The 2012-2013 Wenger Poll

It's not that we have bad scouts. It's just that other clubs offer them better deal. Like more playing time in the 1st team or better wages. And that we settle for 2nd best instead of 1st

It would be for Wengers own good to leave. If this continues for another few years, Nobody is going to remember Wenger for all the great things he has done and how great he really was. Only look at the long stretch of misfortune towards the end which would be tragic

RealGunner wrote:It's not that we have bad scouts. It's just that other clubs offer them better deal. Like more playing time in the 1st team or better wages. And that we settle for 2nd best instead of 1st

Arsenal's annual salary £143 million,Munich's £140 million Shocking difference in quality though says it all.

When I read that our salary is higher than that of Munich's, I didn't expect it to be a measly 3 million higher. Talk about blowing things out of proportion

Difference between us and them is that their best players came through their academy. Their bench cost more than their starting 11 for example.

They're the exact model we're aspiring to be. Not to rip the goal.com article about it but the proof is in the pudding when you look at their lineup. A mixture of quality homegrown talent and experienced stars making their team almost exactly as expensive as ours but just way more efficient.

Right now the only homegrown talent we can boast are Jack, Gibbs and Szczesny if he counts. I'm just counting youth players who cost us little to nothing.

MJGunner wrote:They're the exact model we're aspiring to be. Not to rip the goal.com article about it but the proof is in the pudding when you look at their lineup. A mixture of quality homegrown talent and experienced stars making their team almost exactly as expensive as ours but just way more efficient.

Right now the only homegrown talent we can boast are Jack, Gibbs and Szczesny if he counts. I'm just counting youth players who cost us little to nothing.

Let us not forget what "youth" costs. Henderson. Chamberlain. Walcott. Jones. Do the math of acquiring "youth" from other academies in England. Compare with getting a Fabregas, Merida, Toral or Bellerin.

Wenger has to stop thinking he can turn every player to next big thing, the amount of money he spent on, Santos, Park and Gervais we could have bought a WC player.

Stop being cheap and think for 10m you will get a top player, those days are long gone.

Lex wrote:Wenger out, Moyes in

Yeah, I'm sure world class players like Gotzé and Villa will be thrilled to work alongside Moyes

What World Class players are coming with Wenger here? The same ones who have been leaving for the last 5 years?
We won't sign any world class players in the future until our wage structure changes why would any good player come to Arsenal when they can get a better wage?

We will finish 5th this season unless Wenger wakes up but I doubt he will change anything.

The following is from David Ornstein of BBC Sport:

"Arsene Wenger is facing greater scrutiny than at any point in his 16-year reign. But I'm told the Gunners have absolutely no intention of sacking him - regardless of whether they qualify for next season's Champions League.

"Wenger is contracted until 2014 and while we do not know how long he plans to remain in charge, increased TV revenue and a new shirt sponsorship deal mean significant funds are available to him this summer. With the likes of Arshavin, Squillaci, Chamakh and Bendtner set to leave, finances and squad places will be freed up for a number of signings. January's pursuit of David Villa shows Arsenal are ready to spend big.

"There will be no return for former chief executive David Dein, and do not expect to hear from owner Stan Kroenke, but Arsenal believe they are putting pieces in place to compete with Europe's biggest clubs in the near future. They accept the move from Highbury to Emirates Stadium - allied to the way cash-rich clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City have transformed football's landscape - has hampered progress. The hierarchy argue, however, that short-term pain will make way for long-term gain."

Hasn't short-term pain become long-term pain at this point?

EXCLUSIVE: We still trust in Arsene... Board will back Wenger with more cash to rebuild Arsenal
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2281963/Arsene-Wenger-backed-Arsenal-board.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

More EXCLUSIVE bullshit.


Wonder if we can get Milan's defensive coach?

I think it has Jay.

No young players, they demanded in fury at my negativity, what about Wilshere, Gibbs, Coquelin, Ox, Gnabry, Jenkinson? Trouble is, with the exception of Wilshere, they've barely been playing, not even in the domestic cups (Wenger having understandably but cravenly capitulated to fan demands for A Trophy with predictably disastrous results). Instead we've been spending our money (a fair amount of it too) on older players: Santos, Arteta, Mertesacker, Podolkski, Gervinho, Park, Giroud... who aren't flourishing now and are unlikely ever to do so given their age.

I think it's a case of once bitten twice shy. Wenger is wary of spending big money after a couple of expensive-ish failures (Reyes, Arshavin) at a time when money was short. More than that, he's wary of talented kids who'll break his heart by leaving for Barca or City. It's a failure of nerve on Wenger's part and I think we're right to be very, very depressed, not just by the lack of quality on the pitch, still less by the absence of trophies: the real problem is that Wenger is scared. Scared of the fans and the media, he's stopped playing the kids in the Carling; scared of wasting the club's money, he's stopped buying big; scared of the accusations of having flakey kids with no experience and no grit, he's turned to the ageing second-rate. A manager who's scared of losing is losing like never before, and one who's scared of wasting money has recently been wasting it in sackfuls: most of our current squad have minimal resale value, a disaster financially for the decade ahead


is this a fair assesment of the situation ?

The Thursday board meeting is that a annual meeting?

Big funds in the summer ? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

50m was supposed to be there in our final year at highbury.. zzzzzzzzzzzzz

80m 2 summers ago zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

money from ade,kolo,nasri,cesc,rvp. No where to be seen zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

same old excuses

Wenger punished his team at the end by not going to speak to them for 30minutes, is this true?
http://le-grove.co.uk/2013/02/20/arsene-wenger-schooled-in-europe-16-years-and-hes-still-behaving-like-a-novice/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=arsene-wenger-schooled-in-europe-16-years-and-hes-still-behaving-like-a-novice

Keep Wenger. But bring in defensive coach regardless of what Wenger says, or let Bould work with defence. Wenger must admit he can't coach a defence.

Spend the well-known £70m budget plus money made from sales on WORLD CLASS players. Some positions we can bring in not world class players but talented players.

Look how many players we have to get rid of this summer.

Mannone
Fabianski*
Sagna
Mertesacker
Squillaci*
Arshavin*
Gervinho
Santos
Park
Bendtner
Denilson
Djourou
Chamakh

* = out of contract this summer anyway.

Possible INS?

We'll see what happens in summer.

Even if there is big money available... I don't entirely trust Arsene to spend it.

Samuelj29060 wrote:Keep Wenger. But bring in defensive coach regardless of what Wenger says, or let Bould work with defence. Wenger must admit he can't coach a defence.

Spend the well-known £70m budget plus money made from sales on WORLD CLASS players.

Look how many players we have to get rid of this summer.

Mannone
Fabianski*
Sagna
Mertesacker
Squillaci*
Arshavin*
Gervinho
Santos
Park
Bendtner
Denilson
Djourou
Chamakh

* = out of contract this summer anyway.

What are Mertesacker and Sagna doing there?

It's hard to sell all of them because of their enormous wages. That's the problem sadly

RealGunner wrote:It's hard to sell all of them because of their enormous wages. That's the problem sadly

I was thinking the same, who is going to buy them? the best we can do is loan them, which is still not bad.

I think most of them have one more year left, all of them should be gone by 2014.

Raptorgunner wrote:

RealGunner wrote:It's hard to sell all of them because of their enormous wages. That's the problem sadly

I was thinking the same, who is going to buy them? the best we can do is loan them, which is still not bad.

I think most of them have one more year left, all of them should be gone by 2014.

We don't need to sell, just terminate their contract to free up roster or go with Inter dick move in Sneijder case, hold ransom. 80m transfer fee available? get 6 or 7 m there to compensate those wages.

And I doubt anything will be done regarding defensive coaching. If Bould can't do it then sadly only names who have bigger balls are Adams and Keown.

Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke must get tough with manager Arsène Wenger following latest loss

Dear Stan.

It sounds like you’re going to give Arsène Wenger your full support at Thursday’s board meeting. Well, if you genuinely care for the Arsenal, or at the very least care for your substantial investment, please attach conditions.

You must either persuade the manager to change his ways or face the inevitable prospect of changing the manager for another. And please tell Ivan Gazidis to stop being so darn deferential towards Wenger. No employee is bigger than the Arsenal.

Those familiar with your business modus operandi say it’s your style to appoint individuals (including inherited ones), give them a budget to work with and leave them to get on with it. Not now. Not with Arsenal’s season in this kind of meltdown. You need to be more hands-on. It’s time to challenge the manager and the culture. We know you hate the nickname ‘Silent Stan’. So don’t be.

Arsène looks exhausted, being crotchety with the press and opposing managers, traits that transmit a negative message to a dressing-room increasingly riddled with doubt. He needs help, Stan, a proper sounding board that he respects, a director to stop him faffing about in the transfer market. Arsène dithered over Juan Mata and Gary Cahill and Chelsea said thank you very much. He then rushed into buying Per Mertesacker, a giraffe in a sport of gazelles. You were there on Tuesday. You saw Mertesacker labour. Seriously.

Your great club had an opportunity to bring in Hugo Lloris last summer. Arsene hesitated. Why? He worried about collateral damage to Wojciech Szczesny’s confidence. Come on. Shielding somebody’s feelings is all very well but this is sport, not a cub-scout jamboree. This is about winning, about the law of the jungle. Anyway, Szczesny has hardly looked a worthy successor to Jack Kelsey, Bob Wilson or David Seaman this season. It’s a painful truth for you and the board but the club miss David Dein. He’d tell Arsène to stop prevaricating and buy.

You could have got Patrick Vieira on board. Or Brian Marwood. Please, tap into ex-players’ expertise. Don’t let your rivals reap the benefits.

Stan, when Bayern Munich were in town on Tuesday, ending your season, did you meet the people on their board? You might have bumped into Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who conquered Europe with club and country, or the World Cup-winning Uli Hoeness or Matthias Sammer, he of the 74 caps and the job description on the club website that reads: “trophies are his absolute priority at FC Bayern”. Trophies. It’s the name of the game. Keep one eye on the bottom line, Stan, but why not for once make a break for the finishing line?

When Bayern’s board makes decisions, as it did so stealthily and successfully with Pep Guardiola, it draws on decades of accumulated dressing-room wisdom. Arsenal can’t. A board full of civilians stays in awe of Wenger. I bet you stand up and salute when he walks into the room. Look, Arsène’s a fine man and a good manager but he’s not some mythical legend who cannot be questioned. Tell your chief executive to be tougher. Heaven knows, you pay Gazidis enough. Sir Alex Ferguson spoke on Wednesday of having “a million arguments” with David Gill and they’ve won trophy after trophy, built team after team.

At the Emirates on Tuesday, you may have seen that fan with the shirt bearing the words of that Wenger mission statement: “We don’t buy world-class players. We make them.” But now you sell them. Listen to the fans, Stan.

The growing fear is Jack Wilshere could be next. Jack’s a good kid, wholehearted, and definitely committed to your great club but what happens if there’s another season of losing out in 2013-2014? Jack wants to be No 1. Do the math.

Talking of which, Stan, you need to revisit your remuneration policy. You’ve the fourth largest wage bill in the EPL, pushing towards £150m a year, yet the balance is wrong. Let’s cut to the chase. Let’s call your problem under Wenger the Squillaci Factor, an average player paid way over the odds. So divide the cake more cleverly. Promote meritocracy rather than mediocrity. Be American.

Sorry to twist the knife, Stan, but take another glance at Bayern.
They’ve a good blend of home-grown darling and high-class hiring, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez. And just how many of your players would get in Bayern’s team? Just Jack. We all love Theo but he doesn’t deliver like Thomas Müller. Have a word with Arsène. Ask him where his leaders are, his real “go-to guys” beyond Jack?

Stan, in truth, you’re lucky. Arsenal fans could be picketing the ground, chaining themselves to the railings. You must understand their hurt. Supporting a “soccer” club is not an emotion switched on when crossing the stadium threshold on match-day. It lives with you, keeps you awake at night. It becomes an obsession that can wreck jobs, marriages and bank balances.

Stan, ignore the social-media uprising. On Tuesday, there was no mutiny at the Emirates. It is hard to imagine many other supporters of leading clubs being this stoic. But do not take quietness for tacit acceptance. There are stains on a famous shirt.

Tell Arsène that today.
Henry Winter

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/9884271/Arsenal-majority-shareholder-Stan-Kroenke-must-get-tough-with-manager-Arsene-Wenger-following-latest-loss.html

urbaNRoots wrote:

Samuelj29060 wrote:Keep Wenger. But bring in defensive coach regardless of what Wenger says, or let Bould work with defence. Wenger must admit he can't coach a defence.

Spend the well-known £70m budget plus money made from sales on WORLD CLASS players.

Look how many players we have to get rid of this summer.

Mannone
Fabianski*
Sagna
Mertesacker
Squillaci*
Arshavin*
Gervinho
Santos
Park
Bendtner
Denilson
Djourou
Chamakh

* = out of contract this summer anyway.

What are Mertesacker and Sagna doing there?

For 3/4 of his time here, he's not been good enough, Mertesacker.

Sagna will leave anyway, out of contract in 2014, with one year left, he'll be sold for $$$

I've changed my mind after calming down (I do get a bit emotional).

He should be given until the end of the season and be given the chance to spend on some world class talent. If he doesn't..then questions will be asked of the board. I think the board would come out and say he has 'x' amount to spend and it's up to Wenger to spend it. If Arsene concurs and says ''I can't find players that would improve our squad.''; then that would be the last straw. I would call him a taxi myself.

Yeah sell our best CB this season and keep our worst (Vermaelen)

Sell Mertesacker? What are you people smoking?