Daily Bits and Bobs

'Wenger the money man was once a lion'

Posted on by rico

November 2001 and all that, the 4-2 reverse by Charlton at Highbury sparked a winning revolution at the club that would see us win 2 Premier Leagues, 3 FA Cups, culminating in our brave defeat to Barcelona at the Stade de France in May 2006. Little was I to know as I sat slumped at the Herbert Chapman Pub on Holloway Road that evening it was the end of an era.

As you look on the Arsenal Honours list, 2005-06 is clearly the high water mark of AW’s career with us, not withstanding the epic 49 games. Like England’66, it was the end not a beginning. But it should have been the beginning if you see what I mean, a springboard to greater heights and consistent success trophies year on year. Not just top 4 mediocrity.

Look at other clubs who have re-started & re-invested in their dynasties and have never really stopped; SAF rebuilt the 1999 treble winning side to rejuvenate them into Double conquerers once again in 2008. Refusing to be hemmed in by any financial controls or a wild change of ethos. Even now despite the massive debt which may engulf them later rather than sooner, they are still there competing, challenging & consistent. The Ferguson 4-4-2 formation remains.

Obviously we can point to 22nd July 2006 as the beginning of barren times with the opening of the Emirates and the £470 million the club sunk into this to make it happen. I certainly didn’t expect this to have any impact on the actual pitch but it has, and how!

Wengers change of philosophy to a Fagan style strangling of any transfer kitty to the point of not purchasing Mark Schwarzer in the Summer, was when I realised that he himself had decided to take this route. He was and is still under no pressure from anyone else, less of all the board themselves who look upon him awestruck. It is like he is trying to prove a point, to who, I just don’t know, that pure football can really conquer all. No outside help or interference thanks, less of all from the fans as those of you who went to the last AGM can testify.

Let’s be honest the money is there to spend and will always be there and there are players who want to come. Subotic, Schwarzer and Reina are all players we have bid for and failed, and this has been for the want of trying. As I write this I understand we are hoping Afellay will join from PSV on a Bosman as possible replacement for Rosicky. Since then thogh it seems he has agreed to join Barca, no doubt for better wages. However Ramsey’s signing from Cardiff under the noses of United means Wenger still has something about him in these situations.

When Anelka was sold to Real Madrid in ’99 we used all that money plus a bit more for Wiltord, Henry & Pires for a combined £30 million playing our normal 4-4-2 replacing Overmars, Wrighty & Le Sulk. What were our last operating profits at? I’m guessing more than that. Yet he persevers with Clichy, Denilson, Bentdner to name but 3. Clichy’s form dip is the most alarming, seeing as I was confident when Ca$hley left he could fill his boots. And he did, for a bit, and now, I know he’s on the pitch, somewhere.

Wenger has rejuvenated, revolutonised & re-branded how top flight football is played in this country, initially bringing it up to speed with the rest of Europe. Diets & nutrition and a training regime, which I have seen at close hand, is second to none. But something has replaced his hunger to maintain the auteur, and revelling in threatening other managers supremacy. These managers have caught up, and are now leading the way. Mourinho the main protagonist as the arch pragmatist.

Which is one element that Wenger never seems to have had, he’s always played the same way. As The Times wrote in 2003-04 “Wenger’s approach to the game has been an emphasis on attack”. It seems to me he has scant regard for set-piece defending or set-piece attacking for that matter or a need to “get rid” if the need arises. Clichy v Shakhtar a case in point, yet again. Sorry Gael. There seems to be no study of the opposition in any way, it’s irresponsible.

The rise of Jesus means that 4-3-3 is now the name of the game but the emphasis remains the same, now it’s 5 up front and poor Song trying to keep the back door closed. It’s not his fault and I think it has made him a better player though I doubt this was by design. I would argue that a lot of these players have hit their peak, regardless of age and it’s now a frustrating plateau. Remember we had our best 11 out there against Newcastle and we did in 2001 against Charlton.

So where now, well if history serves we will do the double. After all we still have Campbell, Cole, Lauren, Keown, Adams, Vieira, Pires, Ljungberg, Henry, Wiltord & Dennis don’t we?

Also bear in mind that Wenger also discovered George Weah! So Arsene, please come back mate, we need you more than ever at London Colney,  in the dugout and at The Emirates – not behind the balance sheet.

There is still all to play for if you really want it.

Written by Michael Thomas 4

If you missed the Carling Cup draw last night, we have Ipswich in the semi-finals. The first leg is the weekend of  the 10th January, the second is the weekend of the 24th January..

rico

132 thoughts on “'Wenger the money man was once a lion'”

  5. Joe says:

    We were £470 million in debt and you didnt think this was going to have an effect? Have you seen Mark Schwarzer play? Wenger has his limitations for sure and i would love to see us go buy a CB and DMC in the January transfer window but i think your post would benefit from a bit more consideration. I take it that the post is following on from Wenger’s suggestions that he will not buy in Jan. We’ve traditionally been one of the biggest spenders in January (Walcott, Adebayor, Diaby, Arshavin to name 4) do you really think it will help an already inflated market (and the current players morale) if Wenger sits there and says, yep, cant wait till Jan baby! I’m gonna spend so much sweet, sweet cash! Probably not eh?

  10. Red Arse says:

    MT4,

    Sorry for not being clear about giving credit to you for the Post.

    Rico, there seems to be an attack upon us from outer space, with missiles ripping thru the screen. 🙂

  11. rico says:

    My own view Joe is that we need a minimum of CH and DM to take this club on, in an ideal world we would get a great keeper as well but Fabianski is improving and behind him we have a very good Chesney so i can’t see wenger buying a keeper…

  13. Mark says:

    I really can’t see wenger buying in the january sales. He already has the four central defenders he needs and wenger would never buy just to stand in for someone on a long term injury. Perhaps he might buy to replace Vela or Bendy but has he lost faith in these two. i think not.

    I’m really supprised Wenger has never considered loan deals to stand in for all the injured players we have had over the years. Surely it’s a cheap option, and even Fergie has occasionally done it.

  19. rico says:

    RA, that’s interesting and sad but i listened to a report yesterday about their bid and financial experts believe that both Spain and Portugal are in a mess and won’t get the bid as they wouldn’t be able to cope…

  20. Steve Palmer says:

    It’s amazing to read blogs like this, sometimes praising and lots of times criticising, i do it myself all the time, but, and yes theres allways a but, Wenger is one of the most frustrating managers in our history,having said that, he is also the man responsible for the wonderfull club we all support, we have been in the champions league ever since it was started, we have been in the top four, for the five years we have not landed a trophy,i wont go into the ground,training ground and the profits, we all know about that, but we still moan about the same old things. We have fallen into the trap that has been set by our competitors, your a failure because you hav’nt won anything for five years, what a load of crap. Our blue and white neighbours believe they can win the league because they beat us at home, this is the kind of response we get for a loss.
    Arsenal is a buisness, and the way to put bums on seats is to play the kind of football that is pleasurable on the eye in comfortable surroundings, supporters want trophys basicly to taunt our competitors we have won this and we have won that, but the truth of the matter is that everything is great as long as the buisness is making money, any trophys that come along only increases the gate and future supporters.
    We have a big squad and have invested in the people we have brought in, why buy expensive players that are not worth the money, when we have allready invested the money in bringing along our own Arsenal trained youngsters.
    our squad is now the size to challenge on all fronts and be competitive, and at a realistic price, we are in a good position to pick the odd trophy up, but will we stop moaning and critisising i dont think so

  21. rico says:

    Hi Steve, he is the most frustrating manager yet he is to this day the most successful and not only in terms of silverware.

    I guess what brings much of the moans and groans of today is knowing what he was like when he arrived and what he’s like now…

    The ‘two managers’ are miles apart….

  24. Red Arse says:

    No Rico,

    What’s on? 🙂

    Economically Spain and especially Portugal are tippy toeing along the edge of the precipice, just like the one Ireland fell into.

    The best bid, the fairest bid, the bid with many fantastic Stadia already available is Englands.

    Does that count in the corrupt world of FIFA delegates? NO!

    Fingers crossed and all that, but there are an awful lot of noses in the trough, just like the English Parliament’s MP’s!

  26. Steve Palmer says:

    Morning Rico,
    When he first came, he did’nt know he was in for the long haul, but his stubboness and his forsight will put us where we belong, not only the wealthiest club by profit, but also in records

  27. rico says:

    Just wish he would get the mix a little better balanced though Steve, yes we need to have a well run club but we also need trophies and titles, that’s how clubs are judged… and fans want that too…

  28. mikeB says:

    Hi Folks,
    if anyone ever asks for a classic example of the term ‘oxymoron’… ‘Top four mediocrity’ is as close as it gets 😆

    Wenger at the Emirates doesn’t seem to be the same animal as Wenger at Highbury???

    Can’t understand why that should be 😆

    Oh… and Wenger’s career isn’t over yet. Patience children, patience. This is the year it begins.

    Have a good one

  30. mikeB says:

    Hi Rico,

    good to visit… everything’s crazy at the moment, but hope to get back into the swing in a week or so..

    Hope it’s all good with you.

  33. Mulugeta says:

    today the roumour from france confirmed that arsene and the agent of Gamero put a time to discuss on the transfer of the player on January.

  34. kelsey says:

    Morning all.

    In a sentence Spain/Portugal just can’t afford to stage the World Cup, both countries are in economic meltdown and will take years to recover

    Another interesting fact is if you take Barca and Real Madrid out of the equation, the sport generally is poorly followed.
    The International last week between the two above mentioned countries was watched by a half empty stadium.

  35. SD-London says:

    Wao , who is this Thomas then ? Nice article.

    You are right about Wenger but i don’t think he has lost the hunger but i must say he let the invisibles go too early and he was under pressure from players as well alas their contracts.

    Well Wenger showed everybody how it is done in other parts of Europe, Fergie copied it , Jose Copied and every club adopted the strict diet and training regime.

    But now i only believe Wenger decided to drop the format of getting huge skilful players and decided to start something different.

    Play proper football , pure attacking football and Barca is leading the way in that.
    The premier league has started becoming boring because clubs just keep buying huge players and the game started becoming too physical.

    Wenger is starting a new thing and i only hope we can get few trophies before the magic starts to materialise and everybody will marvel again.

    Wigan, Westbrom, Blackpool and even Chelsea have started trying to play pure football now and they are sticking to it.

    I only hope this guys (Arsenal Players )can get better because when they are up for it , we are the best in the league, either Clichy , Gibbs, Bendtner,Ebue,Song or Vela they are players any premiership manager will snap up without thinking.

  36. oliver says:

    morning all. interesting post – i would not characterize consistent top four finishes as “mediocrity”, as the author does at the end of the second paragraph – i see it more as a benchmark we readily achieve, yet are not able to surpass, at this point.

    the premise that arsene willingly refuses to invest in experience and quality for the squad is one which, regrettably, completely agree with. yes, there have been financial constraints, and yes, we have a great crop of players that are now reaching prime age and experience. but what end of good would a few quality, established and experienced additions have done for this squad? particularly on the defensive side?

    a pattern i have noticed in the past few years is that arsene gives the impression he allows current form and results to dictate his transfer policy – such as, if we are going well, he will come out and say “no need to buy”, as he did recently. or perhaps he is now simply unwilling to spend – as many will attest – and uses events to frame his argument.

    regardless, this squad is missing something in my opinion. we may yet win the league, but i don’t expect it right now. we have some great players, some not so great players, and a mix of players that are generally too similar. nobody is saying spend like man city – but there are some things that need addressing. these players still seem to lack real leadership, and do not always seem to know what to do in difficult situations. these are the sort of problems that should be addressed by investing in experience and quality.

  37. Stef says:

    Good day HH, nice read.

    About AW(Arsenal) drought of trophies in the more recent history it’s because we’ve build a stadium one of largest in the world and we are debt free and contenders for trophy every year.
    Point is Arsene wanna proof to the world that he can win without big money spending without cracking the bank.
    So far it doesn’t happened but this year CC is more or less our 4 the taking(maybe even the league if we weren’t so poor at the Emirates).

    I didn’t watch any game since the NL derby as I promised myself now I’ll try to catch every game and I hope Arsenal will rise to the occasion in our next home game and doesn’t trow any points to the opponent in the same manor.

  38. Stef says:

    @Oliver,
    About AW not spending any cash on players I think it’s the l8r.

    IMO if we buy a good DM in the winter and play him with Song, also that will mean switching tactics a little bit.

  40. Rennie says:

    Bonjour Everyone!… Serious rant today eh?

    I assume that the writer had watched the WBA, Newcastle, the Scum games on repeat again & again on his newly acquired media center. Then ripped his hair out in despair, cussed the Gods & their lovers, finally ran out of stamina & expletives, and then decided to write up a blog.

    That’s the only way U could put a perspective to the things that he’s written. I empathize with U mate, can’t relate to any of it though!

  41. SD-London says:

    dAMN YOU ARE MEAN rENNIE.

    Unfortunately , i got to go now .
    The article was insightful that’s all.

    We lost those games because those players were complacent, simples. 🙂

  42. Red Arse says:

    Rennie,

    I think Michael Thomas has written a good post and his summing up/analysis has merit.

    I don’t agree with everything he wrote, but that’s no surprise. If we all thought the same it would be a boring blog world. 🙂

  44. Stef says:

    Rennie that was funny 😀

    Most of the things MT IV said are correct and have a good reasoning.

    I agree with RA (how ironic :P)…

    where is rico?

  47. rico says:

    No worris Stef, been out for a bit and just home to hear Arshavin has sealed the Russian bid for the WC ….

  49. Red Arse says:

    And Politics and Oil have won the 2022 World Cup bid. Darn I’ve done it again. Quatar have blah, blah ..

  54. Red Arse says:

    As well as the WC bid outcome, the more important news for gooners is that Schwarzer is staying at Fulham and Van Persalot is injured (again) and is doubtful for the Fulham game.

  55. Stef says:

    Hope he scores a couple K-TR7

    Rico u have in 2012 Olympic games u can not have every major sport event in the decade u know 😛

  56. K-TR7 says:

    RA Rvp10 isn’t injured.Aw has just said he needs to monitor him to see how he responds after the Wigan game.

  58. Red Arse says:

    Steff,

    The emoticons text shows up on IE 32 bit, but not on IE 64 bit. So thanks for the link, I will have a look.

    (I never use emoticons myself …… obviously) 🙂

  59. Stef says:

    I don’t use IE (mozilla user) and when I had I slow connection I only saw the text code.

    1 more thing it would be great Rico if u add ’em on help tab on HH with other help related things, just a suggestion.

    sorry IV the off topic

  62. Stef says:

    wow by mistake I used five capital `I`s must be a personal record.

    I don’t understand why `they` decide about 2022 in the same day as with 2018?
    And how many stadiums has Qatar 😕 2-3

  63. Red Arse says:

    Stef,

    I use Mozilla/Firefox and have no probs. Have you got the latest version downloaded?

    Rico, I don’t particularly care about where the WC is held (Wath can keep us posted) but when you think Qatar with a population of 1.7 million, beat the USA with a population of 260 + million, it is really weird. But then, so is Bladder!

  65. rico says:

    RA, truth be known, i don’t care either really, good thing is the games will be good viewing times for us in the UK 🙂

  66. Red Arse says:

    Rico,

    In case you missed my sad comment elsewhere; I was having a busy but happy day until I got home and found all the windows oped and all the contents gone!

    What sort of sick bastrad would do that to my advent calaendar?

    I know you will be sympathetic! 🙂

  67. K-TR7 says:

    How did England lose?Old trafford/Emirates/st.james park/wembley/new lane …i think the Panorama documentary must have had an effect somewhere as according to reports England didn’t survive the first round.

  68. rico says:

    😆 RA,

    I don’t get time to peep around the blogs much anymore, just for a minute i thought you meant you’d been burgled…. 😉

  69. rico says:

    Third round KO KT, it’s all political and about spreading the football love accross the world…

    Poor Russia, they have to now build an Airport….

  70. Red Arse says:

    KT,

    Leaving aside corruption and “deals”, it is not too difficult to work out how the voting goes.

    The UK and US have no friends in the Middle East, for obvious reason, and the same is true of Africa because of the colonial background, whereas the Spanish/Portuguese/Italians stick closely with the South Americans for cultural reasons.

    The European countries blow in the wind as the whim takes them and Jack Walker rules the Caribbean vote.

    England would have been lucky to get 1 vote (their own). 🙂

  72. Rennie says:

    Didn’t mean to be rude at all.. apologize sincerely if it seemed so – everyone’s entitled to their own – just that there are quite a few exaggerations in MT’s piece & my comment was meant as one

  77. Rennie says:

    Hej Rico, nothing that’s worth harping about..

    Btw my commiserations to all the English Housers… 2018 WC would truly have been a spectacle had U guys won!

  78. rico says:

    Rennie, phew…

    Not too bothered about the WC, i think most people thought it would go to russia, its the 2022 i just don’t understand, but hey ho eh 😉

  79. Stef says:

    RA, I am currently on win7 if that makes any difference?

    Rico, re-smileys that will be really helpful I usually 4get this sort of things.

    K-TR7, what do u mean u wont go there cause Russian women like all north European countries strip more in the summer 😉

  80. Rennie says:

    Qatar win’s a no-brainer.. U couldn’t really expect the FIFAns to not stuff themselves with all that Sheikh mony in the guise of their ‘taking the WC to all corners of the world’ promise

  81. Stef says:

    rico, England IMO would of been the fav. if it weren’t hosting the Olympics in a `short` time space of 6 years.

    It would of been 2 much, well that’s my opinion anyways, the Iberian proposition maybe was hit by the debt of their countries more then anything.

    Russia doesn’t have the needed conditions but they can make ’em they have the funds same Qatar who will only luck audience and a dissent shade.

  83. rico says:

    But at least the country would have have been already ‘set up’ Stef, no too much money would have to have been spent and you would think that when the world is in a financial pickle it would have been the obvious choice but hey ho, we got the olympics 😉

  84. agirlagunner says:

    Rennie, emoticons would have helped, I think 😉 Stef seems an expert, now. Hey, Stef.

    KT, you’re being naughty. 🙂 🙂

    rico, I emailed you. 🙂 (not a write-up though 😉 )

  87. rico says:

    agag, I have just been reading, thank you 🙂

    KT is being very very naughty, where is WATH when you need him 😉

  89. agirlagunner says:

    Haha, KT. I’m more interested in what goes on in the field. 😉 More precisely, how good the Dutch NT look even in orange 😉

  90. Red Arse says:

    Rennie, your 5:11 🙂

    Stef, I am no expert, but Win7 would make no difference. I use Google Chrome (very good but does not show emoticon text) Firefox (which does), IE 64 bit (excellent but does not show emoticon text, or have “flash” facility), and IE 32 bit (not as good but has flash facility and shows emoticon text). But you must ensure you have downloaded the latest releases.

    WARNING: I know bugger all about technology! 🙂

    The WC bid has no connection with the Olympic Games. It is alleged, that politics and bribery are the main drivers of selection for a successful WC bid. (Discretely, of course). And Qatar is a huge footballing nation, as you know! 🙂

    FIFA have put two fingers up to Global Warming by selecting a country which is so hot, they included in their bid the need to air condition their Stadia. Great!

  91. Rennie says:

    KT… no worries there mate, most Eastern European babes are comparable to those that have featured in Bond movies.. A real festive spread awaits our eyes in 8yrs time! (not to upset any English Babe in the House, luv U’all too)

  92. agirlagunner says:

    (reminds self that DVD is a dingdong for joining the spuds, Affelay is silly to be joining Barca, but holds out hope for Stekelenburg and VDW.) A girl can dream…

  93. rico says:

    But agag, if we get Stekelenburg, where would that leave Chesney?

    Mind you, I’m not suggesting I wouldnt like to see him in goal rather than fabianski 😉 Don’t get me started on Affelay….. 🙁

    VDV is a fatso agag, the spuds are welcome to him….

  94. Rennie says:

    Wenger’s made it pretty clear agag, no Winter purchases… Even if he does spring a surprise hehe (sarcastic smirk) it’s definitely not going to be a goalie

  95. rico says:

    Rennie, don’t believe him, like i said yesterday, he siad he will not be adding to the squad… unless he loses anyone….

    you just wait and see wenger pull a rabbit out of the hat, mind you, where does a rabbit play, left back….. 😉

  96. mikeB says:

    RA,
    So the South Americans love the Portuguese and Spanish because of cultural reasons and the Africans dislike the English because of colonial reasons huh????

    That presumably means the Iberians are better at integrating culture into their colonisation than the rest of us.

    Sry mate… you’re normally right on the money, but I can’t buy that one.

    To my simplistic thinking the reason is more fundamental. Fifa have forgotten that their job is to promote football 365 days a year, not just 28 days every four years. They seem to think that somehow they transcend the football associations that gave them life.

    They have become footballing crusaders, spreading the gospel to the four corners of the world with one vehicle and one vehicle only… The World Cup.

    Instead of treating the World Cup as a flagship event, as it should be treated, they use it to compensate for their inadequacy at doing the job they should be doing for the other 1432 days… ensuring football is all-pervasive, irrespective of tournaments, money-making schemes, and Blatter’s self-aggrandisement .

    What we saw today was Fifa acknowledging their own inadequacy

    And apart from all that they F*****g hate us 😆

    Have a good one

  97. rico says:

    ‘To my simplistic thinking the reason is more fundamental. Fifa have forgotten that their job is to promote football 365 days a year, not just 28 days every four years. They seem to think that somehow they transcend the football associations that gave them life.

    They have become footballing crusaders, spreading the gospel to the four corners of the world with one vehicle and one vehicle only… The World Cup.’

    mike, is that the same as what i said earlier, its all about spreading the football love accross the world…. 😉
    Forgetting of course along the way who is best prepared and able….

  98. mikeB says:

    Rico,
    gotta be, ennit; bleedin brilliant girl; if you ever wanna run for Fifa President you can count on my vote… oh, that’s right I don’t have one.. sry.
    😆

  99. agirlagunner says:

    rennie, hope springs eterrnal. 🙂

    rico, Clichy won’t be amused that you want to replace him with a rabbit. 🙂 Stekelenburg was meant to replace Fabianski, of course. 😀

    hello, mikeB. Howdy? your 5:43 seems to be the skeleton of a separate post. 😉

  100. oliver says:

    hi all…commisserations on england’s failed bid. my country failed in our 2022 bid – not that i am bothered that much, we have far more important things here that require our attention. we hosted it as recently as 1994 – england have waited far longer. theirs seemed the strongest 2018 bid, but that does not matter with fifa’s “three men in a room” way of doing business…

  101. mikeB says:

    Hi agag,
    sry abt that, obviously missed that one; as for skeletons??? Fifa is the only body I could happily do without. 😆

  105. K-TR7 says:

    I have just seen this:’The reason England’s worldcup bid failed is John Terry.we have told you many times.Everybody hates that guy’-Blatter.

  108. rico says:

    mike – i don’t forget that BBQ easily you know 😉

    whats the weather like your way, meant to coming down there tomorrow…

  109. oliver says:

    hi rico – “three men in a room” refers to the corrupt new york state government, where the assembly and senate let their voters down again and again through protection of special interests and corruptions. back-room, non-transparent deals are the only way things get done, power rests in the hands a select few (the proverbial “three men”). former ny state legislator seymour p. lachman actually wrote a book – with that title – on this.

    i was thinking it sounds an awful lot like fifa. sepp, jack warner, and issa hayatou?

  110. mikeB says:

    Hi Rico,
    Just to add insult to injury the weather is turning tonight and the temperature rising…

    Mind you we haven’t had snow here anyway, so we’ve been lucky.

    Yeah, the BBQ was a good one… quite enjoyed that. I’ll have to think up another 😆

  111. rico says:

    hi oliver, i guessed it was to do with something corrupt – it was just seeing it in black and white. It’s such a sad world isn’t it that people have to cheat to get what they want, instead of letting the ‘real vote’ count and let the ‘real person’ get what they want…

  112. Red Arse says:

    Hi MikeB, 🙂

    Actually I waas relying for my info on the likely voting from reports in the press.

    The South Americans all claim parentage from one of Spain/Portugal/Italy, (that’s how they get passports so easily). I know we have African bloggers on here and they are in a better position than me (I am not English) to know how much they “love” their old colonial masters. Let’s not even go into the middle east politics and what drives that.

    I don’t really care if you accept this or not, it is not that important to me.

    I absolutely agree with you about the rest of your comment re FIFA. If you read earlier comments you will find I have already written much the same thing already.

  113. mikeB says:

    Hi RA,

    so our problem wasn’t that we didn’t integrate, rather that we didn’t impregnate? 😆

    Everyone’s claiming ownership of that… plagiarism is alive and well on HH today Huh 😆

    Good to hear from you.

  114. oliver says:

    rico, fifa is pretty much an insider’s club. blatter, warner, blazer and their ilk have been there forever – they feed the system and the system protects them. they sell influence, take kickbacks, all under the illusion of enhancing the “global game”. their corrupt system and lack of transparency keep these select few in power at that organization. it is designed to serve those individuals first and football second…

  116. Red Arse says:

    Hi Oliver, 🙂

    Can you imagine Qatar being selected for 2022? But you are right, there are more important things to worry about.

    MikeB, Nothing wrong with a bit of plagiarism, I forgive you! 🙂 I am equally quick to “orphan” unpopular comments! 🙂

  117. oliver says:

    i have to run, ra…i wanted to talk briefly about the giants win on sunday and mcnabb/redskins visit to the meadowlands this coming sunday…a banged up line is protecting eli well, no sacks allowed in the last three games. jacobs and bradshaw ran the ball well, and the entire team finally protected the football – no turnovers. receiver corps still heavily depleted, but smith and nicks may be back as soon as minnesota next week…

  119. t-buzz says:

    Wow!! Deja vu!! England only had 2 votes?? Eurovision results I say!!Evening all
    Outrageous weather, couldnt even go to work today!!

  121. rico says:

    oh i know only too well oliver, look at the way the groups are drawn in Euro, WC and CL, anything that involves them is quite… well, fixed…

  123. mikeB says:

    RA,
    I don’t write posts or comments to be popular. I write them because I believe or feel them, and I couldn’t give a damn if people like tham or not.

    But thanks for the forgiveness… I find your magnanimity touching. I’ll try to be worthy of it

  125. Red Arse says:

    Ouch MikeB,

    Gee wilikins, I was only kidding! 🙂

    For myself I no longer write Posts, popular or not. Well OK not popular!

  128. kelsey says:

    I have given today’s events some thought and although the Panorama programme did us no favours I am sure there will be a witch hunt by the british media into corruption by FIFA until it is proved once and for all.
    This is football not politics,and it is disgusting.
    Good luck to Russia and Qatar but for the fans it will be one almighty expensive ride.
    Russia i can accept but Qatar a country with the popukation of the isle of wight is a joke.50 degrees on a bad day, state of the art stadiums to be built with cooling systems and then after the event all the stadiums are to be packed away and shipped off to some far off land.Absolutely ludicrous.

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