There will be money to spend this summer 11 March, 2007
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News.trackback
If you do the rounds on the Arsenal blogs today you’ll notice there is absolutely no news going about. Usually I’d be sitting down to write a match report today but our next game’s not until Wednesday against Aston Villa. The only real news about today is about Arsene Wenger’s transfer budget this summer.
Managing director Keith Edelman has assured there will be money to spend come the transfer window. And there needs to be. Top of the shopping list will have to be a new ‘keeper. It’s more likely than not that Jens Lehmann will move on at the end of the season. We need to bring in a replacement whether Jens leaves or not; he’s getting on a bit now and I don’t see Almunia as the man to fill his shoes. Manuel to me is on of those ‘perfect no.2′ goalies.
Edelman has said our early Champions League exit will not effect Arsene’s transfer kitty. Here’s what he had to say:
“It will not affect the manager’s budget at all. It certainly will not mean it will be cut in any way. If we had gone all the way to the final it might have been increased, but the budget is set based on an exit from the first knock-out round. Arsene will have money he always knew he would have, regardless of the result against PSV Eindhoven. Of course it was a massive disappointment to everyone at Arsenal but it won’t affect the financial side of things.”
Obviously Wenger would never of had a massive load of money to spend in the Summer due to our stadium debt but still, if we’d gone further in Europe things might’ve looked a bit better. Players definitely need to be brought in this summer. I think at least two minimum but I expect there will be a few departures too.
I’ll think about a shopping list when the transfer window actually comes, however it’s weird we’re thinking about it now. The season is still on, bring on Villa…woo.
There’s also a bit of talk about the possibility of Arsenal having a white away kit next year. Connections in the Arsenal shop have said we will definitely be playing in white next year. Also I’ve heard it will be with ‘redcurrant’ trim like last years kit. Apparently it’s all to symbolise Herbert Chapman’s vision. Here’s a very quick photoshopping I did of what the new kit may look like. Arseblogger has had his say and I think we’re all with him. More on that another time but it does seem likely now.
Happy Sunday.
White is just wrong. Yellow with blue trim (not this slate grey business) is the way it should be. Not all blue. Not all shades of blue at once. Certainly not gold. Just yellow with blue trim.
Arse have made some decent cash too – £8 million between Cole, Stokes and Lauren. Throw in Aliadiere and possible Song in the summer and we could raise another 6 to 8 million quid. Throw that on top of the ‘basic’ fund and it’s an OK amount of cash for a shrewd manager who doesn’t need to buy lots of players. A left-sided player (Reyes is not an option, he had his go and didn’t impress much) and a goalkeeper… That could cost up to £25 million but I’m sure the boss will be cannier than that.
I hope this £20m rumour from the mirror is just that – a rumour.
If it isnt then the board may as well issue a statement before the first game of the season telling the fans that we have absolutely no chance of winning anything this season. Then they can expand on that and explain why the best manager we have ever had is not given a realistic transfer budget, and why spurs, newcastle, portsmouth? will spend more on ne players than us.
I appreciate that the stadium move has meant we have had penny pinch in the past 3yrs and that long term it is going to be a positive for the club. I am proud however that we havent gone round with the begging bowl and pimped ourselves out to the highest bidder like Liverpool and we have somehow remained competetive while building the grove. All the tradition and respect that Liverpool have amassed and deserved is being tarnished with their behaviour regarding the clubs sale, they have behaved like a cheap hooker and bent overwhen the yanks came calling. If we can build a ground and sacrifice trophies for a few seasons, then why cant they? When Chelsea were taken over these boards were full of ‘Pool fans saying it was a disgrace etc, I think we know who the disgrace is after this display of hypocrisy dont we!
Anyway got a bit carried away there but it isnt right is it? We are now in the new ground though and it is clear to the whole country that we need proven quality in key areas of the team. The 3 cup exits have shown that we need proven players that the kids can learn from but also look to for leadership when things go wrong. The other big 3 will be buying, mybe not lots of players but they will be quality players who will improve their squads. They will think nothing of £20m on 1 player(Hargreeaves is already a done deal for manu).
If the board think that £20m will allow AW to buy players good enough to improve us then then are in a dreamworld, as we dont need 1 we need 3/4 depending on your opinion. We cant afford to go bargain hunting this summer and we certainly cant bring in any more potential.
We need 3/4 proven quality players to improve an already talented but inexperienced squad of players with great promise. The type of players needed need to be top draw, not necessarily superstars like kaka, buffon etc but they must be proven and able to add experience/nous to our squad. Also you cannot underestimate the lift that the team would get when they saw the club buying established players and they may raise their game being in the same team.
This is a critical window for AW, he has done so much for us as a club that he needs to be given time, but if proper players are not bought in the summer then he cannot seriously expect to win anything in that year and any more excuses/spin and he will end up looking foolish. I just hope that this fortnight has proven to him that we are not as good as he says and he realises that the fans dont expect to win things every year, but they do expect us to compete for trophies and not be out of the league by xmas AGAIN.
Back to the board, if there is no money then there is no money, but why dont they tell us. These warchest things appeare evry window and nothing is ever spent, which makes you doubt the truth in them. I could live with the fact we werent going to buy anyone(I’ve got used to it) if we were told there was no money. I would be dissapointed of course but I wouldnt expect anything other than a top6 finish (a bit like spurs), and when we were out of everything then it wouldnt be as bad cos I was expecting it.
The board need to come out of the 1970’s and start running the club the way they promote it – one of the top10 in europe instead of a fucking corner shop. They need to give AW the money he needs, it is totally unfair to expect him to compete with the other 3 when his hands are tied all the time. If there is no money then tell us and if there is then come out and say it, obviously not the exact figure just that AW will get what he needs.
It is a huge window and we will stand or fall by the way AW goes about it. If nothing significant is done then I cannot see how we can expect to close the gap next season, as the other 3 will buy players and be stronger again in August.
Out of interest I would like:
Akinfeev,Woodgate,Ribery,Baptista,Huntelaar
No superstars and I would say they were realistic targets.
Balanced up by selling:
Lehmann,Ljungberg,Gilberto,Ali,Reyes,Adebeyor,Flamini.
That is the kind of transfer business we should be looking to conduct in the summer if we want to make sure that next season isnt a disaster like this one.
I don’t know, I kinda like the white with the red. It looks classy. As for the cash flow, if we traded baptista that’d free up some more money. Heck, even if it didn’t, I say we still trade him. He’s worthless to our team. The only way I’d say we should keep him is if this off-season he tamed his power and figured out a way to score more. We just can’t afford to have a player on the team who can’t convert key opportunities. It has already cost us a few games.
But I will admit that I would never buy the new kit. It may look nice, but I’d rather look like crap than like a cunt.
hmmm not sure on the new kit, seem to be following manure/chavski plus I can’t remember the last time the team wore white!!!!!! as for players to be bought in/ traded/shipped off to parts unknown: eboue, freddie, lehman (he’s off anyway), = off outta hereeeeee
players in: robinho, ribery and a decent gk and a rb cos eboue is crap!!!! diving all over the place and his behaviour is terrible on the pitch. Clichy is excellent at lb in all honesty I don’t miss ca$hley cnut at all. Clichy will be 10 times the player he will be (hopefully) we got some decent players coming through. Denilson is quality, Diaby is back from injury, Aliadiere is also a good player I think he shouldn’t be sold cos he’ll come back to haunt us 1 day. Ade is also a tireless worker he’ll run all day. Keep Gilberto for exp and no-one in the premiership does a job better than him in the position he plays. Makalele is good on his day (suprised Real sold him tbh) We never replaced Pires really, Hleb has had more bad games than good I think from what I’ve seen, Rosicky on the other hand has improved alot but needs to start banging in some goals.
Am sorry to say this, but most people have reacted otherwise to the new kit. Well, for an intelligent sports man/woman, a kit has nothing to do with success, just pride, pride with no returns, it is a shame that we bring that sort of unwanted comments.
We are all AFC diehards, but what we want are new players with AFC Vision, players who are gona take us to a level where we have never been before, not players like Hleb, Song, Adebayor, but players with quality and intelligent on the pitch, not players who are good at dribbling, tall for nothing, or lazy.
Arsenal MUST Close their eyes and buy true fighters, and time has come to buy English players who value the AFC, not those lousy foreigners who are just accumulating pounds to enrich themselves without giving every thing. Well, only KOLO has all the qualities we want, if need be sell whowever is lazy.
To my opinion, buy ETO, RIBERY, BABEL, AKINFEEV, JONATHAN WOODGET. Sell Song, Gilberto, Freid, Sanderos, Aliadier, Alumnia, Lehman.
Karach you must realise that
1/ Arsenal have nowhere near enough cash to land all of those players, even if they sell the players you mention.
2/ Sell 1st and 2nd choice goalkeepers and bring in just one replacement? That would clearly be far too rash.
3/ Its etoO, woodgAtE, FredDIE, sEnderos, aliadiérE, alMUNia and lehmanN. Get the spellings right.
4/ We’ve lacked experience this season, so how would selling Gilberto (our highest scoring midfielder this season) help?
Baptista is out for sure. Aliadiere and Ljunberg are on the bubble. I don’t know how likely a Reyes return is but I’d take him over any of these Baptista/Aliadiere. As for defense, I don’t like Senderos, I think he’s too shaky.
If Eto is available, I’d grab him although that would leave RVP and Adebayor in tenuous territory. I think Rosicky (when he’s healthy) is a fine player, we just didn’t see his best because of his health this year.
Ribery is an interesting player. I think he’s a gritty midfielder, something like Scholes so he’d be a good buy but it would come at the expense of developing someone like Denilson.
Первый раз встречаю SNAP. Кульно придумано, удобно.
[...] There will be money to spend this summer [image] If you do the rounds on the Arsenal blogs today you’ll notice there is absolutely no news going about. […] [...]
The jury is out on Baptista. Personally, I like him as a player, everyone needs a bull in a china shop when the tackles are flying in. Ali, Freddie, Lehman, Song and perhaps Eboue ( with Gilbert coming in ). We need a goal scorer, not a striker, Pires was a 10 goal a season man and that is what we have lacked this year. Freddie always weighed in with goals and because of that , other teams did not just have mark our forwards. Hence, the issue this season. Helb cant hit a barn door, Freddie is a shadow of the former man,Cesc is still learning and Tomas is a great player, just needs a little support. I would like us to buy a keeper, the CSKA guy and perhaps Babel from Ajax and then one seasoned vet, perhaps Kevin Nolan from Sammys boys.
The Jury is out on Baptista??? I think the jury came out a while back with a verdict of guilty for crapiness and lack of finishing. They sentenced him to exile from London.
This guy is not good enough to play for Arsenal.
Georgre Costanza are u havin a laugh? Baptista over Aliediere and Adebayor (i would take reyes back over the beast anyday and i do know its his first season here but i just cant see him getting any more decent) ? You must be high…. Selling Gilberto????? Please dont forget Bendtner and RVP. The forwards (bar Baptista) have done alritht i suppose…. Its more the wings that have been the problem. No width and tendency to overplay…. But havin said that yes Fred should be let go
Babel is one i would love to see on the left with Rosicky on the right but it looks like we wont be gettin him this time
Yeah baptista should definitely be gone, in my opinion. And George costanza, gettin rid of Ade? For what reason? You would keep baptista over adebayor? Have you gone mad? Or are you a Manure fan trying to sabotage our team? Cause everyone knows baptista has done squat for us this year.
So it’s 20 million pounds this June. Weren’t we promised 30 million last summer, and ended up spending 5? I’d be worried fellas. Maybe 20 million means there’s nothing in the till.
My two cents: Akinfeev, Eto’o, Babel, Woodgate. Push Toure to right back, play three in the middle and have Babel, Eto’o and van Persie up front. I don’t think Henry’s ever going to be fit enough to play a full season again.
Henry should be sold this summer and the money be used to buy one established striker(Antelaar, Elmander(Toulouse), Villa, Defoe). The problem with Henry is not that simple. It’s clear in my mind that Henry is actually where only his body is , but not his spirit. He is simply not happy to play with a squad dominated by a bench of kids and players,size wise, don’t look Premiership footballers.
We could possibly take back Bentner and Muamba. Muamba looks to me a dessent, stable defensive midfield, as I don’t think Diaby is a defensive midfield; he (Diaby) looks to me an attacking one.
Gilberto and Gallas could paired up in defense and have Kolo either right back or midfield. If we could get a regular striker, I don’t think we need that many to come in, as all this year, our main problem has been the lack of putting the ball at the back of the net. I don’t even believe we would have been a title challenger if RVP wasn’t injured either. So, buying one highly rated striker must be AW priority. We have a dessent squad that is more than capable of beating any team.
I think we sould sign Batista regardless his current poor around play. I think he needs time to adjust all that. He shoes at time a flash of skill that he needs confidence to materialise.
Henry,Aliadiere, Freddy and Lehman are the possible players who may leave this summer.
Goal keeper: We need Calson(Liverpool, Celtic’s Keeper).
I don’t think we are a club in crisis despite we didn’t win anything this season.
20 mil pounds will not be enough to spend in case Arsene decides to sign a quality keeper.
You can sign decent players, but not good enough.
The selling of Alidaiere and some more here and there could bring small amount I`d say.
lasagnechef – cheeky name
George.
You’re an idiot.
And not just because you can’t spell.
First, taking care of your less than kind words about Liverpool – a club, believe it or not, of which you have no clue. Liverpool kept rejecting bid after bid, until the chairman and the board got to see a party truly interested in the progress of the club. They spent THREE years looking, because the chairman had limited FUNDS, and the club needed FUNDS, the stadium needed FUNDS.
Hey, what’s that you want the Arsenal board to release? FUNDS.
As for your thoughts on Arsenal. You talk of a big budget purchase. Do you think Wenger needs a big money purchase? Will Arsenal’s dressing room be big enough to accomodate an ego of a big money purchase?
Why was Pat Vieira sold? Remember?
Have you seen the damage Shevchenko and Ballack have wreaked simply by being at Chelsea?
The squad Wenger is preparing for your viewing pleasure is one that will win because it wants to win and because it can win. I don’t think he will change anything because some idiot used an american TV name for posting anonymously on a fan blog.
You said…
* Incoming: Akinfeev,Woodgate,Ribery,Baptista,Huntelaar
Why will CSKA let Akinfeev go without a fight? Won’t Chelsea like to have an awesome no.2 keeper? Do you believe Barca will stay away?
Woodgate? Boro have a purchase option, surely. Wouldn’t Chelsea go in for Woody? Newcastle always want defenders?
Huntelaar? Again, you don’t suppose that you’ll get any of these guys without a fight?
* Outgoing:Lehmann,Ljungberg,Gilberto,Ali,Reyes,Adebeyor,Flamini.
Gilberto? You’ve got ONE holding midfielder. Sell him?
Will Real opt to take Reyes?
Why would Wenger sell Adebayor, after he’s becoming a real striker?
You’re fairly deluded, and you play Football Manager way too much.
Next time, read up on your own club before you start whining like a 2 year old being denied candy.
Ribery a gritty midfielder like Scholes? Do you even know who Ribery is?!!
Some of the suggestions here are a joke. Championship Manager indeed. Or too many tabloids. This team is so close to getting it right. We’ve been the better team in nearly every game this year. Results will reflect that over the next season, maybe two. But when this young team hits its tempo, it’ll be hard to stop for several years. Buying players in would be daft, it would undermine this brilliant project and you can be sure Wenger won’t do that.
Muppets.
Sell Henry? Whoever said that is an idiot. The guy is incredible and he has one season of injuries and you say sell him? Muppet. Drogba is a year younger and has had only one season that could compare to the several which Henry has consistently produced. He remains the best striker in the Premiership and the 6 months out will be great for him.
agreed with pabz. selling henry? bad for arsenal. henry IS arsenal.
arsene will probably be insane enough if he wants to sell his man.
i’m not a fan or this club, but if they are selling him, many clubs will welcome mr henry with open arms.
another ditto to Pabz. we have been outplayed zero times this year. ZERO. we’ve been wasteful. and we’ve leaked goals. and sometimes we’ve been average. but no team has outplayed us.
I would say that we need another option on the left of midfield. does anyone know anything about the kid VEla who’s going to be joining us? is he any good? i know he’s been injured a lot this season.
He is joining us – he has yet to sign his professional contract due to his age, but much like with Theo Walcott and Fran Merida there are huge contractual obligations set up to prevent anybody pinching him. He’s had a good season for Salamanca, considering he’s all of 17. He’s nearly on double figures for the season as far as I know. Check out the link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WcdcDKSMRAg
First goal is an outstanding finish. Dunno if he’s the finished article just yet but he looks very good indeed.
I am inclined towards Ribery. He’s one of those names that punter throw about thinking it makes them smart, along with Etoo and co. But he’ actually a genuine prospect for joining the club – pace, great passing, plays on either foot, goal scoring… and a character it seems. But his wild days seem over and I think he and Henry have a good relationship from international level.
By the by… back to the punter who described Ribery as a gritty midfielder like Scholes… Further to the fact that they play in different positions, how the hell is Scholes gritty?! He’s a dreadful tackler! And good tackling is generally seen as part of being ‘gritty’.
Pabz,
Ribery aint that good. He aint worth the 15 mill there asking.
If I gave you fifteen quid, would you lick my balls
[...] Original post by lasagnechef [...]
Henry and RVP fit for a whole season we will score tons of goals.
Rosicky has been top class this year and he will be better next year and will score more goals
fabregas is the most gifted teenager in the prem. and he can only get better
hleb has fantastic feet just lacks goals but i wouldnt swop him as he suits the great passing game wenger loves.
out – baptista , flamini and i love him but ljungberg has had his day
we should have kept pires and let ljungberg go.
in – even tho the last few games we have had our best back 4 we seem to be conseeding goals more than ever i feel i good centre back needed too.
ribery in for ljungberg. of if real want reyes try to get robinho
and woodgate
thats the changes needed.
i think we did not score the goals this year due to injuries
look at united when has rooney and ronaldo been injured
never.
same as drogba for chelsea.
henry has not been fit all year. its fustrating
if arsenal can have a fit team most of the year
and keep the strikers on form
we are the best footballing team in the prem by a long shot.
Trust me football will provale.
hello … very nice blog … thank you man