Quote Originally Posted by Letters View Post
The evidence that says it isn't is how I felt when we won it.

I didn't say his philosophy is unfortunate, more the language he used. But he's right, top 4 IS probably more important than a domestic trophy. It shouldn't be, but I don't think we'd have signed Ozil or Sanchez if we'd won the FA Cup but finished mid-table.
But we might have signed Ozil and Alexis had our focus been on winning something. How many times have we been denied a real challenge because the manager won't engage in the transfer market? The 2% away thing is a running joke. If he'd have closed that 2% gap years ago, as he should have done, then what's to say we wouldn't have a couple of titles under our belt and be challenging for the signature of top players? What's to say we couldn't have increased the fan base, built the finances based on success on the pitch rather than bookkeeping in the boardroom?

You are framing everything in terms of that Top 4 Trophy, just like Wenger. He claims we couldn't have competed against the dopers. Those claims look pretty weak now, based on our clear superiority over the gypos last season (even though we shamefully chucked the last games) and the state these mercenary clubs are in this season. And the chavs last season were shite. They ground it out but don't tell me that was a good team. Could we have picked up the talent required to compete given our budget? Ask Leicester. Wenger's transfer policies have been appalling for years, reactive instead of proactive. He's played it cautiously, he admits as much with all his shite about self sustenance and fair play and all the other bullshit that's completely ignored by the teams that have gone full pelt, whatever it takes. Ferguson won the thing with the shittiest team he's ever had. It could be done and it can be done. Wenger never put in the required effort. He played it safe, delivered to the guys upstairs and was negligent elsewhere. He's been the problem all along.