So, we’re a selling club now? 6 July, 2008
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News.trackback
Arsene Wenger:
“The strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players.
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 £24m 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.”
These are the latest quotes from Arsene Wenger which made disturbing reading for Arsenal fans. For a few years now, we’ve usually ended up making profits in the transfer window. I assumed it was just a nice coincidence but the manager has told us this is now our strategy. Last summer we sold our top player, Thierry Henry, and bought less expensive players (Eduardo). Now we’re set to sell Adebayor after a great season.
It’s horrible thinking that if a player has really successful year with us, he won’t be there to help us the next. If this policy is true, how long until we have to sell Fabregas? Then van Persie? Then Walcott? Then who next? We might have great youngsters coming through but everyone knows you can’t just keep selling your best players.
Arseblogger reacted to these quotes saying they don’t sound right to him. It’s true, Wenger keeps his cards close to his chest when it comes to matters involving transfers; it’s unlike him to come out with such a bold and negative statement (i.e. the first sentence of that quote).
If it is true, then it is quite depressing for Arsenal fans. It shows a lack of ambition and togetherness. An ever-changing squad is not a good thing.
I used to get so worked up about transfers, but now I realise all I can do is just sit back and watch. It’s a much less stressful approach but I’d hate to just be sitting there watching Arsenal collapse.
It’s all very, very depressing so let’s move on shall we?
Andrei Arshavin’s agent reckons that his player’s transfer in our hands. Not because we’re trying to sign him, but because the futures of Hleb and Adebayor need to be sorted out before Arshavin can sort his deal out. If Hleb goes to Barca, then they won’t need Arshavin. If Barca buys Adebayor, they might not be able to afford Arshavin too. So if Adebayor goes to Milan, then Barca might have some spare cash. Etc, etc…
All these players all need to go somewhere. Once one high-profile transfer gets done, then I’m sure there’ll be loads to follow.
Justin Hoyte says he’s going to stay and fight for his place. I thought he might be leaving this summer but he says Arsene has a plan for him so he’s going to remain at Arsenal and do his best. Fair play.
On the subject of selling. A company offered to buy The Cannon off me yesterday. I told them I couldn’t do it. So I hope all you lot appreciate my crap. Thanks for reading, again.
if wenger did say that , then i have to say he’s either lost the plot! or part of a plan to get dein back!
Apart from the £24 million surplus sentence, he hasnt really said anything new.
I dont buy that one, it does appear as if this aint an interview, but different quotes cobbled together to make a story.
The club makes a profit that more than covers the debt repayment.
We are still where we were before this story;
We need to flog Ade for a shed load of cash and replace him, as well as a couple of signings.
Before everyone starts panicking & calling for Usmanov to take over… Please remember this Wenger “interview” was in The News of the World (Sister paper of the Sun)…
Not exactly the most reliable news source, is it?
I’m going to wait for this piece to be posted on Arsenal.com or for Wenger to comment on it, before I start running down the street screaming!
Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrgggghhhhh!!!!!
We are doomed!!!!!!!!!!!
Lol, we do appreciate the crap. What was printed in NTOW is old and common knowledge. The club does seem to be trying to make a profit from it’s players, but our best and loyal stay for quite a while. Making a profit is always a good idea anyway.
If we were such a selling club, why buy Sagna? We had Eboue and Hoyte. Why buy Nasri for £12 million? I’m sure there is an obscure footballer out there who could have been targeted as a cheaper substitute. Why haven’t we sold Fabregas, why didn’t we sell Henry before when he was worth more?
Journalism is very easy these days. All you have to do is invent a story or part invent it as half lies tend to more credible than full ones. Don’t even have to attribute it, verify it, have it endorsed etc etc and it spreads like fungus from blog to blog, online newsfeed to online newsfeed. It then comes backk to you and you add a bit more and off it goes again. In the mean time the unwitting subject has to deal with calls to deny it or else it must be true. Some might even weave a conspiracy theory about it and the story then takes another interesting turn…all the while giving you a few more column inches and a few more quid.
This story is just rubbish!
I don’t want Dein back, he may love Arsenal, but people are forgetting that Dein loves Dein more than anything else. Cosying up with a dodgy Russian billionaire says it all.
we have been a selling club ever since anelkea left us , the last ever worldclass we bought at his peak was dennis bkmp who rioch bought , im sorry but wenger never has and never will buy top players at the top of their game , we should never have left highbury and i blame wenger , he said we cant compete in the transfer market unless we move stadiums , we moved and still cant compete , he had visions of grandeur, this season we will nothing again
as usual its just a few extracted sentences that when put together without all the other ones removed creates a completely different angle on things.
How many times do you see players quoted as saying one thing, all the tabloids run stories saying “Cesc off in summer etc” when you read the complete article he just says one thing about might consider a future in Spain at some point, when asked a direct question but if you read the full article he goes on to say how completely happy he is etc at Arsenal and doesn’t plan on going anywhere.
It’s always the same, and quite frankly anyone who reads these papers and then goes off panicking about what is said needs their heads testing.
The finances speak for themselves, people reading that story and then post on blogs saying we need to raise 20-30m a season to pay the debt on the stadium from net player transfers etc are mad.
wow, did you get a good offer? was it a company that own many blogs?
Utter crap!! The loan repayments are met out of recuring profits, not one of transfer sales. Banks do not lend on such ad hoc receipts . The NOTW is a complete rag and should be given no credability.
Is not the sister co to sun the same paper that said clichy was off to juve yhe very day he signed a new contract.It seems every paper have to include arsene or Arsenal in their top stories to sell.Im actually looking for a job with these useless tabloids coz im a lazy journalist which suits their criteria.Its utter bollocks remember the Ramsey stories to manpooh.
Is not the sister co to sun the same paper that said clichy was off to juve the very day he signed a new contract.It seems every paper have to include arsene or Arsenal in their top stories to sell.Im actually looking for a job with these useless tabloids coz im a lazy journalist which suits their criteria.Its utter bollocks remember the Ramsey stories to manpooh.
I expect a strong response to this rubbish from Arsenal soon. Or is this a trick to get the club to reveal the amount of transfer funds Wenger has at his disposal? Meanwhile, there’s nothing wrong with selling players to make room for those that suit the club better. Every club sells players.
Yeah, I want to be a journo too!
Here’s my story:
My girlfriend’s mate, once saw Kaka’s cousin at Heathrow airport! He had red straps on his back pack.. so that means Kaka is Arsenal bound in a world record £147.2m deal, in which Wenger will get Kaka to sign the contract in his blood, to seal the move!
We believe he is looking forward to playing for Arsenal, for the rest of his life, because he said this “I would like to play in England one day…” 2 years ago.
What do you all reckon? Would the sun print that? Cunts!
Right Ideket, everyone buys and everyone sells otherwise there would be no transfer market twice a year.
arsenal have a very good replayment plan ,when you read the claim wenger made tranfer policy for 17 years comiting sell a player every year you know thats utter crap,since when has wenger ever ever gone news paper telling them his tranfer policies would never happen in million yearshe is renowned for keeping all tranfers in or out very private. there is no dought that they have to limit how mush they spent because of new statium which i will going to whatch the emirates cup.but evon suggest that wenger would risk unsettling the team by selling is better players every year is lauphable. ade cannot he still has three years left on his contract and wenger is going spend most of his money trying keep all of his players.
No way Arsene said it. Can you really imagine Wenger publically dissing his players by saying that the bad players stay and the good ones leave? Which manager would come out and say that the players who stay with the club are bad players?
This shit was made up. I hope the club come out categorically against this kind of stuff because it’s now starting to hurt the club in real ways.
Read Wenger’s quotes properly. He didn’t say anything about selling ‘top’/bad players. And it’s not like any club goes through one transfer window without selling. All he’s saying is that players are sold = the general unspoken rule of thumb that exists in football today.
Guys, calm down!!!!!
We do need to geerate the extra £24m to service the debt on the new stadium. However, what the rags don’t state is that the new stadium generates an extra £1.5-£2M per game!!!!!!!
Therefore the stadium was the right investment. I suspect the papers took a lenghthy interview (or three) and just tok the bit’s they wanted for their story.
I’ll bet my family jewels that Arsene did not make this statement: “”If they are bad ones, they stay and, if they are good, they think only of leaving.”
Jat450 those are fake quotes. Why on earth would Arsene basically encourage his best players to leave with these quotes? It’s sheer nonsense.
If he did, he’s gone mad. But he did not.
Fuck wenger
he is a overrated shithead. fire him
Can’t Wenger sue NOTW? They have been shit stirring for some time now.
chef? i dont get why someone tried to buy the blog, its a personal blog written by you about arsenal, if they bought it then it would stop? What were they offering?
ps on the subject, the papers are just whipping up more stories, i think they have conned ade into thinking he is really really good and that ac milan are going to buy him.. he is good but it wont happen…
I read this stoey and Arsene said we sell good player evry year and buy same less players when thay we have a good team ? Ithink you make good team first want to win same silver first
Danny your a cunt….wenger probz dint say this shiit anyway
Wenger wouldn’t have said that, nor would that be the case. The money our club is making (without tranfers) is getting bigger and bigger, so the £24m reported annual repayments for the emirates are well covered. Ade isn’t being sold because we need the cash, he is gonna be sold because we don’t want to give HIM the cash!! I’d much rather Fabregas get that amount. And speaking of Fabregas, if we were a selling club. Then why haven’t we cashed in on the jewel of our crown? He’s worth easily £100m. And for those that are thinking, “£100m? shut up mate,” he is, no doubt about it. The future is bright, the future is Red an White.
Danny…
Shut up you little mug!
You ain’t got a fucking clue!
If life is too tough supporting Arsenal, fuck off down McStamford Bridge, you cunt!
Knowing Wenger, these comments (if true) may be based on 2 possible scenario’s:
1. He is just about to make offers on a couple of top quality players and he wants the sellers to think AFC hasnt got much spare cash, so we get a better price.
2. There is something happening what we are not aware of in the boardroom level.
If that really IS true, then get an investor on board ASAP!!! Selling our ‘best’ (most expensive) players for the next 17 years? F*** me…I’d rather have a Russian giving the Club money…
Quite obviously Danny does not actually support Arsenal and therefore I would waste your breath
Wenger has made it possible for us to compete for trophies and continue to qualify for the Chsmpions League when we haven’t been able to compete in the transfer market
The Emirates Stadium will prove to be a fantastic investment but it will take a few more years before we trult see that benefit
in the meantime thank god that Wenger has shown some sanity where clearly other clubs have completely failed to see that spending more than you have coming in can only pay off for a short period of time
Sorry more shite made up crap from the Arsenal hating Media.Please remember 99% of those working in the media TV and Press hate us and our club.Our football club has a proud history no other team in this country can match and they never will.Arsenal football club through Herbert Chapman invented the modern game as we know it today we lead others follow you.However with so many Arsenal haters out there we will never be ignored or overlooked,as somebody once said as long as they spell your name right there aint no thing as bad publicity. Cmon you REDS best team in the world
Up to a point we are a selling club. So are everyone else!
This looks like a classic cut and paste job by the NOTW toy department during the closed season. Ingredients for this story. Tangoman saying Arsenal can’t compete, Ade and his agent throwing their toys about, Wenger saying players contracts aren’t worth the paper they are written on.
What is happening to the sale of appartments the £150m we got from the emirates sponsorship should that not have paid for the loan? This doesn’t add up
The life expedidncy for a top flight manager is now down to 18 months max. Wenger and the drunk at OT are the exceptions in a football world run by megalomanics. At least the board know when they are on to a good thing in the long run as do we.
Buying cheap and selling on for an inflated profit is how all good businesses are run.
I can’t see how we are selling “stars” every season. Anelka has been the exception and his sale went on to buy Henry(good business in anyone’s book, I’m sure Barcelona think so after we off loaded him to them for what at the time looked a cheap deal) There isn’t an other obvious record of it. Wenger has his policy of not keeping players over 30 except on one year contracts. Look at this story notice anything out of the ordenary Arsenal have emerged as favourites to sign Andrei Arshavin after Chelsea ended their interest in the Russian playmaker. (Sunday Telegraph) Who was the last player we got 27 years of age for what looks like a £20m deal. This contradicts Wengers policy
We’ve done well in our transfer dealings. Almost every player we have sold has done poorly for a nice profit for the club not that it has helped any of us.
Vieira has played some 40-50 games for inter has two championship titles but is a squad player not the key player he was at Arsenal.
It’s rubbish. Wenger would know that half the stadium debt is being cleared by the Highbury real-estate development, etc.
I wish some Gooners had a deeper understanding of the club.
Crap like this would be laughed at instead of discussed like it’s real.
i am a season ticket holder and check our account all the time my take on this is that wenger is giving himself a get out clause for the future,poor old arsen has had to sell and last week it was we will peak in 3/4 years he is full of shit has been for the last few seasons it is all propoganda with arsenal football club director say we have loads of cash the accounts say we are the 3rd richest club in the world we make if you believe the accounts 50 million MORE per season than at highbury now do the maths that leaves 26 million after paying the debt and then we have tv and champions league money again these figures are from arsenal plc so someone is telling fibs but i think wenger is going to sell adebayore and will buy fuck all
i for one give arsenal £5,000 a year to the club for season tickets and get told the same shit every year “next year we will win something” its all spin and wenger is the king of that
As for me I painfully suspected that this is the truth about Arsenal for some time now. No surprise! The propblem I’m having is how these guys at Arsenal are taking us for granted and probably laughing at us as they lie to us that we have cash to spend.
Fellow Arsenal fans should strongly start to think why would David Dein leave the club. To think that he is suddenly an enemy of the club is naive to say the least. I think he left because he could not bear to see Arsenal being relegated into a third best in London. I really believe him. We cannot build our club solely based on Wenger’s abilities. No, no, no. I believe an investor is a necessity.
This news is an indication, behined the scenes at arsenal their all in for the money rather than the club and vision, yes wenger has brought a new generation of players with talent to arsenalfc but the great man has hinted he may leave after his running contract with a possible chairmans place at PSG along side a close friend, also a representative of the french club.
Indeed i believe what Wenger says is true and no he hasnt lost the plot, he is given instructions from the bosses at the club and he follows them and does his job to the highest standards. Considering the amount of money has been spent on players in Arsene’s reighn est (54.7m) and the amount he has brought in est (67.8m), the man has been used by the club in order to make proffit. this also proves not only is he the best manager in the world with the resources he has, but he plays the beautiful game… his way of football is one of the best in europe to watch and as a true arsenal fan i think in recent times theres been a lot of change in the directors attitude towards the way things should be handled and this is why i think David Dein left. Then David was quoted saying it would benifit us (Arsenal) as a club if romanov, the izbekestanian billionaire took over the club, which also occurs debate.
If we are indeed a selling club now we certainly werent back when chelsea offered £50m for Henry back in 2004/2005. Then of course most recently Thierry has been sold to Barcelona for £16m, certainly along way from £50m but the club accepted even though he made it clear on many occasions he had the desire to remain at the club?? shortly after the sale of henry Dein left proving he didnt want to be a part of seeing Arsenal suffer or struggle in better words, also proving Arsenalfc are not heading in the wrong direction. We certainly do not strugle where money income is concerned as we reportedly made around £200m last season in revenue, so this begs the question why does Arsenal have to sell for the next 17 years as we only have a reported £350m plus debt?? This isnt fair for all the Arsenal fans of the world we want answers..
the fact is for the last 2 seasons we have sold more than we have bought in , the result is we have won sod all , its not rocket science , m utd spent £50m last year after winning the league and keep improving their squad , we dont , im sorry to say it but next season we have no chance of winning the league with this squad , wenger is totally to blame and should now stand down
I think one of two things:
either Wenger was misquoted
or Wenger is talking about ’selling’ in general, ie it does not neccessarily mean that we’ll always be selling our best players, it most likely refers to selling on the occassional top player once they’re nearing 30 and selling a lot of our decent youngsters on who aren’t quite up to it
given that we made 50 mill profit last season, we certainly don’t need to be selling every summer
AW knows what hes doing, even with an empty fucking cash kitty,
id like to think most of the media story is bull shit, either that or
hes warning us fans to be ready for big players to leave, which we are well used of, and his quote about not “yet” been a candidate for the france job suggests hes dropping a hint about his long term future also, which makes even worse reading.
On the plus side, the taught of RVP flanked by Nasri and Arshavin or theo is enough to lift the depression
bah what rubbish
this quote is coming from a paper that on the same page another headlines read how ramos bammed c.ronaldos girlfriend
whether or not ramos dipped into her pinks isn’t an issue but gives you a clue about the integrity of the publication,no
oops headline reads
I’m sure this is all rubbish. Wenger is not that stupid to say these things or he is misquoted.
Are we all Arsenal fans????
People, don’t start saying the club is trying to lie to us and make the fool out of the the fans. This is rubbish. No club, especially a top club like Arsenal, is intentionally trying to make profit selling players every year. Well, maybe I put it wrong: Clubs do want to make profit, don’t we all? But no club in its right mind will always want to sell sell sell sell sell and sell without caring if trophies will come (note: the best way to earn profit is to win win win trophies, right? so why would AW want to sell players who are important to his plans).
DON”T YOU ALL REMEMBER THAT IT”S NOT ALWAYS ARSENAL WHO INITIATED THE SELL???
Few players left for free too, like Pires and Campbell (I forgot what’s his name the french one who played last season). If Wenger really and the club want to make profit by betraying us then the first to go will be Cesc, which is not the case. Henry stayed with us until he’s on his way down, Wenger sold him to Barca for a profit then guess what, Henry was not the same. Wenget knows what he’s doing, he won’t sell anything who he thinks cannot be replacable and indispensable to the club’s success.
Wenger has brought all of us great pleasure and HE NEVER BUYS A LOT AND EXPENSIVE PLAYERS SINCE THE START. The most expensive one was Reyes who got homesick.
Give him more respect man, I’m amazed that people wonder why Wenger always say ‘be patient’. Well, from the look of it, a lot of Arsenal fans are not happy enough having one of the best coach doing a great job for the past 10-11 years winning us trophies after trophies and wahwah, made the club profit after profit. Sure the club made a lot of money but It’s not our way to BUY SUCCESS. We also got a reward by the way of a state-of-the-art stadium which cost like 300 mil.
We’ll win something, fuck Chelsea and Man U, let them buy. I’m pround to be supporting this club (even if we started playing boring football again I’ll still be loving it) and waitng for this group of young guns to win. Then I’ll laugh at everyone who doubt AW’s qualites and visions, including you Arsenal fans who talk a lot of shit towards your beloved club and the best manager in our history.
Go support Chelsea, they will bring you the pleasure of buying buying and buying.
Be pround of our difference and SUPPORT your own team!!!
Barcelona economic vice-president Ferran Soriano promised fans on Friday that “next week there will be news on Arshavin, Hleb, and Adebayor”.
Are we really prepared top sell both adebayor and hleb to one club??
or are they desperate to go to a lesser club, over a few extra grand like that cunt flamini
As much as i hate the sun and the news of the world i actually think they have got this one spot on.Is it it a coincidence that we have made a profit in the transfer market the last 3 seasons……..Hardly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hmm, good point Thomas.
I’ll say that if they didn’t start being the ones wanting to go somewhere there’s no way that Wenger would even think to sell them. They all said Arsenal’s not giving them enough money. What’s enough? If it’s 130,000 a week then please do go, NOW. Look at how Cesc is being rewarded. No one is a 100% saint including Wenger but did they (Ade and Hleb) win their club a trophy yet? They were good but I said before that it’s 2-way street. They owed Arsenal so much too, if it isn’t for Wenger then they will still be playing in a lesser lesser club with a lot less money that they’re making right now. Everyone including us and players need to be patience, it’s been the club’s tradition to maintain wage structure and we just have to deal with it. I, like many people, want Arsenal to buy a lot of players but it’s just not gonna happen so I’ll say it one more time; let they who want out go and SUPPORT your team, especially in bad times (are we in bad time?).
Wenger always made profit…….always and always sell……and always found ways out…………and often enough won trophies for us too.
im sorry but weve stopped winning trophies thats the problem
Memo to Arsene: You have to get on the record on this one mate. I don’t believe this report but this one has to be debunked.
This story is a pure joke.
No kind organisation would ever take on such a large amount of fixed repayment debt, on the basis that they could repay it through player transfer speculation.
How could any club be certain of making £24m profit on transfers for the next 25 years?? It would be more than a tad risky.
The stadium is paid for by the emirates deal, and the increased gate receipts.
If anybody needs clarification, Arsenal put the accounts on the website every year for everyone to see.
its bull, Wenger would never say anything to detriment our chances in the transfer market, let alone our chances next season. News of the World it was written right! We should not give this rubbish air time
We have been a selling club for a very long time but I trust Arsene enough to ignore some of the quotes flying around. Arsene wouldn’t just sit back and give up on trophies, that’s just not in his nature. For God’s sake luck has been the difference in the title races over the last few years. Luck simply hasn’t gone our way. Without injuries last season we would have all been hailing our manager as the greatest in the world which he certainly already is. So please stop listening to the media and watch us embarass all the big spending clubs this season. Chill out!!
If you search other news about this over the net, you’ll find that Wenger doesn’t mean to do the selling-players thing as his policy. He merely expressed his view on this matter:
[source]
There. It’s not like he’ll really do it at the first place. Last resort maybe — but at least we can hope that he wouldn’t sell Cesc, RvP, and Walcott so easily.
The Skysport news missed the pieces that he doesn’t put the policy happily and deliberately, IMHO.
Selling club. Buying club. Try to make profits on transfer and not losses. Good strategy , no ? I really think the point of the comment was lost on the ‘journalist’.
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 £24 million to pay for our stadium.”
As in the point being - we can still be successful and maintain our targets and ambitions while we have to make more that a 24 mil profit as we have to pay fixed interest of 24 mil a year on the load for the new stadium.
Player/transfer money is seperate to the stadium debt - as has been said many times by the club
The first thing to say about this selling club crap is, would Arsene Wenger admit that Arsenal have to sell every year? of course not! This year Adebayor, next year Fabregas. What more encouragement would the big continental clubs want? Take Liverpool: twice our debt, no new stadium to show for it, and half our turnover, yet no-one dares call them a selling club. The truth is that Arsenal try to be a pillar of financial rectitude (no pun intended), and try to balance the books, while the rest of the big four are prepared to break the bank to buy the top players. While this situation persists, I fear we shall be fighting a losing battle, and might pick up the title once in a decade if we are lucky. We might be forced to sell out to Silent Stan (not Usmanov) if our trophy drought were to continue for too long, but even this wouldn`t guarantee success. Take West Ham; you would think that dear old Terry Brown was still in charge, instead of the wealthy Gudmundson, given their recent transfer dealings.