Quote Originally Posted by LDG View Post
Oh I think you'll find that everyone finds it "wrong". But we should still spend beyond our means anyway, because *stomps feet*

Yes, there are people who will say that our board are milking this, that or the other. But they clearly have no fuckin idea. The money which they will earn out of the club is based on share sale, not the profit on transfers. NOBODY could really avoid the slightly hostile takeover by Kronke...purely because everyone, Arsenal fans included, sold the **** their shares. Same goes for that russian mob (thanks David, you ****). In fact, we don't operate as a massive profit making organisation. Simple maths can tell you that we don't earn billions out of selling shirts and seats and pies.

What we do have in surplus cash (to an extent) is reinvested. But it has to be done sensibly, because you don't know what is round the corner, and the assumptions of what cash we actually have to spend is also dependent on many other variables, and fixed outgoings. Despite which, people have to remember that profit doesn't equate to cash.

The problem we have as a club has been the way we have been run, to an extent. It's the way in which we have negotiated our sponsorship deals etc, and the way we market ourselves. We clearly fucked up with the wages we pay (though I can see the logic behind it).

The people that claim we should be spending to keep up with City et al, are completely deluded. Yet they are the same people who say we should be sacking Wenger, when it's pretty obvious he's kept us in the top four clubs in England without spending.

Yes, we can spend a bit more, and hopefully we will. But these fuckin numpties who roll eyes and act all billy big spuds are utter fucktards.

Just focus on the football, because most people, me included, haven't got the foggiest how we run ourselves as a business. But one thing is for sure, in the most part, we're run so that we're not indebted to some tosser who can fuck off whenever he feels like it. If Kronke goes, the clubs still survives as normal. If dirty arab **** goes from city (without leaving massive presents) they're fucked.

I should say, however, that I'm sure we have enough cash to be investing a bit more. And that is the frustrating part...waiting for Arsene to deal is like pulling your teeth out.
Common sense.

IMHO the only things the club can be seriously criticised for are:

- Being a bit too conservative. I feel we are - but its a hell of a lot better than too many risks and going pop. A lot of people don't understand that we simply don't have the marketing clout to borrow/raise money like Manure do - and even with Manure their levels of debt are uncomfortably high. They have prospered because they have a better manager than us. But AFC can't be criticised for that. SAF's don't grow on trees. I'm not even going to bother mentioning the Chavs and Citeh - the only other clubs above us in the EPL.

- Giving Wenger too much power. A difficult one this, because its been an evolving situation and is so closely tied in with the stadium project as to be indistinguishable. The project has benefitted the club less than was anticipated, but it has undoubtedly been a benefit for the club. Remember the Chavs; Liverpool; Spurs still need to revedelop stadia to progress. We have already done so. And we simply could not have done it without Wenger.

- Becoming an developmental side. I agree wholeheartedly that the balance between tried and tested and overpaid unproven players has become horribly skewed and harmed our chances. But its easy to criticise in hindsight - at the time it was a) a necessary evil of the stadium project and our reduced capacity for sponsorship deals, and b) an alternative to the financial doping route. yes it didn;t work, but IMO its harsh to blame the club for trying.

Noone is trying to deny that not winning anything, and enduring groundhog day in terms of our best players leaving hurts - but I maintain that there is/was little, if anything that the club could have done to prevent Cesc; Na$ri; RVP and Song walking out of the door. We are not as rich or successful as the competition. Its a fact and we have to deal with it. Blaming the club for not being as rich/successful as others is trite.