Spuds V Arsenal 12:45 Saturday 5th March

[Kano]

Frankly its time we drop out of top 4 so that the dinosaur can stop winning his annual 4th place trophy. I have been telling this for years and I'll say it again.. the only way this dinosaur is going to leave the club is if we drop out of the top 4. He keeps guaranteeing the bare minimum to the devil (board) and saves his life... time to get out of that top 4 and see how much the devil stands by him.

And do you know what would happen? Wenger would be given the chance to rectify things the following season, we'd finish 3/4th again the following year and then the message will be it is time to push on again. Dropping out of the CL will only mean players of stature will resist coming here because we are not the highest payers of wages on an individual basis, creating more problems. Both the owners are right behind Wenger and would continue to back him to the hilt. Any manager in charge for so long will leave under their own terms.

[fakeyank]

And do you know what would happen? Wenger would be given the chance to rectify things the following season, we'd finish 3/4th again the following year and then the message will be it is time to push on again. Dropping out of the CL will only mean players of stature will resist coming here because we are not the highest payers of wages on an individual basis, creating more problems. Both the owners are right behind Wenger and would continue to back him to the hilt. Any manager in charge for so long will leave under their own terms.

May be they wont back him if he finishes outside the top 4? We have seen what happens when we finish third or fourth for the last 10 years. Something needs to change to have a possibility of change. I am certain that the board will back him to rectify it as well, but I think it'll at least plant a serious seed of doubt in their mind about renewing his contract.

As for players of caliber joining us.. I think too much is made of this. What players of caliber did Spurs and Leicester have before this season? Or who did Athletico or Dortmund have when they challenged the status quo. A decent captain of the ship is the basic requirement for a good team... good players can be made and can be brought if there is promise. May be we'd need to throw extra cash to get the 'top level' players but we have barely spent anything in the last decade. I am sure we can splash a little, if the need arises.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

One thing when Wenger is one game from total collapse a result is pulled out of the bag. So wouldn't be too surprised to win this. however, if we lose we could be a point ahead of City and United and only 2 ahead of West Ham. So even top 4 could be an issue.

reckon 1-1 scrappy rubbish game.

I agree and think we'll win for pretty much your reasons.

[Niall_Quinn]

May be they wont back him if he finishes outside the top 4? We have seen what happens when we finish third or fourth for the last 10 years. Something needs to change to have a possibility of change. I am certain that the board will back him to rectify it as well, but I think it'll at least plant a serious seed of doubt in their mind about renewing his contract.

As for players of caliber joining us.. I think too much is made of this. What players of caliber did Spurs and Leicester have before this season? Or who did Athletico or Dortmund have when they challenged the status quo. A decent captain of the ship is the basic requirement for a good team... good players can be made and can be brought if there is promise. May be we'd need to throw extra cash to get the 'top level' players but we have barely spent anything in the last decade. I am sure we can splash a little, if the need arises.

Debt repayments are £19mill pa. We have more cash in the bank than most of the rest of the league combined. Our gates receipts are the highest in world football. There's a new TV deal showering the place in cash. The sponsorship deals are locked in. Given our routinely miserable performance in the CL we'd stand to lose out on around £30mill I guess. So they would have a quiet transfer window and settle down with stories about how we could focus on the league without the CL distraction. He'd survive. They have this covered from all angles.

[Kano]

May be they wont back him if he finishes outside the top 4? We have seen what happens when we finish third or fourth for the last 10 years. Something needs to change to have a possibility of change. I am certain that the board will back him to rectify it as well, but I think it'll at least plant a serious seed of doubt in their mind about renewing his contract.

As for players of caliber joining us.. I think too much is made of this. What players of caliber did Spurs and Leicester have before this season? Or who did Athletico or Dortmund have when they challenged the status quo. A decent captain of the ship is the basic requirement for a good team... good players can be made and can be brought if there is promise. May be we'd need to throw extra cash to get the 'top level' players but we have barely spent anything in the last decade. I am sure we can splash a little, if the need arises.

Those are idealistic scenarios and if fans are sure that the owners are money grabbing cunts, then they need to align the two things together to understand that it is in the owners interests for Wenger to stick around. Financially for a season or two, we would be OK because the new TV deals would more than compensate, so the owners are under no pressure to get rid of him in that regard. And I'm sure we can push out the boat to beyond the already ridiculous levels of wages into the absolutely absurd of 200k + for a couple of players but when all our PL competitors have similar spending power and CL football to boot, then it makes a players choice far easier. Of course better organisation is needed and a clearer sense of team work but historically the teams with better players come for the fore and that will remain the case. We have to be able to compete on those terms too, because events like this season may last for a season or two more but it'll be back to the old faces at the top again after that. Money will make sure of that. It would be nice to think our owners care about the prowess of CL football but the bottom line is revenue. Which is why the greedy fuckers were caught out the other day colluding over this 'non-existent' European League.

[fakeyank]

Those are idealistic scenarios and if fans are sure that the owners are money grabbing cunts, then they need to align the two things together to understand that it is in the owners interests for Wenger to stick around. Financially for a season or two, we would be OK because the new TV deals would more than compensate, so the owners are under no pressure to get rid of him in that regard. And I'm sure we can push out the boat to beyond the already ridiculous levels of wages into the absolutely absurd of 200k + for a couple of players but when all our PL competitors have similar spending power and CL football to boot, then it makes a players choice far easier. Of course better organisation is needed and a clearer sense of team work but historically the teams with better players come for the fore and that will remain the case. We have to be able to compete on those terms too, because events like this season may last for a season or two more but it'll be back to the old faces at the top again after that. Money will make sure of that. It would be nice to think our owners care about the prowess of CL football but the bottom line is revenue. Which is why the greedy fuckers were caught out the other day colluding over this 'non-existent' European League.

I would disagree on the statement that it is in the owners best interests for Wenger to stick around. With Pep, Klopp, Conte and possibly Mourinho coming in, along with the new kids on the block of Pochettino and Ranieri, Wenger has his work cut out. I think if we finish outside the top 4, the board might look at these names and start to panic about their future revenue.

Again, this is an idealistic scenario but I am ready for change and at this moment, there are very few ways I can see the back of Wenger and this is the only one that deals with him not losing his health to leave the club.

[Kano]

The TV deal coming up is the perfect cushion that ensures gate reciepts and CL money become bonuses on top of the real pot of gold. Then if they get their way, a European League will take them on from the next TV deal into something even more abusrd. The CL is becoming small fry in terms of the money they receive and if they secure a 'locked-in' league of the European elite without relegation with monstrous TV and sponsorship money every season, it won't matter one bit where teams finish in that league. Depressing I know but certainly a real possibility. The only thing that will take Wenger out of the managers seat at the moment is pride. But then we have the prospect of him moving upstairs to look forward to...