Morning all.
I guess it was inevitable really so it’s no great surprise to read the headlines on the back pages which suggest Arsenal and Arsene Wenger are likely to part company in the summer. Unlike many of us though, this suggestion in the newspapers seems to have suddenly come about following our toothless performance and hefty defeat against Man City on Sunday. From suggesting we Arsenal fans should be careful what we wish for and all that jazz, now the club have allegedly drawn up a shortlist in preparation for a summer of change. Did someone at the club leak it to the Press? A subtle hint directed at the Frenchman?
On that list of candidates eyed to become the next Arsenal manager is Celtic and ex Liverpool man Brendan Rodgers, Paulo Fonseca of FC Shakhtar, Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim, German international manager Joachim Low and Mikel Arteta.
Low has been in his role since 2006 and to be honest, with the players he’s had and still has at his disposal, it must be great to have. He’s certainly experienced success with his fellow countrymen but there’s a vast difference between having some of the best to pick from and signing the right players to make a team strong, balanced and competitive.
Rodgers, well we know of him quite well from his time at Anfield but having been so close to winning the Premier League just a few years ago, he couldn’t take his team over the line. He’s certainly got closer to being a Premier League winner than Arsene Wenger has though over the last ten or so years. He’s now winning league titles in Scotland, a task less tough than here in England that’s for sure although I’m sure Arsene Wenger wouldn’t be doing what Rodgers is doing if the two swapped managerial roles but regardless, I wouldn’t want to see old shiny teeth at Arsenal that’s for sure.
Graham Potter…… ok, just kidding.
Mikel Arteta, As much as he might be learning a lot tactically from Pep Guardiola, like Thierry Henry, he lacks experience and as with Low, he’s not responsible for signing the players for the squad. If the club want experience then Arteta is not their man.
Paulo Fonseca of FC Shakhtar who has apparently expressed great interest in managing in England. Everton wanted him after Koeman was sacked but any move never materialised. Perhaps he was holding out for a bigger club and if so, they don’t come much bigger than managing Arsenal. Well, that’s how I see it. Fonseca won the Ukrainian league in his first season although I’d imagine that’s a bit like Rodgers winning the SPL.
Last but not least is Leonardo Jardim. Well he’s one of the hot properties in football management I think and probably one of very few who doesn’t boast a footballing career prior to being involved in the game. He went into management at a young age, starting with youth teams, moving into an assistants role before going it alone. He’s never really stayed at one club though until recently when having spent around a year at Braga 2011–2012, Olymiacos 2012–2013 and Sporting CP 2013–2014, he settled at Monaco in 2014 where last year, his team were crowned La Liga Champions. This season hasn’t been quite so good for his club though as PSG overtaken them quite comfortably. Selling their better players back in the summer hardly helped their cause though and neither did Yaya Sanogo in their last game as he scored a late in the game to snatch a point for Toulouse. Never thought I’d be writing that. ?
Out of those listed above, Jardim has to be the best candidate I’d have thought but just who the Arsenal board have in mind, if they do at all, is quite possibly very different to the names the football writers have conjured up. Just as I’m quietly confident our list of ideal candidates would differ to each other.
Just for fun.
[yop_poll id=”14″]At the moment though, the speculation surrounding Wenger being asked to leave in the summer is just just that, speculation. It’s a hope, a big hope that the owner/board are on the same hymn sheet as most of us and they too want change. Or simply hope that Arsene Wenger finally realises that It’s time to walk away.
Change is as good as a rest it’s said, a new broom sweeps clean it’s said too but there’s one old cliche which wont be running through my mind should Arsene Wenger depart this summer.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder…..
From the previous thread :-
Not Brendan Rodgers please , we need to forward not slip further back, relegation fight at Watford , the disasters at Reading and Swansea , took Liverpool to the dizzy heights of 10th got sacked and went to a safe house at Celtic where it is more difficult to lose the league than win it. Just not the right man for the fans to instill hope . The board however are a different bunch.
Now as to todays vote ,should I vote for who I want or who the board will pick ? have to think about it .
Anyhoo leave Potter alone, I hear he’s a nice chap !
Rico why do you keep ignoring my favorite managers. Come on ma’am we had better snap them up now or we ‘ll be kicking ourselves in the nearest future. Nagelsmann, hassenhuttl and Maurizio sarri are the next “pep zizou and Simone “of world football. Neglect them at out own peril. Great post by the way.
Cross viera arteta and Henry out Rico. They need to go cut their teeth at the lower leagues first. Maybe take up west brom or stoke and save them from relegation then I might consider handing them arsenal. From the list above I ‘ll still pick jardim. He’s the most qualified and ‘ll work wonders with our youth players. I like allegri but I think jardim ‘ll suit us fine.
Ha ha Potter, someone read it then…lol
Goonie, yours come under A N Other…
There are loads of candidates that will be chomping at the bit to come to Arsenal. However, with some of the leaked names like Low and Rodgers, I am a little dumbfounded. Low hasn’t managed a club in years. It’s all fine and well managing the best players in the world, but can he do it in club football? I don’t want to find out.
Rodgers? I really don’t understand that. If Celtic were in the Premier League, they would be 10th – 12th. That is the standard of their league. Not exactly one we should be considering. I love Arseblog’s description of him having sharks teeth though – lol.
Simeone for me, in my dreams. He won’t come, I’d wager. Allegri might, but he just signed a new deal last year. Same with Sarri – just signed a new deal. So Jardim – also contracted until 2020. Unless they resigned, that would be the only way that we would get them and the only one which would be realistic would be Jardim.
So my realistic vote would be Jardim, please.
Begeegs this is the arsenal we are talking about a lot of managers ‘ll jump at the opportunity of managing us. Remember pep was gonna choose is over shitty had lesenile resigned. If contract them and make the position available am sure they ‘ll all be interested.
Did Allegri actually sign a new deal? There was lots written about it I don’t recall seeing anything confirmed. He’d be my choice..
He did Rico just after Lord Wenger renewed his. I guess max allegri was waiting to see what arsenal planned on doing before putting pen on paper with juve. He waited till the last minute though. Showed he really wanted to come.
Shame Goonie. Emre, Tuchel and Ancelotti are free though aren’t they?
I love tuchel he did a great job at Dortmund but I feel he’s not the next level we are looking for. If we truly want to compete I ‘ll say from the above jardim is the best candidate. It’s a young man’s game Rico ancelloti was the shit a few years ago but now we are seeing so many young vibrant coaches breaking forth. I ‘ll take a punt on one of them.
Rico Carlo and tuchel are both out of work now so yep they ‘re free agents.
Emre is too isn’t he? After his sabbatical..
For me, Allegri and Goonie is right, I think. max signed up at the last minute, after Wenger had been invited by the board to extend his tenure! (How lacking foresight are they?) silly question! Will Allegri make himself available? The Board should make an offer that Juve cannot refuse!
Is the end in sight for the old retainer? I should say, yes it is. At last! But it really shouldn’t have come to this pretty pass. The old man should have shoved his hubris up his arse, packed his propelling pencil and left the building several years ago. He could have left with his reputation intact and with the grateful thanks from us all. Such a shame. Such a shame.
Morning all. Flowing flakes that flock are falling from a grey full sky. We’re forecast about 15 cm we’ve got about 2cm that has settled in the last 20 minutes or so. Turning into a weather event as I write!
Morning all.
We missed out on Pep and Allegri then Wavy and all because of Wenger..
Wavy he should have left after the carling cup lost against Birmingham. Imagine the dizzy heights we might have attained had he fucked off and max allegri installed. We might not have won the league this season but we ‘ll still be in the mix and probably would have won the league cup this past weekend and the Europa league. That’s a chance we missed. Shame really.
We sure did Rico…we sure did.
Wavy I still think he ‘ll be here till the end of next season. The tides are turning mate but not fast enough. He still has a lot of fans backing him and probably still has a the backing of the board bar gazidis. Am not convinced yet that this is the end. He always survives wavy. He’s Harry Houdini!
I think that he will be gone at the end of the season. We will lose on Thursday. Draw at best. The players not turning up for a final really is more damning than not turning up in the Europa.
I think that they want Wenger out as well. I know that they will be criticized for their lack of performance, but if they would have won on Sunday, Wenger would be crowing and probably see out his contract. I expect us to lose against Milan as well. We may not even score with Welbeck up front.
It is going to be the worst February in memory.
Goonster – Tuchel won’t come because of his falling out with Mislintat. I believe that Tuchel banned him from the training ground and he does (Tuchel) have a reputation for falling out with people.
As do I begeegs- it feels like Sunday was the final straw to me…
Good point re Tuchel. We can probably forget him then.
Begeegs I heard the falling out was precipitated by Michael zorc. Hence the reason auba’s deal dragged on till the last minute. It’s a known fact that zorc and sven to see eye to eye. So I believe tuchel could still come to arsenal if we want him but I ‘ll rather we don’t his team tend to petter out towards the end of the season. His training regiment is rigorous and players tend to burn out just when crunch time arrives.
Him still being out of a job now says it all really. I ‘ll rather nagelsmann sarri or hassenhuttl.
Rico – I think that the penny has finally dropped with a lot of people who were on his side, with the exception of the Untold folks, who probably wouldn’t be swayed even if we were relegated. They still won’t protest though which I suppose is a testament to Wenger’s charisma that he holds over some people and probably a respect for his contributions.
But I do think that there will be loads of candidates who will jump at the chance to come here. Arsenal are a big team with great support in a highly competitive league. Not to mention that they will have money to spend and they renumeration will be generous.
It will also end the stand off and bring fans together.
Goonster – even with Tuchel being a taskmeister, I’d have him – lol.
Begeegs, have to agree there. We’re a sleeping giant and one which any top manager would love to come to I’m sure…
You ‘re right begeegs but why not take a punt on one of the rising names in world football. Still just in his 30s!!! Seriously I ‘ll kill myself if we miss out on nagelsmann sarri or hassenhuttl or worse still if manure manages to snag one of them. Lol
Henry Goonie…. ?
Lol Rico you ‘re tease aren’t ya? ??? hey but if Henry were to take over trust me he ‘ll have my overwhelming support. He couldn’t be worse than Wenger could he?
If we re to make Henry our next manager then we need a “super supporting cast” the best trainers, coaches and fitness gurus.
Ultimately the appointment of a new manager will probably depend upon how savvy the three amigos are in snagging the right man/woman for the job. Gazidis, Sanhelli and Misinlatt that is. Then of course when they’ve identified who the next manager should be they then have to sell him/her to the Board. Of course they’ll have to pick the right occasion and be manage to keep them awake long enough! As far as the Kronkes’ are concerned their only role will be to sanction the deal. Liddl Joshy may have a bit to say, perhaps about TH14 but I doubt whatever his view it won’t have much traction. This of course will be a good thing! Stan on the other hand will most likely be assessing the value and style of buying a new syrup. He knows far more about hair pieces than he does about ‘soccer’!
For all that what ever happens over the next couple of months will be quite fun and may even prove to be interesting!
Wenger out! Now would be good but the end of a fruitless season will have to do.
Stopped snowing, thaw in progress. The weather, like Wenger has proved to be a non-event!?
That was my point yesterday Goonie, if Henry does get the job, his backroom staff will play a huge role. If he gets experienced people around him, he could quite easily succeed..
And the difference between him and Wenger would probably be the ability to listen to others and hear what they say.
That’s why Fergie was such a success too.
Lol and his pulling power Rico. A lot of players ‘ll be tripping over themselves to sign for us. I think am coming to terms with him as our manager. After all he’s a huge arsenal fan. That’s it then let’s crown Henry king. All hail king Henry the 9th ?
I’m not suggesting he’d be perfect Goonie as experience goes a long way in this game and perhaps we need that experience to steady what is a fast sinking ship.
I’d imagine the two newbie would have a huge say in who replaces Wenger Wavy as the others on the board, well most, haven’t got a scooby do…
Rico am just reading on Twitter that he ‘ll be assessed just before the beginning of next season! What in the hell?? Why wait till next season??? Decide his damn future now. Don’t keep the whole club in limbo. If he’s leaving then kick him to the curb if he’s not then let the fan base know so we can all brace up for another fruitless season. God this arsenal board is the most infuriating set of people in the world. No cojones whatsoever. No wonder our players all lack one.
Thanks Rico, I do love a poll, not enough imo……more polls………………….no pole on the poll though !
Simeone all day for me, to have done what he has done in a league with two of the three biggest clubs in the world says it all !…………………..if wee cant get a new owner in to compete with CFG, Chavs and Manshafter, then the next best thing will be a young manager who can do it tactically !………………………………………next after Simeone would be anyone who has worked long enough under Pep and use his tactics identically !
Feel sorry for Lee !………………………I too have Man-Flu, every cough feels like a stab in the chest with a knife a big as Arsene`s wallet !
Don’t believe all you read Goonie…
Rico I didn’t see gunnersauras on that poll?
Talkshite saying Paddy Veira could replace the Lord .
My vote is for Allegri though…builds from the back and plays attractive football. .
What about Uncle Bob Magabe for the job?
Too old kev..may be if he was 20 years younger. .
Rico these guys don’t post shit. They are all ITKs. I don’t think they want to ruin their reputation.
Maybe KK, but at least he’d instil some discipline, I mean if you’re late for training you simply get taken outside and shot or fed to the lions. You would definitely see an immediate improvement in effort.
Simeone would be great, but I think that he’s not good at English and that has to be important, although it doesn’t stop Pochetino.
Ancelotti is out of contract and a safe pair of hands.
Allegri is my choice, he’s been learning English for 18 months in preparation for a move to the EPL. He would definitely sort out our defence for sure and bring back some discipline to the club, as would Simeone.
Nobody has mentioned Conte?
When all is said and done, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Wenger stay and that this is just some nonsense the club have put out to calm the rebellion among the fans.
It’ll probably mean a full house at the Emirates this Thursday now. ?
I can’t believe that anything serious has ever been posted on Twitter or any bullshit social media myself. Isn’t Trump a devotee?
? Kk..
Lc, I’ll bear that in mind… lol
Don’t say that Kev, you’ll dampen my optimism… lol
Afternoon everyone. Blue skies and sunshine here in the southeast. A smattering of snow during the night, but all gone now.
Right, down to important business. I voted for Simeone, but don’t think he’d want it, he’s happy where he is.
No one mentioned Raffa, but I think he would be a good option, and easy to pry away from the toon, especially from Mike Ashley. He could do a good interim job, before a double act of Patrick and either TH or Artetta take over in a couple of years. You never know, Pep might be ripe to approach by then. Stranger things have happened.
As for Arsene, he must feel like a dead man walking today. So sad, but it was always going to end in tears, because he couldn’t tear himself away from the club and the money. He could have left last season after the FA cup win with dignity intact, but no, it has to come to this. He won’t walk away, they will have to sack him and pay him off his contract. Will Kroenke like that, and compo to the backing singers who will all be up the road?
We’ll see.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch the Lone Strange One, will be trying to prepare his troupe of dancing girls for Thursday night. How many will cry off as ‘ill’? All of ’em I reckon, so if you have a pair of football boots everyone, get yourselves down there, you might get a game. You couldn’t do any worse than that shower on Sunday.
I hope the shame that they must be experiencing, and the confidence that shitty have about how easy it will be, might be enough to earn us a draw. Or at least some controversial decisions that can be blamed in the after game inquest.
I rest my case. Benitez if we can’t get Simeone.
I don’t think Pep does two clubs in the same league Meerkat, well, he hasn’t yet. I reckon when he finishes at City, he might retire as he’s nothing left to win really unless he takes the Spain job.
You’d like to think the players would give a bit more effort on Thursday as it’s not like they should be tired after their stroll around the pitch on Sunday… They have a point to make, as does Wenger but he can’t be relied on.
I could see Pep at PSG Rico for another tilt at the CL.
Adam, well he hasn’t many other leagues left to conquer…
Do you think he’ll win the CL this season? I don’t..
Rico. I don’t know if he will or not, but he has one of the best teams in Europe and is equipped to do so.
I didn’t think they were that good on Sunday though Adam, mind you, they didn’t need to be I guess.
Should be some cracking games coming up in the CL though..
Rico. They did enough to destroy us without really breaking sweat. We really are in a terrible state so let’s hope that we can move on quickly with whoever the board decide to go for. If Wenger is actually going to leave that is.
Agree Adam on both..
Really heavy snow here in the South East, settling too…
Funny how Sky Sports have decided to televise all our April fixtures.. Guess they too think we’re only going to get worse..
Sad when someone just can’t retire gracefully. In my last job there was an old boy who worked in the office, just would not leave. He was 84 and spent about half the day sleepng at his desk. The boss finally called him in and told him he would be leaving at Christmas I.E don’t come back in the New Year. He practically begged the boss to stay on. Like Wenger he had no life outside work. Me, as soon as I turned 65 it was a case of Adios. Wenger will never leave he must be sacked but who has the balls to do it.
Benitez anyone?
He still thinks he can make things better Paddy. Plus he has little else in his life, sad really.
Joachim Lowe for me Rico.
What, scratch and sniff Vcc? ?
I keep reading that he has nothing else in his life. Where has that come from? Like all Premiership managers, his daily life revolves around his club. They are all the same. The phone is always ringing I expect, even at night.
His daughter goes to Uni, and he might enjoy spending time with her when he can. He will certainly have more time to spend in France, TV work, watching games of his own choosing.
I don’t buy that he is so obsessed with Arsenal that he will shrivel up and die if he has to leave.
I imagine he won’t miss the stress, media intrusiveness, and loss of sleep, worrying who is injured and who is ‘not feeling well’.
He has been too paternal and democratic, he should have bollocked them and told them who was boss. (Just as Napoleon did last week with Pogba apparently).
I hope he goes soon, and enjoys his freedom. It’s a younger mans game.
I think he said it himself Meerkat.
For the last couple of days I’ve been typing Emre as the manager we could get. What a numptie I am as I meant Enrique- the once Barca man… ?
Yeah Rico, you certainly had me confused, I thought you meant Emre Can… ?
It’s bloody brass monkeys….
Morning Rico and all.
Nippy and white here. 🙂
Morning Kev, Adam and all.
-9 overnight here, -2 now. Brrrrrr
I knew t didn’t seem right as I wrote it Kev… 😉
Norfolk always looks pretty in the snow , rolling fields of white blanket .But . Log fire looks better, can’t wait for the electric to go off though.Then the overhead phone lines . Tonight will be candlelight Port and cheese for supper.
New post up now.
And if it continues Potter, you have an excuse to miss tomorrows game.. lol
New post up.