A lot of rumors going around about a variety of things, and I haven’t seen much of it being very positive, thats for sure. I figured I’d give my 2 cents on a few hot topics, and give us all an area to debate the Summer Silly Season that we all loathe annually.
(at least I dread it, because our top names are constantly rumored to be going elsewhere)
1. Thierry Henry:
I believe the man is frustrated with our lack of success, and lack of experience in the squad. He wants to win now, as he’s at the peak of his career, and doesn’t have time to wait for the kids potential, to potentially blossom or potentially not. He’s candid, he’s open… he’s Thierry Henry and has won enough in his career to be able to speak his mind.
I hope he stays, because he’s not replaceable. If we sell him to Barcelona, I highly doubt we’ll spend the money we get on a star player to attempt to replace him. Players come to Arsenal to play with Theirry Henry. He helps fill the stadium. He’s a big part of what Arsenal are as a team. Its really simple, if he goes, we are fecked for a few more years.
2. The Club.
We seem to be in utter turmoil. Wengers on holiday. Dein is gone and we have not replaced him. We might be taken over by an American Billionaire, or not. Dein might ride back in with the billionaire, or not. Our star players are spouting off and rumored to be headed elsewhere.
I don’t see many other EPL star players being mentioned in the papers every day as being off to wherever. Gerrard? Drogba? Terry? Any ManU players?
Maybe I’m just paying attention to Arsenal too much, but why are we being raided. Because we’ve sold our captain previously? Are we thought of as a feeder club to the REAL big clubs.
And on that note… why build this massive stadium, to try and compete with the biggest and best in Europe, and then NOT try to compete on the pitch with them for star players? What exactly was the point of closing the beloved Highbury before we were able to compete financially on the pitch? I’m sorry, maybe I’m daft… but what was the plan after we got the new stadium, just tread water for 2 or 3 or 5 years? Its a new stadium, so we don’t need to win anything to fill it up? The logic escapes me if we aren’t able to bring in big name players to be one of the elite in Europe. I would much rather have stayed at Highbury and expanded it somehow to maybe 40,000? If Wenger goes, and Henry goes, and Cesc goes… and there is not a “Football Man” on the board like DD, you’ve got a freakin’ sorry scenario hanging over this massive new stadium without the product on the pitch to fill it.
3. Teflon Fab.
Cesc’s been spouting crap about playing for Barcelona and going back to Spain “some day” for way too long in my estimation. But, I don’t see too many folks saying a damned thing about Boy Wonder. Apparently, if Wenger is off, so is Cesc. He would love to play for Barcelona some day. It will be difficult for Henry to say no to Barcelona. Blah Blah Blah…
Dude, your 20… and you have won absolutely feck all at the club. We haven’t won a damned thing since Vieira kicked his last ball for the club in the FA Cup. SHUT UP. Win something, and then tell the press your thoughts and dreams. Jeez-us. When’s your book coming out?
So you go if Wenger goes. I’d say that means he doesn’t give a rats ass about the club or fans in my understanding of the language. Is Wenger the club? Is he “bigger than the club” as many of you love to say? Apparently in Cesc’s eyes, he is. I’d rather Cesc go than Henry, but thats just me…
4. Wenger.
I guess he’s coming back from his holiday in Italy next week. Right into the storm hovering around the club, eh Arsene? Seeing that he is apparently doing his job and David Dein’s job too… as he hasn’t been replaced, and nobody else on the board knows anything about football matters… will he be able to ride the white horse back in, round up Cesc and Henry and tell them to SHUT UP and everything will be OK?? Will he coax Dein back to the club, with or without the Billionaire? Will he get someone to replace DD?
Or is he outta here too and he’s taking Cesc and Henry with him?
Wouldn’t that be a kick in the teeth? Wenger Henry and Cesc to Barcelona for 60 Million GBP.
Hey, there you go, start that rumor now!!! Its about as valid as all the other rumors, innit? I hope and pray that Arsene can come back and calm the waters and make everything better.
4. Transfers.
Aliadiare is off to Boro. I think he’ll do just fine there. (yes Danny)
We aren’t getting Ribery. We aren’t getting Moulada. We aren’t getting anyone, are we?! Seems like one way traffic.
Arsenal Summers are torment for the fans… because we usually need “one or two big signings” like everyone does to improve their squad, but we very rarely get them, or see them until the Summer is almost over, and we’ve died waiting and hoping about 5 times over. I don’t expect us to bring anyone of note in. The fact is we need a few players IN, in order to compete next year… I know it, TH14 knows it… and if it doesn’t happen, we aren’t competing for trophies next season.
There U go.
Rip away. Tell me I’m daft. Tell me I’m crazy. That we are just fine with the current team, that everything is going to be alright. That Cesc and Henry didn’t really say those things… they are misquoted. Tell me that we are in great fiscal shape and that even with a mid-table team, we’re better off with that massive vacuous stadium with the prawn sandwich crowd leaving early and almost never being able to make enough noise to be heard.
Go on. Tell me like it ain’t.
37 Responses to “Emptying out the closet of my mind…”
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June 9th, 2007 at 11:43 am
1. The stadium will be sold out for every game, with or without Thierry, simply because the English supporters are very loyal to their clubs and they will go to see their team play even if it is in the Championship. And Stag, don’t forget that Henry is 30 in August and we need to plan to live without him, whether that’s this year or in three years time. Yes, I agree that he is important for the club, but sooner or later he’ll leave Arsenal, because he can’t play 100 years.
2. It’s obvious that DD’s resignation has left a big hole to be filled and the players seem to be unhappy about that. My thought is that he must come back, whether it is with Kroenke or not, we need him.
3. I don’t like what Cesc is saying too. As Myles Palmer said, do this players play for Arsene FC or Arsenal FC. It seems that they are at the club only because of Wenger and that’s bad really. It’s up to the board to make Wenger feel wanted and they need to solve his contract as quickly as possible.
4. I like the idea of Wenger taking over the DD’s job(as he doesn’t know if he will extend his contract, and I believe he won’t manage other team), and Paul Le Guen to be named manager of Arsenal. They both are a good friends and I think they can function as good as Wenger and Dein.
5. Ali will do well at Boro? Yeah right, he won’t get a regular spot there either, he is just an average player, no more.
And yes, it seems that we aren’t getting new players, I talk about experienced ones. We are linked with more and more youngsters and not the worldclass players Wenger has mentioned.
And when I see Man Utd., who won the League, have already strenghtened with three very good players and two of them can become world beaters, it makes me sick, but we should now by now that Wenegr won’t spend 50 mil. pouns on three players in one transfer window. Hell, I even believe that if we can keep this players for a few years more, there won’t be a team that could match up with these guys.
Keep the faith guys, the future us bright after all.
June 9th, 2007 at 11:58 am
I totally disagree that the stadium will be sold out for years. No chance.
With a stadium that big, you need the casual fan to go to matches, and you need the corporate boxes sold out as well. If your team is mid-table, the periphery fans will go to Chelsea or other teams that are WINNING.
The price of tickets at the Emirates are among the highest in the league. The average supporter is priced out, and can not afford to go to every match, like it was back in the day. You over-estimate the ability of the stadium to be sold out. Its the PRODUCT on the pitch, not the big stadium that brings in supporters. Who in the right mind is going to show up and over pay for tickets, shirts, food, & beverage… week in and week out, for CC and League matches vs. lesser teams… if the club is mid-table and out of Europe.
You need STAR PLAYERS and you need to have continued success. Its not magic that make the fans show up. There is only so much they’ll stand for.
So Henry is 30 in August. SO WHAT? He’s got at least 4 or 5 seasons left in him. Who are you replacing him with? Thierry Henry’s aren’t grown on trees, there are about 5 players at his level in the world.
I am sure people said Bentley and Pennant and Sidwell and etc… would not do well elsewhere. They have. They are playing top flight football. I think Aliadiere will do much the same. A star player? No, perhaps not. But he will play and do just fine. Thats called, an opinion.
If we can keep these players for a few years?
Who? Who do you see staying for a few years based on what’s been said, or not said?
You win, or the team changes. Good players don’t like to lose. We aren’t keeping this team together for a few years without improving on it. Thats the point.
June 9th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Finally nice to have the website back. Just checked today.
Stag, chill! Henry will only leave arsenal if he decides to go. And in that case we will most likely get Eto’o plus cash in exchange.
Fabregas is on a bloody looong contract so if he decides to go we will get A LOT of cash from him. Probably between 20 and 30 million. With that sort of money we will certainly be able to replace him.
All in all, there are only three players we are in danger of losing if we come 3rd or 4th again next season. They are Fabregas, Henry and Gallas.
There is no other player who has the clout to force Arsenal to sell them. As long as we qualify for the CL next season then we will surely keep all our squad apart from the above mentioned three.
June 9th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
It is looking likely that Wenger will probably leave at the end of this season. And to me the manager position is the most vital part in determining the success of a team. If we hire a “souness” we could crash permanently out of the top 4….even if we have cash to spend (ala newcastle).
On the other hand all the top coaches all work with a lot of cash to play with. And most importantly Arsenal has a tradition of attacking football that has to be upheld. It doesnt have to be “pass-into-the-net” attacking football…..but it should at least be attacking and a bit entertaining. I dont think arsenal fans can stomach anything less.
Now how many top coaches that are out there who can work with a small budget, work well with youth, provide attacking football and also maintain us in the top 4. In my view not many.
Le Guen has been mentioned here…but he failed at Rangers meaning that he would might need too much time to get things right at Arsenal. The only other coach I can think of us Ramos the sevilla coach. But we dont know how he can adapt quickly to British football.
In my view, the safest bet if Wenger finally leaves is to appoint Pat Rice and put in say Bergkamp as assistant.
In my view Rice like Wenger is a tactical nonentity. However Rice does have numerous advantages. He has been here from the beginning, and he helped build up the system with Wenger and is Arsenal truly. He know what it takes to stay in the top-4 and he knows what it takes to challenge for a league. He is practically a clone of Wenger in a way.
He will continue improving our youth system, he will continue with attacking football, he will probably give a bit more preference to the english youngsters, but crucially, he will probably spend a bit more - since I doubt he is as stubborn as Wenger.
Most essentially there will be continuity. And most of our players if not all of them will have some loyalty to him.
What I am afraid of the most is a coach coming in and changing everything wholesale, then we go into freefall. I fear that the most. That is why I dont want Tony Adams as a coach. He has no real experience to speak of and he seems too impatient to learn. He will probably go “Souness” on us.
So as long as Pat Rice with say Bergkamp as assistant take over. (IF wenger leaves) then it will be like the Wenger years … only that Rice will buy more since he has less confidence in himself.
I hope the board sees it this way. The manager position is very important.
Maybe Wenger and Rice can be our Shankly and Paisley.
Wenger as Director of Fooball.
Rice as manager
Bergkamp as assistant
Most important word: Continuity.
June 9th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
ps: aliadiere is no better than Jeffers IMO. wish him goodluck though, at least he never moaned about.
June 9th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Fred, I doubt Barca are sending Eto’o & $$$ for Henry.
and… Eto’o would take time to mesh with Arsenal and figure out the EPL, and lastly, we wouldn’t spend the money anyway, so I don’t want cash for our best player.
I’m with Henry and Gallas, I can see why they’d be tired for the wait for the kids plan.
I think the Jeffers / Aliadiare comparison is a pretty good one.
June 9th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Stag, I said the stadium will be full with or without Henry. Without him we aren’t a mid-table team, I’m sorry. Also look at the stadiums in the Championship, they are almost always full, and that’s because the English fans are loyal. You can’t expect an Arsenal fan to go to Chelsea game just because they won two titles, if you think like that, your place is not here, go to some Chelsea or Scums forum.
And I don’t give a fu*k if the stadium is full or not, all the Italian and Spanish teams have half full stadiums and they are still better than us in the CL. And I don’t think Henry have 4-5 years in him, I would say, 2-3 max., and even if he have 5 years left, then what? As I said, you need to replace him, whether it’s now or in 5 years time, and maybe is better to replace him now, when we are already in transition.
June 9th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
stag: so now you are complaining about Eto’o coming in…..(saying he would take time to mesh and all) BUT wont ALL new signings also take time to mesh….
so are you now against bringing in top class players because they would “take time to mesh”. you contradict yourself.
it is henrys personal decision if he wants to leave or stay….and if he leaves there is nothing we can do for it. and if we get Eto’o plus cash in exchange then that is perfect. I always prefer Arsenal to collect a player in exchange because I do not trust Wenger to buy.
If we sell Fabregas to them as well, we should get one of Deco, Xavi or Iniesta in return PLUS cash even if its just 5 million.
PS: we WILL fill the stadium regardless of whatever whenever. the board will simply have to reduce prices. there are still way too many die hard fans. our fan-base minus the pie-eating ones is very well entrenched….and we are up there with liverpool and ManU in that regards. so forget about the filling stadiums part.
June 9th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Sheed, I said it WON’T be full, unless we’re winning.
We aren’t talking about the 15,000 seat stadium of Division 1 where tickets are 15GBP. We’re talking 60,000 with the most expensive tickets in England.
Without Henry, we won’t win feck all. (unless you are plugging in a star striker)
So you can be sorry, but thats my opinion.
English fans are loyal, bravo. But they aren’t independently wealthy.
As I said, with 60,000 seats, you need the CASUAL FAN and the CORPORATE BOXES sold. That happens by winning. There are many teams and other things to do that don’t cost as much as Arsenal football. So if you are trying to court a certain crowd and group, with Arsenal are with the new massive stadium, then you better win.
You don’t care if the stadium is full?
Do you think the club do? I’d say if the Arsenal Football Club didn’t care whether the stadium was full or not, they’d have stayed at Highbury. So you not caring is quite different from the economic reality and the club caring about all those asses in the seats.
Perhaps you are just jolly with not winning any trophies… if thats the case, lets sell Cesc, Henry and anyone else we can… hell we’re in transition, so what does it matter. They are all going to leave eventually, so sell anyone over 25 and go with an under 21 team.
If we win or lose, by your thought process, there are still going to be 60,000 fans at every match, regardless of whether we have any star players.
And… if there are 30,000 people at the matches, thats OK with you as well.
???
How long should we “transition”? Its been 2 years, and next year will be 3… with the possibility of Cesc, Henry and Wenger going.
Thats really inviting for the future of the club.
June 9th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Fred, so now we’re reducing ticket prices?
Are you kidding?
Selling 60,000 seats on a cold wintry night for CC and / or mediocre football is not a foregone conclusion. Do you know any season ticket holders?
I am certainly not complaining about Eto’o… I said I doubt he’d come here.
And we aren’t getting Eto’o AND Money for Henry.
So I’d rather we had Henry.
If Henry goes, it becomes much more difficult to attract top players.
Why is that hard to understand?
June 9th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Stag, if we are mid-table the prices of the tickets aren’t gonna be the same, they will be much lower and that will allow more people who can’t get a ticket now to go then and see Arsenal.
And you are talking rubbish man. Sell all the players that are 25 or more. Well I think there is much difference between 25 and 30. Don’t say something just for the sake of it, get real man.
Hell, why are we talking about this anyway? We were the team that played the best football last year and if our finishing was better, we could have fought for the title, and now we are talking about finishing mid-table… Fu*k that. We are still one of the best in the world and we just can’t be mid-table just because our director left the club. There is too much talent in this team to be mid-table.
June 9th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
stag, are you daft? IF henry wants to go he will go … it is his decision and there is little we can do about it. so if we have to trade him we must make sure to get Eto’o in return. is there something here you dont understand.
why the f-ck are you talking about CC football??
if we are still in the top 4 ticket prices will remain the same whether henry is here or not….and the stadium WILL still be full. if we fall out of the top-4 then our ticket prices will drop accordingly and the stadium will still be full as real, honest fans like me will be able to afford.
is that also difficult for you to understand??
June 9th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
sheed: totally agree. without henry in our side we still created far more chances than ANY other team in the league. so our main problem is finishing. if henry decides to leave….then we replace him with Eto’o, Tevez or some other bloke.
stop deceiving yourself - henry is not the Jesus Christ of Arsenal.
i am far more concerned about the problems on the board and the managerial situation.
June 9th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
“Jesus Christ of Arsenal”
:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
June 9th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Arsenal will carry on, without Henry, Wenger, Dein.
Just like when George Graham got fired, or Ian Wright hung up his boots.
I wish we could buy Berbatov, he is a good talent
June 9th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I think those folks who decided to go for a massive project who could potentially turn Arsenal into Leeds - the New Stadium - they must had hired the best economic / finanical experts to analysis all the risk, the potential income, before giving the green light to go ahead.
The project started back in mid way of 2002. Before we even won that 2nd double under AW, before that unbeaten season. And back then, those higher ppl in the board would not be sure how long Wenger would stay, let alone all the other star players.
But they still decided to go ahead.
So the conclusion here is - either those ppl in the board are idoits who knew nothing abt how to properly run a club. Or they are a bunch of folks who got that courage and vision to push the club forward, and think beyond the term “NOW”.
You decide.
From my own experience of two decades’ support though, personally I always take pride Arsenal is among one of the most well-run, well-organized, and sensible clubs in the world.
June 9th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
First of all…
we were certainly NOT the “team that played the best football last year”
We were out of the title race in January.
To say we played the best football, is a JOKE.
And if Henry left, why would Eto’o want to play here?
Why would any great player want to go to a club where the board is a mess, Wenger is possibly exiting, and Cesc talks about playing for Barca all the time?
Sounds like paradise.
June 9th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Stag, doesn’t mean that if the team played the best football we should have won the Premiership. Sevilla played the best football in La Liga this year, but they are 3rd, and if they don’t win the title, does that mean that Real or Barca played better than them?
And if all the things at Arsenal are connected to Henry, such as new players coming in, then I suggest we should cancel the club from the football leagues when Henry retires, coz there won’t be players who want to play for Arsenal.
June 9th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
1. Henry is not leaving, unless Wenger is. He will be not be idolized anywhere else. He is frustrated and hopes Wenger signs experience. That is understandable. As captain of Arsenal, he should not be airing his views publicly. That is disappointing.
2. It is difficult when a guy like DD leaves. The board has entrusted the job to Wenger and it is not the board’s fault that Wenger hasn’t chosen anyone to replace him.
3. Until the last interview, Cesc has been quite mature in his comment. Maybe with Wenger not around, he is feeling insecure. Players much older than him make much worse comments. We can cut him some slack now, but he needs to keep quiet.
4. I don’t expect Wenger to sign a winger until Reyes’ situation is resolved. That won’t happen till Jun 17. After a winger, I don’t expect any more signings. That’s Wenger. We’ll see for one more season. Another trophy-less season and there will be big changes. Maybe Wenger won’t re-sign.
Why has Arsenal FC become Arsene FC. Is that the players’ fault? No, that is the board’s fault. They gave so much power to him that he has become the all important guy. So all hell will break loose when he leaves. Don’t blame Cesc for saying he will leave with Wenger, so will Henry and many others.
We need to fix this situation. If Wenger stays for life, then no issues with so much power resting with him. If not, we need to plan. Just like Wenger planned for life without Adams, Vieira, Bergkamp and now maybe Henry.
June 10th, 2007 at 7:51 am
Wenger has pledged to honour his contract. He will be there for one more season, and so will Henry and Cesc.
He has repeated that he will sign only exceptional players. Like Fabianski, I guess.
June 10th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Very good that Wenger will honor the final year on his contract. It does keep the future of Wenger very much in doubt past that.
If that means Cesc and Henry are staying this year as well, thats fantastic… but I don’t think that is certain.
Henry could be off regardless of whether Arsene stays, I think its more down to what Arsene plans to do for this season.
If Wenger is here for 1 more year, then why not break the f’n bank trying to win something?? Bring in the necessary weapons to fight the battle.
MANU allegedly close to signing Carlos Tevez.
What a punch in the stomach that would be… he would make that team so strong it would be scary.
June 10th, 2007 at 9:27 am
“If Wenger is here for 1 more year, then why not break the f’n bank trying to win something?? Bring in the necessary weapons to fight the battle.”
That’s exactly what made AW such an exceptional manager for Arsenal. ANY OTHER manager in his position probably would go for your “breaking the f’n bank” policy if it’s going to be their final season in the club, in order to add glory to their personal CV.
Why not? It’s not like their own f’n bank anyway. It’s Arsenal’s f’n bank. Why care about how the club will end up in the long term?
Yet Wenger is not just yet “another” manager. To me, he’s truly an unique manager who holds the old fashion value of dignity.
I don’t know how much Arsenal FC means to him personally, but from what he has done for the club all along, he’s been trying his upmost effort, from the new stadium to the young players, to ensure Arsenal’s long term future will be in good hand, even after he left the club one day. And to ensure we will not leave the new manager, whoever he is, with a mess to clean up.
June 10th, 2007 at 10:14 am
and in the meantime… how long should we wait to go for a trophy?
If its his last season here, and its likely Cesc and Henry could follow him out the door… then you try to win trophies while you have the talent to do so.
You never know what can happen in sports, you can go from the European Elite to Division 2, like Nottingham Forest.
So you try to win … all the time…
We’re in this to win titles trophies and championships… I don’t care if the shareholders make lots of money and we’re the most profitable team, but we aren’t winning anything.
June 10th, 2007 at 11:57 am
“and in the meantime… how long should we wait to go for a trophy?”
If you r talking about being a FAN, the answer is - as long as it takes.
If football fans only support the team because of “trophies”, I bet there would not be too many fans around today. Think of where the Premiership, FA Cup and League Cup ended up year after year? If it’s not Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, it’s Liverpool.
There are 92 professional clubs in England, from Aston Villa downward, to any club starts with X,Y,Z, nobody won a f*ck all for God know how many years.
So as fans, just get on with it.
As for Arsenal end up like Forest? You know why Forest, or Leeds ended up where they are at the FIRST PLACE?
It’s exactly what I pointed out early on - Arsenal is one of the most well-organized, sensible clubs in England. In fact, we are the longest standing Top Flight Club since 1919. Nobody stays in the top flight as long as us.
Yes, our transfer budget / wage structure are always tight, but that’s exactly why we are always rock solid finanically. Now with the new stadium, we are foundamental strong in every aspect.
There is only ONE chance that we would end up like Forest - it’s to spend the money we DON’T have, break the f’n bank as u put it.
June 10th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Well said, Andez.
June 10th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
I think Stag u gotta understand one thing - Arsenal’s fan base is much bigger than u thought. And i don’t include “casual fans”.
Perhaps u r not awared of something - Highbury got a maximum 38,000 capacity. But this is only AFTER the “Taylor Report”, which required all the top flight clubs to have an all-seat stadium.
Prior to the Hillsborough Disaster and the consquenced “Taylor Report”, Highbury’s capacity was around 50,000 maximum. As they got the terrance at both North and Clock ends. It filled more than seats.
It was then back in the 80s, when Arsenal were in the arguably darkest age of the club’s history (until George Graham took over). Yet we still managed to finish the top half of the table in a regular base. And our average attendence was only behind Liverpool, Man U, Everton. Standing around 40,000 if i remember it right.
AW’s reign is the golden age of Arsenal FC, he has helped promoted Arsenal FC beyond UK, and became one of the most popular globe clubs. All that we didn’t even travel often aboard for a pre-season tour. AW won the fans over purely through the style of football we play. This is truly something.
I bet without Arsene Wenger, there may not be an ArsenalAmerica.com at the first place!
So the fan base right now gotta be much higher than the 80s. And although there are plenty of fair weather fans out there, i believe it’s still the minority.
Football fans are different from other breed, they rarely changed clubs. Once u got hooked, chance is that you’ll never quit.
We won’t be able to draw 60,000 fans once our result suffered? I don’t know, unless there are more fair weather fans with our club than I thought. But from what i seen, Arsenal basically got nothing to play for towards the end of last season, the stadium still filled 60,000 on a weekly base.
June 10th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
1. Thierry Henry:
Yeah, Henry’s frustrated alright. This AC Milan comment proves to me that he doesn’t want to leave, because if he did he wouldn’t be saying, “AC Milan come and get me”, he’d be talking to Barcelona instead. Henry has been loyal to the club and Wenger should be loyal to him by making the squad competitive - because at the moment it isn’t.
2. The Club.
The club is not in turmoil, unless you read every bit of cr*p the papers print. If Wenger was so “devastated” by Dein leaving and had major issues with the board he’d be gone already. Arsenal is a massive club and we’re 4th, so it’s obvious that other big clubs - or the papers - will start sniffing around our players to see if they’re unhappy.
Why build a big stadium? Because long-term, when Wenger, Henry etc. etc. are too old to bend over this club will be a very rich club - not a little club with big pretentions. Show some patience, Wenger has the same funds now as he did at Highbury - not a lot, and he won plenty with those funds. One day, either he or another manager will have BIG money. Arsenal will always sell out as long as the Premiership is as popular as it is now. There are sh*tloads of fans who can’t even get in and would jump at the chance. For every ticket holder there’s 3 or 4 queuing up behind.
3. Teflon Fab.
He should probably keep a lid on it, but if you’re asked a question you’re gonna answer. The boy is ambitious, isn’t that what you want, ambitious players? Or someone like Hleb who ponces around the pitch not bothering to tackle anyone and never saying anything about anything? More payers like Fabregas please. He’s world class and will always be in demand, and if anyone wants him they’re going to have to pay £30m.
4. Wenger.
Wenger will be here next year, after that, who knows? Maybe if Arsenal has another sh*tty season he might quit and blame it on Dein etc.. But if Arsenal has another sh*tty season, that would be three sh*tty seasons in a row, so maybe Wenger has run out of ideas or gone as far as he can go.
4. Transfers.
Players will come in, but Wenger is a late buyer. Nothing to discuss but unsubstantiated rumours. So stop reading this dirge - the papers have been feeding off a few comments from Henry & Fabregas for a month already. And Wenger was on holiday and had his mobile switched off, they took the opportunity to sh*t stir - it’s really nothing new, a pretty old tactic.
June 10th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
1. TH.
I have never been able to stand his whining. And, he needs lessons on captaincy. But, just like artists, you have to take the irritating idiosyncrasies with the sublime when it comes to the truly great ones. Get healthy and play your game - I’ll be thrilled and you can say anything you want.
2. The Club.
Danny T is spot on regarding the stadium. It is about building for the future. Arsenal is a ‘big club’ now. But, to be a ‘big club’ five to ten years from now, you have to get bigger, but in a responsible way. Arsenal is an intelligent, responsible organization. Other clubs spending their arse off now might look like Chernobyl in a few years, and the trophies they won will be in a museum.
3. Teflon Fab.
He’s 19 years old. I remember when I was 19 - I was one stupid bloke, without the girlfriends.
4. Wenger.
Wenger is here for the full season. Whatever happens after that will happen.
5. Transfers.
If TH and RvP are healthy for a full season, that will be as good as a good transfer for me.
June 10th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Bottom line about Henry if he were to leave:
He just signed a 4 or 5 yr. contract last year didn’t he? So if he were to leave it wouldn’t come cheap. So stop worrying, Stag. He either sees out his contract or he commands a huge fee, either way, we win.
And I’m sorry but I’d much rather have the time it takes for Eto’o to settle in then have someone like Aliadiere start for us if he were to have stayed.
I don’t think we’re as far off as some of you think. There were numerous games last year where we drew & even lost but had many more chances than the opposition. I would be more concerned if we dropped all those point w/o creating as many chances as we had.
I also fail to see how ManU bringing in 2 young players & Hargreaves is somehow bringing in 3 world beaters while our youngsters still need to mesh… Portuguese youngsters are automatically going to fit right in at Old Trafford? Please, they’re not even going to start until mid-season at the earliest. Hargreaves will probably play right away but even then he’ll probably sitll rotate with Scholes.
And remember for every Hargreaves, Sir Alex has brought in, he’s also brought in a Kleberson or Djemba-Djemba.
As for the transfers… as always keep waiting around for that big name from Wenger, b/c it isn’t going to happen. Even Henry was a somewhat unheralded Juve castoff when Wenger signed him.
June 10th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Ferguson usually only pays big money for kids when other people have trained them up and they’re just about ready for the big time. The ones that come from the Utd academy - apart from the old batch of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham etc. are motsly crap.
Wenger is the guy that trains them up in the first place. In Ferguson world, he would buy Fabregas next year - not bother to but him at 17 and train him up like Wenger has. So it wouldn’t surprise me if these Ferguson buys are the real deal , but they still have to adjust to the Prem like Ronaldo did.
June 10th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Hey Curt, I didn’t say that they(Nani and Anderson) are world beaters now, I said they can become world beaters with the potential they possess. And is a smart move by Fergie, when Scholes and Giggs are going to retire, he will have a ready-made replacements in Anderson and Nani.
June 10th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
1. TH ain’t leaving without an absolutly huge fee in return.
2. Are english sport franchises sorry “clubs” so different from american ones? General managers, player personnel execs and board members leave all the time stateside without the rumors of utter catastrophe that seem to surround DD’s departure.
The stadium costs money. Yes. But The board has repeated that Wenger will have money to spend if he finds the guy he wants. Many times!!
As far as the stadium filling up for years to come, I am cluless. Loyal fans, great! Huge fan base? Got it. A gazillion other teams in london? A bit scary if arsenal start playing like bolton or melt down like leeds. Do your want to wear the Kit of some no name player? Not if you live where I live and don’t have the chance to see good football that often.
DON”T get me wrong i’ve supported arsenal since the first prem game i saw was Arse V Villa like 12-15 years ago. I wasnt even in high school yet. But you can’t grow globally without Winning.
3. Fab is 20 and thinks he is important beyond all else. All 20 year olds are the same that way. They Know everything but Understand nothing. Let him talk, and maybe suggest to him to buy stock in the Tabloids he helps keep in business with his mouth. Or do what wenger will likley do and tell him to tone it down abit.
4. AW ??? I,m not in his head and never will be. He stays GREAT! He leaves, thanks for the memories you are the best. Arsenal is a big club. A good new manager will come in and do well.
5. For transfer info go to the BBC rumor page or Newsnow. The best info around dealing in transfers.
Especially when the rumors dont mention a medical! you can be sure THOSE are real!
June 10th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Maybe Arsenal fans are panicking because they see ManU sign 3 (and look for a striker), Chelsea sign 2 or 3 (Alex?) and Ribery (supposedly our main target) go to Munich. Even Spurs have signed Bale, Kaboul and Tarrabt.
As I said, Wenger isn’t doing anything till Reyes’ situation is resolved. He doesn’t want to sign a winger and be stuck with Reyes. There were rumours that he tried to sell him to Atletico Madrid. Same time there were rumours of Merida going on loan there. Ideally, Merida should be loaned in the EPL, but maybe Wenger included him as a sweetener in the deal. Just a thought. We’ll know soon (after Jun 17).
I wouldn’t panic until Jul end. If no one is signed by then, I would start worrying, although there is still a month of the transfer window left. It’s better to have everybody on board for pre-season. Already, we will be missing Gilberto due to the Copa America.
Sometime back, I had written an article (http://www.arsenalamerica.com/2007/01/02/2007-a-make-or-break-year/) stating that 2007 will be a make or break season for Arsenal and Wenger (for which I got a lot of stick). It seems to ring truer than ever now.
June 11th, 2007 at 12:47 am
Cheers Andez,,,you rock
. Yes its disturbing to read so much trash on the Internet. I hate it too. Just ignore it and if you analyze everything a bit more carefully no one has said anything that is truly incriminating unless you count “Henry flattered by Milan” .. so??? A great player says that he’s flattered to be linked with a great club. Big deal. Fab4 loves Barca. Open secret. Lets get on with it. The press feed off all this mass hysteria.
AW is unique and has always delayed his transfers. its not really something that we’re new too. So sit tight and stop eyeing other clubs. I repeat … and I believe this…
“Even if we buy zilch this summer but this squad stays together , the whole squad and remains relatively injury fre…like a season ManU had last year… WE WILL COMPETE…. even if we buy ZERO players. If we buy a Marc Overmars or a Pires .. whoever that is we’ll be up there.
June 11th, 2007 at 7:12 am
live_dont_exsist, your post is spot-on. Wenger is going to do his own thing. What he does has nothing to do with what reporters are saying or what Manchester United are doing. Wenger has found success doing things his own way and we’ve still got people that don’t respect that. And they say these things as if they know more than Wenger. Every manager in the world wishes he could do what Wenger’s done.
I watched some games from last season and we have a damn good team, boys. Even if we don’t buy anybody we’ll still be better than last year because we’re more experienced; especially if we stay healthy.
Everyone wants Wenger to buy big names but when has he ever done that? Think back when Wenger first predicted we could go an entire season unbeaten. What big name did he buy between that prediction and the unbeaten season? Jens Lehmann was the only buy that contributed. My point is Wenger knows what he’s needs to succeed.
June 11th, 2007 at 7:55 am
“Wenger has found success doing things his own way and we’ve still got people that don’t respect that. And they say these things as if they know more than Wenger. Every manager in the world wishes he could do what Wenger’s done.”
Very very true joshuad. I’d wanna to add one point - Every club in the world wishes they could hire a manager like Wenger. Someone who doesn’t need to throw away the club’s money in order to bring success. Name ONE other manager who’s able to achieve that.
In fact, a few of Wenger’s “big money signings” somehow turned out to be among his worst signings - Jeffers and Reyes are two classic examples.
June 11th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
1. Henry
Henry has said what he has said but he has not said that he wants to leave. A lot of it is word-twisting. I am not going to get bothered about it.
2. The Club
Stadium built without cost over-runs like Wembly (or Liverpool’s down the road?). Young team built and in place. Revenue structure in place to ensure club can compete going forward. Sure, there are some short-term issues but if you are only looking to the next quarter results before deciding whether to sell the stock, then you need to be worried about them as the long-term future is clear. Oops. It is a football club not a stock. Silly me.
3. Fabregas
Kid wants to play for his home-town team before he retires. Aww shucks, don’t you just love him. Seriously, what else do you expect him or more importantly want him to say? Do you want him to sit there and bitterly talk about the way that he has been betrayed by Barcelona? Is that the kind of personality you want in the dressing-room? Leave him be.
4. Transfers
I just don’t understand all the bellyaching about transfers. Liverpool have signed some kid I have never heard of and the next Rebrov. Wenger would be lambasted for that. Utd. have signed Hargreaves, paying well over the odds for an over-rated defensive midfield player who they failed to get in January, plus two kids that are potential. Instead of paying 2 or 3 million for the potential in the kids, they paid over 30 million for the two. Unless they walk straight into the first team, they have also overpaid. Chelsea have bought a midfield player who couldn’t make it at Arsenal as back-up for the African Cup of Nations next January and some South American striker who could be Forlan in disguise.
Meanwhile, Wenger has bought a new goalkeeper who he had to training at Arsenal two summers ago and who he has closely watched. Unlike when he tried to sign Cech, eastern European players no longer need work permits. With a bit of luck this guy is the new Cech.
See, there are two ways at looking at everything, glass half-full or half-empty.