Time for some home truths

[redgunamo]

If Jeez goes, do we need a 3rd striker, or do we rely on MnM?

Imagine if, God forbid, Kai for out for a long time again. We'd only have Vik.

Fair enough. I don't want to speculate about who we should sign and whom we ought to sell.

Let Mikel cook, as they say.

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Despite the rough, boorish exterior, I always knew you were a soppy, schmaltzy romantic at heart.

However, Viktor is fine. We've needed a player like him since Alan Smith retired.

If Jeez goes, do we need a 3rd striker, or do we rely on MnM?

Imagine if, God forbid, Kai for out for a long time again. We'd only have Vik.

[redgunamo]

I think we need another big donkey as company for Vik

Despite the rough, boorish exterior, I always knew you were a soppy, schmaltzy romantic at heart.

However, Viktor is fine. We've needed a player like him since Alan Smith retired.

[Herbert Augustus Chapman]

But people pay to come and watch. A fair amount, I understand.

Football tends to work on high turnover and small margins, as you use what you earn to grow.

Most of that champions league money is bonus income. Surplus. Money we can probably afford to blow on over priced forwards who hate scoring goals

I think we need another big donkey as company for Vik

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

We will spend more than we did last summer. NET spend maybe not as we will definitely make some big sales too.

Mosquera will go if we get an offer of 50m or more and can't sell White. Can put a buyback clause in.

No way are we selling Triphop. Amazing player. Would cost over 50m to get a player that good and that age. Well over 50m.

And that's without the premium of being a Bristol triphop band.

[7sisters]

Chicken feed.

For comparison, it costs us about ?200 million a year just to host football matches, even before you start paying people to actually play in them

That trophy parade couldn?t have cheap either. The Police bill must have been a bit chunky

[Peter]

Chicken feed.

For comparison, it costs us about ?200 million a year just to host football matches, even before you start paying people to actually play in them

But people pay to come and watch. A fair amount, I understand.

Football tends to work on high turnover and small margins, as you use what you earn to grow.

Most of that champions league money is bonus income. Surplus. Money we can probably afford to blow on over priced forwards who hate scoring goals

[redgunamo]

I understand we made 120 million from the champions league. That should tide us over

Chicken feed.

For comparison, it costs us about ?200 million a year just to host football matches, even before you start paying people to actually play in them

[Peter]

Yes, I suspect it's more that people think he is an asset we could make a few quid out of.

Silliness. We are not that football club anymore!

I understand we made 120 million from the champions league. That should tide us over

[redgunamo]

When you pay peanuts for a really promising 20 year old defender and he arrives, gets thrust into big games well ahead of schedule and does really well.... you dont sell him.

Look at it this way- what were we expecting from him this season that he didn't produce?

I would be tempted to leave the back four as it is. He may chose to buy a replacement for Ben White even if White doesnt leave.... I know how stupid that sounds

Yes, I suspect it's more that people think he is an asset we could make a few quid out of.

Silliness. We are not that football club anymore!

[redgunamo]

I am a bit of a heretic when it comes to this point. I actually think our players are rather good.

But they do tend to fall into the category of either to good to lose or too **** to sell.

Our owners are not stupid, particularly when it comes to money. Our directors seem to be fairly clever chaps and our manager is... well... champion

I think we should be ok, just about

This 16 year old kid from Leicester is interesting.

That's actually where the whole club began to go wrong; when we stopped signing players from Leicester

[Peter]

We will spend more than we did last summer. NET spend maybe not as we will definitely make some big sales too.

Mosquera will go if we get an offer of 50m or more and can't sell White. Can put a buyback clause in.

When you pay peanuts for a really promising 20 year old defender and he arrives, gets thrust into big games well ahead of schedule and does really well.... you dont sell him.

Look at it this way- what were we expecting from him this season that he didn't produce?

I would be tempted to leave the back four as it is. He may chose to buy a replacement for Ben White even if White doesnt leave.... I know how stupid that sounds

[Peter]

That might work. The strong feeling here, somewhat surprisingly, is that Arteta must be something of a genius manager to have won the Premier League with our players, our squad and our football.

But then, the people saying that didn't actually watch us play very often

I am a bit of a heretic when it comes to this point. I actually think our players are rather good.

But they do tend to fall into the category of either to good to lose or too **** to sell.

Our owners are not stupid, particularly when it comes to money. Our directors seem to be fairly clever chaps and our manager is... well... champion

I think we should be ok, just about

This 16 year old kid from Leicester is interesting.

[redgunamo]

Selling on is always going to be a problem for a club like us. If you sign players who are not good enough then you are paying them more than they are worth. And often wages that very few clubs are willing/able to match.

You end in a situation where the clubs that could afford them dont want them and the clubs that want them cant afford them. It is no surprise that some of our biggest sales were academy players (Iwobi, Smith Rowe, Nketiah) who were still on relatively low wages.

Funnily though, the status of champions can add value to your sales. So we will see. Jesus has to go, purely because of the wages. We cant have bit part player on 200 grand a week.

That might work. The strong feeling here, somewhat surprisingly, is that Arteta must be something of a genius manager to have won the Premier League with our players, our squad and our football.

But then, the people saying that didn't actually watch us play very often

[redgunamo]

It?s also about how he handles the players moving in the opposite direction. The club have been incredibly poor at managing the credit side of the balance sheet. I?m not expecting him to work miracles but it would be a bonus to receive some sort of return on players like Vieira, Jesus, Trossard, Kiwior etc, as opposed to some derisory, write off amount.

The old Net Spend MacGuffin.
Nobody cares about that. It's sunk costs, the money's gone.

We'll deal with it.