So in the blue corner, we have Stewart Robson – who came through the Arsenal youth system and played at Highbury from 1981 to 1986 but supports West Ham. He’s recently branded Wenger ‘a dictator in many ways’ and claimed that there was a growing rift between the manager and his assistant Steve Bould. He’s also suggested that Wenger is signing quality players but then ruining them with his training methods.
Arsene Wenger, because he has got a massive ego, because he’s a dictator when it comes to Arsenal Football Club, he’s not allowing Steve Bould to do any work.
He’s got a reputation for developing players. Maybe he did that six, seven years ago. He’s actually putting players backwards now.
I’ve seen Gervinho play for the Ivory Coast before he came to Arsenal, he was a good player. I saw [Andrey] Arshavin play for Russia and Zenit St Petersburg, he was a good player. I’ve seen [Aaron] Ramsey play for the Welsh Under-21s, he’s a good player.
Arsene Wenger is not doing enough on the training field. He’s not coaching the players, they have got no game strategy and, because he won’t let anyone else do it, Arsenal are going backwards and some of their players are going backwards.
Then….
In the red corner, we have Ray Parlour, Arsenal player for fourteen years and fan for life! He was part of the squad which won the Premier League and FA Cup three times before reluctantly joining Middlesbrough in 2004.
Stewart Robson has got his own opinions, but I played under Arsene Wenger and thought he was a great manager when I was there. He was always one of those managers you could talk to.
Arsene Wenger is one of those sort of guys who will always try to stick up for his players. We would have meetings after games and it would all come out in the dressing room, which (is how) it should be. It is a private matter between the players, the manager and the staff.
It was quite embarrassing to lose to Bradford, there is no doubting that, but I think he is one of those guys who does criticise people behind the scenes instead of in the press.
After the shocking home defeat to Swansea, the redtops reported that Steve Bould had torn into the players after the game, holding nothing back but Arsene Wenger was quick to deny any such incident.
If that dressing down did take place, why did Wenger deny it I wonder?
Something does seem strained between the Arsenal manager and his assistant, nearly every time the camera goes onto them during a game, there is absolutely no communication going on between them and that can’t be good. Of course some people will say that the television camera only pick and choose their moments to show but having spoken to Arsenal fans who go to every match, the camera isn’t lying! We don’t even see Bould being used like the punch bag that Rice was so often during matches which weren’t going to plan.
Maybe the simple answer is that it’s a new partnership and it needs time to gel. Maybe it needs a ‘second season’! I jest of course, Bould isn’t new to our club, he’s been there a long time now both as a player and a coach.
Parlour certainly thinks it can work:
Steve Bould was a real character in that dressing room area, he’s one of those sort of players that points a finger at people if you weren’t doing your jobs, and I’m sure he’s not changed.
People will speculate very quickly about training bust-ups and whatever, but whenever I’ve been there Steve Bould’s been next to Arsene Wenger and they’ve been as good as gold.
But if that is the case that is a problem, of course.
Just like most things when it comes to Arsenal, I haven’t got a clue who to believe any more but Robson is right about one thing. Arshavin was good when we signed him!
But Parlour had the most sensible thing to say and that’s about the deadwood we have in the squad.
He needs to get the dead wood out, he needs to get rid of people that don’t want to be there – the likes of Marouane Chamakh and Andrei Arshavin. They have got so many players who are on about £75,000 a week. They need to get them out.
Arsene Wenger has to look at his players and really up the quality, because he has lost some unbelievable players in the last few years.
Amen to that Romford, Amen to that……..
Finally, it seems Lady Nina is perhaps wishing she hadn’t sold her shares to the American:
If making money was the motivating factor, surely there are better ways. Football is a business of passion and SK has no passion for AFC. He shows he cares very little. Why he wanted to be part of AFC I do not know.
That is what she has recently tweeted according to reports.
She is right of course, but then had she done her homework, she would have known what his intentions were….
That’s enough from me for another day……..
I hope Usmanov comes in quicker and sooner rather then never!!
Morning all
Parlour said it all when he points to the deadwood, who bought them and who is supposed to motivate them to play for The Arsenal? Not Bould that’s for sure. It’s the managers job to pick the team and get the players motivated enough to beat the likes of Bradford. if he cant do that he needs to go.
As for Robson he is not saying anything new so I don’t take much notice of him. Other bloggers had been saying it for years and only now is the truth starting to sink in, the club is only a part of a rich soul less American sports tycoons portfolio nothing more and Wenger and the board dutifully carry out his work. Increasing the value of the investment off the back of fans.
Morning all…
Hi Scott in responds to your question from the previous post:-
Piers Morgan is now the Larry King of CNN. He is a British ex-journo whose parents supported the scums but he says he decided to support Arsenal from the youth onwards.
If you have heard of the leveson inquiry in the UK he is allegedly a culprit, but I guess if you are put on the front of GQ magazine in a fellowcraft degree pose you are immune from certain things.
My major beef with him is he published faked photographs of British soldiers abusing Iraqis in the Daily Mirror which put a lot of soldiers at risk and he was sacked and disgraced for it.
Telling of al,l most of the press support the scums with a few supporting man u that explains why they would rather talk about us being 2 points away from top 4 than talk about their clueless club who could not even compete with WHU for a stadium…
Morning all…
Deadwood out, including Kroenke and any other person who doesn’t put the club before their own pocket…..
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has dismissed reports of a rift between himself and his assistant Steve Bould as “lies”.
Arsenal’s season hit a new low midweek when they were knocked out of the Capital One Cup by League Two Bradford.
Reports surfaced that there are problems in the working relationship between Wenger and his backroom staff.
But Wenger said: “We are a united staff team. We cannot control lies which are written.
“What is important for us now is the future, how we do in the Premier League, the Champions League and FA Cup, not whether we are out of the Capital One Cup or not.
“We all look to the future.
“I believe we have a strong squad and it is up to them to show I am right.”
Certainly agree with the last sentence. If they don’t, maybe AW should have a re-think about his squad…
Another lie being sold to the masses is that AA23 is being played in the wrong position!
He has never ever played as a 2nd striker for either St. P’burg or for Russia. He has always played on the LHS in a free role where he has not been required to track back.
And stats will show you that AA23 has completed less than 65% of any match he has played in for club and if he has, he’s been sporadic as in the Euros. 3 or 4 moments of brilliance each half and then he goes missing. The issue is as AW said before he bought him and his agent responded to, he does not work hard enough so he is not worth 20M St P’burg asked for.
And on Gerv, his style of play is nothing new, he has always frustrated even in ligue 1. French correspondent Phillipe Auclair even said so in July 2011.
http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/drivetime/blog/2011-07-06/auclair-gervinho-looks-bargain-arsenal
Stumbled upon this:
Since the beginning of last season(2011-2012)
For Premier League
35 matches with Ramsey in the starters
14W, 8D, 13L
16 matches without Ramsey in the starters
12W, 4D, 0L
Without Ramsey, we are unbeaten.
The data of last season only is more astonishing
28 matches with Ramsey in the starters
12W, 6D, 10L
Winning percentage 42%
Losing percentage 36%
10 matches without Ramsey in the starters
9W, 1D, 0L
Winning percentage 90%
Losing percentage 0%
Good read as usual, we’re never let down by the writers of HH.
If its money they want then stop the gravy and hopefully the Yank will F*** O**.
Honestly I am hoping the next few results are poor. I really want change and sooner the better. I want Bould as our no 2 and to be honest I would love him to be a no2 to Pep even if it means waiting for June for Pep and Bould finishes the year as temp boss.
Rubbish Esp with all due respect. He did not play in the Swansea game but we lost and that is just one example in the last 3 matches we have played…
Just saying I stumbled upon it… Ramsey is an awful player none the less.
Totally disagree rico. Its not up to the squad, we have seen the same problem year on year and the squad is unrecognizable from 3 years ago but STILL the same problems exists. It’s down to the manager, his training methods and motivation skills….or lack of.
If i was Usmanov i’d be working overtime right now on my PR machine – Wenger clearly thinks the squad is good enough and no one will tell him otherwise end of…
with the board under fire it’s time to attack! I agree with TT and have said before, you could give Wenger the 11 best in the world and he still loose his grip of it now.
Re Lady Nina , I wonder if Stan has paid for them yet and whether Usmanov is seeing this as a way in. He seems to be courting Henry too at the moment and that brings the Dein dynasty back into play.
Regarding Robson bit like the Basil Fawlty quote about Sybil :- Specialist subject stating the bleeding obvious.!! All he is doing is regurgitating the comments on many blogs and giving it a supposedly insiders twist.
Good morning all,
Same old, same old, ex-player with a grievance airs his moans on Talk Shite and everybody thinks it’s gospel.
It sounds as though Lady Nina was sold a bill of goods by Kroenke, she accepted his offer when there was an extra £12.6 million on the table from Usmanov. There is now, by common consent, a perception that Silent Stan was not the best option, but appeared to be preferable to the Russian oligarch at the time. Maybe David Dein was right in who he sold out to.
There is virtually nothing that we the fans can do about the ownership issue so we have to grin and bear it.
ozgunner10 says:
December 14, 2012 at 10:34 am
He is staying quiet because he got slaughtered in the summer when Red and White holdings issued a statement after RvP.
Can’t really blame him for keeping his powder dry as there are still so many AKB dinosaurs roaming around.
He is there though and nothing that happens at The Arsenal escapes his notice. Watch this space he will sooner or later make his move and I for sure hope it’s sooner.
We’ll have to agree to differ there TT, each player can play better, we have seen them do so…
Don’t get me wrong though, the manager needs to be able to get the best from them too
Rumour is Lady Nina was treated very badly and not really given much choice – shares had been in the family a long time and she certainly didn’t need the money – All part of the control game we now have i guess
Thanks Lawrence, I certainly want SK out, not sure on Pep in though 😉
ozgunner 10,
Quote “with the board under fire it’s time to attack” How precisely?
Oz – does Nina really have grounds to moan, she sold out and it seems now she wishes she hadn’t or maybe she wishes she had sold to AU.
Wonder where we would be had she made a different choice…….
was more humour than actual fact JW – I do think we’ll see an awful lot more of the Russian now though
JW – it is the same old comments from ex staff but their is seldom no smoke without fire…
Why would Robson make up so mcuh stuff just to have a go a club he doesn’t even support….
ozgunner 10,
Don’t believe all the rumours, Lady Nina remains an Honorary Vice President of the club.
not sure Rico, but it is common knowledge she was well pushed into selling and it was made clear she wasn’t wanted rightly or wrongly
TT says He is there though and nothing that happens at The Arsenal escapes his notice. Watch this space he will sooner or later make his move and I for sure hope it’s sooner.
Spot on, and I don’t think it will be long….. Before the summer is my hunch..
which gives her precisely nothing JW – A PR title from the board nothing more
Rico,
I don’t think he is necessarily making it up, just regurgitating what he has read elsewhere. What access does he have to the dressing room?
I don’t doubt she was pushed Oz, just reckon she wishes she had sold to someone who cares about our club and it’s future….
But it’s only recently he left JW, prior to then he was involved in the club and often on the official website. I am sure he would have had access to certain players etc.
People talk and we all know you men like to gossip 😉
Don’t get me wrong though, I am no fan of Robson, bit of a big headed twurp in my opinion….
Rico,
If Kroenke doesn’t want to sell what “move” can Usmanov make?
Hi JW, another voice of reason.
Hi Rico, a fine post as always and I mean that. 😉 We disagree on certain points but we also agree on most things ehh?
Lady Nina, like I said last night every single one of the board members are snakes who claim to love Arsenal but will sell to a thief if they could. Didn’t Stan say he has always supported Arsenal too in 2007? And was it not DD who brought Stan to Arsenal first?Most fans choose to ignore the facts staring at them in their faces but AU’s letter said it all. The board never cared about Arsenal. They wanted to build the stadium and then sell it off to who ever paid the highest. And I will always say this if we did not have AW in charge we will be like Aston Villa.
Everyone has a price JW and we are lucky enough to have a man waiting in the wings to make such an offer – hopefully he will.
And the more the pressure builds, SK will hopefully want to just walk away with a nice profit.
After all, that’s clearly what he wants…
But yes JW, If SK doesn’t want to sell, then we can do nothing…
In 2007, here’s what Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood said about Stan Kroenke and the American’s desire to take over Arsenal:
“[The boardmembers have] no intention of selling to some stranger” and would be “horrified to see the club go across the Atlantic.”
“These [boardmembers] love Arsenal, they don’t need the money and they have no interest in selling,” Hill-Wood said. “The club has been run for the benefit of supporters, staff and players, and the shareholders would prefer to stay in control than sell out to some stranger without the years of support they have.”
And here’s what Hill-Wood said today:
“Mr Kroenke, although relatively new to Arsenal, has shown himself to be a man who values and respects the history and traditions of this very special Club that we cherish. We are confident that he will be a safe custodian of its future.”
Thanks Ts and its good to disagree 😉
But, like most fans, I can only comment on how I feel and what my views are.
Two faced twurp! PHW I mean of course….
Wenger is not helping the share price for real buyer anymore JW – we are asset stripped of world class draw cards now, that has a knock on effect as you will see with upcoming sponsorship deals at other clubs – Kron is about money, loaned the dosh to get in and doesn’t give an ass about anything other than profit – He has Gaz, Law and Wenger working away making the profits but clearly at a price, i do think the net worth of the side is the lowest its been for some years now. Fancy stadium, nice facilities but can’t win anything, that has a global income effect mate
Got to pop off again, back shortly….
Rico,
Kroenke has never, ever sold a single share in any of his sports holdings. He is in no need of any extra money, his businesses are all thriving, his wife is independently even more wealthy than he is. I am guessing that the criticism passes high over his head and nothing that happens at Arsenal will impact on his reputation in any meaningful way.
Why would he sell?
hahaha Rico, he’s good when you need the nodding head in the boardroom though – some say he only repeats what he hears… interesting
which one of his sport holdings are thriving exactly JW? They are in the main, in ruts, Check the fans forums – ruts created by him and his lack of investment interest – the USA brigade will tell you he gains control and shuts off – sound familiar? Some of his player trades in the US were dam right criminal for clubs trying to go forward. I agree on his Walmart Mrs but don’t help us any – I think the shares will fall, he will bail is my tip and hope
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is willing to offer Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao a £10m-a-year contract to bring him to Stamford Bridge.
We have £70M in the bank so why is AW not going to outbid Roman. Lets just offer Falcao £15M a year he can’t surely say no to us. And when he comes he has bionic body parts so he would never get injured or lose form. He is 26 y.o. A perfect age, if he stays with us for 3 years he will be nearly 30 years and he would maybe have won us 3 trophies too. Ehh, but the £45M salary plus the £46M buy out clause means nothing. Arsenal is a big club we should be buying such players like that. We have always done. Its only AW who is scared to spend money because he gets a bonus.
Before that frenchman came we never sold any of our players. AW is clueless how can Guardiola the better manager say he takes inspiration from such a loser.
Lets bring in Pep and match his £10M a year salary because he will win us trophies and he is a tactician who has a plan B unlike AW who never has one. .Peps plan B is ehhh, Messi score for me please! Pep is so good that when he meets Jose his tikka takki football loses out and when Barca meet Celtic they were so good that they allowed the Scotts to nearly beat them on both occasions.
Pep only spent over £100M on players and none of them played more than 1 season at Barca and where sold again at a combined lose of over £80M. But it does not matter it made the fans so happy for a short while all their bills got paid.
How can a club that has gone 7 years without a trophy and has a net spend of less than £20M over 16 years still keep such a manager?
Why don’t we bring in ‘arry to manage Arsenal he has won a trophy in the last 7 years but wait he made the club bankrupt but that does not matter because he is a motivator. He is such a motivator that in over 30 years of managing he has won only 1 trophy and he won the trophy with 4 players coached previously by the useless AW…
If it was not for the England job he would have won the league last season. Even though he was 10 points ahead of us with 3 months to go, the best motivator could not motivate the team that had a far superior squad to finish above the useless frenchman who has sold all our best players the fairy bought and has pocketed the money…
So why are the IRS and SOCA not probing AW but poor old ‘arry….
ozgunner,
Since there is no market in the club shares, there is effectively no share price.
Global income is more effected by global visibility. That’s why Emirates has just renewed it’s sponsorship at a big increase and for the long term. The upcoming kit manufacturer deal will bring about another large increase in revenue.
There’s no such thing as bad publicity.
Oz the value of the club is so low we have the 6th highest revenue in world football? The value is so low Emirates allegedly gave us the best sponsorship ever?
Just asking… ?
tsGh,
I trust your last comment (11.21) was written with your tongue firmly in your cheek.
According to Forbes’ latest Rich List, Stan Kroenke is ‘only’ worth $2.9 billion but the Swiss Ramble reported that he took some time to pay off the shares he’d previously purchased from Danny Fiszman which indicates that either he might be cash shy.There’s also the careful language in the statement issued by the dot com that KSE has “optioned” Fiszman’s shares instead of purchased them outright as he has done with Lady Nina.
He’s also just purchased the St. Louis Rams for $450m in August and for him to buy out the remainder of Arsenal he’d have to find an additional $650m or so. Again, I can’t stress enough that the most important thing that Stan Kroenke can do for Arsenal is to NOT load the club with debt.
The second thing he could do is increase Arsenal’s profits through a combination of things such as stadium utilization and foreign tours. Some of this has already started as Young Guns Blog reported that Arsenal are sending a U-19 team to participate in the Dallas Cup here in the States. There have been rumors for the last year or so that the board are finally going to break Arsene’s resistance to taking the club further than Austria during pre-season. Just to put that in perspective, a tour of the USA would bring the money to buy one Gary Cahill or two actually good center halves.
The other thing that Stan Kroenke is well known for is exploiting opportunities to make money across his businesses. As owner of the Rams (NFL) and the Colorado Rapids (MLS) and now as owner of Arsenal I would fully expect him to host tours of those American clubs at the Emirates Stadium. That might seem like a wild prediction and maybe it is, but the point is that he will be looking for cross-partnerships and ways to use the Emirates stadium in order to generate more profits.
Yes Mr JW…lol
Just trying to put things in perspective for the few who are not biased but are open to entertain facts. 😉
That is Theo Walcott gone!!!
https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/279519344432660480
Morning Emma
https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/279519613866348544
Morning all.
Robson is bitter, but he does raise some valid points. Good players have become shadows of their former selves.
Bit late to raise doubts now lady nina. Thanks a lot.
Kroenke out. Usmanov in.
My bad, Goodmorning , tsgh, rico, JW and all gunnersphere
I guess we wont see diaby for a very long time
https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/279520889333243904
Oh dear, as Abu Dubai said himself in July he is in the last chance saloon. I bet he could turn out to be a very good coach for us in future…
Wenger must have regretted putting his eggs on diaby’s basket(fitness). Shouldn’t have sold Song when he knew there was not going to be a replacement
tsGH,
I think the pre-season tour dam has already burst, China, Singapore and Malaysia have punched a hole in that particular structure. The stadium use could be increased, one option would be to stage some of the Rugby World Cup games there, but I think that has already been ruled out.
I do think a hint of realism is necessary and certainly some fans are living in Cloud Cuckoo Land. 😀
There is a comment from Vertonghan in the Telegraph, he chose Spuds because Wenger wanted him to play the defensive mid-fielder role, as per Manu Petit.
Good morning Emma. 🙂
Gotta go! Back later.
Quite a revelation seeing lady nina vs tim payton clashing on twittersphere yesterday.. Nina confessed we have sold our soul to the devil(STAN)
they are all liars Emma. She is complianing because he has not received her full payments from Stan imo…
i missed that emma – was good reading i assume?
the picture is very clear – its a closed shop – 3 maim men and Law – gunna take a crow bar to move any of them
the stadium use started with the Brazil matches at the Emirates, and renting out Colney for other national teams to practice there. I am just waiting for him to host a spice girls concert then we know we have seen it all.
People say AW is a doormat or in bed with them but did he not defer the far east tour until 2 years ago because he said it would affect his season preparation? Guess what since the tour started we have had 2 consecutive worse starts in history…
So AW has all the power he wants at the club but he could not stop the tour?lol
What was the deal with how many pre season friendliest we had this year? To my memory we didn’t have many, how are the new players supposed to gel within the new team?!
Why do people come out of the woodwork to kick a team when it’s down, even when it’s their former team? Does it makes them feel better afterwards? Lots of disappointing, negative comments coming from that lot. Not only is it unhelpful, it’s completely unwarranted.
The fact is even when we were winning trophies the media and ex-players still had the ‘but he only plays foreigners’ stick to beat AW with. Every season since 1999 we have lost a star. From Anelka through to Hleb to VP. In all cases until the flamini departure, DD had a hand in it so are fans just being fans and lying to themselves?
That the pre season trips are in some way responsible for the poor starts is the biggest load of rubbish I have heard in a long time.
it’s down to the manager to get a team ready for the coming season and if Arsene cant do what Ferguson et al have been doing for years namely taking their clubs on a trip around the world in some cases and still be able to compete then he should not be coming any where near the Arsenal. It’s a total load of horse manure that the two cant be combined.
Lewis because we had to travel to 4.5 different countries if you include the BFG doing the dance in Lagos…
TT- until this season Fergie has always had a poor start to the season so please take your bias hat off and look at the facts at hand.
TT – weren’t we in a position though days before the season where we had half the team in one part of the world and half in the other? I said at the time i thought the pre season was a nightmare and very badly planned – we even cancelled some games but then sent players on some kind of PR excise, amazing.
Kevin Strootman is rumoured to be a target for both us and Fergie!
A very good holding midfielder but at 22 y.o?
Bizarre moment for the BFG and co TS.
So many things are not right at the moment. Why should a fitness coach carry out a training session Pre-swansea when we have Steve Bould?
tsGH – it might be me but i think this kevin strootman is overrated. I watched ajax v psv and saw nothing special about him. He was anonymous just like Podolski always does
Pre-Bradford press conference
ts get your facts straight, manure have not ever under Ferguson’s reign had a start like we have for the last two years, and please before you accuse someone of being biased take a good long look in a mirror.
Ferguson complained years ago that these trips were interfering with the schedule he had at the time. Important thing here is he dealt with it by changing his approach. Manure has almost always come into its own in the new year under Ferguson’s tutelage. That’s how he sets his team up, to have a strong end run and make sure that he keeps close enough to the leaders in the first half.
Manure did not always go on these long voyages and still the same pattern was followed. As much as I dislike the man I will gladly hand to him that when it comes to running a team he beats Arsene hands down. He is not afraid to change if change is needed, I would not be surprised if Arsenes training scedule’s were the same now as they were 3 years ago when he was still taking the team to Austria
You have a point there Emma. He is more a Van Bommel than a Capoue or Martinez. As I asked though at 22 is he better than what we already have?
ozgunner it was Wenger decision at the time not to take the whole team to some of the trips. And yes I agree that it was poorly organised by the club. The game in Nigeria had to be cancelled because of time constraints and why that could not been seen at the time it was agreed is beyond me.
The club is badly run at the moment both on the pitch and off and it is not all Arsene’s fault, far from it.
And good luck everyone I’m off for the day…..my work crowd are going on a 12 pub Christmas pub crawl and if I’m not here next week I’m prolly still trying to find my way home 😀
TT – I don’t think it’s the training schedule but rather sales of our top top top players. Manure hardly sells it’s top players instead adds to it. As a result our preparations in the last 2 seasons has been shambolic because of bad preparation and inevitability of losing our best payers. Last season we sold Cesc, Nasri and lost diaby and wilshere through injuries. We then bought arteta, park, santos etc when the season has already began. This season our new signee(cazorla, podi, giroud) where all left back home and were only invovled in one pre-season match(FC Cologne). Not enough time for tactics and formations. Diaby was instrumental to our early good form but unfortunately injury prone.
TT I think you are very very wrong there. Is that the reason why Ferguson has failed to progress past the LC and ECL at the group state this side of christmas on more occasions than any other team in England?
And you talk of under his reign was he not nearly sacked too?
You talk of a bad start and Fergie, how many points did he drop last season to allow $hitty to win the league?
And Fergie wins are based on other factors not even worth discussing on-line. Example how did they win at Liverpool this September? And don’t till me it is because of team spirit. Over the last 7 years which team has held the record for the most comebacks?
Please you have your opinions and to be frank most of them are baseless.
2008 season some manure stats:
17 September 2008 Villarreal H 0 – 0 74,944 1st
30 September 2008 Aalborg BK A 3 – 0 Rooney 22′, Berbatov (2) 55′, 79′ 10,346 1st
21 October 2008 Celtic H 3 – 0 Berbatov (2) 30′, 51′, Rooney 76′ 74,655 1st
5 November 2008 Celtic A 1 – 1 Giggs 84′ 58,903 1st
25 November 2008 Villarreal A 0 – 0 22,529 1st
10 December 2008 Aalborg BK H 2 – 2 Tévez 3′, Rooney 52′ 74,382 1st
I bet you are one of those who believe Pep built Barca and Mourinho bought Drogba and built the Porto team? Winning trophies does not make a manager a good coach. Who built team that Benítez won the CL with? Rafa may have won trophies but apart from Valencia can he really take credit for any of them? Even Fergie asked that question a week ago. Rafa may win the WC Cup tomorrow does that make hima genius? Di Tomato whas won the CL does that make him a better manager?
Lets leave it there mate… 😉
Lewis just for your entertainment… lol
Afternoon Gooners.
Afternoon Rico.
Ego, now there’s an interesting word for Robson to use.
Because he is a man with a huge ego.
A failure as a footballer.
A failure as a Coach.
He has nothing of value to add to the debate in my view.
Lady Nina. Yeah she had passion for Arsenal didn’t she?!
She couldn’t wait to sell her shares, with a passion…
Hi there Mr Kev… You have been busy I take it?
At leat Utd have one something lately…. As much as I hate Fergie, I’d much rather he was at our club.
Kev. You are getting as cynical as Rico. Writing this from a restaurant in windy Colchester. 🙂
Hi Rocky…
Lady Nina can claim that she could have earned more by selling to Ursmanov.
And that is true.
She could have also have held onto her shares…
Does the emirates cup count… lol
Hi Adam, living the high life I see. 🙂
Kev she is another who happened to fall into money and has been conned by the old fox PHW and now she seems to regret it. As I posted at 10:58 snakes and rats come to mind the lot of them.
Hi Ginge, at the garage again. Bloody cabs.
Last night was mental.
The last time Arsenal broke the transfer record was George Allison in 1938. So AW can not take the blame for that…
It must have been Baltic the last few nights or you have an electric blanket and a massging driver seat kev?
Ginge, I hear what you say, but I cannot believe that Nina is that naive.
She is nobody’s fool and imho is just deflecting criticism from her own actions.
She is a successful business women in her own rights.
Stupid, she is not…
Alan Ball, 1972, £220,000, was a record.
Windy Colchester, hmm Adam, that’s quite a picture you paint…
Do they still ride around in chariots?
Righto, back to work…
Lata
thanks Kev
Afternoon all, nice one Rico.
I dont care who has the shares who sold their shares and who is buying shares, My concern is the pittyfull way we are playing our football. Robson Merson Viera Petite Parlor are has beens they say anything and i dont really care. What i see is reasonable players playing a side a couple of leagues down and losing Wenger says, that is in the past and we should look to the future, he says he has belief in this squad but doesn’t want to answer questions on why we lost, Wenger can try and bury his head in the sand but we won’t. At the moment he can do nothing to prevent the players from woefull performances, judging by our defending over the last few years he probably would rather bury his head in the sand again. He hasn’t cured our defence and now we have the same kind of problem up front as we find it difficult to score from 12 yards. You cannot bury your head and the problem dissapears a solution has to be found and we are not prepared to wait for a few years. Wenger is burying his head on transfers talking about transfers he believes we have a very good squad if that is right why do we keep losing. why do we keep losing players why can’t we defend free kicks corners deadball kicks why cant we pass why do we all ways pass back why cant our keeper kick a ball why can’t we score Wenger are you listening no of course your not get your head out of your arse.
Peter Marinello £100,000.
Afternoon guys and gals….
It has been stated that Wenger had to agree to limited spending so we could get the loans for the Stadium, but no length of time as far as i know was stated. This would have to be agree’d and it would have had clauses in to stop Wenger leaving after and a new man take over and start spending. I am wondering if Wenger could only spend within a certain amount unless he could generate money from trading. Maybe this agreement was for the length of his contract as i can’t understand why else he would not spend.
If if was Sp, then why not tell us?
Its the cloak and dagger stuff that cheeses most fans off. Gazidis says we have money each year, Wenger doesn’t spend it – of course we are all going to be naffed off about the latter.
If no money, just say and then Wenger wouldn’t cop so much flack…
Well, not quite 😉
That’s it for today, have a pleasant evening everybody!
Hi Rico, not quite as simple as that if that is the case. Telling supporters would be like telling the world that we are strapped for cash, players would think twice about joining and supporters would then know that the stadium is the reason for our form. We have all said for quite some time that perhaps its time for a manager change perhaps that is not an option perhaps the club are tied to wenger untill his contract is up, After all how can another Manager come in and be expected to carry on the same. If there is any truth at all in this we may just have to wait for his contract to be up. Our debts would almost be finnished and the board could then come out and say but i doubt they would ever say why they have held the Arsenal back for all this time
Just home. What a horrible day to be on the motorway. Driving wind and rain. The pressure on the ghastly Stan seems to be ramping up I see.
You too JW, ttfn….
But don’t you think everyone can see we are hard up anyway Sp, the way we have conducted ourselves in the transfer window and signing some of who we had makes it pretty clear…
Aren’t we debt free apart from the stadium??
Hi Adam, it is a horrid day. Better tomorrow though….
Rico. I am strapped for cash. 🙂
I have been to the Land Of Lee but I didn’t see him at all. I did see some pretty nasty aquaplaning in the motorway though, from people who were driving faster than made sense. Perhaps I deserve to be birched or roasted in front on open fire by Hill-Wood, for being an interested in his business.
So am I Adam…. 🙁
Some eloquently argued excretia on my favorite site The Bleacher Report today. Epic stuff indeed.
A hundred million is still a lot of debt Rico, There are those who think were strapped and those who think not. Wenger has been working for FFP rules he would have liked them in by now. But now is the time to get an Arsenal man on the European commitee everything is falling in to place, sadly not for Wenger but for the man who takes over, We have been duped for years only another couple to go.
Lee, he is back today isn’t he, can’t believe you didn’t see him 😉
Is it worth reading Adam?
It is to you or I Sp, but to Arsenal, it’s no different to having a mortgage. Just look at how much the club makes…
FFP is in isn’t it, first figures to count will be at the end of this season…
you are probably right Rico, I didn’t know 🙂
http://www.givemefootball.com/premier-league/billionaire-shareholder-wants-permanent-arsenal-re?state=26998ca75bf0477fa5b34d46271cfda5
🙂 Sp, I am sure someone will tell me I’m wrong 😉
Usmanov knows what to say even if no one is listening
I’m listening Sp…
He’s clever, he’s just playing the waiting game…. (imho)
Rico. If you want a laugh it is. 🙂
He’ll wait a long time i reckon Rico
Adam – I looked, I left 😉
Do you Sp, I reckon he’ll be in real soon…
Off to eat, back shortly…
Evening….
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2247995/Arsene-Wenger-tells-Stan-Kroenke-wants-turn-Arsenal-round-alone.html
Morning all.
Hi Scott…
Much plans for your wkend?
Watching Sean play this morning followed by cricket,then off to wifeys big birthday do,paperwork tomorrow…..a bit on lol.
I will still find time for you Rico 🙂
No game on….how will you occupy yourself??
You been called up for the Ashes yet Scott 😉
Wrighty has joined into the Wenger debate today I see….
Am just waiting for AW to resign so that twe can all move on. Just maybe the fantasy people have will come true about buying big players…
Isn’t this what we all really want to know??
When you hear him do interviews after a game and say that he has a great team with a good spirit – well, hang on a minute, we really are not seeing that.
‘He may be seeing something in training that we aren’t seeing but he doesn’t tell the truth and say what is happening. And what I’ve said for years and years is that I want some transparency.
‘I just want to know, what is going on? Have you (Wenger) got any money to spend or haven’t you? Is it the board not giving you the money to spend or is it the case that the board are giving you money to spend but you aren’t spending it?
‘Is that too hard a question to answer? Arsenal, with the size of that club that I love, should not be in the predicament that it finds itself in right now.’
You are in for a long wait then….
Haha Rico,
It takes me a few days to get over cricket…..i wold not dare try playing a 5 day match.
Having said that,most Ashes games will be over in 3 🙂
Ha ha, try the one day game….
They sure will be 3 days Scott, England are dismissing the Indians with ease and they are good 😉
I left the gate open….glad you jumped in there lol.
I read even Kan Wright is using the “deluded” word now.
Shit……do these guys have any imagination at all??
What has ever managed?
Why is these guys who have either never managed or been a complete failure at the gig feel so well qualified to tear Wenger apart?
Can’t they just show some respect for their ex club??
Insulting the manager has a flow on effect,and it isn’t positive,and does no good at all.
Wish they would just shut it.
I dont know what is worse now supporting Arsenal or having Aw in charge?
This negativity is becoming very boring now. All anyone who is looking for air time have to do is mention AW and you get a quote or a segment on Skysports or Talkshite…
Well Wright or any of the ex-pro’s or pundits do not speak for me. The reason is IG previously said when we sign our new sponsorship deal and FFP comes into play we will become competitive.Both have come to past but now he says we will become competitive in 2 years time. Talking of moving the goal post ehh…
As it is said in the great book ‘those who have ears let them hear it…’
Can’t wait Scott, should be a good bit of banter here that’s for sure..
🙂
They are only answering questions and giving their view though…
No different to what we all do in the blog world each day, the difference being of course, that they were once employed by the club and are in the public eye…….
Personally I have had enough of all this and crap about Arsenal were always a big club rubbish…
Until AW came to us Everton were even more know than us and our annual turnover was not even in the top 20 amongst Europe so…
United are also comfortably ranked as the most valuable team in any sport. Their worth of £1.4bn is £240m more than baseball’s New York Yankees and the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
Arsenal have fallen to fourth on the list, worth £800m, behind Real Madrid £1.17bn and Barcelona £1.07bn but marginally ahead of Bayern Munich who are worth £766m.
The Forbes list puts Chelsea in seventh place, worth £474m, and Liverpool eighth with a value of £386m.
Bring it on Rico lol.
I agree with you in they are only answering questions,but journos target them because they know they will open their gobs.
I am not condemning them because i don’t agree with their opinions,but does having them scream it from the rooftops do anyone any good??
Ginge…..we will get there mate.
I’m surprised Ts, I think we are a huge club and by what Forbes are saying, the second wealthiest club in the Uk, that’s big….
Anyway, enough of Arsenal for me today…
Off to watch the soaps, mind you, even those are depressing these days 😉
Night all, have a good one…..
Night Rico.
Blame the media Scott 😉
We are an easy target right now, so they are like bees around a honey pot….
7 years ago we and liverpool were both worth roughly €149.6m (€140.6m) and now we are worth $800M, who is mainly responsible for the brand? Chavs at the moment are worth about half of our worth at $400M so those who think Stan is going to sell should give me some of what ever they are living on…
Since 2007 no trophies won they scream but AFC ie AW has added over $300M to Stan’s portfolio by doing jack all. And people believe if we fall out of the CL spot we are going to get a huge investment.
Again I ask, why do we not buy or spend until we are guaranteed CL qualification when we finish 4th?
Stan the man loves Arsenal…he truly does.
Every time he sees the word Arsenal,he knows it is more money in his coffers.
We will definitely get there I really wanted AW to be out on Tuesday so that the fantasist will be pleased among us will wake up 2 years down they line and change their tune.
I am going back to boxing and UFC enough of this Arsenal negativity…
Nite Scott. Enjoy your day
Rico,i always blame the media,but you know that lol.
See ya Ginge….
OK Rico will be down later. Remember Friday night is no socks night 🙂
Ricks…..I only give her one last kiss!
Wenger this one is for you;
Life hasn’t been good recently for us absolutely nutty Arsenal fans , But hey guys and gals things will get better if we we just try……. and forget that Wenger guy !
Try this for size!
Rico absolutely swears by it;
Rico must be sleeping by now so lets get over the depression that is Arsene F Wenger and bogey on down;
Times they are hard ATM but things will get better . Keep the faith Arsenal fans . We will rid ourselves of Arsene for ‘football reasons’ and listen to these gezzers from the championship part of manchester.
What Wenger is doing to Arsenal is a cheap trick!
This one is for the Highbury housers the best little blog in town;
Da daa da da da da da ad theres always someo ne looking at you!!
I remember when you had to pay good money to get on a blog like this.!
A Fucking W has lost the ability to do this ;
I was told that Highbury house had a gezzer called Muko or something like that. A guy from the fourty shades of yellow. He was i think Jimmbo or somethink like that.
Don’t worry Rico Its just not a smile i’m carrying . 😉
I fucking love Arsenal and I know that that cup victory will happen soon.
That sugar cane that tasted good etc!!!!
Lets have something avangard on it
All I’m doing ATM is scouting for girls!!!
Don’t ever say that these guys dont turn me on. you know what I mean?
http://www.arsenal.com/home
Man, it was crazy in London tonight.
Looks like me & Micko missed all the grooves that Smudge was laying down.
Mind how ya go with the socks Rico… 😀
Morning all, new post up….