- Dec 22, 2003
- 8,035
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I get exactly what you're saying, but we have very narrowly missed out on 3 occasions now, with the squad lacking in key areas. If ENIC want to qualify for the CL (and obtain the regular income an increased profile it provides) then the failings in the squad must be addressed.
We can't claim to not be a selling club when we keep selling our best players and not investing enough in replacing them, if it's about finding the players then the scouting system should be looked into.
The headlines were x player will not be sold, I've read too many of these comments now, only to see the players 'grudgingly'/'reluctantly' sold for massive profits and inadequately replaced. If we want to compete with the big boys either the stadium needs built or we need to invest more into the squad.
I don't think AVB has been given much of a chance by DL's methods and the team just looks so off, even in 'only the first 3 games' and all that.
Sometimes I get the impression DL sees the players only as assets like stocks to make a profit on, rather than what they'll bring to the team and when he says players aren't for sale, they are, but only if the profit is sweet enough.
If we don't build a strong squad to compete, we'll continue to lose our best players and we're so close at this point that progress is critical IMO. Otherwise, Bale, Walker, Sandro, Kaboul etc. are next.
We NEED the CL and I'm not sure if Levy's methods will get us there again. I hope so though.
When we sold Keano I lost all faith in the 'unsellability' of any of our players.
With the position we are in financially I'm sure everyone of our players is available if the price is right. I've sort of come to terms with that. It seems that there are only two ways to go - the first is the Arsenal model which is growth built slowly on solid playing foundations and the second is the Chelsea model which is to buy team after team of players and climb the success ladder that way. The worrying thing is, the Arsenal model no longer seems to work. It was ok when they only had Manchester United to compete with, but the arrival of Chelsea and Manchester City has led to them being out-competed for trophies and players (not that we should be sad about that but it should give us pause for thought). All of this leads me to moderate my expectations for what we can achieve with the current financial restrictions we operate under.
The really sad part about it is, I don't really want the Club to become the toy of an Abramovich or Mansour type yet I do want success. It's just a matter of which is the lesser evil I guess.