I was thinking about this, this morning. Over the last couple of seasons, AFC has been forced to let go of a number of players that it would rather have kept. The highest profile players are, of course, Fabrigas (to Barcelona) and Nasri (to City). With rumour that Robin van Persie is now refusing to enter into negotiations for a new contract, City are slowly making it clear that they want him, and that makes the chances of his leaving AFC almost certain, either in January or next Summer. Now, all fans, ours included, like to think that players join our clubs because they love us, and we get upset when players leave, either to earn glory at a club that can actually deliver, or to collect a fatter pay-check at the end of the week. However, one of the bitter complaints that we've always had against the Gunners is that they've only been more successful than us because they've been able to consistently pay salaries far higher than ours, effectively to "bribe" the players to stay with them. AFC fans, equally, have bitterly denied this, implying that the money has little to do with it, and that it is simply the pride of being "a Gunner" that keeps the player at the club. Well, I put it to the jury that recent events strongly support our claim (as opposed to the AFC's fans' defence), as we have seen player after player file out of The Library in search of, not glory, but more money. Already weakened and unsettled, the AFC squad now faces the real prospect of watching as their talismanic striker (and new captain) flees to the gold-lined streets of Manchester. Some of you may be thinking, so, what does any of this have to do with Spurs? We have traditionally paid wages at a level far below the former Top-Four, so we have (rightly, in my view) been able to take a slightly superior view on things, and justly claim that players come to our club in order to play football, and not merely to earn money. Sure, I know, most of our players would probably be off like a shot if City or PSG came along and offered to double their wages, but that simply isn't feasible, so it's not an argument that can be leveled against us, because it would apply to the players of any club, anywhere in the world. My concern lies with the likelihood that our board will significantly raise our wage cap ahead of a move to a new stadium, in an effort to keep the likes of Modric and Bale at our club, and in order to encourage the likes of Adebayor to stay, as well as attract players of his quality, as we look to consolidate our top-five status. If we venture down that path, then will we not be doomed to suffer the same fate as the Gunners, a few seasons down the line? Until the Fair Play Rules comes in (and have been proven to work), every club is a potential feeder club for City, Chelsea, Barcelona and PSG, or any other club that has the ability to spend without thinking. You see, it's all very well buying the biggest stars and paying them the best wages, but City can always come along and offer them more, in due course. Between them, Barcelona and City will have destroyed AFC. Do we really want to suffer that fate?
it's a no win situation if you don't pay higher wages you won't get top players,if you do you could end up like Arsenal.either way you could end up a championship club.
Have the Gunners' chickens come home to roost? Should we be crowing? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Not yet imo, I think I'm right in saying they do have money, RVP has said 'buy stars', up to Wenger and their board now, and whether Wenger himself will be at the club (I wouldn't rule that out if a real bad run of results go against him) buying these stars! Only after Jans TW will things be clearer.
It's a Catch 22 situation, isn't it? Screwed if you do and screwed if you don't. We've suffered from this already anyway, as every time we looked to be on the brink of making a breakthrough, someone would come along and pick off our best players and unsettle the whole side.
Today is going to tell us a lot, I suspect. If they cannot raise their game against us, they will be sunk this season.
I think there's more pressure on us than them. If we fail to win then that will cast a cloud over us during the international break, whereas they would be happy with a draw. We are rightly favourites, but turning the odds into points can be very difficult in a game like this.
