Arsenal executives announce the sacking of 55 employees within 3 days of winning the FA Cup. In the opinion of yours truly and George this is another ominous sign of the future of the football club.
In our opinion most fans have been swept up in the optimism of new signings that coincided with the redundancies, ignoring the the betrayal of the traditional values of the club. This is exactly as the owners and the executives planned, just as they did in the 2019 summer transfer window. But the consequences are far more ominous as explained in the podcast.
Give it a listen and show your support by subscribing to this podcast wherever you download.
As always comments are welcome!
https://www.spreaker.com/user/10802980/podcast-2020-08-09-08-11-51
Positively Arsenal 
According to the Evening Standard, Zech Medley has agreed to join Gillingham, on a season-long loan and is set to train with them for the first time later today
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Medley loan has been confirmed as has Zak Swanson to Dutch side MVV Maastricht on loan for the 2020/21 season.
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Hi George / PA Team,
I used to frequent ACLF back in the day, but decided to stop reading any blogs during the end of the Wenger era, as got sick and tired of all of the in-fighting and negativity.
Due to the FA Cup success and positivity surrounding Mikel, I decided to check out what the mood was like online, and the first search term I typed in was ‘A Cultured Left Foot’ as in my view that was always the best blog.
To my shock, my search led me to your article from January sharing the very sad news about YW.
I wanted to say hello and say what a great writer and guy he was, I always felt he deserved a wider reached platform for ACLF – as his writing was way beyond what was on offer elsewhere.
A real shame.
RIP YW.
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Happy enough to see Wolves go out of the EL, would not have been good for us to see them go on and win EL and get into the CL and get the money that brings
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Tend to agree with what you said on the podcast, the timing of all this was very contrived. We don’t know the details, but Whatever they are, a real shame about the 55+, and in the new fangled parlance, the optics of it just don’t look good on any level, especially when an agent gets paid millions to smooth through a transfer of a player he has no contract with.
That said , looking forward to the next season , and to see what Arteta can do, even with some cautious optimism, but also the realisation of what this team are up against , the State owned and the PGMOL favoured. We are not set up to compete in this league as it is now, not sure we were when Wenger was around, but somehow, he made it work, so well, his rival had to get the assistance of the PGMOL and his LMA mates.
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The evidence is mounting that Arsène was holding the whole thing together.
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Seen somewhere that the bulk of the Arsenal first team players will return to preseason tomorrow week, just a week before the Community Shield game v Liverpool, the first of our first team players to return to training will start tomorrow, think its mainly the injured players.
Seemingly we can also expect more action on transfers in and out when the squad returns to training. Also our preseason games start with the CS, not as normal ending with the CS.
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Anyone got the text from the Ozil interview with Ornstein at the Athletic, from what I’ve seen Ozil coming out very well from it.
Says he was not the only player who refused pay cut, but only one named. Disappointed by clubs stance on the China Muslim thing.
Wants to stay and fight for his place, will not leave on anyone else’s terms but his own. Intends to see out remaining year of his contract.
Good lad Mesut
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James Olley
@JamesOlley
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25m
Kia Joorabchian on Willian’s future to @talkSPORT
: “It won’t be long before we announce it. We know where he is going.”
Joorabchian on #afc making an offer for Joelson Fernandes: “It is so untrue. We haven’t even mentioned him to Arsenal.”
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we still convinced it’s going to be us he goes to? Can’t see why Frank would not use him in the cup final if not
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well marky who knows, till its announced there is always a doubt, look at the joelson rumors, now kia says not a word of that one true
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Arsenal u23 forward Trae Coyle is set to join League One side Gillingham on loan, joining fellow Arsenal youngster Zech Medley on loan at the club,
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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EfT-dZbXYAEp3TC?format=jpg&name=900×900
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No surprises then.
Ozil’s (part time) agent continues to school the “Don” on how this football agent gig works.
As predicted here by me and others: Ozil will want to see out his contract, with the FULL support of his manager/coach.
There was never any doubt. None! Even when he wasn’t selected after the lock down.
How can we predict this? Because Raul is easy to predict. And obviously the good doctor had his cards ready for today’s game sometime last year.
Raul really is quite rubbish at his job.
And predictable too.
This appreciation can help to explain how he got his previous club into the courts and then got sacked.
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Ozil has every right to go with this stance. As we know, the club gave him a contract. Eventually, they will have to come their senses and Just play our most talented player, if as it seems, he is going nowhere. Not sure Arteta himself would be too upset at that, unless there is something we do not know.
Full marks to Ozil for speaking up for the victims of genocide, whatever the club ownership and execs may think. Reportedly, Too many western concerns are being bullied into silence by the Chinese leadership. Like Kaepernick, Ozils word will resonate more in time as more happens against this suppressed minority.
Critics will mention Ozils choice of best man, and they may have a point, but that should not detract from the point he raises on the Uighurs.
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Hope I am wrong, but I fear a City win in the ECL
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mandy on ozils choice of best man, if erdogen is as evil as is claimed, what would you do if you had lots of family in turkey and he asked to be your best man. would you risk their lives by refusing
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fom the mail
Mesut Ozil has defended his decision to reject a pay reduction at Arsenal during lockdown and believes ‘people have been trying for two years to destroy me’ in the court of public opinion.
And he has insisted he won’t be forced out of the club before his contract expires next year despite not playing a single minute post-restart.
The former Germany international, who earns £350,000-a-week at the Emirates Stadium, today told The Athletic he was not alone in the Arsenal squad in turning down the year-long pay cut of 12.5 per cent.
Mesut Ozil has defended his decision not to accept a 12.5 per cent pay cut with the rest of the Arsenal squad during the Covid-19 shutdown
Mesut Ozil has defended his decision not to accept a 12.5 per cent pay cut with the rest of the Arsenal squad during the Covid-19 shutdown
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta personally intervened to persuade his players to accept the reduction but Ozil has insisted he didn’t receive all the information about what this entailed
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta personally intervened to persuade his players to accept the reduction but Ozil has insisted he didn’t receive all the information about what this entailed
Other members of the squad were also initially reluctant before manager Mikel Arteta stressed the perilous nature of Arsenal’s finances with no matchday revenue coming in.
This was reinforced last week with the news that Arsenal have made redundant 55 members of staff, including people in their scouting and recruitment department.
But Ozil insists the players were forced to make the decision too quickly and without all the information.
‘As players, we all wanted to contribute. But we needed more information and many questions were unanswered,’ he said.
‘Everyone was fine with a deferral while there was so much uncertainty – I would have been OK to take a bigger share – and then a cut if required, once the football and financial outlook was clearer.
‘But we were rushed into it without proper consultation. For anyone in this situation, you have a right to know everything, to understand why it is happening and where the money is going.
‘But we didn’t get enough details, we just had to give a decision. It was far too quick for something so important and there was a lot of pressure.’
Ozil, 31, said he had to think about his family as well as his charities before making the decision to refuse the pay cut and believes the criticism that came his way was unjustified.
‘I guess that’s because it is me and people have been trying for two years to destroy me, to make me unhappy, to push an agenda they hope will turn the supporters against me and pain a picture that is not true,’ he added.
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worth a read
http://dailycannon.com/2020/08/mesut-ozil-athletic-interview-what-he-wants-arsenal-fans-to-know/
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Positively Vindicated (Blackburn George)
@arseblagger
Not a single minute of an Arsenal game has been shown in China since Ozil highlighted the issue surrounding Uighur Muslims.
No TV revenue or shirt sales from China until Ozil leaves.
There are some of your “football reasons” right there.
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Eduardo 12.21, if I were high profile and Turkish, I would be pretty wary of erdogan from what I have read, the treatment of Hakan Sukur and others may corroborate this, not blaming Ozil on this myself but just pointing out the obvious counter his detractors will use to counter his other rather excellent causes.
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Now , we know Ozil is going nowhere, the club can do nothing about that, so may as well just let Arteta play him, as he was clearly happy to do not so long ago
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Willian confirmed, good luck to him, certainly a decent player there
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“Positively Vindicated (Blackburn George)
@arseblagger
Not a single minute of an Arsenal game has been shown in China since Ozil highlighted the issue surrounding Uighur Muslims.
No TV revenue or shirt sales from China until Ozil leaves.
There are some of your “football reasons” right there.”
If that is true and it looks like it is then for me makes the whole take a knee thing meaningless and support for movements like blm.
I have stopped being furious with the club, now just getting apathetic with it all and the club the longer these types of shenanigans go on, and it seems to stem from KSE.
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very good point Gee, seems football rightly acknowledges some situations that need change for the better, but is choosing which suppressed groups to support, rather than taking a wider view point.
Football takes a knee but conveniently forgets to acknowledge the modern slavery involved in building World Cup stadia in Qatar.
Called hypocrisy where I come from
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This £350k a week thing. As if we go around telling the Daily Spud Nazi what our employees earn. I fucking hate that shit rag
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@Mandy Dodd – Agreed.
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Kia “Mr Arsenal” Joorchabang or whateva is now Arsenals media PR guy with inside info on the squad so maybe the media do have a reliable contact in the club.
From him criticising the previous regime to him suggesting that it is being rectified as if he is part of or knows the solution confirms what i have thought for a while as the total 180 degree U-turn in they way the club now operates and behaves.
Super agent and Oligarchs seem to go hand in hand and i am not a fan of either.
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I really hope we are not going down that route to ruin Gee, I have no issue whatsoever with the self sustaining model of the club, in fact, I approve, but being financed in the way of the oligarchs, well, lets face it, Stan aint going to be doing that in a hurry, why would he?
This club cannot afford to be run by super agents on our model, that will lead to many problems, as many unfortunate clubs have found out
On that wider issue, reports that the club are looking into certain aspects of the Pepe transfer, from all I have read about that, about bloody time, not so much because of Pepes quality, but because we paid out to an agent who didnt represent the clubs or the player. But of course , as with many things reported with this club, may be completely false
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Raul seemingly getting some heat from the Kroenkes re that Pepe transfer that threatens to blow up their self-sustaining model. I really hope this leads to the end of him. He’s just to bloody greasy.
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Personally after listening to pedantic and George podcasts I agree that a lot if not all is KSE driven so he was happy at some point to sanction this mess so investigation or not it’s either buyers regret at hiring Raul and his comics or PR stunt. Not confident about the direction the ship is headed or the captain.
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Not good times for Barca. They have had some great coaches and players, and played some lovely stuff. But there is another side. The refereeing decisions they have been on the receiving end of over the last few years would embarrass even Utd, as our ex players and manager know only too well. The smug, knowing looks on their players faces when they had a ref send off an opponent for nothing, Their bullying and sometimes manhandling of refs with impunity, the criminality that did for PSG and Unai Emery, the fact they always played their first choice 11 , never getting injuries, the PED rumours, dodgy doctors, friendly Catalan banks.
Yes, they were good, but along with their Madrid foes, they were also part of the worst of establishment cheating. I won’t miss them one little bit. Bayern are not perfect either, Far from it but can only congratulate them last night, and hope they have enough to do City should they meet.
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I am in a quandry. Everywhere I look in the professional game I see things that are wrong – and most of them down to those paying the piper calling the tune. As I can now more clearly see AFC are no better than some and probably worse than many. If as George suggests Ozil is sidelined to protect Chinese cash streams then that is sad indeed. But do I want my favourite player to play on moral grounds if that is at the expense of the rest of the club’s development? Well, I’m not so sure.
Likewise I ought to despise Manchester City, but because I always used to have a soft spot for them and because they have done much to discomfort United and because of the way they play I find myself hoping that they do win the Champions League – and that if we can’t win the Premier League next season that it is they that knock Liverpool off the top. So I don’t even turn a blind eye to the obscenity of reputation laundering backed by obscene wealth purchasing titles (and all the devious ways that other top clubs secure their positions with bungs and agents and result tilting gamesmanship and VAR fixing),, but rather actively know it happens and still decide to go to the Emirates and watch on TV (further lining Sky’s coffers) and pretend that what I am watching is still the same honest and open game that first seduced me back in the 1960s.
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So its Raul out then. Please could someone more ITK than me explain what he might have done – and what this is likely to mean for us moving forward.
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Raul, well, I’m not exactly ITK, but as I understand it, KSE have sent in an Arsenal supporting Corporate lawyer and someone who has worked with them before -Tim Lewis to board level, the story is that coincidently, or not, they are now fully auditing the Pepe transfer, as to where payments were made, and whether the spending was efficient. Perhaps the Pepe transfer and other things, hiring Emery, trying to extend his deal last summer, then keeping him on when it was clear he could well have relegated the team had he carried on. The implication for some, as oft mentioned on here, Raul has been pulling the strings with a close cabal of super agent mates, no way to run a self sustaining club. Some suggesting this investigation will ultimately result in Raul joining the 55.
As for wider corruption you mention in the first post, if something is rotten at the top, it will only seep down. Wenger kept us free from some of the undesirable nature of the game, and paid the price. But, at the top, Gianni Infantino is now in a lot of trouble, Swiss prosecutors after him, according to UA, some very big charges hanging over him, including collusion with the Swiss Head Prosecutor, a guy called Lauber who has now been sacked, and is now under investigation himself. Then, laundering huge sums of money, and blocking proper transparency GI promised on appointment. If found guilty, FIFA could even get wound up, not that you will read much about it in the UK media.
Need our ex manager to be part of cleaning this up, should it ever happen!
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Sorry I’m behind the times, Things move quickly Raul is indeed out!
Shame, he will be greatly missed, But his legend and legacy lives on, when the put up a statue to the great man, surely a figure of Raul will be placed alongside him, only fitting. Maybe even a stand named after him?
Raul really was The Peoples Super agent spit.
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Blinking heck. Looks pretty clear then that Raul was indeed a wrong un. The initial wording of the goodbye suggests that perhaps, as damage limitation, they’ll try to keep it internal and present it as him leaving in normal fashion, on good terms, but seems almost no chance that’s the case.
Relief, I guess, for those who were already sure he was dodgy, and maybe for me too (thought he probably was, but not sure, and also conflicted because maybe dodgy people needed for a dodgy sport), but also worry about what shape we’re in behind scenes, and whether this has thrown plans into chaos.
Be hoping for reassurance as soon as possible Arteta still fully on board. This fucks up our immediate plans and in turn fucks him off then, yeah, we’re fucked.
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Meant to say super agents spiv, though perhaps had it right first time
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Raul deserves to go based on the footballing decisions made over the last 18 months to 2 years. Whatever vision he had for the club has seem them finish lowest spot in a while with plenty internal conflict along the way. In 22 years with Wenger the club has not looked as clueless and as rudderless as this. Hope KSE re-evaluate their whole strategy.
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The Don is dead, long live the Don.
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Whats worrying is we sacked our whole scouting department, few cleaners, handymen, caterers and oh our director of football. Whats Kia ‘Mr Arsenal’ Joorcaban and his mates role now?
Hope KSE got a plan!
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Kind reminds me of the time we forced wenger to leave and sold all our creative midfielders to make sure the was no trace of his ways. someone said they had a master plan (Raul) and he brought in Unai.
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Ozil to finish off “The Don”
You read it here first!
Fuck me he did him in with that interview.
When I said the good doctor had his moves planned out long in advance I was not this hopeful. Boom!
Headshot.
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I am grateful that those who had some hope in Edu such as Tony Atwood at Untold shared their optimism at his appointment, as I couldn’t see a way back for the club at that point.
but I guess that we are not the only ones who love the club!
Edu, Mikel, they may not have grown up in north London, or Blackburn, but the Arsenal is in their hearts.
I think we know for sure now who it was who overruled Raul eventually, sacked Emery and brought in Arteta. The long autumnal limbo was the haggle for power between Edu & Raul.
Sacking all the scouts was weird, and Edu must’ve signed off on that? Still some concerns but hopefully we’ll have less worry about the club getting flagrantly fleeced and flogged by a bunch of transparent frauds.
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Thanks Mandy, thanks one and all. That all seems to make sense. Tim Lewis, presumably close relation to John, ensuring we are never knowingly oversold again.
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“I really like Raul”
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Everyday different things happen to confirm my belief that English football has been corrupt at the top level since the PL rocked up.
We all know money and corruption run hand in hand and the more money sloshing around the more likely and more obvious the corruption.
If you look at the history of the English football league there has always been corruption but it just upscaled massively in recent years.
We had the early days of Liverpool and Manchester United buying the title and avoiding relegation in the same way which was one of the reasons ARSENAL and Chelsea were elected to the old first division in the first place.
In the thirties when we achieved so much we were known as the Bank of England club and I would imagine the money men in the city were trying to arrest away the power the northern clubs had until that point.
If you then remember the amount of paper bags full of cash switched at service stations between managers during transfers in the sixties right up until the agents got involved and dirtied the water further.
Old George caught by a journalist and sacked but no further investigation of the agents ties including Ferguson who been introduced by GG and used the agent for many transfers including Smiechel. How much did United pay to stop that investigation or was the football league so worried about how widespread the practice was they thought there would be no managers or chairman left.
Then the PL hit and the corruption rocketed owners using clubs as worldwide moneylaundering schemes. Dodgey money coming from all over the world in unbelievable amounts and still the English hacks won’t believe football is bent.
Raul and his agents are just the latest in a long line of different ways to screw money out of people and I think we notice it more because we had 22 years of a principled honest man keeping the club straight.
Going forward I don’t hold out much hope for honesty in football as it has shown to be infected with corruption all around the world. The problem for me is logic and love don’t go together and I just can’t let it go.
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well on Raul, after the cup final my interest was piqued when Arteta said in several interviews how he and Edu seen the game the same way, how Edu agreed with Arteta on what was needed. Add this to Arteta letting it be known that he had been in contact with Wenger a few times in recent weeks and months. Then yesterday during the announcement of the signing of Willian, Edu brought up how he and and Arteta see the game the same way, how they were working closely together to bring in what was needed. This had me wondering was there an internal battle on. The media had been informed that the letting go of so much of the scouting network was not Raul’s doing but it was a result of a review of it by Edu, as he had also done a review of the youth scouting network. Then when the little story about a review of the Pepe transfer was leaked, I wondered what did this mean for Don Raul. Then a couple of rumors by people claiming to be ITK, came out that Raul had been dumped. I dared not believe it. But I was happy to see it confirmed today.
I have so much more trust in Edu and Arteta, plus Per, than I ever did in Raul and Emery. We have as we should have had from the outset, Arsenal men in charge now, not only that, they are all Wenger men too. Good ebening
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Matt Smith has signed for Swindon Town on a season long loan from AFC,
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rumors now that David O’Leary will be getting a role at the club, maybe the spot on the Board that Raul was said to have stopped him getting.
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