I've often wondered if Newcastle United have the ways and means to reach anywhere near the top 4-6 with the kind of money we have and without huge external investment. Now, when you look at most teams, you can see the ridiculous sums of money being thrown around for players. However, if there's any example of where a team has achieved comfortable top 4 status without mad sums of money, it's Arsenal. Just take a look at some of these player prices: Sagna - £7.5mill Szczesny - Academy youth Fabregas - £2mill Nasri - £12mill Wilshere - Academy youth Song - £2.5mill Clichy - 0.25mill Walcott - £9.1mill Van Persie - £2.75mill Diaby - £4.8mill Vermaelen - £10mill Madly enough, the most expensive player in the Arsenal squad at original value is actually Arshavin, who went for £15mill, and he hardly sets the world on fire, does he? There are obviously big wages involved in a number of cases, but top4/CL status usually gives you the funds to cover that, so it's a self-sustaining model. This is all the proof anyone needs that a top 6 team can be created without superclub spending. All it needs is for the club and manager to be very careful, very intelligent and patient. It also does, unfortunately, require SOME clever selling. Buying quality players on the cheap and flogging them for big fees gives you a lot of cash. However, the key is to stick to your guns and use this extra income to buy more low priced quality talent. The model continues from there. There's no doubt that Arsene Wenger is a very clever manager though to carry this off. The guy (or someone at Arsenal) has a very keen eye, and they've scouted countries to the extent where other teams haven't. I just hope key people like Pardew and Carr can get anywhere near that. I'd never expect a team full of players at the calibre and price of Tiote, but a few clever buys within our price range is going to make all the difference. The only people who would worry me in this situation are Llambias and Ashley. They might LIKE the model, but if they become too greedy and take it too far, then it's very easy to royally **** it up. You've gotta know when to do things, but it's equally important to know when to not.
All it needs is for the club and manager to be very careful, very intelligent and patient. That just about sums Wenger up. Like him or loathe him, he does the business.
I can see why Arsenal fans get frustrated cos they are just 2-3 signings away from having a great team. I've said previously if they signed players LIKE Given, Samba and Benzema people would sit up and take notice!
It's possible to do and Everton have also shown over the years that sensible investment by the club and the manager pay dividends. Alas, the makems will have to swim the channel...
I can see where you're coming from with Arsenal, however they've been a force in the Premier League for the past 15 years, they were the team to beat in the early 2000's. They haven't invested half as much as the other top 5 teams in the recent years and as a result they are slowly dwindling, trophy-less 6 years later. They gradually seem to be doing worse in my opinion. Everton are a much better example, stability and smart investment is the reason they're never that far from the top 6.
