Tom Kingsbury
It’s been a rather typical summer transfer window for Arsenal: our top players being continuously linked with moves to other clubs, and then the usual dealings of one or two unproven new faces for undisclosed fees. Pre-season results have been far worse than expected, and the token Van Persie injury seems to have come earlier than expected, although as yet we have no timeframe on how long he will be sidelined. Oh yes, fellow Gooners, it has been a bleak summer and the new season seems to be upon us far too quickly with the squad looking ill-equipped to cope with the busy August month ahead of us. This article probably won’t do much to lighten the mood either, as I look at the likely teams to be challenging for the title come May and their recent summer shenanigans.
Liverpool
With the considerable investment Liverpool has received since John W Henry took over the club, fans will be expectant of at least a top-four finish if not a title-challenge. The signings of Carroll and Luis Suarez in January were largely offset with the fee received for Torres and, taking that out of the equation, the club have spent roughly £50m this summer while receiving very little in return. Dalglish has opted for buying British talent in the shape of the largely inconsistent Downing and the promising Henderson, both of whom are unproven at the top level. Charlie Adam was a shrewd acquisition and, coupled with the emergence of a few players from the academy, the squad looks to have a decent amount of strength in depth. Kenny appears to have lost little in his managerial absence and his man-management skills may be the key in getting the best out of his fringe- and squad-players. There appears to be little debt at the club since the takeover, and one would suggest the club is in a healthy position in relation to the financial-fair-play initiative coming into force, despite the huge outlay on player sales.
Chelsea
Where to begin? Losses of £70.9m in the year to June 2010, a chairman who has spent roughly £50m+ on sacking and appointing managers, and a staggering wage bill, show a club being run in an unsustainable manner. So what does the club do this summer after spending £75m in January? It spends around £30m bringing in three new (admittedly younger) players; Lukaku joins the long list of forwards at Chelsea and surely there will be a couple more signings to come. They have managed to sell Zhirkov for £13m, but Chelsea is a club where a sound business model is lacking and one wonders just how the club will cope with the financial rulings over the next three years. With an experienced and strong squad coupled with the arrival of the latest Portuguese prodigy, it is hard to see how Chelsea won’t be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
Man Utd
Despite having just won the league title to become the most successful club in English football, reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the Champions League, United have spent in the region of £55m bringing in three players. To an extent, you have to factor in the retirement of Neville, Scholes and Van Der Sar – a considerable cut in the wage bill - and the sales of Wes Brown and O’Shea. If it wasn’t for debt levels at United (touching around £590m) and the loan repayments that come with it – United had a turnover of £286m for the 2009-10 financial year - a loss of £79m wouldn’t have happened. Put another away, if it wasn’t for the Glazer takeover, United would be in good shape both on and off the pitch. United probably have the most comprehensive of all the squads with a great blend of youth and experience; mentally, they seem to have the most drive and character, and with a few players coming back much improved from loan spells (Welbeck and Cleverley) they - for me - are the favourites.
Man City
For all the reasons to hate the blue half of Manchester, you have to commend the chairman for actually having faith in his manager and backing him. They appear to have had a step-by-step strategy for mounting a title-challenge over the past couple of seasons but it will be interesting this season to see if they can mount a credible bid. The very controversial sponsorship deal from Etihad – who have yet to announce a profit since they began operations in 2004 - suggests that City will do whatever is necessary to distort the fair-play rulings. City have been (and continue to be) very aggressive in the transfer market, more so than Chelsea, and the amount of money spent on players and the size of the wage bill (£133m) is quite simply staggering, with Sheikh Mansour ploughing in £500m over 32 months. Their transfer policy is the opposite to Arsenal’s: short-term fixes are bought for considerable sums on huge wages (Nigel de Jong cost £17m when in the summer he would have been available for around £2m) and if that player doesn’t hit the mark, another is bought in. Take the full-back spot for example; this season it’s Gaël Clichy, last season it was Kolarov, the season before that Wayne Bridge – that’s around £34m. The problem now is that a number of squad-players are now proving difficult to sell because their huge salaries. The fact that they have bought Aguëro before Tevez has been sold, and may be willing to stick him in the reserves, rather than play him, speaks volumes about the money at their disposal.
Arsenal
So what does this all mean for our beloved club? Quite simply, we are trying to compete in a distorted transfer market. I would imagine that Arsenal keep their transfer dealings secret as, once another big club comes in, the fee instantly increases. Our six-month accounts to November 2010 (£6m loss) show exactly what happens when we don’t sell a player for considerable money. Wenger has to work extremely hard to keep the club competitive and profitable, something all too rare in this day and age. If you believe it’s just the top clubs, you may wish browse these figures.
What I would say, though, is that if there is one season in which financial prudence should go out the window, it is this one. With the fair-play ruling beginning from this season, the time to invest is now. To lose both Cesc and Samir would be a huge blow, especially when trying to convince top talent to sign, but that is what Wenger is paid to do; if they aren’t happy, get rid and for the greatest amount possible so that we can buy quality replacements. New recruits are not too forthcoming, and with the likes of Almunia, Eboué and Bendtner already likely to leave, Wenger is in serious need of more than the usual couple of new faces. Leaving it as late as he is will make it harder for the new players to settle in and get used to their new surroundings; if the pressure is already on by the time they are signed, and they are expected to hit the ground running, it will make their job that much harder.
For me, the squad players needed didn’t seem that difficult to remedy; surely signing the likes of Friedel (yes, I know where he’s gone), Samba, Noble and Parker would have complemented what we already have with a mix of experience, leadership, Britishness and bite: though not world-beaters, they would add to our team. That would then only leave finding replacements for Cesc and/or Samir, the marquee signings, so to speak. This money would be covered with the fees received for either player and I can’t believe for one minute that, ever since Cesc has looked to leave, Wenger hasn’t been scouting for a replacement. I’m not convinced a world-class centre-back is what we need; Gallas and Vermaelen formed a pretty solid partnership, and it’s the tactics and responsibilities of individuals that need addressing rather than new bodies.
Finally, and I’ll try to leave on a positive note, the one element in our locker is surprise. We may well be underestimated and this may work in our favour. I’ve finally accepted that we can’t win the league the way other teams are conducting themselves; they are quite prepared to rack up huge debts to win the ultimate prizes, and we are not. That’s what we have to deal with, a hugely-talented squad with the same flaws but one run properly and professionally. It’s capable of keeping pace with the other big teams, but come February/March time we’ll run out of steam through injuries or inexperience, or a combination of both. Signings such as Vidic, Kompany, Hernandez and Ivanovic show that quality signings are out there for modest prices; we must hope Wenger finds them - and quickly. The fact that we are not looking to replace Clichy but rather fill that gap with either the unproven and brittle Gibbs or the hopeless Traoré says it all. Here’s to the Europa League on Thursday, boys and girls.
