Wenger today - vive les Spurs !

jrd

Words fail me. What a tosspot. Even his captain showed class in all his interviews and post match behaviour. But not the poncy self-styled Professor. Anyway here today's Patrick Barclay in the Sunday Telegraph - vive les Spurs !

Wenger right to rest players but wrong to rail at Jol
By Patrick Barclay (Filed: 23/04/2006)

In pics: Premiership action
Your View: Premiership forum

A key element of management is knowing your own mind and Arsene Wenger would not have agonised over his team selection for this match. Although on Friday he had described it as Arsenal's most important of a near-complete Premiership season, Wenger started without nearly half his first-choice team - or more than half, if you take into account the disproportionate value of Thierry Henry. And he expressed not a hint of regret afterwards, even as he railed, in my view mistakenly, against the perceived poor sportsmanship of Tottenham.

No matter how high finishing fourth might rate, it could not be allowed to interfere with a chance of landing the top prize in European football. It would, of course, enable Arsenal to compete in the Champions League at the new Emirates Stadium should they lose the lead they take to Villarreal on Tuesday or succumb to Barcelona - or, in the event of a Camp Nou shock on Wednesday, Milan - in the final. But who knows when such an opportunity to write a glorious chapter in club history will arise again?

Wenger's faith in young squad players has already been vindicated this season and therefore, in order to spare Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Eboue, Alexander Hleb and Freddie Ljungberg three matches in less than a week, he called on the likes of Abou Diaby and Johan Djourou. It was a risky tactic and one that seemed it might fail when Robbie Keane secured the basis for a first Tottenham victory here since 1993. So Plan B was put into operation and, while the introduction of Henry did not come with a legally binding guarantee of an equaliser, the Frenchman's calm conversion of a delicious pass from Emmanuel Adebayor hardly constituted the greatest surprise in this doomed stadium's 97 years of experience.

Should Wenger, then, have begun with Henry, Fabregas and company and gone for all three points, which would have taken the fourth-place issue out of Spurs' hands? As it is, Martin Jol's side can be sure of achieving their objective if they win their remaining matches, at home to Bolton and away to West Ham; Arsenal visit Sunderland and Manchester City before entertaining Wigan as a Highbury farewell. Once again the argument returns to Villarreal. Any slip there and the season suddenly loses all the magical quality it has acquired since Real Madrid were memorably overrun at the Bernabeu two months ago. It was a Tottenham icon, the late Danny Blanchflower, who said football was principally about glory. Full marks to Wenger for appreciating that and distributing his resources accordingly. Whatever he did would have been a gamble and, while some will recall this day if Arsenal begin next season with a trudge into the UEFA Cup while Henry, having switched to Barcelona, prepares to help his new mates defend the European title, I think Wenger got it right. On spirit-of-the-game questions, he can usually be relied upon. Which made it so bewildering that he should whine about Keane's goal. However hard it may have been for Arsenal to take - and Wenger and his players are not known for accepting adversity with a dignified sang froid - there should have been no challenging its validity.

True, Wenger and his vice-chairman, David Dein, had acted very commendably in 1999 when they awarded Sheffield United a re-run of an FA Cup match won in dubious circumstances when, after visiting goalkeeper Alan Kelly had put the ball out of play in order that a limping colleague receive treatment, Ray Parlour attempted to return it to United only for Kanu to intervene and set up Marc Overmars to make the score 2-1. But Spurs yesterday had no such obligation to make a gesture, or even observe the conventions of fair play, for they, unlike Kanu, had not innocently violated them.

All that happened was that two Arsenal players, Gilberto Silva and Eboue, collided and fell. While referee Steve Bennett correctly checked they were not seriously injured - both were able to look up - Spurs continued to attack down the left and Edgar Davids tried a low cross. Though Arsenal were understandably thin at the back, the irony is that Kolo Toure got close enough to the ball to impart the subtle deflection that took it into the path of Keane, who sidefooted wide of Jens Lehmann.

Inevitably, the German goalkeeper was outraged - he makes Basil Fawlty look like Sven-Goran Eriksson on Valium - and Robert Pires also remonstrated with Davids, but no one else appeared too put out until Wenger had his say, which included a claim that Jol was not to be believed when he asserted that he had not seen the incident. Can football ever have thrown up a better example of the pot calling the kettle black? Efforts to persuade Jol to discuss the point in detail were unsuccessful, though he did agree that a hold-up was conventional ''if there's an injury'' and that, really, was the meat of it.

KdjaCL

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kdjac

Chucky

Arsene is just under a lot of stress as you should be able to understand. His comments were impulsive but there's no need to lambast him.

therecklessone

His comments were a disgrace, and he deserves everything he gets.

Chucky

That's a bit harsh of you my friend. You must take care of that rage before it gets you into trouble.

therecklessone

Chucky wrote:

That's a bit harsh of you my friend. You must take care of that rage before it gets you into trouble.

I'm perfectly calm (and well within the terms of the soccer charter).

RE*AC*TOR

I thought it was quite uncharacteristic of him to behave like that. Perhaps he is taking a page out of Mourinho's book...

Bad form - hope he apologises (although I don't expect it).

Mark

http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,291516,00.jpg

arbeitsscheuer

*yawn*
3 Premiership titles
4 FA Cups
Champion's League Semi-Finalists
Top 4 Finishers since 96/97...

...Tbh I don't think Arsene Wenger has anyone to answer to - at least not anyone here anyway.

RE*AC*TOR

SebtheBum wrote:

*yawn*
3 Premiership titles
4 FA Cups
Champion's League Semi-Finalists
Top 4 Finishers since 96/97...

...Tbh I don't think Arsene Wenger has anyone to answer to - at least not anyone here anyway.

really - so if you're successful, you don't have to behave in a civilised manner any longer?

cournioni

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

really - so if you're successful, you don't have to behave in a civilised manner any longer?

In fairness, this isn't the first incident where Arsenal have behaved in this way.

blu_sonic

I can understand why he's narked, but he is way OTT

Pigman II

I think Giles called it right on the Premiership when he said if the tables had been reverse Wenger "wouldn't have seen the incident". You can play that game if you want but it just means people are from then on going to take your opinion with a pinch of salt when you don't get your fair dues and generally laugh at your pleas for justice.

As for Wenger accusing Jol of lying about not seeing the clash incident, well the irony is just too delicious.

iregk

Great irony for Wenger to say that his fellow manager was lying when he said he didn't see it. Pot talk to mister kettle...

In fairness on the replay Jol wasn't looking anywhere near the incident, he was looking at Davids!!! Altough and am I on my own here but football is a contact sport. Two players off the same team collide and get injured. Its tough but hey it happens. I'd have played on!!! They got injured so, thats their bad luck but I've still got the ball so game on.

I think houghton is right, its getting out of hand. Sure if its a bad injury and its a quiet moment put the ball out. But it will get to the stage where players will fake it so that you put the ball out and not score a goal!!!

iregk

Sorry duplicate

therecklessone

This is funnier than seeing Wenger dancing along the touchline like a spoilt child on Saturday...

Wenger brands Liverpool 'lucky'

"You could argue that four places in the Champions League is already quite a big share - and that if you are good enough to win the Champions League, you should be in the top four of your country."

dirkey_wynne

I didn't see any footie at the weekend unfortunately. However, from what I've read, Wenger seems completely in teh wrong - if only for his comment on Jol not seeing it. As many have said, pot and kettle. How many times Arsene has missed incidents must be in the 100's at this stage. Oh well.

blu_sonic

therecklessone wrote:

This is funnier than seeing Wenger dancing along the touchline like a spoilt child on Saturday...

Wenger brands Liverpool 'lucky'

wonder will his tune change about the CL and EPL being the measure of a team if he wins it this season?

iregk

You've got to admit, that quote is pretty class...

arbeitsscheuer

While we're on the subject of class quotes...
"I still think we have the quality to go through a season unbeaten"
- Arsene Wenger, 28th of September 2002.

Only thing he got wrong was the timing - he should've pointed out that it would be the following season!:D

OT: I've seen the incident, and Sky Sports had a mic near the touchline, on which they picked up Jol clearly saying "Play! Play!" to Michael Carrick when Carrick paused, uncertain of whether to put the ball out or play on.

So no, Wenger doesn't need to apologise to anyone.

Roddy23

Here is the aforementioned clip.

WhiteWashMan

SebtheBum wrote:

While we're on the subject of class quotes...
"I still think we have the quality to go through a season unbeaten"
- Arsene Wenger, 28th of September 2002.

Only thing he got wrong was the timing - he should've pointed out that it would be the following season!:D

OT: I've seen the incident, and Sky Sports had a mic near the touchline, on which they picked up Jol clearly saying "Play! Play!" to Michael Carrick when Carrick paused, uncertain of whether to put the ball out or play on.

So no, Wenger doesn't need to apologise to anyone.

i dont care if he apologises or not.

the only thing i care about is arsenal losing in the chanions league, and arsenal losing in the premier league, and spurs winning two more matches.

if we do it, we do it, if we dont, we dont.

arsene can rage all he wants, but as someone else mentioned, the irony is delicious.

perhpas arsene ought to look at his selection policy instead of relying on the opposition not scoring goals.if i was an arsenal fan id be wondering why they didnt put out a full strength side.

as a spurs fan, im furious we didnt put 2 or 3 past arsenal, but thats the story of our season, and im sure i will live with it, regardless of what happens.

therecklessone

Roddy23 wrote:

Here is the aforementioned clip.

SSN wrote:

Jol is clearly following the ball as his words are heard

Did I get that quote right? It was the conclusion of the Goals on Sunday crowd as well, they played the clip a number of times and agreed that Jol was watching the ball, not the clumsy Arsenal players tackling each other (or in Gilberto's case, staying down until he realised play was continuing then getting up quick enough...)

mchurl

Wenger was totally out of order saying what he said about Jol, no manager should be allowed to say that about another manager. If i were in Carrick's shoes, and even if i had of seen the incident, i would of played on as there is no rule which states the ball must be put out, and im suer an arsenal player in the same position would of done the same thing as what Carrick done.If i was Martin Jol and Carrick had of put the ball out, i wouldn't of been pleased with him at all.

Ardent

Regardless of whether Wenger apologies or not, I fully expect the FA to fine him for bringing the game into disrepute. I couldn't believe my ears when he called Jol a liar on MOTD!

WhiteWashMan

Ardent wrote:

Regardless of whether Wenger apologies or not, I fully expect the FA to fine him for bringing the game into disrepute. I couldn't believe my ears when he called Jol a liar on MOTD!

sorry, i was in the dugout at the time, i didnt see it!

WhiteWashMan

by the way, looks like everyone is jumping onthe bandwagon....


http://www.football365.com/news/story_183552.shtml

Pellegrini, speaking ahead of the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Wenger's men, said: "I believe in fair play and if a player is injured, the ball should be thrown out. I think Wenger got the other side of the coin this weekend. Against us at Highbury, Wenger didn't want his players to throw the ball out when our players were injured."

arbeitsscheuer

Pellegrini clearly endorsing handball with his "throw the ball out" comments...:D :rolleyes: