Janan Ganesh is a self-confessed Arsenal season ticket holder. He uses his column in the Weekend FT ('Citizen of Nowhere') to make a comparison between 'short term' Chelsea and 'long term' Arsenal.
I should add that the comparison is not entirely flattering to Arsenal. As Ganesh admits, 'The parable of Chelsea is that short-termism can work ... long-termism at its worst amounts to rigidity in the face of a changeable future.'
In fact Ganesh uses the Pink 'Un to have a go at his own club, not that there is anything unusual about fans slagging off their own team. He notes, 'As well as keeping a coach for 712 years, the club husbanded a cash pile that became reputedly the largest in world football.'
Ganesh then goes on to accuse the Gooners of 'hyperopia'. I must admit I didn't know what this meant, but in the interests of improving my word power, I looked it up. Apparently it's a defect of vision in which long range vision is clear but short range is blurred.
In any event, 'Arsenal kept failed players on their books, trusting them to come good, as an abandoned dog awaits its master.'
In general terms I think there is too much short termism in football and that managerial turnover is too high. Chelsea have spent around £120m over the years replacing managers, but one could argue that it has worked. As my builder (a Chelsea fan) reminds me, it's Abramovich's money.
Meanwhile, neither team is where they would like to be, but that could change in this unusual season.
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