Morning all.
Steve Rowley is on his way apparently. It’s been reported that he feels he’s been made the scapegoat for our dreadful transfer dealings so he’s had enough. He’s on the search for a new job and will be gone soon. Looks like Ivan might be getting his own way after all and I doubt Arsene will like the fact that two of his allies in Law and Rowley are no longer by his side…
Whilst having a moment, I drifted back to 2006 and our only Champions League Final. Arsene Wenger came so close to breaking his European duck but once Mad Jens was sent off, our chances dipped despite going ahead thanks to a bullet header from Sol Campbell. Pires was the man sacrificed that night and because of his substitution, he decided to leave. He said he felt Wenger no longer trusted in him so gone was one of best left sided midfielders the club has ever had. That same summer, Ashley Cole also departed after the club and ended up winning plenty of silverware at Chelsea.
Two late goals from Barcelona and the dream was over and never again has Wenger got anywhere near a European Final which is poor really considering the players he’s had. I don’t mean post 2006 but pre 2006. Our invincible team was one of the best in the world of football but they fell at the semi-final stage after conceding a late away goal scored by Wayne Bridge. We were odds on favourites to get to the final that year but we blew it big time. Instead, Porto ended up being crowned champions.
Before then though we should have done better in Europe, especially when we had the English back five with Wrighty, Bergkamp etc ahead of them but no, when it came to European football, we flopped big time and there’s little to suggest that things will go much better in the Europa League this season. Yes we’re through to the knockout stages but we’ve hardly done it by playing good football.
When the knockout rounds arrive in the New Year, February I believe, Arsene Wenger will have a decision to make on whether he fields a stronger team or continues with the second string mixed with youth. I guess that decision will be based on where we are in the league at the time. If we’re still in with a good chance of securing a top four spot, then I suspect that will remain the Frenchman’s priority but if we’ve little to no chance of returning to the Champions League, then surely the priority would be trying to win the Europa Cup. By then though we could be without Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and even Jack Wilshere who is this morning linked with a move in January as he’s desperate to play for England next summer.
Lee Dixon has been speaking out about the contract situation of our players, certainly the big two. He said that had something similar happened during his day where teammates didn’t want to commit to the club, they’d be shown the door. Not just by the manager but the players too. They didn’t want people in the dressing room if they weren’t fully committed. Alan Smith and David O’Leary have waded in too. Arsenal should have taken the £60 million offered by City for Alexis but according to both, Arsene Wenger refused. There was no offer for Ozil, according to the media anyway but he too should have been gone, told to find another club and for all the good he’s doing us now, he might as well be playing for the reserves. I think he’s had one good game all season, well that’s certainly all I’ve seen. But to single him out is being harsh I guess because very few have been playing well.
As we know though, when a manager has lost it, the team follow suit….
Finally, a word on Eddie Nketiah. Four goals in one game is pretty special and that’s just what he did last night whilst playing for England. Surely it’s time for him to sit on the bench for the first team? In fact I’d love to see him get on the pitch in the NLD. He might be young but he’s Arsenal through and through and I’m sure he’d love to run their defence ragged…..
Morning rico. Having said so many times AS is not leaving, I think Arsene was in a corner that he couldn’t get out of if he had sold him.
And without a replacement, a 70 million summer transfer addition would have angered so many. Bad enough as it was making a profit, after the early promises.
Morning Andrew, he should have said nothing
Or better still, sold him early and spent the money…
Thanks Rico and morning all.
Yes for one of the biggest clubs in the world our 2 trophies in European football is abysmal.
Great stuff from Eddie with 4 goals and I know people will say it was only the Faroe Islands, but these Egyptians have wo plenty of African Nations Cups……………………………….
Morning guys.
Of all his flaws, Wengers ability to say the wrong thing is right up there with the best of them lol
Rico, as you said, he should have stayed silent.
We all know the media hound him for a comment and try to corner him, but he’s been around a long time now, and should know when to speak, and when not to.
I think so too Lc. One final under Wenger and one semi-final isn’t it?
He just doesn’t know how to approach a two legged tie in Europe..
Are the departures of Rowley and Law the first signs that the ot owner of Wenger is beginning to tumble? We can but hope! If Ivan the awful and the fish man work diligently then, perhaps Rico will see her wish fulfilled and the old codger will have shuffled off by the end of May! His last gig no doubt will be to commentate on the demise of team francais and then he will magically disappear in a cloud of dust! Whilst the Emirates will turn into another satellite gallery supported by the Louvre!!
Morning all. LC, it’s damp and drizzly here again, you’ll be pleased to hear?
Not…ot owner……but Tower of Wenger…..bloody iPad and I thought I’d checked it!
That’s how I see it Wavy. Wenger might still be manager but someone is obviously beginning the clear out of the dinosaurs at the club.
And not before time! There should have been a purge years ago. I really think the horse has bolted and not recents either.
Scott, Wenger saying Sterling dived, when he was clearly shoved or shoulder barged, another example. We get a load of bad decisions, but next time he moans, people can refer back to this poor quote.
Cop yourself on LC…….it was only the Faroe Islands !
2 finals rico, with so many horror shows in Europe it’s hard to keep up.
Morning all.
Afternoon Rico, just made my urn of tea, is that true about Jack?
Another player situation that Wenger may have mishandled,, no doubt made worse by Southgates decision to ignore Wilshere despite England’s injuries.
Obviously Southgate didn’t like Wenger advising him about selecting a Jack?
I hope that Jack doesn’t act hastily as I think it’ll be a disaster for him to leave Arsenal and it’ll mean Arsenal possibly losing 3 quality players in one year. Worse than when we lost Nasri and Fabregas a few years back.
I’m not sure that losing Rowley is a bad thing as our scouting needs a good shake up.
It now depends on who replaces Rowley?
Morrow perhaps?
Just seen Eddies hat trick against the Faroe Islands, well 4 goals actually, and yeah, it was only the Faroes but I didn’t see any other England player get more than one goal…
All the goals Eddie scored had the maximum of efficiency with the minimum of fuss, no flamboyance from him just put the bloody thing in the net. He is prolific and promises to be a big player for us, but not this season.
A few more games in the League Cup and UEFA Cup, maybe a run out from the subs bench in the FACup and EPL, but he won’t be ready for another 18 months.
Heartening to see three of our young players in the England squad.
Maybe our new head of scouting should target some of the other young English players not at top clubs.
Fulham have a few worth looking at…
Ozil and Sanchez go and Jack’s future is assured.
The fact that the glum faced Chilean is still reluctantly with us is down to Wenger’s personal ego and Stan;s weak crew of stooges not having the power to over rule le emperor .Wenger dug himself into a hole with his supposedly tough stance on not selling Sanchez he was stuck then stuck in it and left it too late to extract himself out of it. As they say there is a difference between a rut and a grave and Wenger has dug his own one.He probably arrogantly thought that Sanchez would accept not being allowed to leave and join City and only late in the window did it dawn on the French fool that Sanchez wanted out and big time like . The problem with Wenger is that he has been on the back foot for years now and the modern game and young guns coaching top clubs and even some not so top ones have passed him by. When he goes Wenger will leave one all mighty mess behind him that someone is going to have to clean up . It could take years to repair the damage that 20+ years of Wenger and the fools behind him have done to AFC . The game against the spuds ,if Wenger loses it , could prove to be a pivotal moment in his tenure that already without the illusion of midweek Champions League football to help add some glamour looks very mediocre now after donkeys years of failure to make any title tilts.. Rico don’t forget also the UEFA Cup final defeat against Galatasaray on penalties was the first chance that hapless Arsene had of winning in Europe. He somehow stumbled to that Champs League final in Paris when due to injuries he was forced into playing a more pragmatic approach that actually worked better than his gung ho kamikaze approach did ! Deja vu in the final when Jen’s was wrongly sent off it was just a yellow card job and the Barca goal should have stood. So at 1-0 down we would have been chasing the game instead of at 0-0 playing defensively and nicking a goal from a free-kick situation. If Wenger had had a decent GK to send on to replace Lehman with I believe we might have won that night or at least taken it to penalties but hey ho Wenger only had the waiter to put in goal and he was about as much use as a chocolate tea-pot. Wenger’s parsimonious policies came back to haunt him yet again that night and his big chance of Euro glory was gone with the wind.
Not sure I`m reading it right, Jeff, but are you saying the whole of Wenger`s 20+ years have been damaging ?…………….I`d say imo that the last 11 have been in decline as although we lost the CL Final it was good getting there and we all know most finals are a 50/50 game, without being 11 against 10……………. someone has to lose !……………………………….also imo the stadium move was a must, yes it hasn`t got us where we want to be and that`s half down to owner, but remember that middle bit of the stadiums 9000 top end seats generates as much money as the whole of Highbury did, so the other 51.000 seats is money on top and if FFP had of worked we would have been in contention. .
Afternoon Kev, all.
I hadn’t forgotten that one Jeff, honest..
I’m not convinced it will take too long to sort out the mess we are in though once Wenger leaves. I really don’t. A new manager/coaches will almost immediately wake up the players because not only will things become fresh, they’ll want to impress.
Yes there’s a few contacts etc to sort out and positions to fill etc, but as Pep has shown at City, just one full season and a couple of summer transfer windows can be enough..l
Lc, why is it half down to the owner? Yes he’s bloody useless but it’s not him who has refused not to spend, or play the way we do etc…
As said yesterday(?) Pep has spent twice as much as Wenger over the years and we can all say Wenger wouldn`t spend it even if he had it, but even with a new manager our owner is never going to put the kind of money the Mansours have, as I keep showing, his investment in the team in his ten years is…………………£0
If we say Wengers failings have mainly been in the last 10 years is it coincidental that Kroenke has been here the same amount of time ?
Any new manager and if we get the right one is most probably going to need to be able to compete on the transfer front to catch Man C etc`……………….does anyone honestly think our owner with afford any new manager those sort of funds ?……………because realistically we`re going to need more than the others have spent because of our best players going for nothing !………yes that`s Wengers fault, but he wont be here to rectify it…………..enormous sums will be needed to get us out of the shit pit, not………………….£0
Le Coq, no I’m not saying that all of Wenger’s tenure has been tedious but that it has descended into tedium over the period that you suggest. I used to support Wenger against his critics years back but it eventually dawned on me that he was a flawed character and was no longer the person that I could envisage taking the club forward. In fact I thought exactly the opposite and that ,as it has turned out, proved to be correct. The game against Poch’s spuds is now probably the most important to Wenger that he has faced against the scummy ones. He might do another of his Houdini escapes after all the spuds are the spuds and you can never be sure of what they will do but realistically that will only buy him a respite because the damage he has done to the club and players he signed and coaches is terminal.
How do we know Kroenke won’t spend money until someone who’s prepared to spend becomes our manager?
I’m not a fan of Kroenke but blaming him for not spending isn’t right imo, only because there’s no evidence to suggest he won’t…
Jeff, if Wenger had any sense, he’d have learned from their game against Utd. Get at the Totts early and they’ll fluster. Their defence was all over the place in the first half….
We’ve got the players, but haven’t got the manager imo
Night guys.
Agree with you Rico I can see Wenger however sticking with the tippy tappy approach. Mourinho used route one rather than the scenic route to win by one goal .I reckon that the spuds are vulnerable on crosses rather than passes .No prizes though for guessing which of the two Wenger will employ. Lackadaisical is a decent header of the ball our wing backs though Monreal and Bellend are not much good at putting in decent crosses so we can expect to see the tedious pass the parcel passing moves that will not trouble the spuds defence too much. The big problem will be at the other end where we have Keystone Kos and Plodding Per dealing with the spuds attack . I’m far from confident about them making a fist of that. .
We dont know,Rico, but I think the evidence that in ten years of ownership he hasn`t spent a single penny tells us something and remember in the first years of The Ems move we had to sell players to balance the books ala Cesc, Nasri etc`………….so why didn`t Kroenke say to Wenger at the time………….” You dont have to sell players to balance the books as I`m a Billionaire, buy instead !”………………………….to look at the future sometimes we have to look to the past and Kroenkes past investment (£0…………………….dont I just love putting that up, it`s like a get out of jail free card where I`m right everytime ! hahahaha) tells not just a story of where we`re heading but an entire encyclopedia of where we`re heading !……………………………………thinking (and I hope I`m wrong) that a new manager will get us back to compete with the likes of ManC and Co is a false dawn imo .
Wenger doesn`t even come into the equation for the future, but us fans future of hope is a flickering wick on a candle that is about to be extinguished by The Grim Kroenke Reepers scythe of austerity !…………………….Dooooooooooooooooooooooooom !……….hahahaha
Le Coq, there is a glaring anomaly in your argument regarding Kroenke and him not spending any of his own money. The Glazers at United don’t put any money of their ill-gotten own cash into their club either,their club just makes more money than us so there is more for the manager to spend. We are not City or Chelsea that have sugar daddy owners who do spend their own petro dollars on their clubs .Although in the case of Chelsea Rom set up an holding company years ago in which all of the money he puts into CFC is owed to that company that he owns ! So no one at the bridge of sighs wants to upset Rom and have him flap off in his infamous chopper . Our syrup wearing porno moustached silent one borrowed the money that he invested in AFC and he likes to see a healthy amount of the profits made kept in the club accountants .He uses AFC for collateral to borrow money against for his various nefarious activities in the US of A . Despite this however Wenger has had lots of money to spend – unfortunately he wasted what he did spend and if at City – with the resources that Pep has to spend – then in my view Wenger would do like wise there and just waste even more money . Wenger is not known as Inspector Clueless for no good reason.
Jeff, Lc. Give Wenger £200m to spend and Would he win the league?
No is my answer because his tactical approach is flawed, just as his player signings are so poor…
Jeff, I`m not defending Wenger of late and agree with Rico, I wouldn`t trust Wenger with £200M…………………… as for Manshafter Std, they are the anomaly !…………………….. a cash juggernaut that even with Glaziers taking money out will still make millions hand over fist even if they wasn`t in the CL………..which has been the case on a couple of occasions………………… my continueing point is that we have an owner who could spend as much as Mansour City and Chavs, but refuses to for whatever reason inc` your theory as collateral for his USA activities and as I said taking “Clueless” out of the factor as he is on borrowed time I dont see us ever competing with Pep and his fantastic team without significant resorces available !……………..come on guys and girls, to get a squad like Pep has got will take a lot of wonga, surely you have to agree on that, I mean how much would it take on current fees to assemble Pep squad ?………………..and if you think our owner would sanction to any new manager such sums considering his historic funding over ten years of £0 ( yes !.get in there ! hahaha) then it`s quite possible you are blogging from the funny farm……………………..and I thought I was the maddest one there ! hahaha
Night .
According to that tactical genius and penalty specialist, Gareth Southgate, he hasn’t picked Jack Wilshere because he’s not played enough minutes in the EPL.
Southgate also claims that Eddie Howe and Arsene Wenger have played Jackmout of position.
According to Southgate, the saviour of English football, Wilshere is not a No.10.
Eddie Howe got a tiny South-Coast football team into the Premier League.
Arsene Wenger has won a shed load of trophies.
Gareth Southgate was an abject failure in club management.
Go figure…
Afternoon all, from warm & sunny Launceston,
I was listening on the radio to the bloke who turned my Clubs fortunes around since arriving back to the Club he actually used to play for back in the ’70’s. Neil Balme was lured back as director of footy & we won the Premiership in 2017.
Anyway, the point he made was that when you have people in positions of power at a club, trying to look after their own position(s) at that club, the club is in trouble. Now I would say that is exactly what is going on at The Arsenal, with a situation of Arsene Wenger wanting everything his way, or hit the highway so to speak. Gazidis coming out with a ridiculous statement about the Club “punching above its weight” so as to deflect the fact that he is actually a lightweight in the first place. And of course there’s Sir Chips 🙂
The Club is in strife my fellow Gooners, & some heads must roll if the Club’s fortunes are to turn around.
Morning all.
There’s absolutely no question that spending up is a massive advantage in Football.
However, it guarantees nothing as that money still must be spent the right way.
When I say Pep has spent a fortune and inherited already great squads, it’s true, but it seems he’s spent that fortune very wisely, and is getting the best out of a great squad.
He’s doing exactly what’s required to win e League title, so hats off to the man.
Arsenes big signings have been decent value, imo, but it’s never enough.
I believe one major signing a season is nowhere near enough when you’re already behind other clubs, and they’re topping up with 2 or 3-we lag further and further behind.
Now I say he should go, but if he were to stay next season, I’d love to see Stan tell him to spend what he needs to win the League.
Would he win the League?
Probably not, but at least we’d all know for sure.
He’s been close a few times in recent years but that lack of an extra top player or two is all that’s been missing, imo-well, and tactics, but still, we have had a few chances.
But who’s to say he hasn’t been told he can spend £200m?
It’s his choice not to spend what he can, no one else’s….
Morning all.
Hi Rico,
I want Stan to tell him to spend.
Demand it.
Demand success.
None of us can say for sure what he’s had at his disposal-it’s all conjecture, unfortunately, but as Stan said recently he wants us to win everything, he needs to do what he can think make it happen.
Either demand Wenger bring us a title, or sack him.
Win/win situation.
Morning Rico. Big money players may or may not work out. Most of them come with enormous egos and command big wages. Napoli, a wonderful team to watch, were assembled for relatively little but PSG now have the problem that Neymar, who has been there for about 10 minutes, has fallen out with Emre. Money and a complete lack of humility perhaps.
Managing their egos is a massive problem. Top players want to play for Pep because he is an uncompromising winner who was a great player himself. They used to want to play for Wenger because he was a proven winner too but those days are long past. From what I know, Wenger could have spent a lot more than he has. Would that have bought him more success? I don’t know, but I doubt that Kroenke has much to do with it. He is the effective owner of the club and has zero say about anything on the football side.
Adam, who’d want to be a manager lol
Some of these egotistical bastards today would be impossible to please.
Hi Scott. Again, we don’t know that Kroenke doesn’t. But to be honest, it’s the board who should be dictating things shouldn’t they? Kroenke is just the man who owns the majority shares, he’s not hands on as we know…
One thing we do know though is Wenger is tight…
Do we have a board 🙂 🙂 🙂
A club that size lacking leadership is remarkable.
Morning Adam.
Not trying to defend players with massive egos but that’s football today because of the money etc. One only has to see how Wenger has dealt with Sanchez and perhaps Ozil to know that that kind of player is no good at Arsenal, certainly not whilst Wenger is manager because he can’t handle them. He can’t handle confrontation either I’d have thought.
I don’t think any of us expected or still expect Wenger to sign someone like Neymar, Ronaldo etc because that kind of money is as you say a huge risk in itself and we don’t have that kind of money. But some of the players who moved around last summer were easily affordable I’d have thought…
But who’d really want to move to Arsenal these days, certainly not a top quality player…
We do have a board, they’ll be the group of men currently dancing to the Arsene Wenger tune imo.
Rico, I can’t remember which player said it, but it was maybe 2-3 years back Wenger was described as a father figure.
Now, that may work at the youth level, but players should have a certain element of fear when it comes to their manager, imo.
If not, they’re too complacent and I reckon our squad is riddled with that.
The merry men, you mean, Rico 🙂
Fabregas was one Scott..
I just wish Wenger would bugger off today, his departure can’t come soon enough for me..
Yeah, it might well have been Cesc.
How anyone could want Wenger to spend any money is beyond me, I don’t want him spending a single penny! He has spent enough over the years to assemble a decent starting eleven but who honestly thinks he has succeeded?
When did you realise that you wanted Wenger gone? For me it was 2008/2009 season….
Can’t wait until he fucks off!
I don’t now Lee, don’t want him to spend another penny of the clubs money, leave it for someone who knows what they are doing..
I learned later than that… 🙁
If he stays beyond the end of the season then he will surely spend.
You’d think so Adam. I guess him staying/going depends on how things pan out this season which imo, isn’t going to be good..
People keep saying a top manager would do bloody well with our current squad.
Wenger assembled that squad so his spending has hardly been a total waste as some would suggest.
We all tend to forget every manager has bought players that didn’t work out.
If ever Stan made that demand, and I’m not suggesting fa r a second that he would, then there’d be no place to hide for he or Wenger, so there is absolutely no downside.
What is the upside of Stan NOT demanding Arsene spend and win the title?????
I think we say that a better manager would be able to get the team playing better which in all honesty, wouldn’t be difficult but I suspect a decent manager would address our defending, defenders, midfielders and midfield.
Brudder Wenger could spend £300m and he’d still not win the league….he is finished as a top flight manager and has been for some time!!!
When was his time up for you Brudder??
I agree wholeheartedly, Rico, but didn’t Wenger buy Sanchez?
To say we don’t trust him to spend any money is a little silly, imo, as his record for poor signings is no worse than most other managers.
One of his biggest problems is putting them on big wages which makes them near impossible to turf!!!
Still, so much uncertainty on his future does the club no good.
What the hell would happen if he stays and extends further?
I shudder to think.
I really have not idea on when he will leave.
Well Scott, I don’t trust him to spend money, not now. It’s not a silly view, just not yours…
Rico, if he does stay for next season, would you prefer he didn’t spend up?
You contradicted yourself Scott. You suggest he can be trusted to sign players but then say he puts players on big wages so they can’t be sold…
I’d rather the club sign the players, not Wenger. Someone who knows what we need and gets things done..
No Rico, there’s no contradiction there at all.
I said he has had his poor signings which were magnified by paying them too much, but also that all managers have poor signings so he’s not Robinson’s Crusoe there.
Two different points, imo, as even Pep has had duds but obviously plenty of success stories.
A contradiction is saying we don’t trust him to spend money, but then saying we need more players like Sanchez, a player he bought.
I do agree that the club should be making deals happen, but then, who at the club is capable?
Mediocrity runs rampant through the place, as does a lack of leadership and people taking ownership.
How can you trust a man to spend money then say the same man gives big contracts out? Odd to me..
Several years ago now Brudder. I can’t remember which season, but it was when RVP had an injury and I think Henry was near the end and he was injured too. I remember thinking that Wenger had to buy a striker in January and he did nothing. It just seemed really irresponsible to me. Nothing since then has really changed my mind. There have been ups and downs and lots of shattered expectations as football has changed. But I have never understood those who see him as some sort of footballing messiah. He was great once but has been treading water and talking nonsense for years now. I am for openness and telling the truth, regardless of the consequences which is why I believe this recent AGM was such a farce and an insult to the fans.
I reckon it was RvP going to Utd did it for me…
Rico, would you prefer he didn’t spend if he stays next season?
We are all hoping he leaves, but surely
We’d all hope he spends up, even if only to leave his replacement some decent cattle.
Quite obviously, it took me longer than most, but signing Cech and no outfield player was absolute suicide, and the defining moment for me.
To continually tell us that the club is always working hard on transfers, and to sign one player-a keeper-was enough to show he’d lost it.
We were already short on quality, and that TW left us even further behind.
Rico. That was indeed a seminal moment for Arsene. We were all hurt that he turned his back on Arsenal but it spoke volumes really. Yes, I know he was always injured etc but his statement told us a lot of the way that Arsene was going about his business.
I answered the same question from you earlier Scott.
Adam, that’s what woke me up, RvP’s statement to the fans. He told it as it was and the penny dropped. Wenger was no longer ambitious…
Rico, we both know that’s not going to happen, so really, I’m none the wiser.
Scott, it might, you never know..
The new manager doesn’t need any new players purchased by Wenger…he’ll need to ship out the dross and spend a fortune imo!
As much of a blank canvas as possible…
That’s true, Rico and we can hope 🙂
Maybe the removal of staff really is the beginning of the end.
They’ll be none left to sell Lee, they are all leaving for free… 🙂
Rico, have no fear-Kozzer and Rambo are staying 🙂
Who else would want them Scott?
Hahaha
Plenty would 🙂
Well I wish one of those ‘plenty’ clubs would sign them…
Afternoon Rico and All
Arsene signed Freddie without seeing
him play in the flesh..video.would you believe.
Every manager has a weak spot,if the results
ain’t good and you ain’t getting in the team,
you quickly become a sh*t manager ask
The Midget.
Not sure it would matter who we bought,
with this lot running the show.
Two sides to every negotiation , we may want them to go and they might not want to.. Arsenal sit in a group of clubs at a certain level , the good but not good enough level.
Players when offered the chance to leave will either wish to better themselves or at least not drop into the next level down. That in England restricts their abiltities to go to 5 other clubs , in France 2 or 3 , same in Spain and probably Italy too. Being generous that makes about 15 clubs. None of our players except Sanchez will be wanted by the top three in England or PSG , Monaco, Real Madrid, Barcelona , Juventus That’s 8 options gone so they are left with 7 to stay at this level.. Selling them becomes truly difficult.
Perhaps this is why we are alowing contracts to run out but I doubt our board is clever enough to go for such Machiavellian strategy but obviously somebody has highlighted the fact that we are carrying players not of the standard required.
I fell out with Wenger around 2009/10 when he gave Denilson a five year contract renewal , this really introduced the crab football thast we have suffered ever since . Since that experiment went tits up all we have done is try to keep the same style but change the players hoping that they will improve things. It was obvious then that retreating defences could not be breached by going sideways but Wenger decided that the way was right and all you needed to do was do it quicker. I fundamentally disagreed then and still do now.
There are plenty of different ways to skin a cat but our leader only sees one way and just dabbles at the edges of his system. This is the system that has to change on a week to week basis to combat the opposition and keep them thinking.
Afternoon Fred, I didn’t know that about Freddie. Wenger got lucky there didn’t he…
Looking back Rico..
I think he got lucky period.
Threadleneedle street should have
been his destination.
Rico
The long-serving Arsenal boss was impressed by Ljungberg’s display during a Euro 2000 qualifying match between Sweden and England, during which the all-action winger took his soon-to-be teammate Martin Keown to the cleaners.
So taken was Wenger with Ljunberg’s pace and creativity that he moved swiftly to complete a £3 million deal with Halmstads, despite never having seen him play in the flesh.
‘I saw Freddie Ljungberg giving a hell of a lot of problems to Martin Keown while watching him on television as he played for Sweden against England,’ the Gunners boss said in book ‘The Wenger Revolution: Twenty Years
The Wenger Revolution sounds a bit daft now…
I wonder if there’s going to be further changes in the clubs’ scouting network, looking out of London towards some of our old stamping grounds like Essex, Kent, the North-East, Ireland and Yorkshire, now that Steve Rowley is moving on?
Hi all
Always been a mystery to me how Steve Rowley did so well for himself. When I was a mere whipasnapper he was manager of Gidea Park Rangers whose asses we kicked big style on a regular basis!
rico 9.35, he’d rob the milk out of your tea !
Adam 11.14, remember it well, one of the greatest players ever to pull on an Arsenal shirt was only a couple of weeks away from returning at the time, enter Nicklas Bendtner, think he lasted 2 weeks before he broke down again and Arsenal went pop, still it saved us a few quid eh.
I bet he would Micko…
Amazing Fred..
Evening guys..
Bob, not just him I’d say, our coaching staff should have been replaced years ago..
I wonder how poorly Wengers loyalty to his staff has served him.
Fergie lasted a thousand years, but as we all know, he turned his staff over regularly to bring fresh ideas in.
Arsene, not so much:
Morning all.
His choice…
What all 600 of them lol
? Micko.
Evening Arsene Bandits.
🙂
I think my time for Wenger ended when he sold Cesc and Nasri after saying we couldn`t be considered a top club if we let them both go !……………..within weeks they had gone and gone was my trust in the man and haven`t trusted him since………….. I cant stand people who lie !
Sweltering in Cornwall today especially in St Ives where one customer asked me if I had been to a tanning salon !…………..honest truth ! hahahaha
😎
Night guys.. Enjoy your Friday night…
Morning all
Getting ready to watch Oz take on Honduras over there in SA. Pretty hostile environment apparently. Not confident!
Fred
‘The Wenger Revolution’ – It’s all about the Past.
I’m concerned whether the Club has anyone with any footy nouce left to make the right appointments going forward, or a vision to do so, apart from how to line their own pockets or how to survive to keep lining their own pockets. It’s a worry!
How different Ozil looks when there is movement around him.
Just thinking the same…
Crowd got bored Mexican Wave at 65 minutes.
I’ve said that about Ozil since the day he joined.
Our players make him look bad, because if they’re moving, he will find them.
That’s his game, but we waste his talent.
For me it,s as far back as 2010. Having finished 11 points and 9 league defeats behind champions Chelsea, on the way to a fifth consecutive trophy-less season, We had been left scratching our heads over how to make the club competitive again.
with players like Eduardo, Campbell, Gallas leaving, the best we could do was bring in Koscielny, Squillaci, and Chamakh on a free, that was the start of it for me, It was clear then that the club and especially Wenger,s aspirations and standards had been lowered, as he veered towards bringing through youth players and cheaper signings, the gradual loss of leadership at the club, on and off the field, became evident.
Clubs everywhere wanted Champaign, DG, and he was in good form for us.
RVP came back from injury, Chamakh was benched and lost all form.
Kozzer remains totally under rated, imo, while Squillaci was just bloody useless.
Still, your point is made as two were cheap, and one was free.
It set the theme.
Champaign-try Chamakh lol
Which other clubs wanted Chamakh out of interest Scott?
Poor soul scored a few goals for us and then said he was tired apparently and needed a rest…
Dublin, spot on the leadership imo, never had again since back then..
Morning all..
Liverpool and Tottenham from the PL, amongst plenty of others, Rico.
I thought you meant big clubs…
Ok.
Should have stayed at West Ham , all them bubbles in his shisha pipe.
He’s available for free now but don’t tell Wenger.
Morning Rico. The twin Titan strike force of Chamakh and Sanogo for free is an enticing prospect.
I reckon they would guarantee at least 6 goals between them over a season. Being fed by Walcott obviously.
But seriously, what on Earth was Wenger thinking when he bought those two for a club like Arsenal?
Unbelievable really.
Morning Adam.
We know why he brought them to the club, they were free. It’s what he does, or did far too often. Free or very very cheap. Not that free signings were all bad, but those two were…
There’s an old adage which says that, if you behave like a small club, that’s what you will become. Since Wenger started buying flakes like that for nothing and blokes with broken backs or Klingon heads we have been slowly declining. Can you imagine any other top manager wasting everyone’s time doing these things?We are one of the richest clubs in the world and Wenger still likes grubbing around in the ‘reduced for a quick sale’ basket.
How can the man that bought Vieira or Henry be doing this shit?
That’s whats so hard to understand Adam. The quality he signed when he first arrived was so good. Yes there were a few odd ones but he can be forgiven for those because he can’t get every transfer right but these days the roles are very much reversed. Plenty of average and not enough top quality.
And we certainly behave like a small club..
Adam, I reckon he went through the period where he had to sell to make a profit, and can’t change his mindset.
He’s stuck in a rut in all facets of management.
Catch up later guys, things to do…
Afternoon All
Adam; 10.11, the thing is, Wenger bought both Vieira and Henry on the rebound, both had gone to Italy and failed so he got the pair of them for around £14.5 million.
Would Wenger have signed them both if he’d had to pay their true market value?
He’s always been one for looking at the rejects and bargains, it worked for him 20 years ago but now everyone has wised up.
Chamakh had a good half a season whilst RVP was out injured when he first arrived but then disappeared from the picture, other than getting a couple of good goals in the 7-5 win at Reading.
Having said all that, he did have an impressive hairstyle, complete with a half a pound of lard on his barnet…
afternoon all
I don’t write about AW today
The Arsenal shop still has a warehouse full of Chamakh Hair Gel called Chamakh Attackh, they thought was going to be a best seller, they even did a promotional video with scantilly clad woman girating around Chamakh`s head with hands full of gel singing …….”Slip it on like Chamakh and attackh attackh attackh !”
Apparantly there`s also a promotional video of Kroenke where he`s employing poor Mexicans to make Syrups on £1 per day, they are then forced to wear them and then are hunted on his £500M ranch !
I also have it on good authority that Gazidis will be forced to wear a Stan Syrup from next season, it`s a policy that will cover the whole club that any bald people will have to wear a Stan Syrup………………..even supporters attending games will be donned a Stan Syrup in the new multi million pound automatic syrup turnstyles as they enter the stadium !
It`s to try and build a bond and bridge any hostile feelings that might have come out of the last AGM, so well done the club, great PR !.
Afternoon Rico and the House.
Eddie Eddie Eddie has done it once more for England u19
Playing his 2nd game in 4 days as a( left winger???) on 83 mins he scored the winning goal in a 2-1 win
LC, is a moustache also part of Ivan’s new kit??
Morning all.
All quiet on the Arsenal front.
There’s hardly anything inspiring to discuss, I suppose, and even worse during the Interpol.
Thanks again for the kids update, Rick.
On Eddie, any idea why Chelksi let him go?
Bellerin linking to Juventus move
JM, that story is complete garbage, it’s been recycled through about 4 different news agencies and if you find the source it was basically a Juventus official saying that they tried to talk to Bellerins people but they weren’t interested and that was the end of it.
In other words the whole story is a croc of shit.
Anyway, pleased to hear that you aren’t mentioning AW today, I’ll drink to that..
Maybe a nice glass of Port..? ?
Chelsea thought he was too small Scott.
Cocker, I want a glass of what your drinking…
Or smoking
Is that it, Kev?
Bloody hell-they’d obviously have passed up on Messi, then!!!
Eddie is taller than Santi….
Morning all..
Hi Rick, Arsene Wenger will have a struggle to keep him from the first team soon… if he’s good enough, he’s old enough. Not every game of course but the odd appearance here and there or from the bench.
I agree, Rico.
Ease him into the side for sure.
Morning all.
New post up now..