Summer '08: Ins and Outs

You have to remember that while Arsenal is a big club they do not have near the budget of a Chelsea, Manchester United or even Liverpool. Arsenal has and will have quite a bit of debt to pay off the new stadium for some time to come. While the ticket revenues from the Emirates Stadium make the club more money, it is not all money that goes straight into new players.

Even when Arsenal was dominating during their unforgettable 2003-2004 unbeaten Premiership season, they had a team that did not feature all that many huge transfer players.

Wenger does not change his team much from year to year, but what he does well is that he finds hidden gems like Fabregas, Edu, Adebayor, Flamini, Toure and others and builds and develops a team to his liking. I am not saying Arsenal is on par with Fulham's budget, but they are definitely not spending the kind of cash on players that the other "big" clubs are.

It is apparent that Wenger likes to buy young talent and develop it. Players like Fabregas again, Walcott, even Henry came to Arsenal when he was 21 or so, Edmilson, Song and others. Because Arsenal knows they likely would not have the cash to spend on these players if and when they are fully developed.

Wenger has a great group of scout and contacts to help him. He knows what he likes in a player and goes in for those kinds of players.

While Arsenal may not have won all that much in the last three seasons, you have to remember that the team has completely turned over and gotten much younger in the process. Chelsea is older and needs to eventually bring in some young talent to match Arsenal and Manchester United has a nice mix of veterans and youngsters to compete with Arsenal. Being able to turn over a team and still make the Champions League every season is a fantastic accomplishment in this league. On top of that, the team nearly pulled off the league title last season until a slide in March.

Sorry for the long post, but I just can't agree that Wenger is overrated. I personally think he is the best manager in the league.

 

Duly noted.

 

Right Back Alert!!!!!

"Fulham are ready to spend £3.5m to land Middlesbrough right-back Luke Young. (The Sun)"

The dream of an all right-back starting 11 lives!!!

 

I have to disagree. First, the best manager in the League has been doing it for 21 years in Old Trafford. I know he has the most resources, but to be able to not only manage all those big egos but to remain as the alpha dog amongst all of them, shows how much respect he has in the United locker room.

I say Wenger is overrated in this sense: Ultimately, his job is to win. I realize Arsenal is leveraged by the debt in the new stadium, and their ownership situation is not as ideal as, say the year of the Invincibles. But look at last year -- they were up 5 points in March, and they went in the tank in the big way. You could say that it happened because of what happened to Eduardo, or that Adebayor's production tanked, or that their situation in goal caught up to them. Bottom line is, it happened, and that is on Wenger's shoulders.

Also, if Arsenal is going to spend Fulham dollars (OK, more than Fulham dollars) and expect Arsenal results, that strategy is going to cost them a Champions League position sooner rather than later, and forget about the title. They have competitors in the Third World scouring for talent. Look at Harry Redknapp. United have some youngsters from places like Angola. Even the New England Revolution have signed some players from Gambia. Yes, I know if they were of Arsenal (or Fulham) quality, they wouldn't be playing for the Revolution, but the point remains they are not the only ones fishing in the pond. I say they have not changed with the times in the last three years, and if they don't this year, they'll have another trophyless season, and Wenger will have to use the Jedi Mind Trick again to keep his job.

 

FWIW, Fulham spent quite a bit more than Arsenal in the transfer market this past year. I recall reading somewhere that Arsenal's net transfer money (total buying and selling) over the past 5 years is pretty close to 0...I'll have to see if I can find that article again. Granted their wage bill is a lot higher than ours, but when you can generate so much income from transfer fees, you can afford that kind of roster flexibility.

 

I am going to have agree to disagree with SteveM19. We will see what happens this season. If Arsenal does not finish in the top four I will give you your due props. However, I can't get over the Wenger being overrated. That amazes me.

 

I call bullshit to a certain extent. Fabregas was highly regarded at Barcelona but poached by Wenger because he couldn't wait a couple of seasons to get a chance to play. Hardly a "hidden" gem. Walcott was so highly-regarded that Arsenal paid more for him than had ever previously been paid for a 16-year-old. He paid over 10 million pounds for Henry too.

I'm not disagreeing with you about some guys that he's uncovered like Toure and Adebayor, but the three I mentioned aren't great examples of this.

(Maybe you mean Eboue? Edmilson has never played for Arsenal.)

 

I meant Denilson. My apologies for that. Other players like Gael Clichy was in the French Second Division when Arsenal snapped him up. Bacari Sagna, Armand Traore and Kolo Toure as mentioned earlier.

Perhaps you are right about Walcott and Fabregas, but I think if there has been anyone in the Premier League to unearth talent it has been Wenger.

 

As I said, I agree with your premise, just not with all the examples you chose.

 

OK so we have Omozusi,Stoor seems to be on the way,Pantsil has been signed and now we want Young!? I love Young, but we should've gotten him BEFORE we signed all these damn rb's. It seems we're loading our right-sde with everybody and their brother and totally forgetting the left side EVEN THOUGH that has OBVIOUSLY been our problem ever since Boa left. I'm starting to doubt the manager on his transfer plans.

 

I have to figure only one of Stoor or Young is going to be signed; both would obviously be overkill. I'm figuring Omozusi will be going out on loan to get regular playing time, and perhaps Volzy will be out the door. (That last part makes me sad.)

 

Calm down, it's July. Roy Hodgson is a lot smarter than you or any Fulham in existence. The man knows what he's doing.

 

I kind of agree with Steve and Jmh.

First, Wenger didn't uncover Adebayor either. He was a proven entity (world class) at Monaco before having a serious falling out with the team and manager before moving to Arsenal. Wenger just offered him a bigger stage than the one he had at Monaco.

Arsenal also doesn't have to spend a lot of money... because it IS Arsenal. Fulham can't ever get the players Arsenal is after, because, well, Arsenal is after them. As long as you can identify the talent at any mid-size, to small European team that doesn't play in England, Spain, or Italy... you can buy them pretty cheaply (unless they've showed themself in some tournament or Cup). I bet Stoor could have been bought from Rosenberg at half the price before EURO 2008. He's still cheap because he's coming from the Norwegian league and because not a whole lot of wealthy clubs are after him, but he was worth practically nothing just a few months ago.

Wenger and Arsenal excel at the timing of their purchases, I would say, and they can do this, in part, because young players want to show themselves for an Arsenal rather than a Fulham. Fulham might be able to afford the same player, but they won't ever choose Fulham over Arsenal.

So a lot of Wenger's success isn't just because of him, but because he's the manager at a top, top club.

I like Arsene Wenger and he's definitely one of the best managers in the world, but a lot of his success is a given because he can't really fail at Arsenal. Same goes for Fergusion, Benitez, and whoever manages Chelsea.

 

Someone of TIFF says that Dejan Stefanovic told Norwich (BBC reported that he had a medical with Norwich today, and they're usually pretty accurate) that one of Omozusi or Volz would be available for loan. Don't know how reliable that extra bit of info is, but I could definitely see it happening.

 

I also think one of the "Big Four" could get relegated out of the top four this year. The competition just underneath them is getting better. Manchester City, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Portsmouth, and Everton could all threaten for the fourth spot, imo. Even Newcastle could make some headway if they figure themselves out.

Arsenal, however, should get off to a flying start again this year because they have an easy schedule for the first few months of the season. They'll probably struggle during the winter months cause that's when the schedule gets hard for them.

 

We'll see 'pard'. If I had to bet, I'd bet that none of them get relegated out of the "Big Four". However, I really think this season might be even more competitive at the top than this past season, mostly due to the other top 10 sides adding to their teams. Everton, I think, will fall back a bit this year. They aren't really adding anybody and they've got injury issues. Their financial situation also isn't the best... which is why they haven't been adding a whole lot of serious quality. Portsmouth seems to have gotten a whole lot better this summer. Villa is adding quality to their side and offensively they're as good as anybody else. Tottenham have a great coach and good players. Manchester City has enough quality, a good coach, and lots of money.

Should be a great season. Fulham will upset some of these people as well.

 

Villa only have like nine guys on their roster so they'd better hope nobody gets injured.