*Official* English Football Season 2009-2010

[Pothas]

Yeah, if they don't offer enough we won't sell him
City want Milner for £24m so **** me sideways if it's true Barca won't offer a deal worth more than £30m, including player exchanges.

Wenger does need to pull his finger out though, is the first time ever I've seriously contemplated he might not be the right man to take us forward.

Would not contemplate it if I was you, not unless you want to slide into 6th or 7th for the next couple of years.

Sounds like Cesc definetly wants out, cannot blame him either they are his home club afterall. Going to be a challenge for Wenger that is for sure, but if I was as an Arsenal fan he is the last thing I would want to lose after losing my best player.

 

[The Sean]

Not the worst signings in the world are they really? Barca to be amazingly strong next year, don't think either will struggle to fit in.

Interesting to see what this means for Ibrahimovic, considering they spent 60-odd million quid on him 12 months ago. I know it's a squad game and all that, but I wouldn't imagine that even Barca would regularly go with a Zlatan-Villa-Messi frontline so someone has to miss out.

Fergy saying he might not be buying anyone this year, not sure if this is true or not of course. Would be worried if I was a United fan if this is true.

Don't need anyone TBH. Hargreaves and Owen will be like two new signings.

 

[Jarquis]

Would not contemplate it if I was you, not unless you want to slide into 6th or 7th for the next couple of years.

Sounds like Cesc definetly wants out, cannot blame him either they are his home club afterall. Going to be a challenge for Wenger that is for sure, but if I was as an Arsenal fan he is the last thing I would want to lose after losing my best player.

Well I was reading a piece about all the managers that we were linked with as Wenger's replacement but that fans generally reacted negatively to. The likes of Van Gaal, Ancelotti and Hiddink for example. Not sure we'd be in this situation if we had any of those.
Don't get me wrong, Wenger's done a lot of good but holding off quality signingsbecause Diabolical and Denil**** might have one good performance in the 2014/15 season.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Same old CDMs.

Buy mercenaries. Some get good. They move to a mercenary team who're not perpetual also-rans. This will happen continuously because the CDMs don't win anything and mercenary teams don't breed much loyalty.

Whingeur has made your club a feeder side for the top European sides. He doesn't want to stick his head out and take a risk on expensive players who could help bring some silverware.

 

[Matteh]

Another well-rounded post.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Guardian reckons Barca are going to throw Yaya Toure and Ibrahimovic at us to sweeten the deal. Link.

Reeeeally don't want the latter.

 

[Jarquis]

Would Ibra sign for us anyway? Can't see us meeting his wage demands, he'd improve the quality of our side no doubt but with Chamakh signing we're not exactly lacking strikers.
Will take Valdes though

 

[cpr]

RE: Fergie saying were not going to sign anyone...... could be true, could be not. Every United fan just turns off for the summer, because bullturd flies in the press and from the club, and the only sure answer is when they are holding up a shirt with their new number on.......

 

[Uppercut]

Also, we tend to not hear too much about big United signings until they're done.

 

[social]

Another well-rounded post.

Yeah, complete nonsense that conveniently ignores that they got Ces for free and stand to make 30-50 million quid by selling him back to the club that they got him from

Gunners should only be criticised if they hose the windfall up against the wall

 

[Jarquis]

Tom Adams: Cesc Fabregas exit to force Wenger rethink - Opinion - ESPN Soccernet
Would be heartbroken if he goes

 

[cpr]

Yeah, complete nonsense that conveniently ignores that they got Ces for free and stand to make 30-50 million quid by selling him back to the club that they got him from

Doesn't count, its a fluke and a freak of a transfer


TM Liverpool fans

 

[GIMH]

Also, we tend to not hear too much about big United signings until they're done.

Hmm, not sure about that. Off the top of my head Rooney, Carrick, Hargreaves, Van Der Sar, Berbatov, Tevez...they were all signings we knew were coming weeks before they did...could go back to the likes of Bosnich, Stam and Dwight Yorke as well for more of the same.

 

[roseboy64]

Wouldn't expect more than or two signings in the summer and not necessarily big names either.

 

[cpr]

Hmm, not sure about that. Off the top of my head Rooney, Carrick, Hargreaves, Van Der Sar, Berbatov, Tevez...they were all signings we knew were coming weeks before they did...could go back to the likes of Bosnich, Stam and Dwight Yorke as well for more of the same.

Stam was a bit of a bolt of one IIRC, as was the first attempt to sign Ruud... Barthez too.

Club tends to try and keep it out of the press tbh, rather do our tapping up in private thanks (unless the target is in Germany and has his own World Cup blog on the BBC website at the time)

 

[Pothas]

Wouldn't expect more than or two signings in the summer and not necessarily big names either.

Do not fancy winning much next year then?

I guess finances probalby mean they cannot spend all that much.

 

[duffer]

Going to be a challenge for Wenger that is for sure, but if I was as an Arsenal fan he is the last thing I would want to lose after losing my best player.

Not seeing this at all tbh.

 

[Pothas]

Not seeing this at all tbh.

I just think most things would suggest that Arsenal are likely to go backwards if Wenger leaves. He has installed such a culture at that club (some may say that is now a negative thing) but that anyone taking over is going to have a very difficult job imposing themselves in the job.

Secondly who would take over? I think there are very few candidates that could realistically do any better than Wenger without a massive investment. I guess if Wenger is the only thing stopping this massive investment then you may have a point, but is that really the case?

With Man city spending horrendous amounts of money and others mounting challenges as well I think a new Arsenal manager would face one hell of a job even maintain their current position, they could meet that challenge of course but it would be one hell of a risk.

 

[duffer]

So the squad is so weak, unbalanced and tailored for his needs that a new manager would find it impossible to turn it around quickly? (yes, cynical)

Sure I agree with that, but a new manager probably wouldn't bury his head in the sand for 5 seasons and hope that everyone goes along with his fantasy either.

We have a lot of money now anyway and while we still have Champions League football it's time (or was 4 years ago) Wenger either made use of the fact and tried to challenge or just be ruthless and get someone else in while it is still fixable. I know people groan when you mention the Rijkaard's and van Gaal's of the world but the Wenger he is being compared isn't the same one who won doubles and went unbeaten.

The really sad thing here is that we had plenty of opportunity to stregthen from a position of power but now we're here in a position where the top clubs and a lot of top players don't take us seriously any more. But that's the situation they created for themselves.

 

[Uppercut]

Hmm, not sure about that. Off the top of my head Rooney, Carrick, Hargreaves, Van Der Sar, Berbatov, Tevez...they were all signings we knew were coming weeks before they did...could go back to the likes of Bosnich, Stam and Dwight Yorke as well for more of the same.

Stam and Van der Sar were hardly ongoing sagas.

There are loads of examples of the opposite in any case. Ronaldo, Kleberson, Smalling, Hernandez, Nani, Anderson, Park, Djemba-Djemba off the top of my head. I suppose they just do a good job of keeping it quiet when they're trying to pick a star out of nowhere, but however much truth is in it my general memory of United signings is of them coming as a bit of a surprise. Certainly compared to the signings of other sides in any case.