Wenger and the Board at Loggerheads

[Tony Tuesdays]

According to an unnamed source Arsene Wenger is at loggerheads with the Board over how the transfer budget should be spent. I am not at liberty to name that source, but I believe the information I received explains the current impasse at Arsenal. Before I explain what the differences between them are, let me make it clear that there is a substantial transfer budget that has to not only cover transfer fees but wages of incoming players and contract improvements of those already here.

The Board and Wenger are both in agreement that , to avoid the situation the club has encountered with Clichy and Nasri this summer, star men like Van Persie and Vermaelen and others with only two years left on their contract need to be offered new long term contracts with big pay rises.

And this is where the first difference of opinion has arisen between manager and club, The Board believe that offering to rise a players wage from £60K - £70K a week to £90K or £100K is more than enough, but Wenger believes that this is not enough, when City, Utd and Chelsea are paying their best(£180K - £250K), and that if we want to keep our best players we have to go to the next level, he wants the pay scale risen to £150K for our best.

This brings us neatly on to the next bone of contention between manager and club, the calibre of signing we can make. Both Wenger and the Board agree that to even maintain a top four spot, let alone win the title, several new signings are required.

The Board are willing to pay big transfer fees, as is Wenger (he is not lying when he says he would pay £30M - £40M), it is also where the difference of opinion comes. The Board would willingly meet the transfer fee, but will not meet the sort of wage demands a £30M signings asks for.

Wenger had a four pronged squad plan this summer,

*Keep our best players
*Buy in top level players to improve the team
*Sign young players with big potential
*Promote from within

Wenger has done parts 3 and 4. He wanted to do part 1 and 2 by Nasri being offered a massive contract so he would stay, and he hoped to persuade Cesc to stay one more year, with not only a new contract but with the calibre of player he signed. Wenger wanted Mata and Benzema, he still wants Hazzard, wages more than anything else are ruling out Mata and Benzema.

The Board had no problem meeting the Juan Mata transfer fee, but once Chelsea let it be known to his agents what they would offer, it blew Arsenal’s contract offer out of the water. We ran into the same situation with Jones and Utd.

People ask why have Arsenal not signed Cahill, Dann or Samba etc, well its simple really, Wenger wants better players, the Board want him to sign the above level of player, as it sits with their wage scale, Arsene wants the next level up, a Subotic, a Hummells, but they come with not only high transfer fees but with massive wage demands.

Wenger would rather not sign a player at all, than sign someone for a big fee who he considers no better than what we have, the board have asked him to reconsider this stance, and that is why Cahill and Dann have been scouted this late in the window, Arsene sees them as not as good as Koscielny, and thinks it is the wrong way to use his budget, he wants better quality for the first 11, the board just want him to make signings to appease the fans.

Wenger had a major discussion with Kroenke and the Board on Members day. He was told in no uncertain terms that Nasri would have to be sold if he did not sign a contract, and between them they came to the decision to let Cesc go for less than his worth. But Wenger fought his corner, and made it clear the sort of player he wants and that our star men have to be given contract that will keep them, as you can not build if every year there is doubts who are staying and who are going. Arsene also reiterated his view that we need top quality players, not just one as good or possibly slightly better, and that these players come at a premium cost and that the club has to go up a level not only on fees but on wages.

Arsene Wenger is a company man, and will not come out with any of this, while under contract, no matter how much flack he takes, and that is why his comments in the media, since the Members day meeting, have been more for the ears of Stan and Ivan than for the fans, he is warning them. He wont’ walk, and it will cost the club dear to sack him, and even more to shut him up if he is sacked, if they thought the deal David Dein struck with Bruce Rioch to keep him quiet was expensive, they will be blown away by what it will take to buy Arsene Wenger’s silence.

Who wins this battle of wills may define not only what happens to Arsenal’s season, but for many seasons to come.

http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s378/st170548.htm

[Niall_Quinn]

They'd better get their shit together in the next 10 days or we're dropping down the league like a stone and then nobody has any money.

[Marc Overmars]

Pretty much. Wenger or the board, it doesn't matter anymore, the squad is in terrible shape and needs reinforcements. Do whatever the fuck it takes.

[alexander]

How long ago were things this bad? Its madness at the club at the mo.

[bignev]

Unfortunately that stinks of bull$shit to me. I honestly don't believe a word of it.

[Coney]

http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s378/st170548.htm

Interesting reading. While it is not a 'proven' piece of info, it has a ring of truth in that it makes sense of all the comments that we have had in the past from Wenger and the board and the apparent contradictions. The wages factor definitely makes sense - Wenger was the guy who originally got the Arsenal to pay better wages for the players when he joined - until then, the players had not got as much as those at other clubs and he put that right for a time. With player wage inflation due to the likes of chavs and citeh, we need to make sure our wages are comparable and I can well believe the board have dragged their heels.

It would also account for Wenger's obvious frustration at the results - if he wants to do things to improve the squad but is stopped from doing so, and has to take all the crap from the media as well as hearing the crowd booing his team off the pitch, no wonder he is getting irritable and annoyed.

[Justhandguns]

I also read this from another forum. I don't know how true this is, but judging from the recent 'Wenger claims'
from interviews, it looks to me that the board are to blamed. Not that Muta has signed for Chelsea for not a very high
price, why didn't we sign him in the beginning? It is just absurd. Wenger knew that Fabregas was going, we need
a decent replacement at least. And after the Liverpool game, I must say I have entirely lost faith.

[gunnerrrrr]

We all bash Wenger but make no bones about it, the board are a disgrace and only after their own respective pockets.
What other cunts would raise the ticket prices by 6% even when we already pay shit loads...on top of that the stupid cunts keep fucking up contract negotiations dating all the way back to A.Cole.

They sit on their fucking perch, preaching all sorts of shit, yet look at Man Utd, they spend money, pay their players high wages and do not completly rip off their fans....and they fucking win trophies.

Wenger is blatently a company man and will never admit to the shit, but you only have to look at how little these board cunts said when we moved and the first few years of selling our best players....again Wenger got all the stick yet none of these cunts spoke a word.

Fucking cunts.

[Kano]

whether true or not, if wenger doesn't see that the current state of our squad would at least be improved with the bracket of signings the board want, then he's gone maaaad.

[Fats]

bullshit spin TBH

Wenger would leave if things did not go his way, end of.

[GP]

http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s378/st170548.htm

Makes perfect sense.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Wenger. :bow:

Always rated him tbf.

[Power n Glory]

This story makes no sense.

Before we can talk to a player about wages, we’ve got to first agree on a transfer fee. In most cases, we’re not even making past that stage. If we had deals where a fee was agreed by the two clubs but all of a sudden talks broke down because we couldn’t agree terms with a player, that would make more sense.

Also, Wenger’s actions line up with his words. He has faith in certain players and won’t buy expensive back up players because he wants to give the young players a chance. If he wants to up the wage bill, who for? So he can keep certain players looking for the exit? That won’t work for all of the players. The ambitious players want to see experienced quality players coming in to help the team. Paying out higher wages to certain players is just papering over the cracks.

[Letters]

bullshit spin TBH

Wenger would leave if things did not go his way, end of.

What is that assertion based on? He has a contract and he's always honoured his contracts.

[Grebbo]

Sounds like a load of tosh to me.

Cesc didn't leave because of wages. I even dare say Nasri is leaving mainly for success and not wages.

Our wage bill is massive.

Spurs have Modric, VDV, Bale etc all on £60k per week - we pay that to Bendtner.

Arsene Wenger has spent £25m on two players this summer and neither of them are a defender. It's all his fault.

[KSE Comedy Club]

All I could make out of that was:

blah, blah, blah, wenger doesnt think Cahill is better than Koscielny....

Which is fucking laughable :lol:

[BOBN]

This story makes no sense.

Before we can talk to a player about wages, we’ve got to first agree on a transfer fee. In most cases, we’re not even making past that stage. If we had deals where a fee was agreed by the two clubs but all of a sudden talks broke down because we couldn’t agree terms with a player, that would make more sense.
rubbish

[RomfordPele]

Usmanov spin, no?

[Niall_Quinn]

Usmanov spin, no?

If it is then it is further demonstration of why this guy should be kept out of the club. If he's prepared to destabilise the ship on the eve of possibly our most important game for years then it shows his interests lie not in the fate of Arsenal but instead control of Arsenal. But I hear why you are saying, the next big outcry from the fans could well be Stan out, Russian mobster in.

[Grebbo]

If it is then it is further demonstration of why this guy should be kept out of the club. If he's prepared to destabilise the ship on the eve of possibly our most important game for years then it shows his interests lie not in the fate of Arsenal but instead control of Arsenal. But I hear why you are saying, the next big outcry from the fans could well be Stan out, Russian mobster in.

So you'd rather have a billionaire owner in Stan who knows nothing about football and isn't injecting any of his own cash into the club? Or fatty who pays for a box at the club and is a fan who'd put his own money into the club?

Usmanov is without doubt a shady character but do you think Stan got that rich from playing by the rules? Nah.

[Niall_Quinn]

So you'd rather have a billionaire owner in Stan who knows nothing about football and isn't injecting any of his own cash into the club? Or fatty who pays for a box at the club and is a fan who'd put his own money into the club?

Usmanov is without doubt a shady character but do you think Stan got that rich from playing by the rules? Nah.

I'd rather have neither, tbh. Unfortunately other clubs and other fans don't see it that way. Nothing good can come from allowing corporate raiders into the game. In the short term it may look very attractive as the money flows, but in the longer term these guys want large returns and they don't care what gets left behind once they are out. It's called smart business, people have been taught to admire this sort of behaviour. If you're asking me for a solution then I don't have one. Once the pregnancy is confirmed it disqualifies all possibility of the girl being a virgin. So then the question becomes, how far do we go? Do we say fuck it, fine, let's hook up with criminals and every assorted scum.

[Grebbo]

I'd rather have neither, tbh. Unfortunately other clubs and other fans don't see it that way. Nothing good can come from allowing corporate raiders into the game. In the short term it may look very attractive as the money flows, but in the longer term these guys want large returns and they don't care what gets left behind once they are out. It's called smart business, people have been taught to admire this sort of behaviour. If you're asking me for a solution then I don't have one. Once the pregnancy is confirmed it disqualifies all possibility of the girl being a virgin. So then the question becomes, how far do we go? Do we say fuck it, fine, let's hook up with criminals and every assorted scum.

I agree with that.

It does make me laugh though how some gooners point out Abramovich, Glazers etc are bad for their clubs in the long term.

Whilst I don't disagree with this, our English board have been the greediest mother fuckers of them all. They haven't put in a penny of their own money and have made 100's of millions instead. To top it off they sold out to some pratt who has no interest in football or the club.

I feel they should be getting a lot more bad press.

[RomfordPele]

Sad to say, but I'm not really sure anyone has the best interests of Arsenal at heart any more. All the more reason to mourn Danny Fiszman's passing as it's starting to look a lot like he was the guy holding the wolves at bay.

Will be interesting to see whether this 'interpretation' is picked up by the good people of Fleet Street tomorrow. As I say, I suspect this is a Dein/Usmanov production, and like all trails from fat, greedy slugs, I'm inclined to treat with a massive pinch of salt.

[KSE Comedy Club]

If it is then it is further demonstration of why this guy should be kept out of the club. If he's prepared to destabilise the ship on the eve of possibly our most important game for years then it shows his interests lie not in the fate of Arsenal but instead control of Arsenal. But I hear why you are saying, the next big outcry from the fans could well be Stan out, Russian mobster in.

I think the current board and wenger are doing a good enough job of that at the moment tbh

[Kaiser]

http://www.surrealfootball.com/2011/08/22/time-to-grow-up-or-pay-up/


The more we see madness, megalomania, and shady-goings-on from club chairmen, the more we begin to hype up the sort of behaviour that we should expect as minimum. Running a club “like a business” is one phrase that is cropping up more often, and it’s meaning is shifting away from rampant profiteering towards “we have a debt-free plan that doesn’t involve the manager having to chip in for petrol money in League Two in a few years, like those madmen down the road.”

Owners will always seek to run their clubs exactly like the other businesses where they initially made their fortunes. The problem is that football is not an ordinary business. Even if we ignore the romanticism surrounding clubs – which, though naive, are still dearly held by the vast majority of fans – there are immediate differences. The whole ethos of private enterprise is about choice – anyone providing an inferior service will soon go out of business because people will stop buying it. Competition ensures a better product. This is not the case in football, where supporters of Blackburn outraged at Venky’s ownership are unlikely to vent their frustration by all deciding to watch Burnley instead, abandoning family ties as if they were switching to a different brand of washing powder. The end result is that everybody can only get ripped off. Financial doping? Emotional blackmail, more like.

Listen to most commentators on the matter and all you’ll hear is that one type of owner is becoming extinct – that of the local-born shoe magnate/slaughterhouse mogul/asian babes tycoon/insert-your-own-Capitalist-Dream-here who pumps money into his boyhood idols. This is not in fact true – from Dave Whelan to Peter Coates, they do exist, and they are generally popular and successful at what they do. The difference is that what used to be expected of chairmen has now become a feat worthy of canonisation.

The hypocrisy is obvious, but worth stating – there’s essentially no difference between these men and Sheikh Mansour. The media will crow about ‘understanding the club’, but bar any bonkers designs by Venky’s or Thaksin ‘Frank’ Shinawatra, the end result is the same. Local lads turned entrepreneurs can know the club better than they know themselves – it won’t stop them fleecing their captive consumer base and continuing the relentless march of football away from that ideal of local representation.

Owners that save or exalt clubs to new statuses are also worshipped, and forgiven of many future transgressions for which other owners would be crucified – witness Mohamed Al-Fayed’s deranged Michael Jackson fetish, as he tries to fleece Fulham fans for commemorative mugs and DVDs. Many were forgiving of the Egyptian, reasoning that at least they’d be watching Manchester United and Arsenal at the Cottage this year, instead of Barnet and Macclesfield. Such priveleges were not reserved for Q.P.R.’s owners, about whom one fan’s statement commented: “I saved a cat once, I don’t walk around kicking it, pissing on it and blowing in it’s ears before reminding it that it wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for me. I leave the cat alone with owners who care about it.”

The difference here is obvious: Q.P.R. got the ‘billionaire owners’ part down to perfection – billionaires, check. Owners, check – they just forgot to actually put any money in. And for some fans, there is no worse crime than that. The longer a very rich man sat at the helm of a football club goes without bankrolling a push for a higher tier of achievement than the club naturally has any right to expect, the more likely he is to incur the wrath of the fans. It’s not just Q.P.R. – Randy Lerner, formerly a well-liked figure at Villa Park, is starting to attract criticism from the fans who have been disappointed by the results of his austerity drive.

And this is the problem for fans – you can’t have it both ways. It’s illogical and hypocritical to criticise your club for failing to pay the £40,000-a-week wages demanded by that midfield dynamo if you’re also going to swell with righteous indignation when asked to pay £1.50 for a cup of tea or when this season’s third away goalkeeper strip comes out.

The predicament is also made worse by the hyperpartisan antics of many supporters who would rather see their rivals burn. When Manchester United and Liverpool were both out in force protesting against their owners, we saw relatively little flow of ideas between the two, and a lot of cheap sniping back and forth from the two sets of fans. It was a wasted opportunity, and encourages more bad owners, who won’t be worried about protests if they know it will only come from their own limited catchment area.

Now, every football fan, from battle-hardened veteran of rainy days in nondescript towns experiencing ‘real football’, to the most fickle flitter between teams symbolic of ‘all that’s wrong with football nowadays’, will still agree on one thing. Hatred, for the most part, is a good thing for the sport. We’ve all felt it, for a variety of reasons, and it’s intoxicating thrill is part of the package of psychotherapist-fuel that keeps us returning to the game, no matter what. We’re all for blood, gore, and genuine black-hearted nastiness on the pitch, and even for the occasional bout of gentleman’s fisticuffs off it – but by and large, we never seem to feel that we enjoy the common ground of all being in the same boat.

Alright, well, maybe not *exactly* the same boat. Entirely different boats, in fact. The point is, we’re both in the bowels doing the oar-work and being whipped by men in fancier hats. More and more football clubs are run by men who deserve our disgust, contempt, and bodily-fluids-as-projectiles. ‘Venemous hatred’ is becoming the standard emotion towards club chairmen, with increasing numbers pantomime villains like Mike Ashley and The Glazers cropping up. And then you have owners for whom the loathing reaches beyond their own fans, whether through their unfair injections of money, or just generally being mouthy and obnoxious.

We can’t, however, effectively criticise such behaviour whilst simultaneously wishing our own clubs push on to the next level. All campaigns require a war chest, and it’s size is largely determined by the number of us willing to succumb to the allures of the brand of consumerism that our megastores advocate. Clubs may not compete against each other much for customers, but they do on the pitch and the transfer market, and that means that any club who decides to bleed their fans dry will force all of their rivals to follow suit. In short, if the march towards inaccessibly-priced football is to be halted, it will require a little bit of growing up – putting our lofty ambitions to one side, and supporting each other as well as our clubs. By all means, we should hurl abuse at each other until we bleed whenever football is being played, but look at the bigger picture too – we need clubs that inspire bitter hatred just as much as we need the ones we’re devoted to.

Excellent article on the owner-fan divide.

[Coney]

Interesting reading. While it is not a 'proven' piece of info, it has a ring of truth in that it makes sense of all the comments that we have had in the past from Wenger and the board and the apparent contradictions. The wages factor definitely makes sense - Wenger was the guy who originally got the Arsenal to pay better wages for the players when he joined - until then, the players had not got as much as those at other clubs and he put that right for a time. With player wage inflation due to the likes of chavs and citeh, we need to make sure our wages are comparable and I can well believe the board have dragged their heels.

It would also account for Wenger's obvious frustration at the results - if he wants to do things to improve the squad but is stopped from doing so, and has to take all the crap from the media as well as hearing the crowd booing his team off the pitch, no wonder he is getting irritable and annoyed.

Having said all that, it turns out that the original story is bollocks, according to a source I give credit to. (And don't ask).

[Fist of Lehmann]

Having said all that, it turns out that the original story is bollocks, according to a source I give credit to. (And don't ask).But how can we trust your unnamed source over this other unnamed source?
What if calling bollocks on this bollocks is the actual bollocks?

Or should we listen for the ring of bollocks?

[Coney]

Never mind the bollocks, we're the Cesc pistols.

[Kano]

But how can we trust your unnamed source over this other unnamed source?
What if calling bollocks on this bollocks is the actual bollocks?

Or should we listen for the ring of bollocks?
bukkake is not something i wanna hear right now

[Coney]

But how can we trust your unnamed source over this other unnamed source?


In your shoes, I'd say the same. I know why I trust my source but I can't expect you to take what I say as gospel because maybe it isn't.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

bukkake is not something i wanna hear right now

Didn't you see it coming?

[Coney]

bukkake is not something i wanna hear right now

You say bukkake and I say tomato.

[Kano]

:lol:

[Injury Time]

So you'd rather have a billionaire owner in Stan who knows nothing about football and isn't injecting any of his own cash into the club? Or fatty who pays for a box at the club and is a fan who'd put his own money into the club?

Usmanov is without doubt a shady character but do you think Stan got that rich from playing by the rules? Nah.
Fans running clubs hmm, Blades being the model of balanced books until a fan took over, that not going so good...

[AKBapologist]

http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s378/st170588.htm

Arsenal FC Deny Arsenal Times Claim Wenger and Board Divided

All Good Pals By Eduardo & Boris Mellor
August 22 2011
It’s not often that Arsenal bother to reply immediately to fans football concerns, indeed several sent in a copy of the article to Gazides that warranted the reply below and have been told they will get an answer in 14 days. Perhaps the fact that over 100,000 fans have read the article, and that numerous blogs have also covered the issue inspired the rapid reply. Hundreds of fans have also called on the board to resign.
You can read the original article here

A copy of the E Mail which was sent today to Arsenal Times, from Arsenal Senior Media Officer Katie Baldwin appears below with Eduardo’s reply.



From: Katie Baldwin

Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 6:39 PM

To: arsenaltimes@blueyonder.co.uk

Subject: http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/arsenal-/s378/st170548/wenger-and-the-board-at-loggerheads-exclusive-

Hi Eduardo,



Having read your piece today we feel it’s appropriate to get in touch to say it’s entirely factually incorrect.



A number of other sites have picked it up and are reporting various elements, and they have also been informed that it’s with no substance.



By all means do call us in the office if ever you want to sound something out before running it, we appreciate you’ve possibly had a steer from someone that has a contact here at the Club – ultimately we all want supporters to be able to read factual pieces so hope it helps you too.



All the best,



Katie



Senior Media Officer

Arsenal Football Club



Highbury House | 75 Drayton Park | London | N5 1BU

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7704 4014

Fax: +44 (0) 20 7704 4011

Web: www.Arsenal.com



I will let Arsenal Times readers decide for themselves who to believe. I trust the information I received it came from someone close to Arsenal FC, and whoms information in the past has always proved accurate, so I see no reason not to believe it this time. I hope you all understand that I will not reveal the source, and frankly I see no reason why I should.



You may wish to take Kate up on her offer and ask her to explain what is exactly happening at the club. Perhaps she would like to give us a steer on the strange saga of Nasri’s transfer, the poor price achieved for Fabregas, and the failure to strengthen the squad in good time

[Tony Tuesdays]

What did you expect...?

[Kaiser]

Like when they denied the Fabregas interview with Don Balon earlier this summer, which turned out to be true.

Jesus, our PR is shit.


Let me see if I understand: you can write all the articles in the world trashing the manager. Please refrain from making the board look bad

Innit.

[Niall_Quinn]

It's confirmed true then from the most reliable source, the horse itself. And I'm not joking. When a virtual secret society goes public in record time it's running full damage control. So wages is the big problem, which explains the kids, the lack of experience, the players wanting out, the stop-gap measures that simply haven't worked.


By all means do call us in the office if ever you want to sound something out before running it, we appreciate you’ve possibly had a steer from someone that has a contact here at the Club...

Pravda.


...ultimately we all want supporters to be able to read factual pieces so hope it helps you too.

When was this new policy started? And when will the first piece of factual information be coming out?

Frankly the lot of them need to fuck off out of the club. They've all made their money, a shed load and at the expense of the team. How much more do the greedy bastards want or need?

[RomfordPele]

Err, we actually have a press office? :unsure:

They're nervous because this has all the makings of an Usmanov coup. I'm certain the fat Russian will come into the open if we lose at Udinese and United. He'll be waving promises of a massive transfer kitty and trying to tip fans over into open revolt. Worst thing is, it may well work - but it sure won't be in the best interests of the club.

NQ - I agree with you that I'm not sure Kroenke's intentions are whiter than white. But out of interest what money has he actually made out of the club so far? I may be missing something but he doesn't take a dividend, does he - something Usmanov has moaned about. What cash has he actually extracted out of the club so far?

I think the worst you can say is that he's trying to pay off debt as quickly as possible. Is that necessarily a bad thing? It may be, if his intentions are purely to wipe out the debt, inflate value of the club and flog it. But if he and the board does pack their bags now, who do you think will replace them? And what will their intentions be...?

Dangerous times - need to be careful what you wish for, I think.

[Niall_Quinn]

It may be, if his intentions are purely to wipe out the debt, inflate value of the club and flog it.

That's exactly what I think he's doing. I believe he's identified an undervalued asset that already has an in-built demand in terms of a future sell off. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Usmanov ends up being the buyer, with Stan having cleared out debts, run the club down as far as he dares whilst still keeping it in the top flight (Wenger ideal for this). One of the best stadiums in world, a loyal fan base to pack it, situated in the heart of London, a strong pedigree, under-exploited commercial activities, assets on the pitch that are already being sold off with the potential of more to come - Fabregas, Nasri, RvP, Wilshere, Walcott and a couple more kids brought in this year with the potential to move on for big money. Arsenal has the potential to be the new Man City only bigger, better and with a genuine world brand attached. And all in time for a push into a European super league.

Yes, I'm making this shit up off the top of my head but if I was a greedy bastard who lived and breathed money I'm thinking, what would I do? If it was all just about the money, which I'm pretty damn sure it is with these guys.

[jelgoon]

Unfortunately that stinks of bull$shit to me. I honestly don't believe a word of it.

I totally agree. Its crap and just the thoughts of some bloke who conveniently doesn't name his sources.

[Niall_Quinn]

Why don't we create a story here and all work to spread it far and wide? Arsenal won't respond. They won't even notice.

[Kano]

i was talking about doing something similar yesterday, see what absolute bollocks we could get into the news. our fd told me a story that before the england squad was announced in 2002, his swedish colleague called up celtic pretending to be tord grip and left a message for chris sutton to call him back. chris rang later that afternoon and was asked 'you know we're looking for a strong centre forward that can build up play and score goals too, do you know anyone?'. chris flipped his lid.

paul stretford was a vacuum cleaner salesman, so it can't be too hard to gain some credibility.

[Niall_Quinn]

i was talking about doing something similar yesterday, see what absolute bollocks we could get into the news. our fd told me a story that before the england squad was announced in 2002, his swedish colleague called up celtic pretending to be tord grip and left a message for chris sutton to call him back. chris rang later that afternoon and was asked 'you know we're looking for a strong centre forward that can build up play and score goals too, do you know anyone?'. chris flipped his lid.

paul stretford was a vacuum cleaner salesman, so it can't be too hard to gain some credibility.

Yeah but the media is a firestarter and the PR bods and press offices are firefighters. I've no doubt we could get any old shit in the media. In fact I've done it often in past jobs (and what a pile of shit it was). All they need is two different people to buy them a drink and it's verified.

[Grebbo]

Ok I'm really worried now.

I guess I was just in shock at how our squad has basically been torn to shreds.

I cannot imagine any good players wanting to come to us so late in the day, let alone their clubs allowing it, even if we are trying to sign players.

I got a bad feeling about tonight too.

[Niall_Quinn]

Ok I'm really worried now.

I guess I was just in shock at how our squad has basically been torn to shreds.

I cannot imagine any good players wanting to come to us so late in the day, let alone their clubs allowing it, even if we are trying to sign players.

I got a bad feeling about tonight too.

What's even more worrying is the Mindless Optimism Clique appear to have abandoned their fort and disappeared over the horizon.

[Darth Vela]

Lies.

It's still being manned, probably.

I'll check when we've signed a few players.

[Master Splinter]

What's even more worrying is the Mindless Optimism Clique appear to have abandoned their fort and disappeared over the horizon.

That's because you've been manning it for us.

There's no point denying that you're the most optimistic poster here. The evidence is overwhelming.

[Niall_Quinn]

That's because you've been manning it for us.

There's no point denying that you're the most optimistic poster here. The evidence is overwhelming.

No, I just know how to appreciate good comedy.

[Master Splinter]

No, I just know how to appreciate good comedy.

You don't really appreciate Chamakh's contribution to the industry though.

[Niall_Quinn]

You don't really appreciate Chamakh's contribution to the industry though.

Most likely racism.

[Daniele]

I am a journalist and tend to skip articles which lead on 'according to an UNNAMED SOURCE'. May be anyone, it's not fair on people, readers and on the job's ethics.

Apart from that, I think something must have been going on for some time. I say this as a fan, I've no sources, let alone unnamed sources. Just a gut feeling. I don't think it is possible that a brilliant manager like AW has gone mad.

[Niall_Quinn]

I am a journalist

And brazen about it too I see.

[Daniele]

And brazen about it too I see.

well, not really....I've known people in the environment and cannot really say I like them.

[Niall_Quinn]

well, not really....I've known people in the environment and cannot really say I like them.

Kidding you, some of my best friends are black people.

[Kano]

I don't think it is possible that a brilliant manager like AW has gone mad.

it'd be a lot more fun though, imagine how brilliant the book and film would be??

[KSE Comedy Club]

I am a journalist and tend to skip articles which lead on 'according to an UNNAMED SOURCE'. May be anyone, it's not fair on people, readers and on the job's ethics.

Apart from that, I think something must have been going on for some time. I say this as a fan, I've no sources, let alone unnamed sources. Just a gut feeling. I don't think it is possible that a brilliant manager like AW has gone mad.

Ethics in journalism?

:lol:

[Niall_Quinn]

Ethics in journalism?

:lol:

You would be surprised. For example, it's strictly against their code to buy a round.

[KSE Comedy Club]

:lol: