Winter Transfer Missed Opportunities and Regrets

[Chippy]

We literally won every game but one from this point on last season in the league.

Ok, one season where we had a good run in. We still didnt win anything. We all know that we have been here many times, and failed.

[Letters]

Ok, one season where we had a good run in. We still didnt win anything. We all know that we have been here many times, and failed.

We have been unlucky with injuries this year but we don't have enough squad depth and that isn't bad luck, we have set ourselves up to fail this year.

[IBK]

So I like to think of myself as someone who can see both sides of an argument, and not simply hold an entrenched view.

I have been arguing on this thread that the owners are not the ones resposible primarily for the mess we are in. And I maintain that stance re the January transfer window. I think that our failure to bring in a forward player was principally born out of an intransigent 'strategy' where certain 'Goldilocks' players have been targeted; it has been determined that we will not pay over the odds for anyone who does not fit the player and age profile that we have identified, and the club lacked the ingenuity; flexibility and nimbleness to pivot and deal with an immediate situation.

But as I have said, I think the real issue stemmed from the Summer and even the couple of years before this. It is indisputable that Arteta has focussed on other parts of the pitch to the detriment of our forward line. It is likely that he has a large part to play in the strategy above and that his natural focus has seen us collect defenders and midfielders rather than look to try to match our competitors up front.

And when we look at the Summer, I think a different picture emerges of the Kroenkes. I thought Arseblog's post was interesting this morning in pointing out that our main signings - Calafiori and Merino - could only be signed once we had sold ESR and Nketiah. I think this is very telling. There has clearly been some kind of spending limit or non-negotiable put in place - even when it comes to key signings endorsed by the manager. I suspect that this sits on top of, or is at least intertwined with the 'Goldilocks' approach that I refer to above. The logical conclusion therefore is that KSE is neither prepared to go the extra financial mile to fund even primary targets, nor to spend over certain limited amounts on 'emergency' signings.

I said in an earlier post that it does not make sense for the owners to deny us an opportunity to win the league, but on reflection I think my view should be modified. I think the Kroenkes were willing to invest sufficiently in the club to make us competetive, and would like us to win things. But I believe now that they are simply not prepared to spend the money required to make this a probablilty rather than a possibility. And sadly I don't see this changing. I think we are back to the 'top four is a trophy' situation that existed under Wenger for so long - the difference being that for a lot of this period there was some merit in this - given the need to pay the stadium debt etc. CL football ticks the financials box. Winning trophies is merely from the owners' standpoint the icing on the cake. If we want more evidence of this, we can look to our reported targets - Cesko; Gyökeres; Williams. All good players but none of them 'sure things' like, say Isak would be. And none in the bracket of, say, a Rice. We need to thank our lucky stars that Saka was home grown.

We are not a 'small time' club, but we are an also ran. And I think that any manager will have his work cut out to win things given this.

[HCZ_Reborn]

I think what possibly needs to be clarified is when it’s said KSE don’t want to spend the money. By extension the club’s money is their money…but there’s a difference between saying the club can only spend what the club itself generates financially and the owners digging into their own pockets to spend out.

Now KSE has done this (digging into its own pockets) in the form of loans which is I believe a bit of a fudge to allow us to be FSR/FFP compliant. However Swiss Ramble seems to be of the opinion that the money is there for the club to spend it autonomously without needing to go to Stan with the begging bowl.

Now then the question has to be, are they micro managing how the club spends the finances it generates (because it technically still is their money) or are they within reason more inclined to leave that to the club to decide. The answer to that question is I don’t think any of us know. I think there is arguments that a lot of the financial considerations seem to be being made by lawyer types. I also know the club is worried about the potential for the wage bill to expand…especially as we seem to be trying to offer new contracts to both Saka and Martinelli.

This would for me explain why the decision that in both footballing terms and with the power of hindsight was pretty rum, to get rid of Smith Rowe, Nketiah, Vieira and Nelson without bringing in replacements

[Chippy]

So I like to think of myself as someone who can see both sides of an argument, and not simply hold an entrenched view.

I have been arguing on this thread that the owners are not the ones resposible primarily for the mess we are in. And I maintain that stance re the January transfer window. I think that our failure to bring in a forward player was principally born out of an intransigent 'strategy' where certain 'Goldilocks' players have been targeted; it has been determined that we will not pay over the odds for anyone who does not fit the player and age profile that we have identified, and the club lacked the ingenuity; flexibility and nimbleness to pivot and deal with an immediate situation.

But as I have said, I think the real issue stemmed from the Summer and even the couple of years before this. It is indisputable that Arteta has focussed on other parts of the pitch to the detriment of our forward line. It is likely that he has a large part to play in the strategy above and that his natural focus has seen us collect defenders and midfielders rather than look to try to match our competitors up front.

And when we look at the Summer, I think a different picture emerges of the Kroenkes. I thought Arseblog's post was interesting this morning in pointing out that our main signings - Calafiori and Merino - could only be signed once we had sold ESR and Nketiah. I think this is very telling. There has clearly been some kind of spending limit or non-negotiable put in place - even when it comes to key signings endorsed by the manager. I suspect that this sits on top of, or is at least intertwined with the 'Goldilocks' approach that I refer to above. The logical conclusion therefore is that KSE is neither prepared to go the extra financial mile to fund even primary targets, nor to spend over certain limited amounts on 'emergency' signings.

I said in an earlier post that it does not make sense for the owners to deny us an opportunity to win the league, but on reflection I think my view should be modified. I think the Kroenkes were willing to invest sufficiently in the club to make us competetive, and would like us to win things. But I believe now that they are simply not prepared to spend the money required to make this a probablilty rather than a possibility. And sadly I don't see this changing. I think we are back to the 'top four is a trophy' situation that existed under Wenger for so long - the difference being that for a lot of this period there was some merit in this - given the need to pay the stadium debt etc. CL football ticks the financials box. Winning trophies is merely from the owners' standpoint the icing on the cake. If we want more evidence of this, we can look to our reported targets - Cesko; Gyökeres; Williams. All good players but none of them 'sure things' like, say Isak would be. And none in the bracket of, say, a Rice. We need to thank our lucky stars that Saka was home grown.

We are not a 'small time' club, but we are an also ran. And I think that any manager will have his work cut out to win things given this.

I agree. Whichever way you look at it, KSE is a business that looks at the bottom line. They can spout as much as they like about being passionate about Arsenal and success, but ask their shareholders about Arsenal Football Club, they don't have a bloody clue, and quite frankly, don't care.

[Letters]

I agree. Whichever way you look at it, KSE is a business that looks at the bottom line. They can spout as much as they like about being passionate about Arsenal and success, but ask their shareholders about Arsenal Football Club, they don't have a bloody clue, and quite frankly, don't care.

You're right, but he's had a fair amount of success with sports franchises in the US, no?
And we've not exactly been frugal over the last 5 years.

[Mac76]

You're right, but he's had a fair amount of success with sports franchises in the US, no?
And we've not exactly been frugal over the last 5 years.

yes I don't think they're involved just to make money with a club that does ok, I think they see success as a way to create more money, that said they don't want to chuck away silly money Chelsea-style either, they may well have underestimated just how much needs to be invested year-on-year to get that success but that's their worst crime probably

[Niall_Quinn]

So I like to think of myself as someone who can see both sides of an argument, and not simply hold an entrenched view.

I have been arguing on this thread that the owners are not the ones resposible primarily for the mess we are in. And I maintain that stance re the January transfer window. I think that our failure to bring in a forward player was principally born out of an intransigent 'strategy' where certain 'Goldilocks' players have been targeted; it has been determined that we will not pay over the odds for anyone who does not fit the player and age profile that we have identified, and the club lacked the ingenuity; flexibility and nimbleness to pivot and deal with an immediate situation.

But as I have said, I think the real issue stemmed from the Summer and even the couple of years before this. It is indisputable that Arteta has focussed on other parts of the pitch to the detriment of our forward line. It is likely that he has a large part to play in the strategy above and that his natural focus has seen us collect defenders and midfielders rather than look to try to match our competitors up front.

And when we look at the Summer, I think a different picture emerges of the Kroenkes. I thought Arseblog's post was interesting this morning in pointing out that our main signings - Calafiori and Merino - could only be signed once we had sold ESR and Nketiah. I think this is very telling. There has clearly been some kind of spending limit or non-negotiable put in place - even when it comes to key signings endorsed by the manager. I suspect that this sits on top of, or is at least intertwined with the 'Goldilocks' approach that I refer to above. The logical conclusion therefore is that KSE is neither prepared to go the extra financial mile to fund even primary targets, nor to spend over certain limited amounts on 'emergency' signings.

I said in an earlier post that it does not make sense for the owners to deny us an opportunity to win the league, but on reflection I think my view should be modified. I think the Kroenkes were willing to invest sufficiently in the club to make us competetive, and would like us to win things. But I believe now that they are simply not prepared to spend the money required to make this a probablilty rather than a possibility. And sadly I don't see this changing. I think we are back to the 'top four is a trophy' situation that existed under Wenger for so long - the difference being that for a lot of this period there was some merit in this - given the need to pay the stadium debt etc. CL football ticks the financials box. Winning trophies is merely from the owners' standpoint the icing on the cake. If we want more evidence of this, we can look to our reported targets - Cesko; Gyökeres; Williams. All good players but none of them 'sure things' like, say Isak would be. And none in the bracket of, say, a Rice. We need to thank our lucky stars that Saka was home grown.

We are not a 'small time' club, but we are an also ran. And I think that any manager will have his work cut out to win things given this.

We're on the same page.

When you look at it from their viewpoint, second in the PL, 3rd in the CL - well done boys! That's good, isn't it?

Then you look at the 60K crammed in, the 100K waiting outside for a ticket, the endorsements, the merchandise, the global reach, the value in the brand itself. I'm thinking if they tuned into AFTV they'd be perplexed at what they are seeing.

To them Arsenal will be a product. Is it a good product? Yes. At an affordable price? Well the 100K waiting list says yes, or maybe even the prices should be higher (look into that for me Josh!) Are the staff happy? You bet your arsenal they are happy, have you seen what they earn? Is future growth on track? We're looking into that 300 mill expansion.

This is what they'll be interested in, not the January transfer window. They have people to deal with that. And that's how it should be in a business, and that's the problem. If football is just a business then we should all be up there along with the Kroenkes cheering the solid metrics coming out of the club.

It's doubtful we can even connect with these people in any meaningful way. Even if they agreed to do everything we demanded they'd likely still end up doing the opposite as they continue to fail to understand what makes this game important to the fans. Why would they? In the States their "franchises" will up and move city if it means more cash, goodbye old fans, hello new. Completely interchangeable.

[Mac76]

We're on the same page.

When you look at it from their viewpoint, second in the PL, 3rd in the CL - well done boys! That's good, isn't it?

Then you look at the 60K crammed in, the 100K waiting outside for a ticket, the endorsements, the merchandise, the global reach, the value in the brand itself. I'm thinking if they tuned into AFTV they'd be perplexed at what they are seeing.

To them Arsenal will be a product. Is it a good product? Yes. At an affordable price? Well the 100K waiting list says yes, or maybe even the prices should be higher (look into that for me Josh!) Are the staff happy? You bet your arsenal they are happy, have you seen what they earn? Is future growth on track? We're looking into that 300 mill expansion.

This is what they'll be interested in, not the January transfer window. They have people to deal with that. And that's how it should be in a business, and that's the problem. If football is just a business then we should all be up there along with the Kroenkes cheering the solid metrics coming out of the club.

It's doubtful we can even connect with these people in any meaningful way. Even if they agreed to do everything we demanded they'd likely still end up doing the opposite as they continue to fail to understand what makes this game important to the fans. Why would they? In the States their "franchises" will up and move city if it means more cash, goodbye old fans, hello new. Completely interchangeable.

I agree with that being possibly close to their mindset but I don't agree they can't see the benefit of actually winning things, plus anyone who runs a business successfully knows you can never stand still - if you aren't striving to always improve your product, someone else will overtake you.

[Chippy]

That's a fair point, we have spent well over the past few years. We just needed to do it again in the January transfer window.