It infuriates me so much, the number of times a player and/or the team is struggling early'ish in the second half and yet Wenger always leaves it until his 70th minute to make a change. Adebayor was having a mare today, he looked knackered after 50 mins and yet as always, no substitutions came. I really don't like Maureenio but I do admire the fact that he will change things at half time if it's not happening, and it often pays off for him. Against Fulham, Bendtner changed the game when he finally came on and the game was crying out for a change against City but we waited and we waited. Wenger has faced a fair bit of criticism over the years for not having much tactical nous - is this the reason for the failure to make a positive substitution?
Don't even mention bringing on the useless Song at the end either!!
Why won't Wenger make a tactical substitution?
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All_Arsenal_1886
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But didn't he make a change in the 75th minute and we scored in the 80th? to me that help bringing Eduardo on at that time.
Also the change at Fulham came just after the 70th minute and we got two in the last 15 minutes of the game and won. I thought bringing Bendtnar no in the 73rd minute was what won us the game because Fulham couldn't mark him.
Also didn't Arsene bring on Theo for Eboue around the 60th minute mark which gave us pace that Fulham couldn't cope with.
So far out of the games i have been happy with his subs!
Also the change at Fulham came just after the 70th minute and we got two in the last 15 minutes of the game and won. I thought bringing Bendtnar no in the 73rd minute was what won us the game because Fulham couldn't mark him.
Also didn't Arsene bring on Theo for Eboue around the 60th minute mark which gave us pace that Fulham couldn't cope with.
So far out of the games i have been happy with his subs!
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gooner.ed
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arsene is a preparer and developer of players but is no tactician. substitutions are made for 3 reasons - injury, bringing on fresh legs for the last 20 minutes, time killing in the last 5 minutes (sometimes an extra defender or midfielder to leave one up front). the only variation on this is when he puts on an attacker for a midfielder to switch to 4-3-3. but that seems the limit in terms of tactical substitutions. if wenger was a tactician our corners would be worked on, as well as the defence of set pieces.
wenger's strength is getting the players familar with one another's footballing ways, and getting them in the best possible physical shape to play 90 minutes of football right to the end without flagging (a lot of games are thus won in the last 20 minutes). other than that, he leaves it to the intelligence of the players to sort things out on the pitch. the most remarkable aspect of the unbeatables run is that martin keown was the only defender from the george graham era (and he only started about 3 of those matches) in the defence. and yet they could not be beaten - in spite of the lack of work wenger does with defenders. all they seem to have is the offside trap, but marking is invariably suspect and the opposition will always get chances.
but a tactician? that's jose mourinho or rafa benitez. frankly wenger could do with a strong headed number two, but he's too stubborn to take advice so it isn't going to happen. he wants yes men around him. that's a flaw, but arsene is a control freak. i think everyone knows that. once the players get on the pitch, it's pretty much down to them. little is going to happen in the mind of the manager after that to really change anything other than the usual substitutions.
one thing i have noted this season though. hleb seems to be staying on for the whole match - suggesting his fitness levels have improved.
wenger's strength is getting the players familar with one another's footballing ways, and getting them in the best possible physical shape to play 90 minutes of football right to the end without flagging (a lot of games are thus won in the last 20 minutes). other than that, he leaves it to the intelligence of the players to sort things out on the pitch. the most remarkable aspect of the unbeatables run is that martin keown was the only defender from the george graham era (and he only started about 3 of those matches) in the defence. and yet they could not be beaten - in spite of the lack of work wenger does with defenders. all they seem to have is the offside trap, but marking is invariably suspect and the opposition will always get chances.
but a tactician? that's jose mourinho or rafa benitez. frankly wenger could do with a strong headed number two, but he's too stubborn to take advice so it isn't going to happen. he wants yes men around him. that's a flaw, but arsene is a control freak. i think everyone knows that. once the players get on the pitch, it's pretty much down to them. little is going to happen in the mind of the manager after that to really change anything other than the usual substitutions.
one thing i have noted this season though. hleb seems to be staying on for the whole match - suggesting his fitness levels have improved.
