If we have a â€?ludicrously long-termâ€? business plan that supposedly inhibits our transfer activity, then…err..by definition we ARE in a transition period, no?

Extra personal funds? dodgy offshore account? Oh dear.

And if he’s a rubbish manager who’s caused the ship to sink, then why would big clubs want him?

The sneaky, evil financial compensation that Wenger is getting = Wages.

Also, if you think that we don’t play attractive football, that’s fine. Few other neutrals agree with your view, especially considering the kind of football we played in Europe, bar the away leg at Villarreal. I have rarely read reviews calling a 4-5-1 sexy football, but that\’s what we got last season. ”

I didn’t say you weren’t in a transitional financial period. I said it’s an excuse for poor on field performance.

And it’s not ‘supposedly’ having an impact on your transfer market activity. It IS.

Now, I don’t think any other side in the country is so blindly enamoured with their manager to allow him 6 or 7 years to re-build after they had been so prolific in the past.

Investigations into the extra funds made available for the top earners at Arsenal produced inconclusive evidence… Arsenal were taking advantage of financial loopholes to entice big players with reduced tax on their wages. It might not be illegal, but it’s a bit dodgy and the FA going public about it would have been in order to give them a kick up the arse to get them in line with all the other clubs.

I never said he’s a rubbish manager, I think he’s one of the top managers in Europe. I was inferring that the reason he is staying might be something to do with the unusual business practices Arsenal have been involved in.
Would you stay at a club that has told you “you won’t have any money to spend on players?” Only if you could convince the public that you could function with youngsters and had some kind of compensation for the problematic situation the chairmen or directors have put you in.

I don’t think he’s particularly scrupulous, and judging by the current situation, I would not put it past someone like David Dein (FAconflictofinterestmuch?) to use these naughty offshore accounts to put a load of extra money into Wenger’s account to stop him leaving, so that the fans don’t lose faith in the team.

It’s just conjecture, but everyone seems happy to scrutinise Abramovich and make assumptions about his business practices so I think public allegations made against Arsenal should be brought up at every possible opportunity. You know, just to keep things fair.

Wenger’s wages are well deserved. He works hard with what he’s got and fools everyone into thinking that Arsenal are in some way on a higher moral and technical plane than any other club. (I’m sure he’s the one who introduced the theory that Arsenal are still better than Chelsea because they play more attractive football.)

It’s a basic game plan, ‘If you can’t beat them, undermine them constantly.’

Arsenal played attractive football 3 years ago. Watching them struggle against the lower sides and scraping into a Champions League spot because their rivals went down with a mysterious illness did not reflect the side’s apparent grace and grandeur. They did well in Europe, but that’s because they considered it more important than the domestic league and picked away at the big teams to get draws and low scoring wins (just like Liverpool did).

I know it doesn’t really matter that I think your team is an overhyped mess. I just don’t like seeing people brainwashed by the Wenger-propaganda machine.

It pumps out nuggets:

They lose to Man City and draw with Villa, and Wenger is optimistic? Only for the cameras I promise you.
I haven’t been convinced since Viera left. Despite the fact that it was the best time to sell him, they would have put up a better fight in the premiership if they still had him. This is my point, they don’t want to compete in the premiership at the moment, they’re happy to keep claiming they’re one of the great attacking teams in world football when they’re losing against lower table teams and grinding out results in Europe.

Now really, forget all the stupid observations Wenger’s made about the quality of the football being more important than results. Forget the support they have had from the press and tell me you are really happy with the state of your team.

If I were an Arsenal fan, I’d be so pissed off that Dein and Wenger have committed to a business plan that means I have to watch players like Almunia, Flamini, Hoyte and Djourou flopping around the pitch every weekend.

f tIhey cared about football, or Arsenal’s fans, they’d be committed to bringing you good football as well as trying to secure their financial futures.

Complaining about Chelsea might get you the public’s support, but it won’t keep the boat afloat forever.

Liverpool know that, they’ve been shrewd within reason. Their goading of Chelsea has gained them the public’s support, but they’ve also been looking to build a team with the potential to overturn Chelsea.

As i mentioned before, the youngsters Chelsea have will turn out to be better players than the youngsters at Arsenal, and will have better experienced players around them.

Their plan for the future involves what? Being second again? Sounds like a really bright future for your club.

To be replaced by Paul le Guen (who built the awesome Lyon side that Houllier’s trying hard to dismantle right now, currently at Rangers). Le Guen’s contract expires in Summer, 2008 and he is very good friends with Arsene Wenger and David Dein.

You heard it here first.

They lack the final ball, yes.

They’re missing Pires, Ljunberg, Viera, Bergkamp.

They’ll be back – van Persie is outrageously talented but prone to making mistakes.

Arsenal also have injuries (Senderos, Lauren, Clichy) and wantaway players (Cole, Reyes) to deal with. It’s not all rosy at Ashburton Grove – they’ve got a pretty bad start, and to top it off both Lehmann and Wenger are going to leave in a couple of years.

Rocky – when is Wenger leaving?

If we have a \”ludicrously long-term\” business plan that supposedly inhibits our transfer activity, then…err..by definition we ARE in a transition period, no?

Extra personal funds? dodgy offshore account? Oh dear.

And if he\’s a rubbish manager who\’s caused the ship to sink, then why would big clubs want him?

The sneaky, evil financial compensation that Wenger is getting = Wages.

Also, if you think that we don\’t play attractive football, that\’s fine. Few other neutrals agree with your view, especially considering the kind of football we played in Europe, bar the away leg at Villarreal. I have rarely read reviews calling a 4-5-1 sexy football, but that\’s what we got last season.

If beauty in football terms is now determined by how many short passes you can string together before missing a shot, then I will happily concede that Arsenal play more attractive football than any other club in the premiership.

The only reason you USED to play attractive football was due to the fact that you had the best striker in the world in Thierry Henry, and the build up play of Dennis Bergkamp.

“We are in transition” is just a poor excuse for your clubs inability to afford new quality players due to a ludicrously long-term business plan.

Does Wenger’s job description include “Propagandist”?
His interviews are purile nonsense, and any manager who claims ‘my team are in transition’ when his team should be doing better is usually battered by the press.

He’s probably given extra personal funds (via this decidedly dodgy offshore account used to fund the club’s top earners) to keep the short term facade of “attractive football” present as a cloak for the lack of genuine quality in the side. Let’s face it, Wenger would have left for a bigger club unless he was getting some kind of financial compensation for staying aboard your sinking ship.

Things become clear to them after two/three matches while the rest of us country bumpkins wait for at least ten games for the season to shape up.

As a Chelsea Fan it is now becoming clear. This season is only between the ManUre and us. LFC will up there but looks like this is just another re-building year for the Arse!!

See ya next Season you gooners!!!