Like I said the other day, we need change for change’s sake.

[Alberto Balsam Rodriguez]

Oh, I see. I'd forgotten that. In fairness, it would have seemed unbelievably harsh to get rid of Wenger in 2012/13 when he'd just got us through a hugely difficult financial situation while qualifying for the CL every year, etc. However, those are the sort of harsh decisions that truly ambitious clubs take when they believe someone has taken them as far as they can.

A natural point for him to leave would have been 2014 after winning the FA Cup. I think all round it would have seemed right. As Ash points out, if any manager deserved the opportunity with the financial changes, it was Wenger. For him to choose to stay was not beyond the realms to lunacy. This, as it turns out, has not succeeded.

To be offered a contract by the board in the summer was sheer lunacy. For Wenger to sign was not. After all, he had failed, his reputation has taken a dent and it looks like he had no other Football options and he got a pay rise. To accept that was somewhat of a no brainer.

[Burney]

A natural point for him to leave would have been 2014 after winning the FA Cup. I think all round it would have seemed right. As Ash points out, if any manager deserved the opportunity with the financial changes, it was Wenger. For him to choose to stay was not beyond the realms to lunacy. This, as it turns out, has not succeeded.

To be offered a contract by the board in the summer was sheer lunacy. For Wenger to sign was not. After all, he had failed, his reputation has taken a dent and it looks like he had no other Football options and he got a pay rise. To accept that was somewhat of a no brainer.

I think we underestimated the extent to which he actually enjoyed the years of having to get by on a shoestring. I think he took great pride in being able to achieve what he did with very little money. The problem is that, when he finally had money, he either didn't really know how to spend it or (and this is my suspicion) just didn't want to because that isn't how he liked to work.

[Ash]

I think we underestimated the extent to which he actually enjoyed the years of having to get by on a shoestring. I think he took great pride in being able to achieve what he did with very little money. The problem is that, when he finally had money, he either didn't really know how to spend it or (and this is my suspicion) just didn't want to because that isn't how he liked to work.

He did spend quite a lot of the money. He gave it all to some fairly average players.

[Burney]

He did spend quite a lot of the money. He gave it all to some fairly average players.

Yes, but he spent it on mid-priced players with the idea that he could turn them into stars. He couldn't.

[redgunamo]

I think we underestimated the extent to which he actually enjoyed the years of having to get by on a shoestring. I think he took great pride in being able to achieve what he did with very little money. The problem is that, when he finally had money, he either didn't really know how to spend it or (and this is my suspicion) just didn't want to because that isn't how he liked to work.

Right. After all, not spending much is the thing that got Him the job in the first place. And the thing that's kept Him there.

[Burney]

Right. After all, not spending much is the thing that got Him the job in the first place. And the thing that's kept Him there.

Our mistake was thinking that, if he can turn lead into gold, how much better will he do when he gets gold to start with? Sadly, it doesn't work like that. Virtually every big money signing he's made tells me that he isn't great at handling big-money players who come to him as the finished article.

[redgunamo]

Our mistake was thinking that, if he can turn lead into gold, how much better will he do when he gets gold to start with? Sadly, it doesn't work like that. Virtually every big money signing he's made tells me that he isn't great at handling big-money players who come to him as the finished article.

Well, quite. That is a common mistake. I've always said it's possible Wenger doesn't have an intuitive appreciation of this fact of life. On the other hand though, if He did, He almost certainly wouldn't still be with us.

Now, this is not meant in a bad way. All would be extremely happy for Him had He gone off and had a career winning European Cups at Bayern, Barcelona and Real Madrid, I'm sure, after all He's done for us. But He loves the club and wants to stay, so rather than spend Mourinho-money which would only get Him two or three years, He makes sure to stay within financial boundaries that ensure our board is always more than happy with Him.

[Alberto Balsam Rodriguez]

Our mistake was thinking that, if he can turn lead into gold, how much better will he do when he gets gold to start with? Sadly, it doesn't work like that. Virtually every big money signing he's made tells me that he isn't great at handling big-money players who come to him as the finished article.

So now he is turning lead into purest green?

[Alberto Balsam Rodriguez]

I think we underestimated the extent to which he actually enjoyed the years of having to get by on a shoestring. I think he took great pride in being able to achieve what he did with very little money. The problem is that, when he finally had money, he either didn't really know how to spend it or (and this is my suspicion) just didn't want to because that isn't how he liked to work.

Yes, that is probably true. Changing one's modus operandi can be quite hard when the mind is set in stone. One can easily lose perspective. If it is his choice to operate this way, he should have gone. Our recruitment has been pretty ordinary and we have produced very little from the youth system. Not a good recipe for progress imo

[Ash]

A natural point for him to leave would have been 2014 after winning the FA Cup. I think all round it would have seemed right. As Ash points out, if any manager deserved the opportunity with the financial changes, it was Wenger. For him to choose to stay was not beyond the realms to lunacy. This, as it turns out, has not succeeded.

To be offered a contract by the board in the summer was sheer lunacy. For Wenger to sign was not. After all, he had failed, his reputation has taken a dent and it looks like he had no other Football options and he got a pay rise. To accept that was somewhat of a no brainer.

I don't believe he had no other football options. I dunno if he even cares about the money. What does he spend it on?

"Every decision I take is taken in the interests of this football club" or words to that effect. Does he generally believe that no-one else could do a better job, or is he consciously bullsh1tting, I wonder?