Daily Bits and Bobs

Henry Winter – Arsenal don’t need soft Arteta! Pff!

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

What a snore bore eh. I thought by now the new manager would be in place, the recruitment team busy and with the World Cup not far off, the new managerial/coaching team would have begun working on making Arsenal good again. I know, I’m impatient. I didn’t watch the Sunday Supplement on Sky Sports at the weekend as I try not to after all, it’s just a group of football know it all’s speaking about what they usually write and at the end of the day, it’s just their opinion. Mikel Arteta isn’t strong enough to manage Arsenal said Henry Winter.

“Arsenal need a complete clear out – they need a strong, experienced, individual to address the failings. Someone needs to go in and sort out that dressing room, to get rid of Shkodran Mustafi and to coach Hector Bellerin.

“How many world class players are there in that squad? Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang?

“They need a Diego Simeone type. Someone who is tough and can get into that soft dressing room, that soft boardroom – there is a soft executive feel at that club. There is a malaise that runs right through the club, which won’t be solved by Wenger going – he was only partly the cause of it. They need stronger individuals in there.”

What a load of poppycock. If World Class players are so so important, why didn’t Mesut Ozil rip up the season just gone by and be awarded the player of the season gong at the club? No, instead that honour went to Aaron Ramsey who also won the goal of the season for Arsenal. Ozil didn’t even come second, Nacho Monreal did. I don’t know who came third but I’d put my last penny on it not being the German, in fact I’d say Aubameyang would have more chance and he’s only been with us for a few months.

Tough doesn’t always mean good, not imo anyway. What matters is the footballing brain of a man/woman, the knowledge, the ability to motivate, knowing who to sign and who to swerve and not every player or human being for that matter, responds well to a rollicking although who’s to say Arteta can’t do that if and when it’s needed. It’s about creating and keeping team spirit, (thanks Arsene) self pride and pride for the shirt on their back. All of those qualities together with some I’ve missed no doubt, are just as important, it’s called being a man manager. Working out who needs what to get the best out of them. It’s common knowledge that Mikel Arteta is very well respected by all inside the club as he was when he was the Arsenal captain. Earning the respect of others can be the easiest thing to achieve but it can also be the hardest and if Arteta already has that, then it’ll only help his cause should he get the job. Having worked with Pep for the last two seasons will help him too as the Arsenal players will want to listen to a man who’s been working alongside one of the best in the game for the last ten years at least.

I’m not trying to suggest Arteta is the perfect guy for the job, after all, who honestly knows who that person is until they’ve been tried, all I’m saying is that Winter suggesting he’s not the right person for the job is silly and very negative but that’s what blokes like him do when it comes to our club.

‘Soft boardroom’ he says too, well how does he know that? How does he know that Arsene Wenger wasn’t at the route of all things soft? If he was as smart as he thinks he is he’d see that since around this time last year, the club have shown a lot more ambition behind the scenes. Raul is a hugely respected figure with European football, Sven came to the club with a reputation of being one of the best at what he does with a CV to back it up and they’ve employed Huss Fahmy who’ll hopefully put a stop to the club allowing players contracts to run down as they have in recent years. Is that the sign of a soft board?

As for the soft dressing room, well, I think we know why that was….

Have a good Monday folks, at least we didn’t lose an FA Cup Final at Wembley..

rico

56 thoughts on “Henry Winter – Arsenal don’t need soft Arteta! Pff!”

  2. rico says:

    Welcome Jimmy,

    I think most of the journos do. How does anyone know who is good or bad, right or wrong for Arsenal. Arteta, or anyone for that matter…

  3. Adam says:

    Morning Rico and all. Ah yes, the posh boy who likes football has spoken. Having heard the effluent myself I can only wonder how come he isn’t a top manager. Oh, I know why. It’s because he is a total pratt, more at home crouched behind Mourinho, licking his arse.

  4. Le Coq Monster says:

    Morning all from the Cornish Sahara and thank you Rico.

    I did agree with the Simeone bit, but he aint coming, nor was Alelgri as why would you want to leave a successfull trophy winning club (unless it was for a massive wage increase 🙂
    ) to take over the average Arsenal !
    🙂

  6. rico says:

    Lc, Arsenal are a club just waiting to become a success again. Everything is in place, all we lack is different, better coaching/management of the squad…

    If done properly, there’s no reason why Arsenal can’t be better than those you mention..

  7. potter says:

    Amidst the hyperbole as always there is a grain of truth , just the way it’s expessed and the padding around it is the problem . We all know that in the past few years things have not been right throughout the whole club.. The board’s contempt , the manager’s supercillious attitude and with the player’s contentment to just coast along put us in a downward spiral that will need a bit of tough love to straighten out.
    The question is whether Gazidis has taken on the task of wielding the big stick and whether he has Josh onside.
    We may be seeing the start of a rejuvenisation of the whole club. Chips ,78 , Carr 80 , Harris 75, Friar 83. old and out of touch. More and more football is a young man’s game .
    We need new blood from top to bottom.

  8. Cicero says:

    Oi! Potter, Harris too old at seventy-five? What’s wrong with being seventy-five? With age cometh wisdom! You young whippersnappers have a lot to learn. ?

  9. Cicero says:

    I like the post Rico, but you should be grateful to dear Henry Winter for writing a load of old tosh for you to decimate. ?

  10. rico says:

    Rumour has it that Chips and co have nothing to do with what is going on at the club, it’s all in the hands of Ivan and his merry men…..

    Thanks Cicero.. 🙂

  11. potter says:

    Cicero , I am fast approaching that age and I gave up running my own business in Norfolk 3 years ago as the day to day effort became too much. There’s more to running a business than just sitting and making decisions even if you delegate you have to be watching to make sure that things are done right.
    With two members of our board being absent most of the time Gazidis at 53 is the only one keeping the average age of the rest of our boiard fractionally under 80 , which even septurians like ourselves must realise it’s too old and given that not one of them unless you count Ken Friars kicking the ball against Highbury’s wall has played any real footbasll it cries out for a change of policy. .

  12. Adam says:

    It seems clear that Ivan is putting himself right out there with this appointment. He’s never been in this position before and if his choice blows out I have little doubt that he will be gone. Then Arsenal will be looking for a replacement for him too.
    It seems that most top managers agree that most of the work is done by getting into each player’s head and instilling drive and ambition, which probably accounts for the improvements we saw in AOC. I would therefore hope that the new manager is a good motivator too. It’s easy to believe that we need a strong man as a direct replacement for Wenger but Ivan perhaps sees a more delegated management team with precise duties for each. I have no idea whether that would work or not, especially given the egotistical nature of most football managers.
    Winning with style is a rare combination indeed.

  14. Cicero says:

    I would think that with Josh and Ivan at the board room table, the rest of the director’s are pretty much regarded as window dressing.

  16. Wavy says:

    Nah, most of the oldsters are just sleeping partners…….literally!

    Afternoon all. Beautiful day again here at the Midlands Côte d’azure?

  17. Cicero says:

    Here’s the final Premier League table details together with our share of the cash.

    38 games played

    19 home, won 15, drawn 2, lost 2, goals for 54, goals against 20.

    19 away, won 4, drawn 4, lost 11, goals for 20, goals against 31.

    Overall goal difference +23. Total points 63. Final position 6th.

    In points we finished closer to the bottom club West Bromwich 31, than top club Man City 100.

    TV game fees £33.9 million. Place money £29.8 million. Equal share TV money £82 million. Total Premier League income £14.7 million.

    These cash figures do not include income from the FA Cup (not much), Carabao Cup or Europa League.

  19. Cicero says:

    …………..Nacho Monreal included in Spain’s World Cup squad but not Hector Bellerin.

  21. Meerkat says:

    I recall being told on here last year, when I queried who would replace AW if he went, that loads of top managers would be after the job, Arsenal would have them beating a path to the door. Hasn’t quite worked out that way.
    I personally feel very disappointed with how things are going. I have no faith in sleazy Gazedy at all, and we are going for second rate managers and second rate players.
    If and when Conte leaves Chelsea, they will have a top drawer replacement for his job. Why can’t we? I am shocked and very disappointed with how things are going. I wish I had confidence in the top people at Arsenal as most on here seem to.
    The top EPL clubs are like Waitrose, we are more like Aldi or Lidl the way things seem to be going.

  24. andrewh1313 says:

    Within a flash, Unai Emery becomes bookies favourite for job. Probably means Arteta announced tomorrow!

  25. andrewh1313 says:

    Following @bbcsport_david

    More
    BREAKING: Arsenal to appoint Unai Emery as new manager. Thorough process produced 46yo Spaniard as unanimous choice. Available after leaving #PSG (1 Lg1 title, 4 cups), previously Sevilla (3 EL wins), not fluent English. Announcement + press conference likely later this week

  27. andrewh1313 says:

    Which ex Arsenal player?!!!!

    @BFairthorne
    3 minutes ago

    Now coming from a few reliable sources. Emery is the new manager of Arsenal football club. Deal agreed. Ex player could well end up on his staff. Bould won’t stay.

  28. andrewh1313 says:

    Nor did the bookies a few days ago rico, when some stopped taking bets, as Arteta was done

  30. Cicero says:

    Let’s not get carried away, it’s just as likely that this is another piece of journalistic make believe.

    That said, the news, if it turns out to be true, will cheer Meerkat up a bit. ???

  33. andrewh1313 says:

    If just due to Arteta walking away, Arsenal could never act THAT QUICK. More to it I reckon

  40. Le Coq Monster says:

    It`s official !…………hahaha

    Didn`t see it coming and I am a tad disappointed it`s not Arteta……………obviously I wanted Simeone and had never heard of Dick Emery untill I read up on him, he won EL 3 times with Sevilla, same as Simeone with AM !
    However I`m still adamant we still have no chance in EPL whilst CFG spend £100M`s more than us, mind you every other team apart from Manshafter are in the same boat !

    https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david/status/998635490084622341?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.101greatgoals.com%2Fnews%2Fdavid-ornstein-unai-emery-will-become-new-arsenal-manager%2F&tfw_creator=101greatgoals&tfw_site=101greatgoals

  41. Le Coq Monster says:

    After spending nearly £200M on Neymar, he`s going to be in for a shock with Kroenke`s investment of so far ……….£0M !……………………………………hahahaha

  42. Wavy says:

    Mmmm, not sure about the spaniard, never considered him. I too, had warmed to Arteta’s appointment. He seemed to tick all the boxes, knows about the history, the style, the expectations etc etc. I expect what did for him was Wenger’s endorsement. Our progressive, forward thinking and imaginative Board probably thought they would be employing a man who’d just replicate all of Wenger’s antiquarian ways, so showed him the door! Unless Dick Emery has been employed to manage like Moyes and if he’s very lucky he’ll last two years, get sacked and then they’ll go back and drag Arteta back to the club. He’ll turn up riding on an immaculately groomed Lipizana White,stallion, perfectly suited and booted, to take over the club dragging it back to the top of the tree!
    Ho hum, I’m a bit glum.

  45. andrewh1313 says:

    rico, Sky claim their sources just found out, 40 minutes after BBC (Onstein) on Twitter then news page!

  50. Cicero says:

    Hmm, I can see a few problems with Senor Emery. Will he be able to understand Bould’s accent? Can he cope with a recalcitrant zip? What is his position on Brexit? Will he wear a suit pitchside? There will, no doubt, be more questions but it’s bedtime so I’ll save them for the morning.

    Good night Gooners……everywhere. ?

  52. Adam says:

    Morning Rico and all. Well, if Ivan was hoping that appointing a new manager would in any way unite the fans, a glance through the blogs this morning might disappoint him on that score. Toys, that belong in the pram, are littering the floors as facts and figures are trawled through in an effort to prove that poor old Unai is a dud. This, before he has even been announced too.
    An immaculately coiffed Arteta has returned to Man City sucking his thumb as his demands weren’t met. Allegri and Luis Enrique apparently wanted 200 million quid to build a new squad with Luis demanding 18million a year for himself. No guarantees from either man we’re forthcoming.
    Vieira is hurt at a “token” approach. Wrighty is embarrassed yet again at the tawdry way Arsenal have gone about replacing Wenger and Henry ‘toff’ Winter has apparently spilt ash from his Balkan Sobranie onto his smoking jacket and cravat at the news that hardman Diego Simeone hasn’t become the Arsenal manager. It has been abundantly clear to dear Henry that the squad needs a damn good rogering before being roasted in front of an open fire as he was at Eton by Harry Flashman.

  53. Kel says:

    There’s an element of risk no matter who the club appointed Allegri and Simeone were the only ones imo that would have been low risk.

    Emery is a good manager and seems to be tactician from what I’ve read he does his homework on the opposition so that can’t be a a bad thing.

    yes he ultimately failed at psg by not reaching at least the semi or a CL final and considering the resources he had then you can see why he has been sacked.

    He done well with Seville in Europe, but was average in the league didn’t make top 4, i think he did with Valencia though.

    let’s see who the club recruits and let’s see if he can improve some of the players we already have.

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