Here is an alternative league table based on the net transfer deals by points achieved - 20. QPR - £1,522,000-spent-per-point 19. Chelsea - £960,000-spent-per-point 18. Southampton - £797,561-spent-per-point 17. Liverpool - £668,852-spent-per-point 16. Aston Villa - £578,049-spent-per-point 15. Stoke City - £478,571-spent-per-point 14. Sunderland - £470,513-spent-per-point 13. Man United - £405,618-spent-per-point 12. West Ham - £396,739-spent-per-point 11. Newcastle - £324,390-spent-per-point 10. Reading - £239,286-spent-per-point 9. Norwich - £204,545-spent-per-point 8. Man City - £179,487-spent-per-point 7. Arsenal - £117,808-spent-per-point 6. West Brom - £0-spent-per-point 5. Tottenham - £18,055-profit-per-point 4. Everton - £28,825-profit-per-point 3. Wigan - £52,778-profit-per-point 2. Swansea - £140,217-profit-per-point 1. Fulham - £244,186-profit-per-point Who says MAF doesn't know what he's doing?
I've been thinking about this table for a day now. IMO, if you ever find youself wondering why Fulham are wallowing in the bottom half of the league again next season, this table will be your bellwether. MAF is not spending the money he should, and the team (and fans) suffer for it. There were a dozens of good players last season ripe for the taking, but instead we settled for more elder statesmen and castoffs from other teams. I'm not saying, of course, that Fulham should go out and spend like drunken sailors; there should be thought put into each purchase. But the fact that MAF is dicking around on Jol's contract is an indicator that the mind of the merchant is interferring with the mind of the team owner. MAF has to choose between being a merchant, or a team owner. He can't be both.
Hi DR, I'd like to respond to your view here, starting with a rhetorical question. What do you think of Arsenal's strategy over the past 5 yrs or so? I believe it to be a sensible, long-term, sustainable, FFP-proof approach. They have invested in infrastructure and avoided bidding wars or huge spending, whilst selling some "family silver" albeit for good prices. They have been threatened with falling out of the Champions League places as a result, but have stuck to their policy. This in the face of a high risk to some key income streams and the gross displeasure of the average PL supporter, who believes that their team owner should just spend untold amounts of money on the fan's current favourite purchase target. They seem to be making noises now about loosening the purse strings, having (largely) balanced the books over the emirates. ....so why am I reviewing Arsenal? (I'm not particularly fond of them). Well, I see some parallels - albeit at a slightly different level. We appear to be Europa League standard at our best (3 UEFA/EL campaigns in 12 seasons would have been beyond my wildest dreams even back in the 60s when we were last in the top flight). So regularly top half, with occasional forays into top 7/8, even challenging 4/6 as a target would seem to me a reasonable expectation. 3 seasons of the past 5 we have made par. One of the others we made a european final. This season we were poor (with various excuses, that we all know). We are stable, solvent, complying with FFP. We have signed possibly the best RB in the league; a good solid midfielder who must want to play for us after 12 months delay; and a CB who seems to be coveted by some heavyweight clubs. All signed before the transfer window even opens. We appear to be serious contenders for a very highly rated goalkeeper and a more attacking midfielder (Amalfitano). Our Academy U18 team was top of the league for the 3rd season in a row and won the final for the second in a row - suggesting that with Steve Wigley and others (who have track record with Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain etc) we may soon be bringing further youngsters through the ranks. This will build on some of those who have short-cut the system (Kaca and Frei....maybe Burn). These may not yet be superstars, but there is enough opinion on here to suggest that they are good players and MAY become very good. I for one, would not criticise Mohammed al Fayed for his decision making. I work in business, it's tough. He's good at this. Don't be fooled by the friendly, quirky old grandad routine. I believe that we may still have a season or two of tight purse strings. I also believe that in 3-5 years time we will still be here; moving steadily upwards back to those European nights and all standing up...coz we still believe. Ed Schein - an excellent MIT based Professor who has written for years on business culture - has recently shifted his focus from an internal organisational focus, to an external environmental focus. Compare the internal business culture (so far as we can know it) of Fulham, Arsenal and Qpr over the last couple of years - all have been challenged by an unforgiving, competitive environment. All arguably have "underperformed" in the eyes of their fans. Only one is seriously unstable. MAF understands this world (or is advised by someone who does), he takes risks - he must.
Good post tosh. It's easy for us to say we should be splashing the cash, but look at QPR! Good point, well made.
Time will tell. At Christmas,will we regular postees be singing the praises of frugal houskeeping, or wringing our hands through lack of it.
I suspect Al Fayed (scrap that - the people acting on his behalf- he is a very old man, I shook hands with him two years ago and honestly would not have been surprised if he had keeled over) have been cowed by the "swinging below the knees" owners who have ploughed £50m plus a season into the squad. When that starts happening you have two options (actually there are probably an infinite number but for conveniences sake, and to make a point, I'm going with two). You either whip your cock out and spunk some money or you accept your lot and focus on survival and balancing the books. We've gone for the latter and, given the size of our fanbase, I'm satisfied with that. If we want to get into the Europa League again then we need to spend big, if we want to stay in the prem and have an outside shot at the FA cup then £10-15m should do it, depending on what other clubs are doing (although now QPR are gone things aren't so crazy and inflated). I've got faith in Jol and Al Fayed to keep us stable, which is all we can really ask for. We are a small club, really. Our fanbase is limited and we have a neutral section in the ground. My expectations were raised at the start of this season by the prospect of 3D (Diarra, Dembele and Dempsey). Now - a top 12 finish next year, a decent cup run, and some signs of progress amongst academy players would keep me happy. I'm fully signed up to the new strategy, invest in the academy, plant some seeds and hope they grow into stars- sell them off and use the money to re-invest and strengthen the club. Over time, that way, we can grow. Otherwise we are betting everything on black and praying we dont have to walk home naked... like QPR
NO ! We need to ride out the storm. Watch the gamblers go to the wall (or Championship) and play a patient, long game (in business terms - not on the pitch).
I've just re-read Silky's original post, and I don't think he's actually advocating the 'spend big' approach, Tosh. You, he (and I) are all, I think, in agreement.
