacturers produce standardised products with a recommended retail price. It’s more like commercial property, where no two properties are the same and different purchasers will have different ideas on how to get the best from their new purchase. Then its a matter of judgment and market forces, not simply referring to the pricelist and haggling a bit.

    But football is unlike commercial property in another respect. If you are a property investor and you think prices are a bit high right now you can sit on the sidelines with your cash in the bank waiting for the market to turn. But in football you need to be improving your squad every season otherwise you fall further and further behind.

    Our squad needs serious investment. We have just scraped into 4th two seasons running. We won’t be so lucky every season. We need to pay the going rate to get the players we need. The fans need to see signings, the players need to see signings (note how they are talking openly about wanting big names to come in). The club needs to regain momentum, get morale up and show that it is determined to challenge for titles. That is what top sport is all about.

11. I can’t believe people who say Wenger has no idea, do they think it’s easy to pick up a player for 23m? Do they not think clubs will try and squeeze as much out of Arsenal as possible? When they do it’s best to leave them alone and continue to act honestly and sensibly. Look what happened in America with all its greedy capitalists selling products they new were worthless, they have put us all in the SH*T. Arsenal are doing fine, they have principles and if you need to pay for that so be it. What would the world be like if everyone started to try and fiddle people they do business with and their neighbours?. I live in Italy and I can tell you first hand everyone ends up paying for a greedy few. If there is a decent buy out there the club will get the player. Remember the big new clubs also pay huge wages. What would happen if you get a Jovetic into the club and he’s paid 150K what will Santi, Theo, Poldi and the others think. A club is a delicate balancing act of ego’s, politics, money, development, bank accounts, negotiating. Stop complaining if we don’t buy anyone, the club has spent money in the past they just don’t want to be taken for a ride… would you?

12. I am really unhappy with the same old comments from the likes of Joe and Yudhoyono – they have utterly failed to win a trophy for their comments on this site and its time for them to go. I say sack the AAA – what have they achieved recently? Their moaning is is often poorly expressed with bad grammar, miss-spellings and misuse of the apostrophe. We need new blood. Walter! Tony! Sign some new Arsene haters please – now!

13. As for the comment about us getting Sanogo for free, how much do you think he is worth now that he is a U20 World Cup winner? Clearly before having digs at the club and manager, you don’t bother with research as you would know Jovetic is just as ‘injury prone’ as Sanogo. Under the circumstances Jovetic is a much bigger gamble for Arsenal, but an easy one for the likes of Man C.

14. The biggest problem with the transfer madness is the big ego involved with the big money. Some fans, even from banana republics in Africa, snort,”Look at Mr. Cheapskate Wenger who can never pay more than fifteen million pounds for a player.” Big money in football transfers (and wages) is making people think that a million pounds is like loose change, yet most fans will never in their life time be able to make such money. Billionaire clubs have made men become delusional escapists, thinking that because they support a winning rich team, they are also winning in life whilst becoming rich — like fantasizing on a sexy unattainable body whilst masturbating. Unfortunately, players also get caught up in the hype. It is understandable for players to want to be paid the best salary. But it is disconcerting that some think that they are better than 15 milion pounds players just because they are bought for 30 million pounds. This is the reason Wenger for long didn’t want to have disparate wages in the first squad. Football is a team sport and not even Messi can shine if he thinks that his teammates are inferior to him. A good coach makes all squad members feel like a family. Wenger claims he can pay Rooney’s wages only to show that the player himself has to humble himself. Rooney thinks he is atleast twice as better than all Arsenal players, which will be a big challenge if he moves to the club. Big wages are a big fraud as they suggests that Rooney, in the past season, has been eight times as good as Lewandowski.

15. Walter!
    Arsenal compared to most clubs are like a Diamond amongst rubble? The fact that rubble can’t compare to the Diamond, they will try dirty the diamond to bring it down to their level? Or is it only me that thinks this way, time for a stiff Brandy soon?

16. and then for the dicks out there we get a rare gem of intelligence like @Nyand; sound thoughts sir!

17. And whilst I am on a roll….How are Jovetic, Fernandinho & Negredo big name signings? How much do you actually know about these players? I am not saying that they are bad players, just irritated that you instantly believe them to be better than our players. Sad, very sad.

    For the record, in my mind with Man C’s huge funds, big name signings would of been like Llorente,Ibrahimovic or even Lewandowski.

18. Walter,
    Your last paragraph describes the perfect world of professional football, which, I’m afraid will never come to pass.
    Imagine contracts meaning what they say. Stars like Rooney would have a fit.
    The trouble with the game today is that it is no longer a test of skill on a patch of grass.
    It is big, big business with all the chicanery and outright wickedness associated with that pastime. No one is immune from sharp practices…from professional fouls to bungs to crafty transfer deals. They are all at it.
    Walter, you are a bit like me. A bit of a dreamer. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But the game, like the wheel, has turned full circle and all we can do is try to separate the wheat from the chaff, the good things from the bad. Not an easy task but worth trying nevertheless.

19. Walter:

    You have no idea what has happened with Higuain & RM. But lets use your analogy.

    If Wenger did go back & scratch his arse by asking his wife, his kids, his dog which is very likely based on his past decision making ( not having Dein to push him like he did with Campbell) then instead of doing the deal there & then for the ‘£25,000 or £23,00’ then we can conclude that was bad business. *If* he did go back & was then quoted the extortionate increase then yes it would be right to tell them to go forth & multiply.

    We like to play this tight fisted nonsense old school way of buying players. It’s a different world now & we’ll get left behind.

    You and a handful might accept buying no one, but if we dont improve this year then this will truly & must be Wengers last season.

20. @ Doublegooner – what a load of tosh from you (as per usual).

    I love Arsene Wenger and I am glad that he is signing a contract extention.

21. “The market is the market. We have become masters of missing out and the reason is that Wenger’s idea of true value is lower than the going market rate.”

    Wenger is an economist and those people are very well vested in calculating the value of commodities. So, by definition, it should follow that Wenger’s valuation of a player should be a lot closer to the true value of that particular player. Stop acting like kids in a candy store and think like adults. These monies being thrown around football are a complete madness.

22. I am sorry but this is a bull*** article. On one hand we are asked not to believe the media and on the other this piece is based on that. I am not sure if Unreal ever said that they would sell the player in question. We know that the so called agreement was between the player and us. Lets keep our heads here people.

23. A while i was also a doom and gloomer until i realised how football works and more so, that i was not going to support any other club. So i stopped it. Yea, the odd time i may groan nowadays, after all i’m only human, and they say emotions are good for us, but it is now a loving moan, one that you do to your partner or kids.
    This team has grown up and is going to surprise many people this coming season, this is my solid analysis of them. (I don’t like using the words belief and hope and faith etc, they all are connected to something non-existent that one dreams about.)

24. @Douplcrosser oops sorry Doublegooner
    How about you make this your last season as an Arsenal moaner.

25. first i must say nothing of the sort ever happened. remember untold has been trying to make everyone believe all the while that you shouldnt listen to the gutter press? relax walter, its all made up. real are actually looking to flog hig for 2mil, hes not even that good, we are after other targets, i mean super super qualideeee signings.
    2ndly, pleeeeeeaaaaaaasssseeeee walter dont go, the world of football will be taken over by the organized criminal syndicate that is the AAA, only you and tony can save the world
    3rdly, isnt it too early to begin cooking up the excuses for monsieur wenger? remember the window is only 20days old. we still have 8more years to bring in quality players
    lastly, keep the faith, in wenger we ‘thrust’.

26. Ahhh, uk – there you are! So they have let all of you lot out to play on the interweb…

27. didyou hear what David Villa said about the offers from England. Athletico did more in 3 days than certain club(s) in England did in 3 months. Wenger = Ditherer

28. we have a mediocre squad, that’s because we have a mediocre manager. This is the man who thinks it’s hilarious that he wouldn’t pay an extra few quid and missed out on Yaya Toure, Cech, Drogba, Ronaldo, Bale, ibrahimovic, etc but instead bought, yes bought the likes of Park, Squillaci, Santos, Arshavin, Vela, Fabianski, Gervinho etc. he then compounded it by telling us they were world class. That’s our problem, rank bad management.

29. @gunnergal,it’s a market and it works like any other. Supply & Demand determine the value bearing in mind players are not homogeneous commodities. Clubs either pay the going price or they don’t pay at all. Other clubs pay over the odds they get their money back when they win trophies. Arsenal don’t pay so they don’t win.

30. Goona Girl:

    Deluded as usual, like the few others here.

    So you believe Walter is aware what has happened with Higuain ?

    Or do you completely disagree that wenger had every right to ask all & sundry what to do instead making a decision.

    Sometimes in business you pay the asking price than negotiate down 5/10% if you want the deal enough. Time is of the essense.

    Many of you now still relate to how Wenger & how business was done years ago.

    I’m not nor ever saying we’ll throw money around or spend ridiculous amounts of money but we have to change.

    Fans wants, players want new & better players. I repeat, if we do not improve this year then we seriously risk losing Wilshire. We must close the gap between the top not be a hares breath away from 5th.

    Why shouldn’t we expect this ?

31. In the hypothetical situation you posit, the car dealer is well within their rights to change the price. You should have checked with your wife, friends, dog etc. about buying the car – and within a certain price range – beforehand. If you had asked the dealer to hold to that price while you obtained the necessary approvals, and if the dealer had agreed, then the story would be different. The same is true if the dealer knew you were giving up another opportunity in reliance on the discount offer; if that opportunity was no longer available, then the dealer should be held to the discount price.

    The point you’re trying to make, however, is a valid one with respect to which I completely agree. If I understand the ‘protocol’ that is supposed to followed, a club that is interested in a player who is contractually obligated to another club cannot approach the player without first obtaining permission from the other club. Isn’t that what all the ‘tapping up’ rules are about? Part of this initial step would also include ascertaining a price/fee for which the player would be available. If that number is not within the interested club’s budget, then talking to the player will be a waste of time.

    There have been innumberable blogs and media reports about Arsenal purchasing Higuain from Real Madrid. What is that nothing that can be considered reliable has come from the player, nor from Arsenal FC. Higuain’s father has purportedly made some ‘encouraging’ remarks, but the operative word here is ‘purportedly’. Who knows whether the story was real. Given the amount of fabrication that seems to prevail in the universe of stories covering football transfers I have my doubts whether those remarks were ever made. Maybe they were, we’ll probably never know.

    Higuain would be a great addition to the club, but to date there’s still no deal, and the longer this story drags out the less likely the transfer will come to fruition. I don’t pretend to know what his true value is, that’s a problem for the Arsenal’s management to handle. That’s their business, they’re well paid to perform that very task. And in view of their past performance in the past, it’s fair to say they’re quite good at the this, indeed, much better than anybody else. To demand that the club pay over-the-top fees that far exceed a player’s valuation is ludicrous. How many so-called supporters yap about the ‘dead weight’ that’s hindering the club from being more effective in the transfer market. The wage bill for Bendtner and Chamakh alone exceeds 7 million pounds per year; that would pay the wages purportedly on offer to Higuain and then some.

    I want the club to be careful with the funds it has available for transfers. Arsenal doesn’t have near the amount of resources as the petroleum funded clubs like Chelsky, Shitty, PSG, Monaco, etc. If any of those clubs make a ‘Bendtner’ mistake, they simply write off the expense. Consider the ‘trainer selection’ errors made by Abramovich, what that costs in severance payments, and what that could buy in the transfer market. Players like Cavani or Falcao – even with their astronomical transfer fees – would be well within reach. Because Arsenal runs on a tighter margin, it can’t afford to make those kinds of errors, or at least not very often.

    As of this moment, I’m going on the assumption that no new striker will be signed in this transfer window, or if one is signed, then he will be a surprise name that nobody has considered (at least nobody who has written anything). I also don’t believe that a ‘big name’ midfielder will be signed. Another goalkeeper may be purchased (probably J. Cesar), but then again, maybe not. That would mean that the roster going into the new season would be essentially the same as the one that finished the last.

    That is not necessarily a bad thing. The team that closed last season was more than good – it was very good. It performed under pressure, and over a substantial period of time. The only genuine weakness – and it is not insignificant – is a lack of depth in three key areas. The first two are mentioned above (striker, midfielder), the other is a reliable right back. I would hope that Wenger and others who are responsible for putting the team together are keeping a close tab on the market to address this. I not only hope, I’m sure they are. I’m also confident that as they examine the market they’re also keeping an eye on the youth prospects. The difficulty/inability in signing a ‘big name’ striker may be a blessing in disguise. Wouldn’t it be great if young players like Sanogo or Akpom get an opportunity and then really shine. All the ‘big names’ the club is supposed to be signing this summer started around the same place Sanogo, Akpom, Bellerin, Gnabry etc. are now. Developing good, young talent into world-class players is one thing Arsenal does not just better than anybody else, but much, much better.

    Despite all the doom and gloom surrounding Arsenal’s ‘difficulties’ in the transfer market, I believe there will be some very interesting surprises in the end, and that they’ll be many more positives than not. I don’t believe Wenger is infallible, but I do consider him to be as good if not better than any other manager. The type of development and progress that is required right now is exactly what he’s delivered in the past, and on more than one occasion. I’m looking forward to watching him do it again.

32. @ Yudhoyono – you really aren’t the bright tool in the shed are you? Stop pretending you grasp economic ideas, let alone how football market forces work. I doubt in your everyday life, your employed to do anything that remotely requires you to use your brain.

33. @ Dobugonna – Define what you mean when you say deluded?

    If you repeat stuff, do you think that it will eventually sound intelligent and knowledgeable?

34. @walter, recently i went out looking to lease a houseagents took me around town to see the available offers, some were downright terrible and i was pissed off with the said agents who took me to see such. the first one i agreed with, i asked the agent in question to give me a day, so i could get the missus to check it out with me, the next day while on my way to see the house, with mrs uk, the agent got a message it had been sold that morning. i checked out several others, the next one i felt was good enough, i lost out on because i couldnt meet the wife of the owner early enough, by the time i met her and. convinced her i was good enough to lease her house to, she called her busband who told her i shouldnt bother, he’s taken money for it. the agent felt so sorry for me, but i had learnt. he decided to show me a house that wasnt my specification and which was above my budget, i saw it, liked it. we called the owner, he said its been paid for, the agent pressed for details, he said down payment had been made, deadline for completion was the next day, if i had full payment, preferably in cash, we could talk after the expiration of the deadline. the house was more expensive than i budgeted, but it was also comparatively better deal than the others(even though before my search, i wouldnt have imagined paying such an amount for it). i told the agent to keep on it. 2days later he called, could i get the cash in an hour, i dashed straight to the bank, got 1/2 the full amount, headed to see mr house owner. paid 1/2 the amount in cashed, wired the remaining into his account. we shook hands, i had a house, he had the money. truth was 2months ago, i thought i could get a house like that for at most 2/3 the eventual amount i got it, but when i eventually did, i felt like i’d just pulled off a major bargain.
    walter pal, when next you have audience with your lord wenger, do narrate my little story. we all have our individual valuation of assets, a lot of the times we like to over value our assets and undervalue other people’s, but the market is what it is. constantly undervaluing other people’s assets doesnt only reduce our chances of getting them, it also sours future trade relationships. i believe many clubs dont like to do business with arsenal, probably because we maintain an arrogant posture at negotiations. a friend of mine, during the shwarzer said used to mock arsenal saying, wenger will go to the other clubs with 2mil, and say “take it or leave it”, and walk away, then go and wait by the phone, smugly expecting a call @11pm on deadline day as the cash strapped club, calls grudgingly asking for the 2mil, to survive. overlord wenger probably using the opportunity to squeeze out more concessions, it used to be. very funny(not to us gooners), as the he(a chelsea fan) and some other friends would even act out the scenes, with the wenger accent and all. they said clubs werent that poor anymore and the likes of fulham(shwarzer), bolton(cahill), can tell wenger “go to hell with your peanuts”, we dont buy your stars that cheap. infact they used to mock that in shwarzers case they gave wenger the impression they would fold on transfer deadline night, when it was 11pm, conveniently switched their phones and fax machines and had a big laugh at wengers expense

35. Yudhoyono, You still haven’t answered my question, what is your fascination with Jovetic.

    Double goner, saw this and thought of you.

    The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. Einstein.

    But,

    You actually remind me of a Darwin award waiting to happen.

36. ^^^^^A cut and paste job of an unoriginal thought you had a while back. Sad.

37. Last comment was to ‘uk’.

38. @Jed
    I think you missed the morale and Walter’s point about the less than gentlemanly conduct by some main actors in football transfer sagas today. As you have a problem with Walter’s use of car markets to make his point so also do I have a problem with your use of the property market to counter his point.

    Properties don’t have kids, they never get sick or get hospitalized for any reason. Properties never have fans beyond the buyer and the seller and perhaps the public enthralled by the beauty of the architecture. You can sit on a property or sleep on it and wait till you find a willing buyer ready to buy at your ‘market’ price.

    Try that with footballers and you will hear from their agents! Maybe you should use the cattle or racing horse market to draw the parallel with what is happening in the football world and transfers today. The point of all this is that all actors involved in transfer business should act with honor and decency. A deal is a deal whether at the ‘market’ price or not.

    Remember, a market price is determined by a willing buyer and a willing seller in a truly free and recognized market without coercion in any form. Wenger should continue to act as a free and responsible coach answerable for his acts of omission or commission to the board, his players and the fans.

39. All you moaners have some similar traits. You assume an authority about how deals are negotiated and concluded. You fool no one on here or any other sensible blog. You have no knowledge of these issues. You are cowardly trolls who hide behind Internet anonymity and write your guff for your own reasons. I assume most of you are not Arsenal supporters anyway. As already mentioned above most of you struggle with the English language so I can understand why you come on here and post your negative drivel. You cannot possibly be earning a living hat depends on your ability to write anything, so you let off your frustrations on here….

40. @gunnergal nobody else has done anywhere close to the amount of damage Wenger has done. If he’d left in 2006 and we’d stayed at Highbury then Wenger would have been up there among the best things to happen to our club. As it is, his lingering presence and negative influence has proved to be like a poison. One that spreads and gets worse the longer it isn’t dealt with.
    I assure you there will be implications if no one is bought in and the same tripe is fed to the fans. Personally I feel his time was up years ago.  WENGER OUT!

41. My fascination is not with Jovetic, rather my anger at the club for effing around with transfers and feeding the fans with bs, which people like you lap it up all day long only for the St to be renewed and back to ground hog day

42. Somebody needs to tell Wenker that he no longer has the prettiest wife…She has become very complacent, let herself go, makes no effort like she used to do, become dull and often lifeless, wears the same old clothes time after time, goes through the motions and fallen behind many other wives who are busy getting their hair done, improving their features, regularly clear out their old clothes which no longer fit, and goes to exercise classes to keep trim.Other wives have recently company parted with their husbands, some long term, others fairly short but still successful marriages, the wives are still looking to build a new life, they still have a sparkle in their eyes, passion in their hearts and a determination to be the prettiest wife in EnglandWenker’s old girl needs to buck up or admit it’s over and he can move in with his mistress.(if she will still have him)

43. @uk
    I started reading your lengthy post and quickly lost interest. Then scanned the end part and saw something about a hypothetical conversation involving Chelsea fans and their view of how Wenger does business….I hope you’re having fun, because your contributions are desperately poor…

44. Yudhoyono

    This is not the place for you. We don’t agree with you about Arsene and how AFC is run. Go to Le Grove or ANR if you want to spout your ignorant drivel…

45. @You dont know,

    Had Wenger left in 2006 and had we not left Highbury????….

    Sums up you intelligence.

46. Quite simply we are sixth in UEFA’s co-efficients and they are also behind Real Madrid, Barcelona, United, Bayern Munich and Chelsea in Deloitte’s European money league.

    For a club of Arsenal’s size they should be winning trophies. Since the club last won the FA Cup in 2005, Real Madrid have won three league titles and the Copa del Rey; Barcelona have won five La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey twice and the Champions League three times.

    United have won five Premier League titles and the Champions League; Bayern Munich have won the Bundesliga four times and the Champions League; Chelsea have won two Premier League titles and the Champions League.

47. Goons Gal,
    Your 10.59 comment is precisely the point.

    Who are these players?
    Most people (over 99%) who say we need them, will not have watched them for a whole season let alone even 1 whole game.
    Can you really tell from a YouTube compilation? – I bet there is even a compilation that makes Pascal Cygan look like Tony Adams.
    Why do people connect value to how good a player is? – surely the recent saga with Real Madrid highlights a player is only worth what someone is prepared to pay.

48. @ Yudhoyono – haha, as simple as it is, I see your still struggling with my name….I wonder what else you might be wrong about…

    The thing is even after re-reading your posts, it hasn’t made it any clearer to me whether your:-

    A) just thick, but genuinely attempting to have a debate but your limited intellect is preventing you from doing so.

    B) you have read every gossip forum story going and want someone on here to now talk you down from the ledge. This is really a cry for help.

    or
    C) your a poor man’s ‘uk’ who is at present this site’s resident wind up merchant.

49. I’m unsure of Wenger’s ability in the ‘big money spending’ realm, just a thought – maybe he is too
    If he thinks his biggest strength lies elsewhere – tries one more time to build a team
    and doesn’t quite make it, the next manager has even more to spend…

50. @ joe – the only thing simple, is your way of looking at the issues.

    @ Stuart – exactly, for some, the first instinct is to attack the club, players and manager because some other club has bought some other player. Real Mad have been offering Higuain around for 2 seasons now, for around £17m, so Arsenal register interest and then the price goes up to £22m, Arsenal say fine lets just get deal done, then it goes up to £26m Arsenal say fine but are not happy, Real Mad come back saying it’s now £35m. The player is good but not worth that much. There are simple minds on this site they don’t understand we are not talking about a couple of extra pennies here.

51. @goona gal
    i was talking to d men. really not interested in joining issues with loud-mouthed teenage gals. go watch lady gaga, or cheaters, or go keep up with the kardashians

52. Joe

    Is it really your thought that Wenger has trouble ‘spending big’ or are you just recycling that stupid mantra from the myriad stupid blogs and media? For the record, joe, we have heard this about Arsene these last few days EVERYWHERE…..

53. Gooner gal, why don’t you stop being thick and wake up? It’s u are blinded by the wording of captain kirk but let me tell you I have been a Wenger advocate for many a year. I applaud his teams of the past, I applaud the (mostly) attractive football we’ve played, I applaud the ethics of how we operate – even if it sometimes look like we get bullied by other clubs. I applaud the fact that we have made an investment and remained competitive while keeping our financial house in order. I remember posting somewhere about 6 years ago that I could see we would be in for a lean period but at the end of it we would become a financial powerhouse that could get whatever players we wanted – that time is now. HOWEVER! Now that we have substantial funds, have a long period of lack of success and charge our fans a motza – IF Wenger proves incapable of being able to attract world class talent THEN he should be sacked at midnight of the transfer window close. For some reason he is the only manager of a big club that thinks players are only available if clubs say they are – most other managers just decide who they want and go get em. Do some business Wenger or get out – stop being a soft c#ck!

54. UK
    I hope Tony sorts you out mate. People with your views are not welcome here. If cannot cope with being exposed as of limited intelligence by a woman then take it from me…you are a thick, sexist bigot and you should go elsewhere…

55. @ uk – my apologies, I didn’t realise that was the case considering you sound like a whiny little Bit$@!!!

56. @UK,

    Your latest Talibanesque comment is not welcome anywhere in the free world.

57. UK,
    Unlucky about the house. Reminds me of years ago when me and the wife had a bid accepted on a flat and days before completion, the seller agreed to sell to another buyer for a higher price. It all worked out in the end because another better flat came onto the market which was bigger, cleaner and for the same price as the original too. Since we moved, there has been 2 shootings within 200 meters of the flat we didn’t get, 1 of which was fatal and various other muggings and stabbings and nothing where we are now.

58. 8 years without a trophy, the last few mediocre at best. Forget this top 4 bollox… the last 2 we have achieved it because of the scums self destruction.  But we still have thousands of Wenger sheep blindly following our imperious leader as he takes us back to the dark ages.  They cannot see it, they have not seen it coming and they will not see it in the future, because they prefer to wallow in his previous glories instead of watching whats happening on the pitch with their own eyes!  

59. @ Yudhoyono – almost there with my name….

    It’s sounds like your sad that no one from the club picked up on your posted comment somewhere, some time ago. HOWEVER as this was not the case and you were ‘cleverly’ able to predict that investing in the large stadium, youth team set up, London Colney training facilities & medical centre might cost a few bob, why don’t you use your powers also else where for good and not evil. IF your so clever THEN?

60. hahahah…….all hail YUDHOYONO. Slayer of the Monster Wenger. The savior of Goonerdom. Protector of the Goonerism….

61. GG:

    I repeated because you may get it the 2nd time but alas you didn’t.

    Deluded: As I believe quite a few of you seem to believe we have improved. Some even suggest we may not need any new players.

    Do you believe we have improved or need to next season ?

    Perhaps you’d also like to explain from your own business perspective.

62. Yudhoyono
    It is not the regular readers of Untold who believe all the transfer rumours, you will find it is YOU – why else are you complaining that we ‘missed out’??

63. @ Yudhoyono – each one of your posts are a little less lucid…

64. This ‘Wenger is cheap to buy and expensive to sale’ myth is being fuelled by shallow thinkers. Arsenal has most of the times been forced to sell by clubs which are just greedy and don’t have the patience of developing players. The cost of ripping apart a team should be high.Barcelona didn’t need Hleb and Cesc, and Wenger never wanted to sell Nasri. Apart from RVP, almost all players dearly bought from Arsenal have become flops. This is because clubs like Man City, full of the arrogance of having money to waste, don’t have to caution themselves, “We really can do with one more player but we already have enough to go splashing such huge money on this player.” Billionaire clubs in fact are the ones who think whichever player is liked by Arsene Wenger must be more than twenty million pounds. The Chelsea project was based on the success of Wenger. Abramovich was impressed by the large contingent of foreign players that dominated the PL whilst playing sexy football. This is why Mourinho initially stuffed Chelsea with alot of African — relatively unknown — players. And Mourinho was so desperate for success that he largely played with defensive midfielders, which was the reason Wenger resorted to a more light mid field, to keep on attracting audiences with sleek football in a time the club couldn’t compete for the best players. Many bllionaires were impressed by the fact that Wenger could beat Man utd, who were then the richest club in the world, and they saw Wenger as the architect of possible sporting empires, the reason PSG is desperate to acquire the services of the manager. This is also why agents make up so many stories about players being linked with Arsenal. If Wenger leaves the club, it is likely that ninety percent of the transfer stories linked to Arsenal will disappear.

65. Wenger’s only
    This post has been cut as it was not only off topic but also a repost from another blog.

66. Well done Walter, you’ve certainly managed to add a little amusement to an otherwise boring Saturday. The golf’s gone a bit dull at the minute and the novelty’s wearing off this pesky heatwave. Your timely poke at the Neanderthals that think they understand business has even goaded some of them like yoyowhatever and doubledumb to try their paws at a keyboard (they’ll probably try to eat or hump it afterwards). The output is as usual, ‘spend a few more squillion here or there on somebody nobody’s ever heard of and all will be great’ . Thankfully nobody really pays any attention to these morons (however, like this heat wave, their ravings are getting a tad monotonous). Arsene will do what’s best as always and our current crop will be right there at the sharp end of next season.
    Allez Le Boss.

67. Yudhoyono

    You write I very much like the well known troll ‘jabba’ who also trolls as ‘Joe the gooner’. Basically, we’ve read it all before….it’s boring tosh….

68. Yidhoyono? euh Yudhoyono,
    Yaya Toure: didn’t get a work permit at the time
    Cech: we had Lehman and he didn’t come to sit on the bench
    Drogba: where we ever after him? Can You prove this
    Ronaldo: yes we wanted him but he went to MU also because of his club having a partnership with MU
    Bale: talking with hindsight is easy, but what would you have said if we had bought him at 18 years old? Yep another youngster
    Ibrahimovic: didn’t want to do a test week at Arsenal so went away. What would you have said if Arsenal would have bought him as a kid: Oh, another kid.

    talking with hindsight is very easy. And you are good at it.

69. Dec

    Great post….’hump or eat the keyboard’…..lol!

    Heat wave? Not in Chesterfield……

70. Wenger is hardly going to bang on about clubs spending too much money blah blah blah, Arsenal priced out of it blah blah blah……..and then go and spend 70m is he!!      He has already said he doesn’t like signing stars he likes to make them, why is he going to sign stars now?? He’s not.It’s kids and Frenchmen this summer, the same as most summers. The big ‘success’ this summer will be us not selling our best players. That will continue next season.Wenger out

71. @ Doublegooner – I could go into detail and explain from my own business perspective, but think you would struggle to understand and I therefore it would be a waste of time.

    I guess in a nutshell, whatever you think makes sense, I would probably disagree.

72. Amazing to see how many would run to the bank and get another check to pay that missing £14.000.
    After all they want to brag about their financial power for a while even if it may run them bankrupt in a few years time.

73. UK
    Your 1.05pm is out of order and you should apologise.

    You also can not expect anyone to have an ounce of respect for you or anything that comes your way. You clearly have small man (hood) syndrome or something similar.

74. Doublegooner,
    The team is certainly not weaker now and I believe we are actually in a stronger position as our team is another year wiser and familiar with each other.

75. @ Dec – It’s troll hunting season and I’m a fixing to catch me a few of those critters….I’m circling a few live ones right now…

76. Go get ’em Goona.

    Georgaki, the tropics would appear to have relocated to Dublin (29c). Glad the golf’s on the box.
    Roll on August ’til we get back to the blizzards we know and love.

77. @ Stuart – it was, but I would’nt expect a dog to give birth to a frog, so why would ‘uk’ come out with something smart.

    It genuinely doesn’t bother me as I am not easily offended or a sensitive luvvy.

78. Talking about something else…
    Meanwhile in the real world outside, somewhere in Japan, we have seen that a BFG was so tired from training that he put on the wrong number when going to the next training.
    Maybe he just needs a pair of glasses?

    I think the usual suspects will write this down as another example on how Wenger fails in the transfer market. He even buys players that cannot count to 4…

79. Have you guys noticed Ramsey, Wilshere and Theo have built up some muscle. Looks like we are going to get the ‘beast-of-a-midfielder’ most of the pundits were asking for.

80. Yudhoyono
    So using your very own logic (and I use that word in the loosest possible sense), it should be no surprise that the pl finishes in order of wage bill should it? The three teams with the highest wage bills finish top 3, arsenal with the 4th highest finish 4th, and sp*rs and Everton finish 5th & 6th. What is so hard about that to understand?

    The thing is you’re totally missing the point that Arsenal have to do this each season without the financial doping that the billionaire teams benefit from, and whilst moving to a new state of the art stadium whilst controlling debt. This is an astonishing achievement and your lack of understanding or acknowledgment of this most basic fact totally negates any argument you are trying to make, you just become another glory hunter plastic fanboy who seems to have this inane and desperate need to make others think you know better than these extremely intelligent and successful men. You don’t.

    Being totally honest with you, your inability to to compose a clear and concise argument to back up your beliefs doesn’t fill me with optimism for your ability to succeed at anything. Maybe that’s why you are so angry at Arsenals apparent lack of success. Maybe when you started supporting the team, it was at the start of AWs reign and trophys and success were constant, so you could use that to bolster your own failings. The sort of “I may be a loser but my team is winning so I’m a winner by proxy”. Perhaps now the team isn’t winning silverware you have nothing to give you a sense of success in your life. That’s why you think the only way to cure this supposed problem is to throw money at it, cos that’s worked for City & Chelsea, so it has to work for us! Why can’t the idiots in charge see this. They must be stupid right?

    I used to get angry when I read comments from people like yourself, UK, doublegooner and the like, but now I just feel sorry for you. Seriously, if Arsenal don’t buy another player in this window and next season we don’t win silverware, well I guess I’ll just get on with my life. It’s a shame that people like you can’t seem to do that. I’d recommend getting another hobby because supporting a sports team clearly brings out the worst in you. It’s supposed to be fun, entertainment, a chance to meet like minded people, be part of something, not a reason to hate and swear and get angry at people. If you want to feel like that, pick a cause, terrorism, racism, sexism, hunger, famine, homelessness, rape, child abuse… There are so many hateful, horrible, evil things in this world to be angry at, wether a football team buys a football player really should be right at the bottom of the list.

81. What is WRONG with the mentality of some of our Arsenal fans? Each time someone raise a valid point touching Wenger it becomes a war and so my question is, “What makes many of us think that Wenger is a God?” While many of us know that we can’t make wholesome buying the Manciteh, PSG, Chelsea and others does, the club deserves to buy atleast 2 or 3 quality players. How long can we keep faith in young coming talent while the ones in 1st eleven are crying for the trophies and might jump ship the next minute? WHY IS IT THAT WE SELL AT MARKET RATE BUT FINDS IT HARD TO BUY AT MARKET RATE? Am not convinced that RM or even Liverpool increased the prices of their players but even if they did, Arsenal simply can’t sit back watching others without acting diligently. I know most of us wants ideal world but such world does not exist!

82. Stevie E

    You shd hv wrten dat in ms txt speak….init….

83. @ Joe – where are you? I thought you might have a few more simple thoughts…

    Where were we….spending money is easy, Kenny Dalglish did it at Liverpool (around £140m) in one season and guided them to an underwhelming 6th or 7th spot in the league, as well as the sack. Investing money in players so that the club improve is a much harder task and looking at UEFA’s co-efficients should tell you that.

84. Giddy by name giddy by nature……

    You, me and everybody else on here have no knowledge about whether AFC are dithering or not…..

85. Oops, i spelt ‘innit’ incorrectly, my apologies….

86. @ Steve E – very well put, but you might as well be talking double dutch to David Moyes!! I appreciate your well thought out efforts nonetheless.

87. Oh dear, loyal Gooner Ian Poulter in the rough on the 4th hole at Muirfield. Probably Arsene’s fault for not paying to get the grass cut!!
    The claret jug could be our first trophy of the season.
    FORE!!!!!

88. @ uk – where are you?? I thought we might get into a side argument about men being from Mars and women from Venus…

    I know I am straying into Brickfields territory, but here goes..
    Q: How many men does it take to open a beer?
    A: None. It should be opened when she brings it.

    Okay, okay in bad taste….lets get back to the football stuff..

89. See, I did’nt even tell it right!!!

90. The car analogy is quite good actually, because I hope AW does what I would do in this situation. I would go and buy a different car in a different shop. There are plenty of cars out there just like there are plenty of players out there. Not plenty of big name players but plenty of good players that With the guidance of Our great manager can become big name players. I am 100% sure that AW will sign at least 2 players before the deadline. A striker and a CB, but will they be “big names” i dont care if they can do the job!

91. @arsenal13, pyrovitis et al,
    i dont problems with women, but i dont join issues with “loud mouthed teenage gals” especially when talking football. and really there isnt anything wrong with watching cheaters or keeping up with the kardashians, a lot of teenage girls all over the world enjoy doing that, especially loud mouthed ones

92. @goona gal,
    sorry, like i said, not interested. maybe if you got your brother online(goona boy, i guess) we could talk.

93. One of the best reads ever, so true. The only reason I still follow football is because of my love for Arsenal. Even the world cup doesn’t have that magic for me anymore because of all the greediness, cheating, corruption, etc. Lots of very sensible posts here, but an equally huge number of idiotic posts too. Well, what else can we expect when wimps like uk are out of the woodwork.

    As much I accept there are good players out there I believe no player is really worth over £20m, and if there are people who believe such players exist then, well, you know what they say about a fool & his money….

    We can’t, shalln’t and won’t allow ourselves to be sucked into this madness. City, PSG. Monaco, are all owned by people who have no interest in the game but just looking for new areas to invest in because they realize their oil reserves are getting depleted fast. These people are out to ruin football and watch what will happen when they pull out. Malaga comes to mind. Only a fool will advocate trying to compete with this lot. Even clubs like Man U that used to pay ridiculous amounts for players are feeling the heat. UEFA are a disgrace for failing to enforce FFP. Wouldn’t surprise me if they have all had their palms greased.The fan is is the loser out of all of this.

94. After Reading all the comments in this thread i really do thing Arsenal have alot of deluded fan’s. I cannot belive all this talk about not winning a trophy in 8 years! For me there are only 2 trophy’s Worth winning and thats 1. EPL and 2. CL. Every other competition is only Worth going for if you are not in the CL. So that brings me to my point. In my opionion one of the reason that we have not “won a trophy” in 8 years is because we have been so consistant in the champions League. We have progressed from the Group stage every year, and because of that we have not been going for the mini trophies and rightly so.

    If we had ended in 10th position in the League every year then it would have been much easier to win the FA cup or League cup and then we would have been qualified for the Europa League as well and would have celebrated that like winning a trophy, playing thursdays and sundays all season…

    And to ask you moaners a question : How did Chelsea win a trophy last season ? By doing it badly in champions League, but not qualifying from the Group stage they went on to win the “loosers-cup”, i would hardly Call that a trophy.

    This season its all up for grabs, With so many New managers coming in I actually think there are 6 teams that can win the League this year, so i stay positive and beleive in Our players. Many of them have been together for 1-3 years in the first team now and With no stars leaving for the first time in many years I think AW will prove his doubters wrong!

95. @ uk – okay so it’s the boys you like huh….I can’t say I can think of any I know that might be interested in chatting…or anything else really. There are specific sites though, so maybe type in ‘guy chat’ and take your filter off, you might be able to find what you seek.

    I’ll in the meantime have another go at telling that silly joke…
    Q: How many WOmen does it take to open a beer?
    A: None. It should be opened when she brings it!!!

96. @Untold Towers

    If it hasn’t already been spotted.

    Yudhoyono post
    http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/29988/comment-page-2#comment-645935
    Cut’n’Pasted, from
    http://www.onlinegooner.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&p=843505#p843508

    COYG

97. So Liverpool are playing Indonesia right now and though they are winning 1-0, the commentators feel that they need to defend the unconvincing first half performance. Saying things like the players can’t struggling with the weather, the pitch looks really dodgy, after playing Arsenal, Indonesia are far less naive, players are unfamiliar with each other, Arsenal were only 1-0 up remember too…They might as well say that on behalf of Liverpool FC, they apologise for teams display!

98. Gunz thanks – I’ll take action

99. @ Untold Towers

    Yudhoyono, http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/29988/comment-page-2#comment-645940

    cut’n’pasted from

    http://www.onlinegooner.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&p=844226#p844008

    COYG

100. Another one, Sorry for double posting!

101. I disagree with the likes of Yudhoyono and dg but that’s not to say we do not need significant signings. Squad depth is not there and come November Dec when the going gets tough we will need players

102. Stevie E,

     That’s what I’ve been saying for a while here. Failures in life trying to substitute the successes of the club they claim to support for theirs.

103. he top of course – a single big name will merely keep us in the running for 4th. No, a single big name player – one that must be young enough to have at least some potential resell value – will likely be signed because it makes financial sense:

     First rekindle the interest enough to sell a few thousand extra tickets each home game for a season or two – thats 10 million or so right there. Boost worlide shirt sales and merchandise -another million plus potentially. And then can of course sell him on for a decentish fee after r a couple of seasons. Result: domestic fanbase satiated. Global fanbase kept interested. Top 4 achieved again. No harm to the bottom line

104. Goona gal, stop making excuses you pervert. Uk is right stick to the cooking and being used a tool of pleasure there is no place for women in football

105. City spend £100 million and get their business done well before the season. I would imagine we would have the same sort of money but have signed no one. If we had allowed Usamanov in, we would be looking at Millions of investment….comical!

106. Arsenal playmaker Mikel Arteta says he is “excited” by the Gunners’ plans to be more aggressive in the transfer market this summer. Wenger even has the players fooled! Or maybe they are as gullible as the Wenger “Believers” on here?

107. @ Gunz – I suspected that these poster lacked the ability to think for themselves. Well spotted!

     @ Joe – is that your attempt at banter or you really just that dumb? At least I had a go at humour, yours are what now?

108. Dec: @ 1.47

     And what is your business knowledge ?

     You just come across as another deluded clown making schnide statements but without any grown up content.

     Lets hear a little bit of your business reasoning.

     I finished two posts on this thread by asking Does anyone think we have improved & if we do not improve come the end of May then Wenger should not continue.

     Just because I make any reference that you perceive as criticism or negative of Wenger you all jump in like a disciple of the Rev Sun Myung Moon.

109. All the top teams have had a change in manager, they have all added players. We still have our manager whose failed for 8 years, he hasnt spent any money ans he wants a nice big up grade and a new contract. Our owner and the club are right off the rails, only failure will enable changes to be made to our rotten management. How else will change happen ?.

110. So Liverpool Vs Indonesia XL ends 2-0 and if you saw the game, the Indonesian team looked worse not better than the one that played against Arsenal. Despite this the XL team showed more savvy? Wisdom? Industry??? The commentary bias was embarrassing.

     Even though it was just a training exercise for both teams, comparisons can be made. The young players on the Arsenal tour are quality and I am really looking forward to our next game.

111. It’s paramount that Wenger leaves Arsenal. Arsenal can’t win the PL with Wenger. Wenger is the entire problem, he’s the reason why we don’t sign players because he dithers terribly and never pays the market rate. He’s the reason why we are tactically inept and always substitutes on 70 minutes.The club will really go somewhere with a younger more dynamic manager who isn’t afraid. Wenger is a shell of a man, just look at him, he crumbles under pressure.I can’t wait for Mourinho to laugh at Wenger and call him a voyeur again.

112. Goonagal, to be honest I think these pre season games really should be taken with a pinch of salt, I remember last season we had Bartley and some other youngsters who showed great promise but where are they now? No matter how badly city, United, perform in pre season u can bet your bottom dollar they will turn up for the premiership games. Where as we have blinders in pre season and are absolutely abysmal in the Premier

113. @ Doublegooner – read Stevie E’s post or bore off! You haven’t a clue about business, so stop trying to start an argument about things which are clearly way over your head.

114. The sheer fact of the matter in terms of revenue player wages we are 4th, so there is man u man city and chelsea who have more cash then us, so whilst getting champions league football every year is good, its only breaking even its not exceptional especially if you look at everton and spurs finances we haven’t exceeded expectations we have broken even every year.so stop all this repetitive bullshit champions league for 16 years… man u has champions league for 16 years and they have also won a fuck load of silverware, and there wage budget is currently only 20 million more than ours

115. @ Kiran – take a ticket and stand in the thicko line, I will call you when it’s your turn. I am not your therapist, here to tell you that you are not a loser or Arsenal winning silverware will make your life better. Sort your life out.

116. Just came online and read this fine article .Wanted to vent at some of the clowns ‘comments but then as humour is my forte , decided the following would be better responses .

     If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old. – Lord Chesterfield

     A beautiful woman loved growing tomatoes but couldn’t seem to get them to turn red. One day, while taking a stroll, she came upon a gentleman neighbor who had the most beautiful garden full of huge red tomatoes.

     The woman asked the gentlemen, “What do you do to get your tomatoes so red?”

     The gentlemen responded, “Well, twice a day I stand in front of my tomato garden naked in my trench coat and flash them. My tomatoes turn red from blushing so much.”

     The woman was so impressed she decided to try doing the same thing to her tomato garden to see if it would work. So twice a day for two weeks she flashed in her garden hoping for the best.

     One day the gentleman was passing by and asked the woman, “By the way, how did you make out? Did your tomatoes turn red?”

     “No”, she replied, “but my cucumbers are enormous.”

117. Kiran, Joe, UK and the couple of idiots at the beginning of this blog. Your so dim you couldn’t fire up a 40 Watt light bulb? Your so boring, give it a rest?

118. @ Joe – So you are attempting slate Arteta because he has belief and confidence in the club and team? I wonder what you have achieved in your life lacking belief, confidence and being utterly negative? To me the thing that has been lacking in past teams has been belief not talent. If the players have that now too, I don’t see why the club cannot win silverware.

119. @ Brickfields – There you are! myself, joe, uk & doublegooner have had a go at posting funny comments in your absence..but have had varying degrees of success…

120. And this priceless gem.
     This should be quite interesting to both Men and Women; the AAA and the AKB ;the brainy and the dumb;to those that hope and those who despair ;the true believer and the lost all hope-ers .And those who want to buy over priced cars to impress the Joneses !

     Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighbouring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur’s youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered him his freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question.

     Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and, if after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death.

     The question was: What do women really want?

     Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man. And to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch’s proposition to have an answer by year’s end.

     He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone: the princess, the priests, the wise men, and even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer.

     Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for only she would have the answer. But the price would be high as the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged.

     The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no choice but to talk to the witch. She agreed to answer the question, but first he would have to agree to her price.

     The old witch wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table, and Arthur’s closest friend!

     Young Arthur was horrified. She was hunch-backed and hideous ,had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made obscene noises, etc. He had never encountered such a repugnant creature in all his life. He refused to force his friend to marry her and endure such a terrible burden.

     But Lancelot, having learnt of the proposal, spoke with Arthur. He said nothing was too big of a sacrifice compared to Arthur’s life and the reservation of the Round Table.

     Hence, a wedding was proclaimed and the witch answered Arthur’s question thus: “What a woman really wants?” She said; “A woman wants to be in charge of her own life.”

     Everyone in the kingdom instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth, and that Arthur’s life would be spared. And so it was.

     The neighbouring monarch granted Arthur his freedom. And Lancelot and the witch had a wonderful wedding.

     The honeymoon hour approached and, Lancelot, steeling himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom. But, what a sight awaited him. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen was sitting by the bed.

     The astounded Lancelot asked what had happened. The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she appeared as a witch, she would henceforth become her horrible and deformed self only half the time, and be the beautiful maiden the other half.

     ‘Which would you prefer?’ She asked him. ‘Beautiful during the day …. or at night?’

     Lancelot pondered the predicament. During the day he could have a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch! Or, Would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day? But by night a beautiful woman for him to enjoy wondrous moments with?

     (If you are a man reading this…) What would YOUR choice be?

     (If you are a woman reading this…) What would YOUR MAN’S choice be?

     And Lancelot’s choice is given below…

     BUT… please make YOUR choice first before you scroll down below.

     Knowing the answer the witch gave to Arthur for his question, Sir Lancelot said that he would allow HER to make the choice herself.

     Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time. Because, he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.

     Now… what is the moral to this story?

     The moral is…
     1) There is ‘witch’ in every woman, no matter how beautiful she is!
     2) If you don’t let a woman have her own way, things are going to get ugly!

     So, be careful how you treat a woman and always remember: IT IS EITHER ‘ HER WAY ‘ OR ‘ NO WAY ‘!

121. @ Goona Gal – After reading your ‘jousts ‘ with said knaves ,think you might like this from old bulldog himself.

     Woman: You’re drunk ! And what’s more you’re disgustingly drunk!

     Churchill : You ‘re ugly !And what’s more you’re disgustingly ugly !But when I wake up ,I’ll be sober ,and you’ll still be ugly !
     Hope that cheered you up !

122. GG @ 1.51 writes; I could go into detail and explain from my own business perspective, but think you would struggle to understand and I therefore it would be a waste of time.

     I guess in a nutshell, whatever you think makes sense, I would probably disagree.

     ————————————————-
     I’m prepared to read your answer. Please go ahead.

     I may even agree with all or part. However based on the fact that I gave my opinion which was not personal, but your reply was, I have my doubts I’ll get any decent reply.

123. @ Brickfields – I genuinely find if funny when the ‘Gal’ bit of my moniker cause’s them to lose it.

124. Because Wenger won’t / can’t bring himself to buy any quality experienced player at all, the AKBs are starting to adjust to the likelihood that this transfer window will end up like all others-a massive disappointment. But their blind and irrational faith in Wenger prevents them from recognising this.Instead of recognising the reasons and consequences of the manager squandering the financial advantage of the club, they will engage in their annual wild speculation about the potential of the kids and cheap unknowns that Wenger does buy.Arsenal fans need to face reality- Instead of just focussing on us we need to look at what the opposition are doing. Whilst Wenger prevaricates and sticks to his bizarre gallic principles of never paying market price for an experienced player- all our opposition have strengthened.This current squad was a mile off competing for anything at the top level-last season. The spine of the team is not top level.If we want to become competitive-there is only one answer and that is Arsene Wenger needs to leave this club-and we need a competent top level manager.Any top level manager would significantly strengthen this team with available finance.Yes it ain’t going to happen at least not yet.Of course this Board will never sack him or let him go-he’s made them all much richer men and they are by nature not attuned to the outside world of football and are terrified of any change at all.Arsenal FC need a takeover

125. GG: @ 4.52

     Lets hear what you’ve done in your life you big mouth fool.

     I write my comments, you may not like them but haven’t got personal.You you seems to have a big mouth but haven’t demonstrated any business acumen.

126. @ GG – Enjoy !
     Noel Coward :” Edna , you look almost like a man .”
     Edna Ferber : ” So do you .”
     Ouch !

     A woman can look both moral and exciting… if she also looks as if it was quite a struggle.
     Edna Ferber

     To the AAA –
     Living the past is a dull and lonely business; looking back strains the neck muscles, causing you to bump into people not going your way.
     Edna Ferber

127. @ Doublegooner – see here’s the thing, you can give, but you can’t take it. Were you not the one who called me deluded? Is that not personal?

128. I really feel sorry about some friends I have in London. They believed in Wenger’s spin once again. Feeling the next season would be different, renewed their season tickets. Now, most of them are depressed. Others are still saying ‘wait until the last day of the transfer window’. Sigh!
     Higuaín, Suarez, Rooney…If Wenger doesn’t buy a top player (at least one), what does it tell you?
     He cares more about himself and his delusions of grandeur. Trying to prove a point instead of improving the team. He knows best and the rest of the world is wrong. Vanity. Ego. A selfish agenda to carry out.

     When I see a manager like Klopp I feel sad about Arsenal. Klopp achieved what Wenger is incapable of. Winning major trophies with a young team without having to spend big.
     Wenger doesn’t have knowledge of tactics, lacks motivation skills and a winning mentality and created a culture of complacency at Arsenal.

     I think all this story about Suarez and Higuaín is just to provide Wenger an excuse.
     This transfer saga will probably drag on until the last day of the window, then Wenger will come out and say he tried hard to get those players, giving the impression that he changed his ways. Just to have something to fool the fans.

     The supporters should sing this during the games:
     ‘Arsenal, Arsenal, big club acting like a small one. Rewarding failure and fooling their fans. Making profits by fleecing their fans. Winning f*ck all for years to come.’
     I just composed this. LOL! It’s the sad truth.

     Wenger is afraid of spending big. Accountability comes with the price tag.

     Someone mentioned Mourinho…
     Will Wenger be ready for statements like the voyeur one or will he just crumble again?
     Yes, Wenger just crumbles under pressure and doesn’t accept to be hold accountable for his own mistakes/failures. No top manager to see here…next.

129. Stuart @ 1:53- since you brought this ‘up’!..

     A jealous drunk man pulls his genitals out and presents them to Truman Capote : ” Since you’re autographing things ,why don’t you autograph this ?”
     Capote :” I don’t know if I can autograph it , but perhaps I can initial it. ”

     This reminds me of an old joke where ,a man is asking the mother of the little girl( who is laughing hysterically after having an accidental glimpse of his genitals )why she is doing so .
     The mother replies ,”Oh ! She laughs at every little thing !”

130. LOL! “Come to think of it : I will be patient enough until we make it with the players we have. If I didn’t love The Arsenal as much as I do, I would turn away from football completely. I notice the big silence from Michel Platini about FFP for the moment now that two French clubs are spending money as if they print it themselves (in a way they do print it themselves).”

     You’ll be waiting a long time!!

131. Joe,
     Of course City get their deals done early, they are paying over the odds for players so the selling clubs are snatching the money out of their hands.

132. Kiran,
     Yes, I partly agree however the other clubs have also got into debt to maintain their positions where as each year we have paid off more than we borrowed for that financial year.

133. @ Doublegooner – I’ve touched a raw nerve, so I apologise.

     You said: ‘Sometimes in business you pay the asking price than negotiate down 5/10% if you want the deal enough. Time is of the essence’.

     Unless your negotiating for one of the last dingy’s off a sinking ship, why would you pay an extortionate price? Your beginning assumption is that you have two willing parties and the price is fixed in stone. When Arsenal express a mild interest in a player, it becomes news worthy and adds value to a player.

     Say for example, though Arsenal were more than willing to meet the original players price, other clubs have then maybe contacted selling club or agent or player (or all three) to also express interest. In business, the selling club want’s to obtain the most money from the deal so that they can reinvest, the agent wants the biggest fee possible and the player wants to earn as much as possible. If anyone of those three can spark a bidding war, it is in all of their best interests.

     These are risky multi million pound deals and the more that is spent on a player doesn’t make the player more of a ‘sure thing’. QPR spent a lot of money and tied players to big contracts and are now frantically trying to rid themselves of the players.

     Clubs like Man C can get their signings done with ease because, as it has been pointed out a number of times, they operate with a big financial advantage. I doubt you would consider this a decent reply because you don’t get how supply and demand market forces work and the complexity of operating in a market that is skewered.

134. Sperez

     I have not read all of your post. Just the bit about deluded London based Arsenal fans renewing their season tickets was enough. How stupid are you? I must be so deluded i shouldn’t be able to earn a living. I’ve been supporting Arsenal since the late 60s. I was born and grew up 3 miles from Highbury. I should have stopped supporting them countless of times since then. They were boring Arsenal and believe me they WERE boring…but I’m Arsenal, a member of that tribe. And that’s how it is, you support through the good times and the bad. The Wenger years have been and still are the VERY BEST. I am confident that they will be even better….I really don’t care how deluded I am or what you think about that. So just f**k off!

135. Let alone situations where players are trafficked into leagues to help betting syndicates get the results they want.

     In terms of business acumen, ha-ha – I really don’t have to prove anything to you as blaming the board and stubborn manager has served you well up until this point, why would you change now?

136. @ Kiran – as you are so desperate for someone to talk to you, explain what you mean when you say this in your 5.48pm post

     ‘Whilst Wenger prevaricates and sticks to his bizarre gallic principles of never paying market price for an experienced player’.

     It comes across as pretty racist really. Before I say more, I think you should have a chance to explain what you mean.

137. Stuart,Arsene won’t compete. The money is there, not only is £70m available this summer, but the simple fact of the matter is even if this entire £70m was spent today, next summer there will be £70m available again. If that £70m is spent then the summer after that in 2015 then £70m will be available to spend,It’s about time that Arsenal fans realised this fact. We now have enormous resources.We have turned a corner financially because the deals that we signed in order to get money upfront to build the stadium have now been renewed in the case of Emirates and the potential that Puma are now our kit supplier next year. Chuck the additional £30m per season TV money and the £12m over the next two years that property brings us and we are sitting pretty.Our revenue will jump £75m. That means an addition £75m EVERY year for the next 4 years. That is “free” money. It’s above what we generate now and run the club on so therefore it’s available to spend (on transfers and wages).We should have been looking to build last year. We only spent in order to obtain the 4th place trophy. We need to build now and make a sincere statement of intent. The problem is our track record – who wants to come to Arsenal? Why, if you are a top player, would you go to Arsenal rather than any other club?Man City have managed to build a team and a brand just as Chelsea have done. The reason they were able to do this was because they paid over the top wages and fees. This meant that players who wouldn’t normally go to these clubs have done so. In the case of Chelsea then the club has not only done this but become successful in doing so.Arsenal are in a slightly different position. We don’t have to start from scratch, we don’t have to pay silly signing on fees and wages to get players to come to us. However, what we do lack is the ability to be ruthless and say, “Fuck it, yes, the buyout clause is a bit more than we’d like and we have to pay £20k a week more in wages, but it’s worth it to generate momentum so here you go”.That’s what Arsenal have to do. We don’t have to do that for 10 players. We can do that for 2 or 3.Remember that a transfer fee is normally paid over the course of 2 or 3 years so we can afford to spend more than £70m now.Arsenal now have to gain momentum. Once one or two big signings are made then it’s easier for others to follow. That’s how you do it. Once momentum starts and the team begins to seriously compete for trophies then that impetus gets noticed and other players want to be part of the club.As a caveat I’d like to just say that I think the commercial team have done well to get the Emirates and Puma (if it’s true) deals through. Gazidis should be applauded for this however, we now need to build on this financially with additional partners. That cannot happen if the team on the pitch is not attractive.What is holding us back from using our new found financial might is Wenger. I’d love to be proven wrong but I doubt history suggests otherwise.

138. Sorry writing from me phone Hence the typo

139. Funny that only those who have complained they were being labeled the AAA also happen to be the only ones guilty of copying & pasting comments from other blogs. yidhoyoni is the 4th one in as many weeks I think. What does that say. Can’t they think for themselves? It appears not.

140. @Goona Gal

     I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the half-witted AAA troll who tries to imply he is twice the gooner that everyone else is. Usually he pops up here with the sole purpose of undermining the club, team, manager or fan base in some way – obviously an unhappy plonker who feels a degree of comfort pretending everyone else is deluded. The half-wit’s true character comes to the fore with his foul posts on Le Groan – not a nice character.

141. sperez, you’re complete tw*t. How dare you say that of Wenger. You clearly aren’t an Arsenal supporter. You know this blog is about viewing things positively from an Arsenal point of view, something you are incapable of doing, and you keep coming back. There are many other blogs out there that don’t speak so kindly about our team. I don’t go there because I know there’s nothing there for me. I only come to this one as I find what I want here, and am in general agreement with what most say here. Do us all a favor and take a hike please.

142. @ AL – I agree, there are some really suspect, unoriginal comments being posted on here.

     @ btjgooner – how are ya? I know what you mean. It turns out he’s a sensitive soul who thinks he can get his head round how business negotiations work.

143. @ Kiran – seriously, it’s not just the typo’s you should be apologising about, it’s the total crap you served up in them.

144. For all you moaners, UK, sperez,joe, kiran etc etc, who complain about Arsenal always doing their business at the last moment, why can’t we get it done early like the Chelsea etc, have a look at this….
     http://www.arsenalvision.co.uk/my-vision/4322-early-birds-or-dawdlers-how-arsenal-compare-to-rivals-in-the-transfer-window.html?
     That’s one myth dispelled.

145. Also if you notice the rumours don’t go away when the window closes. They carry on in anticipation of the next window. Waiting for Wenger to buy a world class player is exactly like waiting to win the lottery. People talk about how many bedrooms their new house is going to have, which area they will move to and what top of the range car they will drive. It’s wishful thinking and it makes people feel good even just talking about it.In the world of reality, we know (as do the people playing the lottery) that the chance of Wenger buying an expensive world class player is miniscule if not zero. But it won’t stop the rumours or the gossip. That side of it is purely for entertainment and fun only.I see people on here making up fantasy teams with Rooney, Higuain, Fellaini and Fabregas in it. It’s all pie in the sky. If you’re a staunch pragmatist like me you can learn to just ignore it as harmless bit of fun – people indulging in wild speculation and opinion. Otherwise it can really drive you up the wall.Or, you can of course adopt the attitude that the pacifist Wengerites possess. You can just assume everything will be fine whoever we buy or don’t buy. Just let the great manager do his job and if it means finishing fourth again, it’s all fine because there is a higher reason for everything he does and it’s too deep for us to fathom – we have to trust him no matter what. Such is the world of these religious zealots where everything is beautiful, the world is wonderful, the flowers are blooming, the roses swaying and a great big bowl of juicy cherries is waiting for them on the kitchen table.In the meantime, we get battered and humiliated on the pitch and dumped out of every competition. Still, never mind, there’s always the next season where we can repeat the same thing all over again.p

146. @ Mick – nice one, I think I will bookmark that link.

     @ Kiran – following your, July 20, 2013 at 8:06 pm post, I expect another apology for defecating on this reputable blog again…..

147. Kiran
     You are wasting your time. We have heard it all before. Wenger is the best manager we have had, have and will have for some time to come. This blog is for us deluded folk who wish to wallow in our fantasy world. Get it? Now off you go please….

148. @Kiran
     pragmatist..a person who accepts the world as it literally is and deals with it accordingly.
     So you claim to be a pragmatist yet you spend half your life moaning about things you cannot alter! How strange.

149. Wow, it kicked off on here today, sorry I missed it. Battle lines have well and truly been drawn.

150. Yes, AL, because it’s good to read just things that please us.
     Copy and paste? Wenger is all about rinse and repeat. The club is in decline and blind faith leads nowhere.
     Despite some fans living in denial Wenger has been doing the same things for years. Nothing has changed. Hence, people still complain about the same issues at Arsenal.

151. Kiran,
     So AW has done very well then. He has spent less than he has earned whilst others have spent more than their income and AW has managed to keep us in champions league.

     I’m glad we agree on this.

     With regard to spending the money, well I’d say he has tried hasn’t he, even with players the moan brigade were up for but our deals got hijacked / stalled by the other parties who went out to see if they could get more money from the people with more money than sense.

152. Georgaki, I was talking about some friends in London. Of course not all supporters feel the same way.
     I know some people who are staunch Wenger supporters but even they are questioning some of his decisions. They still have some faith but when you begin to doubt, something is wrong.
     That was something unthinkable two years ago. If you said something negative about Wenger’s managerial reign at Arsenal, they would bite you like a Hannibal-Suarez character.

153. You make a wonderful point Sperez (although quite by accident I’m sure), ‘Wenger has been doing the same things for years’ you say. Indeed he has. He’s been working miracles year after year that nobody else could do ( all documented numerous times here and elsewhere). It’s just that you and some other Neanderthal muppets can’t quite get your heads around all that’s been accomplished. You just see the small picture, nothing else. Probably not your fault, the Neanderthal brain was never equipped to process anything more than ‘Ug, eat, shag, sleep, eat again’ and being located in the same part of your anatomy that you sit on was not really of any use. That’s why Neanderthals pretty much died out (except for small colonies at places like AAA and WHL) . Thankfully most of us here are better equipped in the processing department and can appreciate all Le Boss has done over the years. As Georgaki has already stated earlier, those focus who have been Arsenal fans since the Sixties have been through several periods of drought or almost unwatchable football. We didn’t give up though and now thanks to Arsene Wenger have experienced success on and off the pitch beyond our wildest hopes.
     Yes Arsene has done the same things for years and may he continue to do them for many more.
     Allez Le Boss.

154. Just read your article Walter.

     Haven’t read the discussion yet as it’s very long!

     But I agree with you. And it is indeed obscene the amount of money that is being chucked around in football.

     I am enjoying following the team on its travels. And I am sure they are enjoying the rapturous welcome they are getting everywhere they go.

     Let’s hope they get a similar reception when the new season starts.

155. Have now read the debate.

     Go Goona Gal!

156. http://positivelyarsenal.com/2013/07/20/are-you-calling-me-paranoid/

     Excellent article but Not just the money the media and the fans are to blame

157. I believe in a free market when it comes to player purchases but of course it is frustrating that the financially doped clubs are inflating the market. FFP won’t have any effect and I can’t see an end to the doping in years to come.

158. As someone once said : Art imitates life . Many a times football does the same .

     5 Nice Little Beliefs!

     1. Once, all villagers decided to pray for rain, on the day of prayer all the People gathered but only one boy came with an umbrella.
     THAT’S FAITH!

     2. When you throw a baby in the air, she laughs because she knows you will catch her.
     THAT’S TRUST!

     3. Every night we go to bed, without any assurance of being alive the next morning but still we set the alarms to wake us up.
     THAT’S HOPE!

     4. We plan big things for tomorrow inspite having zero knowledge of the future.
     THAT’S CONFIDENCE!

     5. We see the world suffering… But still we get married?
     THAT’S OVER CONFIDENCE!!

159. @swales68
     yep, paranoid. its all true, but thats life for you. the only constant thing is change. i always inwardly berated my parents when they went “oh, kids of nowadays. you couldnt do that in my time”. now, i. have to consciously check. myself when i. do same towards. the new generation

160. Hidden meanings in company talk .May sound familiar to some.

     1 .”We will do it” means “You will do it”

     2.”You have done a great job” means “More work to be given to you”

     3.”We are working on it” means “We have not yet started working on the same”

     4.”Tomorrow first thing in the morning” means “Its not getting done “At least not tomorrow!”

     5.”After discussion we will decide-I am very open to views” means “I have already decided, I will tell you what to do”

     6.”There was a slight miscommunication” means “We had actually lied”

     7.”Lets call a meeting and discuss” means “I have no time now, will talk later”

     8.”We can always do it” means “We actually cannot do the same on time”

     9.”We are on the right track but there needs to be a slight extension of the deadline” means “The project is screwed up, we cannot deliver on time.”

     10.”We had slight differences of opinion “means “We had actually fought”

     11.”Make a list of the work that you do and let’s see how I can help you” means “Anyway you have to find a way out no help from me”

     12.”You should have told me earlier” means “Well even if you told me earlier that would have made hardly any difference!”

     13.”We need to find out the real reason” means “Well I will tell you where your fault is”

     14.”Well Family is important; your leave is always granted. Just ensure that the work is not affected,” means, “Well you know…”

     15.”We are a team,” means, “I am not the only one to be blamed”

     16.”That’s actually a good question” means “I do not know anything about it”

     17.”All the Best” means “You are in trouble”

161. For the ‘spend some fucking money ‘ brigade ,a sobering view-
     after Detroit …..

     http://www.usdebtclock.org/

162. @ UK, Kiran, Sperez….and all the doomsday scaremongers here.

     If you are confident that the ARSENAL ship is sinking, then why not jump off it?

163. pathetic analogy.thank goodness u’re not arsenal’s manager.u’d never do business with people who ask for more money right?so u wouldn’t try to sign anyone from the top clubs then.we wouldn’t be after higuain.

164. Oh oh… They’re on a rampage here…. Hahaha
     @yudhoyono i believe one of the team you said to be,’wont last a mini second in epl’ IS YOUR NATIONAL TEAM?

165. @arsenal13 spot on, mate!!! But maybe they’re some yids in disguise?

166. Do all of you still feel that Higuain would be a better than Giroud? With Real Madrid’s midfield one should score at least 3 per game in my opinion.

167. CMIIW, i feel the analogy of the car dealer is not quite right, it s more like at sotheby’s?

168. Dear mr atwood,
     Could you please delete my reply to yudhoyono?
     I think i went overboard there… Hehe

     So sorry for that.

     Thank you…

169. diagnosing wenger is simple.he’s a failure at one of the biggest and best clubs in the world.i can’t believe that wenger comes before the health and wealth of the club.haven’t you heard kos saying that he will consider his future if wenger continues this failed policy of his,or would you prefer wilshere to get tired and leave for other clubs that’s more successful.the players must come first because they are our future not some degen who is past it.i’m defending the likes of kos and wilshere because we need them far more than we need wenger at the club.he failed to convince rvp that his future was at afc and unless he gets his head out of the sand and be active in the transfer window, we are playing for 4th again.can’t believe that fans like you settle for competing with the spuds.its ridiculous.you seem to think that the great wenger is immune to any criticism.well,get used to it because theres plenty more to come from me.like it or lump it.

170. @joe
     ‘because theres plenty more to come from me.like it or lump it.’
     Wow, what a threat, we are all quaking in our boots.
     You arrogant little twit.

171. @joe
     ‘because theres plenty more to come from me.like it or lump it.’
     Wow, what a threat, we are all quaking in our boots.
     You arrogant little twit.

172. @Joe
     Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…………….
     What a load of tosh. Arsene Wenger is a failure but Joe (that world renowned expert on all matters football) has the answer!!!!
     Too long in the sun methinks.
     Let the grown ups run the football club and you just keep on ranting for our amusement.

173. 6 more weeks until Joe goes back to school folks so get used to it for a while.

174. to ban or not to ban…that is the question.

     A ban of some would make the site more as it was for most of the time.
     But when we ban them we might miss some fun. I think Brickfields Gunner find them most amusing and they bring him much inspiration to tell us his jokes and other wisdom.

     And maybe in a few weeks time we might be glad to rub some noses in the nonsense they have spouted…

175. This article seems to have attracted quite a number of the AAA depressives for some reason – orchestrated?

     Walter – apart from attracting the unwanted pollution in the comments section, this was a good article.

176. @ JOe

     haven’t you heard kos saying that he will consider his future if wenger continues this failed policy of his > NO I haven’t. Have you?

     or would you prefer wilshere to get tired and leave for other clubs that’s more successful. > Ah, inside Jacks head I see?

     the players must come first because they are our future not some degen who is past it. > Then why don’t you start supporting the players then for a change?

     i’m defending the likes of kos and wilshere because we need them far more than we need wenger at the club. > Now could you remind us who that ‘degen’ was that bought that ‘unknown useless Kos’ and who had the nerve to bring Jack at a young age again?

     he failed to convince rvp that his future was at afc. > Maybe you said two season before we sold him that AW was ‘degen’ for offering that injury prone RVP a new contract?

     and unless he gets his head out of the sand and be active in the transfer window, we are playing for 4th again. > Blimey I didn’t realise the transfer window was already closed again. Must check my calender again.

     can’t believe that fans like you settle for competing with the spuds. > Well it is part of the local rivalry and always will be.

     you seem to think that the great wenger is immune to any criticism.well,get used to it because theres plenty more to come from me.like it or lump it. > Calling someone ‘degen’ is not criticism. It is vile and bad behavior. Unless you are his physician and you found that he is in fact degenerating and you can prove it is his medical condition. If you are his physician then you are an embarrassment to your occupation and you are way out of order as I believe that a physician is bound by secrecy unless he gets complete approval from his patient. If you are not a physician then you are just talking out of a part of your body I will not name but it sure isn’t your brain.

177. Amazing article Walter and my thoughts exactly. For a while now i have been slowly losing my passion for football and if it wasnt for Arsenal i would have stopped altogether. Im sick and tired of the continuous moaning from a certain part of our fanbase, the persistent doom and scare mongering and the snide and vile remarks being thrown about to our manager and the management as whole. Thing is if you really think ours is a lost cause and a sinking ship why even bother? Why not just jump ship instead of consistenly making yourself miserable? I dont even get why people strain themselves with way too over the top worrying about the club as if we were Portsmouth and i certainly dont think it’ll be the end of the world if we dont sign any of these “superstars” like some are trying to make us believe on here and twitter.
     Speaking of twitter my patience for that place has run its course. Far too many overreactionary WUMs acting as spoiled brats throwing snide remarks just because they think they are entittled to do so….

178. Walter ,guys , there ‘d always be some cretin who thinks hiself smart of some fool trying to post others crap ( to goad us ) without going through it with a fine thooth comb (I’m just laughing at the thought !) !
     Don’t fall for it and just laugh it off !Just think of(or find )something funny in response .But don’t engage them .
     Here’s my contribution for today –

     Some people like my advice so much that they frame it upon the wall instead of using it. – Gordon R. Dickson

     Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.- Anne Spencer Morrow Lindbergh

     Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. That way if he gets angry, he will be a mile away and barefoot. – Sarah Jackson

     When the silent majority opens its mouth, it is usually to yawn. – Gerd de Ley

     People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first. – David H. Comins

     A penny will hide the biggest star in the universe if you hold it close enough to your eye. – Samuel Grafton

     It’s so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and say the opposite. – Sam Levenson

     A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him. – Sidney Greenberg

     There’s a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line. – Oscar Levant

     A smiling face is half the meal. – Latvian Proverb –

     The last one resonates with me because when I was first starting out as a young doctor ,a young patient’s grandmother remarked to me that seeing my smiling face so early every morning cheered up her little granddaughter and gave her hope .She asked me never to lose that smile ,and till to this day I ‘breeze ‘ into my clinic with a smile ( or a joke – if Arsenal had won !) for my waiting patients .

179. Just found this in my e-mail .
     The law of the garbage truck .

     One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!

     The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’ This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, ‘The Law of the Garbage Truck.’

     He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally, just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

     The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so…Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don’t.

     Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it! Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

     As for the AAA in their sanitation trucks – you decide !

180. This is something that I would normally have sent to Walter and so am sharing it with you guys and gals of UA .

     Top 5 Regrets of the Dying.
     A life transformed by the dearly departing by Bronnie Ware

     For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last 3 to 12 weeks of their lives.

     People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

     1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

     This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

     2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

     This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

     By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

     3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

     Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.
     We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

     4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

     Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

     It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

     5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

     This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

     When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

     Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.

181. What this article proves to me is just how shameful some of the fans are. And that applies to both Wenger supporters and those against. Arsenal fans being sexist, others telling others to fuck off. Some of those that support Wenger are just as arrogant as those that think Wenger should go.

     Neither side has all the facts so those claiming that Wenger is some genius to do what he’s done at Arsenal are just as misguided as those that claim otherwise.

     The money-saturated world of the EPL has not only ruined football it’s ruined the fans too.

     Right now after reading all this drivel I’d love it if Arsenal invested that 70 million they claim they have in helping the world’s poorest instead of using it to bolster the egos of spoiled fans. Wouldn’t that be refreshing? And those that claim Arsenal have the moral high ground will actually have more than a leg to stand on.

     Debate is dead and the corpse of common sense is being repeatedly kicked around by arrogant half wits.

182. Another e-mail I’d like to share with like minded souls.

     ATTITUDE
     There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘I think I’ll braid my hair today.’ So she did and she had a wonderful day.
     The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. ‘H-M-M,’ she said, ‘I think I’ll part my hair down the middle today.’ So she did and she had a grand day.
     The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘today I’m going to wear my hair in a pony tail.’ So she did, and she had a fun, fun day.
     The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn’t a single hair on her head. ‘YAY!’ she exclaimed. ‘I don’t have to fix my hair today!’
     Attitude is everything. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
     Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly, and pray continually.
     Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning to dance in the rain.

     It’s not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived. Life is too short to wake up with regrets. Love the people who treat you right and pray for the ones that don’t.

     “Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”
     1 Corinthians 16:13-14

183. @Brickfields, very poignant. Reminds me that I need to focus on a few things before I expire.

184. @walter,
     come on, you’ve been waiting 8years to rub those noses, what is 6weeks to you? surely you can wait decades more

185. So where are the fools who said higuain is definitely coming to arsenal? Kos and sze out and the idiots are in japan dithering about. Hey I think they are trying to see whether they can last with this team throughtout the whole season. Haha

186. @Swales68 – Thanks for the link, I didn’t know about that blog before.

     @ Walter – great response to Joe, though I am guessing it went sailing over his head. That bold stuff was well flashy – you’ll have to share how to do it another time.

     @ Brickfields – Interesting stuff as per usual, but pace yourself, one or two per post will do. As we have come to expect these now, if you ever run out and come on here just to talk football, we will feel a bit short changed.

     @ uk – you really are the textbook definition of a loser.

187. What a joke we have become with even liverpool and the chickens buying players. Well highburyhero looks like you’re getting what you wanted with us not spending lots of money and sticking with the Arsenal philosophy and all that bull. So please don’t come on here whinging when we are winning nothing next season.

188. @ joe – The hallmark of a troll is their inability to enter reasonable discussion. Walter responded to you directly, why don’t you have a go at forming a thought all by yourself and respond to him.

     The other thing a wind up merchant does is to keep pointlessly repeating the same unsubstantiated accusations as fact over and over.

     I lay the gauntlet down to you to prove you are something other than the thick WUM you have thus far come across as, here on this site to just irritate.

189. @walter, so explain why all the best players leave this sinking ship? Rvp! Cesc, nasri the supposed spine all jumped ship because they knew nothing was ever going to be winnable under wenger.

     I will say it now this team won’t win a thing under wenger

190. @ Simple Joe – your boring and tiresome now. For the record Arsene Wenger is an amazing manager and Arsenal FC will return to winning ways very soon.

     Shuffle off.

191. If a fee had been agreed, then why wasn’t the deal wrapped up a month ago, before Madrid had a chance to change their minds? If Hunter is generally reliable, then maybe it’s his Arsenal source who’s feeding him this rubbish, in an attempt to get us fans to turn our anger against RM rather than Wenger and Gazidis. I’m not swallowing any of it. Every summer it’s the same story – we tried to sign a “top, top player” but the club and/or player gave us the runaround. No one else in the PL – especially our rivals – seems to have these problems. If you look at it over the last few seasons, probably the majority of our signings have either been players who were nearing the end of their contracts and so the selling club had no choice, or players from clubs in financial trouble, so again, the selling club couldn’t be too fussy. Now we’re dealing with Madrid who really don’t have to sell. They’ve recently overtaken Man U as the richest club in the world and I doubt they even need to sell Higuain to buy Suarez, but, if they do, you can be 100% sure that they won’t be made mugs of by our now infamous manager and CEO.

192. let’s not kid ourselves. I keep hearing how great Wenger’s done to keep us in the top four – who exactly should be finishing above us other than the Manchesters and Chelski? Some would argue the case for 5pur2, but the fact they keep losing their bottle is not an achievement by our manager. Liverpool should be putting in more of a challenge and again, the fact that they aren’t is hardly something to give Wenger praise over either. Put it this way – do you feel that if either of these teams gave us a proper run for our money, we’d still be finishing 4th?

193. Joe,
     For someone who doesn’t ‘swallow any of it’, you have been quite wound up for some time now.

194. @ GG -Thanks for the complime….hey ! Wait a minute ! As I have never professed to be an expert on football ,I’ll stick to humour or inspirational matters (depending on her …ahem,
     mood swings ).
     Menopause can be hell for the bystander too !

     By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.
     Socrates .

195. FFP? What is that then? French Fire Power, French Finance Project.. As someone who really truly believed that FFP in Europe would aggressively curb such reckless activity I am utterly disappointed.

     Let’s take Monaco for example. Not only are they throwing money around as if they print it themselves, which may very well be the case in an abstract manner. But they have a 0 tax policy. Which means that in the vast majority of cases they have in incredibly unfair advantage over their new colleagues in Ligue 1 but also against just about every other team in Europe. If for example Man United offer a player £200K per week, Monaco can actually offer them £150K per week and the actual remuneration will still be significantly higher due to the 0 tax situation.

     Monaco has a stadium with a maximum capacity of 18,500. How on earth can they even imagine paying the wages of the players they have bought? The club is nothing more of less than a plaything for its owner, it is literally just another bauble, another yacht even.

     I wonder if Platini knew when he began to develop FFP that a couple of french clubs would actually be amongst the main conspirators in terms of flouting the rules. Would it be unfair to suspect that he actually planned this all along in frustration the dominance in Europe of the English, Spanish and Italian teams and the emergence of the new Germany? Let us be honest for the last decade at least Ligue 1 has basically been a hunting ground for talent scouts as opposed to a league of choice for the worlds most glamorous footballers.

196. @Sharpehunter
     Agree absolutely. I have been wondering the same thing given the continuing extraordinary spending still going on at Man City and I am sure Chelsea, given the right players becoming available. Looks like FFP is dead as a dodo already.

197. @Mick
     Re City’s “extraordinary” spending – it might be an idea not to look in isolation at the headline figures in terms of our gross spend so far this summer but instead check out who has left the club in the last few months and that way you might get and idea as to how we can afford to bring in 4 £20 million-plus players so far while working to comply with FFP.

     Since January of this year, Balotelli, Tevez, Maicon, Bridge, Santa Cruz, and Kolo have left City. The first 3 players have fetched over £30 million in transfer fees and while the last 3 players were out of contract and therefore left for nothing the combined wages of all 6 players amounted to something in the region £35m-£37m per annum. The 4 players we have signed so far are thought to be costing us approximately £20m per annum in wages so that’s a £15m saving at least. As for the transfer fees of the incoming players, a lot of people neglect to take into account that transfer fees are amortised over the length of a player’s contract so a £90 million gross spend actually works out at £22.5 million a year if the contracts are for 4 years or £18 million a year if the contracts are for 5 years so Negredo, Jovetic, Navas, and Fernandinho are costing us roughly between £38 million and £42.5 million a year in wages and amortised transfer fees but outgoing players are actually saving us well over £50 million a year in fees and wages. Selling Carlos Tevez alone has saved us a minimum of £20 million next year (£27 million if all his bonuses were paid) so far from being a case of “continuing extraordinary spending”, I’d say City are doing completely the opposite and working seriously towards meeting FFP.

     PSG and Monaco on the other hand…..

198. @GG,
     I should think so, since the only ‘textbooks’ you can read is mills and boon and paris Hilton’s biography

199. @M18CTID
     Thanks for explaining the Man City situation so well.

200. @M18CTID
     Thanks for explaining the Man City situation so well.

201. @ uk – I thought you only liked talking to boys?

202. Well debated Goona Gal. You have had to deal with some real plonkers on this thread – uk seems a particularly nasty piece of work.

203. Can’t wait to the season starts even if we don’t buy anyone and watch the youth play some sexy football and prove all the doubters wrong! I started supporting Arsenal by playing pro evo on the playstation 2. It was in 2005 after we won the FA cup I started supporting and its been a while since we haven’t flogged the first team so we can only get stronger we the young gunners its gonna be a golden £20 on gunners to win the league. 😀

204. @ bjtgooner – Maybe I should apologise to some folks on here, I suspected that with the hot weather we’ve been experiencing a few of the sewer dwellers had surfaced but I wasn’t sure. Now joe, uk & the couple of other prats keep turning up on a daily basis, frothing at the mouth.

205. @Goona Gal

     You should never need to apologize for calling a prat “a prat” – and they sure are prats!

     I really enjoy your posts; keep up the good work!

206. @Goona Gal,

     Every guy thinks that every Gal’s dream is to find the perfect guy, BULLSHIT, every Gal’s dream is to eat without getting fat.

     (Someone posted that on facebook, I thought you might enjoy)

207. Shoul I care what they think ?

     “They say of me, and so they should,
     It’s doubtful if I come to good.
     I see acquaintances and friends
     Accumulating dividends
     And making enviable names
     In science, art and parlor games.
     But I, despite expert advice,
     Keep doing things I think are nice,
     And though to good I never come
     Inseparable my nose and thumb.”
     ― Dorothy Parker

208. Anyone who quotes Dorothy Parker is ok with me.

     Stupid insults, vile sexism, constant carping, that’s the modern Arsenal fan.

209. Come on… Those are very comment practise in some business.

     Unless it becomes legally binding agreement as in the contract law, the price will change.

     Asking a price is just a quotation… you should always as how long this quoted price is good for.

     And then, try to make those price legal offers … and not invitation to treat…

     Its complicated but teams are smart enough to work within contract law… In any case its a major business deal involving 10s of millions.

     These days you need to understant how the law works to enjoy football. 🙂