Morning all.
I wrote a post, it was long, I didn’t like it, so I binned it. Now I know how Adele felt……
So, it’s simple really. We have injuries, oodles of them. We have little in reserve so what will Arsene Wenger do over the next few weeks/month?
Here’s the players out:
Santi Cazorla
Kieran Gibbs
Theo Walcott
Mikel Arteta
Laurent Koscielny
Alexis Sánchez
Tomáš Rosický
Danny Welbeck
Jack Wilshere
Francis Coquelin
Ouch! That’s an awful lot. Gibbs and Koscielny should be back this weekend.
Martin Keown gives his thought on what may be causing the injuries, especially muscular one:
Towards the end of my career at Arsenal we trained on a hybrid surface — artificial fibres combined with grass — that replicated the pitch at Highbury.
If the training surface at London Colney is too firm, it could lead to players suffering injuries. It looked like a snooker table and was very stable but it was too firm for me.
Every player is different but I suffered with back problems, particularly with jumping and landing.
I don’t know what they use these days but training day in, day out, on a firm surface can take its toll.
Could it be that simple?
With the manager running out of options, who would you like to see replace the likes of Santi and Alexis?
Have a good Tuesday guys….
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-3340280/Arsene-Wenger-NOT-blame-mounting-injury-crisis-Arsenal.html
Morning Rico…
A good read for a slownews morning..
Dev- ‘a transfer ban will not affect us. We are used to it by now.’ 😀 good one.
Adam- you know that ban will be a PR coup for AW and his cheque book.
Rido, damn right it could be that simple.
Seriously, they’re better off training in mud than a firm surface.
Morning all.
😀 Scott.
Morning Ts and all again…
Only news is injury news these days…
Does make you wonder Scott, especially when we often say other clubs make their pitches claggy for when we turn up…
Sheffield Wednesday pitch was probably very different to ours.
Doesn’t defend the transfer policy, but it’s certainly worth AW looking into Keown’s comments..
In my initial list I left out TR07 and DW23 seeing they are long term injuries, although the latter could be back by Feb. Including those two would give us a 24 man squad.
yes injuries will happen. But you cannot have people who say that Wilshere will get injured again and then complain about players not being bought. To buy a new player would mean him taking JW10’s place. So either sell JW10 and buy someone else…..or else stick with JW10 and not buy.
Remember…..we can only have 25 man squads.
Ginge, nobody ever got hurt running in sand 🙂 🙂
Rido, they stop our quick passing game by doing that.
It works, as well.
Sorry RiCo….
I don’t think it’s about Jack Devil, it’s about players like Campbell, Arteta, Flamini, Sanogo etc etc…
They are the ones, (not Sanogo) taking squad places…
TS. We need to go out for the evening with Arsene to see what a spendthrift he is apparently. He might even order fries with his Big Mac to prove it. 🙂
As long as they weren’t at Emirates prices.
🙂 Scott, no need….
What no coleslaw??? 😉
White cabbage is too expensive Rico. He tried to buy one but….
The 25 man squad does not include the unlimited number of players aged 21 or under..
A player like Icardi who I have talked about could all have boostered our squad..
The Nolito rumours make me laugh.. Like AW will spend more than £15m on a nearly £30 y.o striker… Then again Suker comes to mind…
Campbell is growing Rico. I hope he continues.
But I agree about Arteta and Flamini.
Don’t tell me Adam, he bought greens instead… But made them work when making a coleslaw… 😉
Almost Rico. He found a white cabbage substitute but when he got it out of the packaging he discovered it was bruised. The ground it was grown in was too hard apparently. But he made it anyway using dried mayonnaise and was shocked that nobody wanted to eat it. He reckons he’ll offer it up again next week though. 🙂
I agree Ginge……Icardi would have boosted us. But what would you do with Theo, Ollie, Danny??? Players whom AW earmarked for the CF role.
Isn’t his contract up in the summer Devil?
Oh the similarities Adam…. 😉
Does make you wonder about the training pitches though…..
Yes, it’s a fascinating conundrum isn’t it Rico. 🙂
I think it is Adam, because if that is what’s playing it’s part then how come someone hasn’t sussed this out years ago?
Doesn’t take away the transfer fiasco but it might help…
One might have though that the God of fitness Chad Forsyth would have spotted it Rico. Then again drowning man, straws etc…sometimes people are just unlucky.
yes his contract is up Rico. And if he is playing out of his skin to get a new one, or a better one elsewhere than its better if he is not offered a new contract as he will be like the togolump. plays only for the money not because he likes playing. Alexis gets a far superior salary, but his attitude is different. he runs himself into the ground and his work rate is 2nd to none.
Keown is right. Those who had played football know this.
I don’t know how can AW solve this problem. in last three games we could won same advantage and we dropped it. On December, we have 5 matches for the league and one very important for the champions.
In a normal way, we will be in the next round of the Champions and we play three games home and two away with three of the last four teams in the table,
Unfortunatelly, we dropped 7 points in the last 3 games in November, we must decide the Champions next week and we have a terrible December month.
like every year, we lost the season in November/December. This year, in theory, could be more easier, but we dropped it.
Santi Cazorla not often injured, big miss
Kieran Gibbs perma crock
Theo Walcott perma crock out for most of last season
Mikel Arteta too old, perma crock should of been replaced
Laurent Koscielny big miss
Alexis Sánchez over played, big miss
Tomáš Rosický too old perma crock should of been replaced
Danny Welbeck was injured before the season started…
Jack Wilshere perma crock, been out since sept
Francis Coquelin imperative that cover for him was bought
Good point re Shad Adam, wonder if he’s been allowed to walk on the training pitches… 😉
Devil, could be that AW doesn’t think he’s worth a new contract… The player has said he wants to stay but apart from one good game against Zagreb, I’m not sure he’s up to the PL…
Rico. I can imagine that, within the club, there are tremendous power struggles going on. Competitive men, big egos and all that. Martin Keown is desperately trying to make it as a pundit isn’t he? They get about £500k a year and that’s just the lesser ones on Sky. Not to be sneezed at.
That’s men for you Adam… 😉
I actually have a lot of time for Keown, he seldom jumps on the spiteful bandwagon and in this particular case, he’s only offering up a view rather than professing to ‘know or have’ all the answers…
I reckon he’s spot on re Alexis, but that’s why AW get’s paid as much as he does…. He should be able to manage players like him and if he can’t, time’s up imo…
Lee, didn’t you read at the weekend that Santi is rubbish and should get out of the club?? 😉
You rotters could have told me I made a spelling mistake in the heading…. 😉 😉
Whose this Rido geezer?
Gawd knows Kev…. lol
I was going to but I didn’t want to irritate you Rico. 🙂
When players, with poor injury records, are fit and playing well, as say Theo when we smashed ManUre. The last thing in anyone’s mind is to get rid of them…
If Wenger had sold Theo to Liverpool, and he’d stayed fit, then AW would have been castigated. Especially if we couldn’t had replaced him like for like for the £15 million that Liverpool were reported to have offered…
Of course Wenger could still have sold Theo, replaced him with some wunderkind from abroad, who could also, now be injured, after being kicked up in the air…
I didn’t think you’d read it Adam, as I know you’d have found it hard to resist… 😉
Agree Kev…
It’s about making sure there’s enough cover….
He told me on whatsapp…………he was beside himself, mortified and inconsolable!!!
I know Rico, and he fcuked up by not replacing Rosicky and Arteta and not bringing in someone to cover for Welbeck, even on loan…
He should have signed at least two, probably three players last summer…
But they’d all probably now be injured.
🙂
Can’t disagree again Kev…
But I doubt they’d be injured as AW could rotate.. but then again….
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/12026668/.html
Lee, I agree completely with your list. For me keeping 6 or 7 clearly injury prone players in the squad, especially when most play in similar positions, is just asking for trouble. It’s one thing to hope our young Brits will come good but keeping Rosicky and Arteta who are now at best fringe players, is as inexplicable to me as not buying backup/competition for Le Coq.
Allan, hopefully we are still in touching distance when the window opens and Wenger has highlighted the new players he needs, setting the wheels in motion…… we can dream I guess??
I’m sure they are working 24/7 at this very moment … 😉
Snap, like you rico, I also wrote a rather long comment and binned it.
I think pig shit sick of Arsene, his medical team and shit squad is much more to the point.
2006/7 3
2007/8 7
2008/9 1
2010/11 6
2011/12 19
2012/13 11
2013/14 9
2014/15 0
2015/16 2
Walcott 80+ minute games for Arsenal ……….. and Wenger was relying on him???
Andrew you cynic you..
Micko, thou shall not slate Aw.. its the 12th commandment. 😉
Hi Snap, long time
Get off of the fence Mick
Where’s that bush Kev? Ah Micko’s beating around it….
Lee ?
Get yourself down to specsavers tsgh, might even bump into Snap !
Why specsavers? do you have shares with them? lol
Micko, great minds think alike, or ‘snap’ as you say… Lol
Evening guys…
Hope the ‘Alexis injury not as serious as thought’ headlines are true…
Ts, check your 2.36 comment re Snap… Lol
I guess we should expect a few palms are going to be greased at Hammersmith & Fulham planning dept….
Hey presto a 60,000 Stamford Bridge…
Just like magic…
£600 million I just read… That’s a lot of money..
Talking of which, City have over £200m from the Sheiks sale, more players then….
“Lars Bender has undergone an ankle surgery. What a loss, he was the top top quality we were about to sign, sorry guys no one will come in in January” – I bet Wenger is already making up that scapegoat.
What about Sven… 😉
Mario Suarez is up for sale apparently…. £6 million…
Maybe we’ll recall Yaya Sanogo?
Don’t even go there… Lol
I’m off, night all…
Lol, Rico top top quality here.
Man city just made a helluva lucrative deal. They’ll be commercial giants, United are already being paid insane sponsorship and other rights money. Soon we might not catch up with our club being reluctant even in investing in a proper squad. Worse still is spuds will catch up when they are done building that toilet seat. Oh Roman is building a bigger bridge too.
Yes recall Sanogo, I bet Ajax can’t wait to get rid of him.
Night Rico
Is Ginge on the magic mushrooms again..
Night Rico….
With Kroenke at the helm Marshall, don’t expect Arsenal to do anymore than they currently are…
Depressing, but true…
Night All
Kev, you’re spot on, IMO.
Stan stays, nothing changes, no matter who our manager is, I reckon.
As you say, depressing, but IMO, true.
Wenger stays nothing changes imo!
From another site but…
Oxlade-Chamberlain
11/12 0
12/13 1
13/14 3
14/15 11
15/16 3
Gibbs
8/9 5
9/10 3
10/11 3
11/12 11
12/13 22
13/14 20
14/15 16
15/16 0
I appreciate Monreal has made the LB position his own but even so games played by those two is embarrassing, along with Walcott’s, Rosicky’s, Arteta’s Wilshere’s and our glorious leader thought that he didn’t need to buy an outfield player????
That’s inexcusable imo!
Either, either, Lee.
Still, for every call of Stan out, there’s a hundred demanding Arsene go.
If Stan stays, Pep won’t be coming, as Stan won’t give him a half billion dollar squad.
I can only see us getting an up and comer or and old has been (or never was).
Get rid of the Yank and get an ambitious owner in.
If that happens, either Arsene stays and lifts his game, or he goes.
Morning Rico and Brudder. On the Kroenke or Wenger thing I am with Lee. If Wenger had decided to spend £100 mill on players in the summer he could have.
Looking at the Man City financial deal it’s easy to see how football has been hijacked by ultra rich foreign investors and this is just the beginning. We’ll have Donald Trump soon.
Adam, fair call, but with an ambitious owner, he’d have had no choice but to 🙂
It really is a 50/50 deal I guess.
It’s a shame money is the all important factor for success now.
Scott. Possibly, but Arsene has carved out a unique niche for himself. The board would like Pep to take over but the timing feels wrong and if it’s purely a money thing, he’ll go north or to west London I imagine.
Morning Lee, Scott, Adam and all…
I agree with Kev, starts at the top and until Kroenke goes, we’ll only ever be a top 4 club. Even when AW goes, I doubt the old Scrooge will get a top manager, Henry, Jonker or someone similar will no doubt come in….
All my opinion of of course.. 😉
Normally and with any other manager you would be right Rico. 🙂
Adam, while he’s been carving away, they’ve been lowering him into the throne, the soft bastards 🙂
Adam, if the board want Pep, why don’t they go and get him?
Because Wenger is un-sackable Rico and because Pep is still under contract at BM.
Honestly Adam, I know you and I totally disagree over this but there comes a time in any occupation when the big man has to step in. I can’t see football being any different. I wonder if Wenger had been the manager of City for the last 3/4 years and had only won two FA Cups, he’s still be there now?
I realise he has total control, well that imo is because everyone is either scared of him or just haven’t got a clue how to deal with him….
I meant for the summer Adam, and I think you knew that… 😉
No manager should be above the sack imo….
Is anyone fussed about a new post or shall we just ramble on here for today?
Rico, I reckon it’s because they don’t know how to deal without him.
And keep rambling 🙂
So do I Scott, the club have allowed him too much power and now it’s biting them on the backside…
But I’m not sure he deserves a public sacking, perhaps a word in his ear and tell him time’s up and then go in the summer… 😉
Rico, well said.
To sack him would be the absolute insult, seeing as though they’ve basically made him what he has become…..
What i’d love to see…..Wenger go and spend 100-120 million next summer, win the league and then retire at the end of his contract.
It won’t happen that way.
If he has stockpiled some cash for the next manager, I can see him leaving at seasons ends.
New post for me Rico… 😉
Micko and Mg thinking I am on the magic mushroom is slanderous. 😛
Morning Rico and all…
So City is worth that much?
Lets watch how much apartments in the wastelands will get inflated henceforth… 😉
Scott, if you want to hide some of your money you know where to now… 😉
From the 2011-12 handbook, covering stats from 2010-11
Theo Walcott : 38 apps. 13 goals
Kieran Gibbs : 20 apps.
Jack Wilshere : 49 apps. 2 goals
Not sure what that proves?
Maybe they should eat more pie n mash…
Ginge, your the stat man, what about it?
And Morning All…
Ramble on…
Rico. Can you imagine a chat where Kroenke says to Wenger “Look Arsene, I think you’ve been getting it wrong.” 🙂
Ramble on here it is then… 🙂
If Kroenke was ambitious, and the performance of his American franchises tell their own story on that one, then he would insist that Wenger be more proactive in the market, he would give Gazides the authority to over ride Wenger…
But Stupid Stan is happy with the status quo and Wenger is happy with that…
As Rico says, it starts at the top…
The culture of the club changed when Dein joined the Board and then reverted to its ultra conservative type when he was sacked…
Or in January Scott and win the league in May…
Then he’ll sign a new three year contract… 😉
Morning Ts. Too late, Scott got in first… lol
Adam, that’s the trouble with most men, they seldom admit they are wrong, and certainly don’t like being told they have…. 🙂
With you again there Kev. Still, his Walmart stores are doing quite well, or do they belong to his wife? 😉
Stupid Stan knows his place Rico… ?
Rico. I admit to being wrong for most of the time. 🙂
Rico, I once admitted I as wrong, but you later pointed out that was an error 🙂 🙂
No prizes for second Ginge lol
I might add that I once knew a woman who was occasionally wrong too, but I was far too decent to point it out, preferring to shoulder the weight of wrongness myself. Just like David Niven would have done.
Wenger could of spent £100m in the summer, did Stan tell him not to?
I honestly don’t think so…. Wenger puts too much faith in these fragile players, our salary bill is massive and the squad has too many mediocre players in it. This socialistic pay structure implemented by Wenger is fucking us….we need a manager to be ruthless with this squad, trimming off the dead wood and injury prone players replacing them with quality!
Lee, did Stan tell him to, though?
Does he ever put any pressure on Wenger to win something?
He should…….tell him to win the League or else, as happens at other clubs.
I’m with Adam here Wenger is more to blame than Stan.
Wenger’s sell by date has passed.
Wenger seems to have an incognito chair at the board too hence his supreme power at the club. He’ll never be sacked or be disagreed with.
We are at his mercy, only thing is we hope he gets some logic and steps down. Worse still is I don’t see him doing that until the end of his contract. He has that crap thing that he always honors his contracts.
He shouldn’t have gotten a renewal, someone at the helm should have convinced him it would be wise to leave on a high while finally he was getting some love from the fans. Now it’s too late. Hang in there till 2017 my friends.
Gibbs is going through a bad patch when in Arsenal shirt but when he played for England the week before last he seemed very assured. Maybe the French made him look good. 😉
With Theo without offending ‘the boss lady’ in my view Theo at 26 y.o cannot be a great hope forever, living in a limbo of possibility, forever on the verge of breaking through without ever quite making a lasting impression.
When you look at his stats over the last 5 or 6 years it is amazing how he has played 44, 57,48, 21, 25 and this season 16 times but anytime he is injured we seem to think if only he could stay fit…
Another one is Ox who has played similar number of games as even Goetze and Icardi but both are not showing the consistency needed…
All I see is him becoming another bandwagon pundit in 6years time or earlier…; Then again he could be the late bloomer.
Rico, that is a bit unfair really taking Scott’s words first.. lol
Adam- its time for a regime change at Arsenal. 😉
I am standing shoulder to shoulder with Goonie to orchestrare this change at Arsenal… 😉
🙂 Kev, Scott..
Couldn’t have been in a conversation with me then Adam…. 😉 😉
Wenger shoulders the biggest blame. He knows his players, their weaknesses and strenghts yet never addressed them. Still irked by the Welbeck lie – that’s the kind of knob he’s turned out to be.
TS. I tend to agree. Wenger has been more than great but there is a single question that needs answering. Is he the man to take the club forward?
Arrive at a determination on that and everything else follows.
If a kid is a Spoilt brat, do we blame the kid, or the parents?
If a kid lacks manners, who do we blame?
I blame Stan.
Always will….Wenger showed what he could do with the right people above him, and behind him.
What has Stan ever achieved in sport?
Mediocrity.
Surely his remit is to win things? Do the sheiks have to tell Pellegrini to win things? Ambramovic have to tell Jose?
Any self respecting manager would want to win things, it his fucking job to do so!
Marshall, I’d love to know who offered him a new contract – and whoever did, should have told him that the objective of our club is much higher than scraping into the top 4…
“Wenger shoulders the biggest blame. He knows his players, their weaknesses and strenghts yet never addressed them. Still irked by the Welbeck lie – that’s the kind of knob he’s turned out to be.”
This.
Hardly Stan’s fault….
First come and all that Ts…. lol
On a serious note, if Man city is worth that much then Stan must surely be considering his options as we speak…
As I said when we signed that sponsorship deal, I thought it was not as great as IG was making it out to be in the grand scheme of things…
The hierachy at the club must be implementing a fiscal policy, that is going against the grain of where football is heading
Did Stan decide to go into a season with 3 players out injured and not to buy a single out field player?
Thought not!
Wenger gets away with blue murder and Stan gets blamed?? I really don’t get that train of thought, but hey ho I guess!
Lee, that’s kind of my point really. AW isn’t winning much, isn’t making signings, doesn’t get a proper squad in place, etc etc etc, but, Kroenke appears to care very little as long as we get the money from the CL.
So if Kroenke is happy, nothing will change all the time he stands by AW…
Lee, you don’t see our point, and that’s fine.
None of us are failing to lay blame at Wengers feet as well, but ultimately, one man and one alone has the power….IF HE WANTS IT….to decide the ambition of the club.
One man sets the agenda, again, if he wants to.
Stans failure to take responsibility means he is liable for mine.
He allows Wenger to try and win without spending, but he could change that, if he wanted to.
His silence shows he doesn’t want to, and he has a patsy in Wenger….someone to cop the blame that should, at least in part, be aimed at him.
He’s happy seeing his share price go up, and what makes you think the next managers performance won’t be based on whether or not we finish top 4 on a budget?
If Pep does come in, we will know that Stan has finally seen the light and demanded success.
Ts, I hoe Kroenke is thinking long and hard about his shares….
Rido, I hope he’s thinking long and hard about selling them 🙂 🙂 🙂
Maybe Aw wrote up his current contract and counter-signed it as well; AW acknowledges he is responsible for actions on the field, if and when it is working he takes the plaudits and so rightly so when it fails he deserves the criticism (within reason) imho…
from the stands and the comfie’s of our lounges it appears Aw does not like to spend and is not ambitious; conversely if AW was a spendthrift do we think teh board would have said he was free to do as he pleased…?
There has to be someone outside of AW who is responsible for defining the strategy of the club. If all fair for a big suit to say we have £200m publicly without showing leadership to enforce the clubs strategy. As far as we are all aware Aw is no shareholder and merely an employee, with most f te board being former board members and merchant bankers I would have thought they wouldn’t allow someone to come in and do as they plaeased…
From little snippets or rumours there definitely appears to be a poor strategy at recruiting as apparently our only/main target was Cech, Turan and gregorz but because in Ardans case he opted to join Barca we decided to sit on our hands…
Exactly Scott….
Me too Rico…
then again Stan will be too late finding another business man/family/consortium or (mug) who will pay so much for 13% as we always are in our dealings…
A question:
Why has Stan not called upon Usminov to lavish his cash on the club? If it was all a matter of money then surely he would cough up, if asked. Buying and selling players is not a problem. If Wenger wants a particular player he has the money to buy, with or without the Uzbec’s cash. But, and it’s a big but, he will not shell out shed loads of gelt on journeymen, furthermore he will not spend a bean on an established superstar who’s larger than the club, team and will only serve to upset and undermine the squad! Imo, of course!
So, we have got we’ve got and, so has Stan. I agree he seems to lack ambition, but at least he doesn’t rob the club of vast sums of money á la the Glazers, he restricts himself to a mere £3m per annum, not a lot in this day and age, especially for an owner who has paid out hundreds of millions on buying the club in the first place. He’s not called ‘silent Stan’ for nothing. He has bought the club and he has entrusted his commodity in the hands of others. And that’s him! So long as he makes a bit and his investment does not deteriorate he will be quite content! Imagine if he morphed into Cellino at Leeds? In many ways his lack of action is a good thing. Let the football gurus run the football club and, that includes Wenger and Gazidis et al. After all they don’t seem to be doing a bad job! The set up at Arsenal is not ideal but it is better than many clubs and a damned sight more successful than most! If it ain’t broke don’t mend it!
Finally, Wenger will leave, eventually! We will get a new manager or coach, hopefully he will prove to be a successful round plug in a round hole! But there is no guarantee. That’s the rub!
Stick or twist?
Morning all. War and gloriously sunny here.
It really is never boring, is it 🙂 🙂
Good post, Wavy.
Maybe Usmanov still has plans Ts… One can only hope…
fine comment wavy… I think you got on a different train today. 😛
Arsenal as a club and it’s fans deserve someone far more ambitious than Kroenke imo Wavy…
I know we don’t know if things would have been much different had the shareholders sold to Usmanov instead of Kroenke, but I suspect they would have as he’d have been a bit more like Roman imo and demanded more success….
Scott- i like this ; ”he has a patsy in Wenger”.
Not see patsy used next to wenger in that context before. lol
seen*
Rico, somewhere in between Stan and a Roman would be ideal, I reckon.
Ginge, glad you like it lol
“Warmmmm” although war does seem rather imminent!
Indeed Wavy
tend to agree Scott… maybe a pragmatic Wath. 🙂
I do see your point I just think it’s bollocks….
Stan is happy with top four and the cash rolling in, surely Wenger wants to win big trophies, the money is there and he chose not to spend it. So Stan should bin him and install a manager with ambition and one that wants to win silverware.
In that aspect Stan is the problem.
But who assembled this poor injury prone squad?
Who does the team tactics or lack of them?
Pays shit and injury prone players good money?
Who is a smug condescending liar?
Who said “If the board gave me £100m I’d give it back to them?”
Arrogantly went into this season without buying a single outfield player?
Wenger is holding the club back not Stan.
As some wise sage said to me once, “if things don’t change, they stay as they are”.
For the foreseeable future that’s how Arsenal is going to be, I reckon. We’re stuck in a rut, not a bad rut, but a rut!
Stan isn’t that interested in winning things…
He’s more interested in the bottom line…
Now if Arsenal failed to finish in the top four I imagine that Kroenke would get more involved, because it would affect his pocket and his ability to purchase a new ranch or move the Rams to Inglewood…
Wath would love that gig 🙂
The club is autonomous, there’s money to spend the lack of ambition comes from Wenger.
Wenger isn’t interested in winning things…
Lee, AW is to blame for all that stuff but why does Kroenke sit back and do nothing about it?
Chicken and the egg I think….
Lee, so my point is bollocks, but then you agreed with it?
I’m saying they’re both to blame and now you are as well 🙂
Wavy, things are certainly stale.
Stan leaving would be quickly followed by success, of that I’m certain.
Wenger leaving guarantees absolutely nothing, IMO.
It could work brilliantly, but it could backfire.
As Arsenal fans, which option seems better?
Kev, I bet he would… He’d jump out of his chair so fast at the end of May, his wig would fall off… 😉
PS….when I say Stan leaving would bring success, I mean either Arsene fires up Immediately, or would be replaced by a top manager, with money to spend.
Just my opinion.
The super successful multi billionaire business man surely would see that winning the PL or CL would line his pockets further?
He let’s Wenger get on with it…..there lies the problem we have a has been as a manager that is passed his sell by date and needs upgrading.
Until next time, I’m off guys.
Have a great day….
Wenger leaving would lead to success.
Wavy- thinks are definitely stale; but then again it could be far far worst so…
– football, x-factor, reality tv, bake show etc are all well orchestrated distractions for we the masses whilst the elite and politicians we have supposedly elected match our sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, grand kids to another meaningless war and civil rights are getting stripped.
seeing as Henry Kissinger said — ‘Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.’
Lee- Not sure Aw does not like winning things; seen him at Wembley after Fa cup win and he looked far far younger after ending the 9 year wait…
Who is this Rido geezer you’re talking to Scott?
Night Scott…
Fido? Wasn’t she ‘the King of the wild frontier’?
I’ve heard it’s it’s pretty lawless down Reading way!
What about the board, they are a toothless lot too… literally in many cases… 😉
He can’t TS, anyone with a modicum of intelligence could see we needed to strengthen the squad because we would definitely pick up our annual injuries………well apart from one man, that is.
I’m not knocking the back to back F.A cups but when have we been a force in the PL or CL?? We may of been in the CL for the last 700 years but we just make the numbers up, also rans……
true Lee
Stan seems to adopt a laissez faire policy….
I’m with Wavy, bomb everybody…
wenger and kroenke are 2 of the same
if wenger did not agree with the way the club is being run, why does he keep signing new contracts
wenger -kroenke out
pep – usmanov in
Let’s all become real and good morning. We haven’t got a dog’s chance of winning anything this season though the anti Arsenal media are dismissing our appalling injury record saying it is no worse than other clubs.
Now close your ears if you are 100% pro Wenger.I don’t care what he says, you don’t risk players if there is a still a slight doubt about their fitness. Christ we brought in a new team with all the state of the art inventions that measure this and that and changed the players diet.
A don’t care a fig about stats how far they run, how many passes they make etc, we are literally down to the bare bones and players like Campbell and Jeff and to a certain extent Chambers have very limited experience at this level.
He will now rush players back like Walcott and The OX who are injury prone players. Sunderland are utter shite but will beright in our faces and now we can bet not on the score but who gets injured next and then we have Olympiacos.
It would have been nice to have a slightly loonger run for my money.
I tell you now despite somehow only being two points off the top we are in a false position and will finish vieing for forth yet again unless we get one or two players in January, our injuries diminish rapidly and players like Ramsey and Giroud start banging them in the net.We didn’t buy Giroud as a hold up player but to score vital goals which he rarely does, his goal tally is misleading.
Rico, that’s a bit wiggist… ?
Reading Wavy, Reading – I’ll have you know I’m not that near that dump… 😉 😉
Hi rico. I have actually given up on this season, a season where any one of 6 clubs could win the league.We have 228 million pounds in reserve and didn’t strengthen, it’s a scandal.
That’s a bit of a rant Kelsey and it’s not even Friday… 😉
Oops, sorry Kev… 🙂
Hi Kelsey.. Unless January brings a couple of players, the way our injuries are going, 4th could be a tough place to finish…
Spurz are doing well although that pains me to say, Klopp looks to have the ‘new manager’ joy at the Dippers, Leicester might surprise a few and keep their good form and then there’s City, Utd and Chavs if the pigmy sorts them out….
Good morning Rico and All.
Come one day we’ll know the root of the trouble. But as Kev and Rico have said earlier, you just have to look at Stan other franchise how mediocre they’re and make up your mind.
Who gave AW such power to do things his way and just sit back and do nothing. If Stan wasn’t satisfy he could have take action but he seems satisfy. AW’s job is safe. Is not what the fans are craving for, is what Silent Stan want.
Just look at his other franchise and see if they are winning things then make up your mind who to blame.
The thing is Lee, using Pelligrini and Mourinho as examples kinda proves the point of the ambition coming from above.
Both those managers are under huge pressure to deliver the EPL and CL every season. Not just once, but season after season.
So they don’t fcuk about, they go in big in the transfer market every window because their jobs are on the line…
Morning Ng..
And I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see AW get offered a new contract because replacing him in 18 months time might be something which sits in Kroenke’s ‘too difficult’ tray…
Nothing you can do about Kroenke, he runs it as a corporate business not a football club. A man who Hill Wood said two years before Kroenke bought his initial shares “we don’t want your kind here”. What really happened in that boardroom with Lady nina and when Dein left Wenger was given too much power. I accept some say Dein sold out, but he brought AW to the club and did a lot of player negotiating as well. Wembley was a wrong move but generally things started to go down hill when he left.
Did you know Dein proposed a bigger and cheaper stadium at Kings X which was turned down.
Kev, and both clubs are ruthless when it comes to sacking managers. Di Matteo won the CL but where is he now….
AW suits Kroenke because he won’t overspend… imo..
Kev- Totally agree. As an aside, may I add that Jose may have wanted more signings but Roman or better said mariana did not allow him to sign any players.
Brazil is officially in depression economically, can we not buy a few gems from them. lol
I didn’t know that about Kings Cross, first time I’ve heard that..
I too believe things started to go wrong when Dein left, not because he left, but there was no-one in place to takeover so AW did everything. Once IG came in, that should have all changed… However…
Ideally I would like a majority share holder something between Kroenke and usmanov. people rush in and say usmanov would invest heavily, but it’s easy to say things to stir things up when you have no control.
Rico has a point, they might extend his contract but on the other hand just say he is going there must be plans already in place,it won’t be left until the last moment.
Ts, I’m not surprised, he has around 100 players out on loan and it’s not like his squad isn’t big enough already…
And they have to find £600 million for a new stadium according to the media…
It’s true Rico, I think i told you that a very close friend of mine has a son who worked for 18 years for the late Danny fiszman. When he was in remission he offered all his shares to his family, who refused them, hence we got Kroenke.I never knew why they refused them but then they had no football interest and didn’t need the money.
Tbh, I don’t think Kings Cross was ever a go’er…
Two Councils involved for starters and as anybody can see if you your the area now, there were/are bigger players involved in that development…
Nice thought though, being so close to Kings X Stn and St Pancras…
The only surprise for me is, why would AW allowed all the good work to go down the drain? Why sit back and allow your reputation tarnish while he keeps on renewing his contract. He should have walk away after the first or second FA Cup.
But time will tell.
Actually allekev you are probably right but it was nevertheless a proposal because there are several caveats with the new stadium as you would be aware of.Kings x has changed dramatically, it’s practically upmarket. 😉
If he goes Kelsey, you’d certainly like to think his replacement is being discussed already. I do wonder if Henry is the mix, or Jonker…
Nasher, he’s an idealist…
He wants to be able to say “Look I won the EPL using the self sustainable model”…
I wasn’t doubting you Kelsey, just I’d not heard that before. Yes, you did tell about the other…
Funny though, Kroenke has no football interest either… 😉
Well Kelsey, it’s out of my price bracket, but Adam and Lee could afford it… ☺️
Sorry lads/ladies I haven’t barged in.I have known rico via various blogs for 7 or 8 years I think.The trouble is we keep going over the same thing time and time again and IMO after nearly two decades the game has changed and most managers in the PL know how to play against us as we are so predictable yet never consistent.Whose fault is that ….. exactly 🙂
“AW suits Kroenke because he won’t overspend…” And that’s one of the reasons Pep will never come to Arsenal. Who wants to work for a tigh-arse owner?
That long Kelsey? lol
Kel. Sustainable model was yesterday vision…
You just have to look at Chelsea, ManU and ManCity owners’s ambitions, and see if sustainable is in their shortlists.
But there’s £200m in the bank, has Stan told Wenger not to spend?? No Wenger chose not too, he was happy with this injury prone aging squad…..just look at the last 10yrs of injuries that we’ve had and who has been injured.
Ng, I don’t think we need to be like Chelsea and City though, somewhere in between would do imo….
If you are a respectable owner of a restaurant in London and your manager don’t share your vision, you let him go. Is that simple.
That can’t be argued against imo Lee…
Rico. No one wants Arsenal to spend for the sake of spending, but two or three players would do. But if the owner don’t have any ambitions why would the manager care? Unless he value his reputation.
Gary Neville has quit SS’s for the managers post at Valencia… Good on him…
Because AW should do what he get’s paid for Ng…
My gripe is with Kroenke for not demanding more but AW has plenty of his own faults, too many to mention…
Catch up later guys, I’m off into the sunshine….
theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/dec/02/gilberto-silva-fifa-brazil-arsenal
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/dec/02/gilberto-silva-fifa-brazil-arsenal
NG, because he gets paid £8.5m p.a he should surely care…
A good read….
Gary Neville, manager of Valencia….
Stan is in arsenal for the money, doesn’t care about titles and sh*t. The moment arsenal would incurr losses is when we’d see him spring into action. It’s up for AW to show Stan and Gazidis the arsenal way and about winning titles.
Players are being mismanaged, why play Alexis when in the previous game he had a ‘hamstring scare’. Then not give Chambers, Joel, Reine play time and expect them to suddenly rise to the occasion when they barely have minutes/experience under them.
“Are you looking at me?”
Sad to see Gary leave SS.
Sky are now devoid of a proper footballing brain…
Ng as they say “Profit Has No Patriotism” or maybe it does not apply to football. 😉
Lee. Is not that I don’t share your views but the majority shareholder should cup majority of the blames. Even if he don’t have an insight of football, which I doubt, he should see and know things aren’t right. My opinion is, AW is doing exactly what Stan is expecting. Arsenal is competing among Europe Elites, his shares values are going up and there the two FA Cups to prove it.
Ts. One doesn’t have to look very far, just look at his other sporty investment. When was the last time any of them won something.
Micko,- have you read the Greek Enikonomia report stating that Greeks have been told to declare cash “Under The Mattress”, including Jewelry and Precious stones for tax purposes?
If you declared yours to me… I know a juju man who ca get AW to spend in January… 😉
But we aren’t competing among Europe’s elite are we? We’ve been in the CL for pretty much all of Wenger’s time at Arsenal, one final and apart from that we’ve failed miserably.
How much is Bayern Munich offering to Pep to renew his contract, can Arsenal match it? Would he be able to spend the type of money he is used to, by buying any player he wants regardless of cost?
My opinion is, not when Stan is in charge.
I think we can match it BUT will we??
Wenger has spent more than Guardiola in the past decade.
Wow that’s unreal Brudder…. who spent more last summer? 😉
“How’s your driving record? –
It’s real clean, like my conscience”
Spooky that Kev, I’ve just been done for speeding 79 mph on the A12….. FFS!
Any chance of a Speed Awareness Course, Lee?
Brudder. I dunno who that was but can have a guess at who it wasn’t. 🙂
These are all internet figures but this thing that people quote about Pep being primarily a chequebook manager is not true although, let’s face it, he has worked at Baraca and BM, both of which had superb players when he arrived. Whichever way you look at it, he must be one of the world’s top 3 managers. Having said that, I don’t really follow this stuff really. I just like the way that his team’s play and the preparation that he apparently does.
Hopefully BT!
I read somewhere that he is uber thorough in his preparation…. bit like Arsene really! 😉
Shit!!!
Sorry to hear that Lee… ?
I was once the passenger of some quite crazy driver, in a Beamer, he was doing about 79 around the A406.
I begged him to slow down, but he was like a man possessed…
Carlos Fandangbrudder?
He should be keel hauled Kev.
One thing i hate about arsenal fans is that they call pep a cheque-mananger when he is very simila to wenger.
They both believe in youth,dont spend big in one player(yet to see pep spend 40m on a player),both believe in attacking football.pep spends about 50m on signings per season
The other point which we always ignore is that pep worked for political teams in barca and bayern.they sign players without manangers permission.ibra,lewandowski,gotze and many were not his signings.
Shad said something about knowing where the problem was at,but he wants his own team to help him,meaning old medical team are outdated as our mananger.we need a new medical team to resolve our injury record…
Evening all
Adam, not only should he be keel hauled, he should be made to wear a red hat…
And red strides….
🙂
Santi out for three months, ligament injury according to the Guardian… 🙁
Evening all….
Shit…
Dreadful news….
No midfield at all now….
Evening Rico and all…
Interesting theory…
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/nov/30/arsenal-injuries-theory-arsene-wenger-alexis-sanchez
I always said we needed taller players in the side, but did anyone listen, no, of course not….. 😉 😉
Evening Bt.
With Kroenke as in any other business you pay people to do different things, in other words you delegate.That he might not know anything about football isn’t relevant but who he appoints has to be top notch.
IMO he is happy with a top 4 and is prepared if we miss out on the odd year.We gate £3 million every Home game even if 12000 don’t turn up the tickets are sold and at the latest count,despite the outcry of ticket prices, the waiting list for season tickets is 30000.
The paying fan and club grow more apart every season, players don’t show loyalty anymore bar the odd exception but IMO no player is worth the obsene amount that the top player earns.
I am no great lover of Walcott but he has improved but has been with us for over 10 years and now demands 140K a week yet has a history of being injury prone to every part of his body.he has speed, one on one is good and his finishing is better but at CF against a physical defence he would be blown over.
Rico, just read Theo may be in contention for the weekend and Alexis may only miss 3 games.
BT62,
That’s called a panic measure.Rush them back when not fully fit, then they breakdown and are off for twice as long.Again rewind to the Summer, bad planning, no excuse whatsoever.
Kelsey, matters not who Kroenke delegates duties too, not when he allows AW all the power he has….
Bt, odd though isn’t it, AW hinted that Walcott was a couple of weeks away yet, just hope he’s not being rushed back… Pleased re Alexis, cheesed off re Santi though…
Kelsey, it’s the Arsenal way….
Rico, i wouldn’t be surprised to see Theo involved at some stage against Sunderland,lack of fit personnel and how the game is going, if true.
This season will be 12 years since we last won the league (presuming a miracle doesn’t happen) and considering our resources these past 4 to 5 years it’s just not good enough always being in the mix and then falling away.We need a new man at the helm and I am still convinced if we had lost the Cup Final last year he would have bowed out as he only signed his extension contract after we won.
I suppose, to look on the bright side, that it gives other players, like Ramsey, a serious opportunity to shine.
Me neither Bt…
Odd though Kelsey, I’d rather leave when I’d just won something. Go out on a bit of a high and all that…
Adam, on the right or left? 😉
In his favourite central midfield role of course Rico. 🙂
That’s a radical idea Adam….
That would be novel Adam… Lol
Hi BT. You never know. With him and Flamini and a dose of discipline it will certainly give the team a different dynamic.
It’s all Stan’s fault….
Lee 🙂
A dose of discipline Adam, where’s that going to come from…. Lol
Thanks for letting me join in, goodnight one and all.
JM we are being linked with Neves an 18yr old DM what’s he like?
Night Kelsey
No-one saying it’s all Kroenkes fault, so many fans call for Wenger to be sacked because he’s getting so many things wrong, well the mere fact he’s still manager is because Kroenke won’t sack him. No, instead, he gave him a new contract….
My train is fucking late…..Stan?
Night Kelsey…
Lee!!
Rico, I was pulling your leg! 😉
Have a good one Kelsey…..
You old toad Lee… 😉
Fucking 50 next August!!!
Adam’s the toad oh and Kev oh and BT!
It’s a good age, the new 40 Lee… Honest.. 😉
You are all bloomin toads….
Takes one to know one and all that….
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree….
No mirrors in your house…
You better have a doctors note for that sprained wrist of yours rico, that’s all I’m saying !
Lee and Kelsey have pretty much nailed it today.
You are right, I only have the small apple trees so not far for the apples to fall….
I have Micko, a month off….
Be careful Micko you’ll be labelled a “toad”….
Half a century deserves a big celebration Lee..
I think I might be coming down with a bout of depression myself !
Only just Micko, I’ve been suffering with the same for the last 6/7 years…
My pals have organised a long weekend in Ibiza….I’ll be coming home in a body bag!
I wish I could buy you all a beer, well apart from Rico, I couldn’t afford the Cava bill….
😆
67yrs you said you were 21…
Very true Lee ??
Cheeky, hasn’t your train arrived yet….
That sounds like the plot to a movie Lee.
Bloody hell there’s a programme on the Beeb tonight about the swamplands…
The Bbc must be desperate…
Evening all.
Time for me to head off, night guys….
Was it somethingI said?
Night Rico..
How’s things Adam?
Southampton 1-6 Liverpool
I blame Stan, and Lee…
And Mick
And Spectrum
Lee, I know.
For me (and for everyone here in Portugal) he is a very good player and with a large margin of progression.
18 years old.
The thing is, Wenger needs to sign someone, well a midfielder – or two – who can come in, as Coquelin did, and make an immediate effect…
Can an 18 year old Portugese lad come into the Arsenal team and do a Coq or a Vieira?
Maybe Wenger needs to look closer to home and try to sign a player – or two/three – from another EPL or British club…?
If any new signing is going to have any chance in helping our faltering Title hopes, then they need to hit the ground running straight away….
BT. Sorry, I slipped off the radar there. Not bad thanks and I hope you and yours re well too.
He’s probably a spuds supporter but, I think David Lammy is a very good MP! And, by God that area needs help, it’s like a third world country. Well, the football club is testimony enough for their state of local depravation! We really need a few more up market neighbours! Shit hart lane the next area to be gentrified? Yeh, right!!
That was a ref to BT’s 8.21….bit of a delay….soz!
Question:
Whenand who was the last child we signed who came through and played regularly for the first team at the Arsenal?
So, child to legend?
No I have no idea!
Just a random thought related to our youth policy. Where are you Rick, I need you!
We are being “linked” to Isco and Lars Bender this morning that’ll please Scott and Kev.
On another note, it goes from bad to worse for Benitez…..fielding a banned player in the Copa del Rey!
So Real have been booted out of the competition!!!
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein
Exactly what AW and the club are doing with the players. Mad I say, mad they are.
Isco is a ripper, Lee.
I’d take him any day, but you knew that already 🙂
Morning all.
Wavy, it depends what you call regularly……Jack??
Ok. Enough said bahahahahahahaha
Isn’t Lars recovering from ankle surgery?
Morning Lee, Marshall, Scott and all…
Rico, he’s just perfect then 🙂
Isn’t Lars recovering from ankle surgery?
Fit in a treat then….
Apparently the injury isn’t serious enough for us to be interested.
Morning Rico and all.
I was waiting for that you two… 😉
Morning Adam..
Two more from FIFA nicked….
Morning Rico and all.
Now we were told how crucial it was to play Ramsey on the wing, now there’s a midfield crisis Wenger will tell us how he always wanted to play him in the midfield. Feeling sad for Ozil, he’ll have a nightmare being surrounded by Joel, Ramsey, Giroud and his beloved Flam for 90 minutes.
As we chat Wenger is desperately trying to locate Kim Kallstrom his back is apparently still broken so he ticks all the boxes!
Morning All…
Morning Rico…
Yep, a Bender for me…
Lars Bender? Wenger loves them crocked.
Oscar Pistorious is heading for jail. Rightly so!
Is Owen Hargreaves still available?
As I read somewhere, imagine if we had a pacey mobile striker with a good conversion rate maybe just maybe Ozil could supply him and we could limp into the January window……
What about Jack Rodwell?
Good call Kev, he’s not a Bender though……
Yes Rico, he deserves that. Was afraid he’d have walked!
Lee, hope Theo can keep fit. To me he’s a better option forward and most suited to partner Ozil
Morning Kev..
Why not Sven though, he’s the ‘proper DM’….
Arsène Wenger is doing that thing again. You know, the one where he sends out smoke signals suggesting the club is interested in signing the defensive midfielder that they have needed since time immemorial even though everybody knows at the last minute he’ll crumble and sign another flighty, attacking midfielder and a routine full-back whose greatest use will be to crack jokes in the presence of the club’s overworked medical team to keep their morale up. You see, they’ve “emerged as favourites” to sign the Bayer Leverkusen metronome Lars Bender, a player who was seemingly born just a hop, skip and a jump away from a move to Arsenal. The Mill has a theory, though. Perhaps Wenger’s after the wrong Bender. And no, we don’t mean his twin brother, Sven, who plays for Dortmund. It would be Peak Wenger to sign the Lars Bender currently warming the bench at Fortuna Köln in the third tier of German football, a club who’d happily accept a bag of hard-to-zip-up coats and £500 for him. Now there’s a real Wenger deal.
From the Guardian
🙂 Marshall
So Lee, there’s a third Bender.,,,,!
As Brudder Adam has pointed out over last 20 transfer windows, Wenger should have his targets identified and people working to bring them in at the start of the window……
Do you think that’s the case?
Or will the “walking wounded” returning be like new signings?
I know where I’d put my money. #justsaying.
That’s funny Kev, I didn’t know there was a second Lars Bender….
Nor did I Rico, although I’m sure that Ginge knows… ?
Apparently Akpom and the Hull fans have fallen out…
Tbh, I don’t know why Wenger doesn’t recall them both, a couple of extra bodies in the squad won’t harm…
Lata
Me too neither Kev! Why they sent so many out at the beginning of the season I find rather shortsighted. Lack of planning again. Now where have I heard that before? So at the start of the season we have 3 strikers, no 4 if you include Sanogoals! We loan out two, we keep two, every decent club knows they need four but we have given two away! You couldn’t make it up, could you?
We have one DM and two old chaps who could do the job, albeit not very well. Do we buy a viable understudy to our last season’s lucky find? No we do not because there is no other footballer in the wide world good enough to become an Arsenal player!! It’s worse than a Mills and Boon plot line!
And now, in November we, not surprisingly, find ourselves up Queer Street, without a taxi driver! Looking at fragile Benders and odd ill fitting 18 year old Portuguese prodigies, who will turn out to be worse than the two old timers!
What a way to run a soccer club!
🙂 Kev, poor Ts….
I’d certainly get Akpom back… Unless Wenger has a striker up his sleeve….
Hi Wavy, trouble is, most out on loan would have either been playing for the under 21’s or sat twiddling their thumbs on the bench each week as AW doesn’t trust them enough to play them so I can understand why they are on loan.
Same could be said about a few of the first team squad players really…
New post up now…