Cardiff City’s loan move to bring club captain Craig Bellamy to South Wales has come in for more criticism, this time from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners boss is moaning that Championship clubs cannot affort to pay for the wages of Premiership players – a claim that would appear to support Bellamy’s move, which was made possible by a huge subsidy payed for by his host club Manchester City, though the Bluebirds must pay back the full amount if we acheive promotion.
However, Wenger is not happy that Man City continue to pay Bellamy’s wage, and told arsenal.com:
‘They [Man City] can afford the wages of the players without playing them. The problem is when you loan your players out and you pay half of their wages. Is that right or wrong? Is that legal or not legal?’
It’s legal Arsene. That much is pretty obvious.
‘When you say ‘the wages are too high’ but what do you do? I have the same problem when I loan a player out to the Championship, if the player’s wages are too high.
‘What has happened recently is that the financial potential of the Championship clubs has gone down, the Division One clubs has gone down, most of those clubs have problems to survive so they cannot pay the wages any more for players who go – even for players who go there to sign a contract.’
It’s not exactly clear what Wenger’s point is here. Premiership clubs put those players on a high wage, you can’t really complain that other clubs without the undoubted riches assouciated with the top level don’t have the same resources.
What’s more, is that Arsenal have a wealth of youngsters who desperately need first team games. The likes of Emannuel-Thomas, Carlos Vela etc would be huge hits in the Championship, gain some valuable competitive gametime and return to Arsenal better players. Thats a direct benefit to the Gunners, so why shouldn’t they subsidise the wages?
Again, Aaron Ramsey recently spent a loan spell with Championship side Nottingham Forest. That was to help Forest improve their creativity, but also help Ramsey recover from his broken leg. He has now been recalled to Arsenal and will be far better equipped to contribut thanks to his Championship loan spell – direct benefit to Arsenal!
Craig Bellamy is not going to return to Manchester City a better player, so they have even more reason to complain – but have worked out a deal to save themselves money, and possibly make back all his wages – depending on promotion.
Whilst we are undoubtedly very lucky that Craig wanted to come to Cardiff, was not needed by Man City, and that a deal could be agreed – Arsene Wenger is truly deluded if he thinks clubs in the Championship and below should feel sorry for Arsenal’s fininacial plight !
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What he says makes absolute sense. It’s part of a bigger interview where he talks about the need for perspective when it comes to the riches of clubs with sugar daddies. This is typical nonsense when you take absolute offense to something so generic and turn it around as a personal attack on your own club and players. If anything, Championship teams should support what Wenger was saying because he’s damn right. The chances of any team other that the usual suspects of EVER winning the premiership again diminishes as each year passes. City, Chelsea, Arsenal, United and then the odd surprise like Spurs, will be etched on the trophy each and every year for the next 100 years, unless, as Wenger says, policies are implimented to curbe the amount of WAGES clubs can pay a footballer. That will make it easier for a team like Cardiff who gains promotion to compete in the transfer market. Wouldn’t that be a good thing for your club??
“The problem is when you loan your players out and you pay half of their wages. Is that right or wrong? Is that legal or not legal?”
Thats utter bollox as far as I’m concerned. Of course wages is a huge proble, and the gulf is getting bigger….but Prem clubs buy all the young players up early on, putting them on big money so yes, as things stand, clubs should subsidise wages if they get a benefit from the loan
^^^ that was the point I was trying to make. I think I especially took umbrage at the ‘legality’ issue he raised, and that Wenger moaned the lower league clubs have financial troubles so cant pay the wages of his clubs players – like we owe him that much at least. I do see your point Trennon, but I think Wenger’s comments are mis-directed.
Typical, muppets who haven’t read the interview.
READ THINGS BEFORE YOU COMMENT. wenger wasn’t having a dig at anyone except man city, who can afford to gamble 20m on players and then loan them out and STILL pay their extravagant wages. at the moment wenger has players on loan all over the place so he never had a go at Bellamy, or Cardiff. It’s stupid anti-wenger crap with quotes taken out of context. they could have done the same thing at Leeds, Hull City, Notts Forest, Norwich, etc. with premier league loan players. Oh hang on, Arsenal has players on loan at those clubs this season. Know your facts people, wenger fully supports the loan of players to lower league clubs.
He was complaining about money and how it’s made the signing of top players an unfair field now.
here’s the full article. the only time Cardiff and Bellamy are mentioned is when the NEWSPAPER does a bit of name dropping. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jan/04/arsene-wenger-manchester-city-arsenal
I read the article in full before writing above. I find it mis-directed. The Bellamy/Cardiff angle makes it relevant to VitalCardiff, but thats not the crux of it as we all know. There’s no ‘anti-wenger crap’ – just that his comments come across the wrong way and, I feel, do little to address the problems you guys (presumably Gunners) so assidously cite.
I also find it ironic that, no mention is made of promising youngsters. Buying them up from league clubs, only for them to rot in the reserves is all part of the same problem, but Wenger apparently has no problem with that *ahem Walcott
Another anti-Wenger rant. Look beyond your stereotyping of Wenger’s motives and understand that he is trying to make it easier and fairer, not harder, for lower league clubs to get the players they want on a permanent basis. The problem is Man City are massively skewing the loan market (as with the wages market by offering exorbitant wages of 200k a week). How many other premiership clubs do you think can afford ‘top up’ the wages of players on loan to this extent? Not many. And is this the way we want to go? Do we want to live in a world where all the top players are owned by a few rich clubs and are ‘loaned out’ to small clubs in order to keep within the 25 man FIFA ruling? They are keeping wages at artificial and unsustainably high levels for your division making it harder for promising youngsters from teams like Arsenal to loaned out because expectations are being jacked up. This puts no pressure on Man City, it only distorts the wage market in the lower divisions. Wouldn’t it be better for sanity to return to player wage structures so that it actually becomes possible for teams like Cardiff to afford players like Craig Bellamy straight off? Its not a question of feeling sorry for Arsenal’s financial plight (We are doing ok thanks). Its a matter of what is sustainable long term.
NOT Anti-Wenger, but his comments fail to address the real problems, and come across as moaning (I should know, Dave Jones is always at it). I know Arsenal are better than OK financially – thats part of the point. It’s NOT that expectations are jacked up, its the high wages the players are on in the PREM….And no, we shouldnt be able to afford Craig Bellamy outright, this loan is a one off that arose due to some very unlikely coincidences at the right time.
So cut the wages in the Prem league – Bellamy was wanted by 10+ clubs but CHOSE to come here. Because it suited Man City it happened, Wenger is suggesting we went to them and demanded they pay, nope, Craig did. City agreed because a) they knew they’d treated him badly and b) because there’s a good chance Cardiff will go up and they get ALL the money back !
No little miss he didn’t and no where does he say what you’ve implied. I don’t think the author has taken a swipe at Wenger and because it brings Cardiff into the frame he has every right to voice his opinion. I do however feel that the point of the article has been lost on you. Wenger in no way critisizes what Cardiff has done with Bellamy but in fact uses that as the very perfect example. You only have to look at Shaun Wright Phillips to see how money from big clubs has destroyed what was ultimately one of Englands brightest starts. First Chelsea took him for a rediculous amount of money when they didn’t need him and didn’t use him. Now City have done the same. And in regards to your comment about Walcott. He’s firmly in the starting 11 now and has seen Arshavin moved to the bench. Not bad heh?
On a personal note. Bellamy is one of my fav non Arsenal players and has been for many years. Show me a more unapreciated player in the world who has as much skill, speed and heart as that guy?