Freshly served around tea-time on the last day of this year’s EPL season.
.
Well where to start?
A few dishes of Humble pie perhaps?
Before I get to gloating in a huge self-indulgent fashion, let me first say that finishing 4th is not our target. It is however a monumental achievement to finish in a Champions League position for the 16th consecutive season.
Of course there will be many who say it’s eight consecutive years without a trophy. In that they would be correct – mathematically at least.
I, however, believe the last eight years have been a huge success. As Gary Neville pointed out, in that period Arsene has spent a net £9 million on transfers (it’s actually a net of minus £40 million since 2006 – even more remarkable). That’s £460 million net less than City. That amounts to about an Emirates Stadium.
So those too thick to understand where all the money has gone, ask your carer.
Here is what I wrote in an article for ACLF last summer:
“With the planned move to the new stadium things changed. Arsène had to work within severe financial restrictions. Big players were sold and the fees helped relieve the pressure of the move, in what turned out to be an unexpected recession. The reduction in the wage bill must have done no harm either. History had shown that a new stadium usually led to a rapid downturn on the field; relegation beckoned.
I would have thought that our aim would have been to stay in the league in the early years of the move. However, Arsène kept us in the top four, guaranteeing Champions League football and further reducing the financial burden with the revenues generated.
He has only recently let it be known (as if we didn’t already) that he could have left and been paid much more money elsewhere. He gave up that financial gain and personal glory for the good of the club. I think that this period is a greater achievement than his first 8 years of on field success. It is a staggering achievement. And also could give him a claim to be the greatest.”
Well he did it again. Let’s see how we do with the purse string loosened. Now we have Arsene and money.
Here is what I said immediately following the Spurs reverse:
“There are thirty points still to play for. All is not lost by any means. But even if it was, nothing is to be gained by withdrawing our support for the team. Every week I see a team with huge potential. We simply must give them to time to fulfil that potential. I honestly don’t see why people can’t relish the challenge. Rather than throw their arms up and ask for change. Change may come all to soon, I fear, unless the majority of fans don’t quickly see sense.”
All was indeed not lost. We here did just that. SUPPORTED.
Well done us I say.
Have a look at what Gainsbourg69 had to tell us yesterday:
“We only dropped four points out of a possible thirty in our last ten games.
We ended up with the second best defence in the Premier League after City.
We recovered a seven point deficit and overtook the Spuds.
We have reached the CL for seventeen consecutive seasons.
We were one of four teams to ever have three players score into double figures.
All of this on the back of having lost an important player and getting three new players to gel with the rest of the squad.”
Another titbit from LeoS:
“Fantastic resilience shown by the squad. Once the new signings were properly bedded in and Wilshere and Rosicky came back from injury, about halfway through the season we turned into a results machine, winning 12 and losing just 1 of our last 16 league games. That’s over 2.4 points per game, which would deliver 92 points over a whole season.”
That’s 3 points more than the Champions this year and last. I know its over 38 games and all that, but hey! Just saying.
Now a list of some people, experts to a man, who confidently predicted we would not get in the top four:
Hansen, Redknapp, Shearer, Piers, Bale, Smith, Hoddle, Wilkins, Quinn, Stelling, Thompson, Souness.
Well done chaps. How many times does Arsene have to teach the same lesson? Pillocks.
The doom and gloom brigade must be spitting feathers. They though this was their year. Pillocks.
The bloggers who told us this team was crap, it was the end of an era, could not defend for shit, played the wrong formations, players in the wrong positions. Pillocks.
Did you all see the game? Yes?
Well no need for me to say anything other than fucking get in there.
Finally, thanks to everyone who has helped with the blog and those who have made it their homes. Don’t let any miserable bastards jump on your bandwagon.
Let them trail behind in their shit cart.
Positively Arsenal 
As Bill Shankly would have said, if he had still been alive obviously, and a contributor on here;
“If you don’t support us when we draw and lose don’t fucking bother supporting us when we win.”
And then Bill would have said;
“Let them trail behind in their shit cart.”
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AW, on if the players have repaid his belief…
“Yes. At least they’re rewarded. I’ve had many groups in my life and this is one who has been absolutely outstanding on that front. They’ve shown a combination of quality but attitude as well. In the modern day, I always admire the way they behaved and their focus every day in training. Sometimes as a manager you feel as well that when a group is so dedicated and face so many storms. We had some big lows with Bradford, with Blackburn and with Bayern at home. You could never see that the players could dismantle or that the group was not united. That’s not easy in the modern game.”
“If you don’t support us when we draw and lose don’t fucking bother supporting us when we win.”
Thanks Anicoll..thanks George.
Here’s to believing
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epic! oh and wait ….in wenger’s first decade 1996-2006 we won 3 epl titles, 2 doubles an unbeaten season an uefa final a champions league final and a stadium.
in the last football decade of 2003-2013 ..we have won a title unbeaten, been to champins league final and semis built a 450m stadium, and nearly repaid it already
now we have the remaining window of 2013-2016 to get to twenty years and when 2016 arrives wenger will have done in two decades what other clubs take a century to achieve…if not more 🙂
and that picture by fun is a thousand words picture
trully well said regarding them “opinionmakers” and their lust for change and their constant negativity …lets be honest now ..FUCK YOU all you moaning bitching know nothing twats . Wenger Owns Football.
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managers manage, players play , supporters SUPPORT! .
cannons bomb f-16 and machine guns … ARSENAL….this is my rifle this is my gun this is for fighting this is for fun…..stan knew!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cm6kxZ5U0s
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Top stuff lads!!! Gloat, gloat and gloat some more…..I went into twitter overdrive yesterday….here’s one I posted which was directed at Piers Moron and other doomers
If £2 billion buys you 2nd & 3rd when Arsenal are enduring 7 years of famine, what will they achieve from now on? Hey MORON?
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Kevin Whitcher from the Online Gooner
“The fact that only one team in the division has conceded less goals than Arsenal is a remarkable statistic and perhaps testament to the notion that Steve Bould has been allowed to have greater influence as the season has wore on, if only to salvage the campaign. A witness close at hand saw Bould come out of the dressing room before the home tie v Bayern shaking his head with an expression indicating a disagreement had occured. Might the 90 minutes that followed and the subsequent defeat at Spurs have proved to Arsene Wenger that his assistant knew best?”
At the start of the season our defensive solidity was down to Bould, then when things went pear shaped it was down to Wenger and now the remarkable finish is down to Bould again…..All down to “a witness close at hand”….
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Isn’t it great so many f**king experts with Whichter amongst them….How about this…
“I have not read the post match coverage as yet, so I do not know if Arsene Wenger is proclaiming the season as a success. I would certainly consider that he has met the board’s objectives. Their ambitions are based on financial performance rather than football glory, so on that front, the manager has certainly delivered. What they need to get their heads around is the idea that football glory can actually lead to greater income over the longer term, giving them a more valuable product, if they are prepared to run the club at break even for a while to increase the chances of actually winning something. Or even, whisper it quietly, invest some of the billionaires’ millions in the pockets of the club’s two major owners.”
….don’t expect much humble pie from these tw*ts!
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They are fucking gutted Georgaki
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Glad I stumbled upon this blog site on Geof’s timeline.
I stop reading blogs because of too much gloom.
Found it hard to believe how many can not see the real picture and know we are not underachieving for the period we have been in.
In Arsene I trust, STILL
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Top stuff George.
Sadly there are those who can never admit they were wrong, they have to keep shifting the goalposts to suit their agenda.
F*ck Piers Moron as well. He has nothing to do with us, never has been, never will. Just ignore him. I just wish to god he’d hitch his ride on another wagon, he’s a mortal embarrassment to Arsenal. Proof, if proof were ever needed, that Twain was correct;
“All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure”. And to be a total cunning stunt. He missed that bit out.
Loved those pics of AW celebrating. Warns the heart.
He was right all along.
Arsene knows.
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I wrote on Darius Stones blog that Koscielny plays like the defender I dreamed of being when a little younger. From the moment he arrived many like Mean Lean could see that the ‘Kobra’ was just some experience and luck (with injuries and the rest) short from being right at the top top of the game. Grimandi can hang up his scouting boots and retire a happy man after that spot. I’m happy to bet that the experts from the Online******** were spitting gr*t when Kozza was signed. Sagna too. Ah well, at least their form is consistent.
Lots of predictable (see the article on Untold about disingenuous spending big memes from a week or so ago) tittle tattle in the media and elsewhere this fair morning about Arsenal ‘spending big’ now. Spending some farkin’ money. Finally! The day we have all been dreaming of. The day some agents become rich! Oh. Happy day.
Er, hang on. On reflection I don’t think these people hoping that Arsene L’Scrooge is ready to blow up the vault can count very well. I’m not sure where the gaffer has been hiding half a billion all these years? Maybe he walks around with bundles of £50 notes wedged into a wedgie? And on request, “voila!”. Out pops a bootiful bundle of wonga? Is that how it works? I’m not trying to be funny: I heard Irani on Talkshite as well (sorry), a crap cricketer (no, seriously. He was awful) he prescribed a thirty million signing in attack, midfield and defence as doing the job. A hundred mill, slip slap bosh bosh loadsamonery no problem. And he mentioned Kompany as a reference. Forgetting that Kompany at about 7 odd big ones was one of the few sane signings up there amid the clouds of methane. *sighs*. What a bunch of plonkers!
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http://www.youtube.com/v/WL7B-zbxZ7I? version=3&autohide=1 found this today in amongst many clip compilations & have to share it, (fingers crossed)
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I love your no-nonsense style, PG (big banned smiley face) – fantastic.
Add to that that in that time, we have built a new rehab facility and upgraded Hale End. And that’s just on the football side, not taking into account the expansion of the IT, commercial, legal and PR departments.
@ georgyakis
yeah, pointless expecting anything sensible from that sort.
To Kevin Whitcher: We *have* been running the club at break even, and on the football side making a small loss occasionally but mostly a small profit…which has gone into the football club, not into the pockets of any of our shareholders.
How ignorant can people be?
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people can be as ignorant AS THEY WANT TO BE… no more than that….
like some have observed it difficult to say they are wrong so rather accuse the players an staff pf celebrating TOP 4 as a trophy as though it is usual to celebrate a great win on a good match day talk-less of one that get you into the CL
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In years to come we will look back on this period as a remarkable achievement and Wenger as our greatest ever manager and as I’ve said on Aclf & on here before- he’s an even better man than he is a manager, some people enjoy being miserable, some are just stupid,some are know-it-alls who know nothing,some are spoilt little pricks, some piggyback our club then abuse it to build media careers,some are unhappy,bitter people who claim to support our club, they’ve all got one thing in common- they’re wrong. In Arsene we trust, always.
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I agree with the article, this team has played brilliantly in the last third of the season. Podolski and Giroud have both had solid first seasons and Cazorla has been exceptional, plus our whole defence + Ramsey look much improved. Bring on 2013/14.
A lot of people have blamed Wenger for spending money wrongly or not using the transfer budget. This is ridiculous. I’m sick of hearing people say ‘compare how much we spent on Gervinho with how much was spent on Ba or Michu’. Firstly, this puts a ridiculous pressure on Gerv where the fans turned on him very quickly and the pressure got to his head and worsened the situation. Secondly, it also doesn’t recognise that there are going to be 1 or 2 players a year that really overperform and there’s no way of knowing who those players are. Thirdly, people have been saying since 2006ish that Arsene has £30m spare he refuses to spend – if he spent this then we could buy one £30m player and then be out of money – Chelsea and Man City have spent over £1bn between them since their takeovers, so how can £30m compete with that? Anyone who acts like Arsenal could have competed with Manchester United’s spending is also crazy.
The one major criticism I would make of Wenger (apart from letting Henry and possibly Vieira go) in the last decade is letting the wage bill get too high, to the point where we are spending £40-50m a year more than Spurs. We overpaid a number of average players, then other teams wouldn’t match those figures and we were unable to get rid of them (look at Denilson, Chamakh, Arshavin, Bendtner, Squillaci). This isn’t all about money, it’s about not letting the players be too comfortable, to realise that they haven’t yet achieved enough to be earning a fortune, and it gives authority to the 2 or 3 players in the squad earning more. Apparently this problem was realised a year or two back, but by the nature of contracts it takes a while to fix.
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well said mel!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Hear hear Mel (and Team spirit).
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Crow, George, crow! You are speaking on our behalf. All the bullshit from we had to put up with from the “pillocks” here, there and yonder. Lest we forget, you were banned elsewhere for speaking the truth to the doom and gloom brigade who thought this was this year after early the difficulties in rebuilding the team with the loss of the skunk.
But the battle against the pollocks is far from over. Far from admitting they were wrong the two-timing, back-stabbers have simply moved the goal-posts. Soon coming 4th will be no big achievement even though the media and pundits were dying for the Scum to pip us and to proclaim the power shift in North London. Already our supporters are being bombarded with the message that we must spend big to overhaul Chelsea, City and United. Conveniently ignored is the the quality and class shown by this squad since January. To quote LeoS, a “results machine” at 2.4 pts per game. This squad needs no drastic changes. It needs one or two players of real quality, nothing inferior to what we have. But it won’t be easy as all the big spenders, in England as well as Europe (add Monaco) are prowling for talent.
Pretty soon the clamoring and mindlessness will be off the charts. More than ever we will need patient, level-headed supporters to step up to the plate.
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and the one’s who refuse to step up to the plate Shotta ?
They get the plate over the head
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So right Mr Nicoll @ 11:47am. I have lost count of pundits, bloggers and tweeters demanding Arsene spend big. On whom?
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Messi, Villa, Bale, Ronaldo, add whatever name you fancy off the top off your head…
Simple this transfer lark. Innit.
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“of your head”, even. Mind you..
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Harry and Anicoll
Enjoyed the exchange with JJ on the other place….some people heh?
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“I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them” – Spinoza
But Lord it ain’t easy sometimes
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its nice being right George innit , congratulations to the small band of hero’s on here who make this blog stand out like a blinding light in the dark clouds of bloggers doom.
I’m sure everyone on here has had to stand their ground and argue their faith in ARSENE and this ARSENAL team when being outnumbered by the deluded, the doomers and those people who go through life trying to destroy rather than support anything they attach their selves to.
So well done to George and the makers of this blog, well done to the contributors and everyone who keeps the faith and well done once again to our manager and
THE ARSENAL
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top comments, Mel
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Joshua Ross.
Calling Andrey Arshavin an “average “player is not the best way to start on here.
And looking at the overall wage bill,compared to Spurs is simply wrong.
Think of the youth set up,the number of stewards and catering staff,maintenance of the ground to its impeccable standard,We are half as big again as them ,so you would expect our wage bill to be 150% of theirs at very least.
I doubt there will be much difference in the wage costs of the first team squad.And Liverpool’s(for example)will be bigger,despite their overall wages being less.
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Yup Georgaki, “There’s none so blind as those who will not see.”
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what get me annoyed is the mocking of a top 4 finish as though it were the equivalent of avoiding relegation… even those that only avoided relegation got over carried away – ask pardew!
something about the form of TV5 ans WS1 really affected us mid season which coincided with the various cups knock out stages. if not things would really have been a lot better – imagine replicating the earlier and later season form in mid season
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A new record day for hits on Positively Arsenal,and its only 1 o’clock
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@ PG – people getting more positive me thinks… for most sensible even doubting people it follows naturally now the season has ended and its all clear!
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Very nicely put today George. Succinct and to the point. The successful run at the end of the season provides those who doubted the perfect opportunity to hold up their hands, admit they were wrong and join us in backing the team next year.
If they do I say welcome aboard, if they continue mangling the truth in an attempt to denigrate the club then they are nothing to do with us as supporters and essentially cease to exist.
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What Steww said.
I’m pretty mild-mannered, but I’m fed up with it already. Today of all days as well.
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I don’t know most of the other blogs you speak of, because I usually only come here and maybe 7am kickoff (hey, I’m American, I have to!). I don’t know any of the pundits, because I only get Stone, Wynalda and Barton on Fox, and everybody knows they are idiots. So I only have one thing to say: if you could look at the faces of those boys in that dressing room shot from yesterday, and not be proud for, and of, them, then you need to, as Mel always says, “have a look at yourselves”.
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Almama,7am is a prick
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Hahaha. I almost feel like congratulating you guys specifically on the triumph. Great blog, a diamond in the dirt.
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I think this is a day that you and us (Untold Arsenal) are right to say to all the nay-sayers, to all the doom and gloom predictors that we with our continuous support of our players and managers did our little part in helping the team over the line.
Together with yet again a tremendous support from our away supporters!
If you want your team to get the best result the only thing we can do as supporters is SUPPORT! You over here and we over there just tried to do just that.
Big congratulations my friends!! Still feeling great!
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Don’t let the doomers get you down … they are only one letter away from being a cult following. What we have is a Team; not just a mixture of bods assembled by a great manager, but a Team – they play for each other and they want success for each other. They will get it. All those that moaned about “not playing for the shirt” … tell that to Kieran and Aaron; I’d match the effort and sheer heart they put in against anyone
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is my comment in moderation?
Probably my first comment I think?
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Congratulations to the boys.
And congratulations to blogs like this. You over here and we(Untold Arsenal) have had to endure abuse, name calling of the lowest sorts, but we stuck to our believe, we stuck with our team.
We stood behind the manager and the players during the season and when things went completely wrong at times.
When you want your team to have the best possible result the only thing we can do as supporters is SUPPORT THEM!
4th is not the ultimate trophy. But this 4th place is going to be the real start of a new era and will be the core of a team of who knows…. new… invincibles?
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Ah, sorry, George, but I disagree. But we can do that on here, right? Don’t be mad. It doesn’t mean I don’t love you…
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My first comment on 7am was to tell the author off (politely!) for suggesting that the Footballing God Tomas Rosicky should be sold. That was silly. But anyone who calls out Le Groaners for what they are, as he comprehensively did in his comments section last week, leaving no doubt, when so many happy to tippy tap their way around the issue is alright in my book.
There I go again, disagreeing with some. Sorry. Just be careful with those comments on Theo, George & Anicoll, I’ll be watching you. *growls*. If Theo had scored that goal after putting the CB down on the floor (I suppose it’s time to get more confident with his left foot, but he gets props from me for twining the Newcastle CBs into a, what do you call it, yeah, a downwards spiral!) he’d have scored crucial goals in the last three games.
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Hello Walter!
Belated and most happy blessings upon St.Totteringham’s Day to you and all at Untold.
Thanks for your efforts.
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A not much known fact this but the last time Cardiff City were promoted to the top division Spuds did the Double
That’s got their little beaks up
The fools
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nice to walter on here positively, untold and jeorges birds the only blogs worth reading the rest just piss and moan or flip/flap depending on score and scorers
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Mel, Harry and Anicoll – You have hearts of gold and the patience of Job. To me it is an act of insanity going over the same ground with people whose minds are already made up.
“Grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.”
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Pedantic George
I included Arshavin in a list of ‘overpaid, average players we couldn’t get rid of’. Arshavin was definitely the most skilled player on that list, who was maybe unlucky never to fit into the team, but at a time of limited resources having a high paid player on the bench has been a drain on the money we have and made him impossible to sell on. However, you could argue that Arshavin was bought at the peak of his career and was worth the fee/wage at the time.
But my point wasn’t directed specifically at Arshavin, it was asking why the wage structure overpaid players who were underperforming. According to online reports all of the following players were/are on £50k a week or more*: Denilson, Chamakh, Bendtner, Squillaci, Santos, Vela**, Djourou. That adds up to over £20m a season at a time when many of these players were sitting out their contracts while we were selling players to balance the books.
Obviously, we are a bigger team than Spurs and you argue that we should therefore be paying players more, but that’s no reason to be overrewarding the players listed above at a time when we were cutting costs. I can understand the wage bill rising for big signings now as we are able to spend money again on world class players and we can raise our aspirations – but for the last 2 or 3 seasons we have to ask why Spurs have been able to get within a sniff of us while spending far less on wages. I’m not sure what ‘the number of stewards and catering staff’ has to do with that.
I think Liverpool are a good example, they were spending £28m a season on Aquilani, Bellamy, Kuyt, Rodriguez, Cole, Adam, Carroll – now they are spending half as much on Sturridge, Coutinho, Sahin, Allen, Borini, Assiadi, Sterling, Suso, Shelvey***. Those players have a hunger that they weren’t able to buy with expensive signings.
I think we’ve learned from this, a couple of the players I listed above have left and many will leave this summer. The new structure we are putting in place looks better and supports the squad well. Jenkinson signed a new contract this season for £25-30k a week according to reports, making him one of the lowest paid players in the squad but still well paid for a very promising reserve team right back. He can look up to the high earning players like Rosicky, Podolski and Mertesacker who have career achievements to be proud of.
I’ve gone on for long enough, I’ll shut up now.
* See http://thearsenal49ers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/ever-wondered-how-much-squillaci-gets.html
http://arsenaltruth.squarespace.com/arsenal-truth/2012/11/4/arsenals-1434m-wage-bill-exposed.html
**Vela is an example of an exceptionally gifted, if unproven, footballer who was being paid a huge wage and was still unhappy to be in the reserves
You may argue these figures could be inaccurate, but every report has consistently put these players on the £50k+ figure and it explains how we are spending £143m a season without any one player earning over £5.5m
***Good blog post: http://thekop.liverpoolfc.com/_A-Wage-Bill-Swindle/blog/6516306/173471.html
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I just wrote a massive reply here. Has it disappeared? Either way this post will make me look like a knob
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