Stay or Go?

[selassie]

The question with AW is not so much what he's capable of doing as a manager, but more what he's willing to do

For me he has to show a willingness both to strengthen properly in the summer (and that means sometimes paying over the odds and not sticking to his own personal valuation so dogmatically), and to adopt a game plan against the bigger teams.

My concern with him, and the main reason i'm still not convinced about his ability to win trophies is that he is far too stubborn, is he a dictator in the way that bald idiot stuart robson describes him?...No i think he's very non-confrontational but i think he has a tendency to listen to what other people nod his head in agreement and then do his own thing anyway.

Yep, totally this.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Won't ever be a more glorious opportunity for him to ride off into the sunset with a bit of pride.

[Niall_Quinn]

The question with AW is not so much what he's capable of doing as a manager, but more what he's willing to do

For me he has to show a willingness both to strengthen properly in the summer (and that means sometimes paying over the odds and not sticking to his own personal valuation so dogmatically), and to adopt a game plan against the bigger teams.

My concern with him, and the main reason i'm still not convinced about his ability to win trophies is that he is far too stubborn, is he a dictator in the way that bald idiot stuart robson describes him?...No i think he's very non-confrontational but i think he has a tendency to listen to what other people nod his head in agreement and then do his own thing anyway.

How much over the odds though? Have you seen the shite in the papers today? If true (big if, but it's certainly not unheard of) the gypos are prepared to offer Sagna a 4 year, 150K pw deal. Now that's just insane. What if they decide they'd like to buy whoever we target to replace Sagna? Buy him up, put him on silly wages and loan him out, just so we can't get him? It's a tactic, isn't it - albeit a foul and anti-competitive doper tactic. The chavs have some 80 players signed up this way. These clubs are killing the transfer market, it's not so easy to say pay over the odds when the gypos and chavs can keep upping the odds with no consequences. You've seen how they have already been let off FFP, so take it for granted they can carry on doing whatever the hell they like. The limp wristed FA will do FA - they are too busy playing PR anyway. So it's not just a question of paying over the odds (now the gypos and chavs have piled inflation into the market), it's also a case of trying to conduct the deal in such a way to avoid the dopers scuppering it and also most likely with the agent casting around for some doper interest so he can drive the prices up. It really can't be that easy when you have to play by the rules and run a real business at the same time.

[Bumble]

He will stay and i think he might actually have to stay as i dont believe the club have any idea what to do if he didnt sign the contract. We finally won a trophy which is great although can you imagine the celebrations if it was the league or CL instead of the FA Cup. They would be mental!!!!

We have been linked with Draxler, bender and benezema. those 3 plus someone like Richards from City who can play CB or RB and a back up keeper we have been linked with the Reading one and you never know.

One disappointing thing is that previously we have treated the FA Cup lightly and more or less thrown games but suddenly it suits when we become a bit more desperate.

I think perhaps we should put him on a rolling contract as he is already 64 i think and they wont sack him so and if he is given a 3 year contract as has been suggested then he is here for 3 years.

[Bumble]

How much over the odds though? Have you seen the shite in the papers today? If true (big if, but it's certainly not unheard of) the gypos are prepared to offer Sagna a 4 year, 150K pw deal. Now that's just insane. What if they decide they'd like to buy whoever we target to replace Sagna? Buy him up, put him on silly wages and loan him out, just so we can't get him? It's a tactic, isn't it - albeit a foul and anti-competitive doper tactic. The chavs have some 80 players signed up this way. These clubs are killing the transfer market, it's not so easy to say pay over the odds when the gypos and chavs can keep upping the odds with no consequences. You've seen how they have already been let off FFP, so take it for granted they can carry on doing whatever the hell they like. The limp wristed FA will do FA - they are too busy playing PR anyway. So it's not just a question of paying over the odds (now the gypos and chavs have piled inflation into the market), it's also a case of trying to conduct the deal in such a way to avoid the dopers scuppering it and also most likely with the agent casting around for some doper interest so he can drive the prices up. It really can't be that easy when you have to play by the rules and run a real business at the same time.

Athletico Madrid proved you can win the league when against money spunking teams. You can still only play 11 people at the same time and not every single football is so driven by money that they would happily go on loan to anyone City/Chavs choose. The FA cant stop it, the Premier League isnt there competition. We have no control over what happens at other clubs but do you not think we could have maintained our title challenge a bit longer if we actually did some business in January and therefore not challenging for the league is more our own failing rather than the deep pockets of other clubs.

[I am invisible]

The question with AW is not so much what he's capable of doing as a manager, but more what he's willing to do

For me he has to show a willingness both to strengthen properly in the summer (and that means sometimes paying over the odds and not sticking to his own personal valuation so dogmatically), and to adopt a game plan against the bigger teams.

My concern with him, and the main reason i'm still not convinced about his ability to win trophies is that he is far too stubborn, is he a dictator in the way that bald idiot stuart robson describes him?...No i think he's very non-confrontational but i think he has a tendency to listen to what other people nod his head in agreement and then do his own thing anyway.

Let's face it, Arsene has always been of the opinion that you have to play entertaining, attacking football as a matter of principal, and that if your own game is good enough, then you'll beat your opponents, however they set themselves up... and I can't see that ever changing. I can maybe see him being open to some change where things like fitness and rotation are concerned, and that in itself would be something, but I just can't see him deviating too far from his core beliefs when it comes to how we play?

If we're going to carry on with this same thinking, then our hope has to be that we go all in with it, and build out a squad that can genuinely win games simply by being 'that good'. Wenger's strength, for me, is his ability to find extra levels in players that noone else sees (sometimes no even the players!), so what need to happen is that we make sure he's surrounding himself with top-talent again, and that he's working to find those extra levels in them, and not just trying to squeeze what he can out of kids and unknowns. If we do that, then I think we could be a force again - perhaps still a flawed force, that will continue to suffer from the odd tactical stumble, but one that would at least be worth fearing, and would keep us well entertained?

[Niall_Quinn]

Athletico Madrid proved you can win the league when against money spunking teams. You can still only play 11 people at the same time and not every single football is so driven by money that they would happily go on loan to anyone City/Chavs choose. The FA cant stop it, the Premier League isnt there competition. We have no control over what happens at other clubs but do you not think we could have maintained our title challenge a bit longer if we actually did some business in January and therefore not challenging for the league is more our own failing rather than the deep pockets of other clubs.

Not saying it's impossible or even that we can afford not to get the business done this summer. But there are additional complications for teams that are applying a real world business model. I think we'll pay over the odds anyway, if the Sagna story is true then the whole market just took another huge hit and this will ripple through every club. £150k pw for a bench player, and there will probably be an £80k or even 100K pw player behind him too so they have 3 quality internationals per position. True, you can only play 11 but that's what the ludicrous wages are for, to bribe players with offers they can't refuse who would normally be playing to sit it out on standby.

The FA could do something about this, and something very effective. They could ban chav and gypo English players from playing for the national team while their clubs are in breach of rules and sound business practices. This would have a knock on effect with FFP because no top English players would want to go to these clubs so they'd be short of home grown players, this compounding the breach of FFP rules and forcing the crook Platini's hand. Won't happen but it's a very easy solution that would very quickly solve the problem of financial doping.

But fact is, we still have to compete on this badly tilted playing field so Wenger and the crew will need to be very smart and very cagey in this transfer window. To a degree we'll always be looking for certain types of deals, players the dopers don't instantly want (for example Costa is now beyond our reach whereas he shouldn't really be as if FFP was applied we might well have more spending power than the chavs this summer), players that have potential (these don't interest dopers as much as they want immediate success), last minutes stuff that catches the dopers unaware (like the Ozil deal). Then there's the World Cup, which is an agent sharkfest, and the one or two big deals on which many other deals will hinge, Suarez for instance. I guess he has to agree to go to Madrid if we are to have any chance with Benzema.

We know we need to get the business done but that doesn't remove the obstacles we're bound to face. Hell, even in the light of all this we had a deal for Suarez last year and we've reached the stage where club owners can just ignore the contract. It's tough to get these things done.

[selassie]

Not saying it's impossible or even that we can afford not to get the business done this summer. But there are additional complications for teams that are applying a real world business model. I think we'll pay over the odds anyway, if the Sagna story is true then the whole market just took another huge hit and this will ripple through every club. £150k pw for a bench player, and there will probably be an £80k or even 100K pw player behind him too so they have 3 quality internationals per position. True, you can only play 11 but that's what the ludicrous wages are for, to bribe players with offers they can't refuse who would normally be playing to sit it out on standby.

The FA could do something about this, and something very effective. They could ban chav and gypo English players from playing for the national team while their clubs are in breach of rules and sound business practices. This would have a knock on effect with FFP because no top English players would want to go to these clubs so they'd be short of home grown players, this compounding the breach of FFP rules and forcing the crook Platini's hand. Won't happen but it's a very easy solution that would very quickly solve the problem of financial doping.

But fact is, we still have to compete on this badly tilted playing field so Wenger and the crew will need to be very smart and very cagey in this transfer window. To a degree we'll always be looking for certain types of deals, players the dopers don't instantly want (for example Costa is now beyond our reach whereas he shouldn't really be as if FFP was applied we might well have more spending power than the chavs this summer), players that have potential (these don't interest dopers as much as they want immediate success), last minutes stuff that catches the dopers unaware (like the Ozil deal). Then there's the World Cup, which is an agent sharkfest, and the one or two big deals on which many other deals will hinge, Suarez for instance. I guess he has to agree to go to Madrid if we are to have any chance with Benzema.

We know we need to get the business done but that doesn't remove the obstacles we're bound to face. Hell, even in the light of all this we had a deal for Suarez last year and we've reached the stage where club owners can just ignore the contract. It's tough to get these things done.

Whilst that is all very true we know how the market works and if you don't "play by the market rules" then you will get nowhere. I am not for one minute suggesting we compete with City or Chelsea for players but what I am suggesting is that if we identify somebody we want we make our moves with realistic offers.

We have a history of dithering and lowballing...it's the worst kept secret in football.

[Heisenberg]

According to the BBC he will stay and has agreed a three year contract.

[Özim]

So much for moving on in a couple of years.