Debating about Arsenal can get fiesty…….

Morning all,

As a regular blogger I sometimes get carried away.

Like you, I read peoples posts and comments and if you have strong views on some things like I have, you sometimes put your foot in your mouth and trust me; I have done that on more than one occasion.

I have criticised other peoples comments before I have thought things out, I have commented on what I believe to be right but on many occasions I look back and realise that I may have hurt somebody’s feelings with my response.

However, sometimes we all know we have left it too late to make amends….

The point of this post is to highlight that we all have different views and talking as we do on these here on Highbury House or other Arsenal blogs is actually very informative.

We all believe we are experts until someone more knowledgeable comes along and some people’s knowledge is unbelievable – then I feel a right plank, but people’s views are still important.

We debate about The Arsenal, it’s the one thing we all have in common.

Whether Wenger is the best manager or the worst in the world doesn’t really matter when somebody can log off, yet be left feeling that someone has had an unfair ‘go at them’ …

I am guilty of that and the people I have upset know who they are and I apologise, I may not agree with your view but because I am a staunch supporter of Wenger I tend to get my collar up when he gets a bit of stick.

Perhaps a lot of people are looking at what we haven’t won and in all honesty they do have a point and I can argue all day long about the reasons why, but most of you have heard all of the excuses and it does get very boring.

I like to think there is a silver lining just round the corner as I’m always trying to be positive and I always want to look for the positives in everything Arsenal do.

Being that way has made these last few years bearable for me.

I look to the immediate future and read that supporters believe a change in manager and members of the board may make the difference but when I view the same situation, I look at the players we have and look to see if they can change our fortunes.

I think about Chamberlain, Ryo Miyaichi and Ju Park and wonder when these players will be used as they offer great excitement. I have seen clips on You Tube and they look impressive in the short clips I have watched and I look forward to getting all our best players together and see just how good they can be.

I am optimistic, I honestly believe we have a good squad.

Can we win things with this squad?

That we will have to wait and see but we have definitely got the potential and I am not just saying that to be positive, we have had a lousy start but we have had players out from the start of the season and as soon as things start to look brighter we have another setback.

Law of averages suggests that we should soon start getting our players back and although we have had a few bad results, we can still get back into the groove we cannot get worse only better.

Having these injuries has shown us that we still have problems in certain positions and I am now thinking that Wenger and the board know that too. I like to believe that they will have players lined up for those positions in the January window and I we won’t have to wait until the end of the window either; we seem to be in a much better financial position to sign players straight away.

I doubt there will be multiple signings as Wenger will only buy what the board believe we can afford and I think they will still be holding onto the purse strings.

We can manage a few decent results, of that I am positive and we will move ourselves steadily up the league and as our players recover we will just get stronger and stronger. I keep my fingers crossed that the injured players will not suffer any setbacks and our confidence will come back, then we will have a full flowing river of players full of exuberance and gagging for every game.

We have many talented players and with everybody back in their positions, this can only help their skills come out.

We are a team, our medical staff have to do their bit and then we’re on our way COYG

Written by Steve Palmer

127 thoughts on “Debating about Arsenal can get fiesty…….

  1. devilgunner says:

    Good morning everyone. Hope I am number one today.

    Goody for you Steve. An enjoyable post and one which reflects my own way of thinking.

  2. Gooner Sam says:

    Morning Steve, can’t say I necessarily agree with your delusional outlook but at least you are positive. What position do you think we will finish at the end of the season?

  3. devilgunner says:

    I have just read LE Grove……..

    http://le-grove.co.uk/2011/10/12/park-chu-young-7-in-4-gourcuff-in-january-hazard-concerns-robin-to-anzhi/

    …..and came up with a novel way of protesting if anyone wants to do it……..everyone in the crowd take two white coloured baloons and before the game starts, YES BEFORE, blow the baloons up and let them go on the pitch. Based on my calculations that would be around 100,000 baloons having to be cleared up. Plus it would be more fun than seeing posters and negative comments.

  4. Jekyll says:

    Being positive is all well and good, but surely it must be based in reality and experience. For instance, from where do you get the belief that weaknesses will be addressed in Jan and right at the start as well? There is no precedence for this whatsoever.

  5. rico says:

    We only concern guys is that for how long have we been saying we have a great buch of youth/potential bright stars coming through, players with so much potential just waiting…..

    How many have come to the fore and made it into the first team, other than Jack?

  6. rico says:

    Just read LG’s post too, staggering to think that Park is scoring for fun for Korea yet hasn’t even been given a chance for us, he is with us for two seasons, what’s the point if he not going to be played and we need something different, could he not give us that??

  7. devilgunner says:

    you say that because you do not read Italian newspapers and blogs G Clarke. You should read them and then you will realise how much venom is poured from the italian media. Enough to make you sick. We have been 6 years without a trophy and have every right to grumble, but in Italy even if you go one year without a trophy you get sick with all the vitriol that is poured out from bloggers, TV and newspapers.

  8. rico says:

    negative g clarke or are fans realists?

    We all want Wenger and the team to turn our season around but anyone who can’t see we are in a bit of trouble right now can’t have watched us play this season…

    Good to read Nasri was rubbish for his national team….

  9. devilgunner says:

    I agree Rico. But what every one is neglecting regarding this situation is the understanding that exists between AW and the board. If he is operating within the instructions set by the club there is little we can do. That is why they do not sack him.

  10. Jekyll says:

    The signing of Park can be explained if you see AFC as a money making scheme for a small collection of individuals. He was an investment in the South Korean merchandise market.

    You’ve got to look at what Wenger and the board do, not what they say. This summer we have seen prices rise and another big profit made in the transfer market. They may say ‘we wanted to do this, we didn’t want to do that, we’re going to do this’ etc, etc but those are the facts. It may be a cliche but actions really do speak louder than words.

  11. rico says:

    Totally agree there devil, i have always thought he is just doing what they tell him and that’s why he has changed his transfer ways – hence me always hoping the board get out and then see what happens…

    Jeckyll – if they played him, he’d be more ‘on show’ though and at the end of the day, he’s scoring goals, something which we aren’t always to do these days…

  12. Steve (not Steve Palmer) says:

    It’s not the Board’s job to buy the right players or teach the team how to defend a 4-0 lead. Wenger’s target is to reach fourth and you have to say he always delivers. Having seen Liverpool & Spurs I don’t think we are yet out of a top four finish.

    As a fan though, I can’t accept fourth as a target or that finishing fourth is the same as a trophy. As a fan, having suffered failure and frustration for the last six years, I simply cannot see how we will see future success under Wenger.

    As you say we all have different opinions and perspectives.

  13. Jekyll says:

    I don’t think Wenger just does what he’s told in order to keep his job, I think he has more power than that. He said himself during the summer he was involved in the decision to raise the prices and Gazidis also said Wenger ‘decides value’ when it comes to player purchases.

    At Monaco he sold his best players, tried to develop his own team. They were nearly relegated. Difference is he was sacked for that. It’s always been his dream to develop his own team from scratch. It’s a cosy marriage of convenience between Wenger and the board. The problem they have now is the wheels are very close to falling off that gravy train.

  14. devilgunner says:

    maybe that is why they chucked DD out. He was protesting against what they where going to do. and since they like lining their fat pockets then they fired DD and kept AW who is on a contract.

    Although I want us to be successful and has questioned some of the decisions AW has made I do not help feel that he is totally blameless in this situation. A good manager does not turn one overnight. And before anyone starts telling me that he inheritied the defence from GG I would like to point out that bar DB10 all the players of the invincibles were his.

    So get the board out and see what happens. If it stays the same then sack AW.

  15. rico says:

    Hi Steve

    aiming for 4th is totally wrong, I agree, and what kind of message does it send to players?

    Add to that, hearing IG say the we can live without CL football, well that is nothing but a joke…..

    Ambition – none….

  16. rico says:

    Jeckyll, that’s why i want the board out first, if Wenger is trying to do the same with us, he is getting it severely wrong, any half decent boss of his would have taken him to one side and given him an earful….

    Wenger is not the bee all and end all but i still believe the board are worse as they are happy to sit back and watch all this unfold…

    devil, i’m with you there, board first, then if no change, then change the manager

  17. devilgunner says:

    Maybe Jekyll is right, albeit partially. There are too many reasons which can be right but only a handful know the real truth.

  18. glenn says:

    I wish i could see things through the rose tinted glasses you have on but sadly i’ve had enough. I am proud of the way we have moved from our beloved highbury to the souless em’s with the debt being paid off at a massive rate. However the asset stripping of the squad over this period has been criminal with what has gone out the door to what has turned up at the colney creche. We all knew it was going to be tough going through the transition,with the increase in prices at whatever you touch with a cannon on. What arsene has achieved has been amazing up to 06 since then he has gone backwards i also feel with the team he built they did infact under achieve the unbeaten season was out of this world and style of play breathtaking,they should of dominated for years what barca are doing now back to back titles and champs league etc that team was so far ahead of everybody else i started to feel sorry for teams in the tunnel they were beaten before they got on to the pitch.Now with this rag and bone squad arsene has thrown together it’s us that look scared and beaten in the tunnel. The wage structure is all wrong rewarding failure and kids with bumper contracts so when it comes to paying the going rate for world class players we can’t. And what goes on in training at the colney creche certainly does not involve team play,pressing the opposition,defending set plays and when is he going to learn that holding the high line does not work etc etc. His team talk of go out and play may of worked when we had world class players not any more they need tactics and to know what their job is on the pitch and take responsibility for their actions and not blame the blade of grass they were marking at the corner as the big cb heads into our net. So for me enough is enough arsene has to change his mind set and attitude and get a defence coach(my choice is keown)to try and save this season otherwise i feel this will be his last.

  19. W.A.T.H says:

    Morning all,

    So many opinions on who and what is to blame for our current situation, is it the board, it it wenger, is he to egotistical, why won’t he get in new coaches why did we move and not buy quality players have the board just paid off debts to line their pockets why all the lies and spin and who ultimately can we blame………….?

    One is we’ll never know we’re just the ones that love the club turn up week in week out get fleeced to watch our team buy the shirts and the programs and all things Arsenal because they OUR team, they in our blood and that will never change.

    If we look at it sensibly wenger has to take the blame for many things BUT is he solely to blame, I think not, he gets paid a huge salary to take a lot of stick for the board who sit back and milk the cash cow, they could instruct him to do business differently but it does not suit their needs currently so until now things have always worked out for the best, scrapped into 4th place every year so no need to panic we don’t really have to buy big names to compete as we are always in the CL…….. Now we’ll see though…! The natives are getting more and more restless we want to see where our money goes and we want our club to invest on the pitch with our hard earned money that we part with week in week out. We want results from highly paid executives that as yet seem to of done nothing of any consequence for the club just cost us huge salaries. We lag far behind on merchandise and commercial incomes why is that..? wht have these matters not been addressed..? Lastly as always said success on the pitch brings success off the pitch why does the club lack foresight and the obvious ambition to give us a team/squad that can compete to win trophies..? far to many questions and very few answers.

  20. allezkev says:

    Good Day Gooners…
    Smashing Post StevieP.
    Isn’t it good not to read ‘Arsenal in Crisis’ plastered all over the back pages….

  21. rico says:

    Morning Wath, top comment…..

    I never get how the board and wenger don’t see that ‘sucess on the pitch brings it off the pitch either. It’s simple common sense, with winning comes better bigger sponsor deals, more merchandies sold accross the world etc, all that brings in more money…

    I always buy a new shirt etc when they come out but this season and until they show some ambition, not any penny of my hard earned money is going to be wasted on a board and manager who see aiming for 4th place in the league as being ambitious…..

  22. W.A.T.H says:

    So basically he’s been doing contracts for 2 years but wenger says what the players should be paid….! As of course we will never ever know the truth but most rumours are that wenger tells the club what he beleives each player should be paid, as to whether we believe that or not is another matter, thanx for the heads up on Laws though Potter, Didn’t he also get sent over to tie up the Alvarez deal…?

  23. allezkev says:

    Jekyll, 11.05.

    Interesting point, well made, and yes Monaco did act.
    But if memory serves me well, Monaco have pretty much done bugger all since he left them.
    Also, if i recall, certain decision makers at Monaco have since regretted acting in such haste.

    I’m not saying your conclusions are wrong, but it’s worth baring in mind what has happened at Monaco since he was sacked…

  24. allezkev says:

    Morning Rico.
    Morning Wath, yes that Alvarez deal was a right ‘Dog’s Dinner’.
    But he’s hardly set Serie A alight, so maybe a lucky escape?

  25. rico says:

    Usmanov could prompt boardroom battle by attempting to increase Arsenal stake

    By Sami Mokbel

    Uzbeki billionaire Alisher Usmanov wants to increase his Arsenal shareholding in move that could spark a boardroom power struggle.

    Usmanov, the club’s second biggest shareholder, is trying to increase his stake to 30 per cent.

    He currently owns just over 29 percent but will write to the club’s smaller shareholders this week, offering to buy shares at £14,500 each.

    Reaching the 30 per cent threshold would make Usmanov eligible for the Premier League’s owners and directors test.

    Passing the test would clear the way for Usmanov to secure a seat on Arsenal’s board of directors.

    But whether Usmanov – who is rated as the 35th richest person in the world – would be offered a place on the Gunners’ top table remains to be seen.

    Usmanov has been critical of Stan Kroenke’s current regime for what he sees as a lack of investment in the playing squad and his potential appointment is likely to cause fractions at boardroom level.

    Meanwhile, Kroenke will be quizzed by Arsenal supporters when he attends the club’s Annual General Meeting later this month.

    The Gunners hierarchy are confident the American businessman – who owns 66.1 per cent of the club – will attend the meeting on October 27.

    His expected presence will be the first time Kroenke has engaged with Arsenal fans since his takeover was ratified by the Premier League in May.

    Kroenke has lived up to his billing as ‘Silent Stan’ during his time as Arsenal’s majority shareholder.

    He has attended just one Arsenal fixture since his takeover, the 1-1 home draw against Liverpool on April 17 – leaving some supporters questioning his commitment to the club.

  26. potter says:

    Apparently he(Laws) spent his summer tying up the Alvarez and the Campbell deal. One can’t get past Sneider and so hardly plays , the other couldn’t get a work permit. Not the most auspicious record .

  27. W.A.T.H says:

    Well he only got a 50% hit rate on signatures although we can’t blame Laws for Campbell not getting a work permit can we…!

    I find it mind boggling that a manger gets to dictate what players should be paid and what transfer fee he is willing to offer as we said all summer surely the manager gives the board a list of players he wants and they go and try and buy them, they know the budgets and what we can and can’t afford. Its all arse about face if you ask me..! He’s forgotten about being manager of a football club and if far to busy being club financial director…!

  28. rico says:

    It’s been said before Wath, Wenger should manage and keep hi conk out of what goes on in the finance department….

  29. W.A.T.H says:

    Another corker was when the snake Gazidis commented that Wenger had input on the tkt price increase….? that’s just outrageous…! Fine for him to put prices up when he’s on 7mil a yr and hardly struggling to pay for a season tkt…!

  30. allezkev says:

    Wath, i cannot believe that Wenger had much influence on ticket increases.
    Typical of Gazides and the Board….
    ‘Not me Guv’

  31. W.A.T.H says:

    Hey JM, hope your well, yes I think we take one game at a time at the moment, saw a great comment yesterday…. Only 82 days til the transfer window opens…. 🙂

  32. agirlagunner says:

    Upbeat as always, steve. I am not optimistic at the moment (trying to be though), but three points on Saturday will go some way into restoring my faith in this crop of players.

    I still think we need to buy quality in January though. Our squad is very lean in certain positions. Like at… RB, say. 🙂

    Oh, and I would love for AW to give some of our underperformers a good dressing down. All this mollycoddling does no one any good.

  33. agirlagunner says:

    Boo, WATH! There you are. I think AA needs it. He is quite an amazing player when it suits him, but seems so little motivated.

  34. agirlagunner says:

    Harmony shmarmony. Ours is a football club, not a choir. 😉 Come on AW, sometimes, screamfests are a necessary evil.

  35. Lee says:

    try playing him in the position he plays for Russia, earth shattering idea I know, but he seems to do ok……

  36. allezkev says:

    GoonerSam… 1.10pm

    Thanks for that mate.
    Brings ya down to earth.
    What a top top young man Jack Wilshere is.

    But we already know that…..

  37. allezkev says:

    Hi Lee/Agag.

    Yeah, you should have seen the rippling muscles in the gym when i got there….

    Well that was the bloke next to me…. 🙂

  38. devilgunner says:

    Evening Guys and chicks.

    AK in a leotard??? There is still a mite to go before carnival. Maybe its at the dress maker he goes not the gym. And Micko, why did the guy who invented jogging die of a heart attack? Did he see someone in a leotard???

    Cant imagine AK in a leotard. must be a bad dream!!!

  39. stevepalmer1 says:

    Evening all,
    I have been asked “are you delusional, and where do i think we will finish at the end of the season,” To be honest i would be delusional if we get to top four, i believe we can get there. I have said in the past that we should be looking at No1 and not top four, but to be honest, with the start we have had top four would be a great result. To tell you the truth i would settle for a top four this year and a good run in the cups, i think we could only win the league when we start the season with our full team, and we have had one of the worst starts i have known for years . for a start we have lost 3 top players, Clicky Nas and cesc, that has hurt us more than we could ever know, what ever you think of these players they were quality, we have lost Jack Vermin and now Sagna to injury we have had suspensions and new players needing to gel and find their feet, by christ i would settle for fourth spot, Wenger and the board may as a lot of you think passed it but we can’t blame them for all that has happened, we have been unlucky and that is somthing nobody could do anything about,, i think Clicky made his intention clear that he wanted out and i think the club thought we had enough cover for him to go, Cesc also wanted to go and i believe that Arsenal were trying to scupper this deal, i don’t think they wanted cesc to go but didn’t want to look as if they were standing in his way, and i believe it almost worked they had Barcelona bidding at the highest they could afford at that particular time but cesc put the bubble in by paying the extra himself. i think they were hopeing nas would go as he would have gone for free, after all that top four yes please

  40. devilgunner says:

    Ahhhh Rico. If only you knew what goes behind the scenes. Some secret sharing definetely. testerday it was trafalgar square sprints, today its the leotard, what next?? I’d better not imagine. Might be bad for my health???

  41. rico says:

    Evening Steve –

    I too would settle for top four right now but sadly I don’t honestly feel we will make it unless things change for the better very quickly…

  42. allezkev says:

    DG, are you trying to give me a bad name???

    JM what kind of work do you do?

    Stevo 6.17pm. Great comments mate.

  43. allezkev says:

    Btw, Evening Gooners.
    Evening Rico….
    Next three games are all win’able.
    Fitness and player availability will have a huge bearing on how we do.
    Touch wood, Wenger will have a near fully fit squad to choose from.
    The return of Verm cannot come soon enough for me.
    BFG will be delighted to have a partner alongside him, who can actually help Pers organise our dopey defence.
    Now if the midfield can sort themselves out and the forwards start converting a higher percentage of their poo

  44. allezkev says:

    opportunities, then we might begin to recover from our shit start to the season. {ignore poo, there’s a glitch on wordpress, or there is with my PC]

  45. rico says:

    Evening AK, next three games are vital…. they are at home and we need to start winning……

    my wordpress is struggling too AK, keeps greying out then crashing….

  46. devilgunner says:

    AK…..just pulling your leg. But you know me quite enough….the usual cheeky devil. Hope you are right….we win the next three games. If we do win them, would you run with a leot…….nah just leave it!!!!!

  47. devilgunner says:

    Omar el Kaddouri, a moroccan who plays for Brescia “Being linked with Arsenal? They play the good football I like and Mr Wenger gives a chance to any young players and likes technical players like me. Brescia has been good to me and I love this place but once interest is shown by some teams you have to think about it.”

    …and Mr Wenger gives a chance to any young players”

    There is it my friends. that is our reputation now. we give ANY young player a chance.

    Makes you want to tear your hair (or what’s left of it in my case) out.

  48. allezkev says:

    Rico, as i type in the comments box, all the icons at the bottom of the box creep upwards. And before i know what’s happening they’re covering up what i’m writing. It’s been like this since wordpress changed things awhile back.
    It drives me up the wall. Especially if i make a mistake, hench POO…. [ DG 8) ]

  49. devilgunner says:

    Thanks Rico.

    AK. Mail for you on the way.

    Regarding the Poo go to the settings and give the antivirus a go to scan your PC.

    Hope you do not write the word THIS…….it might change to something similiar to POO. lol

    Joking dear friend.

  50. rico says:

    AK – i recall oliver saying about that happening, mines been ok until today but now it’s all just playing up – maybe they are faffing around behind the scenes again…..

  51. rico says:

    The penny has just dropped for me….. 🙂

    I wish my memory was so much better, it would have dropped a long time ago 😉

  52. allezkev says:

    DG imqarqac tifel… 😉

    I look forward to tomorrow’s post Rico.
    Things could start to get very interesting methinks.

  53. devilgunner says:

    Oh blimey…..across the bathroom??? What??? you have a sprinting track across the bathroom. Gorsh I knew you were the athletic type. Sprinting across the bathroom!!! chuckle chuckle.

  54. devilgunner says:

    I hope its not a virus you got AK.

    Hope you enjoy the email. Its for the Lady of the Manor also. Hope she likes it.

    That’s it for today dear friends. Time to go off for me.

    Gd nite hbieb!!!

  55. rico says:

    devil – i’m sorry 😉

    AK, nah, don’t think there was much to sort really, wordpress have made so many changes behind the scenes recently, i have given up…..

    oh, don;t get too excited about tomorrows post 😉

  56. allezkev says:

    Yeah Rico, the icons are still climbing the page.

    And if AW sticks to 4 3 3, who do you think the midfield trio will be?

  57. rico says:

    AK, i wouldn’t, i’d play Jenks – i think he’ll be ok, personally, i already think he’s better than Eboue, and he’ll give his all….

    I’d play Kos and the big fella in the middle of defence…

  58. allezkev says:

    Agree with there Rico.
    Sunderland should provide a good opportunity for Jenks to gain some confidence and settle into his position.

  59. rico says:

    Toughie that one AK… Rosicky is out injured, Diaby is still somewhere in the land of finding a fit bone in his body so I guess he’ll play Ramsey, Arteta and Song…

    I’d play, Song, Arteta and Coq or Pingpong….

  60. rico says:

    Def agree on the 4-4-2 AK, and with both Coq/Fimpong ion the middle with Song it will give Song a bit more freedom to go forward, and some of his attacking play has been good….

    In fact, more creative than most at times….

  61. rico says:

    I have to say nighty night now AK, it’s heading near to my horlicks and wooden stairs time 😉

    Catch you tomorrow….

    Nighty all, stay safe….

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