may 19th
Silly season is well and truly underway as Arsenal are linked with a £17.5m move for Fernando Morientes. The Real Madrid striker, on loan at Monaco, is said to be on AW’s shopping list and David Dein has already contacted his representatives. He’s obviously a very good player, but with Henry, Reyes, Bergkamp and van Persie all at the club, it’s hard to see how he’d fit in. I thought he’d be an excellent signing last season, but I don’t see this one happening, not at that price anyway.
Figures released yesterday show that Arsenal and Manchester United made over £56m from TV last season. Chelsea earned £53m while the scousers and Newcastle both earned around £20m less than us. This shows you the huge difference being in the Champions League makes, and under AW we’ve qualified every season to help boost our coffers. According to an expert at Barclays, we’re seeing the rise of the ‘..super rich clubs. Beneath that is a strata of mid-ranking clubs who appear forever doomed to remain at that status.’
I’m not sure we can be classified as ‘super rich’. Chelsea certainly are, with their filthy oil money, tainted with the blood of so many Siberian peasants, and United have always been wealthy. We’ve got a few bob now, but our funds were extremely limited for a long time because of the new stadium project, putting Wenger’s achievements in keeping us at the top in greater perspective.
Bad news for the Gunners is that our boggly-eyed friends’s reign at Anfield looks to be over (exclusively revealed on Blogfc back in March) as Liverpool appear likely to appoint a new manager in the summer. They might actually get somebody half-decent in and it’s a bit ironic that after doing something positive for the first time in ages – selling Heskey for more than his £29.99 valuation – these stories emerge. Not much of a surprise though, he’s a Grade A chancer whose 5 year plan is now in its 6th year for everyone except Ged, who last week claimed it still had time to run because he never told anyone when he actually started it. My brother will be happy, so that makes me sad.
Finally, happy birthday to my Mum. She’s ace.
