YAMACast S2E2 – the one where we are all miserable

It was all so avoidable. The anger, frustration and general feeling of being fed up were all avoidable had Arsenal done what they told us they were going to do. Had they gone out and go their business done early, the general anger being displayed across all of the Arsenal universe would like not have boiled over.

Alas it has. And it’s their own faults. They told us back in June that there would be significant funds to spend. They told us we were now able to bring in the kind of players we all had hoped they’d go for. Sadly, none of them have materialized.

Sure there are two weeks left in the transfer window. But we come off a humiliating loss against Aston Villa and also face the prospect of significant injuries to key players. Should Arsenal fail to secure a win in the midweek against Fenerbache then the hellfire that blew up this weekend will only increase.

The manager finds himself in a situation of his own doing. He values players at values not consistent with the current paradigm of modern football. Simply stated if you want top talent, you have to pay top dollar. Top dollar is not set by the buying club, it is set by the selling club. Wenger needs to accept the fact that his idyllic social model of football doesn’t exist. It is now an era of money.

Now no one is arguing that he needs to go out and spend £50 million on players at a time. But he does need to realize that if he wants that one special player he needs to pay the going rate which whether we like it or not – is more than you’d like. Additionally, bringing in good £20-£25 million types are good business and similar to the model Dortmund used to build its squad.They developed a solid base of players from their own ranks and have supplemented that wisely. It’s been good business and doesn’t adhere to a Man City, Chelsea, or PSG model of running a football club.

The fact is now, no matter what Wenger does it will be reactionary and not seen in a positive light, regardless of the end of season outcome. Wenger would have to win the league or Champion’s League to quell the sentiment we see now. Sure, social media amplifies the angst but that doesn’t mean it’s real. I think its possible for the first time, we have larger amounts of supporters who want Wenger gone then want him to stay.

As many put its all gone the way of Clough at Forrest. He thinks he is right and won’t face any criticism of how he handles things. He blindly accepts his own intuition of the game and refuses to see where it has gone. In the end it is likely to be his own undoing.

It’s saddening really.

We try to keep our podcast as upbeat as possible. Sadly, I am not sure that will come through. We kick off the podcast with me ranting of course.  I am told that this actually some folks favourite part of the podcast. I am not sure why or that I agree but hey who am I to disagree. After my little rant, we kick it over to me and YAMA regular Tom Marshall-Bailey breaking down the weekend and overall supporter sentiment. It’s part of our new format and it’s missing a wheel if you will as Billy Dunsmore was off cavorting at the Fringe Festival in Glasgow. Billy should be back next episode.

We close out the podcast with my one on one with Jeremy Wilson of the Telegraph. We specifically talk about where it has all gone wrong and what can happen to get it all back. It was a great conversation and one I am sure you will enjoy.

We hope you enjoy this episode and feel free to let us know what you think about any part of it.

Until next time, Stay Goonerish!!!

All episodes of the YAMACAST can be accessed on iTunes via the following link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/you-are-my-arsenal-yamacast/id615279052