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Close Australia 262 for 2 (Langer 115*, Ponting 52) v India
Scorecard

Where’s the ball, Justin? Langer wasn’t at his fluent best, but he was still too good for India © Getty Images

The best part of Sourav Ganguly’s day lasted for a few minutes, first thing in the morning. He won the toss and put Australia in. But winning the toss against Australia is about as useful as using an umbrella to keep dry under the Niagara Falls. Australia rattled up 262 for 2, on a rain-interrupted first day in which Justin Langer clattered 115, and the closest thing to batting failure was Matthew Hayden’s breezy 37.Langer’s innings formed the backbone of a strong Australian score, both literally and figuratively. He was gritty, solid, no-frills and vitally important for the stability of the innings. Around him there were batsmen of greater panache and ability who played dreamy drives and powerful thumps. But no runs look better than the ones on the scoreboard. The way Langer paced his innings put the Indians on the back foot, and kept them there all day.To begin with, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan bowled too full, floating the ball into just the right place for Langer and Hayden to drive. And drive they did, in contrasting styles. Hayden stood tall and bludgeoned, Langer punched and pushed, almost apologetically. Hayden’s booming drives pinged the advertising hoardings, while Langer’s shots trickled over the ropes, often with a ragged Indian fielder in tow.When Akash Chopra caught Langer smartly at short square leg off a Nehra no-ball, and the Indian fielders had to rein in their delight, it set the tone for the day. Lady luck turned her face away from the carnage. The ball beat the bat more than once, when Zaheer bent his back and produced a good spell, but did not result in an edge. The ball tricked the bat and hit pad more than once, but did not result in an lbw.But, as they say, you make your own luck. Australia kept their run rate hovering around the four mark with unwavering certainty. Hayden reached 37 from 52 balls before flashing a delivery from Zaheer into VVS Laxman’s lap in the slip cordon (73 for 1).India needed to tighten the screws at this stage. They had to slip in a few quiet overs and put pressure on Ricky Ponting, the new batsman. Ajit Agarkar achieved the exact opposite, with a string of half-volleys that Ponting pummelled back down the ground for boundaries. Ganguly, frustrated and sheepish in equal measure, removed Agarkar from the attack after a first spell of 5-1-40-0.

Matthew Hayden: got off to a sparkling start but couldn’t keep going © AFP

Since pace clearly did not work, Gangly turned to Harbhajan Singh, his lone spinner. Harbhajan, picked ahead of Anil Kumble for this Test, was welcomed to the attack with a savage Langer cut that raced to the point fence. Ponting, who was dismissed no fewer than five times by Harbhajan when Australia last toured India, made a bold statement by coming down the track and smashing Harbhajan into the stands over long-on.Spin and pace had both failed in the face of the Langer-Ponting combination, which added 89 runs for the second wicket. Almost against the run of play, Ponting (52) then dismissed himself, when he top-edged a pull to Parthiv Patel behind the stumps (162 for 2). Zaheer allowed himself a smile, having taken Ponting’s wicket with the unlikeliest of deliveries, a short one.Damien Martyn began his pleasurable stay at the crease with a tickle down to the fine-leg boundary. He waited on the ball, was in no hurry, and built his innings. With Australia scoring as quickly as they were, Martyn didn’t need to take any risks. Playing his natural game, treating the bowling on merit, Martyn helped himself to 36 runs. Langer, unbeaten on 115 (175 balls, 16 fours), was happy to walk off the field when Steve Bucknor offered him the light. Although only 62 overs were bowled in the day, Australia scored quickly enough, at 4.22 runs per over, to reach 262.The Indians were also happy to walk off, as that was perhaps the only way they were going to get any respite from this onslaught. Ganguly walked off just behind Langer, applauding him as he crossed over the ropes to a waiting Hayden. That might be just about the shape of things to come for the Indians in the gruelling weeks ahead.

Peter Bowler who enjoyed one of the best season’s of his long career in 2001 told me earlier this week,” I can’t ever remember being so excited about a new cricket season.”He continued, “It’s great to see the club back towards where they were in the 1980’s, and to have the community behind us.”Last season Peter Bowler helped the club to the best ever season in their history when they ended as runner’s up in the County Championship and won the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy.In the championship he scored almost 800 runs at an average of just over 42 runs, as well as scoring 560 runs in the Norwich Union League.”At last it’s all coming together after six or seven years. People forget all of the preparation that has been done. We’ve done all of the hard work to get the young side that we have now – we’re not quite there yet – but can look forward to being one of the top four sides in the country.”How about his own performances I asked. “I’m still improving as a batsman, I’m getting smarter. Physically I’m deteriorating, but just how fast depends on working hard at my fitness.I hope that I can hold back the years by keeping fit and at the moment I feel very fit. I know that I can bat, but it’s all the other bits, running and the athleticism. I’m working very hard at it,”he told me.At the age of thirty eight, how much longer did he see himself continuing in first class cricket. “I don’t even think about stopping playing at the moment. I’m lucky that I have prepared for the next stage of my life, and I’m free to enjoy what I like doing, and that’s playing cricket, batting,” he said, and continued, “While I feel there’s a job to do I’m keen to do it. The game will tell me when it’s finished with me.”What about next season I asked him. “We have our best chance in the one day competitions, especially in the Sunday League. To win the knock out cups you need a bit of luck,” he told me.What about the County Championship in 2002. “To win the championship we have to keep everybody fit and a couple of the young bowlers have to come to the fore. Yes we can win it, but need it all to go our way through the season.”He concluded, “I’ve never won a championship medal. At Derbyshire we ended third and last season we were second. It would be as good a reason as any to go on playing if we don’t win it this year!”

A dour 1-0 defeat away at Bournemouth signalled the end to a very poor season for North End with the positives coming in short supply.

I’m sure the final whistle at Dean Court was music to Graham Westley’s ears as he is now able to begin to shape the squad into his own side ready for August.

The words of Mr Westley over the past few weeks have been constantly referring to a summer clear out with a rumoured 14 new faces with just as many leaving the club. The Lilywhites fans will all be offering their suggestions of signings and who they believe should go as the manager draws up his shortlist and hands it to his chairman.

In my opinion, there are only four players for certain of the current 44 professionals at the club that have truly earned the right to wear the proud Preston jersey next season. The first would have to be newly crowned player of the year, Thorsten Stuckmann. The big German has kept 10 clean sheets out of his 24 games with a poor back line attempting to protect him which cannot be scoffed at despite the words of his manager this week. Westley stating in an interview that he would be bringing in a new goalkeeper to provide competition which has been received both ways by north end fans. His words of discouragement towards Stuckmann’s player of the year of the award did also not go down too well with the former Stevenage boss stating that ‘winning player of the year in a mediocre team is not much of an achievement’. But personally he would be the first name on my team sheet but I would definitely bring in a new keeper to provide competition for Thorsten.

The second would have to be captain Paul Coutts who has stepped up to the plate this season following an anonymous season last season. The Scot has caused controversy by handing in a transfer request but after settling in to Graham Westley’s regime he has become a key figure in the North End side with some all action performances and some excellent link up play with Danny Mayor. However, Coutts has been the subject of interest from Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough which could see him leave the club should a suitable offer be placed for the midfielder.

Thirdly, despite injury harboring his campaign this year, Iain Hume would be as good as a new signing should he stay at the club. Hume’s all action displays and his deadly right foot have made him a fan’s favourite since he joined the club initially on loan in November 2010. Despite making just over 20 appearances throughout the season, Hume has clocked up 9 league goals leaving him the club’s top scorer and should he be retained in time for next season he would better that tally if he could stay injury free.

Winger Danny Mayor has also made his claim for a place in Graham Westley’s squad for next season with some mesmerising performances towards the end of the season. His undoubted skill and trickery have been apparent since he made his debut in Darren Ferguson’s first league game in charge in January 2010 but it has only been since Westley’s arrival that his good work have become noticed with him picking up a number of assists. Danny has also picked up goal of the season for his brilliant solo strike against Hartlepool back in February and I’m sure that he will certainly begin to carry on his excellent performances in to next season.

Winger cum-emergency left back Paul Parry and ex-Liverpool Striker Neil Mellor are expected to depart with full back David Gray with the three out of contract in the summer. The rest will be a mystery as Westley’s revolution will begin to take place in the coming weeks after the man himself stated that he wanted his squad ready for mid May.

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This certainly does spark excitement for fans with a significant amount of arrivals and departures taking place but it has to work for Westley as the time has come for the words to stop and the cheque book to open. Westley’s confidence in himself could prove to be the making of the club or his own downfall but one thing is for certain, there will be few if any survivors from yesterday’s poor performance at Bournemouth that will appear in the 16 man squad for the first game of next season.

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Owen Hargreaves could be handed a chance to resurrect his Premier League career after entering into talks with West Brom.The 30-year-old only managed 27 games during a four-year spell at Manchester United thanks to a litany of injuries, and was released as the end of last season.

Baggies sporting and technical director Dan Ashworth revealed his club are interested in the former England man and added that, if fit, his signing would be a “no brainer”.

“We have been in talks with Owen,” he told West Brom’s official website.

“He’s based over in the United States at the moment so we might try to get to meet him in the next week or so and see if he would consider coming to us.”

“If Owen is fit to play Premier League football, it is a no-brainer.”

“Make no mistake, Owen Hargreaves is a fantastic player. He’s shown he’s a top, top player from his England, Manchester United and Bayern Munich days.”

“Obviously, Owen has had a few medical issues over the last few years. But we would be absolutely delighted to get a fit Owen Hargreaves.”

“That would be a wonderful signing for us.”

Ashworth claimed that his club have the medical department to handle a player that has had more than his fair share of injuries.

He added that while Hargreaves does have other options – with Championship Leicester City reportedly interested – West Brom were the first to make contact.

“The three things we’ve got going for us are: one, we’re in the Premier League, which is attractive in itself; the second thing is we’ve got a fantastic medical team. We had an unbelievable hit-rate last season in terms of player availability,” Ashworth added.

“I think that’s attractive to Owen, that we’ve got a proven track record in the last couple of years of maintaining players and keeping them out on the pitch, which is the most important thing.”

“Thirdly, we were the first club to contact him. He’s told me that, and he appreciates that.”

“I’d like to think we’ve got a chance – but Owen has plenty of other options as well.”

The Arsenal squad has pretty decent strength in depth. If you’re an Arsenal player and you don’t perform over a few games, chances are there’s a youngster ready and waiting to take your place. With quality young players like Aaron Ramsey, Henri Lansbury, Craig Eastmond and Jay-Emmanuel Thomas waiting in the wings, some players may have to move on if Arsenal’s youngest and brightest are to get the chance to develop as best they can within the team. Assessing this Arsenal side, there are two or three players who just don’t seem Arsenal quality. With that in mind, these are the three players I’d be happy to see the back of at the Emirates.

The first is Manuel Almunia. Good thing too considering he’s likely to be the first Arsenal player out the door during the January transfer window. Almunia isn’t a bad goalkeeper by any means – he is, for instance, a good shot stopper – but the consistency of his errors have always been a cause for worry. Wenger persisted with Almunia for quite some time but now seems content to let the Spaniard move on. It’s likely that Almunia will attempt to engineer a move to a Spanish club in January. One benefit of this is that we’ll get to see more of 20 year-old goalkeeping prodigy Wojciech Szczesny.

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Another player I’m ready to see move on is Nicklas Bendtner. I don’t like to say it, but at the moment he isn’t quite good enough for Arsenal and I’m not sure I can see him becoming a force to be reckoned with any time soon. He has a tendency to lumber around the pitch, he’s slow and he has a bad touch. He’s also not the great goal-scorer people like to make out. Robin van Persie and Marouane Chamakh have the quality necessary to compete at a club like Arsenal. Bendtner, on the other hand, I’m not so sure about.

My final choice is Carlos Vela. I realise that this might ruffle a few feathers. He’s young, talented and looks to be a genuine prospect. However, he’s really struggling to get a look in this season. Arsene already has to contend with Theo Walcott who impresses and frustrates in equal measure. They are a similar age, but it’s clear that Wenger rates Walcott higher.

On the odd occasion we’ve seen Vela this season, he has appeared to be lacking in confidence. Given that Arsenal already have bundles of talent down the wings, perhaps the best thing Vela can do for his career is move on.

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I imagine there will be a few people readying their “but so-and-so is a good squad player” defence. Yes, all these players are decent enough, but the three I’ve listed are players I don’t believe are capable of challenging for a regular first-team position at the moment. There must be competition for places at all times within the squad so that the team avoids complacency. Why settle for second-class squad players?

For more footballing opinion and debate, head over to Twitter and follow @ThePerfectPass

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In the end there was no final day drama, no slip ups, no excessive nail biting, with the exception of a nervy opening quarter of an hour, there really was nothing to worry about in the end.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous before kick-off, but then most Saints fans probably were, the thought of slipping to third on the final day, after being in the top two all season was not a pleasant thought. This day had the potential to turn into a disaster had the unthinkable happened, yet there were early nerves from a group of players who knew that they were 90 minutes away from either fame or infamy.

There were no signs that this was going to be a comfortable home victory in the early exchanges as Coventry acquitted themselves well in the first 15 minutes or so. Then came the early breakthrough that we craved, as centre-back Jose Fonte’s surging Hansen-esque run from deep, helped to set up the opening goal that was cunningly deflected by Billy Sharp, from Lallana’s low shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Jose Fonte then got himself on the score sheet only minutes later with a diving header, and the nerves were all but gone now as the collective sighs of relief by the 32,000 Saints fans present, was probably strong enough to blow the planes passing low over St. Marys slightly off course!

Further goals in the second-half by first, Jos Hooiveld, and then Adam Lallana sparked the biggest celebration the city has seen since at least the FA Cup semi-final win over Watford in 2003. As the players and officials ran for the sanctuary of the changing-rooms at the final whistle, the crowd ran on to the pitch to celebrate what most fans would have thought to have been unthinkable at the start of the season, back-to-back promotions.

Most of us and that includes myself, would have been happy, and were probably expecting, a season of consolidation and mid-table mediocrity after gaining promotion from League 1 the previous season. Yet like Norwich before them, the Saints got off to a fantastic start and despite the odd dip in form, they completed a remarkable journey from Premier League, to League 1, and back again, in 7 years.

After years of suffering at the hands of men who could not run a chimps tea party, let alone a football club the size of Southampton, the long suffering Saints fans have at last something to smile about. The dark clouds have blown away from St. Marys and now there is a bright new horizon in front of us, there is also going to be a lot of hard work to do over the close season, in order to establish the club as a permanent Premier League side once again.

The last thing we want is to be one of the many yo-yo clubs that are constantly up and down, clubs like Wolves, Birmingham, Middlesbrough, and Reading. We need to take our time and not make hasty decisions in the transfer market, as our new found status will inevitably bring us to the attention to every mercenary footballer and their agents, who are in search of one big last pay day.

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The team spirit we have at the club is fantastic and reminds me of the spirit that we had when fighting all those final day relegation battles in the nineties, something we lacked when dropping out of the Premier League in 2005.

Whatever happens over the coming summer months, it is in all likelihood going to be one of the most fascinating close seasons in the clubs history. From a fans perspective, it is also going to feel like one of the longest, Euro 2012 and the Olympics? Pah! We can’t wait for August!

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The news that United had made a deal to bring Phil Jones to Old Trafford was met with a wave of satisfaction rather than excitement by most Reds.

A proven Premier League player –of sorts- who was still in his teens could only be a welcome addition to the record breaking title winner’s squad.

Jones had shown for much of the season that he was a capable defender/defensive midfielder who’s peak years were ahead of him so it made a lot of sense for Sir Alex to fork out £16.5 million on him.

The funny thing is that in the space of only a few days Jones has gone from a capable defensive player to a ‘colossus’ -according to that stuffed donkey aficionado Stuart Pearce, thanks to an assured display against the mighty Ukrainian under 21 side.

Then there was the period last week when it looked as though Liverpool may hijack United’s deal, cue lots of deluded Scousers, on phone-ins and forums hailing Jones as the greatest defender in the history of football, a player so good that his Majesty Daglish could build an entire team around him and duly deliver the Premier League to its rightful home of Anfield.

While Liverpool fans have duly changed their tune about a player they are no naturally glad they didn’t get ‘cos he’s not even all that anyway like la’ most United fans and members of the national press- not to mention Pearce, have been getting a tad over-excited at just how good Jones is.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m confident the former Rovers man will have a long and illustrious Old Trafford career ahead of him but some of the praise and expectation being heaped upon him worries me slightly.

Many people both Red and less fortunate, have been quick to predict a similar impact from Jones at Old Trafford to the one Smalling delivered in his debut season.

The former Fulham man was outstanding last season and not even his mum could have envisioned Smalling settling in so quickly and looking so much at ease in a United shirt.

Smalling’s excellence, coupled with Jones’s showing both at Blackburn and for England under 21s has meant that the expectation around the 19 year-old has suddenly increased to almost ridiculous levels.

A player that would do well to reach double figures for United next season is now being touted by some as a possible choice to fill the defensive midfield role already.

I’m not about to be foolish enough to state: “you’ll never win anything with kids” only a total idiot would say such a thing- but I do think a modicum of rational perspective is needed.

Jones has been bought for the long term of that there should be no doubt and if it takes him a while to adjust to life at such a huge club as United then there can be no real complaints.

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Players such as Gary Pallister, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and even Cristiano Ronaldo all took at least a season to truly find their feet at Old Trafford before becoming legends so it’s not too negative to think Jones may take at least a year.

All the recent hype from the media and pundits around just how good Jones is has seaped through to many fans -myself included- whereby it’s easy to lose sight of the fact the lad is a teenager who’s barely played 30 top flight games.

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All of a sudden there’s a sneakiy feeling that with all the money at Old Trafford seemingly being spent on players such as Luka Modric or Alexis Sanchez, we may have to make do with the defensive players we’ve got- particularly in midfield.

Could Jones come into the United side immediately and do a job in midfield? Probably -at least against the so-called lesser teams, but we shouldn’t expect him to. £16.5 million is a lot of mony I admit but it’s an investment and it’s important, as with all investments, we look for the long-term gains rather than the short term rewards.

I’m as excited as most Reds that we seem to have bagged a future star, but I don’t want to see the eagerness for instant success affect how United handle a player who could turn out to be one of Sir Alex’s most savvy signings.

It’s important that not just the club but also the fans remember that Jones needs time to settle into United and that time may be longer than the US tour, not everyone is a Mexican forward after all.

Read more of Justin’s articles at Red Flag Flying High

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole admits he still has the hunger and drive to play for years to come as he approaches his 30th birthday.

The England left-back, who has claimed 86 caps for his country, has no desire to start winding down his career as he prepares to enter his fourth decade next month.

Looking at the club's youngsters pushing through the ranks, Cole admits to feeling his age, but insists everything is still in place to make him stick at the game at the highest level for the foreseeable future.

"You do get a bit reflective at this stage in your career," he told the London Evening Standard."There are a lot of youngsters coming through – we have Josh McEachran, who is 17, and you sit with him thinking: 'How old are you?'

"You do feel your age, but being on the pitch makes me feel young and enthusiastic and healthy. That's what keeps me going every day in training. I am just doing my job – playing as well as I can for Chelsea and trying to win things.

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"I try my best for England, too, and what people think is out of my hands. I can't do anything about it."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Manchester United chief executive David Gill has admitted that he expects a busy summer transfer window at Old Trafford, with a number of players coming to and leaving the club.

The Red Devils are on the verge of clinching the Premier League title, and the supremo has admitted that it is a tense time of the year and that he is starting to think about new players for next season.

“It’s been an amazing run and it’s going to be a tense end to the season. If we do it, it will be fantastic,” Gill told the club’s official website.

“This time of year’s not good. You do get tense but we’ve done very well and are in good shape now – five points ahead with four games to go. It’s going to be tight but it’s been wonderful.

“We’re looking at new players. The work goes on all year round but obviously intensifies as we come to the end of the season in terms of players.

“There’s various contracts we’ve got to do, we’ll look at some acquisitions and there will be some players who will leave. It’s an interesting time,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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This evening before over 200 members of the Arsenal Supporter’s Trust, Ivan Gazidis the CEO of Arsenal Football Club flanked by senior directors of the Trust replied to questions from his audience.

Before doing so he made a 15 minute statement, he prefaced these comments by reminding the audience that the meeting was being televised and that this would be going out on the official website of the Club. As such he indicated that he would not be giving ammunition to the circling media vultures who presentation of the meeting would probably not be as accurate as the meeting itself. Indeed, some of you may already have early news of what was discussed, via the various social media networks like Twitter. So given that the meeting is going out on Arsenal Player at 10pm tonight, this blog will be short and hopefully to the point. He started by reminding everyone of how proud he was of the values that underpinned Arsenal Football Club, throughout what struck me was that Ivan Gazidis is a slick and very eloquent communicator. He never allowed his face to reveal any emotion in response to some of the difficult questions. Given his undoubted eloquence, I have to say that I came away frustrated because of his reliance upon the usual formal Arsenal rhetoric. I am not suggesting that Mr Gazidis was unhelpful or insincere; however I do believe that as CEO he acted in accordance with the word that we heard repeatedly throughout. “Balance”

Key points:

This was a profoundly disappointing end to the season which ended in a familiar way, with expectations dashed in the final stages of the season.

Arsenal FC’s primary function was to be a social institution, yet it was also a business and there had to be a balance struck between the competing interests in the short and long term. These being the self sustaining model of the Club’s revenues and the need to remain at the top of the game. Arsenal had laid down examples of what it stood for. It had obligations to the fans, the local community and of course the wider game in general.

He addressed the issue of ticket price rises head on and said that Arsenal FC had been mindful of the likely discomfort of fans in taking the decision to increase ticket prices. He went onto counter criticism very oddly by saying seeing as there had only been two price rises in 6 seasons, the club could have increased the ticket prices by a greater amount given that running costs of the stadium had doubled in some areas.

He was tasked with increasing the commercial revenue streams of the club, and in order to do this AFC had invested in a world class Commercial team. They have been working well and he now saw the green shoots of recovery.

He detailed the ownership status of the club, with SK owning 66.6% and AU owning just under 30%. He said that SK had grown to love AFC following his involvement and understood what the club stood for and was 100% behind the self sustainability model of the financial model.

Questions ranged from the predictable to the unexpected and IG adhered firmly to his brief

He was not going to discuss specifics such as individual players; neither was he going to give away commercially sensitive information.

He played a straight bat throughout and my impression was that he only answered questions directly where there was not likely to be any media controversy arising from his responses.

He acknowledge the failings, and expressed that changes would take place, but he was not at liberty what changes and when.

Continued on Page TWO

He gave AW his 100% backing and refused to acknowledge that AW was either stubborn or error prone. He acknowledged that player wage inflation was making the business model difficult, and the challenge was to increase revenues by activities such as the pre-season tour to Asia.

In response to a question which suggested that AFC needed a David Dein, he said that there were no plans to bring him back.

Several questions were highly critical of Arsene Wenger and his seemingly unaccountable control of the club, the wage budget was there and IG refused to say if AW had spent all of it last season. He mention balance repeatedly, and referred to having to balance the need to spend at the right time compared to the final benefits of those decisions. He refused to explain how it was that we had two players who were close to doing a Matt Flamini and being able to walk away from the club on a Bosman, or being sold at far below the real market value.

AW was in charge essentially as he knew the real values of the players. He appealed for unity, and in response to a question highlighting some disrespectful comments about the attitudes of fans made by our Chairman and AW himself. He conceded that we could all do better.

He refused to state whether SK had taken out loans to pay for his purchase, and certainly on the subject of the introduction of share dividends, SK was committed to what had gone on before at the club, and had taken pains to reassure fans.

He said that he would look at the possibility of safe standing areas in the stadium, but his intial thoughts was that any rearrangement might be too expensive.

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The rest of the questions failed to prise anything of note bar the following

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There were gasps of astonishment as he replied to a question from the Le Grove Blog about who was AW accountable.

He said Arsene Wenger was accountable to the fans, and it was the fans that could in theory make it unsustainable for AW to remain at the club. Happily later on he conceded that AW was also accountable to the Board and the vision of widespread fan protests and adverse chanting faded from my mind.

I asked a question about reducing the debt on the club by asking the two Billionaires to buy out the existing loans on the stadium in strict proportion of their current share holdings. This was considered by IG as being too expensive in business terms, and there were doubts if the proposal would meet the UEFA fair play rules. I had the opportunity to get him to clarify how much this would cost, after the end of the meeting and he indicated a figure of around 50 million pounds. So if the debts are 230 million, it would cost under 300 million to release 20 million pounds a season. I still think that whilst we are waiting for commercial revenue streams to come on tap. Some alternative must be found rather than expecting the loyal fans to pay for the inflationary costs.

The meeting ended as it had begun, with rounds of applause for passionate questions from longstanding fans of the club. IG would not indicate if changes might take place to the coaching staff, or which players would be brought in. It was all a question of balance.

He received a polite round of applause, but I left there thinking that I had been witness to a very diplomatic and professional defence of the Club’s reputation and this was balanced by acknowledging the failures of last season and the disappointment of fans who had been effectively priced out of the club.

Check out the actual content on the Arsenal player later, because sadly after the first ten or so questions, I could have given the same answers myself. i.e. I am not going to reveal any sensitive information, we are all in this together, and we can do better. Remember, it is all a question of BALANCE.

Article courtesy of FTK at the excellent Arsenal Insider