Comments on: The Arsenal approach looks like being the only answer, as rest of big four discover problems

By: dan

dan — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:37:47 +0000

Tony, you’re a Wenger and Arsenal supporter there’s no doubt about that, but Wenger’s ‘youth policy’ has yet to produce results, there is no doubt about that either(it’s more fair to say ‘we were found out in the cl semis and could easily have lost to roma’ than to suggest anything more). We are more youth oriented but an objective observer will quite rightly recognize that our youth sans sufficient experience has it’s weaknesses as well(is cesc and all our ex players barking?). All the talk about sustainability falls away when it comes to the ultra rich clubs now, i don’t think roman would leave chelsea mired in debt, that’s idle speculation as well and is that part of our strategy? Btw, he may not be young, but this season’s epl revelation could very well be yuri zhirkov. We should do fine this season, i’m not concerned about top four and i do think we’ll be more competitive than last term, but i haven’t got rose colored specs and in spite of what should be an extremely good start for us, i expect the youth weakness to rear it’s ugly head once again come the end of the season. That’s not to say we shouldn’t live within our means, more like we shouldn’t live too well within our means(way too well).

And regarding denilson, no i don’t see him slotting in to the brasil senior side when gilberto moves on. And it’s spoken on this site as if Denilson wasn’t promoted to the senior side because of some failure to promote him due to politics or that dunga is a poor coach and doesn’t know what he’s doing and his teams play crap football? Well, i don’t feel like i should have any special knowledge about football, we all watch the same matches right?, but some of your commentators make me feel i could teach them quite a bit. Dunga is perhaps brasil’s finest coach in a good spell and he’s won his last two tournaments. Oh yeah, and he’ll definitely pick players on political consideration alone, he likes his job(no outside political pressure there either, ta). There are very apparent reasons, or so i thought, that players like pato and diego played very little for the sub senior sides.

Many AFC fans like to strut around and shout about supporting some of the fanciest footie around, but football supporters worldwide know that the true standard of great football is winning. How about balancing financial soundness and football effectiveness? We haven’t tried that one in a while.

By: joe

joe — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:46:07 +0000

I have for many years believed that the board have Arsenal’s future on the right path.Being self sufficient is the way to go and the the proper way. Like other people have said on this site and many others, we remember the dark days of the 60′s , 70′s and 80′s.Those of the new variety of fans don’t know how well off we are at the moment.Do I want Wenger to go out and spend millions bringing in new players ,of course I do but that’s my heart ruling my head , finance just doesn’t work that way.The crop of players coming through is worth the wait, I just wish the Board and Wenger had told us how long we had to be patient , so I understand why the “newbies” are so unhappy but know that in a couple of years when the plan comes to fruition we WILL be a more complete team.
So what do we do now as supporters , do we jump ship because we aren’t spending millions , please get real, it doesn’t work that way with severe long term problems, we are on the right path, you just have to see it and walk on it.Have the Board and Wenger made mistakes, Yes but then who hasn’t?
I believe that patience is the answer and it will be rewarded and then the “newbies” will be wondering why they were so worried.
joe

By: Wayne

Wayne — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:54:40 +0000

Fantastic article Tony. In total agreement.

Has anyone noticed that people have stopped cribbing about the lack of depth in the squad this year? …and now only intent on focusing on a super DM who will magically transform the team.

Did Wenger splash out on a number of new players last year to sort out the problem of depth or did that sort itself out magically? …It’ sall going to plan actually… This season will definitely better than the last season…i can bet on it. The long wait is only going to make the joy of success sweeter.

By: walter

walter — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:35:29 +0000

Spot on Stuartlondon.
It took even the great Herbert Chapman 4 years before bringin home his first trophy.
I’ve known the 70, 80 and my God we look good these days

By: stuartlondon

stuartlondon — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:05:35 +0000

IanWrightWright: There is no point buying unless we use the money to acquire players who bring additional capabilities to the team. Even well informed onlookers are unlikely to have knowledge of the true costs and benefits associated with buying particular players. Like it or not, only the manager and his negotiating team have access to this information. But one certain way of driving up the price is to state publicly that we are desperate to acquire particular players or types of player.

I think we should do well this season without buying any new players, but I am not sure we will come away with trophies. I still think we look a little vulnerable at the back when in full attacking mode, as was demonstrated in the second half of the Valencia game. But if we are able keep our current squad and manager, I am very confident we will be challenging for honours next season and for seasons to come, due to the farsighted nature of AW’s youth development policy. I’m prepared if necessary to wait and to continue supporting the manager and the team. I really do think we are on the edge of the greatest period in our club’s footballing history. We just need to keep our players, our manager, and our nerve!

By: Marc

Marc — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:57:07 +0000

Tony – As well as missing out on Alonso you have also missed the fact that Portsmouth owed Liverpool about £7 million so Liverpool’s actual cash cost (as opposed to book cost) for Johnson was £10 million. How will the owners take Benitez blaming them for bad results. I have a feeling that this will be Benitez’s last season at Liverpool.

By: shotta-gunna

shotta-gunna — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:08:53 +0000

IanWrightWright – Have you ever been involved in a serious negotiation? Not many of us have, I grant you. But I’ve been involved in a couple. Serious negotiations that involve real money (e.g. collective bargaining, bank deals, that kind of everyday stuff) usually goes down to the wire.
…Contrary to the b.s. we are taught in school and colleges and propogated by the media, usually the seller is trying to screw the buyer by trying to get more than the subject is worth. Facts are Zenit started off with a 25 million asking price for Arshavin and Arsenal stood firm, ending up at 15 million. You should applaud the club rather than carping.

By: Cape Gooner

Cape Gooner — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:14:14 +0000

Hi Tony, in the Liverpool analysis didn’t you omit Alonso?

By: LRV

LRV — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:03:03 +0000

Another excellent post as usual Tony. Even SA Fergie conceded the other day that Man IOU will now begin to rely on youth policy. Smith of Rangers is very impressed with the Arsenal model. It is not surprising though that ‘glory hunters’ and ‘plastic fans’ cannot see any good in the model; after all they are only after trophies of any kind. I wish it was possible to excommunicate them when all the present efforts & perseverance come to fruition.

By: IanWrightWright

IanWrightWright — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:38:38 +0000

I know everyone is feeling tense with the lack of signings so far and I just cant believe for a club of Arsenals stature that we take so long to complete signings. We seem to be the slowest negotiators in the world and we always offer well below what the selling club is asking for therefore irritating them before negociations have started. The Nasri deal last year and the Arshavin deals were complete sagas. It seems other clubs are clear who they want and go for their targets while we ponder forever over different options then leave it so late we end up not getting any of the targets as we run out of time (last summer). The Arshavin deal was put through by the skin of our teeth and I have no idea why we work this way people may argue we got Arshavin for less than Zenit wanted but not by much. The benefits of getting the signings in early and integrating them with the team have got to outweigh the penny saving brinkmanship that takes place !

By: IndianGooner

IndianGooner — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:02:27 +0000

Another excellent article, Tony. AW and the Arsenal Board had a lot to endure in the last decade but I’m sure in the near future, when we start winning trophies, everyone will be praising them.. I wish that Time comes very soon.

By: Faron

Faron — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 08:47:13 +0000

Denny, Scott Sinclair will leave. Stoch wont last long either. the only player that will make it out of the Players you mentioned is Michael Woods who is class. And What the Heck is Modern day Football??

It just goes to show trying to buy sucess doesnt work.

Good Article Tony.

By: Bobby Pliers

Bobby Pliers — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:52:45 +0000

Good article. Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion but as an Arsenal supporter of over thirty years I can remember the dark days of the early eighties and all the other seasons where we were going nowhere. To my mind it is so obvious what is happening at Arsenal. In the FA Youth Cup last season Arsenal were head and shoulders above everything else and the style of football was at times breathtaking. More and more of these young players will start coming through and the quality is improving all the time. It is only a matter of time before we become the major force again.

By: KG

KG — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:30:35 +0000

did anyone notice that Aquilani (of Fifa/FM fame) is crocked for next 2 months; ~20m on an injured player.
Even if Arsenal is JUST a youth academy, it is a bloody good academy – look at the number of players from Arsenal youth structure plying their trade in the PL.
But the good news is Arsenal is not JUST an academy, semi final of CL and FA Cup and adding some entertainment into the Carling Cup — a good season indeed. It would have been a fantastic season if we were challenging for the League too.
And the policy of Arsenal, to live within its own means, — it is valid in every business; if you are involved in running a business, the more you see Arsenal, the more you appreciate their efforts.

By: JediKnut

JediKnut — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:02:10 +0000

Perfect sense as usual Tony! Ole Gunner – nice one!

By: Tony Attwood

Tony Attwood — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:33:40 +0000

Denny – what I am arguing is that the Chelsea model under Mr Abramovich has problems. If we look at the case of J Terry, he first played for the club in 1998, while Mr Abramovich bought the club in 2003. You can’t possibly claim that he is a product of the Abramovich youth system.

My point is that people are turning away from the oligarch model because thus far we have no one who has come through the ranks under the model. Of course it is possible that in the future I will be proven wrong and lots of young players will make it for Chelsea or another EPL team – but the argument is that none have made it so far.

In terms of Arsenal, if Arsenal is just a youth academy you have to recognise that it is an astonishing youth academy. While Liverpool spend an extra £20m a year on players than the get, and Manchester U and Chelsea spend far more than that, Arsenal make a profit on their players year after year – and still manage (under the model developed by Wenger) to win doubles and have an Unbeaten Season – which I believe Chelsea has not achieved.

I really do think the analysis here is one that other clubs are looking at and saying – “if I want to take my club forward I will do it the Arsenal way”.

By: Aaditya

Aaditya — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:45:22 +0000

Great post, although I believe Everton has been following this path for a while now as well.

By: HakNick

HakNick — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:32:17 +0000

AMAZING ARTICLE. A Barca fan here but you guys seem to have a better policy even than us.
Bunch of rubbish from whoever says that you are a youth academy. Semis of the Champions League is no youth academy. Let’s see the difference between spending and buying of Real and Arsenal last year. Oh yes right they didn’t even get to the quarters. Barca could be called a youth academy too, but hey are the most successful club of recent years. So Arsenal keep going the way you are cuz you are certainly not buying your achievements and Semis of Champions IS an achievement.

By: shotta-gunna

shotta-gunna — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:27:46 +0000

Splendid piece by Tony once again. You must have been reading the ACLF blog today where some of us had to once again take on the 5th Column among Arsenal supporters. This rabid, disloyal minority are readying to rip the team this Saturday if we fail to win at Everton simply because AW has faith in his squad and is not prepared to overspend on new players. Unable to directly attack AW, they cowardly take aim at the Board for not spending 30 million on new players, especially to cover for Nasri and Rosicky who are out injured. I shudder at the prospect of any of these fans ever trying to balance their checkbooks. But then like Rafa and Ferguson it is only Other Peoples Money.

By: Ole Gunner

Ole Gunner — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:50:14 +0000

Question for you Denny: When you fail to win the league or Champions League with your old-geezer squad, what will you do? Ask Abramovich for another £400M to buy a new squad? Let’s even say you win the FA Cup again.

It’s do or die for you this season. Either the cup with the big ears or Roman’s taking his ball and going back to Moscow.

What will you do then?