Alert: Reading time

PsychedelicCeltic · Aug 30, 2008

Young guns: A history of Arsenal's youth system by David Flynn and Kevin Whitcher

Among the infuriating and heartening things to read..

Since he heard the sensational news that April afternoon, he has been turning over in his mind the possible implications. After an affectionate greeting between two old friends, Arsène Wenger comes straight to the point: 'Do you want me to resign?' he asks.

....

'No,' Dein replies to Wenger's suggestion. 'I don't think that would be in the best interests of Arsenal.'
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This runs contrary to comments made about the optimum age for footballers during the 2003-04 season. 'I'm convinced that up front now you need to be young,' he began. 'A goalkeeper is best between 30 and 35, central defence I would say best age 26 to 34. Midfield between 26 and 32 and a striker between 24 and 30. Those are the top ages.'
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In February 2004 it was put to Wenger that Dein had been sent on fool's errands in the past to look at Harry Kewell, Cristiano Ronaldo and José Antonio Reyes when the board knew they had limited funds, and had prioritised the building of a stadium over the team.
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...his transfer and wages budget have been described by Ken Friar (a long-time servant of the club who is currently helping Wenger in transfer negotiations) as being a case of not so much the manager saying 'I need this much', but more asking: 'How much have I got?'
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Yet, despite a sterling reputation, Arsenal's academy has achieved very little in terms of producing first-team players....

The writing is generally on the wall for an Arsenal prospect if he is sent out on loan.
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Often the loan is turned into a permanent move, with a sell-on clause built in allowing the club to continue to benefit from their initial commitment. David Bentley, who made the club several million when he moved from Blackburn to Tottenham this summer, is a good example.
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Cheers, Tottenham!

...Cole was pressed into service early in 2001. He had been on loan at Crystal Palace and, just before the Silvinho predicament arose, a fee of £200,000 had been agreed to make the move permanent.
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*headdesk*

As he joked regarding Reyes: 'We even watched him in training. How did I do that? With a hat and a moustache. We scouted him for two years, every minute of every game.'
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The way the team performed in the first half of last season appeared a total vindication of Wenger's methods, yet he choose not to spend in the January transfer window, despite a cash balance of £69m at the end of November 2007, of which £25m was available to the manager for spending on new players and their wages
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It is revealing that despite not paying huge sums to bring in players, Arsenal's 2006-07 wage bill was similar in size to that of Manchester United. Wenger has made encouraging noises that he is prepared to deploy more of his budget and pay the price to add quality in key positions, but the evidence is not yet forthcoming.
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'I want to win the Champions League, but it's step by step. And to win not once but two or three times, to go into the history of European football.'
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I'll discuss this in more detail soon, but since I'm totally lazy, I'll just toss this to the wolves and see what you lot do with it.

kanonier · Aug 30, 2008

There's so much contradictory stuff within that one article... I don't even know where to begin.... so I won't.

antifan · Aug 30, 2008

iufan82 said: ↑

There's so much contradictory stuff within that one article... I don't even know where to begin.... so I won't.
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Odd title for the article as well. I understand its just an excerpt, but they barely talk about the youth academy at all.

DoctorK · Aug 31, 2008

Certainly doesn't deliver on the promise of a "history."

The Grim Returner · Sep 1, 2008

antifan said: ↑

Odd title for the article as well. I understand its just an excerpt, but they barely talk about the youth academy at all.
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The title is just to sensationise the article. It's from Alex Flynn's new book:

Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Super-Club

Looks like a good read.

Lanesra · Sep 1, 2008

Just sent off for this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theatre-Sil...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220187249&sr=8-1

DoctorK · Sep 1, 2008

The Grim Returner said: ↑

The title is just to sensationise the article. It's from Alex Flynn's new book:

Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Super-Club

Looks like a good read.
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Ah, didn't put two and two together. I ordered that last week. Direct from publisher with the arseblog discount.

Supposedly there's a lot of material from Wenger interviews, etc.