Worth a read, some fantastic blogging from LeGrove this morning.
Concluding thoughts…
Wenger’s time as an elite manager is over. He’s a good manager. He’ll secure the club top four this season, but he doesn’t have the winning mentality you need to excel. He’s out of ideas, his tactics are old fashioned and he doesn’t have it in him to adapt. The worst part about yesterday was watching the lack of desire. The players aren’t playing for him. There was so much individual talent on show, but no one wanted to work for their money.
Why are we benching our in form player? Theo Walcott is 23 years old, he’s hardly played all season, he’s just scored a hat-trick and he was the only player in our side who could give us pace. Instead, we opt to play a poor central midfielder in his place who has yet to put in a decent performance all season. If Arsene was so desperate not to play Theo. Shouldn’t he have considered Eisfeld instead? At least we know he can pace a create space with his movement. It was a tactical disaster.
Why when things are clearly not working for the side do we not make changes? Shouldn’t Wenger be able to alter the formation to give us a different look? We were painfully predictable. Our passing was patchy and off colour and we look so distinctly average it was quite upsetting. What’s happening in midfield at the moment? Why do we look constantly overwhelmed? Why are we persisting with a front three who don’t move for the ball? Where is the plan? Where is the direction?
The worst part about the whole set up is that the decisive factor in the game was a £24million United acquisition that came from us. We’re boasting £70million of uncommitted funds in the bank and we have no striking options outside a guy struggling to settle. Whereas United have our exCaptain who buried our title hopes. There’s something seriously wrong there. We have a manager who is the highest paid in the leauge and we have a Chief Executive who profits from the sale of players. If that’s not a cocktail for on-going averageness, then I don’t know what is. Wenger doesn’t profit directly from player sales, but it doesn’t take a g
Nail on the head
posted on 4/11/12
Expecting Pep to be our next manager is as unrealistic as expecting Wenger to sign Falcao in January! It ain't going to happen.
Although I accept that Wengers time is up & we definitely need a change! But with our current board the best a new manager will manage Is mid table.
It's a frightening thought but this might be as good as it gets for the next few years.
I wonder if any Arsenal fan is still against Usmanov playing a bigger role at our club?!?
Cos this is unacceptable, for the most expensive tickets in Europe?!?
We are being mugged!
posted on 4/11/12
AHB- Wenger has always had great players in the past to mask his shortcomings as a manager. After the Invincible era we had Cesc who almost single handedly kept us in the top4 and last season it was RVP's turn. Like you just mentioned we still have some good quality players in the squad but without that 'special' player his weaknesses are being brutally exposed. We are going absolutely nowhere with this snail-paced approach and it's very hard to see where the goals are going to come from this season.
posted on 4/11/12
We'll miss you Cesc! + AHB - Diaby's Revenge (U13431)
Great stuff lads. Agree especially with you AHB.
There is so much wrong in this team I don't know where to begin....
I cried yesterday when I saw Giroud out of the wing on several occassions in the first half. I am not against movement don't get me wrong. My point is where are our wing play when our CF needs to go wide?
Something which me personally irks me to death is our crosses, corners and set pieces. Just when things looked better for us in the second half a corner came in our box and United took advantages with a simple header. Game over. No fight, no desire. It's appalling.
posted on 4/11/12
This whole nonsense that you need money to win the league is nonsense. How much money did Dortmund spend to win the bundesliga two years running.
Or Porto to win the quadruple? Or Juventus to go undefeated last season while both Milan clubs spent more and a talented Napoli side faltered?
It's also a myth that arsenal run on a shoestring. We overpay so many players at our club that the wage structure is bloated to £130 million+. This is unsustainable with our current sponsorships and debts. You can say that our sponsorship deals when renewed might catch up with our rivals but how marketable are a club that are also-rand year in year out and definitely do not play attractive football anymore?
We are still clinging onto philosophies on and off the pitch that have been proven to have failed. Turning a profit by selling your MVPs every year is not impressive. Utd, City and Chelsea could do that every year comfortably if they wanted and be no worse off than we are at the moment.
If we scrape 4th this year it will be a miracle, not a sign that wenger has done a good job or justified his position at our job.
These are not opinions, these are facts.
This team is comfortably capable of 3rd with the right tactics and management.
posted on 4/11/12
Check Out Those Chest Cannons! -
You don't need money to win the league? Man City beg to differ...
posted on 4/11/12
Arsenal should be finishing 4th with any alf decent manager, Wenger is pulling no miracles here.
posted on 4/11/12
Cessy, it's not all about the leaving of the We carrying the same problems for a few seasons.
Its true that the scored out of nothing from us. There were also times when he was calm and dissappeared and we had the same issues.
posted on 4/11/12
This whole nonsense that you need money to win the league is nonsense. How much money did Dortmund spend to win the bundesliga two years running.
Or Porto to win the quadruple? Or Juventus to go undefeated last season while both Milan clubs spent more and a talented Napoli side faltered?
It's also a myth that arsenal run on a shoestring. We overpay so many players at our club that the wage structure is bloated to £130 million+. This is unsustainable with our current sponsorships and debts. You can say that our sponsorship deals when renewed might catch up with our rivals but how marketable are a club that are also-rand year in year out and definitely do not play attractive football anymore?
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Brilliant this mate. No world class player guarantees you titles. You see now City who are struggling and how long took it Chelsea to win the CL League and watch in which manner they won it.
posted on 4/11/12
I think that this stuff about no one can do a better job than Wenger is defeatist nonsense and really lazy.
We have made the worst start for 18 seasons , our tactics are 8 years out of date and our best players no longer want to stay at our club. It's not all about money
I think that Wenger has taken us as far as he can. He refuses to change/ adapt his tactics and this is why we are now going backwards. He never speaks out against the board as he is too comfortable in his Arsen al slippers.
I would love to see David Moyes at our club. Forget that Gerrard Tosh. Everton play good football and he is a good judge of and motivator of players. He also doesn't take any nonsense from slackers or prima donnas.
Arsene you have been our greatest manager after Herbert Chapman but all good things have to come to an end and you must not outstay your welcome.
posted on 4/11/12
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Brilliant this mate. No world class player guarantees you titles. You see now City who are struggling and how long took it Chelsea to win the CL League and watch in which manner they won it.
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Exactly... I'd argue Shitteh's success last season was borne out of the shockers Chelsea and us had. Aside from a fairly rock solid defence they looked less than impressive almost all season and the fact that we beat them with the shocking run-in we ha and WBA proved on the final day that city are still mentally weak when push comes to shove. If Fergie was told he just needed to win the game on the final of the season to win the league you can bet your ass his team would be 2-0 up by halftime and see out the game with ease.
City didn't buy the league... We(Arsenal, Chelsea and Utd) handed it to them on a silver platter.
Remember city's winter period when yaya wasn't playing and silva had a bad spell? They were shocking. Something like 5 draws out of 6 and the other was a loss.
I can't remember the last time an eventual title winner was allowed such leeway in a season.