Originally Posted by
Power_n_Glory
Just read through that Swiss Ramble and I don't see how you guys can read that and ignore certain key points.
For starters, we made a profit, but Gazidis has said we purposely held some money back for January transfers and next summer. If Wenger comes out and hints that he won't be forced to spend when that time comes, whose at fault for that? This has been Wenger's way from the beginning and I would love to see a comparison or a detailed report on how we operated when Wenger first arrived and we were still at Highbury. This sort of detailed analysis has only started since we've moved to the Emirates. As the article points out though, it's very rare for a football club to make a profit. But anyway.... come January, if we look slow to do business again, we'll be back here again talking about the Board being reluctant release funds even though Wenger has always operated on a shoestring budget.
Last season, Wenger said failing to qualify for the Champions League is no disaster. Gazidis comes out and says the same thing even though we'd lose money, yet I'm still hearing that the Board are trying to fatten their pockets before jumping ship. If that were the case, shouldn't they be putting serious pressure on Wenger to qualify and actually win the thing? Wouldn't that make financial sense instead of allowing us to drop out of the top four which actually harms our stance when renegotiating our sponsorship deals?
The article pinpoints our commercial revenue deals as a reason why we're lagging behind the competition. Man U's income trumps ours and even Spurs have a better shirt sponsorship deal than us. The idiots on the Board that signed those early bad deals get the blame for that but we needed money for the stadium....fair enough. How are we going to cope....the cynics will say we're now a selling club and that's part of the strategy. Maybe. But we could have held out for more money when Barca came in for Cesc and Wenger in the end told the Board to sell him on the cheap. Now, if these guys were that greedy and cut throat, they'd have told Wenger to stay out of it and that we need to raise more money to fatten the pockets. They didn't happen and they allowed Cesc to go on the cheap. Thay conceded on that issue. We had a similar situation with Henry when we could have sold him for more but gave him a bumper pay rise only to sell him on the cheap a year later. The image doesn't add up.
As for the ticket price hike... check what the article says on Wenger's stance on that issue.
Why is he trying to dangle a carrot in front of our faces with that one? It was the same with his argument about moving to a new stadium, he toyed with the idea of us being able to compete with Madrid and Man U, but now the tunes sounding different and he's trying a new dance. You look back on the things Wenger sayx and he's right in there when it comes to misleading the fans. If the Board are taking the piss, this guy is right there in on the joke.
The article rightly goes on to say that we didn't have to raise ticket prices and success on the pitch would actually generate more income, but we'll leave that alone for the minute. Now look at our wage bill.
Why do we have such a huge squad that pays so much to young players and fringe players? We just signed Ryo, Campbell, Jenkinson and Oxo and we keep acquiring youth players even though they may end up like Denilson, JET, Vela, etc. Surely this has to be addressed and it's something Wenger can easily sort out. This youth project is his baby and he loves developing young players but he won't put his obsession in check and it's hurting us. Every year we signed young players and end up moving them on (or loaning them out) because they're not good enough.
Also, check Wenger's strategic RVP comments? Why do it and why is he prepared to part ways with players like that yet unwilling to curb this bloody youth project? Given the amount we're spending, shouldn't this way be cheaper? But it's turning out to be damn expensive and I'll blame the Board for not cuffing Wenger round the head and telling him to cut out this nonsense. Someone should be looking at those numbers, then the quality on the pitch and scratching their head. You can't justify those numbers and whoever is signing those checks must be getting the seal of approval from someone in the coaching staff. An accountant shouldn't be able to put a value on a football player, that's down to Wenger and his coaching team. He saying certain players are good enough and worthy of new contracts, that's his call.
Anyway, I've gone on long enough. This doesn't add up. If we're a club looking to fatten the pockets, then none of this makes sense. If you still hold that view, then you can't ignore the fact that Wenger is in on it. He happily shifts the attention away from us and on to other clubs like City and Chelsea and at the same time promotes what the club is doing and talks about the unfairness of financial doping.
I don't think the Board is out to pull a fast one. They're too dumb for that. But there is a lack of direction and I hope new faces like Gazidis and Stan start to see the light. This idea of Wenger being the Warren Buffett of football management is disturbing. That sort of accolade just shows how much influence Wenger has on this club. It's not 100% his fault, but they've given him too much power and trying to wrestle that back is a tall order.
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