THE WENGER THREAD

[Redarmy]

Wenger quoted today...."You don't think I'm 35 years in job and don't look at myself? I look at what more I could have done'


Where do you want me to start you deluded old fraud

[SPUDMASHER]

Great article by Henry Winter inside today with the headline, 'ARSENAL ARE INSANE TO EVEN CONSIDER GIVING WENGER A NEW DEAL'

Yep I was just gonna post that. Not sure if its available online, I read it waiting in the barbers. Worth a read though.

He also mentions how Koeman would be an ideal replacement but if he goes to Everton then there's another of the 'who can we replace him with' brigade lost.

It isn't available unless you subscribe to the Times.

Not sure why, but i could get to it (MODs please delete if cut/paste is not allowed):

Even the thought of Arsenal offering Arsène Wenger a two-year extension to a contract expiring in the summer of 2017 is as preposterous as it is presumptuous. It is inappropriate. It is insane. He has not earned it. Arsenal are drifting under Wenger, not driving towards glory. This season, Wenger has been outfoxed by Leicester City’s Claudio Ranieri and his 5,000-1 outsiders. He has been overtaken, barring a last-day slip, by a vibrant, well-organised young Tottenham Hotspur side and Mauricio Pochettino, their inspirational head coach. “Arsène Wenger — we want you to stay,” Spurs fans chant gleefully.

Under Wenger, and a compliant board, Arsenal continue to slide, not dangerously enough to slip out of the Champions League positions but still away from the silverware zone. This should have been the season when Arsenal seized their first title since 2004 with their traditional rivals in the Barclays Premier League, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, temporarily struggling. Two of those, probably all three, will return next season with strong new managers, with new ambition, and new signings.

Dear old Arsenal begin to resemble one of those upper-class spinsters in the background of a Jane Austen novel, turning increasingly bitter as the years pass, being pushed farther back from the dance floor. Wenger was once the leading pioneer in the dugout, the trophy-gathering perfectionist admired throughout the world. Now he’s not even the most forward-looking manager in north London.

He has nobody to challenge him, to question why he believes Olivier Giroud is a world-class centre forward, even when he himself admits Arsenal have not been “clinical enough” this season. Why doesn’t he have a Plan B? Why don’t his players shoot from outside the box? Why does he let his team overelaborate in build-ups, allowing opponents to organise the barricades?

Wenger has nobody to take him properly to task about recruitment. Where are the real midfield enforcers, especially elegant ones such as Patrick Vieira who could create as well as destroy? Where are the tough defensive leaders such as Tony Adams? It is sad really. There is much to admire about Wenger. There is the dignity (although he is a terrible loser), the willingness to give youth a chance (being rewarded in the excellence of Héctor Bellerín and Alex Iwobi) and his refusal to duck a question at press conferences. His commitment to attacking football should be cherished. But he has forgotten that the game is about trophies. Back-to-back FA Cups in 2014 and 2015 were memorable occasions but the leading honours, the Premier League and the Champions League, remain increasingly distant visions. Arsenal lack the ruthlessness, leadership and tactics to last the course in those.

Leicester are the antithesis of Arsenal; less obsessed with possession, and more with their successful blend of pressing, pace and directness. They look hungrier, fitter and less susceptible to injury. Riyad Mahrez, the PFA Player of the Year, and N’Golo Kanté, the Leicester players’ Player of the Year, are from the French heartlands that Wenger used to plunder.

During a long interview with Geoff Shreeves, the Sky Sports reporter, Wenger praised Leicester for their title triumph but pointed out that they would be exhausted next season with their pressing style and increased fixture workload. Yet Ranieri will strengthen his squad. Ranieri has been rewarded so handsomely this season because he has delivered wildly above expectations. If anybody deserves a handsome new contract, it is Ranieri (who is in talks with his club’s owners). Wenger doesn’t deserve one but the board is passive. Arsenal’s structure and philosophy is flawed. Wenger helped appoint his supposed boss, the chief executive, Ivan Gazidis. Under Stan Kroenke, the owner, the club’s business model appears focused simply on Champions League football. Arsenal do not need to be at the front of the Champions League gravy train as long as they are on it. The essence of sport, winning, has become secondary. A runner-up culture pervades.

They don’t fight hard enough. On January 2, Arsenal defeated Newcastle United 1-0 at home to move two points clear of Leicester at the top. Having taken 42 points from 20 games, Arsenal then faltered, and have since picked up 26 points from 17 matches. When the pressure was most intense, Arsenal faded. Leicester stood strong. Even the possibility of Wenger extending his stay will infuriate substantial sections of an Emirates Stadium simmering with an air of incipient civil war. Support is split over “Wenger out” and “Wenger knows best”, “in Arsène we trust” and “in Wenger we rust”. Perspective is required over the extent of the dissent towards the manager that all accept is the greatest in the club’s 130-year history. Two fans in dispute over a banner will inevitably be captured by the cameras, run on rolling news and debated on phone-ins, giving an impression that the tensions are rife.

Even those of us outsiders who believe Wenger should have gone years ago must acknowledge that the majority of Arsenal fans do not favour a change, partly out of blind loyalty and partly because they cannot summon up a better alternative (although Ronald Koeman looks a good fit).
Some apathy was reflected in the number of empty seats in the previous home game against Norwich City but the anticipated protest was a damp squib. Today’s news of a contract offer may focus minds, probably polarising the support even more. A great club risk becoming even more divided.

No problem with cut and paste provided you credit the source and don't try to pass it off as your own work.

There are a couple on here that would do well to remember that.

[DB10GOONER]

Augie - I'd agree with that if it wasn't for all the other non sensical shite that Kim Jong Wanker comes out with. He is deluded and inoculated totally against the outside world. How many real fans do you think he talks to? How many of us mere peasants invade his privileged world??

I think the Top 4 is success bullshit stems more from him thinking that he's never wrong. He wants desperately to win the Premier and Champions League - when he comes up short time and time again it can't possibly be his fault so he falls back on the only thing he can which is consistency.

Ferguson would've hated finishing 3rd or 4th every year but he was made of stronger stuff than Wanker so he adapted and changed. Wanker can't do that as he would have to admit he was wrong.

This 100%. Anyone that thinks you get as far as Wenger got in management without being ambitious and wanting to win trophies is very out of touch with the real world. Wenger wants to win both the PL and CL. The problem is he only wants to win it on his terms, as dictated by his ego. The quote about a top 4 finish being like a trophy is disingenuous and an excuse - he is saying that even when he fails to win something it's because of other people or outside influences and that in spite of all that he has STILL brought us as much success as he could, given all those outside influences hampering him. It's bullshit from Wenger but it's typical media spin type bullshit from a football manager. All managers do it. Hard Man Pulis and BigFatSamAllThePies talk about themselves as if they are top managers because they avoided relegation a couple times ffs.

Interesting point mate.

I know we are all focusing on Wenger;s inadequacies (and rightly so ) but it's not just Wenger or the likes of Mourinho, Pellegrini, van Gaal etc. that Ranieri and Leicester have shown up this season. It is also the likes of Pulis and Alladyce.

Both are managers lauded for their ''heroics'' in keeping teams up but shamefully they both start every season with the pretty pathetic aim of reaching 40 points and safety.

The game has been good to them, They are both multi-millionaires living in luxury ... yet both of them hide behind a similar defeatist shite and fear that plagues football these days.

Show some ambition you couple of tedious old fuckers.

Bang on the head there, Clash. Add Curbishly and Pardew to that list too - bang average to poor level managers that talk about themselves (and have their ringpieces kissed regularly by Chris "DO YOU LOVE ME NOW DADDY?!" Kamara on Goals on Sunday) as if they are top managers that have actually achieved major things in the game.

Allardyce has a fucking autobiography out ffs - what a fucking tedious read that would be! You can bet he has at least one chapter in there entitled "They don't like it up them".

And maybe one entitled "All the bungs I never took..."

[franksav63]

Great article by Henry Winter inside today with the headline, 'ARSENAL ARE INSANE TO EVEN CONSIDER GIVING WENGER A NEW DEAL'

Yep I was just gonna post that. Not sure if its available online, I read it waiting in the barbers. Worth a read though.

He also mentions how Koeman would be an ideal replacement but if he goes to Everton then there's another of the 'who can we replace him with' brigade lost.

It isn't available unless you subscribe to the Times.

Not sure why, but i could get to it (MODs please delete if cut/paste is not allowed):

Even the thought of Arsenal offering Arsène Wenger a two-year extension to a contract expiring in the summer of 2017 is as preposterous as it is presumptuous. It is inappropriate. It is insane. He has not earned it. Arsenal are drifting under Wenger, not driving towards glory. This season, Wenger has been outfoxed by Leicester City’s Claudio Ranieri and his 5,000-1 outsiders. He has been overtaken, barring a last-day slip, by a vibrant, well-organised young Tottenham Hotspur side and Mauricio Pochettino, their inspirational head coach. “Arsène Wenger — we want you to stay,” Spurs fans chant gleefully.

Under Wenger, and a compliant board, Arsenal continue to slide, not dangerously enough to slip out of the Champions League positions but still away from the silverware zone. This should have been the season when Arsenal seized their first title since 2004 with their traditional rivals in the Barclays Premier League, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, temporarily struggling. Two of those, probably all three, will return next season with strong new managers, with new ambition, and new signings.

Dear old Arsenal begin to resemble one of those upper-class spinsters in the background of a Jane Austen novel, turning increasingly bitter as the years pass, being pushed farther back from the dance floor. Wenger was once the leading pioneer in the dugout, the trophy-gathering perfectionist admired throughout the world. Now he’s not even the most forward-looking manager in north London.

He has nobody to challenge him, to question why he believes Olivier Giroud is a world-class centre forward, even when he himself admits Arsenal have not been “clinical enough” this season. Why doesn’t he have a Plan B? Why don’t his players shoot from outside the box? Why does he let his team overelaborate in build-ups, allowing opponents to organise the barricades?

Wenger has nobody to take him properly to task about recruitment. Where are the real midfield enforcers, especially elegant ones such as Patrick Vieira who could create as well as destroy? Where are the tough defensive leaders such as Tony Adams? It is sad really. There is much to admire about Wenger. There is the dignity (although he is a terrible loser), the willingness to give youth a chance (being rewarded in the excellence of Héctor Bellerín and Alex Iwobi) and his refusal to duck a question at press conferences. His commitment to attacking football should be cherished. But he has forgotten that the game is about trophies. Back-to-back FA Cups in 2014 and 2015 were memorable occasions but the leading honours, the Premier League and the Champions League, remain increasingly distant visions. Arsenal lack the ruthlessness, leadership and tactics to last the course in those.

Leicester are the antithesis of Arsenal; less obsessed with possession, and more with their successful blend of pressing, pace and directness. They look hungrier, fitter and less susceptible to injury. Riyad Mahrez, the PFA Player of the Year, and N’Golo Kanté, the Leicester players’ Player of the Year, are from the French heartlands that Wenger used to plunder.

During a long interview with Geoff Shreeves, the Sky Sports reporter, Wenger praised Leicester for their title triumph but pointed out that they would be exhausted next season with their pressing style and increased fixture workload. Yet Ranieri will strengthen his squad. Ranieri has been rewarded so handsomely this season because he has delivered wildly above expectations. If anybody deserves a handsome new contract, it is Ranieri (who is in talks with his club’s owners). Wenger doesn’t deserve one but the board is passive. Arsenal’s structure and philosophy is flawed. Wenger helped appoint his supposed boss, the chief executive, Ivan Gazidis. Under Stan Kroenke, the owner, the club’s business model appears focused simply on Champions League football. Arsenal do not need to be at the front of the Champions League gravy train as long as they are on it. The essence of sport, winning, has become secondary. A runner-up culture pervades.

They don’t fight hard enough. On January 2, Arsenal defeated Newcastle United 1-0 at home to move two points clear of Leicester at the top. Having taken 42 points from 20 games, Arsenal then faltered, and have since picked up 26 points from 17 matches. When the pressure was most intense, Arsenal faded. Leicester stood strong. Even the possibility of Wenger extending his stay will infuriate substantial sections of an Emirates Stadium simmering with an air of incipient civil war. Support is split over “Wenger out” and “Wenger knows best”, “in Arsène we trust” and “in Wenger we rust”. Perspective is required over the extent of the dissent towards the manager that all accept is the greatest in the club’s 130-year history. Two fans in dispute over a banner will inevitably be captured by the cameras, run on rolling news and debated on phone-ins, giving an impression that the tensions are rife.

Even those of us outsiders who believe Wenger should have gone years ago must acknowledge that the majority of Arsenal fans do not favour a change, partly out of blind loyalty and partly because they cannot summon up a better alternative (although Ronald Koeman looks a good fit).
Some apathy was reflected in the number of empty seats in the previous home game against Norwich City but the anticipated protest was a damp squib. Today’s news of a contract offer may focus minds, probably polarising the support even more. A great club risk becoming even more divided.

''refusal to duck a question at press conferences'' Really....

That is total bollocks, for one he rarely get's asked a pointed question and secondly when he does he goes all huffity puffity and has excluded reporters from conferences for questions that he doesn't like...

[DB10GOONER]

Augie - I'd agree with that if it wasn't for all the other non sensical shite that Kim Jong Wanker comes out with. He is deluded and inoculated totally against the outside world. How many real fans do you think he talks to? How many of us mere peasants invade his privileged world??

I think the Top 4 is success bullshit stems more from him thinking that he's never wrong. He wants desperately to win the Premier and Champions League - when he comes up short time and time again it can't possibly be his fault so he falls back on the only thing he can which is consistency.

Ferguson would've hated finishing 3rd or 4th every year but he was made of stronger stuff than Wanker so he adapted and changed. Wanker can't do that as he would have to admit he was wrong.

This 100%. Anyone that thinks you get as far as Wenger got in management without being ambitious and wanting to win trophies is very out of touch with the real world. Wenger wants to win both the PL and CL. The problem is he only wants to win it on his terms, as dictated by his ego. The quote about a top 4 finish being like a trophy is disingenuous and an excuse - he is saying that even when he fails to win something it's because of other people or outside influences and that in spite of all that he has STILL brought us as much success as he could, given all those outside influences hampering him. It's bullshit from Wenger but it's typical media spin type bullshit from a football manager. All managers do it. Hard Man Pulis and BigFatSamAllThePies talk about themselves as if they are top managers because they avoided relegation a couple times ffs.

Interesting point mate.

I know we are all focusing on Wenger;s inadequacies (and rightly so ) but it's not just Wenger or the likes of Mourinho, Pellegrini, van Gaal etc. that Ranieri and Leicester have shown up this season. It is also the likes of Pulis and Alladyce.

Both are managers lauded for their ''heroics'' in keeping teams up but shamefully they both start every season with the pretty pathetic aim of reaching 40 points and safety.

The game has been good to them, They are both multi-millionaires living in luxury ... yet both of them hide behind a similar defeatist shite and fear that plagues football these days.

Show some ambition you couple of tedious old fuckers.

Bang on the head there, Clash. Add Curbishly and Pardew to that list too - bang average to poor level managers that talk about themselves (and have their ringpieces kissed regularly by Chris "DO YOU LOVE ME NOW DADDY?!" Kamara on Goals on Sunday) as if they are top managers that have actually achieved major things in the game.

Allardyce has a fucking autobiography out ffs - what a fucking tedious read that would be! You can bet he has at least one chapter in there entitled "They don't like it up them".

And maybe one entitled "All the bungs I never took..."

And let's not forget the King of Shit Managers - Good ol' duckin' an' divin' 'Arry Redknapp!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... -call.html

[DB10GOONER]

Great article by Henry Winter inside today with the headline, 'ARSENAL ARE INSANE TO EVEN CONSIDER GIVING WENGER A NEW DEAL'

Yep I was just gonna post that. Not sure if its available online, I read it waiting in the barbers. Worth a read though.

He also mentions how Koeman would be an ideal replacement but if he goes to Everton then there's another of the 'who can we replace him with' brigade lost.

It isn't available unless you subscribe to the Times.

Not sure why, but i could get to it (MODs please delete if cut/paste is not allowed):

Even the thought of Arsenal offering Arsène Wenger a two-year extension to a contract expiring in the summer of 2017 is as preposterous as it is presumptuous. It is inappropriate. It is insane. He has not earned it. Arsenal are drifting under Wenger, not driving towards glory. This season, Wenger has been outfoxed by Leicester City’s Claudio Ranieri and his 5,000-1 outsiders. He has been overtaken, barring a last-day slip, by a vibrant, well-organised young Tottenham Hotspur side and Mauricio Pochettino, their inspirational head coach. “Arsène Wenger — we want you to stay,” Spurs fans chant gleefully.

Under Wenger, and a compliant board, Arsenal continue to slide, not dangerously enough to slip out of the Champions League positions but still away from the silverware zone. This should have been the season when Arsenal seized their first title since 2004 with their traditional rivals in the Barclays Premier League, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, temporarily struggling. Two of those, probably all three, will return next season with strong new managers, with new ambition, and new signings.

Dear old Arsenal begin to resemble one of those upper-class spinsters in the background of a Jane Austen novel, turning increasingly bitter as the years pass, being pushed farther back from the dance floor. Wenger was once the leading pioneer in the dugout, the trophy-gathering perfectionist admired throughout the world. Now he’s not even the most forward-looking manager in north London.

He has nobody to challenge him, to question why he believes Olivier Giroud is a world-class centre forward, even when he himself admits Arsenal have not been “clinical enough” this season. Why doesn’t he have a Plan B? Why don’t his players shoot from outside the box? Why does he let his team overelaborate in build-ups, allowing opponents to organise the barricades?

Wenger has nobody to take him properly to task about recruitment. Where are the real midfield enforcers, especially elegant ones such as Patrick Vieira who could create as well as destroy? Where are the tough defensive leaders such as Tony Adams? It is sad really. There is much to admire about Wenger. There is the dignity (although he is a terrible loser), the willingness to give youth a chance (being rewarded in the excellence of Héctor Bellerín and Alex Iwobi) and his refusal to duck a question at press conferences. His commitment to attacking football should be cherished. But he has forgotten that the game is about trophies. Back-to-back FA Cups in 2014 and 2015 were memorable occasions but the leading honours, the Premier League and the Champions League, remain increasingly distant visions. Arsenal lack the ruthlessness, leadership and tactics to last the course in those.

Leicester are the antithesis of Arsenal; less obsessed with possession, and more with their successful blend of pressing, pace and directness. They look hungrier, fitter and less susceptible to injury. Riyad Mahrez, the PFA Player of the Year, and N’Golo Kanté, the Leicester players’ Player of the Year, are from the French heartlands that Wenger used to plunder.

During a long interview with Geoff Shreeves, the Sky Sports reporter, Wenger praised Leicester for their title triumph but pointed out that they would be exhausted next season with their pressing style and increased fixture workload. Yet Ranieri will strengthen his squad. Ranieri has been rewarded so handsomely this season because he has delivered wildly above expectations. If anybody deserves a handsome new contract, it is Ranieri (who is in talks with his club’s owners). Wenger doesn’t deserve one but the board is passive. Arsenal’s structure and philosophy is flawed. Wenger helped appoint his supposed boss, the chief executive, Ivan Gazidis. Under Stan Kroenke, the owner, the club’s business model appears focused simply on Champions League football. Arsenal do not need to be at the front of the Champions League gravy train as long as they are on it. The essence of sport, winning, has become secondary. A runner-up culture pervades.

They don’t fight hard enough. On January 2, Arsenal defeated Newcastle United 1-0 at home to move two points clear of Leicester at the top. Having taken 42 points from 20 games, Arsenal then faltered, and have since picked up 26 points from 17 matches. When the pressure was most intense, Arsenal faded. Leicester stood strong. Even the possibility of Wenger extending his stay will infuriate substantial sections of an Emirates Stadium simmering with an air of incipient civil war. Support is split over “Wenger out” and “Wenger knows best”, “in Arsène we trust” and “in Wenger we rust”. Perspective is required over the extent of the dissent towards the manager that all accept is the greatest in the club’s 130-year history. Two fans in dispute over a banner will inevitably be captured by the cameras, run on rolling news and debated on phone-ins, giving an impression that the tensions are rife.

Even those of us outsiders who believe Wenger should have gone years ago must acknowledge that the majority of Arsenal fans do not favour a change, partly out of blind loyalty and partly because they cannot summon up a better alternative (although Ronald Koeman looks a good fit).
Some apathy was reflected in the number of empty seats in the previous home game against Norwich City but the anticipated protest was a damp squib. Today’s news of a contract offer may focus minds, probably polarising the support even more. A great club risk becoming even more divided.

''refusal to duck a question at press conferences'' Really....

That is total bollocks, for one he rarely get's asked a pointed question and secondly when he does he goes all huffity puffity and has excluded reporters from conferences for questions that he doesn't like...

"...refusal to duck a question at press conferences..."

I wonder what Jacqui Oatley would think of that comment?

[northbank123]

Henry Winter is correct with his article, nice to see a credible journalist pull his head out of his arse. Also nice to see him hone in on Wenger's hypocrisy and our main failings such as having Giroud as our unchallenged lead striker for 4 fucking seasons.

That said he seems to suggest that's he's thought Wenger should have gone years ago - if that was the case hAsnt he kept it pretty quiet til a few weeks ago?

[amazonas]

We might need some sort of organisation you can join as a retired fan, or maybe I should say hibernating fan or fans on strike, as there would always be room for hope of change. Maybe like one of those online petitions, perhaps the sheer numbers that could potentially join would send out a message.

Our whole fucking club structure is corrupt, give us back our club

[Sean]

I'm surprised that Koeman would want to go to Everton. It isn't a big step-up, plus he already has a great academy producing players and has a good base to build on. I can't say I'd be happy with a manager who touts himself about for jobs, although I'd take Koeman at Arsenal. I'd want to see us go after Klopp whenever TOF decides to leave.

I can't say I'm surprised that TOF will be offered a new deal. Rumours have been floating around for months, so we should be used to the profound disappointment by now. I still hope that protests can make a difference.

Interesting to see that he'll supposedly wait until the last minute to re-new again, just like 2014. Want another million on your wages, Arsene?

If the wanker had any honour, he'd announce that he'll be stepping down this/next summer.

Kroenke is a problem if he's sanctioning this extension. If we had any other manager, his lack of interference could be a good thing. I do want him out though. I see TOF as the bigger problem. He admitted that Kroenke hasn't stopped him spending, it has been HIM all along, whilst he tried to turn us into a shit version of Ajax (and failing)

[foxinthebox2001]

All that needs to happen now is the team put in another half season effort, get around top 3 by October.
Then Wenger comes in with a press release 'this team can win a title' (delayed from August) although not identifying which year. and there he is signing a new 3 year deal.

[Redarmy]

All that needs to happen now is the team put in another half season effort, get around top 3 by October.
Then Wenger comes in with a press release 'this team can win a title' (delayed from August) although not identifying which year. and there he is signing a new 3 year deal.

How is that different from any normal season

Really horrible feeling he will get offered an extended contract

[the playing mantis]

So City and United are fighting for our fourth place vitual trophy and we are saying that we have no chance with the title next season already, on the basis that chelski, city will have new managers.

Firstly, there is no guarantee that success will fall into Guardiola's lap. It is the first club he will manage that needs a major overhaul of playing staff. Munich had completed a treble the season before he took them over. Barcelona were also successful and had the likes of messi, Xavi, Iniesta, david villa, puyol already in the first team, and look how much they have fallen away since he left? Believe it or not they have actually got better. Even Tim Sherwood would win the league with that Barcelona team. He needs to rebuild a team that may not even be in the Champions League.

At Chelski there seems to be something rotten in the club and whilst Conte did a fantastic job at Juventus, he's been out the loop of club football, and it is quite rare that a manager walks out of an international job, into a club job and is instantly successful. Scolari is a great example of this.

United will stick with Van gaal if he wants to stay. I'm not entirely sure everyone is on board at United with Mourinho as next manager especially the way he fell apart at both Madrid and Chelsea. I t appears that they would want pochetino after gaining champions league experience, which he will have next season.

Liverpool and Tottenham will be challenging at the top next season, along with us.

spurs wont. less points than when avb was sacked. only just squeaking 4th place in a normal season. plus they have no money unless joe lewis gets his wallet out

[GoonerMuzz]

Anyone else sick of the whole pathetic saga of Arsene 'Le Prof' Wenger?

It's like some film that started out really exciting but then dragged on and on and actually the plot went nowhere but around in circles

[OneBardGooner]

Tomorrow's Times back page...

If this happens that's me done...I'm on the verge of walking away for good after these past 8 years and these past 8 days...

Wenger you Thief.

[OneBardGooner]

Anyone else sick of the whole pathetic saga of Arsene 'Le Prof' Wenger?

It's like some film that started out really exciting but then dragged on and on and actually the plot went nowhere but around in circles

I would suggest more like a downward never ending spiral into the depths of shyte hell.