THE WENGER THREAD

[SteveO 35]

If we win on Sunday then you do realise that There's Only One Arsene Wenger will be belted out from blocks 2 to 6 don't you?

Last time he copped this much flak after last season's shambles at Stoke it happened, and every time the press and a couple of celebrity fans get stuck into him the AKBs siege mentality sets in.

People may think its laughable right now, but I honestly believe we'll hear it very soon and Niall Quinn or some such knob will comment on how nice it is to hear it and John Cross will beat one out whilst rubbishing all the 'not proper fans' that dared to call into question his lord and master

[northbank123]

If we win on Sunday then you do realise that There's Only One Arsene Wenger will be belted out from blocks 2 to 6 don't you?

Last time he copped this much flak after last season's shambles at Stoke it happened, and every time the press and a couple of celebrity fans get stuck into him the AKBs siege mentality sets in.

People may think its laughable right now, but I honestly believe we'll hear it very soon and Niall Quinn or some such knob will comment on how nice it is to hear it and John Cross will beat one out whilst rubbishing all the 'not proper fans' that dared to call into question his lord and master

Yep - if we lose there will be a few negative pieces written and a lot of moaning on here and it will tick over during the international break and then when we scrape a decent result there will be a lot of vindictiveness from militant AKBs and all that supposed pressure will evaporate until the next catastrophic run in a few months time.

[g88ner]

That press conference in all its glory. What a classless sniping cretin Le Tool is.
Jesus.

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sp ... conference

Absolutely comical - I don't give a fcuk whether journo's are afraid of asking him the proper questions today or not, they will all see that interview and they will not be happy with how 2 of the fellow journo's were treated when asking genuine questions. To threaten to walk out in the middle of a press conference that he is OBLIGED to do, is to stick a big two fingers at the the football journalists en masse and that will not do him any favours with the press - if he now turns around and loses the game on sunday then this attitude might come back to bite him on the arse

Mate, that question was there to provoke. Wenger quite rightly doesn't like Mourinho and doesn't want to get involved in media war games that Mourinho and the press love so much.

So why should he respond to Mourinho's comments? - he did the right thing. He refused to answer and told the journo to leave it alone or the press conference was over.

There were other points in the press conference where he behaved like a tool, but threatening to walk out over the Mourinho question wasn't one of them.

[SteveO 35]

Its funny how this latest shit storm seems to bring out the goldfish in so many people. I work with a number of fellow Gooners and have heard all week how a defeat against the Mancs could spell the end and be a turning point

This is a man who last season led us to our worst start in 32 years, and has seen us 17th after 4 games in 2011

Honest to god does anyone truthfully believe that in the worst PL ever, slipping to 6th or 7th will make an ounce of difference ?

[g88ner]

Its funny how this latest shit storm seems to bring out the goldfish in so many people. I work with a number of fellow Gooners and have heard all week how a defeat against the Mancs could spell the end and be a turning point

This is a man who last season led us to our worst start in 32 years, and has seen us 17th after 4 games in 2011

Honest to god does anyone truthfully believe that in the worst PL ever, slipping to 6th or 7th will make an ounce of difference ?

Nope. he's here to stay. I've seen no evidence whatsoever that he's under pressure from the board or has a desire to leave.

Would love it to be true, but I've already accepted he's here until at least the end of his current contract.

[SteveO 35]

Its funny how this latest shit storm seems to bring out the goldfish in so many people. I work with a number of fellow Gooners and have heard all week how a defeat against the Mancs could spell the end and be a turning point

This is a man who last season led us to our worst start in 32 years, and has seen us 17th after 4 games in 2011

Honest to god does anyone truthfully believe that in the worst PL ever, slipping to 6th or 7th will make an ounce of difference ?

Nope. he's here to stay. I've seen no evidence whatsoever that he's under pressure from the board or has a desire to leave.

Would love it to be true, but I've already accepted he's here until at least the end of his current contract.

Don't tell Rodders

Still.....we can have the whole BBQ debate next season.....will he stay, will he go

[augie]

I will bet my life that le cock would resign if he was on the end of sustained spell of public barracking at our home games

[SteveO 35]

I will bet my life that le cock would resign if he was on the end of sustained spell of public barracking at our home games

And when is that day likely to come? The ground is virtually empty at the end of every match, and when we lose you get about 200 people mildly booing. I'd put up with that for a job where you work 4-5 hours per day and earn £8m a year without the slightest pressure.

He's presided over some of the biggest catastrophes in the club's history and emerged smiling every time

[Nos89]

That press conference in all its glory. What a classless sniping cretin Le Tool is.
Jesus.

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sp ... conference

I don't think the pressure is getting to him at all. Fergie pulled the same tricks. Last season Ospina kept something like 12 clean sheets in 15 games, so is there really an issue there? Not really.

The only point I take issue with is that he does not believe he is accountable to the fans. Didn't Gazides proclaim in 2013 that wenger is accountable to the fans, and by being accountable for the team's results therein lies an accountability to the support?

Like in all businesses, the fans are customers and demand value for money, as the manager of the team, he has the accountability to the clubs customer's for providing the best possible experience. It's a standard business model that anyone with an economics degree should understand.

Simply mentioning mourinho's name turned that conference. Though I have to admit the journo's line of questioning is quite simple and boring. Hardly much thought went into the line of questioning, piss poor journalism if you ask me.

With all due respect where do I even begin to pick apart this rabble?
Ok I'll start with your economics bit. You claim Wenger is performing a basic economic function in delivering to Kroenke - on this point you may be correct but this ignores that in the very same disastrous presser, Wenger showed zero grasp of how Smithsonian economics works by claiming Martial was not for sale, when anyone with a remote understanding of a demand economy would never say anything so fucking dumb!

You then refer to him providing "value". If a wage bill on a par almost with Chelski, at over £200m with abject PL and CL humiliation to show for it - and a sparse FA Cup is "value" then...then....

You then bizarrely mention Ospina's clean sheets record from last year. So what? Watch football with your eyes. Ospina is mediocre. Off the top of my head he's responsible for throwing the ball in his own net at home to Swansea, a calamity goal at QPR, rushing around on Safari at Palace (Murray hit post when he shoulda scored) and crucially, when called upon the other night he committed an error you'll never ever see Courtois, Cech, or even Tim Krul commit ie catching a simple ball and taking it back into the goal with you.

Sorry this is utter nonsense.

If you're gonna pick it apart do it properly. There's no mention of delivering for kroenke, its delivering value for the fans, no mention of fa cup wins as value either. Ospina was being hailed as the answer last season. A lot have criticised cech this season. So, watching football with my eyes both have made mistakes this season, both cost us points. Where's your argument going?

[wibble]

AW: 'we beat Leicester 5-2 and we are the only team to have beaten them so i don't see why we can't beat Man United'

interviewer: So are they comparable then, Leicester and Man Utd? Is that the benchmark?

AW: The benchmark is the last game

Interviewer: The last game was Olympiakos

-------------------

Ha! Did enjoy that bit! Good to see the press not just lapping his shite up and actually questioning him. For now.

[Blade]

The board are a collection of Eton educated octogenarians who are happy at the status quo and will never move Aw on.

He meets and delivers the KPI every year.

The biggest decision at board meetings is which cigar to smoke.

Once again why spend 100mil to win extra 4mil in prize money?.

1.4th place

2.6 games in the ECL

3.One domestic pot [optional]

The club is a 'gift' to the blue collar fans are view as a perpetual ATM.

[Redarmy]

That press conference in all its glory. What a classless sniping cretin Le Tool is.
Jesus.

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sp ... conference

Absolutely comical - I don't give a fcuk whether journo's are afraid of asking him the proper questions today or not, they will all see that interview and they will not be happy with how 2 of the fellow journo's were treated when asking genuine questions. To threaten to walk out in the middle of a press conference that he is OBLIGED to do, is to stick a big two fingers at the the football journalists en masse and that will not do him any favours with the press - if he now turns around and loses the game on sunday then this attitude might come back to bite him on the arse

Mate, that question was there to provoke. Wenger quite rightly doesn't like Mourinho and doesn't want to get involved in media war games that Mourinho and the press love so much.

So why should he respond to Mourinho's comments? - he did the right thing. He refused to answer and told the journo to leave it alone or the press conference was over.

There were other points in the press conference where he behaved like a tool, but threatening to walk out over the Mourinho question wasn't one of them.

Absolutely agree mate, he is not obliged to do press conferences, remember Alex Ferguson a manger a lot of you on here seem to hold in great esteem, getting the name of a journalist so he could ban him....

Those questions were crap by the way the constant questioning on the selection of goalkeeper is annoying and distracting

there are much deeper more fundamental questions to be asked, but this is making a smokescreen, really letting Wenger off the hook

[g88ner]

Those questions were crap by the way the constant questioning on the selection of goalkeeper is annoying and distracting

there are much deeper more fundamental questions to be asked, but this is making a smokescreen, really letting Wenger off the hook

Agreed.

Of all the richly quotable comments from that press conference, the one that struck me the most was this...

Question: You were, rightly or wrongly, linked with a couple of players who went there. Martial being one of them…?
“Anthony Martial was not sellable. He was not on the list. He was one of the players Monaco didn’t want to sell.”

Question: So, how come they did?
“So we never made any approach for him.”

Question: But Manchester United managed to buy him…?
“Yes, but they managed to do it because they paid special money.”

Now, that worries me because it helps confirm what has been said many times before: that we don't impose ourselves on the transfer market like a club of our stature and financial might should.

If all it takes to dissuade us from seriously pursuing a player is for their club to say "not for sale" then it's no bloody wonder we don't get deals done early and miss out on players.

You don't expect clubs to be happy about selling their star players, so waiting for them to say a player is for sale instead of forcing the issue is nonsense for a top club.

Wenger may be partly to blame, but Gazidis, Dick Law and co. clearly aren't doing their job properly if they are that timid in the transfer market.

[foxinthebox2001]

Was Suarez sellable the summer before he left Liverpool?
That didn't stop him sanctioning a bid.
If the only players we are going to be bid for need to be flag posted by their club as 'unwanted', or out of contract, we are in trouble.
How many clubs are actively trying to unload their best players.
United showed the typical dog eat dog mentality that's gets you the target. Not saying you always have to go to extreme bids to do it, but being pro active unsettles players.

[g88ner]

Was Suarez sellable the summer before he left Liverpool?
That didn't stop him sanctioning a bid.
If the only players we are going to be bid for need to be flag posted by their club as 'unwanted', or out of contract, we are in trouble.
How many clubs are actively trying to unload their best players.
United showed the typical dog eat dog mentality that's gets you the target. Not saying you always have to go to extreme bids to do it, but being pro active unsettles players.

Unless I've misunderstood, I don't agree with your logic there...

surely the answer is yes, we thought Suarez WAS sellable because we believed he had a clause in his contract.... that's why we bid £40,000,001.

But once Liverpool refused to budge and said he was not for sale we shuffled away quietly.

Agree with the rest of your post though. A club of our stature with £200m in the bank should be way more pro-active. As we all agree, we've missed a huge opportunity to kick on this summer.