According to the BBC, close to £1 billion was spent on player acquisition in the just closed transfer window, a new record, up 4% on last year at £870 million. Factor in new salaries and the £1 billion figure may prove a tad conservative, all in.
Some of these players come from other Premier League clubs but a huge number came from abroad. It’s hard to get accurate numbers but something approaching 160 players joined PL clubs and close to a staggering 300 were moved on, being sold, loaned or otherwise released. Getting a handle on exactly how many have joined and left, and how much money has been spent or accrued from sales, is a tricky business as ‘sources’ all suggest slightly different numbers depending upon which flavour you choose to consult. All the numbers in this article should therefore be treated with some caution and are offered up only as rough guides.
Whilst wholesale squad upgrades might be expected from newly promoted sides and last season’s strugglers (looking at you, Sunderland), the sight of Chelsea moving on around 34 players and Liverpool shifting 22 is something of a surprise.
Man U have parted with around 14 but arguably with the greatest single collection of well known names saying farewell (Di Maria, Cleverly, Nani, RvP, Evans, Januzaj, Hernandez), their departure board is ostensibly the more shocking. It’s been reported that to the man, the Manc side that so memorably lost 4-0 at Milton Keynes has now all been shipped out with the exception of De Gea whose registration remains at Man U after this year’s window only thanks, we are led to believe, to Windows ’95 and a corrupt file. First time for everything, so they say.
Eighteen are out of Spurs, mostly sold and 4 on loan, according to the Daily Mirror, at least. Watford brought in around 16 players, Villa 13. A bigger surprise here is how few Newcastle – described by some as a ‘zombie’ club – have brought in, around 5 new players. Most clubs appear to have brought in between 6 and 10 players with Everton and Palace bringing in 6 and 5 respectively.
All well and good, the sheer volume of players – as expertly demonstrated by both Spurs and Liverpool in recent times – is no guarantee of quality. But aside from the headline numbers, in many ways this has been a remarkable summer of transfers – and non-transfers.
At one time this summer, Man United were ‘associated’ with pretty much every player capable of lacing a pair of boots, both in the EPL and further afield. That they ended up with just seven new players was more by accident than design and de farce of De Gea’s ‘transfer’ left them with more than egg on their faces. Whilst failing to reluctantly sell their best player from last season, they plunged in with a highly speculative £57.5 million (according to Monaco) splurge on a 19 year old with zero Premier League experience and few goals anywhere. The two biggest elephants in the red half of Manchester squat firmly on questions surrounding the manager:
Why can’t LvG can’t get on with anyone and why do so few players want to move to Man U?
I just can’t work it out at all. At the time of writing there are no accurate estimates available for the numbers of players in or out of the club that LvG has not, so far, fallen out with.
That Angel di Maria features in the list of the vanquished is surely the single most telling factor in assessing LvG’s man-management performance to date with rumours of player tears at tea-time by no means uncommon. And LvG appears to have left himself short at the front having retained from the old guard only Rooney and a strikingly rebranded Fellaini to perform the scoring honours; given the disastrous goal-keeping situation, this seems a little careless and it means much must ride on the immediate success of young Mr Martial as well as the hope that De Gea can be simultaneously rehabilitated for his final season in the North.
But Man u are by no means alone, at least when it comes to player retention.
Brendan has now jettisoned something like half the players he (or his ‘committee’) has signed since he joined Liverpool a mere three years ago. This season alone 15 have gone on loan and 7 sold. Players on loan are not necessarily a negative but in the context of The ‘Suarez Money’ which, like the ‘Bale Money’ before it, is largely a distant fiscal memory, one has to wonder about Rodgers’ ability to target the players the club actually needs. And the trend, nay stampede, of departing players making their escape from Merseyside is hardly a source of celebration for anyone connected with the club. Yes, Arsenal have player turnover but the big difference lies in the significantly larger amount of cash spent on ‘duds’ by Liverpool in the process.
Chelsea have shipped out a staggering 26 players on loan (Daily Mirror) leaving one to wonder why would anyone bother to sign for Chelsea?
The defending champions have had an appalling start to the season both on and off the pitch and one wonders how much time and energy they must waste dealing with players they don’t really want. Is it simply Jose’s appalling nature that means they require a gigantic pool of players for him to dip in and out of depending on who or what he is blaming for any given setback at any one time.
So who DID have a good window? Man City have done themselves little harm in restricting themselves to around 7 new players but they have spent over £150 million, including daft sums on Sterling (£49 million) and Kevin De Bryne (£51 million). And these are in positions they arguably, and especially in De Bruyne’s case, did not need to fill. Only ten players left the club but Nasri will get his own name plate added to the bench …
And what of Arsenal who have sold six and loaned or released about eleven. It’s still a fair number, but it’s offset by the singular, towering figure of Petr Cech’s arrival in goal. The release of the news of Welbeck’s surgery mere hours after the closure of the window emphasises still further how few viable strikers there appear to be available to buy, and it puts United and City’s excessive expenditures in this area into some kind of perspective.
The point at which demand becomes desperation is moot but few would be surprised at Arsenal’s reticence to join in and, in any case, as the John Stones example (not to mention, supposedly, Karim Benzema’s) clearly demonstrates, sometimes it’s not all about the money. Add in complicating factors such as diminished sell-on values for the more elderly buying opportunities (Cavani) and the fog starts to clear a little when it comes to understanding Arsenal’s absence of action at this end of the pitch.
Swansea have added Andrew Ayew at no cost, without doubt, one of the buys of the summer. Pedro and Begovic are the stand out buys for Chelsea and silly money was not required to acquire either. For Liverpool only Nathaniel Clyne really stands out although there are great hopes resting on the shoulders of Benteke and they will have Sturridge to one day return. James Milner, on a free but presumably with hefty wages was also a decent addition and Gomiz has made a promising start to the season.
Although they bought no-one of great note, Everton seem to have missed a trick in retaining the much sought after John Stones. One admires their principles and determination to hang on to the lad but at what cost?
And it is surely a sign of the monied times that Stoke have managed to bring in players from Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Chelsea and even Liverpool. Get that lot performing and they may spring a surprise or two. Who knows, they may even develop a more palatable style of football, unlikely as that presently seems.
So exactly what can be surmised from this summer’s wheelings and dealings?
For me, the stand out factor was the scarcity of genuine ‘star’ names signed, given the huge sums spent. Yes, plenty of names we know and a few we with whom we will become re-acquainted.
Pedro, Cech and an ageing Schweinsteiger seem to be the exceptions that prove some kind of rule.
Few of us are sufficiently familiar with all the new players joining the league so the jury remains out but, I think, it is safe to assume an overall increase in the playing standard of the league. If there were no easy games last season and last season every game seemed to be ‘must win’ then it’s going to be at least 4% harder this year.
Given that all this may come to pass, Arsenal’s solitary signing of Cech may yet prove to be one of the most significant. He joins Kos, Per, Monreal, Bellerin, and Gabriel in forming what may yet prove to be the meanest defence in the league and certainly our best since the Tony Adams’ era.
The value of conceding ever fewer numbers of goals rises exponentially in a league where the ability of most teams to score more has become a reality. That we have lost Welbeck until Xmas becomes more problematical in the event of injury to Giroud, Theo. Alexis or Campbell. It’s not ideal but it is what it is.
The remaining strikers and the uber attacking nature of our midfield is such that our success in securing Cech may yet outweigh our inability to supplement and strengthen our forward line.
Time will, of course, tell.
Positively Arsenal 
AA, that was a fantastic and intriguing piece. If only everyone could measure their response to the transfer window with your logic the football world would be a calmer place.
The media are winding the fans up (of seemingly most clubs) to produce jack- in – the box reactions to what at this point is mere conjecture.
team cohesion has always been a more important factor than massive buys but that seems to get lost every window
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Nice one.
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I admit that Schweini I would have been delighted to see in an Arsenal shirt, because i think he is a quality player and would add to any midfield he played in. He may be past his best, a little injury prone and we have a midfield stuffed already to overflowing but for Bastien I would have created a niche.
Other than the Schweini there is not one, I.e. Not a single player signed by any PL side that persuades me or convinces me we should have signed him or are worse off having not signed him.
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“Arsenal were the only club from the top five European leagues not to sign an outfield player during the summer.”
I read this so often…
So what of the youngsters? they are not outfield players, cos they did not cost a fortune? reine, fortune and a few others i think even up to 5 new players besides cech!
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an interesting interview with Bielik, it seems AFC are playing him at CB with the U21’s so that he gets used to the physical nature of English football and to improve his tracking of runners.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20150903/bielik-how-i-m-adjusting-to-england
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Arsenal named their Premier League squad today:
Senior List:
Gabriel, Arteta, Campbell, Cech, Coquelin, Debuchy, Flamini, Gibbs, Giroud, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal, Ospina, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Ramsey, Rosicky, Sanchez, Walcott, Wilshere, Welbeck.
U21 List:
Agyei-Tabi, Akpom, Bellerin, Bennacer, Bielik, M. Bola, T. Bola, Chambers, Chatzitheodoridis, Da Graca, Dasilva, Donovan, Eyoma, Fortune, Gilmour, Gnabry, Hayden, Hinds, Huddart, Iliev, Iwobi, Johnson, Kamara, Keto, Macey, Maitland-Niles, Mavididi, Moore, Mourgos, Nketiah, Pileas, Pleguezuelo, Reine-Adelaide, Robinson, Sheaf, Tella, Toral, C. Willock, Zelalem.
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Thank you for that Andrew. As you know I have no interest in the transfer window and its attendant hysteria. If everyone just waited and read your excellent summary they could save themselves a lot of unnecessary heartache and boredom. Honestly what have all those who follow the transfer rumours on line and in the papers gained on me? Nothing. The day after its all over and I know exactly as much as they do.
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An excellent summation of the transfer window AA showing the gluttony of a system consumed by excess consumption and very little lasting quality. The media has brain washed the public into believing that spending more money is better for the Premier League and even better for clubs that are the biggest spenders. The media refuses to discuss and consider the hazards of such these excesses. Some I can think of are: (1) Salaries and wages are growing astronomically, (2) Quality of the football has not grown at the same rate, watching some mid-low level teams is equivalent to watching paint dry, (3) Spending on mostly foreign players is simply transfering wealth from the English league to the bank accounts o f foreign agents and clubs. In due course such excesses will be corrected, for every boom there is a bust.
But you never see such discussion in the press. To the contrary journos and pundits are more in a hurry to demonize Arsene in particular, for refusing to join the madness. Unlike the mainstream media, AA has done a good job helping us to truly understand the potential disasters that will inevitably arise from this window.
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Aaron imposing tonight – right on his game
Wales should have got a goal by now though – 20 minutes or so left
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Adebayor is not named in the spurs 25 man BPL squad or their Europa league squad, how the mighty have fallen
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Holland lost at home to Iceland tonight, and look very unlikely to make top 2 in their group, Iceland and Czech Republic can book their place at Euros with wins on Sunday
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Wales win and Aaron excellent – next game Sunday at 4.30 in Cardiff against Israel – the decider
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if Wales beat Israel on Sunday the qualify for the Euros
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anicol was Ramsey good, as I seen many Gooners on the web tonight claim he was playing very poorly, i expect they are the ones who constantly scapegoat him with Arsenal
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You don’t half put yourself through it Eddy
There is a BLOCK function on Twitter which, if you choose, you can tap and make sure you see none of these fuckwits again on social media ever.
You have done enough, sacrificed enough for us, by daily bringing us the total shite spewed by the Scarfists, fence sitters and outright groaning nutters.
Hit that button Eddy , early, and often
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No man should have to wade through the sewer of #WengerOut maniacs, pitchfork wielders and sundry fellow travellers day after day
It is a quality of life issue
Don’t risk it
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I actually seen it on a couple of arsenal web sites not twitter
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Really good summary Andrew, and Shotta is right, this madness cannot continue and the bust is going to be painful for many when it comes.
But there is plenty to be optimistic about for AFC supporters – AW is clearly not just thinking about the here and now. There is evidence of real preparation for the future. I went to the under 21 game last Friday and was very impressed with what I saw. JRA was not just a pre-season flash in the pan. That boy is the real deal. He was everywhere across the frontline, involved in 2 of the first goals, almost getting a 3rd himself. The goals were spread around the team and I was very impressed by our 2 centre backs on the night – Bielik who I thought on the night and has since been confirmed as playing that role to improve his main position as a DM, and Julio Pleguezuelo as well as Matt Macey in goal. What also struck me in light of Gary Neville’s recent comments, was how tall and physically imposing most of our under 21’s were! WHU also had a number of bruisers on show, but they lacked the technical qualities that our AFC boys had in abundance and was the difference on the night.
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Shame about Welbeck, but it makes me realise why Campbell did not go out. I hope he can grab his chance and bring something valuable to the team.
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Roy Hodgson is more upset right now then any arsenal fans at the news of Welbeck’s op.
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The attempt to stir panic in the ranks after Welbeck’s operation is so typical of the fear mongers. Injuries are inevitable in any sport requiring physical demands on the body especially a contact sport like football. Can any team feasibly stock its ranks with all the reserves necessary to sustain ideal performance levels? You can only make reasonable allowances. So was it last year, if not worse when we were without Walcott and OG for sustained periods last year. It was not ideal but we battled on. This time only Welbeck is out long-term. We adjust and move on. Leave the whingeing and hand wringing to the white flag brigade.
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Gawd, I’ve got such a big smile on my face after reading your piece, AA.
Don’t even think about applying for any journo jobs. No ones getting a job with that beautiful level of articulation, and I learned a great deal from your article, cos I had no idea how many players the teams had shed or loaned or “whatever’d”.
Have Stoke really got players from those clubs mentioned? They must all buy into the ****ing thug regime loved by the bookmaker and the hughes. Default: kick the bastards!
Someone said on the last thread that Danny’s injury was inflicted by …. Who was that, pls? I can’t believe I’ve forgotten, or worse still,didn’t notice. (These incidents are usually etched in my brain, like a beautiful goal, except, I suffer, esp. With the knowledge there’ll be no retrospectives.
All of which makes the article accepted by UA – bolux, although I accept UA publishing a well written and seemingly reasonable “thesis”. I too enjoyed responses from AL, Mandy, fins, and others from here (or there).
I’ll have to read this one again so I can take in the number of people on loan. (Not Ars players. I know why they’re out there).
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Thanks everyone very much for the kind comments and also, those that did, for retweeting on Twitter, much appreciated.
Apologies for the length of the article. A big-ish subject and quite tricky to write about with accuracy as the numbers all vary depending on source of information – I checked out at some length the Daily Mirror, Guardian, Sky, Premier League and BBC. Almost gave up at one point due to the variance. The piece was really just intended as an overview to get a sense of what has been going on the last few weeks. That there was insufficient space for the shenaigans involving Spurs, the evident tensions up at Sunderland and so on, suggests a two-parter might have been in order but there’s a limit to my (and I guess most peoples’) interest in the affairs of other clubs despite the residual entertainment values waiting to be cashed in.
Will be interesting to revisit the topic after Xmas to see how they all got on …
Ranteta – yes, it’s surreal isn’t it, from where Stoke have picked up their newbies. I get the impression fans got bored with Pulis’s brand of in-game thuggery and this window is the first manifestation of a reported desire in the club to go up a footballing level. Good luck to them, I say, though I have my doubts they have the right manager for that particular job.
Passenal – wish I’d known you were at Friday’s U21, we’d have popped over to say ‘hi’ on my birthday match day visit! One of the best U21 games I’ve seen and though I went expressly to see Jeff and Bielik I actually came away thoroughly impressed with the entire group. Agree, this is the most physically imposing U21 side I’ve seen in a long while and, as you say, West Ham’s bruisers could find no way past us either technically or by throwing their weight around. Would be fascinating to know what kind of timetable Arsene has in mind for Bielik; looks to have World Class potential to me. Willing to bet we will see Jeff in League Cup competition this year, a very talented and very exciting prospect, I’m convinced he’s the real deal.
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Thanks Andrew. Top work. I am strangely relieved to hear the Welbeck news, as all summer long things haven’t felt right to me: I was worried that he was being eased out (or wanted out) of the club, because the length of absence didn’t tally with the pronouncements about his fitness. Now obviously well-run clubs try to avoid surgery as far as they are able, but it must have become clear that this was the only option for him. Let’s hope that the op does the trick and that he rehabilitates well. He will be 25 in November and remains an outstanding prospect. This long absence may well do him the world of good too – he has been playing pretty much non-stop since he was a little boy and I’m guessing his whole system will benefit from the break.
And as for those so-called fans who feel that the manager lied about him to them so that he wouldn’t have to buy a striker – well, word’s fail. Actually, that is unfair and it is not right of me to make fun of them, so lacking in critical thought are they – and so easily manipulated by those who make a tidy sum out of pandering to the masses.
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don’t you all love how those that accuse Wenger about lying over the Welbeck injury, are actually the ones lying, as Wenger clearly stated on a couple of occasions that Welbeck’s recovery all depended on how the injury held up when Danny stepped up his training. A Bruised bone is in fact a small fracture inside in the bone, rest/immobilisation is normally the cure, but if, as in Welbeck’s case the pain persists when he trains then an operation needs to be done.
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Remember the meltdowns when the Nacho man was signed?
“Vengarggggh. Dithering again! Worst board in foobtall. Taking my money. Polluting my precious bodily fluids.
Groundhog day. Oink oink. Squeak squeak. I need my diaper changed.”
“Where’s Darren Bent?”, screamed the trolled, the gullible, the sado-masochistic.
“Berbatov!”
http://www.gunnerstown.com/arsenal/2015/09/04/arsenals-unsung-hero-and-mr-consistent-has-the-highest-pass-completion-in-europe/
Monreal. The Harbinger of D**M (Coquelin’s return). And of two back to back FA Cup victories. And more too.
Last season whilst the experts refused to count the best RB in the league as an AFC player at the start of the season: “only six defenders!”
Yet afc went on to sign Gabriel, clearly the best defender signed by any club in the league last year.
I think i can spot a pattern here. The same technique applied to troll footbal fans every time. Can the self-declared Experts? Or are they so busy composing opinions that they can no longer may any observations? Or even watch the footy?
Anyone suggesting Austin over Akpom must’ve spent a lifetime heading lead weights.
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What an excellent, informative and thoroughly enjoyable piece Andrew. Some excellent and inspirational comments too.
I love hearing about these U21s. Isn’t this why we are all here on PA? Optimism, enjoying the ride? I smile at the thought of all these young fellows chomping at the bit to force their way into the first team.
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Totally agree with this. Lamela, Soldado and Paulinho were seen as world class additions when Bale left. Some words to the effect of replacing Elvis with the Beatles were used. Fans were delirious and, as Spurs fans do, started taking the p*ss before a ball was kicked. However, when it went to pot, they jumped the fence and it was all about the incompetence of Levy, Baldini and AVB. It is so easy to hypothetically spend someone else’s money and it is so easy to champion a signing or tactical change when you have no responsibility.
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This comment was originally posted on a guardian comment page.I think it describes a lot of this irrational emotional wrecks called “fans who just want what’s best for their club’ supposedly Arsenal.
Lamela, Soldado and Paulinho were seen as world class additions when Bale left. Some words to the effect of replacing Elvis with the Beatles were used. Fans were delirious and, as Spurs fans do, started taking the p*ss before a ball was kicked. However, when it went to pot, they jumped the fence and it was all about the incompetence of Levy, Baldini and AVB. It is so easy to hypothetically spend someone else’s money and it is so easy to champion a signing or tactical change when you have no responsibility.
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This is also a comment by a supposed old toilet fan.I believe its a reasonable post.
The transfer window is an amazing fantasy world for journalists. They make up a rumor, say MU are after Otamendi or Pedro. Then when said player signs with someone else, a story needs to be created about how another team beat them to the punch and everyone falls for it. It’s like being accused of having an affair and if there’s nothing in it, you are regarded as a loser who’s been dumped.
LVG mentioned very early in his tenure that he will not discuss potential signings publicly because it generates interest from the competition and drives up prices. These journalists do get it. However they need to sell in order to appease the advertisers. So in effect they are glorified gossip mongers.
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Arseneify – the Spurs examples perfectly highlight the well established idea that all transfers are something of a gamble. Whether it be someone in from a ‘lower’ league or a ‘worldie’ like Angel di Maria, there are no guarantees of assimilation and success with any new player.
Which means the EPL collectively just gambled close to £1 billion over the last few weeks.
Now you may argue that to accumulate you have to, at some point speculate. And of course who is qualified to judge that 1, 2 or even £3 billion is too much to spend on what in conventional industry might be compared to an ‘aggressive takeover’!
But one of AFC’s activities I have long admired is their equivalent of ‘research and development’ and their development of young players is a key function within the club. The current U21’s is set to help the club offset the risks they do take on player transfers and one can only wonder why more clubs don’t take the opportunity to hedge their buying bets in this way.
I think AW avoids buying more than three new first teamers in one go at the best of times and the contribution of our youth department plays an important role in helping him do so.
Consequently, it can be argued, our approach to player recruitment places us at less risk than our former rivals over in Middlesex. That they can, perhaps mischievously, be regarded as ‘former rivals’ correlates closely to the sums Spurs have squandered through transfer gambles over many years on ultimately unsuitable players.
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Nice one Andrew,what we’ve seen in the last transfer window is of course the confirmation that FFP has well & truly fucked off,the cowardice of Platini personified-next stop FIFA.
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Mainstream media, bloggers and tweeters have asserted that Arsene lied, prevaricated, misled or guilty of neglect by failing to disclose the Welbeck op before the close of the transfer window. Last night TalkSports gave 5 minutes to “Arsenal blogger” Pedro of Leg Rove to bloviate about stingy, unambitious Wenger, to the gloating satisfaction of Goldstein and Cundy, the ManU and Chelsea supporting hosts of the show. How dare Wenger and the club not give them additional pretext to whip up emotions in the Arsenal-supporting world to demand a last-minute panic-buy of a replacement for a 3rd choice striker? Why did he give them an opportunity to ignore PL-experienced Joel Campbell as a viable replacement? Or to totally ignore Oxlade-Chamberlain as a wide forward on either the right or left.
How do these people rationalize their 180 degree change in opinions. Six weeks ago and up to the Community Shield, after signing Cech we had the strongest squad in years ready to challenge. Now Arsenal is chopped liver. Four weeks into the campaign we have created more chances than all our competitors but our conversion rate is one-thirds the previous three-year average. Do we have a grip on reality or floating in a world of football fiction?
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Good things come to the Righteous, and my patience in delaying purchase of a Stoke ticket has been rewarded with a lower tier seat not too far from the halfway line in Block 14.
A fine Friday so far.
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First John Hartson comes out this morning in defence of the club following Merson’s ludicrous charges, then the Daily Mail (urgh, I know) publishes this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3222231/Arsenal-right-hide-Danny-Welbeck-injury-better-window-Premier-League-club.html
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Wow AA, that is surely a sign of the apocalypse! The daily mail could have almost lifted that from the pages of PA!
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Passenal – all seemed strikingly familiar!
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Someone has stolen my pitchfork !
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That has to be a spoof article: it can’t really be the Daily Mail. They’ll be running a front page demanding the UK takes in Syrian refugees next.
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Foreverheady – my first thoughts exactly! Checked it was on their main website before posting.
Off for some therapy now.
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I loved reading this grounded and well written piece Andrew.all Arsenal fans should read this and reconsider their own reactions to the transfer lunacy. Thank you!
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When you’re trying to buy a striker it would be foolhardy to announce that one of your current strikers has a long-term injury. If that fact is so blindingly obvious that even the Daily Mail is willing to concede it, where on the scale of human bewilderment does that leave those who are unable to understand it?
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Arsenalandrew, well done!
Now, to change to a meaningful subject – the upcoming games, oh! golly.
12th inst. Swansea, at home The Ems
16th inst. Dinamo Zagreb, away
19th inst. Chelsea, away
23rd inst. Spurs, away
28th inst. Leicester, away
29th inst. Olympiacos, at home The Ems
then
4th October Manu, at home The Ems.
Rest assured, that the staff of Arsenal in the Community (16 in all?), are paid the London Living Wages, as a minimum..The source for this information is from the minutes of a meeting of the Highbury West Ward Partnership meeting.
Furthermore, Ken Friar has assured the London Borough of Islington, that the match day temporaries are paid at least £10 per hour!
COTG
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A great block of games coming up NOTH – Swansea though ? Stoke !
As for Arsenal and the Living Wage if every single casual is earning £10 an hour, including the Delaware crew I am bleeding amazed
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This is so great. Wenger has trolled the trolls so hard that Man U fans and the Daily Mail of all people are now talking sense. This is brilliant. Stroke of genius would be an understatement. Great comments today with Merlot in particularly fine form. Happy Friday to all the PA family
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Germans v the Poles second half and 2-1 to the home side – great game – if you’re not watching it turnover or tape it
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credit where credit is due..good one daily mail 🙂
apparently Arsene has cheated the club by lying. does money mean nothing in this world anymore? hard earned money ? just need to spend because it needs to be spent? atrocious.
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Notoverthehill – rate of pay aside, the main problem for a whole generation of Arsenal staff is currently the prevalence of the zero hour contract that has been rolled out across most departments in the estate and certainly those departments employing the most staff. Specifically, those hardest hit are the non-match day staff working in the shops, providing security, catering and cleaning services. Many but not all of these staff are not employed directly by the club but via agencies who rarely pay Living Wage rates.
Staff are forced to break their contracts within 12 months and have a six week break; then repeat the following year. Huge numbers have no idea how many hours work they will have from week-to-week, and substantial numbers make weekly trips to Housing Benefits Offices across London to continue/discontinue weekly claims dependent on how many hours they’ve worked. There is no sick pay or paid holiday during the year. Being paid a Living Wage is one thing but if your hours fluctuate between 14 and 30 odd then it becomes less relevant.
Arsenal are by no means unique in the football industry but are now very well placed, financially, to employ people properly and in accordance with conventional employment laws rather than have the Government subsidise their employment practices.
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Not that I’ve ever asked for their birth certificates NOTH but the catering staff are 90% kids
And the Living Wage Foundation ignore anyone under 18
the National Minimum wage for an under 18 years old is currently £3.87 so the chance they are getting £9.15 ph ?
Beeeehave
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I saw our 3rd round tie back in January and was taken by Campbell. He seemed to attract the ball and was much involved, so I was a little disappointed that he immediately went out on loan. I think much of the disappointment stemmed from the realisation that I clearly didn’t understand what I was seeing! However, it is nice to hope that he might do a Coquelin and prove the unimagined star of the season. I wouldn’t discount it.
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