So Arsenal are 10 points off the pace, we’ve managed to pick up 5 defeats already this season… oh and we are 1 point ahead of Hull.
Crisis anyone?
This situation we find ourselves in is simply not good enough for a club like Arsenal.
I don’t care how close the kids are, I don’t care how much money we make or how fantastic our new stadium is… I care about results, some section have forgotten about that but in fairness, we’ve been spun into thinking that having a good business model and acting ethically out weighs competing on the pitch. Our Chairman told us it isn’t all about trophies, that statement was echoed by the manager… hold the back page a minute… if management are thinking that way, is it a surprise the players are?
I demand my team competes for trophies every year… If you don’t subscribe to those values, why do you support a team in a competition… why buy the most expensive ticket in football? I can’t imagine there was a period when Arsenal fans were happy with average?
Sadly we’ve not been competing for the best part of 4 years. We had a good year last year, but that squad was too light to last the pace… then we lost some key members of that small squad of players, Wenger didn’t deem it necessary to replace them and we are where we are now as a result of that.
This is clearly the worst crop of players we’ve ever had under Arsene Wenger… and I’m not talking about ability, I’m talking about the attitude balance. We’ve been lumbered with a Captain who clearly had mental problems at his old club, we’ve got a star striker who thinks it is ok to head butt a team mate during a game and we’ve got a whole host of other players who just aren’t up to top 4 standards… and you know what summed it all up for me? Nik Bendtner turning up in Pink boots.
For me it just shows a complete lack of respect for the team and the fans… I know you probably think I am going off on a tangent here… but there are certain things you don’t do in football when your team is playing shite… wearing Pink boots is one of them. Let me explain…
It smacks of arrogance that a 21 year old player thinks he is talented enough to make Pink boots look good. It also shows that as a player, he is more concerned about how he looks rather than how he plays. Why else would you wear something that so obviously spits in the face of convention? It’s a completely egotistical thing to do in my eyes… when your team is on a downer, you tell your sponsor to piss off when they ask you to market their new fairy boots, especially when you’ve been playing poorly. Those boots were a complete joke and they summed up our performance yesterday.
This was the line-up:
Almunia
Hoyte Silvestre JD Clichy
Diaby Song Denilson Nasri
Nik RvP
I thought that was a poor selection and I said so in the comments.
Firstly, Diaby has problems breaking into the team because of Cesc… even though he has looked a lot more threatening over the last few weeks. So why not pair him with Denilson? When has Diaby ever shown any sort of ability out wide? A stupid decision in my eyes.
Secondly… Why was Song even playing? I always try and defend players because I want to believe they have something and I hate to write people off. However, if I was an insurance claims specialist… I’d take one look at the wreckage that is Song’s ability and assume there must have been some sort of horrific accident… I’d write Song off and pay Arsenal the sum of his value before the accident (About £27). There is just no hope… no chance of reworking him into a player that can wear the red and white of Arsenal.
I’ve got a good mind contact Phil Woolas (Labour Immigration Minister: woolasp@parliament.uk) and ask how the hell Song was granted a work permit on the basis of exceptional talent. Especially as Wenger has gone on record saying we couldn’t sign a 19 year old RONALDINHO due to permit issues!
I’m sorry, but Song is a walking calamity and he has been since he arrived. The very fact that he is in the first team squad should tell you how low Wenger has let his standards drop since the introduction of ‘Project Youth’.
Back to team selection.
If you move Diaby into the middle… why not stick Rambo in at right midfield? At least he has the ability to play there… at least he has energy and creative flair. He is flying at the moment and has the confidence and ability to change a game… if he tired after an hour (A 17 year old athlete should not tire after 2 games in 4 days), sub him and bring Jack on for 30 mins. Wenger seems to be insistent on sticking round pegs in square holes and it is not working.
As for the striking combo… well… what the hell has Nik done to justify a start? He has been beyond dreadful this season and my patience is wearing thin with him. Rolling onto the pitch with his fairy boots clearly put him into character as he played like Tinkerbell, it was embarrassing. Matt Le Tissier was really quite riled by the arrogance of Nik wearing those boots… he said something like,
‘You simply don’t wear boots like that until you have done something in the game.’
I make him totally right. He hasn’t done anything for the club this season and I am at odds to why Wenger didn’t pick Carlos Vela? At least Carlos looks interested in scoring goals. When he came on late he wanted the ball to his feet and he wasn’t afraid to pull the trigger… unlike the sluggish Dane who is so low on confidence he is scared to shoot.
I thought the team looked rudderless and utterly unimaginative. They played with all the attacking flair of a Sam Allardyce team. RvP was woeful and looked completely detached from the team… he is like the odd piece in the jigsaw… no one seems to be able to read him and to be honest, I don’t know what his game is all about?
Samir Nasri was anonymous and a bit lazy. He just seems to wander around the pitch doing a great job of doing naff all. There is a real lack of productivity in his game when he is off his game. At least Hleb would run his socks off and create openings… Nasri doesn’t have that game yet… but what can you expect after 3 months?
Almunia was back to his dreadful worst. He was lobbed for Robinho’s goal when perhaps he should have been off his line a bit quicker and he was also lucky to get away with spilling a tame shot in the second half.
I think my biggest worry of the day was Clichy. He has gone from being Mr Reliable to Corporal fuck up in the space of 6 months. His mistimed clearance led to the first City goal… but to be honest, it was coming and we all knew it.
‘We lacked the maturity to deal with being in a dominant situation’
I don’t remember being in a dominant postion and If we lacked maturity, whose fault is that? Excuses like that aren’t acceptable anymore… you had all summer to rectify a lack of maturity.
So, enough moaning… onto the solutions.
Well, there really is only one… and that is play the Carling Cup stars. If your first team can’t cut it and your reserve team can… there is only one option. Ship out the under performers and replace them with on form young pretenders who are hungry to take their places.
Bring in Rambo, bring in Jack and bring in Vela. It’s not a top 4 solution, but I’m afraid due to our piss poor strategy this summer… it’s the only solution.
Long term, it is clear what Arsene has to do. He must return to doing what he has a proven track record of doing. He has to go out and purchase £30million worth of ‘nearly world class’ talent. He needs to sign them in January, get them settled and then see where he is in the summer. We need at least three or four 25 year old internationals with Champions league experience. We need a Keita in midfield, a proper winger and a centre back that strikes fear into not only the opposition… but his team mates.
I don’t want to hear that these players don’t exist, because the world is a pretty huge place and we are supposed to have the best scouting network around. Go out and ask about De Rossi, Arshavin or Chillieni… go and raid Madrid’s subs bench… ask Inter whether they’d let Adriano go and maybe help him reinvigorate his flagging career. I’m not saying those players are the answer… just that their are players out there, because everyone else seems to be finding them.
Wenger should do what he does best… make nearly players world class. Give up on Project youth, it’s a dead duck. Only the best players deserve a chance at Arsenal FC.
One more point I’d like to make… players should be judged on ability, not on their date of birth. Flogging players who have hit 30 is poor management. Would we be in the same situation if Gilberto had stayed this summer? I doubt it. He was still a world class player when you sold him and he would have made a great captain.
Arsene… we’re asking you to return to your old ways, because watching this team collapse in front of our eyes is sickening and if you continue to stubbornly pursue your dream… things will only end in one way. I do not want you sacked, but I do want to see a change in club policies. This can only happen by employing a new CEO. The task shouldn’t take over a year and it shouldn’t be decided by Wenger. He shouldn’t even have a say on it and I hope that is the case. Selecting your own boss is a bit counter productive. We want someone to kick the club on… not agree with everything Emperor Wenger dictates.
I’ll leave you with a Wenger quote.
‘In a big club you have to go through these periods, and how we deal with it will shape our future.’
UEFA Cup football, sub standard players and empty seats were never part of the future… and I hope you are the man to keep it that way.
Happy Sunday Grovers… at least all 4 of our rivals dropped 2 points!
Nucks, I am sure you’re not as fat as Huddlestone! haha!
What is happening to our team? There are so many unanswered questions!
I am so pissed off.
When we get to the gutter he gets David Dein back!
Maciek, I dissagree, if the money is right for some players then they will go anywhere, ie Robinho. However I think there are a lot of players who would still love to play under Arsene Wenger. I think it is more down to money for most.
Peaches, read the story:
Link
I heard that MAn Citeh is keen on signing K.Toure> thats gotta be alarming, because AW will sell him and then not replace him. Instead we will have Song playin CB the DM at the same TIME!!! oh no………………….
Pedro, thanks mate your right he is a lot fatter than most! I wasn’t suggesting that we buy fat tom, I was pointing out how bad our midfield looks in comparison lately!
Pedro,
Boy this must be one of your best post. Very good read. Awesome. We all seem to agree on what needs to be done. I mean everybody except AW. What do we all need to do to make this thick skin listen????????/
peachesgooner
one of them is lieing who do u think it is. Arsenal is the most expensive ticket in world football. where is all the money going? we dont have Big star names earning 100K a week anymore. so where saving it more then spending.
i think its Wenger. it has to be. why would he say he has money to spend and risk the chance of the price of the player he wants to buy go higher. the idea is to pay less as possible.
we cant do a Chavski and park a Tank outside there ground firing 50 pound notes at them
or a Man City and Fly a B52 Bomber over there ground and Drop hundreds of pounds on them till they sell.
I’m with you on that peaches..
I reckon that the money we have available in the bank (£90mill) is not going to be spent in case these people who have put there deposits down on the flats fail to meet the other 90% of the payment next summer.
But if Wenger said he needed £25 mill they would find it reluctantly, but they are not throwing it at him.
There is no gain in keeping the money in the bank and falling out of the top 4 because the shares would be worth less than if we are a CL club..
Nucks i saw the game i was also impressed by Huddlestone. Pedro ur description of him is the same i have of him but he has impressed me on a few occassions
He needs David Dein – or a similar person – DD has been his friend and confidante for the past 12 years. They are good friends – they meet often – this I know.
DD screwed up because he thought his position was unetanable – he had to sell his shares so that when he returns its from a position of weekness. DD wants to take the club forward financially – but we don’t need £300m because we are a good business model already.
We will fall so far and then the board will have to change their stance because all the time we are failing as a football club their investment is falling badly!!!
That was a fucking embarrassment yesterday. I have been feeling very low about Arsenal since AW decided to waste the whole summer transfer window. And accordingly I set my expectations very low this season and the team are worse than even I thought!
This season I have been to the following away games: Fulham, Sunderland, Stoke and Man City. Every one of those games we have been shit, absoloute toilet and it’s been bloody sad to watch.
This is the team that Wenger made. And it’s shit.
Can he turn it around? I think he could but only with someone giving him a good kick up the arse and telling him to stop being so stubborn and who’s going to do that? PHW? Please.
He is now bigger than the club and it’s unhealthy.
Personally if he rubbishes the FA Cup again that will be the last straw for me.
Watching AC milan against Torinno, but I haven’t seen Senderous play for their 1st team and Flamini gets the occassional look in.
We need fighters in the mold of Gattuso and Maldini.
Confident, cheers!
I think he knows now… like someone said earlier, he is faced with complete failiure for the first time…
Surely he knows this?
we have to be worried with comments like this..
However Wenger is refusing to concede they are out of the title race even though they have seen Aston Villa move into fourth place.
He said: “We have to keep our belief. With a strong team in a strong club, you have sometimes to go through a period like this.
“It is how well you deal with that situation you determine your future.
“I believe we have to try to win our next game and not set targets and see where we go.”
& This…………
Wenger added: “We were in control in the first half but then conceded a goal in stoppage time.
“That goal changed the game. City played a lot on the counter attack and we played into their hands.
“We lacked maturity and the second goal illustrated that. The third goal was a very soft penalty.
“We gave absolutely everything – we are not in the blaming culture. We stand up for our responsibilities.”
Sigh…………………………………
Pedro – that was just spin on the part of the board. There was already growing unrest that Arsene didn’t seem to be going for any of the targets he’d mentioned at the end of last season.
Who do you think has more power Arsene Wenger or the board?
Who pays who’s wages?
‘he had to sell his shares ‘
No he didn’t? He fucked up big time there…
Avenell, people aren’t giving up there deposits… 90% sold. It is mostly rich investors buying up those properties. A little recession wont scare them into giving up a piece of history and prime real estate.
Back to it… what does Wenger stand to gain by defending the board?
Maciek,
i dont think kroenke could afford to buy us without putting us into debt mate, but i never said i wanted him to, i said if.
i just hope that one thing that benefits from this season is that wenger realises his project isnt working,
if fizsmanns comments were correct, and it wasnt spin, then surely AW has to dip into into the funds. if he doesnt use jan to start rebuilding, then i see it as the board who isnt allowing the funds, or the manager, who is still too stubborn to see the error of his ways. either way one of them is wrong and someone needs a word.
Franchise, we have to be a little bit careful of praising a spud but yes he did have a good game. This will be controversial so i will be careful how i put this. Harry does have a knack of getting the best out of his key players. This is because he plays them in positions that suit them. He won’t take lennon and play him at right back. On rare occasions you might have to ask a player to play somewhere that doesn’t suit him because he can do a job there. But we do it all over the pitch. Gallas was a left back for the chavs and silvestre was the same. How the fuck is diaby supposed to play on the wing? The only thing Harry has failed on is sending that rat faced pikey back to his caravan site!!! HE’S JUST A SHIT DAVID BECKHAM!!!
He didn’t fuck up Pedro – and he got £75m for his shares so we don’t have to feel sorry for him in any way.
He went around it the wrong way – the board didn’t like what he was suggesting and closed ranks.
Peaches, that is a weak argument.
Who pays Rafa’s wages… Fergies, Mourinho’s (Before he left)…
If you’re not being backed, you don’t lie about it to the press… especially if you are a proud man.
“There were great expectations and hopes that we would buy heavily this summer,’’
Does that sound like a MD who is lying?
I think we need to sing all the old Arsenal legends songs to push the point that nobody of the current crop is deserving of a song at the moment. Just belt out ninety minutes of Thierry Henry, Bergamp, Super Bob, Wrighty etc
Peaches, he did fuck up.
He sold his shares to the wrong person and now he has no way back in.
How is that not a fuck up?
He was loaded already…
What would he gain by coming out and saying theres no money for transfers?
Benitez tried it I believe – did he get Gareth Barry? No he just looked like he had no power after all.
Pedro . I have watched my shares in the HBOS fall to 5% of what they were worth a year ago.. I am not too optomistic.
There is a lot of big companies falling at the moment, I was told you could buy Woolworths for a pound last week.
Ah, yes, I have to agree with you that he sold his shares to the wrong person
But he didn’t know that the board were going to accept Kroenke after all – I expect hes gutted that he sold his shares to the russian – he’ll be able to buy them back
Did he get Torres… yes.
Villa didn’t want to sell Barry because Liverpool played hardball with Carson. That wasn’t Liverpools fault or a lack of backing.
Avenell… Dein didn’t sell his shares because he was skint… he sold them as a way back in!
DD was right though wasnt he? no matter what he did and didnt do he hit the nail on the head.
he said we would fall behind the rest if we ploughed all our finances into the stadium and we have, this is wengers poorest side yet and we were told the new stadium would help us compete on a par with man utd.
the only thing we compete with man utd on is wages.
It was lack of backing – benitez was close to tears during august because of the ‘yes you can’ ‘no you can’t ‘ buy gareth barry saga. Torres was the year before anyway.
Pedro. I haven’t mentioned DD mate..
Pedro – did you have an answer to my first question?
Who has more power Arsene Wenger or the board?
Peaches, but no one is in any doubt if the other top 4 managers are not being backed.
The finances say we are in a great position, the MD says we are and the simple maths says we are.
You can’t plead poverty when the whole world can see you bank account.
Wenger has nothing to gain by protecting the board… having no money available doesn’t make you look powerless does it? It would give Wenger a great excuse to continue with project youth though.
He has had plenty of opportunity to say…
‘I’m backing the kids because I have no cash to spend’
He can’t though, because it is not true. So instead the excuse is,
‘If I buy a 25 year old… I kill a career.’
JonJon if we borrow £500 million and get in as much debt as ManU we could compete with them then.
But for the sake of our club the board choose not too..
Peaches… Wenger.
He is helping to choose the new CEO and he is key to any future sale of the club.
He is probably the most powerful manager in the world and certainly the most powerful figure at Arsenal.
Avenell… that is not true.
ManU didn’t get in debt to buy players… they got in debt so the Glazers could get the fans to pay for the club for them.
They were always a debt free enterprise before and capable of big money signings.
Of course he could say ‘I’m backing he kids because I have no cash to spend’ but when Danny Fizman comes out and says Arsene can have £30m if he wants to buy someone – it doesn’t add up does it?
One of them must be telling big fat lies.
I would say the one with the power is the one pulling the strings – and thats not Arsene.
We know that there were bids for Alonso on 31st August – bids that weren’t going to be accepted but that were never the less placed. Why? If you wanted to buy the player you’d make sure you were gonna get him wouldn’t you?
This rot started from last season after Birmingham. Perhaps after Seville away, to be more precise. We should have won some games that we either drew or lost because AW plays the wrong players or formation. It got worse with the injury to Dudu who was really combining well with Ade.
There are many reasons to be angry with AW. Not buying, not fielding the right squad, but the one that tips it is not being in control of his dressing room or trying to paper over cracks in the team. I am angry that Wenger knew he had dressing room problems and did nothing to heal or settle that and it took Gallas’s book for us to know.
What can be done to revive Arsenal? I would go with getting Appia in the short term to at least bench Dennilson and Song in the DM. Alternatively, bring Toure to play DM, he really cannot be as bad as the incumbents and he is faster than Song. Next, sort out the mid with injection of Ramsey, Diaby, Vela and Nasri who already plays there. Never play Diaby wide. He does better in the middle. Get the combo right for front men
Ade / RVP, Ade/ Vela, Vela/Simpson, Ade/Diaby. Ade/Simpson. Mr. Bentner can watch from the stands.
See how this takes you till January when you must do the following: Buy 2 defenders top draw, 1 mid right (Theo should come in in 2nd half ) 1 world class striker and I DM.
Sell ; Song , Bendt, , Dennilson, Gallas, Rosicky,
JonJon
I respect Your view but-HE WON’T LEARN. HE IS TOO STUBBORN. He will never admit that he was wrong. My solutions are:
- sell so called dead wood- Song, Denilson, Diaby, Bendtner, Adebayor, Almunia,
- Exchange Gallas plus cash with Cana,
- bring back Martin Keown as def. coach,
- make Lee Dixon or S. Bould or some former GUNNER Wenger’s no2
- Appoint a new CEO,
- make a public statemant by our board about money for transfers( how much, etc.),
- use transfer money = money from sold players to buy a GK, CD,CDM
My choose will go to Given, Zapata, Upson, Cana, Appiah, Arshavin
- make a meeting between Wenger and supporters, where he can explain the whole situation,
- if Rosicky will be fit play him in the centre of our midfield and say bye to Fabregas,
- give Wenger a last more chance to prove his worth, value, letting him make some transfers in january
- if we end up empty handed and outside the CL, sack him in the summer,
What do You think?
great post pedro
as usual le groves view has softened these hard times
Peaches, Danny came out after Wenger said he didn’t have any money and refuted that claim by saying he always has the backing of the board.
The big difference in the stories is that Danny has financial evidence to back his claims… Arsene doesn’t.
Look at the financials… it’s in black and white.
wenger has come out and said he would spend 30mil on a player if it guaranteed him a trophy but becaquse there are no guarantees he would rather go the cheap way
indirect quote but from memory its pretty much what he said
Pedro. I know how Man U got into debt..
But the fact is they are in debt to the tune of £750 million..
So that leaves us £500 mill to buy players
It’s a great way of saying I wont sign a £30million player isn’t it!
It’s like me saying I’d start up my own business if I could guarantee a profit every year… if not, I’ll stay in my job.
£500mill on players… the stuff of dreams!
Only if Arsene was spending it though…
That article with that interview with Danny Fizzman was on the 28th August.
His words can be interpretted in 2 different ways.
We have given Arsene £30m to spend or
If Arsene wants to buy a player and he were to cost for example £30m we would not say no to him.
I’m sure you can see the difference. From a spin point of view all thats important is that a figure of £30m is mentioned in the article.
And yest GENTLEMEN, we need a WORLD CLASS player, who will be also a so called star player.
Avenell, i agree we do not need to go down the man utd road to compete with them, but if weve made 30mil a year since weve been at the grove then surely if we’d of put half of that back into the club in way of transfers we’d have a side ready to compete with anyone around the world by now.
i dont want huge investmest, but rome wasnt built in a day, weve been rebuilding for the past 3 years and we are declining more than improving. if wenger would have bought a couple of quality players each season, not kids, we’d be in a much stronger position with a much stronger team at this point. it doesnt take an investor to do that.
saving the money every year might of got us a healthy cash reserve, but a healthy cash reserve doesnt make you champions does it.
Either way Arsene didn’t spend the £30m.
Who do you think was more satisfied with those dealings?
Peaches,
Agree 100% and I did raise this with Geoff from earlier blogs. That explains the limited ambition. The official target of the board to AW is 4th place finish in the league. Again why would you bid for players below their market price? Shows you did not really want to buy. You just wanted the Junos to pick that somehow you wanted to strengthen.
I believe that the board and AW are lying. Cash is scarce. simple.
‘If he said to us ‘I want this guy and he’s £30 million, can I buy him?’ the answer is yes. Absolutely yes. We totally back him.’
Followed by,
‘There were great expectations and hopes that we would buy heavily this summer’
That isn’t spin to me… that is Danny saying we were expecting heavy spending, but we weren’t asked.
The 28th of August wasn’t a critical renewal time… so there was no need to spin any bullshit.
Wenger backed his kids, and he has failed. He stated all summer he planned to back the kids…
Pedro – Is that from the Telegraph link you gave ?!
Maciek,
i agree with everything you say, apart from sack wenger next summer,
i believe he deserves the chance to put it right, its his mess let him sort it, he must start rebuilding, using the next two windows, if nothing changes and we are in the same situation in 2010 then he goes.
id give him next season mate to put it right, hes not stupid, hes stubborn but he knows what he has to do. if he doesnt then its bye bye.
Yes Keyser.
Pedro – you write such good stuff on here, if you wanted to spin a tale to us, I reckon you’d get more than 80% believing you.
Why would Danny Fizzman give an interview on the 28th August – 3 days before the transfer window closes? I believe he had to come out and say something.
I remember this site went crazy when that article came out, everyone saying ‘see, Arsene does have the money’!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i still cant believe im debating on le grove with the likes of avenell and pedro, its like being a youth player promoted to the 1st team and playing with the stars, hahahaha
If I was Fizman and I had £150 million tied up in shares in Arsenal like he does and I offered Wenger £30 million to spend on players.
And I saw the shit served up saturday, he would be visiting my office tomorrow morning..
F**k me JonJon I like that..
Thanks buddy!
Does anyone think that if we’d of offered flamini the deal he wanted, sold adebayor and used the cash to get villa, we’d be in this situation in the 1st place.
Peaches, we went crazy because we were the only ones saying so all summer.
ANR came out and said we only had £25million to renew contracts and buy players and all the rest followed suit.
Le Grove did the math and said we had money… then Fiszman came out and backed our stance. Then ANR retracted the no money scenario and said they got it wrong.
Did Wenger come out and deny what Danny said? No…
Wenger was backing youth… as he said earlier in the summer.
haha! Nice one JonJon, good to have you on board. The more the merrier!
I’m going to put up the blog Xmas decorations soon!
We’ll have a nice festive tree!
I don’t like what is happening to our club one bit.
We are being lied to – I don’t agree with Arsenes behaviour because I think the safety of our club is in his hands but I don’t believe the board either.
From The Telegraph :
“It would be no problem at all,’’ said Fiszman, the club’s second largest shareholder. “It’s not our decision who he spends money on, nor will it ever be our decision. If he said to us ‘I want this guy and he’s £30 million, can I buy him?’ the answer is yes. Absolutely yes. We totally back him. It’s his decision. I’m unfortunately not good enough to be a manager myself but I’d love to be.’’
“There’s a dual problem for him. If we were to buy star names, you are talking about relatively mature players who need to be integrated into the way Arsene plays. They don’t know our style and it also impacts on the youngsters who’ve been brought through.’’
Arsenal fans have been upset at Wenger’s reluctance to spend substantial sums on players this summer, although Samir Nasri has arrived for £13 m. “There were great expectations and hopes that we would buy heavily this summer,’’ added Fiszman. “We’ve bought well. If Arsene could find the right player he would buy that player but at the moment he hasn’t. There’s still a little bit of time.’’
- That’s everything that was said and unless the Telegraph has spun it in some abnormal way it seems to say they give complete backing to Wenger whatever he chooses.
- I’d say that there is money, like we’ve discussed before, not something that could gurantee changes but say 20-30 million to be spent on the RIGHT players. Not any players, not apying over the odds for players that could maybe do a job, but players that Wenger would think could make the difference.
- Overall I’d say there is a mutal agreement between the board and Wenger that they’d approach the next couple fo seasons with caution as opposed to the wanton abandon other clubs have. To think about the future of the club rather than go from season to season.
If they put no pressure on Wenger to buy in January than that might prove to be the case, then again I keep thinking we’re going to get some Tottenham style overnight dismissal with someone like Roy Keane brought in, who seems to be a popular choice here on the Grove.
agreed peaches nobodies to trust but the main culprit in my eyes is the slippery french one
as stated he had money to keep the players here which he didn’t or at least let 5 go and still didn’t spend the original 25 mil (just for arguments sake)that was there for strengthening so again why no 25 mil signing
Flamini… He should have been sorted before his last year, but I don’t think anyone, even Wenger knew how good he was.
There seems to be a void once you reach the first team squad where you don’t play for the first team and you don’t play in the reserves.
If Wenger played Flamini a bit more in his correct position in the reserves he might have known how good he was in central midfield.
Or even loaned him!
JonJon – I’m sorry to have ignored you, you have said a lot of very sensible things tnite. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed your blogging.
Pedro – this is gonna run and run, we won’t know the truth until someone comes out and tells us
even then I won’t believe it!!!
Catch up with everyone tmoro, nite nite xx
August 25th:
“We do not have to worry about too many other players. I believe we have the needed squad and a strong squad. I believe in the players I have instead of always looking at who might be coming in.
August 27th:
“When you lose a game the solution is not always to buy,”
He wasn’t interested in buying.
The easiest thing in the world would have been to say, ‘I have no money’. If that was the truth… he would have said it.
Night Peaches!
Keyser, I think talk of Roy Keane is laughable on a grand scale.
Fair points on the Danny article. No one is asking Wenger to spend £100million of shit… we are just asking him to shift the age group he is currently targetting up a notch.
23-25… experienced, on the verge of great things.
JonJon
He is rebuilding this side from 2005. How much more time he really needs? 2010 You say. I respect Your opinion but in 2 years time it might be too late. You can imagine empty seats and our supporters turning back, and wanting Wenger’s head.
As for Your question. With Flamini and Villa Arsenal would play much better, but still it wouldn’t heve been enough to be in the first place. To win a trophy You need a quality defender and a quality goalkeeper.
P.S. JonJon-I see You are new here at Le Grove. I started writing a week ago, so I’m also new here. I like Your opinions and respect them, You seem to be a very intelligent and polite man. Keep up the good work. Welcome to the fold. Best wishes!
Your right about flamin avenall, i feel he deserved a new contract before the year he left, he was a consistent performer for the club whenever he played, but because of his style and his lack of big star rep nobody ever noticed him, but sometimes their the best players in your squad, the ones who go around doing the basics and never really get noticed in the game.
i remember the season we had the CL run to the final, flamini played at left back for most of it and did a fantastic job, the position wasnt his strongest but because of his energy and determination he handled it. we should of offered him a new contract then.
thats what i dont get, we jumped to offer ade an improved contract on the base of one good goalscoring season, which he will probably never match again, yet flamini was allowed to leave even though he’d proved himself as a good utility player a few seasons on the trot.
a total case of mis management.
I was hoping people were joking when they said “Roy Keane”..
Like “Ramos” and “David Pleat”… Please say they were!!!
this blog is great & i agree with jonjon… before i used to be down when we lose.. but now i can vent my anger.. geoff & pedro thanks guys….
Avenell, the William Gallas of management in my eyes!
JonJon, I think the Flamster had already made his mind up based on his treatment the summer previous to his departure.
It was still bad management in my eyes, but I think once a player is doing well… you can’t afford to drop him.
If we sold him in January and our title bid caved… everyone would be saying the same thing… bad management.
Catch 22.
No probs bini… you guys make this the place to be!
Jon Jon.. And he dropped Flamster in the final for Cashley even after what that tosser done..
And DD was in charge of contracts when he had 1 year left.. The hero who sold our club then tried to get in through the back door…
An announcement of I have no money to spend on new signings would have been regarded as insulting to the board, it is washing your dirty laundry in public, it’s fat boy Benitez. Wenger had a budget he chose not to spend it, putting his faith in project youth, the plan has failed, it’s time to spend the budget.
lol…catch 22 indeed!
Avenell
So what’s Your solution my friend? How many players do we need?(If any). What should Wenger do? What about a little bit of honesty from our board?
Keyser and Pedro- thanks for the research. Isn’t it weird, that members of our board always make this statements when we are safe and sure of our CL qualification?
Your right on that one Pedro.. he was too good to be dropped..
Nobody seems to have came out very well from the situation ..Flamini, Arsenal or the fans .
But don’t forget why he got in the team .. The south American tournament, it’s as much a pain in the arse as the ACN..
pedro.. the bad management of flamini was the fact that they should have put a condition on his 1st team appearance in Jan… they should put pressure to extend his contract….
the worst of all wasthe fact they didnt give Silva two year contract… he should have knowen better without cover for flamini the next best thing was Silva….. Fergie fought hard to keep ronaldo & Raffa threaten to quit if they didnt sign Mascherano (spelling not sure) yet Wenger is all over the place… he can not keep his best players & yet he doesnt fight to get players…..
I feel the same way as most about Bentner but if you were at the Sheffield United game (that’s different from watching it on the telly) you could have been forgiven for thinking that this kid could wear pink boots
Maciek, cheers mate
you have some fantastic points, i agree wenger has wasted enough time, but before he arrived we never played the football we do now. and lets not forget before wenger changed his policies, we won countless trophies, including the double double, and we went unbeaten for an entire season.
the man deserves a chance to turn it round, we know what he can do, but what i will say is that he needs to go back to the old ways. and not this project youth crap. i say 2010 bearing in mind he will start to rebuild properly and not with children, if we start to see quality signings in jan and next summer, then lets give him the time to get it right, which means one more season after this. if not and he continues to be stubborn, then yes, by all means lets get some fresh ideas in before 2010.
wenger seems to be lacking in ambition, its the boards job to put a rocket up his arse and say 4th place without a trophy every year is not good enough, but the board seem to be just as unambitious, they seem to be happy for wenger not to spend millions and just to qualify for europe every year, it suits them as it still brings in the pennies. the fact weve qualified every year wenger has been here has made the board and wenger complacent, complacency starts at the top, has a knock on effect to the team and we are seeing the same dribble every week from the players.
so this year is probably a good thing as it will scare the shit out of them all and changes will be forced.
London, I don’t think it would have been insulting.
‘Due to the expansion of the club, I don’t have large funds available to me. That’s not to say I wont in the future, but at the moment, I am focussed on progressing with the players I have.’
That would have been fine.
Surely asking Wenger to lie is more insulting?
Asking a man as well respected as Arsene to take the brunt of criticism for the boards mistakes sounds like an awful thing to do to someone?
Avenell, Flamini probably thinks he came out well of that deal: move to club of boyhood dreams, quadrouple salary, better climate, better food, speak the language of your father it goes on.
I forgot to mention the Italian women.
The Italian women
Maciek… I would build my team around Sagna. Clichy, Fabregas, Nasri, Vela, Eduardo, Walcott? Djourou, Rosicky, Wilshere, Ramsey, Almunia/Fabinaski soon.
The rest I would duck and dive with.
Sell a few buy a few. Have a shake up!
London, I’m not writing him off at the moment. He has had a shocking couple of months… but so has half the team.
I am sure he will come good at some point… how many people said Flamini was shite? Hleb was shite? Adebayor was shite?
It’s easy to ruin a player when he is playing badly…
London I thought he was a Juve supporter.. I may be wrong.
But you need to play..
London… I’d do the same. Milan or rainy old london for less money?
It’s a no brainer.
Avenell… I’d just support whoever gave me the fattest pay cheque.
I’m a mercenary blogger… what can I say?
You have been at this one for about an hour now Pedro. I don’t wont to make things worse. Top drawer post again.
there has been to many simulator parallels that has kepts us back among other things and not made the right steps to fix the problem.
like losing EDU and VIERA in the space of a Year.
and Losing FLAMINI and DIARRA in a even smaller space of time. and done Nothing.
that is bad Business on Wenger and the Boards part. on either not taking the right steps to keep them or Replace them.
Cheers London.
New topic please:
Avenell asked who you’d build your team around…
So who is good enough to stay?
Who would You like to bring to our club Avenell?
Good question
Fabianski
Sagna Clichy JD Toure
Rosicky Cesc Nasri Walcott Ramsey Wilshere
Eduardo Vela
the rest can go, raise extra funds, help clear the wage bill.
My keepers:
Theo
Cesc
Ade
Jack
Rambo
JD
Clichy
Sags
RvP
Vela
Bends
Eduardo
Oh shit… I am keeping nearly all of them!
Who would I let go:
Eboue
Song
Gallas
Pedro, would you really keep bendnter??? WHY?
He is a talented boy.
I think he has a lot to offer the club. He is low on confidence right now… but I think he’ll come good. I’ve seen enough of him to think he has something to offer. Maybe not now… but if we wrote every player off at 20, we’d be pretty light.
fabianski, Sagna, Clichy, Djourou, who is far more in Wenger’s plans than most people think, long term contract already signed etc. Fabregas..obviously, Ramsey, Nasri, Vela, Walcott, my kingdom for a fully fit and functioning Rosicky. I’m not precious about any of the others. I would keep the Bentners and Denilsons but our season should not be reliant on them.
Right now I don’t think anyone should go, if we’re going to do anything with the squad we have right now it should be build consistencty at least see the same players play each week, then players return from injury, the lesser players are relegated to the bench so we have competition for places.
At the same time anyone who gets put on the bench will have to work that bit harder to dispalce the person thats there, if there is still a problem in January and no positives can be drawn the places for strengthening will be even more prominent. Players who can’t get back in to the team will eventually be sold off anyway.
The saddest thing is, they type of players that we seem to need are probably just a couple of years away from actually being ready. Coquelin, Lansbury, Randall ? maybe.. Even that Jay Thomas but the way he’s going he’d be 7 ft tall by the time he reaches the first team.
I’m off to bed!
Have a great night everyone!
Pedro
I think we should buy a powerful centreback, cdm, and a attack minded midfielder, and a gk.
Given, Zapata, Upson, Cana, Appiah, and Arshavin.
I know it’s very controversial but since Cesc is our new Le Sulk I would sell him and play Rosicky or Nasri in his position. And Ramsey will be ready soon. We should sell Song, Gallas, Bendtner, Adebayor, Denilson, Diaby, Almunia.
My team:
Given
(Fabianski)
Clichy Zapata Upson Sagna
(Eboue)
(Kolo Djourou)
(Traore and
Silvestre)
Nasri (Jack W.) Rosicky Cana Arshavin
(Appiah, Coquelin) (Theo)
(Nasri and Ramesy)
Eduardo RVP
Vela Simpson
(Arshavin)
I dont think we’d miss him if he was sold, there are better players out there pedro, at a younger age too. Bendnter just doesnt seem to be able to do it for me, i see him as clumsy and lacking in concentration. in all the games iv seen him play i cant recall a single good thing iv seen him do, apart from pre season and in the reserves against weak opposition.
Maciek… We should have swapped Hleb for Yaya or no deal wih Barca, and swapped Ade for Eto’o. (I did say it in the summer honest).
Other than that anyone who can play football on the ground, in the style Spain won the Euro’s.
As I don’t think you need outstanding players the system will win most games..
Keyser, that is why I’d like to sign someone like Gattuso for a year or 2… he could have the Davids effect on us… and he’d command respect… he speaks English… has an idea about the British game and he is an absolute winner/animal.
On that note… I really am off!
We almost all chose the same players. I forgot Eduardo who every time you see his face at a game looks like he is gagging to play again.
Night Pedro.. and thanks again!!
London… I hope everyone goes easy on Eduardo we have made him some sort of cult figure. He went missing in a lot of games when he first came, he will need patience and I’m not sure if some Arsenal supporters have it..
avenell – Just going back to Roy keane for a second, sorry, but remember his comments on the media brainwashing people, I know that seems a bit far fetched but there seems to be a big difference in how quickly people seem to lose all faith in things today then several years ago.
Eduardo taking a few months to adpat would be the least we gave players in times gone by or am I wrong ?!
I thought eduardo was doing ok avenall, he was still getting used to the PL, and his movement and finishing was still excellent, i feel it will take him a while to get up to speed again, but by the time the business end of the season comes, he’ll be one of the deadliest strikers in the league.
We gave Charle Nicolas a few years Keyser, Don’t think they would now mate!
Cana please!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
He is an animal and a winner.
Ok, I know…………I Know, but evrytime I see him I think to myself- he is an Arsenal material-isn’t he?
But- it won’t happen.
Charlie Nicholas Whoops
Mackie.. I just checked his clip on utube & u got it spot on this is guy is the BEAST & he will bring terror to the PL & the shity teams will be shitting themsleve when they play us … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL_bZAdOKhk
JonJon
I agree on Eduardo- I love him as a player, but it’s a midfield which creates goal chances for forwards. Eduardo can create something out of nothing( Adebayor is unable to do the same) but he can’t do it all the time.
Hi Bini.
Thanks for Your response. I watched him playing many times and he is our solution. And he have never received a red card. Problem is- Wenger should make his transfer true, when he was negotiating Nasri’s contract. And Cana is a OM captain. That just says something.
P.S. Cheers Bini. I “see” You for the first time here. You are doing a great job, so continue it. Best wishes.
*everytime, sorry
Maciek,
im with you on cana, iv wanted us to sign him since flamini left, id also like to see veloso arshavin and chellieni
Where you from JonJon?
mackie…thanks …. this is great site & a place to let off steam..
Cana fits the bill & also I am sure he would jump at once to come over …. without disrespecting OM but he would achieve far greater things with Arsenal
Im from Leeds mate, im a northern gooner,
what about you Avenall?
many thanks guys & good night…. on final note having Kiev in midweek is blessing & I hope it will help the team to come back to their best
also I hope we will get some sort of announcement soon to let us know the direction of the club….
I’m in Cornwall now near Newquay.. Used to live in Hertfordshire.
Is there many Gooners up there?
And is it true there is a blue Mc Donalds in Leeds coz Leeds hate Man U so much?
Night bini….
Haha, no its not true about McDs. Yes theres a few of us up here. i was born up here but my family are from london originally, i followed the family trait of being a gooner, been watching them with my grandad since 1984.
Isnt Jacky wilshere from hertfordshire?
Sadly he passed away year year we won the first double under wenger, he never got to see it, he was a hardcore fan, grew up in the chapman era.
You’d be suprised how many fans up here dont actually support leeds. It is a single club city yet really it doesnt have that many fans.
most people up here either support arsenal, liverpool, or man utd. haha quite ironic
i meant my grandad passed away not LJW.
Probably I’m alone since it’s post mid. in England but it won’t be a surprise for me if we lose to Kiev. They are a good side amd we are in decline. If we fail, our last game in Porto may be difficult.
*alone here
I would have loved to have heard some of your grandads stories. No one in my family even liked football.. Where was he from?
My old gal came from Leytonstone so I have a bit of Cockney in me, (on a clear day Geoff)..
Jacks from Stevenage, along with Ashley Young.
and Lewis Hamilton ( gooner).
Nine minutes to midnight Maciek..
JonJon, I didn’t think it was LJW… You know your Le Grove stuff mate..
Sorry Avenell.
Of course, there is a one hour differnce between England and Poland. My mistake, an apology. But You must admit- our CL match will be tougher than expected, and I feel it will be a very nervy match. But we should do it.
My prediction 2:1 to the Arsenal.
My grandad was from Islington, but got moved around alot during the war, he ended up in Leeds and stayed here. He hated wenger when he 1st started, but after the second season he said he could see he was going to be at arsenal a long time.
I still we think we should of gone for young before villa did. 9mil was a snip now.
Maciek,
i didnt realise you were polish mate, i think the CL brings out a different attitude in the players, they seem more up for that competition than they do for the domestic cups.
I’m going to say goodnight now fella’s.
Good night Avenell. Thanks for responses.
JonJon
Before I go. CL is a different league, but we are in real danger of being knockout if we fail against Kiev. That can be disastrous.
Anyway. Good night JonJon. Thanks for responses and till tomorrow. It was a pleasure to chat with You.
im off to bed now too, night everyone, nice talking to you all
I’m too. Once more. Night everyone.
the worst part about arsenals current woes is where do you start ?, the rot is so deep from the board – wenger – player problems – bad performances – bad sub’s – bad selections – lies – renegade captains – general lack of leadership ..sub standard players , where do you start ?
Focusing on the EPL table is a problem for me .. we need to hold on too C.L football
as much as i think losing it can only be good for us long term , as far as wenger will be forced into buying and admitting his project isnt working … but its a pricey cost too make when he should just admit by now (4 years ) that this team wont be good enough too challenge ..EVER!
i mean when you look at chelsea , rightly or wrongly they are packed with talent – experience and world class players , like barca – man U – milan and real … this is surely the model that has worked for over 20 years !
young players cannot just flick on a switch and become deco over night !
and down time is killing our game … killing the fans and killing our club !
i consider nasri – jack – ramsey – vela – cesc-sagna-johan – the fuck up king clichy .
all to be potential world class players ..
but the rest are just dragging us down to a aston villa – man city – everton LEVEL !
Something drastic is going too need too happen if we are to keep our club at the level that it has been at over the past decade ! Because we are now sliding …
down down down ..
we need a sell out sale and re-vamp the club .. keep the talent and fuck off the mediocre players . will it happen with the current board in place ? with our current manager ?
if the answer is no to the above, then the NO’s should be replaced with either new ownership or new management ..
it takes me back to the day when wenger told us ‘we were not in a transitional period’ !
what a ball busting lie that fucker was !
Ethan…..
You make some valid points…..
Even if he doesn’t have a clear out (which he won’t, you know it, i know it everyone does) and adds at least 2 proven players in Jan I really believe we can save something this season….
I say we cut our losses TRY and finish 4th and win a cup or 2…..
Having said that if Song and Bendtner start the next game then he’s officially lost it………
As @ the date 24/11/08, other clubs do not fear Arsenal anymore. Opposing coaches/managers prepare for Arsenal games with well thought out stratagies. Wenger is so predictable nowadays. Free flowing passing that can be countered because the teams he is putting out on the pitch includes substandard players like song, denilson, bendtner. etc.
And Wengers response is to be pig headed by sticking to his one and only game plan, believing that he has a devine right that it will work. Sure it will, but with quality players.
We all know he won’t buy big names. He continues to have faith in substandard players. He continues to moan about how hard done by his team is when they lose. What ever happedned to respect your opposition.
So, is Arsene Wenger still the man for the job?
If the size of Arsenal’s problems during the off season were equivalent to size of a single drop of rain water. Now 24/11/08 Arsenal’s problems are the size of a tropical storm, & getting gradually worse. Time for Le Remedy, & fast.
As for Roy Keane. I use his name as an example of The Club getting a new manager who is not long out of the modern game, & still with something to prove. Ofcourse that person must compliment the dynamics of the worlds 3rd richest club.
But who left @ The Club, other than AW, has the eye to be able to pick the right person for the job. A job to lift multiple trophies.
iceman
your right that is best case scenario ..
wenger needs to stop concentrating on the holy grail of football and get a good run going in the EPL
to ensure further existence in the C.L next season .. win the C.C , the f.a CUP .
AND RECRUIT WHAT CLASS HE CAN IN JAN .
but in the summer he needs to buy buy buy !
and not just 17 year olds !
GG
wenger is class .. i cant help but feel he still isnt the reason for this youth program .
its the board and there restrictions they put on wenger in the monetary sense .
ive seen wenger get all jealous over spending of other clubs and i put it down to envy …
you wouldn’t show envy and disgust at other clubs spending money if he truly believed his way was the best way ..
something is forcing his hand not to spend ! and it must be the boards tight fisted draconian ways about not sliding into debt that forces wenger on this way of lunacy ..
is he still the right man for the job ! oh fuck yeah !
providing the board give him now what he needs to resurrect the team …
i cant believe that wenger alone is the reason for all this youth rubbish and making surplus every year on transfers ! Im yet too meet an employee who hampers there own job by making it tougher on themselves , instead of just spending company money ..
His hand has to be forced into recruiting the way he does !
this result is just his way around his money restrictions the board put on him !
save money buy young take a bit of a gamble ..
(im sure he didnt take time into consideration )
thats why the board admit to not worrying about results .. because they know
he will get bums on seats in the stadium and make a shite load of $$$ in the taking .
im sure if wenger had it his way we would be spending just like the other top 4 ..
wenger wants too win at all costs .. sure, some of its now pride now..
but i think he knows himself
now that youth ONLY isnt the way ..
The team is not in a crisis we just need to buy cana, a winger and a big center half from eastern europe almost forgot and never play song, denilson or diaby and we will be ok. i truly feel wenger has lost his imagination the team selection was joke as soon as i and my brother saw the line up he said smting about us losing 2-0, he wasnt far off.
if wenger is still the boss next season we are fucked it will be the same bull shit for another 2-3 years. i have never seen a weaker mid field in years. i will forever support arsenal but wenger must go i hope we dont win anything so that he leaves as soon as possible. we need a manager with balls someone who will take diaby off at halftime and play J.W. and possibly ramsey in midfield. why play bendtner when you have a terrier in jay simpson ready to ran his ass off. We will beat chealsea and lose to whoever is next. the worst part is that we looked like a weakened fulham side.
FUCK THIS
Fuck the board for always feeding the fans with the busniness model crap. Fuck the values; the image; the word that they talk about, it don’t matter one bit.
Fuck the ‘CAPI’ for opening his bloody mouth at every wrong time; always choosing the worst moment to spit it out.
Fuck the the promises, each and every one of them, from the mouth of the manager to that of the board.
Fuck Flamini, Hleb and all those who left for money and Fuck the manager for getting those players without any ‘VALUES’ into the team..!
Fuck the ‘commitment’, ‘togetherness’, ‘beautiful football’, ‘deserved to win’, ‘refferee was shite’ and all the crap that comes out from the manager. Anf yea Fuck the
‘belief’; and did I mention the ‘togetherness’?
Fuck the Kids; always turning their performances a notch up in that damned cup of theirs always turning a notch up but never winning it.
Fuck Alex song; his high fives with Denilson against the sp*rs. Multipurpose player my ass.
Fuck Denilson, for always being ‘nearly’ there. Never turning up in a match that requires a fight. My grandma can pass the ball better than him on some days.
Fuck Nik, Robin and all the sissy strikers, turning out with their pink boots and not giving shit on the pitch. ‘Robin’, what a girlish name, we shouldn’t have signed the
Fucker in the first place.
Fuck the comparison with the old players; the ‘new Veiera’ and the ‘new Pires’.
Fuck Adebayor for thinking he is theirry henry, Fuck the manager for getting that greedy bastard into the team..!
Fuck Gael Clichey for being a player who plays his heart out and then continuing with those silly mistakes of his. Cut the crap son, my love for you is receding at
the moment.
Fuck theo, always performing for england and being so incosistent for us; and yea Fuck that bloody shoulder of his once and for all.
Fuck the boss for ‘believeing’ in the kids..
Fuck the boss for not buying the players just to save a couple of Million on Alonso, Barry and numerous others..
I say Fuck em all…..