Morning all.
On this day back in 1991, Ian Wright made his Arsenal debut in a league cup fixture against Leicester. He scored too! That’s what great strikers do….
Arsene Wenger wants to change Abou Diaby’s style of play. Instead of being the tall and powerful box to box player he was, (cough) he’s now set to become our big strong central defensive midfielder.
I try to transform him because he was injured. He has the physical potential to win the challenges, to face the game will be easier for him than to play back to goal with the injuries he had.
I try to develop him in a deeper role. I think he can do it, he can be very interesting, has all the attributes. He must want to love it as well because he’s more of an offensive-minded player.
Good luck with that then Arsene!
Stan Kroenke has taken £3 million out of the club to do what he ever he wants with it and he’s getting a lot of stick for it.
I have to say, I was shocked when I heard about it but after chatting with a good friend and Arsenal fan, perhaps what’s really wrong about this £3 million AFC bank withdrawal is not the money, but the timing and it’s quite insensitive.
In my opinion, the majority of Arsenal fans who live and breathe Arsenal simply want us to be a force again and instead of just making money year after year, we want to see a lot more spending of some of that money and with it, have a squad which is ready to compete properly at the highest level. To be able to give sides like Borussia Dortmund a run for their money, not just turn up and be rolled over with ease.
It’s all well and good making money and boast that we are in a great place financially but, this is football, it’s a sport and the object of the exercise is to be well prepared, well equipped and well organised to face the challenge ahead. But yet again, when the big clock struck to indicate the close of the summer transfer window, we were sold short.
I’m bitter and quite angry about that, I really am and I’m not a Season Ticket holder, I’m not an away fan who travels thousands of miles to cheer the team on either. I’m just a fan who gets to the Emirates as and when I can and that’s not often, certainly not often enough. For those who do all of that, the anger and frustration must run deeper….
Then, we hear Stan Kroenke has pocketed just £3 million. That’s not a lot of money in the footballing world and it’s certainly not a lot of money when we fans take into consideration how much Stan Kroenke has invested in becoming the major shareholder of Arsenal FC.
Don’t get me wrong, I wish Stan would sell up and leave as soon as possible because I think he lacks true ambition but I actually don’t think him taking money from the club is such a big deal. I just think it’s shocking timing after another poor summer transfer window.
Had the club not only made all the signings they did in the summer, which we have to admit were pretty darn good, but had we also signed that much needed top class central defensive midfield player, a classy central defender and perhaps a winger – maybe even a Mr Utility man too, we’d have been over the moon wouldn’t we?
Had that happened and then we heard the news about Stan Kroenke taking £3 million out of the club, would we be that pissed off?
I don’t think I would…..
But no, what happened in reality is the club had a poor summer as far as footballing transfers go and by that I mean the way the squad depth and strength remains glaringly fragile.
And of course, the season ticket prices were oiked up by 3% which added insult to injury and I’m sure you all know why!
Bad timing Stan, bad timing!
That’s if for another day, I’m off to get my tin hat on…..
Morning all!
Diaby ok, but…
I read AW interview after Tuesday match and he knows and recognize what’s is wrong and must be replace.
However, I think (and he knows) he hasn’t enought guns for change them.
Morning JM and all again…
Re Diaby, he’s off in the summer unless AW offers him a new contract and if that happens, gawd help us….
The problem with Stan is that although he has bought shares which have increased in value he hasn’t actually invested in the club. The American press are quick to assert that he doesn’t take a dividend from his American franchises and that raises the question :- Why here ? It was said that he wanted to raise the tickets by 8 % , was he after £8 million then ? Is this the start of an annual drain on the capacity of the club to make money ? How much will he take before the puppet board he has in place say enough is enough ?
Too many questions and no doubt the answers will be hidden at the next AGM as the questions to the board will be vetted beforehand.
This is bad business and management. This is obviously one of the reasons we are still far from winning trophies.
Good comment Potter and if it’s the start of something which becomes a regular thing then it’s not good at all.
Potter, i read through the article you linked last night, if things were to go, as suggested in the article, 3m will be regarded as peanuts.
Morning Rico, Potter and all. A very good post. The sugar daddy clubs may have dented Arsene’s achievements but they have also provided the perfect excuse for not really pushing ahead. Dortmund should have been an eye-opener. Was it just a dodgy result or did it expose the weakness at the heart of Arsenal? The question as to why Wenger has left us so short, especially in the vital areas is going to bite him in the backside quite soon I think and all we can be sure of is that there will be a host of ready-made excuses just as there will be as to why we didn’t sign Cesc or replace TV. Is Chambers a replacement RB or not? It’s a lot to load a 19 year old with if he is to cover Debuchy and Vermaelen, especially as Debuchy is out until next year. But it’s not new is it? Wenger has been sailing close to the wind for years now and during that time we have acquired an enormous wage bill but still have an unbalanced squad. Imagine a long term injury to Kos. It’s not hard is it. Oh yes, Monreal can play at CH. I forgot. As for Kroenke? He put a lot of money in so I don’t begrudge him taking some out but he doesn’t ‘get’ Arsenal and he certainly doesn’t understand us. The sooner he buggers off the better as far as I am concerned.
Morning Adam, thanks.
Well said. Totally agree regarding Chambers, one minute he’s TV’s replacement, the next Debuchy’s. This clearly indicates to me that the manager has totally lost all that he once had.
As for Kroenke, the sooner he pushes off the better. As you say, he hasn’t a clue about Arsenal, if he had, he wouldn’t have offered a manager who doesn’t equip the squad well enough another 3 years.
Morning all what was paid to Kroenke was not a dividend because if it was all share holders would have got a payment.
To my mind it is worse than a dividend it’s a payment to a Kroenke company for services in the broadband area who’s to say they provide the best value for money our the best service.
And all this stuff now about Diaby. AW says he can’t do what he once was able to because of injury and his age so he’s going to turn him into a deep lying midfielder, one who will save our season.
Jeeze, the poor bloke hasn’t played for something like 500 games, plays a couple of under 21 matches, made it through an hour on Tuesday and now he’s set to be our saviour..
It smacks of utter desperation….
I don’t really understand your comment Joe..
Diaby will be a success at DM,he’s so compose,assured and agile.A̶̲̥̅♍ always feel with confidence when he has †̥ђƺ ball on his feet.
Gj, Broadband and broadcasting, i might be wrong,if he were to take a dividend, all shareholders including Usmanov would also receive a payout. Stan certainly won’t want money going Usmanov, gets his money through his media company, negates paying money to anyone.
Nice to see Hansen making a prat of himself on the golf course…
Sukky, I don’t remember that Diaby you describe at all… lol
Sorry Rico
The money 3m is paid from one Kroenke company to another Arsenal pays for broadband and other electronic services from a company owned by Kroenke.
My point was that who’s to say we couldn’t get these services for better value from another non Kroenke company.
But if you look at it this way Kroenke gets money from Arsenal but other share holders don’t.
That’s what I was trying to say BT 62
Sorry Joe, that was me being thick, I understood after reading again..
Diab..olical! Toons4-Goons4! Still can’t forget Diabys contribution to that scoreline.
Hi Rico and all.
Wenger’s comments about Diaby are typical of the way he operates. Trying to make do and mend rather than buying what’s needed. We are as usual acting like paupers instead of the way a club with our income and resources should behave. Thankfully, although regretfully, I have put my last penny into the coffers!
Hi Everyone and thanks for the post Rico.
We shouldn’t even be debating about Diaby being a saviour lol. If there was a plan or a bit of common sense at the club we’d be debating whether Hummels/Mert deserves to start along side Kos or how William Carvelho would fair in his first NLD. Unfortunately that’s not the case and a win at the weekend is a must.
By the way who’s this Diaby bloke everyone one is talking about who had a good game Tuesday night. D)
I remember when uncle Stan joined the Board there was much talk and speculation as to why. I also recall the tie up with Broadband was one of the reasons for his investment. It seems the chickens are coming home to roost, if the linked article from ‘she wore a yellow ribbon’ is to be believed, and I think it is.
The upshot. We will be/are going to be stuck with Stan the man for the ‘duration’ and then we will have to suffer his kid and watch them both leeching money from the club, big style, and all done absolutely legally, so long as they pay the tax bill! Millions and millions of pounds they will make in the future. Why would they ever sell their share whilst the cash cow keeps milking!
We will know when the Premier league bubble is about to burst, it wil be when they sell up and ship out to the Great Plains of the good ol’ U.S of A!
In the meantime of course, they will continue to fund the club,quit handsomely or rather. They will make enough available for us to continue to make 4th spot a regular occurrence just to keep their investment profitable. It just begs the question, to what extent is wenger involved in the future of our club? And what financial incentives have been offered to him to maintain the current status quo? Also what ‘package’will he be given when he finally retires?
🙂
Me neither Asnl.
Hi Bob, you and me both, they won’t get a penny from me,not even at Christmas… Massive club behaving like a Championship one…
Hi Nickie, I make you right there…
Wavy, I think the fans will step in before then and both Stand and Jnr Kroenke will be forced out of the club.
Rico I bought my first Arsenal t shirt this month my first in 5 years.
But this didn’t stop my family buying me Arsenal merchandise over the years. 😉
Stan doesn’t deserve your money Joe..
Wavy, exactly The Syrup has maintained he is at Arsenal for the long term. any bloody wonder…..Rico, not even a card at xmas for Stan, that’s harsh…lol
Not sure they will if we keep on winning trophies just luck at man utd
ASNL
lol I see you’ve posted the exact same comments on here and le grove to see what sorta reaction you get. Nice one
Gj, i got the away one bought for me, i must say it’s bloody good for a £10 fake…lol
Someone posted this link on HH the other day – if you want an insight into Kroenke’s (possible) long game, its well worth a read. Sorry I cant remember who to credit posting this first. http://shewore.com/2014/09/24/what-is-stan-kroenkes-long-game/
Bt, I can think of a few things I’d like to give Kroenke, but a Christmas card is not one of them… lol
Roger, i think it was Potter.
Bt62 can I get one on line
Now now Rico Christmas is a time of peace and love to ALL men 😉
Or women
Gj, i’ll check for you, a mate got it for me, i know the site but when i looked first time they were not listed…
BT 62 thanks
Adam you say he put money in and it’s not a problem if he takes some out. However as I see it all he has done is buy shares and like any other shareholder he lives and dies on the shares performance. Just like with my shares in Aviva I can’t drain them for resources , he should not be able to drain The Arsenal for theirs. As Joe has pointed out what he is doing is gaining a dividend by the back door. It would be interesting to know how many quotes the club got for the services that he has invoiced however I suspect that this information will never come to light.
Joe, not all, honest…
Do all the big cub owners take money out of their club or is what Kroenke has done unique?
I still maintain that had we signed a few more top class players in the summer, the £3 million he’s just taken wouldn’t feel half as bad…
Potter, would i be wrong in thinking, if he takes 3m through his media company, would that not increase the company value/profitability and thus increase the share value? In simple terms a double whammy for Stan or i’m i looking at it in to simplistic terms?
Wenger told him to do it….
That wouldn’t surprise me Lee… lol
Off now for a while, catch up later…
Diaby as DM Typical Wenger not willing to buy an exp and tested Dm Reason we cant compete with our rivals and fall short when it really matters away games to city united chelsea and pool
Potter. I get that but Arsenal don’t pay a dividend and I doubt Stan invested because he loves the club. If I had put 100’s of millions into a business I would expect a return. I think he hasn’t factored in how the profile of Arsenal supporters is changing though as more STs will be sold and then released after a shorter and shorter period. I wonder what the supporter base will be like in a decade when a lot of the core long term supporters have stopped going for one reason or another. Still he has the TV audience to concentrate on I suppose. The football I grew up watching at Arsenal and playing on Highbury Fields died a long time ago. Where it is going is anyone’s guess.
Afternoon All,
Wengers been found out again………has’nt he.
Everyone in the whole wide world told him to get a holding midfielder year on year,
Now we know why he never…
His been waiting 6 seasons to turn Diaby..yes Diaby into the new Paddy.
Explained…Surprised or what.
Fred are you doubting the messiah? FFS the happy clappers will all over you…..
Afternoon all….. Slow news day …. as re: Kroenke – he could take out a hell of a lot more if he wanted to – in fact he could even double his money or re mortgage the club for his own ends… scary really…
As for Diaby? I’ve wasted enough oxygen on him.
Diaby = NURSE
Diaby = drain on Arsenal resources!
Diaby = good luck to him! Because end of the season he is out of contract .
Diaby = an Arsenal player who we should support I’d rather our money went to him than Kroenke.
I’d rather it went to neither Joe….
Evening folks…
Looks like Kroenke got 3m last year as well this is really taking the piss.
As ever we disagree on Diaby 😉
Diaby can’t be defended imho Joe, even when fit he was average….
Oh, apart for one game against Liverpool…
Rico, show some compassion for the needy..lol
Reports are saying he had a good game last night in the DM role last night that included one mazey run.
🙂 Bt, not a chance when it comes to very needy….
The headed goal he scored at old toilet was Abou solutely magnificant! And the reason we lost!
I should love it, just love it, if he won PFA player of the season. That would be a turn up! It would also mean he remained fit for the rest of the season, so it’s not very likely, is it?
Give the man a ‘break’ he probably has been to hell on a handcart and back again!
Joe, not even Wenger said he had a good game….
Well i’ave read reports on the match also he got very good revues on the Tuesday club.
Wavy, you are a hoot.. 😉
Perhaps you have only read the good ones Joe.. lol
I thought he looked exactly what he is , A player coming back from as long lay off . He was a bit ponderous and didn’t really take the game by the scruff of the neck. Too early for the first team.
Same as he was for the under 21’s against Villa Potter. A game when had he truly been ready, he would have controlled. But he didn’t….
Exactly .
Yep, and now AW thinks he can turn him into something special just so he can walk on water when it all pans out….
But it won’t, will it……
Rico like me you did not see the match or any highlights maybe I did only read the match reports where Diaby gets a fair go. 😉
I listened to Nigel Winterburn Joe, and I don’t think he was overwhelmed…
But even if Diaby had had a good game, he hasn’t played for 500 matches, and I doubt he’ll manage the next five…
Thank goodness he’ll be gone in the summer!
Or will he lol
Aw would need to find his magic hat again, if Diaby is ever going to be a DM….or win the PL for that matter………..
History would suggest that’s a big fat ‘no’ Joe!
Magic hat Bt, he’d need more than that to turn Diaby into a fit player, let alone one who can make a difference….
Rico, he’s the master of the Illusion….lol
Diaby or Wenger Bt? 😉
I would say AW,..Rico..lol
I thought you might Bt… lol
Rico, there’s no fooling you..lol
I’m off now, ‘For the love of dogs’ is all set ready to watch.
Night guys….
Enjoy Rico….
Evening all.
Diaby….well, really, Wenger needs to make the most of him so why not give this a go?
We have him.
We are paying his wages.
Why???
That’s a different topic, and one we’ve all spoken of 1000 times so let’s get last that for now and hope this experiential works because if it does, it could be a massive success.
What chance if it working?
Again, who cares right now as we have no other options, and yet again, that’s a different topic for another day.
One thing we know is when fit, the guy is as good as anything in the League.
Come January, Wenger must ignore his own beliefs and sign some bloody talent, and we all should pray we are atill in the running then.
Yes, he has turned would could have and should have been our best ever window into another in a long line of “nearly there” periods.
We are so close.
Hawaii is lovely, by the way 🙂
Scott, hope your having a great time mate, will you get to see the NLD?
Here we are, September not quite finished, so over three long months to go before the New Year and all I’m reading about is the effin’ January Window, as if that is gonna be some panacea to all our misgivings over this past summers transfer activity…
You know, as if Wenger has ever done serious business in January, well not for a long long he hasn’t. So what makes anyone think that this January is gonna be any different???
Didn’t the last pantomime, 9 months ago, teach us anything…
Kim Kallstrom and all that jazz, when we’d been mugged off with rumours of Draxler.
It ain’t gonna be any different this January, despite all the shit on NewsNow.
Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!
Night All…
Where’s Wavy?
BT, yes, I will be watching 🙂
Kev, he will be slaughtered if he doesn’t do business, but he probably won’t.
Kim kallstrom was not all that useless,at least he scored a cool penalty in our shootout agaisnt Wigan.Wenger foresaw that,and he brought him on loan.Credit to Wenger there…lol
Morning all..
The bloke’s a creep with no discernible personality.
Myles Palmer on Stan Kroenke.
Good old Myles…
No mirrors in your house Myles?
Takes one, to know one….
Morning All
Fergie borrowed them all Lee…
who is happy we didnt buy Draxler for 35m now? I am. He is one for the future, but not that price. For 35 m I would like players the quality of Alexis, who actually scores goals.
Morning Rico and all.
Myles Palmer? I wonder if he is still convinced we have signed Cesc? What a complete and utter name-dropping, delusional moron. I could go on.
Morning Kev.
Draxler and Alexis would be good though Roger..
Morning Adam…
Please do Adam, I love it when you’re on a roll! 😉
New post up now…
Draxler has gone off the boil last season… lets see what happens with that one… he wasnt the player we needed to win the title last season – we needed a striker last January and got… Kim