Note to self: change duck sound alarm on iPhone to something else. Pressing snooze and dreaming of gigantic football playing ducks is not as fun as it sounds.
Lots of reaction to yesterday’s post about ticket prices. Whether you agreed, disagreed, or were somewhere in the middle, at the very least it got people talking about an issue that really does need to be talked about. Regardless of why it’s happening – and I wasn’t suggesting that it was all down to clubs like City spending the way they do, although it’s head in sand time to think it doesn’t have an impact – it’s something that is affecting fans of every club. If some common ground were found, leaving aside tribal squabbles, to make progress on it then that could only be a good thing.
There were some suggestions that Arsenal were quite happy to take City’s money for players like Adebayor, Na$ti, Toure, Clichy and so on, and there’s certainly no arguing with that, but at the same time what are you supposed to do when you’re offered way over the market price for a player who doesn’t want to play for you any more? And you can’t ignore the fact that the money on offer from elsewhere is part of their decision making when it comes to wanting to leave.
Looking inwards, and leaving away fans to one side, it’s clear there re issues with high ticket prices for Arsenal fans and there are two obvious ways to deal with that. One is to lower ticket prices, which isn’t likely to happen any time soon. The other is provide better value for the prices charged. And I don’t mean each seat gets a fluffer, but I do wonder if there were more obvious ‘investment’ in the squad if that would ease the complaints to a certain extent. It won’t alter the fact that it’s still hugely expensive, but maybe people will feel they’re getting more bang for their buck.
Winning teams put bums on seats, that’s a fact of sporting life, and so do star names. We’re now 10 days into the January transfer window and there hasn’t been the slightest whiff of Arsenal movement. Yesterday, the manager played Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Francis Coquelin and Carl Jenkinson in an U21 game with West Brom. Andre Santos scored the Arsenal goal after a pass from … Abou Diaby. So, more than anything else it looks as if he’s concentrating on getting the players he has fit and ready for what’s going to be a hectic schedule over the next few weeks.
But, with all due respect to those players, they’re not exactly the additions to the squad people were hoping for this month. I really hope Diaby stays fit, but then I hoped that at the start of the summer and he was gone for over 3 months. Does the return of a reserve left back, who has struggled this season, and a bit of match fitness for some players the manager rarely trusts when everyone is fit anyway constitute strengthening the squad? Gervinho, for all his faults, is gone to the African Cup of Nations while Chamakh and Djourou will spend the rest of the season on loan. Are we stronger?
It is now Thursday. Man City come to town on Sunday. Is there time between now and then to complete a signing? Of course there is, but it seems unlikely at this point. If there was a real determination and plan to invest in the squad this month you have to think we’d have done as much of that business as early in the month as possible. As it stands, the only conclusion I can come to is that there is no determination to do that, there is no plan as such, and that if we do bring players it would be something of a surprise now.
Perhaps it’s just the gigantic ducks affecting my brain and this is an overly negative outlook, but Arsene Wenger has gone from saying he’ll be ‘very busy/active’ to ‘maybe one or two if we get Walcott sorted’ to ‘The market will be calm’ and anyone who doesn’t feel just the slightest bit of deja-vu here hasn’t been paying much attention over the last few years. I just can’t help thinking this inaction is hugely risky. As I said earlier in the week a signing or two could have been the difference in the Swansea game, preventing a replay. With the champions coming on Sunday and a trip to Chelsea the following week, what would some freshness and quality mean in those games?
I just don’t understand this reluctance to spend what we have. We’re not out with the begging bowl having to remortgage our house or sell organs to raise cash, it’s there. And as Chelsea have shown with Ba, it’s not as if there aren’t players who could improve us. As most of you will know my glass is generally half-full but at the moment I find the inaction bewildering in the extreme. I can’t think of a good reason why we haven’t added to the squad. Not one, and I just hope it doesn’t come back to bite us in our well-cushioned, fluffed up arses.
Other than that it’s pretty quiet with only Wojciech Szczesny sticking his head above the parapet to speak about how much he loves Arsenal and that he can’t ever see himself playing for someone else. I don’t doubt he’s genuine either, which is a good thing, but times has funny ways of making footballers eat their words. Let’s hope that’s not the case with him. I think he’s improving, looks more focused this season after his summer of Euro mayhem and the injury problems early on, so fingers crossed he keeps it up.
Finally for today, if you fancy a digital copy of So Paddy Got Up it’s available for just 1.99 from Amazon and iTunes (and maybe Kobo too if I ever figure out how to change the price of a book on their rather unituitive system). It’s already number 1 in Soccer books on iTunes and Amazon!
Download links here: Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk – iTunes
Till tomorrow.
