Jun 22
Discussion continued from previous thread.
44 Responses to “Rumours, Players and Euro talk…”
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June 22nd, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Why would Arsene sell Ade? To make a huge profit while he is on top? Media speculates it’s because of the 80K salary demands. Now I do agree that we need to keep a wage structure so that it doesn’t spiral out of control. But some things don’t make sense.
This year, both Diaby and Denilson were awarded new and surely improved contracts. What exactly has either done to deserve it? I am not saying we should chuck them out, but we could well have waited another season before rewarding them.
Agreed, their improved contract may only be 10K more than they earned earlier. But that 10K can make a difference to Ade’s new salary. A good chance Ade will agree to 70K instead of 60K, isn’t it?
Of course, this is all based on the speculation that he is asking 80K. But you get the point. Somebody had mentioned before that we spend a lot on youth, both in terms of transfers and wages, hence we are so close to ManU despite not paying highly for the best players. Seems like there is more than an element of truth in that.
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Apparently Wenger didn’t go to EURO for holiday afterall…. an interesting comment from AW below:
“I brought my chequebook (to Euro 2008) but, having looked at the prices, I’ve realised it isn’t big enough,” Wenger said in the Sunday Mirror.
“I’ve not been surprised by the quality on show. There is a fantastic young generation of players coming through.
“But I will use my chequebook first to keep the players I already have.”
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
When Wenger made the chequebook statement, I couldn’t help but laugh. Because it is obvious that Arsenal cannot compete with other clubs when it comes to money. And players value will sky rocket if they play well, like Villa and Arshavin. So unless Wenger is looking at some unknown Greek player or Swiss star or another 17 year old, I am not sure who he planned on buying with our budget limits. And I am not being sarcastic here, just stating the facts.
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Actually i think the biggest problem of Arsenal is not we lack of transfer fund to compete with other clubs, if we really want to, we are able to.
It is the “wage structure”. The board refuses to break it, Wenger refuses to break it. So even if we can match the bid with other club to sign a particular player, we would have problem to match the wage he asks.
apparently Arshavin is earning 60k at St. Peterburg (Joshuad is right, Russia league now paying big bucks, which i never awared of that before). and according to report he got a clause in his contract that allows him to move for 10 mil.
that 10 mil Arsenal is able to meet it. but his wage. for sure he would be asking more than 60k if we want to sign him right? but that’s the maximum wage the board is ready to offer Adebayor.
so say if Arshavin asks for 80k, it’s exactly what Ade been asking. while it appears that the board and Wenger are ready to let Ade leaves if he insists on asking 80k, then if we really sell Ade because of that, and go for Arshavin who’s asking the same wage (assuming), that would not be making any sense.
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Nipuna, Andez, I think us not buying big-name players is a combination of both inability and choice. The move to the Emirates two years ago is still putting budget restrictions on the team. But at the same time, I think there are times when we could have sprung for players, but AW and/or the board chose not to, even though it was within the club’s means. We might not be able to spend as much in the transfer market as other top European clubs, but on the other hand, I think we could afford to spend a fair amount more than we actually do.
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Echoes of the past: Another star player having to beg for more money and getting ‘waged structured’ out the door. Cole, Flamini and now Adebayor is on that precipice. Wenger’s problem is the first two were replaceable and the third is not. Hence his statement about using his cheque book to keep the players he has. Our fiscal restraint makes us fiscally a small club. Wenger as much as confirmed that w/ his latest statements. Not good and not bad but just the way it is for now.
What should Arsenal be doing to generate new revenue streams to increase monies for transfers, salaries and to offset potential down turns in the selling of the Highbury apartments? We need a managing director asap because Wenger cannot do both jobs adequately. I want a managing director who will aggressively market the Arsenal brand worldwide. ManU are in China and Japan and we’ve gone into Viet Nam. The last time I checked, Viet Nam was not driving the economic bus of the Far East. We need a managing director who will take us into occupied territories (China and Japan) and fight to establish our niche in these countries. We need a managing director who will tell Wenger to get his ass on the plane and take his team overseas (North America or Asia) during the summer. You then are displaying your football, your star ( Fabregas), your budding star (Adebayor) and you will sell tee shirts and replica jerseys. You need a candidate who’ll come in and immerse their self in all things Arsenal and then bring fresh ideas to the table as to how to export the Arsenal brand. We need a dynamic person who who will be the antithesis of an Edelman. Big clubs sell their brand beyond the European continent and I think we are lacking in this regard. Some retread director from Fulham will not do it for me.
Will someone tell Adebayor that we’ve read reports that he faxed a transfer demand but that the Arsenal office fax was broken.
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:26 pm
We have no idea what is going on in terms of what players currently make or what they are being offered, if anything, from Clubs that are supposedly in pursuit. I think it nonsense to assume that Arsenal isn’t paying it’s players well. Henry was one of the top paid players in the league, and every year we read about players getting their contracts redone - Cesc, Clichy, etc.
Having said that, we cannot and should not try to match or top every rumored amount that gets thrown out in the papers. There has to be some justification for what a player makes. I’m sure Ade will get an improved deal if he stays as he has exceeded expectations during his time here. Correspondingly, if Flamini really got paid outrageous money after one good season than he was right to take it and Arsenal was right to let him go.
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Arsene is watching the Spain game, sitting next to Zidane. Is he planning to buy Villa or Silva or Aquilani?
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Wenger looked so focusing on the game that it surely didnt strike me he’s on holiday.
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Andez, from the previous thread. Yes, I’ve watched Arshavin and Russia’s last two matches. I also watched Russia versus Greece and they almost as well in that game as they did against Holland. Greece may not be quite as good as Holland but still, Russia played with verve and seemed to be on the upturn regardless.
Arshavin has given them a cutting edge and a buzz around the box but I would argue that Pavlychenko and Zhirkov have been just as important.
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
By the way, Clichy should watch Zhirkov. That’s how you attack. In his whole Arsenal career Clichy has never once got in behind and squared the ball or threatened a goal. The only time I ever really seen him attack the goal with intent was against Ajax in the Amsterdam tournament last summer when he set up Van Persie.
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Mazza, personally i think it was Arshavin who made the biggest difference. having said that though, i understand it perfectly well being able to rise to occassion may not necessary mean could do the bread and butter job as well week in week out. Probosky of EURO 1996 was a classic example. so i wouldn’t get carried away that Arshavin is God or something that he would immediately turn around our fortune.
and i believe we got scouts probably went watching him Live, in the stadium, and for far more games than just watching from TV for a few matches. so as always i trust our scouts and AW’s judgement. If we could get him, great. If not, so be it.
June 22nd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
man, that was some nerve from CESC!!
June 22nd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Fabregas puts away the winner for Spain. What a boring match.
June 22nd, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Cesc is the man!
June 22nd, 2008 at 6:29 pm
fabregas arsenals number 4!!!!!!
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:12 pm
You see that is exactly the problem at Arsenal.
Why cant we give Ade 80k…buy Arshavin for 10 mill and also offer him 80 or 90k …while also bumping up Fabregas’ contract????
Arsenal make the highest gate takings in the ENTIRE WORLD. We have the highest in England and England has the highest in the whole world.
So am sorry the whole idea that we cant pay a 30 goal striker 80k is ridiculous …its not like we are Charlton Athletic or something.
We cant be paying the likes of Diaby, Eboue, Hoyte, Almunia and Denilson 35 to 40k per week and complaining of high wages.
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Very, very happy for Spain and quite surprised too!
All the omens were strongly against them.
Too bad the two attacking teams will face in the semis.
A Russia-Spain final would have been a masterpiece. I guess a Germany-Russia or Germany-Spain shouldnt be too bad.
June 22nd, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Another “aged” team bites the dust. Toni has to be the biggest bust of the tournament. How about that Giorgio Chiellini putting Villa/Torres in his back pocket. That’s a CB who could easily fetch 12-15mil. Now can he cope w/ a Drogba-type player and I’d say sign him up.
I suspect when Arsenal talk about their wage structure, it is a matter of principle. Wenger and the board are a very principled group.
Just who was Wenger scouting today at the Spain-Italy game? Maybe someone was being ‘fitted’ for an Arsenal kit a la the Nike commercial:)
June 22nd, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Fred, does a striker who has only had one brilliant year deserve 80 million? If he had a bad year would he have been willing to give up some of his salary. Ade’s contract was extended only last year. Why not say give me 50 million and if I repeat my performance bump me up.
Ronaldo has consistently shown improvement at Manu and his salary has been bumped up accordingly. Sell Ade to Barcelona and they will boo him unmercifully when he misses goals, his confidence will go and he will be a shell of himself and begin down the road of self destruction. Players are sometimes too greedy and often fail to look at the past but are just in it for the moment.
If in fact Ade demands a transfer he will have no loyalty to a team and manager who took him as a no name, and patiently nurtured him till he started to blossom. In the long run, we are ultimately better off without having players like that.
On the other hand, Arshavin is at his peak, is a proven commodity and deserves an increase if another club wants to acquire him.
June 22nd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Caribkid, where exactly are you getting 50 and 80 million from?????
We are talking 80K as in 80,000 per week salary! Currently the highest paid players in the world earn between 100 and 120k per week.
I dont see where the 80 million you are talking about comes into play.
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:01 pm
AW is particular good on developing strikers for a reason - what striker needs most is CONFIDENCE. with other managers, if a striker fails to perform, they may drop him. Wenger, on the other hand, keeps putting his trust into his strikers (those he had faith in, i dont mean Jeffers). And despite the media pressure (they love to remind you how long since a particular striker last scored when he’s suffering a goal drought), AW would come out and tell the world he has faith in him.
The impact a striker had from such a FAITH and belief of his manager shall not be underestimated. as every striker, no matter how great he is, would inevitably go through a spell of goal drought. Even the great Henry suffered a few spells of goal drought in his Arsenal career.
confidence is so important in a striker’s game. when a striker’s confidence is high, every touch seems like a golden one and would end up in the net. when the confidence is low, he can’t hit the net from two yards. Even in this year’s EURO we can testify that. Toni, for instance, he’s not a bad striker, but somehow he just couldn’t find the net. Germany’s Gomes even worst, missed 2 absoute sitters right in front of goal.
so it’s not surpisingly AW over the years had developed Weah, Anelka, Heny into top class forwards. Adebayor is like a raw rock, he could go on and become a shinning diamond. But now perhaps his biggest concern is to actually digging more diamond rather than to become a diamond of football himself in the future. That’s his own choice. the way i see it though - it’s a big big mistake. Should him join Barcelona, I wouldn’t be suprised he would be putting in the transfer list next summer.
not saying that because i m biased. but his game is so raw that he needs a good coach to help him polishing his game. I said that even before his transfer saga that last season he did remarkably well, but we could not count on him as a 30 goals a year goalscorer. he’s an extremely useful target man, but not a reliable goal scorer.
now would Barcelona fans appreicated that he’s an useufl targetman to link up play? hell, even King Henry suffered sticks when he struggled to score, now imagine how Adebayor would be getting.
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Fred, my bad, I meant K. My point still holds. Does Ade deserve 80K weekly after only one good season?
June 22nd, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Fred, you mentioned how Arsenal take in the most money from gate receipts in the EPL (which means probably the most in the world, but not necessarily); I’ve heard this said about Arsenal before, but I don’t know if it’s true, I’ve never seen any figures. I’m not saying it isn’t, just that I’m not sure.
Particularly, how is it possible we take in more per match than Man U, whose stadium seats a full 15,000 more spectators than Arsenal’s? Are our tickets really that more expensive than theirs? The media is always talking about how the Glazers are raising prices and instituting all sorts of hidden and add-on fees, but no one ever talks about our prices being high, and they’d have to be quite a bit higher to make up the gap in capacity. Then again, maybe its just normal for ticket prices to be more expensive at the London clubs, just like any other commodity would be in London than the rest of the UK.
June 22nd, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Kudos to Cesc for taking the final penalty. How many experienced people would have taken that responsibility, let alone a 21-year old? Arsenal need more players with this character and attitude. The kid is dynamite.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:37 am
@ caribkid: Well in the past no, but in today’s world and today’s market yes.
In 1999, Anelka got a 80k per week deal from Madrid - and he was just 20 years old.
In the past (6 years ago) 80k would be big - but you have to accept inflation. 100 to 130k is for the top-tier players. 60 to 90 k is for the second tier.
If we say we cant pay 80k now, we are basically saying we cant have an superstars in our team.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:47 am
@ chicagoggooner:
Yes, tickets in England are more expensive than in anywhere else in Europe. I used to live in Germany, and I have come to England a few times, so I know for sure.
Also, London has by far the highest ticket prices in England. Real fact.
Because of that Arsenal and Spurs have the highest in the country. Spurs even has a higher ticket price than Man U and Liverpool - just because they are in London. WestHam and Fulham are not that high but still too high for clubs of such low standards.
Arsenal’s tickets are about 35% more than Man U and Liverpool tickets on average. And the “hospitality” tickets at the Emirates are FAR more expensive (by up to 50%) than those in Manchester and Liverpool.
People in London earn more money so they can stomach higher tickets - as compared to cities like Manchester and Liverpool where the fan base is more blue-collar.
All in all, Arsenal’s matchday revenue is the highest in the world. Fact.
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:52 am
Is all the match day revenue planned to be channelized into player purchases and salaries? Maybe not. Maybe most of it goes into that nice shiny “debt repayment fund”. Maybe thats what it was always planned for? Maybe even AW knows this?Maybe thats why we cant assume we have money? And hence thats why we cant buy more players? Maybe maybe…maybe.
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:41 am
The debt is mortaged over a very sustainable rate. Something like 2.5m a month someone else worked out on another site, if you take into consideration that it is a 22 year fixed rate loan.
Arsenal wouldn’t be so stupid as to leave themselves in a situation where the stadium hamstrings them to such an extent. What would be the point of the new stadium? The whole idea of it was to make us more financially prosperous and I don’t think the board were planning on it all coming into fruition in the year 2018 or something. It would have been about now. If it isn’t, they’re friggen idiots.
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:55 am
I’m guessing that when those apartments get sold, atleast thats what I’ve read - our debt will go down a great deal and the pressure will reduce as well. Well.. maybe not 2018 but its probably at least till the debt drops to a manageable limit. Arsenal is probably hamstrung quite a bit - someone somewhere wrote we had 30million to spend. A good chunk of that is going into giving all these guys improved contracts. Cesc,Clichy,Sagna,Denilson,Ade..whoever. All that comes out of the 30 million — Rumor then had it that we had only 13million left which has gone towards Nasri(if he comes at all). So now to buy Arsenal have to sell…I’m not even sure how he bought Ramsey if those figures are right.
Why would the board and AW who took such big risks in bringing Arsenal to where it is cut costs at this point? Surely they recognize the importance of staying competitive in a cutthroat increasingly money driven sport and wouldn’t jeopardize it by “cheapskating”? There is genuinely probably no money, relatively speaking — thats why we’re so careful. Add to that AW’s gem picking out of nowhere capabilities and it all makes sense.
If AW hadn’t been here and it had been a free spending manager there was no way the board would be able to even envision a stadium etc and we would be blowing cash like every other midtable club on average recruits and still stuck at Highbury.
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:04 am
The flats are 90% sold so that shouldn’t effect things too much if prices keep dropping.
“So now to buy Arsenal have to sell…I’m not even sure how he bought Ramsey if those figures are right”
Simple. The figures are not right. Edelman came out with the truth and was promptly fired. Umm….Wasn’t following the party line.
Not expecting superstars just yet but we surely have enough to avoid imbeciles like Eboue lining up right midfield. The only thing holding Wenger back from that is stubborness and loyalty. You can’t just ignore that side of it too, even the most ardent Arsenal financial apologist has to admit Wenger has those traits.
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:11 am
Almunia takes the #1 shirt and Mannone #24. Don’t expect to see a new goalkeeper next season.
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:16 am
A Russian view on Arshavin from football365’s mailbox (sounds like an Arsenal player)
Arshavin: The Russian Ronaldo
“Andrei Arshavin has been a revelation to Europe during 08 finals, however he has showed his world-class quality for years during his career at Zenit St.Petersburg resulting in Premier League title and UEFA Cup during last few months.
He also unfortunately possesses dubious qualities of constant moaning and giving interviews about how he wants to leave Zenit (his native club by the way) and try a bigger league. That would be fine (after all he probably needs a fresh challenge at 27), however every year it ends up him getting bigger contract, which is by now is around 40,000 pounds per week - which is probably more than he would get in most half decent European clubs.
His well known obsession is Barcelona, so if, following his great performance at 08, he will receive their call, no English club would have a chance. Other than that he is however not only greedy but an ambitious guy, so would definitely welcome a move to Premier League (big four is priority now, I guess). The only question is however how much time will pass before he would reveal his ambition to play in Italy and Spain and go after some bigger pile of cash. He is Russian version of Ronaldo, only less diving, you’ll see.”
- Alexander, St. Petersburg, Russia (I can’t believe we’re into semi-finals!)
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:22 am
Its not about being a financial apologist or whether Eboue is an imbecile. Its about speculation - thats all. How do you know Edelman got sacked because of what he said? You dont. Its just speculative.
As for stubbornness and loyalty yeah AW is stubborn - AW is loyal - AW has blind spots - AW is not perfect. But he’s the best we’ve got and no one comes close to what he’s done. Hence I choose to overlook his frustrating inactivity in the transfer market and his other “tactical naiviety” as others here put it.
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:49 am
l_d_e@34,
Thanks for saying what I have been trying to preach for so long about Arsene Wenger. He has his faults but if I had a choice of any manager in the world, at this time I would have no other manager at Arsenal, other than Arsene.
A clarification of Arsenal’s income and expenses:
Income stream is based on all estimated receipts, whether it is match day receipts, marketing rights, kit and paraphernalia sales, property sales and rentals, UEFA contributions for CL appearances, etc.
Expenses include Debt repayments, marketing and promotional costs, football and non-football operating expenses which include salaries.
Each annual budget forecast takes into account estimated salary increases.
Although we had a net operating income of about 260 million last year, X amount is placed in a reserve account for unexpected costs which may arise during the following years as means of protecting the financial integrity of the club. X amount is also earmarked for known and estimated costs including previous player transfers whose fees are spread out over a number of years.
We also have to consider the cost associated with global branding, including but not limited to all the Academies and joint ventures with clubs throughout the world which will pay dividends in the future and which has now established us in the top 6 worldwide.
Do we have cash reserves? Yes. Will we spend them in a spurious manner? No.
Fact is, Arsenal is financially prudent and will not splash huge amounts of cash on players as will Manu, Barca, Real Madrid, Liverpool, AC Milan, etc.
As fans we have a choice. Continue to support Arsenal and their frugal ways combined with their electric football style or jump the bandwagon and support a club which will splash money on big names. Criticizing their financial methodology hardly makes sense for it is what it is, and is unlikely to change in the near future. Even if Kroenke eventually takes charge, very little is likely to change except for an upgrade in global branding, especially in the Americas where he has substantial resources in both the sports and mass media arenas.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Seems like the Nasri signing is about as official as it can get.
“Marseille star Samir Nasri claims he has sealed his move to Arsenal.
The playmaker has been discussing a move to Arsenal for around a month and Nasri has revealed on his personal website that the deal has been finalised.
Nasri underwent a medical in London last week, following France’s elimination from Euro 2008, and discussed a transfer with his agent Jean-Pierre Bernes.
“We inform you that Samir won’t be an Olympique de Marseille player next season and that he has signed a four-year contract with London club Arsenal,” read a statement on his personal website. “
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:28 pm
As you are all aware, Nasri has confirmed on his own website (site is down) that he has signed for Arsenal and he is being given the #8 shirt. Skysports has the fee @ 20mil euros or 15.8 mil pounds. This is the highest fee in print. Arsenal’s official announcement will probably list the fee as “not disclosed”. If the numbers are right then Wenger has shown serious determination in signing Nasri. Now we are either using CL money (18.3mil pounds) or will recoup w/ Hleb’s sale. If I’m Barcelona, I keep Deco and shelve Hleb’s deal. Barcelona have now put themselves into a box stating that Deco, Ronaldinho and Eto’o are not part of the future solution. Wolfsburg have thrown their hat into the ring. With VW money, they could outbid Barcelona if their interest is definite. That would be a kick in Hleb’s head to wind up back in Germany w/ a perennial relegation struggler.
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:08 pm
@Mazza#29…Trust me…there is no way a project of this size can start reaping immediate dividends. And fixed rate long term loan or not….there is no way anyone can predict how your cash flows are going to come in to service the debt. Things may be fine today…..for say 2.5 million a month….what happens if people lost interest in football or suddenly say that they don’t want to pay so much to watch it. A very real possibility in the near future?
Looking back..let’s say you were drawing up the project plan and forecasting your revenues. You may have taken in a lot of scenario’s adversely affecting your financials…but I can guarantee you that no one took into account these
(1) The Sub-Prime crisis which has affected property values throughout the US and possibly the UK. You say the houses have all been sold…..possibly…but do we know that there are no installements involved or only initial down payments been made. If i booked a house for 100K by paying 5K and the rest to be paid on possession. If i see the house value has gone down to 80K then i’d rather forfeit the 5K then entering into a loss making deal.
(2) Roman Abramovich’s and other foreign owners taking over football clubs due to which transfer fees and wages have lost touch with reality (75 millon for Ronaldo, 25 million for SWP, 125K per week for Flamini)..if someone tells me they saw all this coming…i would have to say you are geniuses.
(3) The Oil crises and inflation….trust me ..maybe the die hard football fans may prioritize match day tickets compared to oil/gas/petrol for the car. But how many fans are real die-hard fans??…out of 60,000….the moment oil and food prices start burning a hole in your pocket…guess what a normal guy would choose not to spend on?
I am not saying that the above scenario’s are the sole reason why we are not seeing any spending from the Arsenal board. You may have a valid point of view….but all I’m saying is this is a possiblity which also may be true. Whenever something is so blindingly obvious that the other side is an idiot for not seeing it…..it may turn out that something was not so obvious after all
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:47 pm
CaribKid
That’s why I think Arsenal need a Managing Director capable of driving the Arsenal brand in ways that Wenger and the fuddy-duddies (Arsenal board) can’t imagine. What I didn’t say was that Kroenke’s potential addition to the board could help the selection of the person w/ the “Right Stuff” for the MD job. Does he have to be an American, no, but I think it might help.
The British government (fuddy-duddies) admittedly made a shambles out of the Millenium Dome project. Enter AEG and voila you have the super successful O2 Arena. Arsenal need someone w/ the expertise and know how to drive the brand and increase what I feel is an under performing marketing effort. We need a marketing scheme that links Arsenal to ‘attack football’ like Brazil is linked w/ the beautiful game (jogo bonito).
ManU tours Asia every year and wins 2 pieces of silverware. Chelsea tour America and are in the CL finals and finish 2nd w/ a new ‘coach’. We harmonize in some sleepy Austrian village and wind up w/ an improved record but still out of the running for silverware. My point is that ManU and Chelsea go worldwide to support their brand and did not harm their product on the field. Rock bands tour to promote new cd’s. Arsenal are in the entertainment business and touring beyond the confines of Holland make the world our market.
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Fred, your response about the tickets got me curious as to how much EPL tickets actually cost, which led me to consider other things as well. Anyways, here’s some links that I found to be fascinating, and I think other people on here would like to see them as well:
Price listings for tickets at all 20 EPL clubs:
http://www.epltalk.com/0708-ticket-prices-for-premier-league-clubs
List of EPL clubs by average attendance as percentage of stadium capacity:
http://www.epltalk.com/sold-out-stadiums-in-premier-league/1692
List of EPL clubs in order of loudest fans at matches:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/26102007/58/premier-league-sunderland-top-noise-table.html
This final link (which is by far the most interesting, IMO) is a survey conducted by the Football Fans’ Census (which I am a member of), on club rivalries in the UK.
http://www.footballfanscensus.com/issueresults/Club_Rivalries_Uncovered_Results.pdf
These various links show that Arsenal have the highest ticket prices in the EPL, but that such prices are justified by the fact that avg. attendances at the Emirates are the highest pct. of stadium capacity of any EPL club. As far as crowd noise, we are mid-table (12th to be exact).
The last link is incredibly interesting, and one that I’ve seen before. Particularly applicable to Gooners is the section on changing rivalries. Arsenal are a prime example of a club whose supporters consider their current main rivals (Man U) different than their traditional main rival (Spurs).
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:05 pm
ChicagoGooner, thanks for these links. One of the concerns when Arsenal moved to the Emirates was how they would manage to channel the North Bank noise & songs into a large stadium. So good to see that Arsenal are still better off than Liverpool and Man Utd in terms of noise. Ofcourse, I think the noise ratings for Liverpool would be different for certain CL games when Liverpool had their backs to the wall. That is when it seems their stadium is at the peak of noise.
And yes that last link is interesting. Personally for me Man Utd became the main rivals after Wenger took over. And I know I am not the only one who thinks that either.
June 24th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Yeah, too bad no one will see them though, because once a new post is up, it kills any fragment of interest in the previous post, even if the two topics are completely unrelated and the old conversation was still a good one…
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 pm
I have to say though, the thing I found most odd about the ticket pricing list is that Derby’s were more expensive than Everton’s. How in the hell does that happen?
July 1st, 2008 at 9:12 am
i dont rate ade that highly , sell him take the 25 million an buy a cuple of players sounds like good buisness to me, we got him for 2 million thats 23 mil pfrfit for a player who i dont think is that good he looks like another kanu.