Any c*nt that tells me I "would have taken that before the game"

[Pokster]

:sigh: But they didn't have 'less' money than us in real terms. In terms of available cash to spend (not to be confused with our cash reserves) pretty much all our rivals had more ready cash than us.

In seven of the ten years between 2007 and 2016, we'd have made a net loss without player sales. We repeatedly had to sell our best players just to stay in the black. So the idea that we had loads of money in that period is facile.

How many of our rivals made a profit in that time? So saying we had less cash isn't altogether true, rivals might well have spent more than us and have gone into debt in that time nad have since recouped that money with better commercail deals or selling players at a later stage

[Burney]

How many of our rivals made a profit in that time? So saying we had less cash isn't altogether true, rivals might well have spent more than us and have gone into debt in that time nad have since recouped that money with better commercail deals or selling players at a later stage

So you think that, in addition to the debt we were already paying off on our stadium, we should have increased our indebtedness when we were qualifying for the CL every year in order to keep the fans happy?

I really hope you don't ever run a business.

Most of our rivals at the time were bankrolled. We lived or died by our P&L sheet.

[Pokster]

So you think that, in addition to the debt we were already paying off on our stadium, we should have increased our indebtedness when we were qualifying for the CL every year in order to keep the fans happy?

I really hope you don't ever run a business.

Most of our rivals at the time were bankrolled. We lived or died by our P&L sheet.

They were bankrolled by their owners, something our owner didn't do through choice....and yet again, please point out where I say we should have gone into more debt, I know you like making things up but please stop showing how big an arse you are on this subject

[Burney]

They were bankrolled by their owners, something our owner didn't do through choice....and yet again, please point out where I say we should have gone into more debt, I know you like making things up but please stop showing how big an arse you are on this subject

We had no 'owner' until last year when Usmanov sold up last year, ffs! We have never been 'bankrolled' and have always had to operate using only what's on our balance sheet. Given which, the only way for us to access more funds would have been by running on debt.

All of which, of course, supports my point. Wenger never had the money to spend that his rivals did.

[IUFG]

We had no 'owner' until last year when Usmanov sold up last year, ffs! We have never been 'bankrolled' and have always had to operate using only what's on our balance sheet. Given which, the only way for us to access more funds would have been by running on debt.

All of which, of course, supports my point. Wenger never had the money to spend that his rivals did.

OR we could have stayed at THoF and still be winning leagues...

[redgunamo]

But that misses the rather crucial point that had we had that kind of money, then we wouldn't have had Wenger. We simply wouldn't have needed him in the first place

We had no 'owner' until last year when Usmanov sold up last year, ffs! We have never been 'bankrolled' and have always had to operate using only what's on our balance sheet. Given which, the only way for us to access more funds would have been by running on debt.

All of which, of course, supports my point. Wenger never had the money to spend that his rivals did.

[Alberto Balsam Rodriguez]

We had no 'owner' until last year when Usmanov sold up last year, ffs! We have never been 'bankrolled' and have always had to operate using only what's on our balance sheet. Given which, the only way for us to access more funds would have been by running on debt.

All of which, of course, supports my point. Wenger never had the money to spend that his rivals did.

...and yet, over the last 7 or 8 seasons what have we produced from the youth or from great scouting?

[Burney]

...and yet, over the last 7 or 8 seasons what have we produced from the youth or from great scouting?

A fair point, but the youth team wasn't Wenger's domain. Equally, scouting is all very well, but as other clubs wised up to what AW had achieved, competition for the good young players across Europe hotted up and money (ie Chelsea) tended to talk.

[Alberto Balsam Rodriguez]

A fair point, but the youth team wasn't Wenger's domain. Equally, scouting is all very well, but as other clubs wised up to what AW had achieved, competition for the good young players across Europe hotted up and money (ie Chelsea) tended to talk.

Wenger was a master of implementing a good scouting network. A blue print for others to follow and they did with more money. He was not a master of spending big and not one for developing youth.

So what next?

He kept us ticking along but with a combination of transfer restrictions and his own limitations, what were we really capable of achieving?