Who Cares???? by Dan Smith
It shows how low the feeling is among Arsenal fans that Sven Mislintat leaving in February should make headlines. Let’s be honest how many of us knew employees behind the scenes 10 years ago? We must be one of the few groups of supporters who worry about this kind of thing. Put it this way, there is so much I would change about how our club is run, who’s in the recruitment team isn’t top of my priorities.
Maybe Gooners wanted to believe that the German was going to change things, but I have always maintained about this ‘Cycle of Change’ that things change but stay the same. You can be the best in the world at finding talent, but it counts for nothing if your employer refuses to spend any money.
While it’s nice to hear someone have the ambition to suggest the likes of Dembele as targets, simple research would have shown our owner won’t do that type of deal. Yes, Sven has a reputation for finding gems who turn into superstars but let’s be honest Arsene Wenger was doing that for decades. He would buy Vieira, Anelka, Touré, Ljungberg, etc for a few million and win titles with them. Once Stan Kroenke became a shareholder, that knowledge of world football was a model to make income. Massive profits were made on the likes of Fabregas, Nasri, VanPersie, etc.
In other words, if the job criteria is finding value then it really doesn’t matter who’s scouting who. As for this idea we now have more aggressive negotiators, how many weeks now have we been haggling with Barcelona for one of their cast offs?
There are different ideas as to why Sven is leaving so soon, with most sources suggesting he feels undermined by the current set up, but it’s more likely that after just 14 months he sees the role as a waste of time. Like most of us, you want to make a difference at your work place, you want to be proud of the job you do, you set yourself targets. If he knows he can get the same job elsewhere, why work with your hands tied behind your back? He’s being chased by the likes of Bayern Munich, so he has no need to put himself through the embarrassment of trying to buy with no money. You don’t try and buy a 100,000 Ferrari for 500 quid! You disagree with the price and walk out but you don’t try and barter? Imagine that’s your job specification when the selling club know you are rich.
You do wonder if 14 months ago he was led to believe finances were okay. Maybe like us he’s wondering how the 7th most valuable club in the world can only do loan deals this month? Credit to him for not taking the easy option.
Recruiting for the Gunners must be the easiest gig in the game. You get well paid for doing nothing because your boss is ordering you not to do nothing. You may just as well stay at home in January. You can’t be judged on your signings because you will barely make any.
As hard as it is for fans, it must be hard for players and staff as well? They must want the club to move forward. The difference is that Sven can shake his head, shrug his shoulders and go elsewhere. We have the emotional bond where we stick around, we can’t walk away.
Overmars might return as Director of Football. But sorry, I really don’t care whose job it is to buy players on the scrap heap.
Dan Smith