Guest Post – The View from Auchterchoochty – Part 2
Jan 31st, 2013 by 'holic
As the remaining hours of this transfer window come to a frantic close it is time for the follow-up piece from Bergkamp the Man. More Orwellian than I have heard him before, and a more interesting read because of that. If his Part 1 on Monday evening is anything to go by, I know we can expect a lively response in the drinks. Thanks BtM.
As Adam Smith’s wooly bugger landed softly on the silken surface of the Calsay Burn in pursuit of trout, he felt an immediate flash of silver and a simultaneous tug of gray.
The gray matter comprising his small-planet-sized brain, just couldn’t let Deloitte’s Football League data rest. “How could it be that two teams (Citeh and Chel$ki), that had earned less silver than their peers, were more successful in winning trophies?” he pondered. Something was most definitely amiss. This phenomenon was completely out of kilter with ALL of the economic fundamentals he’d laid out clearly and simply in “The Wealth of Nations”. Something or somebody was corrupting the sensitive balance of the economic universe. Who or what could that wooly bugger be?
Smith laid down his rod and sauntered back to the Boar’s Head saloon. His neurons began to spark as he commenced a deep delve. The Deloitte’s top line revenue numbers were condemning in themselves. Citeh only realized 163M, (over 200M less than their Mancunian neighbours). But much worse, when Smith delved all the way down to their bottom line, (Deloitte’s revenue number less all of Citeh’s costs), he found a dirty great big negative turd of a number! A stinkin’, bealin’, steamin’, coo turd. A 480M euro loss on one single year of trading. “That is definitely not sustainable. That enterprise is going to go the way of auld Angus Macdougall’s porridge oats factory – right doon the gurgler and straight into the River Swanny.”
His delve into Chel$ki’s numbers revealed very similar peculiarities. He laughed out loud over one of the comments he read when, after Chel$ki had stated that their 600M euro debt had been restructured to zero overnight, his fellow economist Arsene Wenger, had retorted “Ah, now we live in times of economic miracles, of-course.” Thought Smith “Something damned fishy is going on here that makes nae sense whitsoever and has nothing tae dae wi’ guid economics”
And he was absolutely right. It is stated quite clearly in The Wealth of Nations (honest, it is), that football success is driven purely and simply by economic strength. That strength transcends, by the length of a Poldi pile-driver, the quality of the product on the playing field in terms of importance to trophy success. Economic strength enables the fittest financially to:
1. Attract the best players in the world. And then,
2. Retain these self same best players in the world. The game is, quite frankly, as simple as that. Just ask The Famous Red Grouse, Auld Purple Nose of Dunfermline Toon fame. HE read The Wealth of Nations as a laddie and has sworn by it since. All you need is the money and that comes from i) Matchday ii) Broadcasting iii) Commercial (Sponsorships).
“But it still doesn’t add up!” Cursed Smith. “Neither Citeh nor Chel$ki are fittest financially. In fact, having lost 480M, Citeh are the weakest in the entire league, but still they won it. Whit is the root cause of this economic hokey-pokey, be damned? Neither of these two teams is playing according to the same economic standards as a’ the rest. Wha’s the financial fiddler and wha’s callin’ his tunes”
The root of Citeh’s hokey-pokey lies deep in the earth of a massive lake of hydrocarbons formed over millennia by the death of more dinosaurs than you can count; Chel$ki’s – in grand larceny, Russian style. Quite simply, these two clubs compete on a completely different basis than nearly every other in the Premier League. Both are a million miles away from the sound financial foundations under-pinning Arsenal’s long-term sustainability. They are subject to the whims of a Russian Oligarch and an Abu Dhabi oil sheik whose money would be better served addressing some of the woes of the people in his home state.
That’s fine fuss and bother, but it’s a temporary thing, right? It’ll pass? These sugar daddies will lose interest and sail off into the sunset on their yachts to Indonesia? Normal service will be resumed and all Arsenal has to do in the meantime is “Spend some flipping money” and all will be good again. Like us fans have been saying all along.
Let’s get real. This is no temporary event. This is no glimpse of a gray ghost of Adam Smith flashing transiently over the quicksilver in a mirror. This, most certainly, in Citeh’s case anyway, is for the very long term. That’s what Arab culture does. That’s what it’s about – long term relationships and commitments. If they wish to do so, Manchester City, with the unlimited resources at their disposal, can become over time, the leading global brand, the predominant force in world football. Noel Gallagher – sing your heart out, morning glory.
And you know what the funny thing is? Eventually, that machine will become less reliant on the Milk Shake of Abu Dhabi’s oil dollars. The game is becoming the globe’s leading sport. The population of the planet continues to explode to provide more young brains to be manipulated and painted light blue. Citeh, in the very long term, may even become a self-sustaining business that can qualify for the CL finals, with one magnificent manager for 15 seasons in a row, emulating the feats of the single team on the planet EVER to achieve this feat.
Realistically, can Arsenal compete with Citeh? Not really. Not on this basis. Over the long term, if this economic imbalance continues (and FFP will NOT cause the playing field to level, I promise you that), Citeh will prevail, prosper and become kings of the football universe. They will attract a more able manager (imagine the consequences of Arsene Wenger being there now!) and, eventually, the global superstars will be attracted there and will be retained there (as it is written in “The Wealth”).
Is Arsenal “Doooooomed” then, as so many proclaim? Most definitely Arsenal is not. The future is there for the grasping – but the club is certainly more challenged now than previously. The BPL has fragmented into three bands:
1. Those prepared to buy trophies as baubles for their trees – Citeh, Chel$ki.
2. Those who can compete on a self-sustaining basis, Arsenal and Manure.
3. The rest (with cameos of the characteristics of the two groups above from the likes of Liverpool, Villa, Spuds)
Manure are showing Arsenal’s business bods how to build the yellow brick road toward success in Oz. But sadly, ours are no wizards. This is absolutely about being better in the commercial game to provide REAL wherewithal to “spend some flipping money.” Astute business brains, a growing global market, and the developing world, hold a key that is even more golden than Jack Wilshere’s left foot. Quite simply, unless that key is forged and turned to open the door to future wealth, Super Jack will NOT be playing at Arsenal in five years time – he’ll be earning Van Persie money at Middle Eastlands.
Commercial, Broadcasting and Matchday are the three revenue avenues. Arsenal is now competitive on Matchday income, but the likelihood of improving there is slim (reference the call for lower ticket prices). A doubling, at least, of Arsenal’s sponsorship income is a must.
GAME ON, Ivan Gazidis. Give me a call if you need some help, Oh yes, and take a quick flip through the days of Fife Enlightenment via Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations. It’s a magnificent read and I’m nearly at the end of chapter one………….zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
295 Responses to “Guest Post – The View from Auchterchoochty – Part 2”
First? Third?
I have not the clue
Top 4
Fair enough, BTM. Thoughtful stuff, with hints of poetry. 😉
Pint o plain, if you’d like. Cheers.
KowChinBaz, Lurky- “Everybody has won and all must have prizes!”
Heh, not the best day to publish this article.
I see Snir is in full flow, but has the show relocated to this channel?
I also need to know if I can take a breather and get some food.
Is there an ad break?
Oh BTM, Must read your post just a couple more times. Drinking some red has jumbled me thoughts 🙂
Unnamed club triggered Diame’s release clause.
BtM, great post. At last, someone with an actual, feasible, answer.
COYG
I see the show is back on after a break. Still haven’t eaten. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!
BTM, #1 I thought Manu had money problems, no? I know their brand is recognized around the world but…# 2 Arsene and Jack don’t have money as their incentives (loyalty) #3 Signing ‘marquee’ players doesn’t always pan out. #4 Apparently Arsenal has been quietly working to obtain the services of Nacho for quite some time. My point here is that AW didn’t succumb to panic buying. #5 Most important (to me) is that we have a group of talented lads, none who are labeled as serial cheaters and racists. Character #1 🙂
Fine work Btm. there is a dearth of sensible analysis of football finance but your segmentation is spot on. A few weeks ago I created a bit of a furore on here by suggesting most Arsenal fans would choose Usmanov to run the club rather than Kroenke, Frankly I think the best solution would be neither andt would be wonderful if we could compete just on our own resources by good husbandry and slick and professional revenue generation. For that to happen Ivan and his crew have to substantially up their game as you say.
There are many traditionalists who will regret the fact that the game is all about money nowadays. Actually it is still a wonderful game and a consuming interest but you need real money to compete and we need to increase our income substantially. And with creativity and good marketing it is feasible..Some of our commercial efforts eg,Arsenal TV have not been stellar . United are the benchmark but we have massive global reach and need to leverage it intelligently, We need this because those who espouse FFP will never be brave enough to take on the global powerhouses like Barca and Citeh.I hope your work gets the consideration it deserves
nurse, if manu really had money problems, the skunk would be playing in sky blue. and in five years, if le arse hasn’t gotten its thumb out re commercial revenues, no amount of loyalty is going to keep players…
ABB @ 11.
Spot fucking on.
My bottley of Tully is yours. Treat her kindly.
*passes ‘holic the rogue letter ‘l’ that had fallen from the word woolly in the first line*
and waves.
Tremendous post from BtM. Required reading.
Great stuff also from abb.
Love this bar – quality of Arsenal discussion is unmatched.
now they’re saying no diame bid today. snir?
Afobe back at Arsenal.
@jsullivanwhu: Contrary to reports there has been no bid for Diame today from anybody. #COYI #WHU #whufc
The owner’s son
Afobe is back from Bolton, 4 months earlier then he was supposed to.
Our attempts to sign any striker(s) have failed.
However signing CB and GK is still on.
Gosh, Thanks Homer and N7. Your kind words mean the world to me.
Disclaimer: I do not believe that the quotes in my final sentence are from TTG and I do not seek to suggest that he has ever uttered such suggestions. I regret that I cannot think of a way to make my point without leaving open that possible misinterpretation.
TTG@12: You did indeed provoke a furore. I’m not sure you would have done so had you explained your position as fully as you do above. We agree on all points. Do you, or anyone else, have any suggestions as to how we can improve the Arsenal’s performance in this area? I don’t think that standing in the corner, screaming “Gazidis is sh*t” and “Spend some f*cking money” will do it, somehow.
Hello Mrs. They have a national shortage of l’s in Scotland. Something to do with devolution I think.
See you Saturday, I hope 😉
Lurky, where’d you hear the Villa deal dead?
Shotgun????? Check.
Cartridges?????? Check.
Now so see what the States side Rob Roy has served up for us this time. Brace yourselves, I’m going in.
@RafaelH117: Manchester City offered 17m pounds for David Villa today, and Arsenal 12m, but were rejected. [Sport]
Capoue news!
Suspended for one game.
Like Erykah Badu, I got your back.
@BenSmithBBC: As many are saying, Leandro Damiao will NOT join Spurs today. Talks took place but asking price too high. One for the summer.
Ollie don’t do that to me!!! 😉
I see Rory Delap left the storcs. Who else will have a towel sewn into his shirt this weekend?
I really hope we put a serious bid for him in the summer, Snir 🙂
Nacho Contreras…No, Nacho Gonzales…No,no, Nacho Nadividad…No,no,no, Nacho Nada…Yes, that’s the one.
As far as I have experienced, Madrid is not particularly warm in the winter.
Why the fuck are they having a Cup game kick off at 10pm?
And on a Thursday evening. On Transfer Deadline Day?
Bizarre.
Ollie@34,
Because the TV networks told them to.
Cheers BtM. Will read and digest as soon as the transfer madness ends.
NorCal. Good point, this is no doubt the correct answer.
Oxon- greetings! My comment was that I believe the majority of Arsenal fans would currently prefer Usmanov as owner to Kroenke . But if we could develop a sustainable model of the calibre of United that is the honest and most satisfying way. Personally I am not happy that my beloved club is a potential cash cow for a disinterested Yank absentee landlord. Btm’s excellent piece creates a vision of what could be achieved if we really got our merchandising and marketing act together.
Tonight’s supermarket sweep ( if indeed we are trying to sign players ) is so unnecessary and unWengerlike. The window has been open for a month!
BtM, very good stuff. I think FFP will have some effect, but it won’t level the playing field on its own.
Another fine piece my wee erudite friend, and so apt on this day of days!
75 mins to go of winter SDD!
Snir, any news?
DapperDan@40 “S*dding Deadline Day”?
I reckon that’s yer lot.
My main hope now is that the LWCs don’t sign anyone.
TTG@38, and greetings to you too. That would indeed be the ideal solution. Here’s hoping…
BTM,
A wonderful post. The insight about the long term vision of the Arabic project at Eastlands is most interesting and not something I feel that many people have grasped yet. Without sounding too smaltzy – the blog is lucky to have contributors like you and I for one am thoroughly grateful for that..!
Lars,
Just to follow up from the previous thread, I see the point you make about potentially using Santos in an attacking role as a left winger. But I respectfully don’t agree. I just think he was signed as back-up left back and he’s been a disaster. We may have tried him out on the wing to see how he got on – but that was never the intention at the outset, in much the same way for example that Eboue went from right back to right wing – without any real success for all his efforts. I just feel that Santos is a player that is so far out of his depth that the situation now is comical.
So if we had planned for bringing Nacho in, then to my mind, there is no way we would have wanted Santos on the wage bill as well. Ideally he’d have moved on by now. But because that has not happened and because Gibbs is now injured, we are now left with the possibility of playing Santos or playing Vermy at left full, something which I believe Vermy is not too comfortable with. So what have we done? We’ve decided to buy Nacho anyway. We now have 3 left backs on the books. What it really reflects is that we’d rather suffer the cost of having another left back rather than ever having to rely on Santos again. It’s as close to an admission as we’re ever likely to get, that Andre Santos has been one colossal mistake.
Tabs,
Thanks for your response previously.
While I think we both agree on the potential rotation of Jenks / Sagna – and the obvious logic to that, do you think that Jenks has the right stuff to make the right back slot his own for the future?
@ 38 – being a Yank myself I can totally understand how they do, as general matter, tend to irritate to no end. you should meet my relatives!
Consider, however, the relative meerits of a disinterested owner and a meddling fool of an owner (exhibit 1 is roman abramowich). And, as I understand, silent stan hardly needs the money, he being one of the richest (or at least, richer) men alive.
anyhoo, knowing only what I read about usmanov, he appears to no more the blackhearted villan than the average billionaire. Right, ‘cept course for all the stories of corruption, graft, and human rights violations. i hear also that he prefers licoriche flavored twizzlers as well, surely the mark of a bad guy. But, i digress ….
And I am surely not in the so-called majority of fans eager for unsmanov to come in and … well, do what no one really knows. That, however, is surely a discussion for another day.
We’ve lost Snir.
Nice post BTM, i must say i’ve never thought about City becoming self sustaining in the long run, i hope that day never comes though.
I have to admit, all, that I really believed we’d sign DV. I thought Wenger was up to games and that we’d pull this one off, give us an added edge going over the next few months. Sorely disappointed, though I know I shouldn’t have believed it at all.
Right, that’s it, I’m off. G’night all, fingers crossed I’ll wake up to some confirmed good news.
COYG
Well I do believe there was serious interest in Villa from our side pires, but I would not be surprised if Barca pulled a dick move and did not sell just for the sake of it, despite players own desire to leave.
Oxon @40,
Precisely! One more “s*dding” acquisition of quality and I’ll be contented!
No Villa? That’s why we recalled Afobe obviously… 8) … 🙁 … 😐
But if we get Nacho Monreal, I’ll be a content gooner this Transfer Window. I’d love to see him live in the FA Cup vs Blackburn, especially since we’ve got Bayern the Tuesday after and he’s cup-tied for the UCL, he’d 100% play as long as he didn’t get injured.
No news.
It seems like we’re done (after Monreal, who will reportedly sign a 60k week contract).
Santos could go to Turkey tomorrow, their deadline is tomorrow.
As for strikers, I know people want a lot of top strikers in the squad but Dortmund only have one top CF in Lewandowski.
Just saying.
Fair enough Snir. I don’t dislike our Plan A at the moment. That instead of a Plan B we have an AA… yikes. 🙁
Half an hour of the transfer window remains and Snir gives up?!?
We want our Snir back.
I’ll actually say that Girlud is both a plan A and B.
Plan A with his combinations, Plan B with his potential to score via crosses when dealing with a compact defense.
25 mins to go and still no confirmation. Surely we can’t fuck this up now???????;
I meant Plan B Giroud injured.
Steve, don’t worry. The midnight (well 11pm for you) deadline is never very final as far as news are concerned.
Information still trickles through during the night and sometimes until the next midday.
Go to sleep and check again tomorrow.
I think that’s what I’ll do anyway.
Need to reply to your e-mail, but if it’s still valid I think I’ll take you up on the Cup offer too 😉
Goodnight all.
Injuries, pik? Never for us, right? Oooooooooooooh. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. Doomed.
(but I think in that case plan B is Theo (or Poldi?) up front.
Oh, and Gervinho, who’s been getting rave reviews at the ACN so far (but will probably come back a wreck as soon as he sets foot on English pitches). Doomed, I said.
The people that work on the .com just enjoy trolling us don’t they? They won’t announce anything till five minutes before midnight.
Go to sleep Ollie. I’ve only just this second opened a cheeky bottle of red.
Cent62 🙂 Goodnight Ollie, all! 😉
Nice pik 🙂
Good to see you after so long anyway.
Seriously, Twitter at this moment is just one huge mass psychosis. People are going into full meltdown, I seriously think that even if we had bought Messi people would still have moaned that we haven’t bought Diame.
And what the fuck is up with all these wankers who are so desperate to get their ugly mugs on the telly that they stand around the SSN reporters outside the training grounds?
While we are approaching the end of the deadline, it is worth noting that all paperwork does NOT have to be done before the deadline. As long as the clubs have agreed a fee, they can send in a certificate that says that they have agreed a fee and then the buying club and the player have some time to work on the personal terms and do medicals and stuff – can’t remember how long but I think it is 24 hours.
You too Wind! Lars, don’t you know the f*cking world could end, mate!?!? We haven’t traded Santos yet!!!
Night*
When Gibbs is fit he could play left wing, with Nacho at full back, and Poldi in the middle, as an alternative to Giroud.
As Snir said, Giroud doing pretty well all round at the moment.
Is Tim’s grandma limbering up? We may yet need her.
Last tidbit, n I’m out. The Ox is hilarious:
http://hereisthecity.com/2013/01/31/alex-oxlade-chamberlain-mocks-odemwingie-on-twitter/
Nacho is done.
Sorry pik, forgot that!
Oh, and by the way – we haven’t seen you here in a long while, welcome back!
Very disappointed that we haven’t done something, even a loan, to get an experienced keeper in.
Niall Quinn saying Arsenal fans would have wanted to see Arsene Wenger go after Samba.
Oh dear, oh dear.
I think I’ll give this a rest now and go to bed.
Goodnight PiK, Wind and Ollie, i will just hang around the bar for a wee bit longer.
Lars, moaners will always moan.
Goodnight to you too Lars.
its on .COM!!! 😀
Am I the only one who thinks that we actually have slightly weaker squad than January 01? Number wise for sure, quality wise, maybe.
Giroud injury away from playing Spain or Barca 4-6-0 formation.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/nacho-monreal-agrees-to-join-arsenal
Wind,
Good evening my friend. I just saw the dot con too.
Cheers
Don’t think we did enough in this window. Needed to do more.
Lets get behind the lads and push for CL spot.
In case Giroud and Theo are injured, AW to play Monreal at LB, Gibbs on the wing and Poldi up front?
According to Wikipedia he only played 2 games this season?
I just can’t wait to see what people will be saying in three weeks time when we catch up with Spurs 🙂
Hang on according to .com “the is subject to the completion of formal registration processes” it not done yet then. Wagner out! Usmanov in!! Owen Coyle for manager, goodnight you beautiful people.
Lurky,
After last night I would happily see us play a 1-0-5-5 formation.
Let’s just not bother with a back line at all. 😉
Evening NorCal 🙂 I’m just happy we signed someone, condensed the entire January Window into 1 day of excitement 😛
And hopefully I’ll get to see him live vs Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup, until Gibbs comes on at 65 mins to give him a run-out in preparation for the Bayern game on Tuesday, I hope to see our young Englishman at LB if possible on Tuesday down our left wings, because I don’t feel confident about Vermaelen at LB against serious opposition, and even less so about Santos… :/
Snir @84,
Did you see my @71 ? 😉
No I didn’t Trev, sorry!
I think that’s a very good option especially with the understanding between Gibbo and Poldi, and Santi and Poldi.
ATG – that’s wrong.
Snir I bloody hope so 🙂
Trev, please I feel to sick in my stomach to laugh 🙂
And you have a goalie in there. I would bring a 0-1-5-5 system. And that one at the back should be Gervais, rotating with Arshavin when injured.
Arthur, Wiki is not a source. Have a decent one
http://www.whoscored.com/Players/23072/Fixtures/Nacho-Monreal
Is he eligible to play CL?
LO
Thanks for the link
No he isn’t.
Quietly pleased here.
One more signing than I had anticipated.
Never seen this Chap play, but reports sound good.
ATG,
He played in a couple CL games for Malaga so he is cup tied there.
Fingers crossed for Gibbs to really be back by then. Otherwise we are looking at Vermaelen or santos against Robben. Not a great choice.
Nacho ordinary cross. This one actually beats the first defender and hits….
LURKS
16 games in La Liga this season, 3 times man of the match. Not bad for a LB.
Who’s LURKs?
Did we sign someone else?
Nice finish. Is he from Finland?
And I liked both parts of your post BtM, could read the Scottish in them quite well as well! 🙂
Sorry peeps, I just checked in after my darts game, I think we won because we drunk a shit load more then the other team did……… Well them’s the rulz as I see it.
Look forward to catching up on St Snirs Day and the post from the most honourable BtM tomorrow.
Good night and god bless.
Nacho will be eligible for the CL when we beat Bayern.
Poldolski will have to be the 2nd striker for when Giroud gets bored of scoring and Gervinho, Theo, Ox and yes even Arshavin to play on the flanks then.
God help Wenger if we’ve fucked things up come May. I do hope that Yanga-Mbia the geordies signed doesnt turn out to be a top signing.
Well in H2H.
Joe @45 – Your guess is as good as mine re Jenks. Always think it’s crazy to predict whether a young player will come through and make a position his own. So many things can happen to interrupt or change the course of a career. I certainly like him, and think he has the potential to do well. One thing I think that we can say with certainty is that if Jenks doesn’t make it, it won’t be for want of trying.
It doesn’t begin to address the range of problems in the squad but he sounds a very good player and he will be made very welcome at THOF.This is a window where we have a net deficit on fees but have probably saved £3 million plus in wages.
Well, I hoped Nacho’s were just the appetizer. But that’s me wishing, I know. Glad we made a signing that I think gives us some of that depth we need. I am also of the belief that Gibbs can play on the flank in front of Monreal. He is actually quite good at beating the first man this year and was a wing player early in his career. We know he has the motor to get up and down the flank.
So much for the mountains of speculation … one signing of a player no-one mentioned (probably because they’d never heard of him before), in a position only considered a priority yesterday!
That’s not to say there won’t be further good news as AW has a habit of announcing hours after we’ve given up hope. Diame? Still time too for Mansewer to announce DV as an addition to their striker line-up. 🙁
Oh well, we have the summer transfer window to look forward to. And 4th place to secure before that. Maybe 3rd again…?
Oskar
I must say that I sit here totally deflated and wholly under whelmed by the whole thing. Our need for quality additions has never been more apparent in my humble opinion. We have managed to sign one player. A left back with seconds to go. I will confess to knowing virtually nothing about him. I had never even heard of him until today. Everything I have heard is favourable and very positive. I hope he settles as quickly as Santi has. I can actually see Gibbs playing in front of him on the left and just behind Poldi. Time will tell I guess.
It leaves me with one question. If Gibbs had not pulled up lame last night would we have pushed this through today???? My guess is probably not. So what is actually going on at manager and board level I really do have no idea.
So why have we not signed the players we need???? Quite frankly I have no idea. The club employs God Knows how many people on the scouting front, it pays the manager as much as almost any other manager and we have a handsomely rewarded board. Somehow, between them they do not seem to have identified one player that would improve the squad? If that is the case then what the fuck do they actually do???? I wish I had their job. I could do with the rest.
So where does that leave us? It leaves us 6th with 14 games to play. It leaves us 4 points off 4th and 8 off 3rd. We have a young keeper that is prone to making some poor decisions. We still have no experienced back up. We have a defence that is about as stable as a Glasgow drunk stumbling home after a 12 hour drinking binge and a deep fried mars bar. We all know that we are just one basic error away from chaos. We still have no holding type player in midfield. An Alex Song but with discipline to play in the position he is allotted without drifting off. But the biggest crime for me is that we will again have no striking option on the bench should Ollie G play. That I find truly bizarre. Especially when we have 3 international strikers out on loan.
The club have probably made the biggest gamble since AW took over. Top 4 will be a tough ask. It is more than achievable but is no way a given. The general feeling I have picked up is to expect us to make major signings in the summer. Were we not told by Le Boss himself that he expected to be busy in January? Do you remember just before Euro 2008 that AW said he was going armed with his chequebook? The fact that we have not addressed any of the weaknesses and effectively made one panic buy because of the Gibbs injury I just do not understand. If we finish out of the top 4 how many of these “summer targets” will want Champions League and go elsewhere? How many of they do sign will have agents demanding higher wages if we do not have Champions League football to offer them? How many in pastures far away will be interested in supporting the might Arsenal then? How many perspective sponsorship deals will fall in value?
Obviously there is no guarantee that any new signings will bring success. But with the so called football brains at the club you would hope that educated decisions would be made.
14 crucial league games to go. The atmosphere at the Grove this season at times has been on a knife edge. If we fail to get into the top four then there will be mass disharmony, especially when by then there will be an estimated £100 million sat in the Arsenal bank volts. For me it is one massive gamble. It is a gamble that I have no idea why we have taken. It is a gamble that if it fails could well be the last one that certain board members take. Dare I say it but if it goes wrong it could be the last one the Manager takes. That would be a massive shame after his achievements and efforts at this great club of ours. I just hope they all know what they are doing.
Can I just confirm before writing a detailed account of how our new left-back will fit in….
that I have never seen or heard of him.
Don’t want argumentative fuckers to think I am ITK on this bugger…
People moaning about having to play Santos in the CL game, but I think Coquelin has played really well there before and should definitely be in contention for a start if Gibbs is still out.
Hopefully Gervinho will come back from Africa like a new player, fingers crossed its a 26 year old Samuel Eto’o.
All these summer targets have presumedly been forced into making pinky promises about signing for us in June no matter what happens between now and then.
I think we can stuff Blackburn, bayern and catch the chavs.
Why not?
Feel very depressed after reading Steve T’s post.
Erm, thanks!
Pinky promises…….oh, in that case I feel better. 😉
Norris. If Gervinho returned as a 36 year old Samuel Eto’o it would be a marked improvement in my opinion.
Norris,
I would agree but Coquelin is injured.
Bayern is only 19 days away and Coquelin was injured 2 weeks ago and will be out for three-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee weeks.
Should be back for the FA Cup final.
Back from a nod, Steve T your sobering analysis is well, just that. I think you’ve touched on exactly the issue- why are we gambling at such risky odds? Of course not all signings work out, Arsene, but why refuse to invest? Santi was a great pick, and Monreal looks to be, but all our scouting efforts of late to find Joel Campell, Ryo, Squillaci, Park, Wellington… with money in the bank, something is deeply wrong. (Arteta and Giroud were hardly ‘scouted’…)
I admire faith in a squad as I do believe that psychology and self-belief play very important roles at this level, but so many years of an odd restraint, especially now… somehow the stadium shift seems less likely to be the cause than we might be led to believe.
Until later, up the Gunners.
Steve@115- Ha! Fuck all… 🙁
Haha! And there was me thinking it was an earth 3 weeks and not a Saturn 3 weeks. In that case…..
We are doooooomed!
I think IF Gervinho is played out wide, he can cause all kinds of damage…. and some of it to the opposition as well.
Norris,
Please stop. “Like a new player”. Aaaarrrgghhhhhh.
Sorry Oxon.
Bed for me. Good luck with the technical analysis Holic.
I want to know all about Nachos by tomorrow. 😉
He could be a new golden wonder boy. 😉
Trev
Have you been taking what I’m saying at all seriously?
Do me a quaver.
I’ll ask Wolfie if you can have his cheesy whatsit. 😉
Steve T,
Have a drink on me, sir. A few days ago, I was part of the argument that we are not doing what will make us the best we can be. In the following two days we drew with liverpoo secondary to our customary defending, we lost our best fullback to the dreaded ” 3 weeks”, and signed a quick replacement because his backup is in no better shape than me. A few weeks ago we had a bench against Chelski that consisted of players who rarely or never play. We still have no real impact sub as evidenced by the fact that none even entered the pitch last night. So, I agree that a run for the 4th place trophy is now a real dog fight. The tiny tots may implode but Everton have the credentials to push us right out.
I too hope this is not true but we could have done better.
That is my pessimism for tonight. Lets hope it is the pessimism for the year.
Cheers
Really enjoyed your guest posts BtM. Thank you.
BtM, sincere apologies. Your epic mini series deserved far more from me than my rant at the lack of transfer activity. The first round (despite the fact that you are very much in deficit) and the largest haddock in the shop are on me next time you are over.
🙂
It’s clear that on the income front commercials is where Arsenal could do most to improve.
And it’s also clear that on field success = a greater chance of commercial success.
If the significant narrative surrounding a club was say one of top-player selling, trophyless, also-ran decline it would be a real tough ask to sell that club to new fans, in new markets – especially if there were similar, but more glamourous and successful “product” available in the same market, being marketed every bit as aggressively.
And presumably manku’s commercial success is driven in large part by their success on the pitch.
Glad we got a new FB though
Looking at the remaining schedules for us, spuds and Everton we have the easiest left but that requires us to beat both off them and not cock up any ” easy” games. Is it doable? Absolutely. Would I bet an order of nachos on it….. Eh, maybe.
Lets go lads. Make a real run!
I’m as schizo as an Andy G.
I need a drink. Barkeep!!
As predicted by AW. We sign Theo. we bring in two. Theo re-signs. Nacho arrives and then, best of all BERGKAMP IS BACK! Fabulous window. 🙂
And Lester, hold these thoughts.
Steve, in deficit? Moi?
Holic, what was that you were saying about Mr T and his counting?
Btm, I hope he is bringing his boots?????
Jack not with us in 5 years, BtM? I think he will be. I think he’s a true arse of the first water who will always put HIS club before gold. They still exist you know, one-club players, even today. For example, Stevie Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Matt Le Tissier, Ledley King, Tony Hibbert and our own Tony Adams, just a few of recent memory. And many of England’s finest from the past were one-club men … Billy Wright, Tom Finney, Nat Lofthouse, Stan Cullis … the full list, which I found on Wiki, might surprise you.
You’ll find it here … http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_one-club_men#Playing_and_post-playing_careers … I’ve only mentioned English players, btw, so many more from other countries. And note the criteria for the list, which doesn’t include players loaned out or who played a single day with another club.
I believe Jack is Arsenal through and through, and if management is smart they’ll be reinforcing that thought at every opportunity. Of course a few wins would help, but somehow I don’t think not winning will affect him as much as the mercenaries.
I’ll buy you a drink in five years if he’s up the road somewhere … and expect one from you if he’s not. Okay? 🙂
Oskar
Like I’ve said before its the hope that kills you.
I agree with Steve T views above and made comment to Arsene rolling dice on the future of the club yet again if we didnt address the obvious weaknesses in he team. Double talk by the manager and silence and complicity from the board. This shit isn’t rocket science. A lot of people are earning a lot of money at Arsenal yet don’t really seem to be in the business of well, doing business. Not in January anyway.
By all accounts Liam Brady leaving the youth team setup is a conflict between Arsene and Brady. Arsene is not happy with Brady’s football philosophy and Brady unhappy that none of our home grown players are getting the chance to break into the first team. As things stand Jack is the only player we have bought through our youth system. Before you say it, we acquired Gibbs from Wimbledon’s youth setup. There will be a fair few clubs putting a call into Mr Brady to assist with their youth development when you take a look at the players that have come through since 1998.
What I can’t fathom is that if you aren’t gonna sign the quality we need then why not at least give the kids a game. Would the crowd have been more anxious with Meade rather than Santos coming on for Gibbs? How many times we will we see Gervais stripped and ready to replace Poldi or god forbid start up front if OG is unavailable? Eisfeld, Gnarby, Ryo, Yennaris, Afobe. How many of these guys will really get a chance? We sold Kyle Bartley for £1m to Swansea. Really, I mean come on.
We can’t find super super quality. We don’t play the kids. I’m bit lost at the moment. We’ve got a lot of soul searching to do at the club this summer irrespective of whether we make he top four or not.
BRADY’S BUNCH: PLAYERS PROMOTED FROM ACADEMY TO ARSENAL FIRST TEAM (SINCE THE ACADEMY WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1998)
Ashley Cole
Jermaine Pennant
Rhys Weston
Graham Barrett
Moritz Volz
John Halls
Carlin Itonga
Rohan Ricketts
Jeremie Aliadiere
Ryan Garry
David Bentley
Justin Hoyte
Cesc Fabregas
Quincy Owusu
Ryan Smith
John Spicer
Graham Stack
Jerome Thomas
Johan Djourou
Sebastian Larsson
Arturo Lupoli
Patrick Cregg
Nicklas Bendtner
Fabrice Muamba
Anthony Stokes
Kerrea Gilbert
Matthew Connolly
Mark Randall
Jermaine Pennant
Armand Traore
Fran Merida
Nacer Barazite
Kieran Gibbs
Henri Lansbury
Jack Wilshere
Gavin Hoyte
Jay Simpson
Rui Fonte
Paul Rodgers
Wojciech Szczesny
Gilles Sunu
Sanchez Watt
Craig Eastmond
Kyle Bartley
Thomas Cruise
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas
Ignasi Miquel
Conor Henderson
Emmanuel Frimpong
Serge Gnabry
Nic Yennaris
Chuks Aneke
Jernade Meade
Martin Angha
Danny Boateng
Damian Martinez
The fourth place trophy is cool and all but I would like to know how we intend to go about the business of tangible trophies.
Oskar,
Shit I’ll buy you that drink if he is. A bet I’ll gladly lose!
8)
NB1. Meade is injured. But I get your point.
NorCal, thanks.
Looking at that list in NB1’s #135, just the output from one club’s academy, makes you realise how competitive football is these days.
Oskar
@139, Oskar – Correct. A good proportion of these guys are playing at a high level in this competitive world but weren’t (still aren’t) good enough for Arsenal.
Which other club in England has done better?
Which are really regretted losses? (for me – Cesc, A Hole, Merida)
Which are huge disappointments? (For me – JET, Aliadiere).
Which are being carefully nurtured and likely to make it? Gnabry, Aneke, Yennaris, Miquel, Campbell
Who does it best? Barcelona.
Who wins most in England? Manure. Why? Commercial strength NOT their academy.
The generation which was the foundation of this round of Maure’s success did come up through the ranks, however, BtM.
OtD@139: true, but with one obvious exception and one odious one, can’t say of those who left the club that we let any get away.
BtM: enjoyed your post greatly. But if you are only at the end of the first chapter you bet get a move on. There are five books to the Wealth of Nations.
The question Adam Smith failed to answer is whether the theory of utility value only applies to utility midfielders. I think we should be told.
Before Gibbs got injured we were already pleading for a LB cover. To get a Spanish international on the cheap who looks like Gary Neville’s younger brother is definitely positive. We can even afford to rest Gibbs when he’s fit every now and then, or push him up further. Gibbs has never really been an injury-free player, so I think this could be a vital buy for our ambitions in the PL, FA cup and even CL.
Imagine asking Gibbs to play every game in league and cups – it would’ve been a great risk, and he would be playing with fatigue building up. Now we can play Nacho at some PL or FA cup matches, and start Gibbs fully charged for the second leg against Bayern, for example. Or even the latter stages of the CL…fingers crossed.
Regarding a striker, it’s still unbelievable that we will play with no strikers on the bench at most games. I would even take Carlos Vela back in a heartbeat, although he’s unlikely to reciprocate such feelings. David Villa in the summer? If the Sheikhs want him too, I’d struggle to see how we can compete for his signature. This will be his last big contract as a footballer.
All in all, still much to fight for. CL, FA cup and the top four trophy, all of great importance to the Arsenal. Yes, even the FA cup – would be a big boost for our players to win this.
COYG.
Is that an order of Nachos Monreal, NorCal?
Of the name strikers who changed clubs during the window — Remy, Ba, Sturridge, Balotelli, Zaha — which would have been good buys for us? Any worth breaking the bank to have gazumped? (I am assuming Balotelli’s £19m fee was what Citeh’s paid AC Milan to take him off their hands.)
Glad we signed a left back. That position is crucial to how Arsenal approach the game
Ned,
I can’t afford those types of nachos. But I will add a side of jalapeños.
Also, I would have taken Ba. I know the caveats. But I still would have taken him. So what if he is like Giroud. They wouldn’t have been playing at the same time ( mostly) and he has proven he can score in the PL.
I am not gutted that we didn’t get him. But I think he could have contributed.
What I do want from this team from here on in is complete concentration and dedication. We can achieve things if we can just play one game at a time and really concentrate. Cliche I know but come on!
Top 150?
Our new Spanish left back, Nacho Monreal, hails from Pamplona. I hope he is unafraid of getting in front of charging strikers because dodging them like Santos does is a bit too much like the way they dodge the bulls in Monreal’s home town.
No Bevin again… Ah well there’s always the summer.
Erm – and the purple-nosed knight’s canny stewardship of the squads he’s had at his disposal – like it or not – is a massive factor in Manku’s ongoing success story too. (I feel dirty now. To the shower)
We have ZERO , I repeat ZERO cover offensively. 1 injury to either Theo or Giroud and we can kiss 4th spot goodbye. Not that its gonig to be easy anyways.
From 2005 (the dawn of the era of Glazernomics) to the summer of 2012 (pre-dating their audacious snaring of van c*nty, i think) manku’s tranny net spend was 50 odd million quid. Even if you part-factor out the Portugeezer wonder of the wing and turn his 80 mill (but why would you really?) into a more “normal” 30 mill – it’s still not a massive spend. And our club has done pretty well to stay pretty close to them in terms of overall wage spend.
(Errggghh! I feel cheap and dirty again. Back to the shower.)
Anyway interesting post BTM – ta. Looking forward now to the remainder of what looks set to be a crazy-ride rest of season. Eff balance-sheets (till the summer, i s’pose); to clean-sheets and team-sheets.
(Would feel a bit better about tings if Bevin, with his tough-tackling/battling qualities had been brought in to shore up the middle of the park though. Oil well, you can’t have it all.) Up The Arsenal!
Barca certainly do do it best, BtM (#140). In #134 I was pointing out ‘one-club’ footballers, and if you check the link you’ll find half Barca’s current side are one-clubbers, and all of them (plus two-club Cesc) graduated from their academy.
Oskar
I find it quite hilarious that United’s financial model is held up as a paragon of virtue, whilst our own American ownership is derided as asset stripping by a disinterested absentee landlord.
Lets look at a few facts here shall we?
1. United until the Glazer take-over were completely debt free.
2. They now operate with eye watering levels of debt, which have to be serviced at increasingly levels from their ‘current’ account.
3. The Glazers have extracted vast sums from the business, and not only to service the afrementioned eye watering debt.
4. It could all come crashing down quite easily.
5. The ‘oh dont worry someone will step in and buy them if it does come crashing down because of the global value of the United brand’ argument, is an assumption.
6. Silent Stan has never taken a dividend.
7. The only money extracted from Arsenal by Silent Stan is expenses, at a very low level compared to the turnover of the business.
8. The owner does not ‘bank’ the profits of the business. This misunderstands basic accountancy.
United’s more succesful pursuit of trophies in recent years, has (and I hate saying it as well) a lot to do, as AL points out, with the managerial qualities of the purple nosed cunt. And luck to a degree. Their defence this season has been as big a joke as ours at times. I do not accept their financial model is in any way better than ours, when they risk the entire foundation of their club on a daily basis.
I am on record as saying I detest all foreign ownership and the rampant commercial greed of the modern game. That is still the case.
Remy, Ba, Sturridge, Balotelli, Zaha? NBN (#146) I would have taken Ba in a shot. Better still, when RvP defected I would have demanded Berbatov as part of the deal. Not the most reliable player, but excellent for cover, and AW could surely have got him thrown in for nix.
Oskar
No mention of Manure’s commercial success, Esso? That is where their model kills ours.
Oskar
E knows.
@157. Dont accept that at all, as pointed out, their commercial success could collapse around them at any time. That’d be real success. Furthermore their efforts to exploit the current rampant commecialism of the football industry are several years in advance of ours. Who’s to say we wont be fleecing all and sundry in a more efficient way in years to come?
All day I waited on the phone to ring.
At ten minutes to 11 it did.
Impatiently, I blurted out “Arsene, at last!”
But then….
“Mr Bevin, we think you may have been mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance……”
Good posts all.
If we apply occam’s razor, isn’t the simplest explanation here that we still don’t have any spare money?
I can see two pieces of evidence to suggest we have the fabled £70m pot: some analysis by the AST and Ivan saying we have money to spend. I don’t know who did the financial analysis for the AST, or how trustworthy it is. I do know that IG has said we’ve had money whenever he’s been asked for years, even when it’s patenty not been the case. Frankly, I wouldn’t expect a man in his position to do otherwise.
What’s the evidence that we don’t have money? Absolutely all of our other behaviour. The nickel and diming over contracts. The laboured transfer negotiations. The neglect of certain areas of the squad. And particularly the sale of Alex Song, who clearly went so we could balance the books.
I’ve also not heard any plausible explanation as to what we’re doing with the fabled £70m pot. Businesses do not tend to simply let an amount like that stack up without some plan for it. If it’s never going to be used for transfers then what IS it going to be used for?
I am willing to tolerate a lean January for all the reasons explained in the last week or so. Despite the hype, it’s an awful time to do business: the only player who moved and we might have gone for was Ba, and once Chelski were in for him I think that would have ruled us out.
If we are similarly frugal in the summer I will be deeply, deeply concerned. Perhaps that is kicking the can down the road. Personally, I think it’s giving the new commercial and TV deals a chance to trickle down into the transfer pot.
Until then, right behind the team. If we finish above the LWCs we will achieve our basic minimum objectives, that’s my belief. They actually make an interesting counterpoint to us: they’re similarly placed and a big signing might have given them the edge to achieve their goals. And yet they bought only to cover an injury, just like we did. And they spent less. Right now, their worry isn’t who will be the impact sub striker, it’s not having any fit strikers available at all. As I say, an interesting counterpoint.
Tough times ahead. Let’s hope the lads we have are up to it. If we can start doing the basics right we will be fine.
COYG
I just can’t wait to see what people will be saying in three weeks time when we catch up with Spurs
snir@84:
They will complain that we shouldn’t have let them get ahead of us in the first place.
They will mention out that we wouldn’t have caught them up at all if it hadn’t been for <insert name of T*tteringham “player” here>.
They will point out that, sure, we’ve caught up with them now but there’s a lot of the season left and it only takes one stray meteorite strike and we’ll have a major injury crisis on our hands.
They’ll say that they expected it all along and their posts that might have appeared to sate otherwise should have been taken ironically, do we have no sense of humour?
They won’t be short of things to say.
COYG
Nachos for breakfast?
Morning All
Ollie – From the last drinks. Darth Storey is vanquished (for now). HT MK II remains in the sidings at Drayton Park and is always to be found somewhere near The Arse. There is much that displeases me at the moment but also much (more?) that gives me hope.
Esso – Some fine points. Manure’s commercial success is indeed well ahead of ours. Principle reason, of course, is that they keep winning things which has a huge amount to do with SAF’s skills *chokes*. As for their ownership, it makes ours look benevolent and deeply caring and to a certain extent it is i.e. no dividend payments (yet) and definitely in it for the long-term. Bottom line, if we wish to boost our commercial revenues significantly then we have to start winning things so that those BRIC markets will start generating millions of new overseas Gooners.
BtM – A fine piece of writing, as always. You really ought to scribe a few novels in your dotage, I’m sure you could find a willing publisher. There is way too much in there for me to comment properly and I can’t spare the time at the moment BUT I will hold those thoughts and can we have a blether the next time your at The HoF?
Good stuff Storeywan Kenobi.
Ollie….nachos for me….vela chips are no longer available. 😉
Hah! I just felt an enormous disturbance in The Force. Turns out it was one too many pints of San Miguel last night. 😛
PS: Do you think we could turn Mr.Santos into a defensive midfielder? He is of the right build is he not? Hollywood passes to Theo-Poldi-Giroud anyone?
February 1: Wenger pre-Stoke City
** Wenger – Monreal can adapt very quickly
** Gibbs ruled out for ‘four to six weeks’
** Monreal could face Stoke on Saturday
** Arteta likely to return, Vermaelen doubtful
** Wenger – Bottom clubs desperate to buy
** Wenger – Criticism of Santos is unfair
** ‘We were close to signing one more player’
David Villa to arrive in the summer?
Good stuff BtM – despite the US spelling. 🙂
Oskar@156 – problem with Berbatov is his personality – not a team player and thinks everyone should bow down and lick his arse – allegedly. Not a good addition to the squad. Who wants another lazy bastard when we have 2 already?
‘We were close to signing one more player’
http://www.arsenal.com/digest
What a tease, Arsène.
Well, the one acquisition is very welcome – he can hardly be worse than AS. More would have been better but we were not the only club having problems persuading players to move and/or other clubs to sell.
A question for those ITK: What is the situation with Ignasi Miquel? He seems to be playing regularly for the reserves. He has not been loaned out “to get some experience of first team football”. I see he is stil only 20 years of age – is that why AS plays as KG’s back-up and Miquel doesn’t? I know he’s not really a left back but he’s looked very useful the few times I’ve seen him play – I’m a bit flummoxed as to why he doesn’t even appear on the bench.
TS@168 Your PS – don’t even think about it. Dwells on the ball, slow to recover when having gone forward. Don’t think you could turn him into anything except a lump of lard.
http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Beckham-pour-110-euros/347026
Fuck me. I didn’t know PSG were selling their shirts at such a stupid price? WTF?
Good questions dkg.
I think Miguel is injured at the moment, but he looks a really good prospect to me. I thought he had an unusually poor first half in the cup game against Reading, but he really helped lead the fight back after the break and showed a ton of character.
In fact, I believe he may have picked up his current injury in that game.
Once he’s back we should quickly get a sense of where he stands in the pecking order now that Djorou has gone. I note that Arsene didn’t see fit to name a centre back on the bench for the Brighton game, which suggests that Squillaci is well and truly out of favour.
I cannot imagine Andre Santos playing at defensive midfield.
His two worst aspects are his physical fitness and defensive positioning. I’d have thought both of those would be quite important in that role.
If we’re going to use him anywhere (and I don’t imagine we will, short of another slew of left back injuries) I’d imagine it would be on the left wing, where he provides a bit of a threat but is a more defensive option than Poldi or Gerv the swerve.
To be honest, I think the best thing for all parties would be for him to move on. I think the support were fairly understanding of his choppy form last season (mainly because he tended to redeem himself – see his game at the bus stop where he stunk the place out first half and lead the fight back second), but that goodwill has well and truly evaporated this term.
If we’re going to be candid, I think his card has been marked since Old Trafford. A bloke who can run as little as he can simply cannot afford to be putting the support’s collective nose out of joint, and his antics with the Dutchman with the little boy inside him were the absolute low point of what were already a humiliating couple of hours for the club.
If we’re going to look for positives at this stage, I guess at least he’s helped take the heat off Rambo, which can only be a good thing.
N7 @ #177 – Thanks for that comprehensive response, it makes a lot of sense. I’m sure we’re going to see him play again this season, especially with Gibbs out for an ‘Arsene 4-6 weeks’, so if we can make good use of him on the left wing for the odd game then at least there’s some value in that. I’m going to stop speculating and leave it to AW to work out.
Ollie @ #175 – The real reason for PSG making that signing is clearly revealed. What a surprise.
Gibbs out for 4-6 weeks? That’s him for the season then.
I really hate it when I read “close to signing one more.” How can we have been “close?” Surely someone is not doing there job right if we only managed “close?”
N7@161: a very, very good post.
I don’t for a second believe that we really do have that massive amount just lying around. It’s clear for everyone to see that without player sales we would have made substantial losses in the past few seasons. We now also know that Monreal was a done deal for next season that was just moved forward and until yesterday not a single one of the self-professed ITKs had the slightest clue about the deal, and we know that Podolski was a done deal months before he was announced. If we look at our four last transfers in, they have all been experienced players and internationals. We have recently signed new contracts with core players and have arguably the most exciting English talent in the last decade or so in Jack Wilshere. We re-signed Theo too. Does this really look like a team that is falling apart? Not to me. On the contrary, it seems very much like a team that is finally being forged from a hopefully steady core. One thing that we have been lacking in recent years is stability and continuity, now we have every chance of getting a summer where there is no focus on players leaving and instead on players joining. We are starting to get that balance between young talent and experience right.
Esso@155: I very much agree that ManU are walking a financial tightrope. Sure, someone may come in and rescue them, but then again how many are ready to pick up the fight with the oil money at Man City? A Ferguson-less ManU will instantly lose a huge chunk of the fear factor that is partly what is keeping them going against some teams. And in any case, even if someone does come in, what guarantees are there that they aren’t Venky’s mk II?
I must also say that I read a piece over on the AST site last night that really gave me the raging arse (someone linked to it on Twatter) where they more or less insinuated that unless you want Arsene sacked you are not a fan of the club. Who the fuck do these people think they are? Last time I checked, they were just over 800 members and as a comparison, Arsenal Sweden have at the time of writing 5.985 members – and yet the AST have the nerve to try to portray themselves as speaking for all Arsenal fans.
Lastly, let’s have a look at what other clubs have been up to in this window, shall we? Ok…
ManU: bought Zaha who will not join until the summer, but they are also the only club that didn’t really need anyone either.
ManC: lost an attacker and got no one in to replace him. Reportedly tried to get Villa.
Chelsea: bought Ba, sold Sturridge. A probable net gain, but it remains to be seen how Ba reacts long-term to not being the automatic choice as a central attacker.
Totnum: desperately need an attacker, but only got a midfield player in early to cover for an injury.
Everton: got nothing apart from an 18-year old from Barnsley.
Liverpool: got Sturridge and Coutinho in, and while Sturridge has started well let’s not forget he did so at Chelsea too and then gradually faded. I know very little about Coutinho, so I’ll reserve my judgment on him for now.
Apart from that, Newcastle seems to have bought every French player they could find the phone number for but none of those players were of the “fuck, we should have had him!” variety.
Looking at the above it’s quite clear to see that not many players at all that would have definitely made us stronger have moved in January. Arsene is right, it IS difficult to find value in the market in January.
Good work all. It has been an unexpected pleasure to read all the contributions and not a single soul wishing a fatal illness on anyone here…
It is quite terrible to see that the ‘dreaded 3 weeks’ invariably turn into more :s
Highlights of the Kids win in the Youth Cup earlier in the week for all those who haven’t seen it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Pm78l4AybDA
I also must admit to never having heard of Nacho before, but Spanish football expert Graham Hunter calls him a top European talent, and he apparently scored from a long-range screamer at the weekend. So if we had to have a left back, this was probably the guy to go for.
Of course, I feel very sorry for Gibbs, whose injury could not have been worse timed, but we all know that with his unfortunate injury record, it`s a case of think of a number, double it, then hope for the best. Already it`s no longer the optimistic 3 weeks first mooted, and the prospect of relying on Santos for the next couple of months fills me with dread. Vermaelen as fill-in hasn`t convinced either. It would seem that even Arsene realises the stakes are too high to mess around this time.
So Gibbo is out for for to six weeks now OMG!
So it confirms it was a panic buy again and like Steve T mentioned above we had no intention of strengthening the squad one bit!
“We expected [him to be out for] two to three weeks, but it will be four to six, so we were in a position where we had to make a quick decision. That explains our buy.
Just goes to show there was no real desire to really push for the 4th spot trophy if we still believe this nonsense that is. It’s desperation in my eyes 4th spot it’s not a trophy and never will be! Perhaps one year in Europe League will open some eyes and someone will take charge and open that cheque book. God only knows I don’t want this to happen and for obvious reasons we are certainly NOT doomed, however it would be nice to know the club is doing something to strengthen this weak looking squad.
Subs from the last three Prmier League games:
Liverpool:
Vito Mannone
Laurent Koscielny
Carl Jenkinson
Andre Santos
Abou DiabyAlex
Oxlade-Chamberlain
Tomas Rosicky
West Ham:
Vito Mannone
Laurent Koscielny
Andre Santos
Carl Jenkinson
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Andrey Arshavin
Emmanuel Frimpong
Chelski:
Vito Mannone
Carl Jenkinson
Andre Santos
Laurent Koscielny
Aaron Ramsey
Emmanuel Frimpong
Andrey Arshavin
Is there any real quality strikers there? I think not.
Lars @ 180
Top stuff – really good demonstration of how hard it appears to be to find quality in the January window. Hopefully, we’ll (finally) learn our lesson and do our shopping in the summer henceforth.
Re: the AST, I have a lot of time for some of the work they do, but their spokesman is starting to grate on me a little and I thought that the statement they released last night was unconstructive and ill-timed. I have no idea why it couldn’t have waited until the summer, and feel it smacked of the need to be seen to be doing something.
I think its fair to publicly question our transfer policy, but I don’t see much value in slating the club for failing to add more players solely over the last month. Particularly when our level of activity is not wildly out of step with the clubs around us.
@ 181
Apart from that bastard, Bevin. 😛
and please let’s not even consider Gervinho because frankly he can’t score from 4 yards!
N7
Aren’t we always told that there is money and Arsene knows where his priorities are?
It’s just a shame we always have to scrape it season after season scrape and scrape and more scraping. Same old problems same old issues, same old mistakes, same old Arsenal!
Get’s a bit boring after a while…even our opponents seemed to have sussed it now.
Anyway rant over now lets look on the bright side of life 😉
‘holic. I am wishing one on van Persie just now 😛
Arthur
We’re always told there is money.
We’re also always told we are looking at plenty of players and will be “very active” in the transfer window.
Wenger clearly does not feel obliged to tell the press everything that is going on. And nor does Ivan. We are actually given very little insight into what is going on behind the scenes.
Leaving words aside, if you look at how we actually behave then there are only three real possibilities: (i) the manager has lost the plot and doesn’t want to spend; (ii) we’re incompetent across the board and simply do not know how to close deals; (iii) or we still have no money. I think each of us has to decide which of those scenarios is the most likely. With reference to all that we do know over the last 20 years, it’s option (iii) for me.
We are fast approaching the point where something has to give. I think a little bit of honesty right now would go a long way.
Biggest load of crap i’ve ever read please don’t give up the day job, because your certainly not a writer.
Not looking for a fight, but I don’t think you can just look at players who moved TO english clubs.
There will have been transfers throughout Europe and I find it hard to believe that there is not a better option than NOT having a replacement striker for Giroud, when he gets either injured, jaded or both. None of the players we have at the club can deputise, for one reason or another.
I am a bit like Steve T, pretty underwhelmed by it all.
If N7 is correct and there is no money to spend, then it raises serious but different questions of the people running the club.
Steve T. The definition of close is debatable. Judging from the Press Conf, looks like a case of ‘well we’d have signed him if the club were selling’. I suppose it’s about David Villa….
“your certainly not a writer…”
Lack of irony alert 😉
Lars @180 – Good stuff mate, well done on providing the healthy dose of realism required. Disappointed that we maybe couldn’t add one or two more, but January is never a good time to go shopping. As you say, of the players that have moved, who would really have had everybody punching the air and shouting “yes, yes, yes!” . Ba maybe for some (though not me). Other than that?
N7 @various – Great stuff throughout. Pretty much agree with everything you say.
Esso @155 – Couldn’t agree more. I think the future of Manchester United’s juggernaut success is far less assured than many think. For us to finish outside the top 4 would be a disaster, but for them it would be a catastrophe. Interesting times there I reckon, once PurpleNose decides to walk off into the sunset.
TS @168 – Santos as defensive midfield? You’re pulling our collective legs right? 😉
Hilarious last night how all the journos and other self-proclaimed ITK’s were all rushing to say that they had been aware that Arsenal had been tracking Nacho for ages. Amidst all the daily transfer bullshit heaped upon us, I didn’t see his name mentioned once. Not once. It really is apparent that for all their “inside info”, they basically know as much as the rest of us, ie the square root of fuck all. Charlatans the lot of ’em. Apart from Snir of course, who is a genius.
How quickly things can change in Football. Gibbsy has, at least in my view, been one of our better performers over the last couple of months. Now he’s looking at 4-6 weeks out, and has serious serious competition for his place. It’s a precarious life. I don’t share the feeling of others that he’ll get a role further forward. Reckon it’s a straight dogfight between the two for the LB role. Healthy competition for the team. Good to see.
@ 194 Zico
I actually think the “no money” scenario is the truly bleak one.
It’s a lot more pleasant to simply imagine that our woes will be cured with a new man at the helm.
What if we get the manager replaced. And the new guy comes in. And barely spends a bean?
What then? I’m not saying I know for sure that this will be the case. What I’m saying is that very few people seem to consider it a possibility. Because there’s a collective desire to believe Ivan when he says we have lots of funds to spend, even though we know he can’t always be taken at his word.
Ollie 181 on the brighter side atleast we get to know early rather than what we are used to i.e a players gets injured and he is out for 3 wks for months.
Lars 180 if your wallet wasnt loaded i’d buy you a drink right about now :D.
dave, dave
Same goes to you matey don’t give up the day job then again who would give you one on second thought when you come out with such abysmal comment!
I forgot to add BAM of dave.dave head into top corner great assist N7!
Joe@45 and Tabs@106 – Re Sagna
Sagna has lost something this season, whether that is temporary or permanent remains to be seen. Jenks could be great. That also remains to be seen. I hope he becomes a legend a la Lee Dixon,
I think that the key difference right now however, even with Bacary at reduced pace, is that Jenks is still young in confidence and his (understandably) more defensive mindset places him quite some distance behind Sagna’s attacking positioning when we go forward.
Does that make us better defensively? Maybe, although I’m not sure that a great case could be built either way currently. What is more certain is that it does diminish our best atacking options because, apart from the odd forays ahead of the play ( and often decent crossing from there) , Jenks currently does still not offer the same forward attacking outlet that Bacary does.
Interesting dilemma but it seems that Arsene still has a preference.
Sad to say, it isn`t a question of competition for Gibbs. Nacho will be 1st choice.
WEll in ATG
Worst Headline Of The Day
‘Nacho Born Filler’ – The Daily Mirror.
Oh dear
@ 202
That’s an interesting analysis.
I’ve wondered at times in the last month whether Jenks is getting less minutes because Wenger wants to avoid having young players in both full back spots at the same time.
Once Nacho settles in, it will be interesting to see whether his extra experience frees us up to give Jenks more game time.
BFG and Poldi in German Squad. Caz&Nach in Spanish Squad.
dave, dave @ #193 Where are your manners? You may not agree with one single word but surely a recognition of the effort involved would be a courteous way to behave?
tabs @ #197 Possibly… certainly not one of my brightest whims.
Dr.z – Totally concur at #194 & very funny @ #196.
Wow dave, dave, what a well-considered, insightful comment. I bet it took you since this morning to come up with such an intelligent insight.
Ollie @ #205 – Deary, deary me. The sub-editor must lack a little bit the intelligence.
I heard this Nacho guy’s great at crossing. He regularly puts it on a plate for teammates.
I’m here all week.
BTW did anyone hear what the Malaga manager said to Wenger when he called to ask about the transfer?
“Hands off – he’s nacho player!”
Ten years ago (yesterday), Experts at NASA’s mission control faced the terrible decision over whether to let (Columbia) astronauts know that they may die on re entry or face orbiting in space until the oxygen ran out. Whew! NASA engineer, Wayne Hale comprised a ‘wish’ list…most compelling was this. “The first principle for a successful high reliability organization is to BE PREOCCUPIED with failure.” He went onto add, “Dissention has tremendous value. If there is not a natural TROUBLE MAKER in your group, appoint a devil’s advocate.” And this gem. “Question conventional wisdom at every chance, look past it for the truth.” 🙂 This has nothing to do with football management, surely. 🙂
Funny thing, Noosa – that’s not how I see Jenks at all. I think he’s better going forward, not afraid to run with the ball and take defenders on, the sort of play that opens up space for others.
His weakness for me is on the defensive side – he didn’t look too confident against Brighton for example, even though both their goals came from the other wing. But that was an exception rather than the rule – maybe because he’d been out for a while. He filled in more than adequately for Bacary earlier in the season.
He also has a tendency to play the odd unexpected ball into the middle of the park for opposition midfielders to pick up on – but that should be easy to knock out of him.
Could be an excellent player in the making – only time and games will tell.
BtM, cheers for the article, not much to disagree with, just a couple of points.
– Man City might well get to a point where they are able to maintain their success without regular injections of oil money, but it ain’t gonna happen in our lifetimes, so why worry. The Arabs, even if they’re committed to the long-term, won’t always be pumping in money on the levels that we have hitherto seen.
– I don’t agree with your outright dismissal of FFP. Sure it’s not a cure all. There will be abuses such as the debt to equity schemes seen at Chelsea and the outlandish Sponsorship deals seen at City. But it will have an effect. In fact it might be argued that it is already having an effect. City came out of this window with an £18m profit. Unthinkable this time last year. Further, the idea that Clubs will take the Governing Bodies to court is a complete legal red herring . I promise you that. Governing bodies can make it up as they go along without challenge, as long as they are not in breach of wider National and European Laws.
– FFP will work, at least to an extent, because of the powerful voices ranged behind it. Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool, all German Clubs including most notably Bayern, and, not without a degree of hypocrisy, and perhaps most importantly, the big two in Spain. A list that is rather more powerful than City, Chelsea, Anzhi and PSG don’t you think?
-Jack at Eastlands? Pfft. Thought you were walking on the sunny side Squire? 😉 Won’t happen. Well, perhaps at the end of his career, when his little legs have gone, when he’s won everything there is to win, and he is seeking the easy life and lesser challenges that a stint at a middle to lower Premiership side would bring.
Cheers for the article Sir.
Camberwell – I fear a flourishing career at The Daily Mirror awaits 😉
zico@194: England is of course by no means the only market, but looking at what those around us have done indicates that it isn’t as easy as some would have it to find the quality that is willing to come to England. Surely, for example, if finding a striker was so easy, shouldn’t Tottenham or Everton have found one? And looking at other leagues, how many big names have moved? Not many at all. I am not questioning that we could probably have found some more players that would have strenghtened us – but at what cost?
Also, what I should have been clearer about is that I have a slight suspicion that the real stuff will happen come the summer. As I said, Monreal was already done for next season and absolutely no one outside the innermost of circles knew anything about it until yesterday. Regardless of CL qualification or not this season, in the long term we must create some stability around the team and I for one think it is important to keep a cool head and be very careful not to just spend for show – then we’ll just end up with more Andre Santoses. If any other club hade made the exact same four aquisitions as our last four we would probably have looked at them in slight awe.
I don’t entirely agree either that we have no cover for Giroud. We don’t have another player of the exact same type, but Poldi can play in the middle and against some teams Theo can as well.
Regardless of that, however, I am of course by no means saying all is well, but the more I think about recent developments the more I think that we are finally starting to find the right pieces for the puzzle. We will be shot of a few wastes of space this summer which will free up some money, and if we make three buys this summer of the same quality that we did last summer, but with the added bonus of not losing any of our best players then come the 2013/14 season we will see a far stronger Arsenal.
tabs: It really is apparent that for all their “inside info”, they basically know as much as the rest of us, ie the square root of fuck all.
Amen to that, brother.
dkgooner: agree on Jenkinson, he’s got quite a lot of potential.
Firstlady: heh, just buy me a drink and put it on my tab 🙂
abb
I had my suspicions that you were a space cadet.
I kid, I kid
🙂
Noosa @202 – Yep, agree with all of that. As stated earlier, I would have liked to have seen more rotation, but as you say, Arsene clearly has a preference, a preference that I agree with for the reasons you set out.
Afternoon all,
Quite calm in the bar considering the expected astonishment at our lack of transfer activity.
Everything I ‘ve heard about Nacho sounds good though.
Have to admit I was quite surprised how quickly Arsene was saying that Gibbs would be out for the dreaded three weeks.
Seems that has now already become 4-6 weeks. Oh dear.
Let’s hope Nacho is able to cope with the physical demands of the Premier League straight away then.
…and then tabs snuck in with a drink while I was typing and all I, rather unsurprisingly, can say to that is “I agree with every word”.
Off for a back drink – I may be some time.
@ Lars 217
This summer is going to be critical, regardless of where we finish this time round.
If the chequebook swings open and players start to arrive we will know that we have endured the fallow years and better times lie ahead.
If recent service continues (sell before you buy) then I’m afraid it may be time to start to really worry. Because that would suggest that the fallow years may, in fact, be our new permanent reality.
Hopefully it’ll be the former scenario. It’s certainly a timely moment, with several unwanted squad members at or near the end of their deals, and wages freed up to play with.
Arshavin alone will free up 90k a week. It’s absolutely mental that we’re paying that much to a player who contributes virtually nothing to the team right now. I suspect if Arsene were able to go back and unwind one recent inbound transfer that the little Owl might figure ahead of even the likes of Silvestre and Santos.
Trev
I was astonished that we signed ANYONE.
Just shows that when we want to make a move quickly, it happens with lightning speed.
Not quite that difficult then, eh Arsenal?
Cpherent btm!
Good article from Michael Cox of Zonal Marking re: the joys of the HFB.
http://fourfourtwo.com/blogs/statszone/archive/2013/02/01/giroud-and-walcott-s-blossoming-partnership-a-hint-of-arsenal-s-attacking-potential.aspx
No idea what’s going on in that photo, mind.
TS – Seriously, if I could find a way to get paid to write crap puns, I’d be happy as a pig in sh1t.
N7: “This summer is going to be critical, regardless of where we finish this time round.”
You just managed to say in one scentence what I used about fifteen lines for 🙂
Lars, just do like me: let N7 do the talking, focus on the drinking.
Wow. A lot of cynicism here.
First, Lars @ 180 – top post sir.
N7 at 192, not sure I totally agree with all that; a lot of presumptions there. [and, btw, not sure I totally disagree with all that, either.] Thought provoking post.
N7 @223. Your post reminds of that old saw: what have you done for me lately?
Oil money, social media, FIFA kids games, and the general state of a global market for nearly everything, makes patience a four-letter word. Faith and loyalty are confused with weakness or stupidity – or worse, stubbornness. The way of the world it seems.
AA was (and IMHO still is) a world class player. He has done extraordinary things for this club. I recall universal acclaim when he was bought. Funny how quickly fortunes change but that is the modern game, so it sadly appears. His recent years and the shadow of his former self could be down to a number of things, including: lack of talent (absurdly unlikely), age and circumstances (possible) or never being played in his natural position (likely). I humbly suggest that he’s no waste of space. And that I’d hate to see him, for example, at Fulham with Berbs surely making our lives hell.
Here’s another old saw I offer to those in the bar:
Be careful what you wish for ….
I’m in for 3-1 thrashing of Stoke (but they will get one from a set piece I think.) OG, now finding his bearings, is going to give Stoke a torrid time. Poldi is due.
Cheers all.
Cheers Homer.
I’m not sure I see Arshavin the same way you do.
I like the guy a lot as a player, and really enjoyed watching his performances with Russia last summer. From a football perspective, he’s an absolute joy. From an effort perspective, less so.
I don’t feel he has done extraordinary things for Arsenal when weighed against his pay packet. He has certainly contributed (Anfield, the winner against Barca, the assist for Henry last season), but extraordinary is too strong a word. I also think that the “not his proper position” argument has bought him a lot more rope than it should have, or has done other players. I’ve watched him play off the striker for Arsenal on a couple of occasions and sleepwalk through the game.
Regardless, he is currently doing little or nothing for us and I am sceptical about any player on big money who is not getting a game and yet appears unwilling to leave. I’m not sure it’s entirely fair to invoke faith and loyalty in respect of someone who collects 90k a week to do little more than warm the bench (at best). I would love to see him fight for his place, because I still believe he is among the three or four most talented players we have. But there does not appear to be a great deal of fight in him.
We have been through an extremely rocky 18 month period and for whatever reason he has been largely absent. He is a senior player and one of the squad’s top earners. He can, and should, have chipped in with a little more. In his defence, the failure of Russia to reach the World Cup a few years back clearly affected him and I also think his form started to nose dive when he had his spell as the lone front man a couple of years back.
The romantic in me would love to see him turn it on again in an Arsenal shirt, but the realist has watched him play the passenger for us too often. We could afford the odd passenger back in 2010. Far less so now.
Please don’t take any of this as being massively anti-Arshavin, or a defence of the morons who booed him onto the pitch last season. I still have a lot of time for him, he remains a Gooner (for now, at least) and you’d have to be blind not to appreciate his talents. I just think he’s a terrible fit for us at the minute, and our parting of the ways this summer will be in both parties’ best interests.
Have a drink on my tab – I like the look of your prediction for tomorrow.
Afternoon all.
BtM sir, a tip of the ol’bonnet in your direction. I agree with a lot more points in part two.
I think you’ve got te FFP nailed on, I can’t see it making much difference either. Also that Man Citeh will become self sustaining. Their commercial value and “Sellability” (a word I think I just made up) for potential investers will grow with the more that they win. However attracting all the so called biggest names in football does not necassarily guarentee success, one only has to look at the Galacticos projects at Real to see that that business model can backfire.
I hate to say it, but Manure are successful because of their whole club ethos, even the less talented players are drilled with the “winners” attitude, plus thet have a manager that identifies their shortcommings and adresses them. Last year they lost the PL on goaldifference, so what does he do? He goes out and gets the top scorer in the league. Yes it cost a lot of money, but that investment will be money well spent if he brings them back the title.
This leads me nicely on to my next bit. Hunter13 you asked me some questions in a previous bar, but instead of a long winded answer by me, may I refer you to Steve T’s post @ 110. An excellent contribution that bang on nails it.
I must admit, I was pretty pessimistic about the whole TW, I never thought we’d bring anyone in, even though we were/are in dire need of back up options. In the end we did bring a player in (welcome Signor Nacho) but this was nothing more then a panic buy, we may very well of been “tracking”him, but I don’t believe for a second that had Gibbs not tweaked his hammy that we would of brought him in. Left Back was not a position that was under scrutiny, well not as much as other positions anyway.
This whole TW month has been one big MEH, I’ve kept my powder dry, but I feel now is the time to unload…..
Why, o, why, o why, do we have to conduct our business in the last hour of the last day of the window? Why can’t we do it in the first hour of the first day?
Before the smarty panted remind me that it’s “not like buying a car”, well I realise that, but that should be neither here nor there, other teams can do it and I’m not just talking about the Oil fueled teams. L’poo brought Sturidge in and he had an immeadiate impact, he’s scored in their last 3 PL games already, that’s a good investment. Now I’m not saying we needed a Daniel Sturidge, just pointing out that the last minute is a crazy time to do your business.
If I waited until my barrels were empty to order new beer then my business would fold in no time. Don’t we have scouts and reps that are especialy paid to do this kind of thing. What do they do for the rest of the year? Hibernate only to magically awaken like a fairy tale princess on the dawn of the TW only to fall back into deep slumber the moment the magical window slams shut? It just doesn’t make any sense to me.
If you’re gonna buy in January then do it quickly!!!
Look how many games we had over the last month; 8, 5 in the PL and 3 in the Cup. We had “success” the cup, but pretty much fell flat on our face in the league. We managed to get 5 points from a possile 15, that’s 10 dropped points, that’s not top 4 form, not by a long shot. Ofcourse, once again I’m speaking hypothetically, but we had obvious deficiencies, and maybe if they had been addressed at the start of the month we would find ourselves in a very different position, 10 points better off would have put us….. yeah, you guessed it THIRD.
With all due respect to our new signing I don’t see how he will make such a greast deal of difference to the problems we have been having, ofcourse if it means that Santos is no longer in the team then it’s still good news, I still think it’s too little, too late though.
I hope I’m wrong and will more then gladly shovel bucket loads of humble pie down my gullet. I’ve had my say and the management team has done what they believe to be the right thing, so this is the team we have for the rest of the season, time to get behind them.
Arsenal Bloody Arsenal.
Time to catch up on the rest of the drinks (I stopped at Steve T’s) next round’s on me gents.
Things that have stopped AA being the hit that his talent surely was capable of?
Burgers, sweets, chips, cakes, doughnuts …
I could go on.
God, so many words above, so little time.
So, Lars you disagree?
Well fuck off then. 😉
As someone who at one point was one of his biggest fans, I will pick this out
He (AA) has done extraordinary things for this club….
Really?
Given his talent I so wish it was so, but Arshavin is a failure in Arsenal terms. Failure by him to make the most of his gifts, and failure by Wenger in not doing more to prevent it.
Oh and I know that Lars did not post that stuff about Arshavin although I can see how some may think my post above implies that he did.
Heh@234!
Once again, I see that had I taken the time to read, I would have noticed that my man N7 had already answered for me @ 231.
Keep up the good work. 🙂
*Thinks of retirement*
Kebabs!
zico, I refer you to my 229 😉
“Larsblog” @180. – great stuff.
Good work from the other usual suspects.
A question for the bar from a non-convert:
What is the point of Twitter ?
All I seem to see / hear is people saying, “it’s on Twitter – don’t believe a word of it”, “it’s only Twatter, probably a complete load of crap”, so why do so many bother with it.
Just wondering ….
Tabs @233,
You do go on, but not as much as AL. 😉
Media whoring Trev 😉
Media whoring Trev 😉
I can only speak for myself of course!
There is no point Trev.
It is as pointless as Tottenham.
Ollie @ 239 and 229 – Slainthe. 🙂
Heh Trev, my 242 and it appears 243 (whoops) was an answer to 240 not 241. Heh at 241 🙂
Cheers everyone for the kind words about my drink@180.
Trev, the point of Twitter? To be honest I don’t really know. For me, following it last night was a bit like watching a freak show. People were going batshit crazy and working each other up into a frenzy, you could probably have conducted a few rather thorough studies in group psychology at around 10.30 UK time last night 🙂
Spare tickets, sometimes, is a good point of twitter.
Well fack,
Just wrote a lengthy post only for the interwebs to eat it.
Short of long is…..
We appear to be gelling as an offensive threat and this summers signings are now fully bedded. If the defense can get some confidence back I think we can give it a real go.
If this summer becomes one of addition rather than replacement, then it will be a real change from the past 3-4.
Sagna has lost something, I hope it is recoverable but I fear it’s not. I think the defense misses the organization and calming influence of Arteta. I know he is not a true DM but he offers direction on the field and a calming presence for everyone.
Our schedule is the most “favorable” of the 4 teams fighting for 3rd and 4th. Lets make the most of it.
This is our team. All behind them.
ARSENAL.
Cheers
And yes, I know I’m talking to myself while Europe drifts into a Friday evening. Enjoy all.
So the rumours are that we were also going for Capoue.
Looks like that transfer window was as frustrating as many of our games: great targets, but sometimes we miss a little bit of sharpness to achieve them. Or did we start with the handbrake on?
Anyway, the squad we have is the squad we have until the end of May, so let’s get behind them and hope for the best!
Interesting that goals conceded column reads thus
Arsenal: 29
Cuntski: 24
Man shitteh: 19
Red Mancs: 31
LWCs: 29
The goals we concede though are mostly self inflicted
They are indeed, Harsha. Can’t remember the stat but there was one doing the round regarding how many were due to individual errors (whichever way the ‘panel’ decides on that, I don’t know), which was quite infuriating.
Good Lord Ollie, you shouldn’t tease us with that sort of thing.
Can you imagine what Snir would have been like if that deal had come off late last night???
I think his head would have blown off! 🙂
Capoueeeeeeeeeeee 🙁
Agree with all that NorCal.
Evening Harsha, good points there. Agree with yourself and Ollie. Most of the frustration lies with the manner of the goals we concede.
Haha, Hi Snir. 🙂
Encouraging I think, if of course the rumour is true. One for the Summer perhaps?
Evening all, I will leave the clunge-avoider’s post there so as not to make the responses invalid and so Arthur gets his ton up!
“clunge-avoider” Haha 🙂 🙂
And we have scored 48 goals this season, ahead of the LWCs and just behind Chelsea
There have been 6 times we have gone goalless though
Oi Trev i ‘eard that.
Right then, fridee nite – orf down the juicer. Gonna make out i’m skint, but if no-one steps in and buys me a drink i’ve always got eight and ‘alf mill tucked away (or indeed a substantial amount thereof to use as a down payment- innit) to fall back on.
Up The Arse. To going forth and beyondish!
Harsha, re your point concerning the amount of times we have failed to score.
It’s a valid point. My tuppence worth is that we tend to score goals in batches because we are, more than any other side in the Premiership, a “confidence” side. Goals can come in huge swathes when we’re on song, the 11 minute goal fest against the Hammers being one example, the 2 goals in a couple of minutes on Wednesday being the latest.
The flipside is that when things don’t come off, confidence seems to drain away faster than it should. Whether that is because of the nature of the football we play, or the character of the players that we have on board, or simply just a by-product of a number of years without a bauble, I couldn’t say.
It’s been encouraging in the last couple of months that whilst defensive woes remain, we have at least seemingly put behind us the sterile displays seen at Norwich, Manure and Villa earlier in the season. A result, I guess, of the new forwards Poldi and Giroud bedding in.
Tabs, you have summed up just what I was thinking
tabs 256. I hope so. I’ll watch him play tonight: Toulouse vs PSG. Capoue vs Zlatan – I doubt Becks will even be on the bench…
I tend to agree with you there at 261, tabs.
If only N7 had posted it, I’d be 100% sure 😉
Mertesacker, who is usually very good at reading the attacker, was shockingly flat footed for pool’s second goal
I do hope he recovers his mojo beucause I still think he is our best centre back.
Haha, I tend to find that I now agree more with N7 than I do with myself, so I know what you mean! 🙂
Think he will Harsha, but he’s been off colour for almost a month now. Think he needs a rest more than most. Playing in Germany, he will have been used to a mid-season break. Sadly, with Vermaelen’s continuing niggles, he’s gonna have to plough on for the time being.
I agree with tabs. The circle is complete.
Now let’s butcher some fucking orcs.
COYG
🙂
Lars on form today. Keep up the good work. Have a drink on your tab!
Cheers tabs&N7! 😀
Drinks for all!
For all you Squillaci lovers. In the training pictures, I can’t see him, but I can see Miquel.
An interesting observation:
Our next three premier league opponents all held us to 0-0 score lines in our first meetings. I’ll bet another order of Nachos that that does not hold true this time.
Cheers all.
Games in France seem to be kicking off at a different time every weekend.
Missed the first 20 and PSG are 1-0 up.
Ollie@272: Your man Squillaci is actually in the background of picture 20.
2-0 PSG (Ibrahimocunt’s first header of the season but 20th goal), and Toulouse now one man down.
Could be a hammering. Should have saved Capoue from that earlier 😉
2nd yellow for Toulouse fouler
Looks like it could be him all right, Impec1. Doomed.
Although it’s blurry enough for me to pretend it’s not him, even if I don’t see who else it could be 😛
Took the best part of the day to catch up, some excellent posts above from the regs, Homer, Lars, N7, Ollie, Z and tabs, a fine disscusion going on.
Esso, great post about Manure and I agree that their financial situation is precaurious, it really shouldn’t be though, because as a business they did everything right. They took their winnings and invested well, they expanded their stadium by buying up all the properties around it and globalised their brand while others didn’t even know the meaning of the word. If you compare them to the previous English Powerhouse, Liverpoo’, then you realise just how well Manure was run.
Their problems only occured when the Glaziers came in, they took a debt free club and literaly mortguaged it to the hilt to buy it, putting the club up for colateral to pay for itself for them, not putting a penny of their own money at risk but balancing the club itself on a financial tightrope from which a gust of wind (a fifth or worse place finish) could see them plunging into the abyss. Practices like this are not unheard of in other business’ but to me it begs the question of what do the people at the F.A. who carry out the so called “Fit and Proper” investagations actually do……
But fuck them, as others have mentioned, it will be a sad day (for them, a joyous occasion for real people) when the Ol’ Beetroot finally hangs up his chewing gum. Becaause no matter what your opinion may be of the git, there’s no denying that he is a one in a million manager and get’s the very best out of his charges. *spits filthy taste out mouth*
I don’t have an outspoken opinion on Silent Stan, I don’t see him as the bad guy, he justs lets others do their jobs and let them get on with it.
Hello cognac!
Ollie@ 278: Sounds like a good strategy to me. I’ll try that next time. Haha!
Re Arshavin.
Some have been quoting certain sayings, well, here’s one;
What a waste.
A waste of a squad number, a waste of money, but what hurts most, a waste of god given talent, absolutly unforgivable. I thought his exertions in Russia on loan and at the WC would have shook him into life, but no, he’s still the same disintrested player that we’ve been watching over the last few years. Yes he’s had his moments, but even a broken clock is right two times a day, his contributions have been too few and far too inbetween for a player of his calibre.
Damn shame.
“How active we will be in the market in the summer will be decided how well we do now until the end of the season.”
Really? Am I alone in thinking that even if we finish the season fourth, or even third, I expect us to still be pretty active in the transfer market come summer. Both ins and outs.
The tail is wagging the dog. Mark my words.
4-0. The expected rout is happening.
Yes, I think we’ll be pretty active, wherever we finish.
Indeed H2H.
I’m guessing “what a waste” isn’t a phrase that’s heard too often in the Arshavin household. No sooner is it on the plate, and woof, it’s gone, sliding down the AA gullet. 😉
Half a great season when he first joined, a second season that had it’s moments but was no better really than par, flashes of brilliance punctuated by enormous periods of listlessness ever since.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
One other thing regarding AA.
There was a photo doing the rounds a few weeks ago, it was the team traveling back from an away match on a train (i think). You could see most of the players sitting with each other, smiling, posing for the snapshot, not AA who cut a forlorn figure totaly alone in his own world, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around him.
That, to me, that sums him up, I may very well be wide of the mark, but I feel he’s not really part of this team, never really has been.
Arshavin is a senior player, not a junior trying to break into the team
Sure, he was disappointed at missing out on the World Cup, but we all suffer big disappointments in life – don’t we Roxette – and you have to get on with it.
He could have wallowed for the summer and come back the following season determined to fight for the Euros instead.
Sulking for three years is not something that generates a lot of sympathy in me. He looked a truly class act for that first half season, since when it’s all been a bit to much bother.
He took a buffeting at centre forward it’s true, but he was paid £90,000 per week for the trouble, and it was of necessity. Just get over it and come back stronger for the experience.
If you cannot show resilience in the Premier League you will not survive.
For Arshavin, sadly, that appears to be the case.
Well I’ve had one of those Fridays where the phone rings off the hook and the email pours in and … well, drat. I guess that’s why its called “work.”
Just wanted to briefly follow up.
N7 at 231, cheers. I see where you’re coming from and I appreiciate the comment – but the drink more! A Guiness it is, being Friday afternoon and all.
zico at 234, fair enough. But I’m glad I don’t work for you though, you demanding bastard!) Your last paragraph in 234 was really dead on, however, and nothing with which I can easily find fault. And even had a nice sort of symmetry to it as well.
Confession: visions of the 2-1 win over Barca (AA with that ridiculous winning strike) still dance in my head. Maybe I need therapy. More Guiness!
Cheers holics.
For those bemoaning the lack of another striker in the window (Villa, eg) can I point out that at this point last year (24 games played), with RvP, we had scored 39 goals. This year, without RvP, we have scored 48.
I still believe Villa was only ever considered in the event Theo didn’t sign
Oskar
Oops, it was actually 46 last year … but still less than this year. We were also 10 points behind the Totts.
Oskar
Hope I’m not too late to join the AA debate. I remember something I read from him a few years back that resonated at the time but still seems relevant today:
……the Russia star believes Arsenal’s lack of summer signings – along with injuries to Robin van Persie, Kieran Gibbs and Aaron Ramsey – leaves them disadvantaged.
“I am still of the opinion that to win trophies Arsenal needs more players,” Arshavin is quoted as saying in The Sun.
“There is the simple fact that last summer we sold two players and bought only one. So there is an obvious deficit of at least one. Then we lost Van Persie, Gibbs and Ramsey for a long time. So for me it is natural we need new players.
“Without the variety of players we have less diversity in attack. That allows our opponents to read our combinations more easily. Finally, it results in less ball possession for us and our defence comes under more pressure.
“The Premier League is very interesting, at least as long as we continue fighting to win it. But without new experienced players, real stars, it will be difficult to achieve success.
“Ideally we need three or four such experienced players and then among our youths there should be guys who are not only good at playing football but have real character.”
Circa March 2010, 2 points behind Manure and 2 in front of Chelsea.
I think this was the season we lost the CC to Fergies love child.
I have not been in love with Arshavin’s attitude for the past few years. Our history is the thing that has, in my opinion, played a part in the failings of someone like Arshavin. He signed for The Arsenal Europe saw during Wengerball part 1: Playing breath taking football but also battled and won trophies. The team that never finished outside of the top two in the league.
It’s all conjecture but perhaps the guy is fed up. Maybe he sussed out pretty quickly this Arsenal wasnt like the one that he had seen on TV for all those years. Instead he had joined a youth project whose focus was on balancing the books through a few days out across Europe every season.
The season in question Arshavin played up front on his own (during dec and Jan) whilst Robin recovered from an injury gained whilst on international duty if I recall. Bendy, Eduardo and Vela were injured. Our manager said he would look to sign a striker during the Jan transfer window. I guess he couldn’t find the super quality that improved what we already had in Bendy, Eduardo and Vela. Sigh.
Arshavin was one of the hottest properties in european football when we signed him. We even beat Barca to his signature. Hell he was even short listed in he Ballon d’Or the season we got him. He moved from a club where he was used to winning. Ok maybe not in as strong a league but he was used to winning. Our weaknesses have been there for everyone to see for years now. No replacement for Paddy. No replacement for Jens. No replacement for Sol or Kolo in their pomp. And now no replacement for Van Pussy (although granted that might be a little more difficult to find).
In essence the spine of the team remains weak and as a result so do we.
If you can see in games/ training we are predictable and teams have worked us out then surely you must think the manager can see that too right?
Would you be within your rights, given its your talent and career on display, not to argue we should address theses deficiencies? I’ve worked for managers in the past that have been shit. I’m not suggesting Wenger is but these managers would not accept or implement the obvious because they were the boss.
So the workforce becomes demoralised because the guy in charge won’t sack the shit admin girl, the incompetent dickehead, or change tack to make things run smoother. I’m not justifying his behaviour merely trying to see it through another point of view. Winners want to win, not merely qualify for day trips around Europe. In the normal world you might look for another job but there’s nothing normal about football, as we all know.
We can fool ourselves into thinking these guys have great ambitions but at the end of the day AA gets paid probably close to £70k a week to get up (mon to fri) run around for a few hours, then has the weekend off to go shopping at Harvey Nicks. That’s a guesstimate of £3.5m a year to get up run around for a few hours during the week and occasionally have to work a weekend or late night shift on a Wednesday.
Like fuck I wouldn’t do that job.
After seeing 289 that’s £4.5m a year for that job.
They don’t appear on Monster.com very often I bet.
I heard a very interesting discussion the other night on Talkshite where Stan Collymore was explaining the situation he faced when playing for Aston Villa under John Gregory.
Stan wasn’t signed by Gregory and he said it was made pretty cleaner to him that Gregory didn’t ‘fancy’ him. So they tried to offload him to a team in the championship. This would have meant a 50% reduction in his salary. He refused to go. He felt he still had something to offer in the top flight and also he felt didn’t deserve a 50% pay cut because the new guy doesn’t like you.
He eventually moved to Leicester under O’Neill who basically took over his Villa contract but guaranteed him playing time. So he went. Same money, just more opportunity to play football. He felt is is unrealistic to ask footballers to necessarily slash their wages in half just for the love of playing football. The love of playing football doesn’t pay the mortgage or alimony/ separation costs – just ask Ray Parlour.
AA best years are behind him. In the twilight of his career I think it’s wishful thinking on our part that he would want to fly at the chance to play for Reading in a relegation dogfight. I reckon London Colney looks divine in Autumn.
Besides, when would he get to Harrods or Havey Nicks for Christ sake?