NEEDS vs WANTS
Don McMahon
Well the Emirates Cup is over and with it, the pseudo-honeymoon that Arsenal and Mr Wenger seemed to temporarily enjoy. The critics and demonizers are back at full throttle.
I knew it was simply a temporary hiatus, like the calm before the storm, that invariably rears its ugly head once we have failed to win something, be it a game, a Cup or anything else.
This has lead me to try and understand that ubiquitous phenomena a small percentage of hyper-critical fans ceaselessly display.
Having given this issue considerable and careful thought, and after significant reflection, it seems to me that there is a fundamental dichotomy between what some fans see as important for the Club.
Those who constantly criticize Wenger, the Board and the players, both collectively and individually, as well as the direction AFC appear to be going in, almost always end up loudly proclaiming two things:
1) We won’t win anything with the current squad, and therefore
2) They want us to spend some big money on filling in any number of supposed ¨holes¨ in the squad, in order to win something.
What is interesting about all of this is that they confuse THEIR wants with what AFC really needs. This confusion is so common in real life that it has become a truism. If we define wants versus needs in footballing terms, it becomes readily apparent that the two are universes apart:
a) Our critics WANT us to sign big name, high cost players so we can compete, according to their expert opinions. The only problem is that such purchases guarantee nothing and Wenger is well aware of that. So when he refuses to play that game, he is branded as an incompetent old fool whose time is up. When he does play that game (Suarez), he is vilified as an immoral scumbag!
b) The rational and reflective Gooner realizes that we NEED to improve our squad but does not base that opinion on what happens in pre-season or on what the media excrete. They refuse to link big spending with success on the pitch because they have seen how badly it can go wrong, even if it occasionally does get some fleeting results.
I recently read a blogger describing many Arsenal critics as being ¨Red Top graduates¨ and felt this described them perfectly. In his opinion, these knee-jerk specialists have all graduated from the Red Top University where they learnt all there is to know about running and managing a professional Football Club.
(If you are not a resident in the UK perhaps I may explain, the Red Top is a British newspaper of limited investigative ability, low intellectual scope, a propensity for law breaking and limited awareness to what is actually happening in the world. It is however high on morale declamations and a certainty of what is right. The American equivalent is the National Enquirer).
I have rarely read anything on the numerous sites I visit written that was written by someone who has actual expertise and experience in professional football, whether it be playing,managing or officiating.
Usually the bloggers are ordinary chaps with their viewpoints and wish-lists for AFC. That is fine, but anyone claiming to ¨know¨ what AFC needs, based on their superficial ¨knowledge¨ of football, regardless of whether they have been watching the Game since they were in nappies, is patently dubious and disingenuous.
Whether you fit into one of the many pigeon-holes/stereotypes some bloggers have invented in order to simplify a very complex set of inter-relationships, the simple truth is that nobody can predict what the future holds, nobody knows what Wenger will end up doing, nobody outside the Club can usually and credibly define AFC’s actual needs with any certainty nor can anyone, even Wenger, accurately predict how a transfer will turn out. Therefore everyone needs to avoid confusing their wants with what AFC need…..it will make life a lot less stressful for most Gooners.
lsewhere….
The books…
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC: crowd behaviour at the early matches
-
Arsenal Anniversaries: 6 August
- 6 August 1926: Harry Woods transferred to Luton
- 6 August 1930: Leslie Compton signed as an amateur
- 6 August 1977 Pat Jennings signed for £45,00
Recent posts
It’s all about fate does not matter who you buy fate will decide if you dissigree then explain how a poor chelsea team won the champs league . Relax enjoy support that’s what it’s all about like minded people with hope and dreams that’s what makes football great
I know that Arsenal needs less wanky fans..
Great article
Arsenal do have some very good players and i do think if this young squad can keep together they will be a very strong side in the next 2 to 3 years and will win much silverware But i also think we do need 2 or 3 top players now to blend in with them but paying top money does not always bring in success as it proved with Chelsea and Liverpool when they paid megga money for Torres and Carroll. In Arsene we Trust.
We are going into a new season with the very weakest squad we have had in recent history.
That, coupled with the lack of any first team signings, has made me pessimistic about the coming season, and has made me doubt the managements desire to win something.
I still support the management, but if they sign nobody this window after all the talk, I’ll never believe another word they say.
There will be a mass revolt if we are going into the new season with this squad.
Totally agree, I am surprised more haven’t become more shrewd over the past years. I.e. The amount of lies and agendas in the media.
I want to see the silent majority start coming out and speaking up. Not in argument though. In Spain the fans get on board with ‘operacion Bale’ or ‘operacion Cesc’. Although I hate players talking about other players, if we can show what good fans we are and help grease the wheel with transfers in any way then we should do it. At the moment Liverpool are doing a hatchet job on Suarez’s image because they want him to leave the country. We can help by letting Suarez know that we don’t buy it and questioning BR actions. Rooney is another one…he just wants to be valued and carry on his career, lets show him how supportive we can be whilst the Man U supporters push him out the door.
Now there is a funny thing, I’ve just posted a similar thought on another blog(very good one, no disrespect to this one, of course).
My thought came from a discussion on the Bundeliga(on BT Sport, sorry Tony). It was said that Klopp(B.Dortmund Coach) buys players that suit the team. whereas Wenger has been guilty of buying bodies to fill positions. – Note, I did not take this as an anti-Arsenal critism, more a case of it being true, but with allowable circumstances – I thought therefore that the interest in Suarez showed a different strategy? Because if you think about Saurez the player, and ignore the baggage and price tag for a moment, then anybody with an understanding of the game will know he could add a great deal to our squad, and not defined to one position.
I went on to say that the 209 players linked to Arsenal since the TW opened, were probably done so by people still thinking of ‘bodies for positions’, as were a majority of fans.
Perhaps I should have added to that last point .. fans that are commenting on the lack of transfer activity.
But that aside, I think we generally agree with the disparity between the two points of view?
Therefore, signings we get will be good for the team. Patience is required.
with the just concluded emirate cup, arsenal can not compite for trophy this season. football is not magic, u most hav what it takes to be a champion… we (arsenal fan) need a top striker and a solid defensive midfield 4 and a goal keeper to be able to survive this season. it is now we can talk bcos the season is starting soon……. gunners 4 life
‘I have rarely read anything on the numerous sites I visit written that was written by someone who has actual expertise and experience in professional football, whether it be playing,managing or officiating.’
The implication in this paragraph is that as you have a football background then therefore your opinions and theories have more validity and are more credible. If only this were true but unfortunately it is not, I give you Waddle as a prime example. There are very few of the many ex players operating within the media who give a good account of themselves.
Good article though, usual high Untold quality.
Goonerdave: how many summer transfer windows have you been through mate? Don’t you remember that everyone does the signings at the last minute to get the best deals, as clubs freak out that they need to sell/buy. It happens every year with us, them and those over there.
I read somewhere that we have 5 games before the end of this month, is that true?
I hope we have our targets and clams saved up ready to go!
Goyg!!!
(Clams = money)….
Shalom.
Doubting Wenger’s ability can only come from the camp of those who think that trophy, cup or shield is only what football is all about.
Wenger is a coach not a buyer, and that’s what induces my following Gunners every year. Imagine thousand pounds competing with million pounds and making them sweat and fear and struggle, and rejoice for surviving Arsenal.
I have been a gooner since 1979 and will support arsenal to my dying day. We need to strengthen the squad ideally 4 to six players these to be a keeper, a defender, two dm’s a left winger and a striker now price does not matter just ability. Will they improve the squad if yes buy. I feel the squad is good enough to start season but we lack depth to go whole season and challenge for the title with out adding to squad suspension and injury would hurts us currently. Good piece well written and balanced.
I bet we hear the line from all and sundry (media, AAA etc) that AW only fills spots with bodies and not like the ‘brilliant’ klopp who gets players who suite his team, therefor Wenger out!
If this happens then we can put it to bed the debate over whether it not they have a brain etc. they don’t for the record!
How many players do we currently have in our squad?
How many players do we normally operate with each season?
If we have 19 now and 25 players is what we usually play, then surely we have at least 3-4 coming in after promoting younger ones for COC games and early FA Cup rounds. My biggest fear is not a striker it is the replacement for when Arteta misses a few games towards end if season sender tend to crap ourselves and heart attacks all round. Last season we handled his absence much better than year before but it is still scary when he doesn’t play.
Also at times last season where we would be toothless for a whole game and look like easy beats, this needs to be addressed but I am sure AW knows it and I can not tell you who we ‘should buy’ as I have no idea, its up to him.
Good Luck Arsene you have my full backing!
Coyg!!!
elkieno-
I have been through as many transfer windows as you – they are a pretty new concept.
I am a man in my forties and also work in the financial sector, so am sympathetic to our recent financial needs.
But we have money now, and there is no excuse not to invest in the team.
Soldado, Navas, Negredo etc. would have all improved the squad.
If everyone does their signings at the last minute, why have so many players been bought and sold already?
I love AFC but will lose faith in the management should they continue with this transfer policy.
Gazidis gave a big speech about having money to spend and how important it is to get targets in early – here we are just before the new season, with the lightest squad we have had in recent history.
Interesting article. Interesting in its total bias, patronisation of a huge part of the fanbase.
I read many arsenal blogs, this is the only one that openly derides and attacks other parts of their wn fanbase. To protect the position of a manager who by anybody’s view has gone from legend to average (8 years of genius followed by 8 years of mediocrity).
And people on here just say, doesn’t matter if we win things, just as long as I can support the manager! Shameful complacency.
Arsenal fans are not just worried that no ‘marquee’ signing/s will arrive but after happily shifting a lot of deadwood, we are simply very light in numbers in the first team squad as no squad replacements apart from Sanogo have been signed. The likes of Zelalem, Akpom & Gnabry are not ready to be first choice substitutes/temporary replacements. To have so far signed just one free transfer is ridiculous as new recruits should be signed in time to integrate with the squad & playing style during pre season to hopefully avoid once more a sluggish start to the season resulting in again a forlorn game of catch up to be a title contender. It’s staggering that no experienced keeper has been signed with Mannone sold & Fabianski continuing to look flaky & unreliable.
The font (8.45am),
That’s why I think that lack of LUCK is the no.1 reason why we haven’t won a trophy for so long.
Agreed Dom , we should allow those in charge to go about their duties without any undue interference .Not that empty threats are in any way going to speed things up .
There is a long way to go before the transfer window closes ,so let be all patient and not lose our cool.
As the de facto ( sounds better than the self appointed)head of the medical division of UA , I’m often privy to sensitive latest medial research papers and found this quite pertinent to the behavoir of certain sections of our Arsenal ‘fans’.
You make up your own minds .
This is alarming!
Beer contains female hormones! Yes, that’s right, FEMALE hormones! Last month, Montreal University and scientists released the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer.
Men should take a concerned look at their beer consumption. The theory is that beer contains female hormones (hops contain Phytoestrogens) and that by drinking enough beer, men turn into women.
To test the theory, 100 men each drank 8 pints of beer within a one (1) hour period.
It was then observed that 100% of the test subjects, yes, 100% of all these men:
1) Argued over nothing.
2) Refused to apologize when obviously wrong.
3) Gained weight.
4) Talked excessively without making sense.
5) Became overly emotional
6) Couldn’t drive.
7) Failed to think rationally, and
8) Had to sit down while urinating.
No further testing was considered necessary!
Send this to the men you know to warn them about drinking too much beer.
elkieno (@9.44am),
Best comment (no disrespect to other commenters)!
I know a blind gooner who think we need to add 3-4 players. And a deaf-mute one too! Virtually everybody says this and it has been posted to death on Internet blogs and their comment sections.
Com’on give it a rest. We need 3 to 4 additions (BTW, it is always 3-4 🙂 ) Yes, we get it. Posting what has been written a billion times over does not make interesting read. It is now very very boring.
Leave it to the management as the article suggests and let them deal with the team strengthening according to our needs and not based on the whims of the fans, no matter how much they repeat them.
Doofus,
Thanks for the self righteous lectures and victimhood whinings as usual.
And what you keep calling “majority of the fans” is less than 1% of Arsenal fans. Do we really have to do this again?
@goonerdave. A mass revolt by who?
I honestly believe the arsenal fans need to stop moaning about signings because it will either happen or it won’t simple as that. But just remember we are stronger together fans united. We all want to see 2 or 3 quality signings as does Ivan and wenger. But lets be patient and united for the sake of our beloved arsenal. But I feel the board and wenger need to start being honest with the fans as we don’t understand whats happening. We just see players leaving and no one coming in. I believe 1 big early signing would have stopped this madness before it started and we could have signed higuain or fellaini early on so the board and wenger did put their hand out to be slapped. ..
Boo – we do!
So, can I sum up your views as basically we’ve been unlucky for 8 years. Think we’ve established that.
I will happily agree to that point of view if you can accept the countervailing view which must be that we were exceptionally lucky for the first 8 years?
One can’t be true without the other can it?
Doofus,
You got me there.
Your logic is impeccable, isn’t it?
Of course we were lucky along the way. How did we leave OT unbeaten in 2003 to maintain our unbeaten run? What is the odds of RvN losing a penalty at the time of the match when we wouldn’t have enough time to find the equaliser?
If you think luck is irrelevant in football or you have an absolutist view of things then we may not really need to do this again.
I give up. You win. Congratulations!
Boo – I mean you look at our squad, right? We have 31 year old arteta, backed up by frimpong as our DM options for the year.
I mean no one can see that that’s a disaster waiting to happen, right? We’re Denched!
jax,
I have always wondered too.
Bootoome: sorry all Arsenal fans must never talk about numbers we need as I did (not player names) because its boring and because the management only can do it.
fans of every club have always talked of who they need or what they need since day dot. Don’t confuse me with those people who all they do is post what/who we need as if they are authority. You are not an authority on what is interesting to read and what’s not btw, it’s your opinion and it seems lately only you are correct or speak any sense, according to you. This is probably the first time I have ever posted my OPINION on our squad and if you go back and read all my post you will see I am asking a question on how many our squad has and what do we usually have in previous seasons, so it’s not just a post on we need this and that!
No offence taken.
elkieno,
You misunderstand me. I was not having a go at you. I genuinely like your comment. You gave context to what you think we need and you concluded that the manager knows better. That is why I think your comment is the best. I wasn’t mocking you!
I guess you misread my support because of the “3-4” line, but your usage was different and I never thought my comment will rub you the wrong way. Sorry.
You don’t need to go that far in your rebuttal though. Com’on 🙂 We are on the same side.
Boo – that’s the problem, we have a glaring need at defensive mid. And Wenger won’t move for a new player. Fellaini would be perfect. That’s not being what I need in any way!
We need a CB to cover as verm already injured. Williams too expensive at £10m according to Wenger. Solution? Out of contract RB to step in and cover. Now that can’t possibly lead to defensive mistakes against top players can it? Playing a RB out of position in the heart of the defense?
These aren’t me egotistically calling for these players, a blind man can see these two positions will cause issues. Apart from Wenger an team.
And we have 11 days before the season starts. Not 28, as that when the window closes. Does that seem like all is under control?
If we do not sign anyone before the deadline,I really think the pressure on AW and the team to perform will be MASSIVE.The media, then the fans will mount a HUGE campaign against the team and AW.Can you imagine not qualifying for the Champions League and drawing against Villa!.I do hope AW does not think because we hit Champions form at the back end of last season, that this squad is good enough.No way.AW still has my support, however I will look again at the end of September.
The weirdest moment happened at the close of the first half, though. The Napoli supporters whooped and hollered and bathed in shirtless glory at their team’s efficiency whilst the Arsenal supporters rained down boos. If anyone is confused about the state of affairs among Arsenal supporters the fact that the team was booed off the pitch at half-time and that Higuain was booed when introduced in the second half should clear things right up.The downright furious anger I have seen from some supporters in various online sources is bubbling over and threatening to take Arsenal down a very dark path. If fans are already booing at a pre-season friendly with nearly a month left to buy players I can’t imagine what will happen if Arsenal lose a match in Premier League play after not buying whomever. Dogs and cats sleeping together, desks on chairs, it will be chaos.he below sums it all up, taken from 7am kick off;
The transfer window ends on August 31st, so there’s still plenty of time for signings. AW has said that the club is still working on some so why all the gloom and doom now? We finished last season on an unbeaten run so there is no panic to have 2 or 3 new players in the side for the first game. Even if there had been a couple of signings it’s more than likely that they wouldn’t have been in the starting XI from the beginning anyway.
Sure it’s preferable to do business earlier, but it’s not all in the hands of the club and a number of issues outside of their control can delay things.
Those why don’t like Wenger playing down the need for signings would prefer him to say that they are essential just like they keep repeating, but at the end of the day it’s actions not words that matter. So judge where we are come September.
Dave. My nan wants to join the mass revolt is there enough room in the fiat 500. For her ?
dax-
There is a huge number of fans who are like me – they support the management, love the team and players, and feel the austerity has now ceased.
We are well within our rights to demand investment in the playing staff, especially when you consider what we have had to endure over recent seasons.
A hell of a lot of Gooners are going to be asking some very serious questions of the management/negotiating team should we fail to add the necessary quality to compete.
Boo: Yeah sorry mate I did go overboard but I probably misread your reply to start with. I use an old iPhone 3S on the train home when I have time to read Untold/Arsenal stuff. So when it comes time to comment/reply its a pain in the ass to then copy what I have written (just in case), reduce the size of window, go back and read the comment etc.
With a 1.3yo girl and another on the way I just have no time, no sleep, no money and no social life but its worth every second and I wouldnt swap it…
I also get why you said Best Comment, right?
Never had that before and we are on the same side indeed.
thanks mate.
COYG….
Doofus,
I agree with the essence of the points you are trying to make. I just disgree with your approach. I am one of the most pro-Wenger people around but even I know that we need to strengthen.
Where I and others of my persuation differ from you and yours is on the approach to strengthening. First of all, I leave it to the manager to identify the areas that need strengthening. He knows much more than I do about the team.
Secondly, I refuse to panic about when the additional players will be signed. I just can’t see the point of panicking. I really can’t. Let the management team do their jobs up to the time that they have to do it.
Third point and where I mostly disagree with you and yours is in players prescription. You dropped some names that you think are great and I have no doubt that your intention is genuine and that you believe in the named players. The problem is that fans like me and you have a very poor record of getting players prescriptions right. The ones we propose are either pants or the ones we oppose turn out great most of the time.
I plead with you to let those tasked with the job get on with it. It’s all we can do anyway.
The font-
Why not respond to my comment with a reasonable response?
No answers?
No debate to offer?
Blinkered and not interested in debate. Unless you are a very young person, there is no excuse for your immaturity.
@Gooner Dave,
Your 8.54.
Afraid I can’t agree with you, old son.
Our 4 signings last term will now enter their second season in the EPL, when the experience will show.
Wilshere is back to full fitness and will dominate the midfield. Ramsey has found his niche at last, in a more central position.
AND I HAVEN’T EVEN MENTIONED THE NEW SIGNINGS WE WILL HAVE BY 31ST AUGUST!!!!!!!!!!
Hope I have cheered you up!
nicky-
I don’t share your optimism.
We barely scraped into 4th place, yet with less players we are expected to challenge for the league? We don’t have a chance without some major additions.
Just my opinion, and I’m perfectly entitled to express it.
elkieno,
Thanks for your gracious comment.
I am currently a stay-at-home dad with 20 months old twin girls, due to my being on a long holiday (you may just be able to guess my profession now 🙂 ). Believe me, I perfectly understand how you are feeling.
Going by the frequency of my posts here, no one will believe that I struggle with 2 persistent toddlers for the control of my laptop key pad 🙂 .
I totally agree with you: it’s the most stressful job/task that I have ever enjoyed doing!
The last line of my previous comment was not directed at you Nicky.
It was directed at the people who make smartarse comments because they are unable to engage in debate.
This site would do well not to alienate itself from the fans who are happy with the manager but unhappy with the direction the club is taking.
At this rate, our fanbase will all hate each other!
Whilst pre season tournaments have no real bearing on the league it was obvious that:
1. Our squad is thin
2. We lack quality cover in all areas (GK, Defence, Midfield and attack)
3.Our first 11 can and will compete with anyone
We have to buy smart and bring in quality. I don’t care if the players bought in aren’t household names as long as they have the quality and heart to make us winners again. Suarez, for all his baggage, is quality and will improve the team. Him ,a quality utility defender/midfielder and a top class goalkeeper would help us challenge for the EPL.
The club owes it to the fans, who pay OTT prices for season tickets/ match day tickets, to create a team that reflects the money they take from us.
@GoonjerDave,
Don’t worry. These “major additions” will be here before September. My Gran (who cleans at the Emirates) told me that in dusting Arsene’s office the other day, she happened to spot some discarded note paper in the waste paper basket.
“You wouldn’t believe the names I saw” she said. “I don’t know how our team is going to do when the season starts, but my God, the line-up frightens me”.
So there you have it GD, all is well. News straight from the horse’s mouth (if you’ll pardon the expression).
“This site would do well not to alienate itself from the fans who are happy with the manager but unhappy with the direction the club is taking.”
GoonerDave,
Exactly.
Nicky,
Exactly.
the club ideally is made up of the players and the supporters i think its only fair you let them influence a decision or two once in a while..
“nobody outside the Club can usually and credibly define AFC’s actual needs with any certainty ”
Don,
To clarify, does your analysis come down to a prescription for acceptable fan behaviour: dutiful (or obligatory) silent acceptance of anything management does because fans (by definition) cannot know with certainty?
Also, would you consider a future comparable analysis of the non-extreme part of the continuum of possible pro-AFC fans? What are their profile in your typology?
Too many quarrelsome posts on untold. Seems 75%(or more) of posts are supposed to quarrel against the AAA or the press.
Just for those who keep saying fans want big money signings, I think sol campbell was free? I don’t remember a single fan complaining. Fans want quality signings, period. It doesn’t matter how much they cost. There was a time fans trusted wenger to make quality signings, so he could buy an anelka, and nobody would complain. But now, frankly, many fans don’t even trust him with messi and c.ronaldo
Dave in response to your response about you telling me I am immature I am going to tell my mum you said that . About your post I agree with some of what you say but it is very immature to think we will not sign anybody I think you can get a 1000/1. At ladbrooks. On no signings so a mention of revolt by the fans is why I responded in a flippant way I understand from your posts your not anti arsenal but comments like that fuel the treason
UK it is true that we are often commenting on the views of others – I guess because sometimes it seems that this is the only place that the “given” opinion of the media is challenged. So we do it quite a lot.
Bob – your comment suggests more of a coherent editorial policy for Untold than we actually have. I don’t commission articles – although I do invite certain people to write. I publish most of what is sent in. True, I don’t publish anti-Wengerian articles, on the simple grounds that there are 12 national newspapers and several thousand blogs around that run such material all the time, so it doesn’t need us pitching in as well.
Untold is an outlet for the “Untold” – the stuff that other blogs and the national media don’t publish.
Doofus at 11:16 am
How do you know that Wenger thinks Williams is too expensive?
It’s a rhetorical question. I already know the answer. You don’t know. It’s comments like yours that frustrate me.
@ Bootoomee…: (originally directed at Doofus)
“I just disgree with your approach.”
This seems to be a common complaint of yours, that people’s approach about how they discuss the club is of supreme importance.. Everyone is different.
“Where I and others of my persuation differ from you and yours is on the approach to strengthening. First of all, I leave it to the manager to identify the areas that need strengthening. He knows much more than I do about the team.”
Ultimately everyone (fans and the club itself) leaves it to the manager to identify what he needs. That doesn’t negate people from having an opinion, that in no-way ultimately affects what the manager is going to do or not do in any case. So in other words, why does it consistently bother you so much? That is, the opinions of others. Also the inferrence here is that the manager is always right in his personnel/transfer decisions, considering any number of players that have flopped, he isn’t always right. Lastly on this, the opinions that differ with Wenger’s decisions are not those of un-qualified fans, but in some cases include those of players, former players, and other people professionally connected to the game (not that it makes them automatically right either).
“Secondly, I refuse to panic about when the additional players will be signed. I just can’t see the point of panicking. I really can’t. Let the management team do their jobs up to the time that they have to do it.”
You seem to misconstrue people not agreeing with the direction as panic. The opinions of fans certainly do not affect the management team from doing its job, and specifcally do not affect a manager like Wenger with unprecidented automony, authority and lack of accontability (imo).
” The problem is that fans like me and you have a very poor record of getting players prescriptions right. The ones we propose are either pants or the ones we oppose turn out great most of the time.”
I would love to see some analysis on this, that support your opinions here.
“I plead with you to let those tasked with the job get on with it. It’s all we can do anyway.”
The irony of this last point is in its second sentence. No matter the opinions of fans, the management team is going to do what it wants and sees best fit. So you do ont need to plead with people to let them get on with it.
@ UK re: “Too many quarrelsome posts on untold. Seems 75%(or more) of posts are supposed to quarrel against the AAA or the press.”
I’ve noticed this too, that in the absence of games (and thus ref critique) that vast majority of posts always find a way to relate to this “war” with the AAA…It’s as though having open discussions about tactics, targets, whatever is seen as borderline blasphemous.
And @ UK regarding “Just for those who keep saying fans want big money signings, I think sol campbell was free? I don’t remember a single fan complaining. Fans want quality signings, period.”
Imo, Wenger loyalists (that’s my term of choice) just love to boil down all of the complaints of those that disagree with policies into the convenient charicature of “they want to spend big money for trophies”..
When in relality, the concerns are so varied and include:
tactics, playing players out of position, relying on injury-prone players, wage-distribution, squad depth, how youngsters are brought through, youth development, loanees, selling top players, budget utilization, stated ambitions surrounding CL qualification etc etc and beyond.
It’s not just as simple as people want us to recklessly spend money to buy trophies. It really isn’t.
And I’d bet that most of the gooners with whom most of you disagree and paint as some sort of enemy, would be completely happy if we still weren’t winning trophies (especially given the purchasing might of our competitors) given we were fully utilizing our available resources in the most efficient manner, and giving ourselves the best chance to compete within our resources. Many simply don’t think the club is doing that, especially with regards to wage distribution recently (thankfully some sings of improvement are being seen) and other factors.
Bob….I have no prescription to offer one way or the other, but my point is that of all the people involved in any transfer activity or anything to do with the Club’s operations, fans are the least qualified to offer advice. This is because most of us have nothing to do with, or any experience in the business and sports management side of Football or AFC. As well, we tend to be the least objective about players and transfers. Our history of success in predicting how well a player may do if we get him, and how that player should be treated (one day a star, the next deadwood) speaks for itself.We can express our opinions (nobody is listening or really cares) and support the team regardless of what we think is true or not, but that’s it.
I laugh when some posters threaten to abandon AFC IF Wenger or the Board don’t do what they WANT. My answer to that is , go ahead…. don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. As my Irish grannie used to say, some people make us happy when they come in and others when they leave.
I am not sure what you want with a comparable analysis and profiling of possible pro-AFC fans but I’ll give it some thought.
According to reports, we are about to make the stellar signing we have all been waiting for….Romanian striker ciprian Marica…….on a free. Looking at his distinctly average record, sounds like a typical wenger late summer signing to me. How the masses will be placated if there is any truth in this.
OMGArsenal:
Here’s a thought experiment from an admittedly ignorant fan who loves his/our team and feels like management could have done this far better: If RVP were to be sold in this year’s market, would we have held out for more than 24M? Is there room in your (I hope possible) fan typology for a pro-AFC/pro-AW fan who brings this Untold question to the surface at this time in the silly season?
To all the negativstas
looks like Suarez actually wants to come to Arsenal.
Smoke that.
And Negativsta isn’t a Surarez racist word.