Congrats Man City!

[konatime]

And while we're at it

Considering he thinks it is right for Manchester City to be expelled from the Champions League, sometimes it is amusing to consider what Arsene Wenger feels is fair in football. Rewarding failure, for instance. Very fair. Arsenal, his club, have not been anywhere near the Premier League trophy for 10 years now, yet are consistently seeded in Pot 1 of the Champions League draw, and have been since 2000-01.

UEFA’s co-efficient system, which takes historical form into account and therefore protects the biggest and richest clubs from one ordinary season — or in Arsenal’s case, nine — will come to Wenger’s rescue again this summer. Despite having to go through another qualification play-off, providing Arsenal progress, Wenger already knows his team are among the highest seeds for 2014-15, no matter the fourth-place finish.
Underwhelming: Arsenal have seldom threatened the European elite but retain their status in pot 1
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Underwhelming: Arsenal have seldom threatened the European elite but retain their status in pot 1

Manchester City, the actual champions in two of the previous three seasons, will be in Pot 2, if lucky. Borussia Dortmund won the Bundesliga in 2011-12 and were placed in Pot 4. ‘Nobody has ever won the Champions League from Pot 4,’ explained Dortmund chief executive officer Hans-Joachim Watzke. Still no word from Wenger on this, so it’s probably fair.

Sky-high ticket prices; also fair. This season Arsenal had the highest priced season ticket in the league (£1,955) and the top priced cheapest season ticket, too, at £985. As Arsenal play Hull City on Saturday looking for their first trophy since 2005, some might think this poor value for money. Not Wenger. No word condemns Arsenal for squeezing their public, despite the advantage of a 60,000 capacity stadium.

‘The only way we can pay the wages and compete without any external help is through the ticket prices,’ he said in January 2013. ‘It is our main income so, of course, the prices are high. It is down to every individual to decide. If you want to go to a concert tomorrow, you look at the price of a ticket and if it is too high, you say yes or no.’

This is the upmarket version of like it or lump it, really. Super fair. Manchester City, meanwhile, on the back of two titles, the FA Cup and the League Cup in the last four seasons, have the cheapest prices in the Premier League, and are even the right side of three clubs in the Conference.

Wealth distribution: another area of fairness that does not set Wenger’s antennae twitching. In 2012-13, for getting eliminated at the Champions League knockout stage by the first good team they played, Arsenal pocketed £26.1million and Manchester United £29.6m.

UEFA also pass a solidarity payment to the Premier League to distribute among the other 16 clubs. Last year it was £1.3m split 16 ways — or £81,250 each. Sounds fair. Certainly, there is no complaint from Wenger.

‘If you say to me tomorrow that the 20 Premier League clubs get £100m each, I’m OK, I’ll take the gamble,’ he said last week, with the air of a man who knows his real odds are £26.1m versus £81,250. The clubs in the Champions League command 79 per cent of the competition revenue, and Michel Platini, the UEFA president, says wealth redistribution is a matter for those clubs. Are Arsenal going to start giving away their fortune to create fairer domestic competitions? Is Wenger lobbying his friend Platini to engineer this great leap forward? Guess again.

So, for all his much-vaunted fairness, Wenger’s take on matters that affect his club is about as impartial as Jose Mourinho’s opinion of what makes a good referee. Wenger’s sense of justice is, bottom line, whatever works for him and Arsenal. Fair’s fair.

 

[suburbanreuben]

I genuinely believe that Arsenal would have won something more recently if they'd sacked Wenger 4/5 years ago and his financial nous (read scrooge like tendencies and love of selling players just as they peak) has papered over his managerial cracks for years.

What a load of bollocks!
Arsenal have a stadium to pay for and they're doing it the old fashioned way. Wenger sells players because that is what the board expect of him, to rid them of debt ASAP! His only brief is to keep them in Europe and reap the benefits of that.
He's doing a bloody brilliant job on sometimes patchy resources.(viz Ramsey this year) He could have skipped off to virtually any club in Europe and won stuff, but no,he's busy planning for Arsenal's future, not that I've ever met a gooner who is in any way grateful;miserable Arses!

 

[konatime]

Re:

Venger's a gud en with economics, economics with the truth..he never mentions the £50 million £'s of non football related monies injected into his club by the diamond dealer in the mid '90's...which is said to be the equiv of £500 million in todays market. This allowed him to stave of intrest from Trafford for Tony adams and offer him his first serious contract...along with david seamen...the dough bough David Platt, overmars Begkamp henry annelka and petit (from memory) and cemented Arsenal into the top 4 money pot, whereupon he thought it to be good practise to ring-fence his club by becoming one of the g14 and putting the v's up to any other clubs wishing to pull the same trick....gud work if you can get it i suppose.

I'd think he's stum about paying all his staff offshore for a reason, the rents from the drums built on the old ground also take this route.

 

[swannymere]

I remember a smirky face appearing in a thread a few yrs back at my confident declarations to Citys planned infrastructure, now the the district which was the most socially deprived in europe back in 82 hosts a spanking new 6th form college (your children need to aspire) and state of the art municipal (not far from the first municipal park in the country/what no history) swimming baths, along with tilting and cambering pitches said to be world leaders....and the folk in the know saying if your 40 yrs of age now the campus will still not be finished in your lifetime (we've not stopped buying land yet). Had an olde pal up from Scarbourgh on Friday, he moved out of M/c 23yrs ago, i spun him round the nearly finished training complex and then round the long forgotten inner manchester district of Islington (Ancoats within Ancoats...so to speak)...he was dumbstruck to what's gone on, could'nt believe he was chatting to a college lecturer living on a barge in Ancoats. Funny thing is....the reds inside of Manchester almost to a man have no umbridge to what's happened with the windfall, declaring 'you lot deserve it after 30k attendencies in the 3rd division' and the cockerney reds almost to a man are rent a rant. Nice touch on Sunday allowing the girl in the ground with permission from Helen Turners (infamous Maine Rd. character) family to ring her bell (the actual bell) during the match, lots of older blues posting on the net from far away shores remarking on it and unashmedly stateing the hairs on thier neck stood up hearing that unmistakable sound of the 70's (what no history).

Que :?:

 

[konatime]

I wonder if the ex red dyke just failed to notice Arsenal fielding a team totally devoid of English players this very season or the team that was fielded of the same fashion back in '05...or else there's other reasons behind his cherry pickin (is knockin a fellow g14 club cricket?).

He certainly doesnt want to put the 800 mills of wemberly monies into City like structure, not when he can charge 3k for a coaching badge when it's a monkey in Spain and Germany

Biggest laff of all gotta be Fergie telling the england star man Rooney to pack his bags and get himself over to the states for a week to drop half a stone, paid professional footballer too fat for job.....and Dyke bollox wondering whats wrong with the English players...lark n half.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/201 ... sh-players

 

[highlandsflyer]

Re:

So are you happy City have met their potential this year at all?

 

[konatime]

Re: Re:

So are you happy City have met their potential this year at all?

I don't think they hit thier potential flyer, too many points (harts) dropped start of the season and with the Aguero/silva kompany axis only getting an handfull of games together all season then the end result was well satisfactory but not full potential. Though i thought the press may well have murmoured about Traffords all competitions goal record in one season being well broken by City, especially since it stood since '58...dont think i heard/read it once, heard plenty of pools goals....i'm sure Dyke must have also.....he must have forgot about which acedemy thier english SAS striker morphed from

 

[suburbanreuben]

Re:

I think they'll be aiming to take at least a point off the third placed team next year. That has to rankle...

 

[kenaltobelli]

Re:

as a lifelong man utd fan;just have to say I am happy for city'
as someone said 30 thou fans in the lower divisions .
only hope they kick on in Europe next year ;been a great scrap for the top spot
and at least the right side won in the end

 

[highlandsflyer]

Re:

I too am happy to see them back up their form of the last few years.

It really does shed light on what a magician the old Scot was that United won by such a margin last season.

Good for the game to have several font runners during a season, and to have it all come to a head on the last day.

I certainly don't want to see things change as far as the structure goes, and the number of foreign players only serves to illustrate how important a football nation England is domestically.

Looking forward to Liverpool continuing to improve, and the emergence of a new United, playing the old United way.