Middle East consortium 'to bid for Arsenal'

[Xhaka Can’t]

What if this was us using the maximum use of our resources? Someone posted that they think Wenger is giving 110% but he's just not good enough anymore. Same for the team yesterday. I can't really fault the effort of the lads. They gave it their all but quality wise we are lacking in all areas and unfortunately it will take big money to get that quality in.

I agree with you in that I don't want us to be taken over by whoever and become a penis extension (which btw is an awesome phrase) nor do I want what we are currently doing. If I had to choose one, it'd be the latter though.

We don't need to spend £30m+ on 5 players this summer but why can't we spend that much on one player? If we can't do that then our finances aren't as good as its made out to be and the fans as usual are sold a crock of shit.

I have no doubt that Wenger is working really hard - in fact I think he is working too hard. But for that, he only has himself to blame. That he has worked hard and done a lot for this Club - in terms of trophies in the first half of his career, and in terms of ensuring the Club got on a firm financial footing in the next quarter of it can't be in dispute.

What has happened subsequent to that has been pretty much disastrous. I believe Wenger could or should have had enough of a power base to say, right, we are through the worst in terms of investing in the move - now lets invest in the team. But for some inexplicable reason, he seems content to not invest in the team - even to the extent of continually weakening it. I honestly cannot think of another Manager who would accept and go along with this.

So he continues to weaken the team while turning in profits that have resulted in huge capital appreciation for the shareholders who cashed in, and so too will Kroenke in due course. Despite doing this, he still seems to want to win - you see the anguish in his face and the way he is publically losing the plot from time to time, and the bizarre shit he spouts just about every time a mic is put in front of him.

But he is attempting to win with a team that has less quality and leadership in it relative to elsewhere than any Arsenal team I can recall watching. While I accept he is working hard to do this, I cannot accept him being complicit in the continual asset stripping of the side. Added to this, we have an extremely high wage bill - most of it wasted. For what we pay out on wages, we could easily accommodate three top top quality players in the side - leaders - skilled professionals. But we do not have that because of a salary structure that rewards everybody lucky enough to sign a contract with us, way beyond their worth and without them actually having to contribute anything. If you want proof - look at the amount of money we are wasting on Bendtner just to fund his lifestyle of getting pissed, giving off shit to people in fast food joints, vandalising cars and drink driving.

There is no way this Club is making maximum use of its resources, nor is it getting value out of the resources it does invest.

This Club in this climate should be performing much much better - it has the capacity to do so - and it is that which is sickening to me.

[Niall_Quinn]

I have no doubt that Wenger is working really hard - in fact I think he is working too hard. But for that, he only has himself to blame. That he has worked hard and done a lot for this Club - in terms of trophies in the first half of his career, and in terms of ensuring the Club got on a firm financial footing in the next quarter of it can't be in dispute.

What has happened subsequent to that has been pretty much disastrous. I believe Wenger could or should have had enough of a power base to say, right, we are through the worst in terms of investing in the move - now lets invest in the team. But for some inexplicable reason, he seems content to not invest in the team - even to the extent of continually weakening it. I honestly cannot think of another Manager who would accept and go along with this.

So he continues to weaken the team while turning in profits that have resulted in huge capital appreciation for the shareholders who cashed in, and so too will Kroenke in due course. Despite doing this, he still seems to want to win - you see the anguish in his face and the way he is publically losing the plot from time to time, and the bizarre shit he spouts just about every time a mic is put in front of him.

But he is attempting to win with a team that has less quality and leadership in it relative to elsewhere than any Arsenal team I can recall watching. While I accept he is working hard to do this, I cannot accept him being complicit in the continual asset stripping of the side. Added to this, we have an extremely high wage bill - most of it wasted. For what we pay out on wages, we could easily accommodate three top top quality players in the side - leaders - skilled professionals. But we do not have that because of a salary structure that rewards everybody lucky enough to sign a contract with us, way beyond their worth and without them actually having to contribute anything. If you want proof - look at the amount of money we are wasting on Bendtner just to fund his lifestyle of getting pissed, giving off shit to people in fast food joints, vandalising cars and drink driving.

There is no way this Club is making maximum use of its resources, nor is it getting value out of the resources it does invest.

This Club in this climate should be performing much much better - it has the capacity to do so - and it is that which is sickening to me.

One other possible factor is he came into the club when players like Tony Adams existed and not the nasty little ****s who play today. There's no love for the team or loyalty any more, except in the rarest cases. That's got to be a factor in the wage bill being out of control, which is not to say we should have even tried to hang on to the shite we have on the books. But it's tough when you build up players like van Persie and Fabregas and give them every possible assistance only to watch them fuck off and start talking about how great Utd are and how Barcelona is your real home. Well don't fucking leave in the first place Cesc.

I believe Wenger has been overly fair with these players but he's had it spit back in his face in the latter half of his tenure. Of course this is again his problem, he hasn't moved further down the turd bowl in line with what's common in the game now. He insists on circling the rim and won't agree to be flushed like uber ****s such as Mancini. Wenger has this thing about the clubs with the big money, he seems to be on a personal crusade to beat them the old way. It's ambitious but a bit crazy too because these no-talent fucks like Mancini can just spend their way out of every problem. Wenger could have spent a bit but even that appears to be a compromise too far for him. Some of his personal beliefs (training, diet, etc) have been great for the club and football in general but the other shit (overpayment to garbage, Barca-lite, arrogance towards the opposition) has killed us now we don't have the talent to wing it.

The players really are horrible little ****s though. Just fucking horrible. They are more celebs than footballers. Hateful.

[Power n Glory]

One other possible factor is he came into the club when players like Tony Adams existed and not the nasty little ****s who play today. There's no love for the team or loyalty any more, except in the rarest cases. That's got to be a factor in the wage bill being out of control, which is not to say we should have even tried to hang on to the shite we have on the books. But it's tough when you build up players like van Persie and Fabregas and give them every possible assistance only to watch them fuck off and start talking about how great Utd are and how Barcelona is your real home. Well don't fucking leave in the first place Cesc.

I believe Wenger has been overly fair with these players but he's had it spit back in his face in the latter half of his tenure. Of course this is again his problem, he hasn't moved further down the turd bowl in line with what's common in the game now. He insists on circling the rim and won't agree to be flushed like uber ****s such as Mancini. Wenger has this thing about the clubs with the big money, he seems to be on a personal crusade to beat them the old way. It's ambitious but a bit crazy too because these no-talent fucks like Mancini can just spend their way out of every problem. Wenger could have spent a bit but even that appears to be a compromise too far for him. Some of his personal beliefs (training, diet, etc) have been great for the club and football in general but the other shit (overpayment to garbage, Barca-lite, arrogance towards the opposition) has killed us now we don't have the talent to wing it.

The players really are horrible little ****s though. Just fucking horrible. They are more celebs than footballers. Hateful.

I have to disagree with that. For starters, the wage bill is out of balance because he choses to pay these guys silly wages at some misguided pre-emptive strike against vulture clubs like City and Barca. Guys like Bendy and Denilson weren't even on these clubs radar but for some reason he chose to pay them massive wages they didn't earn even though they've always expressed a desire to start games and prove themselves more than anything else. There were no threats of leaving on a free if not paid accordingly, the most frustrating thing for young players is not getting a start and I remember countless players leaving or threatening to leave because of this. Bribing them to stay with money is Wenger and the clubs choice. Look at the recent contracts for Gibbs, Wilshere and Ox. None of them were demanding a huge pay increase and none have done nothing to warrant one either but he handed it out willingly even though these guys would have probably signed for an extension for a fraction of what was offered.

As for Cesc and RVP leaving, these guys have been with the club longer than guys like Ljungberg, Sol Campbell, Wiltord, Pires and Overmars but won less. It's very rare for a club of our size that's winning nothing to get almost 10 years of service from players without winning anything. Most of the past players skipped off to another club after a season or two of watching Wenger and the club refuse to sign new blood. Cesc and RVP watched for 8 years as Wenger refused to sign new players, wouldn't adapt to tactics and gave naïve speeches about us being 2% away from domination when we can't even do the basics of defending a set piece. To top it off they watched as we sold key players each season. Ade, Flamini, Hleb, Henry...just as we he perseveres with trash like Almunia in goal for years even though the world can see he's no good. Eboue on the flanks, Denilson for goodness sakes while better options were on the bench or in the transfer market. The deluded speeches Wenger makes about 4th being a trophy, our defensive record being great away from home and the way he just clouds over some many problems, they sat and heard that nonsense we're all fed up of hearing day in day out as they sat and watched a disillusioned and ill equipped team perform and choke week after week.

You can't make out as if Wenger is a victim of the players when you look at it. The crazy nonsense we're seeing now has been going on for years and he's blinkered and ignorant to the fact that he needs help and the team need help. He got 8 years of service from those guys, more than what a lot of the Invincible players served under Wenger and saw that this was a sinking ship. They could have stayed on another 8 years and won fuck all under this man. He still has no clue about defending or tactics and is a spent force. It has nothing to do with the modern day players because back at Highbury Petit, Overmars and Anelka fucked off a lot earlier even when we were on the up. If we weren't winning trophies back in during the Highbury years, Sol Campbell would have never signed for us and would have most likely signed for a club like Chelsea. And let's not forget about that 'orrible bastard Vieira. He'd have been a Chelsea boy too if they were around back then. Same goes for a lot of other players.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

I have to disagree with that. For starters, the wage bill is out of balance because he choses to pay these guys silly wages at some misguided pre-emptive strike against vulture clubs like City and Barca. Guys like Bendy and Denilson weren't even on these clubs radar but for some reason he chose to pay them massive wages they didn't earn even though they've always expressed a desire to start games and prove themselves more than anything else. There were no threats of leaving on a free if not paid accordingly, the most frustrating thing for young players is not getting a start and I remember countless players leaving or threatening to leave because of this. Bribing them to stay with money is Wenger and the clubs choice. Look at the recent contracts for Gibbs, Wilshere and Ox. None of them were demanding a huge pay increase and none have done nothing to warrant one either but he handed it out willingly even though these guys would have probably signed for an extension for a fraction of what was offered.

As for Cesc and RVP leaving, these guys have been with the club longer than guys like Ljungberg, Sol Campbell, Wiltord, Pires and Overmars but won less. It's very rare for a club of our size that's winning nothing to get almost 10 years of service from players without winning anything. Most of the past players skipped off to another club after a season or two of watching Wenger and the club refuse to sign new blood. Cesc and RVP watched for 8 years as Wenger refused to sign new players, wouldn't adapt to tactics and gave naïve speeches about us being 2% away from domination when we can't even do the basics of defending a set piece. To top it off they watched as we sold key players each season. Ade, Flamini, Hleb, Henry...just as we he perseveres with trash like Almunia in goal for years even though the world can see he's no good. Eboue on the flanks, Denilson for goodness sakes while better options were on the bench or in the transfer market. The deluded speeches Wenger makes about 4th being a trophy, our defensive record being great away from home and the way he just clouds over some many problems, they sat and heard that nonsense we're all fed up of hearing day in day out as they sat and watched a disillusioned and ill equipped team perform and choke week after week.

You can't make out as if Wenger is a victim of the players when you look at it. The crazy nonsense we're seeing now has been going on for years and he's blinkered and ignorant to the fact that he needs help and the team need help. He got 8 years of service from those guys, more than what a lot of the Invincible players served under Wenger and saw that this was a sinking ship. They could have stayed on another 8 years and won fuck all under this man. He still has no clue about defending or tactics and is a spent force. It has nothing to do with the modern day players because back at Highbury Petit, Overmars and Anelka fucked off a lot earlier even when we were on the up. If we weren't winning trophies back in during the Highbury years, Sol Campbell would have never signed for us and would have most likely signed for a club like Chelsea. And let's not forget about that 'orrible bastard Vieira. He'd have been a Chelsea boy too if they were around back then. Same goes for a lot of other players.

Proper arguments here.

[Harland]

I have to disagree with that. For starters, the wage bill is out of balance because he choses to pay these guys silly wages at some misguided pre-emptive strike against vulture clubs like City and Barca. Guys like Bendy and Denilson weren't even on these clubs radar but for some reason he chose to pay them massive wages they didn't earn even though they've always expressed a desire to start games and prove themselves more than anything else. There were no threats of leaving on a free if not paid accordingly, the most frustrating thing for young players is not getting a start and I remember countless players leaving or threatening to leave because of this. Bribing them to stay with money is Wenger and the clubs choice. Look at the recent contracts for Gibbs, Wilshere and Ox. None of them were demanding a huge pay increase and none have done nothing to warrant one either but he handed it out willingly even though these guys would have probably signed for an extension for a fraction of what was offered.

As for Cesc and RVP leaving, these guys have been with the club longer than guys like Ljungberg, Sol Campbell, Wiltord, Pires and Overmars but won less. It's very rare for a club of our size that's winning nothing to get almost 10 years of service from players without winning anything. Most of the past players skipped off to another club after a season or two of watching Wenger and the club refuse to sign new blood. Cesc and RVP watched for 8 years as Wenger refused to sign new players, wouldn't adapt to tactics and gave naïve speeches about us being 2% away from domination when we can't even do the basics of defending a set piece. To top it off they watched as we sold key players each season. Ade, Flamini, Hleb, Henry...just as we he perseveres with trash like Almunia in goal for years even though the world can see he's no good. Eboue on the flanks, Denilson for goodness sakes while better options were on the bench or in the transfer market. The deluded speeches Wenger makes about 4th being a trophy, our defensive record being great away from home and the way he just clouds over some many problems, they sat and heard that nonsense we're all fed up of hearing day in day out as they sat and watched a disillusioned and ill equipped team perform and choke week after week.

You can't make out as if Wenger is a victim of the players when you look at it. The crazy nonsense we're seeing now has been going on for years and he's blinkered and ignorant to the fact that he needs help and the team need help. He got 8 years of service from those guys, more than what a lot of the Invincible players served under Wenger and saw that this was a sinking ship. They could have stayed on another 8 years and won fuck all under this man. He still has no clue about defending or tactics and is a spent force. It has nothing to do with the modern day players because back at Highbury Petit, Overmars and Anelka fucked off a lot earlier even when we were on the up. If we weren't winning trophies back in during the Highbury years, Sol Campbell would have never signed for us and would have most likely signed for a club like Chelsea. And let's not forget about that 'orrible bastard Vieira. He'd have been a Chelsea boy too if they were around back then. Same goes for a lot of other players.

Brilliant, brilliant post.

I've never thought that Van Persie and Cesc deserved any flak from our supporters and you verbalized my sub conscious thoughts in a very precise way.

[Harland]

I actually believe in the self-sustaining model the club has in place, i just don't like how
a) the wage bill has been so disastrously handled
b) Ivan Gazidis has done sod all to bring us the kind of commercial revenue we need in order to operate this way, and the money the club brings in is all through gate receipts and player sales


But neither of these things is responsible for what happened yesterday, yesterday was caused by a manager whose fault lies in his being too stubborn to learn from his mistakes....why on earth did mertesacker and ramsey play yesterday, why did we hold such a high line, why was cazorla played out of position, why did we take carl jenkinson off, why didn't podolski and rosicky start?. Why are we so slow at making runs into the box when the ball is crossed in low.

I'd hate to imagine what Steve Bould's blood pressure is like at this moment, probably passes out at the end of each match in frustration at his Boss' ineptitude.

I don't enjoy criticising Wenger, and frankly the vitriol aimed at him on this board saddens me, but it's not entirerly undeserved. Personally I think it would take a lot for me to dislike him as a person, and i think listening to him speak is a lot more interesting than hearing the self-regarding tripe that comes out of most managers mouths. I think the media especially treat him with a disgraceful amount of disrespect.
However he is a frustrating individual who is making a rod for his own back but i don't believe for a moment he doesn't care. If he didn't care he would have signed a new contract, and i think he's dreadfully unhappy with not having won anything for so long.
I think he is firmly entrenched in this idea that it's only the financial doping in the other clubs that's responsible for him not winning things, when the truth is we rarely make it above 70 points in a season these days and there is a lack of leadership, ideas and fight in his team.
I'd love nothing more than for him to vindicate himself and throw it back at the people who scream "you don't know what your doing" at him, but in my head i don't see it happening.

Why on earth would you find what he says interesting?

He is so very rarely honest when it comes down to speaking in a public domain and you can see this with every interview he has. He has soundbites that he merely inserts into different contexts.

Don't get me wrong I think the general way he handles the press is understandable but in recent seasons when the questions are a lot more piercing and 'heavyweighted', his interviews simply come across as patronizing and arrogant.

[topgun]

I have to disagree with that. For starters, the wage bill is out of balance because he choses to pay these guys silly wages at some misguided pre-emptive strike against vulture clubs like City and Barca. Guys like Bendy and Denilson weren't even on these clubs radar but for some reason he chose to pay them massive wages they didn't earn even though they've always expressed a desire to start games and prove themselves more than anything else. There were no threats of leaving on a free if not paid accordingly, the most frustrating thing for young players is not getting a start and I remember countless players leaving or threatening to leave because of this. Bribing them to stay with money is Wenger and the clubs choice. Look at the recent contracts for Gibbs, Wilshere and Ox. None of them were demanding a huge pay increase and none have done nothing to warrant one either but he handed it out willingly even though these guys would have probably signed for an extension for a fraction of what was offered.

As for Cesc and RVP leaving, these guys have been with the club longer than guys like Ljungberg, Sol Campbell, Wiltord, Pires and Overmars but won less. It's very rare for a club of our size that's winning nothing to get almost 10 years of service from players without winning anything. Most of the past players skipped off to another club after a season or two of watching Wenger and the club refuse to sign new blood. Cesc and RVP watched for 8 years as Wenger refused to sign new players, wouldn't adapt to tactics and gave naïve speeches about us being 2% away from domination when we can't even do the basics of defending a set piece. To top it off they watched as we sold key players each season. Ade, Flamini, Hleb, Henry...just as we he perseveres with trash like Almunia in goal for years even though the world can see he's no good. Eboue on the flanks, Denilson for goodness sakes while better options were on the bench or in the transfer market. The deluded speeches Wenger makes about 4th being a trophy, our defensive record being great away from home and the way he just clouds over some many problems, they sat and heard that nonsense we're all fed up of hearing day in day out as they sat and watched a disillusioned and ill equipped team perform and choke week after week.

You can't make out as if Wenger is a victim of the players when you look at it. The crazy nonsense we're seeing now has been going on for years and he's blinkered and ignorant to the fact that he needs help and the team need help. He got 8 years of service from those guys, more than what a lot of the Invincible players served under Wenger and saw that this was a sinking ship. They could have stayed on another 8 years and won fuck all under this man. He still has no clue about defending or tactics and is a spent force. It has nothing to do with the modern day players because back at Highbury Petit, Overmars and Anelka fucked off a lot earlier even when we were on the up. If we weren't winning trophies back in during the Highbury years, Sol Campbell would have never signed for us and would have most likely signed for a club like Chelsea. And let's not forget about that 'orrible bastard Vieira. He'd have been a Chelsea boy too if they were around back then. Same goes for a lot of other players.

Absolutley first class,could not have put it better myself.

[Nayan]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/bu...l-8518604.html

[Kano]

of course it's bollocks - for the simple fact that they want to clear out all the debt, invest endless amounts into the team AND reduce ticket prices? that makes no financial sense at all, especially from a club that doesn't need to be put into such financial peril.

[Letters]

of course it's bollocks - for the simple fact that they want to clear out all the debt, invest endless amounts into the team AND reduce ticket prices? that makes no financial sense at all, especially from a club that doesn't need to be put into such financial peril.

What's going on at City makes no financial sense but if you've got (in effect) infinite amounts of money then who cares