Morning all.
So Ivan Gazidis has told a section of fans that there will be change and Arsene Wenger will have to get on board with those changes if he’s to stay on beyond this summer. What those changes are I don’t know as I wasn’t in the meeting and the media, like us, can only guess.
“Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has reiterated the need for change this summer regardless of whether Arsene Wenger remains manager.In a question and answer session this morning with fans, Gazidis underlined how the club are planning for significant change this summer both on and off the pitch in an attempt to finally challenge again for the Premier League.
Wenger wants to go on and has told the club that he is ready to “reinvent” himself and Arsenal do believe that the 67-year-old is capable of becoming what Gazidis has called a “catalyst for change”.
However, there is also an appreciation of the fan mood around the club and Gazidis again stressed that the final decision must be “mutual”. ”
Sorry, but there’s absolutely no way a 67 year old Arsene Wenger can change. If he could have, he would have by now as he’s had at least five years to do so, if not longer. There’s a reason for the saying ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’, and Wenger is the perfect example.
If Ivan Gazidis and the board are truly ready to take this club to a much higher level, they have to have a new broom in place after all, ‘a new broom sweeps clean’ and that’s exactly what our club needs. Fresh eyes which see the players for what they are, not who they are, fresh tactics rather than play the same way regardless of who we face and someone who won’t bring Olivier Giroud on the pitch just because he can, yet not have a player in the team who can find his head with a cross.
As for the game yesterday, well it was a comedy of errors defensively really by both sides. Credit to Ospina for the few good saves he made but he could have done better on both of City’s goals, as could Bellerin for the first, all of them for the second, especially Ozil who gave the ball away in the first place and was totally disinterested in trying to win it back. Shoddy stuff to say the least. But hey, at least we showed a bit of grit for once and despite going behind twice, we fought back for the draw and we didn’t collapse after Laurent Koscielny left the pitch.
The referee didn’t have a great day either. Navas could have easily broken Monreal’s leg with a shocking tackle for which he only received a yellow card and Walcott got away with one too on Fernandinho, one which the FA might choose to look at again.
Our midfield pairing of Coquelin and Xhaka was dreadful, the pathetic showing by Ozil was as bad if not worse and I really hope two of those three are offloaded in the summer. Having seen how poor the midfield was, why not swap one for Elneny? How on earth can Iwobi be seen as a better option from the bench than the Egyptian? Why was Ozil still on the pitch when the final whistle blew? Why was Walcott, the only player with real pace to hit them on the break, subbed? I liked seeing him look disappointed to be taken off too.
So many questions and they are just mine and I’m sure you guys have plenty more running through your mind.
But the answers are clear in my head just as they probably are in yours, it’s what Arsene Wenger does. He’s allowed these players too much freedom for too long and he’s been allowed too much freedom too but perhaps that’s about to change if Ivan gets his way. If his comments about big changes are promises he will keep, then I really can’t see Wenger signing into them. A whole new regime at his age will be hard for him to accept because he appears to be the man who wants total control and not be told what to do.
Ivan Gazidis didn’t give much away yesterday but I think in a roundabout way, he telling us he gets us. Like us, he wants us to be better, much better and he’s ready to do that.
And if Wenger isn’t, which of course we know he isn’t, he’ll be a gonner.
Fingers crossed eh….
Morning Rico and all the happy Housers on here.
Lord knows what IG means about ‘changes’ like Wenger’s position were left to speculate, wildly! For what it’s worth, my interpretation has two possible scenarios:
Firstly, Wenger stays but is stripped of all his meddling around the club which does not pertain directly to the first team and coaching. No more will the tea lady have to clear with him whether she should serve PGTips or Lady Grey!! Etc etc.
Secondly, Wenger’s toast and the whole of his empire is about to disintegrate. He will find himself put out to pasture. (Remember a very nice little field, next to the Forest, in
It will mean a new manager, coaching staff, scouting staff, physios and other medical personnel, tea ladies laundry teams, and so on and so forth.
Root and branch changes galore. The second option has huge appeal but, success will only be achieved if the employers, Gazidis and his ilk have the nous and the balls to access and employ the men and women to refurbish and restore our fading ‘brand’.
Blue skies here, just what the club now need, a bit of blue sky thinking followed by an earnest attempt to refloat the listing Arsenal ship!
Have a nice day all.
Morning All
Morning Rico
Potter I made the effort yesterday to see and spend time with my son, funnily enough he said he almost couldn’t be bothered himself. His two mates didn’t turn up, that’s why I got a ticket, so one seat went begging and this was Man City, not Stoke or West Brom!
It was also nice to see Mr & Mrs Adam, but they also had one seat empty so that was 3 ticket holders who couldn’t be bothered from the six in my small straw poll.
Not good is it?
And did anyone notice Wenger bigging up the fans, in his post match interviews, blimey!
It’s taken him 20 years to even acknowledge out existence…
Tim Payton on Talk sport now
Couldn’t even be bothered to watch yesterday. Instead went to Saracens v Glasgow. Sarries are a club that know how to treat its supporters. Fantastic atmosphere and everyone on the pitch after the game and the players from both sides out having photos with fans. And these are some of the world’s best. Not one hint of trouble despite the amount of alcohol being consumed. Totally enjoyable day.
He said that inthe meeting with Gazidis it was said that there is a major review of the football side of the club and that he personally was a catalyst for change. the board was very aware that things are not good enough and that the fans attitude is taken into account. He also said that despite the runours no contract has been offered to Wenger and no decision has yet been taken on the wider view of such contract.
Make of that what you will.
His thoughts on the conversation were that A choice would be offered that Wenger’s power will be restricted solely to the team and that 3 or 4 appointments were to be made to run other parts of the club. He also felt that Wenger will not accept this and will leave at the end of the season.
Morning Rico
This days i will buy tickets to read Arsenal blogs rather than watch that dreadfull team .
Hey Rico …what is this ??
”Having seen how poor the midfield was, why not swap one for Elneny? How on earth can Iwobi be seen as a better option from the bench than the Egyptian? ”
And i dont want none of them because none of them is top 4 type.
One can go learn his trade somewhere else and the other is a skilfull sideways passer .Period.
Never accept below par players.
Morning Wavy, Kev, Alex and all…
Alex, I was talking about options on the day…
Potter, that all sounds positive… There is some hope then…
I can see that. If the old gent is told to concentrate solely on football he’ll be furious. As a control freak to have all your power chopped off from below the knees would be totally unacceptable to him. He would be placed in a corner which his only exit is through the marble hall and on to the street, picking up his P45 from the desk en route. He’d be GONE. RESULT!
It amounts to ‘constructive dismissal’ assuming he goes!
There’s always hope Rico… ?
Some interesting comments from Gazides.
He’s been conspicuous with his absence, so maybe now he’s finally popped his head over the parapet, less is more.
He hasn’t said a lot, but it seems that he’s pushing for change without too much criticism of the manager, on the face of things.
We live in hope Rico… ?
Just what I’m hoping Wavy. Should have been done yonks ago…
Kev, I guess like us Gazidis has reached melting point…
Personally I think that whatever happens now is too little too late.
The board and owners have been happy to reap the benefits of the money rolling in and haven’t wanted that to change. None of the players purchased in recent seasons have been top notch buys and now we see the results of that.
Whereas once we were a very attractive side, admired by everyone, we are now viewed as weak pushovers.
I also agree again with much of what Gary Neville said after the game; Theo had no right to have the hump when he played poorly, just because he scored a goal doesn’t give him a divine right to stay on the pitch. Kos once again blew out at half-time in a big, must win game. Ozil was a frustrating, lazy, player with no bottle. The rest were mediocre at best.
For once I would have liked Le Prof to duck the after match interviews, and get Bould out front to defend their mediocre team. other managers have done it, I just wish Wenger did too.
But say what you like about him, he loves Arsenal, he is always dignified, articulate, and willing to defend his players, unlike some managers. That is why away from Arsenal, he is highly respected, and would step into another management role in France or Spain straight away.
He has just lost the plot and has made the mistake of not regularly clearing out his assistants to give the team a fresh viewpoint.
Someone on TalkSport today said he should get Tony Adams in to sort out the defence side of things, but surely that is what Bould is there to do?
No man is an Island so the saying goes, but his pride has meant that is what he has become, and Arsenal are suffering for it.
Unless he was pulled aside by his bosses and told what needed doing, of course he would think he was doing OK. Who wouldn’t? CL every season, the odd FA cup thrown in. He must have thought that was good enough, and should have been told it wasn’t before it reached this stage.
I can only see it all ending badly now, and instead of walking away, he will be hounded out.
Afternoon Rico and All
I thought the fans were pretty good considering.
When Arsene came out second half just a couple of
fans gave him a wave behind the bench….He Knows.
Listening to him….He seems to think this is just a blip.
He Says:
I have been through this many times.
Its how we react collectively.
A few fans are unhappy: You always get that when you lose.
The same old rubbish from Arsene.
So what is Ivan goner do?
Is goner tell Arsene..You Pick The Team.
Is goner tell Bouldy…You Coach The Team.
Is goner tell Syrup…..You Leave This To Me,
And
I will sort out some new players for us
I will get rid of the dead wood
I will unite the fans again
I will bring in a new youth set-up
I will bring in a new scouting network
I will bring in a new medical and fitness team.
Lets be fair.
Effing Ivan Wouldn’t know how to Wash Behind his Ears.
Meerkat :- I reckon Koscielny has been wheeled out with this calf injury for a few months now. He is so vital to the defence we have that he is not recovering properly and that’s why he keeps breaking down and going off at half time . I hope that we look seriously at the centre back position for Wednesday as Mustafi and Gabriel against Andy Carroll who will pull over to Bellerin for every set piece needs to be addressed. Perhaps we could bring in Mertesacker but he is hardly a physical presence , hasn’t played for ages but his organisation is his strong point or Holding , inexperienced but a little taller and possibly with much to prove. More likely we will do nothing and concede from a corner or irresponsibly given away free kick . Any bets against Coquelin diving in to give it away.
Afternoon Fred.
Ivan has been bold with his words so let’s hope he backs it up with actions… At least he’s spoken out and appears on our side..
As for who’ll play in defence to mark Carroll, well I doubt Arsene will even know he’s playing…
Should be interesting the next game, the two current form teams ! 🙂
My eye`s will be on Chavs though, they have some hard games coming up and Spuds have it easy !………….and I think the scummy bastards may close the gap !……………………..instead of getting stressed about Arsenal, I`m getting stressed that the Spuds may win the EPL………………..God I wish someone would nuke N17 ! 🙁
If Conte fcuks up with now only a 7 point lead will the Russian sack him ?…………………..I mean, we have all bigged up Conte against Wenger, but chucking away a ten point lead would be what I expect of Wenger !……………….how shit will he look !……………..especially haing no CL or Europa commitments !………………………if it wasn`t the Spuds trying to claw it back, it would be funny !………….but I dread it !………..just because of them scummy fcuk wits I`ve become a Chav for the last nine games !…………God help me !
The race between the Totts and Chelsea is certainly on Lc, worrying..
But I do think Conte will see them home. Perfect time for them to lose really as they’ll wake up and go again…
You could be right Potter about Kos. It just hit home when Gary Neville spoke about it.
If Andy Carroll is fit, he will pull our defence all over the place. They don’t seem to know their arse from their elbows with crosses coming in, or someone running at them.
They don’t have technically gifted players like City have but………
As for Ozil, wrapped in cotton wool for a couple of months, he should have been raring to go, but no. He can’t be relied on in big games.
Sanchez hugging and smiling with Pep after the game looked ominous.
Oh well, it’s only a game, LOL.
Morning all.
Ozil can’t be relied on in the ‘lesser’ games, let alone the big ones…
I wonder what Arsene Wenger will tell us this morning? He’s leaving perhaps….
Morning Rico. Mesut has become something of a lame duck for us hasn’t he? Caught in a whirlpool of underachievement, seemingly zero motivation.and presumably looking to his next club. I wonder what fee he will command with a year left on his contract.
Morning Adam. He has. He looks totally disinterested in playing the game….
There is something enormously irritating in his couldn’t-care-less attitude. Especially with the talent he has. But it isn’t the first time a gifted player has lost his game under Arsene’s questionable motivational skills. The lesser talented of us are left wondering why, with the fantastic rewards on offer, that he simply can’t be bothered.
Very true re Wenger…
New post up now…