Last season we finished 29 points behind the spuds. This season it will probably be less than 10. We are on course for more points this season than last. The spuds are on course for less. But the gap isn't closing. Obviously.
it can't be closing as Hiag says so ! Spuds worst nightmare scenario is them not catching up with Arsenal and being caught by West Ham. if the points gap is less than last season, then indeed the power shift between Spurs and West Ham may be happening. as in my earlier posts i have already stated that i think WH and Southampton, are moving up the pecking order of the Middle sized clubs that have ambition to get into top 6/8, at the expense of teams like Everton,Villa, and Newcastle. i think we could possibly add Swansea and Stoke to the list of Middle Sized clubs that are moving up. so big clubs expecting to be in top 4 are : chelsea man city arsenal man united middle sized clubs hoping to be in top 4: liverpool spurs middle sized clubs aiming to be in top 6/8 southampton west ham swansea stoke middle sized clubs that are falling down pecking order : everton villa newcastle sunderland
Sounds about right G4E. However, as the spuds attempt to pay for their £450M ground over the next decade, I expect them to drop somewhere between the West Ham/Saints group and the Everton/Newcastle group. You only have to look at how Arsenal dipped whilst paying for the Emirates to see what a drain it will be for them. The difference (as we have to keep saying) is that Arsenal already had the squad to keep them competitive and in the top 4. It's gonna be a laugh.
Arsenal are bigger than Liverpool and West Ham are bigger than Everton and Newcastle! Have you two ever considered standup?
I can't see where he said West Ham are bigger than Newcastle and Everton? He called us all middle sized clubs didn't he? Liverpool / Arsenal - is there much difference? Ground size? Recent trophies won? Historically Liverpool are bigger. Now, not so much.
Newcastle are a potentially massive club being sucked dry by a fat, carnivorous twat, called Ashley!...
The only criteria by which Liverpool are a bigger club than Arsenal is by past trophy haul. In terms of stadium, global fanbase, revenue, commercial deals, value etc... Arsenal are the bigger club. Not that it makes much difference in terms of who actually performs each season!
All premier league clubs are "potentially massive". But Newcastle's trophy drought is even longer than ours.
I disagree to an extent. Newcastle has a large, football mad demographic that have been fed a diet of crap, below standard football courtesy of Ashley. The potential support there is huge, if any form of success could be delivered.
do you actually read the posts before you criticise them ! on current standings yes Arsenal are bigger than Liverpool, and are considered to be a top 4 side [ only 4 sides get called this BTW] the other top 4 side are Chelsea and both manchester clubs. this is based on consistent league standings etc. the next tier is clubs hoping to get top 6 - which traditionally means they aren't likely to get top 4, which include Liverpool and Spurs. the next tier is clubs hoping to get top 8 - which now include Southampton, swansea, west ham, and stoke. does that make it easier to understand. Spurs are not a top 4 side as they don't consistently challenge for a top 4 spot, let alone challenge for the title. what others are saying, and i tend to agree with them, is that once you need to pay for new stadium then you may well struggle to to be top 6, and may just be top 8. Arsenal have managed for the last 17 years to be consistently in top 4 ranking, challenge for title, won titles, won other major trophies, and during last 10 years had new stadium to pay off. Spurs will do very well to accomplish that.
i think they may drop to top 8 due to financial pressure, if the do better than that they have done well. arsenal dipped from consistently challenging for title to top 3 during the period of new stadium which also coincided with arrival of cash kings chelsea, and dipped to top 4 with the arrival of oil barons £ity. i think it is remarkable that we stayed in top 4, all hail to Wenger for this
Specialists in failure. Chelsea winning title on £10m net spend and lower wage bill than Arsenal. Love FFP. Chelsea: best run club
Arsenal are a top 4 side but Liverpool aren't, despite Liverpool having finished above them last season and being within touching distance in this one? The media used to talk about the Big 4 all the time, but it no longer exists. Arsenal have consistently spent top 4 money and had management stability, so it's not surprising that they've stayed in that position. They've dramatically underperformed in terms of trophies and European finishes over the past decade, though. Spurs' spending won't be affected by paying off the new stadium, as the club's not been spending anything recently, anyway. An extremely affordable wage bill and negative net spend has been standard for years. The focus on bringing on a promising youth structure will more than compensate for anything that we might have spent, too. The training ground has effectively swallowed up our spending for the last 5 years, but it looks to have been a wise investment.
West Ham should overtake Spurs in the next few years. They have been gifted a 50k ground and gave us a much tougher game last night; there was only one winner at Wembley
I thought the specialist in failure remark had disappeared after Wenger had a better season than Mourinho last year? Mourinho got egg on his face pretty quickly from that one. And until you win the league Arsenal have won more trophies than you since mourinhos return
@PNP I wouldn't say Arsenal have massively underachieved I terms of Europe and trophies in the last ten years. We are one of only ten clubs to reach the CL final in the last ten years. We hold records for consecutively qualifying and consecutively making it out of the group phases. Granted we have consistently gone out in the last 16 in the last four years, but we have gone out each year to a team who reaches the final or is the current holder of the cup. With barca or bayern beating us in four of the last five seasons, usually by a single goal or on the away goal rule. We have also been the only team to beat bayern away in the two seasons we faced them including the season they did the triple. So overall we actually have one of the better records in Europe with only a handful of clubs being able to comfortably claim better records than us during this ten year period. Again the last few years have obviously been a big disappointment but looking at the ten years overall we haven't done that badly really. In terms of trophies obviously we'd like more than a couple of FA Cups and Community shields, but football is won or lost by fine margins and in that ten years we've reached the final at least once of every competition we have been in and so had the opportunity to add a handful of other trophies. It could be argued we have underachieved during this time in terms of trophies but given the stadium move, financial restrictions, emergence of new money clubs and the change in policy to one of youth at the club, I think we've actually not done too badly at all. That said I'd like to see an increase in the amount of silverware we win, now that our situation as a club is very different to what it has been over the last ten years.
When you beat Bayern, like Milan, you were already out. It is easy to play when the pressure is off. Also think you have gone out in the last 16 for the past FIVE seasons, so you are winners of the Last 16 cup
When we played bayern we went out on the away goal rule. If getting that close is already out to you, you must have a real defeatist attitude!
