What do our transfers tell us about our club/manager?

[IBK]

Lets start with the positives - firstly, as slightly underwhelming as our last minute purchases are, I am happy that at least there will be some interest and (dare I say it), even a change in the way we play this season, with so many new faces. And I would like to think that these new signings will refresh and re-animate our existing players who had clearly lost a lot of faith.

Secondly - I think our signings represent a long overdue slice of humble pie for Monsieur Wenger, and I think that we owe Manure some gratitude for the reality check that everyone but the manager had seen for months before last weekend.

But for me there are some worrying aspects of the transfer window too. Wenger is famed for his meticulous planning and attention to detail. Yet we were left with an unedifying last minute scramble which patently resulted in us not signing some of our first choices. Wenger's obvious failure to plan for the departures of Fabregas and Nasri seems at best a massive error of judgment as to both players' desire to leave the club, and at worst simply inept. While I have tended in the past to support the club over David Dein, the Summer lends weight to the theory that in a similar way to Brian Clough and Peter Taylor - Dein was an intrinsic component of AW's success.

Also, I wonder whether Wenger's underlying philosophy has really changed. There is no doubt in my mind that the true Wenger signing of the Summer was Oxlade-Chamberlain - and it is telling that he cost £2M more than Arteta - who is in football terms many times more important than the teenager. The fact that AW is up to his old tricks here despite the humiliating evidence that the money he spent (in transfer fees but mostly wages) on the likes of Bendtner; Denilson; Vela has been wasted (clearly noone else being prepared to meet Arsenal's valuations).

The reported underbidding for the likes of Jagielka, Cahill and M'Villa despite the cash at his disposal has all the hallmarks of Wenger's stubborn principles - and makes me wonder how much our signings (injury-prone MF's; unknown quantities at LB and up front) were driven by perceived value for money and how much by their true value football-wise.

On the playing side - you do have to wonder how our last minute signings can form part of a coherent vision for the team. Does AW really have a plan or has he just panicked - once it became clear that he was close to losing the dressing room?

Lastly - and here one does have to look at the ££ left over from the kitty available before July; the Cesc and Na$ri and CL money - was there ever any serious desire to replace our 2 departed 'world class' players with equal quality? And would we even have done the business we have without last weekend's wake up call? It is difficult for me to escape the impression that both board and manager were content to 'wing it' - and even more difficult for me to believe that even the signings we have made are intended to do anything other than try to keep us in the top 4. We have had previous evidence (Arshavin being the best example) that the club will only take positive action when the CL place is under threat. Here we have the same thing happening - and to my mind, the purchases we have made are 'top four' purchases, not title winning ones. And to me that remains the mentality of our majority shareholder; board and manager.

So while I welcome the new faces, and welcome even more having the lift of at least having some cause for optimism on the pitch, I remain concerned that realistically we remain bereft of the star quality that is needed to push for long-awaited silverware.

Thoughts?

[Flavs]

If these signing were made 4 weeks ago i think everyone would have been overjoyed, Wenger seems to have actually noted we need size, defensive ability, aggression and leadership. That is what we got.

The timing always gives the downers a chance to say we were panic buying or that the ass fucking at Sold Trafford meant we had to act or lose fans :blah:

It starts here for me, interested to see what our starting line will be when everyone is fit

[LDG]

All down to money.

We didn't want to blow shitloads.

Last day of the transfer window was ideal opportunity to drive prices down for players that wanted out of their clubs to come to us. Arteta is a case in point.

Shambles it may seem (and it is when you consider the results so far), but this was kinda planned, and on a wing. We've come out with a healthy cashposition again. Cunts.

[Boss]

All down to money.

We didn't want to blow shitloads.

Last day of the transfer window was ideal opportunity to drive prices down for players that wanted out of their clubs to come to us. Arteta is a case in point.

Shambles it may seem (and it is when you consider the results so far), but this was kinda planned, and on a wing. We've come out with a healthy cashposition again. Cunts.

Pretty much.

The transfers are a result of us panic buying.

Wenger hasn't learned anything.

[IBK]

If these signing were made 4 weeks ago i think everyone would have been overjoyed, Wenger seems to have actually noted we need size, defensive ability, aggression and leadership. That is what we got.

The timing always gives the downers a chance to say we were panic buying or that the ass fucking at Sold Trafford meant we had to act or lose fans :blah:

It starts here for me, interested to see what our starting line will be when everyone is fit

A fair point re timing, that I think might apply if we hadn't fairly transparently ended up securing players who were not our first choice targets. But the timing unavoidably suggests that all is not as it should be in terms of our negotiating team. The business done by our main rivals much earlier in the transfer window speaks volumes to me in terms of confidence, ambition and joined-up thinking. Arsenal's close season has been a shambles by comparison.

As for the qualities we have bought - I'm with you on leadership and Mertesacker's size - and I am particularly interested to see how and whether the former will transform the undoubted talent that we have already into a far more resiliant outfit. Neither would I describe myself as a 'downer' - despite losing it a bit (like everyone else) when it seemed that we were going to be left way short.

I think fans would have been happier, for sure, had we secured our new players 4 weeks ago. But I think that 'overjoyed' is pushing it - given that we would still have lost Fabregas and Nasri - and I feel that Wenger has been pushed, rather than embracing the need for significant change.

Still better late than never - and I look more forward to attending the Swansea game than I have for 6 months!

[Marc Overmars]

Very unWenger like signings. It does suggest panic buying particularly after what happened last Sunday. It's unheard of to buy this many players in 24 hours. It's a shame it's taken a shocking start to the season for the club to realise what every man and his dog already knew about how poor the squad was.

Anyway, slate wiped clean for the time being, let's see what these guys can do!

[IBK]

All down to money.

We didn't want to blow shitloads.

Last day of the transfer window was ideal opportunity to drive prices down for players that wanted out of their clubs to come to us. Arteta is a case in point.

Shambles it may seem (and it is when you consider the results so far), but this was kinda planned, and on a wing. We've come out with a healthy cashposition again. Cunts.

This kind of brinkmanship - over players who are below that calibre of those we have lost - shows a willingness to gamble on the success of the team on the pitch - which worries me.

[Cripps_orig]

Happy with Mertesacker. Just hope we don't play a high line and instead use him as Germany do where he is quality.Looking forward to seeing Santos play as well.The rest? Meh. Typical Wenger signings. Won't take us up another level but might take us down one.

[Joker]

This kind of brinkmanship - over players who are below that calibre of those we have lost - shows a willingness to gamble on the success of the team on the pitch - which worries me.

Exactly. I think this was planned in a way, in the sense that we were always waiting until deadline day to make some signings, to drive the price down and get players for what Wenger perceives to be their true worth. Wenger is an extremely stubborn man, and if a player's value does not match his own valuation, he will NOT spend a penny more for the player. Most managers are sometimes willing to bite the bullet and pay more than what they think a player is worth, because the benefits of having a top quality player in who will improve the side outweigh the costs of overspending.

Like you said yesterday, I'd like it if for once we put footballing considerations above economic considerations when signing players.

[LDG]

Well quite.

That Park lad. We get two years for 3mil
Arteta. 10 Mil for Prem experience (quite cheap)
AOC 12mil - Big bucks, but Wenger sees this long term and worth it.

It all stinks to high heaven. I'm relatively happy with the business done, but it reeks of money, not of furthering the team.

[Letters]

Pretty much.

The transfers are a result of us panic buying.

Wenger hasn't learned anything.

None of the 'panic buys' are kids, they're all established players. It's a clear departure from the past few years transfer activity from the club.
This should have all been sorted out months ago but we were certainly not the only club scrambling on the last day.


Also what it tells us: Chelsea loaning us a player shows they don't regard us as a serious rival

[IBK]

None of the 'panic buys' are kids, they're all established players. It's a clear departure from the past few years transfer activity from the club.
This should have all been sorted out months ago but we were certainly not the only club scrambling on the last day.


Also what it tells us: Chelsea loaning us a player shows they don't regard us as a serious rival

I dunno - we're the only so-called 'big club' doing so. Manure had their transfers sewn up months ago - and have therefore allowed them to bed down. So did Citeh. Chelsea were in for Modric - but still had their main business done. Liverpool have been buying for months.

Compare and contrast AFC. We sold our 2 best players weeks ago - sold Clichy before that - yet scramble last minute for players we have needed at least since then, and in the case of Mertesaker - for months.

This is 'arry behaviour at best - and at least 'arry has held on to his most influential player!

[LDG]

I dunno - we're the only so-called 'big club' doing so. Manure had their transfers sewn up months ago - and have therefore allowed them to bed down. So did Citeh. Chelsea were in for Modric - but still had their main business done. Liverpool have been buying for months.

Compare and contrast AFC. We sold our 2 best players weeks ago - sold Clichy before that - yet scramble last minute for players we have needed at least since then, and in the case of Mertesaker - for months.

This is 'arry behaviour at best - and at least 'arry has held on to his most influential player!

http://www.arsenal.com/first-team/players

:unsure:

:crying:

:ilt:

[Letters]

I dunno - we're the only so-called 'big club' doing so. Manure had their transfers sewn up months ago - and have therefore allowed them to bed down. So did Citeh. Chelsea were in for Modric - but still had their main business done. Liverpool have been buying for months.

Compare and contrast AFC. We sold our 2 best players weeks ago - sold Clichy before that - yet scramble last minute for players we have needed at least since then, and in the case of Mertesaker - for months.

This is 'arry behaviour at best - and at least 'arry has held on to his most influential player!

Well sure, I'm not doing cartwheels that we were scrabbling around at the last minute but at least in the scrabble we got some much needed experience this week.

[Syn]

None of the 'panic buys' are kids, they're all established players. It's a clear departure from the past few years transfer activity from the club.This should have all been sorted out months ago but we were certainly not the only club scrambling on the last day.Also what it tells us: Chelsea loaning us a player shows they don't regard us as a serious rival I doubt many of these signings were on the top of the list at the start of the summer. It doesn't mean they're bad - they're not. It became a case of wenger needing to get players that fans had heard of to buy him some support after the 8-2 loss. Good panic buying, mind.

[bignev]

We have signed some decent players (regardless of the reasons for signing them). However I can't help but feel that we have taken a step down from last season.

Fabregas > Areteta
Nasri > Benayoun

You could argue that Fabregas is high enough quality that you can't realistically replace him but nevertheless I would have liked to see a top player come in as replacement or at least two very high quality replacements to make up the quality. Arteta is good but he isn't going to give us the same return in terms of goals / assists.

I imagine that Gervino and Benayoun are Nasri replacements so it at least gives us options. We could have done with spending a big amount on someone top to really push on though. Benayoun is clearly a "filler" type signing.

I think we'll struggle to get top four with this lot. You have to assume Man Utd, City and Chelsea will be above us. So we have to be better than Liverpool and I really don't think we are.

If we're not in top four by Jan then yes we'll make signings but will it be too late by then?

[LDG]

Tbh, I wanted whole sale changes. I wanted the likes of Denilson / Clichy out of the picture, players who have fucked up more times than I care to remember. I wanted Cesc sorted, and didn't want Nasri kicking around once I knew he was a cunt.

I wanted experience. I wanted a proven CB. I wanted some width. I wanted pace. And I wanted some leadership.

I've got what I wanted, to a degree.

But there are two ingredients missing.

a) That we fucked the whole thing up so badly, combined with a shambolic start to the season (albeit securing CL place against a tough opponent)

b) That we didn't do a big one. A Mata, a Benzema, a Drogba. Something to lift the fans and the players and the club as a whole.

It remains to see whether it works better, but I'm still very concerned with regard to the planning of all of this. What the fans want the most is confidence in the club again. Confidence in the players, and that the players are confident on the pitch.

So far we haven't seen anything over the summer to ease the worry. Last night goes a way to calming a few nerves, but nowhere near enough has been done to sort out this sorry mess. And it'll be a long time before I trust anything Arsenal again....

[isv]

cahill in january for 6mill..

[Niall_Quinn]

The transfers tell us the club and the manager are still willing to take risks that haven't paid off in the past. We really should have got another CB. TV and Merts HAVE TO stay healthy this year because what we've got lined up behind them is pure comedy. RvP too, he has to stay fit or else the Korean guy needs to be a winner from the off like Arshavin was when he first arrived. Realistically what are the chances? If Samba and Bellamy were sitting on the roster this morning I'd be 100% more confident, as it is we're winging it again.

[Fats]

We have learned that officers of the club are poorly prepared and incompetant.

Unfortunately I have no faith in the manager and that fan power has made him buy players he would not have neccessarily bought.

This is to save his 6 million annual salary and status.

Short term this will help him, but his phylosophy will ultimately come through and we'll be back where we were IMO.

[IBK]

Top, top posts Big Nev and LDG.

1. I agree 100% that our transfer signings still amount to hedging our bets re a CL place, and that January has been held in reserve in case we haven't quite done enough to get there. Great point.

2. LDG has picked up on a crucial point. The club has been crying out for confidence that was leeched out massively as a result of last season's embarrassing collapse, and brought self-evidently to rock bottom with the Fabregas and Nasri departures. Whatever the merit of our signings, the manner in which they have happened has very seriously reduced the confidence boost that could have resulted from a decisive and sure-footed transfer season. And it remains to be seen whether in this regard it is too little, too late.

And for fans - we still feel rather like muppets who have been taken for granted by our club.

[Niall_Quinn]

And for fans - we still feel rather like muppets who have been taken for granted by our club.

So we're normal fans then?

[IBK]

So we're normal fans then?

Not so sure - because I don't think any other club has so obviously penny pinched out of principle when it has the cash....and therefore cut off its nose to spite its face. That's why we look so stupid.

[Niall_Quinn]

Not so sure - because I don't think any other club has so obviously penny pinched out of principle when it has the cash....and therefore cut off its nose to spite its face. That's why we look so stupid.

That's the very essence of football now isn't it? Fans who are loyal to a brand (to the exclusion of all other brands) being exploited for as much as possible? And that's the problem because if a corporation wasn't doing that, it wouldn't be fulfilling its reason for being. Which is why business and football really don't mix on an ideological level. It's a marriage of convenience at best, albeit abusive on one side. It's weird in a way because the owners who dump their cash in seemingly without any requirement of a return (like Abramovich) are shunned and accused of destroying the sport. They are accused of running bad businesses whilst the positive effects on the football team itself are ridiculed as being phoney. I'm not saying what they do is right either, it's just funny to listen to people who claim they love the game giving entirely business based reasons why the game must play second fiddle. We wanted a big name signing this transfer window, something handed back after years of penny-pinching and paying homage to the bottom line. They wouldn't do it, not even on the heels of a terrible season and the worst hiding ever dished out in the history of the PL (Ipswich does not count, this was Arsenal shipping 8). Most other clubs would probably play it the same way don't you think? It would only be the "financial dopers" who allowed that bit of fantasy.

[bignev]

I don't have confidence in the team at the moment.

If we get some wins in the next few games then that will change but at the moment too much negative stuff has happened for me to forget so easily. A few decent signings still hasn't convinced me we're good enough.

[Niall_Quinn]

If we can't get a win at home against Swansea we might as well pack it in. We have to view that as the season re-started and take it from there. The players coming in don't carry any of the baggage we're lugging around from the last few seasons so that's got to help with confidence levels.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Pretty much.

The transfers are a result of us panic buying.

Wenger hasn't learned anything.

Of course he has, Its not like he panic bought a bunch of kids is it. he got the exprience we all wanted. I agree its panic buying and should have been sorted out ages ago. but it was not.

Bui i think AW has learned something Project youth has failed.

[Coney]

Very unWenger like signings. It does suggest panic buying particularly after what happened last Sunday. It's unheard of to buy this many players in 24 hours. It's a shame it's taken a shocking start to the season for the club to realise what every man and his dog already knew about how poor the squad was.

Anyway, slate wiped clean for the time being, let's see what these guys can do!

Well, I was hoping for some unWenger-like signings this transfer window. It is nice to have big fancy names but I don't think that was our problem over the last couple of seasons. A lot of the first team players have, in some matches, shown that they are capable of producing top class football and the skills of many of them are top notch..... when they can be arsed... when they are on form. What I wanted to see is players on the pitch around them to kick their asses when they need kicking if their heads go down. These experienced players, while not necessarily the greatest in their positions, are nevertheless good players and ones who are likely to keep the others moving.

If that means unWenger-like players, then that is a good thing and is what I had hoped they (Gazidis and Wenger) meant at the end of the season when they indicated a change of approach.

I am disappointed that we did not at least get the FB and CB sorted earlier because allthough there was uncertainty over Nasri and Cesc (fuck you, Barca) so he might have been justified in hedging in the midfield area, Wenger should have got them in earlier, so that at the start of this season, we had a defence who had a months or so to practice in before we had to face the likes of Liverpool and manu. Had that happened, while we might still have lost at OT, it would perhaps have been by 1 or 2 goals and in the case of the Liverpool match, we would probably have had at least a point and maybe more.

So while the transfers are not megadeals, I am not too unhappy with what we have got. If they perform, then it might well be enough for us to make a decent fist of the season, getting some silver.

One thing I did notice that does please me a great deal is that Arteta took a pay cut to come here. At 29, he sees this as his last chance to get something to put on his mantlepiece, so I am expected a massive effort from him during the season. Also, I liked Wenger's reason for Benayoun - if he is right, then we might well not miss Cesc as much as some think.....


Yossi Benayoun
"I think he's a very experienced, accomplished and intelligent midfielder and will bring a lot to the Arsenal midfield. He's played at a high level for a number of years and quite a few people will be sad to see him go from Chelsea, even if it is only on loan.

"He was probably Chelsea's best performing midfielder during pre-season, and to be honest since he came from Liverpool he has been extremely unlucky with injuries. Hopefully this will be the good fresh start he needs.

"I think versatility is one of the things you get with him. His big strength when he was at Liverpool was finding the ball to thread through to pick out one of the strikers, and when he's played for Chelsea he has been very good at doing that.

"He just never found that understanding he had with Torres at Liverpool, and at Chelsea he has not had much chance to do it. He should be very good at playing balls to the likes of Walcott. I think he is also the type of player that Arshavin would really benefit from.

[Champagne Charlie]

I said something similar in another thread but it's probably more applicable here:

For me this transfer window, and particularly the last few days, has highlighted what I’ve thought to be the case for a while; that the club are only ever willing to spend big money when finishing outside of the top four is a real possibility. Whether that’s down to AW or the board I don’t know, probably a bit of both, but it seems that the club sees finishing in the top four as it’s only priority. Challenging for any cups or the league along the way would just be an added bonus.

If we’re scrapping about in 5th or 6th place come January I fully expect us to go out and spend the remaining £20 million odd we’ve made on net transfers this summer on some top quality players. Whereas if we’re sitting 2nd and looking like we could mount a title challenge (far fetched I know!) then there’s no way in hell that we’ll add anyone of note to the squad to help us push for trophies.

But on the plus side, it’s good to see us moving away from just buying young players with potential and actually adding some experience and leadership in the areas we really need it.

[Power n Glory]

Real happy to see that we've signed players and they're good players. I don't have a problem with any of them.

I've got a problem with the timing. If it wasn't for the Sunday Massacre, would we have made so many signings? I doubt it. That is what bothers me.

Also, I hope Wenger has finally woken up and these signings were his idea. I hope he wasn't pressured and forced to sign players otherwise he hasn't learned his lesson.

It also annoys me to hear that Arteta had to take a pay cut to join us. We really are tight buggers. It's his last major move and knowing our over 30s policy, it will probably be his last major contract. At least match his wages or give him a little top up. I know it's business and all, but damn!

[Syn]

Real happy to see that we've signed players and they're good players. I don't have a problem with any of them. I've got a problem with the timing. If it wasn't for the Sunday Massacre, would we have made so many signings? I doubt it. That is what bothers me.Also, I hope Wenger has finally woken up and these signings were his idea. I hope he wasn't pressured and forced to sign players otherwise he hasn't learned his lesson. It also annoys me to hear that Arteta had to take a pay cut to join us. We really are tight buggers. It's his last major move and knowing our over 30s policy, it will probably be his last major contract. At least match his wages or give him a little top up. I know it's business and all, but damn! Agree. If the contract thing is true, it suggests we are being very anal about the wages. It's not always good business.

[Niall_Quinn]

Arteta might be on a lower basic plus performance related that would top him up past his Everton earnings. For s start there's CL appearances and potentially goals for him now, something he wouldn't have had at Everton. The media are just going to state whatever makes the story using simplistic themes and triggers, but I'm not sure in reality why a player would take a pay cut on (as you say) probably his last contract.

[Niall_Quinn]

Plus our over 30s policy is surely dead now? Good riddance too.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Plus our over 30s policy is surely dead now? Good riddance too.
Wenger said it was a 32 plus policy, so maybe not.

[Niall_Quinn]

Thought that was the 32 stone policy, a final warning to Arshavin?

[Power n Glory]

Arteta might be on a lower basic plus performance related that would top him up past his Everton earnings. For s start there's CL appearances and potentially goals for him now, something he wouldn't have had at Everton. The media are just going to state whatever makes the story using simplistic themes and triggers, but I'm not sure in reality why a player would take a pay cut on (as you say) probably his last contract.

Not all players care about money.

Also, it sounds like the type of silly deal breaking thing we'd do. We've got the players now and they are all cheap, but the way we do things, you can forget about signing any star players. We've the amount we've spent, it's obvious that we're not broke, but we're tight buggers. Wenger is a tight shopper. If he had a £200 in his pocket for clothes shopping, rather spend the full amount on a few designer items, he'll go to Primark and come back loaded with bags.

[IBK]

Not all players care about money.

Also, it sounds like the type of silly deal breaking thing we'd do. We've got the players now and they are all cheap, but the way we do things, you can forget about signing any star players. We've the amount we've spent, it's obvious that we're not broke, but we're tight buggers. Wenger is a tight shopper. If he had a £200 in his pocket for clothes shopping, rather spend the full amount on a few designer items, he'll go to Primark and come back loaded with bags.

...not to mention that we went in originally with a £5M offer! No wonder that if it hadn't been for Arteta's transfer request the deal would have broken down - as its not hard to see why Everton didn't think we were serious. Honestly, its the day before the transfer deadline, we desperately need a creative MF, and we go in for Everton's best player with an offer of £5M. Yes it worked out in the end, but the club is taking massive risks for the sake of penny pinching, even when we have the money. Its mad.


BBC SPORT'S DAN ROAN ON ARTETA TRANSFERContinue reading the main story
"Arsenal offered £5m on Tuesday and £10m on Wednesday afternoon - both bids were rejected. Any deal was dead until around 1900 BST, when Arteta told Moyes he wished to leave.

"Moyes spoke to the chairman, Bill Kenwright, and said he did not want to keep a player who did not wish to play for Everton.

"Arteta was Everton's highest-paid player ever on around £75,000 a week and took a big pay cut to join Arsenal."

[Niall_Quinn]

What's the story with the team photo now?

[LDG]

What's the story with the team photo now?

They really really really need to take a new one.

Really.

[Niall_Quinn]

They really really really need to take a new one.

Really.

Surely that's going to cost money? Is there no other way?

[hymppi]

Surely that's going to cost money? Is there no other way?
photoshop FTW!
and it better be the photo with song and the pokemon character :D

[Kaiser]

Surely that's going to cost money? Is there no other way?

Photoshop last year's photo with new faces? Might look a little weird with Mertesacker's head on Cesc's body due to the No. 4 shirt but the rest could work.

[LDG]

Do it someone. Could keep me amused for the rest of the day :dance:

[Niall_Quinn]

Interesting note in the Daily Mail, apparently Wenger spent the whole of yesterday in Switzerland at a coaches' conference. Does this tell us what we need to know about who's calling the shots in the transfer market? Surely if his decisions were critical in this area he'd need to be on-hand on deadline day? Being on the phone is one thing but not comparable to direct involvement. Or had he already worked the targets out by Wednesday morning? If so, it didn't look that way and they cut things a little fine. It's odd he wasn't around yesterday.

[LDG]

Interesting note in the Daily Mail, apparently Wenger spent the whole of yesterday in Switzerland at a coaches' conference. Does this tell us what we need to know about who's calling the shots in the transfer market? Surely if his decisions were critical in this area he'd need to be on-hand on deadline day? Being on the phone is one thing but not comparable to direct involvement. Or had he already worked the targets out by Wednesday morning? If so, it didn't look that way and they cut things a little fine. It's odd he wasn't around yesterday.

Think the targets were all planned....probably drew up lists of targets, and went through them one by one, crossing through ones which cost the extra £2.36 as they went. Cheap ones to go for, gentlemens agreement ones all ready for TDD.

What a cunt.

[Niall_Quinn]

Do it someone. Could keep me amused for the rest of the day :dance:

Did a Google search for "Arsenal Squad Photo 2011-12" but this is all I could find. You'll have to make do I'm afraid.

http://i1035.photobucket.com/albums/a433/qwerty12343/Gossard_Photo_Shoot_32.jpg

[LDG]

Man arms :o

[Niall_Quinn]

Man arms :o

You said you wanted it photoshopped - make up your fucking mind.

[selassie]

I prefer a bit more meat on my women but she's hot!

Anyways back on topic, I think the transfers tell us that Wenger panicked and ended up making do with players he obviously likes but not his primary targets.

If Wenger would have been prepared to pay up we probably would have purchased Jagielka, Mata & M'Vila in addition to Gervinho & the young projects like Oxo & Jenkinson.

I personally don't think Wenger has changed that much, yes he's gone for experience, but it remains to be seen to whether they are super quality.

I'm relieved at the current state of the squad but certainly not satisfied. The squad was in really bad shape this time last week.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

I prefer a bit more meat on my women but she's hot!

Anyways back on topic, I think the transfers tell us that Wenger panicked and ended up making do with players he obviously likes but not his primary targets.

If Wenger would have been prepared to pay up we probably would have purchased Jagielka, Mata & M'Vila in addition to Gervinho & the young projects like Oxo & Jenkinson.

I personally don't think Wenger has changed that much, yes he's gone for experience, but it remains to be seen to whether they are super quality.

I'm relieved at the current state of the squad but certainly not satisfied. The squad was in really bad shape this time last week.

we was never in for mata or even bidded for him, but i see what you mean

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Interesting note in the Daily Mail, apparently Wenger spent the whole of yesterday in Switzerland at a coaches' conference. Does this tell us what we need to know about who's calling the shots in the transfer market? Surely if his decisions were critical in this area he'd need to be on-hand on deadline day? Being on the phone is one thing but not comparable to direct involvement. Or had he already worked the targets out by Wednesday morning? If so, it didn't look that way and they cut things a little fine. It's odd he wasn't around yesterday.

He only needed to be a phone call away though tbh, i think he was aware of deals, how nuch he played a part in the signings is the question. Ones things for sure these were not his targets in May.

We all know he wanted, Cahill, Hazard, Benzema and A DCM/CM and maybe a keeper.

[IBK]

I prefer a bit more meat on my women but she's hot!

Anyways back on topic, I think the transfers tell us that Wenger panicked and ended up making do with players he obviously likes but not his primary targets.

If Wenger would have been prepared to pay up we probably would have purchased Jagielka, Mata & M'Vila in addition to Gervinho & the young projects like Oxo & Jenkinson.

I personally don't think Wenger has changed that much, yes he's gone for experience, but it remains to be seen to whether they are super quality.

I'm relieved at the current state of the squad but certainly not satisfied. The squad was in really bad shape this time last week.

Pretty much. I think we need to remember that we have lost one of the best MF's in the world, and one of the best technical players in the country when assessing our transfer business. There is a feeling that penny pinching was paramount even in our time of greatest need - and that is what leads to the dissatisfaction.

[Power n Glory]

Interesting note in the Daily Mail, apparently Wenger spent the whole of yesterday in Switzerland at a coaches' conference. Does this tell us what we need to know about who's calling the shots in the transfer market? Surely if his decisions were critical in this area he'd need to be on-hand on deadline day? Being on the phone is one thing but not comparable to direct involvement. Or had he already worked the targets out by Wednesday morning? If so, it didn't look that way and they cut things a little fine. It's odd he wasn't around yesterday.

Could be the case. There might have been a fall out after the massacre and he went off to Switzerland in a strop. Or they told him to hit the road, take a break and they'll handle the transfers. Wenger was very vocal about not being able to find the right 'quality' players and the one thing Gazidis did say during that ATM meeting was that the there has be dialogue between the manager and staff when it comes to transfers, so this seems strange. Maybe during the summer, both parties just kept on butting heads which lead to this long drawn out summer. You've seen the Nasri interviews where he said he wanted to leave from the start of the summer and made that clear, but Wenger wanted to keep him and it's why it was such a long drawn out process.

I also think he didn't wanted to sign a CB because of the praise he heaped onto the defence after our first clean sheet and we've known about Mertesaker for ages. He's no secret and I suspect the same with the other players. Our scouts must have been watching them, they're not the type of players that would cripple the club financially. So why take so long? Must be the deadline day strategy. Players and clubs get desperate and make quick decisions. Or Wenger just didn't want to sign those type of players. Time will tell.

[fakeyank]

Could be the case. There might have been a fall out after the massacre and he went off to Switzerland in a strop. Or they told him to hit the road, take a break and they'll handle the transfers. Wenger was very vocal about not being able to find the right 'quality' players and the one thing Gazidis did say during that ATM meeting was that the there has be dialogue between the manager and staff when it comes to transfers, so this seems strange. Maybe during the summer, both parties just kept on butting heads which lead to this long drawn out summer. You've seen the Nasri interviews where he said he wanted to leave from the start of the summer and made that clear, but Wenger wanted to keep him and it's why it was such a long drawn out process.

I also think he didn't wanted to sign a CB because of the praise he heaped onto the defence after our first clean sheet and we've known about Mertesaker for ages. He's no secret and I suspect the same with the other players. Our scouts must have been watching them, they're not the type of players that would cripple the club financially. So why take so long? Must be the deadline day strategy. Players and clubs get desperate and make quick decisions. Or Wenger just didn't want to sign those type of players. Time will tell.

IMO, this transfer window has nothing to do with AW. If he had his way, he'd still be fielding the same XI that got hammered by Utd. I dont blame the board because for me the buck stops with the manager. After the very humiliating YET very important defeat to Utd, the board got the players themselves while our manager was in Switzerland nursing his bruised ego.

He is a gangrene to the club now.. sooner we cut him off, the better..

[Master Splinter]

IMO, this transfer window has nothing to do with AW. If he had his way, he'd still be fielding the same XI that got hammered by Utd. I dont blame the board because for me the buck stops with the manager. After the very humiliating YET very important defeat to Utd, the board got the players themselves while our manager was in Switzerland nursing his bruised ego.



:doh: