Arsenal 3 Fulham 3: Human beings have arms. Get over it.
ARSENAL 3 FULHAM 3
FROM GOODPLAYA AT THE EMIRATES
AT 2-0…
One could hardly complain about having been largely outplayed but having created two chances and scored them both. We moan when we’ve dominated play and not scored and so this was a pleasant surprise. Equally, however, you’d have hoped that someone might have clocked we were a little fortunate to be in that position and that the last thing we could afford was complacency.
Our goals…
Had been nicely done in fairness. Theo’s corner was very good and as no great Theoist, I have to admit he played very well yesterday. His choice of ball and delivery of ball were both pretty good throughout. Giroud’s header was good and his run was good. No complaints. Arteta did well for the second and credit to Podolski for being in the middle to take advantage of Fulham’s statues.
Their goals…
Well those heady August days of back to back clean sheets against Sunderland and Stoke when some thought that under the new Steve Bould inspired regime we’d never concede again now feel a very, very, very long time ago. What we are witnessing now must be the stuff of nightmares for our former number 5. On the other hand, Fulham’s first goal must have been the stuff of Dimitar Berbatov’s dreams. Never a great fan of moving any great distance to collect the ball, he basically stood on our six yard line before the corner and found himself having to shift his feet at most 10 cm before nodding home. Our back line was pretty hopeless for their second too and while some blamed Mannone I’m not sure he could do a great deal about a very decent header.
After half-time…
The team were marginally better and the fans a lot better, offering increased encouragement after a frankly dead first half. But we were still toiling and Fulham went 3-2 up after Arteta lost the ball and dragged down his man, in a moment more symptomatic of our general failings than any particular ones on the part of a usually reliable performer.
Our equaliser…
Was very good. Great ball from Cazorla, very reasonable effort from Giroud that hit the post, good pick-up and cross from Walcott and very decent determination from Giroud to put things right.
But then we struggled…
We wanted the win but we weren’t exactly creating countless clear chances. And whereas once Wenger used to throw on the cavalry in moments like this, now he seemed more hesitant. For the second home game in succession Andrei Arshavin appeared set not to be brought on in our time of need until injury, on this occasion to Walcott, struck. Who to remove in favour of the Russian was not a simple call in fairness. Perhaps Sagna. Or if I’d had my way: Ramsey. Not because I’m a Ramsey hater but because after coming on he’d got a booking that was by no means harsh, conceded another foul and rightly was understandably worried about a red card and reticent about going in for other tackles, which frankly robs him of a key component of his game. Yes, hooking a sub is never ideal, but in this case I think it made sense.
The penalty decision…
Was embarrassing. Arsenal fans were looking at each other and shaking their heads, perhaps a bit because we felt a win would be undeserved, but more because we knew that had that decision been given against us we’d have been livid. It was just ridiculous. The handball law has become completely insane. Human beings have arms. Get over it. Those arms are capable of acting and reacting with remarkable speed and subtlety but clearly not to the extent that they can always accurately predict the exact trajectory of a football about to be slammed at them from about 50cm away. There was evidently nothing the Fulham player could do to stop the ball hitting his arm yesterday and the idea that it doing so should prompt the awarding of something as significant as a penalty just demeans the purity of football as a sport. I’d love Arsenal to win and I love the fine margins of football. Witness Gazza’s failure to get a golden goal toe on the ball against Germany in Euro 1996. That was genuine, brilliant drama. But yesterday? That wasn’t drama. That was football as farce.
All in all…
This was at least more entertaining than a 1-1 draw would have been. But when it is so patently obvious that we’re going only in one direction and that nothing is being done to remedy things, it is hard to take a great deal of pleasure from a game like this. The sad thing is that nobody in the stands appears under any great illusions and yet those with the power at the club appear to be in a state of complete denial.
My diagnosis…
Is that there are glaring gaps in the squad and an inability to get what we should be getting out of the players we do have. I genuinely don’t think the players we have are bad players. As fans, when things aren’t going our way, we always end up giving grief to certain players and sometimes it is deserved (see Bendtner, Eboue and Denilson). But when you look at the players we did see yesterday, they’re not bad. Yes, Mannone is not up to it in my view. But in fairness he is not our first choice – he is our third choice. And while people give Ramsey stick, he really isn’t that bad. He might lack the technique of others but he works hard and sometimes possesses a directness that others lack that does actually force the play. I just don’t think we have enough forwards nor enough variation in midfield. And in defence (where Djourou as fourth choice centre-back and Santos and Jenkinson as reserve full-backs is certainly no disgrace), we, for whatever reason and no doubt there are reasons, appear incapable of organising ourselves properly.
I think its obvious there is a problem between Wenger and Bould as Stewart Robson is saying there is a bad vibe running through the squad
Not happy with the result, but I’m absolutely delighted for Giroud, I think this is game where he’ll feel he has arrived in the EPL.
“The penalty decision…
Was embarrassing. Arsenal fans were looking at each other and shaking their heads, perhaps a bit because we felt a win would be undeserved, but more because we knew that had that decision been given against us we’d have been livid. It was just ridiculous. The handball law has become completely insane. Human beings have arms. ”
As witnessed last week at OldTrafford. At least the referees appear to be consistent in their misapplication of the handball rule.
Goodplaya, I have to take issue with your description of Mannone as our 3rd choice, as if somehow it’s just unlucky, that if our 2nd choice was fit, we’d be ok.Have you not seen Fabianski play ? We have one capable keeper & it’s just not good enough.
Dark days. What was most depressing was that Fulham came to our home ground & tried to play us as equals. And they are. Thoroughly deserved draw for them.
3 points less than we had after 11 games last season when we were in crisis. (the manager’s words, not mine)
I still think 4th is a strong possibility but we have to be honest, there’s also a fairly decent chance we won’t. You look at Everton so far this season & you cannot possibly argue that we’re a better side than them.
We’re further away from challenging the title than at any time in Wenger’s reign. I doubt we’ll be within 20 points of the champions….
The main problem is Wenger. Watch him ruin Carzorla as he’s ruined Arshavin. I am sick and tired of the manager. His useless spiel about great fighting spirit and all that rubbish. We were two nil up after 25 mins and equal 15 mins later. He’s deluded and clueless. The defending is abysmal. Get rid of him and bring in David Moyes. At least then we know the players will get a kick up the backside when they give away two goal leads at home to Fulham! Wenger out!
we’re in a bad way. i look at the squad and think there is a very decent side in there, but at the minute it’s just not coming together. Giroud’s really starting to look the part, and in a month or so when Jack’s got some more games under his belt i think we might be very good. but how far back will we be by then? and rumours of Diaby being out until Christmas mean Wenger’s refusal to replace Song/add another midfielder has backfired badly.
im beyond caring at this stage. only persons posting positive now are the freebie brigade
‘Wenger’s refusal to replace Song/add another midfielder has backfired badly’
Wallace, isn’t the most frustrating thing that this was always going to be the case ? I said it at the time over & over : anyone who thought our midfield options were ok starting the season was completely burying their heads in the sand. It was the classic example of why AKB has become such a term of abuse. All the evidence made it clear we would not cope & yet because Arsene said our options were good enough, people bought into it. Total & utter madness..
If we want a manager to give us a decent chance of finishing fourth and therefore milking the Champions League cash cow each year Arsene Wenger is a tried and tested option.
If we want a manager to give us a decent chance of winning the title or the Champions League we need someone else.
This much has been obvious since 2007.
If Wenger had not done so well between 1998 and 2004, before the oil funded era, he would have gone already. It’s like watching George Graham’s Arsenal c.1995 at the moment – only this time there is no hope of winning the FA cup or League cup.
But, hey ho, we will no doubt improve and possibly even scrape home to finish 4th. And the board will say “told you so!” And I will say “my point exactly.”
Oh for the love of God, stop moaning you plebs. Sheeeeeeesh. Ivan; pass the lobster and champagne pate will you old boy?
And here’s another thing. I would just LOVE to say that Cole, Van Persie, Clichy, Nasri, Hleb, Fabregas, Song etc (and next Walcott and Sagna) were/will be wrong to leave Arsenal.
But they were/will be absolutely right to. If anyone else in the current squad want to show any medals to the grandchildren we have to admit that they should move on as well.
That is what hurts more than anything for an Arsenal fan; to have to acknowledge that anyone with any ambition would be foolish to stay at the club we love. Does the board know how we feel when our best players move to Manchester, Chelsea or Barcelona while we watch their fans goading us as and calling us losers as they go on to win all the silverware?
It’s been a bad couple of weeks no doubt about that, but all you lot who slate ansd think you know more about football then Wenger are in fact the deluded ones. Just look at what he has given the club over the years. The oil rich clubs have caused a problem for Arsenal
If you look at the defence all the players are very good but have made mistakes lately they are only human and will improve with all the talk of how bad they are we had the least goals conceded up until yesterday.
They need are backing over the next few weeks all this talk is not helping.
With that said Wenger please spend and spend well in January
In Wenger i trust!!! His loyalty to our club is honourable unlike the greedy players who have betrayed him lately and clueless fans who know next to little about football.
As can be seen above, they still exist…jesus….
C.Scott you stole my line ! But I`ll write it anyway : Untill yesterday we conceded the least goals in the premier league . Some of the ones we did concede were goalkeeper errors . Our midfield is decent . We need to score more goals
PD – with a fit Diaby we have 4 midfielders of real quality. with a fit Diaby Jack is under far less pressure to perform straight away. a fit Diaby may not even exist. Wenger gambled and lost. i like the look of Coquelin, and (when fit) Rosicky can ease the load on Cazorla. but Ramsey, sadly, should not really be anywhere near the starting line-up. in another team i think he might come good, i just don’t think he’s suited to the type of game Wenger likes to play.
wallace : we have 2 top-class midfielders : Jack & Carzola. Arteta is a good player & a great pro, but not top-class. Diaby is no more than decent, he just doesn’t read the game well enough. And as for his fitness…..the ‘gamble’ on his fitness was hardly just a gamble, it was a complete shot in the dark that had only a tiny chance of coming off.
But let’s say I’m wrong & you’re right, we have 4 of them. Which of them is most comfortable playing in front of the back 4 ? None. We have two defensive midfielders in the squad, both of whom look good talents (Coquelin,Frimpong) – both of whom are clearly not deemed to be ready.
So we’ve simply got no-one to play in the most important position in the team. We have Arteta playing in a position that doesn’t suit him. It’s a shambles, a total & utter shambles.
Red Islington: its good to know someone can see past a week of bad results. Another thing all these idiots who cause unrest forget is although we have lost some great players and no one hurts more about it then me, is the fact that Wenger found and made all of the players we have had. Take RVP for exvample he said many times last season “i did not even think i could play as a striker” Wenger made him, song , Kos and many many more..
Just think about that people champions league finals , leagues , cups and you want rid of him . Glad you lot aint in control of the club.
James: i clearly don’t care what you think, you have probably played the playstation a few times and now think you know more about football then Wenger. you mug why don’t you go out and buy a man city shirt or something you MUG!
Its fans like me they need when even they are going thouigh a rough patch i go on there site buy tickets for a champions league match to support them. You probably dont even go to the matches.???
We’ve been playing in a way that lacks the real invention and creativity of old.It looks as if everything the players did yesterday was just forceful..I watched the game against Liverpool and we were brilliant and I don’t understand why we play the way we do lately.Movement and build-up is too slow, all too predictable. This team lacks something and I struggle to see what it really is. About the penalty we were awarded; I mean if you’ve been watching the Premier League for some years now that certain referees have a predilection for one club or another and I think Phil Dowd’s ours..Horrible penalty decision! At least we’ll be all be laughing again if we can beat those spuds who are delusional thinking they’re better than us..
C.Scott i cant stand people like you who keep being positive . It doesnt make Arsenal a better club
the teams discipline is pretty bad as it lacks good organisation to maintain shape under presure. This has been very obvious since the Norwhich game. The second problem is that arteta has been largely overlaboured this season as he has not been able to really express himself in his prefered position(CM). Bottom line: we need a very creative and dynamic winger, also get Wanyama to add depth to the team nd really protect the back four. Lastly,podolski should be played in the centre as a top man or supportin striker as he clearly lacks the energy level needed to work on the wing in the EPL.
1.When is Diaby fit for more then 50 seconds(Thank you very much Dan Smith)
2.When is Rosicknote fit for more then 50 seconds(Thank you very much brittle DNA)
3.Wenger is loyal,very well but to the tune of 7,5 ,mil a year,i would be loyal to Nambla if i were given 7,5 mil a year.Wenger would have been and gone more then once if he had overseen 8 seasons of mediocrity at Barca,Manure,Mardid,PSG,Chelsea,Pool,Spurs,Milan,juve,Ajax,PSV etc.
Sem: i am glad you cant stand me, you clearly have got a brain the size of a pea. Do you think the new stadium would be possible without Wenger? Does that not make us a better club.?? Some you are so think its embarrassing
I think what’s more painful than our current form is this Civil war between arsenal fans that has made us more a laughing stock than our results in my opinion…beyond Arsene leaving or staying I don’t understand why we fans can’t put aside this destructive beef..Liverpool are a proud succesful club mired in well documented tough times for a few years now but you don’t hear any internal rift between their fans..yes they moan like all fans do When hard times bite but they put the club first.. We are trophyless in 7yrs but so where they for 5yrs before they won the capital 1 cup only last season..I don’t see this club firing Arsene, he would be permitted to run out his contract worst case scenario which means we are stuck with him for now..He has his faults but let’s also blame some key players who are also letting us down crucially in games .I tend to agree with the 1st comment that suggests we have a problem off the pitch..Bold is no Pat rice & I wonder how much crises management experience he can call upon to aid Arsene with..coupled with this defence problem that refuses to get straightened out,its probably why he and Wenger are not looking as united as with Pat rice..
another poor performance. very disappointing. in theory our 4 best defenders conceding 3 goals. i’m not sure if kosielny jumped for the 1st. for the 2nd, we had 5 players to 2 in the box, but still conceded. have to disagree on the goalkeeping on that: i think mannone should have saved it. not sure where we can go from here. if we can’t compete with the mega-millionaires, that’s one thing. but when you aren’t competing with fulham, then that’s another. it’s a new team in some respects, but we should have gelled by now. our midfield is not at the races. coquelin and ramsey are not filling the gap when played in there. diaby was having a decent go of it in there, but as others have pointed out, there’s no point in having him for 5 or 6 games a season.
at this stage, the title seems long gone – 11 points gap that appears likely to grow. i just hope that we actually concentrate on a great chance of a trophy in the league cup, even if it is only 5th priority in the manager’s view.
a win and good performance over spurs is what is needed to re-inspire some passion in this team and among the fans.
ps – i thought at the time getting £24m for van Persie was good business. now i watch him ripping it up for Utd and think we should have sold him to a Spanish or Italian side. even if it meant losing out on £10-12m. anywhere but here.
I’m with C. Scott on this one. Some perspective is needed here: I’ve been watching the Arsenal for over 40 years and have seen some dreadful football in some awful conditions during that time. Ok we want to win trophies but we can’t all compete with the money sloshing round the game and lack of loyalty among players who have forgotten how the majority of fans struggle to afford to watch them. In the last few years the football has been top quality and the stadium magnificent and the accounts looking healthy going forward. So this team is not up to scratch, but we could do better than ripping each other apart and have some patience.
Anyone who thinks we can replace Van Persie with less than a 30 million pound player is illusional . Anyone who thinks we could ever rely on injury prone players like Diaby is illusional . But thats not the point . The point is we are Arsenal fans for life and we need to stand behind this club . The word supporters comes from the word support .
…we will go on to win many trophies this season, I put my mortgage on that. Yes we haven’t achieved great results but apart from the Schalke game perhaps we haven’t been completely out-played at all this season despite poor results. The problem lies with the mentality of our players especially those in the Back-4, their belief and match sharpness is low. Most of the goals conceded have been a result of defensive lapses 9 alone jus between Vermimator & Kos, its worrying but luckily for us we a Manager who’s natural talent is tht of developing & nurturing ‘Talents’ so its only a matter of time before he gets to the bottom of it. . . As Arsenal fans we shld know a lot better than to follow the media circus tht has criticised our team even during the ‘Glory-days’, I mean we all know wat they said abt RVP when he 1st signed: “half decent leftie uses his right-foot jus for standing, WILL NEVER BANG GOALS like an Henry” who proved them wrong now? What abt when we signed Song: ” poor touch, the WORST player Wenger’s signed” who was right again? Or more recently what they said abt Jenkinson after the red-card in the 8-2 “such a poor showing, he’ll NEVER be an Arsenal grade player” yet again we showed Faith in the lad and the sky is the limit now…lets give our team time and support, lets do things the Arsenal-way and KEEP THE FAITH!!!
we have more than one problem at the moment. we have alot of stupid defensive errors, we have a 3rd string keeper who by the way is a good 3rd string keeper but that’s just it….he’s 3rd string. even WS would be second string at other big clubs. i’ve always supported AW and if he’s a problem then i say let him go. i’m not in charge of running the club but i don’t think it’s AW’s choice to go in with 15mil (or whatever it was)as a max. for a player like hazard and expect to win his sig when you have other big clubs sniffing around. i agree with wallace, it was never good biz to sell rvp to any other prem club….take the hit in price and send him to juve. phil, you’re right, it seems our beloved Arsenal are a team people love to criticize. goodplaya, in my opinion, ramsey isn’t up for it either. i can count on one hand how many forward passes he’s made so far, and no i don’t have a sixth finger. he hasn’t been the same since the stoke match. santos is dead to me, piers m is right he should never play for Arsenal again. the lack of respect for our club and the lack of self respect was evident and that sort of mentality is infectious. we only want players who want the shirt they’re wearing more than any other.
“Keep the faith, keep the faith.” I lost faith in 2008 when we collapsed after Eduardo’s broken leg. How do you get it back? I honestly don’t think I’ll ever feel that emotion of excitement and anticipation again that comes with really competing for the title with the current regime in charge.
Wenger said “judge this team after 10 games at the beginning of this season. Well, after 11 games we are out of the league (again) and just about drawing at home to teams like Sunderland and Fulham.
Time for change.
longtallgooner, you’re with C.Scott but yet at the same time you want everyone to stop tearing each other apart…really ??? I think you’ve been quite selective in what you’ve read mate cos no-one on this blog has been as abusive as he has.
The word ‘support’ is being bandied about here a lot. What ‘support’ means for me is paying to see the team as often as you can (which varies dramatically from fan to fan depending on location, income etc) & when you’re there giving it everything it can to lift the team.
However, what a lot of you seem to define ‘support’ as, is coming onto blogs & insisting there’s nothing wrong at the club & that anyone who criticises the players or manager isn’t a proper fan & deserves whatever abuse you decide to throw at them.
So because someone wants Wenger gone, that means they spend their time abusing the players & manager when at the ground ? It’s ridiculous. Childish, petty & utterly lacking in reason.
I know a large proportion of Arsenal fans think it’stime for a change & yet our fans have been nothing short of brilliant this season. That’s what real support is.
In the EPL i know 11 points lead is actually 3 matches lost and a draw. If we were toping the table at this stage of the season with about 27 matches to go with these points i wouldn’t be celebrating just yet even if it were 11 matches to the end. Just last season Man(Useless) lost a 8-point lead to Man(Clueless) with just about 8 games to play. The whole season is just like 90 min of football 3 nil down in the 1st half can end as 3-5 winners. EPL is Endless Possibility League. Keep the faith gooners! We shall win manythings this year! Gunners 4 Life!
Oops, I forgot to say; we shall win manythings this year BUT not without our UNITY as AFC i.e. Fans, Board Members, Coaching Staff and Players. Remember: A house divided amongst itself shall fall. UP GUNNERS!
PD – fair point mate, yes there is a difference between constructing some criticism, and wanting change and abusing the team/players, and I agree the fans, especially away from home, have been brilliant. I suppose I am concerned that fans and the club think very carefully about the alternatives before diving off the board.
I don’t think there is any doubt that this current team is under performing. Certain players are capable of much much more and I’m sure things will improve. I still believe we would be right up there had VP and Song either stayed or been replaced.
For the record, my perfect blueprint for Arsenal would be the early Wenger sides that combined big, physical, strength with sublime technique and skill. Bergkamp and Vieira epitomised these traits and I yearned for this type of player whilst watching the last 3 or 4 games.
Despite things being far from my ideal you still have to look objectively at the situation from all angles. There are some extremely good points made week in, week out on this site that point out all the flaws of the last 8 years which I can’t disagree with. Something has got to change but is replacing the manager the logical solution?
I still maintain that this squad is remarkably talented considering those that have left. You could argue that following the failure of the previous generation that this is a squad in a state of rebuilding. Part of me thinks it’s mad not to have brought in another striker or defensive midfielder but us fans don’t really know the realities of the transfer market. We also have to accept that the landscape has changed since the sugar daddy culture arrived and although it seems crazy not to spend the money we have, I still want to spend wisely to ensure against anymore dead wood.
There are some that will argue that we’ve been rebuilding for the last 8 years, that we should invest all the money we have available, that we fans deserve trophies, but is it that simple? Once all the flaws have been pointed out in the current set up and we hear the cries of Wenger out, nobody ever ventures further into how we go on and replace him. How can you confidently say Wenger out without considering what happens next?
The thing I struggle with the most is this assumption that our board are capable of appointing a new manager just because of their high salaries. This is a manager that will need to operate under the same financial constraints and work in the same environment under the same boardroom structure. How much of the supposed transfer kitty will the new manager actually get? Who is actually out there that can achieve the minimum of top 4? I believe the long term aim was always for Wenger to choose his replacement, I mean Wenger controls all things football and the board administer all things business. Have they got a back up plan?
Look, I’m more open to change than I’ve ever been but Liverpool, one of the biggest club sides in history, scoured the managerial market and the best they can come up with is an unproven manager with only 4 years experience, 3 of those years in the championship. Spurs went for a similar choice in AVB, a manager who started his managerial career 3 years ago with only months of experience in the Premier League. Are our board somehow above those at Liverpool and Spurs?
The bottom line is I’m utterly pissed off with things as they are and I think something has to change. I’m not saying Arsene is impossible to replace, it is a reasonable option at this moment in time, but the easiest and best option in my book is for change elsewhere. Pure and simple, we need better players, this is the easiest option for change and the most likely option to succeed.
A final point. I don’t like the term AKB, mostly because it’s a term that aims to divide and split fans into two groups, fans that are all after the same thing.
I’m sorry if i offended anyone, i am just sticking up for my team against some people who have jumped on the media band wagon.
I will say this though i think the keeper has done a good job in goal for a suppose 3rd goal keeper he has made some great saves, there is no need to have a dig at him and keep calling him that. He has been brave in goal took quite a few wacks for the team. Keep up the good work Vito you have improved loads.
MDP, as usual I completely disagree with you but totally understand the logic you’re trying to make :-)
I’ve asked this before about the AKB term : if all the ‘optimists’ agree not to keep calling any of the more pessimistic among us whatever takes their fancy (spurs fans, idiots, mugs, etc etc) when we have the temerity to criticise Arsene, I have no problem with stopping using the term in response….as I’m sure most others don’t either….
C.Scott….by stating that it’s just people who have jumped on the media bandwagon you’re not really apologising, are you ? Still making it clear you hold us in nothing but contempt. Let me make it very clear : I have utter contempt for most football media in Britain & have stressed many times on here that their anti-Wenger bias is a complete disgrace. (and in respect of injuries suffered by some players – not just AFC ones – they have blood on their hands)
I want him out; that’s my opinion – I’m not jumping on a bandwagon or saying it because it’s in vogue – I just think it’s the right way forward for the club on the basis of what I’ve seen
Some serious questions:
If Arsene had gone last summer would you be content with either Brendan Rodgers or André Villas-Boas as replacements?
Arsenal are in a slightly stronger position than Liverpool and Spurs but can we improve on the calibre of manager they have attracted?
Pep Guardiola is the latest manager to have his named linked with every club under the sun. Could Arsenal attract someone of his experience? Could they beat off competition from the Sugar Daddy clubs?
PD, last season you plucked out Steve Bould’s name when pressed to name a possible replacement. Do you still think Steve Bould could really step up?
that what i mean every player we have had for 16 years will tell you that part of the reason they signed was to work with Wenger, even Guardiola though a good manager if anyone had the Barc squard they could not go far wrong with them players. It was an easy job.
Wenger is a world class manager. But everyone is entitaled to there own. I said sorry if i offended anyone i won’t say sorry for anything else i have said.
Some blame has to go down to the players other then Wenger sometimes I would like to see Frimpong in midfield to offer some steal in front of defence.
It’s not for me to say. I’m not paid 2m quid a year to run Arsenal. If I was, I would have a name ready. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing my job.
I just don’t think we can carry on this neverending circle of underachievement that we’re on. It’s inevitable that he’s going for me & I want him gone now for 2 reasons. One : for the club, because I think we’ll have a long way back if he doesn’t go soon & 2 – for him, because if he doesn’t go soon, it’s going to end in tears & he deserves more for what he’s achieved. Perfect scenario is scraping 4th, a domestic cupv& he walks in May.
I threw Bouldy’s name out as an internal option should we choose that route. At the time I referenced Barca as it worked brilliantly for them. From what I hear, Bouldy is not at all happy with the way he’s been allowed to behave as an assistant. He may not be in the job for a 2nd season.
Anyway, all of the above (both your questions & my answers) just depress me as it’s just another neverending circle. The club & gans are simply going nowhere.
Meant fans obviously…..
Anyway, the main thing at the moment is Saturday’s game. We simply have to beat that shower. Anyone going, give them hell. Particularly that total cheat Bale. Come on u Reds !
Ah yes, it is certainly true that most players will tell you that working with Arsene Wenger was one of the key reasons they signed for Arsenal. I have no problem with that.
The problem I have is that none of our best players want to keep working with him once their careers have matured because they see what we all see; they are not going to win trophies with a developmental manager who cannot compete with the best in the post-Abramovitch era.
It’s not impossible – Alex Ferguson still competes and would never accept the kind of performances we have seen this season against Norwich, QPR and Fulham. But Arsene has settled for being also-rans for years now as long as we qualify for the Champions League.
Maybe it is a case of putting faith into our 2m a year chief exec PD. He’s the one behind the new sponsorship deals, he knows the amount of funds available, he knows all the goings on behind the transfer market, he will know if the new ‘fair play’ rules have any substance, he may well have a list of all the top managerial candidates, he has the most rounded perspective of Arsenal football club, not us, maybe that’s why Wenger is still firmly in charge ;-)
I’m glad to be considered one of the optimists. It took optimism to appoint Wenger in the first instance. It takes optimism to continue to back him. It will take optimism if we are to break loose and appoint someone new. I would wager that if we do appoint someone new, that the pessimists will soon be on the back of the new boss or turn their attentions to the board.
Anyway, onto the weekend. The home match against Spurs was a turning point last season and it’s got to be the same again. Come on you reds!
A last minute work emergency meant I missed the game completely. Not even the combined stupidity of Lineker & his band of clowns will stop me enjoying Match of the Day tonight..
Come on u Reds !!!!!!!!!!!
Enjoy. It’s bloody fantastic!
They did us proud now consistency is what we need. Come on you gunners! nice to see king Henry back on the scene.