This report was written before the Bradford defeat. But it is still highly relevant as a media analysis because it deals with the reality as perceived by some at all stages of Arsenal’s season.
Why can’t they just commentate on the game?
By Cameron Wolfe.
I watch all my EPL games through ESPN North America.
I wrote about the negativity from the commentators during the Spuds game. A game that we went on to win convincingly but not if you were listening to the commentators. (Ian Darke and Steve McMannaman) I decided not to write about the very negative 0-0 against Villa, the negative 1-1 draw against Everton or the even more negative 2-0 defeat from Swansea.
So how did we fair during our game against WBA? They had started off the season well. Their above us in the league so I’m sure the commentators will have us written off by half time.
The studio pundits are Gerry Dobson and Craig Forrest:
(So before the game has even kicked off. The program hasn’t even started yet. This is just an introduction to the match program)
Gerry Dobson: The Gunners form has taken a nose dive as of late with cracks in their armour becoming ever more apparent. Pressure is starting to mount on Arsene Wenger. The manager has said he’ll only consider his future at the end of the season but if Arsenal continue to slide down the table. That decision could be made for him.
(So. We’re in turmoil then and Arsene is on the brink of being sacked – but it turned out even the poor result following this game didn’t get him sacked.).
They show the second goal from last weeks Swansea game. (Voice over)“The boos ring out from the Arsenal fans all around the ground”
Then a shot of the black scarf march. Big black and yellow banner held up by Arsenal “supporters” then the camera conveniently cuts to a general shot of the crowd arriving at the Stadium.
(They give the impression the crowd you see walking to the Ems. are all part of the protest march.)
G.D: Gunners fans have been protesting for weeks about the way the club has been run.
In the Studio:
G.D: Yes indeed they have. Arsene Wenger. He’s the manager under the microscope.
What about this Arsenal side Craig? Tenth just now. Worst ever start under Wenger.
Craig Forrest: Yeah. It’s not great is it? Remember last October they were tenth but ended up being fourth. For Arsenal fans no need to panic quite yet.
(So it’s still possible that we could climb the table in to the top four at least or even better?)
G.D: Just three wins in their last ten games at Home. Just last week was a new low when……….
(They show a clip of the Swansea’s goals again twice each then in slow motion)
So. The program has been on for four minutes. We’ve seen the Swansea goals four times each. Been told how bad we’re playing and how the Arsenal fans have been protesting for weeks. Oh and if Arsene doesn’t get it right. He’ll be sacked. No negative biased reporting here then?
They put up a caption (titled. Gunned down) of our last four games. 0-0, 1-1, 0-2, 1-2.
Two draws and two losses.
In reality we have lost once in the EPL to Swansea since we were last beaten by Man.U on the 3rd of November.
G.D: Here’s the recent story. They’ve lost (corrects himself) well they have not done well. Let’s put it that way. Two losses and two draws.
They talk about WBA and their great start to the season. Discuss how they need to get back to winning ways today. As they go to the break they show a Swansea goal from last week. (Again)
To the game.
Commentators Garry Weaver and Paul Walsh.
Garry Weaver: Arsenal the once great force of English football are on the rocks right now. Title dreams are fading. Hopes of a top four finish are beginning to disappear amongst the fans.
Plenty of empty seats around the stadium. The fans are not happy. A few discontent voices around. Will it turn into a revolt?
Arsene Wenger enters the stadium where seven days ago he was sent back to the dressing room with a crescendo boos ringing in his ears from the fans. So too that of the Arsenal players.
WBA know Arsenal are venerable at Home right now. How fragile is the Gunners confidence?
Do the pieces fit anymore at Arsenal? When does a drama become a crisis? Arsenal are a fading force. They need to find themselves again and quickly. WBA have already beaten some of the top teams this season and they back themselves to get a result here today. (There’s a guy with a lot to say about Arsenal unfortunately it’s all so negative)
Paul Walsh: I think you’re right. They’ll certainly be looking to take advantage of the wobble Arsenal are having at the moment.
G.W: How Arsenal start here will dictate this game. They’ve been edgy they’ve been jittery in front of their Home fans. The mood could darken if they don’t start well. That would be music to WBA ears. Arsenal experiencing their worst start to the season under Arsene Wenger. No wins in their last four games and their form here has not been great to say the least. They’ve struggled at the Emirates stadium this season. Swansea took full advantage here seven days ago with two late goals from Michu.
The problem for Arsenal is the players that they have allowed to leave this club. They’ve spent £90m in the last two seasons so they are spending but the players that have left RVP, Nasri, Fabregras and Song. You can’t win things if you keep on letting your best players go?
(It’s almost like he’s copied out all the negative headlines from the tabloids back pages and just keeps on repeating them.)
We score with the first penalty.
G.W One swing of his boot lifts the gloom from around the Emirates stadium.
(Which is in fact a sad thing to say as the crowd has been fairly vocal from the off.)
They show several clips of the penalty incident from different angles.
P.W it’s obviously not a penalty or at least it shouldn’t have been a penalty.
(OK got that one right but the fact is the referee thought it was a penalty and gave a penalty.)
G.W sometimes when you’re stuck in a rut or in a hole. You need a little luck and Arsenal have got that today with the dubious penalty decision.
(It’s always going to be debated if it should’ve been a penalty but if you think about how many stonewall penalties we haven’t had? I’m not going to argue about one we got. Rightly or wrongly the referee gave the penalty).
G.W Arteta on the ball. The scorer of the penalty that should never have been given.
(But it was and he did.)
G.W Well sometimes when you’re in trouble you need some help and Arsenal have had that help today. The ref awarding a penalty kick after it appears that there was no contact at all after Carzola went crashing to the ground.
Second half:
G.W welcome back to the Emirates stadium where Arsenal lead after a hugely contentious penalty.
(He then goes on to repeat the same sentence almost word for word. So in case you don’t know yet. We’re leading by a highly contentious penalty that we shouldn’t have had at all.)
G.W Carzola is the villain of the piece after winning that hugely contentious penalty. (Just in case you haven’t got it yet)
Per makes a superb tackle on Long.
P.W Not sure if he didn’t get the man before the ball or some of the man and the ball. (Great tackle by the way)
Second penalty.
P.W Well their going to argue about the penalty and the non free kick before. I sympathise with them (shock horror)
(We’re in the 67min. we’re controlling the game. They’re hasn’t been too many negative comments for a while now but)
G.W If Arsenal hang on to this Paul will this lift the gloom that’s enveloped the club in the last few weeks?
P.W Well it’s a start. Gives them something to build on. They haven’t been at their best today. Not by a long way.
(We’re 2-0 up. They haven’t had a shot on target in the second half. We’re still controlling the game. There’s only 20mins to go but we’re hanging on. Honestly)
G.W They’ve got money in the bank and platinum customers. Do they spend it on established players in January if they need too? Do they hang on to the money to cushion the blow of not making the Champions League? If the worst does come to the worst.
(So since we’re 2-0 up and in control. We’re playing reasonably well. Their bored now by that fact so off they go again and carry on knocking us.)
We have a free kick just outside their box
G.W Arsenal looking for the goal that will put this game to bed. With only 12mins to play. They only have a two goal advantage.
NO COMMENT! HE SAID IT ALL.
Goal attempts 15-4 to us. Shots on target 7-0 to us. Yet “can we hang on and put this game to bed?” WTF!
G.W One goal from WBA would change everything.
Rosenberg then throws himself to the ground. It’s not even mentioned. No replay nothing.
P.W He was just testing the referee?
Again no replay. Funnily enough they’re back to talking about Santi’s first half penalty.
They show Arsene at the touchline.
G.W well he’ll be happier now. Their only 8mins away from banking three points although they haven’t won in their last four and the storm clouds were gathering above the Emirates stadium. As Paul mentioned they won’t disappear with this win but it’s a start if they HOLD ON to it?
Is he watching the same game as me? They haven’t hit the target the whole game? How are we holding on?
G.W Arsenal’s winless run is coming to the end here.
Since we lost to Man.U on the 3rd of November we’re only been beat by Swansea last week in the EPL. How is that a winless run?
G.W This place is smiling again. The pressure is lifted for now. It wasn’t emphatic from Arsenal but it’s some respite for Arsene Wenger. They’re elated WBA are furious and frustrated.
I’m sure the back pages were full of the penalties incidents. I’m sure there won’t be much said about Rosenberg’s dive? Those aside I thought we controlled the game and for sure had the better chances. For me the annoyance is that even when we’re playing well the commentators just don’t seem to give us much credit. It was so obvious that when we went 2-0 up they switched from being too negative and just commented on the game. I just wish they would commentate like that from the start? We had more possession and more shots on target but to listen to the commentators you would think we were lucky to win.
I know as an Arsenal fan. We are slated and that we think the media have it in for us. Before I wrote this and watched the game again for the second time. I watched the Everton v’s Spuds game. Honestly there wasn’t nearly as much negative commentating for either side. Paranoid I am not.
Gooner for life.
The books…
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC: crowd behaviour at the early matches
The sites…
- For the parent who really wants to know what is really going on in schools
- Referee Decisions - just what are the refs up to this season?
- Parent News - what is going on in schools these days?
- The weight loss programme: The only guaranteed wayto stay fit
Am really very happy for Cameron Wolfe. At least you won’t be listening to the same old rhetoric from next season as this will be the last season when you have to see ESPN NA for the matches.
This time the bid is won by NBC and hopefully they do better. I also believe the loss of ESPN in US markets will have some kind of tilt in the way certain clubs are projected as until now they have been controlling much of the telecast across the world. This might also in turn change the way the admin sees the game.
@Andrei
It’s different because a lot more effort is put into the Wenger knocking articles than the ones knocking AVB, etc. I pointed out a few days ago that there was even a “Wenger Watch” section at the end of the DM’s WBA match report. Now if a match report is supposed to simply report events in a match, why the special section ridiculing the manager of only ONE of the teams? Why not have a “Clarke Watch” section? It’s obvious that they’re trying to ridicule the manager, rather than praise him after his team won a game. Fergie gets praised even when his team loses, as did ‘arry. Wenger rarely gets praised even when he wins. They’d rather look for tiny details or mistakes in a performance to try and put a negative spin on things. I once counted 8 negative articles in 1 day in the guardian attacking mostly Arsene and not Arsenal after a defeat.
Just count the number of articles in the guardian or the mail that came out in the first 48 hours after the Bradford defeat. And check whether the focus of those articles is about the team or the manager. While you’re at it count the number of “should Wenger be sacked” polls.
Other teams don’t receive the sheer volume of negative coverage that Arsenal get.
@C4, When I watch a match on tv I don’t sit there taking notes on what commentators say. I’ve got better things to do. I’ll put on an lp by Youth Group or Jens Lekman and then watch what I can on an ineffective stream.
I don’t know what they said about WBA other than the snippets Cameron has siphoned from the commentary. Do I think they’re knocking Arsenal? Not particularly. I think they’re mystified by the stagnation at the club and the rather ineffectual managing of late. Maybe they hate Arsenal. I don’t know. Would it worry me if they did? No. I don’t see what relevance it has.
@C4, I think some of this negative press is because Arsenal are an enigma. Your average journalist doesn’t get Arsenal. I’m not sure I do anymore.
We have a manager who was incredibly successful for many years who has suddenly become unsuccessful for the last six years. And yet we stick with him. We have supposedly loads of money in the bank but we won’t spend it. In short we don’t behave like any other club. Arsenal seem unsure whether they want to be a business or a football club. It seems that they are desperate to prove that the two are mutually inclusive but success comes to those who act as though the two are mutually exclusive. That maybe unfair but that is how it is.
Interesting and from the horses mouth
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11670/8330868/Arsenal-boss-Arsene-Wenger-dismisses-reports-of-rift-with-assistant-Steve-Bould
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11670/8329848/Arsene-Wenger-admits-Arsenal-s-values-and-evolution-are-his-responsibility
So according to this, either no rift,- lies, cannot really be any clearer from what he is saying at least
And, it is Wenger setting the agenda, not so much the board – so he does have a fair amount of control in proceedings as most have suspected.He goes on to say he constantly questions himself
Lets hope they are all working together to put things right and quickly.
He also says Diaby out for the foreseeable, think unfortunately, we all know the potential reality of that, a real shame for a very talented player
@ R Cook Wenger is still successful in financial terms for Arsenal. The winning of trophies has become more difficult because the competition is more affluent. Our team has been decimated each season by ‘tapped up’ players. It is time for our contract lawyers to add penalty clauses, specifically where agents are involved.
@Rupert if you really don’t give a shit about what the press and commentators say about arsenal, wenger and players why participate in this blog post in the first place. and just because other clubs are also victim of media-bias doesn’t mean that it cannot be discussed at all. maybe chelsea blogs are discussing media-bias? this is an arsenal blog, so we discuss all things arsenal. if you believe the article is mundane why willingly be a part of it by commenting?
The really sad thing is that a lot of people seem to believe what the media say when it comes to Arsenal. How often are rumours and second-hand comments repeated back as so-called facts on blogs and call-ins.
There is an assumption that pundits, reporters and some ex-players (in particular) have access to inside contacts and information.
The Wenger/Bould rift story was created on TalkSport by Stuart Robson who was sacked by the club earlier in the year. Given that Bould has been at the club for years and was chosen by Wenger to succeed Pat Rice only 6 months ago it would seem highly unlikely that they would have fallen out so quickly.
However, nobody in the media has questioned Robson’s story or motives. Instead they take it as gospel and even expanded it to include the rest of the coaching staff. How convenient that when results have been poor stories of internal strife come along.
What next? Usmanov to want Henry back at the club? You can’t get more populist than that. Oh, wait a minute he has just said it.
The media does have an agenda against Wenger, but he hasn’t helped himself either!
Some of a buys have been very poor, I would class Gervinho another one for the dead wood stock. The finances available are unknown, therefore we can only speculate, due to other matters our coaching staff have failed to address many of the issues which cost us so dearly in the past.
We’ve been reliant on to many veriables to pose a genuine threath to our leagues big spenders.
@ American gooner,m ost people in this day and age are fairly cynical about the press. If you want to worry about what some commentators say during a game I fear for your sanity. Seriously, who cares?
Written articles are a different matter but again they are soon forgotten.
Some say media negativity affects the team. Maybe so but players have to grow a pair. Answer your critics by playing out of your skin. Laugh in the face of adversity. I have to every time I post on here.
Participating on this blog is an entirely different matter. This is where AFC supporters come to debate or in some cases insult one another. And I didn’t say media bias shouldn’t be discussed, I just don’t think it’s that prevalent or particularly detrimental. Maybe I’m too generous to my fellow human beings in thinking that they can see through a journalist’s agenda.
@ dan, what the whole media has an agenda against Wenger? That’s a rather sweeping statement.
@ Rupert, turn on the radio or TV you can’t really get away from it.
@ Rupert
Honestly I don’t know why you bother commenting here. I really believe you come here just to upset fans who want to read positive things about Arsenal.
You on the other hand NEVER have anything positive to say about Arsenal/Arsene.
Time to start zoning you out and ignoring you from now on.
You belong on a different blog where you can all indulge together in your hate of all things Arsenal.
I’m done with you.
@ American gooner
Like you I have to endure the same commentators as you do. Ruperts idea is to play music while watching the game. I like to feel the atmosphere of the match and endure the commnents.
Parasanna says from next season it’ll be NBC? Unfortunately we’ll have to wait and see, if they adopt the ESPN way of just employing the current British commentators? If so we’ll still have the same commnetators just a different broadcaster.
Watch this space.
Gooner for life.
@ rupert
So being an enigma is a reason to spew mountains of negativity about a club? I seriously doubt that. Also, I’m afraid it DOES have a negative effect on the team. I know fans of other teams whose perceptions of Arsenal are basically defined by the media. Ask them to describe Arsenal, they’ll say we’re a sh!t team that hasn’t won a trophy in x years. Then the media changes their talking points and we become a team in crisis about to lose their manager. I know guys who still think Arsenal is a “French team”. Basically, whatever the media is force feeding the public at the time, is what most people will believe. I even read comments on articles and blogs that talk about how Bradford completely outplayed us! Not in the game I was watching… We kept them in their own half for most of the game, and created many chances. All we failed to do was score. But read a match report on that game, or listen to a pundit, and you’d never guess that unless you watched the game. And then you get guys who DID watch the game commenting on the match reports, agreeing with author that e were outplayed. 28 shots to 5, and we were outplayed?
My point is, a large number of people have their perceptions affected by media. That’s why America can invade a country using the excuse of WMD, and by the time they’re done everyone has forgotten that it was about weapons, and not removing a dictator.
@Woody
The persistence with which the rupert spews out his negative bile day after day and week after week could make anyone surprised that he bothers to post on this site. It would be easy to think that he would be at home on Le Groan – indeed he may well post to that site under a different name.
But, the persistence over a period of time should make the answer a bit more obvious to us now, it is not just that the rupert is an AAA sewer rat determined to wind us all up with his negativity, or that he takes a malicious pleasure in causing mischief, or that he has a mental weakness which leads to compulsive posting and ego building – it may be all of these, but, far more likely he is in the employ of a fat high roller and is being deliberately used not just to attack AW, but to undermine this site – why – because this site has been so staunch in supporting AW and is seen by a certain high roller as an obstacle to his ambition.
Time the rupert was red carded.
Deindividuation,
Look it up, it all makes sense now. You really couldn’t make it up.
http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php?id=77099
They even named a theory after the family.
In passing, people make harsh comments about Diaby being deadwood who should be moved on, because of his injury record.
Let’s remember that his vulnerability to injuries results from the permanent damage caused by the disgraceful tackle by the Sunderland player some years ago. (I know, he wasn’t that kind of player, not a malicious bone in his body, just showing full-bloodied commitment and all that kind of shite)
Diaby is a talented player and it is to Arsenal’s credit as an employer that he is still here…. contrast with Man Utd treatment of Hargreaves.
@C4, but who cares how fans of other teams perceive us? How does what a supporter of Spuds or Chelsea think of Arsenal affect players? What do you expect a fan of another team to think of us? What do you care what they think of us?
Millwall fans sing, “Everybody hates us and we don’t care.” They use negativity to fire their team up.
The fact is that we failed to beat a League 2 side with a full strength team. Dominating a game is different from winning it and to paraphrase Wenger, “we had an illusory dominance.”
The WMD issue is another matter. There were large parts of the media in this country who were not in favour of invading Iraq. If people believe what politicians say then I’m afraid they get what they deserve.
@Adam, is that link a way of showing you disapprove of the hostility certain posters show to me?
I don’t know why they have to write pages on the subject, I’d say it’s plainly obvious. Safety in numbers, as the saying goes. When the majority bends in one direction it takes courage to bend the other way.
It’s how people excuse their extreme behaviour in riots or lynch mobs. It’s how many people in 1930′s Germany felt vindicated when they displayed inhuman behaviour towards fellow humans. To be the voice of a rabbit among a pack of wolves takes rare courage.
@bjt, I imagine you were a bully at school, now you like to bully people on the internet. Maybe you were bullied yourself, in which case you have my sympathy.
I’ve met people like you in real life. The nasty little man who despises free speech who heckles those who he dislikes. The man who imposes his views on weaker types, who takes pleasure in denigrating and humiliating people. They usually have a reason for it. Lack of self esteem or a terrible home life. These people deserve some understanding.
Of course some people were just born with nasty natures.
@Woody, you’ve been talking about ignoring me for ages and yet you never do.
I’ll say one thing for you, at least you don’t make utterly ludicrous assumptions about me like bjt gooner.
We’re discussing Arsenal of today, not yesteryear, and there’s not a lot to be positive about.
But here are some positives: we’re not in a relegation battle. We are a rich club. We have Wilshire. We have a brand new stadium. We can still win one competition and have a slight chance of winning another. We have a history to be proud of.
Anyway here’s the latest from planet Wenger:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-arsene-wenger-jokes-hes-1489711
He acquits himself well as the biased media lay into him but I do wish he’d stop harping on about 13 years of CL qualification when that’s the least you’d expect considering the resources Arsenal have. In response to this tedious mantra I’d say, “and what year did you win it?”
The most bizarre comment is his claim that we won trophies with less focused and serious teams. Really? Makes you wonder why this team is so average then. Reminds me of his odd claim a few years ago when he said that that squad was the best he ever had. Not very fair on the amazing squad of 98 that did the double; in comparison what did that “best squad” achieve?
Perhaps by serious he means they all sit down and discuss the literature of Selma Lagerlof and how being the first woman to win the Nobel prize for literature inspired other women to write. Or they discuss the burgeoning hatred for the unemployed engendered by the disastrous George Osborne in his attempts to criminalize them.
Anyway, let’s see where we are in May and how many trophies we hold aloft.
Perhaps some people would prefer it if Arsene Wenger stopped protecting his players.
Maybe he should take them onto the field of play during H/T and lay into them. That worked out well for Hull City.
Try not taking things to heart Rupert.
A man of your perceived intelligence doesn’t really believe our manager is addressing anyone other than his present group of players when answering the loaded Press conference questions .
@rupert (depressive AAA sewer rat with acne but not a lisp and who thinks he is a rabbit)
You are indeed a strange one, there is a lot of material in your mind waiting to be discovered by the medical profession. You constantly knife the team and manager behind their back, mostly using throw away cliches rather than a developed argument, then when you are in turn attacked face to face (or post to post) you scream bully. Attacking people behind their back is cowardly – but that is what you do.
The fact that you persist in your cowardly attacks suggest that there is a reason for your persistence. There is a variation in your phraseology which suggests you are not just one rat but a nest, so who would employ a nest of rats to go onto a pro Wenger site to continuously vomit their anti Wenger bile?
@Rupert’s
“Anyway, let’s see where we are in May and how many trophies we hold aloft.”
Ahh, now I see your problem.
This is an Arsenal supporters site.
The number of trophies in May is not material to support of the club. If it were we’d all be moving north.
@rupert like you said AW is “going against the current”. when the whole of media is always probing, questioning players, team and coach; when there is nothing but doubt & negativity someone should move against the current. the general tone of fans is negative,media is negative, IG is sort of confused, usmanov & kroenke are indifferent so its down to AW to send somewhat a positive message. yes some of the things AW says is way too much accentuating the positive. but we have to bear in mind that he won’t slate his players in public no matter how horrible they are- e.g. gervinho & chamack.
@Rupert, to answer your question no I did not have you in mind when I posted that link on deindividuation, although I can see how you found similarities and yes we all fall in to it somewhere along the line.
Ultimately this is a pro Wenger haven, I know you enjoy debate but you will not change peoples opinions on wenger and I don’t think that is your objective anyway. If you chose to play devils advocate all the time you will get challenged.
The link was more directed at the media situation with all publications hounding Arsenal. It shows a trend a mode if you will, that has become common all across the media hence DEINdividuation it seems orchestrated although probably just picked up and expanded by the gossip and buls**t sellers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deindividuation
Funny that we have a word that describes the propaganda aimed at Arsenal and Arsene that also carries the name of the man who set us on this collision course.
You couldn’t make it up.
@ rupert
Even our own fans are having their perceptions affected. That’s how strong media influence is. They are turning againt their players, so it’s no surprise that our away record is better than our home record.
The media do have an effect, but hopefully, the cavalry will soon arrive, starting with a clutch of homegrown players signing contract extensions, including hopefully Wilshere.
That, the arrival of a couple of new players, and a few departures of players holding squad places , commanding big wages but who clearly have no future at this club should at least increase the feel good factor around the place.
Mandy,
Signing extensions is surely a tonic for the atmospherics, but as with Cesc and Song, what does a signed contract mean if the player, at any time, wants out and the club is not willing to say NO ever. A player can sign an extension to look good, or give the club a thank-you and some leverage in future sales, etc., but, as we know, contracts are not respected in professional football.
very true Bob…and until these are announced on arse.com, we cannot be sure of anything. But hopefully, this marks moving into a new era. These are good players, including the much maligned Ramsey. For whatever reason, we have recently signed players who have proven expensive, but nowhere near good enough. Just have to hope this will stop.
On another note, just heard this recent quote from Tim Payton on Wenger
“His inability to delegate or seek help from others has resulted in a stale environment where best practice is no longer to the fore”
I actually agree with some – if not all of the things Tim says, but he is quite critical of the club becoming an increasingly corporate American style franchise…or that sort of thing, so those words did tickle me somewhat!
p.s. let me add RvP to the list. The club will not (as in never) exercise its actual or potential leverage and ability to say NO, even when it has the upper hand. Even as AW says – in public – that he will not sell a player no matter what (as, at different times, with Nasri, RvP, Cesc), that player is always sold. By playing hardball and refusing the wantaways (actual and seeming), the club could have, imo, won at least 2 of the 3 stand-offs. RvP could not have afforded a bad showing in his possible walk away free last season, or ruin his prospects of a great contract at his next team (if he left). Song could have been kept with 3 years remaining on that contract. Neither RvP nor Song had a track record of the presumed disruption that they might bring to the changing room if they did not get released. And x-Cess could have been kept for another year or, at the very least, actual market value rather than sub-market value. Of course, all this now comes to Walcott’s situation – our top scorer who is played part time. Why are people who love this club so glum? Why do fans who bond with our best players feel steamrolled? It doesn’t take Freud or a rocket scientist to see a club that will not spend to put quality on the pitch; and that suffers accumulated dro$$ (aka deadwood) to a large extent. Mandy, if no quality purchases are made – and I don’t mean swapping Theo for whomever, as if it’s a purchase – what then? Let’s see, but to me, it is the acid test.
p.s. And does anyone know if Podolski is earning 90K per week?
If so, can anyone see that Walcott may well have a point? Is he busting the sacred “wage structure” or has it already been done with Podolski? In either case, the club has money, arguably has had money, and will hopefully make a qualitative difference to the intermittent (and justly well-loved) Arsenal football that one might get to glimpse on rare occasion this season.
Song – just the mention of that gets me annoyed. Yes , we have not been replacing with equal quality and it is frustrating. All is not currently so well, we have undoubtedly made mistakes, in signings, management, closing deals, contract negotiations, scouting, assuming players would extend when they had no intention of doing so, wages, the lot. I just hope the powers that be have learned, if they have not, we will lose our place near the top, and that suits nobody. The way Poldi, Santi and Giroud were handled encourages me, Song, Theo and maybe Sagna maybe less so. We are now a big and wealthy club, and we must now be managed accordingly.
I agree, we should at times strike a harder deal. Hernandez rumoured to want out of Utd, wouldn’t it be great if Wenger had negotiated forst refusal in such an event as part of the RVP deal. These clubs we keep selling to must have players we could use, shame we never seem interested in taking advantage. We have made mistakes, we have been too finance driven, maybe for good reasons. But now, we seem to be in a much better place, a good time to change a few things.
Back to Theo, as much as I like him, just get the feeling Wenger does not really rate him, maybe the same with Song…but even so, no excuse for lack of replacements.
@Mandy and bob
Like you I was very disappointed at our high profile departures over the last two summers – up to that point we were close to contending for the EPL. There was the Dein factor in most if not all of those departures – and that did not seem to help the club. What we need now is stability and some rapid rebuilding, unfortunately it looks like Walcott may cause further instability. I don’t think we will know the right way of these transfers until Wenger writes his memoirs, but they may be worth the wait!
@bjtgooner
I wouldn’t bank on Wenger’s memoirs (if they ever materialise) revealing much. These days most organisations (which include major football clubs) have contractual clauses and/or settlement agreements which effectively restrict employees revealing anything negative about them when they leave. That’s why these days most memoirs and autobigraphies are so bland.
@Adam, I doubt I will change people’s opinions. What happens on the field will as it has for many fans in the last few years. And the continuing selling of our best players. If we sell Wilshire in a couple of years time I wonder who will be still happy about the direction the club is going.
@Matt Clarke, I bet you hated it when we were winning trophies in the early days under Wenger. “We don’t want those things cluttering up the place. Arsenal is above winning trophies, that’s for the likes of Birmingham and Portsmouth and we all know what happened to them.”
@Mandy, well selling Song seems mystifying to fans. It seems the logical reason was to ensure we didn’t have a net loss on expenditure in the transfer market. I don’t think you can really run a big club like that. Sometimes you have to make an investment which incurs a loss, that’s what big businesses do, speculate to accumulate.
@Tasos, “a man of my perceived intelligence”, that was very funny Tasos, it made me laugh anyway (:
@bjt, I’m trying to ignore your unhinged posts aimed at me but I couldn’t resist replying to the latest nonsense.
How exactly am I attacking anyone behind their back on a public forum?
You’re an idiot, and I’m not one for blatant abuse but it has to be said.
It is really strange that a discussion between fans has turned into a battle between fans, completely forgetting the discussion. These are the “stirrers” who infiltrate and cause problems between peaceful discussions.
Anyway it is clear to me that AW is not liked by the UK media at all. Why? I have no real idea why. Choose your own reason:
AW does not hobnob with the so called “elite”.
AW is French.
AW buys only french players,(at least until recently).
AW has integrity, which just does not work in UK football, where it is a battle and not a game.
AW makes stupid decisions, but who doesn’t?
AW says apparently silly things, but who else doesn’t?
I could go on and on and on.
Para
And he wears a very long coat
Para
And he wears a very long coat