Having taken a step back over the past few days and tried to take a rational view of the current situation as it stands, I have come to the conclusion that Arsenal are at a crossroads and a decision needs to be taken where we wish to take our stance in the grand scheme of things.
Obviously, the fans want success. We want victories, we want exciting football, but overall we want trophies.
The board, apparently, want sustainability, continuity and profit, and in the current football climate, never the twain shall meet.
The money in football is on the wane. Without a Sugar Daddy to finance endless transfers and unsustainable wage structures, clubs are and will fail in their attempts to reach the pinnacle of the structure.
Rangers are the prime example. They have tried to maintain Champions League success by throwing money they didn’t have at the team and their model has drastically failed. Dirty Leeds tried it a few years ago and still haven’t recovered from the Seth Johnson era and probably never will. Others are on the precipice and stave of administration daily.
If football clubs were run from the head and not the heart, then the majority would have been shut down by now. As businesses they are shocking, only four teams in the Premier League run at a profit and two of the biggest, Chel$ki and Brand United are upwards one-and-a-half Billion £’s in debt.
Premier League Turnover 2010
| Club | Turnover (£ms) | Wages (£ms) | Debt (£ms) | Wages/turnover % |
| Arsenal | 382.0 | 110.0 | 136.0 | 28.80 |
| Aston Villa | 91.0 | 80.0 | 110.0 | 87.91 |
| Birmingham | 56.0 | 38.0 | 16.0 | 67.86 |
| Blackburn | 58.0 | 47.0 | 21.0 | 81.03 |
| Blackpool | 9.0 | 13.0 | 4.3 | 144.44 |
| Bolton | 62.0 | 46.0 | 93.0 | 74.19 |
| Chelsea | 213.0 | 174.0 | 734.0 | 81.69 |
| Everton | 79.0 | 54.0 | 45.0 | 68.35 |
| Fulham | 77.0 | 49.0 | 190.0 | 63.64 |
| Liverpool | 185.0 | 121.0 | 123.0 | 65.41 |
| Man City | 125.0 | 133.0 | 41.0 | 106.40 |
| Man United | 286.0 | 131.0 | 590.0 | 45.80 |
| Newcastle | 52.0 | 47.0 | 150.0 | 90.38 |
| Stoke City | 59.0 | 45.0 | 8.0 | 76.27 |
| Sunderland | 65.0 | 54.0 | 66.0 | 83.08 |
| Tottenham | 119.0 | 67.0 | 65.0 | 56.30 |
| West Brom | 28.0 | 23.0 | 10.0 | 82.14 |
| West Ham | 72.0 | 54.0 | 34.0 | 75.00 |
| Wigan Athletic | 43.0 | 39.0 | 73.0 | 90.70 |
| Wolves | 61.0 | 30.0 | 0.0 | 49.18 |
Errors? Man U t/o higher than Arsenal. Regardless of revenues, this season Newcastle and Tottenham kicking well above their wage bills. Arsenal wage bill despite not being the highest in the league, the flip side of the low salary cap (not paying RVP enough) is that journeymen and dead wood are overpaid. Raising salary cap and paying stars can be done and is natural by being more ruthless about pruning the underachievers, just look at the number of players at Arsenal. A better salary and bonus structure which tied to output should be possible to implement. AW has always been frugal on transfer kitty but but judging from the wage bill, he is not kicking significantly above his weight and a great deal less than Tottenham and Newcastle this season.