They Say We’re A Selling Club. But We Are The Carthaginians Of Football!
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Before we get into the meat of today’s blog ie “Are We A Selling Club” I want to jump ahead to a theme further down the blog:
Arsenal’s Teutonic Dimension
And a man who may play a big role for us this weekend against those Stoke bastards, Per Mertesacker:
Superb Graphic Work By @The_Zama
Right, then. Let’s get started…
They Say We’re A Selling Club
I see the discussion all the time among not only pundits but also supporters. Are we a selling club?
The Wall Street Journal no less ran a piece on how Arsenal was a selling club. But do they identify the real villains. Not a word. Far from it, in fact. The culprits are extolled for their virtue of ambition.
For Arsenal fans, it has become a way of life. Their club is, in some ways, a farm team for the competition. In fact, following the transfer of Song to Barcelona on Saturday the total value of all players the Catalans have taken from Arsenal since 2000 now stands at around $185 million. You could argue that, after Barcelona’s vaunted La Masia youth academy, Arsenal is its biggest source of talent, having dispatched seven players to the Camp Nou in that time.
– The WSJ.
Look, if Barcelona were not allowed to finance 1/2 a billion, yes, read that a second time, 1/2 a billion in subsidized loans, they wouldn’t be buying our players. They did not build a stadium with this. They have the highest wage bill on the planet. Higher than Real Madrid, who also owe nearly 1/2 a billion. We would not be criticized for being a selling club if everyone woke up and shouted down the real villains in this drama.
Subsidized loans? Yes, FCB has borrowed money and then broken the repayment terms on the loans. But the banks are Catalonian, and so they can’t touch FCB or their Catalonian customers will walk out on them,
We did not choose to have the game distorted by Oily Clubs and Spanish profligate bullies. And we must fight on in the face of it.
Are We A Selling Club?
Are We A Selling Club??
Are We A Selling Club???
No, mate. We are not a Selling Club. We Sell and We Buy. We are a TRADING CLUB!
We ARE The Effing Carthaginians of Football
We did not want to be a selling team but perhaps we were for a number of years. We had a stadium to finance, a stadium that is the envy of the footballing world.
We are not a selling team NOW, we are a TRADING TEAM, like Dortmund. We are the greatest of traders. We are THE FUCKING CATHAGINIANS OF FOOTBALL, pal.
The Carthaginians were Phoenicians, the great sea-traders of the ancient Mediterranean, famous for cedar ships, the alphabet, purple cloth, Carthage, Hannibal and cities in Lebanon. Yet they also created a strong and unique society that interacted with the great societies of antiquity such as Greece, Rome, Egypt, Persia and others. 
Yep, that’s us! And just in case you think the Carthaginians sound a little wussy, here are a few other facts:
Hannibal was a Carthaginian. And he kicked the might of the Roman Empire all over the Italian Peninsula for 16 years straight. He was a brilliant general, like Wenger. But his might came from the ability of the Carthaginians to trade. They bought shit and they sold shit. And what they sold was much more valuable than what they bought. With the revenue they generated, they matched the might of the Roman Empire. That sounds like Arsenal to me.
You are a selling club if you need to sell players to stay in business. That’s not us.
You are a buying club if you have surplus funds to buy from the selling clubs. Somehow that doesn’t really fully describe us either.
But there is another class of club. The trading club. That would describe Dortmund and The Arsenal.
The Dortmund/Arsenal Model for success:
Let me summarize it:
We cannot beat the Oilygarchs at pissing away money. They are the best at that. They will always overpay for top players, especially from us.
To win, we must out-think and out-trade the bastards.
From this year forward, we will effectively be running a surplus:
1. As Ivan Gazidis stated, they kept “some powder dry” from last year ie they carried forward some funds so that we could strengthen when the right player(s) became available.
2. The Queens Road property netted our coffers 30m this year
3. vP and Song netted us about the amount we spend on Cazorla, Poldi and Giroud
4. In 2014 our new commercial deals will start to kick in, which should generate serious additional revenues
5. In 2014 major additional broadcast revenues will flow to ALL of the EPL clubs, including Arsenal – a mixed blessing too be sure. But it will strengthen us against foreign clubs ie Barca.
6. Michel Platini’s maligned FFP has already started to kick in (witness Manchester City’s inactivity this transfer window.) How effective it will be, only time will tell.
So, we are already effectively revenue positive and revenues are about to become very positive indeed.
Will this make us a buying club? Many lesser clubs already consider us a buying club. It just depends where you are in the food-chain. We will generate strong revenues to strengthen the squad and we will further supplement it through continual development of young talent.
But the Oily clubs and the Spanish bullies will always have more money. So, they will buy some of our players. So we will always be called a selling club.
But don’t be fooled. If your sales all go to improve your squad, then you are a TRADING CLUB. If on the other hand, they go to pay the bank, you are a selling club. We used to be a selling club. We had a stadium to build.
Now, we look for value in the market to allow us to strengthen the team. They pay us 2.4 Poldis for a 29 yr old player with 1 year left on contract. We buy Cazorla and Poldi for the same amount and get them on 4 year contracts.
They pay us 1.5 Poldis for Alex Song, about whom Wenger has been scratching his head for some time. Problem solved! And we’ll add a midfielder and another defender according to Wenger. We’ll be laughing!
No one can say we didn’t strengthen our squad. Well, yes, those idiots will. But, we bought, we sold. We made 2 nobodies, bought for peanuts, into world-class stars (apparently) from unpromising beginnings and we generated nearly 40m which we then re-invested into quality which is reaching it’s peak:
- Cazorla – 2001/11 La Liga Signing of the year
- Podolski – German International current Top Scorer
- Giroud – Ligue 1 Top Scorer for Montpellier and Ligue 1 Winner
- +1 TBA Defender
So, what have we done with this money lately? Have you noticed anything about our Arsenal recently? It is developing a very Teutonic streak to it, and I like it.
The Very Profile Of An Arsenal Player
Have you noticed anything about the players we have bought in the last couple of years. They are by-and-large top class, reasonable money, down-to-earth, committed and here is the most important piece…NON-WHORES. None will be found shuffling cards on Youtube, teasing us with which club they may deign to honour with their presence. Nor will their agent demand for the club to make him a separate 5-6m payment for selling his whore to us.
Remember also that it was the only club that Cazorla, Poldi, Giroud, Gervinho, Arteta, The Ox and Mertesacker wanted.
Ambition: Does Arsenal Just Want To Make The Top 4.
The Fox Soccer Report panel basically stated that Arsenal had already given up competing this year, and were only interested in a Top 4 finish. Arsenal is only a business, they said, and selling van Persie proves it. I got into a Twitter debate a couple of days ago. It had a simlar theme. We’ve all heard it parotted mindlessly and repeatedly. The club only wants to make the Top 4. That is the sum of their ambition.
In answer to those who are cynical about the ambitions of the board, I would say 2 things:
- Honestly, why would the board not want to win? It will massively improve our position when marketing our commercial rights.
- Much, much more importantly, Arsene Wenger is here and looking deadly serious. He can only be at the club for 1 reason.
MAN ON A MISSION
There is only one reason for Wenger to still be here. He has been offered some of the best and most lucrative jobs on the planet elsewhere. This man built the Invincibles. This man has 3 EPLs, 4 FA Cups and a Champions League final. He’s not here to see how long he can keep Arsenal in the Top 4 now is he? Just like Fergie, he is only sticking around because he KNOWS he can do it again.
- He knows much more about the board than you and I or Tim Payton will ever know. (Remember, he’s best buddies with David Dein so he knows everything that Dein knows and therefore everything that Usmanov knows.)
- He knows much more about the club’s finances than you and I or Tim Payton
- He knows much more about Kroenke’s intentions than you and I or Tim Payton could ever know
- He’s not abusing all those water bottles because he loves coming 4th
So, if a smart, savvy man like Wenger who knows everything about winning and knows everything about the internals of this club is still here, shouldn’t we think that he likes what he sees? You think you want to win some Silverware? Arsene Wenger is ON A MISSION to show we can win, to show he was right.
Pundits and supporters forget that none of these players we signed this year would be here if we weren’t a Top 4 club. But don’t confuse our minimum goal with our maximum ambition. You can’t win the Prem this year if you didn’t make the Top 4 last year. It’s never going to happen. You’ll haemorrhage even more players and won’t be able to trade for top quality replacements.
For those who think Arsene is too soft on his players, and that he cossets them, better turn away from this movie. It’s about to get bloody. He’s going to be buying and selling his way to a trophy. The man has an iron hand in a velvet glove.
Ambition, Robin? Championships aren’t won by a player showing up for 90 minutes a week. They are won by a visionary manager who works 24 x 7 x 365 to build a winning team, a winning squad and a winning club. You left behind a manager and a squad every bit the match for the ones you took off to. Doh!
Beware the Ides of May, Robin.
Fantastic blog mate. Probably your best yet. I loved the ending, it’s so true. I’m actually working on something along those lines and personally believe that our signings made us a much more competitive team and of higher quality man for man than United and that Robin staying would have rocketed us miles ahead of United this season but Robin had other ideas and he decided that he’d rather earn double and have the same chance of winning than his old club do without him instead of accepting a reasonable salary and having a significantly better chance of winning than his new club would have done without him.
Once again, top top work mate.
Again, a 5 star piece. However, I perceive you might be what some Gooners call an AKB fan. Wenger’s one of the most brilliant managers on the face of the earth and he sure wants a lot more than just the top 4 spots but, that doesn’t mean he can’t or will not make mistakes along the way. I also say it’s best that we don’t fail to speak up about them when he does make them, he’s not perfect.
I’d say like you said, we used to be a selling club. Now, we’re the present day Chinese (selling ‘quality’ products at cut throat prices).
You have out done yourself this time, Paul
What has Shara, been putting in your porridge. Whatever it is, we all want some.
Thank you for taking the time. 😄
Great article. First time here, I’ll be returning.
Me too mate.
Me too.
As above
An interesting read, even from a Spurs fans perspective. Found myself here through the labyrinth that is Twitter, and didn’t regret it too much, surprisingly. Liked your last point about Wenger being on a mission, good to see that fans have so much belief in a manager.
-Football That’s All
Thanks mate. good luck this year. Not too much luck. Just enough 😉
Ha! Effin love it mate! Well done and TBH, its what being a fan should be like. Way too much jaundiced cynicism based on agenda driven negative twats and lazy hacks and pundits.
Lets enjoy the ride.
Quality. And actually very much agree with you. I think that in the next year (or two) we will see a slightly more crowded trophy cabinet, and a ridiculously strong team to go with it. One thing I’ve noticed is the overwhelming positivity coming from supporters this year. Not last years groans. I think everyone is starting to see something special in this squad, even if the media want to keep labeling us a “club I’m crisis.” crisis all the way to the title!
Super article mate !! I love a ruthless Arsene ! Though I had seen that “flowchart” earlier (in an earlier article of urs), it makes so much more sense with this one ! Plus I love it that I can open ur blog on my phone fast ….
My first time reading your blog, but definetly won’t be my last! Excellent piece
Comparisons are bound to be drawn, so here’s one, thinking objectively. Man United had Wayne Rooney, Wellback, Chicharito, and Berbatov in their strikeforce. Rooney and Berbatov are vastly experienced in premier league, and Wellback and Chicarito have tasted success as well. Now they have added Robin Van Persie, another established striker who can contribute in numerous ways, not scoring alone.
If A doesn’t work out for them, they have B, C and so on to compete throughout the season coping with injuries and poor individual runs.
I am only commenting on your opinion of our ambition for the premier league honors. Whilst our rivals have consolidated their positions by holding on to their current crop of players, we are yet again in the damage control mode. To expect us to win is to expect our new looking squad to out perform our previous season by 19 points or so. It is unfair and thus unrealistic.
If we are able to retain our proven performers and then add more quality, we can match our rivals’ credentials. Until that happens, we can play ambitiously, but winning the title would be another thing.
This is an encouraging and spirit lifting post thanks a lot
P/s I love the way you use the profanities
I just not get any better. Proud to know you, proud to be blogging at same time as a legend. This article is everything others would wish to articulate but simply cannot, myself included. Brilliance
nice one!
except…You can seriously state that Arsenal is the best at trading while they usually pay the immense wages of such flops as:Almunia,Squillacci,Chamakh,Denilson,Vela,Bendtner,Park(only monitoring last years squad,but be honest,everyone could easily add a name or two to this list from our very recent past-Senderos springs to mind…)from whom they cannot get rid of,and who stay behind to occupy a place in the squad and pick up their wages for doing exactly nothing?!
The money that could have been easily spent more efficiently,for example not to spoil avarage-at-best players,but spend that little money for players who can actually improve the squad?
Instead,the only tendency I could spot until this summer,that all the players we wanted to keep moved away,and the ones who stayed were the ones who were supposed to leave for good…then Van Persie and Song moved away…
(the jury is still out,as the window hasn’t closed yet,Cazorla is exactly the kind of singning that everybody asked for in the last 5 years-shows ambition!
Podolski will be a dissapointment for the DailyMail reader Arsenal fans,but may still be better than that big foreheaded Gervinho(another flop that everybody is so polite to not mention)
Giroud can be good,but he has the task to replace one of the best strikers of he world-easy eh?)
@ gergo
Every club has what fans call “dead wood”. There are going to be players who don’t work out. Every club has trouble shifting them – Man City have just paid Adebayor to go to Spurs, because he wouldn’t take a paycut! These problems are not unique to us. But in any case, you should be made aware that the wage structure is already being reformed.
We have lost players that we wanted to keep in the last few years, there is no doubt, but you could say that none of those players had what it took to drag us over the line. The point is that we have a) remained competitive *as a team* and b) that through intelligent trading we now we have a cracking squad AND money to augment it whenever we need to. Clearly, we need a period of stability, but don’t blame the club for the disruption, caused by players leaving, blame the players.
I never said we traded flawlessly, mate. But we were apparently pretty good at it. Stayed in Top 4 while being a Selling Club. Pretty good trick, don’t you think. Mistakes? Sure. Lot’s of them. Like every other club. We paid some players too much but we got away with paying most players under the odds. You never know whether a player will work out till you bring him in. People ie players are complicated. But we got it right a lot more than we got it wrong on a fraction of our competitor’s budgets. Check out Liverpool to see how difficult it is to get it right for 16 straight seasons.
fair enough,it is an achievment,and a rather big one at that
getting a little tired of always playing the victim though-surely there must be at least a little factor on our side(meaning the board,the manager)that leads all our best players out of the club.
All of them were a Wenger product,yet they still walked out on him-this must mean something(the loyal ones as well,not just the greedy types like Ade or Nasri)
Well, we cant deny that other clubs have been much more likely to win silverware than us in previous years to be fair. I think we are a much more serious contender this year now that our financial side has improved. Though not many of the players have left us without getting paid double by clubs willing to spend at Oil Money levels. But we will never hold our top couple of players even when we win. It will only make them more attractive to Oily Clubs. And the player will look to cash in on being a winner for the pay packet of a lifetime. Fact of Life for non-Oily Clubs.
That’s my thoughts, anyway. Appreciate the comments, mate.
you have outdone yourself, mate. brilliant article.
Awesome! I love this blog – so intelligent and your presentation is original and entertaining. Go to the top of the class!
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LEGEND!! Great Article first time reading your blog best read I had all your year
Great stuff mate, a good antidote to the moaning bastards.
Top blog, alot of negativity around at start of this season, I’m still optimistic
What can I say, a brilliant bit of writing. “Were not a selling club, were a trading club” Brillant
wow. when I feel down and out about my beloved gunners, I will read this again and my faith will be restored. biblically awesome
maybe you should be the last man any arsenal player talks to before they attempt to leave. I am sure if you spoke to van Persie before he left he would have gone to wenger on bended knees begging to stay. there is no club like arsenal, I know that, you know that, every arsenal fan knows that, some ex players even admit leaving arsenal was their worst move, overmars, hleb, petite, pires, and most of all one of the greatest players to grace the English leauge, Thierry Henry. great stuff.
GREAT PIECE!
Fantastic article! Great read, will be a slap in the face of Cesc, Nasri and RVP if we do win the league. I really hope it happens.
This is the first article that made me feel better about arsenal this season.
Nice one mate ! … Liked the positivity and sends out the perfect message to the other clubs ..
Another great piece man, excellent conclusion too. Loved this bit: “He’s going to be buying and selling his way to a trophy. The man has an iron hand in a velvet glove.”
Great article, really good
absolutely brilliant… Think this article should always be in the official matchday program for all ’em doubting thomases to serve as a reminder.. You couldn’t have said it any better mate, first time on here and boi!! Best post i’ve read in a long while… “BOOKMARKED”
STANDING OVATION.
I am adopting this as my manifesto. You can’t stop me. Because it’s just that brilliant.
Great idea! Cool. In arsene we trust!!!
Love it – one to throw in the face of the doubters!
I love it when a link appears on your twitter to one of your new posts because I know that it will not only be funny (yours is probably one of the funniest blogs I read) but also quality! And this is no exception, your mixing of comedy and fact is brilliant yet again and you never fail to have me sitting in front of my computer nodding in agreement and smiling like an idiot. Keep it up 🙂
If our net spending within the past x years is a negative then we are selling club. We may not be a sell-only club and there is a genius to Wenger’s ability to continually find enough diamonds in the rough to keep us in CL contention, but this isn’t a game of flipping players for a profit all the time,
We shouldnt need to spend like the big money clubs due to Wenger’s talent-sensing talents, but we dont spend at all (in a net sense) and don’t have any trophies to show for it either. Combine that with the fact that we regularly lose stars we want to keep, (even if after the fact we rationalize why we didnt need them anymore anyway and giggle about how much profit we made off them) and that makes us a selling club.
(Also I believe there is some debate as to whether the money needed to put the team in true title contention would result in a sufficient difference in marketing our commercial rights as to be worth the gamble, but perhaps that could be a whole other blog post)
Good points. I do say we WERE a net selling club over last few years. We had a stadium to build. But I say from this year forward we are not. We are a trading club. A good one.
If you reinvest the money from the Star sales, even if you didnt want to sell, then you are net trading. You are also probably strengthening the squad overall, if you do it right. We end up selling a lot of start players because we produce a lot of them. Victim of our own abilities.
Regarding money to get into title contention, I don’t say that the board will throw money at a title run, gambling on commercial success to follow. The board won’t. My point was, to those who say the Board isn’t interested in winning, of course they are. They’d bloody love it. Who wouldn’t.
While you say we shouldnt need to spend like the Oily Clubs to win, the data shows money = titles. So, you kinda do. I do think we can contend and if we get everything just right, we can win. But we’ve to climb over 3 mega clubs to do it. But our revenues will only become significantly “positive” when 2014’s new revenue streams kick in.
That’s my opinion. Thanks for the comments, mate.
Well at the moment I do believe we have spent a net of 1 million, so we might be considered a trading club, but if we sell Arshavin and/or Bendtner and/or Theo (and I expect we will sell at least one) we will still be a selling club this year too. Nonetheless we need to be more than a trading club if we wish to make up the ground lost from our years as a selling club, mere reinvestment just keeps us level.
As for the board and trophies, no one is saying they are actively opposed to winning, but if they won’t throw the necessary money at a title run they might as well not want it. It’s like saying you want to buy a new car, but then spending all your money at the pub, it’s clearly not a real priority for you. Yes you’d be quite happy if a new car fell into your lap (not literally of course, haha) but if you can’t be bother to actually work towards getting it how much interest is really there?
Finally, my point wasn’t that we wouldn’t have to spend, just that with Wenger’s eye for talent on the cheap we shouldn’t have to spend as much as the mega clubs to surpass them. As mentioned in 7amkickoff’s post a while back on the analysis of total team values (http://www.7amkickoff.com/2012/how-much-money-would-it-take-to-bring-arsenal-level-with-the-big-spenders/) Wenger is worth the equivalent of another 100 million being spent on players. So maybe we’re “keeping our powder dry” until 2014 when new revenue combines with FFP to really allow us to financially compete, but for now we’re still likely to be a selling club for another year.
Thanks for taking the time to respond
Mate, thanks for the response to the response.
I agree the “board” will not try to buy a title tilt. It will have to be done from whatever funds the club can generate. Which is completely fair and reasonable, if only our competitors played by the same rules, which they don’t.
The Queensland Road property sale of this year is worth 30m. It is expected that NO money will be taken out of the club in the foreseeable. That has been Kroenke’s commitment. The point being, the club has money. And with good trading, the club has quite a bit of money. They may shift a bunch more players to add another 10-15m. They have spent about half of this year’s pot so far, I would estimate. So as a club you can safely say, we are now a Trading Club, not a Selling Club. How much more will we spend and how much more will we bank for future purchases, I guess we’ll find out by 11.59pm on August 31st.
I believe this squad is strong enough to compete for the title, but it still may be short in the end this year. But there are only so many changes you can throw at a team in one year and we will soon be near the max absorb-able.
Next year we should be stronger again.
“I agree the “board” will not try to buy a title tilt. It will have to be done from whatever funds the club can generate.”
But that’s my point, we HAVE money in the bank that we’re not spending. According to Tim Payton from AST we still have about £65m cash in the bank we’re not using (https://twitter.com/timpayton/status/238525102206091264) We are still “keeping the powder dry” despite a guaranteed CL spot to attract players and the fact this is the last year to win trophies before we begin negotiations for our new sponsorship deals. Sorry, but I don’t believe the board will ever make the slightest effort to win a trophy
Yes, I saw that convo on twitter yesterday. But the club IS conservative and WILL keep a rainy day fund in case we miss out on CL. But we still have money over and above that. Wenger/Ivan like having some cash so they can make a deal when the “right” player comes up eg Cazorla. Some on who’s a game changer but at Arsenal prices ie 1.0-1.5 Poldis.
But even still we have further money so I expect there will be further purchases.
And, they believe in the current squad. I do too, to be honest. Needs 2-3 more players.
Great column, truely spoken ,interesting and factual.So what if they haven’t won a trophy for a while, they play the most entertaining football in the league and I see humility out there and respect.Well done Arsene, keep it up and sod what everyone may think. You don’t need them BUT they need you.
It’s not Wenger’s fault, its the board. They haven’t invested jack shit in the club and are watching while their investment grows in value. SACK THE BOARD!
Plus you shouldn’t have compared The Arsenal to Carthage; as the romans razerd the city to the ground in 2 wars, wiping out nearly every trace of it, because guess what? The Romans were richer and had much greater resources than their Punic enemies, Carthage.
That’s the thing with analogies. You have to think about what is relevant from them. Yes, Delenda est Cartago, but as you may have noticed, Rome got wiped out too. But what didn’t get erased was that trading is king. Trading and Adding Value are Arsenal’s strengths. Those are today’s Empire builders. Throwing money at something is unsupportable in the LONG run. And it won’t be Arsenal’s way.
good one mate… let the moaners read this
goo one mate, atleast we deserve positive coments to this already disheartenin summer, thou i agree with u abt our trading status, yet i ask, wht do u think would hav become of arsenal if we had kept atleast one of the two stars we loose evry year? contunuity pays in football you knw..
This is quit epic Poznan..An Article not only filled with absolute Knowledge of Content, but also full of Passion for the subject discussed..Nobody can again ask u how u feel on us being termed “selling club” you have poured your heart out on this wonderfully crafted piece..i just simply LOVE IT!!! Goodwork bro,can be assured u will have regular visitors on here:) keep on Tha good work!!!
PS: Before i forget,i want u to say hi to Shara for me,u guys are just AMAZING…U rock!!!
Top top blog.
Like everyone said here, you mix comedy with serious stuffs very well. And I like how often you use history to back up your arguments. And the presentation… oh haven’t been this excited from reading a post only.
You have the passion, knowledge, and the humor to craft a master piece like this. Keep writing mate and we’ll repeat after you for the doubters: “We are not a Selling Club. We Sell and We Buy. We are a TRADING CLUB!”
i love you man.uou have brought the arsenal DNA back inside me
nyc piece of work. So into details. Shows we are the most ambitious club. Wish all those who think arsenal is ova would read this. Up ARSENAL!!!!!
Doffs hat. First time, and must say I wasn’t disappointed. Keep the good work up, mate.
Nice and positive piece overall. However Hannibal the son of Hamilcar Barca could have conquered Rome after the battle at Cama, but he did not. He hesitated for a moment and his undecisiveness cost Carthagena at the end. The third Punic war ended with the total destriction of the beautiful city and its population and nobility killed/enslaved. If you want to draw a paralel – Wenger’s unwillingness and sometimes unreasoable stubborness to buy top talent for a lil premium when necessary. Also, let’s not blame Barcelona, Real, Man City, Chelsea, ManUre, Liverpool, etc for their financial models. It is what it is and the RealPolitik question here is – why are they better financially and squad wise than us and what are we doing about it? Wenger’s project died officially with the loss of 5 top Arsenal-developed talents in the span of one year (among who – 2 captains, world-class players and legends in the making). Now Wenger like Hannibal is back to rely on recently bought “mercenaries” – same way Hannibal’s army was. It’s been a year since I don’t trust Wenger, but I still have faith in his abilities to lead this team. This year he will make it or break it.
There are a number of accounts of the Battle of Cannae. Remember that we are talking over 2,000 yrs ago before there was any formal history, as such. So nothing is terribly reliable apart from Hannibal destroyed the Romans. Hannibal was famously decisive. If he hesitated, it is likely it was with excellent reason. The consensus is that Hannibal did not believe he had sufficient forces to take the City of Rome and awaited reinforcement.
That a small trading port matched the might of the Romans is testament enough what can be achieved when great trading success is allied to great vision and leadership. Carthage had no choice but to pre-empt the attack on their people by the regional power of the Romans. No one would say that the Carthaginians didn’t massively over perform. They shocked the known world, mate.
Your question: why are they better financially and squad wise than us and what are we doing about it? Because of their Oil money obviously. You can’t skip past the financial question. You just can’t. RM and Barca borrowed 1/2 a billion. Then they and the Oily Clubs all buy our players.
And so your question is, why don’t we borrow 100s of millions to hold on to our Star players?
You call Wenger stubborn, I believe. Well thank God for his stubbornness. It’s a thing of beauty, shared by leaders who believe in their vision. If you don’t think he’s willing to change, I can count at least 4 entirely different approaches Wenger has taken on in his Arsenal tenure. He is just stubborn in seeing each of them through. God bless his stubbornness.
Bravo! Bravo
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LOL! Thank You! 🙂
# Arsenola!!!!!!!!
Great read, heres to hoping the sahin deal works out even tho those dirty scousers are breathing down our necks to hijack the deal. Nevertheless this is going to be a great season. #InArseneWeTrust
my first reply ever
nice mate,I am here every day,and this post show why
greeting from croatia
gunner4ever
Very interesting, and well written blog. Even though I disagree with some points, I love your passion.
When we were moved away from Highbury, we were told it was the only way we could compete financially with the mega-clubs. Unfortunately the football horizons have changed since then, and now the only way that we can hope to challenge is for FFP to kick in. You write that Man City have been inactive in the market, and use this as a sign that they are worried about FFP, but Jack Rodwell has been brought in for about £15m, and Roberto Mancini himself has stated that he expects more signings before the transfer window closes. You also ignore the fact that Chelsea have spent in the region of £65m, which is not only a lot more than winning the CL would have brought in, but also does not include the wages that someone like Eden Hazard will be getting paid.
I believe the £30m we got from the Queensland Rd development is the last significant lump sum we will receive from that particular revenue source (although I am willing to be corrected on that point). So that one off cash influx, which paid for most of our transfer in’s, means that we have sold, not traded this window (unless we buy more players).
You also write that AW has been offered the best and most lucrative jobs in the world. He is currently on over £7m per annum, second only to Roberto Mancini. Plus, what other club would have given him the job security that we have? Real Madrid have sacked managers after WINNING the CL! Chelsea sacked AVB just half a season after paying £15m to secure his services. Pep Guardiola left Barcelona after winning everything, because the pressure to continue was too much. It has been far easier for him to stay here, than go to one of these other clubs where winning trophies is demanded, not a happy bonus.
I have in the past been very supportive of AW, but that has been drained from me. I think the club could have made it far easier for themselves if one of the billionaires on the board had invested a little money (not hundreds of millions) to bring one or two top players into the club, and said that the money could be repaid when the stadium debts were cleared. We may well have won something, and many more fans would be a lot happier than they are at the moment.
Other than that, as I said earlier, great article, and I look forward to reading more of your stuff.
I’d just like to complete your first point & put it in proper perspective. Emirates WILL (guaranteed) let us be financially competitive – as soon as the the old commercial deal used to finance it is over. From 2014, the new sponsorship deals plus lower financial burden actually get us ahead! The problem was always how we would remain in the Top4 until then. You know what? Wenger has pulled it off.
How I wish that were true. Do you truly believe that at the end of next season, we will suddenly start spending money like a sailor on shore leave? This board has allowed Wenger to do as he see’s fit, and in their eye’s, he has been successful. Constant qualification for the CL has shown them that trophies are not neccesary in building their bank balances.
Our board do not care about trophies, they care about money. EVERY argument put forward by the board and the AKB’s over the last few years about the state of our club, has been based in finances. Even when our genius of a manager was outthought by Alex McCleish’s Birmingham in the Carling Cup final, the excuses poured forth. He is still a genius, unfortunately I, and many others, are too blind to see his magnificence.
In two years time, when hopefully we are on a par with the Chelsea’s, Man City’s etc, there will be MORE reasons why we are not spending, because above all else, our board like to hoard money.
I truly believe I am wrong, but one core thought is always at the base of my thinking.
How can the second highest paid football manager in the world, who HATES financial doping, preach financial restraint?
Without qualification to the CL via the Top 4, we are screwed. That is the club’s minimum requirement but not it’s maximum ambition. The club must pay as it goes. Or rather trade as it goes.
The “Board” you talk about is in effect Stan Kroenke. He has taken no money out of the club. Not bad, eh?! All money stays to be used, beyond running costs, for wages and transfer fees. They also have a significant rainy day fund in case we get bumped out of ECL and need to make up the revenue. Apart from that it’s down to Arsene and Ivan to spend it.
You say: “EVERY argument put forward by the board and the AKB’s over the last few years about the state of our club, has been based in finances.” I’m not sure what world you’re living in. Do you not have to pay for things in your life? Is there someone else to pick up the bill for you when you spend money you didn’t have? The club funds itself, as it should be.
The only reason every argument has a financial answer to it is the fact that the people on the other side of the argument suggest things that cannot be funded. Should we not mention that there is not the money for Messi, Ronaldo, Hazard, or whoever else is on your Christmas list. Or should we just keep that to ourselves. Should we not mention that Chelsea spends almost twice as much as Arsenal every year on wages plus fees but makes a loss every year.
And mark my words, in 2 years time we will be spending all the new money. But guess what, City and Chelsea will still spend considerably more. It’s called Financial Doping.
We don’t need another Chelsea or City. We need another Arsenal.
Brilliant blog… I wish every gunner all over the world could read this.
from a gooner in South Africa.
Something that noone else has stated either is how Arsenal over the years is the only top4 team in the black. It pisses me off when arsenal supported and utd etc say ‘but you don’t buy superstars, etc’. Maybe not, but we create them, and our club will outlast yours in the long run. Look at Malaga, rich owner comes in plays god for a while but leaves the club in huge debt. Utd as well, having to list to try and raise funds to get out of their debt.
We have bought smart and sold smart. With cesc hardly being a regular stater for Barca, what is/was Song thinking at 24, at the very best he’ll come on for 10minutes towards the end of the game, even then its not guaranteed.
Everyone who is saying ‘we need to buy to compete’ said the same thing when Wilshere stepped up to the first team. Give our youngsters a chance, look at Eisfeld’s for during the preseason, Miyachi has impressed time and time again (still needs a little more experience though) we have Ox, Wilsh, Theo, Gervi who are all under 25. Let them have a little bit of time to gain experience and I think we will have another Invincible squad again.
Sorry if its a little broken, typing on a phone isn’t ideal, and I have so many thoughts on this that I tend to rattle on without finishing what I was saying. Great article as well, well done.
fantastic read. easily the best Arsenal blogger on the net. i agree on many levels and it was thoroughly entertaining…thanks
Bravo! Agreed with every word. Well said. As a Arsenal supporter for over 40 years, seeing players come and go, at the end of the day no players are bigger than the club. If players are not fully committed to the club they can go. As Wenger said we made players to be stars, not buy them. A true gunner will always support the club no matter and not keep criticizing the club. Let the club learn it’s mistakes and rectify.
Superb piece. Having been a supporter for decades, the last few years have been a pain having to listen to the same old ignorant pap from the same old talking heads. Very, very nice to read a sensible perspective that contains a combination of knowledge, fact and passion.
Along with Arseblog and maybe one or two others, this is the best AFC blog I’ve found. After reading this, I will be back – often.
Many thanks for brightening up an otherwise dull day.
This is one of the best Arsenal blogs out there. Good arguments, but also extremely funny. The article about raising young Gooners (including the “arsenal shirtless” warning) had me laughing so hard I almost cried. Keep this up!
First time I have come accross this blog!Effing epic!!! A very idealistic viewpoint but will argued none the less.
Fantastic blog! Can’t believe I hadn’t found your blog before now (thanks to @AFCAMDEN for that). You are so right about the new teutonic look of the team – downright businesslike – i had wondered why no one had pointed it out before now. Theo may even struggle to hold down a regular place in this sharply focused no-messing-around-here era.
powerful stuff mate…
first time here and i’ll keep coming back forever…
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the funniest article I hav ever read lmao
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Like your article, even when you are wrong.
The idea of the stadium was to allow us to compete – not to force Arsenal to be the Carthaginians of Football. Highest prices to watch football anywhere and spin on financial model that is for the mugs. No where does self-financing not mean that the directors could not take out shares and put them on the market to get funds – no, the spin is we are self-financing, i.e. revenue from arsenal goes to pay for an asset (i.e. the stadium) belonging to the director’s shares and not that the revenue goes into building a formidable team.
As for Arsene – poor economics from a economic student – buy Henry for 10.5 million 12 years ago add normal inflation at 5% (not stupid football inflaction due to the likes of Ronaldo 80m) and Arsene should be looking to spend £16-17m on a out of favour soon to be transferred star in the making. If he really expects to get top quality for under £15m than it is going to be a hard search with a low success rate.
Please bear in mind we are a football club not an import export – turn a profit trader.
£24m (rvp) + £15m (Song) = £39m
annual turnover in excess of £250m
net spend this season will be less £5m for a club with the most expensive tickets – poor return to the fans – I think we are being ‘mugged off’ as Wrighty might say.
Sahin coming to Arsenal? do you really believe that?
As always, the boss and the money men will hint at more signings, in reallity that’s just pap for the fans, the truth is expect no one in. The bulk of arsenal’s revenue will go into the bank and the club will take misplaced pride in having a sound bank balance rather than getting on with the real business of football. Over £100m in cash reserves and still sweet FA in terms of getting world class players (i.e. those that actually win medals rather than players that play for countries that get to the WC competition).
“And when (Jack Wilshere/fabregas/robin van persie/vermalen/Rosicky) gets back – it will be like a new signing so no need to get in new players because they are only a few weeks away from full recovery” heard that all last season or previous seasons.
. 2012-2013 and still waiting for Jack who will be ready in march/may/ pre-season/september/october … see the pattern.
You must be miserable watching our club, mate, if that’s all you see going on, if that’s how you interpret all the actions. You also must have a low opinion of Arsene Wenger to think he would stay with the club if he was overseeing this wholesale fraud that you believe the club is perpetrating.
No money, I repeat, no money, has left the club to date.
So before, you go and slit your wrists, wait till someone ACTUALLY screws us over.
You are like the Elvis Costello line “I just can’t forgive you, for the things you haven’t done yet” or something like that.
Anyway, cheer up mate. It’s going to be a good year with a good squad.
And Jackie’s coming back!!!
@ redandwhite71
When you say the stadium move was supposed to allow us to compete, don’t forget that at the time, there were no billionaire sugar daddy-owned clubs. No Abramavich or Sheikh Mansour on the scene. The target was clubs like Man United, who were rich based on their own success. The stadium has enabled us to get closer to them because our revenue from it dwarfs the income from Highbury.
Wenger is not managing the finances of the club in a different way to when we were at Highbury. We have always balanced the books.
Making a profit on transfers does not in itself make us a selling club. Selling clubs are clubs whose business is developing players *for the purpose* of selling them at a profit. That is not us. We didn’t want to sell Cesc or RvP, remember – those players forced their out. Wenger would rather the players had stayed, but since had to sell them, with the £53m recieved we have replaced both those players with three players costing around £35m-£40m. That’s good trading.
Sahin would have been nice, but AW was not going to go out on a limb financially speaking to secure a player on an expensive one-year loan without option to buy in an area of the pitch where we are well stocked.
@ Poznan
I hope you don’t mind me replying to other commentersnlike this? Just let me know if I’m not supposed to!
Err, it’s not the way of selling and buying. For a club which really serious to chase a trophy, you won’t let Cesc go AND only replace with Arteta since Modric is far better and closer to Cesc quality. When RvP went, you won’t replace them with Podolski, who always known for his lower goalscoring player in club level and Giroud, who just landed in EPL and still yet prove his name more than 2 or 3 years goalscoring ability in high level competition. Instead, you can go to knock Dzeko or Falcao for better replacement.
They are high cost player? YES!!!
But hey, don’t you have more than enough money to cover those fee? Cesc and RvP didn’t come cheap for Barca and MU! So, buy 1 or 2 quality players each years won’t mess your financial. And replacing top quality player with other classy player won’t hurt your bank account. So please stop make an excuse about financial health over inability to improve squad quality. It’s clear indication that Cesc and RvP went go since they never feel that a club would build quality squad for their team. They sacrifice their love and loyalty over ambition, which is normal for every top player who want to put their hands on the trophy.
Club is not only about company and shareholder, club speaks about fans, players, and their affection which exist deep inside. If club says fans should understand how club run financially, then fans have every right to say in equal, please understand how fans should understand the club ambition when their high profile player went away then the club only buy a player with cheaper and less quality player. Because club, fans and players need each other…noone higher than the other, noone should be more understood than the other. All of them should be equally treated…
From Juve Fans
Cesc is replaced with Cazorla.
RvP can’t be replaced.
And we don’t have 200k pw to throw at players, which is bloody ridiculous money in any case.
But we do have Poldi + Giroud + Cazorla + Diaby + Wilshere + Arteta + The Ox + Rosicky + TV5/LK6/PM etc etc.
And that’s how our model works.
As revenues increase and as Football awakens to the ridiculous model it now follows, our position will strengthen and we will find it easier to hold onto star players.
But Arsenal will always “make” stars, and other clubs will always come and offer us stupid money for them.
And sometimes we will say, thank you.
“VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT”!!
OI !
hats off…right when i was losing hope with arsenal fans and bloggers getting manipulated by uk media trolls and rivals taunting…
in fact i give 10/10 for the eff off line in your scetch and another 10/10 for the asterix/ovelix inclusion… genius!!
wenger is arsenal;s advantage over the rest…and those who called for his head need a slap in the face and a kick in the arse
oh and well said re: tim payton ! that man should be banned…..usmanov pays him a salary to talk shit basically and cause unrest…
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