First of all, I'll just add James' thread in here, because it's very good and relevant
I'm not gonna write a fucking novel about this, as it has been discussed so many times in here, that we have now moved on to discuss the discussion.
I guess a lot of people, including myself, expected a 'overhaul' last summer. We appointed Big Sam, we were taken over, and although BS wasn't the new board appointment - they did decide to keep him. For me that was a sign of trust, and not "we'll-keep-Sam-and-see-how-it-goes" kind of thing. Now somewhere along the road a certain Ashley decided that he didn't want to spend a lot of cash - which in turn disappointed me (and maybe a lot of you guys) = no 'shopping spree'/overhaul after all.
Almost a year after the takeover, we should now have a clearer view of how everything's going to be. As most of you are aware of deep down we had a huge debt problem. Ashley cleared that - or atleast most of it. Which enable us to continue in a more healthy financial state. So the long-term foundation's actually undergoing (far from completed) a major overhaul, compared to how far down in the shit we were,and could have been.
Also, our youth academy has a long way to go before we reach the level of i.e. West Ham - because thats were we want to be (only X times better). This process clearly takes some time - and the faster we start - the faster it'll yield results. This leads me over to our 'scouting network', which obviously has been missing in the past, more or less - now it finally looks like we are doing some very good progress here, and we have been linked with so many players lately that it is actually fun to (atleast think) we have an exciting time ahead of us.
The things I've been writing this far mostly concern the infrastructure (in addition to financial stuff), and some might think: " What the hack has this shit to do with the topic". Well I'm getting there....
So, let me give you two situations:
X: Club A has not paid much attention to infrastructure (here: backroom staff, youth and money)
Y: Club B has consistently developed their infrastructure, (in other words improved backroom staff, more healthy financially speaking, and given youth academy its deserved attention )
Who's gonna succeed...??
X?
Y?
or both?
Well, obviously both can succeed. To what degree is another 'golden question'. Now lets say Club A is Newcastle. We have spent big on many many players, we've got some success, and when we need to replace players we do, and then continue our success. We have to spent big, because we don't have the infrastructure that Club B has. (this example is wide, and one could build on this! I know.... ) alternatively we can say that club A is Chelsea. They have a super squad, and have success, but its been a long time since we have seen a Chelsea product capture a first team spot (or even had the chance and trust). So every time they need a new/better player - they buy him.
Many people like that - it's the madman's world. Shop 'till you drop mentality. But you all know Roman have spent a lot of money on Chelsea, and they are yet to show some positives financially....
Alternatively Newcastle can become Club B (transform from A to B) - Clearing the debt, start making some money. Maybe Club B has a 'half-decent' squad (some fans think so) and/but they still manage to finish somewhere in the middle. So they spent some money and brings in a couple of good first team players to - the very least sustain their position in the league. At the same time they use a lot of money and energy on consistently developing their infrastructure. As time goes one should expect this commitment to yield some positive results. Maybe the results are of such character that they have the players Club A desperately want, so they can either:
a) keep
or..
b) sell
Lets assume that Club B doesn't have to sell*, and therefore keep these 'super' talents. Now, one should really expect this club to grow, and climb the table. Maybe not that fast in the start, but that will come eventually. As time goes by, Club B continue their positive development, earning money and so on, and they start mixing their own super talents with talents from other clubs - and all of their hard work have made them among the top clubs.
(alternatively club B can be at the very start of their development, and therefore need the money, haven't qualified for Euro. comp. etc, so they sell to Club A for big money and use the it to - further develop, pay debt, or buy some good first team players. As time goes by Club B steadily builds up, and at the end of the 'day', when Club A knocks on the door and says : "Hi there, I want your players", they can simply say: "No, we don't sell". What's Club A gonna do? It's infrastructure hasn't be a priority and the clubs in the B-category doesn't want to sell Well it's got to start doing the same as Club B started with - The only problem is that Club B is so far ahead and very good at this, that if Club A ever succeed doing the same it will take time)
The down side is of course that as a supporter, one cannot expect (any) short-term success. On the other hand, the long-term sounds very promising - both financial/infrastructural and of course on the pitch.
So, if you apply the above to this topic/thread it's pretty clear what's going on, aye?
Ok, so this is simplified.... and my god.. this became a novel..
Bottom-line is though, a major 'overhaul' doesn't guarantee we won't disappoint as Tottenham did last season. Certainly decreases the value of our current players - cause we tell everybody that we wanna get rid of everything - and Keegan has indeed shown us that the players we have can play football. So by keeping the majority of the squad, and at this stage just add some more makes sense.
Finally, say we do "the club B" scenario, and become like the top four, well you all know we do have the financial power to atleast meet the players demand when it come to wages - just the opposite of what Arsenal can/does today
|maze|
