Thin - lipped
personnel men laugh heartily as they splash
around in the mustard with union stewards; paunchy executives play two innings of slow - pitch softball and then rush off to recuperate at their country
clubs; the president kisses babies belonging to graveyard - shift workers and delivers a speech prepared by the PR boys about the glorious future awaiting those who continue to love grand old Amalgamated Sponge.
Although it will be incredibly difficult to ever match his contributions on the pitch, it's vitally important for a former
club legend, like Henry, to publicly address his concerns regarding the direction of this
club... regardless of those who still feel that Henry has some sort of agenda due to the backlash he received following earlier comments he made on air regarding Arsenal, he has an intimate understanding of the game, he knows the fans are being hosed and he feels some sense of obligation, both professionally and personally, to tell it like he sees it... much like I've continually expressed over the last couple months, this team isn't evolving under this current ownership / management team... instead we are currently experiencing a «stagnant» phase in our
club's storied history... a fact that can't be hidden by simply changing the formation or bringing in one or two individuals... this team needs fundamental change in the way it conducts business both on and off the pitch or it will continue to slowly devolve into a second tier
club... regardless of the euphoria surrounding our escape act on Friday evening, as it stands, this
club is more likely to be fighting for a Europa League spot for the foreseeable future than a top 4 finish... we can't hope for the failures of others to secure our place in the top 4, we need to be the manufacturers of our own success by doing whatever is necessary to evolve as an organization... if Wenger, Gazidis and Kroenke can't take the necessary steps following the debacle they manufactured last season, their removal is imperative for our future success... unfortunately, I strongly believe that either they don't know how to proceed in the present economic climate or they are unwilling to do whatever it takes to turn this ship
around... just look at the current state of our squad, none of our world class players are under contract beyond this season, we have a ridiculous wage bill considering the results, we can't sell our deadwood because we've mismanaged our
personnel decisions and contractual obligations, we haven't properly cultivated our younger talent and we might have become one of the worst
clubs ever when it comes to way we handle our transfer business, which under Dein was one of our greatest assets... it's time to get things right!!!
With the buildup to the match mainly based
around the
personnel issues for both teams; money in the bank to spend but a seeming reluctance to enter the transfer market, neither
club could be called a happy ship as they opened their Premier League account.