THE WENGER THREAD

[Offside]

Pochettino Is the only man who can get Wenger sacked. Unpalatable as it may be, a more successful Spurs would be a bridge too far the AKB's. We were out fought in the away league match last season an had a lucky escape at home this year. Spurs appear to have players with at bit more hunger than the likes of Walcott and certainly look solid at the moment.

And Spurs and their English players (Kane, Alli, Dier, Trippier etc) seem to be doing much better than our much-vaunted "British core" (who, of course, we tied to ridiculously long and expensive contracts).

[rodders999]

Barca just put 7 past Gary Neville's Valencia without reply

You know I think I'm going to temporarily lift my self imposed ban on listening to Wenger's post match bullshit for the 2 Barca games because I've got to hear what warped logic the prick comes up with to explain the absolute arse stretching that's going to occur in a few weeks time.

[Ikechukwu1]

Perhaps REDaction could organise, oh I don't know, a march perhaps?

Show the boys we're still 100% behind our great manager.

We could also mention Usmanov.

Those fucking *word censored*, oh, those fucking *word censored*. Wanker was under pressure for the first time and they went and did what they did. They are partly to blame for Wanker still being here now. After their fucking stupid procession, Wanker knew he was untouchable.

Now now....tut tut where's The Cook to tell us how it reeeeally went down?
Oh what's that he's in the Gap on Holloway Road? Buying 94 pairs of hot pants and sleeveless "I heart Wenker" discount t-shirts?
Watch out Holloway Road traffic...you're gonna be brought to a standstill by Arsene's Majorettes! He's under pressure now, that can only mean...STREET PARADE!



(Seriously though it's a Cult. Have you ever heard anything like it? Sure demonstrate against war, poverty etc...but a bunch of minimum wage Dinkle-dippers having a love march in tribute to their suffering on £8m a year leader? WTF?!)

[Offside]

Barca just put 7 past Gary Neville's Valencia without reply

You know I think I'm going to temporarily lift my self imposed ban on listening to Wenger's post match bullshit for the 2 Barca games because I've got to hear what warped logic the prick comes up with to explain the absolute arse stretching that's going to occur in a few weeks time.

But we all know Arsenal will rouse themselves to produce at least one half-decent performance across the two legs (a hammering in one leg, a narrow unfortunate defeat because of "special circumstances" - maybe Suarez will dive for a penalty) which will allow Wenger and the AKB to spin some line about an "unfortunate result" and a "heroic defeat".

[Ikechukwu1]

Barca just put 7 past Gary Neville's Valencia without reply

You know I think I'm going to temporarily lift my self imposed ban on listening to Wenger's post match bullshit for the 2 Barca games because I've got to hear what warped logic the prick comes up with to explain the absolute arse stretching that's going to occur in a few weeks time.

But we all know Arsenal will rouse themselves to produce at least one half-decent performance across the two legs (a hammering in one leg, a narrow unfortunate defeat because of "special circumstances" - maybe Suarez will dive for a penalty) which will allow Wenger and the AKB to spin some line about an "unfortunate result" and a "heroic defeat".

Might be another classic AKB moment just like Bayern this year:
"Oh we beat Bayern!" (Errrr yes and got tonked 5-1 away)
Or like the time we "beat Barca" at home (then went out there and got destroyed. This bit is airbrushed out)
Actually using that logic, we won the CL in 2006! Weren't we 1-0 up after 75 minutes?

[rodders999]

Yeah it will be at the Nou Camp where the sex crime will occur for sure. I wonder will we muster a shot on target this time around?

[Wilson]

Its so embarrassing supporting a team that has a nose bleed when success is there for the taking. I hate Chelsea with a passion, yet they have won trophies over the years without being the best team, instead they just find and then force their way to victory - its something I cant help but admire.

FFS, even Tottenham are beginning to play with no fear.

Yet throughout the past decade, Wenger's teams have been so brittle and scared, and freeze up and fail to take opportunity. Something about his management style puts negative energy into the players. Because this has happened across a decade with different playing personnel.

I said it before, and that is I can take losing to a better team, but I cannot take losing because the players sh.. themselves when the stakes get raised.

[SteveO 35]

In the same way Graham couldn't cope with the Sky / Premiership era and the newly found riches it brought to many teams, so Wenger has consistently proved he can't cope with the era of the oligarch and the ever growing wealth of PL clubs. He predicted back in 2009 that football was in an 'unsustainable bubble' and the lap dogs bought into his amateur economic assessment and scorned at the Citehs and Chavs of this world. Sadly TO1AW's much vaunted economics degree was decades ago now, and he failed to spot the obvious that the 1% Uber-rich of this world wouldn't recognise a recession if it slapped them in the face and carried on regardless investing hundreds of millions into their clubs.

Then along came FFP - a concept so fundamentally flawed that UEFA gave up on it - but again TO1AW was able to buy time for those who 'chose to believe' by clinging to the notion that the suits in UEFA would put the handbrake on the spending of the biggest clubs. Oh dear...

Finally there's the 'stadium project' - the one where we destroyed 93 years of history in order to compete with Europe's elite. Although it was NEVER mentioned at the time the sheep have somehow tried to re-invent history and imagine that what was announced was a 10 year cunning plan (no doubt that's going to be revised to 15 or 20 years shortly) and that we had to take commercial deals at the time that were below the market in order to fund the stadium. Oh dear....along came Ivan and his highly expensive team of marketeers and faceless commercials to tell us that the deals we were now signing would see us catapulted back up the rich list. We earn so much free cash flow now that servicing the remaining interest and capital repayments on the stadium is like a pimple on the arse.

There is one simple fact that remains through all of this - our manager doesn't want to live in this modern world. Its against his principles and the lifetime 'Project Impossible' is to stick two fingers up at the nouveau riche and to win the league with a mixture of home developed players, British buys from smaller clubs, one or two worldies every few seasons, and a bunch of no-marks that no other top team would look at in their right mind but who save us from dizzying prices. To me its been obvious since 2008/09 that this manager will not sway in his approach and there is only one direction from here under his leadership which is downwards. All it will take now is for one or two other clubs in the PL to benefit from a Sheikh Mansour or Abramovich and our days of top 4 which means so much to so many (yuk) will be over

[augie]

Its so embarrassing supporting a team that has a nose bleed when success is there for the taking. I hate Chelsea with a passion, yet they have won trophies over the years without being the best team, instead they just find and then force their way to victory - its something I cant help but admire.

FFS, even Tottenham are beginning to play with no fear.

Yet throughout the past decade, Wenger's teams have been so brittle and scared, and freeze up and fail to take opportunity. Something about his management style puts negative energy into the players. Because this has happened across a decade with different playing personnel.

I said it before, and that is I can take losing to a better team, but I cannot take losing because the players sh.. themselves when the stakes get raised.

When you shun former players who are getting into coaching but who will actually challenge you and your methods, and instead hire mutes (bould, pat rice, henry etc) who toe the party line and bow and worship at the alter of wenger, then it tells you a lot about the mentality of the man It was well known that PV4 wanted to get into coaching and wanted to work at AFC (something that all of the journo's confirmed on sunday supplement last sunday), but wenker and the club shut him the door on him returning to our club and all those journo's said that they couldnt understand why he was treated that way
Le cock employees the same policy when recruiting players - sign quiet players like giroud/campbell/elneny who will never challenge or disagree with his management cos they are just grateful to be playing for and earning a big wage at a club above their talent level Mentally tough players wont accept losing and wont accept stuctures and policies that get in the way of success - this perpetual cycle will continue as long as le cock remains

[xisstential]

What makes Wenger so duplicitous as well is that you can see it absolutely burns his arse to spend huge money on players and he absolutely hates having to pay the wage demands as well, yet has absolutely no qualms about pocketing a massive salary himself, with no accountability or reciprocity. How does he justify that?? The guy is in finance, not football, he probably knows exactly how much he earns for the club, therefore feels he is entitled to a share of it.
"Will no one rid us of this troublesome man"??

[Gunner Rob]

great post Steveo - absolutely (depressingly) spot on.

my greatest fear these past few years has been if Spurs were to be bought by an oligarch.
what I didnt forsee was for them to potentially leapfrog us without the need one for one!

[xisstential]

great post Steveo - absolutely (depressingly) spot on.

my greatest fear these past few years has been if Spurs were to be bought by an oligarch.
what I didnt forsee was for them to potentially leapfrog us without the need one for one!

They look great tbh. Players on half our wages & banging in goals for fun. They always implode but I don't think they are going to this season. And even if they finish above us, hell even if they win it, I still don't think the AKB's will put enough pressure on him. God only knows what excuse they will come up with though???Difficult to excuse the inexcusable.

[Wilson]

Wenger just doesn't have that desire to do what it takes. He is to busy living up to his principles rather than doing what is necessary to win.

The socialist wage structure is a good example. In Wengers mind, this would foster collectiveness among the sqaud given the relative pay parity between the top and bottom earners. Although, in reality, we paid the likes of Cesc, Nasri, RVP to little, which is one reason they were enticed away, whilst at the same time, we couldnt get rid of Bentdner, Squillaci, Almunia, Santos, Chamahk - because they were paid generously.

This is just one example of how Wenger is an activist, rather than the manager of Arsenal football club. His politics and ideals get in the way of doing whats necessary to win. Its like having a bank CEO with a moral objection to corporate profits - it just wouldnt work. He further offers his opinion on doping in sport, money in football, racism in football, whats going on at other clubs, and pretty much every other side factor going on in football. He has an opinion on everything.

He simply needs to leave all that sh.. behind, and focus soley on the team, and do everything necessary to win - even if it falls outside his 'ideals'. I mean, the European socialist took his economic ideals and used it as the model for our wage structure.


http://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/4067/eng ... -structure

[xisstential]

Wenger just doesn't have that desire to do what it takes. He is to busy living up to his principles rather than doing what is necessary to win.

The socialist wage structure is a good example. In Wengers mind, this would foster collectiveness among the sqaud given the relative pay parity between the top and bottom earners. Although, in reality, we paid the likes of Cesc, Nasri, RVP to little, which is one reason they were enticed away, whilst at the same time, we couldnt get rid of Bentdner, Squillaci, Almunia, Santos, Chamahk - because they were paid generously.

This is just one example of how Wenger is an activist, rather than the manager of Arsenal football club. His politics and ideals get in the way of doing whats necessary to win. Its like having a bank CEO with a moral objection to corporate profits - it just wouldnt work. He further offers his opinion on doping in sport, money in football, racism in football, whats going on at other clubs, and pretty much every other side factor going on in football. He has an opinion on everything.

He simply needs to leave all that sh.. behind, and focus soley on the team, and do everything necessary to win - even if it falls outside his 'ideals'. I mean, the European socialist took his economic ideals and used it as the model for our
wage structure.

http://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/4067/eng ... -structure

You ever think that maybe he has an opinion on all those things because it diverts everyone's attention from the one thing he doesn't know anything about.... how to manage his players properly and win a major title?? He sees himself as the saviour of the EPL, meanwhile he is ruining his own club. The Robert Mugabe of British Football.

[Chippy]

Looks like someone on F365 reads the forum.

Arsenal
Here we are again, then. Arsenal are not yet out of the title race, but they are heading in the wrong direction. Three points from four games is worrying enough, but no goals in three league matches at exactly the wrong time is alarming in the extreme. More importantly, the doubts that had begun to cease in 2015 are now back with a new year bang.

In fact, the slump is more extended than that. A table of matches since the beginning of November has Arsenal in fourth place, eight points behind Leicester and Tottenham. There is a reassuring warmth to see Arsene Wenger’s side back in their customary home. Arsenal are as close to Manchester United as they are to Leicester.

Arsene Wenger may have rejected talk of the ‘same old Arsenal’ after the draw with Southampton, but that’s exactly how it feels to the rest of us. Wenger’s insistence that his team have enjoyed “20 years at the top of the Premiership” only works if you stretch “top” to include third and fourth positions. It’s a decade since they finished higher.

On any other night Arsenal could have scored three or four goals, and found Fraser Forster in superb form. But again with Arsenal we are forced to consider the ‘ifs and buts’ of near success rather than the fulfilment of hope. Will it ever be otherwise?

“You need to look at the end and you need 86, 87 points to be sure and it does not matter which way you go to get those points,” Petr Cech told reporters on Wednesday. You do not need to be a mathmetician to know that to go from 45 points to 87 in 14 remaining matches, Cech’s team must win every single one.

It’s not that Arsenal can’t embark on such a run; that has never been the problem. It’s that supporters know, deep down, they won’t. Arsenal and Wenger are destined to be caught in their eternal cycle, always the prettiest bridesmaid but never the bride.



Arsene Wenger, new signings and a legacy
‘Wenger has piled all of his eggs into this basket,’ our transfer window winners and losers section concluded. ‘Having signed two outfield players (Mohamed Elneny and Jeff-Reine Adelaide) in the last two windows combined, Arsenal are going for the title his way.’ It was an inauspicious start.

Following the draw with Southampton, there were quotes from Wenger about Arsenal’s business in the transfer window, after which I forced fist into mouth to stop the screams coming out:

“If you know a world-class striker who could strengthen our team you should have told me before the transfer window was over,” Wenger said. “They do not walk in off the street and say ‘please take me’. They are all at big clubs and under contract.”
Firstly, Wenger’s quote hints that he would liked to have bought a world-class striker had one been available. It’s a small point, but crucial. Only in December, Wenger described Olivier Giroud as “among the best forwards in Europe.” I disagreed then and I’m disagreeing now.

Secondly, Wenger has created a straw man argument. It was not simply a striker that critics were asking for, but a powerful central midfielder and possible upgrades on Theo Walcott and Per Mertesacker. None of those questions were answered, and it’s about this time that someone shouts ‘MORGAN SCHNEIDERLIN’ and we all nod in agreement.

The obvious retort to that argument is that great players aren’t available in January, and with most clubs it’s a fair point. Yet Wenger’s inability to recruit a single outfield player last summer makes his ‘It’s tough in January, guys’ spiel fall on deaf ears.

Furthermore, if Elneny isn’t ready to play in Mathieu Flamini’s place almost three weeks after he signed, Arsenal might as well have waited until the summer. Flamini remains entirely substandard for a club with Arsenal’s ambitions, just as he always has been. The difference is that he is nearer to the first team now.

In addition, Wenger’s sarcastic “they do not walk in off the street and say ‘please take me’” line must really grate with supporters. They don’t need to be patronised Arsene, they know how transfers work. It’s just that other clubs with Arsenal’s cash reserves aren’t put off from signing a player just because they haven’t been made available for transfer. It is possible to have transfer sagas regarding players arriving at Arsenal, not just leaving. It just means that you sometimes have to pay over the odds in order to land your preferred targets.

It’s an interesting insight into Wenger’s view of the transfer market as a whole. Arsenal’s best three signings of the last five years (Petr Cech, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez) were all unwanted by their clubs. They did not “walk in off the street”, but Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona made it clear that all three could leave. When was the last time Arsenal bought a player that another high-profile club didn’t want to sell?

Until this season, there has been a stock Wenger response to this exact question. This is his insistence that Arsenal are a club that does things differently, often drifting dangerously close to guilt-tripping those who ask for new signings. “Cohesion” was the summer buzzword.

“I think to support the club and support the team is to stand behind the players,” said Wenger in September. “It is not always expecting someone coming down from heaven to sort out all your problems. Buying and selling is one way to strengthen your team but that’s not the only way.”
Yet even that argument is rendered ineligible by the identity of two of the three teams above Arsenal in the table. Tottenham and Leicester are operating under far smaller budgets than Arsenal, yet are performing at a higher level. Wenger is caught in the middle, not trying to ‘do a City’ but not able to realise Arsenal’s potential by ‘doing a Tottenham’.

It is Tottenham’s improvement under Pochettino that is potentially the most damaging for Wenger’s reputation. Should Spurs finish ahead of Arsenal, there is an argument to say that Wenger is finished at the club. Pochettino will have beaten Wenger at his own game, with half the wage bill. Wenger’s summer insistence of “cohesion” over transfers has come to define Tottenham’s own title challenge.

Pochettino is in the same position Arsenal’s manager was five years ago, with a stadium to finance but on-field improvement still expected. The problem is that Wenger has not moved on from that position, still hamstrung by his own sense of how the title should be won. Wenger wants to win the right way. The supporters just want to win.

The next four months are crucial in deciding Wenger’s legacy. Arsenal are not yet out of the title race, but their manager needs it more desperately than any of the club’s supporters. This one is not on Arsenal or their players. This one is on Arsene alone.

http://www.football365.com/news/premier ... -losers-20