I'm not doubting that, just stating that Spurs are taking more risks and showing more ambition. At the moment its working out for them. We now have to spend because we are falling to far behind.
You need to check the accounts - On average we have spent about £40m more on wages per season than Spurs for 10 years. They have built a better sqaud than us with less money.
It's a myth that Spurs haven't spent vast amounts of cash, but that aside, we're talking about Arsenal. We are now at a stage where we need some significant investment in the squad.
EVERYONE's is large when compared to Arsenal's PISKIE. In the last 5 years we have the lowest net spend in the league .. lower than Wigan even. We all know how broke Everton have been ... but even they have a higher net spend than us !!
I think that sums up the case for the need to invest in our squad pretty well. We've done remarkably well on the budget we've had, but our squad is in need of a major shot in the arm now. If we want players like Hazard and Goetze we are going to have to stump up much more than we have been paying and to keep players like RVP, I think we need to change our wage structure.
Yeah, maybe people will finally appreciate just how good Cesc Fabregas was for us. I always felt he was somewhat underrated. People knew he was good but did'nt really appreciate just how good the young spaniard was. He has been absolutely outstanding for Barcelona and is getting better every year. Many fans even claimed he wouldnt be good enough to get into the Barcelona team. While I’m not about to compare him with Messi, his influence on the team this season has gone beyond just economical passing and clever movement. In his 31 games he’s scored 15 and made 14 – only Messi betters him in every category. He’s scored more than Sanchez or Villa, created more than Xavi or Iniesta. We should have fought tooth and nail to keep him. £32 million? Who could we buy for £32 million good enough to replace him?... maybe Goetze but who knows if the board would be willing to spend that kind of money.
I still think Wenger has worked miracles with the resources at his disposal. I think we as fans need to read between the lines at Wenger's utterances. "We need to make £15-20 million profit a year on player sales...." (this was a quote from Wenger about 10days ago). How many clubs have this sort of restrictions on them. We cannot be considered a big club if sell Nasri and Fabregas....." Well this shows he was not in agreement with the sale. We not only lost those 2, we also lost Clichy and Eboue, all members of the first team... I think the problem is with the board and Wenger is an unwilling partner in all this. What can he do? Do a Capello and rat on his employers? Capello, made his opinion known and you had people jumping up down saying he had breached his contract. The board has spoken about this mythical war chest for 3-4yrs now, yet we cannot even keep hold of the talent we have..... I really feel sorry for Wenger, he has been made the fall guy in all of this!
Show me the evidence that Arsenal have been spending £40-50m more on wages each year than Spurs for the last 10 years.
You know what guys, i can't see anything happening unless profit margins are significantly affected. This is how we are run nowadays and that's why getting into Champions League qualification has dominated our aims for the past years....
We did get shafted over the Fabregas fee, but that has nothing to do with Wenger fighting to keep him, if he hadn't of done, the club would have simply sold him at the beginning of the transfer window. The board ultimately make the decisions over finances, the same with Nasri - Wenger was willing to keep him and let him go on a free next year. It was the board who took the decision to sell. Wenger fought to keep both Cesc and Nasri
Wenger has done very well over his whole tenure and I think his greatest strengths are identifying young players that will become world class and getting the very best out of his squad. I do belive that he over-rates his players because he under-rates his own ability which means that he pays them too much in wages. The current squad is a good example. Van Persie is a world class find, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshere probably will be with time, but most of the rest would only be stars in a mid-table side. (Arteta being the prime example). Koscielny and Vermaelen look brilliant most of the time but make way too many errors to be thought of a top-class defenders. I actually think you are about two places higher in the PL than your squad strength implies. It is ridiculous that you have higher wage costs than Spurs. If you keep Wenger I can't see this changing much, unless an assistant or the Board forces him to buy better players and reduce the wages of the dross. If you sack Wenger then the immediate result will be worse performances and a mid-table finish and dropping out of the CL could be a disaster for you. All of this is quite normal though. Every club goes through bad patches as well as good - sometimes very long ones: I should know - look who I support.
Piskie, if you have read the accounts, read a paper that shows club spending and wages, read a deloitte report or even shown an interest in club finances you would know this. If you hav'nt, how can you continue to argue with people that Arsenal spending 50m a year more on wages is a myth? You clearly do not know what you are talking about. Spurs have a very tight wage policy, with only the top players earning aprox 60-70k, with most somewhere between 30-50k. Arsenal pay players in the reserves, (something we do not have) very high wages, compared to our youth players. It is a myth arsenal do not spend any money.
totally agree. When you look at our nett spend - the lowest in the league for the last 5 years and 16th overall in the Premier League, it shows you just how well Wenger has done with the resources he has had. Frankly it's a miracle that we've managed to compete and qualify for the Champions league so often. Wenger deserves a huge amount of credit for this achievement. I've said before, anyone else at the helm and we could have already been down in 6th 7th with no CL football. Wenger has also fought to keep his best players, but the club, for whatever reason, have seen fit to sell them. Wenger's squads have been dismantled before his eyes, due largely to money. I think people need to realise that he is the reason that we've been able to compete - and I also think that the club owe him the chance to build another title winning squad by giving him the investment that it's clear our squad needs.
I didn't say that, I said it was a myth that Spurs haven't spend huge amounts of money on the squad, with less success than those who have spent similar and less. I'm still waiting to see some evidence that Arsenal have spent £50m more per season on wages than Spurs for the last 10 years. I'm not contesting it, I'd just like to see the evidence.
I agree and disagree with this. The player wanted to go, he was only ever going to go to Barcelona, that hampered any negotiating we could do. I don't think there was anything Wenger could've done to keep him. Don't forget, Cesc wanted to go the season before but Wenger persuaded him to stay. In my view Wenger should've sold Cesc early in the window to give himself ample time to find a replacement.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jun/03/english-premier-league-debt This covers 2007 and 2008, info I found from 2009 and 2010 is consistent - don't have time to look further back. About £50m per season looks about right
I think Wenger was damned if he did and damned if he didn't with the Cesc situation. If he'd have sold him at the start, people would be complaining that he didn't fight to keep him, as it was he was sold at the end and people complain that he didn't leave enough time to find a replacement. Ultimately Cesc was determined to go, so Wenger was in a no win situation.
