Official Gooners Thread - A New Hope

[ONeill]

Thanks EG - That makes a lot of sense (unfortunately).

[Evil Genius]

I don't get why the Arsenal trust shareholders put the whole blame on Wenger for over-priced contracts.
"Few other leading managers would operate under such constraints, but they arise as a result of Wenger's decision to pay his fringe players wages commensurate to those of Gareth Bale or Luka Modric"

One of the reasons why Wenger stays at the Arse is because of the autonomy they allow him over all matters footballing, including player contracts.
Therefore if he is granting generous contracts to excessive numbers of average players, then a bloated wage bill is down to him. (For example, £50k p.w. to Djourou is reportedly what Modric was tied down to for 5 years at Spurs, until Chelsea's interest caused a significant renegotiation).

On another matters,
Arsenal made £46m pre-tax profits in 2008/9 and £56m in 2009/10, quite remarkable by EPL standards, maybe by any standards.

Remarkable, indeed, except that much of that profit was boosted by income from the ongoing redevelopment of the old stadium. There is still more to come, but since it effectively consists of selling off flats as and when they're built (and buyers can be found), that revenue must be finite.

Tbh, when it comes to explaining Wenger's policy towards signing and selling players etc, I have my own theory that like everyone else, he has actually been screwed by the Recession. For he is nothing if not a long-termist, and I suspect by far the most significant influence on his thinking and planning was the move from the Library to Cashburden Grows.

I don't know the exact figures, but I think I read somewhere that it was initially envisaged that the overall project would see the new stadium built and completely paid for, from the proceeds of the redevelopment of the old one, sometime by 2010(?).

Had that been the case, then the Arse would have been clear of debt by now, with the profits from 60k fans every fortnight going exclusively towards the player kitty. In which case, he could have hoped to have had enough of a budget to fend off the likes of Barca and Man. City etc and keep players like Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy etc, who were still only teenagers when the Stadium project was starting.

As we know, however, thanks to the Recession, it will be another 3 or 4 years(?) before the whole project is complete, so that Wenger is as yet unable to offer the £100k+ weekly wages needed to keep his existing star players, never mind sign new ones.

Of course, one might have expected the Board to step in and bridge the gap, except that it is hopelessly divided. That is, I suspect Kronke doesn't want to stump up an advance to Wenger, in case Usmanov subsequently wrests control from him and reaps the benefit. And Usmanov isn't going to fund new players until he has control.

Which means that in the light of the FFP Rules, along with the emergence of Citeh and THFC as genuine contenders, CL qualification is more vital than ever.

Well that's how I see it anyhow, and if I'm even a quarter right, it all spells potentially Big Trouble Ahead for old Arsene & Co.

To quote a Great Philosopher: "Oh Dear. How Sad. Never Mind." 

[Dinny Breen]

Interesting stuff EG if somewhat depressing reading..

[Main Street]

Arsenal are not the top spenders on wages down through the years, this season they are 4th in both the salary table and the league table.
Even if Wenger had total control in that player contract area,  he would match the spend with a final position of 4th place.

In general, there are some players' wages at the top level which are preposterous.

[gerry]

a strange move letting arhavin go on loan to Zenit St Petersburg at this stage of the season. 

Arshavin league stats in 2009 & 2010: 60 games, 20 goals, 15 assists. In 2011 & 2012: 38 games, 3 goals, 5 assists.

[Dinny Breen]

Fits in with the current theme of this thread - wages - Zenith will pick up his wage bill - probably around 100K per week

Getting a high earner like him off the wage bill leaves more room to pay RVP...

Still he was damn good in his first year and a half - all downhill since - will remember him most for the 4 goals in anfield...

[ONeill]

His goal v Barca was his most memorable.

[ONeill]

Anyone else trembling about Sunday?

[ONeill]

Interesting article though there are a couple of points I'd question.

Top of the pyramid: why Arsene Wenger has little blame in Arsenal's woes


As Arsenal once again come crashing out of dreamland into the reality that another season has been lost in disappointment, the annual discontent is getting louder for every passing year. Many supporters are once again calling for a managerial change, claiming Wenger has reached the limit of what he's capable of. But is Wenger really the main problem?

At the height of Wenger's career at Arsenal, a couple of interesting things happened. The first thing is the hubris installed in the board room after our historic unbeaten season, leading them to believe we could win anything with just some kids and a couple of pennies in the bank. The second thing is that a couple of years later, a board room rift resulted in the ousting of David Dein.

The role of David Dein
David Dein bought 16.6% of Arsenal in 1983, and slowly built his portfolio to 42% over the next eight years. Since then, he was our middle-man, our transfer broker and our fixer. He was the link between Wenger and the board, and he was the man you trusted to get things done. He was not only instrumental in bringing Wenger to the club, but also brokered the deals for Wright, Bergkamp, Vieira, Henry, Pires – the list is endless.

So when the board got rid of Dein, we lost one of the most important backroom staff members we ever had. His departure was also similar to our recent squad departures, in that no one was brought in as a proper like-for-like replacement. Dein's club responsibilities were delegated to others, just like our departed holding midfielder responsibilities have been delegated to other positions.

With this extra burden of having to get involved with transfer details and contract negotiations, Wenger has lost some of the focus on the pitch. With Dein as his go-to guy for negotiations and making things happen behind the scenes, Wenger was able to put more effort into nurturing the project initiated by the club as soon as the contracts were signed for building the Emirates Stadium – competing at the highest level while spending less than others.

It was more of a necessity than a choice to do so, as the cost of building a new stadium meant we had to look at alternative ways of putting together a football team. And so the mighty transition started, with Wenger looking to bring in new teenagers every other year or so, to build a continuous wave of talent breaking into the first team as the older generations dwindled in quality.

But with Dein leaving the club, we lost a ruthlessness not evident in the likes of Wenger, or any other backroom staff for that matter. That ruthlessness could have meant a difference in how Barcelona spent years tapping up our best player – it's doubtful Dein would've allowed such blatant disrespect from the catalans. It could also have meant the difference in both the kind of quality we could attract, and also the amount of money we'd spend on that quality.

Current tug-of-war causing trouble
When Dein left the club in 2007, he teamed up with Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov and Iranian investor Farhad Moshiri to form investment group Red & White Holdings – dedicated to buy as many Arsenal shares as possible to resume ownership of the club and get Dein back in the board room to usher Arsenal into a new era of success as the stadium debts were having less influence on the financial policy than in the early 2000′s.


Current chairman Peter Hill-Wood saw this as an aggressive form of revenge from Dein, and started looking for an alternative – someone who could compete with Dein and Usmanov for shares and keep Red & White Holdings away from the club.

That person was Stan Kroenke, a US businessman with billions to spend and a good track record in American sports. In other words; the only reason Stan Kroenke is the owner of Arsenal Football Club is because Peter Hill-Wood didn't want David Dein – one of Wenger's closest allies – to return to the club.

Meanwhile, Wenger is left to try and control several areas of responsibility when he should be focused on just one – getting the first team to play proper football.

Wenger trying to be the dealmaker has resulted in a couple of blunders – most recently the mix-up with AS Monaco over summer signing Park Chu-Young, who escaped his hotel room after a late plea to pack his things and head to London. Trying to be business-savvy and merciless towards the young men he's attempting to coach in both football and people skills just won't work. He is forced to wear too many hats, and at some point he needs another Dein – someone who can play the bad cop while Wenger is playing the good one.

State of Arsenal's finances
When the Arsenal Supporter's Trust met a couple of days ago, some worrying numbers emerged – the biggest one being that Arsenal's annual £50m transfer budget is 90% made up by Champions League money. A total of £45m disappears from the war chest if Arsenal fail to qualify for the Champions League, and that means we'll have £5m left for transfer fees, wages, add-ons, bonuses, etc.

We also revealed numbers on Twitter recently showing Arsenal purchased 40 players since the 2008-2009 season – but only six of those players have since left the club on a permanent basis. Of the 34 players left, only six or seven would be considered to be first XI starters. It all results in the fourth highest wage bill in the Premier League, despite the fact that Arsenal have an internal wage cap around £110-120k/week, and despite the fact that Man City and Chelsea have some players on £180k/week or more.

This summer will be quite interesting in terms of how our frugal board will approach the imminent need for success, especially if Arsenal finish below fourth place in the Premier League. Buying players isn't the ultimate answer, but strengthening the team with a couple of high class footballers in the right areas, all while trying to clear out the personnel we don't really need, could be the first step on a new path.

If Wenger will be here for that transition, no one knows. But one thing is for certain; Wenger is not the man to try and broker the deals and make things happen. He needs a right hand man, someone who's not afraid to get things done. From one perspective you might say that we have the same problems off the pitch as on it; inability to adapt and win ugly.

[ONeill]

Paul Merson pulls no punches

This game is Arsenal's cup final for this season.

In years gone by this hasn't been the biggest game for them - Manchester United and Chelsea were bigger - but all of a sudden this is the defining game of the year.

If they lose this game then I don't know where Arsenal are going. Three or four years ago they were a million miles ahead of Tottenham, but now Spurs can win this game and show that they're the ones way out in front.

Even if Arsenal win I very much doubt they can catch Tottenham in the table. They'd need to win five games on the trot to do that and I don't think this team is good enough to do that.

They're not a very good team; it's as simple as that. You can go around the houses with ways to be polite about it, but that's the issue. There were players in the team against AC Milan that shouldn't be playing for Arsenal. It's not fair to single individuals out, but there are guys that shouldn't be at the club, let alone playing in big European ties.

When David Dein was there, they were bringing in players like Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit. Those were class footballers in the top 20 in the world at the time. Now they're bringing in players that Fulham wouldn't take if they came up for sale tomorrow. That's the way it's gone.

You have to look at the manager. He hasn't won anything for seven years, so questions have to be asked. You've got to forget what he's done before - seven years ago I was still a footballer, but I don't think anybody would pick me now!

Arsene Wenger has done a great job for Arsenal, but time moves on and you've got to look at what's happening now. And what's happening right now is that they're falling way behind their arch rivals from up the road.

Sunday's game is bigger for Arsenal than it is for Tottenham and I can't remember the last time I said that. When I was at Arsenal I remember the whole first team being rested against Spurs because we had a cup final the next weekend. All of a sudden this <>is the cup final.

Tottenham will want to go there and rub their noses in it and Arsenal need to start well. If they fall behind in the first 15-20 minutes I think I'll turn the telly over because it could get really bad.

I don't think a draw will be much good to Arsene Wenger, but that's what I think will happen because I don't see them keeping Tottenham to nil.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1

[Dinny Breen]

This David Dein thing is appearing alot this week. Agenda?

Won't see the game, probably a blessing...

[ziggy90]

Bale is a diving b8astard but Arsenal's defence really is shite. Sagna just scores, no more than Arsenal deserve. Absorbing game it could go anyone's way now.

[ziggy90]

RVP equaliser, great strike.

[EC Unique]

Arsenal deserve the lead. Arry getting some abuse great game.

[Carmen Stateside]

Unreal! Happy for Walcott, he has took a lot of stick recently. Great viewing.