Contrary to all the nonsense we have been fed by the mainstream media and by Arsenal’s uber bloggers, tweeters and podcasters, the recent transfer window was an unquestionable victory for Arsenal Football Club over the agents and speculators who literally have the Premier League by the bollocks.
One well-known Arsenal blogger described it as “shambolic” literally calling out the manager, CEO and owner as incompetent. This is a man who has never managed a professional football club in his life much less an outfit that has a turnover of over £300 million pounds+ annually. Yet he has the temerity to scold the owner who is a billionaire in his own right and not merely from owning sports franchises.
Where has modesty gone to? How about being reserved and conditional in your criticism of professionals in a business you have absolutely no expertise? Can you imagine a general practitioner criticizing a specialist much less a patient who has written a few blogs on alternative medicine? Words fail me.
Yet his cohorts, like obedient “Pavlovian” dogs, simply ran with the same message, only to a slightly a different tune. Yes, he is entitled to his opinion, but how long can he and the gang maintain credibility when they are repeatedly proven to be wrong. “End of an era” anyone?
In today’s blog I will demonstrate their analysis is flawed and so are their conclusions. Let us get back to basics. Arsenal Football Club has never relied on making transfers to become successful. This is exemplified by a 1925 advertisement for the position of football manager, that is nearly 100 years ago:
“Arsenal Football Club is open to receive applications for the position of TEAM MANAGER. He must be experienced and possess the highest qualifications for the post, both as to ability and personal character. Gentlemen whose sole ability to build up a good side depends on the payment of heavy and exhorbitant transfer fees need not apply.”
Every subsequent manager has publicly admitted that this is a fundamental policy of the club even despite years of lagging behind their more spendthrift rivals. The Arsene Wenger era has been no different. The current manager has consistently exceeded his top-4 rivals for the lowest net transfer spend vs league position. This is despite the explosion in transfer spending since the arrival of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea who according to David Dein “’parked Russian tanks on our lawn, firing £50 notes at us.”
This transfer window was no different and despite the honeyed pleas of agents and their mouthpieces in the media, including bloggers and so called legends of the club, Arsenal stood firm and refused to be fleeced by the parasites hanging unto professional football in general and the PL in particular.
We start from the known fact that markets are used for profit extraction. Any professional in the stock market or its facsimile use the selling of inventory as a method of deriving profits from buyers. Similarly the transfer window is an opportunity for selling clubs, and increasingly for agents and 3rd party owners, to extract profit from willing buyers for players they have a tradable interest. Money is flowing into the market from tv rights and from sugar daddy owners. Many clubs are compelled, often by subjective reasons, to use these cash inflows to acquire new players. The Qataris, for example, given their current economic and political confrontation with the Saudis and other Gulf States, are known to have an interest in raising their pr profile internationally. No wonder they were willing to make a big splash by funding the unprecedented $200 million acquisition by PSG of Neymar from Barcelona. The fact that last season PSG was 2nd in Ligue Une and made the last 8 of the champion’s league would suggest a club far from being uncompetitive. Up to the recent past, conventional wisdom would be they need only one or two modestly priced additions to guarantee an improvement in their standing.
Transfermarkt.co.uk provides sufficient data to indicate how much profit is being derived from the underlying value of the players. I focused on the top 100 transfers (ranked either by value or transfer value) at the end of the window. Not surprisingly, given the massive amounts of money sloshing around, the premier league was at the top in Europe for profit extraction.
Profit Extraction from Top 100 Transfers
| No Traded | Market value | Moving to Lge | Transfer fee | Profit (£millions) | Profit (%) |
| 38 | 720.45 | Premier League | 1,075.68 | 355.23 | 49% |
| 7 | 191.25 | Ligue 1 | 288.90 | 97.65 | 51% |
| 11 | 217.80 | La Liga | 264.60 | 46.80 | 21% |
| 15 | 229.50 | Bundesliga | 258.30 | 28.80 | 13% |
| 2 | 13.50 | Championship | 31.50 | 18.00 | 133% |
| 2 | 18.00 | Rusian Premier League | 35.10 | 17.10 | 95% |
| 1 | 18.00 | Chinese Super League | 31.23 | 13.23 | 74% |
| 2 | 26.10 | Portugese Liga Nos | 18.00 | -8.10 | -31% |
| 1 | 14.40 | Turkish Süper Lig | 3.15 | -11.25 | -78% |
| 21 | 370.80 | Serie A | 338.58 | -32.22 | -9% |
| 100 | 1,819.80 | 2,345.04 | 525.24 | 29% |
From a market value of £720.45 million in players traded, selling clubs in combination with agents and other 3rd parties were able to extract £355.23 million in nominal profits from the premier league, nearly 50% return. Which other legitimate market in Britain is generating such a handsome return to traders? No wonder the Raiolas and Mendezes have taken permanent occupation of clubs like United, City and Chelsea who are splashing the cash. Forget the fairytale that the profits generated will circulate and multiply among the lower leagues.
Unlike the English premiership, all other leagues generate substantially less profits for traders. Ligue 1 appears second but this was distorted by the Neymar transfer which generated £109 million in surplus to Barcelona. If it wasn’t for this transaction the French market would have been a negative proposition for selling clubs.
What is most disconcerting is that the top two European leagues in terms of champion’s league dominance, La Liga and the Bundesliga, are not pissing away football money by doing deals way in excess of market value of players traded. Profits were £46.80 and £28.80 respectively. Note how the Germans, the wealthiest country in Europe, are quite stingy, yielding a mere £28.80 million or 13% rate of profit on players traded.
Unlike the Germans, with their sane, sensible approach to transfers, English clubs are pissing away money left, right and center with one notable exception, Arsenal FC.
Profit Extraction from Premier League Clubs
| Club | No Traded | Market value | Transfer fee | Profit (£millions) | Profit (%) |
| Man City | 5 | 126.00 | 205.65 | 79.65 | 63% |
| Chelsea | 5 | 105.75 | 182.61 | 76.86 | 73% |
| Everton | 4 | 68.4 | 120.06 | 51.66 | 76% |
| Man United | 3 | 105.30 | 147.96 | 42.66 | 41% |
| Spurs | 3 | 41.40 | 72.09 | 30.69 | 74% |
| Liverpool | 2 | 51.3 | 72.00 | 20.70 | 40% |
| Southampton | 2 | 17.55 | 30.06 | 12.51 | 71% |
| Crystal Palace | 1 | 13.5 | 25.38 | 11.88 | 88% |
| Leicester | 1 | 13.5 | 24.93 | 11.43 | 85% |
| Stoke | 1 | 6.30 | 17.46 | 11.16 | 177% |
| Bournemouth | 1 | 10.80 | 20.52 | 9.72 | 90% |
| Burnley | 1 | 5.40 | 14.76 | 9.36 | 173% |
| West Ham | 2 | 29.70 | 36.09 | 6.39 | 22% |
| Watford | 1 | 13.50 | 18.36 | 4.86 | 36% |
| Arsenal | 1 | 45.00 | 47.70 | 2.70 | 6% |
| Swansea | 3 | 38.25 | 26.37 | -11.88 | -31% |
| West Brom | 2 | 28.80 | 13.68 | -15.12 | -53% |
| 38 | 720.45 | 1,075.68 | 355.23 |
Not surprisingly, the two sugar-daddy clubs, City and Chelsea are #1 and #2 in handing over substantial profits to selling clubs. Note these figures are for only the top 100 transfers in the window. It is likely that further down the line they and others in the premier league are giving away big money for low value players.
It is striking that the traditional clubs, which compete annually with Arsenal for a position in the top-6 (Chelsea, City, Everton, United, Spurs and Liverpool) have no reservation in forking over excessive money to sellers amounting to nearly 80% of the total profits or £281.46 million that came from the PL. Based on the past 21 years under Arsene Wenger only two, maybe three of these clubs are likely to exceed Arsenal in the final standings. None of these clubs (whether owner, chairman or chief executive) seem able to exercise any discipline or objectivity in player acquisition despite evidence to the contrary.
Conspicuously absent from this excessive consumption is Arsenal which paid a mere £2.7 million surplus for the acquisition of Alexander Lacazette. Arsenal is 3rd only to Swansea and West Brom who through smart pricing and use of the loan system were able to generate value in excess of price from their acquisitions.
This is not to say Arsenal was afraid to pay big money for a special player. It emerged on deadline day the club was willing to pay up to £100 million for Thomas Lemar, a talented midfielder needed to fill a gaping vacancy that currently exists. Arsene Wenger disclosed publicly the deal fell through because the player was not ready for the move but pledged he would, when the opportunity next arise, make another attempt to do the deal.
Meanwhile the financial geniuses who dominate Arsenal twitter, blogs and podcasts post August 31st attacked the club for having the financial discipline and resoluteness to not fall for the agents hyping players of modest value for inflated prices. Adding to the din and hysteria was certain so-called Arsenal legends who seem more interested in giving credence to agent talk than protecting the club’s long term financial strength. It begs the question who is in bed with these agents, whether as friends or business partners. Why would a blogger mock the club for making a £30 million profit on deadline day with the capacity to go back in the market to make a £100 million acquisition in the future?
This smacks of the “voice of Jacob but the hand of Esau.” Trust me, some of the parables of the Old Testament have eternal wisdom.
Positively Arsenal 
Can’t help but feel we could have done better though. But it’s only a feeling, because I know nowt.
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I dont think anyone could argue that afc make money. Now argue that afc make satisfied supporters.
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“Arsenal Football Club is open to receive applications for the position of TEAM MANAGER. He must be experienced and possess the highest qualifications for the post, both as to ability and personal character. Gentlemen whose sole ability to build up a good side depends on the payment of heavy and exhorbitant transfer fees need not apply.”
Haha Shotts!
No wonder the frustrated football agents are so frustrated. The poor lambs. My heart bleeds for the false tears from Shaun Wright Phillips’ agent (who advised him against playing for the Arsenal), we are certainly blessed to be bombarded by the gibberisims from such earnest fellows.
Brilliant. Thank you, and get well soon Shotts!
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Mo
Hello. Can you read? Is it numbers that spin you out, such as goals scored and points in the table etc.? Is that why you think Tottenham are more competitive when they finish behind AFC in the table?
This article highlights who it is making the moolah and it ain’t AFC!
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That slimy investor Chappie who the Experts wanted to invest at AFC who instead took his top top top ambitions (to do what exactly?) to Everton has certainly helped bump Everton up the table. Not the table most football fans are interested in but the table (above) that frustrated football agents like Mo are enthused by. Hallelujah?
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AFC could’ve had a better window I guess though I lost interest before it opened as most of it was predictable a long time in advance.
Did the plundits laugh like this at Utd spending £80M on three LBs in one window, which in this summers market would’ve been like £150M? No, no they didn’t. Wondering why not? Shotta kindly explains above.
Show.
Me.
The.
Money.
Innit?
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You only have that feeling George because of how the narrative has been spun by the media. Transfers are hard to do as a lot of factors need to be aligned, transfer fee, replacement player, personal terms and the player (and his family) have to want to move. I know you wanted Sanchez gone, but without getting the right replacement the club had to keep him in the end. Whose to say that may not turn out to be for the best?
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Lemar, Asencio, Isco,
Sure, it would’ve been nice.
And that’s just for midfield. However if Ozil leaves next year would any of them be prepared to compete with Ramsey for that position? Hehe.
We all have our fantasy signings.
Mine is still at the club! He’s a bit mad, but more good mad then bad mad. He’s been the best player for at least one of his three seasons in the PL, and with the semi-retired Rooneh on £300K p/w and now subsided (but not a shambles. Obviously.) whilst he retires at that shiny Investors new club, it was always unlikely AFC would be able to hold Sanchez on another contract. I won’t mention Ozil. Or Ramsey. Yikes!
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Subsidised > or subsided, though that is a good word to describe the post Ferguson/Riley deal settlement.
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thanks shotter, even though i disagree sometimes with transfer valuation of ‘transfer market’, but generally it shows many managers and clubs no longer value hardwork and dedication as route to success but using money to buy their way out. another thing is the failure of scouting system. if scouts still have to rely on agents to tell them of players they are paid to uncover, then no need wasting resources on scouting. it’s sometimes double expensis on the clubs.
the solution is having one transfer window and making the window close before the start of the season. the extreme one is not to have any window at all. which allow clubs to buy players all through the season. then agents wont be able to put pressure on clubs or gave ultimatum.
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layk. Why not just go back to the old system where the only transfers banned were those that may affect titles or relegation? These windows are an absolute pain in the arse.
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lcfc £22M signing is delclared inelgible after missed the deadline by 22 seconds.
But it’s AFC that are the “shambles”.
*taps nose*
I love that George pre-empted the rolling out of the ‘Shambles’ meme by these PR GENIUS’ about two months ago.
If their PR is so easily predictable then maybe it is not quite genius?
What do you all think?
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the needless money clubs pay to agents are the reasons some players use their relatives as representatives. infact the relatives are more trusted by the players to look after their welfare than the vultures who certainly will not live with them in such places. for instance if were a player today, and a player in same club with me has his agent payed a certain amount for doing practically nothing, why wont i collect such money or make my transfer or contract negotiation a little harder so as to get same treatment. the hypocracy in western media is the reason why we keep hearing of amount payed to neymer’s father while the raiola’s and mendez of this world are constanly refered to as super agents while they smile to the bank by doing nothing other than making transfers and contract renewals difficult.
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gf60
Becasue the agents’ ‘conspiracy’ would start crying and complaining?
When agents dictate the structure of the football season across the european leagues I can’t understand why anyone would try to ignore their impact and control of the sport?
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gf60, maybe but who decides? you may then have arsenal wanting to sign a player and are told no because it affect the title while united are allowed because, well, they are winning the title anyway.
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Interesting story for agent shenanigans involving Wilfred Bony.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4851698/Bony-wins-latest-legal-battle-against-former-agents.html
He’s in a legal battle with two former agents, and just won the first round of that battle- claiming they fleeced him of 8 million pounds which were paid in ‘secret commissions’ during a two year period, from joining Swans first time to just after joining City.
The article seems to suggest that money relates only to ‘contract negotiations’ (!) which I took to mean his wages not the fee between clubs.
I heard that and thought, ‘Jeez, if it is possible for agents to seek and get that from Bony…what about even bigger players?’
Chances are, plenty of moves are killed dead early on for us when it becomes clear the agents involved are too difficult or no good; others presumably don’t even get that far when it is known beforehand what the agents are like, and vice versa.
Anyone with the stomach for it should have a look at the details of the Neymar to Barca transfer, which involved an extraordinary amount of grubbiness behind the scenes.
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This is incredibly insightful.
This part here: “Gentlemen whose sole ability to build up a good side depends on the payment of heavy and exhorbitant transfer fees need not apply.”
As Fins often indicate when he says that Arsène Wenger and Stan Kroenke’s conduct to the markets pre-date the both of them. It is in Arsenal’s DNA and Part of their mission statement for “nearly 100 years”.
Thank god for Arsène Wenger who dont need to be bankrolled to compensate for his perceived lack of coaching acumen.
Thanks for putting your back in Shotta and giving us this!
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Agents? *#@%$ ’em. The only agent I’ve thought nicely of is Myron Bolitar, a fictional hero from Harlan Coban. Very good books btw.
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This one- Ousmane Demebele- seems even more revealing to me, mainly because it involves a French youngster and French and German clubs, i.e not Mendes and his ilk territory.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/24/ousmane-dembele-rennes-borussia-dortmund-agents-release-clause
Think we can guarantee Dembele’s transfer to Dortmund, for a relatively sane fee and what proved to be a bargain, has been held up a number of times as a giant missed opportunity for us and example of where we go wrong.
But take a look at the details. The suggestion is that at the time he joined Dortmund he was not available on any sort of ‘open market’.
Another good, though different, example is Costa to Chelsea. Not a price available to everyone, if they just happen to pick the right moment to deal with the ‘selling’ club. No chance. Rather something that was the product of long-term relationships between clubs and agents. Agents who in that case represented player, manager and, to at least some degree, both clubs.
Yet the dominant analysis is that whatever price a player moves for is the price for any interested club. Nonsense.
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A brief outline of things:
Barca are only now kicking up a big stink because the existing grubby way of things has started to hurt them badly. Madrid seem relatively calm because they happen to have a fantastic squad at the moment. Bayern are making noises about problems and madness within the system.
Our big money three are saying little or nothing as they probably believe it is working well enough for them. PSG- say no more.
The Italian clubs are mostly in flux- both Milan and Inter with their new investors and influx of cash have shown a willingness to play in Mendes world. Juve are harder to read but all Italian clubs are arguably insulated from some of it by their unique trading habits among each other over there.
Portugal is Mendes world, simple as that.
Holland struggles
Germany is clearly the sanest market. My guess is that factors in this are the thoroughly sensible approach young Germans seem to take to their careers. They seem very unwilling to chase the best money early on over career progression, trusting that all being well the absolute mega money can be an option once they have finished developing in the best place for them.
Note how few Germans move abroad at 16, as well as how few of those with a good year or two under them in the top flight go abroad at that stage. Many move, almost always within Germany.
More intersting to me is whether the internal German market is informed by a sense of solidarity. They know that if they let the worldwide prices dictate the value they sell to each other it will hurt their league as a whole, and most clubs in it, so somehow they don’t, and largely set prices in relation to other German only transfers. It wouldn’t be possible if under 25 German players were eager to go abroad early and chase the most money, but they generally don’t.
Anyway, as long as most of the giants, traditional or cash giants are happy enough with the state of affairs, there appears no prospect of change for the better.
That’s the environment we are navigating, without even mentioning the obvious difficulty of buying anyone from our own league.
Look mostly to Germany perhaps, while remembering the price is likely to be at least a bit different for foreign clubs, as well as the unwillingness of young players to risk their development by moving early. Look especially for contracts running out in Germany perhaps. Though, unfortunately, everyone else will be looking there as well.
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Shotta, get well soon.
Me I actually didn’t think we did badly
Esp since we kept Mustafi, Ozil and Sanchez.
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Jaysus my friends. I could barely get out of bed. My doctor would not approve of this expenditure of energy. But I needed to do this. As I lay in bed these recent days the whole reality of the transfer window became so apparent I needed to do the research to provide the factual data. As usual my longtime blogging friend Finsbury, by way of his typically sarcastic observations of the machinations of certain agents and legends, provided an insight which was pivotal to my approach. So as not to further stain my reputation among my dear friends on this blog I will not compare my disability with a certain player. Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha!
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ah shotta it was so unfair of you to pull the rug out from under the ASB using both barrels, how could you include a reference to when Arsenal hired in their view the clubs greatest manager Herbert Chapman, someone I might add was long dead before most of their fathers were a twinkle in the grandfathers eyes, but to then have the temerity to quote the messiah himself, David Dein, oh lord how could you. And not a lighthouse in sight to steer them clear of these rocks of wisdom they perish on.
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Two years ago Ivan Gazidis stated that Arsenal were largely withdrawing from the transfer market by moving towards a squad structure of 50% home grown and a further 25% of young players brought in from the academies of other clubs. Since then Wenger has stated that he expects the number of players who move ‘for nothing’ at the end of their contracts to substantially increase. If he’s right then even the half dozen remaining ‘off-the-shelf’ imports could cost very little in transfer fees.
Following the logic through this will mean clubs who sell to survive will suffer, players can demand even higher wages and agents will have to find different ways of making money – maybe being directly paid by the player. Who remembers the Ashley Cole saga?
Did Arsenal have a successful window? They held on to the players they said weren’t for sale, reduced the squad size down to the regulation level and promoted four young (English) players to the first team squad – probably more than any other club in the EPL.
Looks good to me.
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Rich maybe the German transfer window is lacking in crazy as all the other clubs know Bayern Munich have the league sewn up as a one horse race, they can persuade rivals best players to run down their contracts and join them for free, they can even persuade clubs to sign players for them, see how they do for a season, take them and then loan them out to another club to see if they can eventually be good enough for them.
Laughably we see the English media extol the rise and rise of little old RB Leipzig, but somehow forget that RB is there cos of Red Bull, and the shit load of money they are throwing at them, and even with that, it sees them still lose their best players to richer clubs or at least clubs paying much higher wages
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on to our squad and upcoming fixtures. our next 4 games, across 3 competitions, see us play
AFC Bournemouth in the BPL
Koln in the EL
Chelsea in the BPL
Doncaster in the CC
I seen it suggested that in the EL and CC we go with a kids team, utter nonsense as far as I concerned, on two fronts, 1. would only be looking for trouble 2. no need to weaken the team that much and its something we just don’t do, despite the notion that we do.
I would however be all for having two teams used in these 4 games, a 1st choice team for the two BPL games, and 2nd team for the two cups games. BPL priority so field best 11 and then give them the cup game off to prepare for CFC the next weekend. Use the 7 subs and next squad men in line for the cup games and have the kids on the bench.
I would go for something like this – although I fully expect Wenger to select a few different players, but I do expect him to do something along these lines as in regards two different teams, mainly as BPL games so important, and of course we have to give game time to the subs/squad players and give some youths a chance too
BPL games AFCB and CFC
Cech
Mustafi Koscielny Holding
Bellerin Xhaka Ramsey Kolasinac
Ozil Lacazette Alexis
subs – Ospina, Monreal, Coquelin, Wilshere, Walcott, Welbeck, Giroud
Cup games, K and D
take the seven subs and add in next 4 or 5 senior players to the mix, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Chambers, Iwobi, Elneny and you can have a team something like this
Ospina
Chambers Mertesacker Monreal
Debuchy Coquelin Wilshere Iwobi
Walcott Giroud Welbeck
subs Macey, Maitland-Niles, Reine-Adelaide, Elneny, Willock, Nelson, Akpom
others that could be in the mix DaSilva, Nketiah, Pleguezuelo and McGuane
regardless of who the starting 11 would be we certainly have the options of fielding two completely different starting 11’s and saving our best for the BPL games and yet have a team that would still be favorites to win the cup games.
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Aaron Ramsey’s goal for Wales v. Moldova last night means he overtakes Ryan Giggs on international goals for his country (13)
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I see that in Chile they have not taken too kindly to their two poor results which has seen them go from automatic WC place, to qualifier to now not qualifying slot. Alexis is the target for the boo boys. But they are not fully sure who to blame for Alexis being their target, Arsenal for not selling him, City for not getting the deal done, or his girlfriend who seems to be a bit of a Delilah to Alexis’s Samson as far as many supporters are concerned. He was fitter and a better player before he found the delights of Women, ha ha ha.
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transfers, media, brings us on to skybet, who now have odds on Bacary Sagna joining Arsenal on a free, despite Arsenal being unable to add him to our first team squad seeing as we have named a full 25 man squad and you can not change that till January 1st, yet idiots are wasting their money putting bets on that he will, all cos SKY sports news suggested that AFC are one of the clubs in for him.
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Ed
Yep. That surely is another factor in Germany- Bayern’s massive dominance must surely dissuade clubs from over-stretching themselves, as Bayern would remain huge favourites even if they did.
A newcomer with PSG, City, Chelsea money could change that, but I believe there are ownership rules there which prevent this.
Red Bull may be pushing against this somewhat, but only in a modest way compared to the clubs mentioned above. They are another good example of the ways the open market can be not too open. Leipzig’s Austrian feeder club have a feeder club of their own and, obviously, that adds plenty of difficulty in buying someone from those clubs.
Part ownership of clubs is in fact another issue which looks set to grow and grow. City are up to six now I believe, one of them 50% owned by their manager’s brother. This and other developments make the likelihood of us signing young South American talent smaller all the time. close to nil now I reckon.
The picture is one of a squeeze from all quarters on the number of clubs and players it is likely we can deal with. The whole country of Portugal, for instance, seems to have been ruled out for us right from the time of Mendes’ emergence.
Lets hope some of a number of highly promising academy players we have can come good!
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Sagna from man city? Is debuchy not still here? is he likely to get any more time here?
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well if you want proof of how well the media negative campaign against AFC is working look no further, it has been revealed that more people have actually better on AFC being relegated than on them getting top 4. How actually thick are these people, have they really got so much money they can just hand it over to the bookies on such a silly bet. Really.
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You’re kidding yoursleves if yu think Bayer Munchen is the reason.
Germany is just about still not a neo-liberlised economy.
They have industry…if you’ve noticed?
Unlike the UK/US they invest in infrastructure, education, and yes football/sports for kids too. You’ve all seen Germany be the only european football school to even come close to matching the Spanish.
All that alongisde industry, housing, & the usual stuff we were all once used to.
In Germany social housing projects showcase the latest cutting edge construction technology (usually achieved by studying ancient techniques) and change the construction industry around the planet as a result. Which is ironic as German students still come to London to study social housing built in a former more enlightened era.
In the UK we now clad our social housing buildings with extruded hydrocarbons (fuel) waste products from the petro-industry that have been pumped full of fire retardant and then watch the citizens homes burn whilst the citizens choke to death upon the toxic fumes.
That’s he difference. In the price of beer, in the standing sections, everywhere you go and look. In everything.
Might all have changed or be changing since when i lived and worjed there and Red Bull Leipzig are not admired in Germany by many, but that’s how it has been.
Agents are loved in British football. Not so much in Germany.
That’s why English clubs in particular are spending so much money when English footballers arent actually that good.
It’s a simple sum, we cannot dismiss the power of the agents in this league, that does no one any favours in understanding how AFC go about their buisness!
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I don’t have much to say about this piece, other than that it’s enlightening.
Instead, I have been reflecting on the previous post and the epic, engaging thread of comments it inspired. Apologies for being late to add my perspective, but unlike some in the modern age I prefer to let my thoughts settle before sharing them.
In re: the August match and transfer market post-mortem, all of it — Ornstein’s notes, Kroenke’s apathy, the Board’s abrogation of its governance responsibility, Gazidis’s knack for spin and self-preservation — could be true. And? Is there anything revealing or interesting there?
Not for me because those are not reasons to follow sport. The competition itself is, because that’s where we encounter the genius, the inhuman skill, the serendipity, the joy.
The growing obsession with developments at the corporate and personal levels strikes me as twisted. It just, as you imply, Shotts, gives rise to presumption and self-congratulation.
In other words, roll on Saturday.
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< Munchen with their boardroom antics and Neymaresque accounting are an interesting case study, and they do distort that league. But they hovered up Ribery and Robben after they were regurgitated by Madrid, similar t how AFC hovered up Ozil and Sanchez:
they don't appear to be obviously inflating fees on behalf of specific agents etc. but I could be wrong.
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Fins
Bit confused. Your post read as if you were putting some of us straight who had been dismissing the nefarious influence of agents. Don’t think anyone here had done that though.
As for you thoughts on Germany, they seem to fit quite well with my guesswork about why it all seems so reasonable and sane over there in comparison with elsewhere. It would make perfect sense to me if the main reason is the wider culture, politically and economically. Has Murdoch even got in there?
Whereas if the premier league reflects our culture, values, etc, which it surely does…oh oh
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British football is being taken over by agents and betting companies and the impact is frightening. Thanks Eddie for repeated observations about the bookies.
I have noted on twitter there are now football writers for betting company publications. They hype certain matches egging on punters to bet a certain way,. When results go against the lemming-like punters these same writers blame the responsible teams for not spending enough on transfers. Imagine that? For a league that consistently invest more on transfers than most other big leagues combined.
Meanwhile, as Fins observed, the gap between England and the German national team continues to grow and grow.
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i’ll take sagna above debuchy any day edu. when was the last time debuchy play serious football. the rumour before the close of the window was that arsenal plan to cancel his contract so he can go on a free. but like he’s done in the previous window, he stayed put because of the wages he gets on a platter here. if we cancel the contract and take sagna who is a free agent on a wage considerably lower than what debuchy gets and he is available for selection every week, i’m all for it. remember sagna is also a very good central defender and will fit in well into our 3 defender formation. i also remember we use to play him on the left occasionally and has always being a very good professional. he may well be the replacement for ox in a way. he loves the club and his wife as well always attend games when with us.their family were real gunners back then. sagna to me is like monreal. i hope there is a way back in for him.
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I will take Sagna too; was sad to see him go just wondering since debuchy didn’t go how that can be
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i dont know too. maybe cancel his contract which i’m sure he wont agree to because of his wage. the only option is pay him off. i doubt if that can be done after the window is shot. he was the only arsenal player that i followed his wife on twitter. she was a very lovely person. and you have to be as tall as per to win an earial contest against sagna. the spring in his leg is something else.
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I have mentioned before I had heard ARSENAL were willing to cancel Debuchy’s contract to allow him to move back to France.
Although ARSENAL rarely take players back once they have flown.
Shotta that was brilliant and I liked the whole piece, I also believe you have pleased Kelly with the title which is much better than pleasing the wider P.A. community.
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Debuchy > Sagna……………………now
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Rich
I’m in no position to put anyone straight about anything!
Munchen are very much a corporate club, the benchmark for such models I guess. Different to the historical and present AFC, perhaps one day AFC will be the same though quite a few out there and here would hope the club remains as it is, whatever that might be (as all the experts, Partridgian plundits and blaggers refuse to cover the handover story we can only guess!)
when comparing Munchen to English clubs it’s like comparing apples with Risdale’s turds.
They are run as a business and not as a petrogarch’s laundrette, that is my understanding.
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< its possible to consider that like AFC they Munchen have been prepping for a world where transfer fees for top players are no longer possible: the contrast in strategy or process of a club happy to spend +£30M on our pal Bony, whilst Munchen have been signing Lewandowski on a free is extreme. there are similarities to how AFC and Munchen operate, ribery robben etc.
It's not Munchen stopping the owners of Hoffenheim or the well dodge Red Bull franchise *shivers* crawling euros left right and centre, though they would like to. It's the wider environment, the German fa etc.
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crawling? < Throwing
Apologies for the awful grammar as usual, written on the phone that's my excuse.
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Me and Shotts have been discussing the reticence here in the UK to discuss agents, betting companies (legal), betting syndicates, and their role in certain sports.
The World Series scandal occurred in the US in 1919, 98 years ago.
TBF if building regulations are now considered superfluous (for the deserving poor) in the UK, then why would anyone one to regulate the betting industry properly? Perhaps we are just out of touch?
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Eight months on the investigation into Piegate has resulted in a £375 fine for the unsavoury ringleader of the pastry wrapped betting coup Wayne Shaw and a two month ban from football
And they say there is no justice
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Andy, You’ve been keeping your eye on that tasty story!
Bet you any money those pies aren’t as tasty as the ones that are a treat for the Away fans down in Brighton. Bloomin’ marvellous they are.
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Andrew, they’re quick to investigate piegate and point the finger at Shaw, but I bet The Sun’s role in the whole affair was swept under the carpet. Meanwhile the cancerous effect of betting on the game is also studiously ignored
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