WIGAN AWAY

[franksav63]

I have just returned home from today's debacle.......

i am still at a loss to understand how we managed to piss away a 2 goal lead against (with no disrespect to them) Wigan in 10 minutes!

I honestly think that blame for today has to rest with the manager - we seem to have assembled squad that lacks the technical or tactical ability, understanding or most importamently desire to win a football match.

I have been a supporter of wenger over the years and am grateful for everything he has done for the club but i am very sorry to say that the time has come for a change.

whilst i dont think anyone can doubt his ability to spot young talent he regularly fails to motivate his team and as far as i can see fails to employ any variation in tactics regardless of opposition or circumstances.

I am struggling to recall a worse performance that i have seen and this at a time when, in theory at least we still had a chance to win the premiership.

Wigan lost 9-1 to spurs and I believe wigan refunded the fans travel costs, whilst the result today is not the same in numerical terms our collapse in the last 10 mins is certainly equally as bad and i think at the very least we should be entitled to a refund.

In addition our ticket prices are reported to be the most expensive in the world and yet we continualy fail to invest in the squad and have afiled to do so for a number of years. It astounds me that Arsenal charge these prices when they fail to invest in the team. We should be looking at at least a 20% reduction in ticket prices next year

sorry if i am repeating anything previously mentioned here , I just wanted to get my thoughts down.

You're got more chance of getting a blow job from the Queen than getting any type of refund from A.F.C.

[mrgnu1958]

great post number 1 perry groves..
Well done for going sir.....CLAP! CLAP!

[Rob]

I have just seen a clip of the highlights ! Oh dear !!!!!!


The third goal was just a wonder strike but what on earth was happening with the first two goals ?


But we have been here so many times in the last four years - have we not ??

Well - this summer's window will decide next seasons outcome. Wenger has now got one final chance to get it right. I am far from confident he possesses the nous to do it. But we will see.

[Kiwi Gooner]

Our defense is an absolute shambles.

MIDFIELD! MIDFIELD! MIDFIELD! Yes the depth of the defence is poor with Silvestre, but the first choice midfield is not good enough apart from Song and Fabregas. I have said this for 2-3 years now, it's the most important part of the team, and we are NOT BOSSING games how you need to in order to dominate. Plus they offer piss-poor protection to the defence.

Someone posted before that we've already conceded 10 goals more this year than in the whole of last season.
Says it all, really.

But I agree our midfield has been poor.

And what a difference a 20-goal striker (you know, like everybody else has) would make, too, eh?

[1989]

Even if he gets ALL the players we need (about 4 or 5 - fat chance), I still wouldn't be confident in his managerial abilities and I don't think he's tactically competent enough to lead us through tight games (ie games against the big teams, semi finals, etc).

[Postman]

great post number 1 perry groves..
Well done for going sir.....CLAP! CLAP!

SECONDED

[euphoricone]

Once the second goal went in, i was thoroughly disappointed and fed up. But once the third went in, it sorta calmed me down and made me realize we DESERVED to be beaten. 2-2 would not have been fair, one of us deserved the entire 3 points (Wigan for relegation battle, us for title)

Sorry but its just laughable how we just GAVE up literally..and why not bring van persie on earlier..? whatr we doing..saving him up for CITEH?

3-1 to them imo.

[proudtosaythatname]

Freire wrote

Me as well, i devoted my life, my year, my weekends, some dates, friends, money and everything else, just to watch the Arsenal play! And what did i get? 3-2 down? lost against spuds? Oh, come on, Wenger, you had your time, go away and board, bring some winner manager!

Says it all really - we invest a lot of of emotion as well as time and money in supporting this club and explaining away their defeats to the sceptics. Not today - they have let us down big time.

I could take defeat by Barcelona - they are the best team in the world and Messi is unstoppable at the moment

I could even take losing to the Spuds - they had a point to prove from Portsmouth and they did play well - confirmed by the Chelsea result

But losing to Wigan? From 2-0 down? In 10 minutes?

It was a lazy pass from Diaby that started the comeback. Yes, it would be unfair to blame him alone but he typified the 2nd half attitude. And I think he always plays like that.

I don't totally blame Wenger - he can do only so much from the sidelines - but he has to take the responsibility for picking the team and failing to strengthen it when we could all see what was needed.

The team has a chance to 'do a T*tt*nh*m' and turn things round against Man City. Am I confident? Am I hell - and at this rate I can't even be sure we'll make 4th. The glass is certainly NOT half full...this morning it is empty.

[bergkamp10]

doesn't matter if he doesn't blame him in public, just so long as he knows he's not good enough.

the positives are, we weren't gonna finish any higher than 3rd anyway, so if a few players who are shit expose their shitness like fabianski today, it's more likely wenger will get rid of them in the summer. it was clear fabianski was a disaster waiting to happen today, but if the defence had protected himwell and we'd have gone on to score 4, wenger could've brushed it under the rug again

Good post, I don't really care what he says in public anyhow.

It is behind the sceens that really count, it is a extremely crital situation in my mind. Sol Campbell for heavens sake was the only guys trying to push the team on at 2-0. This this really where we have arrived at?

I am positive little will change over the summer, and as much as it saddens me, I cannot see the situation being much different again next season.

So close yet so far away...................

[Trevheff]

If our game once again lacked 'cohesion and discipline' to quote Arsene, which was the same issue at West Ham before Christmas, the same issue at Man City in September, the same problem we had on numerous occassions last season, most noticeably at home to Sp*rs, why the hell do you keep fielding the same players who make the same mistakes time and time again and repeatedly show an inability or lack of desire to rectify and put right was is clearly going wrong?

It's probably futile picking out individual players from yesterday's debacle, but that 'effort' from Bendtner was no better than the dross that made us hate Adebayor last season. His lack of committment and will to win were an embarrassment. Ditto the game at the Lane. Yet he has been given a new long term contract. Why?

I don't blame Fabianski for yesterday, I feel sorry for him. He is clearly sh*t, or if there was a good keeper in there it has clearly been destroyed. No I blame Wenger for fielding, in a game where we were already missing so many key players, an inexperieinced keeper so clearly out of his depth and with confidence so obviously on the floor. Lets make this simple; Work out how many points dodgy keeping has cost us this season, add them back on and work out where we would now be in the League. Exactly.

RVP's little cameo at the Lane made it clear to me that a class striker fit for the full season could also have been enough to take us to the title despite our frailties at the back. So, having known, over 5 weeks ahead of the opening of the transfer window, that his main man would hardly play again this season, why did Arsene not act??? Did he really think Eduardo, Bendtner or Walcott would bridge the gap??? Can you imagine Utd losing Rooney or Chelsea Drogba for 6 months on the eve of a transfer window and not acting? Never. If the money is there this summer (ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz) don't tell me it couldn't have been found in January.

The way Sol's passion and refusal to accept defeat at the Lane stood out in comparison to the rest of our sorry lot just summed up how we are severely lacking, to a man, the type of character needed to compete and win in this league. How Arsene has let so many winners leave without replacing them is beyond belief for such an inteligent man.

I've gone completely off on a tangent. The purpose of my post was to deride the futile effort we saw on the pitch at Wigan yesterday. However everything we saw yesterday and everything I've just sounded off about just points to the obvious conclusion that the cracks have once again been papered over this season. We are no way near as good as we think we are. Below a few worthy individuals, we are severely lacking in most departments, have an average squad pre programmed to play one way without the ability or inteligence to react to a match situation. It has to change. At least 5 in and 5 out to freshen things up, money spent (real money) or there is only one other conclusion ..............

[marcengels]

If our game once again lacked 'cohesion and discipline' to quote Arsene, which was the same issue at West Ham before Christmas, the same issue at Man City in September, the same problem we had on numerous occassions last season, most noticeably at home to Sp*rs, why the hell do you keep fielding the same players who make the same mistakes time and time again and repeatedly show an inability or lack of desire to rectify and put right was is clearly going wrong?

It's probably futile picking out individual players from yesterday's debacle, but that 'effort' from Bendtner was no better than the dross that made us hate Adebayor last season. His lack of committment and will to win were an embarrassment. Ditto the game at the Lane. Yet he has been given a new long term contract. Why?

I don't blame Fabianski for yesterday, I feel sorry for him. He is clearly sh*t, or if there was a good keeper in there it has clearly been destroyed. No I blame Wenger for fielding, in a game where we were already missing so many key players, an inexperieinced keeper so clearly out of his depth and with confidence so obviously on the floor. Lets make this simple; Work out how many points dodgy keeping has cost us this season, add them back on and work out where we would now be in the League. Exactly.

RVP's little cameo at the Lane made it clear to me that a class striker fit for the full season could also have been enough to take us to the title despite our frailties at the back. So, having known, over 5 weeks ahead of the opening of the transfer window, that his main man would hardly play again this season, why did Arsene not act??? Did he really think Eduardo, Bendtner or Walcott would bridge the gap??? Can you imagine Utd losing Rooney or Chelsea Drogba for 6 months on the eve of a transfer window and not acting? Never. If the money is there this summer (ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz) don't tell me it couldn't have been found in January.

The way Sol's passion and refusal to accept defeat at the Lane stood out in comparison to the rest of our sorry lot just summed up how we are severely lacking, to a man, the type of character needed to compete and win in this league. How Arsene has let so many winners leave without replacing them is beyond belief for such an inteligent man.

I've gone completely off on a tangent. The purpose of my post was to deride the futile effort we saw on the pitch at Wigan yesterday. However everything we saw yesterday and everything I've just sounded off about just points to the obvious conclusion that the cracks have once again been papered over this season. We are no way near as good as we think we are. Below a few worthy individuals, we are severely lacking in most departments, have an average squad pre programmed to play one way without the ability or inteligence to react to a match situation. It has to change. At least 5 in and 5 out to freshen things up, money spent (real money) or there is only one other conclusion ..............

Brillant...couldn't have put it any better.

[proudtosaythatname]

Agree, says it all. i haven't felt so despondent about a result since we drew at Bolton in THAT game - but at least then we could claim poor refereeing in the light of a physical mauling by Allardyce's thugs. The difference this time is there are no excuses, noplace to hide...

[Bring Back Pires]

i haven't felt so despondent about a result since we drew at Bolton in THAT game

Really?!

Surely the 2-2 at Birmingham in 2008 was infinitely worse than yesterday.

The Desponding Result of the Seasonâ„¢ award this time around is for the 1-1 draw at St. Andrews. That's when the title was truly lost. Yesterday's result merely indicated that we couldn't get back into the race, but then, there were little expectations anyway.

The most gutting ones are the ones where we're in pole position and fuck it up, a la Bolton in 2003, a la Birmingham in 2008 and 2010.

[proudtosaythatname]

Afterthought - perhaps for next Saturday we could replace 'The Wonder of You' with 'No place to run, No place to hide'? That's if there's anyone there to listen...has anyone else got any song suggestions? (I know, we've only got one Song...)

[proudtosaythatname]

Surely the 2-2 at Birmingham in 2008 was infinitely worse than yesterday.

Birmingham was different, surely. After the game I felt sorry for a team traumatised by probably the worst football injury any of them had ever seen up close.

This time I cannot think of a single excuse. To let an admittedly undeserved last chance slip was indefensible. Imagine if we'd won the league and had had the chance to thank the Spuds for beating Chelski for us?