WEST BROM AWAY. CAN IT GET ANY WORSE?

Its Up 4 Grabs Now · Post by **Its Up 4 Grabs Now** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:10 pm

Unforgivable. I can accept dropping points, even to shit teams, but I've seen more urgency in a dead sloth or a fucking wheelbarrow than we had out there. Even after we pulled one back we were walking the ball out of defence when there was opportunities to counter while they finally had 2 or 3 players out of position. You'd think nothing was at stake & they had nothing to prove. Near enough every game for the last few years now we start off lethargic & only wake up when things start looking desperate. Not good enough.

And Lehmann clearly frightens the living shit out of Almunia. It's hard to tell for sure cos he's been shit so often even when Jens wasn't around, but I wouldn't be surprised if his fucking Phileas Fogg adventure out of his box was partly down to feeling extra pressure to prove himself. If so, well done Al, you did it, you've proved yourself a *word censored*. Again.

USMartin · Post by **USMartin** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:11 pm

LDB wrote: Heres the problem in my eyes. There isn't enough good old fashioned demand on these guys to play for their arsenal careers. Finance is irrelevent because even replacing them with like-for-like quality and wages could do wonders in keeping the squad fresh and on its toes rather then complacent and lacking any edge.

Overpaid and undermotivated as I suggest. No pressure to earn their big pay ackets whatsoever.

Combine this with several players who are likely underpaid and undermotivated and you have recipe for annula disappointment.

LDB · Post by **LDB** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:15 pm

USMartin wrote:
LDB wrote: Heres the problem in my eyes. There isn't enough good old fashioned demand on these guys to play for their arsenal careers. Finance is irrelevent because even replacing them with like-for-like quality and wages could do wonders in keeping the squad fresh and on its toes rather then complacent and lacking any edge.
Overpaid and undermotivated as I suggest. No pressure to earn their big pay ackets whatsoever.

Combine this with several players who are likely underpaid and undermotivated and you have recipe for annula disappointment.

And whos fault is that? Yes they're paid a fortune which is likely a factor but any guy who gets to this level in sport has a degree of personal pride and I guarantee you if there was someone there telling them they're shit, coasting through their careers and not worthy of the Arsenal shirt you'd get a response.

Look at man utd, they have some truly average squad players who are no doubt earning a fortune but when they come into the side they always play with an edge and give nothing but 100%. Ultimately the management is primarily to blame for the shit mentality in our squad.

TeeCee · Post by **TeeCee** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:20 pm

I've said it before and I'll say it again. 4th place is the best we can hope for and some of the delusional fans on here will be happy with that, along with Wenger and the board. This squad and our so called manager are a fucking unfunny joke.

USMartin · Post by **USMartin** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:31 pm

LDB wrote:
USMartin wrote:
LDB wrote: Heres the problem in my eyes. There isn't enough good old fashioned demand on these guys to play for their arsenal careers. Finance is irrelevent because even replacing them with like-for-like quality and wages could do wonders in keeping the squad fresh and on its toes rather then complacent and lacking any edge.
Overpaid and undermotivated as I suggest. No pressure to earn their big pay ackets whatsoever.

Combine this with several players who are likely underpaid and undermotivated and you have recipe for annula disappointment.
And whos fault is that? Yes they're paid a fortune which is likely a factor but any guy who gets to this level in sport has a degree of personal pride and I guarantee you if there was someone there telling them they're shit, coasting through their careers and not worthy of the Arsenal shirt you'd get a response.

Look at man utd, they have some truly average squad players who are no doubt earning a fortune but when they come into the side they always play with an edge and give nothing but 100%. Ultimately the management is primarily to blame for the shit mentality in our squad.

First off that is the aim of our effort - if we are unable to advocate for immediate policy changes to try and get clarity on where the policies originate and why.

Secondly, not exactly true about the comparison to United. At ManU they do not have a flat wage structure paying less on the extremes. Their most successful and experienced playerss earn far more relative to the squad players at ManU than is the case at Arsenal. We underpay our best and most inexperinced players and overpay our least experinced and least effective players, and have done so really from 2006 forward as we rebuilt this team around inexpensive potential as opposed to more expensive proven quality.

LDB · Post by **LDB** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:36 pm

USMartin wrote:
LDB wrote:
USMartin wrote:
LDB wrote: Heres the problem in my eyes. There isn't enough good old fashioned demand on these guys to play for their arsenal careers. Finance is irrelevent because even replacing them with like-for-like quality and wages could do wonders in keeping the squad fresh and on its toes rather then complacent and lacking any edge.
Overpaid and undermotivated as I suggest. No pressure to earn their big pay ackets whatsoever.

Combine this with several players who are likely underpaid and undermotivated and you have recipe for annula disappointment.
And whos fault is that? Yes they're paid a fortune which is likely a factor but any guy who gets to this level in sport has a degree of personal pride and I guarantee you if there was someone there telling them they're shit, coasting through their careers and not worthy of the Arsenal shirt you'd get a response.

Look at man utd, they have some truly average squad players who are no doubt earning a fortune but when they come into the side they always play with an edge and give nothing but 100%. Ultimately the management is primarily to blame for the shit mentality in our squad.
First off that is the aim of our effort - if we are unable to advocate for immediate policy changes to try and get clarity on where the policies originate and why.

Secondly, not exactly true about the comparison to United. At ManU they do not have a flat wage structure paying less on the extremes. Their most successful and experienced playerss earn far more relative to the squad players at ManU than is the case at Arsenal. We underpay our best and most inexperinced players and overpay our least experinced and least effective players, and have done so really from 2006 forward as we rebuilt this team around inexpensive potential as opposed to more expensive proven quality.

I would wager that man ure squad players still earn as much if not more then these players would find on the open market. Point is, it is still possible to motivate players on 50k a week but only if your man management extends beyond telling them how wonderful they are and sticking by them even when they are clearly stagnating and bringing nothing to the team.

USMartin · Post by **USMartin** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:51 pm

LDB wrote: I would wager that man ure squad players still earn as much if not more then these players would find on the open market. Point is, it is still possible to motivate players on 50k a week but only if your man management extends beyond telling them how wonderful they are and sticking by them even when they are clearly stagnating and bringing nothing to the team.

I wouldn't disagree, but that really isn't the point. The point is we are overpaying a lot of players who would not get this money anywhere esle and in all seriousness I sense that is the only way the will be motivated is by losing that money.

I said well back there seems to be a creeping malaise in this club as everyone top on down is too fixated on making money now - Board making record profits selling off shares for record prices. Manager making the biggest wage of any manager or close to it, and unproven players getting laughably high salaries.

Its just like a company when it becomes too purely profit-driven and forgets taking pride in the product it produces, everyone loses the motivation other than collecting a paycheck. Hell it happens to us if we stop loving our job but have no alternative but to stay there we puch the clock and pick up our check, and that becomes our job.

That is what has happened at Arsenal - everyone is overpaid and undermotivated bar a few who are underpaid and very bit as undermotivated.

worthing gooner · Post by **worthing gooner** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:51 pm

Rugby Pitch

I do think that the world is witnessing the breakdown of a sad old man here....
Its quite worrying really....

Chips and Chocolate · Post by **Chips and Chocolate** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:54 pm

worthing gooner wrote:Rugby Pitch
I do think that the world is witnessing the breakdown of a sad old man here....
Its quite worrying really....

Did he really say that?! Fucksake

Henry Norris 1913 · Post by **Henry Norris 1913** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:56 pm

I'm supporting my team- my CLUB through thick and thin but sometimes when your so passionate and it means so much to you you end up saying things you wish you hadn't . Denilson is the exception to the rule . I don't think a player has ever epitomised the things I hate about wenger's 2006- teams than him. He can honestly fuck off to northeastern japan if he likes after anotyer woeful display.

When even beating west brom at the hawthorns mean so much to you and you see that snood wearing yellow belly jogging around like a *word censored* you lose it and its like your going crazy. WHY DO THEY GET PAID SO MUCH TO FUCK ABOUT ON TWITTER AND FIFA. WORK HARD YOU PRICKS WE'RE IN A TITLE RACE AND YOUR TELLING ME YOUR GOING FOR A HAIRCUT YOU UTTER MONGOLOID.

so yes demun I lost it but its only because the despair of watching the predictable season implosion unfold like a fucking disaster movie sends me round the bend. I would NEVER hate any arsenal side that wears our cannon but this is the closest I've ever been.

Monkeymaw · Post by **Monkeymaw** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:05 pm

FFS. Half of you have watched the game while tapping away on the keyboard slagging the team/manager off and now you seem to have been continuing to slag the team since the result which was two hours ago
I'm sure all Gooners are feeling pissed off with the continuing feeling of deja vu but for fucks sake, go out for a pint and meet some real people. (and coat the team off to them...........)
You will feel much better.

Arsenal 1991 · Post by **Arsenal 1991** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:10 pm

Monkeymaw wrote:FFS. Half of you have watched the game while tapping away on the keyboard slagging the team/manager off and now you seem to have been continuing to slag the team since the result which was two hours ago
I'm sure all Gooners are feeling pissed off with the continuing feeling of deja vu but for fucks sake, go out for a pint and meet some real people. (and coat the team off to them...........)
You will feel much better.

No thanks, my mummy won't let me have contact with the outside world.

LDB · Post by **LDB** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:11 pm

Monkeymaw wrote:FFS. Half of you have watched the game while tapping away on the keyboard slagging the team/manager off and now you seem to have been continuing to slag the team since the result which was two hours ago
I'm sure all Gooners are feeling pissed off with the continuing feeling of deja vu but for fucks sake, go out for a pint and meet some real people. (and coat the team off to them...........)
You will feel much better.

Dont know about others but i didnt watch the game as my graphics card is fucked (cant watch streams) so listened to the ATVO commentary instead. Listening and tapping away on the keyboard is considerably easier

BournemouthRED · Post by **BournemouthRED** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:12 pm

its scary outside, my mate went outside once and someone nicked his walkman

Post by **g88ner** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:18 pm

Wenger - "I think we were far too nervous and tentative in the first part of the game. They played with more freedom than we did. We were a bit nervy and you could see that the recent games had an impact in our mind."

All true, in my opinion. We were nervous and tentative, we didn't play with freedom and the recent results had an impact on their minds...

So, having commented on our mental fragility, how can he once again go on to mention our mental strength...??

Wenger - "...we have the mental resolve and I think we have shown that today."

It's maddening. Surely, if today showed our mental resolve in the comeback, it also showed our mental weakness?? - he can't have it both ways, surely?

Wenger often talks about us "playing with the handbrake on", "lacking concentration" and "lacking confidence" (all classic symptoms of mental weakness) but he seems to mention all this (and much more) before going on to praise our MENTAL FUCKING STRENGTH!!!

I know it's old hat by now, but even as a more pro-Wenger than anti-Wenger supporter, I do find his comments on certain things very fucking annoying.

That said, the comeback shows something. Probably that we have enough quality to score goals (which we already knew) but equally the WBA goals showed we're capable of gifting a few goals too (again, we already knew that) - so I'm not really sure today was about mental strength.