You might have noticed that there hasn’t been much blogging going on around here.
The fact is that — probably like all of you — I’ve been rather demotivated in the last week.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve wanted to give you all something to read and talk about, to try and put a positive thing or even provide something remotely insightful but the truth is, there’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said.
Denílson is leaving
Tomorrow is our final game of the season and it cannot come soon enough. We are in freefall, likely to finish fourth and whichever way you look at it, it has been a hugely disappointing end to the season.
Instead of trying to make sense of things now, before it is all over, I’ve decided to relax, take my time, prepare my thoughts and then get back to you with a splurge of end of season articles.
Before then, enjoy the final game of the season and let’s just hope our boys can sneak into third. I don’t expect Denílson will be named in the squad.
Spread the Arsenal love (if you can) by leaving a comment.икони
Good Morning lads everyone has their own views or experiences of what a fan should be in terms of supporting their club and i’m going to give you mine.i watch two teams during the football season,ny beloved arsenal and because i work saturdays and can’t get to the emirates week in week out i watch swansea city play. now the big difference i see is one set of supporters who makes it very intimidating for the opposition and it’s no wonder they have the best home record in the championship because they get behind their team for 90min. now what we have to remember is,we are supposed to be the 12th man at the emirates so why aren’t we.whatever our views are on the manager,players or even the over priced food that they sell-WE SHOULD ALL BE IN SUPPORT OF THE CLUB FOR THE 90MIN.liverpool have once again been voted “loudest fans in the prem lge”,look at how many times the kop have sucked that ball into the net and there’s a reason why man utd get more home decisions than anyone,it’s because of the huge support they have there.arsenal have to look at ways at doing this.it get’s on my bloody nreves that the away fans are allowed to stand whereas we are told to sit down and shut up basically. THIS MUST CHANGE.if i had one wish before next season starts is that every arsenal fans backs the team & manager.i can already see what it’s going to be like when wenger makes his first signing this summer,half will agree & the other half will disagree,we CAN’T DO THIS.if wenger buys for arguments sake,cahill,parker,benzema then we all should back those players to do well for arsenal not ridicule then before they’ve kicked a ball for arsenal.we cannot let anarcy set in or we won’t be seeing champs lge football for much too long in my opinion.in a time of anger,frustration,it’s essential that we all stick together and get behind our team just like i see those swansea jacks do. folks of what i think a fan and supporter should be all about.i know from experience last sunday that there weren’t too many fans who stayed behind for the players lap of honour,but i did,why.i thought about this at the time and i instantly thought of all the players who have done well for us this season and i didn’t want to let them down.how it must have felt for young wilshere i don’t know.nasri first half of the season,sagna’s fantastic defensive displays and rvp scoring for fun this 2nd half of the season.i thought of walcott scoring 12 goals & 11 assists,a massive improvement on previous season,although,i admit, he needs now to be in games for longer spells.i thought of young ramsey who had a terrible injury,and to see the joy on the young mans face when he scored the winner against utd,well folks my eyes filled up.i thought of szczesny on his knees celebrating arsharvins winner against barca while myself and my lad were going nuts behind him in the clock end.but in the end it was also to thank all the players for being so,so lucky to play for arsenal football club. it was also to say goodbye to some players who are not good enough for afc.yes they tried their best and may’be give their all for the club,but THIS AINT ANY OLD CLUB,THIS IS ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB,a club that should be winning or competing for trophies every season.while i have been as angry and frustrated as the next fan,but i couldn’t let them down,it’s not in my arsenal dna.am i wrong folks???
@Steve – lovely post mate. Why do some so called supporters have such short memories? Look at where we were before Arsene – A Jobbing club that sometimes got lucky, but were never as successful as say l’pool, United, Forest, Leeds etc. We were playing at Highbury, the smallest (but nicest) stadium in the league. To be blunt, we were just another villa or Everton. Now however, due to the diligence shown by Arsene and the previous board, we are regulars in europe, we have the best stadium in the league which provides us with over £5 million every home match, we are a continued presence in the ‘top four’.
I really believe that if one or two reffing decisions had not been so outrageously bad, we would have progressed to the final of the CL and that we would have won the league. We are so close. the difference between our success and failure is so small, its indeterminable.
who is regularly winning cups? the financially irregular teams, thats who. now we cant all be that way, there arent enough oil billionaires out there, and even if we could, would we want to.
I think that the answer to this question defines you as a supporter. Personally I wouldnt like to see us emulate chelsea, united or city. two of those clubs buy their trophies ( we can all do that) and the other has borrowed massively to buy theirs.
can we not agree that when we win a cup, it will be worth 10 times as much because we won it fairly and honorably? Like, and I hate to say it, Birmingham. they havent sold their soul to the devil at the crossroads, they may carry some debt, but their spending pales into insignificance when compared to most teams in the league.
I would like to cheer you up by listing a few positives of Arsenal at the moment. we have one of the top four managers in the world – let’s face it, if arsene goes, he will be snapped up far quicker than a decent replacement could be found. We have the best stadium in the league, We have zero real debt, a new owner with very deep pockets, Ramsay and Vermaelen have just come back and will be like two new signings next season. The FPP rules have the ability (maybe not the conviction) to really level the playing field in terms of financial doping. some reffing technology is being seriously considered by fifa and uefa, and to cap it all off the spuds have still won nothing, havent got champs league and finished below us in the league.
We are the Arsenal, the mighty mighty Arsenal.
I saw it coming. Where are those big mouthed, fiery but non objective and insight(less) pals who breathed fire unto everyone who predicted worse times after our draw to Sunderland? The mature of us are less hit by the reality of this trophy less season because we saw it coming – And we can even correctly predict that next season will be the same. The only way we can win the FA or Champions League is if we don’t encounter Man U, Chelsea and Ooh my, the deadly Citizens or Barcelona on the way and they always…sadly….will be there. So why cant I say boldly that even if we win the stupid Carling Cup next season we still may finish below 4th!
Emmanuel
@ Simon, some clarification for you: we were not a ‘jobbing club’ before Wenger came along. We were the third most successful club in English football history. Way ahead of the likes of Leeds, Forest etc. We’d had a period of success just before Wenger came along, winning the title twice in that period. Highbury was not the smallest stadium in the league, not by a long way. It held 38,000 and in the terrace days the record attendance was 70,000.
The stadium move was made to facilitate making a few men very rich indeed – surely that is clear to all now with the sale to the American billionaire – who has made it very clear he wants to continue the self-sustainability route, so his deep pockets mean nothing.
And how does the income made from the stadium benefit you, as a fan, if it is not invested in the squad?
To say one or two reffing decisions is the reason we didn’t win the league and get to CL final is bluster of the most extreme kind – since the CC Final the team has been in relegation form, it’s been a total collapse. We are finishing miles off the pace with less goals scored, more goals conceded and less points than last season. Get real.
Like all other Arsenal fans i have been feeling very dismayed, confused almost at times angry by what i have seen. I never thought i would ever go as far as to turn off any Arsenal live game, but i did just that during both the Stoke and Villa games.
So it is very difficult to spread any Arsenal love, as i suspect we will also lose to Fulham and in deed finish 4th.
The team have lost their way because Wenger seems to have lost his way. I have never seen him look as lost, exasperated and clueless as he has recently and at other times this season. His lack of composure and at times almost comical and embarrassing behavior is upsetting to see. This must affect the players, it can not inspire confidence if the manager is losing it on the touchline, or looks completely lost as to what to do. Whilst Wenger cavorts around on the touchline Pat Rice sits immobile and stony faced, and the opposing Manager and Team must know that they are in with a great chance of taking the win.The season can not finish quickly enough, so that everyone within the club can go and have a break and a serious rethink.
Once my anger had subsided i tried to look at the positives from the season and put the failures into some sort of perspective. I tended to come up with the usual explanations, Injuries at the wrong time, bad refereeing decisions, etc etc….but this is apportioning the blame outside the club to things beyond Arsenal’s control.
But this happens to every other club,there is nothing anyone can do about it, the answer lies within the club.
Whilst watching Wenger and the rest of the coaches it has become apparent that their seems to be very little communication between Wenger and the rest of his staff.
Other managers are constantly being consulted and advised throughout a game by their coaches etc
If things are going wrong, or a game plan/tactics are not working then you need to be able to adapt them or even change them, Arsenal seem to be incapable of doing this.
The majority of the teams that we should be beating have found the way to stop Arsenal from playing the football we all love to see, they play fast and hard, close down our space, hassle us off the ball, robust tackling, even long ball tactics because our defence is incapable of dealing with it. It is no good just complaining and moaning about it, if that is what the opponents are going to do then we need to adapt to counter it and correct the faults we have. Because if we do not, we will not be in the top 4 next season.
A Managers job is to pick a team, man management , tactics etc.
There are coaches for different parts of the team, Goalkeepers, Defence etc.
Is this where the problem lies? Does Wenger try to do it all? Is he so unapproachable during a game that the rest of the coaching staff can not advise him? Do we have a more serious problem with the coaching staff?
Our defensive frailties are there for all to see. We also have a problem with breaking down other teams when they play defensively and close down our space outside their own penalty area, how many times this season have we been closed out by teams playing that way, and our intricate passing game has got us nowhere. Where is the Plan B or adaptability to suit that game.
As much as i hate to say it, Man U seem to be able to do it, even more so this season with i think a very mediocre side.
This is part of the reason why failure has been hard to stomach, it was all there for the taking, Man U , Chelsea, Liverpool they were all poorer teams.
I just wonder if there is no longer anyone at the club who advises Wenger. Who can say hang on are you sure about that? Who can perhaps question his transfer choices since the departure of David Dein.
This summer will perhaps be one of our most crucial as Wenger will be under more scrutiny then ever before, i for one hope and pray that he gets it right as he is still one of the best things that ever happened to the club. Who got him there ? David Dein.
Well what a great start to the morning with Den wanting out. Not being forced out which would mean we maybe having to pay him off but realising he just isn’t cut out for AFC or The Prem. I was thinking again last night about what is wrong with us. We all know about players minds only experiencing failure and around March their old subconscious minds kick in again and they choke as sure as night follows day. However I (as i’m sure alot of you already know) realised one simple fact. When Le Boss took over he bought one Mark Overmars. AN OUT AND OUT WINGER WITH PROVEN PEDIGREE. After Marc he bought Bobby Pires. Another out and out winger with proven pedigree. Couple these standouts with Freddie and Romford playing in their right positions and you had a winning formula. Since Booby left we had Rayes for a season another out and out winger then for some strange reason AW decided to play central mids as wingers. AW this game is very simples. The likes of Nasri, AA,Theo and Nikky (OK mayb NB can make it as a winger lol – NOT!)are not and NEVER will be wingers. (Theo can do a job on left but NEVER on right) You are now gonna give Ryo a chance – great an out an out winger but IF he succeeds do you think an 18 Year old is gonna carry us forward in that department for a whole Premier League season? I Don’t! Arsene PLEASE go back to what made us successful. Play players in their correct positions and buy players to play in their correct positions. If next season come Xmas we see you throwing NB (if still here) on as a right or left winger we all will finally realise you have truly lost the plot and it’ll be time to bid Au Reviour!
For anyone who’s interested, here’s my end of season views.
1. After six seasons with no trophies, something has to change.
2. After thirteen years in charge, (and major successess) I feel the club could only benefit by a change of manager .
3. i’m 73, and I’ve been going to the Arsenal since I was ten. I cannot recall such an overwhelming sense of disappointment as I’ve felt this season.
4. I’m a pensioner with a half share in a season ticket. That cost me over £700 this season, around £60 per match, plus around £20 for travelling and extras.
For the first time ever I’m asking myself if it’s worth spending that sort of money to suffer the frustrations I’ve endured this season (not to mention the detrimental effects on my health !! )
5. There is a school of thought that Wenger will announce his resignation after the Fulham game. I feel guilty when the thought “Would that be a bad thing” keeps popping into my head.
6. Chances are I’ll still be there next season, full of hope, anguish and frustration. Oh well !!!
I can tolerate AKBs but one thing that irritates the hell out of me is AKBs who plagarise whole articles after trolling at another Arsenal forum with the same article.
Why can’t you all for once have a mind of your own? Stop being myopic for god’s sake, some of the current squad are top quality whilst some dose not fit the Arsenal play. Those who do not fit disrupt the balance.
Nobody is asking Arsene to sell all 11 first teamers, just 1 or 2 additions. Please read/listen to what people comment, at least the so-called doomers here can have a sane debate. These AKBs are like preachers who go on and on and on about Wenger. Please give it a rest. Stop the nagging.
Arsenal was a success before Wenger don’t EVER PATRONISE those who support Arsenal before Arsene with misleading facts. Bruce Rioch bought DB10 and that’s a fact.
Every blooming year it is the same thing. The end of the season lament and the issue is staring us in the face. We need to change manager. but psssssssssssssssssssssst… it is blasphemy nowadays to say it as you are not a true arsenal fan if you do. The philosophy is bad. Beautiful game they say but what is so beautiful about it – especially if you are not winning.
We need to be practical people are we Gunners or Wengerites. Genius they say but how can be a genius if after 15-16 years you have three –THREE I SAY – league trophies and you state that coming second is not all that bad. And you won the three trophies on the squad built by your predecessor.
I see people on this blog saying what was arsenal before Wenger. Well I was a gunnner before Wenger and you need to look at the ’95 season when we won the cup winners cup. a paltry piece of silverware from Europe but which other manager (including our incumbent genius who built a squad from scratch) did this — ESPECIALLY IN RECENT TIME
Then comes this ever recurring tasteless theme. The Cesc Fabregas issue… pssst. He wants to go home .. LET THE KID GO. Since when has a player been bigger than a club! And what did we get from him in his so lofty and praised tenure —- fancy footwork in small games…show me big game (and i mean final and top four fixtures) where he has stood out. Cash in the 35 million or whatever and move on people.. an era has passed and we need to MOOVE ON.
A lot of us who lament each year on this portal have never researched the club they support. Which is quite tame evidence of our love for the gunners. We are a top four club which was known for mental toughness and the will to win and we sacrificed that not just for fancy footwork and the greed of self centred billionaires but HEART.
As we move forward in this direputable compromise we now cannot lament and blame everything and everyone else. I will painfully make a prediction here as I close out for the season. We will NEVER win anything until the professor takes his gold watch from the front desk and moves on.
After 125 years it comes to this
VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESIT (Victory Through Harmony)
Simon you say wenger is one of the top 4 managers in the world who has not won anything for 6 years. Who are the other 3 in the top 4 and what have they won in the last 6 years.
I think its unfair to blame the home support, or lack of it, for the team’s failings. For me, its a chicken and egg problem. Fans don’t get behind the team because they sense that the team are not giving their all, and the players sense they’re not getting the support they think they deserve, and so their game drops. The vicious cycle continues.
While I accept that our fans are not the loudest, they’re not necessarily the worst. Don’t forget that the ‘best fans in the world’ of LFC sang “You don’t know what you’re doing” to Roy Hodgson. So much for getting behind the manager eh? I haven’t yet seen such things being sung at Wenger.
Also, I seem to recall matches such as in the CL semis against Man U in 09/10, where the Emirates crowd really got behind the team, only for the players to capitulate in spectacular fashion again (1-3 to Man U if I remember correctly).
I do not see any change next season if arsene carry on with majority of the squad which is simply not good enough to win even carling cup. The present squad lacks class apart from few, short of guts to fight when chips are down, never win 50-50 ball and being shorties the players get sucked in in the final dash to the post lacking stamina. The team starts well but when the crunch time comes it surrenders that is more than evident when losing or drawing to such mediocre teams like birmingham, blackburn, bolton, sunderland and newcastle something manu never allows and win trophies.
@Steve68
I live in Oz but grew up in London as a kid and supported Arsenal. My family is all from Swansea so used to go and visit the rellies and watch the Swans at the old Vetch field. Saw them play (and beat!) the Gunners when they got to the old 1st division. Am really hoping thy beat Reading and get up to the top flight again. Do they still sing all the anti English songs in the new stadium? Used to make me laugh. I’ll be getting up in the night to watch the play off.
Sorry for being slightly off topic!
Fellas, we’ve all missed the most important piece of information in Andy’s post :
Denilson is leaving!
That’s worth celebrating alone.
Perhaps also, it should be considered that if you live near to the club and pay good money to support the club by paying a membership fee just to qualify to buy a match day ticket, or like Mr McCole pay a large sum towards a season ticket, and then have to face supporters of other teams (spurs, chelsea, millwall – how well are they doing?) taking the piss on monday when you go to work (much more scathing remarks than seen here), a bit more frustration is permissible. ‘What’s happening with arsenal?’ All I can do is shrug my shoulders and say, ‘I don’t know.’ Also, there are hardly any positive reports about performances in the London newspapers (surely they are not involved in the ref conspiracy), nothing in the transfer rumours section and to top it off, it will cost more money to support the team next season.
@unchained
You were on your way to making a good point before you said “And you won the three trophies on the squad built by your predecessor. ” Firstly, it isn’t true. Secondly, even if it is, so what. Mourinho won at Chelsea with Ranieri’s team. Nobody says that to deny him the credit for winning. In my view,and I stress it is just that, the only reason this sort of thing is thrown at Wenger is because even his detractors (and you have full right to be one) realise that his overall record is actually commendable. So in an attempt to say he’s not good now, they say he never was.
And before you call me an AKB, try and think beyond the simple classifications which when you consider their meaning, are actually quite hollow.
@Antek
That certain refs show bias in their performance against us, is actually a statistically proven fact. Whether that bias is reflective of a conspiracy or not is something that is a lot more difficult to prove. My guess would be that there is no single conspiracy that exists, rather more a hydra of a beast that thrives on the big money, and low to zero accountability, environment of modern day football.
Goodluck for your game. Just dropping by after searching remedies for acid reflux.
So, how can we make the audience at the Emirates more vociferous? Sometimes I think that we don’t all know all the songs because we all don’t all go that often. I would certainly love to go more often. And I’m pretty sick of ‘if you hate tottenham stand up’. Let’s make next season our noisiest! Come on, if you don’t know songs, just scream! Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal…..etc
I will be on the same blog next year in May 2012 reading the same vitupurations from fans. What shock most is how shameless and uncouth the arsenal board are to increase ticket prices in face of blatant mediocrity and arrogance on the pitch. As if missing the second spot is not worse but for heavens sake playing qualifiers next season is an absolute vote of no confidence.No improvement and how much a fan are you unless your a traitor to acclaim in Wenger we trust.There is no class in Wenger different from other mediocre managers. He is not a tactician but an accountant and thats where he should be employed.To any genuine arsenal fan pray that Wenger puts in a resignation form after Fulham thumps us together with his Fabregas. If Messi cant be bigger than Barcelona. Who is Fabregas?
A win would surely help today.
My predictions:
Arsenal 3rd
City 4th
Liverpool 5th
Spuds 6th
…
Blackpool 17th
http://delhigunner.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/time-to-restore-some-pride/
I think not only additions will change this squad to be a winning one. As steviej pointed out it is time that we have a Plan B to win games. When every other teams knows our team passing tactics, It’s time the team has to be taught with other ways to score goals rather than the purest form of passing alone.Arsene is surely out of sorts when his passing game is not doing well. Either he has to raise our passing to that of barca or allow our boys to learn to score from crosses,free kicks and long range goals when they don’t find a way to break the opponent and walk into the goal.
Arsene has to take decision on the worst players on the pitch.Our mental toughness is something he should fix next season.
Lets talk about economics for a bit just to take my mind off this seasons performance. Arsene is not going to spend big this summer, and would not splash out £60million for the Lord God himself, even if he did express an interest in playing for us! Season tickets up 6%, and speaking for Red memberships, my membership has gone up 10%. As a club we are practically printing money, increase in ticket prices, memberships and new commerative strips for the 125 year anniversary. The board and the management seem to have overlooked a small teeny-weeny detail though, Arsenal are a football club and the aim should be to win trophies for the club and more importantly for us, the fans. The focus has shifted away from performance on the pitch to performance in the markets, however this strategy in my own humble opinion has only another season to run. Realistically if we have no trophies this time next year, if no “substantial” new signings have been made then there will have to be changes. Arsene has been fantastic for Arsenal but nothing lasts forever and I have noticed unrest even amongst the most patient and loyal fans (not me taxi for Wenger as far as I’m concerned) who are starting to question the clubs ambition and future direction. Hopefully this time next year you can all say I was wrong!
If there’s one thing i learned this season it is that the entire coaching staff is as useless as they have always been.57% of goals conceded 4rm set pieces,it was the same last year,the year before that,nd d year before that too.and they still cannot do any thing about it.Just Useless
“Well done,” says Shifu the master in KungFu Panda, “if you were planning to disappoint me, that is,’ he adds after a pause, to his students. That about sums up my reaction to our team’s performance this season. Hopefully there won’t be any more ridiculous excuses next season (like Sunday fixture issue two months ago when all the team had to play for was the league cup, after crashing out of everything else, or players being tired when other teams with more fixtures went on to win), and more dedication from the players and less stubbornness from manager. Nice reading your balanced posts Andy, been part of my morning routine. Have a good break everybody.
Well,the season´s over and its been the same old story,not good enough,nasri´s stalling on a new contract,fab´s speculation has begun all anew,arsene has already said”expect nothing expensive”,and arsenal are already being strongly linked to an unknown,again,name of ricardo alvarez,23 yr old argentine,thats scored 2 goals in 46 games,hope its not true,cause this is not what we need.Well if it is true,then the changes we are waiting for,are going to take long in coming.
Thanks to all fans who went to the Fulham game, even though the message was not received (or just ignored), at least you tried. Perhaps use another language the next time.
well the summer is upon us again and the manager is running his lying mouth again. As i said before there will be no significant changes at Arsenal this summer, i can bet that.
And there is this talk about that wenger is having a look at Ryo Miyaichi and am sure wenger would prefer to bring him back and not spend a cent (Cheap Skate).
But let me high light some issues:
A lot of people are saying we should not sign cahill or samba because there respective clubs have not done well, even fighting relegation, in one of the toughest leagues in the world, BUT where did Feyenoord finish???? They finish 10th with 44 points in a pub league like holland BUT yet wenger will look to bring him back to burden us with more young players. This reminds me of the vela issue he was playing well in spain and when he came to England he has struggled. People are saying he did not get enough chances BUT good players don’t need a lot of chances and to compound that he went to westbrum a supposed lesser team compared to Arsenal and still did not make the grade, that says a lot.
A mexican bloke posted a blog on one of the Arsenal blogs and he gave some interesting information: He said he saw a lot of Hernandez in mexico and that he had limited ability BUT what he lacks in ability he makes up with tactical awareness and good positioning, he didn’t mention vela BUT he forgot the most important element, the MANAGER and that’s the main difference between Vela and Hernandez, MAU and Arsenal.
People are also saying Bedtner did not get enough chances, Rubbish!!!!, he got enough to prove himself (good players don’t need many chances) if his first touch had been better we might be looking forward to the CL final.
When you see players who have been at the club so long and can’t cross, can’t defend, bad positioning, won’t shoot, and the worst of all at this level, can’t trap
(no excuse) it brings the question of What wenger is teaching these players
Regardless of what anyone says wenger is running Arsenal he can do as he pleases unchallenge. Most people are blaming the players BUT how could you when wenger bought them, when a child does wrong Who should take all the blame????
The team has gone way backwards this season when after so long we should be getting stronger, How can people come here and justify wenger’s plans to me he has failed and his plans as well. Now all the best players want out and they are right because MONEY is not all, footballers want to be recognized for footballing achievements and wenger and the board all YES men can’t get that.
look at spurs Gomez played well BUT he made some bad errors so am sure he is gone in the summer if he were at arsenal he would be given a next chance.
A footballers career is very short and it is the job of the manager to identify very QUICKLY who has got it and who hasn’t.
Wenger based on the events of the last six years you should be fired, you gave yourself a long contract and your well payed too, BUT you seem to want to prove people wrong instead of admitting you errors and move on, you bought a whole lot of players of the same type thereby limiting you tactics, Whose fault is that???
One more year no way you should leave now go back to france or some other club so they can fire you in 2 seasons when you go trophyless.
You will change very little in the summer and shop in the dumps of france as usual.
You said we can’t spend 50 mill, who ask you to??? 40 mill can give us what we want am sure so your making excuses, AGAIN
You also said we would add some players BUT depending on who you buy we could still have a situation of no improvement like bringing back Ryo, what has he done, score a few goals in Rubbish league, leave him for 2 more seasons and hope Feyenord win the dutch league so he can get a winning mentality Because he sure won’t get it at Arsenal under you.
If i were a agent i would never advise my player to go to Arsenal, look at smalling am sure he now realises he made the best choice and not come to arsenal.
We don’t pay big wages, BUT we instill a second it best mentality in our players, and don’t win shit, who can we attrack??? not top class players for sure.
All because wenger is bigger than the club……………………..
Right you are Kel.
You guys need to go out and maybe PLAY some football to blow off steam rather than just being armchair managers, spouting venom. If you must spout venom at least do it with the realisation that it’s not fact. If you really have time to spare and want to have an informed opinion on what changes we need, try and look through some statistics and financial statements, along with the 25 man squad rules, fit that all together to suggest what changes we can realistically, and pragmatically make, which would help us improve. If you blame the manager that’s fine, but he’s not going anywhere. Accept that and try and see how the team can improve. What else is there to do? Bitch and moan and call the manager names? To what end?
Cahill and Samba, just aren’t that good.. If there must be an English (pr Premiership) CB then I’d prefer Jagielka. It’s because he is good in the air, but he’s far better with the ball at his feet than either of those 2. Have a look at his passing charts. Feyenoord were in the relegation places before Miyaichi got there. It’s not all been down to him, but he has made a huge impact on Feyenoord in his 6 month stint. He may not be ready, but he just might. But no. Wenger shouldn’t even look at him in pre season. Just buy Hazard for 30 mil. He’s surely worth it because the papers say so.
By the way kel. Thanks for your prophecies. I know where to go to have my future read. Even though your reading of the past itself is flawed but hey.. Details!! Ppffff. Who needs them when sweeping generalisations will suffice.
“If you blame the manager that’s fine, but he’s not going anywhere”.
I’m beginning to think more than anything, that THAT is the main problem at Arsenal FC. Not the lack of talented players. Its the refusal of the manager to acknowledge the team’s failings. Either that or the inability to redress it. And its the refusal of the board and many fans to point fingers or even question the manager. Kel is right. See his points about the coaching, tactical awareness. I’ve been saying the same thing even since the days of the Invincibles (where we could never cut it in Europe because of the team’s tactical limitations).
BTW, it hurts me to say this, but I’m afraid many guys have prophesied what Kel has for the past 6 years and thus far, they have all come to pass.
I really want to be proven wrong on all the above. As we all know, Wenger will be with us for another season at least. Let’s hope (even against the evidence of the past 6 yrs) that things change for the better next year.
To follow up, what we really need for next season, imo, are not really new players. Yes, we could do with some useful additions to the squad (a DM to compete with Song, a left back, a striker who isnt afraid to shoot), but more than anything, we need a change in the way we approach games, maybe even the way the team trains.
Our game
I would like to see for starters, the team break up their game a little. Instead of always insisting on ‘staying true to our philosophy’ (many times this philosophy is slow, aimless and non-productive passing), we have to learn how to setup differently to deal with different opponents. Play the crossing game if you have too (we’re piss poor at this). Take advantage of set pieces. Have a plan B if you know our passing aint gonna cut through teams who defend in numbers. I really think its no coincidence that Man U and Chelsea know the value of varying their game and balancing their team and they’re the most successful clubs in England in recent times.
Mentality
Our mentality has to change. Our collapses have become something of a trademark recently. Also, I get pretty irritated when I see our players’ just reluctantly accepting controversial decisions against us. When was the last time we really put pressure on the ref? Could this be at least part of the reason why so many decisions go against us? And so many decisions go for Manure, who pressure the ref on a consistent basis? Yes, I know its part of the dark side of the game, but these things do make a difference. I hope to see our players man up, show some fight and guts that I see aplenty in Man U players.
The manager
All these said and done, is Wenger the man to take us forward? He’s been great for us in the past, but now with a new stadium, and seemingly stable finances, can he provide that impetus to take AFC from good to great? Can he fix the glaring deficiencies that have stared us in the face for many seasons now? You draw your own conclusions.
@realistic_gooner
The way you present your arguments, I have no problem with. I may not agree with all your observations or conclusions, but that is just about opinion. I agree with the changing our game part, though I honestly believe that is not about our style of play (what you call philosophy) being at fault, rather that we are not implementing the philosophy properly. That said, we do need to improve on crossing and flooding the box, even if it only occasionally.
About the mentality, I see what you are saying, but I say you are asking somethng near impossible. A comparision with ManU is just not fair. They get away with much much more than will ever be allowed us. If we try to do that watch 2 or 3 of us get booked. eg. Bendtner getting booked for saying something to Mike Oliver after Chamakh’s disallowed goal against Villa. By the way, would you ever see that sort of decision at Old Trafford? What about the Liverpool penalty in 12th minute? The fact is that we have shown mental frailties but mostly as a result of the referees putting us under that pressure, not the opposition. So yes we have to be better, but the team also deserves some understanding for this.
About the manager, you are right. He has done very well to get us where we are. Can he take us forward? That is something we will find out. I am disappointed about how this season turned out. Despite the referees I believe we should have done better. The squad players did not perform, and to some extent that is because they have been mismanaged. By Wenger. Yes, Wenger has faults, and he has made a few mistakes. I have no problem with those being highlighted or discussed. It is the abuse, questioning his motives, and the lack of acknowledgment for the limitations that he has worked in, that I have a problem with. With all of those in mind, I have no problem with the last 5 seasons. That was an easy enough, low risk, prophecy to make, as was us finishing below 4th in any of those years. We should have won the title in 2008, to be undone by a combination of our weakness and referee ‘errors’. Would Flamini and Hleb have left if we had won? Would we have to undergo another mini rebuilding?
Anyway, it is this season which has turned out badly at the end, and yes we have tended to fade towards the end in the last 2 years. The manager has a big job on his hands to turn things around. But just because some things are ‘bad’ doesn’t mean everything is. There is a lot that is ‘good’ with us and to be built on. Even if there would be a change of manager.
“The manager has a big job on his hands to turn things around. But just because some things are ‘bad’ doesn’t mean everything is. There is a lot that is ‘good’ with us and to be built on. Even if there would be a change of manager.”
Cant fault this statement at all. Wenger’s given the club a good platform to build on even if he were to leave. My only concern or issue is as I’ve highlighted in my previous post. Is Wenger really the man to take us forward, in spite of all the good he’s done for the club hithero? Or will his alleged stubborness hinder the club’s progress instead?
In light of the past 6 seasons, maybe he deserves to be sacked. Other supposed top clubs have sacked good managers for much less. But you’ve highlighted, and correctly so, about the limitations he had to work with. So I guess he deserves at least another season.
To all managers of all teams taking part in the premier league in the 2010/2011 season: please adapt your club philosophy to that of ours as we are pure football. Winning isn’t coming first but participating. And referees, please be gentle with us, we are sensitive and have special needs.
This is what we sound like.
The club is the badge I wear, I don’t have to like everything about it to be a supporter.
I just want to ask one question.
What has Arsenal(not Arsene) achieved this season?
@Antek
“referees please be gentle with us” That’s what we sound like? Really? Ya I could think up a few jokes about screwing and being gentle there I suppose. You don’t have to like everything about the club. But hopefully you can find a better way to express your dislike of certain things.
@laninja
Ultimately nothing. But we have learnt a few things. About certain players, about certain things the manager has to do, about certain fans who would rather get on the team’s back so as to avoid expectation and thus possible (or probable) pain, and more disappointingly so as to not be accused of being whiners by other people, and we have learnt about certain referees, especially, but not confined to Dowd, Dean and Webb. Arsenal has also got a new majority shareholder (not owner so far), though I’m not sure that can be classed an achievement.
@realistic
The key word in your statement above is “alleged” stubbornness.
Sorry pal, I should have said that that’s the sort flack I have to endure from my work colleagues. All we do apparently is whine, complain and pass the buck like a bunch of babies. As the only Gooner amongst a big group, I take a hell of a lot of crap which does intensify my discontent.
@Antek
Hehe.. that is true. But my colleagues and even friends feel a little scared doing that because I take out my annoyance even on them 🙂
Thanks for trying your best to answer. Its good to hear both sides of the spectrum.
If you guys need a break I recommend Jager, that is one evil stuff man.
@Ianinja
We achieved something that no other team in the history of the EPL has achieved.
Unfortunately it was to blow a four goal lead at Newcastle!
If you combine the two Spurs results with that one we managed to blow a four goal lead twice! If nothing else we are great copyy for the medua and neutrals. How dull would this season have been without us? Manure – efficient but dull. Chelsea – very dull. Mancity – squillions and still boring as batshit. The only other team to provide any entertainment as far as I could see was Blackpool. I hope they can bounce back next year as they were a breath of fresh air.
Now I know this is probably just going to set off another tirade from the AWB* but I am officially over the grieving period and looking forward to deja vu all over again in August! I have to put up with Rugby League and AFL for the next couple of months in the news until then. Oh well, it’s probably good for reducing blood pressure.
*Anti Wenger Brigade
I feel this end of the season as the end of a “generation”
Almunia / Eboue – Gallas (SPURS) -Toure (CITY)-Clichy / Hleb(Barça) – Cesc – Flamini (MILAN) – Rosisky / RVP – Adebayor (CITY)
– Trasfer rumors:
Almunia, Eboue, Clichy, Cesc, Rosisky, Denilson, B52, Arshavin…
Since I’m Arsenal fan (2006) and if ALL the rumors are true (Hope Don’t), this isn’t just a summer…it’s far away the must important summer in the past 5 years:
– Massive exit from this arsenal footballers generation.
– Healthy economic situation to sign new players.
– New players coming to replace them.
– A young and fresh genaration ready to fight for a place in the first team (Take a look of “loan watch” on the official page, they want to follow Jack steps)
– New owners coming.
– 125 years.
The start of a new era for the club?
Perhaps Bendtner could do with a season long loan and told to stop chewing gum on the field as it’s not very good H&S and then stay or go. I remember Arse Shavin’ coming on twice as a sub and scoring from a more central position, bought as a centre forward and plonked on the wing WTF. Practice taking pops from outside the box – goal kick or corner instead of losing possession and caught out of position. Challenge for high balls, we don’t seem to want to bang our heads, in fact, do we ever use the above head space in our tactics except for defending? Could we do with a Heskey, Carroll type up front and Arse Shavin’ the opportunist? Or are those type of goals not part of the Arsene philosophy (such a big word philosophy – the ball goes in the net and that’s all). RVP is overdue an injury, what then?
We had the best away GD +11 (Manking Mankers +4 Chavski +10 Manking City +5). Do you know that ‘they’ refer to our home ground (don’t like it’s present name) as ‘The Library’? Perhaps we should drop politics for support. Arse needs a boss to cut him a switch and challenge him (where is Mr Hyde?), this is obvious (there is only one Alex). Favourite player Bacary.
All of you guys who are waiting for wenger to clean house your better off trying to get drunk on the french Alps.
LET ME REPEAT!!!!! there will be no significant changes at Arsenal As long as wenger remains in charge
Wenger has a point to prove he cares nothing about the fans so why should i care about him.
some of the current players are on ridiculous salaries, and we all know their not worth it, which team in Europe would take these players unless the price is cut.
Some people are saying that we may regret loosing bendtner because he will turn out to be a top striker, God knows if you can’t do the basics you will not be successful Strikers need to be able to TRAP the ball and he can’t after so long at a club that bleeds technical ability, What does that say about him and Arsenal, some one of the two has failed.
There is a debate going on on if we should sell ashavin:
i honestly think he is a technically good player, and i also think wenger has contributed to his loss of form by playing him out of position, and that’s because the Team is full of similar players PARTICULARLY in midfield, How could a manager be so blind to having different variations of play???? and that’s the main reason wenger has appeared to be so tactically inept. BUT he should know better!!!! Arshavin appears to be very lazy and i can’t accept that he is 1 year older now so that wont change i say sell him, no room for lazyness.
If he had made playing for places at Arsenal more competitive we would not be in this Nasri situation. I read we want to give him 90K a week, Boy!! that’s a lot for a player who just played half a season well in 3 years, crazy, but i guess that’s football.
I’m sure nasri feels once hes fit he will play and that’s the problem players should be made to fight for there places. I hope nasri knows that leaving arsenal especially since you have won nothing is a grave risk because you will not be permitted to turn in average performances week in week out and still get a starting place, wenger puts up with stuff no other manager will put up with so have a good think.
A quote for Evra:
“If Samir comes, he has to know there is no room for mistakes,” said Evra in the French newspaper L’Equipe. “Each year you are playing to win. That is Manchester United’s culture.
I know he may never go to united for various reasons BUT that’s the mentality that we need.
Any Arsenal fan who uses quotes from Evra to make his/her point deserves to hang his/her head in shame.
That article merely reiterated my hate of Patrice Evra.
A cretin of the highest possible order.
maybe now the emotions have calmed…..
analysis will tell us that Arsenal scored enough goals
analysis will tell us arsenal let in toooo many goals
either AW has been told no spending or AW has decided No spending
a small ( relative ) amount of money invested in January on a goalkeeper and a central defender of quality and we may all have been looking at at least one piece of silver.
The question is ( and has not been answered) who made the descision not to invest ?
no matter what- it was a great season of football and just a shame that Arsenal were not able to round it out with a small trophy and 3 rd place and it may just have been because of the small investment that would have been recouped by 3 place !!
My PES Arsenal is doing just fine.
@kel – You really do sound like the petulant little kid yelling at mummy in tantrum fashion saying “I want! I want!” Well tough. Stop bloody moaning, thinking you know best. You don’t. At the start of the invincibles season I had said to people that i thought we could really fade away here. I didn’t think we would be able to compete for ages. Ok, we had a great season that year but clearly there has been a decline. I’m so grateful however that we have had a guy in charge who could work within those financial constraints. New unknown players come in & who in many cases wouldn’t standout in a bottom half side but still we challenge, compete & stay at the top end. The frustration is born out of the current inability to meet wenger’s previous successes. Do you really think any other top manager would have even stuck around under the restriction he faces financially? He’s put his own reputation at stake. One where he was successful. Won trophies year on year. He could have gone elsewhere, namely Madrid but he actually cared enough to stay. It probably appeals to his nature to win at a club which currently has no right to be in with a shout of the premiership. Yet we stay there and everyone expects. I don’t think people realise that whilst we’ve won nothing over these last six years, we might just have dodged a bullet. I didn’t enjoy this season just passed. It’s the worst we’ve played & we’ve shown more weaknesses than ever before under this mans reign. I also think however, that there will be a change in approach this summer, partly due to necessity & also through there genuinely being more funds available. I’m not blinded by wenger and his history. I’ve seen and heard enough to simply know that he’s good for us. I hope he keeps his nerve and sees this thing through. So many of these other top guys would have walked off to a bigger club bemoaning the fact that the only reason they failed was because there’s no way the club can compete. They’d be right. They can’t compete…..but he can. Our worst season under wenger this most definately is but quite often the darkest hour comes just before dawn and with this guy in charge I’m betting…..this is our dawn!
and for every Hernandez, there’s a Michael Owen, or Owen Hargeaves, what about Bebe? Anderson? Oberton? and for your information, Vela is a gem, watch how he plays for Mexico against national teams that are miles better than EPL teams, he shines, but he can not get ahead of RVP as we only play one striker.
Do you know how long Gomes has been at Spurs? Did you not notice how quickly we put Fabianski in for Almunia? or switched to Wojo?
Your plan makes absolutely no sense, if we start getting rid of players that make mistakes or bloom late, I hope you know there would be no players at all. Players makes mistakes, it’s a 90 minute game, get over yourself, everyone deserves a second chance, it’s a test of mentality. Do you not see how Madrid is right now?
You wouldn’t even be talking about having all this money to spend if Wenger wasn’t here, sure 6 seasons is a bit much, but firing him is downright mental. Thank goodness you’re not an agent, it’s not like Arsenal has produced some of the best players in world football right?
Regarding the purchase of Bebe, there was a rumour I heard that he was just bought to pay off some Portuguese officials, unhappy with ManU due to Nani not being able to appear in the World Cup. Why? Whisper it, but because of a failed drug test. All speculation of course.
@ iliad
Mate where do i start with you!!!!!
First of all i agree i don’t know best i can only give my view and if it offends you & others then SCREW you.
I am now very sure that some arsenal fans are the most naive in English football, , you all seem to be logical when facts are directed to the club BUT not when they are directed from the club.
I’v been patient with wenger long enough his time has come as far as am concerned.
The real question is does arsenal have money to spend?? the answer is yes!!! the sales from ade and kolo and as one bloke put it who’s choice was it not to spend this money wenger or the board. Yes some of the money was spent BUT was it spent on top quality??? you answer that your self.
Now let us apply some logic here wenger has never spent big on any one player Reyes is to date our record buy and that came in the high teens, most other buys have been very low, so its easy to conclude that wenger does not buy big I remember seasons gone buy when wenger did not buy a single player in the summer, if it had been different based on his trend then i could say the club has no money but that’s not true.
Arsenal have money to spend wenger just refuses to spend it, so its his choice.
You said:
“He could have gone elsewhere, namely Madrid but he actually cared enough to stay.”
Lets make a bet if Mourinho does not win the league or CL next season he’s gone, wenegr would never leave Arsenal because at madrid you have to answer to people, At arsenal he can do as he wants and no-one says shit. Wenger would not last too long in any top club and that’s a fact.
You say “we cant compete”, we don’t have to spend 50 mill, Hell 30 mill would have gotten us a top class center back and a good keeper am sure and that’s the point, wenger has just failed to address the real issues in the team, by saying all is well when its not.
“Vela is a gem” so too is Bedtner, deneilson, diaby, walcott can i go on.
Vela went on loan to wesbrum, what did he do??? got benched, that says a lot, a team that had relegation problems and he couldn’t cut it.
And smarty pants it is my divine belief that making mistake is good sometimes for experience, BUT there is a lesson you MUST learn from mistakes or else you would continue to repeat them, now apply that to arsenal, you proclaimed logical thinker, it sound familiar am sure….
And to conclude we need to get rid of the so called dead wood and add to the team not radically but may be subtle buys, BUT i think that may not help because it seems that the Philosophy is what really needs to be altered, as one guy said if we buy top players and they meet the same Philosophy we may have the same result so that points to wenger.
And in case you forget Facts:
2004/05 2nd
2005/06 4th
2006-2007 4th
2007-2008 3rd
2008-2009 4th
2009-2010 3rd
2010-2011 4th
If this is what you or any other proclaimed logical arsenal fan praise as success then that’s ok BUT the league table doesn’t lie WE HAVE NOT IMPROVED IN THE LAST 5 YEARS, based on the table.
Arsenal pay the most for tickets before and now with the increase it’s worst. How could we accept that??? when we have not won a thing in 6 years(7 years league). This is some of the points you alleged logical guys can put on you round table debate.
Not come here telling me what to say i have my view and if you have a hint of brain you would too, because my view differs from yours am wrong??? go jump in a lake you lick bottom Dinosaur.
“The real question is does arsenal have money to spend?? the answer is yes!!”
That is neither the REAL question kel, nor do you know anything about it. You THINK we have money to spend. You do not KNOW, and you most definitely do not know HOW MUCH.
The real question is what are the problems we have and how can they be fixed while keeping in mind our limiting factors? (Sorry, tried to make it as exhaustive as I could because there is no one question or answer. If only it were so simple) That doesn’t even account for external factors, like referees, media spin (which is their only job seemingly, though not ONLY against us), and as a corollary, a section of the fan base which seemingly takes pleasure in dragging the club down.
The problems with us as I see them are at defending corners and set pieces. Not just based on usual media spin. There is a problem. But apparently the team that concedes most goals per free kick in the final third is STOKE. Yes, they are worse than us at set pieces per free kick faced. Who would have thought huh? So height is not the only way to solve it seemingly. What is? I don’t know, but this is a legitimate weakness, which to be fair has been addressed and has improved compared to last season. Hopefully that continues, but in a better way so to speak.
Secondly there is a problem of a lack of proper finishing. We need more shots on target to score than our opponents do. We also do not seem to ever truly run at players anymore. Counter attacks are very rare (though when they do happen they are a thing of beauty) We need to pass the ball quicker and try and create more forceful play even if that means we lose possession more often. Hey, It might even draw teams out, leaving some space behind them. How is this weakness best addressed? In this case, also with the chequebook I would say. We need a striker who will just run the right lines and just put the ball in. Oh and a good free kick taker would be helpful. When was the last time we scored from a direct FK?
The third is the most interesting, because it is the least understood, but most widely named. Mentality. I believe there is an issue here. Certainly with some players. But what is the cause of that ‘weakness’? For a lot of the team, I believe it is also cynicism. The external factors, especially the referees, but also the fans, do affect players. A couple of tweets, a few statements (RVP and Arshavin come to mind) dropped here and there, have shown that the players were well aware of the way certain games were being refereed and a certain devilish club in red getting all the help they needed and more. This has had a serious impact on our team in my view. Could they have done better? Absolutely, but then that is always true, even when you win everything. But I think the team deserves understanding in this regard. Not all players because certain players showed no desire, but largely, contrary to what SOME fans might say, the team has fought and has shown desire. They have lacked belief and calmness at times undoubtedly. How to fix this? Nothing can be done about the referees (apart from taking a cue from Adam Sandler and kick the ball into the referee’s balls I guess) but we surely have to improve our response. Whether this is done externally or internally is open. It can be coaches, psychologists, players. But this is something we cannot pass judgment on from outside. We simply don’t know.
P.S. The refs CAN be affected by external factors too. Namely the fans. If our fans spent less time moaning and more time actually backing the team and putting the ref under pressure, perhaps we would not have seen the Liverpool penalty and extra extra time, the disallowed Chamakh goal against Villa (seriously, how do you explain that call?), and numerous non calls for a rightful penalty. The one time that fans responded to a poor ref decision was when Arsenal showed the replay of the Everton offside goal on the screen, and the crowd urged the team on to win, which the team duly did.
@kel, settle down cobber. no need to stoop to the gutter to get your point across.
I just watched the champions league final and how good were Barca? To me it makes me hope even more that we can succeed because Manure for all the squillions they have spent were made to look second rate. totally outclassed like we were last season. but not this season (at least in that 1st leg). For all his talk about how they were going to attack Barca – did they F@ck. Apart from Rooney they were hopeless. Berbatov – 30 million quid and not even on the bench! Also Fabregas must be wondering how he would get into that team – so hopefully he will decide to stay, regain his fitness and form and help take us up a level next season.
And as for your stats about lack of success – well i can quote you other much longer periods in our illustrious clubs history when we won sod all and played shit football to boot. 1972 to 1989 wasn’t exactly a golden age as I recall! And older fans will tell you that the 50s and 60s weren’t too productive either.
That doesn’t mean I am happy – I think we blew a golden opportunity this season and Wenger needs to address our defensive frailties and clear out a the underperformers. It’s our lack of squad depth that keeps killing us. First XI are close to anyone even Barca on their day.
Have good summer break and get back on the roller coaster in August!
Yes, Barca are too good but they also exposed how mediocre ManU really are/were this season, which exposes the whole league. Next season the likes of them, CH, MC and (possibly) L’pool and perhaps even ‘arry will make it difficult for us to have even a top four finish (I’m prepaired to risk my ass with that statement)
Cut here ……………………………….
Mr Shard, mentality: whatever job in the non-Arsenal world someone has, they need to be able to cope with the pressures of that particular job (eg: fireman, fighter pilot, blog writer, football manager or PM) or else they are out of there. I have a very strict boss who says he pays us good money (?) to get the job done, “…..so go do the job….” He would not excuse my slacking off because someone is saying bad things about me. Why is mentality even an issue, it should come with the £50k/week package. If someone is too frail mentally, perhaps they do not belong in such a high pressure job. Perhaps we need to address this at the youth level – toughen’ ’em up!!
Agree about needing more noise at ‘The Library’ though.
Also, are some of the fightin’ words here just looking for a response – these are fightin’ words!!
@Antek
How does the amount they earn make any difference to the mentality? They are human beings all the same. Money doesn’t (and in any case shouldn’t) change that. You are right that people have to cope with the pressures of their job, and I would say that anyway about Arsenal players even if they get only 1000 pounds a week as opposed to 100,000. But what does the pressure of the job mean, and what does the management expect as a realistic level of output? If your very strict boss fired you when you were committed to your job, but could not deliver the hoped for result, as a result of say, someone sabotaging your work when you had taken all necessary precautions, then he is not a very good manager. Of course, the difference is also that he could be a good manager because people with your skill set, and level of motivation might be more readily available than they are in the footballing world. I realise it’s not a one to one relation between Arsenal players and your job and things that go wrong, such parallels rarely are and I prefer to avoid them.
All i said was that external factors affect everybody. Even footballers. I would expect that it would be the fans who call out the referees and their seriously flawed (or ill intentioned) performances, while at the same time demanding better from their team. It’s not an either/or.
Thanks for the Mr in front of my ‘name’ by the way. Much appreciated.
Kel : “go jump in a lake you lick bottom Dinosaur.”
Funniest thing I’ve heard in weeks!
Anyone hear anything substantial concerning the 8M# offer for samba?
@gruggy what’s the surf like on your half? Here it’s upwelling, cold and flat.
A fitting follow-up to the season I reckon.
You know what guys. Actually nobody(including me) knows anything or how much money we have. All I know is Barca is everything Arsenal is not. Sometimes in life there’s so much things you can learn from the other people, extract the good throw out the bad.
Next season has to be better, football after all has moved on from short tight shorts, thick moustaches, and muddy pitches. Players who are paid millions have to be accountable, this is not a fanboy world. It’s the reality of a capitalist world. Sometimes its nice to entrenched in the romanticism of Arsenal’s ‘beautiful’ play but sometimes reality can be quite far from the perceived notions of one’s judgement.
Let’s just hope for a better next season. I truly believe Kronke is not a fanboy, he’s a venture capitalist, he would never invest in something expecting nothing in return. Nobody is safe in Arsenal holdings now.
@lefcoast.
Rubbish weather here recently.”Rubbish” probably isn’t the best way to describe it, “crazy” would be. Google “waterspout Avoca”. That thing was a few minutes from my house!
So needless to say the surf is as angry as……a gooner in a Carling Cup Final.
Haven’t read/heard anything about a Samba bid? 8m for Samba is a brilliant deal if true – anything under 10m is a bargain imo.
What I do know though is :
* Randall has been released. It isn’t official yet on arsenal.com, but younggunsblog is reporting it, and they’re usually spot on. Which is good news as he has been around for a while and never really quite reached the ‘potential’ he apparently had. During last seasons loan spell with Rotherham (League 2) he only made three starts and seven sub appearances. I must note however that he was out for a month or so with a broken collarbone.
* We have signed Barcelona B winger Héctor Bellerin. This is in addition to our previous Barcelona B signing Jon Toral. Overall, for both players the deal is said to be 1m and on 3 year contracts : http://younggunsblog.co.uk/2011/05/arsenal-sign-barcelona-winger-bellerin/
* Carl Jenkinson, an English born, 19 year old Finnish right fullback, from Charlton for a reported compensation of 1m, as the the lad is under 24 and soon out of contract. Once again youngguns is my source : http://younggunsblog.co.uk/2011/05/finland-confirm-arsenal-sign-jenkinson/
* Richard Law, one of Gazidis’ ‘executive team’ members and a key individual in Arsenal contract negotiations has met with Velez in Argentina, reportedly to negotiate a deal for Álvarez. Some reports are throwing around a 12m Euro fee, which I hope is hearsay.
New signings is better than no signings I guess. All except Álvarez are no doubt squad/reserve players, to offset the recent departures of several youth and reserve squad players. Bellerin however was apparently also chased by Man U and Chelsea.
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@gruggy Thanks for the fill-in maybe we will yet sign someone old enough to get a work permit without Mom’s permission.
Wow a waterspout! That is crazy we had hail and snow last week. It cancelled a stage of the Tour of California. By the way Mark Renshaw of HTC Highroad a native of your area rocks the planet for sure. Oh well back to work here comes my boss the Gila woman.
@Lung Cancer Dude you are so lost it’s hurting.
Thank for the good blog. All the best for the next season.
Does anyone know how the president of the FA gets elected?
@Antek :
Bank account X 3 into brown paper bags.
Was just wondering how Prince William became president of the FA.
“For our fans the frustration was that we were so close to convincing everybody of how football can be great, but in the end not being able to deliver. I would call it disappointed love. It was cruel and sometimes you get excessive responses. But that doesn’t mean we have to change our philosophy or the way the club’s run. We get it 95 per cent right but must gain that five per cent because it’s so frustrating to flirt with success like we’ve done. The fans are unhappy we didn’t win the Premier League, but we are close.” AW.
I don’t have the vocabulary to put into words how this statement makes me feel. Please do it for me. Thanks.
zzz what he is saying is absolutely right, we need to find that extra 5% or maybe i would say it as 10% to push on and espically towards the end of the season.
All this talk about Bedtner and Deneilson leaving BUT how come Almunia, Rosicky are very quiet especially Almunia he should be the first to leave, Arsenal have a very short summer because of finishing 4th and by the time we look around its preseason, I made some predictions i hope they don’t come to pass…………….
Brad Fridel to the yids.
Bizarre move for Friedel – surely he only has one, maybe two more seasons in him? Is he better than Gomes?
Great point you’ve made.
Well done
Looking at the England game,that’s the reason I feel Koscielny should be TommyV’s partner next year.Not Djourou.Not a new player.But Kozzer.Just take a look at the extremely big matches, especially at Koscielny’s performances in those games.
Never seen a defender play so well against Messi tbh.
http://delhigunner.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/new-signings-to-have-little-impact-2/
Well it’s official Bentdner say he out. How many more to go? Will they be replaced by teenagers or full grown footballers? Will Squilacci shave his head, change his name and make a move to the Outer Mongolian FC on a fermented Yak milk transfer or are we stuck with him? I guess it’s not even the second week of June yet. Surely, more will be revealed.
@gruggy Dude Gomes? Do we really need another sometimes brilliant yet often erratic goaltender?
YIKES!!!
“I don’t know if I will sign a new contract. For the moment, I don’t think about this. Do I want to go to Man United? First we should see if it’s real and if it’s concrete.” SN.
We are now all set to see more results of Wengers failed system.
Nasri is set to follow Toures and Adebayours and Gallas’s lack of belief in Arsenal FC. Wengers persistance in buying young and overpaying these guys without them learning what it really means to play for Arsenal means he is now reaping what he sows as there are more Arsenal players looking for the exit door rather than staying and wearing the jersey, and to add insult to injury its man utd Nasri is flirting with.
Even if he stays now and gets the extra money he wants, (the greedy prick) the fact he has even considered this switch is a joke.
Sell him now, but not to Utd, even though I dont believe half a good season makes up for his previous couple of seasons averageness and lack of effort, if this move were to happen what would hurt more is that it shows we are a stepping stone for these guys, merely a platform for what they perceive to be a bigger move.
When Fabregas leaves I will wish him well but this Nasri guys a different kettle of fish altogether, he has zero loyalty and is after money, jumping ship like a rat.
Wenger open your eyes and start signing players with some character who want to play for Arsenal before our tradition dissapates entirely and we cannot attract good loyal footballers at all, and by the way bloody Peter Odimwingie isnt the answer, if that move happens I know im gonna crack up.
If finishing 4th is not hurting enough ,Nasri leaving ill be hard to take .He looked one of the few players with heart and our equivallent of Iniesta while Fab compensates for Xavi.This all accounts for a Moron of a coach we have. We just need to complement our set of good players with simply other good players but not mediocres inform loyalty to country men like Diabolical.Squilachi,Chamak and so on. We must see a Benzema, Harzard, a real defensive midfielder and a stable defender. We need to attack with purpose and not like headless fools.I hope we dont loose any of our top players.
Shambo
The ‘failings’ of a system do not make the system a failure. Everything has inherent risks associated. Players seeking to leave is a risk. Is there necessarily a solution. Nasri came here because he waned to play for us, like you urge Wenger to do. In fact, I would say he still wants to play for us, just for more money. I’m not sure he deserves that yet, but there will surely be other clubs who will be more than willing to meet his demands. If he is sold though, it won’t be to ManU.
Anyway the point I was making is that simply saying what is wrong with a system does not show that the system itself is wrong. You cannot simply wish away the bad while holding onto the good. If at all you feel the system is wrong, then I’d be very happy to hear what the alternative would be.
As a by the by.. Some stats
Odemwingie 32 appearances, 15 goals, shots to goals ratio .16, shots on target ration .59
Rooney 28 appearances, 11 goals, shots/goals .13, Shots on target .61
RVP 25 appearances, 18 goals, shots/goals .2, shots on target .58
Tevez 31, 21, .21 .59
Hernandez 27, 13, .27 .62 (Brilliant finishing, all scored from inside the box including 7 from inside the 6 yd box, the signing of the season in my view)
What do those stats show. Whatever you like. Is Odemwingie the answer? I wouldn’t know. But i don’t know what the question is either.
For the record, I don;t think we’ll be buying Odemwingie.
C’mon shambo, everyone else is free to change jobs, why should footballers be any different. And anyway, if we’re talking about loyalty, do the money makers of Arsenal, the profit seeking shareholders, have any loyalty towards us, the fans?
Hi Guys,
hope you don’t mind me posting this but take a look at these rooney and terry stickers.
They’re brilliant!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260793975816
So, we signed another youngster:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13695799.stm
@Shard,
The system has failed because there has been no silverware, the system has failed because we have lost more key players in recent years than recruited, quite glaringly the system has failed when you see the orchestrator behaving on the fringe of madness in the technical area not knowing the answers to questions that arent exactly new ones, the system has failed because the youngsters bought with the intention of reaching their full potential here that yet havent reached their full potential, after receiving over the top wages for their age and level, and having been schooled by us at a considerable cost no doubt, are now publicly stating a desire to leave before theyv even reached their mid twenties.
Denilson signed for 3.4m age 18, described by Wenger as a cross between Rosicky and Gilberto…maybe Rosicky nowadays and a 35 year old Gilberto, maybe. WANTS TO LEAVE.
Clichy, hasnt had a consistantly good season in years and wont sign a new contract. LEAVING.
Bentdner….50,000 pounds a week, I know you want loads of examples of his inadequacy but I couldnt be arsed giving the guy that much attention so il just mention how bad he is in front of goal and the fact when called upon to deliver a one v one against Barce he couldnt even trap the ball. 50,000 a week from the self proclaimed member of the worlds best strikers. WANTS TO LEAVE AFTER WENGER SOLD EDUARDO IN FAVOUR OF HIM ONLY A YEAR AGO. Thats some judgement Arsene.
Fran Merida, wasnt interested in hanging around so once again we never got to see the results of our ‘patience, while the team was floundering. LEFT.
Havard Nordveit 1.7m pounds, now playing at Borrussia Munchengladbach who Wenger was impressed with but saId at the time we didnt need because we had plenty of cbs. This was in dec 2010…’plenty of cbs’….what a croc, quantity has nothing to do with quality and never has this quote rang so through as in this case. LEFT.
Samuel Galindo 500,000 pounds…..not a peep from him. BE LOANED OUT AND LEAVE NEXT SUMMER.
Flamini….didnt want to stay and left for free aged 24, another who alot of time and money had been invested in only for Milan to reap the benefits. LEFT.
Adebayour, signed age 21 from Monaco 3million pounds, faltered for a couple of seasons before excelling for one and tried to manufacture a series of moves away, a bit like Nasri now you could say. I know your going to bring up the money we sold him for, the money that wasnt re-invested, but the subject here is the amount of players who wish to leave the club. LEFT.
Toure, hasnt reached his peak yet and wished to leave the club after becoming dissillusioned and wanting silverware, won fa cup medal this season. LEFT.
Others who have ran for the exit door, now keep in mind the key is that they WANTED to leave, not what they acheived thereafter. Reyes, Hleb, Petit, Overmars, Cole, Vieira, Henry, etc,etc.
Other young guns that made it elsewhere Maurice Volts, Steve Sidwell, Jerome Thomas, Jermaine Pennant, Stuart Taylor, David Bentley, Aliadiere and Jay Bothroyd to name a few. How much money was invested in these guys, eh? How much, if any was recouped? some have had senior international caps.
Now we have signed two Barce kids, who will learn their trade here then yearn to return to their ‘home’ when they come good, just like Cesc….who knows maybe Barce will even get them back on a free.
Carl Jenkinson 1million pounds….another Nordveit? at least that would be better than another squillachi who cost 8m.
Why you come on here asking people to go to these lengths to give you facts and evidence for stuff that is right in front your face, just so you can pretend it isnt true and pass it off as an individuals negativie attitude, I do not know, but here it is anyway.
I dont know how there can be any counter argument for it, only a tiny bit of my opinion is thrown in there, the rest is fact.
THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED BECAUSE PLAYERS WANT TO LEAVE WHEN THEY HAVENT EVEN DELIVERED YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ask yourself this, how many players, truly, want to leave Man Utd?
How many players want to leave Chelsea?
How many players want to leave Liverpool?
Look at all the players who have angled for moves away from Arsenal the last few years…I bet its more than that of the combined other three.
Man Utd won the League finishing 12 points ahead of us, yet they go out and sign Jones from Blackburn and are on the verge of signing Young, its rumoured Wenger went in for Jones but too late, just like Smalling. This is the difference, Wenger drags his feet, Ferguson gos and gets it done.
I cant wait to have to google the unknowns Wengers roots out for 5million from the french leagues to replace Cesc, Bentdner and Clichy….fingers crossed its another Diaby, what a coup!
@shambogunner
What is the “System”?
– Arsenal Economic “System”:
http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2011/06/09/2524071/premier-league-clubs-post-all-time-high-losses-of-445m
http://www.goal.com/en/news/2885/europe/2011/05/11/2478867/how-will-10-of-europes-biggest-clubs-cope-with-financial?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4dca9a11ad1aa6b7,0
I think we are in a heath situation, BUT to expend really big maybe we should wait a few years until pay all the cost from the new stadium.
Financial Fair Play rules are coming and I’m worried about EPL, we play in this league being destroyed by debts from “silverware” teams like Chelsea, City, MU (Potencial Leeds United’s in the future – sorry to the fans I really respect this club but not theirs directors or ejecutives)…I’m not a economist but if someone could explain this better please make a post or something…
– Arsenal Youth “System”:
The youth system It’s an academy from 145 students just the best play in first squad…we should be proud of being a club who give all of them (145) a oportunity to show their skills…on loan on reserves.
What about Jack, Szczesny? failed too? or graduate from the academy with honours to jump to the first team?
By the way you explain the problem I understand we should stop developing young players and find the solution in the market, that’s isn’t a solution I think we need to be more selective to chose players for the academy.
– Arsenal loyalty “System”?
Some people call them football players I call them mercenaries.
Isn’t about the club…I’m sure we have good lawyers making good contracts to keep this guys…but we have to remember that they are workers and are free to change jobs (Antek)
This new kind of players need money to survive, maybe eat gold medals to keep alive and feat their ego’s…hope the club can find real players not mercenaries that leave Arsenal putting “lack of silverware” as a excuse they want MONEY.
If someone look how ex-Arsenal players in action they MISS the “Arsernal way”, for example:
*Hleb – Won everything playing nothing CONGRATULATIONS!
*Flamini – He pass the ball to Robinho or Zlatan hoping they return the pass to him and…never happen, he moves along the field making spaces and he never recive the ball from their partners, he won the “double” this season playing as a regular substitute CONGRATULATIONS!
*Merida – In Spain clubs give the player 3-10 matches to show their skills, if you aren’n good enought you are out, Does he remember when Arsene give him opportunities over and over again?
– Arsenal silverware “System”
“The system (Silverware system not all the system of the systems) has failed because there has been no silverware”
You are right…win some trophy it’s the higuest moment for a project like the ours BUT isn’t everything remember there are ways to many ways to win silverware…betting scandal (Juventus) , buyin like crazies destroying the football club identidy (City, Chelsea) , building an empire without solid economic foundations (MU)…my point is I really really want to win silverware like you and Arsenal fans around the world but at our way.
I know if we won something we have FOX, ESPN, SKY talking about how brillant is our young team, our manager, if we don’t, we are the worst team in the earth!
The losing and crazy buying mentality is builded by the media and the fans who buy their news like…the “Barcenal” both teams play beatiful football BUT Barcelona win everything and you gunners nothing bla bla bla….
Good one shambo, but where’s your blind faith mate? After all, 85% of the world population have it. Believers will never persuade non-believers, and vice versa. Blind being the oprative word here.
My worry is that we don’t finnish in the top four next season, wenger admits failure and leaves and our top players get plundered. Liverpool is a close 5th behind us with the bookies for the outright bet. As you would have guessed, MU, CH, MC, us, LP and TH. In ‘the bookies’ I Trust.
@Shambo
Sigh. I don;t even know where to start.
Still, here goes..
What exactly do you see so wrong in Wenger on the touchline? Seriously, this has no basis whatsoever. If he doesn’t do anything someone will say he doesn’t do anything. If he shows emotion people will say he’s lost it and doesn’t know what to do. If he shouts at referees people will say he’s disgracing himself. Seriously I do not understand this at all except as a way of looking for SOMETHING, ANYTHING more that can be blamed on him just to add to a pre conceived notion, and somehow this gets passed around as fact.
Regarding players leaving. In some of the examples you say so and so player. Horrible for years. Leaving. Which part are you criticising? Them being bad players or them leaving? Or that they want to leave despite being bad players?
Over the years how many have wanted to leave us as compared to the other three.. How many years? How do you know when a player is angling for a move? And even then it is simply false. You are just more aware and more sensitive when an Arsenal player is REPORTED to want a move. The other teams’ players pass under your radar mostly because they do not affect you emotionally. Do players seriously want to leave ManU? Chelsea? Yes, and No. Yes there has been ample talk in the papers throughout the years about people wanting to leave. Why do they stay? (and not all do) Who knows. Money? trophies? They like their teammates, the city? How do you know Nasri wants to leave? If he does, do you know what his motivations are? Maybe it is as simple as money. If you think we can spend like clubs who have, or act like they have, a bottomless pit of money, then I don’t know what to say.
Besides players leaving does not show the system is wrong. We can talk about all the players we have. They haven’t left. Players who could have earned more elsewhere, and perhaps in this time period won more elsewhere. they represent the success of the system if players departing represent the failure. If you want to debate the merits and demerits of individual cases then that is a different discussion.
Youth system will always be like this. High number of dropouts with the occasional players coming through. Yet they represent a) the future of a club and b) a lower risk option in terms of cost if they fail to make the grade with the club. Besides, selling the youth recoups its own money and pays more. Even with the odd player leaving for free. (Bentley alone got us around 8 million I think-with his sale and the sell on clause of 40%)
Signed 2 Barca kids. Uhhh.. So we should not sign quality youngsters where we find them?
If Arsenal had bought Jones I bet you’d be saying that we do not need a 19 year old. We need experienced players etc etc. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t basically. Ferguson does whatever he does. Chelsea buy whoever they buy. It has no parallel with us, our needs and our restrictions.
though much of it is opinion (Bendtner isn’t as deluded as the papers would have you believe for instance), you are right in that a lot of it is fact. True. But the whole point is that there are a lot more facts to consider. The basis of your theory does not include all the facts and how they connect up. Facts in isolation prove nothing. Acknowledge the limitations that we as a club have had over the years. See where we were before and what the foundation for the future is, and if you still conclude we are mismanaged, or that our system is a failure, then suggest an alternative system that would have ‘succeeded’. which is basically all I’d asked for in my last post..
Silverware would represent the success. It will solidify and make success something tangible, but it is not all ‘success’ is about..However if you conclude that success is trophies and anything else is failure, you basically view the world in Black and White. Right and Wrong. Degrees of failure or success, success as a relative term then mean nothing to you. If only life were so simple… And yet somehow I’m the one ‘pretending’, and ‘making you go to such lengths to give me facts and evidence which are right in front of my face’? If backing up your arguments with facts and evidence is such a bother please feel free to not do so. Such a pain those facts aren’t they. How inconvenient they can prove to a sound theory.
Honestly we cn argue all we want……but arsene will jus nvr listen……fab gone,nasri going….wenger will end up buying sm fcked up young player….
And we might finish 5th next season
Well this is amusing. Shard you’re a paradox but you do try hard to convince us non-intellectual football thinking types, have to commend you on that. Almost thought you were lecturing simpleton us about existensialism.
Personally I like my football to be about rage, desire and a bit of viking attitude. No thoughts just pure impact. Alpha male all the way no fuss. That dosen’t mean I want to go back to the age of Vinny Jones. My vision of football is me in goat skin undies lifting a mammoth’s head, shouting,”Deni you can’t have my trophy!Earn your own.”
Okay enough man juice, back to Hannah Montana.
@laninja
I can’t decide whether I’m being mocked, commended, or simply being engaged. Mainly, your post just made me smile, as is usually the case. So I guess I won’t take offense 🙂
How does me being a paradox show through though? Note that I’m not denying I am one.
Wow! The season is over but the debate still rages on.
I heard today that Clichy is going to Liverpool for 5M#s.
Too bad I will miss him. Well at least we still have Squilacci.
hyuk,hyuk.
@shard and @shambo
Don’t you guys like cricket or something to take your mind off your obsessions for a month or so?:)
And where’s Andy? Have you given up on us cobber?
Cricket!!! hahaha Terry you’re a star 🙂
Good source of info:
http://www.talksport.co.uk/
For some bizarre reason I like checking out this blog but whatever happened to the splurge of articles and is the author given up on his website.
Andrew mate where are your end of season articles?
I really like reading your article but i haven’t seen anything posted on here since god knows how long.
@Terry,
Alas, the Cricket season here (Oz) doesn’t start until December. Thankfully there’s Rugby League to keep me occupied until August. Which I’m not complaining about at all. My NRL team is the form side of the competition.
If anyone gets really desperate, there’s always the Copa America?
Any breaking news from the transfer market??? is Nasri staying? My son will be devastated if he leaves…
@gruggy
i am in oz as well – was assuming Waldorf and Statler (just kidding gents) were in the old dart though. Me I don’t have any interest in NFL or AFL or the union so I have no sport to follow to get my fix until august!
Dedi cated service, the new style, believing you will love it!!!
WE ACCEPT PYA PAL PAY MENT
YOU MUST NOT MISS IT!!!
thank you!!!
– w w w . upsfashion . c o m –