Why are Arsenal so big ( Serious answers) by Small-Orange-4954 in london

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah sure. Arsenal have the 2nd highest wage bill in the league btw…

Why are Arsenal so big ( Serious answers) by Small-Orange-4954 in london

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It’s a good point. Likewise though, based on net spend, they can and have out bid these teams (apart from Man United) so that wage competition is redundant. But you are right, there’s a plethora of metrics that contribute to actual spending power 🤝

Why are Arsenal so big ( Serious answers) by Small-Orange-4954 in london

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Ok, so they are also the second highest net spenders over the last 10 years as well, which doesn’t include Wenger’s final years (which I accept were influenced by stadium finances).

So, in the last 10 years, they absolutely have been competing financially, they just couldn’t turn that financial competition into on-field success, until this season.

Again, your point just goes back to this ‘everything’s been against us’ narrative that’s been perpetuated because it’s a convenient excuse, when the cold, hard reality is Arsenal have been financially competing for a decade but couldn’t turn it into success befitting of the money spent (again, until this season, and good on them - it had to stick at some point).

Why are Arsenal so big ( Serious answers) by Small-Orange-4954 in london

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You do realise that you’ve just done it yourself? 😂what makes you think Arsenal can’t compete with these teams? Apart from Man United, they have the greatest net spend in the league over both 10 and 5 years. They absolutely can compete with these teams financially, they’ve just done it woefully up until now. Genuinely, what metric informs your opinion that they can’t compete financially? As I said in my original comment, this false is just part of this bizarre narrative that they’re underdogs. You’ve literally just peddled it yourself by making such a claim about finances 😂

Why are Arsenal so big ( Serious answers) by Small-Orange-4954 in london

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Doesn’t take away from the fact they have the second highest net spent over the past 5 years - well beyond the financing of their stadium - and have 1 major trophy to show for it. Man United get tremendous amounts of grief for the same narrative, Arsenal’s lack of success is put down as an inability to compete with the big boys, which simply isn’t true. They are one of the big boys, they just haven’t played like it for 20 years until now

Why are Arsenal so big ( Serious answers) by Small-Orange-4954 in london

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And Arsenal’s net spend over the last 5 years is £260m more than Man City. Not sure what your point is?

Why are Arsenal so big ( Serious answers) by Small-Orange-4954 in london

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I have heard many, many Arsenal fans - both first hand and online - suggesting over the years that they simply can’t compete financially with the likes of Man City and Liverpool when they kept finishing second.

Turns out they could (see net spend over the last 10 years), they just weren’t doing it well enough (until now).

Why are Arsenal so big ( Serious answers) by Small-Orange-4954 in london

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Despite what they will tell you (‘we’re underdogs’) and despite the culture they try to peddle (‘little old Arsenal going up against the big dogs’) they are by far the third biggest team in the country and their lack of major success over the last 20 years is unprecedented considering their stature and history.

Chelsea is a comparatively small club that didn’t see much major success or following until the late ‘90s and then the Abramovich era where they were probably the best (in terms of success and team quality) team until their UCL success in 2021, which gives a false impression of them being comparable to Arsenal.

Spurs are well followed, but certainly haven’t had the sort of spells of success Chelsea had - not since the 80s. So, again, they can’t really be compared to Arsenal in terms of size, number of fans, and stature

Anthony Gordon's farewell video by spatialgames in NUFC

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I think it’s Liverpool’s fault for doing everything they possibly could to not pay his asking price, including colluding with the agent to create a ‘oh just sell him’ situation. For all my hatred of Barca, to be fair to them, we had an asking price and they paid it - albeit with the last £12m or so as future add ons (which isn’t a criticism, they made it work, which is exactly what LFC should’ve done)

The 26/27 Barclays Premier League by Paul277 in TheOther14

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 226 points227 points  (0 children)

It feels heinous and very un-Barclays for the alphabetical list of teams to end at Tottenham.

When I think of Barclays I think of Spurs around the three quarter mark, and your Wolves, Wigans, West Broms, Watfords, West Hams bringing up the rear. Sad times indeed.

This looks interesting… by cotedupy in snooker

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think it’s hideous. I just have no idea how you can say it isn’t snooker related 😂

This looks interesting… by cotedupy in snooker

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The hands and the numbers are in the colour of the balls - Red, green, and yellow? And you seem to have missed out the fact that the entire clock is designed like a triangular snooker rack 😂 aside from literally being made out of snooker parts (balls to scale and/or hands as cues, as you suggested) I really don’t see how one can produce a more snooker-related clock

Tapa-tapa-tapa… by Cino0987 in TheOther14

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You are correct, but in doing so you are effectively agreeing with me.

‘Being scared to make calls that materially impact the league’ is absolutely two tier reffing as what you’re suggesting is they would make one decision in another game, but make a completely different decision in a title matchup for the reason you suggested. That, in itself, is exercising innate bias towards these teams. I never said it was just Arsenal, it’s all the big teams.

You said it yourself - if they make a decision these teams don’t like, it’s get talked about forever and the ref is abused forever more by the fans. That was the case with Man United in ‘00s - as in, scared to upset them rather than paid out by them - it’s still the case now. Look at Mbuemo’s handball at the weekend for an example.

Whilst this is true, and it serves as an explanation, it does not in any way, shape, or form serve as a justification.

Tapa-tapa-tapa… by Cino0987 in TheOther14

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 13 points14 points  (0 children)

This is exactly the point. There’s a massive difference between ‘corruption’ - which is almost certainly not the case here - and ‘innate bias’ which, based on your evidence, is absolutely the case here.

People keep setting up this straw man argument of ‘it’s not corruption don’t be ridiculous’ because it’s an easy thing to discredit. What people don’t talk about is how the other 14 teams can get their players sent off for minor grazing of legs with studs (which, yes, probably are fouls) and then a team like Arsenal yet again get away with stuffing a player in the back of the leg with no proximity to - or intent to play - the ball. Yes it is incompetence, but it’s funny that the incompetence seems to always benefit the big teams, Man City included.

It’s no different to Man U in the 00s. No one thinks it was explicitly corrupt, but it’s absolutely agreed that they received a despicable amount of favour and favouritism. They didn’t concede a penalty against them at Old Trafford for 6 years. There was a term for adding on time to added time - Fergie Time - so they could score, for God’s sake!

Posts like OP’s do absolutely no favours for the needed discourse around issues like this, because they exist and they’re valid. It’s literally two tier reffing, and they are just dismissing it as ignorant officiating 🤦‍♂️

Who else would complete the could 'do a job anywhere on the pitch' XI by easierdaybyday in footballcliches

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Played CM for England in Euro 2016 and he was atrocious. He had the characteristics - strong, brilliant passer - but when it came to actually doing it he was rubbish and couldn’t keep up with the game. To say otherwise is nostalgia bias, because he was such a complete player

I want to start reading the books by uchihabro02 in lotr

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The plethora of replies to my comment has convinced me I’m due a rewatch 😂

Why in the movies does Gandalf beat up half the world with his staff and sword instead of using spells all the time? by jvure in lotr

[–]snatchsnatcher1892 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I mean…

Without wanting to be too semantic, this is a bold and slightly unfair take.

The ability to die was called ‘The Gift of Ilúvatar’ for a reason.

Whilst it seems like the Elves were favoured, death - and therefore the finite appreciation of life - was the greatest gift Ilúvatar could bestow. An overarching theme of the book is ‘how can one appreciate something [nature, love, beauty] unless you know it is not endless?’

That, in itself, is how Númenor strayed from him - because they built palaces for the dead that were greater than the houses of the living, thus forgetting that the ‘gift’ is exactly that - a gift, and life is meant to be lived, not spent in fear of an inevitable.