THE WENGER THREAD

[arseofacrow]

A few post that very accurately sum up my current feelings towards the club I love (did ?)

I have been in love with Arsenal since as long as I can remember ( about the age of 5) while my classmates mainly followed a successful Liverpool (it was the mid seventies in South West London)

I have spent countless hours as a youngster reading football books about our glorious history, title wins, Chapman, The double in 71 and was so envious of the fans that got to witness us making history.

I went to my first game at Highbury aged 10, and will forever be grateful to my dad for taking me, despite him being a closet Spud fan !

Since the age of 14, I went regularly on my own or occasionally with casual supporting friends and at age 17, when in my first job got a season ticket, writing out my very first cheque to Arsenal football club for the princely sum of £60 !

Home matches, away matches, Europe - over land and sea (but strangely not Leicester) I have spent thousands, took days off work, stood in the wind and the rain and the cold, missed birthdays, parties, prioritized Arsenal over everything in my late teens and early twenties.

I have made great Gooner friends, shared wonderful memories of Anfield 89, Copenhagen 94 many trips to Wembley and plenty of the 92 league grounds watching, supporting and cheering in the face of adversity and hostility.

Nowadays, although Arsenal still have a place in my heart, I am disconnected from them, or rather they have disconnected themselves from me with their outrageous prices, ( in my view a deliberate attempt to create a newer breed of commercial fan) and in particular the current manager, who treats the fans with contempt, and doesn't even bother to hide it.

So I have decided to not renew my membership (which I haven't used for 2/3 seasons) and will forfeit the wonderful opportunity to pay £30 for the pleasure of being occasionally able to book the priciest tickets in England and beyond, coupled with an exorbitant booking fee on top to watch players earning sums that their performance and talent does not justify and the entertainment value of the match very rarely reflects

Have I grown up ? - spending large amounts of time and money watching men kick around a ball does seem rather childish in the cold light of day.

Have I changed ? - my life priorities are my personal happiness, my wonderful kids, a fantastic girlfriend whom I love very much and have created many memories of trips and days out.

or has football itself moved into such a money making business that it no longer has a place for the old breed like me ?

Thanks for the memories Arsenal, but I fear it may well be time to say goodbye.

The least you could do Stuart, is put a spoiler alert or something, "may cause heart to break or outbreak of blabbing on public transport"

[Redarmy]

Wenger actually admitted at his post match that we have been poor defensively in the air the entire season and it has cost us in some big games. When asked if it was a mistake not to play Cech he said again we are poor in the air,it doesn't matter who plays in goal. Don't do anything about it, just acknowledge it. WAY to go Arsene

Btw I couldn't see the interviewer but I think he was doing the interview on his knees.

If he knew we were poor in the air defensively all season, that means he knew this by January, but chose no to address the issue. I love Wenger, he is a great manager and he really has his finger on the pulse.

Exactly said he has known of weakness in the air since start of season but done nothing to address the issue, and he is on £8 MILLION a year

[GoonerMuzz]

Forget the bad results, the poor performances, the utter carp* coming out of his mouth for most of the season, the one utterly un-forgiveable thing he did which should have seen him get the sack beyond a doubt this season happened right at the start.

He chose not to strengthen beyond buying a goal keeper because he was convinced that his team was good enough without strengthening even though every other team in the top 5 leagues in Europe, re-read that folks, every other team in the top 5 leagues in Europe strengthened their outfield.

So that includes all the teams that AW claimed we were in contention with, in fact those who we are supposedly challenging to the best team in Europe with, so forget Man C, Man U, Chelsea, and think of Bayern, Juve, RM, Barca, Athletico, Wolfsburg, PSG, Benfice etc not to mention Zagreb and Olympiacos folks......

Mr '30 Years' didn't think we needed to strengthen to compete with those teams because our squad except our goalkeeper was good enough.

So basically every other manager out there in the top 5 leagues in Europe looked around at what everyone else was doing, looked at their squads and thought, hmmmm... better strengthen my squad and get some required upgrades but Arsene Wenger didn't feel like he had to

Not only does he show complete and utter arrogance and contempt to the fans but also to his fellow Managers quite a few of whom have had considerably more success than him in the last 12 years

And yet the Board and the Fans (including us on here if we are honest) stood by and allowed this to happen

[casgooner]

Forget the bad results, the poor performances, the utter carp* coming out of his mouth for most of the season, the one utterly un-forgiveable thing he did which should have seen him get the sack beyond a doubt this season happened right at the start.

He chose not to strengthen beyond buying a goal keeper because he was convinced that his team was good enough without strengthening even though every other team in the top 5 leagues in Europe, re-read that folks, every other team in the top 5 leagues in Europe strengthened their outfield.

So that includes all the teams that AW claimed we were in contention with, in fact those who we are supposedly challenging to the best team in Europe with, so forget Man C, Man U, Chelsea, and think of Bayern, Juve, RM, Barca, Athletico, Wolfsburg, PSG, Benfice etc not to mention Zagreb and Olympiacos folks......

Mr '30 Years' didn't think we needed to strengthen to compete with those teams because our squad except our goalkeeper was good enough.

So basically every other manager out there in the top 5 leagues in Europe looked around at what everyone else was doing, looked at their squads and thought, hmmmm... better strengthen my squad and get some required upgrades but Arsene Wenger didn't feel like he had to

Not only does he show complete and utter arrogance and contempt to the fans but also to his fellow Managers quite a few of whom have had considerably more success than him in the last 12 years

And yet the Board and the Fans (including us on here if we are honest) stood by and allowed this to happen :oops:

Dunno how we could have done anything about it really!

[Redarmy]

The discontent is starting, gradually the fans are changing opinions it will snowball the team will be affected and it will make things intolerable for him, sad he does not just go and make a clean break, but that of course is not in his nature, no turning back now

[officepest]

He chose not to strengthen beyond buying a goal keeper because he was convinced that his team was good enough without strengthening even though every other team in the top 5 leagues in Europe, re-read that folks, every other team in the top 5 leagues in Europe strengthened their outfield.

And then demotes him to the bench to gather splinters while Wham expose our defence for the shambles it is.

Only Arsene.

[northbank123]

Wenger standing at the bar in last chance saloon, turns round and looks at the three blokes to save his skin - Giroud, Walcott and Ramsey.

Three players who have been piss-poor all season and in fact for the majority of the last four years. Three players who would be shipped straight out of any other club masquerading as a top club, but whose mediocrity (at best) has been rewarded with lucrative deal after lucrative deal.

Meanwhile one of our only genuinely class players sits on the bench whilst the latest graduate of our goalkeeping clown school turns in a completely embarrassing performance.

I still expect him to be here beyond next season but things are really falling apart. Ozil will be gone, Sanchez won't waste more than another season here and we are slipping further down Europe's pecking order in terms of attractiveness to players. Our defending is as bad as ever and our attacking play becomes more stale with every passing season. It's like the last days in the Fuhrerbunker. I wonder if Wenger will test the cyanide on his trusted lapdog Bouldy.

[rodders999]

I'm all for the fuck off Kroenke sentiment but can it please be parked until we've got rid of the dickhead manager first. Let's not dilute the message here and muddy the waters talking about anything other than WENGER OUT.

The very next game after we've managed to oust the prick by all means display the Kroenke banner, until then a united front is needed with one clear agenda - getting rid of the turnip bastard

[GoonerMuzz]

I'm all for the fuck off Kroenke sentiment but can it please be parked until we've got rid of the dickhead manager first. Let's not dilute the message here and muddy the waters talking about anything other than WENGER OUT.

The very next game after we've managed to oust the prick by all means display the Kroenke banner, until then a united front is needed with one clear agenda - getting rid of the turnip bastard

100% agree with this sentiment, first and foremost we need to get rid of the manager. Our squad needs a new leader and to be taught how to defend, a change of board/owner wont do that.

[Sean]

The ridiculous thing is that The Old Fraud does notice most of the problems but chooses to do absolutely fuck all about it

I do hope that fan pressure can be sustained in these last several games and hopefully stop him from signing that extension; if he hasn't done so already. We should expect him to stay, if only to stave off the suicide-levels of despair when the worst does happen; as I expect it will. To see long standing Gooners on here seriously wanting to pack it all in is sad to see, but speaks to the emotional destruction that The Old Fraud has imposed on the fans ever since the dark days of the failed Project Youth, through to the present day. Eight seasons of shite and counting.

[Gunner Rob]

The banners now need to be displayed at every game until the end of the season.
If they are not displayed at the Emirates then we have to face the fact he will be here for another 4 years

[Wilson]

Wenger really did stick his neck out backing Giroud and Walcott - both players have let him down.

Now I am livid at Giroud, who all pre-season insisted Arsenal dont need to sign a striker, and he is good enough to lead the line. He repays us by scoring 12 in 29 league games, and has so far only scored in one game since the turn of the new year (where in April now). Now if im livid, Wenger should be fuking fuming for being let down - but he is not.

Thats Wenger for you, he is a pushover and the players dont respect him. Sure they see him as a jolly 'father figure', but do they seem him as a serious football boss?

I genuinely believe Wenger wont sell Walcott, because he doesnt want to have the conversation telling Theo he isnt wanted.

[xisstential]

The ridiculous thing is that The Old Fraud does notice most of the problems but chooses to do absolutely fuck all about it

I do hope that fan pressure can be sustained in these last several games and hopefully stop him from signing that extension; if he hasn't done so already. We should expect him to stay, if only to stave off the suicide-levels of despair when the worst does happen; as I expect it will. To see long standing Gooners on here seriously wanting to pack it all in is sad to see, but speaks to the emotional destruction that The Old Fraud has imposed on the fans ever since the dark days of the failed Project Youth, through to the present day. Eight seasons of shite and counting.

Does he, I'm not so sure?? As I said earlier, WH stated categorically that they identified our defensive weakness in the air so they played Caroll to target it. I was so surprised that Wenger said publicly that we have been defensively weak in the air the entire season. He said it not once but twice. When does he EVER admit frailties in his teams, admit to players not doing their jobs, his players, a reflection on him. NEVER!! I couldn't believe he was being so "honest" but I realized afterward that we/ he had been so exposed and after they had come out and said it, it made him look like a total prat. So he did what he normally does.... instead of looking like he'd been caught out, he decided on the option where he came out looking like he was in front of it, hence...... "he knew about it, and has for the entire season" It's just typical Wenger. It's like all the players having a great season, he's known about all of them for a decade or more.

Of course any interviewer worth his salt would have said - Well if you knew about it why the fuck didn't you do something about it????? But because nobody ever does he knows he can continually weasel his way out.

[Redarmy]

The banners now need to be displayed at every game until the end of the season.
If they are not displayed at the Emirates then we have to face the fact he will be here for another 4 years

Yes agreed need to be clear....WENGER OUT, most observers are confused or do not read

[Redarmy]

The ridiculous thing is that The Old Fraud does notice most of the problems but chooses to do absolutely fuck all about it

I do hope that fan pressure can be sustained in these last several games and hopefully stop him from signing that extension; if he hasn't done so already. We should expect him to stay, if only to stave off the suicide-levels of despair when the worst does happen; as I expect it will. To see long standing Gooners on here seriously wanting to pack it all in is sad to see, but speaks to the emotional destruction that The Old Fraud has imposed on the fans ever since the dark days of the failed Project Youth, through to the present day. Eight seasons of shite and counting.

Does he, I'm not so sure?? As I said earlier, WH stated categorically that they identified our defensive weakness in the air so they played Caroll to target it. I was so surprised that Wenger said publicly that we have been defensively weak in the air the entire season. He said it not once but twice. When does he EVER admit frailties in his teams, admit to players not doing their jobs, his players, a reflection on him. NEVER!! I couldn't believe he was being so "honest" but I realized afterward that we/ he had been so exposed and after they had come out and said it, it made him look like a total prat. So he did what he normally does.... instead of looking like he'd been caught out, he decided on the option where he came out looking like he was in front of it, hence...... "he knew about it, and has for the entire season" It's just typical Wenger. It's like all the players having a great season, he's known about all of them for a decade or more.

Of course any interviewer worth his salt would have said - Well if you knew about it why the fuck didn't you do something about it????? But because nobody ever does he knows he can continually weasel his way out.

Big surprise to Wenker that Carrol was playing as he said "he has not played in 6 games" so made NO provision against him playing
That in itself is pretty incredible...NO preparation/Tactics or game plan thats Wenker