Wenger or the board? I guess us getting a new manager is the only way to find out who's not spending the cash, but at the moment, this is getting ridiculous. Let's see if money is spent in January...
It's the board of course Do you think they would give money to the manager every year, have him refuse to spend it, and not sack him after it became clear his refusal was the reason for the lack of success? It's why Harry Redknapp and David O'Leary are not responsible for financial problems at clubs they managed. The board are the people responsible for finance and the managers responsible for identifying players they want.
In order for money to be spent in January, the right players will have to become available. We've got a big squad, so only a top quality signing will do, other than that it's a loan deal. I don't see much money being spent in January, unless someone of exceptional quality is available and both player and the clubs can reach an agreement.
I agree that we should move some players on and replace them with better quality. Easier said than done though and probably not realistic in January.
There seems to be a constant cry to spend money whenever we get a disappointing result. Players are owned by their clubs, they sign contracts and unless clubs are willing to sell them the player is an asset of the club, an employee, until the end of his contract. I don't agree with the Bosnan rules, I think it's created an attitide of greed for players and a huge administration headache for every club (well those that live in the real financial world). I do understand the frustration at failing to beat Wolves and Fulham but we had our chances and didn't take them, RVPs failure to hit the net doesn't make him a bad player he just found an inspired keeper on the day, time to worry is when we're not creating chances. I don't know what Wenger will do in January, my feeling is not alot, but we've worked our way into a strongish position in terms of CL qualification as well as winning our CL group with a game to spare so the current squad is not poor
At the end of the day, sometimes you get results that you don't want so we should accept it and not display a knee jerk reaction. However, even on our excellent run, i always thought that Wenger should have some sort of clearout. We are developing a good spine now and all we need to do is add a few extras that can come in and do a good job. Arteta and Benny were excellent additions that are doing a good job for a short period of time. Unfortunately, players like Squishy, Arshavin and Chamakh are not cutting it at all. I'd rather we play some of our younger players than waste time on senior players that bring little to the table. I mean, whats the point of playing Arshavin when we can play a younger players who would display more passion and effort and probably not be as bad as him? The same goes for Chamakh as well. At least playing someone else would give them an opportunity to shine and develop.
Utd have spent fortunes in the last 10 years or so, since the start of the 2007/08 season they've bought 9 players of £10m or more (plus Tevez at £9m). We could analyse Chelsea transfers in the same period, or Man City over the last 4 years, there's a common theme here -yes I accept Fergie has been exceptional but I believe he has been fortunate that money has never been an issue for him at Utd
The solution is simple, key players for key positions and sell the players we don't want. WE don't need to spend big, we just need to spend right. Wenger seems to think there are no players out there better than what we have, he is delusional. What is the point in Denilson, Diaby, Arshavin, Chamakh, Mannone, Almunia and Bendtner ? Are you seriously telling me there are not better players out there than these clowns that won't cost an arm and a leg ?
Wenger is certainly stubborn but I don't believe he thinks we have the best 25 players on the planet. I agree there are players who have not developed in the way AW would have hoped and whose time is probably (or at least should be) coming to an end, the issue as always is money - unless you shop very carefully (take a punt on a youngster or someone who is struggling elsewhere) then every player we would want is £20m or more, plenty more, and as AW has himself said that as soon as you announce that Arsenal are in the market for a player the worldwide value of GK, CB, Strikers etc goes up. I know it's an old argument and I sound like a broken record but there are teams who have no grasp of value for money because money is no object, there are also clubs who are living way beyond their capabilities and possess a balance sheet that if they'd been a normal business they'd be liquidated in days. I'm grateful the club behave in this way - I'd get zero satisfaction from the Chelsea titles or the titles Man City will win if I were a fan of those clubs. I agree there is a compromise and we may not have always found that.....
Another factor to remember is that whilst it's easy to sit back and say we should buy this player and that player and get rid of the 'deadwood' and then lambast the manager for not doing so. It actually takes a very specific set of circumstances for transfers to happen. Firstly the player has to become available, then both buying and selling club have to come to an agreement over a transfer fee, then the player has to agree to want to join the buying club, then personal terms have to be agreed .... it goes on. I think people need to remember that it's not just a case of popping down the shops and buying what you want, when you want. It is more complex than that.
Grizzly, while I agree in principle with what you say about trophies being tainted - I am 100% sure no Chelsea or Man City fan cares a hoot about it, a win is a win, a trophy is a trophy and the record books will show Chelsea finally did the double and City finally won the FA Cup or Premier League. We need to stop feeling superior or morally superior because it seems to be breeding an element of a "this is our lot and this is all we can do" mentality. I said it before and I will say it again, if Wenger had bought wisely over the past 5 years we would be in the mix with the big spenders because we are not far off where we need to be, but being perennially close year after year is annoying especially when every man and his dog can see what we are lacking.
I'm sure you're right Hothead - there are plenty of spotty kids in my local who wear Chelsea shirts oblivious to the fact they were in the second tier around 20 years ago, who've never heard of Ken Bates, and who think John Hollins is famous because he's Chris' Dad ! I don't disagree with you about the aquisitions either but I don't have a morally superior complex because of how Arsenal behave. If Silent Stan sacked Wenger, brought in Pep for arguments sake, gave him £300m and we won the CL in 2 years time I might watch the game and quietly cheer us on, but I would certainly not class myself as the fan I have been for 30 years, it would be a dilluted CL trophy for me, but that is just me and I know others will feel different.
But we have had good success in the past 10 years so don't you think that is the reason why you would feel that way ? Had we, like City, not won any trophies for donkey's years, do you still think you would have that opinion or would it be "by any means necessary you want to see your team win" ? Don't forget, City have had to endure their main rivals having ridiculous success and they've never come close during that period. Would you still have that opinion if Spurs had been winning titles and Arsenal were squabbling over the odd Carling cup every 10 years ??
I think I would Hothead. The Russian money started rolling at a time when we were an established successful club, we had the infrastructure in place to win things, it took Abramovic 3 years or so, a couple of managers and about £300m to find success, same with City who are in their 5th season since the lottery win(s) and who've spent £440m net in that time, success doesn't come instantly no matter how much you spend, it takes a while for it all to mould together. Any success purely because a stranger happens to want to flex his financial muscles and buy your football club is false success, he could walk away in a years time and leave the club crippled, that;s the tightrope these clubs walk, our strategy is the complete reverse and a model that is admired throughout the footballing world. As for Tottenham, I lived in the early/mid 80s when they were far more successful than us, there weren't internet forums around then or phone on radio programmes so the only grief we suffered was bumping into them at school/in the pub or at North London derbies so perhaps the interaction was much reduced then - we didn't even have mobile phones so no texting when when we go behind ! Life has moved on, I honestly believe that most decent Tottenham fans would prefer to see Arsenal successful over Chelsea because of the money, and if I'm honest (God Forbid) the final game of the season pits a straight dogfight between Chelsea and Tottenham for the title woudl I be desperate to see Tottenham lose ? Probably not...
If it was the board then wenger should have spent what money he did have on players who could make an immediate impact rather than ox and park who he refuses to play.
