The Prophet

So the update was he'd prefer to stay in France but we're quietly optimistic?

Straw man-tastic, you're being accusing you of nothing. All I'm saying is that there's no real excuse for the lack of investment.

Why do you think he is leaving? (Genuine question)

When the inevitable Fabregas to Barcelona transfer goes through, Arsenal will have had an even less net spend as us since Ashley took over, maybe if they do offer for him to replace Clichy he should snub them for not showing the right ambition. It's a bit daft comparing a team who a 'there' with a one that are thousands of miles away... It's all relative though. You could argue if Arsenal spent their money properly they could win the league rather than simply fighting top 4, similarly us spending £35m might have helped us challenge 6th a bit closer, but we could still be more than capable of 8th or 9th. well yeah, it's pretty universal the criticism that Wenger gets for not investing properly to make them competitive. So not sure what point you were making there. Maybe it was another one of those situations where you argue for something you don't actually believe in? saying that, i could accept spending as little as Arsenal do on transfers if Ashley went out and hired Wenger and gave him the backing to set up his scouting and coaching network here as well as the big wages Arsenal spend. Oh well, I can dream. Arsenal have been in Champions league finals and all sorts, so they clearly have the talent to win the Premier' they just didn't have the bottle. I don't think they necessarily had to spend to have a better chance of winning stuff, they merely needed the consistency. So what's the difference between Wenger selling big and finding his bargains, and us doing the same? Arsenal's failure to invest is costing them big time. They also had a hell of a lot more quality to begin with, two completely different situations.

It's a method which every club outside of the top 6 is adopting, not just us though. 1)We should be aiming to be in that top six. It's not going to happen overnight but it's never going to happen if you don't spend a bit of cash. There's a reason those clubs are outside the top six 2) The only clubs that have sold players for substantial sums thus far are Villa and Sunderland, they have/are re-investing it.

I disagree with the Enrique 'tweet' but his sentiments are correct, we're settling. The lad is obviosuly ambitious, he wants to see the club push on and challange for a European place and as a fan I want to see the same. I was willing to give Ashley a chance this summer and granted it isn't over yet, but so far he's yet again failed to deliver. Yes the squad is better, but it could be better still with substantial investment. Why settle for a mid-table finish when we could be so much more with a bit of investment, investment which was all but promised following the Carroll sale. Top sides carry debt because they invest in quality, yet we seem to have bought into this notion that we're in some form of financial crisis. There's nothing wrong with a running a tight ship, similarly it's accepted the market has gone a bit mental but at the same time failing to re-invest any of what you've brought in when there's genuine quality about is bad crack. Buy cheap, sell big, it looks to be the future, and it that will do little to convince the likes of Enrique we're going anywhere fast.

Why do we even need excuses, if the squad is better than before? It is, but it could be better still if we made a substantial investment. Edit: Also it's not just the fact it hasn't been invested, it's the fact the club gave the impression it would be. More smoke and mirrors.

We've improved the quality of the squad this summer. However, the excuse making for the overall lack of investment to date is quite frankly staggering.

You're more concerned about a few meaningless friendlies than us barely touching a penny of the Carroll cash?

Pathetic

He's right though.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, has gone down. It's no secret a number of squad members are disgruntled with the way things are being ran.

What's happened regarding a falling out in the squad? More Twitter guff?

It seems something has happened today though. Hence Jose's outburst. What makes you said that?

My thoughts as well.

Being a sports journalist can be far too easy these days. Money for nout.

£30 million and Sturridge and I'd consider it, for the record

Get yourselves to Hogans

Almost certainly wouldn't be a Villas-Boas signing. Smells of lazy journalism to me, especially given they're different types of players. Fingers crossed.

It had all the hallmarks of a spineless surrender

We'll pardew must have to offer him a 5 year contract and declare he has "frightening" potential. He's never looked ready, hence why a loan to a club where he'll play week in week out could sort him out. It cannot hurt us. Depends, going by the various sound bites from last season he didn't seem interested. Ranger that is