Originally Posted by
Ice Berg Kamping
Agreed. I'm afraid that these signings do nothing at all to address my concerns about what is happening at our club. They smack of last minute desperation because that's exactly what it is. It is, frankly astonishing that a club like ours that is famous for apparently being so well run should leave it until the last day of the transfer window to do business - but more importantly should have left the squad as wafer thin as it was on the weekend. Where is the planning? Where is the foresight? Wenger is the second longest serving manager in English football. He is massively experienced, and he knew damn well that Fabregas and Nasri were off when the transfer window opened - yet even now there is no creative midfield signing!!!! Surely the manager understands that the likes of Jenkinson and Oxlade Chamberlaim will be potentially damaged by being thrown to the lions as the have been.
The only theory that makes any sense to me is that firstly, we have abandoned all pretence of being in the hunt for silverware, and secondly that we were prepared to gamble on clinging on to a CL place with what we had. KK's article in the Huffington Post above postulates that Kroenke operates on the basis that winning things is not necessary to demonstrate the requisite profits - and it is very easy to believe that CL qualification is the be all and end all for this business model. As for Wenger - I can only speculate that he has abandoned any proper winning instinct in favour of enhancing his reputation as a manager who can make money, alongside an addiction to experimenting and trying to perform alchemy with his squad.
I hate to be negative when we seem at last to have made some signings, but for me it is very hard to feel genuine hope or excitement when the past couple of days smack of rushing round the shops at 5pm on Christmas eve...