1) A situation Liverpool could get. FA Cup + Carling Cup + No CL 2) A situation We could get. No trophies + CL ??
CL football without any trophies. We been in the CL for ages and the club would have to restructure things if we miss out on that money and that could affect potential transfers. Also we might miss out on potential players. Jan Vertonghen has come out and said he would love to join us in the summer but if we miss out on CL football then he could change his mind. Also we need to keep paying off that debt like we have been doing in the last five or so years.. Again, missing CL football could affect that. I would love a trophy but if I had to choose then it would be CL football and no trophies.
Given the options I too will take no 2. Thursday night football doesn't suit me and as some may know, I have no love of Liverpool.
Option 2, I can handle not having trophies. Missing out on the CL is a blow though as it is felt long term for sure. Look what happened to Liverpool once they fell out of the top 4, it's very hard to get back in. We need to fight to stay in it.
Definately option 1. Our team needs to win something to have a taste of victory. How will we grow as a team if we don't win anything? Winning something is an indication of a team progressing. We've been in the Champions League for 7 years straight after winning nothing, that isn't right. The Champions League is meant to have the best/champions of a given league. For us to win nothing for 7 years yet qualify for this is quite ridiculous....
And you think that two results; beating "free-fall" Spurs and "all-over-the-place" Liverpool, has saved your season? Dream on...
It going to be very close for the CL places, but at least now it is 2 out of 3 who will make it - a month ago Liverpool were still in it. Of the 3 teams I would put Arsenal as favourites now for 3rd, but that's not to say we wont implode.
This is the worst season we've had in a long while and we're still in 4th and on target to get 3rd. But one thing we have is stability and as long as RVP signs on the dotted line, we will only get better. It's a shame we can't say the same thing for Spurs and Chelsea. Spurs will soon lose Redknapp and Chelsea have the dad's army playing for them and they have managers coming in every week. They will only get worse....
I would go for option 1. I think it is criminal for some of the talent we have we have to look back at the end of their careers and see they have not won anything. As someone said, we really have to taste winning a trophy, unless trophies are handed out for coming 4th. We enter the champions league year on year, for the sole reason of taking part and not winning it. The same appears for the premier league, the pressure is off now, (because we are not going to win anything) so watch us start to play without the handbrake on! Then we wonder why our top players refuse to commit themselves long term.
This exactly what people are missing. It's all about confidence and self believe for the majority of players. What do you think will happen to players who haven't won anything for 7 years? You start doubting yourself and your ability to win and start playing within yourselves. We have some quality players coming through like Wilshere, Oxo etc. They appear to be born winners, you think they will sit back and be happy to win nothing for another few years? Even an average Liverpool team managed to grind out a Carling cup win and are still in the FA cup. We have a better team than them!!!
2. CL is the main reason "decent" to "very good" players even consider joining Arsenal. I think missing CL would reduce our negotiating power a lot, which with our standard of spending could be very dangerous long term.
I also think we as fans have really been hoodwinked with this champions league gravy train. I am pretty certain, NO player worth its salt (i.e. world class quality), would be happy to look back on their career and be content with just playing in the Champions League. You look at the bulk of Manure players with winners medal under their belt, RVP and a couple of our players should be saying it is not about the money now..... How comes he has 4 medals and I have none?
I think it is getting tiresome saying very good players join us because we are in the champions league. Over the years, we have tended to organically grow our players (buy them unknown or rough diamonds) polish them and sell them high. The players we tend to buy are not the finished article (we cannot afford those!), so it is the lure of improving their game, working with a genius like Wenger and the coaching staff I think is the main motivating factor. If my son had a chance between playing for Chelsea, Manure and Arsenal, I would choose the Gunners, because I know he has more of a chance of fufilling his potential and the pressure is not that great..... Whereas Chelsea, Manure, Citeh can afford to splash crazy money (£20mill upwards) on an untested teenager, we would much rather grow them.
Of course we are being hoodwinked by the "Champions" league. I hear people saying getting into the Champions league is a priority to sign the "best" players, but when was the last time we bought a truly high quality player? We've built a huge stadium, been in the Champions league forever, yet we buy budget specials. None of the players we've bought are "Champions" quality to be honest and are mid to high table quality players. RVP has been with us since the early 2000s yet, we still haven't got a player (apart from Fabs), that is close to him. We could sign the same players even if we took a drop to 5th for a season or 2. There are 2 reasons why people come to Arsenal, its Wenger and the money..... I can guarantee that our 3 best young players - Wilshere, Chesney and OXO, will look to move on if we don't win anything in the next few years. All three strike me as born winners and they would never just settle for 4th place, while other clubs like Manure, Man City etc keep on winning stuff. All it will take is one of them to come in for a bid and then its good bye Vienna....
