"Judge me in May".....OK Arsene, here goes

[woolwichgooner]

"Judge me in May" said Arsene defensively when the rest of the football world dared to question our performances up to March. Most folk on this site certainly voted that we wait till May and then judge. OK, Arsene seeing as you asked

1. I will judge you as the man who will ultimately lead us to an unspectacular 4th place and another trophyless campaign, losing five league games by November and then (in true AW fashion) improving when the stakes were reduced. I remember the "it must never happen again" bollocks when we finished 4th on the final day in 2005/06....thank your lucky stars for the spectacular Villa collapse or it would have happened again within 3 years.

2. I will judge you as the man who let 3 international class central midfielders leave within a six month space (Diarra, Gilberto and Flamini) and replaced them at the same cost with Ramsey, Bischoff and Coquelin, whilst promoting Denilson and Song

3. I will judge you as the man who has been saved by the skin of his teeth by the flattery of two overhyped cup runs. Coming 2nd in a mediocre group to Porto, beating Italy's 7th best club on penalties before the only half decent knock-out display against a team who may not qualify next season. In the FA Cup we beat the might of Cardiff (after a replay), Plymouth, Burnley and Hull.

4. I will judge you as the man who led the team to 3 of the most insipid, uninspiring cup semi final performances I have ever witnessed. Just when is the "magnificent performance" planned for now ?

5. I will judge you as the man who forever bangs on about "great desire", "mental strength" and refers to each player as "a winner". Can I remind you that your record over the past 2 years against the other top 4 clubs at the business end of the season (i.e. when it actually fucking matters from January onwards) reads PLAYED 10 WON 0 DREW 3 LOST 7

6. I will judge you as the man who despite 60,000 fans regularly telling you to buy a centre half, chose not to and then decided to send one of an already poor choice of four at the club, out on loan for the season leaving Gallas, Djourou and Toure to cope all year

7. I will judge you as the man who could have bought Arshavin in the Summer but instead chose to wait until we were a distant 5th before exposing the club to the most drawn out deadline day saga in history. And quite what advantage did that gain as opposed to having signed him last August or July ?

8. I will judge you as the man who was the big believer in the stadium move as it was "needed to cope with Europe's elite". Yes, we saw how well we competed with them on Tuesday. Since our move we have not finished in the top 2 and have won fuck all. At my beloved Highbury in the last 3 seasons, we reached the Champions League final, won the FA Cup and the Premiership (unbeaten). Glad we moved in order to compete. Still we have to be patient don't we....does the club want me to be as patient with the ticket prices. Shall we pay top prices in 2017 when we are competing with Europe's elite ?

9. I will judge you as the man who at 0-2 down the other night sat with his head down throughout the rest of the match and whose inspired half time magic was to add Eboue for Gibbs. We might all hate Mourinho but at least he had the balls to make first half substitutions (sometimes all three).

10. The final judgement will be if you fail to add to this overpaid bunch in the Summer with some genuine quality of the Arshavin level. Oh sorry, we don't want to "kill" the likes of Diaby, Denilson and Song do we

I think that's my judgement finished for now......

Absolutely spot on. Don't forget though there are positives, it's not all been doom and glom this season. Let's not get too carried away and remember there can only be one winner.

[Red Carpet]

I think we all realise where our level is currently.

4th in the league, FA Cup semi final are about our level

CL semi final is punching above our weight.

Its peoples reasoning for why that I question ..

[wlchuccc]

Agree MK .. why does that seem so difficult to accept by so many of our support??.

I have no idea!! F*ck me, we seem to moan even more than supporters of Leeds, Southampton, Spuds and Newcastle. I'm sure most other supporters look at us and think "what the f*ck have you lot got to moan about!!".

We are in the top 10 clubs in Europe - which is fantastic given our new stadium (built for the medium/long term benefit!) and sensible sustainable business model.

I can only think that there are some on this forum who look to Arsenal for the quick fix and will walk if we go another season without a trophy. Open your eyes guys.....things ain't nearly as bad as some seem to make out!!

And I wholeheartedly agree that going for a few seasons without a trophy is good for the soul. We'll enjoy future success even more as a result.... And maybe have shifted some of the glory hunters who have joined us in recent years.....

Basically I agree with what you said...
But can we keep our good players like Arshavin and Cesc in the end, I worry that they will leave the club before winning anything. Then we have to build up again from scratch.
And I don't understand why we always sell our good players to other clubs every year. If you look at the big 4, we are the only club to export our key players to others. FFS, we need to reform our systems or structure

[woolwichgooner]

Agree MK .. why does that seem so difficult to accept by so many of our support??.

I have no idea!! F*ck me, we seem to moan even more than supporters of Leeds, Southampton, Spuds and Newcastle. I'm sure most other supporters look at us and think "what the f*ck have you lot got to moan about!!".

We are in the top 10 clubs in Europe - which is fantastic given our new stadium (built for the medium/long term benefit!) and sensible sustainable business model.

I can only think that there are some on this forum who look to Arsenal for the quick fix and will walk if we go another season without a trophy. Open your eyes guys.....things ain't nearly as bad as some seem to make out!!

And I wholeheartedly agree that going for a few seasons without a trophy is good for the soul. We'll enjoy future success even more as a result.... And maybe have shifted some of the glory hunters who have joined us in recent years.....

Basically I agree with what you said...
But can we keep our good players like Arshavin and Cesc in the end, I worry that they will leave the club before winning anything. Then we have to build up again from scratch.
And I don't understand why we always sell our good players to other clubs every year. If you look at the big 4, we are the only club to export our key players to others. FFS, we need to reform our systems or structure

I think Cesc has said his future belongs to Arsenal about 100000000000000 times now, no joke.

[tel]

Fair enough we were outplayed in all three semi games but do you not think the fact we go there in the first place says something about the side?

It's funny a lot of fans moan about the leadership of our club but I dread to think what kind of a state we would be in as a club if the directors were as fickle and short sighted as some of the posters on here!

It tells me the side is good up to a point but will always fall short against the very best until the new signings we need are brought in. It's not as if we need a whole clear out to get things back on track which is why there's so much frustration at how we've gone backwards after a brave effort last time around.

[wlchuccc]

Agree MK .. why does that seem so difficult to accept by so many of our support??.

I have no idea!! F*ck me, we seem to moan even more than supporters of Leeds, Southampton, Spuds and Newcastle. I'm sure most other supporters look at us and think "what the f*ck have you lot got to moan about!!".

We are in the top 10 clubs in Europe - which is fantastic given our new stadium (built for the medium/long term benefit!) and sensible sustainable business model.

I can only think that there are some on this forum who look to Arsenal for the quick fix and will walk if we go another season without a trophy. Open your eyes guys.....things ain't nearly as bad as some seem to make out!!

And I wholeheartedly agree that going for a few seasons without a trophy is good for the soul. We'll enjoy future success even more as a result.... And maybe have shifted some of the glory hunters who have joined us in recent years.....

Basically I agree with what you said...
But can we keep our good players like Arshavin and Cesc in the end, I worry that they will leave the club before winning anything. Then we have to build up again from scratch.
And I don't understand why we always sell our good players to other clubs every year. If you look at the big 4, we are the only club to export our key players to others. FFS, we need to reform our systems or structure

I think Cesc has said his future belongs to Arsenal about 100000000000000 times now, no joke.

I have said 1000000000billion times that Cesc will not leave us this summer
But he may leave if we get nothing next season. So as Arshavin

[Red Carpet]

Agree MK .. why does that seem so difficult to accept by so many of our support??.

I have no idea!! F*ck me, we seem to moan even more than supporters of Leeds, Southampton, Spuds and Newcastle. I'm sure most other supporters look at us and think "what the f*ck have you lot got to moan about!!".

We are in the top 10 clubs in Europe - which is fantastic given our new stadium (built for the medium/long term benefit!) and sensible sustainable business model.

I can only think that there are some on this forum who look to Arsenal for the quick fix and will walk if we go another season without a trophy. Open your eyes guys.....things ain't nearly as bad as some seem to make out!!

And I wholeheartedly agree that going for a few seasons without a trophy is good for the soul. We'll enjoy future success even more as a result.... And maybe have shifted some of the glory hunters who have joined us in recent years.....

Basically I agree with what you said...
But can we keep our good players like Arshavin and Cesc in the end, I worry that they will leave the club before winning anything. Then we have to build up again from scratch.
And I don't understand why we always sell our good players to other clubs every year. If you look at the big 4, we are the only club to export our key players to others. FFS, we need to reform our systems or structure

I think Cesc has said his future belongs to Arsenal about 100000000000000 times now, no joke.

I have said 1000000000billion times that Cesc will not leave us this summer
But he may leave if we get nothing next season. So as Arshavin

I don't think you can succesfully run a football club with a long term plan based upon the whims of modern day footballers.

[Lethal]

GoonerEd

this should be in the next gooner

[GunnerDude]

Am sure you all will agree that in any buisness you have to build on success, go forward and not backwards. People say Wenger has spoilt us with good footie thats is true but that also doesn't mean he hasn't failed in some parts.

Let me elaborate on what I mean by "build on success"

After our double win in 01-02 Arsene only signed Gilberto
After the success in the 03-04 unbeaten run Arsene signed Robin, Reyes(in january), Flamini, Eboue(in january) Almunia.

and little by little members of the unbeaten side left, living behind inexperienced youth that have shown us their worth in recent weeks.

Now does that look anything close to building on your success? No! Had we built on that side with proven youth like Reyes(I thought he wasn't a bad player and he was a spanish international after spending 1year with us) we may have retained our dominance.

[StokeyGooner]

It tells me the side is good up to a point but will always fall short against the very best until the new signings we need are brought in. It's not as if we need a whole clear out to get things back on track which is why there's so much frustration at how we've gone backwards after a brave effort last time around.

I agree, we do need a couple of players with experience to see us challenge for the title next season. And I understand the frustration, none of us want to lose two semi finals in a couple of weeks.

The difference is I wouldn't want anyone else making those signings other than Wenger.

[wlchuccc]

Am sure you all will agree that in any buisness you have to build on success, go forward and not backwards. People say Wenger has spoilt us with good footie thats is true but that also doesn't mean he hasn't failed in some parts.

Let me elaborate on what I mean by "build on success"

After our double win in 01-02 Arsene only signed Gilberto
After the success in the 03-04 unbeaten run Arsene signed Robin, Reyes(in january), Flamini, Eboue(in january) Almunia.

and little by little members of the unbeaten side left, living behind inexperienced youth that have shown us their worth in recent weeks.

Now does that look anything close to building on your success? No! Had we built on that side with proven youth like Reyes(I thought he wasn't a bad player and he was a spanish international after spending 1year with us) we may have retained our dominance.

It's Reyes who wanted to leave. I don't think he played a great role in our league games that season. Anyway I don't think he is that good and I don't really like him

[Red Carpet]

Am sure you all will agree that in any buisness you have to build on success, go forward and not backwards. People say Wenger has spoilt us with good footie thats is true but that also doesn't mean he hasn't failed in some parts.

Let me elaborate on what I mean by "build on success"

After our double win in 01-02 Arsene only signed Gilberto
After the success in the 03-04 unbeaten run Arsene signed Robin, Reyes(in january), Flamini, Eboue(in january) Almunia.

and little by little members of the unbeaten side left, living behind inexperienced youth that have shown us their worth in recent weeks.

Now does that look anything close to building on your success? No! Had we built on that side with proven youth like Reyes(I thought he wasn't a bad player and he was a spanish international after spending 1year with us) we may have retained our dominance.

The unbeaten side was a side that was packed with players at their peak ... that side didn't have a long future. Anyway, I don't think anything was going to stop Abramovich when he turned up at Chelsea. He would have just had to spend a few more quid.

[skipper]

@ MK Gould

Whilst I can't really argue with most of yr comment, I have to make a few points:

1) Even if Chelskys season looks a bigger 'failure' than ours it still doesn't make us any better, because it shows that....

2) ...we are quietly settling for 2nd best, and that is a problem, which woldn't be end of the world if...

3) ...Arsene Wenger stops practicing child psychology and starts treating players and supporters like adults...

[Number 5]

Fair enough we were outplayed in all three semi games but do you not think the fact we go there in the first place says something about the side?

It's funny a lot of fans moan about the leadership of our club but I dread to think what kind of a state we would be in as a club if the directors were as fickle and short sighted as some of the posters on here!

I have make a point, not just to you Stokey, but everyone else thinking along similar lines.

We did not get to two semi finals this year because of the players we have in the current team. I would rigorously argue we managed it in spite of the current squad. Getting as far as we did was a massive over achievement and has been pointed out came on the back of unconvincing performances against some very mediocre teams.

To all else pointing to business models and financial constraints, that can only go so far. Last season we really put in a challenge on a few fronts. We had the makings of a good squad. That our manager chose to allow key players in that squad to leave and promoted younger less able players is not down to any business model. It is down to bad management and poor judgement in the ability of the players the manager has now come to rely on.

To let Flamini leave and not match the AC wage offer whilst hiking the weekly income of Adebayor to an undeserved and frankly unimaginable level is scandalous bordering on insanity.

I'm not saying I want Wenger out, I believe even on a similar financial footing to Man U and Chelsea it would still be a fucking achievement to win the league these days.

I am saying however he has fucked up royally this year. We could have competed even with our financial position if he had built on last year and not made that squad weaker.

[wlchuccc]

Fair enough we were outplayed in all three semi games but do you not think the fact we go there in the first place says something about the side?

It's funny a lot of fans moan about the leadership of our club but I dread to think what kind of a state we would be in as a club if the directors were as fickle and short sighted as some of the posters on here!

I have make a point, not just to you Stokey, but everyone else thinking along similar lines.

We did not get to two semi finals this year because of the players we have in the current team. I would rigorously argue we managed it in spite of the current squad. Getting as far as we did was a massive over achievement and has been pointed out came on the back of unconvincing performances against some very mediocre teams.

To all else pointing to business models and financial constraints, that can only go so far. Last season we really put in a challenge on a few fronts. We had the makings of a good squad. That our manager chose to allow key players in that squad to leave and promoted younger less able players is not down to any business model. It is down to bad management and poor judgement in the ability of the players the manager has now come to rely on.

To let Flamini leave and not match the AC wage offer whilst hiking the weekly income of Adebayor to an undeserved and frankly unimaginable level is scandalous bordering on insanity.

I'm not saying I want Wenger out, I believe even on a similar financial footing to Man U and Chelsea it would still be a fucking achievement to win the league these days.

I am saying however he has fucked up royally this year. We could have competed even with our financial position if he had built on last year and not made that squad weaker.

#5, our thoughts are even more closer now