THE WENGER THREAD

[SteveO 35]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 60026.html

The press are genuinely turning but without outright aggression yet.

It's like reading an article where I have told them what to print.

What's weird is that not only is it true - but that I can actually imagine wenger reading that over his morning coffee & croissants and nodding - Not just because it bears a remarkable likeness to the past 10 seasons (which in his mind have been successful) but because in his de-ranged mind he would see that not only as some kind of affirmation of his abilities as a manager, but see it as being another Successful season.


"It is August, the opening day of the season. Arsène Wenger is still the manager of Arsenal having signed a one-year contract extension and the mood around the Emirates is unusually positive.
Yes, Alexis Sanchez has left for Juventus and the only fit centre-halves are Per Mertesacker and an 18-year-old summer signing from Peterborough United, but the late surge at the end of last season that sealed a top-four finish means there is cause for optimism.
The spirit is best summed up by ArsenalFanTV’s Ty, who, once again, honestly sees no reason why they cannot win the quadruple. Unfortunately, this Pollyannaish mood is punctured when Scott Dann’s thundering header puts Crystal Palace in front on the cusp of half-time. Once Jason Puncheon’s 87th-minute scuffed strike ensures all three points will be heading south of the river, the Emirates returns to its natural state of acrimony.

September – October
Once the transfer window is out of the way, Arsenal’s form begins to slowly pick up and they claim routine wins over some of top-flight’s lesser lights. Mesut Özil sets up all five in a rout of newly-promoted Brighton and Hove Albion, nicely padding out his attacking output numbers for the next couple of months.
Then comes a significant victory against a fellow top six side, with a defensively-suspect Manchester City beaten at the Emirates. Suddenly, implausibly and without showing any of the conviction you would expect from serious title challengers, as we enter the October international break, Arsenal are top of the Premier League.

November
Not for long, though. Arsenal’s brief spell of optimism is brought to an abrupt end by a typically ruinous November, which begins with 90 minutes of Troy Deeney bullying their centre-backs in a listless display at Watford. The following Wednesday night, an away defeat to Ralph Hasenhüttl’s RB Leipzig leaves their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League knock-out stages in the balance.
For the first time this season, the ‘Wenger Out’ brigade properly begin to find their voice, and before the visit of Manchester United to the Emirates, hundreds make the short march from Piebury Corner to their £97 seats, their genuine concerns ignored, their wackier elements exaggerated. Then their team loses 2-0, and the season really starts to unravel.

December
At this point, a glance at Arsenal’s long list of absentees has medical staff in concurrence with one of the club’s best-known supporters. They are indeed “f*****, blud”.
The only positive is that twelve injuries at this stage of the season represents a relatively clean bill of health when compared to the 13 of five years ago, the 14 of two years ago and the 19 of three years ago.
And technically, seeing as Santi Cazorla is little more than a reanimated corpse at this point, his does not count.

January
This year’s injury crisis has hit Arsenal’s defence hardest.
Thankfully, the new year brings the possibility of reinforcements. Several dependable centre-halves from some of Europe’s leading clubs are linked with a January move, and anticipation builds on fan forums and social media, but for those calling the shots, each seems to cost a million too much.
Not to worry though, as a 33-year-old Philippe Senderos is still a free agent following his release from Rangers seven months earlier and better still, he retains just enough anterior cruciate knee ligaments to perform.

February
Despite the injury problems and mediocre form, Arsenal stay within distance of the pacesetters. Though a title push appears to be a stretch, a top-four finish is likely, and what better way to build excitement for next year’s Champions League campaign than to bring their current one of a swift and humiliating end against a member of European football’s elite?
With Bayern Munich having had their fill, it is Barcelona’s turn this time, and despite a 14-1 aggregate defeat, Wenger insists that Arsenal are at the same level as last season’s Champions League winners, in much the same way as a fine Bordeaux shares the same supermarket shelf as Blue Nun.

March
With European hopes dashed for another year, Arsenal turn to domestic affairs for respite, only to realise that next up on the fixture list is their customary collapse at Stamford Bridge.
It is just a 4-0 defeat on this occasion, with Mohamed Elneny sent off after six minutes for having the temerity to be elbowed by Diego Costa, but it extinguishes any lingering hope that they could succeed their cross-city rivals as Premier League champions.

April
With the pressure off, it is time to turn on the style, and they rally as we enter the tail end of the campaign. Olivier Giroud, in particular, finds form, knocking a brace past Bournemouth and a notching hat-trick against Swansea City. The hot streak of form on a flat track lifts him into double figures for the season and the third, a tap-in to round off a 57-pass-move, is hailed as the goal of the century, until it is forgotten about three weeks later.
The ‘Wenger Out’ brigade duly quieten a touch, but their hopes of a hard ‘Wexit’ are buoyed when reading between the lines of an interview that the Arsenal manager gives to independent French magazine L’Rêveur, in which he muses on man’s inhumanity to man, the immediacy of the modern age and how everything, given an infinite timescale, eventually turns to merde.

May
An hour before kick-off on the final day of the season, a top-four finish secured with one game to go, the final, predictable part of Arsenal’s 2017/18 season is played out, when Wenger confirms what everybody already knew in a pre-match interview with Sky Sports’ Geoff Shreeves.
Despite the underachievement, despite the disappointment, despite the same old patterns being played out year after year and despite, above all else, one of the game’s greatest-ever managers having his once-outstanding tenure sullied, they will do this all over again. One more year.

They missed one important fact - He would now be on an improved contract/salary earning £11 million + per annum

Just about perfect isn't it. The only thing missing is the December exit from the League Cup quarter final as we save our players for the crucial Matchday Six in Pireus, and an FA Cup run that involves victories over Shrewsbury, Derby, Blackburn, QPR.....before ending in defeat at Wembley against anyone from the top six. Would also have been nice to comment on the usual limpdick defeats at the Britannia, Old Trafford, St Marys and Goodison

[GoonerMuzz]

What I cant just stomach, if how he talks like he has all the solutions and answers, and portrays himself as a man in the know and in control.

The reality is, he doesn't know whats going on, nor even how to fix it, and he has no control of the team, players, results, fans.....nothing.

He's either too arrogant to not recognise the destabilising effect his actions are having on the team or is too stubborn to change course. Either way he's not digging himself out of a hole this time.


http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39458333

Brave woman. The secret society won't like this.

She's probably handing over her pass as I type.

That's actually quite a damning article that although most press wont pick up on it nor fans due to the fact that it's a 'woman', she's one of the most successful female English players ever and that should mean something but you just know it wont even in this day and age.

She has a massive insight into the workings of the club after having spent so long here in different spells under different circumstances and not being a direct protogé of his Royal Highness she is able to look on with a certain detachment unlike many of the pundits who have played for him.

[StuartL]

What I cant just stomach, if how he talks like he has all the solutions and answers, and portrays himself as a man in the know and in control.

The reality is, he doesn't know whats going on, nor even how to fix it, and he has no control of the team, players, results, fans.....nothing.

He's either too arrogant to not recognise the destabilising effect his actions are having on the team or is too stubborn to change course. Either way he's not digging himself out of a hole this time.


http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39458333

Brave woman. The secret society won't like this.

She's probably handing over her pass as I type.

Kelly Smith has more balls than most of our first team squad and ex players put together.

[GoonerMuzz]

More club propaganda from the club to cheer us up or a move in the right direction

http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/01/arsenal-r ... s-6547334/

[Allgunsblazin]

The Wengeristas have to take some responsibility as to Wengers longevity!
Since 2006 this muppet has tickled their bellies and rolled over at every CL qualification, but here are the excuses or the 10 commandments from our Lord Wenger....

1 Stadium Debt
2 Overpriced players
3 Long term injuries
4 Short sighted referees and assistants
5 The handbrake
6 Predictable 70th minute substitutions
8 Fatigue
9 Poor Qualitee
10 Red Action

[sk-gtfo]

The Wengeristas have to take some responsibility as to Wengers longevity!
Since 2006 this muppet has tickled their bellies and rolled over at every CL qualification, but here are the excuses or the 10 commandments from our Lord Wenger....

1 Stadium Debt
2 Overpriced players
3 Long term injuries
4 Short sighted referees and assistants
5 The handbrake
6 Predictable 70th minute substitutions
8 Fatigue
9 Poor Qualitee
10 Red Action

You forgot 11. "lacking a leeetle bit of sharpness". You really think we'd have fixed that sticky handbrake by now though...

[sk-gtfo]

More club propaganda from the club to cheer us up or a move in the right direction

http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/01/arsenal-r ... s-6547334/

Seems odd given we'll probably be out of the CL and still not have won a major trophy for 15 years..

[armchair]

This is funny, sad and irritating, all at the same time..........

phpBB [video]

[GoonerMuzz]

This is funny, sad and irritating, all at the same time..........

phpBB [video]

I now get the old 'Be careful what you wish for', we could end up like Leyton Orient

Now i wonder how those fans would feel if someone came along bought their club and then they stayed in the same position for 12 years, fighting relegation but being charged a lot of money and watching a lot of shit on the pitch, perspective is a bitch when you're looking up but when you're up high it can be just as much of a bitch..... but then some people only ever worry about their own woes because they are always worse, i get you could call our problems insignificant from so far away, just like theirs are to most of our fans

[sk-gtfo]

This is funny, sad and irritating, all at the same time..........

phpBB [video]

I now get the old 'Be careful what you wish for', we could end up like Leyton Orient

Now i wonder how those fans would feel if someone came along bought their club and then they stayed in the same position for 12 years, fighting relegation but being charged a lot of money and watching a lot of shit on the pitch, perspective is a bitch when you're looking up but when you're up high it can be just as much of a bitch..... but then some people only ever worry about their own woes because they are always worse, i get you could call our problems insignificant from so far away, just like theirs are to most of our fans

Hope they go out of business.

Wonder why that video isn't on Youtube?.

[Redarmy]

This is funny, sad and irritating, all at the same time..........

phpBB [video]

I now get the old 'Be careful what you wish for', we could end up like Leyton Orient

Now i wonder how those fans would feel if someone came along bought their club and then they stayed in the same position for 12 years, fighting relegation but being charged a lot of money and watching a lot of shit on the pitch, perspective is a bitch when you're looking up but when you're up high it can be just as much of a bitch..... but then some people only ever worry about their own woes because they are always worse, i get you could call our problems insignificant from so far away, just like theirs are to most of our fans

Hope they go out of business.

Wonder why that video isn't on Youtube?.

No sympathy...fuck em

[General]

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39470336

He thinks fans are unhappy with every defeat. The man's arrogance is frightening.

[Sean]

There it is, guys. The Old Fraud says he won't retire

He will be here until he is 90, unless we hound him out. WENGER OUT!

[silus]

This is funny, sad and irritating, all at the same time..........

phpBB [video]

No mark pricks commenting on stuff that they know fuck all about. Not funny or clever. Fuck em

Oh...and at least one of them looks like a kiddy fiddler.

[Kvltman]

He constantly harks back to how when he arrived the club was this and that and now that he has dedicated 20 years to the club it is in the stratosphere et al. It is so disrespectful to the history of the club and he must know this. He wants credit for everything.

This 7 members of staff when he arrived and now it is 700. I hope someone asks him to expand on this because it sounds like utter drivel to me. An empty statement boasting of false grandeur.

Since the timing of his arrival to now I think the game has changed rapidly and we would be in a similar position having had 3 or 4 managers in this time and now not being held to ransom by a guy who is scared of retiring and a board that is indulging him.

The club is becoming a bigger farce by the day. I see it more and more as Arsene FC and I want Arsene FC to be humiliated in every game they play in now.