Good Lord.. What a load of patronising old bollox spouted by AW and Sir Chips at that AGM.

[7evens]

"I accept you have to be over-critical when the performances are not good, but look at the number of games Arsenal played in the Champions League before I arrived and look after, and come back to me," retorted Wenger.

:-|

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

The staunch pro-Wenger types will defend it as a 100% statement of fact and point to our annual qualification for said tournament.

The anti (or less pro) Wenger types will label it as “patronising old *******s” or a similar term, maybe saying that for all our annual qualification we’re really just in the tournament to make up the numbers and point to almost annual f**k ups save for the odd year in the not so distant past when we have made it to April and beyond.

Bizarrely enough this year looks to be the most intriguing in a long time as I doubt any f**ker really wants us playing Thursday night matches so the imminent double header with Munchen is enormously important.

Either way, it was an AGM, a forum for idiots to stand up and ask questions, deluded idiots who go to bed at night thinking they are important when in reality they are less important in the scheme of life than the chap who makes my morning coffee.

[Luis Anaconda]

[7evens]

but attempting to polish a turd on what has become our annual humiliation ( given our status as one of the richest clubs in the world ) does tend to play into the hands of many of the comments made by Mourinho.

[Classic Jorge]

[7evens]

R16 exits six years on the spin and a probably group stage elimination this season.

To reply in the way that he did wasn't probably his best move..

[PSRB]

as did the "Why don't we sell a premium lager?" question

[Luis Anaconda]

Last year was an embarrassment but people might have noticed the general decline of English club's performance in Europe and maybe attribute it to something deeper than the performance of one manager. Quite frankly to describe it as an annual humiliation as you do below low is ridiculously over the top.

[Brentwood]

http://news.arseblog.com/2015/10/arsenal-agm-2015-report/

[Luis Anaconda]

Looking forward to my bottle of Carlsberg at half-time next weekend :-(

[Billy Goat Sverige]

Not sure you can complain about getting beat by Bayern and Barca. And it's R16 exits four years on the spin. If you go back 6 we made the quarters and the semis.

[Brentwood]

[Brentwood]

[Luis Anaconda]

[Ben.]

and Silva and Kompany and Toure, see if you spend billions on world class players then going a long way in Champions League becomes.....oh no wait.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Nearly spat some of my morning coffee out at the Walcott question.

[Luis Anaconda]

[Ben.]

to buy Kongdongbia (if j's about) etc, the new Sven.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Poor old Oliver, no need to make it so personal.

Poncey slow French ******** that he is.

[Monty91]

Man City have been the richest club in the history of the sport for several more. How would you describe their CL endeavours?

[PSRB]

I'm there with the good lady next weekend :-)

[Luis Anaconda]

[Classic Jorge]

Given we've consistently got into the knockouts and more often than not only lost to teams that have gone on to either win it or get a long way.

[Ben.]

the thing about Giroud is he didn't fit Wenger's profile of striker at all, Henry, Anelka , Overmars (counting him as a forward) even Adebayor back in the days when he moved.
Suddenly went from a Ferrari to a milk float.

[PSRB]

At least he's not taking 15m and remortgaging the club

[Classic Jorge]

Beautiful but not exactly nippy, overly complex, a bit slow and with an odd spongey suspension.

This is a lovely example of the Citroen Olivier

https://gilbertgarage.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/citroends_blu.jpg

[Classic Jorge]

Also, it always amuses me that Inter's sub goalie is called Tommaso Berni

[Ben.]

he rarely delivers

[Ben.]

[Classic Jorge]

Change for a bag of chips if it's happy hour :cloud9:

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

I’m not sure they have ever even been the richest in the UK.

On occasion your efforts to put up an argument are both pitiful and embarrassing.

[Classic Jorge]

When you factor in the Etihad Campus etc etc

[IUFG]

like the person asked, "Why don't we sell a premium lager?"

[barrybueno]

*******s occasionaly. :homer:

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

In a period of approx. 10 years (how long is it now?) they have gone from a relatively nothing bog standard UK club with a chequered history and localised fanbase to one of the biggest in the country and probably growing on a global basis. To do so their ‘project’ has entailed the aforementioned spending some of which has been good and a lot of which has not.

They are still not the richest anything – not in the world, not in the UK, probably not even in Manchester.

What they do have is an outrageous willingness to spend and behind them a financial power probably like none other to aid this if needed. It’s a bit like having a massive credit card allowance. Doesn’t make you rich.


p.s. have they really spent more than Chelsea?

[Billy Goat Sverige]

[PSRB]

which is one (of many) reasons that I don't have the same dislike of them that I do towards Chelsea

[Monty91]

I guess they are rich in the sense that a housewife is rich if they’re married to a rich bloke.

In other words, they're rich until they lose their benefactor.

Agreed?

[Ashberto]

Gee, thanks, Stan :bow:

[Classic Jorge]

do you mean city or Chelsea? :hehe:

They have, I believe, spent more than Roman on their project and, as I say, in a different way. They basically spent a lot of their money to offset the FFP stuff - whilst challenging and falling foul of it simultaneously.

[Brentwood]

[Classic Jorge]

https://www.acast.com/arseblog/episode365-cobblerbob?autopla y (https://www.acast.com/arseblog/episode365-cobblerbob?autoplay)

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

It honestly was not my intention.

Just pointing out that they have a willingness to spend and accordingly a willingness to accept debt which we do not share. Different businesses, different business models.

Financially speaking we are much richer than them. We could spend more but have chosen not to.

Their model, our model. One of the reasons why I hate bitch moaning about the spending of others. Clubs can choose to run their own business however they see fit, good luck to them.

[Luis Anaconda]

[Classic Jorge]

Especially when you consider what KFC are doing on revamping the commercial side of the club, which we're pretty **** at historically.

In short, we need a new Official Southwestern US States Flavoured Corn Snack Partner.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

I was thinking more of basic 'football' spending on players etc thinking back to the days of Veron, Crespo, Shevchenko etc when City had not even started.

[Monty91]

decision, we have plenty to be thankful to him for. Placed in that context, the 3 million appears a pretty trivial thing to be moaning about.

[Luis Anaconda]

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Being the clubs that ride the annual CL gravy train.

[Classic Jorge]

I guess that little job she got to keep her busy whilst the man is out at work has really taken off.

Like Samantha Cameron and all the money she's earned from Smythsons, who in no way benefitted from Govt largesse, oh no.

[Classic Jorge]

...I couldnt possibly comment

[PSRB]

essentially it's a 3m dividend, just repurposed for tax reasons

I have no issue with it whatsoever

I would also point out that due to Stan/Usmanov the shareholders have hardly done badly out of the whole thing either

[Brentwood]

[Classic Jorge]

I think we should perhaps not be too hasty to condemn the rotund benighted chap tbh, maybe he's just a really big fan of early 80s motorcycle cops.

[barrybueno]

knocks them out. They've had some winnable groups over the years but f**ked it up.

[Luis Anaconda]

Mind you there were still c**ts on the North Back (a very small minority it must be said) who booed the greatest living Irishman when he came back with West Ham. c**ts to a man

[Brentwood]

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view4/1706085/catchphrase-mr-chips-o.gif

[Classic Jorge]

[Brentwood]

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/3/25/1269526347002/Thierry-Henry-Misses-A-Ch-009.jpg?w=700&q=85&auto=format&sharp=10&s=4df96f6285c0210b118aba51f66daf66

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

I think you will find that title currently belongs to Mr P O’Connell out of Limerick, for a very brief period before held by S Long of Gortnahoe fame.

We’re fickle in that way.

[Luis Anaconda]

Do it for Paulie :-|

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

On radio and even in normal conversation. I blame Twitter and the likes, and thus by association I blame Jorge and his type.

I thought we were playing lunchtime Sunday on Sky and in a group discussion yesterday mentioned that I in fact would not be watching the rugby because of this clash. The others looked at me as if I had just shat in their coffees.

Bandwagon jumping c**ts to a man.

As it stands the game should be an almost perfect fit after the Welsh match.

[Luis Anaconda]

And enter Snin ...

[Billy Goat Sverige]

[Luis Anaconda]

and we'll walk the Six Nations with Jones/Smith/Henry/White in charge

[71 Guns - channeling the spirit of Mr Hat]

as the Scotsman, Welshman and Irishman are all still at the rugby :hehe: :-|

[Ashberto]

Let's face it, Monts. Only a f**king cretin of an owner would not back Arsene. :nod:

[Ashberto]

They know they are being lied to with this crap about 'consultancy' - a slippery word if ever there was one, which the club has made no attempt to explain.

Some people will always be happier than others about owners taking money out of the club. I blame the old 'custodians' for failing to live up to their billing. You wouldn't expect anything else from Capitalists like Kronke and Usmanov.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Usmanov and the many smaller stakeholders who would then argue they do not want the payment and would prefer the money to be re-invested in what they see a tangible way. Then it may have to be voted on and then gets messy.

I do agree with your general point all the same, the fudging of the payment as ‘consultancy’ is not doing anybody any favours.

[Monty91]

and there is a very good reason why the club would be stupid to go into any degree of detail.

If they did, the kind of fans who stood up at the AGM yesterday would use it as reason to pick through them, questioning their value and generally using it as another stick with which to beat the club.

Politicalistically speaking, they are absolutely right to remain evasive about the specific nature of thus consultancy work.

[Monty91]

[7evens]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenal_F.C._in_European_footb all#By_competition (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenal_F.C._in_European_football#By_competition)

Either way, it's not very good, is it ?
You've also got to remember we were seeded in most of those competitions and expected to win the group.
This would mean that we wouldn't have been up against the Barcas and Bryans in the next round.

[Bergkamp's Brain]

[PSRB]

[Ashberto]

http://theoriginalwinger.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Roman-Abramovich.jpg