Bob Bayliss wrote:So, would replacing Wenger with a more ambitious and modern manager address our problems, or would it be pointless unless Kronke is also removed?
It is naive to suggest that Kronke has been directly responsible for our relative decline as a force in British football, or inability to become a force at the top of the European table as we were promised when we left the Emirates. He has not bought the players, negotiated their overblown contracts, failed tactically. The manager must be directly accountable, and removing him should be a no-brainer for any club with genuine ambition.
But there is the rub, and it is why ultimately removing Wenger is necessary but not remotely sufficient. It has been suggested (DB10, and others) that Kronke's "only" real failing as our owner is that he hasn't removed the manager. That's a bit like saying that John Wilkes Booth was a pretty regular sort of guy apart from that one rash decision he made at the theatre the night Lincoln attended. The point is, his failure to remove Wenger given his underwhelming achievement over the past decade is a fundamental failing which speaks volumes about the American's priorities and what he looks for in terms of key performance indicators for the club. While there are a large number of managers who could take the club forward to some extent given the constraints under which they would be working (Koemann, Eddie Howe) there are a relatively smal number who could genuinely deliver us the type of success our fans dream of: the likes of Simeone, Allegri, Anceloti, possibly Zidane..... Had Wenger been sacked a year ago, would Conte have been persuaded to manage Arsenal with Kronke as Chairman?
So in summary: I agree that we have to focus all of our energy on getting Wenger out, but we should not for one second imagine that will have any dramatic or lasting impact on the long-term success of our club. Wenger is the battle; Kronke the war.
This is bang on the money Bob. There are on-going, petty and frankly juvenile spats on here at the moment, but your post is a perfect summation of the state we are in.
It's been frustrating reading the Wenger / Kroenke arguments on here, because the bottom line from all involved seems to be :
1. We need shot of Wenger now.
2. Kroenke is not the owner we want for the successful, on-field future we all want to see.
The minutiae of the spats are pointless. Wenger is washed up and has been for years. That said, he's been afforded all he's asked for (as far as we know), so our on-field failure is his alone. Again, that said, an ambitious owner would have had him out the door long before now and wouldn't be considering renewing the contract for a single second. As others have said, the true judgement of Kroenke (although most of us already know), begins once Wenger has gone.
As Bob says, the very real immediate problem is Wenger, but the biggest and far more difficult problem is / will be Kroenke.
