As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
They will obviously have to leave the announcement until the end of the season but they need to line up a successor now. His ratio of one trophy in what will soon be six seasons is pitiful. I can't think of any other Arsenal manager in my lifetime who has been indulged so long without winning things.
Billy Wright - sacked after 3 years
Bertie Mee - double-winning and Fairs Cup winning manager, but left 5 years after his last trophy
Terry Neill - sacked four years after winning his only trophy
Don Howe - sacked after two years
George Graham - won two titles and several cups, but dodgy dealings gave the board cover when his team became stale
Brue Rioch - one year man
Arsene Wenger - stayed on far too long, but still won 3 FA Cups in his last 5 years.
Unai Emery - 18 months, during which time he got us to a European final. Why was he given so little time when the dud we now have has now gone nearly 5 years without a sniff of a trophy??!!
Bob - football is a lot different now to the past.
What makes you think they will line up a successor to Arteta now when they couldn’t even line up a striker in January ?
Trophies - I’m afraid that they don’t matter anymore. For the modern international fan it is all about finishing in the top 4 (Wenger was right on that) and competing in the Champions League.
Look at how seriously we take the FA Cup and League Cup these days - unlikely to ever win either for the foreseeable future.
Kroenke looks at Arsenal and sees us in 2nd place consistently and full houses at every single match.
If anything he is likely to pay him a bonus!
Seriously...how much to buy xavi alonso out of leverkusen
Would be top pick for me this summer. Him or that Bournemouth one. Feels like Alonso will end up being the Klopp that we should have had in 2010 or 2011 when we should have fucked Wanker out of the door but didn't. He'll end up at Real Madrid or possibly Bayern Munich within the next six months and we'll have the part-time Etsy art student fucking things up for years to come.
Alonso is not better than Arteta by any stretch. Leverkusen got battered 4-0 at Anfield earlier in the season
Alonso has won stuff..Beegee hair hasn't
In the farmer’s league. As I said, he didn’t cover himself in glory at Anfield and got embarrassed by Atalanta in the Europa Cup final. People would be calling for his head if that happened to us.
Arsene II is doing a great job in the board's eyes - top 4, minimal spend, don't rock the boat. Its like 2008-18 never went away
Tbf Steve O, £800m is NOT minimal spend
It isn't but we're now back at the stage we were in the Wenger days when CL qualification was assured - our net spend this season is less than €30m. When I was away on holiday recently I read two Arsenal books - Keown's new autobiography and Liam Brady's. It strikes me that this 'stingyness' has been present at Arsenal for well over 40 years or more. It essentially drove Brady away from the club at the start of the 80s, and was responsible for Keown leaving too. The settling for being 'also rans' goes back decades. The Hill Woods were always at the heart of all that but have been gone for a long while now, and 13 years after the Kroenkes assumed the majority shareholding we're still looking at it, wondering where a couple more decent signings would have taken us.
This last transfer window (Jan + Summer) have been utterly desperate - the loan signings god awful and two players in positions we don't need.
Is there a football person who questions any of what goes on? When he wanted £30m for Merino, surely a football person would say, so you've spent £105m on Rice, £45m on Partey, £17m on Lokonga all in that position - where does it end? Are you saying that money for one position wasn't enough, or is it an admission in the case of the last two that you've spunked over £60m on players who aren't up to it? Same question for Calafiori when it was clear MLS was a top academy prospect plus the funds he'd already spent on Nuno Tavares and Shitchenko (not to mention Tierney already here)
Arteta hasn't covered himself in glory but one has to wonder how this club actually works. If I spent millions on utter shit in my job I wouldn't have a job most likely, but at the very least I'd have a board of directors openly questioning the money I'd already spent and what return it was generating. Baffling
I made the very point that SteveO is making about the DNA of the club quite a few months ago. It hasn’t been any different for my entire lifetime and as I said before, my dad who died a couple of years ago at age 99 (so had plenty of time to witness it), would always say that the club had always been tight fisted regarding transfers. He would relate the story of us trying to sign Danny Blanchflower from Villa for a whole summer and the manager had to keep going back to the board to ask for more money. At the eleventh hour spurs walked up and paid the asking price and he was the captain that led them to the double.
We never seem to buy top players who are at the top of their game (Alan Ball was an exception, but sadly joined a team in decline) and I think most of us would say that Dennis was the best player we’ve ever signed, but even he was in a trough at Inter and was therefore relatively cheap….same goes for Henry. We normally buy prospects, many of whom go on to be cracking players, but there’s a great many who don’t and bring youngsters through. Most players we sign are upper second tier at best and we frequently over pay for them. To be honest, I’ve always thought that the very top players wont join us because we don’t compete at the top level.
The top clubs throughout Europe buy the proven best. I’m afraid we don’t have a top club mindset and in European teams, we also come up short against the second tier clubs.
Hate to say it, but we need a new manager and a fresh start, because Arteta peaked last season and won’t come back from the point we’ve now sunk to. I’m also wondering whether the players have stopped believing in Arteta and “the process”.
Previously I didn’t think that the Kroenke’s would be prepared to bankroll the transfers and wages required, but now I’m not so sure, because they’ve definitely indulged Legohead. Fuck knows.
I made the very point that SteveO is making about the DNA of the club quite a few months ago. It hasn’t been any different for my entire lifetime and as I said before, my dad who died a couple of years ago at age 99 (so had plenty of time to witness it), would always say that the club had always been tight fisted regarding transfers. He would relate the story of us trying to sign Danny Blanchflower from Villa for a whole summer and the manager had to keep going back to the board to ask for more money. At the eleventh hour spurs walked up and paid the asking price and he was the captain that led them to the double.
We never seem to buy top players who are at the top of their game (Alan Ball was an exception, but sadly joined a team in decline) and I think most of us would say that Dennis was the best player we’ve ever signed, but even he was in a trough at Inter and was therefore relatively cheap….same goes for Henry. We normally buy prospects, many of whom go on to be cracking players, but there’s a great many who don’t and bring youngsters through. Most players we sign are upper second tier at best and we frequently over pay for them. To be honest, I’ve always thought that the very top players wont join us because we don’t compete at the top level.
The top clubs throughout Europe buy the proven best. I’m afraid we don’t have a top club mindset and in European teams, we also come up short against the second tier clubs.
Hate to say it, but we need a new manager and a fresh start, because Arteta peaked last season and won’t come back from the point we’ve now sunk to. I’m also wondering whether the players have stopped believing in Arteta and “the process”.
Previously I didn’t think that the Kroenke’s would be prepared to bankroll the transfers and wages required, but now I’m not so sure, because they’ve definitely indulged Legohead. Fuck knows.
Just re-read this. I'm afraid it was a bit of a ramble, a stream of consciousness....or something like that.
I'm just seriously pissed off. Don't think I can face the whole Wenger managed decline shit again.
I made the very point that SteveO is making about the DNA of the club quite a few months ago. It hasn’t been any different for my entire lifetime and as I said before, my dad who died a couple of years ago at age 99 (so had plenty of time to witness it), would always say that the club had always been tight fisted regarding transfers. He would relate the story of us trying to sign Danny Blanchflower from Villa for a whole summer and the manager had to keep going back to the board to ask for more money. At the eleventh hour spurs walked up and paid the asking price and he was the captain that led them to the double.
We never seem to buy top players who are at the top of their game (Alan Ball was an exception, but sadly joined a team in decline) and I think most of us would say that Dennis was the best player we’ve ever signed, but even he was in a trough at Inter and was therefore relatively cheap….same goes for Henry. We normally buy prospects, many of whom go on to be cracking players, but there’s a great many who don’t and bring youngsters through. Most players we sign are upper second tier at best and we frequently over pay for them. To be honest, I’ve always thought that the very top players wont join us because we don’t compete at the top level.
The top clubs throughout Europe buy the proven best. I’m afraid we don’t have a top club mindset and in European teams, we also come up short against the second tier clubs.
Hate to say it, but we need a new manager and a fresh start, because Arteta peaked last season and won’t come back from the point we’ve now sunk to. I’m also wondering whether the players have stopped believing in Arteta and “the process”.
Previously I didn’t think that the Kroenke’s would be prepared to bankroll the transfers and wages required, but now I’m not so sure, because they’ve definitely indulged Legohead. Fuck knows.
Just re-read this. I'm afraid it was a bit of a ramble, a stream of consciousness....or something like that.
I'm just seriously pissed off. Don't think I can face the whole Wenger managed decline shit again.
I remember being shocked that we signed Supermac.
Apart from the lack of tactics. inverted fullbacks and no striker issues what is also pissing me off is how long we are taking to take throw-ons and corners etc. The players amble about allowing the other team to get set. I don't know if it's part of his tactics to keep possession or if the players are too busy looking at Arteta waving his arms about as if he is parking a plane. I keep waiting for a jumbo jet to land.
I made the very point that SteveO is making about the DNA of the club quite a few months ago. It hasn’t been any different for my entire lifetime and as I said before, my dad who died a couple of years ago at age 99 (so had plenty of time to witness it), would always say that the club had always been tight fisted regarding transfers. He would relate the story of us trying to sign Danny Blanchflower from Villa for a whole summer and the manager had to keep going back to the board to ask for more money. At the eleventh hour spurs walked up and paid the asking price and he was the captain that led them to the double.
We never seem to buy top players who are at the top of their game (Alan Ball was an exception, but sadly joined a team in decline) and I think most of us would say that Dennis was the best player we’ve ever signed, but even he was in a trough at Inter and was therefore relatively cheap….same goes for Henry. We normally buy prospects, many of whom go on to be cracking players, but there’s a great many who don’t and bring youngsters through. Most players we sign are upper second tier at best and we frequently over pay for them. To be honest, I’ve always thought that the very top players wont join us because we don’t compete at the top level.
The top clubs throughout Europe buy the proven best. I’m afraid we don’t have a top club mindset and in European teams, we also come up short against the second tier clubs.
Hate to say it, but we need a new manager and a fresh start, because Arteta peaked last season and won’t come back from the point we’ve now sunk to. I’m also wondering whether the players have stopped believing in Arteta and “the process”.
Previously I didn’t think that the Kroenke’s would be prepared to bankroll the transfers and wages required, but now I’m not so sure, because they’ve definitely indulged Legohead. Fuck knows.
Just re-read this. I'm afraid it was a bit of a ramble, a stream of consciousness....or something like that.
I'm just seriously pissed off. Don't think I can face the whole Wenger managed decline shit again.
I remember being shocked that we signed Supermac.
Apart from the lack of tactics. inverted fullbacks and no striker issues what is also pissing me off is how long we are taking to take throw-ons and corners etc. The players amble about allowing the other team to get set. I don't know if it's part of his tactics to keep possession or if the players are too busy looking at Arteta waving his arms about as if he is parking a plane. I keep waiting for a jumbo jet to land.
Just saw this on the BBC Website (Sports / Football):
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked if the West Ham loss was his most frustrating day as boss: "I don't know, it's not a frustration. It's a feeling of knowing how much we had put into it, to be where we are, that when you have a chance to take another step and then on Wednesday will have to be another one and then on Sunday another one - especially with the form Liverpool are in. It was a tough one to take, especially at home where we have been so consistent."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says "over my dead body" to giving up on the title but is asked if he thinks it is still possible: "If not I will go home. Mathematically it is possible. You are there, you have to play every game, suddenly three days ago we could close a gap and you are like 'you are one-and-a-half games away'. It doesn't matter, we have to continue to go.
"The difficulty is higher than three days about but if you are going to win the Premier League you have to do something special. If you are going to win the Premier League with the circumstances we have you will probably have to do something that nobody else has done in the history of the Premier League."
I made the very point that SteveO is making about the DNA of the club quite a few months ago. It hasn’t been any different for my entire lifetime and as I said before, my dad who died a couple of years ago at age 99 (so had plenty of time to witness it), would always say that the club had always been tight fisted regarding transfers. He would relate the story of us trying to sign Danny Blanchflower from Villa for a whole summer and the manager had to keep going back to the board to ask for more money. At the eleventh hour spurs walked up and paid the asking price and he was the captain that led them to the double.
We never seem to buy top players who are at the top of their game (Alan Ball was an exception, but sadly joined a team in decline) and I think most of us would say that Dennis was the best player we’ve ever signed, but even he was in a trough at Inter and was therefore relatively cheap….same goes for Henry. We normally buy prospects, many of whom go on to be cracking players, but there’s a great many who don’t and bring youngsters through. Most players we sign are upper second tier at best and we frequently over pay for them. To be honest, I’ve always thought that the very top players wont join us because we don’t compete at the top level.
The top clubs throughout Europe buy the proven best. I’m afraid we don’t have a top club mindset and in European teams, we also come up short against the second tier clubs.
Hate to say it, but we need a new manager and a fresh start, because Arteta peaked last season and won’t come back from the point we’ve now sunk to. I’m also wondering whether the players have stopped believing in Arteta and “the process”.
Previously I didn’t think that the Kroenke’s would be prepared to bankroll the transfers and wages required, but now I’m not so sure, because they’ve definitely indulged Legohead. Fuck knows.
Just re-read this. I'm afraid it was a bit of a ramble, a stream of consciousness....or something like that.
I'm just seriously pissed off. Don't think I can face the whole Wenger managed decline shit again.
Everything you’ve written confirms the historical lack of aggression and ambition at board level. The current owners are simply continuing this tradition, so I don’t know how you can turn around and call for Arteta’s head. He made an SOS call in January which fell on depth ears. This is not to say Arteta is blameless but it would take a superhuman effort from the most experienced of managers to drag this lot anywhere near close to the title without significant reinforcements.
