Wenger – The televised fixtures are fixed and the Premier League needs a backbone
The Arsenal v Aston Villa FA Cup tie has been moved to Sunday 29th January to accomodate the TV schedules, which has meant that Arsenal’s game against Bolton the following midweek has also been moved back a day, and Arsene Wenger is not very happy with this at all!
At the end of last season Wenger complained that Man United got to play before Arsenal every weekend in the run in, and he thinks the same dark forces are at work to continually make things harder for the Gunners.
Wenger thinks that the football bosses should have more control over when the teams play rather than giving more power to the TV companies. “I believe the Premier League has to make sure there’s a bit more fairness in the schedules,” he said. “The fixtures are sold to television and television is influenced by some clubs to choose the fixtures. And some clubs get advantaged by television, if it’s Sky or ESPN, because they have an influence there from the clubs directly.
“The Premier League should be very much bigger than they are in front of that. I do not want to go personally on any one club but, if things are repeated, then it’s not a coincidence any more. There’s a real problem there. The Premier League should master the fixtures.
“It can’t happen every year that some clubs have advantages compared in relation to the fairness of the competition. At the moment, television decides. You cannot have decisive games with one team playing Friday and Tuesday, and another on Sunday and Tuesday. I’ve been working for 30 years in football, and it is not right. It’s not fair.”
When asked if he could provide evidence of fixing, Wenger replied: “What do you call proof? I am in sport. If I fight with you in a 100m run and you have to run the semi-final on Sunday morning and run against me on Sunday afternoon and I have a run on Friday morning, I don’t need to accuse anyone. I just say: ‘Is that fair or not?’ It’s not. The responsibility of the Premier League is to make sure that Premier League fixtures are better distributed than they are.
“If the Premier League doesn’t decide, it is the television that decides. That means that television can influence and the Premier League has nothing to say. That’s what, basically, I think is not right. Because if, tomorrow, you buy a club and your best friend is the owner of Sky TV you don’t think you will tell him, ‘Look, you put us on Friday night. That’s not fair’? Or, ‘You put us on Sunday night, that’s not fair’. We have sold our soul and we do not control our games, our fixtures, any more.”
It sounds like Wenger is inviting the journalists to look closely at who in football is personal friends with Rupert Murdoch or ESPN and could possibly influence the fixtures. Surely he can’t be talking about someone in the Glazer family could he?
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On this , football clubs should be given a chance on negotiations since the changes hv impact on clubs plans.
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Out of tune?. Like or Dislike:
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Out of tune?. Like or Dislike:
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Yep Wenger blames every one else,sorry it is your fault Wenger .keeping under preforming donkeys at that club and not buying quality
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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yeah you try to play with only 1 day rest. no team in the world would want that.
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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wenger has evry right to speak wether the team is good or not. look at where new castle is and where it was. it means some how the teams u face n when does hav a bearing but it cant be an excuse. plus the amount of time u get to rest is also important. we jus need a better squad
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Wenger has really lost his mind. he blames everyone else all the time. yet every man and his bloody dog can see the squad is lacking, and that Arshavin and chamakh are
bloody sh**e. He has become so mad he is publically callfixtures fixed now. man has gone senial its preety clear to see. Instead of looking at thesahiteplayers we have, he blames the fixtures again. Does this man even know Diaby dosnt even play football anymore, yet sanctions 60k+ a week to him. His diaby his love child. Diaby will play 1 or 2 games, and then wenger will say Diaby is a new signing, this man has become af&%kingjoke.Opinions divided. What do you think?
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the whinger has started it all again. someone just put him out of his misery. this old man has gone senile. blaming everyone and now he has a problem with the fixture list when he should be focussing on making the full use of jan transfer window.
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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Fellow gunners, as much as I appreciate your frustrations, let’s not forget – we’re all on the same side and that includes wenger. The man has a point, move the fixtures to accommodate TV schedules and it has a ripple effect on almost everything. But, as usual, not many will realise the point he is making until a few years down the road when a major catastrophe hits the league
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Stop moaning wenger!!! you said u hv a big squad. so use almunia squid to win u a trophy!bring back ur denilson,bendtner.crap!when will you realise man.ur squad is big bt nt good enough!
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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It’s a slight disadvantage for Arsenal losing that extra days training or rest, but it really shouldn’t influence the outcome too much. They are paid professionals and have the best medical staff on standby. These guys would outlive most people considering how fit they are, so one day means eff all. Their bodies should be able to handle 2-3 games a week. After all, how many people earn $50K-90K a week? It’s like doing an extra day of work when the boss requires it. So what?
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@S.H Well said, and this ties into what I said about their training program. If Arsenal were training as hard as teams like City, curve balls like this wouldn’t and shouldn’t affect the players. I mean what exactly are Arsenal doing during training that a one day loss would affect them so drastically? A game is 1hour and 30mins in a day. Wenger should think of the lads in WW2 who fought 24/7 without sleep on stale bread and drops of water. I’m telling you now Wenger pampers our players too much. For what they earn, him and the players have no excuses. Grow a stache and man the f*ck up Wenger.
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I just wonder when we don’t win anything for another 6 years will you all still say how great Wenger is get real no other manager would still be in a job after a 6 years with nothing won a t a top club
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Moan Moan that all we get from Mr Wenger it his way of taking the eye off the fact that he is doing nothing to solve the problems with the Arsenal Defence. The fact that he won’t buy a Quality Player and a proven goalscorer. Mr Wenger knows
his job is safe as long as he does not spend money and the
shareholders get their dividend’s.
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The premier league needs a backbone??? No wenger its you that needs a backbone and get rid of the deadwood in our squad
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There are clearly no real fans on this website. Absolutely disgraceful, the lot of you.
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WE DO NEED A BETTER SQUAD OR A FEW DECENT PLAYERS TO STRENGHEN TE SQUAD ATLEAST,BUT THAT DONT MEAN HE CANT SPEAK OUT….
THERE IS DEFONATLY FAVORITSM WITH FIXTURES AND DEFO WITH REFS ASWELL WE HAVE SEEN IT MANY TIMES…
UTD HAD MORE TIME BETWEEN MATCHES AT XMAS???
NEVILLE SHUD HAVE BEEN SENT OFF AND GAVE MANY PENALTIES WICH WER NOT GIVEN??ARE YOU TELLING ME IF THAT WAS ARSENAL OR 1 OV THE OTHER TEAM PLAYER ESPECIAL IF HE WAS FOREIGN WOULD HAVE GOT AWAY ??DONT THINK SO…AND AM ENGLISH.
HOW MANY TIMES SHUD ROONEY HAVE BEEN SENT OFF AND HE NEVER DOES ,HE IS LIKE A RAGING BULL WEN THINGS ARE NOT GOING FOR HIM????
WE GO ON AT WENGER ALL TIME,HE IS HUMAN AND WE WILL ALWAYS FEEL HE HAS MADE SOME MISTAKES ESPECIALLY WE THINGS AINT GOING RIGHT FOR,BUT I BET WITH ANYOTHER MANAGER IN CHARGE WITH FAB N NASRI LEAVING WE WUD HAVE BEEN MID TABLE,LUK AT OTHER MANAGES THEY HAVE SPENT FORTUNES,MANY HAVE SPENT MORE THAN US,BUT WE ARE ALLWAYS UPTHERE.ITS WENGERS WEALIN N DELING WHATS PUT US ON THE MAP AND HAS GIVE US A DECENT GROUND ETC…..
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six years without a trophy…. Wow! What exactly did we win between 1971′s double and the title in 1989? 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup. That’s it. 18 years.
Wenger’s dynasty has already 7 major trophies. And in these ‘barren’ six years we were a whisper away from the Champions League winning in a final with 10 men cruelly stolen by Eto’s offside equaliser. We should’ve won the title twice in the last six years, none more so than last year when we imploded and finished 4th. But we imploded with a torrent of crucial injuries – Fabregas, RVP, Vermaelen, and a stream of idiotic goalkeepers.
And so far this year? Decimated by Nasri and Fabregas, picked up off the floor to revery back to the panache and brilliance of Wengerball – but once again hacked in half by SIX injurires to full-backs! SIX!!! Our best midfielder yet to kick a ball in Wilshere, just like our best defender Vermaelen didn’t last year.
And the facts? This is Tottenham’s BEST ever start in the League since 1961! It is arsenal’s WORST start in the League for 43 years! And we’re still spitting distance from them.
We will finish in the Top 4.
We will progress in the Champions Lge and beat AC Milan (whilst ManU and ManC the two biggest spenders oin Prem history are OUT)
And we’ll have a say in the FA Cup.
Wenger is the greatest manager ENGLAND has ever seen because he revolutionised the game here and influenced every single other manager. He also remains the ONLY manager to win the Premiership whilst being the below the Top5 spenders. Blackburn ManU Chelsea and now City have BOUGHT their Titles. Wenger has NEVER outspent those teams yet bagged 3 titles and was unjustly denied at least two more when Arsenal were emphatically the more deserving winners.
You want to criticize Wenger and say stupid ignorant things like his ‘world of delusion’? You are the idiot. You are ignorant. And you are delusional.
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Its all about money gambling,,, TV network promote betting changing fixtures is a way off stacking the odds against a team as well as our referee system in my option it is corporate corruption chase a player that’s takes a bribe but what is being done is fine as far as the EPL is concern.
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@top gun: U go BOY!
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wenger is too old for this
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All you tossers that have your head up Wenger’s arse Swansea humped us until he Fu-ks off we are fuck-d
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