Monday night football is back and the G to the Nev is out there spraying truth bullets at anyone who will take them. He had a fairly interesting opinion on Emery that kind of backed what I was saying yesterday.
The main arc of his story was that Unai should double down on his system and he shouldn’t cave to the players by adapting to their whims. He focused evidence around his time at Valencia, saying that once he caved to a simpler vision of his philosophy, the players were lost.
I agree with this thinking, and how could you not. What I would say is that management of people is more complex than just telling them it’s your way or the highway. Sometimes it’s important to understand what’s come before and be sensitive to the new environment you’re in before you start dick swinging. Anyone who has taken a senior position at a new company will know that the folk that succeed are the ones that listen, the ones who think they know best straight away usually lose the crowd early doors.
Remember, Emery went hard at the PSG players in his first season and killed their vibe to the point where his expensively assembled mega-squad lost a one-horse race to Monaco. The second season, the players took over and he let them do what they fuck they like (you’ve read the interview). By the end of the year, he was out despite crushing the league.
So, I agree that Emery needs to stick to his guns, he needs to persist with playing out of the back, he needs to enforce strict pressing and he needs to make sure that players are kept in check if they fail to deliver on the job they’re assigned.
What he needs to be careful of is behaviour that can be seen as draconian or unfair and he needs to make sure the players believe he knows what he’s doing. As I mentioned yesterday, the players he’s gunning for are senior figures who have dressing room clout. Xhaka, Ramsey, Ozil have all struggled in the first two games. All have been publicly spanked in some way, it’s telling that John Cross is writing that the other players were shocked the Welshman was dropped, probably because they felt weaker without an engine like that in the side just from a psychological perspective… and look, you know I thought JC’s enabling behaviour in the Wenger era was fucking embarrassing, but if he’s writing stories like that, it’s because he’s getting fed by AR and his extremely arrogant/entitled agent.
Anyway, my point being: when you fuck with the big boys, you have to deliver results the other end. Especially if you’re going to take on 3 of them at the same time (possibly 4 if he drops the appalling Bellerin for West Ham). Now, I’m not saying those players don’t deserve to be subbed or dropped, all I’m saying is Emery needs to pay attention to the bigger picture because Arsenal are desperate for someone who can bring cohesion and belief back. There’s a real danger he fails to prioritize and attacks too many important issues at the same time. He should prioritize. Do the most important structural things first, then when everyone loves you, tackle some of the trickier issues.
That’s exactly what Sarri has done at Chelsea. He’s made training enjoyable again, he’s giving the players a freedom the aggressively disciplined Conte wouldn’t and he’s letting them express his sexy ideas on the pitch. It’s working, his team look far more at ease than Arsenal do and remember, he inherited a total shit show there. Now, don’t get me wrong, they’ll hit trouble at some point because there’s a steep learning curve to Sarri ball. But if the players embrace you as a person and believe in you, it’s easy to work through the tough times. Which is why Emery needs to tread the line of enforcing new principles, whilst also winning hearts and minds.
Ultimately, that’s where it’ll all fall down for Jose this season. His players hate him, his style, and his approach to management. If there were ever a manager who’d struggle without money, it’s that man. Only through the sheer force of their transf budget clout are they able to make 2nd in the league.
United under Poch would be a very big worry, but I’d take it to see Spurs try and replace the Argentine with their restrictions. The thing that saves Mourinho is the power of his personality, he has Ed Woodward under his spell, along with a majority of the press who think the free-spending Portuguese has been dealt a rough hand.
Anyway, enough chatter, I’m being contrarian because that’s what blogs are for. I’m very happy with the fact we’re having conversations that challenge us.
… also, Ivan is off to Milan. What made him move? Equity. The Elliott group are no doubt offering him the chance to grow another football club exponentially and make a fucking fortune. Good luck. Enjoy the fashion, wine, food, women, beers and casual right-wing fanaticism.
ANYWAY, jump knee deep into our exciting podcast where we cover:
- Chelsea
- Starting line-up
- Going a goal down after 20mins
- Xhaka
- Positive performances
- Player troubles brewing
- The principles of Emery ball
- West Ham and the next 8 games
SPOTIFY | STITCHER | ITUNES | GOOGLE | POCKET CASTS
Lol at the nonsense one horse race vs Monaco jab. In any other year, sure. In that year they were patently an amazing team. No amount of revisionism changes that Pedro
Lol Charlie like I always say it’s so transparent how you pull out the old arsene 101 play book to defend players. Xhaka is not seriously judged on two individual performances as you purposely imply Xhaka has been judged for two shit seasons combined with two poor games. And how does xhaka get special treatment? How many players who have been here as long as him get let off by the fans? The guys on here mostly tear into almost the entire squad on a regular basis. Xhaka is just one of the worst of a dozen culprits who we… Read more »
Xhaka is as good a CM as chamakh was a striker.
That’s his level. Don’t get me wrong, chamakh made a go of it. He managed like one reasonable season in France, scores a handful of goals for us and occasionally was passable. He then went on to palace – his level – where his non-existent star faded into nothingness
We are seeing nothing different in xhaka except that the club haven’t been tough enough to cut their losses on him yet
Champagne charlie deserves hostility for his cretinous defence of Xhaka.
Don’t care if a player has been here 10 years or 10 mins, if he makes a stupid error I’ll be irked by it.
You were never as irked by Xhaka’s numerous mistakes and poor performances as you were by Guendouzi or Torreira’s one
China, Chamackh handled differently would have been another Firmino. He was a really useful player when he was here. Our manager then had a favorite system that couldn’t accommodate two strikers and RVP was better.
You could argue Redruth that he deserves praise for putting forward the case for a balanced criticism of players.
I would say that I think that Xhaka is unfit for purpose but that is not what CC is arguing against.
I think CC, you are being slightly contrary but why the f**k not!
Charlie Because you are an otherwise level headed fellow, you seem to be most of the time at least. But jumping on someone for having a difference in the way they perceive Xhaka and Torreira right now seems odd, agenda driven, because I think you would actually expect that kind of opinion from most fans.. Whether Torreira would have tracked Alonso if this was Italy is irrelevant. We want everyone to play well, of course we do. But Torreira has far more leeway currently in hopes that he’ll come good, much more than Xhaka, and I don’t think anyone needs… Read more »
Like I keep saying, last season Xhaka had better games than he had bad ones. The whole team generally failed against the top 6 teams. The few exceptions against the top teams where we played well, Xhaka played well too. Why is he scape goated as the worst thing ever?
Marko, am slightly curious if you don’t mind me asking, how can you spend so much time on this stream?
Chamackh handled differently would have been another Firmino. He was a really useful player when he was here
Fuck me what a comment. That’s about as bad as it gets from you Mystic
Regarding Torreira what many fans liked about him was his tenacity, mobility, work rate. He can be of benefit closing down and making life difficult for central midfielders in the middle of the pitch and in front of the penalty area. What we don’t know about him is how cute he is picking up players that go beyond this area and into the penalty box from opposition away from central areas Alonso making his run from wide as fullback.. Not that cute with Alonso. Torreira you could see on that play with Alonso was fixated on central and not aware… Read more »
mysticleaves
Has Xhaka ever been nominated MOTM.?
More so when Torr entered he showed it wasn’t a Xhaka problem. Atleast not yet. Objective people know Xhaka has flaws but can still see the good in what he does for the Arsenal. If his flaws cant be covered by the other players and he doesn’t do much the other way round OVER THE COURSE OF A SEASON then he should be sold if possible.
Judging players only against top6 is agenda driven tbh
We are still in the early stages of rebuilding so some of the criticism is ridiculous. Bear in mind Pep and Klopps poor first seasons and look at the quality Pep had to work with! It will take time to gel the team and some fans are being ridiculously harsh , we’ve just had two tough fixtures to start the season with. Have sensible expectations and lets watch as the side develops under Unai.
Gambon is supposed to be a grown up but once he is questioned here he resorts to insults of a personal nature. Only Dissenter and Charlie call him out on it. The rest seem to think it’s important he considers you a “good” poster.
Mystic,
Whether Xhaka is scapegoated more than say Mustafi or Ozil is debatable. The truth of the matter is that his deficiencies and the role he is being picked to play mean that he gets shown up every time we play against decent teams. He is not alone in this regard but his place in the team will hinder our improvement.
All of us probably spend too much time discussing him, of that there is little doubt!
A lot of times it has nothing to do with a player’s real ability. Once the public opinion of the fanbase is that they are not good enough, it’s time to move on. Public opinion has as much influence as anything else in this modern era, sad to say. Xhaka may indeed come good under Emery. I personally don’t think he will, he has proven to me over the years that overall (not saying he is shit every moment he’s on the pitch), he does not have the physical tools and he is too rash to succeed at Arsenal as… Read more »
Truth I don’t keep the record
Marko, you mostly have different opinions so you generally see my posts as “fucking bad”. Rather the only period Chamackh got a look in seriously for us, he was on fire. Scored and occupied the CBs like Drogba. After that RVP CE back from injury and he was dropped at first chance. That was it
Xhaka is another of those players chosen as a whipping boy, like Ramsey and Giroud before him, He’s actually a quality player who will flourish with a decent DM and runners. His passing is world class but he can’t do the job Wenger wanted him to do, he’s not got the pace. Anyway, the team has to learn to play together and its our defensive game where that will need time to develop. We will score goals but our defensive cohesion is not right yet.
Chamakh……….. Mystic, really?
mysticleaves “Like I keep saying, last season Xhaka had better games than he had bad ones. The whole team generally failed against the top 6 teams. The few exceptions against the top teams where we played well, Xhaka played well too. Why is he scape goated as the worst thing ever?” This is not true and is a falsehood. Fans were commenting on Xjaka consistently about defensive lapses during his time here and not just on this blog and more than enough of those lapses have come against sides out of the top six. Does every defensive lapse from Xjaka… Read more »
Bob you could remove Xhaka and put Torr and I can assure you we will have a different kind of problem especially if the other players can’t cover it.
As basic as opening whoscored and checking which players have the highest scores in order to check how useful for our team they were, stats do speak clearly enough sometimes.
https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/13/Archive/England-Arsenal?stageId=13796
Season 16/17
Xhaka 13-th
Cech 14-th
Bellerin 17-th
Welbeck 23-rd
Elneny 24-th
https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/13/Archive/England-Arsenal?stageId=15151
Season 17/18
Xhaka 11-th
Bellerin 16-th
Cech 18-th
Welbeck 22-nd
Elneny 23-rd
While it’s somehow normal our squad players like Elneny and Wele to be lower down the ranking, starters like Xhaka, Bellerin and Cech should not be that low down the line and it shows quite a lot about their contribution to our cause.
RH…. I find anybody using ‘homosexuality’ as an insult pretty disgusting.
Gambon, you come across really badly when you resort to this of comment.
Don’t suppose you care though.
How’s that RH?
PP yeah, Chamackh, really.
Ishola. I think if we check the records Xhaka didn’t make any errors leading to goals.
His unforced error numbers are also not worse than that of our other midfielders. It’s generally about who you like and who you consider damaged goods.
All of our players need to pick up. No one is different
Ishola how many defensive players do you want a team to line up with?
Rather the only period Chamackh got a look in seriously for us, he was on fire.
Admittingly good at the beginning then could not buy a goal and became a bit of a punchline striker. Definition of dross by the end had to give him away
Oh god, the bender, homo, uphill gardener, queer and bent insults are starting. Looks like drinking time has started on Le Grove.
Can’t we just slag off Arsenal and forget the personals?
RH
Torreira is just not a stopper DM. He has more to his game than that and it so happens his best work comes higher up getting in the faces of midfielders more centrally and higher up away from deep.
Mystic I repeat Xjaka has been a consistent defensive problem at Arsenal since he arrived. That you are trying to deny this is laughable tbh.
“The classic one was Watford away when he was picking his nose not tracking back and watching while they scored a goal and he was involved in other defensive lapses as said against more than enough teams.” As I say, it’s about who you call damaged goods. You can pretend not to see Xhaka’s positives all day and decide to nitpick on the bad plays he makes in every game. Guess what, everybody makes those. I can also choose to tell you that last season at Stanford bridge(?) Xhaka was immense as we dominated Chelsea although we played 0-0. I… Read more »
The error leading to goals stat tells a story but not the whole story. Xhaka has in the two seasons he’s been here had errors leading to goals and had general sloppy play and defensive lapses that have lead to goals. If you were to combine actual errors and mistakes and lapses he’d be hitting Messi type numbers
http://www.goal.com/en/news/the-big-problem-with-mesut-ozil-is-that-hes-too-good-for/8s2mq4qazwxu1ie5wjeodqhmk
A very interesting take on the Özil conundrum.
Mystic,
I am not sure that what you’re saying. I must admit I’ve only seen Torreira in the WC and these first two PL games. Are you suggesting that he has got defensive issues based on the evidence of his not tracking Alonso and that he’s not an improvement on Xhaka?
Have we stopped already about the nine bob notes?
The stoke on Trent’s?
Arent you lot excited to see how emery might get this group of players working together rather than deciding they are all shit. Lets give them all a chance to come good. I have strong opinions on how players have done the last few years (mostly negative), but i think its best we give them all a chance to prove themselves. The hope im clinging onto is that anyone not performing from this season onwards might actually get subbed/benched/sold. We’ve already seen hes willing to pull players off not performing. Lets hope he sticks to his guns and he is… Read more »
Acho “A lot of times it has nothing to do with a player’s real ability. Once the public opinion of the fanbase is that they are not good enough, it’s time to move on.” I sort of agree but think you’ve missed the obvious. Managers don’t care about what the fan base think , they know we don’t have their knowledge or experience and are just ‘fans’. It’s arrogant that any of us think we could manage or train any of these players, we can’t. Would a surgeon expect us to know how to operate on a spinal injury better… Read more »
Leeds
That is bullshit. Real sold him. That’s all anyone needs to know.
If he’s so great…why does no one else, or did anyone (we were the only ones) want him?
No. Ozil is a buggle eyed space idiot.
“Admittingly good at the beginning then could not buy a goal”
Was that true now? I think we all know what happened when RVP came back. Also to refer back to my earlier post. Check the goal records of Firminio since he came to the PL bar last season, all mediocre.
“Mystic I repeat Xjaka has been a consistent defensive problem at Arsenal since he arrived.”
Have I denied this? Probably that’s why Torr was signed to offset his deficiencies. Because he has uses. Do you think Xhaka has uses ishola?
Mystic
This is why most fans are fed up with Xjaka.
He doesn’t compensate enough on the ball and offensively in comparison to him consistently being caught out off the ball.
Jorginho this season will be far more influential for Chelsea on the ball than Xjaka is for Arsenal and as a consequence he will be forgiven most likely for the times he gets caught out defensively because he will get caught out.
As I say, it’s about who you call damaged goods. You can pretend not to see Xhaka’s positives all day and decide to nitpick on the bad plays he makes in every game. Guess what, everybody makes those.
Kind of like burying ones head in the sand if that’s how you debate
Bob, no. I am admitting that Torr is a better defensive player than Xhaka but might not be as effective on the offensive side. Its early doors but I think he was signed to complement Xhaka.
Ishola, Jorginho is better than Xhaka, probably top3 regista in the world. He has also played lately for a coach that understands his strengths and can offset it by signing players that complement him. Earlier on Jorginho was mostly useless at Napoli and couldn’t buy a game in CM
Here we go.
Le tisseier
Bergkamp
Would they now be “redundant” in today’s game?
Some players don’t have to do anything except a) score goals b) set them up or in the two I mentioned c) both
Point is. Jack of all trades etc.
Marko, na fam. That’s being objective. See AFC nemesis’s posts about fan perception.
Mystic, jorginho played from the start at napoli, dont now what you’re chatting about mate.
I didn’t bother with that article with the headline Ozil too good for Arsenal. Not worth the seconds. Too good Germany too. In fact so good there’s not a club on the planet worthy of him
Dude shut the fuck up Xhaka is not Giggs, Henry, nor Bergkamp.
PP no he didn’t. When he played it was mostly on the right side of midfield and he was mostly wank and average.
Sarri brought him in an made him the regista he is today. (Ofcourse he was always a DLP) Probably why he didn’t hesitate to dump City when Sarri called him.
Pit bull, you make a lot of sense..
Mystic
So you want us to wait until Xjaka becomes a quality regista and you want the team built around him to see him become this quality regista?
What a fuss about a dumb immature footballer.
Actually agree with pitbull which is why I’m not getting bent out of shape over Guendouzi’s performance against City or Torreira’s performance against Chelsea like a certain someone else. But with regards to Xhaka it’s been two years.
Although I agree players shouldn’t be slagged off without merit, I also acknowledge that collateral damage is something that comes with being a professional athlete.
Criticism is a necessary part of any art form, sport included.
100% agree with this. Players should be mentally tough but you need to count on your own fans to back you at home and not be on your back worse than the away support.
This I don’t agree with blind support is for sheep. Besides Arsenal fans don’t turn on players so quickly. How many years did Wenger get before the tide turned? How long for Xhaka and Özil?
No Ishola I am just saying the players you referenced wrt to Xhala was also “wank” and so so for two seasons or more till he found a system and team that made him thick.
Now everyone knows how Jorginho plays and what makes him thick. Only a knob will play him another way and expect next level performances
Sorry but who cares if xhaka has one awesome game? He dominated Chelsea? Well wilshere dominated peak Barcelona. Look at that guy’s career. Whenever players get lots of credit for an individual performance or even a single season it should set of alarm bells. You don’t need to remember individual great games from genuinely good players because great is how they play on a very regular basis. You don’t have to recall a specific match where fabregas was awesome for us or Henry was sick. That was their level. It was their standard. How many MOTMs has Xhaka won for… Read more »
I tell you the difference between Xjaka and Jorginho off the ball. Both can be defensive problems for their team Jorginho more in getting back and covering but you will not see Jorginho look so uncomfortable on the ball around opposing players. He has more guile and cleverness on the ball and that is not just because he plays in a better set-up it is also because he is just naturally better than Xjaka in these aspects of play. I very much doubt fans are going to wait that long for Xjaka to be this quality regista that you obviously… Read more »
No Ishola I am just saying the players you referenced wrt to Xhala was also “wank” and so so for two seasons or more till he found a system and team that made him thick.
You’re all over the place mystic. You said he had more good days than bad but are making an argument for waiting (2 whole seasons) and finding a system that suits. I got a perfect system that fits Granite Xhaka it’s not in England and it’s not at Arsenal. Done problem sorted
Oh and Jorginho’s passing and all round vision is more consistent than Xjaka as well as the aforementioned not losing his head in tight situations on the field.
He’s just overall a better player.
Do I believe that Xjaka given the right set-up will become as influential for Arsenal as Jorginho is? Errr not a chance.
Only those with a penchant for regista would labour and wait for Xjaka to become really influential and that wait will be for nothing it will be in vain.
I won’t be popular for saying this, but isn’t that what Wenger did. stick to his guns? Hands up those who didn’t support Wenger when he had the Invincibles, when he went through a season unbeaten. As I thought, nobody’s hand is up. Wait, wait, there are a couple of hands up over there, the ubiquitous masochistic types who complain all the time. no matter what. I’ll say this again, there is nothing Wenger did not know about football tactics. Does that make me an AKB? No, it does not, and I’ll tell you why. Nothing has changed in football… Read more »
There are intelligent posters on this blog, but have to keep on scrolling to get to something relevant because CC and another breed of dog act as Agente Provocateur who keep on derailing thoughts and force everyone to carry out pointless counters. I say this because these idle minds only seem to be interested in visibility.
It is up to all to ignore them and their comments totally.
Wenger is gone but his warts remain.
Asoa
Jokes. This is the internet. No genuine intelligent people are on here…mostly stalkers and serial killers. Except me. But then that’s what a serial killer would say…
Whatever.
Asoa,
‘The more the knowledge, the lesser the ego. The lesser the knowledge the greater the ego.’ A Einstein
Ishola you say Jorginho is the better play, I say the same.
China, you just jumped in the middle of a discourse you know absolutely nothing about. Boy very wise.
Marko, your understanding is all over the place, bud.
Your Comment Here
Why are so many on here caning the players already? We are two games in with a team that will take time to gel and players that need to develop in the PL. We’ve played Man City and Chelsea, hardly easy games at any stage of the season. Anyone who knows anything about football should understand how team building, and tactical systems take time. Add to that players entering the PL for the first time and it’s obvious we won’t hit the ground running. As fans we have a responsibility to our club and our players. Wenegers gone, we now… Read more »
englandsbest “Basically it was because clubs like Man Utd and Chelsea had a lot more money to spend on players than he did. Infact for several years he had none, he had to sell to buy” Don’t agree. Wenger sanctioned astronomical amounts on player salaries during this period. He could have gone out and spent money,but chose not to. Wenger’s failings were mainly down to his tactical ineptitude and his inability to teach basic Footballing principles, not because he had no money to spend. We had enough talent on show after 2006 to warrant far more success than just. 3… Read more »
AFC Nemesis
I’m prepared to give him 3 years to get things working again.
It’s going to make interesting viewing.
Marko “Players should be mentally tough but you need to count on your own fans to back you at home and not be on your back worse than the away support” Why do you think Sports Psychologists play such a huge part in Sport today? It is because the mind plays a very important part in sport. Confidence is one of the most important qualities you need from a player. A player with no confidence is worthless. He’s not going to want the ball, he’s going to hesitate and his muscle memory will become useless. You would have to be… Read more »
@Michael 24
Thumbs up.
@GOH
“Can’t we just slag off Arsenal and forget the personals?”
Why would Arsenal fans slag off Arsenal? Serious question, why slag off your club?
Look at that AFTV bunch, they’ve made themselves look a right bunch of clowns in their ego driven desire to become relevant, selling their souls for a few quid. They’ve lost everything it means to be a fan in my book.
AFC Nemisis
…really? AFC NEMISIS? And you ask me why slag your own club.
Change your name son.
From the entertainment point of view, it is refreshing to have a new manger. Wenger’s Arsenal was so predictable. A lot of lesser teams know how to play us. Also Emery is pressuring every players. Xhaka, Ozil and Ramsey all got replaced during a match. I believe this is the way to change the culture of the team. Ramsey should be traded this month. Since Emery’s plan is high pressing, we should give Eddie Nketiah a chance. He and Laca can tackle very well.
@Michael24
“We had enough talent on show after 2006 to warrant far more success than just. 3 FA Cup triumphs in a 12 year period.”
Transfer net spend 2006 to 2013 I believe had Arsenal in 18th position on average (Talksport), a profit of £30m or so. Not sure 2013 onwards but we do have to acknowledge the effect years of under investment has made, while others have spent big, like Man City. It’s not a coincidence Pep’s team is flying, they’ve spent a billion quid.
Englandsbest
“I’ll say this again, there is nothing Wenger did not know about football tactics. Does that make me an AKB?”
It’s a sign mate, tell us more of your troubled thoughts, let’s see if you can be helped.
“I decided not to decide. “I was intoxicated for such a long time that I promised myself not to make any decisions before September.” On his prolonged period of time off he went on: “[It’s going] even better than I thought. When you have been as busy as I have been, you always fear a little emptiness. “But I quickly organised myself in this new stage of my life, I do a lot of sport, here I eat with my friends. “I talk a lot too, I can sit for hours contemplating the horizon, I read every day, right now… Read more »
Benfica held 1-1 at home by PAOK Salonika in the CL qualifiers. Not a nice place to go Salonika for the second leg. This sweeper keeper is getting silly now. Leeds playing Swansea away tonight and the Leeds keeper is so exaggerated in his actions in ushering his players to run upfield for a long punt goal kick that you just know that he will bluff it and play it short and sure enough a Leeds player runs back quickly to receive the short pass from keeper. Swansea fell for the bluff or they didn’t care much. But what did… Read more »
Any thoughts on Mr Mino Raiola’s comments about Paul Scholes?
Sancho I getwhat you’re saying, but that’s not quite what I’m angling at. I’ve no issue with criticism of certain players and get fully that some are more deserving than others. I just get bored with the same detracting voices stating hyperbolic nonsense about the same players with little to no measurement. Your ego/contrarian pov is an odd one, I share a lesser held opinion and that’s it. No grounds for abstract associative thought, but you’re entitled to carry on down that path if you choose. You’re wrong however. @Samosa You offer basically nothing, so keep your utterances about what… Read more »
Marko
Just picture him sitting at home in his rocking chair, watching dvds of himself.
“See, I was good once”
Any thoughts on Mr Mino Raiola’s comments about Paul Scholes?
He’s a cunt but the bit about sleepless nights to find Pogba a new club is telling you can tell he’s tried/trying to engineer a move for him (and a few more million for himself). But even Pogba admits he was shite against Brighton so fuck Raiola
“I’ll say this again, there is nothing Wenger did not know about football tactics. Does that make me an AKB?”
dont you hate autocorrect
im sure it should have read
“I’ll say this again, there is nothing Wenger knows about football tactics. Does that make me an AKB?”
“mysticleavesAugust 21, 2018 18:36:47 PP no he didn’t. When he played it was mostly on the right side of midfield and he was mostly wank and average.Sarri brought him in an made him the regista he is today. (Ofcourse he was always a DLP) Probably why he didn’t hesitate to dump City when Sarri called him.” Before sarri arrived jorginho played just one game not in the centre of midfield and it was on the left side of midfield. If you are going to make statements of fact be sure that you are right. I’m not arguing the fact that… Read more »
Michael 24 I make you right on a few points and wrong on a few. The way Stan set it up, wages and transfers came out of the same pot. I give you right that Wenger overpaid his players. Maybe he had to do that to keep them. Wenger did not fail because of tactical ineptitude, he failed because he did not have the players capable of playing his style of football consistently. Yes, he had some good players, a couple of outstanding players – RVP, Cesc – and a lot of second-rate players. Chelsea and Manu U had stronger… Read more »
Marko, do u support every team’s success except Arsenal’s?
Shearer is talking bullocks. Aguero is good no doubt but in your view u agree with Shearer that he’s the best foreign player in PL history over Henry.
Well, I respect your view though but Henry pisses over Aguero any day and that’s IMO.
“Wenger did not fail because of tactical ineptitude, he failed because he did not have the players capable of playing his style of football consistently.”
You mean, the same players that he personally chose? Or the players he didn’t take but could have?
Well, I respect your view though but Henry pisses over Aguero any day and that’s IMO.
Kay
Hear hear
Henry is the best player to grace the prem. only player that gets close is Ronaldo
Marko, do u support every team’s success except Arsenal’s?
Shearer is talking bullocks
Yes I support the BBC. I think Henry is better my point was that I can see why Shearer would say that about Aguero because for a guy who we all assumed would end up at Real after a couple of seasons at City he’s been outstanding since joining the premier league
Gooner 63
I guess he stayed unbeaten for 49 games by accident.
Come on, for heaven sake give the guy his due. It won’t matter, he’s gone now.
He made a s**tload of mistakes, and what he left behind is a disgrace, but, hey, that golden period is unforgettable and unequalled.
englandsbest Wenger did not fail because of tactical ineptitude, he failed because he did not have the players capable of playing his style of football consistently. That’s utter bullshit. AW failed in his last 10 years as he wanted weak minded players to not question his incompetence in coaching, hence players like Ozil who thought he could cruise it on an obscene salary. AW became more concerned with his longevity as Arsenal manager than actually making a winning team. What you saw these last 2 games was the true state of our core of players who have never been coached… Read more »
England’s best
According to you Wenger overpaid his players cos that’s the only way he could keep them.
But those players weren’t good enough to play the style of football he wanted.
You do realise he was in charge of transfers and salary.
So Wenger bought players who were incapable of playing the style of football that he wanted, all the while paying them much more money than they were worth.
But hey at least he wasn’t tactically inept……………
What you saw these last 2 games was the true state of our core of players who have never been coached in their lives
DB10
Come on man. Never coached In their lives? I’ll agree he lost his magic a good while ago but he still turned Alexis into one of the best players in the world for 3 years. Best player in the league while he was at arsenal
He turned RvP into a world class striker from a winger and cesc has never been better than when he was at arsenal.
Took Giroud and improved him.
Alex Cutter You are dead right, Wenger made some awful buys, lots of them, and from the very start. But he also brought in a few of the best players I’ve seen in an Arsenal shirt. But the object of my post was not to defend Wenger, but to remind everyone that he stuck to his style rigidly. No Plan B, remember? My own view is that if you have the best players you can win with any style. And if you haven’t, you are likely to lose with any style. Graham Souness agrees. His predecessor at Liverpool, Kenny Dalgleish,… Read more »
Graham Souness agrees. His predecessor at Liverpool, Kenny Dalgleish, inherited a great squad of players and won a lot things, And, like Wenger, he left behind a bunch that was aging and of dubious quality.
England is best
Yeah but Graham Souness was a terrible manager
Roy evens came in with pretty much the same squad and fared far better. Got Liverpool playing proper football again and harnessed the youth team while adding a few quality signings. Patrick Berger was brilliant and loved watching fowler and Macca too
Look how many teams souness destroyed
Liverpool
Southampton
Newcastle
Blackburn
Pessimistic Pat
Pat, on salaries, I said ‘maybe’. Or maybe he just loved them to death.
You got the rest of what I said right: the players he brought in were not good enough to play his style of football well consistently.
Un na nai
he still turned Alexis into one of the best players in the world for 3 years. Best player in the league while he was at arsenal
No he didn’t. We gradually saw the decline of a talented player who lost it mainly in part by the fact that he had given up on AW’s methods. You do realise that he came from a background where Barca’s training methods were intensive and moved on to a no tactics just jog around method which was all centred on “expressing” yourself on matchday?
englandsbest
You don’t get it. AW just ended up buying players who would not challenge him. Otherwise he would have bought players to replace players like RVP but he chose not to. As much as AW was great in his first 10 years, his last 10 were pretty much centred around his own self-preservation.
un na naai
‘Destroyed’ is the wrong word to use re Southampton, Newcastle, Blackburn.
Staying in PL was an achievement for them.You save that word for an elite side.
Anyway, Sounness is one of the few people I bother to listen to. He is not sucked into the pedantic punditry that bores the hell out of me. Bring back Andy Gray.
“You got the rest of what I said right: the players he brought in were not good enough to play his style of football well consistently”
How is it possible for you to re-state this without a hint of irony, moments after it was pointed out that Wenger was in charge of the players he brought in?
It’s like saying you created a stew recipe that required 3 carrots, went to the market and only bought 2 carrots. Who the fuck does that, it’s your fucking recipe. Get it right.
Legendary
Sanchez didn’t challenge him? Nasri didn’t challenge him? RVP didn’t challenge him? Ramsay isn’t challenging him?
I’d say his last few years were centred around his self-esteem.