Biggus wrote:
Wenger has nearly spent as much as Ferguson. 😆
True - but let's actually spend some time to think things through.
Wenger's maximum spend has come within the past two years, post Ferguson - his total over 10 years is €428 or £303. Prior to the summer of 2013, our highest transfer fee was around 16m and we very rarely spent more than 30m a summer.
Meanwhile, over 10 years, Manchester United as a club have spent £542m or €764. Source: http://metro.co.uk/2014/12/13/liverpool-have-spent-more-transfer-money-in-last-10-years-than-manchester-united-but-are-still-lagging-behind-red-devils-4985566/ (This does not take into account the current summer)
This would make Manchester United managers/coaches the third biggest spenders on the list.
The difference between Arsenal and United is therefore around £230m/€336 which is similar to the gap between Ferguson and Pellegrini/Mancini.
The fact that van Gaal's name is in there despite spending most of his time managing the Netherlands national team and AZ Alkmaar (where is resources have been limited) sums it up.
I know you mistrust stats and numbers, and it's easy to see why if you're not willing to look at the context behind them.