Wenger the Hypocrite

A piece in the Mail that should interest Arsene Wenger as he is so interested in UEFA being fair when dealing with other clubs.

"Considering he thinks it is right for Manchester City to be expelled from the Champions League, sometimes it is amusing to consider what Arsene Wenger feels is fair in football. Rewarding failure, for instance. Very fair. Arsenal, his club, have not been anywhere near the Premier League trophy for 10 years now, yet are consistently seeded in Pot 1 of the Champions League draw, and have been since 2000-01.
UEFA’s co-efficient system, which takes historical form into account and therefore protects the biggest and richest clubs from one ordinary season — or in Arsenal’s case, nine — will come to Wenger’s rescue again this summer. Despite having to go through another qualification play-off, providing Arsenal progress, Wenger already knows his team are among the highest seeds for 2014-15, no matter the fourth-place finish.Manchester City, the actual champions in two of the previous three seasons, will be in Pot 2, if lucky. Borussia Dortmund won the Bundesliga in 2011-12 and were placed in Pot 4. ‘Nobody has ever won the Champions League from Pot 4,’ explained Dortmund chief executive officer Hans-Joachim Watzke. Still no word from Wenger on this, so it’s probably fair.Sky-high ticket prices; also fair. This season Arsenal had the highest priced season ticket in the league (£1,955) and the top priced cheapest season ticket, too, at £985. As Arsenal play Hull City on Saturday looking for their first trophy since 2005, some might think this poor value for money. Not Wenger. No word condemns Arsenal for squeezing their public, despite the advantage of a 60,000 capacity stadium.‘The only way we can pay the wages and compete without any external help is through the ticket prices,’ he said in January 2013. ‘It is our main income so, of course, the prices are high. It is down to every individual to decide. If you want to go to a concert tomorrow, you look at the price of a ticket and if it is too high, you say yes or no.’This is the upmarket version of like it or lump it, really. Super fair. Manchester City, meanwhile, on the back of two titles, the FA Cup and the League Cup in the last four seasons, have the cheapest prices in the Premier League, and are even the right side of three clubs in the Conference.Wealth distribution: another area of fairness that does not set Wenger’s antennae twitching. In 2012-13, for getting eliminated at the Champions League knock-out stage by the first good team they played, Arsenal pocketed £26.1million and Manchester United £29.6m. UEFA also pass a solidarity payment to the Premier League to distribute among the other 16 clubs. Last year it was £1.3m split 16 ways — or £81,250 each. Sounds fair. Unsurprisingly, there is no complaint from Wenger."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-2625839/Roy-Hodgson-does-not-20-Wayne-Rooneys-choose-John-Stones-Jon-Flanagan-fine-prospects-neither-ready-Brazil.html