Is it terminal?

[IBK]

We all know what our problems are, and most ask questions about the club's goals. It hurts seeing us consolidate our status as also rans each year, when we were with the best not so long ago, and this is why it seems so negative all the time now.

But I wonder whether a fresh way to look at it is whether we think this is a temporary, rather than terminal, decline? Are we gambling everything on rigorous application of FFP? Could we win a cup and turn it around? Do you still have hope that a change of heart/regime will get us back to the top of English football?

[Letters]

We're not in decline, we're stagnating.
I do think we're looking longer term and IMO being too conservative. On the other hand we have to live within our means, City and Chelsea can do what they like and FFP is unlikely to have much effect. It's very hard to compete in the current football climate. Can Wenger do it? Doesn't seem so. Can anyone? Highly doubtful IMO.
7 years without a trophy isn't good enough for the modern Arsenal. 3rd place behind a team who have spent a billion quid to buy the title and another with arguably the best manager of all time is hardly a disaster though.

[Cripps_orig]

We've stood still for years and if we keep doing that then we will eventually go backwards.

We finished 3rd in a car crash of a season so imagine how good we'd be if we gave a toss during a season. We'd win the league at a canter

[Letters]

Rubbish.

[Ollie the Optimist]

the club have been banking on ffp working, but they have to change that as this summer has given the final proof it will never work.

[Cripps_orig]

I must say, i am intrigued in what our excuse will be to being shit when FFP is in use.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

the club have been banking on ffp working, but they have to change that as this summer has given the final proof it will never work.

care to explain why?

[Ollie the Optimist]

care to explain why?

well given there have been about four players signed this window, and half a billion quid spent on them says to me they dont give a shit.

you have city selling adesawhore to spurs, and then subsidising his wages. you ahve hazard going to chelsea, costing them 70 million including fee and wages, ibrahimovics and silvas deal, fees and wages together will cost 170 million for psg.

proof it wont work because no one gives a fuck about it

[Letters]

I must say, i am intrigued in what our excuse will be to being shit when FFP is in use.

Finishing 3rd behind the two Manchester sides, one of whom is only above us because they threw a billion quid around is 'shit'?

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

well given there have been about four players signed this window, and half a billion quid spent on them says to me they dont give a shit.

you have city selling adesawhore to spurs, and then subsidising his wages. you ahve hazard going to chelsea, costing them 70 million including fee and wages, ibrahimovics and silvas deal, fees and wages together will cost 170 million for psg.

proof it wont work because no one gives a fuck about it

if anything that proves it will work because teams are going for one last splash in the sea before the rules are tightened. why are chelsea all of a sudden going all out to replace an ageing team? because roman fears ffp will actually work. of course whether it does or not is something we have to wait and see.

theoretically speaking, it should put clubs like chelsea in the shitter. they can spend bucket loads on players (like they have been this summer) in order to clear the dead wood out, but what happens in 8-10 years time when hazard, marin, oscar all retire? they'll have the same problems. chelsea aren't exactly renowned for their academy so that puts even more pressure on them once ffp is implemented; at least teams like city have always had a good academy to rely on so can go down the path of investing in youth. chelsea haven't got the patience for that; over the past decade they've invested a shit load into the academy with little success. frank arnesen was supposed to be this holy revolutionary figure but he pissed off to hamburg last summer and gave up.

in 10 years time teams like chelsea (hopefully) won't be able to spend big money to replace an ageing squad, so hypothetically speaking, that should spell the end of them. obviously it's never as easy as that but one can hope.

the problem will be loopholes such as bumping up merchandise figures to compensate for higher spending, or abramovich sponsoring chelsea- a bit like man city and their 'lucrative' shirt deal last year; only the lucrative deal was sheikh mansour linking city up with his own company, effectively allowing unlimited investment into the club with little red tape preventing it.

this is where governing bodies must step in to prevent opportunistic behaviour.