He set the club back 5 years with his transfer dealings.
It's not as simple as blaming him for the transfer business though George.. It's not one man making the signings and that's a big part of the problem.
There seems no over riding plan to the transfers though I'd agree, but one of the main issues is the lack of single vision throughout the club on transfers..
You can certainly suggest that the manager hasnt either set out a certain strategy on the pitch in over 3 seasons and the transfer work supports that, even if the transfers are done by either a manager or a committee that each player coming in you should be able to see where they fit into that system.. But can we really say that? What's Firmino's role in a system? What was Balotelli's? What was Markovic's? What's Lallana's? Whats Can's?
The list goes on, good players who haven't really been signed with a certain role in mind when they have been brought in seemingly.. Just good lads we can get over the line and we'll work it out later.. That's no way to conduct transfer work, but that's not simply the managers fault as he isn't bringing in all the players..
Take a look at Chelsea two summers back.. They needed a boss lad up top and a creative player in the middle to fit their system.. So that's who they signed.
Look at Rafa's at his peak here with his high profile signings.. Torres, Macherano, Alonso Reina.. All signed to fit into a certain model and a system designed to get the best from them..
Back to Kenny's first stint, Aldo, Barnes Beardsley etc all signed with a system in mind..
We haven't given the likes of Lallana or Markovic or whoever in recent seasons the best chance in my opinion to settle and kick on as they are shunted around positions and systems that neither have really played.
If you scout and signed Lallana, you look at what he did for Southampton and see if he can do something similar here.. But we haven't done that.. He has played on 3 or 4 positions and people get on his back but in reality he hasn't had a run in a settled side in a settled position.
It's a different argument that in the past we would sign a player and he would stay in the ressies for a year and learn the club.. We aren't a settled squad or team right now and each player coming in is being brought in to have an impact and bridge a problem.. But the amount of players coming in is too many IMO as we are ripping up and starting again every year..
My main frustration with the manager is that it's not been a 3-4 year project so far, it's been 3 or 4 seperate ones starting fresh every year.. The blueprint, systems and style seems to be fresh every year with a load of new lads coming in and starting the process again.. The lack of joined up thinking over FSGs tenure frustrates the f**k out of me.
From day one under Rafa I could see what he was trying to build.. From day one under Brendan I cant, it changes every year
I feel like we are starting again at the the beginning of his forth season and to expect patience every season to start again and struggle to see an end vision is pushing it.. If I saw a vision we are working to I could go with it, but it's as if we are just throwing stuff in the air every summer and hoping it falls in a pattern.
The club have fu**ed up transfers not just the manager, the manager tgough for me takes the blame that there is no obvious plan of what we want to look like as a team.. I can't see it still and after 3 years that's not good enough.
Every player Arsenal sign is to a plan, every player Chelsea sign is to a plan.. Every player we sign isn't and that's inept