....And Wenger states the bleeding obvious! So he finally works out that the only saving grace that he had was to qualify for the champions league? Will he admit that his experiment has failed? Hell he won't. Normal people would admit failure after 7 years without a single trophy and then change, but not Wenger!
Wenger also said - “We have to consider we are in a job where we need our physical strength and health. That weakens, I’ve heard, the older you get. “I will never retire, but I will maybe do a different job, not going every day out there with the football team. But I will work, that’s for sure. I don’t like to get up in the morning and have nothing to do.”
I think people are beginning to realise that Wenger, far from being the problem at Arsenal, is actually the one who is holding it all together. I've said time and again, another manager operating under the same conditions as he has, may well not have been able to keep us in the champions league and challenging for all major honours.
Yeh thats pretty clear, it's actually a shambles to look at how bad chelsea have been and yet they are still 4 points ahead and there is every chance that the gap will be stretched even further this weekend. Also considering that we were on a good run and how inconsistent liverpool have been its really annoying that they are still just behind us. We need a win tommorow for the sake of our league position although hopefully norwich will be able to do us a favour. But we need ot get back on another run quickly because we are going through a really bad spell now and again it points to our poor defending and lack of mentality.
That is probably about right over his whole term. In terms of resources he's had a lot less than Chelsea, Man U and Liverpool and a bit more than Spurs. He has outperformed Liverpool and is only now falling behind a bankrolled Man City. Spurs have caught up now though so I think there has to be some concern that Wenger is losing his touch. It would be pretty hard to get someone better though.
Gazidis is our CEO, so his main role is a commercial one, promoting and developing the club. I think he does a pretty good job of that to be honest. I'm not sure how much of a say he has over transfers and wages, although he's almost certain to be consulted on it. Hill-Wood ultimately has the final say on it all as he is chairman. I read that both Kronke and Gazidis are not opposed to Usmanov coming onboard and investing some of his cash in the squad. I think it's also been mooted that over the next 12 -18 months the old guard (Hill-Wood, Friar, Lord Harris, Chips Keswick) may step down and allow a new board to be formed. For me, whilst I respect the work that Ken Friar has done, I think it's long overdue that Hill-Wood retires. If for nothing else, so that David Dein can come back into the fold. He obviously still has links with both Kronke and Usmanov (being responsible from bringing them to the club), his relationship with Wenger is well documented and I think he still has a lot to offer Arsenal.
difficult to argue with that. However, who has a right of veto on transfer fee, and the player wages demand is not clear. Wenger keeps his own counsel on that.
I think Wenger is definitely in the 'value for money' camp. He won't buy a player if he feels that he's overpriced. But that's not to say that he's opposed to spending big if needed. He was supposed to have bid 35m Euros for Goetze in the summer and £24m for M'Villa. So that shows that not only is he identifying top players to replace the likes of Fabregas, but that he's actually making active bids to try and get them. If these bids are true, it would also suggest that the board are willing to sanction big money moves too, so maybe they have changed their policy, but we have yet to see the fruition of it ?
So if its true and not just another rumour (there have been a few ) were our bids rejected due to us being unwilling to meet a valuation, or our inability to meet player wages? So was it yet again us not being prepared to close a deal when we had identified what we REALLY need?
As far as I know, both bids were rejected. I'm not sure that a counter offer was suggested. It may have been that both clubs were simply unwilling to sell.
Agree that Hill-Wood needs to retire or be retired but Gazidis and Dick Law are definitely part of the two man team responioble for handling transfer negotiations, something probably better handled by someone else IMHO. Gazidis should have only been commercial director. Having heard him utter his monotonous drivel about his sustainable model in the face of player departures convinces me that he has no sporting ambition, whatever lip service he make make towards that concept. I couldn't agree more and will come up to N5 to help him clear his desk and give him a lift to Holloway Road tube station.
Or perhaps unwilling to sell in view of our offers? Perhaps the player may even have said 'no' when the salary package didn't come up to expectation. Seems that with our negotiation team of Gazidis and Law, we never are going to get anyone who is ready to put on an Arsenal shirt and be ready to play and score. I appreciate Gervinho may have done that but he seems to be blowing a little hot and cold IMHO. With the terrible twosome it's always a case of much that is promised but nothing delivered.
Perhaps Gazidis would benefit from working alongside someone with a proven track record with transfer negotiations? I see that role crying out for Dein to fill it.
Nah Piskie, just demote him to commercial director and stick him in an office at the end of the corridor or in the basement
I totally disagree with this PISKIE - the maths don't add up, the decisions don't add up. If the board won't let him spend money why did they sanction spending £13m+ on 18year old Div 1 player OXO ? If the board won't let him spend why did they sanction the purchases of Santos, Arteta and Mertesacker? If the board won't let him spend why does Hill-Wood continually say money is available to Wenger if he needs it ? If the board won't let him spend why did Hill-Wood say in 2008 we had over £60m cash sitting there ? If the board won't let him spend how comes they sanctioned the £16m mid season purchase of Arshavin when it looked like we would miss 4th place ? If Wenger was so important to us why doesn't he force their hand and allow him to spend by threatening to leave ? According to you nobody else could do the job ! If Wenger was so important to them he would insist that he needs funds - and he would get them because no other manager could keep us competitive. The only scenario that makes everything add up is this: Wenger simply does not want to spend because he doesn't think it is the right thing to do. How else do you explain why, with a club the size of Arsenal, we have no fit full backs and won't even get someone in on frikkin loan !! WTF?! I could go on. None of it makes sense if, what you say, the board are not allowing him
He will probably say that the injured will be returning soon. Wanna bet he doesn't? It is time for a change. Make Arsene Manager Emeritus of something with an honorary seat on the bench at testimonials but he isn't allowed to influence the game. Ken Friar can stay. The rest have to go. Gazidis can stay on as commercial director if we all agree but he has to keep his big mouth ultra, ultra shut.
