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
England is best
Blackburn and Liverpool were recently champions before hand and Newcastle were right up there
They had big players and matching budgets
So yes. He destroyed them.
DB10
He became a better and more influential footballer at arsenal. His goals and assists record was better for us than Barca as were his performance levels.
You said they had no coaching whatsoever. I’m just pointing out the absurdity of the remark.
My worry is that Emery has already bowed to the players and let them run the ship once. His boss is leaving so his job probably feels up in the air. If the next couple fixtures go poorly with a tie at home and loss on the road. Then he may completely cave. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see them lose on the road to anyone until they prove otherwise. West ham game has me worried though.
englandsbest Sanchez didn’t challenge him? Nasri didn’t challenge him? RVP didn’t challenge him? Ramsay isn’t challenging him? They challenged him to the point that had to leave him because he refused to do whst was necessary to mount a serious title challenge. They wanted trophies. AW was afraid to actually do what was necessary in case too many players would show him up as being behind the times. Un na nai You trully think he was actually being coached? Why do you think he was creating tantrum after tantrum? He could see that so many players around him were coasting… Read more »
Charlie Don’t mind me, to me every poster around here worth his salt is contrarian. Marko for instance in his comment re: Aguero and Henry, he knew full well he’d get shit for putting Aguero on par with Henry in any vein on an Arsenal blog, but he did it anyway while still thinking Henry was actually better the entire time. We’re all driven by ego, it’s human nature. It’d be dishonest to deny it, but it’s such a universal thing that it probably wasn’t necessary to bring up in my earlier post. I just feel like you probably see… Read more »
I’m guessing ole Ivan will be able to write a helluva book about his time at arsenal. I hope he does someday it would be interesting to see arsenal from his impotent perspective and why he chose this horrible timing to leave after being handed the keys to the kingdom.
DB10 Of course he was being coached. You may not have liked the coaching style but he was being coached. You may be able to read the minds of players through the tv but all I can go on is evidence and what I saw was Alexis dropping better numbers and performance than he had before or since Arsene Wenger had him. He had to have been getting at least something right with him. Don’t forget we finished second above city, chelsea, United Liverpool and sours in his second season and Alexis was immense that season. Yes we fell away… Read more »
That season wasn’t Wengers greatest success to me it’s his greatest failure. Never will United Chelsea city spurs and Liverpool all be down like they were that year. The championship will never be there for the taking like it was that season. But we were the only team not to buy a player in the field. All we did was buy Cech. Another good mid that year to be there when Ramsey inevitably gets hurt and when Alexis went down could and should have been the reason to win it that year. But no just Cech and we finished 10… Read more »
Definitely didn’t mean greatest success just wanted to say it wasn’t success at all but a terrible failure
Sancho
Fair point
Cali
I’m not saying that season was his success I’m saying he had a positive influence on sanchez
Either way we finished above better teams so credit is at least deserved for that
Cali
We needed a striker and a centre half two really that year
Unai,
There’s a wealth of evidence that arsenal players receive no serious coaching (beyond know basic shit like the formation). Only a few days ago Mustafi claimed it’s nice to actually be told about his positives and negatives in training by emery.
‘He improves my *tactical* awareness during my time at arsenal’ said zero arsenal players in the last decade. Sanchez did well at arsenal because he flourished under the freedom in much the same way players like Henry, bergkamp and co did.
Wasn’t that the season Chelsea beat us 6-1 and Liverpool 5-1? Had we managed betteragaisnt the bigger sides we would have nicked the title as we dominated the smaller sides of memory serves correctly
Unai we hardly deserve credit for finishing above the other big teams when we still got a poor points tally whilst every other big team completely shat the bed
That’s like going to a party looking to get laid. All the better looking guys than you either didn’t show up or passed out face down in their own sick by 9pm and you still didn’t get to first base with anyone. Meanwhile that gimp Jamie fucking vardy is balls deep in someone by 9:15
The extent of our league achievement that year should be ‘well at least I wasn’t one of those guys who passed out face down in my own sick – I deserve a lot of credit for that’
hahahaha yeah that about sums it up China.
Sancho
That’s fair comment, sometimes difficult to understand intent on here and it appeared a jab. Totally agree however so all is good and I appreciate the added context
China
Yes. But no tactical awareness is pretty damned far from no coaching whatsoever. And wengerball didn’t just appear out of nowhere. It was a footballing philosophy coached by Wenger. You think the way we played was just a happy coincidence? Even throughout project youth we played beautiful stuff. Don’t tell me that wasn’t coached
China. Well which is it? We were shy with a shit manager and shit players and overachieved it we had a manager and squad good enough to beat the oil clubs and underachieved? The fact is that we aren’t on a level playing field with them. Yes we could have done better and I’m gutted we didn’t but that’s not even what the discussion is about. It’s about wether Wenger coaches his players which he did. He was in the champions league for 19 consecutive seasons. He finished in the top four of the OST competing league in the country… Read more »
Un na nai There were 2 eras to AW. The Invincibles and his last 10 years. As much as he was influential in his first 10, he was nothing after. …. I will not accept your stance that Sanchez was being coached. He list the ball so many times due to his inside cut that you would have thought that some coaching would have ironed this out. When Sanchez joined the club, coaching as you knew had all but disappeared. Why do you think Sanchez would be losing the ball over and over again, game after game, if he was… Read more »
DB10
Pep had the same issues with him at Barca. Exactly the same. He kept hovering the ball away and going rogue. That’s his style but it didn’t fit Barca sonhe sold him. How do you know Wenger didn’t try with him and he just did his own thing? It’s well known that he was disliked by many of the other players. Maybe he thought he knew best. And maybe he did if we had one or two more sanchez’s In the team then maybe we might have done something. Best player we’ve had since RvP by a mile.
Wenger relied on players to play to form rather than setting up a team to perform.
Why would wenger try with Sanchez when he patently didn’t try with anyone else?
Unai, We were bang average for a big team. We got standard top 4 points tally. We did not even run Leicester close. We didn’t compete with them. We did better than the rest of the big clubs specifically because *all* of them had a shit season in the same year. Something which has not happened in the PL era since what Blackburn won it? You seriously think getting the bare minimum points expected of us that year is more impressive because everyone else was worse? Well I could beat usain bolt in the 100m if he tripped over badly… Read more »
Wenger’s glorious years were not down to specific tactical instructions They were down to vastly superior fitness – example: our guys were still sprinting on the 90th minute when other teams were nearing exhaustion containing us by the 70th minute An immensely talented squad who in many cases needed minimal guidance – example Vieira, Bergkamp, Henry, Campbell and chums Extremely experienced players who organized and coached each other (example keown turned a makeshift defense of Eboue, Senderos, Toure and Flamini into CL clean sheet record breakers whilst shitting on Madrid and co. The following season keown left the setup and… Read more »
Btw I have no issue with him building success without coaching. The fact that he managed to do so was awesome.
If only he had continued to at least *try* to maintain or rebuild those 3 points in his post invincible squads then I’ve no doubts he’d have won a couple more leagues and his star and legend would never have gone out with such a whimper. Such a pity
Wenger’s biggest mistake was believing that financial fair play would make the premiership a more level playing field and that Arsenal Would be able to compete in the transfer market alongside city and chelsea but, of course, that didn’t happen. Some say he broke up the invincibles too early but when you look at the side he built post invincibles with predominantly young players and the superb football they played, then you can understand why he put his faith in that side. Wenger never really recovered from seeing that team of ces, rvp, ade, nasri, cliche, hleb etc ripped apart…… Read more »
China
Excellent post.
Problem was that once Arsenal moved to the Emirates in 2006, the Sustainable Business Model ethos consumed his psyche and he was exposed for what he was.
Arsenal were strong enough after this period to compete both domestically and in Europe but because of Wenger’s limitations, we never fulfilled our true potential.
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.”
lol
Wenger failed because he built his squad to “stay” in the top 4 when the top 4 was a cake-walk.(only 4 real contenders). He didn’t count on Spurs and Liverpool getting their act together. Then boom he finds himself in 6th and his BS squad couldn’t hack it with real competition.
It’s no coincidence their revival has come at same time Wenger plummeted.
“Arsenal were strong enough after this period to compete both domestically and in Europe but because of Wenger’s limitations, we never fulfilled our true potential.”
Chelsea and city spending a billion compared to Arsenal zero net spend during the post invincibles era isn’t exactly a level playing field is it.
The reason Arsenal were strong enough at that time to compete was due to the manager, no other reason.
Its the same with spurs and pochettino atm.. The only reason spurs can compete is due to the manager.
If anyone thinks it was a level playing field post invincibles era then think again.
Net spend 2004/5 to 2010/11
Arsenal net spend – profit 8 million
Chelsea net spend – 352 million
Man city net spend – 380 million
Tottenham net spend – 200 million
Liverpool net spend – 133 million
Your Comment Here
I didn’t like Wenger in his latter years but he deserves thumbs up for his first 10yrs. It was interesting in that period. It was all about coaching.
He just lost his coaching mojo in the past decade.
Poch, Klopp, Pep are hailed as coaching geniuses bcos their teams are playing well. So that should also apply to Wenger for his first years with Arsenal.
I’m no AKB or WOB, they’re just the facts imo
Pierre,
A question for you. If the manager was so special that is.
Do you think that we didn’t have good enough of a team to win the title in at least one season between 2004/05 to 2017/18? ONCE. Just once!
I think we all know the answer.
Even in his first ten years at the club Wenger massively underachieved. He went through a three year period winning fuck all in a two horse race.
Chocked in the Fa cup in 2001.
Chocked in the Uefa cup in 2000.
Chocked the league in 2003.
Chocked is the Fa cup and CL in 2004.
Some people here are conflating training with coaching. Training is just doing physical exercise. Coaching is more a mental activity, Can anyone see the comedy stylings of Djourou, Senderos and later poor Chambers and Holding and say they have been well coached or even coached at all. Even players who have excelled at other clubs come to us and in no time look absolutely clueless, such as Gabriel and Mustafi. Coaching requires simulating real life situations and ingraining in each player what to do, how to react and how not. In the last few seasons our defence especially has resembled… Read more »
KAYBoss He just lost his coaching mojo in the past decade. To expand on this, AW never actually changed anything. He thought his training method was a winning formula which was impervious to time. I still remember Mad Jens saying in an interview that nothing had changed after having visited the club training ground. He literally meant it. The training methods were the same as when he had played with us. Unfortunately other clubs were modernising and personalising their training methods which gave teams an edge on us. Fergie changed his backroom staff 3 times to allow him to keep… Read more »
@DB10 Do you think the billion quid investment made at Man City and Chelsea while Arsenal were bottom in net transfer spend between 2006-2013 had anything to do with our lack of competitiveness? Putting to one side the mistakes Wenger made in player acquisition and tactics, do you actually allow any mitigating cur instances. From 1997 to 2004 arsenal over achieved, Man Utd were the financial dominant force of the period and had no equal. Wenger didn’t spend like Chelsea or Man City but delivered dominant teams, doubles and an unbeaten season. To become credible on a blog or in… Read more »
@pierre “Wenger’s biggest mistake was believing that financial fair play would make the premiership a more level playing field and that Arsenal Would be able to compete in the transfer market alongside city and chelsea but, of course, that didn’t happen.” This. Except it wasn’t just Wenger this was the boards belief and their plan. I understand the club made a £40m profit in the years between 2006 to 2013 hence why Wenger was never under pressure. We became a selling club and a recruiter of prospects, that’s not big club mentality. This has had a major knock on effect… Read more »
“It’s down to me to prove a point to Arsenal that they were wrong to get rid of me,” the 26-year-old Wilshere told West Ham’s match-day programme.
I thought that we offered him a contract?!
However, what a dumb thing to say by a player who collected free millions of cash for zero contribution in the span of 10 years. Couldn’t even give us any return in the form of a transfer money like Walcott, Gibbs and Coquelin. One of the biggest dunces in world football.
Walcott’s reaction to his first game vs Arsenal.
“Emotional day for me returning to the Emirates – disappointed not to get the right result, but appreciated all the support in the stadium from home & away fans”
Just a whole new different class compared to Jacky boy.
“Manchester United are planning a January move for Aaron Ramsey, reports the Manchester Evening News. The Wales international’s future is up in the air after entering the final year of his current contract at the Emirates. Ramsey famously rejected a move to Old Trafford before joining Arsenal from Cardiff in 2008. ” “Arsenal are keen to tie Aaron Ramseyto a new contract but will not give him the kind of wages that his teammate Mesut Ozil earns, report the Evening Standard. Ramsey is seeking a significant increase on his current £110,000 weekly wage with Ozil earning £350,000 since signing his… Read more »
AFC Nemesis I agree that the financial doping of Chelski and City didn’t help. Don’t get me wrong. I am not just blaming AW. As much as he had his faults, others at the club are at fault for not making sure that there were not more football minded people to help make the necessary foitbsll related decisions: ie make sure that average players were not being overpaid for example. That’s why I think that the hiring of Sanllehi and Mislintat are a breath if fresh air. Trust me I am not solely blaming AW for what has happened at… Read more »
*football ; *of
Steve
” Even in his first ten years at the club Wenger massively underachieved. He went through a three year period winning fuck all in a two horse race. Chocked in the Fa cup in 2001.
Chocked in the Uefa cup in 2000.
Chocked the league in 2003.
Chocked is the Fa cup and CL in 2004.”
I presume you mean choked.
Not a very sensible Comment.
I don’t buy t at all that money is the main cause of wenger’s decline. Look at that invincibles squad. He built that to take on the absolute machine that was Ferguson’s Utd and compare our expenditure over that time with Utd. Who in the invincibles was a majorly expensive signing? We were penny pinchers when wenger arrived, the difference was that his scouting in those days and his foresight regarding which unknown or less than stellar names in world football would become top tier players was the stuff of legend. We had a cheap random unknown attacking midfielder (400k… Read more »
Pierre One, why are you bringing up the issue of spending b/t 2005 and 2011? It’s 2018, and Wenger is gone. I thought we were supposed to be moving on? And why don’t you discuss his spending b/t 2012 and 2018? Two, what Wenger spent in that time period is a different matter from what was AVAILABLE to him to spend. We finished 2011 with £160m in cash reserves, which means there was some £100m in cash that Wenger could have spent but did not spend. Three, those figures likely account only for transfer spending, not spending on wages. Therefore… Read more »
Good post, China.
Culled from th Daily Mail Uli Hoeness really means business with Mesut Ozil “I’ve been watching the player for a long time and he’s a well-marketed product whose image is a lot better than he is, which is the only big blame for me. ‘Had [Germany coach Joachim] Low gone to Arsenal more often in London and looked at him properly, he probably would not have taken him for sporting reasons. ‘It is a miracle that he is now captain at Arsenal.” I agree that captains ought to lead by example. Ozil’s example on the field is negative. It seems… Read more »
The worst thing is that we should have been thriving based on the French NT being a juggernaut in the last 10 years. Even in the last 4 years, we’ve missed so, so, so many top French or French speaking players who were available on the cheap. Payet to West Ham for £13m, Mahrez to Leicester for £450k, Kante to Leicester for £8m, Lemar to Monaco for £4m, Dembele to Dortmund for £13m, Mbappe when we could have had him for less than £10m, Pogba could have joined our Academy, Varane to Madrid for £9m, Umtiti to Barcelona for £22m,… Read more »
China
Exactly right.
Wenger did not need to coach Bergkamp, Vieira, Henry, Keown, etc, he had the right personnel for his preferred style. They did the coaching for him.
Well Dissenter does Ramsey have Ozil’s marketability?
Besides Ozil is one of five captains.. Don’t know why the Bayern president is taking the whole Ozil issue personally. Its a bit weird
Lenglet from Nancy to Sevilla in 2017!!! for under £5m got sold to Barcelona for £33m, a year and a half later.
Laporte was available for years before Pep knocked on Atletic Bilbao’s door.
The examples of missed opportunities are endless.
Unai Emery has more to worry about than who captains Arsenal. I am with Craig Burley when he says he doesn’t place much emphasis on the whole captain thing.
Love the way he asked the rest of the panel what exactly Sarri ball has won..none of them could say anything
Raptora Laporte is not a 57 million pound defender and never will be
Exactly, does anyone remember where they were when we signed Ramsey?
Exactly, these are the real important things in football. What happens on the pitch should always be secondary.
@Pierre
Of course it’s a sensible comment. It shows Wenger was a nervous wreck who caved in under pressure. He was a perennial choker.
What’s cooking scumbags? Who is taking a kicking today?
If it’s true that we’re selling Ramsey in Jan I’ll be delighted. If Utd are willing to pay upwards of 15m it would be worth it imo
I’m not sure bergkamps was built for being coached. Genius like that typically exists in spite of its surroundings rather than because of it. For all of pep’s qualities, messi could’ve grown up in Stockport and would’ve likely ended up exactly the same player
“Don’t know why the Bayern president is taking the whole Ozil issue personally. Its a bit weird“ Because he vehemently dislikes Ozil and ales every opportunity to publicly slander him. He’s a cretin irrespective of whether you agree or disagree with his opinion. Who else is constantly flogging another pro footballer in the manner he does? Weirdo. – I’ve got to say, the amount of nonsense typed by China about Wenger never coaching or being tactical during his success was hilariously stupid. Just a coming together of payers that coached themselves? Fuck me haha that’s what I’m saying about the… Read more »
Ramsey to United, Martial to Arsenal.
Do that and both can be satisfied going forward.
If you say so Charles, though it’s quite curious where the coaching genius that created the invincibles disappeared to so soon after don’t you think? How do you go from being a great coach to being hopeless (the whole world has come to this realization by now) in the few short years it took to dismantle that squad?
Maybe as he got older he just forgot???
CC
I actually thought it was common knowledge that Wenger never coached anybody. Ex players have pretty much all confirmed this.
The golden years were actually down to the players self managing.
Remember when we lost 3-1 to Blackburn? It was Adams who gave the talk that inspired the unbeaten 49 games, not Wenger. Who by all accounts was in the corner shaking like a French soldier.
Going with China in this one.
China I’m not going to waste much time arguing what you’ve said, it’s too ridiculous to really get into it over. It’s like a flat earth kinda dumb, the evidence of his coaching was there for all to see. You’re talking like his coaching prowess suddenly eluded him, it didn’t. He was influenced by Barca and then stubbornly got fixated with trying to emulate that in the prem. It didn’t work, though the football was super at times, but he persisted and his stubbornness combined with inability to be flexible meant the competition and times changed and let him and… Read more »
Pierre –
From where are you getting those net spend numbers? What made you choose that particular date range?
Ramsey’s days at Arsenal are numbered. Ideally we should have sold him in summer for good money but If we can offload him for 20M in Jan, it will still be a good move.
Apart from Ramsey contract saga,Unai made a hash of our transfer business in the summer relying on the same players who cost Wenger his job -Xhaka, Mustafi, Iwobi, Ozil, Cech and Bellerin. If we lose to West Ham as well, panic will set in and Unai will have nobody else but himself to blame for not being more decisive.
Goh
It’s not common knowledge, it’s bogus hearsay perpetuated by idiots with an axe to grind.
You’re talking about sound bites from morons like Adams and Dixon. But you fail to mention the ringing endorsements Wenger got at the time from football minds. Ferguson endorsed his coaching and that pretty much says it all. But no, big Tone said he coached Ashley Cole into the best LB so let’s defer it all into him because I don’t like Wenger. Ok..
Ramsay to United was the original scenario…we pinched him from them.
Now it’s our chance to offload some shit onto them, just like they’ve been doing to us for years.
Ramsay is awful.
CC
Cesc fabregas said it, Pires, Viera. He couldn’t tactic his way out of a wet paper bag.
The players were good enough to do it for themselves.
There’s nothing awful about Ramsey, he’s simply not worth bending over for and his contract situation gives us a choice to make.
With Ozils fresh in the mind we’d do well to avoid mark II. They have a contract rebel they want rid of despite his quality in Martial. Do it Arsenal
China is correct re Wenger: his “coaching” consisted of little more than generalities, such as “play a good pass”. Wenger believed “the game is the best teacher” and allowed his teams to learn “organically” simply by playing the game. He provided very little instruction and very little detail.
I just wrote a long, detailed analysis of this entire issue but it didn’t post for some reason. Damnit, Pedro!
Nemesis
” become credible on a blog or in any debate you have to be seen to offer balanced opinion eg. Give credit where credit is due.”
This is Le Grove and as yet they havn’t turned on you…. But they will.
Balanced opinion on here gets you the label of AKB….
Martial to Arsenal would work.
Ramsay and cash for him. He’s worth more than Ramshit.
A front three of PEA, lacatalent and Martial would do some damage.
Can’t see it happening though.
Goh
I stated to China this isn’t something I’m going to debate in great detail. If you believe the most successful manager in Arsenal’s history didn’t do tactics, that’s your tin foil story.
CC
Actually Pat Rice did the coaching and tactics.
Wenger out the cones out.
Banford
You’re another acolyte devoted to undermining everything Wenger, I’m sure folk won’t miss your wordy bluster. Glad the sermon was rejected by the internet.
Let’s also be realistic here, you talk of players and roles in terms of numbers like “8” and “10”. So perhaps give it a miss when taking a swipe at a manager like Wenger for supposed “generalities”.
Wait, were you opposed to the Ozil deal, Charlie? That’s interesting. You’ve always been a pretty vocal defender of Ozil’s here, and I don’t remember you criticizing the new contract when it was announced. Now it was a mistake?
TR7: “Unai will have nobody else but himself to blame for not being more decisive.” Or the backroom team in the likes of IG, Sanllehi and Sven. I don’t think that Arsenal has a manager or plans to have a manager in the reals sense of the word. I think we are trying to assimilate the Chelsea way of doing things where their manager is nothing more than a coach and all ins and outs are decided by Granovskaia’s team of people. I think after Wenger we’ve had enough of the autocracy and are now thinking that the decisions made… Read more »
Champagne charlie
“I stated to China this isn’t something I’m going to debate in great detail. If you believe the most successful manager in Arsenal’s history didn’t do tactics, that’s your tin foil story.”
i just laugh at that stuff these days. all those elite European coaching forums where he’d be hanging out with Lippi, Ferguson etc…guess they just liked the way he made the coffee 🙂
Because he vehemently dislikes Ozil and ales every opportunity to publicly slander him. He’s a cretin irrespective of whether you agree or disagree with his opinion. Who else is constantly flogging another pro footballer in the manner he does? Weirdo I wouldn’t say constant I’d say more like twice in the last couple months. Point is with what he’s saying is he talking bollox or making vaid points? Anyway…fuck Jack Wilshere. Out to prove us wrong is he? Given his performances in West Ham’s first two games he’s more likely to fall over his own feet and be out for… Read more »
Wallace
I know, I know.. beggars belief the lengths some will go despite evidence to the contrary.
You’re wrong though, I think it was the pastries he brought, as Arsene was a true Alsatian after all.
“So if the window was bad I’d put the blame more on the backroom team than on Emery. ”
yeah, Sven’s recruitment. can’t be blaming Unai for anything but the stuff on the pitch.
Vieira said something along the lines of Wenger’s biggest strength and his biggest weakness are the same thing, which is he pretty much sent the team out with little to no instruction bar team selection and formation obviously.
hoping Sven & Unai do build a good relationship though. a few of the things that have happened so far makes you think they’re not totally on the same wavelength yet.
I stated to China this isn’t something I’m going to debate in great detail. If you believe the most successful manager in Arsenal’s history didn’t do tactics, that’s your tin foil story. Any idea of why we kept failing particularly in the big games away from home? Terrible record at old trafford? Terrible record against Mourinho and Pep? Can you explain the embarrassing defeats over the years? Can you answer any of these questions without bringing up other clubs money? Not wanting to take anything away from his successful period but I can think of a period of time where… Read more »
Can’t believe people think someone can be in football management for 30 years by merely offering platitudes in training.
So far our new wonder scout has got us a dirge centre half and a open goal missing douchebag.
The Sokratis deal really bugs me. Did Sven take a kick back for that or what?
Doublethink
Want to quote that? I happen to recall Vieira saying Wengers biggest strength and weakness was his trust in players, where sometimes he needed to be more ruthless because certain ones weren’t good enough.
Not sure how no tactics and just team selection can be heralded as a strength. Might I go as far as to say you’re making it up?
Wallace,
Agreed.
Sokratis and slow defenders in general, no quality dribbling full backs, no wingers at all, renewing contracts of average players that the manager clearly doesn’t rate. List is long.
I know, I know.. beggars belief the lengths some will go despite evidence to the contrary.
I would say especially in the second half of his tenure there’s more examples of him not doing opposition research or tactics. Otherwise I simply dont understand his appalling record against the big teams in big games.
Gifted people don’ t learn by listening. They are risk-takers, they do it for themselves. Whether it’s Einstein or Messi.
They are risk-takers, they do it for themselves
He was definitely a risk taker that’s for sure. Going into every season
Geniuses need coaching and guidance. Messi will never be who he is if he wasn’t coached properly.
Berkgamp was a genius but some forget he was a flop @ Inter.
Wenger lost his way, agreed but to say he never coached the invincibles is nonsense.
Tata Martino couldn’t achieve anything with Barca which had Messi.
Give credit where its due. Some comments here lives much to be desired.
Marko
Actually try reading what’s written for a change before you start your yappy nonsense.
Wengers early success is being dismantled with quips about him not coaching and instead having the stars align and players doing the coaching etc.
When you jump in and start talking about Pep and ‘the last few years’ it shows you up for a lack of comprehension.
For me the Sokratis and to a lesser extent the Licht signings are indeed odd signings. As much as I understand that Emery wanted strong personalities in the dressing room, Mislintat and Sanllehi seemed to have forgotten to inform him that the PL needs fast players. Or did they not realise that the PL is that fast? (Which would be worrying in itself but I find it hard to think that they would not have watched some PL games/ not know that this is practically a requirement.)
KAYboss
If you are saying that Messi was given the chance to express his talents, his genius, by Barca, then you are right.
Bergkamp did not get that opportunity at Inter, It came later, at Highbury.
I thought that we offered him a contract?!
He was definitely a risk taker that’s for sure. Going into every season
lol, the stuff some people come up with, you’d think it was joke Friday already. hahaha
Of course Wenger did some coaching. What else would he use to occupy his plaers through 6 days of training? He just became averse to change and allowed a staleness to creep in. He became too endeared with his own self preservation at the expense of every thing there. Wenger didn’t get worse, he just remained on the same spot while the rest of the league used his methods to catch up and beat him. Wenger didn’t have a second gear when it mattered, he didn’t know how to turn the boosters on when the spending restrictions were lifted in… Read more »
Actually try reading what’s written for a change before you start your yappy nonsense
Not wanting to take anything away from his successful period but I can think of a period of time where he just almost consistently got things wrong in big games and against decent opposition
Okay. Comprehension got it. Why stop at his successful period when talking about the “great man”. Why stop there.