Morning Gooners,
Manchester United’s players are better than our’s, is that right?
Well looking at the results against them over the last few years I would have to say they have had the better of them.
Many Gooners have the hump, as watching United this season it’s clear to see that they are not at their best, they look beatable and they have struggled to keep a clean sheet. Then we turned up with a toothless team and we hardly covered ourselves in glory did we?
Personally speaking I don’t think we have a bad squad, but the tactics we are deploying are not working, we are being exploited by teams we are trying to catch. The lack of good defending and square-ball passing is leaving us a toothless unit. Teams are now realising that if you can stifle players like Cazorla they stop any creative passage we have. Teams seem to have realised that persisting with zonal marking leaves us open and again we are being exploited from running/jumping forwards, yet still we persist.
Possession football on our own halfway line is all well and good but it doesn’t score goals or win us games does it?
We need to get back to surging forward, attacking as a team with pace and working as a team to stop our midfield from getting nullified.
As supporters we watch the game, the players and see how they perform, they are under the microscope as to speak, but when we look at them we have to admit to ourselves that it’s not about Vermaelen slipping or Mannone fumbling, it’s a team performance and that is our problem we often look for a fall guy to heap the blame on.
At this moment in time we are not a gelling as a unit and that’s what is stopping us playing well and earning victories.
Wenger and the coaches are also included in this, our defensive coaches who persist with zonal mark have to realise that this system is wrong, I don’t know how many games we have to lose or goals we have to concede before we change the system. I am not an expert in training and tactics but even I can see that this system is crap.
Arsene Wenger comes under fire when we turn in results and performances as we are doing lately and so he should but I feel he still goes out with the idea that if we play our game we will overcome but he is wrong. The United’s of this world with old red nose planning their assault realised that if you stifle our midfield play-makers you will make the engine miss fire and boy did we miss fire.
Shots on target or should I just say shots, are very few and between which really is a disgrace. How can we expect to win if we don’t create and take chances?
Selling Players like Van Persie to a team like United is just professional suicide, Nasri and Clichy to City is the same and as much as we all didn’t mind Clichy leaving at the time, playing Santos at left back is not a better option.
Granted these player all wanted to leave for either the money or as they choose to say, to win trophies, and after the start we have made you can understand their statements because with our defending tactics and our lack of creation up front we aren’t going to win much are we?
It hurts me to write a post which criticises Wenger but the league cup game has confirmed to me that if he makes twelve changes and fields some of our worst players in what I believe is the easier cup to win, the others will be out of our grasp.
This may sound like a supporter with defeatist attitude but when I see our defence staying with a system that just doesn’t cut the mustard what else can I say. It hurts me to see old Arsenal players performing for the top teams in the league who feel embarrassed to celebrate a goal as they still have the love for fans that used to sing their names.
Something is seriously wrong at Arsenal when our best players want to play for other clubs who they feel stand more chance than us in competitions, but can you blame them?
Van Persie is well on the way to being the highest scorer of the league again this season because Rednose has changed his squad to play to his strengths. He knows the same as we do that Van Persie need a continuous supply of through balls and if he gets them he will score. Van Persie scores for fun, meanwhile we buy new strikers who have never played in the Premier League, and who are not being given any kind of service at all, so how can they be expected to score?
Wenger has been a fantastic manager, I think he still is a fantastic Manager but I feel he has got too involved in the workings of the club and see’s his job now as more of an ambassador.
I also get the feeling now that he wants to offer our best players more money and he wants to bring the kind of talent in that these players want to play with but he feels that its to expensive for the club and when a manager feels like that he is not doing his own job properly.
Wenger should have only one thing in his mind and that is building a squad of players that can win things again, leave the finances of the club to whoever it concerns.
Many of you will feel I am a bad loser and yes you are probably right. I hate to lose to Chelsea or United or anyone else but when I watch players like Cashley, Clichy, Fabregas, Nasri & Van Persie playing for other clubs and whilst I have to watch deadwood who can not be sold because no one wants them, well it turns my stomach.
Gibbs is quality but he is accident prone, Diaby and Rosicky are walking wounded and we have just got back Jack who stupidly got himself sent off in his first full game needlessly. Have these players no sense whatsoever?
Red-nose takes off Cleverley after he should have been sent off but we leave stupid Jack on after he got away with a second yellow just before his studs down Evra sending off.
What was Wenger up to?
It’s time he got back to doing his managerial job and if he won’t, then ship him out.
Written by Steve Palmer
Morning all…
Very very balanced post indeed. You made your point accurately Steve and even ‘the 2nd biggest AW supporter’ can not fault you on any of the points raised. lol
Hi Scott, I am ok thanks. Its even good to hear AW admit man ure are better than us now he has to do something about it.
Wenger should be moved on to the board and a few of the exisiting members sent out to pasture…. well, that’s just for starters !
We need a new manager, and I’d still try and secure Pep Guardiola regardless of what some might say about him inheiting an already-made and set Barcelona. he would be very familar with the Arsenal style of play and could make needed tweaks here and there.
We also need to look at persuading Stan Kroenke to head off back to the states forwith !!
Oh, yeah, and lastly, spend some serious bloody amounts of our considerable cash reserves on at least three top quality players, whilst having the balls to clearout the ‘dead wood’ ( Squillachi, Park, Djourou, Santos, Chamakh and Fabianski immediately sring to mind ?!! ).
Good post SP, not easy writing that mate and not easy reading but it hurts that it’s so true yet where are the answers…. Can Wenger do anything about it anymore Ts that’s the question, for me he like many of the players looks like they just going through the motions…!
If anyone comes in as a new manager Wenger would need to be shipped out full stop can’t have him hanging over a new manager it would not work. He won’t get shipped out he won’t resign either so we really are pretty stuffed at the moment. The pressure needs to be put on the board not wenger to start with.
LB, problem with that deadwood is they all wenger signings…. He sells them he has to hold his hands up and say I got it wrong… his ego won’t allow that it’s the only sensible reason for playing Santos at the weekend, the world and their wife knew he would get roasted yet Wenger picks him… I can only assume it’s because how can he drop him and face questions on why he played a right back at left back to cover a LB that clearly can’t defend and then the question is… you bought a dud then..?!?!?
Morning all,
Nice one Steve, just shows even the most ardent Wenger fans are getting fed up with what is going on….
I wish AW would stop trying to find excuses for Saturday, we were outplayed and out fought..
Stop worrying about Manure and worrying about what is going on in our own backyard and get it sorted out once and for all…
Great post Steve.
Heartfelt and honest….loved it.
Of the entire thing,i would only question point,and that is on our defensive system not working.
I assume you mean at set pieces??
Overall,we are going ok in defence….yep,we can’t create enough chances.
Well done.
AW should be thanked…..then sacked. He should be sacked. [Period!]
What is the Arsenal style of play now days? It used to be highly skilled and technically gifted players and plenty of pace.
We could pass triangles in the space of 2-3 metres never mind that we could actually control the ball, pass 1-2’s and dribble.
Perhaps integrating the new boys slowly will work better. Get theo back in the squad, Arteta back to the role he excelled at last season, give Coq the opportunity he promised instead of buying Capoue or M’vila and tell Vermaelen he’s costing the team and things need to change (his play or the personnel).
Rico,in all fairness,all people are doing lately is comparing us to Utd,Citeh and Chelski.
Maybe Wenger openly admitting hings aren’t great is a step in the right direction.
There also lies the problem Rico, take the attention away from our own back yard when things are not good…!
The result Sat being what it was I think the biggest single worry is the lack of effort and commitment shown by at least half of the team, a look of being beat soon as the mancs went one up…. no fight no lets get at em no nothing…! That for me is the worst part of watching this Arsenal team and lets be honest we not talking about it cos of Sat’s loss it’s been there for many seasons…! Where has that fight and never say die attitude vanished too….. Does it come from knowing the board don’t give a shit and are happy to stash the cash long as we get that trophy called CL football..?
In times past,we created so many chances but now,we hardly get into the opponents box…I’m a tired fan.
Scott – not being funny but who should we be compared to? We are Arsenal, not Sunderland…
Is our defending really that good, and again that is not me being funny, how many times ‘should’ Manure scored, but they didn’t take their chances. I can recall a few 🙁
But set-pieces is shocking…
And we let the likes of Lansbury go……..i only raise him as i saw him on tele last night.
We always read people complaining about players not trying hard enough and it is often a fair call.
We had a player like Henri who had the heart of a lion,yet plenty deemed him not good enough.
I would love a team of the likes of him.
Good morning HH, things are going to be alright, keep the faith…lets forget about history the boys need our support for the game in Germany, all the defeats this season are spill milk, lets give them some positive energy to take with them in the CL. People are going over board “Piers Morgan: Harry Rednapp can replace AW at Arsenal”, what is this guy thinking, OMG. We are going to silence our critics this season…COYGs..Have a great day gooners don’t read any news paper..lol
Goodmorning all!
Steve your post was spot O̶̲̥̅Ϟ.. Infact no AW fan will fault you as you categorically stated all point clear for all to see.for me, ℓ̊ think its high time AW joins as Board members or Team Technical adviser. Call it Sport director or financial director since he Ȋ̝̊̅§ an economist to help in †ђξ stability of †ђξ club there he can give all to †ђξ club with full appreciation by all.
O̶̲̥̅Ϟ field side, it will create room for us to recruit PEP GUORDIOLA whom in ♍γ̲̣̣̥ own little understanding fits to †ђξ philosophy of our club without going ɑ̤̥̈̊ long way to adapting our club heritage. He will bring in competition in every position & make us more competitive with new tactics iimproving †ђξ team. Our team Ȋ̝̊̅§ now predictable with our tactis totally worn out, so Pep with this inherited team can change O̶̲̥̅Ϟ his new tactics and make us more competitive and fearful as we were once. Common guys change Ȋ̝̊̅§ †ђξ only constant thing O̶̲̥̅Ϟ earth & ℓ̊ don’t see anything wrong in us having ɑ̤̥̈̊ change for †ђξ better.. If not †ђξ best.
Rico,i was just responding to our comment on Wenger talking about Utd.
Anyway,that is done.
Schalke is next…..if ever we needed to show some fight,this is it.
Rico,often successful defending comes down to scrapping,and you can’t just discard the facts- they say our defence is very good compared to last season,and to other clubs in the league.
After the chavs game i mentioned that we were creating 66% less chances than the same time last year. .I guess that stat was tainted by the saints results. Now guess what we are creating 91% less chances than any other time since AW arrived.
The defense is not a worry for me at all. The issue is if opponents know you can not create then the have the confidence to go forward and unfortunately we have conceded in the first 20 minutes in over 80% of our matches this season
The biggest mistake was selling Song and not replacing him. I thought JW10 could offer that but looking at the 130 minutes he has played for us this season he is being deployed in a no.10 position which he isn’t born to play at least not yet. I can not believe that the biggest player we are missing Diaby has played less than 10 games in 2 seasons. AW has to get rid of Boro because he has run out of ideas as Bould is tactical inept and will offer nothing tactically.
Pep would either be a raging success or a colossal failure.
I am not sure which one i’d put money on.
Barca players loved him,but he did have a bloody great side to inherit.
Could he rebuild us?
Would the arseholes above allow him to?
Would he even come to the club knowing the history of Stan and the board?
Would,would,if,if……
Scott, the problem is Wenger is never going to keep the likes of Hneri who has heart over someone who he rates as being better technically…!
The biggest one on Sat who showed Heart was Jack….! Amazing 15 months out and puts in a shift that should have many others looking in the mirror asking questions of themselves…!
Thats what I said yesterday Scott, Why doesn’t Wenger call the boards bluff with the funds..? How could they possibly replace him with a new manager knowing ANY new manager worth his salt will want funds to be made available..? DOes that mean Wenger does have the funds and it’s HIS choice that he doesn’t use the money…
Lets remember it wasnt that long ago that when asked what he would do if Fizman gave him 100million for players he replied I’d give it back…!
All the so called potential replacements look up to AW anyway and follow his philosophy so it will be best that AW is moved on completely if he is to be sacked.
Barca knew that in 1996 when they said Cruff and his son in other to move on. It did not work for them for 5 years initially until there brought in rijkaard who is from the Van Gaal school of management not Cruff or AW.
Klopp is always publically slated by his young squad for his tactics even though I think they are the best team in europe imo.
Still hurts…..anyway WATH’s mate 😆 , Piers Morgan has come up with a cracking solution! Get Redknapp in!!!
I agree Scott. Pep is a clone of AW. Infact his buys have been very poor. Exchanging Ibrahamovic for Eto is an example.
My choice will be Frank De Boer he is not from the Cruff school. All other manageers from Lowe and Klopp are clones of AW.
Wath,i,you and plenty of others have raised this…….why is the money not being spent when we all know it is there?
I see your point on Wenger calling their bluff though.
I still say the board are in the position to direct him to spend,so ultimately,blame lies with them,imo.
Tsgh….i put a vote in (again lol) for Dennis!!
Joker..
Good morning all,
Is there really any point in re-hashing all the arguments?
Kroenke isn’t going to leave, Wenger isn’t going to get the sack, Arsenal isn’t going to win the Premiership, the Champions League or the FA Cup, our only chance of a trophy is the Capital One Cup and we have to overcome Bradford City to even get into the next round. Champions League qualification? Yer ‘avin a larf! Europa League I hope not.
With all due respect to Mad Jens we haven’t had a top class ‘keeper since David Seaman left, we haven’t had a top class center back since Sol Campbell left, we haven’t had a top class left back since Cashley left, we haven’t had a top class defensive mid-fielder since Vierra left, we haven’t had a top class winger since Wiltord left. I could go on ad infinitum but it’s too depressing.
I said yesterday that we are still playing catch up, well we’re not, we’re like the milkman’s horse running in the Derby.
He always does that Wath and sadly he thinks we all get sucked in by it…
Re the players, they have to take a bit of stick for performing but ultimately the tactics are all wrong….
Scott – you know my view on Henri, I’d love to see him still with us…
Agreed on the tactics Rico.
Sometimes you just need to throw the book out and go for it.
JW…thanks for the intro.
Since you raised horse racing,how do your pommy horses stack up in the Melbourne Cup tomorrow???
Any good judges out there?
What else shall we talk about JW, ain’t much else to discuss is there, this is what is real, it’s the here and now and its topical, we can hardly discuss the 70’s double winning team or the 98 side, if only………..
We’re chewing the cud because it’s whats going on at the moment at our club and yes it’s the same things because its the same things going on over and over..!
Morning Lee, Ah bless my mate Piers… top bloke he is….! Shame he ain’t been put in the bottom of the Hudson…!
Scott, is Wenger not a hypocrite taking 7 million a year and not asking the board for the funds..?
The board will not TELL him what to do they love the cash and they also don’t want to tell him how to do his job so they are both at fault if we look at it like that. As i said yesterday both complicit in the problem.. Once cant be replaces without the other in my mind.
How to get the media loving Arsenal in one swift move Lee 🙂
I wouldn’t say hypocritical Wath.
You can’t blame him for what the board think he is worth.
The guy should not have so much to do,so much involvement,and by default,so much power.
He should manage the side,and that is it.
He should hand over a wishlist each transfer season,and be done with it.
He should have a lot less involvement in contract discussions.
They pay him more than any other manager,but he does more than any other manager.
I disagree with it,but that is how it is.
Scott,
Send Black Caviar over to spend a little time with Frankel and we’ll see what the offspring is like. 🙂
Tell you what Scott when it comes to the nags long as you ain’t bet on my horse you have a chance mine always come last and end up at McDonalds a few weeks lata… sorry Rico 😉
Rico,shame we lost him….a true Gunner.
JW,Black Caviars offspring won’t be any good bud!!
No punters then guys??
Oh well,i may have to stick to the Aussies or worse….the French 🙂
Right I agree with nearly all you have written there Scott so in my mind for a person like Wenger he is happy to take the huge salary yet fails to get the board to part with funds in the bank (A) or he happy not to spend the funds (B) He tells the public he loves the club but then where is his integrity that he happily takes the clubs wages yet won’t do the job to the best of his ability dies to being to stubborn to spend whats needed?.
He has to much power I agree, the board let him do what he wants on such a salary why does he not say.. Sorry I am here to manage the team and nothing else… you do the rest…!
All smoke and mirrors mate and as I say I still blame them both they are in it all together, he gets the huge salary and doesnt rock the boat they let him get on with running the club.
Is Capoue available?
Fair enough Wath.
At the end of the day,Wenger leaving would change nothing,but Stan leaving would change everything.
My new catchphrase!!
Mate,Capoue is 20-1,but got a bad barrier 🙂
Oi Oi Wath, Burker King please..
Scott – i feel the same, but back when i defended him, everyone said he wasn’t good enough 😉
Huntelaar he’s available…
Is Santos copping much bad publicity over the shirt incident?
It is getting a decent old airing here.
Creosote, brilliant horse!
Dusty Rug, another cracking horse…
I will check their form Lee 🙂
I am off guys…good fun tonight.
Keep smiling!!!
Can see Lee does fuck all the day long at work just study the sporting life/racing post…! 😛 😛
The problem is simple, AW does not want advice from others and hate criticism on his tactics. What Evra did was professional but leaving Wilshere on after the 2nd warning was criminal. Tell le prof to let Arsenal fans know his ambition
Cheers Scott….!
Good post SteveP
Well if Santos will be on the starting line-up tomorrow. I think I will be watching City v ajax then. Save myself the bloody heart attack 🙂
https://twitter.com/johncrossmirror/status/265411867843911681
https://twitter.com/johncrossmirror/status/265408321614389249
Good Morning Mental Cases, Gooners, AKB’s and the ‘others’…
There seems to be a mind-numbing realisation among the majority of us.
That this season is gonna fizzle out like a damp squib…
And there bugger all that anyone at the higher echelons of the club, is gonna do about.
That there bugger all that Wenger CAN do about it.
That Bould is either out of his depth or his influence has been marginalised.
And that the players have, in their heads, given up the ghost in the EPL.
And we are barely into November.
And we are told by those that run the club, that we are a BIG club…
Not an encouraging picture is it?
Good Morning my Esteemed Fellow Gunners
Good post balanced post Steve. From the view of an AFC fan.
I would like to go back to 1995. When GG was sacked.
I think that back then the board of directors had vowed that AFC will never again have a manager who will have so much power at the club. But fast forward to 2012 and the power still resides with the manager.
In Italy it is different.
The coach coaches and the money and player buying side is left at the discretion of the CEO.
Creosote is good over fences and Dusty Rug has never been beaten! 😉
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Here comes the mentalist.
Good Morning Habib.
AK you sound like JM! 😉
Whilst I am not one who favours demonstrations, we have to bear in mind that Arsenal are actively recruiting new sponsors.
So those who are interested in this part of the club and those who’ll financially gain from it, will be keen to show a united front to new prospective sponsors.
Hill-Wood, Kroenke and co may not give a shit about us and our opinions…
But they certainly worry about their pocket.
So maybe we approaching a time when some crowd unrest and demonstrations against the Board are needed.
The crowd need to do something to embarrass the Board, something that might be reported in America that’ll embarrass Kroneke..
Maybe a silent demonstrations for the opening 10 to 15 minutes of the Fulham game. Followed by a rendition of “We want our Arsenal back”…
Then a “Sack the Board” might get a few headlines.
Adverse publicity, Kroenke won’t want that…
The Fulham result is frankly secondary to how our club is being raped of it’s resources by a bunch of cowboys in the Boardroom…
Morning all. Steve, I agree with your comment about the defence but only at set pieces. We have actually conceded the least goals so far in the league. Zonal marking blows.
You’re right to state it’s about team effort but we can’t just ignore individual errors. Had Vermaelen made that routine clearance Van Pursestrings wouldn’t have scored that goal. We were second best to anything meaningful all game but without silly errors by individuals we might have got something out of the game, however undeserved.
I sound like Tomstoned Lee.
Morning to you, morning Habib…
Morning Rico…
Now I gotta do a bit…
Lata Gooners
Morning all,
Nothing wrong with our defense, only lost 3 of the last 5 games in the league, only took 3 minutes for United to breach it, Verm, kozzer and Santos all outta sorts, Gibbs on half term or whatever he does this time of year, same ole, same ole….
10 games into the season, lets say a quarter of the way in and Wenger as good as tells us to forget the league, he can shag off.
It is only Wenger to blame and nobody else.
Why Wenger doesn’t change tactics when playing the big teams, baffles me.
Seeing RVP doing well on a Manure jersey is hard and seeing him score against us is just too much.
Got it right SP , Wenger should get back to doing his proper job,it was reported he rescued the board from getting totally lampooned by the Fan’s association in the last meeting.
Why did he do that ? why doesn’t he keep quiet and let the fans give their piece of mind to the board ?
Since Diaby’s latest injury , we have been struggling that just shows that we should have bought Yam Villa.
Carzolla is not playing DM , what a waste, i am sure Man city will be licking their lips come summer.
Wenger and only Wenger to blame for indulging the board, because our primary problem is the board , the board who got rid of the real fans among them (Dien) so they can run with their selfish plans.
Wenger and Wenger only to blame for agreeing to sell to direct rivals which is just logically wrong and mathematically disadvantageous.
What were they all thinking , selling RVP to Man utd, Nasri to Man City?
They could have sold this guys to Italian or Spanish teams with just a little profit and they wouldn’t have worried about playing against then.
I dont think Man utd would have won yesterday (as bad as we were ) if RVP was not playing for them.
Should have sold him to Juventus , even at £15mil which will still bring a £6mill profit but £24mill was too good for them to ignore.
Wenger and only Wenger is responsible for humiliating fans all over the world.
I cannot even hold a football conversation amongst friends and family anymore, as soon as i mention Arsenal, they just laugh and tell me to better not talk because we are not a serious club.
IMAGINE ARSENAL NOT A SERIOUS CLUB 🙁
The truth about last Saturday’s game is …………
1) It was played at 12.45pm. We do badly in those fixtures
2) Had Podolski, Santos and TommyV not combined to give RVP a goal he would not have scored.
3) Had the ref controlled by the book……Carrick, RVP and Cleverly should have been sent off.
4) Had the offside against RVP counted the corner from which Evra scored would not have occured.
United are so crap that even our team and the referee had not presented the win to them on a plate then they would not have won.
Something is fishy here………………and I do not mean that refs help manure only.
Sorry Emma, no idea why you were in moderation…. Morning/afternoon to you as well Dele..!
Emma, Santos playing just proves exactly how stubborn Wenger is and will not admit to bringing in a player who isn’t good enough. As id said earlier he can’t drop him for a right back can he, the media will have a field day.
If my aunt had balls she’d be my uncle…. we just aren’t good enough!
From the hierachy all the way down…
In 2012 only Palace have had more pens (13) than manure’s (12) We, for the record have had one!!!
Got to get in the box for one of those Lee. 🙂
BG, novel concept that hey? 😉
Lee, we may have to start referring to Kev as ‘Radio Rental’ from now on !
Sorry I vanished, I had to get home 😉
rico, you must have one of those dodgy sat nav’s with Bonnie Tyler’s voice on it, keeps telling you to ‘turn-around’
Micko or chicken Oriental?
Every now and then….
I think he was on the cock-a-leekie soup last night Lee.
rico, Jack got a one match suspension, misses the Fulham game.
That or the Camberwell carrots!
Thanks Micko, and phew….
Who mentioned carrots!
Really ! are we really blaming the officiating for our dismal display that lead to a lose and prompted red nose to say they should have scored 6 ?
REALLY ?
You’ll be hard pressed to find any vitamins in them carrots rico.
I agree SD. Can only blame ourselves for that performance.
Podolski is totally wasted out on the wing. Don’t care if he does it for Germany….. It’s totally different set-up. Why can’t we just get him up top, or just behind a front man (Giroud and Walcott would both benefit. This wanky formation needs to go. Santos? Please. Fat c**t should be nowhere near the pitch. Wish he’d got banged up for his speeding. No idea what’s up with Kozzer of Verm this year either. Both have been dross. Merts is having to put out fires all across the defence.
I’m not SD..
Nor see in the dark Micko?
SD London, what you have to realise is, being a big football club like Arsenal, it’s not all about the trophies and the silverware but the money and the profits, I’m sure the board will back me up on this one, no point arguing.
Spot on rocky…
More wenger comedy. Tactical
summary of selection so far this
season. Link here.
http://iearn123.com/ref.php?page=act/ref&invcod=47707
Nah SD, worst is Wenger saying that Evra dived and got Whilshere sent off.
Micko, you after a job 😉
Maybe you read my comment SD. I am not blaming the officials for our defeat.
All I said is that with a crap team United needed some help from the referee plus SOME CRAP FOOTBALL AND PLATE PRESENTATIONS from our team to win.
This all smacks of something fishy. And I am not blaming…….
1….the officials
2….red nose influence
3….the tea lady.
It is obvious that the players, the coach and those players who constantly leave saying that they cannot agree with the club’s direction KNOW SOMETHING WE DO NOT.
I think that politics in and around the club have got something to do with it.
Off for now. Will be back later on.
Anyone else seen this? Probably not far from the truth….
http://www.thefootballramble.com/blog/entry/my-trip-to-manchester-by-andre-clarindo-dos-santos
I love carrots…
Theory. Let man utd pay arsenal to throw fixture. United pay arsenal 10 million. Money goes straight to board and wenger. Wenger then says “united have better squad”. Thats one more positive review for man utd sponsers,win win situation. ( with the past 7 years,can you blame me for cooking this up?)
Hey Dev I disagree with you comment at 11:51 am. 😀
And you know the reason for that? I am officially AW no.2 fan so you can not be making comments like that especially 12:45 kick-offs excuse! 😀
Kidding of course matey… 😀
Bradster, agree. studs down his shins, no dive at all. Evra is a horrid man, but on this occasion, he did little wrong…
Time to go and walk Fido… back in a bit…
GOOD POST from the Mirror
Au revoir Le Boss? Has the time has come for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to go?
5 Nov 2012 13:03
Arsenal will most likely be nowhere near the shake-up for major honours and Wenger seems unable or unwilling to do anything about it. He deserves respect and admiration for what he has achieved – but not immunity
Arsene Wenger told Arsenal’s shareholders: “If everybody is devastated when we finish third, I promise I won’t be here when we finish 15th.”
The statement was intended to remind disgruntled fans exactly what manager Wenger has given the club and warn the grass is not always greener.
Arsenal take on Schalke in the Champions League tomorrow night, a tournament they have competed in for 15 successive years.
But for seven of those years, Wenger’s Arsenal have not won a trophy and the latest defeat to Manchester United suggested the Gunners are as far from major honours as they have ever been.
The supporters who made the trip to Old Trafford directed most of their frustration at chief executive Ivan Gazidis, who stands accused of putting the balance sheet ahead of the team sheet.
But it is time to at least accept there are grounds for a debate over whether Wenger has become part of the problem, rather than the solution.
The fact Wenger is one of Europe’s highest paid managers on £7million a year also prompts the question: Is he still worth the money?
Chelsea, Manchester City and possibly even Manchester United will seriously consider whether to tempt Pep Guardiola back to work at the end of the season.
Why not Arsenal? They may never have a better opportunity to replace Wenger with somebody who could genuinely do a better job.
Certainly, it was Wenger and not Gazidis who must take responsibility for the lacklustre performance and defeat against United.
The Frenchman’s team selection was baffling, his tactics were poor, his decision making was ineffectual and his actions supported some theories he has lost his edge.
It was bizarre to see Wenger share a friendly embrace with Robin van Persie as he walked off the Old Trafford pitch at half-time with his team 1-0 down.
Wenger used to be United’s biggest rival, the man they feared and secretly respected the most. Now, it appears, he’s simply happy to still be in their company.
Andre Santos should have been dragged off for a woeful first-half performance and after asking for Van Persie’s shirt as a souvenir at the break.
But Wenger decided against a shake-up or sending a message to his players that they must possess a winning attitude. He hoped things might improve, rather than taking the initiative.
This seems to be a problem that runs through Arsenal. They live in hope, more than expectation. They would rather wait to see if Financial Fair Play gives the club a boost, than take the initiative and try to instigate improvement.
Wenger was right to highlight the fact he has done a wonderful job in keeping Arsenal in the Champions League, but his suggestion the club will flounder without him was incredibly arrogant and not necessarily true.
Arsenal won trophies before the arrival of Wenger and will win more long after he is gone. They may not qualify for the Champions League for 15 successive years, but they may not go seven without silverware.
Wenger has got his approach to the Theo Walcott situation horribly wrong. It is costing the club on the pitch and may well result in the forward leaving the Emirates – whatever the contract offer.
Following Walcott’s hat-trick and match-saving performance against Reading in the Capital One Cup, Wenger described the forward as being “extremely professional.”
Wenger also continues to insist Walcott is a “great player” who will be a top-class striker. He has denied the England international’s failure to sign a new contract is influencing his team selection.
Unfortunately, Wenger’s words do not add up, as was proved by Walcott’s omission from the starting line-up at Old Trafford. It is becoming pointless to take anything the stubborn 63-year-old says on the subject seriously.
Either Wenger is leaving Walcott out because he has not signed a contract or the Frenchman does not rate a player who has scored seven goals, despite starting just three games.
Whatever the reason, it does not reflect particularly well on Wenger. The faster he accepts he has got it wrong, the better it will be for Arsenal.
There are other problems, too, that can only be attributed Wenger.
He has signed a striker in Olivier Giroud who looks designed to play in two-man partnership, but the Arsenal boss will not change his tactics.
Thomas Vermaelen’s performances have suffered for being given the responsibility of the captain’s armband and having to simultaneously act as centre-back and left-back when Santos is in the team.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson substituted Tom Cleverley after the midfielder’s final warning from referee Mike Dean. Wenger left Jack Wilshere on and the tiring youngster made one lunge too many.
Wenger started the season hoping Abou Diaby would avoid injury, hoping his goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny would play every game, hoping Gervinho could somehow succeed as a striker and hoping Van Persie’s goals would not be missed. But what did he really expect?
The smart money is still on Wenger securing a top-four place and Champions League qualification for Arsenal yet again.
But Arsenal will most likely be nowhere near the shake-up for major honours and Wenger seems unable or unwilling to do anything about it.
If that is indeed the case, then there must be a serious debate over whether this should be Wenger’s final season as Arsenal manager.
He deserves respect and admiration for what he has achieved. He does not deserve immunity.
Wenger are finished,tactically he lives in 1998,mentally in the stone age.Still think players like Santos, Squid etc can do a job(on the cheap).Did not understand the significance of Mourinho and didnt want to heed lesson because extremely stubborn,gets found out by poor journey men managers like Chris Houghton etc.Never bollocks his players and didnt interfere with Santos having Van Persies jersey too far attached from the real fan.
We Arsenal fans love to forget, one or two good results and all this will be forgotten, and at the end of the season 60,000 will show up for the players to parade the 4th place trophy around the pitch…
Danish Gooner, I wish he lived in 1998, big players with heart who could not only play football but also could bully teams around the pitch. We don’t have that anymore.
Hi Rico, WATH, Lee, Dev, Rocky, Scott, Kev, Steve and Micko and all you Gooners.
Good post Steve, from the heart. I thought that it was just me that cannot stand zonal marking and the possible confusion that can happen when opposing players stray in and out of zones. Forgive me, but Pro footballers are not the sharpish tools in the box, so to make it easy, each player is given the name of a player to mark at deadball positions and when they cross the halfway line and approach the 18 yard box, how simple is that?
Having watched the United game, yes United’s performance was not what one would expect from a side that is top of the league, but we just were not good enough in either effort, commitment and general fluidity in putting telling passes together, as a team on the day.
No point in Arsene blaming Evra etc, he has to take a good hard look at where we currently are as a Club. The slow tippy tappy, crab like style of football is something that doesn’t seem to bother opposing teams, they just sit back, wait for the final pass and defend it.
What really bothers me is the feeling that the players appeared to lack passion or pride against he Mancs, and Wenger’s inability to make impactful substitutions or change tactics to try and alter the pattern of play.
Not sure what is planned for the January transfer window, but the current display from the team, does not inspire me with confidence
going forward.
Afternoon Marinello.
You’re right, this slow build up play, dicking about with the ball on the halfway line with no urgency is annoying to say the least. As Bradster said earlier, what IS our style of play now? It appears it’s now our style to be very tentative, lack any pace whatsoever and play people out of position so they are on a hiding to nothing. Zonal marking HAS to go. It’s never worked. Loads of people slagged off Rafa Benitez for it years ago, saying it’s ineffective. Maybe that’s what Rafa was saying to Wenger when they were spotted chatting the other day!
Afternoon Marinello, how are you feeling mate, better I hope.
Yep nothing that you’ve said is really debatable it was there for all to see and when thats one of the weakest manc sides in decades what does it tell you about us?.
Emma the one thing in that article that i disagree with and where they have missed the point is the following :
“But Wenger decided against a shake-up or sending a message to his players that they must possess a winning attitude. He hoped things might improve, rather than taking the initiative”
How can you expect the players to have a winning mentality when the Board are happy to finish 4th…. Your accepting failure and mediocrity so from top to bottom winning isn’t the main aim but the article doesn’t make enough of that point..!
What is our style….err,it’s shite!
Can’t argue with that Lee. Seeing Ramsey marauding down the wing is hardly going to scare anyone is it?!
The winning mindset has to filter down from the top…whilst we’ve got parasites on the board happy with top four finishes we are doomed.Until they are removed we will continually be also-rans…sad but true!!
We look like a bag of shit turning up in tracksuits and headphones on before games as well
No class….!
The problem there as well Rocky is that Ramsey then gets slagged off by fans his confidence must take a knock people call him shit yet the kid is a central midfielder…! Blame the manager not the player for trying to play out of position and not being very good..!
I know Wath. I don’t actually think he’s a very good central midfielder either. But on the wing he’s totally ineffective and out of his depth. But that’s Wengers fault, not his.
I have another concern, why is Arteta the one always speaking up that we were poor, we need to do better, apologising to the fans and saying the away support deserve appreciation and a better performance? where is our captain? Also funny that Giroud hasn’t scored much but jumps on the media band wagon to state we will score tommorrow.
I feel our players really are too concerned with social media and the media itself. Surely you’d shut up and start performing and talk when there’s something good to say.
Lastly, Wenger makes it worse. He doesn’t say in interviews we’ll come out fighting, no we need to win to keep up the title hopes or we will show RVP he made the wrong choice but “that it’s not revenge” (i’d be out for some kind of justice on the 8-2 of last season), “don’t disrespect RVP” and “Man U have better players than us”.
Powder puff team with no bollocks…
Teams used to be scared of us….
Agree Brad, the comments are all to familiar and all far to lovey dovey…. For me again it breeds a poor attitude and mentality and we played like we were not out for revenge, actually we played like we were trying not to let it happen again…!
I guess he will be forced to play Walcott now.
https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/265458174847483904
Arsenal squad:
Vito Mannone
James Shea
Bacary Sagna
Thomas Vermaelen
Mikel Arteta
Johan Djourou
Per Mertesacker
Laurent Koscielny
Jack Wilshere
Olivier Giroud
Santi Cazorla
Andre Santos
Lukas Podolski
Theo Walcott
Andrey Arshavin
Carl Jenkinson
Francis Coquelin
Marouane Chamakh
Walcott sick Emma………..
Just as I was thinking he will play Walcott. Walcott is sick from contract illness
https://twitter.com/johncrossmirror/status/265458348302934016
https://twitter.com/johncrossmirror/status/265457492912386048
Hi Wath,
Yep, I am on the mend, and back at work next Monday. I’ve had 2 days off sick from work in 11 years….. So having 10 days off is a bit weird.
I agree with you re Ramsey, being played out of position and on the
wing. This is the same Ramsey that old Red Nose wanted to sign
when he was at Cardiff. Wenger has a habit of signing players then playing them out of position…. The only success was Henry……
All teams have players out injured, and thats why you have a large squad. So we can’t really bemoan the current crop of injuries. Wenger was putting a lot of faith in Diaby remaining fit this season,
but was it just me that thought it just a matter of time before he was out again.
It may be only ten games in, but as Shankly once said, “winning is 75% in the head, even before you set foot on the pitch.”
So Wenger and his backroom team have a bit of work to do on instilling this feeling of confidence, and getting the team to perform
and put in a shift that shows belief in themselves.
Looks like we will see Diaby next season. Our medical team is full of sh*t.
Wenger said Diaby was a gamble Marinello, I think it was total lunacy…! A gamble is a player who maybe has been out a few months not played a few months in the last 5 years…! We’re always taking gambles on injured players and it’s pathetic, buy a player and make the team stronger if an injured player comes back strong then the best man plays the 2nd best maybe gets sold… simple.. Makes the squad all the more stronger.
We’d lost before we got on the pitch on Sat mate..!
What season would that be Emma……….. Whats the betting he doesn’t play more than 5 more games this season ?!?!?
Schalke away, hmm I reckon we’re gonna lose 3-1…
But hey, the Europa League is fun…
And we’d better get used to playing in it anyway… 🙁
WATH – I say sell him by the end of the season. Lets get someone who will be fit (CAPOUE of tolouse will do for me)
Why isn’t Eisfeld in that squad…???
Or Gnabry, for that matter…?!
Both returning to Germany, I’d imagine they would be well motivated…
Well we need to get a big strong defensive midfielder in for sure and Capoue fits the bill that’s for sure that would though surely mean we’d have to go 4-4-2…? Wenger to change tactics…? won’t happen less he goes 4-1-3-2..? least then Giroud gets support from Pod or Theo or Ox and allows MA8 JW10 & Santi to create from midfield..!
That squad Kev is soooooooooooooo lacking in pace…! I also think we gonna get stuffed, nothing is different and we can again look forward to Santos getting absolutely roasted by farfan !!
I read in one of the papers that before money coming in on transferred players, Arsenal were showing a £31m deficit at year end. Not sure why Gazidis got a 30% pay rise….. Maybe its a form of “Hush money.”
Bad news and good news about Ramsey; first the bad news, he has a pain in his groin (so have some of the fans – with him and his Denilson like crab passing, no he’s better than that!)
Now the good news:
Wenger can’t pick him on Tuesday!
Scoreline – Schalke 3 Arsenal 1 (shot on target) 0
Hi Kev- Eisfield does not qualify to be on the B list squad so was not registered for the champions league
Wenger “judge me on my results in May”.
Is he deliberately running the team down so he can engineer his exit next May with a big pension pay off and a few sighs of relief from his many well wishers – a ticka tacky parade down the Holloway Road as his final send off! How fitting! Leaving the club in tatters and having to find some mug to come inand attempt to pick up the pieces. Tony Adams perhaps No chance he can’t even talk a good game anymore. Guardiola – probably not. Hopeless no natural successors from within the club.
Who will it be??? Or will Wenger, true to his word ‘see out his contract’ just like Brian Clough did, so disasterously at Forest – they have never recovered, well not yet 30 years since their glory days. Only 8 for us, and counting!!
Club needs a massive shake up NOW
Another gamble that’s back-fired…joke!
Marinello-I am not defending AW here but AW has a long track record of changing players position but the wheels are truly off this time.
His list include Thuram, trezeguet, Petite, Overmars, Edu, Ljunberg and Slyvinho to namera few, he even tried to change the scum Glenda hoddles position at Monaco.
The same can be said of his idol Cruff who turned Pep from a winger to a CDM even though he was considered to be too small to play there. And remember Cruff advised Holland to move DB10 from RW to the no.10 role he is known for.
AW tried to turn wiltord into a RW which was the reason wiltord did not renew his contract because even at that time AW knew Kanu and DB10 could not play together up front but even though AW admitted to it himself he persisted with that experiment even though he could have played wiltord in his natural position.
And actually Rambo did not sign for manure because redNose said he was going to play him on the RHS whilst AW guaranteed him a role in the middle plus the extra 10k a week AFC offer to under 20 year olds we buy.
Tbh, even if we do sign Capoue or Hunterlaar in Jan, stubborn bollocks will play Capoue on the right wing and Hunterlaar at CB… beggar’s belief what is happening at AFC!
Come to think of it, Hunterlaar at LB would be a serious upgrade on that useless twat santa…..
How embarrassing that Santos’s wife twittered that it is Brazilian custom to swap shirts at half time and that Arsenal fans should get to know the custom before criticising…..
He must have a brain the size of a peanut to think that Arsenal fans would be happy with him doing this at half time.
Difficult match tomorrow night, but for some daft reason I think it will be a draw.
Lets see….
Hi Lee, I can feel you pain…
Its a shame really. How a gifted man can shoot himself in his foot so carelessly.
The funny thing is that this whole experiment was what caused cruff to be sacked at Barcelona in Aug 1996 even though that philosophy was resurrected somewhere by merging it with Van Gaal’s style by Frank Rijkaard.
When you hear a very intelligent man (but lacking common sense) say that the ideas of Cruff who was sacked and was never trusted to run a club again (ok due to his health) is the only way forward then even his most strongest supporters would have to realign through believes.
Unfortunately the more pressure is put on him the more he thinks the media has an agenda against hims so he will never change his point of view. If only we can have lady luck shine on us to win the Coc in February.
@ Marinello best faffs off back there then, pronto!
Ginge, I agree if we win the CoC it could be the catalyst….however I don’t think there’s enough winning mentality running through the club!
Manchester United deserved to beat us on Saturday.
That is very disappointing, because we had a lot of the ball but we were not very efficient at either end of the pitch. They created more chances, they defended well and they were sharper than us in the duels.
Of course, part of our problem was conceding such an early goal. In a game like that, it’s a massive disadvantage.
It didn’t bother me that Robin van Persie was the scorer. That doesn’t matter because all you want is to win the game. What is most important is that you don’t make a mistake at the back and you don’t give chances away.
We were poor defensively and there’s no obvious reason for that apart from the fact that we didn’t start well and that Man United have quality up front. They score goals against everybody and were better than us. It’s as simple as that.
Jack Wilshere was sent off and I thought that was harsh. To me his second booking for a foul on Patrice Evra looked like a regular challenge.
I thought about replacing Jack in the second half but we were in a position where we had to attack and I had no offensive central midfielders on the bench. I thought I would leave him on a bit longer and then he got the red card.
At Manchester City, we drew 1-1 and we could have won that game. We didn’t suffer from the comparison. But on Saturday we were not firing on full cylinders and we looked much more vulnerable defensively than we did at the start of the season.
Now we must recover from this and find our form for the Champions League trip to Schalke on Tuesday.
Finally, I would like to thank our travelling fans for their support at Old Trafford. They were always behind the team.
Thanks Arsene…
Was that on his bullshit email ‘he’ sends out Lee?
‘We were poor defensively and there’s no obvious reason for that apart from the fact that we didn’t start well’. WHat’s not starting well got to do with being poor defensively? Is that the reason we play the shit zonal marking system from set plays? No, Arsene, it’s not. YOU’RE the reason. You’re the reason Santos plays for us. C*NT!
Wenger: ‘We have to recover from this’ – *yawn*
Yep Rock that’s what is sent out….
‘I thought about replacing Jack in the second half but we were in a position where we had to attack and I had no offensive central midfielders on the bench’ – Andery fatArse-shavin could have played through the middle. Christ, he could have even put someone defensive on and pushed Arteta up. Just another tired excuse.
found mine in the Junk folder Lee!! How apt! Outlook at its best!!
gives me a warm feeling inside….
Afternoon Gooners,
Scott Na$ri is a good pony as well. In front of a plough. Great ass for a farmer dreaming of visiting Rio de Janeiro.
Emma tnx the article. Respect yes, immunity no.
He’s got to of used everyone in the book now…..TAXI!
plss take a look at this
http://arsenaltruth.squarespace.com/arsenal-truth/2012/11/4/arsenals-1434m-wage-bill-exposed.html
FIRST TEAM WAGE (pwk) WAGE (p/yr)
Lukas Podolski £107,000 £5,564,000
Tomas Rosicky £80,000 £4,160,000
Per Mertesacker £80,000 £4,160,000
Andrey Arshavin £78,000 £4,056,000
Santi Carzorla £70,000 £3,640,000
Mikel Arteta £70,000 £3,640,000
Thomas Vermaelen £70,000 £3,640,000
Theo Walcott £60,000 £3,120,000
Olivier Giroud £60,000 £3,120,000
Gervinho £60,000 £3,120,000
Bacary Sagna £60,000 £3,120,000
Marouane Chamakh £60,000 £3,120,000
Andre Santos £60,000 £3,120,000
Jack Wilshere £60,000 £3,120,000
Abou Diaby £60,000 £3,120,000
Denilson £60,000 £3,120,000
Laurent Koscielny £60,000 £3,120,000
Johan Djourou £50,000 £2,600,000
Kieran Gibbs £50,000 £2,600,000
Nicklas Bendtner £50,000 £2,600,000
Sebastien Squillaci £50,000 £2,600,000
Aaron Ramsey £50,000 £2,600,000
Wojciech Szczesny £50,000 £2,600,000
Lukasz Fabianski £50,000 £2,600,000
Ju Young Park £50,000 £2,600,000
Vito Mannone £30,000 £1,560,000
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain £30,000 £1,560,000
Carl Jenkinson £30,000 £1,560,000
Emmanuel Frimpong £30,000 £1,560,000
Francis Coquelin £30,000 £1,560,000
Ryo Miyaichi £18,000 £936,000
Ignasi Miquel £10,000 £520,000
Joel Campbell £10,000 £520,000
£90,636,000
Afternoon all, any news ahead of Shalke?
Just off to catch up
RESERVES
Alex Iwobi £750 £39,000
Alfred Mugabo £750 £39,000
Anthony Jeffrey £750 £39,000
Arinse Uade £750 £39,000
Austin Lipman £750 £39,000
Benik Afobe £750 £39,000
Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill £750 £39,000
Chuba Akpom £750 £39,000
Chuks Aneke £750 £39,000
Conor Henderson £750 £39,000
Craig Eastmond £750 £39,000
Damian Martinez £750 £39,000
Daniel Boateng £750 £39,000
Deyan Iliev £750 £39,000
Elton Monteiro £750 £39,000
Glen Kamara £750 £39,000
Hector Bellerin £750 £39,000
Nicholas Yennaris £750 £39,000
Isaac Hayden £750 £39,000
Jack Jebb £750 £39,000
James Shea £750 £39,000
Jernade Meade £750 £39,000
Jon Toral £750 £39,000
Jordan Wynter £750 £39,000
Josh Rees £750 £39,000
Josh Vickers £750 £39,000
Kristoffer Olsson £750 £39,000
Kyle Ebecilio £750 £39,000
Leander Siemann £750 £39,000
Martin Angha £750 £39,000
Nigel Neita £750 £39,000
Philip Roberts £750 £39,000
Reice Charles-Cook £750 £39,000
Samir Bihmoutine £750 £39,000
Samuel Galindo £750 £39,000
Sanchez Watt £750 £39,000
Sead Hajrovic £750 £39,000
Serge Gnabry £750 £39,000
Tarum Dawkins £750 £39,000
Thoma Eisfeld £750 £39,000
Tom Dallison £750 £39,000
Wellington £750 £39,000
Zachari Fagan £750 £39,000
Zak Ansah £750 £39,000
£1,716,000
shokingg
Lolly been posted by Devil yesterday. Including spelling it out on how big spenders aren’t the problem but how funds being misdirected and fractionalized beyond first team means.
Lee Vini Vidi Gone……….
The post is well done. It clears some answers i’ve post here before.
Again, my opinion: Wilshere,Ramsey and Cazorla can’t playing in the some team together. In my point of view, all of them, doing the same. Saturday’s line-up was wrong. The same against QPR. Why AW didn’t played with Tw, Arteta,Coquelin, Cazorla,Giroud and Podolsky(my doubt)?
Tw out on january…really bad…
Podolsky is very expensive… sell him!
No news Rico, Ramsey out and Walcott maybe
JM, sell Podoslki? We will be relegated.
I think Chamack played well against Reading and he worked very hard for the team maybe he should have been rewarded with few minutes but when Wenger has made up his mind about a player , he doesn’t change it.
So that is why i think he will sell Walcott which i am not really bothered about but the real problem is he might sell him to Chelsea or Man city now that will get to me.
Dg/Lolly, our wages are a joke…
🙂 JM, he has only just arrived, we have to give him a chance…
TW though, I am sure he is going now…. Thanks Wenger!!
Thanks SD, why Walcott, any idea?
The squad must be there by now…
Yes, you’d think when we need two goals a striker would come on the pitch… however…
Arsenal squad:
Vito Mannone
James Shea
Bacary Sagna
Thomas Vermaelen
Mikel Arteta
Johan Djourou
Per Mertesacker
Laurent Koscielny
Jack Wilshere
Olivier Giroud
Santi Cazorla
Andre Santos
Lukas Podolski
Theo Walcott
Andrey Arshavin
Carl Jenkinson
Francis Coquelin
Marouane Chamakh
SP1
You’re certainly no sentimental fool. Wenger been juggling running chainsaws like he performs Cirque du Solei on his own. Great read.
reports says he is sick, Rico
You look at the team line and you think mmm ; not bad but then they get into the pitch and turn to scared bunch of players.
We had a chance to buy Hunterlar but now he must think he was lucky to have stayed in Shalkie
Can’t argue with that Steve bar the ‘stupid Jack’! I would put the blame squarely on Arsene’s shoulders – Fergie reacted to his young player over stretching himself by pulling him off. Jack was lucky to get the extra chance to finish the game; he was obviously tired and an accident was waiting to happen……..and Evra is not to blame either!
I’m not convinced AW has the detachment necessary to make in-match decisions – he’s too busy blaming everybody else, torturing himself, instead of with a clear head making the necessary decisions to rectify situations………..
Oops sorry, the squad is up already 🙂
Hi Pat, how’s things?
Thanks SD, he’s probably just ‘sick’ of being on the bench…
Huntelaar looked overjoyed after the CL game, hanging his weight around Afellay’s shoulders who sported an Arsenal shirt like the twat had skinned a scalp. Both were grinding ear to ear as if they pulled feathers out of a eagle’s ars.
Looking at the wages, no wonder they can’t shift the deadwood. No other club would pay the likes of Flapianski, Sqillaci, Djeureu £50k a week, and no Championship club could afford these wages, and that’s what they are, Championship players, who would look good plying their trade with Bolton, Palace or Watford. And why would they want to leave, just see the contract out, and go on a free.
So in reality, Squillaci on a 3 year deal at Arsenal can earn £7.5m, that is a fu..ing joke, and actually quite obscene.
You might see that look again tomorrow night Dg, not even sure I can stomach watching…
Exactly Marinello, just what we have been saying here for ages, reward the great/very good, but the average, no way…..
Hi RICO, you know I always read your posts. I’m in the UK freezing at the mo’ on the way to trekking out India way for a month or two or ……………i’ll see how it goes!
hi guys, arsene for prime minister! he’s got my endorsement for the time being. i ll have him over maureen fergusc**t and gaurdiola. look guys we just need him to stable the ship for now. arsenal will dominate in a few years time. mark my words. all these oligarch will soon get tired of football and move on to something else. manure will die without fergie just like liverpoop did with shankly(jeez am getting better at this). barca and madrid are both living in a bubble that ll soon burst. i have high hopes and am not really bothered. we are financially sound and reducing our debts by the hour. am in high spirits (can you tell). we ll be fine i tell you. COYGS!
Crikey, that’s a bit of a shock for you Pat, cold weather?? that all sounds a bit too energetic for me 😉
When do you leave, the snow is on it’s way….
Marinello
Devil justifiably called some wages criminal. Hope you’re acquiring control over your health again btw.
Hi goonster….
The news is that Pep will be managing in the PL next summer, of course everyone expects that to be at Chelsea, but LG reported yesterday suggesting that his agents have made it clear he’s ready to take over from AW….
ASAP brrrrrrrrr!
all paper talk maam……its not gonna happen. arsene is a control freak who wont relinquish power without a fight. he likes being in control. i dont see this one happening. sorry maam.
It’s certainly cold Pat 😉
goonster, if we carry on like we are, he’ll be sacked…
well i dont think the board has got the balls for that maam. wenger is here to stay till he says he’s quitting and i for one won’t blame him. he’s done a mighty fine job. fergie would have sent us to the championship by now and don’t even get me started on maureen!
https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/265509681382948864/photo/1/large
https://twitter.com/JamesOlley/status/265509921251012610
https://twitter.com/JamesOlley/status/265510427243458560
Fan pressure could force their hand goonie, but I doubt he will be ‘sacked’ – he will be allowed to walk away gracefully….
Just wish we all knew for sure about the money, who truly is refusing to spend what we have.
emma – if he is fit, he has to start, he should have started at the weekend too. but we all know that….
Treating Walcott as he is, I don’t blame him wanting to leave…
Dont think Walcott will be staying and that is the problem we are having. The backlog of deadwood in the team still remains and its heaping at an alarming rate
i know what you mean maam but i think he ll walk away after his contract expires. its what’s best for both parties. i will be sad to see him go though. he’s been our manager all my life. since i was a kid to a full grown man.
Staying or going emma, we are paying him, and he should be earning his wages.
Wenger needs to stop sulking and play his best 11 and nothing else….
The fans have really got to vent their anger at the fulham game on Saturday. There can be no half measures from here on in. There is no way back for wenger now. RVP has in fact put the last nail in Wenger’s coffin.
walcott is a goner. its a shame though cause something tells me we are gonna regret this. he’s so matured now and very calm when through on goal. i wish the board will just give him want he wants. i ve been one of his biggest critics but am seeing something this season i haven’t seen in him since he joined.
Lolly 4.37, Rosicky jumps out at me.
When was the last time he earnt an honest weeks wages with us.
Terrible injury record, has a good spell last February/March, gets a contract extension and hasn’t been seen since.
80k a week, your ‘aving a larf ! Can’t be true, can it ?
What happens to him is really up to him goonie…
Just need to eat, back shortly..
hey micko still fuming i see. dude when are you gonna get over yourself. sheesh get out of the barn and go play in the sun.
I think most of our players would perform better under a better manager.
Ramsey , walcott and co are possibly better players than the unispiring wenger makes them look.
Micko
I remember Arsene triumphantly announced pulling all outsiders by the nose. Responding to the question if TR07 was galvanizing his contract renewal talks, he proudly admitted the ink was already dry. 😮
Evening all,
Many thanks as always Ricolicious.
Saturdays over and Tuesday tomorrow we need a decent result or the rot will set in deeper, would you believe it Wenger is back on the bench so just to add a bit of humour he could do a Basil falty and get banned again for another 3
Stan, it’s blacker than a gorilla’s goolies outside, I wish it was sunny.
Wenger is too close to the players Micko, he’s not ruthless enough is he…
Evening folks….
Dutch, turns out he also knew RvP was on his way out as well.
He didn’t half take some stick yesterday, have you seen the clips, the home game is gonna be mental, its gonna spill right over.
smudge, I think you might be right..
Hi Steve, always a pleasure – hope it is another night, another performance and a much better one…
Who took some stick, Wenger?
hahahahaah gorillas goolie? what’s that? micko you twunt, how re ya my man? how’s ireland? might be visiting you too during the festive period. hope you ll welcome me.
Good evening all,
The debate still goes on…
Where are you going over the festive period goonster??
Tsgh, and I suspect it will until we start doing a lot better 🙁
Micko
Rudolf the Red nose will not grant us the pleasure, expect RIP to be left home with a precautionary knock. As you quoted what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
I only saw the clips of the away boys meting it out to RvP rico, definately not for your ears.
Stan, i’ve got a nice young lass lined up for you, a bit heavy on the hoof but I believe that’s how you like them.
Walcott sick ? Yeah right Arsene pull the other one.
I really am getting tired of wenger Juvenile antics 😉
am coming over maam…i ll be seeing you all soon. AK, lee.micko,adam,rocky, TSGH and yours truly. really wanna see your fido. i wanna see what makes her thick!
Do you really think so Dg? I’d have thought vP would relish the chance to play at The Ems…..
heavy on the hoof? what’s that about? dude do i look like a queer to you?
If you mean the the JS reference Micko, I heard/read it…
Not sure that was called for from the fans really…. Can understand why they’d want to abuse him but….
Sounds like anarchy Smudge, you’ll have to put the world to rights later on in the week.
Laters guys, over and out.
Eisfeld just scored for the U21 v Bolton
No, a bit naughtier than that rico.
Stan, grab yourself a ginger beer and chill.
Laters.
Emma
Eisfield should be with the first team squad after his top performance last week. However the last thing a player should do is to play well cos Wenger will only drop you. re Jenks Coq etc
Hi Rico, you know I am a big fan of AW, but that man shocked me during the Norwich game and it will take a lot to convince me he is not suffering from some sort of disorder.
Why reason is that at WHU he showed what made him the most sort after manager since Beckenbauer in most peoples opinion. That day when things were not working he was proactive enough to change to 4-1-3-1 and then in the last 20 minutes he went to 3-5-2 to win the match very comfortably. Two weeks later at Norwich his performance was even worse than the Paul Ince & Winterburn partnership. He waited and waited until the last 7 minutes to bring on Serge and then we had our best spell the whole match.
During the CoC he started with the most traditional 4-4-2 formation that even Roy Hodgson will be ashamed off but then went a very adventrous 4-2-4 formation, which at the time of watching I thought it was 4-2-2-2.
So what I am getting at is why would a manager who claims and boast of playing in the Champions league for 15 straight years revert to the most unadventurous 4-5-1 formation John Barnes and Eric Black will not even admit to using at Celtic?
The man has lost all his sense of adventure and personally I am ashamed to say he has really lost the plot.
Will AW of even 2 months ago have replaced Ramsey with Djourou when he claims TW14 may not play and that he is concerned about our attacking play?
Will do Micko 😉
Smudge as I have said before Eisfield has not been registered to play in the champions league
I don’t know what to think anymore, honestly. I remember we went through a similar period two or three years ago where we had zero creativity in midfield. Everything was stagnant. We stopped creating chances. It was quite frustrating and it lasted quite a while. I remember having quite a rant about it on Facebook. We eventually snapped out of it and went on to play like our true selves. I’m just hoping that moment comes again and quickly. I love this team because of how we play(ed). Even in losing i still enjoyed watching Arsenal play. I don’t think i can honestly say that right now. So now I’m going to watch out of a sense of duty and hope that we snap out of this lull. No more analyzing for me. Wake me up when the gunners start firing again.
Sorry smudge you meant first team squad not champions league. lol
On Eisfield the last time I saw a young player boss the midfield as he did against Reading was when Cesc bossed Viera and Simone in the champions league ages in 2006
emma – wish he was in germany 🙁
tsgh
Fair point but Wenger should have at least had him on the bench on Saturday. I think the guy is ready…… certainly more ready than aaron ‘ never a right winger in a million years’ Ramsey.
I am intrigued Micko…
Hi Tsgh – I have wondered about him before this season, how can a man go from what he once did, the way we once played which had everyone raving all over the world to what we see today…
I just don’t get it, no wonder devil suggests that something just doesn’t add up….
Very true Will. The moment AW played SC19 as a no.10 against Stoke I knew we were going to be in trouble this season.Manuel Pellegrin who most people consider the poor man’s AW never ever played Santi in that position at Villareal nor at Malaga so why would a man who claimed that playing two spaniards in the central midfield positions in the EPL would slow the game down go back on his own words is beyond me.
Another proof AW has lost the plot is that, he mentioned in May and in July on french TV that Poldi’s poor performance in the euros was to do with Lowe playing Poldi on the LHS. He even said the same thing in August before the Sunderland game but what has he done since?
Bring our AW back….
I totally agree Smudge. This is Eisfield was once considered by Effenburg as one of the most complete youngster he has seen when he was asked about Gotze.
Like I said AW has lost the plot. And believe me until the Norwich game I still believed he was the best ever manager since Helenio Herrera (who claimed he was a divine coach)
Will, that is the saddest part, watching the club we all love, is far from enjoyable, in fact it’s heart breaking….
Eisfeld is more than ready for the 1st team imho. And we should be playing him. Not over playing him, but playing him because we sure lack what he can bring to this side….
Young with no fear to true anything…..
tsGH – I thought i was missing something. Read he said that as well. At the end of the day he still plays poldi on the LHS. Poldi is an attacker. AW needs to make a choice, he either plays Poldi or Giroud. Gervinho/Arshavin are very effective on the LHS than Poldi. We need speedy wingers on both sides of the attack but what do we get this days….
rico – Eisfeld has to be in the first team. Wenger was complaining about not having an attacking midfielder to replace JW10. Eisfeld I believe is as good as JW10. He creates space and always want the ball. He was our best performer in the pre-season, U21 and completely changed the game against Reading
AW is plain stubborn
Eisfeld is better than Ramsey!!!
https://twitter.com/ArsenalReport/status/265536306363392001
emma – hope you don’t expect me to disagree 😉
I love him already, just hope he never wants to go home….
I think Gnabry is not far off too, play him with the right players and he’ll perform….
Ramsey isn’t a bad player, if only AW would play him in the right area. he’s not defensive and he’s not a winger but where does he get stuck?
Daft isn’t it….
Good Evening my Esteemed Fellow Gunners.
I see that my name is being bandied about!!!! 😉 Good.
Hopefully you will make me immortal when eventually I will die. But wait. I am already immortal. 😉
Emma you are right. AW is stubborn. He knows what the first team squad should be. However he also knows that we know. So to do it his own way he plays the team the way he wants so that he will frustrate us.
Or else, and now wait for it……………he is juggling about the results so that SK will grow tired of it all and AU will buy him out. THE MORE SUCCESSFUL THE CLUB IS THE MORE SK WILL HOLD OUT FOR MORE MONEY FOR HIS SHARES. Only astronomical money will make him sell.
So if we are not successful the price of the shares will go down and SK will go.
You do not go from being one of the best ever coaches to being one of the worst in the space of 8 years. A best player will one day become one of the worst since his fitness level will go. But a coach is different. So either it is stubborness or it is politics. You can now choose and delete as appropriate.
Emma I would even go as far as saying he is better than JW10.Controversial I know but… The boy lost 2 years through injury and for some reason lost everything until 8 months ago.
I have a relative who lives in Dortmond and he use to go on about how Eisfield was like Ljunberg with a better touch when Eisfield was 15-16 years old.
Serge is also very good but unfortunately he is under a coach who sees football like a romantic black and white movie and again even having seen him play 6 times knows he should be playing as a no.10 in the mould of Zico but not on the LHS. When you hear the once gareat AW say I can see Serge playing as a no.9 you know we are definitely in trouble.
Like I have said a number of times now, this experiment has failed 2 times before with 2 different clubs so why would it work for the third time when afc has not won anything for 7 years and counting. He tried it at Monaco in his last 2 years and then strangely enough his idol Cruff tried it at Barcelona and got kicked out.
devil, if he is juggling results then he should go, Afc are not his toy to play with any more than it is Kroenke’s…
I have to say though, I don’t understand how AW has, could or would even want to go from what he once was to who he is now….
Which is a laughing stock….
Hi Dev I am with you there. It may sound like a conspiracy but you may be on to something. lol
As I have said PHW hardly speaks to AW but strategically states that AW can have the job for life. He also goes on about AW having money to spent and then goes quite just before the transfer window opens.
PHW is playing a very dangerous game for such a bright man and believe me he is no foul.
You don’t became the vice-chairman of Hambros Bank, if you are the foul and snob he protrays to be…
Tsgh – I think its a bit early to say he’s better but i see where you are coming form. And lets not forget Jack is only two games back….
On that note, Corrie and Eastenders are ready for viewing so I am off for the day…
Night all, ‘Til tomorrow….
Just take note of this.
You may not know this but do you know that twice every three months top coaches, like Mourinho, Ferguson, Wenger, Guardiola etc meet to discuss tactical and technical aspects of the game.
They discuss how the game can be improved in all aspects and also how football at grassroots level should be implemented. They do so with UEFA/FIFA representatives.
So those who say that AW is out of touch with the modern game are a little bit off the mark.
There is no denying that we have the nucleus of a fine squad…Eisfield,Gnarby.little jack. Ox. coq jenks .gibbs …….now all we need is a manager 😉
I am sorry to contradict you on the failure of such an experiment. The great AJAX sides that won the CL have all been bought up through such means. Only a few had been bought. And even the Bayern Munich side which won 3 CL had been so.
Isn’t Eisfeld ridiculou verion of a poor mans Gotze?
Listen to yourselves.
Bagging the crap out of Wenger relentlessly,but then raving about a kid who none of us had heard of,Wenger pulled out of thin air,got for nothing and is looking like a star.
Wages…….can anyone name me one player earning a wage that everyone complained about at the time??
Every Chelski fan is whinging about what Torres cost and earns,but at the time,they were doing handstands……see my point??
I am not defending his tactics,because as staunch a supporter i am,it is one think i have agreed has let us down.
All i am saying is the man still deserves a hell of a lot more respect than he is given!
Morning all.
Also missing from the list are;
Goalkeeper/ Centre backs and Fowards
Dev you are correct there. he has been the guest speaker on too many occasions for me to remember.
That is why when people say Pep or Klopp to replace AW I say no way because they including Martinez are all students of AW. When someone like Cruff says after Maureenho has won the La Liga that he never rates Maureenho but describes AW who we slate every other week for being clueless as one of the best ever manager, then we know why AW never listen to joe pundit.lol
Nite Rico.
Devil,i mentioned Wenger lowering our standards intentionally the other day……..this means your standards have dropped….agreeing with me is a losing ticket 🙂
Morning Scott
he still deserves a hell a lot of respect , just not as manager of Arsenal 😉
hello scott..
Dev the experiment I am talking about is playing players in the wrong position. All i am saying is the man has lost the plot. There is no way I will say AW is clueless.
Rico away to watch the dancing girls on eastenders……night rico
I said it last night……Nothing will change if Wenger leaves,but everything will change if Stan goes.
Good evening HH, some interesting comments
scott i ve been saying that for ages. wenger is a genius. i wont trade him for ten fergies! end of.
Agreed Scott ,Wenger could go ‘upstairs’ but ‘the tashe’ must be shaved to allow us the ability to breathe.
hey DNA, where in crap’s name have you been? i miss you fella. how’s VA?
ok, read this. It’s exactly what I have posted since a few weeks ago.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/jan-molby/santos-summed-everything-wrong-arsenal-150515005.html
cu all tomorrow my Esteemed Fellow Gunners.
I am off to embark on my greatest adventure yet………………..
Good night
Dev and you know the same player interchange experiment lost Cruyff the league in the 1985–86 season, the league title was lost to Guus Hiddink’s PSV despite Ajax having a goal difference of over 80 goals correct me if am wrong. lol.
That is my only grief with AW so please no misunderstanding folks. 😀
I have never coached a team but I watch a lot of Dutch and German football when I am not watching Arsenal and that is why I never understood why some people slated Song for his positioning when all around Europe DM where being deployed in the same advanced role. Examples include Gattusso and Pirlo at AC and recently Sami Khedira and alonso for Real. Even Busquet goes higher than Xavi when Barca lose the ball.
@goon whats up bro? VA is cold, can’t wait for afc to smash that German team tomorrow.
Later Scott…
Nite Dev
I’ve been walking around the office today singing “we want our Arsenal back.”… Everyone looking at me strange. Wondering what the hell I’m on about.
I trust Wenger… But it’s so incredible to me that this talented goup of players can’t seem to perform to their capabilities. Makes no sense to me. I can’t help but blame him for being unable to tune this machine for 4 weeks and counting.
tell me about it….raleigh is cold too but its bearable today bro. smash the germans huh? am all for it. but we gotta tie walcott down to a long contract. we can’t afford to lose that guy. he ll be massive in a few years time. people keep forgeting he’s still just 24!
@goon if theo don’t want to stay i wouldn’t force him to, we might regret it but i witness cesc and afc remains the same. We are going to smash those germans tomorrow, never trouble a wounded tiger, watch this space………
hi goonie,
You scared Clorinda away. 😀
The Ndrangheta will be after you.
Spuds are down 1-0 v WBA at half time.
All is not so bad in the world 🙂
hahahah clorinda? who’s that TSGH?
DNA cesc didnt star against us did he? theo ll run riot against us if he ever leaves. give him what he wants. hey scott is that a premier league game?
oh clorinda my new italian spicy chicken huh? what happened to her? you think i might have scared her off?? christ!
Southampton…..sorry guys…half a asleep and overcome with joy when i posted that lol.
grrrrrrr, scott get your facts right you numpty. you got me all happy right now.
Evening Gooners.
Stan, who was that, calling you a poofter?
That’s a bit strong, ain’t it mate…
Whatever would Clorinda say if she heard that?!
ha ha ha goonie you did. 😉
your blonde Adonis chat up line has to be improved on mate. Its even worse than Adams attempt on Lady Rico…
Rico, In-Box….. At the double…
Good Morning my Esteemed Fellow Gunners.
Just read this on the net…………Santos has been axed form the Arsenal team to play Schalke tonight with Vermaelen playing at left-back and Koscielny playing at the centre of defense.
What to make of it?
I am glad it has happened.
Morning all… me too Coach!
So this is how I feel we will line up tonight……….
Mannone
Sagna,Mertesacker,Koscielny,Vermaelen
Coquelin,Arteta
Cazorla,Wilshere,Podolski
Giroud
Howdy Lee.
I cannot fathom why I can see a plan B in that team, yet AW cannot.
So to stop AFC play is to stop Cazorla aint it?
Plan B is to play him on the wings. And get another midfielder in and push Wilshere up.
How will they mark him?
It might be that AW will start with a midfield of Arteta and Wilshere,
Arshavin,Cazorla and Podolski in front of them. That is another option since the three advanced midfielders can interchange between themselves.
But why cant AW see this?
AW cannot see the wood for the trees!
You may be right Lee.
The problem is though…………..Either he REALLY cannot see it….or…….HE DOES NOT WANT TO SEE IT.
Which is the right answer for you????
He doesn’t want to see it….without a doubt!
Sign Capoue in Jan and push Arteta up 🙂
Morning devil, Lee and all…
Kev, sorry I was asleep at 1.42, but got it now 🙂 Thank you….
If Theo doesn’t start tonight if he’s fit, then that’s it for me, he’s gone….
Morning Rico.
Theo is sick AW has said. We have to wait and see
Regarding Capoue I agree with you as you already know. But we are speaking about now rather than January. There are still two months to go.
That boy definitely needs a flu shot and vitamins. 😉 How many footballers do you hear of out ill and how often? Perhaps it’s like Fab’s ankle injury that was never there until his last year or after at Barca.
That is my feeling also Lee. He does not want to see it.
That explains the lacklustre displays and motivational issues with the players.
He’s in the squad devil so he’s fit in my eyes, otherwise Eisfeld or Gnabry should have travelled…
🙂 Bradster…
New Post is up…