Do Arsenal fans think leaving Highbury means you've lost a bit of your soul and results have suffered? There is no connection with the past with these current players; Arsenal does not feel like a London club these days... and xenophobic as it sounds; it feels more of an academy or finishing school for Europeans. Players seen to come and go very quickly and there is no core or spine like United or Chelsea have (foreign or British), or have had. The club seems to have lost its identity and its way. And the fans are literally having to pay for it with the capital's most expensive tickets. Anyway, good luck with the rest of your season; and if it all seems bad now, remember: at least you don't support Spuds!
No. & at least we can buy tickets to Arsenal cheaper than spurs fans could to watch spurs or chelsea fans to watch chelsea. Hardly makes us the most expensive tickets in the capital now, does it?
Thanks for the response but I thought the average price of tix had gone up. I know Gooners who said the equivalents of their tickets in the old Archibald Leitch stands had gone up a fair whack
We still sell a large % of our tickets at cheaper prices than other clubs, including Chelsea or Spuds. Our top priced season tickets are the most expensive in the country, but they also include cup games (7?) that other clubs do not include. Don't know why I am responding as this is obviously a very poor WUM attempt.
Fair enough. I hope we never leave the Bridge; but, of course, the reality is, that we will. I'd much rather be in our position than Arsenal's. I just don't know how it could have gone so badly wrong for them but I do think leaving Highbury, the club has lost something it will never get back.
Likewise for Chelsea. 5th place in the league, with an ageing squad, a crap stadium, a £50M striker who can't strike and a sugar-daddy chairman who's getting restless. Edit: Oh yeah, and a captain who is hopefully justly going to jail.
We are traditionally strong finishers, so we'll make top four. Didier will take Torres out in training and we'll get a run together.
Interesting question LF and very easy to say yes. I think we probably had a need for a new stadium. More seats, more income, more profit - you get the drift. The problem assuming the bottom line is there ( I haven't referred to the accounts ) is that there has been a lack of investment in the team. I don't mean the 55m or so which we spent last summer, most of it being on the final day of the transfer window. While spending abd buying late rarely helps, it's the underinvestment over a number of years that is our problem. The key players who were not replaced. Can you look at our team now and say they bear comparison to the Invincibles? In fact you won't need to go back that far. Just look at our 2008 team or the one in 2010. Both were in a position to take the EPL. The current team is not in such a position. That's where a lot of it went wrong. The problem and responsibility of underinvestment lie with Arsene and the board. It is now compounded by the presence and intentions of our majority shareholder. I think it is by coincidence that these all follow with our departure from Highbury because assuming the stadium debt is being serviced then we simply are not investing in the team. Instead I believe Mr Gazidis and his pals are more interested in properties in the N5 area. The sooner they go, the better fro our club. Then there is another problem - Arsene Wenger who I believe has lost the ability to motivate the players and whose tactics on the field are now highly suspect. Every manager has his day. I'm not saying he's wrong all the time but there are areas of responsibility which are his and which are not met. It is unlikely that he will remain beyond the conclusion of his contract, if indeed he does not go before. As I've said in the past, it is not the right way for Arsene to leave but I don't see any change and the change that is needed with this current board, ownership and management.
Well my friend, firstly it is not for me to give him money I don't have and if I did have 100m to spare it will be going towards child poverty. I doubt if the board will give Arsene 100m to spend because their intention is to keep the money for some reason better known to our majority shareholder about which we here can only speculate. This is down to the lack of information or indeed transparency by which the management of our beloved club operates. You get my drift I'm sure. However even if that money were made available to Arsene he wouldn't spend it. Instead he would hunt down some 18 year old who would come cheaper. You get what you pay for in this as in other walks of life. Sometimes you stumble onto a bargain. Most of the time though I think it becomes money not wisely spent. Arsene is very talented but I wonder if he has become too set in his determination to see through his own vision. Surely 7 years and all the years when come February, our season goes to pieces will have taught him something. Not so it appears.
Gibbs, Wilshere, Walcott, The Ox, plus loads out on loan are all English plus Welsh Ramsey. Im not having this foreign legion rubbish again!
Do you think he should be given the chance to produce another great side? He has produced two great ones and one (08-10) that got close
You need to get a grip of the facts mate, we're only behind on goals at the moment with a couple of key players coming back where as you've just been spanked by an average Milan. Restless chairman? Bruce Buck can go tomorrow with our best wishes... Our captain won't be going to jail as the maximum penalty is £2500 fine along with a conviction. I won't deny that the charge he faces is appalling, and if convicted the club will need to take a view on it but he won't be going to jail.
Well as you say he did produce two that nearly got away with the spoils but in both cases, the end of February did herald the beginning of the end of our EPL campaign. So while they had the potential of greatness, this was never realised. It was a similar situation last year. It's not easy getting every aspect of a team right but you can get the job done if you can compensate for the deficiencies. In just about all these years where we were close ( to a point ) we lost out on the way to the final run-in so the teams were not quite there and there wasn't enough in those teams to guarantee that we could diminish the shortcomings and go all the way. One of the points that came up in discussion today as on other occasions is leadership. Arsenal has relied on leadership by example on the field and this clearly does not work. You need someone out there to rally the troops. However such a player is not sourced or permitted to show through. The responsibility for that lies with Arsene. One may bring the board into it too since their inability to seal the deals for players and/or reluctance to release funds has meant that we are left with the sides ( and players ) that we have and the sum of it all is that it is not enough. Nearly there but not enough. Nearly there is never enough.
Sir Alex Ferguson has 100M and he isn't spending either. I'm not sure that spending it is the issue, it is the "rebuilding successfully" that is the key. 100M does not buy you a lot these days, in the way of proven talent.
I wouldn't want to give him £10m to spend. It would buy a French speaking African who has promise, would disappear for half a season, and finally make the first team once in 2 seasons when we had yet another string of injuries.
