3...2...1...Start Buying...or Not (Transfer Thread)

[yossarian]

Continue here...

[t-wade]

My number one worry if we don't qualify for the CL is that it might be the final straw that lures Cesc back to Spain. I think it's generally accepted that he'll return to Spain- I just want it to be when he's 29 and not when he's 22.

Other big clubs have survived a year without the CL and we would as well. What I don't want to see is a midfield next year of Nasri-Diaby-Denilson-Eboue.

[GunneRy]

Need- a creative midfielder and a defensive midfielder.

Want- a new center back. (Though, with Nordviet back from Salamanca, I expect more talk from Wenger about "internal solutions" (meaning this 19 year old rookie), rather than spending a few mil to replace)

[flyerhawk]

I am not one to criticize a club for not making a move but in retrospect not ponying up a couple extra million for Alonso may have been the crushing blow that keeps us out of the CL, especially if we don't find an Alonso type player.

I seem to be alone in finding Song to be the biggest problem on the squad. More precisely I don't think we have anyone on the squad to perform the role of Flamini.

[TheHobbes]

Chairman Peter Hill-Wood admitted, "The gamble we are taking is that Arsene continues to work the miracles that he's worked for the past seven years or so. The team has got to try and get into the Champions League. We budget for that."
from Arsenal, Alex Fynn and Kevin Whitcher

I don't think it would be a financially devastating to miss out, but it would certainly be a blow. The catch-22 becomes evident when looking at this squad, plauged by injuries and remaining within reach of the 4th spot. But say we miss out, and someone like Cesc leaves? Are we really making forward progress by simply staying afloat? Or would it be one step forward, two steps back. Does our policy serve us well if we are unable to keep key players on the roster long enough to see the plan through?

[Rewinder]

Were it not for our debt obligations and 100m wage bill, we could get through a year without the CL just fine.

I'm not that concerned by Cesc leaving, he is just one player. How do we cope with 5-6 stars leaving? Every major CL team will be swooping down on us to pluck our players away and how are we going to hold on to them? We would need to make a major investment in the summer when we are about to lose a huge chunk of our revenue.

[DaPrince84]

did 5 or 6 stars leave AC Milan last summer? or Munchen the summer before?

I cant see the mass exodus of players after one season without CL play, mainly because of Wenger and the fact that we have ben in CL for so long... definite possibility after a couple of seasons out of CL play tho

[yossarian]

Were it not for our debt obligations and 100m wage bill, we could get through a year without the CL just fine.


Serious question as I don't know the answer..... How much less in Euros/pounds would a UEFA spot versus a CL spot be?

[Rewinder]

did 5 or 6 stars leave AC Milan last summer? or Munchen the summer before?

I cant see the mass exodus of players after one season without CL play, mainly because of Wenger and the fact that we have ben in CL for so long... definite possibility after a couple of seasons out of CL play tho

We had important players leave us last season and that was with us almost winning the league. We don't have a record of holding on to our players even in good times, so I would hate to see what happens during bad times.

Serious question as I don't know the answer..... How much less in Euros/pounds would a UEFA spot versus a CL spot be?

If you count total revenues in reaching up to the knockout round of the CL - thats close to 45m euro (which is now almost 1-1 with the pound) for a team of our size/fanbase or 37m euro for the average CL team - without about 12m of that coming from matchday revenue.

Looking at some numbers now, sevilla got a total of about 6m euro when they won the uefa cup, so I guess you could add match day revenue to that, but reduced matchday revenue as we wouldnt charge cl prices for uefa cup matches.

Progressing to the quarter-finals of the CL could be worth up to 50m.

We could definately surive - perhaps have to sell a few of the higher earners to cut back on the 101m wage bill, but we will have little to no transfer budget at a time that requires probably the biggest transfer investment we would ever need to make.

[CommonSense]

If you don't think losing out on 40 million would not be a HUGE blow to the club you must believe Hill-Wood is outright lying, and the club does have finances available for transfer fees, but they simply want to keep the money for themselves.

There is no other option. DaPrince, really, Hill-Wood's own quotes prove you wrong, as "he budgets for it". We're not AC Milan, we're owned by shareholders. Missing the CL would send a shockwave through the entire structure of the team because of the current economic climate. We would lose players. We'd start having drama about ownership, so player signings would become more difficult.

Almost as important as the players, OWNERSHIP. It's already an issue. That will only increase should we miss the CL. I'm very concerned about having some UAE oil-prince coming in and buying the club.

This is a very important month for the future of the club, a lot is up in the air.

People really think it's acceptable for the board to tell Arsene he's no funds available after all the garbage we've been told about unlimited funds over the past 3 years? Especially while we watch Man United spend another huge chunk of cash and Aston Villa (likely) adding to their already strong side.

[DougG_ATL]

We've had three straight seasons where we were weakened by injuries by December, Wenger didn't make significant buys in January and the team scrapes to make Champions League. That approach is not working - I don't understand why Wenger can't see a need to reinforce this squad. There are plenty of players available on the market, but Arsenal supporters have to wait until 11:47 p.m. on Feb. 2 to find out that we've signed a 17-year-old wannabe from Bumblefart FC.

It's been a frustrating season, we're riddled with injuries and in dire need of fresh personalities and fresh play. The sky isn't falling; we don't need to freak out like Man City and we're not West Brom, but we need reinforcements.

[yossarian]

If you count total revenues in reaching up to the knockout round of the CL - thats close to 45m euro (which is now almost 1-1 with the pound) for a team of our size/fanbase or 37m euro for the average CL team - without about 12m of that coming from matchday revenue.

Looking at some numbers now, sevilla got a total of about 6m euro when they won the uefa cup, so I guess you could add match day revenue to that, but reduced matchday revenue as we wouldnt charge cl prices for uefa cup matches.

Progressing to the quarter-finals of the CL could be worth up to 50m.

We could definately surive - perhaps have to sell a few of the higher earners to cut back on the 101m wage bill, but we will have little to no transfer budget at a time that requires probably the biggest transfer investment we would ever need to make.

Do you know of a website or source that shows a comparison?

[DaPrince84]

If you don't think losing out on 40 million would not be a HUGE blow to the club you must believe Hill-Wood is outright lying, and the club does have finances available for transfer fees, but they simply want to keep the money for themselves.

There is no other option. DaPrince, really, Hill-Wood's own quotes prove you wrong, as "he budgets for it". We're not AC Milan, we're owned by shareholders. Missing the CL would send a shockwave through the entire structure of the team because of the current economic climate. We would lose players. We'd start having drama about ownership, so player signings would become more difficult.

Almost as important as the players, OWNERSHIP. It's already an issue. That will only increase should we miss the CL. I'm very concerned about having some UAE oil-prince coming in and buying the club.

This is a very important month for the future of the club, a lot is up in the air.

People really think it's acceptable for the board to tell Arsene he's no funds available after all the garbage we've been told about unlimited funds over the past 3 years? Especially while we watch Man United spend another huge chunk of cash and Aston Villa (likely) adding to their already strong side.
LOL @ all of this overreaction

its not like Juventus were not just relegated themselves... and they themselves have shareholders...

[Val1]

Were it not for our debt obligations and 100m wage bill, we could get through a year without the CL just fine.

I'm not that concerned by Cesc leaving, he is just one player. How do we cope with 5-6 stars leaving? Every major CL team will be swooping down on us to pluck our players away and how are we going to hold on to them? We would need to make a major investment in the summer when we are about to lose a huge chunk of our revenue.
I guess I am worried about Cesc leaving because I don't think we have 5-6 "stars". We have one, Cesc. We have 4-5 quality players like RvP, Adebayor, Gallas, Sagna, and (maybe) Clichy, and then everyone else is more potential than anything else. While I like Nasri and Theo as much as anyone else, I think we could probably replace them easily enough.

[DougG_ATL]

Have you all seen Arsenal.com today? The club is cutting down the transfer rumors on the spot, with the big headline reading "Wenger - I won't break the bank in January."

Translation: "We're lowering your expectations now, on Jan. 2, so you'll be less disappointed a month from now."

Le Boss says:
"If you look at the best players we have had over the years - in the last 10 or 12 years - we have always played at the top. The best players who have made a massive impact here are not always the ones who have cost £30-£40million. I can cite you players in the last 10 or 15 years who have cost £30million and have been a flop. It is not necessarily linked that you spend £30million and get a massive player."

That third sentence speaks volumes about Wenger's trepidation about buying experienced players. Did Jose Antonio Reyes really burn him that much?

We don't necessarily need a £30-40 million superstar, but what about a solid £8-10 million player? Someone with some experience in the Premier League, who knows what's it like to play in Stamford Bridge or the Reebok on a cold February morning? Hoping that Havard Nordveidt can be the type of player to grind out the winter and help Arsenal secure a CL spot is truly unrealistic.

[shincan]

It's been a frustrating season, we're riddled with injuries and in dire need of fresh personalities and fresh play. The sky isn't falling; we don't need to freak out like Man City and we're not West Brom, but we need reinforcements.

I don't see how anyone could argue with that. Intelligently.

[t-wade]

LOL @ all of this overreaction

its not like Juventus were not just relegated themselves... and they themselves have shareholders...

DaPrince... I'm interested in your take on the year to date. Were you comfortable with the roster with which we started the year? Did you like our options at CB/defensive mid? Have you been happy with the peformance to date? Are you bothered with the notion that we may not qualify for the CL?

There's a difference between "the sky is falling" and feeling like some changes are necessary.

[Rewinder]

Do you know of a website or source that shows a comparison?

There is no website I found comparing the two, but I did find this -
http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/168511/europe039s-top-clubs-earn-€3845m-champions-league-research-says

and this

http://www.eufootball.biz/data/revenue

Our revenue was low for a QF team because 3 other teams from England went beyond that round and thus got a bigger share of the pool for themselves.

[brianodom]

Have you all seen Arsenal.com today? The club is cutting down the transfer rumors on the spot, with the big headline reading "Wenger - I won't break the bank in January."

Translation: "We're lowering your expectations now, on Jan. 2, so you'll be less disappointed a month from now."

Le Boss says:


That third sentence speaks volumes about Wenger's trepidation about buying experienced players. Did Jose Antonio Reyes really burn him that much?

We don't necessarily need a £30-40 million superstar, but what about a solid £8-10 million player? Someone with some experience in the Premier League, who knows what's it like to play in Stamford Bridge or the Reebok on a cold February morning? Hoping that Havard Nordveidt can be the type of player to grind out the winter and help Arsenal secure a CL spot is truly unrealistic.

I believe it did, the sad part is he bagged Madrid the title :o


I heard Norveit is headed out on loan again...I have grown utterly disgusted with the crap we're been spoon fed. I mean we can even get Stephen damn Appiah..and he's free !

[Rewinder]

I believe it did, the sad part is he bagged Madrid the title :o


I heard Norveit is headed out on loan again...I have grown utterly disgusted with the crap we're been spoon fed. I mean we can even get Stephen damn Appiah..and he's free !

The fact that he has been a free agent for this long, and no team has signed him yet tells you something is wrong with him.

edit: he may be going to Celtic according to his wiki...