By Walter Broeckx
Transfer Deadline Day (as it is called) on the social media is a bit of a strange happening.
As I had stayed away from twitter for almost the whole transfer period I thought it would be interesting to have a look at how things stand. Now I must admit that I do follow a few of people you could call part of the non-existing aaa. I do this not because I am a sado masochist but because I find it helpful in trying to understand their way of thinking. It also is rather disgusting on such a day to be honest but for Untold we go where nobody else would go or want to go.
What strikes me is that some find it very normal to wish people harm. I lost count of the number of tweets where people openly called or wished bodily harm to Wenger and Gazidis or to some players. For some strange reason Giroud is one of their main victims this time around. But it doesn’t stop with just wishing bodily harm. No I have seen openly people wishing Wenger to die right here and now.
I really cannot understand that. I really cannot. I can’t even remember myself ever wanting another person to die. However much I hated him. Not that I hate a lot of people as life is too short to waste my time hating other people. Certainly if they did me no harm personally. But somehow a bunch of people on twitter seems to have no problem with wishing people to die and all that because of that person didn’t do what they in their wisdom said he should have done!
Think of that again…. Johnny Nogood said on twitter that Wenger should buy ……. (fill in name) and if he doesn’t do it he should be shot. How low can you sink….. Are you still a human being if you say such things? What is the world becoming if people think this is normal? I certainly don’t find it normal.
What I also saw was conversations that were funny if the consequences were not that other people pick them up as facts and spread them as real facts.
I saw a person let’s call him again Johnny Nogood send tweets like this: ‘Wenger that french (F – I know) c*nt doesn’t want to spend the money. Wenger out!!’ Okay so far so good if that is your opinion.
Then Johnny continues : ‘Arsenal offered 40M for Cavani but PSG wouldn’t sell’ So Johnny Nogood (who skipped school yesterday I think) was part of the negotiation committee of Arsenal in person apparently.
And Johnny Nogood goes on: ‘They (PSG) wanted more so Arsenal offered 48M. Again Johnny knows this because he was part of the Arsenal delegation I think.
And on top of his knowledge he tells the world: ‘PSG would have sold for 53M’. So hey ho Johnny Nogood (famously first day school skipper) was not only in the Arsenal delegation but he also was part of the PSG delegation! How else would he know at what amount PSG would have considered the sell of Cavani? Sure he had to be part of the PSG delegation to know that.
Now apart from the stupidity from those tweets it is obvious that the failed transfer from Cavani is down to Johnny Nogood. As Johnny knew for how much PSG was wanting to sell it would have been very little trouble for him to tell this to the Arsenal delegation and so if they knew this they could have tried to reach an agreement. After all the difference between £48M and £53M is not that big.
So it’s not down to Wenger, Gazidis or Dick Law that the transfer failed but it is down to Johnny Nogood (notorious Arsenal fan and Wenger hater) for not informing Arsenal about the transfer sum that would require PSG to allow the transfer.
Now of course we know that Johnny Nogood is just another kid around the block who knows nothing apart from the info (=lies) from the liars (the famous ITK), the liars from the media (also called journalists in better times now whorenalists) and the liars from the bloggetas so brilliantly exposed by Sir Hardly Anyone on Untold this summer.
But the problem is that the tweets from Johnny Nogood go to his friends. Pat Brainless retweets it to his friends. Jack Nobrains retweets it further and after a while it has spread and is taken as a fact.
“Did you see it?”, they shout from the beds they are lying on. That french (F – I know and it is difficult to write it because of my spelling checker) c*nt is to blame.
And so the virus goes further and further and further. All based on what a Johnny Nogood has written on the internet. Maybe Johnny has his own website full of lies even but I leave that out of how it could be.
The fact is that if Arsenal tries to do any transfer business that the first thing they ask of the other parties involved that they demand complete silence towards the media. So we know nothing. I know nothing and certainly Johnny Nogood knows nothing.
That is just the way Arsenal is trying to do their job and how they try to stay one step in front of the oilers before they come in and highjack a possible deal by spending over the top and pricing us out of a possible transfer. So when you see people throwing numbers around as if they were in the delegations that negotiated you know they tell lies.
But alas the problem for many is that they see numbers being thrown around and they just believe them and state them as facts. FACT. But it is not because someone throws numbers around and uses the word FACT, that it really are facts at all.
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Such is the grotesque nature of the human psyhe that it looks to dominate it’s surroundings with any kind of ego.
Football ⚽ is no different. My team is better than yours and so on is all a fascination of the ego.
Nonetheless I encourage you to read this article Walter and let me know your thoughts ?
http://www.lasportsanostra.com/arsenal-wenger-kroenke-arsene-epl-premier-league/
Pete
I didn’t think Arsenal needed to buy to challenge for the league this season and I stated before the biggest improvement had to come from within the squad to do that, but I disagree with the premise of your “challenge ” that any new player would have to improve us significantly or not at all.
Also I disagree that you only buy players who can be a direct improvement on specific players we already have. Sometimes it’s worth bringing someone who offers you something different that what you have.
Kondogbia would have done both of those things and from what I have read Arsene was interested but apparently not enough.
At £23M and 65K a week or thereabouts, he was well within our means and to ” lose” him to Inter which is not exactly a top club was disappointing.
After our loss to Monaco I said Kondogbia was the only Monaco player who could walk into Arsenal first eleven and I still feel this way.
Another player who would give us something different is Moussa Sissoko of New Castle. I have always liked him for his physical attributes and his style of play and he expressed his admiration for Arsenal more than once.
His release clause and wages were well within our means as well.
Either Kondogbia or Sissoko would give us something extra we don’t necessarily have and their salary is less than what we pay Rosicky to sit on the bench or in the treatment room for 90% of the time.
So the only question remains is paying the transfer fee of abou £ 23 M is too much, and Arsene ultimately decided that it was.
Pete and Walter
Sorry, I posted on the wrong thread.
Tom – no problem!
That is fine – rational suggestions. I like them both too. But would either Kondogbia or Sissoko get into the 1st XI? If so, who would they replace? Even as squad players, would you have them ahead of, say, Wilshere?
You say they offer something different. Under which circumstances would you play them – and, again, instead of who?
Rosicky is not a great example because he hardly plays. Surely not worth spending £23mm to replace Rosicky!
Laen,
Stop wasting people’s time.
Re improving from within. Clearly I must agree with you that that is required given no new players. Although you overlook Cech who, while I don’t think is a huge upgrade, I do think is a slight upgrade. 3 points a season – not 12 maybe?
As I noted before, I think that Wenger will develop any given group of players better than anyone else. I would also hope that an extra year’s experience/cohesion will reap some benefit. Finally, there really does seem – finally – to be some improvement on the injury front. Perhaps down to one of our – arguably – best acquisitions of recent years: Shad Forsythe.
Laen,
I think where he goes wrong is comparing American sports with the PL.
In American sports as far as I know the transfer are completely different. There are all kinds of salary caps in place, drafts where to ensure the weakest team gets the first pick from the upcoming talents they will improve. As a result winning the league is much more difficult.
Chelsea and City wouldn’t be possible in American sports. And it is their shifting the posts that have made sure (and the building of the Emirates of course) that we didn’t win the league anymore since they arrived on the scene.
Excellent article Walter, and thanks for suffering the out-letting of some disturbed sadistic fantasis’ in order to bring us it.
I’ve never understood the human nature of some to wish pain, death and misery on others, often for only holding a different opinion or idea.
Laen
Better than most who have a crack at stuff like that, but it’s all supposition, conjecture and opinion presented as something more substantial.
Nearly every point can be argued strongly against, and at least a couple contradict themselves- Wenger’s a genius who built great teams; we shouldn’t let him have too much decision-making power. Genius, if that’s what Wenger possesses, is rare, why would lesser men do a better job?
The biggest problem of all with that opinion piece is that it doesn’t address the fact Wenger is happy to put up with a supposed bad guy. I find no logic in that. It’s possible Wenger can’t see what the author, from in front of his American television and computer, can , but pretty unlikely. Which leaves us with a situation where Wenger is fully aware of Stan’s nature and how he holds the club back improperly but stays on anyway- either through calculating greed himself or because love for the club has made him if not blind, then weak.
Where’s the evidence Wenger is such a man? There’s none. But there’s plenty to suggest he has high principles and is far less willing to sacrifice them that most who get to the summits of their professions. I believe he offered to go at the same time as Dein but the latter told him not do so. Something which, if correct, points firmly to Wenger being willing to walk away if lines are crossed. Watching the great work of your life be wrongly undermined by some nefarious other who is demonstrably hurting the club would surely count as a big line.
Then ,as something of that kind is almost bound to come to, if only it goes on long enough, there comes the direct comparison with rivals.
The clubs selected are almost always Chelsea, Utd or City. Those are the clubs we are trying to beat but they are not the clubs we should copy. To try copy their practices would play into their hands completely : we’d be trying to do what they do, which relies more than anything else on money, but with less money. Wonderful idea. We are much closer to Spurs and Liverpool in our spending power than we are to Chelsea, utd, and City, so that’s where most of the comparisons should be.
Though of course the writer has a way around that. He denies, by omission, the reality of there being any difference between our relative financial power. Or he goes for that magical 200 million figure. Really, his whole argument is tremendously reliant on the idea we have that huge pile of money in the bank, waiting to be spent, but forever held back by the clubs highest powers.
Admittedly, I rely more on my nose than anything else for dismissing those figures. I’ve seen the claims made. I’ve seen the dismissals. I haven’t gone off on an accountancy course to educate myself to the point where I can be 100% certain.
It sounds wishy washy, but those dismissals struck me at the time as the truth, and that’s probably underselling myself a bit. I was probably able to follow the explanations of where we really stand financially reasonably well. Well enough to see that the other claims were total bullshit and leave them there.
Life experience comes into that. If that was the true figure, it would be used against the club and Wenger in a different way than it is. There would not be a moment’s respite from it. Instead, if it features anywhere in mainstream publications, it does so sneakily. I know the press; I know their standards and lack of them. I know some pitiful rat can decide Arsenal’s wage bill is higher than Chelsea’s, and the press can be full of it for months even though it turns out- surprise, surprise- not to be true.
If they can cause all that anger amongst our fans with falsehood, just how much havoc could they wreak with much more damaging truth?
If Arsenal were sitting on 100-200 million which could and should be spent on players, it would dominate every Wenger press conference. Jaqui Oatley or whoever would be there in Wenger’s face badgering him. That they aren’t tells me it isn’t at all true. They’ve no doubt questioned him about it in the past, he’s told them it’s otherwise, and if he was lying the issue would escalate instantly. The press would go look at these easily available figures and it would be game on for real protests which people actually attend.
That 100-200 million figure is surely garbage which someone with about 5% more knowledge than me on the subject could cut to shreds in 5 minutes.
Walter, Tony- help out someone with an average memory here and do a little piece about why that 150-200 million figure is bollocks. I’m sure you’ve done it at least once in the past but it feels like it’s necessary again. I need a recap.
Regarding financial resources – if we had followed the advice of the spend spend spend merchants in the past then there really would be no money available now – and we would be on our uppers! We may have won a few more points each of the last 3 seasons but probably not the title.
What was that about the definition of insanity? How about:
“Spend all the money you have – and can borrow – at the earliest possible opportunity without any thought whatsoever to the long term picture”.
The trouble with Sissoko, he usually expresses admiration for us by trying to kick our players off the pitch, like his mate Tiote, who we have also been linked with
As for CMs, would imagine it is possible Coqs emergence has proved a game changer, he looks undroppable. Backup of course is another issue, but I can see why Wenger wanted to give him his chance. And by doing so, he can cite the examples of Coq and Bellerin as proof that youngsters, both current and prospective, if good enough…and lucky with timing.. can get a better chance at this club, than at others I could mention.
The way the transfer market is going, developing youngsters will hopefully once more take on great importance for AFC and…most…other clubs.
@Rich
The Arsenal Annual accounts are published later this month in time for the AGM in October. The most comprehensive summery of the accounts is normally on by a chap who goes under the name of “The Swiss Ramble”. Here is a link to his piece on last year’s accounts. http://swissramble.blogspot.com/2014/09/arsenal-money-changes-everything.html
It is important to remember that Arsenal’s financial year ends on May 31 i.e. after all season ticket revenues have been received but well before any summer business is done. Cash balances are therefore not any indication of the sums available in the summer transfer window
Laen – Frantz Paul makes a very good case against Silent Stan. He does however make one huge blunder. Silent Stan does not own Arsenal & probably wont ever own Arsenal as long as Alisher Usmanov holds an affinity for the club. His ambition like most investors is to make money. That only happens if the markets demand the brand. The brand is enhanced with victories so he will want that to happen in his lifetime. He will not deter the club from winning any competitions but will not be allowed the facility of loaning huge sums as directors loans. There might be a combination of the two major shareholders agreeing to boost the value of the club but that is not an easy task given their characters.
Chelsea & Manchester City are wholly owned by their respective benefactors. They can also do whatever they can get away with in those clubs. Winning makes them money just as much as it makes them a market for their respective brands. It is that market that will make them a lot of money. Their ownership has meant a huge amount of directors loans which if ever foreclosed will melt the clubs to nothing.
People wanting an outfield player forget we have an excellent player in the shape of Tomas Rosicky on the bench who has been angry since last year for less game time.
Let Tomas play for this year atleast and win the PL what could be his farewell year for the club.
A woman is cooking eggs in the kitchen when her husband comes running in…
Immediately, he sees the eggs and gasps in horror. “Be careful! CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh, my GOSH!”
The wife, startled at her husband’s violent reaction, dashes to the fridge to get some butter.
“You’re cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW!”
The wife, concerned by the status of her husband’s mental state, forgets about the butter and goes running to the eggs.
“WE NEED BUTTER! Are you CRAZY??? Where are we going to get the butter? They’re going to stick! HURRY!
The wife runs to the fridge.
“CAREFUL about the eggs! CAREFUL. You NEVER listen to me when you’re cooking! Never! Turn them quickly! Oh not that quickly, don’t you know how to cook? Are you insane? Turn the DAMN EGGS!”
At this point, the wife starts crying, since she has no idea what to do.
She gasps “What is WRONG with you? I know how to cook eggs.”
The husband simply smiles, remarks “I just wanted to show you what it feels like while I’m driving with you in the car”, and leaves.
I have long stopped using the word “human” in conjunction with those who want to kill hurt or maim people, whether it’s because they have different opinions, are different or because they have something of value.
@Andrew Cranshaw
Cheers, and looks like I’ve a bit of reading to do.
Dipped into about half of it and, despite there being things I didn’t expect (such as that 200 mill figure being in any way real!!), the main conclusion appears to be that the 200 million probably means the club had between 40-50 million available for transfers. That’s about what I’d expect.
We might have had a little more available this time, and would have spent it if we could find the right player/s
Poor old Giroud. A goal in every two matches played, and yet he gets disgustingly abused on social media. I can only hope he doesn’t read them and nobody tells him.
I know for sure Arsene Wenger doesn’t pay any attention to these things.
Thanks for the insight, Walter. Nothing would induce me to dip into this cesspool.
I was just wondering, do these people actually think these things, or are they just saying them to try to lead gullible people by the nose?
Pete
“Tom – no problem!
That is fine – rational suggestions. I like them both too. But would either Kondogbia or Sissoko get into the 1st XI? If so, who would they replace? Even as squad players, would you have them ahead of, say, Wilshere?
You say they offer something different. Under which circumstances would you play them – and, again, instead of who?
Rosicky is not a great example because he hardly plays. Surely not worth spending £23mm to replace Rosicky!”
For starters, I don’t like the idea of Arsenal having a ” first eleven”.
I think all players should fight for their place in the line up.
You can’t get motivated because you have just won the World Cup?
No problem. Grab some bench until you get your motivation back and then we’ll talk.
You don’t want to take antibiotics for your chest infection thus prolonging your absence from Arsenal duties? No problem. Gabriel will fill in for you but I might take a while before you get a game again.
I saw Sissoko bring the ball up field from his own penalty box against Man City, dribbling by and outmuscle four City players in the process including Toure and Fernandinho. There’s not a single Arsenal player who could do that. This ability plus his aerial prowess should put him in contention for a starting role on any giving day but particularly against a heigh pressing team away. E.g. Tottenham away ,when we couldn’t get out of our own half because our passing was poor.
Arsenal are probably one of the more predictable teams in Europe right now and it’s easy to set up against them regardless how talented they are.
Bringing in multidimensional players like Kondogbia or Sissoko would add another dimension to our play and make us more difficult to plan and play against.
Rich… Good points as always but It is just staggering that Arsenal, alone among the teams in Europe’s top leagues, haven’t added an outfield player. Barcelona, unable to sign anyone, managed to do just that, finding players willing to wait until January before playing again.
Even though we expected this outcome, you still shake your head in disbelief. Stories will emerge of nearly men and close run things, of world-class players but it’s smoke and mirrors, spin and arse-covering from a quite simple abject dereliction of duty from the manager, from the board.
Not every player has to be world-class, where did this lie come from? If it genuinely was the case, we wouldn’t have signed Gabriel, Monreal, Koscielny, Giroud, even Cazorla, in the past. We aren’t defending champions, we make no inroads in the Champions League; why would world-class players come to Arsenal if their ambition is to win trophies? If they look at the club, the potential is there but the will to do so?
Look at the players who moved, we’re told, how many of them would you have signed? I’m not interested in the ones who moved, it’s the ones who didn’t that concern me, the ones Arsenal didn’t make deals for. The talent pool isn’t that shallow but the question lingers in the air whether the club’s valuations are realistic. With limited resources to choose from, prices inevitably rise.
De Bruyne for £50m+, Martial for £30m+? Over the top? In your eyes, perhaps but those are the sums paid, those are the market prices. You can’t walk away from the market just because you don’t like paying more money than you think is the value, not when the rewards of an extra place higher in the Premier League, a round or two further in the Champions League can reduce those costs significantly.
But Laen – we do not have the resources. We might be able to buy 1 x De Bruyne which, with wages, would finish off our stash so that we wouldn’t have anything left to pursue a good deal when one became available.
Unfortunately, there were no De Bruynes available in a position where we could do with strengthening.
As others have said, we can not go head to head with City, Utd and Chelsea. We have to do it another way – which is making a marquee signing when we get the opportunity. Not bad really:
– Got Ozil because Real Mad needed to offload him PDQ having bought Bale.
– Got Sanchez because Wenger convinced him that Liverpool and Inter were poorer propositions than Arsenal. For whatever reason, I don’t think the English “Big 3” were interested, nor Bayern and PSG.
– Got Cech because he wanted to stay in London and Abramovitch demonstrated an unexpected charitable streak.
Beyond that, we have to look for bargains (e.g. the players you mention) and develop our own.
Regarding the bargains, Gabriel, Monreal, Koscielny, Giroud were not highly regarded by the media/vocal fans when signed – and even Cazorla was a bit meh. But they are all either now 1st team regulars or on the verge. And I think you have to give Wenger credit for developing them.
But the reason they were signed was because they filled a clearly identified gap. Right now we don’t have those gaps – they HAVE all been filled. Which is why upgrading is so much harder. You could argue striker – well, theoretically (and I did write several weeks ago that I thought that was the only position worth targeting) – but very hard to find anyone at all affordable. I disagree that DM is a weakness. Top class 1st choice and several acceptable, at least, back ups.
Laen – and it is naive to talk about the ones who didn’t move. The three marquee signings we made were all because they were available, as described above. We absolutely do not have the resources to prize away a striker who is an upgrade but not available.
Man Utd couldn’t do it and they were throwing money around like confetti.
As a part of the Wenger out brigade or AAA as you like to put it, I must say that I find the abuse of Wenger and the players disgusting too. It’s completely unnecessary and I do wonder what the players themselves must think reading through it all – no wonder Giroud is suffering from a crisis in confidence. Personally I think Giroud does bring good qualities to the squad and would make an excellent strike partner but feel we’re still missing a top class number 9 ala Suarez and Van Persie. Sanchez has the potential to be that but is more of a wide attacker more than an out and out striker.
I also feel that the transfer market has inflated artificially because of clubs like City and Chelsea paying over the odds in transfer fees and wages because they don’t have the history or heritage to attract them otherwise. £54m for De Bruyne? C’mon! I saw him at the Emirates cup getting schooled by Adelaide. I agree with Wenger in declining to pay £50m for Cavani at 28 although I have no doubt that City and Chelsea would have. However I think that leaving vast sums of money in the bank that depreciates in value versus the inflation of the transfer market is also unwise. Players like Sterling who ridiculously cost £49m now will cost £60 – £75m in 2 or 3 years time and I have no doubt that we will see the first £100m player in this timeframe also.
Players were available that would of improved us at prices that are reasonable by comparison and affordable. Benteke, Vidal, Schneiderlain, Sweinsteiger, Pedro, all better than Giroud, Walcott, Arteta, Flamini and Rosicky in my opinion and we let them go to our rivals.
You also spoke that spending wasn’t the answer and remembered a time of our own coming through like Brady then cited players like Ramsey, Coquelin, Walcott, Gibbs and Zelalem as examples of our academy producing our own – all of these were purchased at some point, they are not true academy players. Only Wilshere recently is a proper school boy academy product.
Le-Grove posed the question today; could there be a reason why we’re not spending the money? Could Kronke take the surplus cash minus operating costs, say £100m for example? Could that happen? Genuine question as an Arsenal fan first, seriously guys? What with the imminent build of a stadium over there can Arsenal be used at leverage in any kind of loan?
I don’t like the abuse and don’t like the state of the transfer market but not spending wisely will leave us behind and not spending at all will be inefficient due to the depreciation of cash versus inflated market rates and at the end of the day, if we don’t keep up and compete financially we will get left behind and will no longer be able to attract or afford the players to catch up again. It could be a vicious circle.
If we do end up winning the league this season which for the record I don’t think we will, please feel free to rub it in my face. I’ll take it gladly as I’m an Arsenal fan, not a Wenger fan. Although again, for the record when he retires I think he should have a statue at the Emirates. The 2 doubles, the invincibles. Enough said.
Bennydevito.
@BennydevitoBen
Laen, there have been times when I have harboured a few doubts about Mr Kronke, maybe I still do. I am not suggesting he has done anything wrong, he hasn’t, but there have been times when maybe Wenger could have maybe done with a little more help from above, and I would apply that to the previous board as well, I may be out of kilter with some on here, but I believe the mask of FFP has suited some agendas.
But those days are gone, I have never heard any recent whispering a that Stan and the board have ever been anything but supportive over some big signings, as well as developing other areas of infrastructure.
The main current gripe is a lack of outfield signings, I would be amazed if Stan either directly, or indirectly commanded thou shalt have no outfield signings. The truth may well be simpler, Wenger may or may not have wanted signings, I for one be live he did, but these players were just not available. We now dine at or near the top table, no point on living off scraps, though I do accept this could backfire on Wenger in the eyes of some.
Rich made some great points. As for Stan, he is not and never will be an abramovich or a city sheikh, that is his perogative. Wenger is not a spend for spends sake. The players who have moved have either been those we don’t need, or have been too much of an expensive gamble, more suited to city.
We may well have a couple hundred mil in the bank, but I would be beyond amazed if this was all set aside for transfers. With an owner who will not contribute, to transfers….rightly or wrongly, it is sensible to build a pot and spend wisely. Things have changed, FFP has been bottled, new TV money means Everton can tell Chelsea to feck off, West Brom can do the same to Spurs.
Whatever the truths, blames or lack of them, let’s just get behind who we have, and hope our new medics and facilities reduce the injuries.
As rich says, we have more in common with Spurs and Liverpool than the oilers in the way we are financed. The breakdown of FFP will not help us, let’s judge Wenger accordingly, he isn’t doing a bad job on those or any other terms.
The future, massive transfer inflation. Invest in youth and the academy, produce our own players. Again, Wenger can be quite good at this.
I wownder why some of this so called fans claim to support Arsenal.
bennydevito
Good stuff. I’m an Arsenal fan, not a Wenger fan as well. Used to be both, but just couldn’t live in the past any longer. Never in danger of being an AA member, yet now a thoroughbred AAA. How tragic is that?
Good job Walter calling out some of these disgusting posters online.
For those saying we didn’t sign any outfield players, please write down and remember the names of Jeff Reine Adelaide and Yassin Fortune.
If you said there is 200 million in Arsenal’s reserves, can you also mention how much is in the reserves of City, Chelsea, and United? I don’t ever really see or hear that reported. So it’s basically 200 million vs infinity, I wonder who has the better chance of signing players during a window.
The grass is not always greener on the other side. This squad is one of the most talented teams in the league, now that the transfer window is over, everyone can either
A) Support the team for the rest of the season
B) pointlessly continue complaining about a closed transfer window
C) support another club
If you choose option B or C, please do not refer to yourself as an Arsenal supporter because you are literally going against the definition of supporter.
Bennydevito – constructive, reasoned post – thank you.
Fair point re effective depreciation of cash due to transfer fee inflation. But can we assume this will continue indefinitely against a background of a stuttering global economy?
The players you suggest could be upgraded on are all squad players, with the exception of Giroud. I do not think it wise to spend £30mm odd on a squad player. The only out and out striker you name is Benteke. I personally do not think that Benteke is an upgrade on Giroud, although is younger. Ultimately, I think we can and should be able to do better than that. I think Pedro would add something to our 1st team – but only a little, perhaps coming in wide-right instead of the Ox/Ramsey.
It is a fair question to ask re money being taken out. But I think it is unlikely. If it did happen then my view of Stan would transform in an instant.
And Arsenal have not been making significant profits in recent times. It is a fantasy to think there is vast amounts of available money sloshing around. Most of it reflects the recent payment of season ticket money (say £70mm) plus more held in reserves to service the (still significant) debt on the stadium.
Dieter – yes, it is tragic! The current squad is our best since the Invincibles – it is very sad if you can’t enjoy it.
A bus full of passengers was traveling while suddenly the weather changed and there was a huge downpour and lightening all around.
They could see that the lightening would appear to come towards the bus and then go elsewhere.
After 2 or 3 horrible instances of being saved from lightening, the driver stopped the bus about fifty feet away from a tree and said – “We have somebody in the bus whose death is a certainty today. Because of that person everybody else will also get killed today.”
” Now listen carefully what I am saying ..
I want each person to come out of bus one by one and touch the tree trunk and come back.
Whom so ever death is certain will get caught up by the lightening and will die & everybody else will be saved”.
They had to force the 1st person to go and touch the tree and come back.
He reluctantly got down from the bus and went and touched the tree.
His heart leaped with joy when nothing happened and he was still alive.
This continued for rest of the passengers who were all relieved when they touched the tree and nothing happened.
When the last passenger’s turn came, everybody looked at him with accusing eyes.
That passenger was very afraid and reluctant since he was the only one left.
Everybody forced him to get down and go and touch the tree.
With a 100% fear of death in mind, the last passenger walked to the tree and touched it.
There was a huge sound of thunder and the lightening came down and hit the bus – yes the lightening hit the bus, and killed each and every passenger inside the bus.
It was because of the presence of this last passenger that, earlier,the entire bus was safe and the lightening could not strike the bus.
LIFE LEARNING from this..
At times, we try to take credit for our present achievements, but this could also be because of a person right next to us.
Look around you – Probably someone is there around you, in the form of Your Parents, Your Spouse, Your Children, Your Siblings, Your friends, etc, who are saving you from harm..!
Think About it..
You will surely find that Person..!!
Walter – excellent article about this madness!!!
We play Olympiakos in CL; they have (arguably) one of Europes’ most fanatic fan base. I have lived with listening to them blab on for decades !!!
However, NO MATTER what, they never turn on to one another…NEVER…they.
This unification as a fan base gives their team much strength.
At times I wish we had this unification, instead of this divide which at times hits peaks of hate! THIS MUST STOP!
This continuous hounding of our manager and players surely is of no benefit to anyone bar the MEDIA…can’t we see that??
What would the media do if we as fans were united and stood by our club and supported/trusted in the management (whom I have no doubt are only doing things for the sole benefit of the club LONG TERM)?!!! They would have nothing to propagate.
The media ‘feed’ off of our weaknesses…and then add their two cents worth to make headlines – which ultimately affects our unification further!
Provokatsiya = Media (provocateurs flip legitimate activists (supporters), turning them to their side.
@ apo Armani – Don’t be too overtly perturbed by the media or the so called fans . Just choose to ignore them , relax and take the chill pill ! And remember….
“Stress makes you believe that everything has to happen now .Faith reminds you that everything happens in God’s perfect timing .”
From – TheLordMyShepard
@Brickfields Gunners
Ohhh don’t worry buddy…I am chill…and stress is not in my daily routine 🙂 🙂
Mandy, agree with you to a extent but if you look at last season’s champions, they finished a dozen points ahead of Arsenal. Already City are five better off; the pressure is on. Pre-season bullishness evaporated after the home defeat to West Ham and being overwhelmed by a distinctly average Liverpool side in the first half, certainly didn’t help Arsenal’s cause. Each failure now is going to be analysed to death, returning always to the failure to strengthen the squad. Each dropped point will re-affirm Gary Neville’s underlying point that the squad isn’t good enough to win the league.
The only answer to that, as ever, is to top the Premier League at the season’s end.
And what of these cash reserves that Arsenal now hold, where will this money be invested? Will it be held for January? How will it be any easier to sign players then? Held for next summer, one when major international tournaments are taking place, when by Wenger’s own admission, he finds it hard enough to sign players anyway?
I wonder if KSE took any more money from the club in the last financial year? They can spend on themselves but not on the business’ key assets, players? It will either be brave or stupid to increase ticket prices on the back of this summer. Indeed, with money to spare and an inability to put it to use on the pitch, there is a strong argument for Arsenal to reduce ticket prices next season, not letting the money sit idly in the bank.
It was a staggering transfer window. Does Arsenal possess a cohesive transfer strategy? It certainly doesn’t seem that way, there’s no evidence to suggest one exists. And as always, a lot of questions to be answered.
Off topic but heres our named CL squad:
Goalkeepers: Ospina, Cech, Macey.
Defenders: Debuchy, Gibbs, Mertesacker, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal, Chambers.
Midfielders: Rosicky, Arteta, Wilshere, Özil, Ramsey, Cazorla, Flamini, Coquelin, Reine-Adelaide.
Forwards: Giroud, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez, Welbeck, Campbell.
I see Welbeck is out until Christmas.
So we have our first outfield player signing of the January transfer window already in the bag as a Player returning from injury is as good as a new signing. Time to stop the negativity and celebrate what is great about our club.