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.
I don't think that it's any co-incidence Clichy showed his best potential before he signed for us and when he was getting fleeting chances in the first team.
Whatever defensive capabilities he may have had were well and truely coached out of him over the years and it'll be Sagna's turn next.
Continually left exposed by his team mates and never helped tactically by his manager, he stays or he goes makes no difference. The next left back will face the same troubles and unless he's Paolo Maldini Jnr the same problems will keep resurfasing.
I wish the guy well, I've got no hate going on for him.
Number 5 wrote:I don't think that it's any co-incidence Clichy showed his best potential before he signed for us and when he was getting fleeting chances in the first team.
Whatever defensive capabilities he may have had were well and truely coached out of him over the years and it'll be Sagna's turn next.
Coached out of him? Wenger is no defensive mastermind and we've had some real clowns in front of... well, our Spanish clown. But even then, you surely can't blame a manager for a player's inability to defend properly, not at this level. You don't play for a CL club's starting 11 and then say "I'm not good enough at defending because my manager untaught me".
Additionally - and I may very well eat my words on this - I do not think AW is foolish enough to replace Clichy with an injury-prone and still quite raw Gibbs. I'm expecting to hear rumblings about Baines before you know it. And with 7 goals, better crosses, and the same sort of work rate/stamina as Clichy, he would be a massive improvement for likely a very small difference in price.
Number 5 wrote:I don't think that it's any co-incidence Clichy showed his best potential before he signed for us and when he was getting fleeting chances in the first team.
Whatever defensive capabilities he may have had were well and truely coached out of him over the years and it'll be Sagna's turn next.
Coached out of him? Wenger is no defensive mastermind and we've had some real clowns in front of... well, our Spanish clown. But even then, you surely can't blame a manager for a player's inability to defend properly, not at this level. You don't play for a CL club's starting 11 and then say "I'm not good enough at defending because my manager untaught me".
Additionally - and I may very well eat my words on this - I do not think AW is foolish enough to replace Clichy with an injury-prone and still quite raw Gibbs. I'm expecting to hear rumblings about Baines before you know it. And with 7 goals, better crosses, and the same sort of work rate/stamina as Clichy, he would be a massive improvement for likely a very small difference in price.
When you are good at something, anything not just football or specifically defending, how do you stay good at it?
I would say by practise. Day in day out. It's how the George Graham back four became so legendary.
Arsene Wengers Arsenal take a player who shows good defensive ability and do absolutely nothing with it. This then takes the ability the player did have and gradually makes it worse and worse until you are Gael Clichy 5 years later.
Regarding Baines, Enrique, whoever. It won't help. I've said this time and time again lately.
Changing personnel at the back will not improve shit.
He seemingly cannot pick a CB combination that is solid. Post sol, the best combo was kolo and willy and that wasn't good enough.
Onto LB Gael looked good under 4-4-2 but his slide started whilst playing in that formation, but quickly descended into a wreck in 4-3-3 especially when Arshavin was playing on his side.
Some of the *uckups by Gael are just down to him, he gets nervous panics and does something stupid, concentration gets lost. I cannot blame Arsene for the brum screwup, or the spud screw up for example.
The evidence though on the whole is that Wenger's defensive coach is not good enough, he has to take some of the blame but its mostly gaels.
Even under the current Wenger I doubt Cashley would be anything but the best LB in the league.
Goonuz71 wrote:One seat filled on the mercenary bus ....any more ? ? hop on board quick because this bus is departing soon ....F**k Off You GREEDY BASTARDS
Bendtners Drinking Buddy wrote:So people want an overhaul of the squad - but when it begins to happen they stil arnt happy
Average player, im seriously not bothered in the slightist about him going! Go chase the Yankee Dollar Gael, cos fuck knows you cant chase back!
Please , Please let Walcott be next
Not complaining as such mate but personally I wont join in the clichy bashing cos the lad served us well for a long time and shown non stop commitment and passion along the way There is no doubt that his form has slid alarmingly in recent seasons (though tactics have contributed somewhat to that) and it is right to sell him (7m cheap imo) but yet again there is absolutely zero faith in wenger bringing in a suitable replacement If the *word censored* seriously is planning on playing one of the 4 he has mentioned as his first choice left back then it will be yet another nail in his coffin for me
you could see by the end of last season that manchester city is already a better team than arsenal. they will finish above us unless wenger spends a lot on established quality players ( ) so i think it would be pretty fair to say he moved to the richer AND BETTER team, with more chances of silverware than us.
by the way, they are champions of the fa cup. what did we win on the last half a decade?
so you could say pretty accurately that he did not move only for the money. he went to the team with better chances of silverware as well
you could see by the end of last season that manchester city is already a better team than arsenal. they will finish above us unless wenger spends a lot on established quality players ( ) so i think it would be pretty fair to say he moved to the richer AND BETTER team, with more chances of silverware than us.
by the way, they are champions of the fa cup. what did we win on the last half a decade?
so you could say pretty accurately that he did not move only for the money. he went to the team with better chances of silverware as well
I don't agree that Citeh are better than us, as I believe that we really dipped at the end of the season. Some of the players wantaway attitudes help to explain how this happened. Citeh won the FA Cup, but so did Portsmouth not so long ago!
I do agree that Citeh have more potential though.
The thing is that the spirit is gone in the team and I believe that we should sell Fabs and Nasri as I have never wanted to keep players who want out of the club. They can fuck off to be honest!!
I think that bringing in more British players like Cahill, Baines and Downing to join a squad containing Wilshere and Walcott might help to inject more of a British nucleus to the squad, and hence a bit of loyalty when their careers take off.