Once upon a time, the guys in red ruled the world; times change …
I want to look at some of the statements that supposedly ‘realist’ malcontents make and try to see why they think they are valid.
“We should be competing for the title”
So I simply ask: Why?
Why should we have an entitlement to challenge for the title?
Imagine you are a hard working person. You live within your means. Earn an above average wage. Save prudently and plan for the future of your family. You might own a nice house and drive a decent car.
What happens if your spendthrift neighbour suddenly wins the jackpot on the Euro lottery?
All of a sudden this lucky bastard has built an extension onto his house that makes it twice the size of yours. His clapped out old Volvo is replaced by a brand spanking new Bentley. He is holidaying in his new villa in the Bahamas.
How do you compete with that?
Do you declare: “We are the Smiths, we should be on the same financial level as him”
No? Because that would be stupid.
Yet our fans say: “We are Arsenal. We used to win stuff.”
So what?
I am British, we used to rule the World. We were bigger and more powerful than the USA. Therefore we still should be. I don’t care if the world is different – I demand to still rule it!
And if we should use the “We are Arsenal” argument, then are Liverpool not entitled to do the same. Except with better reason? I mean they have won 18 titles and 6 European cups. So they should always win more than us. Right?
“Oh no!”, you say!
Why not? Perhaps because the world changed and we passed them by? Or maybe because we have a bigger and better stadium? Well consider how we came to be in this position?
Is the answer: “The manager and board”?
It might be you know.
If you look back past the emergence of Roman and Mansour, then you are ignoring the fact that it’s a new world.
In other words, you are an idiot living in the past.
I can hear the idiots now shouting: “But United have!”
That’s right, they have. For now.
But United are perhaps the biggest sporting brand in the world. And they have had to – and for now been able to – match the spending of the Nouveau money. But even they, last year, had to arrange a share issue in order to fund the £75 million or so it will have cost them to buy Judas.
Their owners are milking United to keep their other businesses afloat. They are not spending to win stuff for the fans. Or for the good of the club. No, they are doing it to keep the share value above the levels of debt that they are running up.
It would be madness for us to try and keep pace with their spending. Despite our recent improved financial position, when the very top players become available, we still can not compete with the big three in any auction situation that might emerge.
So that means we have to do it in other ways.
Build a team. Have a better understanding between the players we have. Create a bond.
But again, this is not possible if rivals keep dismantling our teams before they reach their potential.
And for as long as they have such a great financial advantage we can’t easily stop them. Or can we? Looking at the way the team is coming together, perhaps we can.
But if it is to happen, it will be because of the groundwork that our manager and recent boards of directors have done.
No matter what you think of them, they have put us in a much stronger position than we have been in since the world changed.
And quite possibly in a position to finally ask:
“Go on then, why not?”
Positively Arsenal 
I will start the ball rolling myself then
What a load of old bollocks George.!
And I heard you last night on the Fans Forum,That was a load of shit as well.
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Morning. Good stuff George.
I agree with Harry & Mel yesterday.
And I will also give credit where it is due and I’m sure many and most would agree with both sentiments. Some of you might remember my rambles about the new stadium re-development. I’ve always compared the redevelopment of Highbury to the Munich project. Munchen are second in world football after United in revenues, or they are first. Like AFC their project was kosher, on budget and not mired in the tomfoolery that surrounded Wembley (total budget still unknown but rising!) and that surrounds the FA.
I was very happy to read the reviews of those who went to the game in Munich, comparing the two modern football stadiums. 7am’s review confirmed my own instincts: The out of town corporate clad (not branded – there is a difference! You can take your sponsors logos down or change them.) stadium in munich, shared with 1860 does not have the same feel as the new stadium in the heart of London. Those lights that advertise for Phillips look pretty in Munich but the fabric tapestry telling the tale of the clubs history that is wrapped around the new Arsenal Stadium has it’s own appeal. And keeping the Arsenal in central London is an achievement that every single fan I’ve ever quizzed on the stadium have been very proud of.
There’s a story to be told of how Fizman signed the club over on his death bed. Only slightly melodramatic. It is interesting how so many experts, so many Arsenal journos who love to get paid to write about the club have ignored that slightly interesting story. How AFC’s previous board chose to try and keep the club a football club (What do you all think? Did Sheikh Mo Booty ever think of buying the club with an Arabic name? Hmmm…..). They deserve some credit for that.
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Empires come and Empires go. (Remind the Americans.)
Pax Arsenala!
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Nice one George, good stuff.
Interesting comments Fins – I’m not the most well-travelled fan so it’s hard to comment with any kind of authority but what the club have done with the stadium is hard to imagine being matched, let alone exceeded, in too many other places.
To describe it as a living museum is not entirely inappropriate although I’m not keen on the description as it suggests the club is negatively mired in its history.
The reality of course is we are fortunate to be supporters of one of the most forward-looking businesses in the world.
But having spent a few years in Club Level and more recent ones in the ‘normal’ seats, I can say without fear of contradiction that no visitor is short of things to look at by way of learning about the club’s history, its players, managers from the past, its architects of the future. There are many, many displays that make the hairs on my neck rise as they help me recall games, seasons, cups and competitions that meant so much to me and everyone else around at the time.
And still do.
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masterpiece
and well in line with the wrong perception gunners have that arsenal was some footballing empire that SHOULDbe a protagonist every year… it is only with wenger that this club has begun to have such aspirations. period. anyone who thinks differently is living in the past and it will take a lot of convincing to prove that it aint rooted in deep nationalism.
another thing that is funny is how media are making a fuss about liverpool chelsea or spurs missing on top four and how important it is yet they mock and laugh when wenger and arsenal target same….
why is arsenal mocked for targeting champions league when obviously it is presented as something important for other clubs around us that happent o spend a lot more than us too>
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Well done George,your best write up yet,the groundwork done by Arsene and recent boards though? Arsene? Undoubtedly- Fitzman,Friar & Dein? Yes Almost Definately. Stanley,Dicky,Ivan and Potential owner TheBond Villain?-the only red coats that lot deserve to wear are Butlins ones! Thank god for Arsene Wenger.
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lol at media getting on rafa;s back for targeting the cups for his cv instead of thinking about the “club” and going for the top four finnish……….
tomorrow they will get on wenger;s back for targeting champions league football instead of them silly little cups….
apparently rafa is selfish for going for the cups for his cv and wenger is also selfish for targeting champions league for his bonus … hahaaaa…
while fergies team who bottled it last year and bottled it again this year against madrid are given easy ride…… because they win by default..with ricoches and own goals and box overload and goals scored with stomachs elbows faces and whatever deflections possible… utterly hate that scum… and the manner in which they are presented….
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what do our cretins fans have to say about dein trying to get tottenham people into arsenal deals for our new stadium ….. “lets all eat with golden spoons huh ?” huh dave ..you and your “compatriots” from israel huh ……. ?
games games games…..
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Lets be clear,the David Dein I referred to in laying the groundwork was the one who was instrumental in bringing Dennis & Arsene Wenger to the club not the one who wanted us to play our home games at wembley or thought sharing with the spuds was an option,or who climbed into bed with Stanley & The Bond Villain and don’t get me started on Dein junior!
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Hunter – the media is nothing if not utterly inconsistent. But then they don’t feel the need to be as they look no further than the next morning’s headline. Unfortunately for the media, all chickens come home to roost eventually and the way they have squandered their credibility in the eyes of so many is merely accelerating their decline as an industry.
This is actually quite sad but absolutely avoidable.
The first newspaper that makes a genuine attempt at getting behind the real stories instead of tagging along with the currently fashionable narratives will get my custom.
But I’m not expecting too much, to be honest.
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Pedantic
Really good piece, thanks!
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I often hear folks at the leisure center exclaim: “If a manager went eight years without a trophy at any other club, he would be sacked”
I retort: ” then why doesn’t the board sack Wenger?”
The response, in all cases so far has been…….silence….confusion…..
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Brilliantly done, PG. Our strategy has to be out-smarting the opposition at every level.
@ Mel
I always stand up for Ivan G. He came in at a very difficult time and he handled the board members really well. Plus he understood right from the start that the fans and the club (board/officials) had to be brought back together. He laid the groundwork and put in place the systems and personnel and departments to enable us to raise brand awareness and to attract more sponsorship and thus (in time, I hope!) bring in more money from that source and be less reliant for revenue on the domestic fans, especially the matchday gooners. And he’s got himself into various committees and seats of power in the game, so again, that could benefit us in the future. I’m a fan. He’s a suit, but he has to be – football went corporate years ago.
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I too am a fan of Ivan.
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So am I; I’ve met him and he comes across as sincere.
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FG & George, in my opinion Ivan is an outstanding politician,that’s not entirely a compliment though.
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@Mel at 3:55 pm
It’s standard fare to be suspicious and critical of senior management/politicians (the proverbial ‘suits’). So, let’s judge them by their actions and not just their words. For me it’s so far, so good. Their own words (Arsene’s specifically) suggests a somewhat more ‘convincing’ approach in the transfer market next season. And I imagine more and better commercial deals.
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This is top class, George. Excellent it of writing.
What you have written is common sense but common sense is uncommon nowadays.
You have asked a question and I have yet to see it be answered. Why is it that Arsenal are the only team that should always be in the runnings, even though we are outspent big time? you asked it repeatedly on ACLF and I don’t remember it being aswered.
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I also like IG. Seems a sincere guy to me.
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@Paul-N at 4:11 pm
Nowadays, they just pick teams on ACLF.
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ha paul-n i guess they are used to them years of dominance in the 50s, 60s, 70s 80,s etc etc …history you see….
georgaki say you own a hotel…a two star hotel…and you employ a manager who turns that hotel into a 7 star las vegas style franchise…would you ever sack that manager ? only if youre crazy…
i repeat the trophyless taunts started as soon as 2007-2008 ….two to three years after the 2005 fa cup arsenal has been taunted by spunts and united trolls in blogs and media and workplaces/offices on monday mornings…. it is staged , it is intentional and has nothing to do with reality.
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now i would say that the prospect of arsenal dominating english football through the methods of a foreigner is something they are AFRAID of and have been attacking ever since the prospect of it became just a matter of time…..what better than to knock us of our stride? what better than to present us as a failing club? should the unthinkable happen and they manage to turn fans against the manager and make his position untenable they will have succeeded in eliminating the threat.
they know wenger is the best in the business. they know that a fully equipped and fit and experienced arsenal team under his guidance will make a mockery of anything else experienced in this league….
it comes down to protecting what is ours ….a mentality id understand when its about our homes and freedom but not for a sport which belongs in the industry of entertainment….
football has sadly replaced wars in the perception of some ….” us vs them”
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@hunter13 at 4:26 pm
You are correct. I interpret the ‘silence’ I get as the moment the ‘penny drops’. That is the moment they realize only the board really know quite how difficult the circumstances over the last 8 years have been, therefore won’t sack a manger of the calibre and ability of Arsene.
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yes georgaki…football clubs are companies just like any other ….profit and avoiding bankrupcy is the numero uno priority …..everything else is secondary..
i bet those who say them things about 8 years and wenger getting sacked havent grasped the concept that a football club is a company governed by income and expences. ..they think the club is there to win titles for them….
idiots with a black and white mentality want to comment on complicated matters whihc occupy a lot of the grey..
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I don’t know why you lot just don’t get Stew to play Ivan a request on his excellent ‘slow & dirty’radio tonight on somer valley fm 8-10pm while your at it(insert smiley face here).
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the best part of my exchanges with all these trolls down the years is how they finnish of the debate they started with a “tell it to someone who cares” …
so ..you silence them, you prove them wrong, you do it with solid argumentation and presentation of historical data and facts and then they turn and say “tell someone who cares”..haha why start the debate if you dont care…is it cause youre a troll ? and i caught you ? ahhh them lucky little shits behind their screens.. 🙂
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Mel April 2, 2013 at 4:47 pm
i did…last night ..black atlass – the black dog ..top top tune!
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Georgaki, unfortunately for most, building and managing a team is not as easy as picking one. I dare say that most don’t even know how to pick properly apart from the shoe ins. How many would have picked Gervs to come on against Bayern or Swansea and to start against Reading?
Yes Hunter, people do seem to think that Arsenal was this perennial dominant force prior to AW, but the history books say otherwise. That is not out down, it is just reality. Sure there was some good times but Arsene has taken the club to a different level.
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Good writing George
Interesting comments about Bayern and an admirable club – not been to the new Allianz Arena but their former digs, gifted by a grateful nation after the 72 Olympics, was a total barn – mostly unroofed at that
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Regarding our last victory people have been saying it was “only Reading”. This same Reading team has given United worries every single time they have met this season, also City. However, the last match is one of three excellent victories in a row and we have won 5 out of 6 in the PL. So even if one thinks it was “only” Reading, surely if we look at our overall form, there is lot of good going on.
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Hunter 4-50, I agree top tune, sadly I’ve just remembered the great mans on holiday,so no radio show tonight.
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Did anyone listen to The Fans Forum?
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I think there may be more significance to Saturday’s splendid win than initially meets the eye.
It was a stand out win, for sure, but also a confident one. And that’s not something we’ve been able to say about so many of our home games this season.
Of course, this augurs really well for the WBA game at the weekend when we are normally stronger playing away from home …
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George,just listening back to it now-you were bang on the money about tr7 and Jack,I’d start Jack in front of Aaron (just) and I think the manager will, as for your mate Az from Cardiff? Jesus wept.
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Anicoll5
The funniest thing about the old olympic stadium in Munich is that there was a tiny small roof at one end, designed by ze maverick German engineer Frei Otto. And this (small) roof was a pioneering tensile structure from modern materials, which along with things like the aviary at London Zoo inspired many in later years.
–
‘Did anyone listen to the fans forum?’ Not yet…
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PG @ 5:27pm
No – but following your post I’ve just listened to it.
Is Tomas underrated? You betcher. Vision, creativity, quick feet and the best sliding tackle in the EPL.
Is Jack overrated? No. The very fact that at his age we can debate whether he is as good as Tomas speaks for itself. Of course he will be smothered in treacle by the English media, and we all hope he’s level headed enough to cope with it. But he’s been an outstanding talent throughout his brief, interrupted career – and one of the few who you could definitely tip for success from a young age. And he is ready for it – whatever it is.
Who’s better in the role? Well, it’ll probably vary from week to week, They’ve both made an outstanding contribution this season. So I’ll leave the selection problem to someone who’s capable and qualified to solve it.
And if we’re in comparative mode, is Santi better than both of them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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I believe Santi and TR7are on a par.
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Mel .Az really needs a good kicking
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I don’t remember anyone mentioning how well Sagna played on his return? have we?
He was sublime, not only in defense but he was a handful going forward, put is some nice crosses. I remember him shifting the heck out of a Reading player.
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Yes I think the Boss got that one right as well. Paul
How quickly people forget that for years he has been the stand out RB in the League
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There are some other people who are dealing with reality other than on this site.
A good comment from espnfc.com in response to a crap write up about Saturday’s win.
Vikrant3348
“Typical first paragraph taking a dig at the club whilst being totally ignorant of the fact that Arsenal have ALWAYS balanced the books, not risking going bust just to win a cup or two! From breaking up the 1971 Double team to letting Brady, Rix and Stapleton go in the early 1980s, to George actually SELLING David Rocastle as well as Michael Thomas in the 1990s and then Wenger consistently regenerating but still competing at the top end of the Premier League, despite 2 billionaire clubs completely distorting the game and forcing us to be even more careful, not to mention long-term planning with a new stadium and state of the art training facilities. When you see that Man City spent over £500 million for one FA Cup and a league title and Chelsea’s hiring and firing costs almost the same, as well as ‘trophy-winning’ Portsmouth being in League One and all the ‘trophies’ that Rangers won and ended up folding, what is the point of trophies if they cost that much money?? Too many people are too ignorant of economic factors”
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Yes George. Most would say that Jenks deserved to retain his spot and based on performance, I would agree but as you say, Sagna is the best RB going. For now, give me Sagna every day of the week. Jenks will have his time to shine.
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I agree Paul-N – Jenks should be happy to be a backup for now. He is good enough to deputise when required and meanwhile he is learning and getting better day by day. Sometimes it is too much mental pressure for a young player to keep up that standard of concentration on a consistent basis so intermittent appearances are probably better until they mature a bit more. In the past we’ve had to rely on and put too much pressure on young players. Now that we have some more experience in the squad, they should be used more sparingly. Same goes for Jack. As good as he is and no doubt will become even better, let’s be honest, he is just not as good or as experienced as TR7 or Santi yet.
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Not to change the subject, but, well, you know. I’ve been so busy, I barely have time these days for forays on Posa, but my thoughts have turned to what an incredible knife-edge end of season this is looking to be. Should we win our game in hand (Everton, I had thought), and Chelsea win their’s, 2 points seperate positions 3,4, 5, and seven matches/21 points to go. Arsenal are very much the form team (15 points from 18, currently second on 6-match form), followed by Spurs (12 from 18). Spurs have I would think the trickiest run in. And unless Chelsea improve their woefully inconsistent league form, they could be in trouble. I like the excitement, Arsenal looks buoyant.
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It is likely the final 4 CL placing, one way or another, will be decided on the final matchday, and may even be decided by goal difference. Down to the wire. As a measure of Arsenal’s progress, not too long ago we were 7 adrift of Spurs and 5 behind Chelsea, in fact at one point 10 behind Spurs. Not too shoddy then. Now we are close enough to have a whiff of their fear. Yes, it’s us, we whisper, right on your ankles.
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simples……if anyone doesn’t understand the argument after you put it in such laymen’s terms George then they must be mental. The new stadium has one major problem, atmosphere, so after all the planning the memorabilia brought to the new stadium the one thing the management team couldn’t guarantee was the atmosphere, That was down to the fans to bring and unfortunately they have failed miserably.
A by product of the middle tier increased prices and extra seating was availability was down to money not length of service, big stadiums tend to become all suiter stadiums rather than all seater. people go for a day out, like a theatre as opposed to the traditional football match.
People then become critics and normally basing their knowledge on the media who in turn are making up stories to make money.
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And ythe teams to watch out for, Southampton, and Fulham.
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I think it should be regarded as a monumental achievement to obtain 3rd during this transitional phase, debut seasons for 4 excellent new players. If possible, it can be done by any of 4 teams, or mathematically 5 or more; it’s a chase to the finish line now and may the best win. Arsenal!
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zp remember chelski and the spuds still have to play each other. the main problem is its not as simple as 8 games (although if we win them all will get fourth ) its when you play teams and what still have at stake. In the remaining few games somes teams just don’t turn up. The spuds last game with sunderland could be one such game if they are out of trouble by then.
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“Hold on, I’m comin’ ..”, I like the Sam and Dave version. So said Arsenal.
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