Arsenal a Selling Club?

[ArsenalGooner]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=553845&sec=england&cc=5901

Quotes from Wenger in "News of the World," so don't know how reliable this could be.

Apologize if this has been posted elsewhere.

[DaPrince84]

http://i30.tinypic.com/2s774ht.gif

[DougG_ATL]

Transfer thread... :rolleyes:

[Brian71]

I don't know how well respected Arseblogger is around these parts, but he has a take on Wenger's "quotes" that I agree with:

http://www.oleole.com/blogs/arseblog/posts/wengers-news-of-the-world-quotes-smell-a-bit-whiffy-to-me

[DaPrince84]

"The strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players,' he told the News of the World.

'We manage at Arsenal to maintain all our football ambitions - national and European - while having to free up - for 17 more years - an annual surplus of £24million to pay for our stadium.

'The club's strategy is to favour the policy of youngsters ahead of stars and to count on the collective quality of our game."


the more I look at this statement... the more im sure he is saying we wont buy stars, we create them... and that "we will sell players for more than when we bought them"...

it doesnt say we are a selling club...

[Rewinder]

"The strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players,

That is the part creating the problem, and if the quotes were true (which I doubt they are), we are basically existing to pay off a debt, with no real ambition of winning anything.

You can't be a title winning, or even title challenging side if your strategy is to sell off your best players every year.

I don't mind selling players who want to leave, are 29ish and set for a decline soon etc. but this is making it sound like we are going to force players out the door intentionally in order to keep a transfer profit every year, and then pay the debt down with transfer money.

None of this makes sense, as we have more than a 24m surplus through our regular operations. Stranger things have come true in the past, but I just can't see us relying on this model, let alone someone from the club blabbing about it, let alone Wenger be the one spilling it, let alone before we have completed our transfer activity, and let alone to NOTW of all people.

[DaPrince84]

That is the part creating the problem, and if the quotes were true (which I doubt they are), we are basically existing to pay off a debt, with no real ambition of winning anything.

You can't be a title winning, or even title challenging side if your strategy is to sell off your best players every year.

I don't mind selling players who want to leave, are 29ish and set for a decline soon etc. but this is making it sound like we are going to force players out the door intentionally in order to keep a transfer profit every year, and then pay the debt down with transfer money.

None of this makes sense, as we have more than a 24m surplus through our regular operations. Stranger things have come true in the past, but I just can't see us relying on this model, let alone someone from the club blabbing about it, let alone Wenger be the one spilling it, let alone before we have completed our transfer activity, and let alone to NOTW of all people.
except we, and other clubs do sell every year... its not just about the star players... in fact, he didnt say "We will sell stars every year"

I actually think he is talking about the young players that we do get rid of who dont make it here... that is where a large portion of our yearly money comes from anyway... last year we sold Muamba and Larsson for a nice fee... even though we bought both of them for cheap... similarly, even Diarra was sold for more than what we bought them... I feel that is what he is saying

[Brian71]

I don't mind selling players who want to leave, are 29ish and set for a decline soon etc.

For example...Henry. :( It was sad to see him go, but Wenger looks like a genius for that one.

[SLO-Gunner]

http://i30.tinypic.com/2s774ht.gif


I think I've seen this before....:rolleyes:

[ArsenalGooner]

Transfer thread... :rolleyes:

Since this is more about overall club strategy compared to wild speculation about specific players I thought this could deserve it's own thread.

It does look like this is being discussed in the transfer thread, so I guess others did not share my thought on that... Mods please move if so inclined.

"The strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players,' he told the News of the World.

it doesnt say we are a selling club...

I don't know- "the strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players" sure makes it sound like they are intentionally positioning themselves as a selling club.

However, the point you make above is well taken about selling stars vs. squad type players.

[Martin Daoust]

Since this is more about overall club strategy compared to wild speculation about specific players I thought this could deserve it's own thread.

It does look like this is being discussed in the transfer thread, so I guess others did not share my thought on that... Mods please move if so inclined.



I don't know- "the strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players" sure makes it sound like they are intentionally positioning themselves as a selling club.

However, the point you make above is well taken about selling stars vs. squad type players.

It makes the selling and replacement at a profit to the club sound like a serious and intentional strategy IF Mr. Wenger said this(as I have said before I believe what he has reportedly said is possible if not true but not necessarily that he actually said ti - certainly NOT to "News Of The World")

I think the question isn't did Mr. Wenger actually say this in this interview but is there any basis to it ?

[DaPrince84]

I don't know- "the strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players" sure makes it sound like they are intentionally positioning themselves as a selling club.

However, the point you make above is well taken about selling stars vs. squad type players.
but this is what we have always done... in fact, this is the strategy of most clubs...

the problem is we get distracted by our former star players leaving and not those squad players leaving out...

and shoot... outside of Vieira and Henry... most of our star players were not sold for profit... Sol was a wash... same with Flamini... Pires was in the red since he left on a free... Reyes was a colossal loss... etc...

yet we still end up in the black, or close to it... I feel the quote was about our youngsters, and not our star players...

[TheImposter]

Since this is more about overall club strategy compared to wild speculation about specific players I thought this could deserve it's own thread.

It does look like this is being discussed in the transfer thread, so I guess others did not share my thought on that... Mods please move if so inclined.



I don't know- "the strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players" sure makes it sound like they are intentionally positioning themselves as a selling club.

However, the point you make above is well taken about selling stars vs. squad type players.
That's the problem with all our damn transfer threads -- not enough wild speculation about specific players.

Actually we just need to combine all threads currently on the Arsenal board into one huge "Oh noes!!!!" thread. They all discuss the same thing anyway (I don't know -- I don't read the kit thread, but I assume it's all about how the board are lining their pockets with huge profits from forcing us into kits that have sleeves with a white stripe instead of white sleeves).

[pookspur]

... I actually think he is talking about the young players that we do get rid of who dont make it here...

"If they are bad ones, they stay and, if they are good, they think only of leaving..."

that's not how it sounds to me.

but it also sounds to me as much a complaint about contemporary contract dynamics - should a player excel, then his wages aren't high enough; but if he underperforms, the club's stuck paying - as of arsenal's specific financial plight. a complaint with which i 100% agree, by the way.

[martymarts]

"The strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players" Does he mean to keep the wage bill down, make a net profit on players who are surplus to requirements, or selling the crown jewels to pay for AG?

'We manage at Arsenal to maintain all our football ambitions - national and European - while having to free up - for 17 more years - an annual surplus of £24million to pay for our stadium. Surely all the wonga coming in should easily cover £24m? Sh1t there's an extra £20m or £30m from the Prem this year?

'The club's strategy is to favour the policy of youngsters ahead of stars and to count on the collective quality of our game." So we're turning into Ajax... Fcuk!

So the real question is when will AFC qualify or deny these comments? There will be a lot of anxious Gooners waiting to hear what this actually means and, more importantly, is it true or not! NOTW = The Enquirer!

[mateo319]

I saw this on Teamtalk and had to read it a couple of times before it made sense to me. It's written to make it sound as though we have to make enough in transfers to cover that 24m pounds. Of course we don't, the new stadium brings in the bulk of that.

Wenger has never bought established stars - the closest he's come IMHO was Wiltord (Sol was on a free, of course). And in regards to every couple years selling an Anelka, Silvinho, Overmars, or Henry, who never reached the heights they reached in London after they left - this isn't news, people, it's been happening for the last ten years.

In other words, there's nothing to see here. It's simply Arsene stating how he runs his team, twisted to make it sound panicky. Arsenal need to make 24m pounds extra every year? OH NOES!!

[InTheSun]

Bullshit story. Arsene gave exclusive to NOTW... Yeah, right.. Just pisses me off to hear it repeated by idiots at the local park. The shrewdest manager in the world in the transfer market gives away a trade secret to put us in a weak position. Uh huh! :rolleyes:

If he wanted to put that out there it would be to cry poverty and keep the clubs we were buying from honest.

[DaPrince84]

I saw this on Teamtalk and had to read it a couple of times before it made sense to me. It's written to make it sound as though we have to make enough in transfers to cover that 24m pounds. Of course we don't, the new stadium brings in the bulk of that.

Wenger has never bought established stars - the closest he's come IMHO was Wiltord (Sol was on a free, of course). And in regards to every couple years selling an Anelka, Silvinho, Overmars, or Henry, who never reached the heights they reached in London after they left - this isn't news, people, it's been happening for the last ten years.

In other words, there's nothing to see here. It's simply Arsene stating how he runs his team, twisted to make it sound panicky. Arsenal need to make 24m pounds extra every year? OH NOES!!
pretty much exactly what I said... but being Arsenal fans, we love a good panic-time

*runs around panicking*

OH NOES!!!!

[ArsenalGooner]

Actually we just need to combine all threads currently on the Arsenal board into one huge "Oh noes!!!!" thread. They all discuss the same thing anyway (I don't know -- I don't read the kit thread, but I assume it's all about how the board are lining their pockets with huge profits from forcing us into kits that have sleeves with a white stripe instead of white sleeves).

The kit thread has actually devolved into how the board is lining their pockets by agreeing with Nike to switch a kit (home/away/third) every year thereby making supporters buy a new top each year to stay current!

:)

[TheImposter]

The kit thread has actually devolved into how the board is lining their pockets by agreeing with Nike to switch a kit (home/away/third) every year thereby making supporters buy a new top each year to stay current!

:)
Well, that's ok, then. The CEO of Nike likes to buy new buildings for his, and my, alma mater.:D