That’s interesting. It’s a stadium which either needs/deserves completing in its current style or a move. I’m sort of surprised it’s limited to the stadium though. Other stuff?
With us it was obviously starting from a much lower base but the focus was on off the pitch revenue. The documentary brings in zero revenue for the club but has grown us as a global brand to the point that even paying PL wages isn’t bringing us near SCR issues. Selling streams and merch globally has generated insane growth and touring those territories only builds on that and has allowed us to start ground redevelopment. I’m surprised your owners haven’t done more of that.
It’s not limited to the stadium, I did say that was a starting point from where we are now. The Saudis, in fairness, have done well in raising our commercial revenues - good sponsorship deals; raising ticket prices; better membership schemes etc. But…the stadium is the next step change. If Spurs were still at WHL, they wouldn’t be able to afford Tonali’s wages, as the revenues wouldn’t be there. Vicious circle, but NUFC could do more to be helping themselves…
I suspect they could fill an 80,000 stadium week in, week out but a capacity at less than half that encourages other business models to allow them to compete. Clearly the rather unique model whereby Chelsea supporters own the pitch will need ‘adjusting’ but the long yearned for new stadium is something that can’t be put off forever, I seem to recall that our ‘new’ stadium planned in the Abramovich years was due to be completed for last season…But even that was only envisaged at 60,000ish
I think that is the right decision but should have been made at the end of last season rather than the beginning of this season - even Glasner has got somewhere now
I have to say last seasons premier league was pretty disappointing and not many games held my interest….. by far the least interesting season I remember and that whole set piece routine thing and corner grappling was just awful to watch.
My team are in the championship so my interest in the premier league is watching high quality and exiting football - here’s hoping for a better season this year….
As for transfers seeing 100m plus signings become the norm I do wonder what would need to be true for the whole thing to collapse financially or can it just carry on ad infinitum.
Sadly for my team having a 70’s celeb chef fortune doesn’t cut it against the massive foreign investment!
Back to this season I am hopeful it will be interesting as lots of new managers and a World Cup hangover could cause a few surprises.
The set piece thing was just a way to break the stalemate and find a way through low/mid block tactics the real problem is that, teams leaving 9-10 men behind the ball which in turn was a result of trying to defend Guardiolaball playing from the back strangulation, possession based football. Liverpool almost found a way past Guardiola’s tactics with their full throttle high pressing game and helped by Covid managed one title out of 6 or 7.
Go back a couple of seasons when Arsenal signed Jesus and Zinchenko and watch us play
lightning quick in transition and scoring freely through exciting football and attempting to pass through Guardiola we finished second well behind Man City.
Winning the league helped by set pieces isn’t a new thing though, Arsenal did win the league last season with 14 but that’s only third highest back in 2007-08 and 2012-13 Man U won with 14, in 2009-10, 2011-12 Man City won with 15 set pieces and in 2021-22 City won and Liverpool came second both with 15.
So City have won 3 league titles all with 15 set pieces the highest though is Arsenal when they finished 2nd in 24/25 with 16. The grappling and grabbing in the box is 12 of one half a dozen of the other Arsenal are just bigger and stronger.
Funnily you never hear about City’s three titles using set pieces I seem to remember it being highly praised, Champions playing like Champions I think the term was.
My comments weren’t about Arsenal per se more that super Sunday was anything other than super last season!
Arsenal when they played through Odegaard were a good watch the season before but without him they bored me to tears….
I recall the invincible’s playing at Carrow Road (4-1 )it was like the ball was on a wire - hard to take as a home fan but hats off to that style of football and that team.
Yes they have won the tittle this year but as a neutral with no dog in the fight they weren’t a good watch…
Compared to previous seasons there weren’t many games that captured me but will give Bournemouth a shout out for being entertaining.
I’m hoping for better football this season on the TV and for my team it will be the championship which offers a lot of entertainment!
