Arsenal Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013

Marty McFly

greendom wrote: »

Of course the club has made mistakes with how it distributes wages, but comparing our wage bill with Munich's is a flawed argument.

I dont think it is to be honest, there a club who are a rival were playing them in Champions League and we should be looking to emulate the likes of them if we want to get back to the top.

Marty McFly

hmmm interesting

THE Middle-East group plotting a £1.5billion bid for Arsenal want talks with majority shareholder Stan Kroenke.

SunSport revealed yesterday how the consortium aim to offer Kroenke £830million for his near 67 per cent holding and want a face-to-face meeting.

Arsenal released a statement yesterday which said: “Mr Kroenke is committed to Arsenal FC for the long term and has no intention of selling.”

But the group intend to crank up the pressure with a £20,000-a-share offer which would represent a £350m profit for the American tycoon.

A bid source said: “If Arsenal miss out on the Champions League the value of the club will fall dramatically so, when the offer is made, Kroenke should take it.”

greendom

Marty McFly wrote: »

I dont think it is to be honest, there a club who are a rival were playing them in Champions League and we should be looking to emulate the likes of them if we want to get back to the top.

Sure we should - but to match Bayern Munich on the pitch we would need to spend more on wages to do so, based on the market they operate in and the one we do.

greendom

Marty McFly wrote: »

hmmm interesting

THE Middle-East group plotting a £1.5billion bid for Arsenal want talks with majority shareholder Stan Kroenke.

SunSport revealed yesterday how the consortium aim to offer Kroenke £830million for his near 67 per cent holding and want a face-to-face meeting.

Arsenal released a statement yesterday which said: “Mr Kroenke is committed to Arsenal FC for the long term and has no intention of selling.”

But the group intend to crank up the pressure with a £20,000-a-share offer which would represent a £350m profit for the American tycoon.

A bid source said: “If Arsenal miss out on the Champions League the value of the club will fall dramatically so, when the offer is made, Kroenke should take it.”

Interesting - no denying it's very good timing on their part - really hope Kroenke decides to sell

Mickeroo

I'd rather Usmanov than a middle-eastern consortium.

Marty McFly

greendom wrote: »

Sure we should - but to match Bayern Munich on the pitch we would need to spend more on wages to do so, based on the market they operate in and the one we do.

But they operate in the same market as Real Madrid, Barcelona,A.C Milan and Manchester United. They get and have players who could play in any of those teams on the same wage budget as we do. They compete against them in the Champions League so they are in our market. There is no countrys market the Champions League makes it a European market that all clubs operate within.

Marty McFly

greendom wrote: »

Interesting - no denying it's very good timing on their part - really hope Kroenke decides to sell

+ a million times on Kroenke out

Mickeroo wrote: »

I'd rather Usmanov than a middle-eastern consortium.

Think I would myself Usmanov talks a good game at least and we do know something about him and he seems to have some passion for the club more than can be said about silent Stan, but at this stage I'd like Kroenke gone thats the only certainty I can give.

TheGunns

Mickeroo wrote: »

I'd rather Usmanov than a middle-eastern consortium.

If you read around the consortium isnt actually paying 1.5bn, thats what the bid would value the club at. They dont plan to buy out Usmanov, they plan to go alongside his shares and the 1.5bn also includes the debt that would be wiped out

Mickeroo

TheGunns wrote: »

If you read around the consortium isnt actually paying 1.5bn, thats what the bid would value the club at. They dont plan to buy out Usmanov, they plan to go alongside his shares and the 1.5bn also includes the debt that would be wiped out

So they just want to buy Kroenke's stake but not Usmanaov's? I smell a rat here, you hardly think they're buddies of his?

tayto lover

Wolf Club wrote: »

Out of interest, what do the "Wenger out!" brigade think would be the fallout of him leaving in the summer? He certainly wouldn't be stuck for a job, I'd say Real Madrid would gladly take him as a successor to Mourinho. In fact, I'd say the majority of top clubs in Europe would take him. There just aren't that many great managers available at the minute, and if we don't qualify for the Champions League, we'd find it very difficult to convince the likes of Klopp of Pellegrini to get on board as it would be taking a step down for them.

I think he would be a success elsewhere.
I also think he should leave Arsenal now. He has gone stale here. His teams and game-plan (if he has one) are too predictable and easy to defend against. The players need a challenge which they will get under a new manager, they don't obviously seem threatened or challenged under Wenger anymore.
His mistakes are too frequent now. Making Vermaillon captain is his latest. Verm had to play yesterday as he couldn't be dropped as captain in Wenger's eyes as it would have made him look bad. Koscielney should have been in alongside Mertezacher. This was said by many before the game. Not replacing Song by buying a defensive midfielder is another biggie. Wenger has always said he has the money to buy, so why leave such an important position vacant or slot in somebody out of place. many of our players play out of position.
The defence has been a mess for years now and he has failed to deal with it. He chooses the "cheap option" all the time. The man of the match, Vertonhnin, was linked to us but as usual we didn't move. Our best players have left to win things. They obviously saw that they would no longer win anything under Wenger. They should know. They all can't have left for money.

I have nothing against Wenger and he has been brilliant for the club but I am convinced his time is up. Eight barren seasons is slowly but surely turning into a crisis for the club. It can't be allowed to continue with the continuing idle promises of "we'll put it right next season". That excuse is played out at this stage.
I have always said that I couldn't care less who was manager as long as our teams went out well prepared and ready to fight for the cause. For the pride in the jersey. Well i'm not convinced that is happening and that's Wenger's job.

Marty McFly

Mickeroo wrote: »

So they just want to buy Kroenke's stake but not Usmanaov's? I smell a rat here, you hardly think they're buddies of his?

Could very well be, either way I don't mind I think if Kroenke was gone, Usmanov and this new consortium came in and took over the board and David Dein was to come back with them I would probably cream myself. Wishful thinking at the minute though.

TheGunns

Mickeroo wrote: »

So they just want to buy Kroenke's stake but not Usmanaov's? I smell a rat here, you hardly think they're buddies of his?

Can't find the article but the bid would be to buy all other shares, Usmanov would remain. So the bid isn't 1.5bn as they make it out to be, it's 1.5bn minus the debt payments and the value of Usmanov's shares. It seems very dodgey as we've been linked before only for nothing to happen but for some reason this really sounds like it's real and could start gathering momentum quickly IMO.

shano_88

Was Jenkinson injured yesterday when he came off? I though he was providing a decent threat down the right with his pace and delivery. Strange substitution if not.

tayto lover

shano_88 wrote: »

Was Jenkinson injured yesterday when he came off? I though he was providing a decent threat down the right with his pace and delivery. Strange substitution if not.

Decent threat?
He might be good in time but when he got into good positions yesterday he panicked and just kicked the ball across their goal with no support arriving there. he also played Lennon onside for their second goal by failing to step up.
None of our defenders played well yesterday.

Mickeroo

tayto lover wrote: »

Decent threat?
He might be good in time but when he got into good positions yesterday he panicked and just kicked the ball across their goal with no support arriving there. he also played Lennon onside for their second goal by failing to step up.
None of our defenders played well yesterday.

He did create our best chance for a goal in the game when he fizzed that low cross in though.

shano_88

tayto lover wrote: »

Decent threat?
He might be good in time but when he got into good positions yesterday he panicked and just kicked the ball across their goal with no support arriving there. he also played Lennon onside for their second goal by failing to step up.
None of our defenders played well yesterday.

his crossing was better than Ramseys and hes a natural right sided player. I though he provided a good threat coming from deep as he is pacier than Ramsey and is a better crosser.

And he didnt play Lennon onside for the second goal. No one stepped up except Monreal and Vermaelan played him on. I do think Monreal should have just tracked the run though.

batistuta9

Mickeroo wrote: »

So they just want to buy Kroenke's stake but not Usmanaov's? I smell a rat here, you hardly think they're buddies of his?

possibly or else people he's convinced - might be jumping to conclusions though

i think i read that they'd offer him a place on the board anyway, though this is probably because he's got the same idea as them of what the club should do

Maire2009

Redzer7 wrote: »

There's a lot of people on here who wouldn't like to see us going down this route and they are entitled to their opinion but fúck it, money brings success and I'd be absolutely delighted to see us actually challenging for trophies again.

A few people saying they wouldn't support the club if we went down this route because it wouldn't be "The Arsenal" they once knew? If the club is getting money and is in "good" hands then I don't see why not.

Not sure if that is directed at me or not, but I did say something about "The Arsenal" I love and I hope we can win again without a sugar daddy but I won't stop supporting the club if we go down that route. If we go to the Blue Square Premier route or the Manchester City route I'll still be here - 19 years and counting (I'm 27) and I ain't going nowhere.

Marty McFly

Cryptic tweet

Simon Clancy ‏@SiClancy Some very interesting Arsenal news coming up on #5LiveSport at 7 with @bbcsport_david and Lauren.

Wolf Club

tayto lover wrote: »

I think he would be a success elsewhere.
I also think he should leave Arsenal now. He has gone stale here. His teams and game-plan (if he has one) are too predictable and easy to defend against. The players need a challenge which they will get under a new manager, they don't obviously seem threatened or challenged under Wenger anymore.

I know what you're saying, but I'm not sure if it's that Wenger has gone stale or the culture of selling at the club has the players disillusioned. If you were to have a starting XI of players that have left in the last 5 years, it would be superior in most positions to our current team

Almunia

Eboue Gallas Toure Clichy

Nasri Fabregas Song Hleb

Adebayor Van Persie

Then there's Flamini, Eduardo, etc. Even the ones who have done poorly since leaving Arsenal have silverware (except Almunia and Gallas). I wouldn't say Eboue is too upset about being made surplus to requirements 2 summers ago, having won a domestic double last year and now playing for a team more likely to qualify for the quarter finals of the CL than we are.

4 of those players have won trophies with Man City, 3 with Barcelona, 1 with United, despite the fact that only van Persie has been as effective now as he was with us ( I can't really comment on Eboue).

I'm not saying all of those players left for the money, but Arsenal is the ideal club for a young, mercenary footballer, and surely it is the board who are to blame for this rather than Wenger.

batistuta9

Only heard about this last night & went looking for the video

apparently after Villa equalised a few weeks back, Bould says "How many times must I say it to you” directed at Wenger - who's got his back to Bould - throwing him a dirty look too

i can't really make out if he says it or not, but if anyone can lip read well, post what he says

the video starts on the break for the goal, the replay got the best shot of it

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/lip-reading-did-steve-bould-say-how-many-times-behind-wengers-back-after-villa-scored-at-arsenal/

Maire2009

batistuta9 wrote: »

Only heard about this last night & went looking for the video

apparently after Villa equalised a few weeks back, Bould says "How many times must I say it to you” directed at Wenger - who's got his back to Bould - throwing him a dirty look too

i can't really make out if he says it or not, but if anyone can lip read well, post what he says

the video starts on the break for the goal, the replay got the best shot of it

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/lip-reading-did-steve-bould-say-how-many-times-behind-wengers-back-after-villa-scored-at-arsenal/

I honestly can't make anything out there but he did mumble something. I don't think there is much love lost between AW and Bould. They never seem to communicate much, there just seems to be tension between them.

Also, I think we are already looking at Arsenal's next manager. I've being saying it for a few seasons to some of my other Arsenal friends that Steve Bould will be next Arsenal manager, I think him coming up to Number 2 is only to ready him to take over.

tayto lover

Wolf Club wrote: »

I know what you're saying, but I'm not sure if it's that Wenger has gone stale or the culture of selling at the club has the players disillusioned. If you were to have a starting XI of players that have left in the last 5 years, it would be superior in most positions to our current team

Almunia

Eboue Gallas Toure Clichy

Nasri Fabregas Song Hleb

Adebayor Van Persie

Then there's Flamini, Eduardo, etc. Even the ones who have done poorly since leaving Arsenal have silverware (except Almunia and Gallas). I wouldn't say Eboue is too upset about being made surplus to requirements 2 summers ago, having won a domestic double last year and now playing for a team more likely to qualify for the quarter finals of the CL than we are.

4 of those players have won trophies with Man City, 3 with Barcelona, 1 with United, despite the fact that only van Persie has been as effective now as he was with us ( I can't really comment on Eboue).

I'm not saying all of those players left for the money, but Arsenal is the ideal club for a young, mercenary footballer, and surely it is the board who are to blame for this rather than Wenger.

I don't know who signs them but we are always told that Wenger watches videos of matches from all over the world all the time. On that basis I presume that he spots the players he is interested in and then has his scouts watch them. I can't see the Board having a lot of influence in picking the players, maybe the price puts them off and that's their input.
How many of the current team would you pick for inclusion in any of our Championship winning teams of the Wenger era? Jack might be the only one now and that's a maybe at present.
We used to be Man Utd's nearest and chief rival. That's history now as they have continued on but we have dropped out. We have dropped off the radar now. Who has allowed that to happen?

Wolf Club

tayto lover wrote: »

I don't know who signs them but we are always told that Wenger watches videos of matches from all over the world all the time. On that basis I presume that he spots the players he is interested in and then has his scouts watch them. I can't see the Board having a lot of influence in picking the players, maybe the price puts them off and that's their input.
How many of the current team would you pick for inclusion in any of our Championship winning teams of the Wenger era? Jack might be the only one now and that's a maybe at present.
We used to be Man Utd's nearest and chief rival. That's history now as they have continued on but we have dropped out. We have dropped off the radar now. Who has allowed that to happen?

I was moreso referring to how we've become a stepping stone for these players. How many players have come from relative obscurity, become valued first team players for us, before moving on to more affluent clubs where their involvement isn't nearly as important yet they make more money and collect silverware? Flamini and Hleb were the first two, in 2008, and every year since we've lost 1st team players in such a fashion. I'd say the board are happy to continue this trend as the prophets are good, and the players who leave will get more reward for less work (eg Hleb winning the treble with Barca)

jordainius

Wolf Club wrote: »

I was moreso referring to how we've become a stepping stone for these players. How many players have come from relative obscurity, become valued first team players for us, before moving on to more affluent clubs where their involvement isn't nearly as important yet they make more money and collect silverware? Flamini and Hleb were the first two, in 2008, and every year since we've lost 1st team players in such a fashion. I'd say the board are happy to continue this trend as the prophets are good, and the players who leave will get more reward for less work (eg Hleb winning the treble with Barca)

Flamini + Hleb isn't where the rot began.

2005; Vieira and Edu let go, not replaced. A 17 and 21 year old promoted in their place (Cesc + Flamini). That's when the rot started, it's kind of amazing that we made it this far without dropping out of the Champions League placings.

I'm not sure about the stepping stone comment, there is a bit of truth in it but at the same time it's very easy to see why a player would get fed up with the way the club is run. I'd say its more a case of "I've had enough of this sh1t, and it doesn't look like changing any time soon, time to move on."

wandatowell

Marty McFly wrote: »

Cryptic tweet

Simon Clancy ‏@SiClancy Some very interesting Arsenal news coming up on #5LiveSport at 7 with @bbcsport_david and Lauren.

Arsenal spotted training their defenders?

Drexel

Anyone watching MNF? Neville talkin about Arsenals defending. Pretty critical of vermahlen for the goals. And righty so

Mickeroo

jonny666 wrote: »

Anyone watching MNF? Neville talkin about Arsenals defending. Pretty critical of vermahlen for the goals. And righty so

Yeah I am, rarely disagree with anything he says regarding Arsenal I have to say. Cuts out the hyperbole you get from the other lot and just tells it like it is.

Mr.Micro

jordainius wrote: »

Flamini + Hleb isn't where the rot began.

2005; Vieira and Edu let go, not replaced. A 17 and 21 year old promoted in their place (Cesc + Flamini). That's when the rot started, it's kind of amazing that we made it this far without dropping out of the Champions League placings.

I'm not sure about the stepping stone comment, there is a bit of truth in it but at the same time it's very easy to see why a player would get fed up with the way the club is run. I'd say its more a case of "I've had enough of this sh1t, and it doesn't look like changing any time soon, time to move on."

We let Song go as well last season and whether people rated him or not he was a presence in the midfield. The team has not had a hardman in the midfield for sometime. When you look at the team now it appears lightweight, weedy even, with the exception of Wilshere who has a toughness about him, that is the sort of player we need and players like Vidic at the back.

brianregan09

Neville as a pundit is a real hero , I liked his little stat bout Messi scoring in the last 16-17 games and then saying bale has got quite a ways to go before he can be compared with him and ronaldo

as a player though what a c*unt lol

Mickeroo

brianregan09 wrote: »

as a player though what a c*unt lol

No denying that ,absolutely despised him back then

Marty McFly

Following up from my earlier tweet it seems David ornstein is reporting that Wenger stopped bould from working with the defence because he was jealous of the attention he was getting.

Now I find that very hard to believe if I'm being honest but David ornstein is usually reliable for Arsenal news and if it turns out to be true then I'm sorry it can only mean Wenger has to go. That's a big if though.

batistuta9

I miss the start & actually most of it of it but the thing on 5live was about no tactical planning/instructions given to the team i think, from a source or something i think they said

that there's just a talk/motivation speech by wenger & bould but no mention of tactics or where to pick people up at set pieces - this is all done before hand + not mentioned again

reckons that before Arsenal had players who could manage like this

Must try to listen to it again later on if it's on the player

Gringo180

Rememebr this lads, some team we had back then everybody feared playing us :(

batistuta9

Marty McFly wrote: »

Following up from my earlier tweet it seems David ornstein is reporting that Wenger stopped bould from working with the defence because he was jealous of the attention he was getting.

Now I find that very hard to believe if I'm being honest but David ornstein is usually reliable for Arsenal news and if it turns out to be true then I'm sorry it can only mean Wenger has to go. That's a big if though.

that was reported ages ago - near the start of the season

I wouldn't be so sure if the jealousy bit is true, that could be media spin to make a story

but i could see wenger stopping him, in a my way or no way approach

Maire2009

Mickeroo wrote: »

Yeah I am, rarely disagree with anything he says regarding Arsenal I have to say. Cuts out the hyperbole you get from the other lot and just tells it like it is.

Hated him as a player but really rate him as a pundit. I'm very shocked by him to be honest cos I was expecting more ex-player run of the mill crap but he is actually a really good pundit who shows no bias.

everdead.ie

Just wondering would you be happy with a replacement for Vermaleen and Scenzny this summer which I think are the two positions which consistnetly cost points?

jordainius

everdead.ie wrote: »

Just wondering would you be happy with a replacement for Vermaleen and Scenzny this summer which I think are the two positions which consistnetly cost points?

I think our defensive problems go a lot deeper than picking out individual players (coaching issues). I have every confidence in Szcz, but even the best of keepers suffer from jitters when placed behind a shakey defence. TV5 is a problem, giving him the captaincy was a mistake, he wasn't great last season after returning from the long term injury, he should have been let focus on getting back to his best this season. Giving him the armband as good as guarantees him a starting spot, not a good thing with a defender who has been prone to as many lapses as he has been for a worryingly long time now.

Mert, Kos, Verm + AN Other to be signed this summer and I'd be happy.

Tl;dr; I'm happy with Szcz, I'd be happy to keep TV5 provided the armband is given to Wilshere and a defender is added to boost the numbers as 3 central defenders is not enough.

jordainius

jordainius wrote: »

I think our defensive problems go a lot deeper than picking out individual players (coaching issues). I have every confidence in Szcz, but even the best of keepers suffer from jitters when placed behind a shakey defence. TV5 is a problem, giving him the captaincy was a mistake, he wasn't great last season after returning from the long term injury, he should have been let focus on getting back to his best this season. Giving him the armband as good as guarantees him a starting spot, not a good thing with a defender who has been prone to as many lapses as he has been for a worryingly long time now.

Mert, Kos, Verm + AN Other to be signed this summer and I'd be happy.

Tl;dr; I'm happy with Szcz, I'd be happy to keep TV5 provided the armband is given to Wilshere and a defender is added to boost the numbers as 3 central defenders is not enough.

Id agree with that. We've had several different centre halves playing in various combos at the heart of defence since Toure and Sol Campbell back in 2004.

We've had

Campbell
Toure
Cygan
Senderos
Gallas
Djourou
Vermaelen
Squillachi
Koscielny
Miquel


Now dont get me wrong, most are guilty of multiple mishaps at some stage with the exception of probably Sol, but i think the biggest culprit has been our ability to defend as a unit of 4. Gallas arrived at us having been part of the meanest Chelsea defence in 04/05. Squillachi was a French international (granted his star sign probably aligned with Raymond Domenech's ideologies), Vermaelen was highly rated and both Senderos and Djourou have done well internationally for Switzerland. Mertesacker despite his lack of pace, surely didnt get 90 German caps for nothing. The biggest culprit has been the way Wenger has set the defence up tactically and he seems to take no account of each individual weaknesses. Its been the same theme and the same errors with years and my dad said something the other day that really made sense. He said that 'Arsenal play as if they dont take into account that they have a goal to defend at the other end'. Defence seems to be just dismissed.

Asked how he would deal with the threat of Bale on Sunday, Wenger said 'We dont worry about what they offer, we concentrate on our own strengths'. I half wonder that no matter who we buy would it make a difference to the way we defend?

Looks like Frimmy is on his way out too.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/arsenal-loaner-emmanuel-frimpong-set-1742941

gnfnrhead

Am I the only one who is bugged when people misspell player names so badly? It happens a lot in this thread

Wolf Club wrote: »

Almunia

Eboue Gallas Toure Clichy

Nasri Fabregas Song Hleb

Adebayor Van Persie

Fabregas and van Persie. Other than that I wasnt too upset about losing any of those.

extra gravy

Guardian reporting possible summer interest in Ashley Williams. Anyone who kicks van c*nt in the head with the ball is more than welcome I say.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/mar/05/ashley-williams-arsenal-transfer-swansea-city?CMP=twt_gu

shano_88

extra gravy wrote: »

Guardian reporting possible summer interest in Ashley Williams. Anyone who kicks van c*nt in the head with the ball is more than welcome I say.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/mar/05/ashley-williams-arsenal-transfer-swansea-city?CMP=twt_gu

Ashley Williams? no thanks.

As other people have said, I think the problem is more the system and not all the players. Kos, Verm and Mert are good defenders. Ok, They havent been at there best at times this year but Id prefer to invest in a younger CB than a starting CB and see some changes to the system this summer.

jordainius

extra gravy wrote: »

Guardian reporting possible summer interest in Ashley Williams. Anyone who kicks van c*nt in the head with the ball is more than welcome I say.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/mar/05/ashley-williams-arsenal-transfer-swansea-city?CMP=twt_gu

Ah yes, the attempted murderer... I'd like to think we'll be a bit more ambitious in our transfer dealings this summer to be honest. We need to buy two or three players who are better than what we have. We keep buying average players our Liverpool like descent is only going to continue. The team doesn't have a spine (in the sense of a team needs to be backboned by a world class defender, midfielder and striker) and this 70 million we (allegedly) have to spend would be just about enough to bring in those 3 players.

Right now, we are basically Arsenal 2000-2005 without Campbell, Vieira and Henry. Plenty of good first team players, good squad players. But no world class players to bring it all together.

jordainius

jordainius wrote: »

Right now, we are basically Arsenal 2000-2005 without Campbell, Vieira and Henry. Plenty of good first team players, good squad players. But no world class players to bring it all together.

Actually, maybe this statement is a load of bollocks,

Seaman/Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Cygan/Keown, Cole, Ljungberg, Parlour/Edu, Gilberto, Pires, Berglamp, Kanu/Wiltord.

versus

Szczesny, Sagna, Kos/Mert, Vermaelen, Monreal/Gibbs, Wilshere, Arteta, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud, Walcott.

Arsenal 2000-05 minus Campbell/Vieira/Henry still looks stronger. Depressing how far backwards we have gone.....

TheGunns

were missing players like Pires and Ljungberg, they just were better than the wingers weve got now and I think thats a real problem. Maybe not Walcott but the left side is a problem.

greendom

jordainius wrote: »

Actually, maybe this statement is a load of bollocks,

Seaman/Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Cygan/Keown, Cole, Ljungberg, Parlour/Edu, Gilberto, Pires, Berglamp, Kanu/Wiltord.

versus

Szczesny, Sagna, Kos/Mert, Vermaelen, Monreal/Gibbs, Wilshere, Arteta, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud, Walcott.

Arsenal 2000-05 minus Campbell/Vieira/Henry still looks stronger. Depressing how far backwards we have gone.....

Not sure I agree with that at all - if you were to swap Campbell/Vieira/Henry with Vermaelen/Arteta/Giroud I'm pretty sure the current team would win. Be a great match anyway

jordainius

greendom wrote: »

Not sure I agree with that at all - if you were to swap Campbell/Vieira/Henry with Vermaelen/Arteta/Giroud I'm pretty sure the current team would win. Be a great match anyway

That's kind of my point though- 3 players of that calibre are almost the difference between where we are now and challenging for titles again. We've heard the figure of 70 million, that would bring those 3 players in, two at least.

We could spend the 70 million on adding 6 players of the calibre of Ashley Williams or go out and blow it all on 2 or 3 world class players to supplement what we already have, then we'd be back to close to the level we were at 10 years ago. Not quite the same, but a hell of a lot closer than we are at present!

Of course, all this is dependant on the 70million actually being available. We've heard that figure before more than once in the last few years only for it to later be proven to be bullsh1t. I'll believe it when I see it.

Redzer7

I always regret us not getting Mata, He's a smashing player IMO.

extra gravy

http://www.multichannel.com/networks/kroenke-makes-227m-competing-bid-outdoor/142031

Pity he wouldn't invest in what he already has rather than buying more toys :rolleyes: