Morning all.
I don’t know what happened yesterday. I published this post but there was a problem as it disappeared into a big black hole. Not one quite big enough for Arsene Wenger though as he’s still at the club. Darn and double darn! Anyway, fingers crossed it works today.
The women didn’t need any good luck yesterday (Sunday) to secure their place in the FA Cup semi-final. After taking the lead through an early penalty, they went on to defeat Charlton Athletic 5-0. Four goals in the second half, each from a different player left the visitors well and truly battered.
K. Little (4′ pen)
O’Reilly (56′)
Miedema (60′)
Carter (85′)
Nobbs (90′)
The semifinal is against Everton at the Select Security Stadium on Sunday, April 15th. which will be a much tougher challenge. Next up though is a return to the WSL, with a home fixture against Chelsea on the same day as we face Stoke City at The Emirates.
There’s been much written in the football news about Thomas Tuchel. Headlines have gone from suggesting the German coach has turned down Bayern Munich because he wants the Arsenal job to a deal to replace Arsene Wenger this summer has been done. All of which should be taken with a tablespoon of salt in my opinion. After all, this (yesterday) morning, those same football outlets suggested it’s PSG he’s heading to. Oops!
I don’t think he’ll be our next manager, not for one minute as why would the club employ a guy who not so long ago had a big fallout with Sven Mislintat? Logic tells me they wouldn’t. Mislintat and Sanllehi are in the early stages of working together to find the right players to improve this Arsenal squad along with our chances of being a competitive club again so surely, throwing Tuchel into the mix would be a huge spanner. Tuchel is out of a job and as far as I can see, this story is no different to players whose agents are desperate to get their player either a new club or a pay rise. In other words, poppycock.
In any case, it seems Arsene Wenger isn’t ready to admit defeat just yet, he’s not planning on walking away just because he’s old that’s for sure even though Roy Hodgson is the only guy in the Premier League who is older than him.
Apparently he’s been talking to beIN Sports who via The Mirror, quote him as follows:
“Look, when you age… you focus on doing well for your club and ignore all the rest. The older you get, the more it becomes age discrimination.
I accept if the results are not good enough then you have to take the consequences. But overall that perpetual thing how long you’ve been at a club, how old you are, I find that a bit difficult to take. But all the rest i have to accept because I am in a public job and have to make results and I accept I will be judged on results.”
Results and performances I’d have thought and this season, together with last few, have produced some shockers. Shockers which you don’t need me to highlight.
Wenger also dismissed the idea that he would want to leave on a high by winning the Europa League this summer.
“I am maybe naive enough to believe that with the time going on, with perspective and context will stand out what I have done for my club and not so much the result of the last game or how much I will be applauded when I stop one day.”
I’m a little bit fed up of all that modern thing about being completely taking care of image. I’ve always worked my whole life about with the idea of who you are rather than how you look so I’m not too concerned about that.”
Whilst winning the Europa Cup would be a fantastic achievement, and I mean that, Wenger is right, his career at Arsenal shouldn’t be remembered for that. His career has mirrored a game football and by that I mean two halves. The first half went well, the second half though saw the gradual decline kick in and here we are today.
Personally, I don’t think age should even be considered when judging someone’s work in any walk of life and certainly not football, after all, who did Bayern Munich turn to when their ship needing steadying? Yep, 70 year old Josef Heynckes who’d been a great success at the same club for many years before retiring.
In any walk of life, a persons own performance should be the only thing judged when deciding whether he/she should remain in the position they hold and there’s no getting away from it when it comes to Arsene Wenger, he simply isn’t performing as well as he once did. He hasn’t for quite a number of years and considering he was still in his fifties when it all started to go wrong, his current age has little to do with where Arsenal are today.
Stubbornness, lack of preparation, defensive frailties, complacency, poor signings etc etc, yes, that’s why Arsenal are where they are today and that’s why winning the Europa Cup is important to him, or it should be. It might not mean leaving on a high for him if he goes this summer but at least he’d have achieved something he never has before and we’d have something to celebrate.
Finally, having nearly been sold not so long ago, Mohammed Elneny has signed a long term contract extension. I’m pleased as he’s a great squad player to have. He may not be everyone’s cup of tea but as much as we need the right players in key positions, there’s always a need for a player like the Egyptian.
Even the best clubs in the world have one or two like him in their squad…
Morning Rico.
Not sure that the site is sorted. The article reloaded 5 times before it stuck. I’ve read the piece hurriedly as I can’t guarantee the site maintaining its presence! Don’t know what’s going on.
Wenger is a limpet. Immovable and seemingly inviolable. Teflon! The more these statements of his go on the more I think ne believes he has a job for life! My prophesy of him being carried out in a wooden box just after his 100th birthday seems to gather more traction by the day, and week and month and year after year! Heaven forefend.
New manager/coach not in the near future. The bulldog limpet has his teeth and gums wrapped round the club and he won’t let go until his final breath is expelled. And then he’ll be back to haunt the place.
Ho hum!
Miserable here today.
Hello, hello, Kev calling HH, are you there HH, come in please…. ?
Funny how nobody ever mentioned age when Alex Ferguson was still winning league titles.
Was it because he was still winning league titles?
Excuses and more excuses, a man whose lost his mojo desperately holding onto his job and deflecting attention away from the central point, which is he can’t do it anymore.
Costco Adam?
Nice to see you here Wavy and Potter, were like the Old Contemptables, holding the line at Mons. I guess we could always talk about Bertie Mee. ?
Morning Rico and all. I’m glad that Elneny has got a new deal. He really stepped it up recently and seems to have a ‘feel’ for the club. I have no doubt that the press will have many more Tuchel moments as the season comes to an end and we all wait to see what happens next. Football journalists in this country are mainly a revolting bunch so we should expect no less from them.
Obviously my post didn’t get through or else it’s hidden on yesterdays version . Still all this cojecture keeps the brain ticking over . Now for the heart.
Bit vague today trying to book flights and a villa to Cyprus or Sicily or anywhere in Europe that’s not cold for the next school holiday. for family with 4 year old. Why do they leave things to the last minute ?
Morning Wavy, Kev, Adam, Potter and all.
I too am having troubles again this morning. Thought it was just me.
He’s versatile to Adam, Wenger likes those kind of players.. lol
Here’s your comment Potter:
There’s a new post up now. ………..Whoopie do !
Seriously it must be a thankless job doing a daily report, thanks for giving us something to think about . It keeps the Alzheimer’s away.
I’m glad that Pharoah is staying , I think he has alot to offer and certainly more than Wenger is getting out of him. I feel the style of our short passing game is restricting him and labelling him a defensive midfielder is not really accurate. The trouble is that we have more of the same in Ramsey and Wilshere who also can run the area he is best suited to .However with both of those players coming out of contract , maybe the club knows something that we can only speculate on .
It would be nice to see the “Handbrake ” on his game released as I posted a few days ago the video of his time at Basel shows a completely different player to the one we see playing for us.
We must be the old contemptibles then, Kev. Emphsis on ‘old’. Old heads on old bodies and deteriorating eyesight, bones and general well being! If the tracksuit doesn’t fit comfortably anymore it probably means you shouldn’t be wearing it!
NB R Wenger.
Wenger’s fits though Wavy, probably because he’s all skin and bone… lol
He’s surely earned the right to be called contemptible?
He’s earned the right to be called something, that’s for sure….
The Ox improving and had a good game for England last night apparently . ( didn’t watch it ).
Strange that isn’t it.
BTW Morning all.
Morning Potter and all.
Funny enough, I didn’t watch the England game.
New post up now..