Quote Originally Posted by Letters View Post
What do you think is acceptable?

We're in a sport (well, we were, it's a business now) where financial clout and success are very highly correlated.
We have the 4th biggest budget so why isn't 4th acceptable? Do we have a right to expect better? Why?

To me what is unacceptable is that we're so much less than the sum of our parts and we're awful to watch. We should be much closer to Chelsea and City but with their resources it's always going to be difficult to unseat them. Not impossible, maybe, but had Chelsea and City not bought their way above us I reckon we'd have had a title or three over the last 10 years.

Arsenal fans seem to have developed a sense of entitlement (which they seem to have forgotten has only come about because of our early success under Wenger) which can come across as very spoilt brattish. I'd suggest they re-read Fever Pitch to remind themselves how crap we were for much of our modern history.
I'd rather not read Nick Hornby if its all the same to you

4th place for its own sake isn't enough and that's the problem

If you want to be positive not finishing lower than 4th is admirable but it means very little

4th is an average of where we are in terms of finances, it is not a holy grail. Having the 4th biggest finances doesn't rule out challenging for and winning the title.

I honestly think there would be less dissatisfaction if we had on a couple of occasion finished outside the top four, but had won the title just once in the period between 2005 and now.

There is debate about our finances as a result of moving to the Emirates, there is no debate now. I thought Chelsea would win the title because they have a better side than us and there is no shame admitting that, there is great shame in not making a fist of nipping at their heels all the way because our inability to play against certain teams, lack of physical and psychological strength in the team.
And then we are supposed to rejoice in coming from nowhere to claim 4th because we know that's the only thing the manager is under pressure to achieve.