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1. Ron

   May 11, 2015, 23:23 #70907

   MG - To be honest, i think we have won it. If you draw a progression curve from Dec to now and factor in the calender year points accumulation, multiplied by a nominal percentage added on element to account for our unique injuries which call for a rather more nuanced view on the fatigue and tiredness that has caused to us vis Chelsea and we are actually the moral and philosophical champions as well as the best team in Europe. I ask whey shd Mourinho ever be M of the M or of the year? His type of success is flawed, hollow and cheap. Merely being top all season and winning as he has carries no philosophical merit at all. In fact, i d deduct them 10 points for the callousness of their title win, which leaves no arguments. Arsenal are the Champions and Wenger is the best Coach in the World. Sign the visionary up for another 10 years please Stanley.

2. maguiresbridge gooner

   May 11, 2015, 22:44 #70904

   Hiccup, a missed opportunity indeed, just think how another two points closer to the champions would have looked for progression. Or even if OGL decided to do a George Galloway and contest the chavs being champions in court we still could have won it.

3. Hiccup

   May 11, 2015, 22:15 #70899

   A missed opportunity to close some ground on Chelsea after their slip up yesterday. All is not lost, as Wenger is still on for Taurus manager of the month provided Nigel Pearson's Leicester slip up over the next couple of weeks. I still think that leaves us as the best team in Europe this year, although a win for the Faroe Islands champions FC Kappow tomorrow, who are on a 12 match unbeaten run, and using AKB maths and logic, will make them the best team in Europe.

4. maguiresbridge gooner

   May 11, 2015, 18:54 #70895

   Hiccup, of course he has a point, leading the league for so long and then winning it, and still not in with a shout? obviously being a winner and winning means nothing now, maybe he needs to become a specialist in failure.

5. Hiccup

   May 11, 2015, 18:26 #70894

   Good to see mourinho was ruffled over the weekend, with his failure to win a single manager of the month award this year. I do think he has a point though. It seems strange to me that the award is based on results in a calendar month? I think the FA need to move away from this system, and use the results played out during the zodiac horoscope months. Now I know arsenal fans like measuring in calendar units, but I've done the maths for this season, and Wenger would have won the Capricorn and Pisces manager of the month awards, which is an improvement on the one won under the current outdated system. Mourinho would still have won none by the way.

6. maguiresbridge gooner

   May 10, 2015, 23:02 #70888

   Hiccup, Ah the good ship wenger with OGL at the helm hat turned sideways, hand raised above his brow steering us through choppy waters, (and getting paid a fortune to do it, how indeed would he have coped on less) with a flotilla of boats full of AKB's following him, from oracles, canoes, rafts, speedboats, yacht's, rowing boats, some even without oars and just using their hands, some even swimming such was/is their devotion to their messiah. Is it any wonder all the second third rate dross he signed over the years wouldn't have a bad word said against him after he made them millionaires during the recession, just wait for the book from the biggest waster of all diaby to come out, he'll probably dedicate it to OGL before slipping him half the profits. What an achievement I doubt there's a manager alive who could have made such an idiot and pulled the wool over so many fans eyes, and still doing it.

7. jeff wright

   May 10, 2015, 21:18 #70887

   Ron I make you right about the AKB's never admitting that Arsene has been more concerned with making money for the shareholders and himself than he has been about winning trophies. That is the problem with shareholder owned outfits against the sugar daddy ones where the owners are not in it for financial gain. The recent statements about not needing to sign any new players are further evidence that a top 4 spot and the millions made from it are job done. This current squad will not win the Prem next season and Europe is just a money making scam really with top clubs there way ahead of Arsene's side and other Prem ones,such as City . However, they know that they are not good enough to win the Prem and are already looking , along with the other challengers to Chelsea to strengthen their squads whereas Wenger is sitting on what he has claiming once again that the slings and arrows of adversity were to blame for the non-existent title challenge. Henry has again refuted Wenger's claims to not need to sign a top striker a GK and CB also he says that something is wrong with the unusual amount of injuries that we get every season. Will it reallyunder Wenger's regieme be any different next term >? Of course as Hiccup points out we must take account of Arsene's great leadership in times of trouble and his commendable charitable work in making such desperate types as Big Bendy,Almunia,Denilson,Diaby and a cast of dozens into millionaires and himself of course . We can feel great pride in him having done that.

8. Hiccup

   May 10, 2015, 19:52 #70886

   But Jeff, aren't you forgetting Wenger steered us through the choppy waters of the worst recession in 100 years? What other manager could have done that at arsenal? The unemployment and loss of the feel good factor that spread around the rest of the country, never reached the Emirates, and that was all down to Wenger you know. All these pay freezes in the public sector or pay cuts in the private sector, never reached the Emirates, again, all down to Wenger you know. Christ, Wenger was performing miracles being able to keep topping his salary up you know. And all the while, we successfully managed to pay bendtner his £52k/week while keeping his long contract running. How he would have coped at any other club that wanted to pay him his true value God only knows? He'd have become homeless if paid his true worth. Then of course during these bleak crippling financial times, which PL football was totally exempt from as the money kept pouring in to the game (again, all down to Wenger), the charitable side of the club shone through as garbage like chamack and denilson were looked after in the Emirates soup room. And let's not forget while businesses all around the country were laying staff off, sick note Diaby has claimed £10m in sick pay, all paid out by arsenal fc. Very commendable. And let's not forget while profits at Tesco were tumbling, the customers at arsenal continued to face price hikes with the most expensive tickets in football, even though not necessary, as prized assets were being sold off every year to maintain the coppers being shared around like a bottomless pit. Now if you don't find that an achievement, just what do you want from the club? You tell me what other manager could have kept us afloat in such bad times where the money never dried up in the PL?

9. Ron

   May 10, 2015, 18:12 #70884

   ...yep. once the debts down to nearly ziltch Jeff our quiet old Yank can max the value of the Club and sell it on for fantasy figures. Youre wasting yr times and words trying to make the cuspers and corner turners on here see the light though fella.

10. jeff wright

    May 10, 2015, 16:10 #70883

    Too true MG all the poor Arsene having to get by on coat-buttons makes me laugh. The diamond geezer, now sadly gone to that great stock-exchange in the sky , made plain years ago that the new stadium in the sky was self sustaining and that money was available for Wenger to spend if he wanted it. Jamie I just find Brown amusing with his ineptitude and that horrible woman who has turned jockland into a one party state as well they won't be laughing up there when the brown stuff hits the brown stuff hits the fan financially .She has as much idea about finance as Brown had.

11. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 10, 2015, 15:49 #70882

    jw, good post, funny when all this lack of money to compete with the big boys is spewed out by the usual suspects it's never mentioned that's there's plenty to keep OGL in the way he's been accustomed to, the last ten years alone around £80,million if not more for one pot he's not such a cheapskate when it comes to Negotiating for himself, but no doubt his followers thing their messiah is worth it. Welcome back I know it's only been a short break but you've been really missed on here, you've been mentioned over and over again and you haven't even been posting.

12. jeff wright

    May 10, 2015, 11:45 #70880

    Amid all the OTT euphoria about the financial standing of AFC in the world of Football . it should be noted that every club in the Prem is making loads of money In fact any club that is not doing so would have to be run by Gordon Brown and co! I note though that amid the revisionist musings of the writer of the article , plus Amos and co , that there is no mention of the multi-milluons in profit made by the former share-who sold out to Silent Stan . So just for the record here are the figures. Peter Hill-Wood ,the former token old Etonian merchant -banker AFC chairman , sold his family shares to the man of whom he once said said that we that we don't want his sort at Arsenal. He received £4.7m for the shares that he had inherited. Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, former model and wife of old Bracewell, sold his shares for £116m to Stan . Sometimes you just have to take the money and run. The Diamond Geezer Danny cashed out with £117m , free of capital gain tax, due to him living in tax-exile in Swissland . This after forcing David Dein out of AFC because he had sold some shares to Stan . Hypocrisy can be profitable. So loads of money was made by the previous regime and it is now all set up nicely for the current major shareholder, that sort that we don't want at Arsenal, to cash in his chips that he bought with borrowed money , when he feels the time is right . Of course old Arsene himself has also done rather well out of the finacial side of affairs at AFC ,then what with him being an account and all that is not really so surprising . Regarding the results football wise though the cupboard is rather bare with just the one trophy, an FA Cup, to show for the move from Highbury to the Emirates stadium .Again this is not really very surprising with all of the financial shenangins that have taken up so much of everyones time there taking precedent . Wenger's recent depressing statements indicate a continuation of these past financial profit before trophies policies will still continue to be pursued .These comments have not resulted in any major protests instead we have the usual claims about him over-achieving against all odds and that things are getting better with Arsene with him after twenty years in charge now sussing things out. You couldn't make it up.

13. Ron

    May 09, 2015, 19:31 #70878

    Hiccup - good stuff mate. So funny!. Youve really digested that Racing Post havent you. Im beginning to understand now why all of the bookies are so poor and on the brink of going out of business.

14. Hiccup

    May 09, 2015, 17:29 #70877

    mg, I have only today placed a bet that Wenger won't be manager of arsenal come August. However, in true cover bet fashion, I find myself fannying around and watching the betting markets very closely and looking for favourable odds on him still being here in August too. Whatever happens, I stand to make a hefty profit. Trust me on that.

15. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 09, 2015, 14:02 #70876

    Goalmachine, but then there would have been too much expectation and pressure to deliver.

16. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 09, 2015, 13:32 #70875

    Hiccup, your on a roll do us all a favour and put a bet on that TOF will piss off and the end of this season.

17. Unchives

    May 09, 2015, 13:07 #70874

    You haven't allowed for increase in players wages. Man Utd had a fixed debt of £500 million, plus a rolling credit debt of over £200 million, which will catch up with them if they continue to win nothing, where the Glazers will then sell to the highest bidder. I trust everything is correct with the rest of your figures. What most Arsenal supporters could not stomach was being told that our stadium project was "Ring-fenced" from our transfer budget and then being charged the highest prices in football, to then sell our best players and not replace them adequately.Wenger now admitting in his latest interview that our best players were sold for financial reasons. ALL DAMN LIES, FROM THE BEGINNING!

18. Goalmachine

    May 09, 2015, 10:29 #70873

    during the past ten years we have had one of the highest wage bills pay making average players millionaires. Now imagine if Wenger had put that money to good use on decent players oh how things would of been do much different

19. Platitude Problem

    May 09, 2015, 10:16 #70872

    Fourth is not a trophy - but we're joint second and in the Final of the FA Cup as holders, which is a trophy

20. Hiccup

    May 09, 2015, 9:15 #70871

    Just aside from the predictable sterility of arsenal, I correctly predicted the outcome of the election and have just collected my winnings from the bookies. Got 2/1 for a Tory controlling majority with the Lib Dems to get less than ten seats. During the results, at 1am I did place a bet on a Labour landslide to cover myself. At 3am I got odds of 1000/1 on the Green Party taking control so I made another safety bet to cover all angles. Several further well calculated covering bets were made throughout the night, I think one even included the defunct SDP as I really started to lose the plot, but needless to say I have come out with a hefty profit. Just thought I'd share this with you all.

21. goonercolesyboy

    May 08, 2015, 23:56 #70870

    Muguiresbridge you are as bad as the other troll, know nothing about Arsenal whatsoever...best read up before you spout off.

22. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 08, 2015, 23:45 #70869

    Hiccup, good stuff yourself, but don't you mean ejaculating.

23. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 08, 2015, 23:34 #70868

    Apparently LGV had to sigh depay early to avoid him being snapped up by others ( I doubt very much OGL was one of the others) you can just imagine our Old man doing that, he'd have dithered and dithered (especially if he thought that valuation was too much )in the hope of getting him on the cheap and he'd be gone, which of course will most likely be the case anyway with any real top top class player that comes his way or lands in his lap, and we all know what we'll be left with, that's if we sign anybody at all.

24. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 08, 2015, 21:29 #70867

    Ron, you can be damm sure that's the last thing they would have been discussing, (their not as soft and forgiving as us) they'd have been discussing what any proper ambitious fan would and is discussing trophies and honours. Ho Hum, some great posts keep saying it like it is.

25. Hiccup

    May 08, 2015, 19:58 #70864

    Ron, good stuff. Can you imagine the day you hear some United fan ecstasising about finishing 4th and claiming it an overachievement? Then try multiplying that by ten (seasons), and he'd be committed to a psychiatric ward. Meanwhile, back in cloud cuckoo land, arsenal has a flock of these crash test dummies that recite such nonsense, and they still walk the streets unabated? If you come across one, please approach with caution, as the 'Wenger is performing miracles' line has been known to cause fits of uncontrollable laughter to those on the receiving end of such sermons.

26. John F

    May 08, 2015, 18:35 #70863

    The atmosphere at the FA cup screening last year was completely different to the usual cricket ground atmosphere you get at matches.The crowd was younger and the sit anywhere policy meant that groups could stay together.Our away fans have been loud at the games I have been too which made me think why not have a section of the ground offered first to the regulars on away games with a sit anywhere you like policy .They may generate more noise at the home games.

27. Ho Hum

    May 08, 2015, 16:33 #70862

    Ron- Nothing to argue with there mate. London can be an advantage in persuading foreign players such as Sanchez to join us over the big northern clubs, but the downside is the acceptance culture that pervades our modern fanbase. They honestly believe that swallowing hook line and sinker all the rubbish the club throws at them makes them some kind of superfans. Grown men most of them too!

28. Ron

    May 08, 2015, 16:05 #70861

    Agree totally Bard. The 'feel' of the Club and stadium on match days betrays the lack of bite and passion there is (isnt) in the Club these days. Its pretty awful to be honest and why i only do away games, when i can raise the motivation. The place is full of compliant cuspers and corner turners! You only have to ask a visiting fan what its like and they all respond exactly the same. 'Love going there, great seats, lovely ground, shame about the funereal atmosphere'. Its like that for a reason. Theres been nothing to excite our fans for years by way of exciting players coming in and the tippy tappy style. Its tedious, though nobody there ever seems to want to admit it!

29. Bard

    May 08, 2015, 15:46 #70860

    My view is that romance, ambition and hope are critical ingredients in any football club whatever the level. They can be had without bankrupting the finances. Currently those qualities are demonstrably absent from Arsenal at the moment and thats why there is so much apathy and dissatisfaction. We all of us keep harping on about corners being turned and needing a couple to compete but it never happens season after season. We all know we need world class keeper and have done for donkeys years but we never buy one. so why do some believe it will be different next season.

30. Ron

    May 08, 2015, 14:50 #70858

    Ho Hum - As one who s lived here there and everywhere else since i left the SE in 83, ive always liked to note the different football cultures and attitudes in the different areas. In this, i take the view that only a London Club could have done this ground shift and then gone a decade with only arguably 1 genuine run at the title, albeit one which crashed and burned in Feb 2008 and still kept the lid on fan discontent while maxing their cash flow. Its my view that the more cosmopolitan climes of the SE leaves football trailing as rather less fundamental to the supporters than it is elsewhere. I think that the fans of the Southern clubs in the main are far less passionate and driven than are those in the North West in particular and certainly less passionate than those in the central areas.It will be interesting to see how Liverpool fans react if failure prevails in the immediate years after their new stadium development is completed. SE fans generally and Arsenals in particular are very passive and matter of fact where footie is concerned i think. Its a good job for Mr Wengers bacon that they are and have been really. Had this have been OT or Anfield, im not sure their fans would be discussing net spends, cusps, off the shoulders and nuances and financial doping of a rival Club in the face of the same set of facts and circs as Arsenal have created. The Club would be on the back foot well and truly in the face of demands for progression and achievement.

31. Ho Hum

    May 08, 2015, 14:27 #70856

    Salai- You're right of course, why should we ever consider competing with the big boys when in the eyes of many fans we're still that itsy bitsy low-resourse little club from Kent? Wenger must have a little chuckle and give thanks for you guys every time he opens his wage slip. Westlower- I have no doubt you will embrace any future change with gusto, just as soon as the powers that be at the club give you express permission to do so.

32. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 08, 2015, 13:18 #70855

    Bard, yes mate we may be powerless as fans towards the club, but i'm sure it would be different if done in the proper way, but unfortunately that will never happen. But powerless as fans towards other fans? especially wengerites and arsene luvvies? not at all, it's heard loud and clear and boy how it gets to them (some more than others to be fair)how the truth must hurt, like the super fan/AKB who was on here way back GPB or something like that (maybe he still is) who kept telling some of us on here we had nothing to offer and never read anything we posted, then there he was replying to everyone of our posts in detail. You had to laugh.

33. Spaced

    May 08, 2015, 12:53 #70853

    Exeter, I can see us making another big signing in the summer. We seemed to have turned the corner from our self induced austerity. Therefore, I am confident of continued spending and progress. A confirmed Champions League spot is also an added bonus. So many top players must look at Arsenal and think 'I'd like to play there'.

34. Ron

    May 08, 2015, 12:12 #70851

    Hi Westie - hear all that you say and agree it. Ive always been a keen historian of the Club as you know, as you are too. The Club has wonderful traditions. The crux of the arguments now though are that there are those of us who suspect that the Club will 'sit on its laurels' and take the money and lets face it Westie, we ve done that so often in the last 50 years, instead of reaching out as far as we can sensibly do so to raise our bar. Im not convinced there is the will in the Club at this juncture and under this regime to try to do so. I truly hope im wrong. Ive no problems with being proved wrong and hope we do kick on markedly as you and goonercolesy in his post suggest we might. I dont think any true fan can do anything but admire the way the Arsenal have traditionally done things, but we do need to deviate from the old traditional ways now to meet the demands of the new game that we have. Are they brave enough? Do they want it? We ll see.

35. Westlower

    May 08, 2015, 12:11 #70850

    Please excuse my Freudian Slip. It should of course read 'why wouldn't it be Arsenal' rather than, 'why it wouldn't be Arsenal.'

36. Westlower

    May 08, 2015, 11:58 #70849

    @Ron, Arsenal have always been run conservatively and have never looked likely to throw away the future of the club aka Portsmouth & Leeds. It's partly why I admire the club. It was certainly a gamble, albeit a calculated one, to leave Highbury and seek a greater future. It could so easily have gone tits up without prudent transfer dealings and consistent ECL qualifications. IMO, Wenger's finest achievement was keeping the cash flowing in during this vulnerable period, while attempting to play expansive football. It would have been simpler to park the bus every week to get results but it certainly wouldn't have attracted crowds of 60,000. He may be stubborn, foolish, whatever you want to call him but he's brave to stick to his footballing principles. Yes, we've had to suffer some embarrassing defeats because of it but it's preferable to being bored rigid watching safety first percentage football. My definition of the 'mess' we were in post Mee & GG is simply that in 1976 we finished 17th in the league & were knocked out of the FA Cup in the 3rd round 0-3 by Wolves. In 1995 we finished 12th & were also knocked out of the FA Cup in the 3rd round by Millwall. Can you imagine the outcry if a Wenger team finished in the bottom half of the league? If I were just starting out in life and had to choose an exciting club to support, why it wouldn't be Arsenal? Daniel Levy must cry himself to sleep every night wishing his club were at Arsenal's level. It's hard to believe they ever will be, as we've stolen a significant march on them thanks to continual astute management. I love the Arsenal way of doing things although I concede it does frustrate the hell out of the dissenters. Twas ever thus!

37. goonercolesyboy

    May 08, 2015, 11:50 #70848

    Ron, I am an armchair fan and a season ticket holder and go away as often as work permits. I think along the same lines as Westlower and see the future as bright as it has ever been and as he quite rightly points out the new manager will enjoy the job and will have my support come hell or high water. I am happy with my club even in our recent barren days and I know that success is just around the corner and am prepared to wait for it, unlike quite a few on here which is of course their prerogative.

38. Tony Evans

    May 08, 2015, 10:57 #70847

    Exeter - I fear you are right. That is exactly how Wenger operates and also the more clamour there is for him to do something the less likely he is to do it. We do need a top notch keeper and defensive midfielder but I am sure Wenger has convinced himself we don't and in all likelihood will stick with what we have. Two or three big signings and we are back in business (even with Wenger at the helm) but the more I think about it the less I think it will happen.

39. Ron

    May 08, 2015, 10:52 #70846

    Westie - Arsenal FC have never been in a 'mess' in its entire history. They've had short term on pitch problems to deal with, the same as any Club and have had to change Coach for all sorts of reasons and the team has been poor at times, of course they have That's football and what makes the game so great. AFC have always been safely controlled at Boardroom level. The only difference now is that their cash flow is greater and they've a bigger ground. AFCs 'future'has always looked good, save for the odd short periods. They've never really fulfilled it though in ways that are from time to time perceived as going to happen. Things are no different now. As a Club under this regime and Coach, nothing will change. Theyre happy with the statis. Its a shame that so many of the fans are. Those of us who see it differently to you recognise the chance now for the Club to genuinely become a big Club, like Utd, like Munich et al and act like one for the very first time in its history. Its easy for you to proclaim the gardens a rosy one as you dont go to many of the games. No disrespect but its one thing for a Sky TV armchair fan to be pleased with things but another thing entirely for those who do go to games to see it as quite the same way as you do.They deserve better and were told they would get better. Therein lies the con and the pup theyve been sold.

40. Salai

    May 08, 2015, 10:35 #70845

    Ho Hum - Juventus have won 4 consecutive titles, Bayern 3, bar Atletico, Barca/Real will contest the title for X amount of the last however many years. Why go back 30 years when you could go back one, 2-0 down within 15 minutes in a Cup final ? I'd love to go back to 97' and relive the double again, but I can't. I didn't expect us to win then, but I still had the same hope I have now, I'm just that bit older and I choose to see what's changed rather than remain oblivious.

41. Westlower

    May 08, 2015, 9:45 #70844

    With the possible exception of the George Allison era after Herbert Chapman's premature demise in 1934, never has Arsenal ever been in a stronger position in it's entire history. We've come through the relatively tough financial times and a whole new world is opening up to us. I've been accused of being frightened of change but on the contrary I haven't looked forward to the future as much in my 60 years of being a Gooner. Love or loath them, Wenger & the board have set this club up for a glorious future. Reflect on the mess we were in post Mee & post GG, dark days indeed. The man to replace Wenger will be a lucky man. Bring on the future, bring on change, I'll welcome both with open arms. Good old Arsenal, I'm proud to say that name, unlike some I could mention!

42. Bard

    May 08, 2015, 8:38 #70843

    Some good posts. I agree wholeheartedly with those that suggest we are powerless as fans but that is only true in the short term. If we as a club have been punching above our weight how come there was so much dissatisfaction at the ground earlier in the season. Arsenal peddled the need for patience while they sorted out the finances. But what has been revealed since is evidence of a club that lacks real ambition allied to doubts about Wenger's ability to move the club up a level. There is understandable optimism that this season we have turned yet another corner but its my view that he doesnt have a lot of time to deliver a team that properly competes quickly otherwise the mood will darken again.

43. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 08, 2015, 1:13 #70842

    Can you imagine Messi walking out onto the training ground at London Colney, looking like a lost soul, where he spies wally talking a good game to Sky, he then gets a tap on the shoulder, alright mate, he looks round and it's smoking jack asking him has he got a light? he makes his way out onto the training pitch and spies Chesney already lit up dragging away applying hair gell where nice boy then offers him some, Messi replies I never use the stuff I've never needed it to look good, he looks over and there is gibbs receiving treatment after falling over from some dude in a flat cap with a galvanised bucket full of room temperature water and a sponge he uses to wash his car, he then notices the defence standing like statues in the eighteen yard box not daring to move as somebody whips balls in, he asks why they not move to clear? and is told they're not allowed to unless the ball comes right to them. He then heads up the pitch where there are some players he's never heard off but are the same size as him running round cones but immediately realises something's not right their not using a ball, suddenly a welcome sight a ball, and their passing it, excited he joins in but the excitement is short lived as some Spanish unknown who obviously has been using Chesney's hair gell yells at him only left to right passes allowed and just for the duration of seven minutes and twenty four seconds. Jesus H Christ thinks Messi what the fook have I done coming to this, fook my contract i'm going home, he sprints to the dressing room with giroud shouting after him your not allowed to sprint, messi turns and gives him the finger and giroud replys with his tongue out later later, as he gets to the edge of the pitch where wally is still talking a good game, he spies this player who not only has he never heard off but never seen before been carried off on a stretcher, it was one of the injured who was fully fit again and out warming up who had tripped and pulled ligaments and was now out for another four months, it was Diaby. Then he turns round and sees this blue bat like creature coming towards him with wings flapping in the wind arms out stretched what the fook is that exclaims Messi! that's the boss says bouldy (his job now over for the day) puffa jacket open and flapping in the wind, pleading Lionel Lionel where you go please stay, we're the best team in Europe, just ask theo, we've got the best players, we show great speeritt and mental strength, we're going to win the prem in five years, and the CL in ten please please stay. Messi who can't stop laughing replies you must be fooking joking you old fraud what do you take me for an AKB? i'd rather retire.

44. Ho Hum

    May 07, 2015, 23:26 #70841

    Salai- I bloody love the ups and downs of football, you and Westlower seem terrified of them! The League Cup semi in 87 was all the sweeter for losing 5-0 at ****e hart lane 4 years earlier, but mediocrity rules eh guys? Our universe would surely have collapsed had we finished fifth as a result of giving in to ambition, it really doesn't bear thinking about does it? Btw let me be the first to congratulate Southampton on their title challenge this season.

45. goonercolesyboy

    May 07, 2015, 23:10 #70840

    Muguiresbridge posts 74612, 624, 637, 653, 662, 692, 700, 706, 712. All posts about Wenger, you really must come up with something new to write about, this is Arsenal football club. I asked you to write something positive about the club but your constant thoughts of hard ons and Viagra must be clouding your mind or memory. Deep breath now........

46. Salai

    May 07, 2015, 23:00 #70839

    You can't blame fans too much, we're all pretty helpless, unless we all come together and put real pressure on the authorities, to be honest I think the time has gone where we could've put real pressure on Arsenals owners, but the Premiership, the people who've just negoatiated a 5 billion pound deal ? There's still a chance, even if it would've been better before they finished negotiations. Also Arsenal as a club can only honour their promise in years to come, a few more Ozil or Sanchezes, the bigger trophies..

47. Westlower

    May 07, 2015, 21:31 #70838

    Good read in today's Racing Post written by the editor re the joyless experience watching Chelsea take a brutally tight grip on the Premier League. Maureen might think he's being oh-so-clever to flood the pitch with defenders to close out the championship battle with a functional 1-0 home win over Palace but similar timidity did him no good when the Blues were knocked out of the Champions League by PSG, so we will wait a little longer to officially confirm he is a genius. @Salai, So much common sense in your posts. I concur with your realistic views of the modern game & the fickle fans. Short termism rules!

48. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 07, 2015, 21:25 #70837

    Exeter, and you can just imagine his (and his fans)thinking if he manages a win away to man yoo.

49. Salai

    May 07, 2015, 20:05 #70836

    Ho Hum - That's your viewpoint as a fan, and I accept the frustration but this completely ignores the environment modern football has created, we can stamp our feet as much as we want, the only real people/persons who could've affected change are Kroenke/Usmanov. You can bleat about AKB/Doomers all you want, might make you feel a little better, but your rules are arbitrary, I could say we challenged in 08', or 11' but you'll dismiss this, ot because this isn't true, but because you believe calling people AKB's is somehow clever. Atletico since their last title before this one were relegated, Dortmund were on the verge of bankruptcy, Liverpool haven't won a title in 25 years, as a fan you'll say 'eff it, last year was worth it', as a manager or the board of Arsenal ?..

50. CORNISH GOONER

    May 07, 2015, 19:56 #70835

    IF ANYTHING DEMONSTRATES THE ONGOING LACK OF AMBITION AT L'ARSE, IT IS TODAY'S NEWS THAT MAN U HAVE MADE A BIG SIGNING (DEPAY) WITHOUT THE ASSURANCE OF CL PARTICIPATION NEXT SEASON. NO WAITING UNTIL THE END OF AUGUST FOR THE LEFTOVERS FOR THEM. THAT'S WHAT "BIG" CLUBS DO.

51. jjetplane

    May 07, 2015, 19:55 #70834

    Venetian blinds or used car parts? 'Good morning, this is Pete from JAMERsONS. Just phoning to see if brrrrrrrrrrrrrr .........'

52. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 07, 2015, 18:34 #70833

    Good old parlour telling it as it is, good on him, but that's him of AKB's Xmas card lists, Exeter don't forget our saviour (for the fifth year running) Diaby.

53. Exeter Gunner

    May 07, 2015, 17:05 #70832

    Tony Evans - don't think we should expect much this summer. This purple patch of results in an accommodating fixture list will have convinced Wenger he has what it takes. You know how he thinks - Ospina has done nothing wrong therefore has 'earned' his chance to be the number one. He's signed up Arteta for one more year so there's your other DM. He bought a CH in Jan and will now feel he has his complement. He believes Giroud is still getting better and has Welbeck as back up, plus Sanago to come back. I'd anticipate him signing another diminutive attacking midfielder as the major purchase of the summer.

54. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 07, 2015, 16:49 #70831

    Spaced, the name says it all, I've no doubt the trolls (as you and others very conveniently refer to them as)will have gone nowhere and will still be here in two more years time, saying it like it is and a lot more besides, like they always do (even if you and your ilk don't like it) that it's an absolute disgrace that a manager on £8,Million plus a season (and no doubt a hell of lot more by then) could only deliver one title in thirteen years and should have delivered a hell of a lot more.

55. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 07, 2015, 16:22 #70830

    jj, i'd love to see his reaction or the expression on his face if asked about wally, smokimg jack, giroud, Chesney, gibbs, diaby, etc, i'd imagine it would be more than a smile, especially if told he'll be playing with them next season.

56. David

    May 07, 2015, 16:15 #70829

    Not bad to be optimistic, and the financial stats are true but also misleading. Had Usmanov had the controlling stake in the club, then the spending would've been as great as Chelsea and Manc C. The reason he doesn't have the controlling share is because the board decided against what they perceived as a quick-fix. Instead we have the Yank. Was it worth holding on for? We'll soon know. The point of Ashburton Grove was to make Arsenal into a big hitter in Europe and not merely in English football. It should be in for a penny, in for a pound, but the board bottled it. The vision for this was from David Dein and he was the only one who was prepared to see it through - and the next step was the big-money backing. Which is what Red and White Holdings is all about. Arsenal might then have had the 2 PL titles and cups (Manc Cs trophy tally in the same period, but without the money, Arsenal got the best it was ever going to get. The board over-estimated AWs capabilities as a manager in believing he could achieve success without money.

57. statman

    May 07, 2015, 16:11 #70828

    The Invincibles would have blown Barca apart in a footballing match.They were unfortunate like many to come up against an anti-footballing Chelsea team.

58. Tony Evans

    May 07, 2015, 15:59 #70827

    It will be interesting to see whether Wenger is prepared to up the anti and sign the top quality goal-keeper (surely Cech is a must)and defensive midfielder, to compliment Coquelin, needed to bridge the gap to Chelsea. A top notch centre half and striker wouldn't go amiss either but now I am in the realms of fantasy surely.

59. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 07, 2015, 14:30 #70826

    Bard, Ron, indeed, a lot has been said by the wengerites about OGL being able to get a job, and could have at any top club in Europe, can you imagine him sitting on those benches in that caldron of expectation? with not the quarter of power he has now, with all those fans around him AND THE CLUB expecting? really expecting, and not taking any excuses for failure, not just happy with the odd trophy every ten years and just top four qualification for the CL but demanding it? while he sits on his arse looking clueless, rubbing his hands, head in hands and rocking back and forward looking like death warmed up? he wouldn't last a season, two tops, they'd hang him out to dry regardless of his so called reputation, and he knows it, hence why he's stayed where he is and burdened us over the years to be allowed to do his own thing with no expectations or comebacks.

60. jjetplane

    May 07, 2015, 14:29 #70825

    Let us have your list of the Trolls and their respective clubs SPACED. This sounds like some really interesting research stuff from AKB. When it comes down to it it is the Wenger apologists who are non-Arsenal fanzzzz and it shows in their silly little whinges about true Arsenal supporters who support Ray Parlour all the way thanks CHRIS DEE. Up the real Arsenal. Trophies before Cash (TBC).

61. Exeter Gunner

    May 07, 2015, 14:18 #70824

    Spaced, I think you are confusing anti-Wengerism with trolling. As a former waverer you should try and have a little more sympathy. Jamerson, if I come to my senses, can I be your 17th 'employer'? Or maybe one of your mates who earns more than Wenger. But I'm not upper class like you, is that a barrier?

62. Spaced

    May 07, 2015, 13:57 #70823

    Exeter, I am not saying that anyone who opposes Jamerson's views is a troll. I am saying that this forum is still overrun with the usual trolls from other clubs. People should stop engaging with them, so they get bored and go to another club's forum. If someone is pretending to be an Arsenal supporter but is from another club it is not possible to have a decent discussion and this forum is proof of that.

63. chris dee

    May 07, 2015, 13:57 #70822

    Never mind the b******s here's Ray Parlour telling it as it is. Only Sanchez would get into the Invincible team,and he's 100% correct. Despite our improvement this year we are still a bit away from winning the Premiership.And after watching the two Champions League semis we are even further away from winning that title. Arsene,despite what some people think, is not stupid, so to turn this improvement into success I hope he will sign two high class Internationals this summer.If,and it's a big if,he does that then we can have a good shot at the title.

64. Exeter Gunner

    May 07, 2015, 13:42 #70821

    Spaced, if you read Jamerson's posts and conclude that he is 'engaging' and that the comments otherwise are full of trolls, then after your 'wavering' you have clearly moved over to the most militant wing of the AKB movement. The zealousness of the Born Again...

65. jjetplane

    May 07, 2015, 13:41 #70820

    I guess after a decade of being locked into a Wengerite mind set you would be SPACED! Lol! Cheer up mate - there's always 3rd and a pre Emirates Cup experience to luxuriate in ... Not too sure about JAMERSON engaging on here .....

66. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 07, 2015, 13:40 #70819

    jj, an ex Arsenal player as mayor of London, and no doubt it would be all down to wenger as he seen it in him years ago.

67. Joe S.

    May 07, 2015, 13:37 #70818

    Arsenal are sitting complacently in a good place in this small time league called the EPL,but after watching this evening's game between Bayern and Barca one realizes that we just wouldn't be able to compete with either of these two teams having neither their man power nor the tactical nous and that even second place, 10 points behind Chelsea is a consolation prize for a club which thinks small and is only interested in maximizing its profit margins.

68. jjetplane

    May 07, 2015, 13:26 #70817

    I think our Jack would beg to differ with you JAMERSON re the partying. About the same height too and no reason why Jack won't end up at .... Lazio. Lovely stuff HO HUM and the returns for a decade with the 8m man are embarrassing and no doubt a standard joke throughout football. Never used to be like this. See JAMERSON now only talks about the team up to 2005. What happened after that mate? OWN GOAAAAAAAALLLLLLL ....

69. Spaced

    May 07, 2015, 13:24 #70816

    Thanks for the article Peter. But overrun by the usual trolls. Jamerson why do you bother engaging with them? Why argue over Arsenal matters with people who are quite obviously just trollers from other clubs? They are getting worse and it is more evident. . . . I have seen a lot of improvement in the Arsenal over this season and am very hopeful of a sustained title challenge next season. Was wavering over Wenger in recent seasons, but have now definitely moved back to the side of support. I can see a title coming our way in a season or two. (The trollers will miraculously disappear at that point, showing their true colours).

70. Ho Hum

    May 07, 2015, 12:59 #70815

    Salai- That's exactly the point mate, no-one expected or demanded that we win title after title, just that we made a proper challenge now and again. If you believe that no other £8m a year manager working at the biggest club in the biggest city in Europe could have even once achieved better than 3rd/4th place on 4th/5th highest wages and zero trophies then the indoctrination programme at AKB Central Command must be far more effective than previously feared. Scary stuff.

71. Ron

    May 07, 2015, 12:42 #70814

    goonercolesy - fair point. Messi is a footballing freak really, hes so good and i doubt even he knows why that is. Ronaldo is a totally different great player and in my view the comparisons are futile. With R though. i think his star has now very slightly started to wane a little. Hes got great games left in him, but i detect a hint of a decline with him at 31.

72. jjetplane

    May 07, 2015, 12:22 #70813

    AMOS appears to skip RON patiently explaining why Arsenal will always be Pantists under this accountant manager. I just skipped another of AMOS's post because thay make the FT posts a thing of neo-romanticist beauty. Wenger is outdated and the only reason this team are performing is because they are paid loads of dosh and the likes of Sanchez and Ozil are not so much hand brake players but simply not good enough for Barca and RM respectively but decent enough to shine in the exhibit type atmosphere that is Arsene FC. Religious types (AKBs) always flock to the sublime even when the desin is flawed. The flaw is sin and it must be looked after like the pitch/garden of the Emirates. Oh Blessed Arsene ..... Is there a chapel at the Emirates where AKBs could go to pray in quiet moments (there are many, decades even) if they ever do attend church/match day. Anyway - that second goal from Messi tells us Maradona was 2 bob and if Messi were to be asked about Arsenen FC he would smile and score another 3.

73. goonercolesyboy

    May 07, 2015, 12:17 #70812

    Bard, the reason why there is a lack of moaning is because the head troll jeff has disappeared, hopefully for ever. This site doesn't miss him one jot. As for last night, Messi has so much more to offer the team dynamic than Ronaldo even though their records are so similar. I wouldn't write those Germans off yet, though that third goal might just be a bridge too far. Juve Barca final would be interesting tactically, although an el clasico would be a little lively.

74. Ron

    May 07, 2015, 11:32 #70811

    Yr entitled to your view re the CL games Jamie, but yr specs need changing urgently some time soon im guessing. EG - It makes me wonder how tolerant the cheerleaders and the Club would have been re Wenger had the entry to the CL never have been extended to runners up and then later to 3rd and 4th place also rans?

75. Bard

    May 07, 2015, 10:58 #70810

    To all those who moan about the moaning on here I suggest you take a look at some of the posts from last night and today. Many of them are really funny. There isnt a miserable one that I can see.

76. WeAreBuildingATeamToDominate

    May 07, 2015, 10:42 #70809

    Peter Hughes; thanks for clarifying that. Well, if the criteria is all about the net spend catching up with our competitors, I guess it's as the vicar said to the tart, "it's not what you've got, it's what you do with it that counts".

77. Exeter Gunner

    May 07, 2015, 10:24 #70808

    An irony apparently lost on Wenger's cheerleaders is that the 'it's all about resources' argument actually downplays his abilities a coach as much as any other. You are saying that any old coach can do it with enough cash. At the same time the genuine overachievement - that's the winning of actual league titles - at clubs like Atletico and Dortmund that contradicts this view is simply dismissed as a 'blip', as 'anomalous'. It's a new phenomenon in football, seemingly peculiar to our club and borne out of their attachment to one man, that remorseless 4ths are viewed as the greater achievement. Of course, the beauty of this 'it's all about resources' argument for the Wenger cheerleaders is he's unlikely to ever have as much as Chelsea and Man C, so no matter how the resources at his disposal grow they'll forever be able to say 'if only he had a bit more' and cling on to him.

78. Ron

    May 07, 2015, 10:08 #70807

    Hi Bard - i think the last 2 evenings of CL footie have been enough to show us how primitive the PL is now. Thanks for the reply Amos - Its all opinion and conjecture as you say. Maybe we re all correct in our assessments to certain degrees?. There are no sure fire answers as you say.

79. Amos

    May 07, 2015, 9:56 #70806

    Mornin' Ron. There will always be a retrospective belief that 'we could have done better with the resources we had' and you could even apply that same claim to the 70% or so failure rates of the much greater spending of City and Chelsea over the last decade or so. There are those who think Fergie left ManU with some poor resources when he left. Every club has its fair share of mistakes irrespective of the resources available. I think that view assumes a degree of control that just wasn't there for us over the last decade. Partly because of the clubs commitments to investment in assets offering a sustained benefit, partly because of the distortion of the market over that period and partly because of changes in player contract laws that made it impossible to retain any player enticed by that same financial distortion for more than 3 or 2 years depending on their age - but largely because of those factors and the many other variables coming together at the same time. Do we really have a weaker team than 2007/2008? Is it really a weaker PL now than then? It's all just conjecture and unverifiable opinion. Things always look better looking back I suppose but this squad has at least won one more trophy than that team did so maybe it has qualities of its own. I have never put too much in the self-justifying words of players who have left us. They say what they say for the audience they think they speak to. Similarly you'll find players who join us reading the other pages of the same script. Actions speak louder than words so of course Sagna didn't leave for the money but to win trophies and Nasri, Adebayor et al weren't really interested in doubling their wages that was just a fortuitous consequence of their quest for personal glory. It's all just bubblegum for supporters. The only strait jacket regarding Wenger is the one some sections of support put themselves in believing the guff they are fed that it will take just 3 or 4 players to achieve domination. Every supporter of every club in the world is fed the same guff. Is recruiting a top notch coach really the way to ensure success? Most Chelsea coaches have won something with them which suggests that the resources of the club are the greater determinant. Likewise the last 3 coaches at Barca were all coaches appointed without top level coaching experience. The best way to be seen as a top notch coach is to ensure you join a club that should win something. I think it's easier now for Arsenal to appoint a coach than at any time over the last decade. It's the resources the club can apply relative to that of its peers which will determine his chances of being seen as a top notch coach. It's a circular debate though and as you said we'll all see what we want to see. Time to leave the Online Groaner to do what it does best.

80. Bard

    May 07, 2015, 9:18 #70805

    Ron I have had a tough night wrestling with the facts. Separating the nuances from the facts has left me exhausted but triumphant. I can say without fear of contradiction that 'we are tantilisingly close to being on the cusp of being off the shoulder, we just need two or three in the summer'. I leave it to the more mathematically minded to define quite how far 'tantilisingly close' is. After watching last nights game might I hazard a guess, 'light years'.

81. Wear your Colours

    May 07, 2015, 8:25 #70804

    The fees we paid for Ozil and Alexis recently underline than we have more financial freedom than we had over the previous ten seasons. But, I also think Wenger's team has evolved over the season and that elusive balance between attack and defence is getting better. Coquelin has been a revelation as the holding midfielder and has become pivotal to the teams recent improvement. We really need to find someone to compete with him for that role in this summers transfer business. I think we should make a big-money bid for Kroos from Real Madrid. If Ancelotti is sacked and the new manager wants to shake up the Madrid squad we could get him. COYG!

82. Ron

    May 07, 2015, 8:17 #70803

    Morning Amos. Ive always personally been of the view that its not simply a case of spending the most money on the team, but more one of spending what resources we have in a far better, more effective manner. What i see on here in the main are many others who tend to the same view. We ve had many yrs since 2006 where we have brought in players for fairly low transfer fees when the same cash ignored far better candidates to join us. Those fees accumulated to a very large amount of money coupled with silly wages paid to non producers yet returned very little. I feel Wengers methods of trying to bring in players who he thought would stay for years to play alongside kids and rookies has been naive. Shorter term buys of players to do specific jobs in a team with a mix of older heads and younger ones would in my view have seen us be a more potent team than what we ve had. I think it would have given us a better base from which to create a team now we re at this stage with more resources. This team we have now in my view is a poorer team than we had in say 2007/08 yet it exists in a weaker PL. Many good well priced players went elsewhere to do well rather than join us due to Wengers penny pinching and 'philosophy' of that i have no doubts. The bottom line now whatever way anyone looks at it is that the Club do have to buy big to surgically replace 3 or 4 players in crux positions, but also spend to replace the raft of perma injured players who we ve tolerated for so long. Its that raft of players that means the difference between challenging for the top trophies and not doing so. Wenger im sure has a stubbornness and inbuilt bias towards certain types of men who he refuses or cant cope with managing. Because of that he declines to bring in such players. Its a fear of his own loss of influence and omnipotence in my view. He d sooner sacrifice genuine improvements to the team rather than concede some ground in his empire amongst the squad overall. Its very dangerous and counter productive when a manager does that in any walk of life. Had he have not done so i firmly believe that the Club would have won far more these last 10 years. Importantly, i think the better players whove left us agree with me. Theyve said as much following their departures. The Club and the fans are in a mental straitjacket over AW. They say we need the 4 top notch players to make the difference etc etc which rings true to me. In my view though its far more important for the Club to spend the cash firstly on a truly top calibre Coach, then worry about the player recruitment. I for one, dont want to see the Clubs improved level of funds be set free for Wenger to waste.

83. Amos

    May 07, 2015, 7:46 #70802

    Hi Ron. I'm not the one backing a tired and staid status quo. That should be levelled at this hankering for the adoption of the idea that all you have to do is spend whatever you have buying whatever the back pages and 'the top pros and commentators (some of whom are daft and wrong but most just have to say something that conforms to the narrative because that is what they are paid to do)all think' are the top quality players that AFC need and if that doesn't work change the manager every year until you do win. Just rolling the dice rather than investing in something that does have a chance of building the resources that does offer the prospect of competing more successfully. Of course we know that rolling the dice hasn't worked unless you can spend twice as much as the top revenue earning club in the league. It may be a quaint assumption that FFP will change the owners of Chelsea and their ilk but that is already happening but FFP is a ball and chain not a guillotine. At the same time AFC has also changed and, based on the net spend figures above, we've spent twice as much in the last 3 years as in the previous 8 combined. During which period Chelsea had spent more than a 1000% of our spend in those 8 years but only 30% more in the last 3 years. Still the main message in the article is that, together with Arsenal's improving finances as their annually published reports clearly show, is that, and I quote "The next few years should see us competing on a more level playing field for the first time for over 11 years." A simple enough contention to grasp that shouldn't really trouble anyone. Still your main point was "that Arsenal never invested massively in the team when they were football royalty" in which case how did they become football royalty? The reality is that football has changed massively over the last decade or so. From changes in player contract laws and the liberalisation and subsequent regulation of football finances to the level of scrutiny of individual and collective performances. Arsenal has adapted to and met those changes and challenges better than many others. It has not backed the tired and staid status quo as the 'spend some f**ing money brigade' wish them to. The last decade hasn't lied. It's there for all to see what AFC and football generally has become - whether you want to see it or not.

84. Salai

    May 07, 2015, 1:59 #70801

    Ho Hum - The Liverpool team who haven't won a title for the past 25 years, were they 'bucking the trend' ? Did they just buck it up season after season, don't worry though I'm sure there's a Scouse 'Ho Hum', make your own pun, preaching how they should be proud of their two attempted challenges.

85. jjetplane

    May 06, 2015, 23:00 #70800

    Colesy loves JW Awwwww. Wait til he gets hold of AMOS again ... The thing wiv bleedin nuance JAMERsON is it's all lily white post modernist and notcha good old empiricism wot we posh cockneys what loves our mums like. Compare and contrast - Giroud, Welbeck, Sanogo and er Messi, Neymar and Suarez. Now this 'best team in Europe' malarkey which Theo the Irritant (RON's coinage) is spouting is perhaps a rehearsal for when he teams up with Captain Sol as together they gun (sic) for Mayorhood of Londinium. It would be nice to see the Chain at the EmiraTES ...

86. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 06, 2015, 22:58 #70799

    Arsenal are the best team in Europe says Maradona as he leaves to continue his treatment for drugs addiction. Tee Hee, it's not right laughing but you have to.

87. Ron

    May 06, 2015, 22:34 #70798

    Bard, you just have to look at the facts empirically with a robust methodology as if you were a professional scientist. Only then upon interpreting the facts will you appreciate the nuances of the context in which the facts lie. If that fails, just read the swiss ramble, world renowned for its unbiased, unquestionable rigour.

88. Hiccup

    May 06, 2015, 22:22 #70797

    Using AKB speak, I think it's fair to say the Lib Dems are tantalisingly close to achieving an overall majority tomorrow.

89. Arseneknewbest

    May 06, 2015, 22:11 #70796

    Maguiresbridge - 74656 - Jamie and Badarse in a close and confined space conjures up some powerful and disturbing images; a bead of sweat falling from the tip one of their noses onto the neck of the other one for instance. The highly paid, under-educated upper classes and their leisure pursuits eh?

90. goonercolesyboy

    May 06, 2015, 22:05 #70795

    Who shot the troll jeff wright? Was it Bobby, Sue Ellen, Badarse, Westlower, Jamerson, Leeafc, Rocky or has the worm turned and did the muguiresbridge or Ron or jj or Exeter do it?

91. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 06, 2015, 21:59 #70793

    Cornish, someone mentioned another cliche the other day grinners are winners, and going by wenger on Monday night after getting the better of relegation fodder he has developed a good sense of humour.

92. Bard

    May 06, 2015, 21:52 #70792

    Amos good to see youre back in action. I loved the tantalisingly close, does this equate with 'off the shoulder' or 'on the cusp' or even 'we are two or three short'. Does being 10+ points behind Chelsea mean we are close or what Im lost.

93. jjetplane

    May 06, 2015, 21:38 #70791

    111 goals this season between Suarez, Messi and Neymar. Getting the hang of these stats now ....

94. jjetplane

    May 06, 2015, 21:28 #70790

    Messi Messi Messi and to think Arsene said 'thanks but no thanks' & 'we have Sanogo coming back' and still to score a PL goal. I can see where the AKBs are going now .... Who remembers Barca doing us at Wembley when we were the best team in Europe. Let the Coke do the talking. Jamerson - you're a hedge fund manager, of course. Did we know Messi has scored 35 hatricks in his career ...

95. Ron

    May 06, 2015, 21:10 #70789

    No Jamie. I wont find most managers and coaches considered us the best team in Europe, though Maradona may done if he was on a trip. Cant speak for Pele. Maybe he was trying to sell Arsenal something as hes been doing for well over 30 years here and there. Good to see Maradonas stunning intellect and integrity has made its mark on you though.

96. jjetplane

    May 06, 2015, 21:01 #70788

    Funny seeing AMOS back.Sniff of a financial article and he is back with his oh so knowledgeable 'presentations' ..... which have little to do with footer but plenty to do with the same stuff that Arsene gets off on - red and white spreadsheets. JAMERSON so are employed or are you employing? Was it Harrow or was it Eton? Pray tell old bean .... I want to see your next post in Latin and fully referenced.

97. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 06, 2015, 20:51 #70787

    Arseneknewbest, have you ever seen Jamerson and Badarse in the same room? or even the same phone box.

98. jjetplane

    May 06, 2015, 20:35 #70786

    JAMERsOn if you are so taken by the Arsenal Business Model (ABM - should be the name of the club) why are you not employing 16 pretty boys with tattoos. A few of those lads like a puff or two. Is your secretary a 'good bloke' too? Some great posts there and again the majority are saying 'nice article AKB Central' but I also agree it sounds like the Tory Party. Not a lot of socialist principles when you are creaming 8m a year while experiencing 'biting Club austerity' due to uprooting/destroying the 'good old Arsenal' Then move was akin to HSBC throwing a towel in so they can over profit elsewhere. Culturally immoral.

99. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 06, 2015, 20:25 #70785

    DJ, good point, no they certainly should not, and they won't, even though his fans would love the last ten years of failures, embarrassments, humiliations etc, etc, to be airbrushed out of history, they happened and are part of his legacy (what's left of it) and will never be forgotten or forgiven, and another FA Cup that he and his fans treated with distain until recently will suddenly not change that.

100. Ron

     May 06, 2015, 20:07 #70782

     We were absultely 'not playing the best football in Europe' 10 yrs back. The team was as nervously crippled in the CL with Seaman Adams Henry, Bergy and Pires at their peaks as they are now Jamie. Thats why they were turned over so often by euro minnows, just like they are today. Wenger couldnt create a team to play the best football in Europe even with a blank cheque book if he tried. You should really hope hes never given the the chance. Open yr eyes for once.

101. Ron

     May 06, 2015, 19:49 #70781

     Hi Amos - you traditionally back the staid and tired status quo personified by Wenger but youre efforts here to skate around and divert others from reality of what AFC have become seems to be even more desperate. The original post just overtly make the simple point that things in football have slightly changed and FFP has touched upon it, but the implicit message behind the post is that its some how going to transform Arsenal into a genuine competing club. The assumption that some make that FFP and AFC s changed circumstances will change the owners of Chelsea and others of that ilk is quaint. It will alter their course very slightly in truth. The main point i make is that Arsenal never invested massively in the team when they were football royalty and to be honest, when theyve flirted with large scale investment in top players theyve often failed miserably. The team investment culture of AFC is as ingrained in the dna of the Club as the Old Etonion buffers are,whose ghosts still haunt those corridors of power. My guess is that all that which the old culture bought was manna from heaven to SK when he bought the old charabanc that is AFC and it seems hes been glad to comply with the old habits. All this talk of progression is a false dawn. What we ve seen is another purple patch in a convenient passage of fixtures. The top pros and commentators all think AFC need several top quality players to compete. Theyre not all daft and theyre not all wrong. Its patently obvious to anyone without half a day in football that theyre right. Yr alluding to the investment in medic and training facilities is no more than the equivalent of the massive cost relatively on the Club installing under soil heating all those decades ago. It didnt lead to the same tender care to the team then and it wont now. AFC under Wenger are wealthy also rans and thats how it will remain, because theyre happy with that state of things and why shdt they be, with the moribund support that roll up at home games every other week enabling them to coin it while passing off mediocrity as progression and even as 'success'? The last decade hasnt lied. its there for all to see what AFC have become, but only if you want to see it.

102. Cornish Gooner

     May 06, 2015, 19:25 #70779

     Some of the above remarks in support of the status quo at Arsenal are incredible. The club is owned by 2 billionaires and therefore all comments about prudent financial management - effectively equating us with the likes of Bournemouth - are pointless. It simply comes down to ambition - or rather the lack of. The Club simply has little evident drive to succeed and it seems that the malaise has now spread to the junior teams who appear to have had a pretty poor season. Very good at wasting money though. There is absolutely no ruthlessness at the top - and, by the way, a modern manager would not need to spend bucket loads of money on players to put things right. But instead the dreary cycle goes endlessly on. What is the cliche? "Nice" guys finish last?

103. Exeter Gunner

     May 06, 2015, 18:49 #70778

     So the financial numbers have been closing for the last 3 years, but Arsenal haven't got any closer to a sustained challenge for the title. Nor have they gone deeper in the CL. Therefore there is no trend to suggest that Wenger's continued tenure will result in either of these occurring in the next few years. Continue it will though, I'm sure. As has been pointed out, Kroenke's portfolio demonstrates that challenging at the top is not a requirement. AFC have an excellent business model but it's not a platform for greater on-field success, it's an end in itself.

104. Amos

     May 06, 2015, 18:38 #70777

     Glad to have cheered you up then HoHum. You seemed to need it. We did do a little better than tantalisingly close to a trophy last season of course but we've always looked as though it was not too far away which is the root of this myth that all it would have taken was another £20 or £30m spent here and there. The numbers show that even an awful lot more than that will still result in a 70% failure rate.

105. Ho Hum

     May 06, 2015, 18:24 #70776

     Amos- 'Wenger....has always been tantalisingly close to winning trophies'. Comedy gold, my friend!

106. Amos

     May 06, 2015, 18:12 #70775

     HoHum - managers who occasionally produce teams whose whole are sometimes greater than the sum of its parts? There're those who would argue that we currently have a manager who has consistently produce teams greater than the sum of their parts. Managers can occasionally excel - as someone pointed out earlier Di Matteo won Chelsea's only CL trophy and even Avram Grant got them to a CL final yet couldn't keep West Ham from relegation. Maybe Wenger's biggest failing is that he has bucked the trend of obvious failure and has always been tantalisingly close to winning trophies despite the handicaps and false competitive landscape - and there maybe lies the frustration - he hasn't 'failed' badly enough.

107. Peter Hughes

     May 06, 2015, 17:48 #70773

     WABATTD To back up the last paragraph. In the last 2 years we have a net spend of 110m. The 4 previous years was minus 43m.We have added 2 world class players & another potentially in Gabriel.Even the 2 big money clubs took a few years to gain success on the back of their financial clout.There has been improvement this season with a more solid team than previously.I would expect 1 or 2 more big signings no matter what AW says.The last obstacle is a world class keeper.Whether AW is around to reap the rewards I expect a title sooner rather than later.

108. Ho Hum

     May 06, 2015, 17:43 #70772

     Salai- Of course you're right, after all it's only been 11 years since a title challenge and Liverpool have only had 2 in the last 6 seasons. In any case, I've heard treading water year after year can be quite therapeutic. I reckon an institutionalised 'Be careful what you wish for' is the way to go mate, and we all know that antipathy toward the manager is purely a modern fan phenomenon, just ask Billy Wright and Terry Neill.

109. maguiresbridge gooner

     May 06, 2015, 17:18 #70771

     Ron, good post, and skinflint culture a good description, conveniently disguised over the years and used as an excuse for OGL having no money to compete, even though he had plenty to spend on extortionate wages and contracts for third raters, dross, and sick notes etc.

110. Hiccup

     May 06, 2015, 16:58 #70770

     So, are we on the cusp of the horizon of good times, or are we on the horizon of the cusp? Either way, it's all rather exciting. This is just a revamp of Ivan's 'we will be able to compete very soon' statement a couple of years back? Looking forward to the same article being recycled again in another two years time.

111. Ho Hum

     May 06, 2015, 16:58 #70769

     Amos- Yep, the richest clubs win most of the time, I reckon everyone gets that. But what we appear to agree on is that there are managers out there able to occasionally buck the trend and produce a team that's whole is more than the sum of it's parts. We shouldn't expect it obviously, but an £8m a year salary should give us some hope of it. One thing's for certain, if Wenger does eventually manage to land a big trophy he won't be bucking the trend now in any real sense. The opportunity for that passed a while ago.

112. Gaz

     May 06, 2015, 16:28 #70767

     @horshamgooner: Let me just assume for a minute that you knew what I really meant with that comment! Whilst I'm here though do you think Wenger will ever win the CL? And with that in mind what do you make of this comment from Keith Eddleman in 2006: "Our aim is to be a leading European club and, once we get into the new stadium, we will be in that position"...

113. Salai

     May 06, 2015, 16:26 #70766

     Ho Hum - At best your logic is cyclical, 'Wenger's smart enough to create scope, but isn't smart enough to utilise it' I understand the frustration, but then it still masks delusion, almost always these arguments focus on how well we might've done, not the consequences of the risk we would've taken on. At best you've realised that Arsenal might've done better, at worst you're oblivious to the possibility, and the likely of the two that Arsenal could've done a whole lot worse. Likewise this isn't what supporting Arsenal used to be about, but it is what modern football is about bow, 95% of fans share similar frustration.

114. horshamgooner

     May 06, 2015, 15:54 #70765

     Gaz. So we'll have Robbie Di Matteo as manager because he has won the Champions League and knows what it takes??

115. Avenell Road

     May 06, 2015, 15:48 #70764

     Jamieson - do you mean to say employees or employers? Important distinction to be made there. Especially for a self-styled upper class entrepeneur.

116. Amos

     May 06, 2015, 15:43 #70763

     Atletico had a good season but it was the first time since 2004 that a horse other than the two that usually contest LaLiga won it. Chances are it'll be another 10 years before they are similarly challenged. Again Dortmund had a good spell while the Munich horse was being reshod but that horse wins it far more often that not (7 of the last 11). The PL by comparison has been a 3 horse race for the last 10 years or so (it used to be a 2 horse race and when it was we would occasionally romp home)but we've had to carry a greater handicap than those 3 horses over the last 10 years than we had previously. That handicap seems to be lessening which is all that the article above points out. Nobody has made any claims about the future as far as I can see(other than those claiming it won't improve that is)but simply pointed out that the competitive landscape appears to be levelling out.

117. Ho Hum

     May 06, 2015, 15:21 #70762

     Oh to 'canter home' as Dortmund did 2 years in a row before dropping back in the running, and Atletico won a clearly not one horse race last season then were seconds away from every greater glory. Goodness knows how they managed it.

118. Arseneknewbest

     May 06, 2015, 15:14 #70761

     Jamerson - your posts on this thread (not to mention some of your others recently) are almost Badarse-esque in their levels of bollockry. You sound like a swivel eyed Tory loon my man, and god help anyone that works for you. Describing yourself as upper class, and comparing the running of your chain of tattoo parlours and manicure businesses to the Arsenal is tragi-comic and delusional. Can we substitute you for your belligerent but possibly mythological brother for a few weeks? Vote red tomorrow comrades - sadly, it's the only way we'll tackle the blues.

119. Amos

     May 06, 2015, 15:04 #70759

     There you go right on queue up pops chicken licken to tell us that the sky is really falling. The question is really only whether real financial disparity existed to a greater extent than what had gone before? If so to what degree and has it now been ameliorated by changes in the game and Arsenal's improving finances?. It's not really a war between opposing factions just and exchange and sharing of views that's all.

120. maguiresbridge gooner

     May 06, 2015, 14:41 #70758

     There you go then right on queue up pops wally out of his shoe to tell us all how good they are and what they're going to do really go far, how they've found their mogo after all this time and how they're going to move on and really go places next time, challenge for this and that go all the way, yawn yawn how we've all heard it and been here before, the spin out of wally's mouth when it's in full flow like his past it manager what an absolute bore, but he serves his purpose and he serves it well as TOF's mouthpiece he's number one and there's no doubt he'll be believed by the faithful sheep, but a lot of us aren't as gullible as some and expect no difference than we'll all be hear next season in a familiar place regardless of wally the wallet and the spin machine we'll still be out of the title race.

121. johnnyhawleyloovinggooner

     May 06, 2015, 14:36 #70757

     totally correct. The club lives within its means and dealt with the worst banking crisis in living memory. The Chavs and city owners have given their clubs money(or perhaps looking at the profit and loss accounts back them. I don't know only speculate)arsenal had to find the money themselves. maybe Stan stood behind the club's bills then who knows. we also were very lucky with the transfer market. We bought cheap and sold high.(yes I know it could of been better/luckier). Liverpool and spurs have spent huge sums of on players and have come unstuck. Which of last summer buys from either would you really want? Big Ollie up front is better value than the player manu have rented for a year and is paid a kings ransom. Yes we were stuck with some duds on big contracts but some of those players have to take a real look at themselves, were as the tots bought prize turkeys at golden eagle prices.

122. Amos

     May 06, 2015, 14:02 #70756

     Arsenal have invested more in the club than most over the last 10 years. So claiming they just did not want to spend or to describe them as a 'tightarsed' club is way off the mark. They spent £400m+ on a new revenue generating stadium for a start and borrowed £260m so £140m+ came out of their own resources. Before that they invested tens of millions in a new stadium complex and since then have invested millions more in a new fitness and medical centre. These are real investments designed to build enduring success - not just speculation based on the notion that if you roll the dice often enough you'll succeed eventually but might not have the stake to continue playing. Dortmund compete in what is essentially a one horse race and if that dominant horse has a lame period then another horse will canter home before dropping back in the running before too long. It's not quite the same as what has happened in the PL over the last 10 years. In any event the article doesn't make any point other than the financial disparity has closed markedly over the last 3 years compared to the previous 7/8 years. It's curbing those external excesses that holds the promise for the future.

123. Ron

     May 06, 2015, 13:59 #70755

     Gaz - respect for yr post as ever. Jamie - yes, all very laudable as was some old stat i saw some time back that we ve accumulated the 2nd most points in top grade football, behind Liverpool. Those definitions of success are AFC/Wenger/Kroenke tailored but i dont subscribe to them. AFC s mission statement back in 2000 was that they wanted to challenge for the top honours consistently. The ground shift was their vehicle to do so. Theyve been very subtle in moving their own goalposts and selling it to us since they saw the associated off pitch cash rewards since 2006. They shdt be allowed to get away with it by sleight of hand. While poor seasons and losses happen and has to be accepted as such, its every fans duty to remind them. Too many swallow the spin of which Wenger is the willing purveyor and Arsenal are relishing it. The stats you produce are just red herrings and pretty pointless.

124. Mark from Aylesbury

     May 06, 2015, 13:10 #70753

     Jamie - I think I get it. There has been some sort of time slip and your amusing offerings are flying out of the colonial empire. May 1907 Yes fags are good for the chest said the doctors and so is lead in the water. Alternatively you are bonkers.

125. Gaz

     May 06, 2015, 13:03 #70752

     Hi Ron. Its nothing to do with Wengers 'aura' or charm thats drawn me in and as I said in a previous post I still want him gone in two years time even if we win the title but fail to progress in the CL. I'll also never forgive him for driving me towards some pretty radical views and opinions that really made me hate the business of supporting Arsenal. Where I am right now though is that I can see that progress has been made and I've actually enjoyed watching us since christmas. I genuinely believe that we'll make one or two important signings in the summer and next season could be the one where we finally make a real and proper bid for the title again. I always felt with Wenger that he was a great manager of great players rather than the type of manager who could get a bunch of average players and coach them into a really good side. I now think we're getting to the point where we have some genuinely great players at the Club again and domestically we're ready to challange. I still think the CL-where tactics become far more important-will be beyond him and for me the dilema is the move to the Emirates was supposed to see us properly compete in that competition. This is why in two years time-when we've failed to win it I'm guessing-I'd like to see someone come in who's won it before so knows exactly how to win it. I guess a part of me has always been desperate to feel differently about how I'd started 'supporting' the Club and my daughter in particular made me re-think things as I hated being so critical around her. She's only 17 and enjoys supporting the Club and I felt I was bringing her down which I felt pretty bad about. So I guess what I'm saying is that I've had to convince myself rather than have Wenger doing the convincing!!! I won't deny though that I feel better for not having such a complete and utter downer on the Club. Sadly at the back of my mind I know I'll never be far from falling into the abyss again lol!!!...

126. DJ

     May 06, 2015, 13:01 #70751

     Ron: Again you hit the nail on the head, the 8-2 humiliation should have been the end for Wenger. The way this was accepted as one of those things, yet is was the club’s parsimonious attitude in the transfer market which led to the panic buys the day after, and the lack of discipline , Song and Gervinho’s suspension for this game which made us send out such a weakend team. Gaz is right things are improving but should the previous ten years be swept under the carpet???

127. Gunner Rob

     May 06, 2015, 13:00 #70750

     @Jamerson good stat but isnt that like winning the calendar year trophy? what is more meaningful is actual trophies - we are behind Man U and Liverpool and no doubt Chelsea and City will catch us up this century

128. King Jeremy

     May 06, 2015, 12:48 #70749

     Ron - top, top post and bang on the money! All the cash in the world is worth nothing without a manager that is willing to invest it. As nice a fella as Giroud is, we are not winning the league with him up front and a forward should be top priority this summer. But you knwo full well that at September 1st our forward squad will be Giroud, Wellcrap, Sanogoals and Lukas "like a new signing" Podolski. I never realised "Victoria Concordia Crescit" translated as "near enough is good enough".

129. maguiresbridge gooner

     May 06, 2015, 12:48 #70748

     Some would tell us or have us believe the good times are here now with one trophy (a trophy the manager and his fans cared little about until recently)and another boring top four finish without being anywhere near first oh and St Totteringham's ham day of course. It could have been worse? yes of course it could, fifteen years? but there would have always been a top four finish and of course St Toteringham's day and that would have made everthing alright.

130. kdmgooner

     May 06, 2015, 12:37 #70747

     Thanks for the article Arsene, did you write it yourself or did Ivan help you?

131. Ron

     May 06, 2015, 12:29 #70746

     Hi Gax - im surprised at you, but i can see why its happened. Wenger has an aura, a certain charm (a false charm in my view) and persona that beguiles and draws you in. He ran out of that particular currency for me in August 2011 when he sat through and then afterwards smugly passed of the 8-2 thrashing at OT as if it was some thing we should just meekly accept, like a narrow 1-0 loss that happens now and then. He needed sacking then and needs sacking this Summer in my view if the Club really wanted to progress. The man is an old Vauxhall Vectra with far too many miles on the clock!

132. Made Up Stat

     May 06, 2015, 12:27 #70745

     Gaz: For me, one of the most damning things you can say about Wenger is that he thought it perfectly acceptable on a number of occasions to make Almunia captain. Captain! Of Arsenal!

133. Gaz

     May 06, 2015, 12:17 #70744

     I'm certainly softening towards Wenger and the Club but lets please not pretend those heavy defeats, stupendous capitulations, and many MANY defeats to Clubs with half our financial muscle were all down to the fact we had less rescources than one or two or three competing Clubs. Wengers tactics throughout that barren spell were apalling at times and he wasted an absolute fortune on players who simply were never ever good enough for us. Then theres the 'Almunia conundrum' as I like to call it. This one player probably cost us between 5-10 points a season and was involved in defeats that led to other defeats and terrible runs. Lets not even try and pretend he was our keeper because we simply could not afford anyone else. That was Wengers choice and Wengers choice alone and we paid dearly for it. So whilst-as I said at the beginnig-I'm softening towards Wenger and can see real progress this season I'll never ever believe that his 'way' was the only way and that another manager might have come in and produced a better side with better results.. And with that in mind I'm guessing it would have led to more trophies-however small-than the one FA Cup in ten years...

134. Ron

     May 06, 2015, 12:13 #70743

     The post Prem inception days have brought far more things being explained on the basis of who spends more. The truth is Utd and Liverpool always did hence why they were the successful post war Clubs in the main. Utd had the big ground and commercial clout and Liverpool had a big ground vis most of the others and were wonderfully managed at Boardroom and in the dressing room.Both Clubs bought each season new fresh players and kept their squads on their toes so each season didn't need a major overhaul, it was merely a player topping up exercise that was needed each close season. Arsenal were at least as wealthy as Liverpool and too tight arsed to compete financially with them. They lacked Liverpools ambition and while Utd never won a title from 1967 until 1992, they won many Cups and always challenged at the top save for their dead years from 1972-1974. Having the money doesn't mean a Club will spend it on the best players. In Arsenals case, it certainly means they wont.Its a given. They've always been wealthy and while their history is rich vis most other Clubs, they could and should have been up there with Liverpool and Utd n terms of their honours list. AFCs monetary culture is a skinflint culture, a buy when we need to approach, hence they've never had a dynasty to match Liverpool and Utd. Im not being unkind to your post, but if you think that AFC as a Club will alter that long ingrained culture just because the debt burden has been reduced/removed, you're kidding yself. They wont and especially wont under Stan Kroenke. Check him out. He doesn't do it. His sports portfolio is large in size, minuscule in achievement. AFC are a part of that and will stay that way. A nil debt burden wouldn't alter Arsenal F C. AFC look upon success as being 'nice when it happens'. Its not a prerequisite for them or for any Coach they've ever had. It wont change. Forget 'level playing fields'. Arsenal dont want one and never did. They ll feed you that pup though that they do, if your gullible enough to swallow it.

135. UTU

     May 06, 2015, 12:13 #70742

     Just kepp handing over your cash and the Club will be like it. Wenger is successful over The Arsenal because he delivers Profit every year and maybe another FA Cup this year. Kroneke likes it, most of the fan base like it and Wenger likes it. As for me I don't like their brand of success, call me old fashioned but I prefer to see The Arsenal winning League Titles and having a real go in the Champions League every year. I don't hand over my cash to Arsenal PLC and they won't like at all

136. Finsbury Joe

     May 06, 2015, 11:22 #70741

     Finances are not the reason this club fail. The likes of Dortmund and Athletico have not used a relative lack of finance as an excuse, they went out and won trophies, and I am talking about proper trophies in recent years. Since the previous board took the money, Stan came in and took the ambition, a manager has been allowed to steal the identy of the club, a manager who thrives on failure and surrounds himself with those of similar traits. How can people bemoan a lack of money when what money the club has is wasted on players like Park, Bischoff, Almunia, Squillacci, and others, too many for me to bother mentioning. Arsenal=failure, and thats the way Wenger, Gazidis, Kronke and the AKB fanbase like it, anything else is just too challenging for a serial loser

137. Ho Hum

     May 06, 2015, 11:19 #70740

     Your figures only have relevance when taken in the context of how much was available to spend, and in Arsenal's case we all know the answer to that one. The requirement was never to qualify for the Champions League every year. To miss out 4 of the last 10 seasons would have been fine as far as the board were concerned, Wenger said so in his Football Focus interview with Keown. There was always plenty of scope for the manager to show financial ambition when those occasional opportunities knocked, and maybe the 'one or two Premierships with a couple of cups thrown in' would have materialised, but he chose not to and hid behind Project Morality for as long as he possibly could. Even now the author is only talking about 'the next few years' seeing a power shift, so Wenger's teflon years will continue unabated.

138. AMG

     May 06, 2015, 11:13 #70739

     Austerity ≠ Prosperity - That Arsenal failed to spend the extra £20m-30m a season necessary to turn their 'nearly' teams into title winners, does not necessarily correlate to the fact that they now have money to spend. Increased success, leads to increased interest, which leads to increased revenues. Wenger's austerity has divided the fan base, priced out ordinary fans and led to 1 FA Cup in 9 years - I'm not even going to touch on his decision making and tactical awareness.

139. AMG

     May 06, 2015, 10:59 #70738

     When I read the subtitle of your article I thought of David Cameron and had to go for a little vomit.

140. Amos

     May 06, 2015, 10:02 #70737

     Quite right jjetplane - it's best to avoid reading anything that will question your prejudices if you're determined to hang onto them. Not much point telling others what to read and what not too read though. There're too many with minds of their own for that advice to be heeded.

141. jjetplane

     May 06, 2015, 9:26 #70732

     Ha ha ha ha ha Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn! Do not need to read the above. Short enough to be a promotion for your masters. AKBs - keep your declining club. There is no Arsenal just a soft bellied corp that only appeals to the middle classes who only care about status. Football is too vulgar for them. Gotta go Lol!

142. Amos

     May 06, 2015, 8:24 #70731

     The last paragraph simply asserts that we will be competing on a more level playing field. The reasoned argument is contained in the analysis of net spending above. Net spending can be misleading though and it is the level of gross spending over a period of time that is more telling. Mourinho's Chelsea actually spent quite a lot over the last year - the issue for them is how long they can sustain the level of gross sales to fund that level of spending.

143. WeAreBuildingATeamToDominate

     May 06, 2015, 8:01 #70729

     Erm, weren't we supposed to be "punching above our weight" when we were at Highbury too..........and would you care to back up the last paragraph with a reasoned argument as to how will we compete?