Rival watch
- Thread starter Spurlock
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Does he have to watch the games on TV to get it?My Gooner cousin tells me that Aubameyang's CL bonus this coming season is £4.2m. He gets paid the bonus whether they qualify or not........
My Gooner cousin tells me that Aubameyang's CL bonus this coming season is £4.2m. He gets paid the bonus whether they qualify or not........
His bonus was watching Spurs play in the CL final.
My Gooner cousin tells me that Aubameyang's CL bonus this coming season is £4.2m. He gets paid the bonus whether they qualify or not........
Tis true...was reported last summer by most of the press...and people wonder why we like Levy
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My Gooner cousin tells me that Aubameyang's CL bonus this coming season is £4.2m. He gets paid the bonus whether they qualify or not........
Yup, this is true.
I've said this before, and though some Arsenal fans accept it is an imminent possibility, others are completely in denial.
Midtable is looming for us. There is not much we can do to stop it unless every single thing we do from this point onwards is the right course of action, whilst simultaneously relying on other clubs to underperform.
With question marks over OGS at Man United, and Chelsea's prospective transfer ban (as well as Hazard leaving, thank fack), there is a modicum of an opportunity to maybe get CL football next season. But like I said, we will need a lot of factors, including those which are not in our direct control, to go in our favour.
I'm not optimistic though. Over the years, we've seen big wages to mediocre players, letting players run their contracts down, extending contracts of players like Elneny and Jenkinson, signing players in their late 20s/early 30s and putting them on big money too, poor signings (Mustafi, Kolasinac, Mkhitaryan)...
Then, on top of that, we've had a lot of staff departures over the last 2 years (See: Mislintat, Wrigglesworth, Burgess...), which I'm not sure is down to negligence of responsibilites or because they're not happy with how the club is operated.
Mislintat and Burgess both had big reputations when they came to us, and both have left within 2 years, so I think I know which one it is...
Right now, we are having to rely on 'outsmarting' the market, bringing in hidden gems like Torreira and Guendouzi, turning to our youth academy or getting cast-offs from other clubs. This is what we've been forced to do.
FFP also makes it much harder to inject private investment into the club now, so KSE have an excuse at the ready if they don't invest (though they can be blamed for other things).
It is absolutely not a good time to be an Arsenal fan now or in the distant future.
But, as you know, I've already accepted our destiny. Sh*t happens. Just have to deal with whatever comes our way.
I think United and Chelsea will have terrible seasons, especially if Sarri leaves and they have to press reset yet again. As long as FIFA have the balls to uphold that transfer ban, they are a nothing side without Hazard. OGS meanwhile looks utterly clueless and out of his depth.
The real fear for all of us trailing Pool and City is that the likes of Wolves, Everton and Leicester are really starting to flex some muscle both on and off the pitch. I can see all of them closing the gap to the top 6 as they will all likely be flat track bullies against the weaker sides but will also start pinching points from the bigger sides on a regular basis (Everton and Wolves already dabbled in that this past season). I think the top 10 in general could well become a more level playing field. This summer is crucial for everyone who finished 3rd to 6th.
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Spot on, CK. I've said this on numerous occasions too.
Lest we forget Newcastle, who could be taken over by Qatari owners, who are also cousins of Sheikh Mansour. They could awaken a sleeping giant of a football club.
In the era of football we are living in, historical success becomes irrelevant. No club is too 'big' to falter. Other clubs are getting foreign investment, stadium expansions and commercial deals to catch up with the other clubs and can attract players who they could previously have never even dreamed of 10 years ago.
The TV revenue has been a game-changer for the other PL clubs.
All clubs from 3rd to 6th will be kept on their toes.
Global standing still counts though. It's a catch-22 as the absolute elite level of players will only want to play for the most prestigious clubs. Which ain't Wolves, Everton, Leicester or Newcastle nor will it be for a heck of a long time. Look how long it took City to establish themselves as regular PL winners. And look at the utter dross they were signing until that watershed moment that caused players who weren't journeymen and mercs to look up and pay attention. And they still don't have the legendary global status enjoyed by the likes of United and Pool. It's coming, but it will take a while longer before it happens. And until that point there will still be plenty of players - and fans - who will chose the likes of Real, Bayern, Juve and even United over City - even though the latter are clearly the better side.
TV revenue has been a game changer (pun intended) but unlike La Liga where the majority of the TV pie is sliced for Real and Barca in order to maintain the status quo, the PL negotiates on behalf of the 20 member teams and therefore it is a much more level playing field. This is reflected by the 'equal share' dividend of appx £70m allocated to every single club before a ball has even been kicked. That the likes of Huddersfield received over £90m in total last season is mad when you consider that their wage bill and other running costs compared to City (who totaled over £140m in total TV money) is miniscule. Compare that gap to La Liga and the extent of the parity is clear: in 2017-18 Barca and Real brought in appx. $150m each whilst bottom side Girona only got $40m. So in other words the PL's bottom side took in well over twice as much as La Liga's.
The real money maker in this day and age is merch and sponsorship. Especially corporate and commercial sponsorship. And to hit those heights you need a cult following spread across the globe. Which is why City are repeatedly caught up in all sorts of dodgy financial schemes involving them effectively artificially inflating commercial sponsorship by funneling the money through another of the parent company's holdings. Like, how convenient that the stadium was sponsored by Etihad, who have absolutely nothing to do with the Bin Zayed group, no siree ma'am nought to see here jog on.
Having said all that, the genius of our new stadium build becomes all the more apparent. Levy knows relying on raising our global profile by winning the PL and CL is a risky and potentially long-term project. So what if we raise our profile by actually directly tapping into other entire fanbases who might be interested in adopting a second sport? Hence the wisdom of building a home which will host NFL and Rugby franchises which will in turn expose our brand to millions of secondary and tertiary football/soccer fans across the globe.
I'm glad you boys are writing our obituary this season coming.
Just to be clear if we finish higher, i hope i dont see the standard chelsea have more top quality players, chelsea spend more etc, chelsea have the 4th most expensive team and we have the 6th etc
Thanks again
Just to be clear if we finish higher, i hope i dont see the standard chelsea have more top quality players, chelsea spend more etc, chelsea have the 4th most expensive team and we have the 6th etc
Thanks again
Nope, you'll have got there by copying our clever tactics. Enjoy getting to the CL final this season
^secretly bricking it and putting on a brave face.
To be honest mate, right now, I think the top 3 will be City, Liverpool & Spurs.
4th will be a slug-fest between you, United and possibly us.
If I had to put money on it, I would say United will get 4th.
The only reason I say that is because of United's financial power, rather than OGS being a good manager. And whilst they have already spent a lot already without reaping the benefits, it is only a matter of time before they stumble on the right formula.
We are an absolute mess and are 5-6 years behind the rest, so we won't do anything special this season or for the next few years. Though obviously I am hoping Arsenal can surpass my (extremely low) expectations.
In terms of Chelsea, for me, Hazard was the best player in the league, so I can't see anyone in your squad replacing what he gave you even if you can spend this transfer window. Similarly to us, you have an ageing squad. Giroud is 32, Pedro is 31 (32 soon), Higuain is 31, Willian is 30 (31 soon), Cahill is 33, Luiz is 32, Azpilicueta is 29 (nearly 30). Sarri is looking likely to leave with Lampard rumoured to be taking over (who is still in his infancy in managerial terms). These factors, as well as your best player leaving, a potential transfer window ban and some of your promising youth players injured for the start of the season, means I would be very surprised if you got into the top 4.
Obviously in football you just never know, but my initial impressions are that you lot and us will miss out.
Yeah, i cant see us doing amazingly either lol. The main thing is a new manager. The players looked like they were starting to grasp sarri ball but oh well.
As for you boys, that disasterous end to the season doesnt fill me with optimism for your club either with emery at the helm.
Yeah, because one off-season due to cheating will totally remove all of your spending!
Shirley some mistake on the part of Sky Sports ....?
"Talks between Arsenal and Saint-Etienne over defender William Saliba are said to be at an advanced stage, according to Le 10 Sport.
The 18-year-old centre-back could complete a £27m deal with the Gunners, who intend to send him back on loan to Saint-Etienne next season."
So, Arsenal spend 2/3rds of their transfer budget on a player........who they immediately send out on loan?
Errr................ok.
"Talks between Arsenal and Saint-Etienne over defender William Saliba are said to be at an advanced stage, according to Le 10 Sport.
The 18-year-old centre-back could complete a £27m deal with the Gunners, who intend to send him back on loan to Saint-Etienne next season."
So, Arsenal spend 2/3rds of their transfer budget on a player........who they immediately send out on loan?
Errr................ok.
