So Usmanov has spoken at long last and has urged Arsenal to buy grown ups in order to compete with the top 3. At last a shareholder that talks sense.
As an aside I would put Kolo back in as a defensive midfielder, he has more pace than the other three, can tackle better and has a fierce shot. Only if the superstar we need doesn’t arrive though, Kolo is not a centre back I’m afraid, I love him, but it’s not working out.
Will the manager listen? Who knows but as the Mirror said today, so what if Wenger won two doubles, Joan Collins was a babe once. Think about that one, you can’t live off past glories forever.
I see their point, I’ve been thinking about our youngsters and what Wenger says about them when they improve, Gael Clichy and Flamini are probably the only two players to have come through after years of watching them struggle. So it may work now and again, but is it worth it, does it hold us back whilst waiting.
Arsene has played Song, Denilson and Diaby all season and arguably Song has improved, but he’s still not good enough for a title challeging team and the other two are nowhere near so I have an idea.
This is a radical solution and it goes back to the days of Graham, Clough and Paisley, it was something they lived by and was phenomenally successful.
It’s called the RESERVES, it’s a strange concept, but hear me out first and see what you think.
So you take players that aren’t good enough for the first team, players like Song, Diaby, Denilson, Ramsey, Wilshere and Fabianski. Players that aren’t far off but still not there yet. You then play them in the reserves week in week out, if there are no fixtures, then arrange them, that way they will either improve over the season or they won’t, they will be playing regularly which is good, rather than coming off the bench and getting abuse because they are having a shitter and it’s no their fault because they don’t play enough.
They then have the incentive to shine and get into the first team, that’s where players like Paul Merson and Perry Groves came from. Also use the reserves to bring back injured players. We only need our third choice keeper on the bench because they are very rarely used, Fabianski needs to play if he is to improve, sitting on the bench won’t do it, that’s for sure.
So putting those players in the reserves will leave room for at least 3 new signings, if those signings are truly world class, then we can win the league next year, we would also win the Carling cup because we would have a decent reserve side that play together on a regular basis.
Will it work, yes of course it will, how many European cups did Liverpool, and Forest win in those days eh!
Have a think Grovers, this could save Wengers blushes, give us the new players we crave and at least win us the Carling cup.
when i took a tour of the emirates the tour guide boasted how arsenal was smart enough to build other facilities for renting. he even went on to say that they are booked out everyday for weeks in the future. so they are not just depending on gate receipts for the running of the stadium
and?
Sooooo…………………………………………………
Another way of accomodating the attackers we have is playing 4-3-3
So if Ade stays….it would be
………………Al……………….
Sag…….Kolo/New…..Gal/New……Clichy
..Cesc/Den….Song/New/Abu….Nas/Rosick..
…Theo/RVP…….Ade/Bend….Arsh/Eddy..
Vela as back up……
dont think Wenger will do it though.
well not that he knows the financing of the club but he talked, boasted that they are finacially smart and sound for years to come based on their business model thats all
Are people still here?
I was talking with a mate the other day and he mentioned how all partnerships are dead. Due to rotation and tactics etc there are very few, if any, true partnerships left in football.
There are very few midfield duos controlling games, No attacking pairs terrorising defences and less so there are not many defensive partnerships.
Of the top teams i can think of Torres/Gerrard, Vidic/Ferdinand and…….thats it as far as the prem goes.
In La Liga only the front 3 of Barca come to mind.
There is so much chopping and changing going on that one must ponder: Have we seen the death of the partnership?
*i should have added that there are probably partnerships in lesser teams but honestly i couldnt be bothered researching it.
Stu you consider partnership how well they play together / their impact then and not the actual playing time. because gerrard / torres only played 8 or so times this season.
i dont think its dead but hard to maintain due to the rigors of the modern game which lead to more injuries etc.
True Coadsi but i mentioned the Gerrard/Torres one because generally when they play together Liverpool win and when 1 is missing they look void of the same creativity or threat.
would you not consider rooney / ronaldo a partnership?
i would think your guys at wolfsberg Grafite / Dzeko have one as well………like i said prolly hard to find / maintain, dying but not dead
Fair point about Rooney and Ronaldo. Hadnt thought of them for whatever reason.
I didnt consider Grafite/Dzeko because this is their first season doing well.
the 2 at everton. jagielka can’t remember the other one.
song and denilson
LOL gm, they are so far beyond a partnership they have become one player named Denilsong!
gm u are in a comical mood
the everton 2 are good. terry was good with carvelho. now he’s shit
vieira and petit
ja what you mean wenger won’t do the 4-3-3?! that’s what we’ve been playing of late, that’s the point of it, and that’s what wenger has been moving towards playing more and more!!
you’re right though. There aren’t so many obvious partnerships
have a good one guys i am off
GEOFF
(when you get up )
i would have put toure in DM at the start of this season , i mentioned it enough after seeing denilson or song really step up , but you know wenger never tried it once ..
He must have thought there wasnt really a problem there . or he must of thought i need to blood these players up so here is the chance this season ..
maybe he just didnt think about anything at all.
either way its all rather unsettling ..
I’ve read a rumour that pat rice is retiring. I hope so. get a stronger character in
ethan wenger has said previously a few times that kolo doesn’t have the fitness and stamina to play in midfield, and that’s why he’s never been tried there
I dont see where Toure lacks the fitness to play midfield. Especially if its Defensive midfield, all he has to do is make sure the ball gets to Cesc and shield the 2 CBs behind him. Not too complicated really.
You underestimate how much more running you have to do in midfield to get up and down the pitch. Kolo at times, especially when coming back from injury etc has been exhausted just playing in defence, he isn’t the most naturally fit player, and doesn’t have nearly the fitness to play in midfield unfortunately.
should i say NOT step up ..
but then if you thought you were going to have a problem in that area why sell bert and diarra ?
also why not work out some middle of the road negotiations for flamini .
I put it all down to wenger arrogance , why he thought he could skimp on losing these vital personnel and replace them with juniors amazes me.
it shows me his desire to gamble on our Arsenal season .. its sackable , it really is
Wll if he isnt that fit and isnt that great at defending then why do we have him again?
Wenger sackable? Never Ethan!
“Kolo is not a player with special stamina,” said the manager. “He’s more a guy with big explosive power but he’s not a long distance runner. Physiologically he’s not a central midfielder.”
that’s what wenger said at the start of the season, and i agree completely, as it’s what i thought already!
i always got the impression that kolo has to work incredibly hard to keep his fitness up adequately just to play centre back, which is why when he came back from injury he always looked fucked for a couple of weeks after about 5 minutes of every match until he’d got his fitness back.
ethan diarra can go fuck himself, i don’t see how anyone could ever regret that piece of shit having left the club!!
flamini wanted to go and theres nothing we could do about it, and i think gilberto was gone when wenger thought flamini was staying.
the big fuck up was not getting someone in before the season started, though all reports say that alonso was at the training ground and ready to sign, but benitez fucked us over at the last second calling him back to liverpool
yes i cant see him burn many more KM’s or miles to you lads on his game speedo . in fact being a bit more up the pitch means you have to run less to get back into position .. he often runs well over 1/2 the pitch already . being on the 1/2 way mark to begin is equal distance to me, plus fitness is something you can work on !
if you have to lift your game for the team well im sure your getting well paid enough to adhere to it .
experience is missing centrally and as he isnt a sparkling CD i thought it was an obvious choice also .
ethan he doesnt have the stamina, it’s really simple! Running up the pitch is fine because he then has time to rest when he’s back in defence, in midfield you can’t stop at all, and he doesn’t have that sort of endurance fitness, so he could never ever play there.
he already works on his fitness as much as he can, not anyone can reach any fitness level, and he could never be fit enough to play centre mid for us, so that’s that!
Hi Geoff,
I guess I am to late to be read as usual. I want to blow my own trumpet for suggesting that Kolo should play midfield as I said this on Le Grove last year and got a bit of a doing for saying he was a crap CB. Kolo is every bit as you described he is fast and powerful and he tackles well with a powerful shot, he carries the ball well but would need to improve his short passing and combination play as he hoofs it a lot. He could be our Essien. I also said pre season that Theo would be great up the middle but is pretty cluelesss down the wings, He would win many free kicks and pens with his pace and he could improve his shooting and score goals, he reminds me of Owen. I also said Almunia is shit and we would win fuck all with Coco the Clown in goal and I still think I had that right. Any respectable keeper doesn’t have players taking long range shots at their goal at will. This is the biggest weakness of our so called keeper, along with going to ground early at one on ones, staying on the line at corners and not giving the defenders any confidence when they shield the ball back to him I really fail to see any strong points, his kicking is also pretty useless. The Spanish Tapas bar waiter should be first out the door IMO.
Apart from that cunt Ade and Diaby I would add 4 to the squad and roll on another season hopefully stronger with a lot more experience and luck with injuries. I wouldn’t want another Mancscum at our Club and although the argie midget is a decent player he is just another short arse. We need dominant powerful players to come in and balance the side.
My 4 in would be Green, Huntelaar, Toulalan, Alonso. Get Senderos back as he isn’t any worse than some of the ones Gooners are wanting us to buy (Hangelaand).
A
we fucked diarra over initially , not the other way around , wenger promised him pitch time , the very reason he left the chev’s , it was pretty obvious he was a footballer that just wanted to play!!!NOT WASTE HIS CAREER ON A BENCH . He done enough time sitting on the chev’s bench , only to be promised regular games by wenger only to be doing the same thing , only difference was the color of his shirt changed !
no one could of predicted flamini would step up and be undropable .. but i dont hate diarra at all , fuck it, if i took a job and was promised things by the boss that never came to fruition , you think i would stand quiet and say fuck all?
fuck i would have made a bigger noise than diarra and gallas combined
A
More cardio !
thats all toure needs ..
anyone can be fit enough to run a marathon .
ANYONE
even you
Stu/Ethan
The partnerships are definately missing in football today. Kolo seems to play every game unless he is injured, if he didn’t have the stamina he wouldn’t play so many games, over the past 5 years the guy never gets a break unless of course he is injured. I love Kolo but he is a very average CB.
Agree with most of what you just said El tel. Except Kolo in midfield. If a player isnt good enough we shouldnt move them around until they find a new position. The same happened wih Eboue and Wenger is still doing it.
I like Toure a lot but he isnt what he used to be. He peaked a bit early for a ‘defender’.
Re the ins. I dont like Green anymore. I used to really want him at the club but he is the type of keeper that does best when his goal is being peppered with shots. Kind of like when we play WHU. If we sort the defence out, which we definately have to, then Green wouldnt have many shots to save and be inclined to lose concentration.
I like your other choices tho. But Alonso AND Toulalan would be asking much from cheapo Wenger.
Spot on re Diarra Ethan.
There are many players Wenger has fucked off over the years. The Flamster himself starred in the run in to our Champs League Final only to then be dropped for Cashley. Am I also alone in thinking Cashley was promised a deal and then got shat on by the Management, even though it was for a small amount (footballer wages) it was the principle.
HEIGHT! HEIGHT! HEIGHT! That along with power, brains and leadership is what this team badly needs. Wenger should buy players that tick at least 3 of those boxes.
You are right Stu. Don’t you think though that Sagna looked stronger last season because he had a partnership with Hleb, Eboue. Rather than working his bollocks off to accomodate the luxury players like Theo and to an extent Cesc?
Re transfers, I also agree about Green but anyone is better than that Clown mate, Toulalan looked one of France’s best players in the Euro’s and the Hunter would be reasonable if we let Ade go. Alonso would be the nugget for me.
Cashley cost us the CL final! And Almunia too but i dont hate him as much as i do Cashley.
Think about it. Senderos and Flamini were the left side of the defence the whole way to the final. Then they were dropped. Sol and Cashley just came straight back into a defece that had been used to Senderos and Flamini.
Remember Eto was played onside by Cashley and cashley alone. Lehmann got sent off and we were handicapped for the rest of the game. And had Senderos and Flamini played instead then whos to say that they wouldnt have stopped Eto breaking the offside trap and Coco wouldnt have come on and been poor for their 2 goals.
Fuck!!!!!
yes el tel
agreed , ade is the same looks a bit lazy but is usually (until recently) playing every game…
just work on your stamina , if there is indeed a problem with it to begin with ,it would only take less than a month
to increase it over 20 % its simple , just run ! and then run some more …
But he wasnt even tested there once this season (eboue was ) but toure was a natural DM
and wenger has managed to over look him in that position all season !!!
i mean FFS !
but toure has the experience , and he needs to get back to his original position because
he is off his game in the CD role !
either that or wenger must plan on culling him this year
Thats what we need Stu, the guys we slag off are not really shit except Diaby but they all look like schoolboys compared to the Chavs and the Mancscum.
Yeak El Tel, i;d have Toulalan everyday of the year as DM. Maybe Lyon would take Diaby in part exchange. Diaby plus 5-10m. Job done.
Ade out Huntelaar in. Lose a lazy twat who misses lots of chances for a less lazy forward who scores the few chances he gets.
We would still need a defender or two tho.
Ethan, Your right I think Kolo will be sent packing mate as Wenger who loves playing Players out of position hasn’t even tried this option. If his stamina is in doubt there is only one way to find out.
Stu, That CLF is one of the worse moments of my life. Sorry though I don’t blame Cashley at all I blame the Manager. Sol did ok but Senderos and the Flamster were part of the 10 clean sheets in Europe before the big one, a record that I believe still stands.
Thats a bit harsh. I’ve seen some school teams with more organisation this our bunch.
*thaqn our bunch
True El tel, again it was down to Wenger picking them. Wrong selection. That selection was the beginning of the end!
Stu
For some reason I like the Hunter, never really seen much of him but his record stands up and when he got on in the Euro’s he did the business.
Ethan has been right all along about that no good cunt Ade, I beleive he is a decent Player but the prick is so full of shit he will never prove anything other than the cunt he is.
I want to love Wenger for what he has given us but his record isn’t as good as it should be, he hasn’t won a Euro Cup with us and GG isn’t far behind statistically with a lot less time as the Boss.
He is stale and needs to freshen up or be honest and say he can’t take us any further.
I was disgusted when we didnt even show interest in Huntelaar before he joined Madrid. But in fairness to them they did their business quick before anyone else even had a chance to outbid them. I think 15m would get him.
He scored for fun in Holland and now for Madrid after he settled in. And he is doing it for Holland too. He scores whatever team he plays in. He has the instinct for scoring…something noone of ours have..exceot Eduardo but whos to say he will be as good as we hope.
I was incensed by our crowd against the Chavs for giving Theo an undeserved cheer following his substitution.
Theo missed about 5 chances and when running at the wanker Terry at pace he lost his bottle and stopped to let the prick take the ball off him with ease.
Nikki B was booed off a few weeks back for missing chances by our crowd. I like Nikki B and think he is worth making a partnership with someone unlike the chuckle brothers RVP and Ade who will never gel as long as they have ring pieces.
Yes…stale. He has done wonders for football but nothing for us in recent years. 4 years isnt an awfully long time considering the clubs previous droughts(sp), but Wenger spoilt us with good players, good football and trophies. Its a bit unfair of him to ask us to wait for his kids to grow up.
Do you think Madrid will sell the Hunter if they get the worlds number 1 and a couple of other strikers they have been linked with.
You are right Eduardo is the main predator at the Club but how abotu the Arse Shaver he looks like he can put them away too.
ethan anyone can be fit enough to run a marathon, but not everyone can be fit enough to run it in under 2 and a half hours, that’s the point. Part of it is natural and kolo doesn’t have the natural fitness to play as a centre mid at the top level, it’s as simple as that! No amount of fitness work will solve that….
wenger did not overlook kolo as a dm – he said at the start of the season that kolo simply doesn’t have the natural fitness and stamina to ever be able to play there, so that was that!
how on earth could kolo be a natural dm, and it be his original position, when he’s never played there?! he’s always been a defender, and that’s his position, apart from a brief time when he first arrived with us when wenger thought he was too raw to play centre back immediately!
Diarra was a complete bellend, noone at the club liked him, and chelsea only let him come to us because he’s a complete tosspot. Everyone at chelsea thought he was a dick, all his teammates in his time with us thought he was a dick, and everyone at pompey thought he was a dick! it’s really simple – he’s just a dick, and good riddance to bad rubbish!!
Bendtner is actually probably my favourite of our forwards. Not sure what it s but i just like him. His performances since the new year has only reinforced by like for him. And expecially his goals in big games.
One might even argue that Nik has won the team more points than Ade. I mean Bendtner has scored in an awful lot of 1-0s for someone that most fans think/thought was shit!
i really don’t think huntelaar would ever be a possibility, wenger is moving back towards quick breaking football, with the likes of arshavin, theo, and vela, and huntelaar is sooooooo slow i don’t think he’d be a possibility.
also stu i wouldn’t say he’s scored for fun in spain since he settled in?! he started a few games against pretty shit teams when madrid were resting players, and scored shitloads, but hasn’t started a game in a while, they don’t seem to be too sure about him still in madrid
EL
i just think of all the times weve persisted with ade as the only option and looked fucking average for it .. he has too many fundamental flaws to be regarded as an arsenal player ..
offsides , poor 1st touch , when the 1st touch playing for a team like Arsenal is of vital importance .. we used to be masters of the counter , now ade seems to pull up slow down the attack and we are playing pedro’s crab football in the final 3rd as a result ..
it makes searching for goal opportunities a hell of a lot harder ..
If we had villa – hunt’s or even benzema in lieu of ade a season or 2 ago just imagine the extra points we would have got , we might of even won some silverware .What he is paid is just a joke when you think of all the players lost like cashley and flamini for the odd 5-20 k wage disputes . yet wenger has no problems shelling out 110 k a week for a bum like him .
AA needs to be in the bergkamp role now ..
he has even commented on this , he is a natural creator and to be stranded on the left wing is baffling him ! playing players in there correct roles has always been a stumbling block for wenger ..
Stu
I think its worse being at the top but never actually winning anything. I don’t know if it makes sense but I see us as the biggest Club in England and hated by all, this goes back 4 decades for me. Why do we never dominate even when we have the best Team. We are always in the mix but the sweeties always get snatched from us every year.
Fuck stretford United and the Liverfools we are Londons finest and that means the Countrys best. We have class all over us but maybe we should cheat and scavenge like the little Northern towns do.
Fergie is clever he planted seeds in all those little Northern towns and they all feed the Daddy. we just concentrate on our own team and have no little children to help our cause.
ethan re picking players in their correct roles wenger has always picked players in roles that he thought suited the team best.
the invincibles had far more players playing “out of position” than we currently do.
the AA quotes about baffling was the spud daily mail sports editor’s daily attempt to attack us by misreporting and misquoting players, twisting their words to try and make things sound bad when there’s nothing in it, don’t think anything of it
Spot on Ethan,
I guess though The Hunter is shit because he only scores against shit Teams, if only we had that striker who can bury the shit teams seeing as we couldn’t do that over the past couple of seasons.
How on earth is Kolo lacking in Stamina and playing for us? Taxi for Kolo me thinks as he isn’t a CB
A
toure came into the Arsenal side as a DM .
it was wengr who turned him into a CD ..
and for a while it worked ..
he played the same position as his brother
with the invincibles – when the arrived –
henry was a winger
pires an attacking mid
ljungberg an attacking mid
lauren a midfielder
petit a left back
all of them were playing “out of position” when integrated into our team, but it worked out alright!!
no he didn’t ethan, he was always a centre back, he was a centre back at beveren, and for the ivory coast, and he considered his only real position to be centre back
wenger told him he still thought of him as a centre back eventually but played him all over the place when he arrived because he considered him too raw to play centre back, but kolo went to wenger at the end of the season and said he wanted to only be considered for centre back and no other position, so wenger agreed.
Henry was in fact a striker at Monaco or whoever he was with. Its only Juve who played him as a winger because of his pace. Wenger just put him back to his natural position.
Stu
Nikki is my favourite learner, he has progressed well for someone who is apparently disliked at the Club.
A. I guess you must be right again then. Do you think AA is a left winger or Diaby is a left winger or Eboue is a right winger or Nikki B is a right winger or Dennilson is a DM or Cesc is a No.10 or Eboue is a LB or Ade a LW or Song an Attacking midfielder or Nasri left wing,DM, No.10. etc etc.
Not all these changes are down to injuries. It is utter madness to not play to the Players strenghts.
It doesnt take 4 years to change a system tho A. Wenger may be tying to go back to fast flowing football with small players but the invincibles played amazing football so why did wenger try change it and is now changing it back..
Obviously the football we play now doesnt work otherwise we would have won something/anything over the last 4 years. If it aint broke dont fit it! Well this aint working, ergo its broke. So it needs to be fixed. If a different approach is the solution then so be it!
el tel
I think arshavin’s best position in the system we’re gonna play will be left wing
diaby isn’t a left winger, but he isn’t anything, he’s just really inconsistent, but he’s had good games wide left
eboue can play right mid and brings good defensive balance to the midfield
bendtner can play right wing because he loves to pick the ball up deep, just as bergkamp also played right wing at times, but people forget that.
denilson is a dm, that’s his natural position
throughout his youth career cesc played in the role he’s occupied recently, and scored shedloads of goals, but i prefer him deeper
ade has never played left wing….
song has never played attacking midfield….
nasri in 4-4-2 his best position is left wing, but in other systems he’s better centrally, he just needs to learn the role, just as pires did. he considers his best position to be a dm, but i’m not sure i like him there
Where Wenger thinks their best position is and where the player themself feel their best is are 2 completely different things.
AA thinks his best position is SS and many wouldnt disagree but Wenger thinks he should be a left mid. Does than mean Arshavin has been in the wrong position all his career?
Freedie played in his normal position. Henry played as striker drifting everywhere, Pires played in his position but opposite flank. Petit was a Cb before he arrived and then did LB then moved to midfield. DB10 played No.10. Lauren moved to Rb. There was minimal changes with far better more experienced Players in that Team. Todays side is not only wrong but can do more damage than good with Players like Diaby, Dennilson, Nikki B, Song, Theo and Nasri taking harsh criticism from many Grovers.
he changed it stu because of the players we had – and it worked last season, we VERY nearly won the title, and we should have won it by some distance, and playing the possession type system.
hleb was absolutely integral to it though along with rosicky, and with hleb gone and rosicky crocked a new system had to be devised depending on the players available.
the system changed because hleb and rosicky were available, and theo wasn’t ready yet, and vela was nowhere to be seen. there wasn’t the pace available in the players, and now there is again
And all those players that Wenger moved around- Lauren, Henry, Petit- they were all pretty intelligent players as it was. But Diaby, Eboue, Theo dont strike me as brainboxes. Might be just me tho.
el tel pires arrived as an attacking centre mid, as did ljungberg, both were moved out wide by wenger, but they were both central players before they arrived.
henry granted was a forward at monaco most of the time.
pires was moved out of position, petit was moved out of position, lauren was moved out of position, and freddie was moved out of position.
that’s 4 out of 11 out of position in our first team.
we now have in our first team,
almunia
sagna toure gallas clichy
arshavin cesc song/denilson nasri
vp ade
only arshavin and nasri could be said to be out of position, and no more out of position than pires and ljungberg were
Ok A again you must be right. I watched the great DB10 play most of his games at home and rarely saw him play RW.
Looks like Wenger is being dictated to by his Players if they all choose to play where they feel. also looks like to many LW’s to me. If Dennilson is a DM then we have a problem. Cesc never played that high up the pitch in all the games I have watched until the last couple of weeks and if he played there at Barca then he must have been 14 years of age because we got him at 16 and he never played No.10 for us.
Im sorry, but get f*cked Usmanov. Who does he think he is?
He sounds like the type of person who would fire Wenger and then try and hire a “big name” to take care of “big players”, then 5 years down the track when his oil money has finished he f*cks off and leaves the club in tatters.
These types of people dont care about football. You should be scared instead of applauding. If your a real supporter that is.
Award for the dumbest most oligarch style comment of the year “United have 100 million on the bench… ”
Are you fu*king serious? Who gives a toss?
Arsenal need to play within their budget. Wenger knows what he is doing — he is managing the club and taking care of it so it doesnt end up in a shitload of debt — have some damn patience. What does everyone expect? No one remembers Arsenal from what they were before Wenger. The only people who should be able to criticise Wenger are those who supported the club before 1995.
All we need is a tall, bossy, strong, commanding centre back, and trust me, Wenger knows this.
There is however a legitimate question mark over Adebayor. 30 million sounds nice for someone who doesnt really look like he has the fire anymore. As far as im concernced, you can fuck up as much as you want as long as you work hard. Remember the “Sex Fingers!” chants from the crowd in his first couple of seasons? He was shit on the ball but he had a crack (sort of like Bendtner now — cant do anything but does put a foot in)
I like Huntelaar, he is swift and intelligent in the box — but to be honest, i cant see Ade moving anywhere for at least another year.
Song has come a long long way this year… Our most improved by a mile. And he will continue to improve… he is the CDM everyone is crying about…. He is going to be very, very good.
A your Team looks good but how many times has that line up been posted all season.
yeah he did el tel, for barca, and for the spanish youths he always played that role further forward, which is where he was playing when he was top scorer at the youth world cup (or was it the euros??)
bergkamp played most of his games up front, but sometimes when we were chasing games, or occasionally playing 4-5-1 he played wide right. it was only occasional, but bendy has only played out wide occasionally, that’s my point.
stu – i agree about diaby, though he’s not got a clue wherever he’s playing – i don’t think being out of position as such affects him!
eboue is actually pretty adaptable, i wouldn’t say it’s a lack of intelligence that stops him being good at right or left mid
theo likewise is very intelligent, and not really out of position anyways! he doesn’t have a position, he will ultimately become a forward in 4-4-2 or winger in a front 3, but noone can say his “natural” or “proper” position is currently centre forward because he’s barely played there in his whole career!
A, as i said, the successful teams that Wenger had was full of brains. The players knew what to do, when to do it and how to do it aswell. The current team just looks void of much intelligence. Obviously not their own fault tho.
well eboue was playing right mid before el tel, so that’s still 2 players out of position…. or bendtner or eduardo up front, which is their proper position.
Try
Fabianski
Sagna Toure Mancscum Gibbs
Theo Nasri Song Cesc Diaby
RVP Ade
12 is cheating el tel!
i agree to an extent there stu
certainly diaby, jd and ade are thick as shit, and will never get any more intelligent!
theo is improving all the time in those regards, it’s more a case of being raw and inexperienced, he’s actually very intelligent, both on and off the pitch, but is just a little bit raw.
song is very raw but has improved massively intelligence wise, how high he can go is debatable though!
arshavin, nasri, cesc, vp, bendtner, gallas are all incredibly intelligent
sagna and clichy both seem pretty dumb
kolo is still here from the invincibles
My problem is this.
We play Mancscum at home and for most of the match with Ade up front we knock the ball long to him, he is piss poor at challenging for any headers and even if he wins 1 of them he is alone. The best 2 aerial Players in England have it easy and we give possesion away. we get smashed to fuck. Close to the end of the game we bring on Nikki B our best aerial froward, we play him down the right and then start playing the passing game. Who is being fooled by these tactics.
We play Nasri as holding midfielder away to mancscum who actually tried the postion 1 game before this. Fucking crazy and suicidal.
Gibbo makes a mistake in the 2nd leg and at HT we decide to put a RB come RM at LB, Gibbo must have been extreemly motivated by this awesome tactical change.
Similar thing against the Chavs with the Diaby thing. We bring on Nikki B again and he goes LW, why the fuck didn’t RVP go wide as he does for Holland? The tactics are a joke and I have had enough.
So when he does move Theo up the middle we are at square 1 with the experiment as the lad hasn’t played there before and we wait more years for him to adjust. Fucking Fucking crazy.
Like you guys I love the Arsenal but I want to see us win things. Most Grovers are to young to remember the great Spud Teams of the 60′s and 70′s who won the odd little cup but played the best football ever until Wenger came.
There are other Managers in Europe who can keep the football style good but maybe have more tactical nous in gameplay. we have to start winning things and not talk about how good Theos intelligence is. Theo has progressed slower than all the other pupils at School Arsenal so he isn’t as bright as he looks.
el tel it’s been widely publicised, and cesc said that gibbs broke down at half time and wasn’t in a fit state to come out for the second half, so he had to come off….
bendy plays wide rather than vp because he’s better at playing the quick passing game, and putting vp deeper slows down attacks because he needs too many touches of the ball. bendy is very good in deeper areas, he provides more of a thrust, as you could see from the improvement against chelsea after he came on.
nasri was at dm because he has more energy and is better on the ball than the likes of denilson, but it didn’t work
nasri said that he sees that as his future role, and the national and marseille managers both said the same, he said he think he’ll end up in the pirlo role.
i didn’t get diaby in the side, i would’ve had bendy wide left to start.
the future is gonna be 4-2-3-1, and in that system theo’s best position is at right wing/forward, he’s not a central forward
Got to go guys. Nice to share opinions with you A, Stu and Ethan. Take care guys.
We are very close to where we all want to be lets hope the Teacher learns from his mistakes.
you too matey
i’m off now as well in fact
night people
if anyone want something to read http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article1053237.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2 is interesting – i didn’t know there’s a third toure in football, we should snap him up!
A
I like the fact that Nasri played in that role but you miss my point mate. This was our biggest match and to change it the week before was foolish.
Does Wenger not know that Ole Red nose is not a mug. We were smashed in all our Big games so his experiments which shouldn’t have been in those games didn’t work.
If we persist in playing Theo wide and he isn’t a forward then he isn’t good enough for us. I think he could be a very good CF like Owen was and he played there for young England to great effect, he is at this moment not good enough for our flank, no defensive support average distribution and poor poor fifnishing. You are right about Nikki and RVP should be dumped. Nikki B with Vela AA and the kind looks good.
Sleep well mate
great talking to you El tel ..
as ever …
one thing for sure wenger has it all to do
in the summer , i think it will be like a soap opera as it unfolds ..
SLOW , PREDICTABLE with some drama
WHO will leave ? who will stay ?
how many times will wenger say he just wants the team to stay together , and a week later someone leave …
lets hope ade is on top of the leaving list
Like Arseblogger said:
“Would he be inclined to look at Barcelona’s 4-3-3 and have a go at that? Alex Song as the Toure-like holding player, Cesc and Nasri as the Xavi and Iniesta, then any 3 from Arshavin, Eduardo, Bendtner, van Persie, Walcott, Vela as the forward players? It would make sense with the players we have, plus it allows us to sell Adebayor and reinvest his money in some players who can defend.”
Imagine this!
——almunia——-
sagna-gallas-CB…-clichy
——–song——–
—Nasri——Cesc—
Arshavin–Dudu—RvP
And this b-line up!
——Djorou———
-Denilson—-Diaby—-
Nikki B-Walcott-Vela—-
Good morning,
I understand there is an “open” shareholders meeting tomorrow,and AW has agreed to answer questions that have not been vetted or submitted beforehand.Anyone going.?
Bollocks he has Kelsey, I got an invite but questions up front, no pictures and no autographs they said, usual sanitised Arsenal meeting, we answer the questions we want.
That’ll be where AW will tell everyone again that losing 4-1 at home to local rivals isn’t too bad………mug!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1180980/Wenger-face-Arsenal-fans-backlash-V
most probably more bollocks from The mail,Geoff.
yes he will also say the only priority for him is to keep the team together during the off season ..
then gallas will leave and be replaced by nordveit, ade will go and be replaced by simpson,
toure will leave and be replaced by JD , and AA will be next seasons left winger
and we will be told senderos will be like a new signing
Not forgetting, and in no particular order…
I will be srengthening the squad with one or maybe two experienced players.
I will only buy super super class players.
I believe in the group of players.
and rosicky too
DDM
yes , I will only buy super super class players..
then we end up with robbie fowler and savage
Oh yes, Simpson, Senderos and Traore will return, and they will be like new signings…..
You know, it would be truly fucking sad, if it wasn’t so true….
he will also remind how unlucky we have been with injuries this season .. and that our young players will be another year older and more experienced and hungrier than ever ..
(im sure you saw that in our last 2 home games
)
we should write wengers script DDM !
then we take questions , plant several AKB in the front row … only pick them for the forum ,
game over !
what a waste of fucking petrol and time going to
a meeting like that ..
ethan – you know i don’t really know if i can take another summer of AW’s smokescreening bullshit, followed by another wasted season watching sub-standard players being touted by the manager as the best he’s ever worked with, while we slip ever further behind the Chavs, Mancs and Bindippers….
there would be that prick in the back row with the
KEEP THE FAITH sign , id go there just to dismember the pricks spinal cord from his body
PHW will be wheeled out to remind us all what a great job the manager has done in securing us ECL football again, at which point someone needs to remind him that we’re 18, 21, 24 points behind the league leaders, and does the manager consider that a step fucking forward????
Do you know what, that prick from Spain that won the Euro Millions lottery last Friday won over £110m, if that had been me i would’ve spent it all on Arsenal shares just to have the opprotunity to have a toe to toe with AW and those fuckwits on the board, out in the open in front of everyone…….
YES , i know what you mean ..
some would say we are spoil’t by wenger past achievements .. but his teams fall from grace has more than compensated for all the good things he’s done in the past ..
he is becoming predictable to play against , and makes some clangers out of his team selections .
surely we must put it down to his sad lack of quality players to choose from .
its like watching a family pet dieing .
and the last 2 home games ive wanted to turn off the TV !
i dont think ive ever felt like that in all my time as a fan ..
DDM
problem is the prick wouldnt listen to you anyhow dennis , you would physically have to beat him and the board to get your message across .
they are working to a plan of a higher order ..
its like an Arsenal da vinci code ..
Im sure it plans to end after this season , with krankie told he cant take over until sept 09 with that signed agreement .
they are marching to the beat of an unknown drum
Morning all!
I know Dennis Lachter is about as bigger twat you can find these days but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some truth in his comments about the French players in the changing room running the show! And he said they made jokes of Arshavin! Fuck me, that just sums up the IQ of some of our players!
At least win Carling cup, eh? Being optimist, how about:
1. Eboue’s Total Football reaffirmed in putting him as striker?
2. Guus Hiddink as new manager?
3. Tevez to replace RVP?
4. Arshavin in holding midfield role?
5. Song as full back, solid Kolo partner?
6. Theo on-loan to Leeds?
7. Emporio Armani to replace Emirates jersy logo (yeah Nikki…)?
8. Sell Ade, buy Kanu?
9. Thierry to replace Pat Rice?
10. Freddy Ljungberg, Nikki, Gunnersaurus in movie ‘The Bourjis Escapade’?
Ethan – I hope you are not using my ‘its like putting your pet dog down’ analogy without my consent!
TA
no never owned a dog .. i have 2 dog shits on my lawn ! if i had a dog , id gladly put the fucker down
Seriously, how much longer can this nonsense go on? I know, i know that it could be worse, we could be Middlesboro facing Championship footie next year, but having said that, how much is a season ticket for Boro?? What are the expectations of the Boro management and their faithful?? Saying that, what should our expectations now be?? Are we all kidding ourselves that we are still a force in English football? Should we really now settle for 4th best and be thankful??
Do you all think that if AW was given a transfer kitty like Benitez, SAF or Mourhino he would bring us titles?
im starting to think the same about wenger
DDM-Do you think we were a force in English football last season?
DDM
If boro had C.L football for the past decade or 2 they would have every right to complain also..
or a stadium that holds 58 k and charges there fans like wounded bulls to see mediocrity wekk in /week out.
LAZER
Im 100% certain since wengers arrival or at least early in his career there has been no such thing as a transfer kitty for wenger ..
he has more than balanced the books on transfers in seasons past , im sure the board
wouldnt even want to do the paperwork involved with transfer of funds , they might loan him some cash if purchasing people like hleb or nasri , but by the end of August its all back in the account with 5 or 6 million more for the club and 1 million more for wenger ..
The fans get charged more because of the debt of the stadium.
If what you say is true ethangunner then I believe Wenger is nothing short of brilliant to not have a certain amount to spend every year yet challenge in almost every year of his reign apart from this one.
LAzer – We were very close to being one, very close, but we didn’t build on that ‘success’ and that’s why we are basically the best of the rest. The rest being Everton, Villa etc…..
Guys today I have all the answers to our player problem, read the post and give me your opinion.
LAzer – When the stadium is paid off, will the season ticket holders have their prices cut????
LAzer
if thats the way you feel , your welcome to it .
i hope you consider wenger brilliant when he left out AA for the F.A semi’s , or his team selections and favored personnel he keeps persisting with throughout the season also .
or his inability to be flexible with his subing to turn a game in our favor ..
yes in short the man is brilliant ..
he is also fucking brilliant at spotting talent like fish face , diaby , ade , eboue and denilson ..
sheer brilliance recently ..
No need to be sarcastic buddy. I meant brilliant over the years for challenging every year with no transfer funds and not specific decisions. SAF also left out a lot of key players vs. Everton and lost a semi.
So then would you be in agreement DDM that we were a force in English football in every season under Wenger apart from the current one?
When the stadium is paid off there won’t be a need for raising ticket prices. Of course no club would reduce the price once they are at a certain level but their would be no need for an increase.
Lazer if we have to go that many years with no money in my book it makes them all poor businessmen that overcharge their fan for mediocrity.
New post!
Hey, let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. Wenger has and remains the best thing for Arsenal right now. Do you want to be saddled with mounting debt and the threat of bankruptcy if we go spending money like Chelsea or Manure? See if the season ticket prices don’t rise even higher under that kind of financial outlay! Some people talk like Wenger has deliberately failed – the man takes it personally when we lose for heaven’s sake. Cut him some slack. We all know he has made mistakes but who doesn’t. Old Rednose has made more mistakes but still manages to get by.
We all know (including Wenger) that we need certain experienced players in the usual positions but cost is the issue I believe. We cannot compete with loads of teams if they want the same targets we do. I think Wenger has had to go the youth road because he does not have the budget, despite what the suits say.
Look I agree with you all on a lot of things. AW has made bad decisions no doubt and our performance has shown it this term. I just do not agree with all the panic stricken Wenger haters out there crying wolf because we are short of cash in a market that has been embellished with it since Chelski/Man City types along with the usual Madrid, Barca and all. All this along with the stadium debt impacts our club more then any other.