Strange comment from Pochettino about taking a 'risk' on Ali ?

[7sisters]

It was too much of a risk for Arsenal, who thought he was too expensive, according to Clive from the AV podcast, who seems to know football in and around the Milton Keynes area quite well.

And Grant Shackleton wasn't £40m, was he? Bit harsh to add five to ten million onto a player's fee just to qunt him off. Are you Tony Cascarino?

Well.. To you and everyone else that interpreted this as a slight on Xhaka, it wasn't.. My comment was simply that it was a far greater risk to spend 40m on a player, with no major track record in playing in one of the most competitive leagues in Europe, as opposed to taking a punt of £5m on a player from the lower divisions.
For the record. I like Xhaka. I like his spirit, a tad reckless perhaps but certainly a player that adds steel to the midfield. A good eye for goal and as SC pointed out, a very good passer of a ball.

[Ash]

Well.. To you and everyone else that interpreted this as a slight on Xhaka, it wasn't.. My comment was simply that it was a far greater risk to spend 40m on a player, with no major track record in playing in one of the most competitive leagues in Europe, as opposed to taking a punt of £5m on a player from the lower divisions.
For the record. I like Xhaka. I like his spirit, a tad reckless perhaps but certainly a player that adds steel to the midfield. A good eye for goal and as SC pointed out, a very good passer of a ball.

Ok, but if we are to "spend some fùcking money" as so many have been demanding, and especially in an inflated market, then that is going to involve risk by its nature. After all, the reason why we didn't spend the chuffing money for so long was because the club/manager thought it too much of a risk, at a time of austerity for the club.

Did Man Utd take a risk on Pogba? Yes, but it doesn't matter because they can probably afford a risk like that every year. We might be able to do that once, but we couldn't do that every year.

[redgunamo]

Ok, but if we are to "spend some fùcking money" as so many have been demanding, and especially in an inflated market, then that is going to involve risk by its nature. After all, the reason why we didn't spend the chuffing money for so long was because the club/manager thought it too much of a risk, at a time of austerity for the club.

Did Man Utd take a risk on Pogba? Yes, but it doesn't matter because they can probably afford a risk like that every year. We might be able to do that once, but we couldn't do that every year.

I suppose reducing the risk by signing *decent* players is out of the question?

[Ash]

I suppose reducing the risk by signing *decent* players is out of the question?

I should hope not, and I've often said that I'm more interested in how good a player is than how much he costs. My objection is to the spending-money-as-therapy meme, as if people prefer shopping to watching good football.

[redgunamo]

I should hope not, and I've often said that I'm more interested in how good a player is than how much he costs. My objection is to the spending-money-as-therapy meme, as if people prefer shopping to watching good football.

#WengerOut then. He seems to have lost a little bit the confidence in His own coaching abilities lately, doesn't He

[Ash]

#WengerOut then. He seems to have lost a little bit the confidence in His own coaching abilities lately, doesn't He

I dunno. Iwobi and Bellerin have come through. And isn't our goal-scoring maestro a better player now than when he arrived?

[redgunamo]

I dunno. Iwobi and Bellerin have come through. And isn't our goal-scoring maestro a better player now than when he arrived?

We certainly had a better team before we began signing thirty million pound players from Barcelona and Real Madrid. Perhaps the money went to His head.

[SWv2]

I dunno. Iwobi and Bellerin have come through. And isn't our goal-scoring maestro a better player now than when he arrived?

I am sure a person who knows the inner workings of our club better than ours may point at other coaches, further down the chain, who have been more pivotal in the footballing growth and development of messer Iwobi and Bellerin than Mr Wenger who has simply noted their progress and given them a chance to play and train with better players thus catalysing said progress.

As for Sanchez being “better”, perhaps so or is he simply the same player he always was but now surrounded by relative shít****s whereas at Barcelona he was lesser to others and was not seen as shiny. His stature certainly has grown because of his period with us but not sure he is better.

He still appears to lose the ball a lot, one of the major criticisms of his time in Catalonia.

[SWv2]

Ok, but if we are to "spend some fùcking money" as so many have been demanding, and especially in an inflated market, then that is going to involve risk by its nature. After all, the reason why we didn't spend the chuffing money for so long was because the club/manager thought it too much of a risk, at a time of austerity for the club.

Did Man Utd take a risk on Pogba? Yes, but it doesn't matter because they can probably afford a risk like that every year. We might be able to do that once, but we couldn't do that every year.

We have been spending money for years A - Ozil, Sanchez, Xhaka, Mustafi. None cheap.

Chamberlain, Welbeck, Perez.

[Monty92]

We have been spending money for years A - Ozil, Sanchez, Xhaka, Mustafi. None cheap.

Chamberlain, Welbeck, Perez.

SW, I need to PM you but don't know how.

How do you PM people on this Awimb?