Morning all.
“I want to do well for the fans and want them to go home happy and when I can’t give them that satisfaction I’m unhappy of course. First of all, I dedicated my whole life to winning football matches so when I lose I’m in disastrous shape.”
Arsene Wenger always manages to come out with something doesn’t he, something which invariably we’ve heard before, certainly the bit about dedicating his whole life to winning football matches. In reality though, he hasn’t. He’s dedicated much of his life to football but if he really put winning above everything else, he’d have done things a lot differently, certainly over the last five years, if not longer.
One of the most important things about a squad regardless of what level the game is played at, a top manager will have the best possible spine in a team that he can possibly get within the constraints put upon them. Clubs like City, Chelsea and Utd usually do and as much as it pains me to type this, Totts do too right now but over on the red side of north London, the best side of course, having such strength through the middle of the team has been neglected for a long time.
Neither of our two keepers our top top class. Our two main central defenders are possibly the weakest pairing out of the clubs in the top six and our midfield is more often than not, toothless and error strewn. My own opinion is that up front though we have two top quality strikers in Aubameyang and Lacazette, both though are adjusting to life in a very different league to what they’ve been used too. Next season will be the one to prove whether the Premier League is for them or not. If they’re both still here of course and there’s no reason to think they won’t. The spine of our team is not strong enough to build around because time and time again, it’s as porous as the sieve in my kitchen cupboard which is why we’ve conceded so many goals this season and those gone before. Ironic you might think, the day after we kept a clean sheet against Watford but the fixture yesterday would have been far more important, perhaps relevant even had we been able to repeat such a feat many more times this season but instead, the players were playing for little other than pride, something else which hasn’t often been on show much over the last seven months.
Missing from The Emirates yesterday were thousands of Arsenal fans. There was no snow to blame, no freezing cold weather, no leaves on the train lines and certainly no floods. No, this was Arsenal fans making their feelings known to the owner, board and manager by way of their feet, or rather backsides. I’d say that yesterday was the lowest attendance our fine stadium has ever seen. All because they, like many of us, want change. So many empty seats will not have been missed by Ivan Gazidis and the rest of them.
The pressure on Arsene Wenger builds by the day and just because we beat AC Milan last Thursday and Watford yesterday, that pressure isn’t likely to lessen. 3-0 against a team sitting nine points below us in the league shouldn’t always be sniffed at but the reality is, there’s a bigger picture and that’s Arsenal sitting thirty points adrift of top spot having played one game more. We’re twelve points off of fourth place and that’s somewhere the club has never been during the twenty one years Arsene Wenger has been manager. It’s not just about where we sit in the League either, it’s about how we’ve got there.
Taking Man City out of the equation, we can look at Utd, Liverpool, Totts and Chelsea and say they’ve improved but I think we’d be kidding ourselves. They are just beating teams which we should have too but the squad is unbalanced, the team is disjointed and the most basic of errors are being being repeated time after time. As we’ve said before, the odd game here and there springs a nice surprise be there’s no consistency, certainly not on a positive level.
The Emirates wasn’t half empty yesterday because we lost to Brighton, Ostersunds, Watford, Bournemouth etc this season, probably not Man City either but because of the way we are losing these kind of games which has become a more regular occurrence as the last few years have gone by. Be honest, ask yourself when you last watched Arsenal and thoroughly enjoyed or admired what you saw. The two home defeats of Totts and Everton perhaps, or further back to May at Wembley? Or maybe I’ve missed one of your favourites. Whichever you choose, I strongly suspect you won’t need an entire hand to count those you enjoyed and yesterday’s victory over Watford certainly wasn’t one of them, not for me anyway. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see us winning, but the performance was just another on a long list of tough to watch matches.
Which is probably half the reason for the thousands of empty seats on show yesterday and I don’t think those numbers will increase either as the season draws to a close. Certainly not for the league fixtures and I wouldn’t bet on there being a full house on Thursday either….
In fact, I doubt we’ll see a packed Emirates Stadium again until the name Arsene Wenger is a thing of the past…..
RIP Sir Doddy, one of the best. A funny funny man…
Morning Rico and the House
Short visit.
Excellent post Rico.
Am I first.
Latta
Morning Rick, thanks. I just sneaked it… lol
Afternoon all and thank you Rico for a very sensible post…………………………………….next fully crowded game at Ems will be a EL Semi if we get there and depending whether we lost first leg or not………………………………then 1st game of next season ( Wenger`s last season !) when possibly out of CL again , AKB`s will expect us to win league for having no CL hurdles just like this impressive season 🙁
With you Rico, `till we sort out our “spine” we will never win EPL…………….front OKish but the rest is feeble !.
Hahaha the thought of a nail being pulled from Wenger`s coffin every time we win a game of no importance ………………..can just see Wenger`s fingers teasing out from under the lid if we dispose of AC Milan on Thursday !
Afternoon all.
Has anybody got any idea of just how many spectators the Arsenal let into the ground on Sunday? Not the fictional number of the club’s claim of 58,000 odd ‘sold’ seats, but the number of sentient beings who were foolish enough to give up most of their Sunday in the support of their team?
We’ve got Noah building an arc down the road from us! Do you think he’s trying to tell us something?
Rain followed by more rain, followed by even more rain. It’s raining here even now!
Should add. A good win on Sunday but it was against an opponent with no cajones! Well only teeny Deeney ones!!?
Afternoon Rico and All
How long the fans,that were missing,
pay for an empty seat,is anyone’s guess,
season ticket wise.
But I can’t see any other way,this arrogant
man can be moved on.
Cheeky Fcuker blamed it on the weather
last week,then tells us “His a Winner”
when the sun comes out.
He reckon’s us fans are fickle or thick,
he say’s “We will win a couple of games”
and everyone is happy.
Just imagine the scenes at Stratford,
are we getting near to that situation
at the Emirates?
I doubt we will see such scenes at our place until the ones that no longer go come out of their pubs and return to the Arsenal. it is said that the organisers of the west ham protest were old ICF boys. Maybe we need to see the Herd come out of retirement.
BTW : I’m too old and infirm to go on protest marches without a mobility scooter.
Afternoon Fred and all.
Chicken and the egg situation with the pub fans I guess. When the manager changes, perhaps they’ll go back.
Interesting thing I read on Twitter about how many fans offered their tickets up for the last few games yet no one wanted them. Not even those who constantly tweet them about giving up their tickets to ‘real fans who will support the team’….
EIE
The ICF old boys want the stewarding contract potter.
The Herd have never retired.Still about.
Mentioned on here some time ago about the feeling
from the locals in the pubs in and around Highbury,
none go to home games but hang around for the
London games.
Most working class Arsenal fans would never pay
£65-100 for a seat these days.
No chance of ever going back now,the grassroots of football
is not geared up for familys in council house’s around highbury,
the Premier League has killed off the poor fans and unemployed.
The german league has got it spot on,regarding season tickets
£100-£200 per year.
All true Fred, I never ran with the Herd , I tried to keep out of the way from it all but I agree the Premier league and the tv companies have driven the “old skool ” out . I miss the atmosphere of the Plimsol 1 hour before kick off , the guys on the stage leading the singing before the charge to the North Bank. Slowly the pubs are all changing The Barn , The Brownswood gone all gastro . It’s not the same i expect these pubs make more on their food midweek and families weekend , some call it progress but I think it’s just keeping their heads above water. BTW I believe the Kings Head on Blackstock road has connections to the old “”Auld Triangle “” management but I stopped going there a couple of years ago because the beer was crap. Maybe with new tenants it has changed but if it’s still brewery tied I doubt that it has.
Still we can’t go back , a new breed is taking over. They want the matchday experience to mirror a west end show which is fine for the tourist one day visitor , the real supporters though , the ones that would turn up should the team be mid table with little or nothing to play for are still there but in ever decreasing numbers.
Potter, i believe the man who had The Bkacstock now has The Kings Head, has done for a few years now.
Arsenal pubs I take it? Lol
https://thisisfutbol.com/2018/03/blogs/premier-league/nicholas-expects-arsenal-announcement-on-friday/
Never drank in there , but i was told by a group of Norwegian Plimsoll regulars that they had gone to the Kings Head, but what do they know they are haslf pissed most of the time and speak Klingon.
On a motorbility scooter Potter! Think of the damage you could do, like the former leader of the Iceinei (sp) Bodecea, she was from your part of the world, I believe. Strap a couple of Sabres to the wheels and charge the opposition! Carnage! You’d be a leg end!?
Avoided all fighting in my day. Could never see the point, still can’t, to be honest.
?
https://thisisfutbol.com/2018/03/blogs/premier-league/nicholas-expects-arsenal-announcement-on-friday/
I hope Charlie is right. Not that I wish the old chap any harm, it’s just that it’s time for a change, an upgrade, if you like, but someone who has ‘new’ ideas and a proactive attitude to contemporary football. Even a genius only has one mind boggling idea Wenger had his 25-30 years ago but since that point he has progressed little further…..just like Einstein! E=mc2 . Very little followed that in terms of ‘new’. A great man, lovely and determined chaps, both. They had their moment and time moved on although in truth, they didn’t. And, I don’t wish to appear ageist but, the old one should have claimed his bus pas and left the day job when he reached 65 years of age, he’s now 68…..3 years past his use by date! Need I say more.
Sad but, c’est la vie! C’est la vie, Arsene!
Southampton’s available , He’s bought enough players from there maybe he would fancy a retirement on the south coast as near to France as he can get.
Eastbourne is the pensioners number one destination, I believe.
Just get him away from Islington and London Colney.
Morning all.
I like that idea Potter.
Have Eastbourne got a good pub team Wavy? He’d be at home there…
Morning you two and all..
New post up now.
Morning Rico and all. What do you make of the Allegri/Nagelsmann rumours?
Morning all.
I`ve heard Eastbourne has it`s own Zimmerframe League !………………………and have the worlds best player, goes by the name of Zimmerdine Zidane !
Never heard of .The Herd !…………………..The Film Green Street summed it up for me when one character said………………….West Ham have a great “firm”, but a shit team……………………….Arsenal have a great team, but a shit firm………………………………Totnumb have a shit firm and a shit firm !…………………………….deserved an Oscar imo ! hahaha
Totnumb have a shit team and a shit firm…………got carried away with the shit stuff, which goes hand in hand with The Spuds !
🙂