Is it time for Arsene Wenger to go?

cson

DB10 wrote: »

Turned things around? I wouldnt say that, Van Persie has turned things around. Wenger was the one who got us into this mess in the first place, selling our best players and replacing them with ****e overpriced French and Africans players for the last 5 years.

Its alot like what he done when he relegated Monaco!

Miracles with his resources? The man spent 60 million pounds this season alone ffs!

And even then the team has been a complete disgrace bar lately. Conceding 8 goals to United, humilating the club club at Blackburn the worst side in the PL in years and at Spurs who walked over us.

We've done well in the Champions League, but its time to deliver some trophies, dozens of **** signings in the last few years are inexcusable.

I'm not saying he should be sacked now, but I'm deluded like others in thinking a couple of wins in a row makes the last 7 years good enough. It isnt good enough. I'm also not deluded enough to believe the Fair Play rules being brought in by UEFA and Platini will help Arsenal rise back to where the were.

If you believe those rules will make any difference, you arent living in the real world, where football is run by FIFA,UEFA and money.

I do struggle to believe you actually support the club.

pudzey101

Look at the results :rolleyes: thread should be closed :mad:
AW is a fansatic manager
Least he can progress his side in the CL unlike Man C and Man U :P

efb

DB10 needs a place to vent tbf...

Pepe LeFrits

Spurs spending is a good 20 milion less than ours on average per annum. We were spending more than Liverpool last time I looked, although not by a great deal and some years they spent more. Theyve been shockingly run the last couple of years.

I wouldnt be in favour of a manager change mid season, but the board need to stop shirking responsibility (Gazidis' comments over the summer about the fans holding Wenger responsible were gyp) and start putting the manager under pressure to perform.

The handling of the summer window was a disgrace and I have trouble understanding people who still dont display any concern after he led us to one of the most embarrassing results in the clubs history.

Hes done better since then but he'll have to keep doing better to earn back my support. Winning a few games then entering the usual end season slump, winning nothing, replacing van Persie with Loic Remy and restarting the youth spin bs wont cut it.

L'prof

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

The handling of the summer window was a disgrace and I have trouble understanding people who still dont display any concern after he led us to one of the most embarrassing results in the clubs history.

Hes done better since then but he'll have to keep doing better to earn back my support. Winning a few games then entering the usual end season slump, winning nothing, replacing van Persie with Loic Remy and restarting the youth spin bs wont cut it.

I suppose the only reason that I wasn't more concerned with that result is that it's happened before, 25th Febuary 2001, and we bounced back from that in outstanding fashion. With Wenger at the club and with some of the players that are there, I see no reason why we can't do so again.

efb

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

Spurs spending is a good 20 milion less than ours on average per annum. We were spending more than Liverpool last time I looked, although not by a great deal and some years they spent more. Theyve been shockingly run the last couple of years.

I wouldnt be in favour of a manager change mid season, but the board need to stop shirking responsibility (Gazidis' comments over the summer about the fans holding Wenger responsible were gyp) and start putting the manager under pressure to perform.

The handling of the summer window was a disgrace and I have trouble understanding people who still dont display any concern after he led us to one of the most embarrassing results in the clubs history.

Hes done better since then but he'll have to keep doing better to earn back my support. Winning a few games then entering the usual end season slump, winning nothing, replacing van Persie with Loic Remy and restarting the youth spin bs wont cut it.

And where dis Liverpool and Spues finish?

Pepe LeFrits

L'prof wrote: »

I suppose the only reason that I wasn't more concerned with that result is that it's happened before, 25th Febuary 2001, and we bounced back from that in outstanding fashion. With Wenger at the club and with some of the players that are there, I see no reason why we can't do so again.

I'd say the repeating trends within the last decade have more relevance.

DB10

Nay

amacachi wrote: »

You mean the match that was 0-0 and we were probably the better side til VDV handled in the build-up to a goal which we managed to recover somewhat from before conceding again. Not what I would call a walkover.

Really? I suggest you rewatch the 90 minutes so, because nobody I've talked to, or read on this forum, suggests Arsenal were the better side in that match.

I actually cant believe you want to rewrite history like that, if anything I thought that was the one game, Spurs were clearly the better side.

We were rubbish and posed no threat. Spurs never entered 3rd gear and still won comfortably.

And it was accepted by some of our fans that is what is worrying. Have our standards fallen so badly that we cannot give the likes of Man United or Spurs a game anymore?

As for the handball, it doesnt change the fact they were the better side by far for 90 minutes, these things happen when you attack more, as we used to know.

It stinks of a Wengerism, blaming a poor performance, on an injury, fatigue or a referee.

DB10

Nay

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

Spurs spending is a good 20 milion less than ours on average per annum. We were spending more than Liverpool last time I looked, although not by a great deal and some years they spent more. Theyve been shockingly run the last couple of years.

I wouldnt be in favour of a manager change mid season, but the board need to stop shirking responsibility (Gazidis' comments over the summer about the fans holding Wenger responsible were gyp) and start putting the manager under pressure to perform.

The handling of the summer window was a disgrace and I have trouble understanding people who still dont display any concern after he led us to one of the most embarrassing results in the clubs history.

Hes done better since then but he'll have to keep doing better to earn back my support. Winning a few games then entering the usual end season slump, winning nothing, replacing van Persie with Loic Remy and restarting the youth spin bs wont cut it.

Exactly my thoughts on the issue, especially the bold. I just don't understand some people on here who cannot handle criticism of Wenger.

This season hasnt been good enough so far, you dont just brush 8-2 defeats under the carpet, or that defeat to Blackburn. Those things will live long in the memory, and many of the Wenger knows brigade, just want to sweep these results under the carpet, and pretend they didnt happen.

They are no excuses for those performances. Everything is not rosy, I want to see us at least challenge for trophies, but we are a long way away from that.

It's like groundhog day with some of our fans. If we dont start winning trophies soon, Van Persie and Wilshere will be out the door, and it's just delusion to believe otherwise. It's happened every summer the last few years, players like Henry and Vieira have left to win trophies, I've no doubt Wilshere and Van Persie will as well.

DB10

Nay

pudzey101 wrote: »

Look at the results :rolleyes: thread should be closed :mad:
AW is a fansatic manager
Least he can progress his side in the CL unlike Man C and Man U :P

Yeah lets look at the results that seems fair:

United 8 - 2
Blackburn 4 - 3
Olympiakos 3 - 1
Spurs 2-1 Arsenal
Birmingham winning the Carling Cup final (and being relegated)
Liverpool 2 - 0 Arsenal (first win at Arsenal in over a decade)
Bolton 2 - 1 Arsenal
Stoke 3 - 1
Arsenal 1 - 2 Villa
Newcastle 4 - 4 Arsenal

And plenty more, just in this calendar year so far.

Were is the cause to be optimistic?
Why because Arteta has replaced Fabregas, and Benayoun replaced Nasri?

Even the players have a good laugh when asked if we can challenge for the title.

smilerf

Nay

he's lost the plot. he. needs to go. if he spends big and goes back to 4 4 2 it might save him.
we need top class replacements for song and walcott we need wilshere back to replace Mr flick Ramsey and we need a great striker

L'prof

smilerf wrote: »

he's lost the plot. he. needs to go. if he spends big and goes back to 4 4 2 it might save him.
we need top class replacements for song and walcott we need wilshere back to replace Mr flick Ramsey and we need a great striker

I stopped reading after Song to be honest!

smilerf

Nay

song is good on he's day but far too inconsistent

L'prof

smilerf wrote: »

song is good on he's day but far too inconsistent

He has no cover, that's the problem. He's the only thing consistent about our midfield. He's one of our best players and yet he's the first person you mention that needs to be replaced? He's criminally underrated, we need to get rid of a lot more before we even consider replacing him!

Orando Broom

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Leiva

People thinking Arsene should go have to ask themselves a question :

Would they be willing to live with finishing the PL in a mediocre table position for a couple of seasons ?

Cause if a new manager comes in then thats what's going to happen whilst he puts his stamp on things.

Or

Stick with Arsene and let him turn it around in the same timeframe .

I know if I supported Arsenal I would be sticking with Arsene . Cause as a Liverpool supporter I know all to well the disruption of loosing a top manager at a top club can bring.

Drexel

L'prof wrote: »

He has no cover, that's the problem. He's the only thing consistent about our midfield. He's one of our best players and yet he's the first person you mention that needs to be replaced? He's criminally underrated, we need to get rid of a lot more before we even consider replacing him!

He was dreadful last night tho. On his day he is immense but he has been very inconsistent this year. I have a sneaky feeling he will be leaving in the summer

Pepe LeFrits

mixednuts wrote: »

People thinking Arsene should go have to ask themselves a question :

Would they be willing to live with finishing the PL in a mediocre table position for a couple of seasons ?

Cause if a new manager comes in then thats what's going to happen whilst he puts his stamp on things.

Depends on who replaces him.

L'prof

jonny666 wrote: »

He was dreadful last night tho. On his day he is immense but he has been very inconsistent this year. I have a sneaky feeling he will be leaving in the summer

I think he just needs a rest to e honest, but there's nobody there to step in.

Dercola

L'prof wrote: »

He has no cover, that's the problem. He's the only thing consistent about our midfield. He's one of our best players and yet he's the first person you mention that needs to be replaced? He's criminally underrated, we need to get rid of a lot more before we even consider replacing him!

L'prof wrote: »

I think he just needs a rest to e honest, but there's nobody there to step in.

Agreed, hasn't he played nearly every game for us this season? Appart from his suspension earlier on.. Even the FA cup games.. Its pretty difficult to keep up the level of intensity he plays at, without a break here and there..

Drexel

L'prof wrote: »

I think he just needs a rest to e honest, but there's nobody there to step in.

Isnt Coqulin(sp) supposed to be a def mid?? Still dont understand sending Frimpong out on loan either when there is no one else really.

I think the problem is that every match these days has become a must win so no time for squad rotation. Have to play the best team every match(not that its working)

Frisbee

Coquelin hasn't been able to play in the midfield to give Song a rest as he's had to play either left-back or right-back as everyone there is injured. Hopefully with Sagna back now he'll get a few more games in the midfield so Song can get a rest.

smilerf

Nay

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

mixednuts wrote: »

People thinking Arsene should go have to ask themselves a question :

Would they be willing to live with finishing the PL in a mediocre table position for a couple of seasons ?

Cause if a new manager comes in then thats what's going to happen whilst he puts his stamp on things.

Depends on who replaces him.

I think moyes would do a good job

gnfnrhead

Surprised it took so long for this thread to pop up again, was expecting it shortly after the match ended.

Anyway, as has been said, Song is one of the last players that needs to be replaced. The only problem with him is the fact that he appears to be running on empty now. He badly needs a break but injuries have ensured he hasn't had that chance yet. Once Gibbs or (more likely) Santos are back, I'd expect him to be rested every so often with Coquelin playing in his place.

I also don't think sending Frimpong out on loan was a bad idea. He needs more than one or two games every few weeks to develop. He'll get that now. It was just bad timing as we could have done with resting Song for a game or two, playing Frimpong and then sending him on loan.

Chucky the tree

mixednuts wrote: »

People thinking Arsene should go have to ask themselves a question :

Would they be willing to live with finishing the PL in a mediocre table position for a couple of seasons ?

Cause if a new manager comes in then thats what's going to happen whilst he puts his stamp on things.

Or

Stick with Arsene and let him turn it around in the same timeframe .

I know if I supported Arsenal I would be sticking with Arsene . Cause as a Liverpool supporter I know all to well the disruption of loosing a top manager at a top club can bring.

There's no way of knowing that will happen. If he can turn it around why can't he do it now?

SlickRic

if FFP rules kick in as they should, you'll all see what a genius Wenger is and those of you wanting him gone will promptly ask for forgiveness.

it's not his job to be an accountant, obviously, but he has the club, on that playing budget, punching so far above it's weight it's frightening.

remember, you've been without fully fit full-backs for most of the season, and no Wilshere for all of it.

the only thing that baffles me with Wenger is his blindspot for what is obvious. like the CF problem. the world and it's sister knows that if VP gets injured you're not going to score consistently again. yet he does nothing. you're also without a LB for the forseeable future, yet he does nothing. it's just a bit weird.

they're not sackable offences in terms of Wenger because of all he has achieved at the club. in other words, he has earned the right to sit out his contract as long as he wants considering he's had you in the Champions League every year for over a decade on a shoestring compared to others.

anyone outright calling for a sacking needs to be kicked unceremoniously in the nuts tbh.

someone on another forum i read said it best IMO.

what Wenger has done for that football club will only be realised once he is gone.

Arsenal would be crazy to let Wenger go.

As a Liverpool fan I'd be happy to see him go as it will mean Arsenal sliding down the table a bit.

Chucky the tree

SlickRic wrote: »

if FFP rules kick in as they should, you'll all see what a genius Wenger is and those of you wanting him gone will promptly ask for forgiveness.

it's not his job to be an accountant, obviously, but he has the club, on that playing budget, punching so far above it's weight it's frightening.

remember, you've been without fully fit full-backs for most of the season, and no Wilshere for all of it.

the only thing that baffles me with Wenger is his blindspot for what is obvious. like the CF problem. the world and it's sister knows that if VP gets injured you're not going to score consistently again. yet he does nothing. you're also without a LB for the forseeable future, yet he does nothing. it's just a bit weird.

they're not sackable offences in terms of Wenger because of all he has achieved at the club. in other words, he has earned the right to sit out his contract as long as he wants considering he's had you in the Champions League every year for over a decade on a shoestring compared to others.

anyone outright calling for a sacking needs to be kicked unceremoniously in the nuts tbh.

someone on another forum i read said it best IMO.

There's never a place for sentimentally in football.

jordainius

rarnes1 wrote: »

Arsenal would be crazy to let Wenger go.

As a Liverpool fan I'd be happy to see him go as it will mean Arsenal sliding down the table a bit.

EDIT; I'm an idiot! Major apologies to rarnes1!!

jordainius

jordainius wrote: »

So you acknowledge Arsenal are going backwards while also stating that they would be crazy to try and take action to change that. Did you bother to think about or read what you said before you posted it??

Did you bother to think about or read what you said before you posted it??

#15

The thing that Arsenal fans should think about is how many clubs will be trying to sign Wenger if he leaves.

He could walk into a lot of top clubs almost immediately IMO. If you've got a manager that no one else would want (e.g. Hodgson), then fair enough. But when you've got a manager that's good enough to manage any team in the world, then that speaks volumes. You should really think twice before calling for him to go.

jordainius

rarnes1 wrote: »

Did you bother to think about or read what you said before you posted it??

I know!!!! Godammit!!! I read what I said, I just didn't read what you said.My apologies. Now please excuse me while I wipe this egg off my face

jordainius

jordainius wrote: »

I know!!!! Godammit!!! I read what I said, I just didn't read what you said.My apologies. Now please excuse me while I wipe this egg off my face

Pepe LeFrits

SlickRic wrote: »

if FFP rules kick in as they should, you'll all see what a genius Wenger is and those of you wanting him gone will promptly ask for forgiveness.

it's not his job to be an accountant, obviously, but he has the club, on that playing budget, punching so far above it's weight it's frightening.

His playing budget over the past 5 years has been more than half a billion.

Liverpool's has been broadly similar (perhaps a bit more), with only United, Chelsea and now City's being bigger, so the only club he's been punching above has been Liverpool... which is hardly an amazing achievement.

amacachi

gnfnrhead wrote: »

Surprised it took so long for this thread to pop up again, was expecting it shortly after the match ended.

Anyway, as has been said, Song is one of the last players that needs to be replaced. The only problem with him is the fact that he appears to be running on empty now. He badly needs a break but injuries have ensured he hasn't had that chance yet. Once Gibbs or (more likely) Santos are back, I'd expect him to be rested every so often with Coquelin playing in his place.

I also don't think sending Frimpong out on loan was a bad idea. He needs more than one or two games every few weeks to develop. He'll get that now. It was just bad timing as we could have done with resting Song for a game or two, playing Frimpong and then sending him on loan.

Song needs a coupla weeks next to a pool.

SlickRic wrote: »

if FFP rules kick in as they should, you'll all see what a genius Wenger is and those of you wanting him gone will promptly ask for forgiveness.

it's not his job to be an accountant, obviously, but he has the club, on that playing budget, punching so far above it's weight it's frightening.

remember, you've been without fully fit full-backs for most of the season, and no Wilshere for all of it.

the only thing that baffles me with Wenger is his blindspot for what is obvious. like the CF problem. the world and it's sister knows that if VP gets injured you're not going to score consistently again. yet he does nothing. you're also without a LB for the forseeable future, yet he does nothing. it's just a bit weird.

they're not sackable offences in terms of Wenger because of all he has achieved at the club. in other words, he has earned the right to sit out his contract as long as he wants considering he's had you in the Champions League every year for over a decade on a shoestring compared to others.

anyone outright calling for a sacking needs to be kicked unceremoniously in the nuts tbh.

someone on another forum i read said it best IMO.

If I thought the FFP rules would make a difference I'd fully agree. Unfortunately judging from the way other teams have been behaving I can't see it happening. Looking at the other teams near the top, United have massive revenues to play with, Liverpool don't but if they were to redevelop or construct a new stadium all the debt involved wouldn't harm them, Spurs are the same. City and Chelsea, I can't work out their game but I'd bet they're smarter than I am.

SlickRic

Chucky the tree wrote: »

There's never a place for sentimentally in football.

so the option is to get Wenger out, throw out the current way the club is run, spunk money on big players, and go the same way other clubs are in terms of being in massive debt?

nobody could do what Wenger is doing currently on that model.

the stadium is paid for. a stadium my club Liverpool, for one, would give their right testicle for. Arsenal are made up for the next decade and more because of what Wenger has done.

you watch, if the FFP rules are enforced as they've been promised to be, Arsenal will be laughing at everyone else, especially Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool and the like, as they struggle to make it work, while Arsenal will have a massive state of the art stadium, bringing in more revenue than anyone (maybe bar Utd), and not be already running at a loss.

clubs have to be operating at a loss of no more than £45m when the FFP rules kick in. City and Chelsea are going to have to do some mighty culling to get that done because of what's been done to their books over the last number of years.

Arsenal are in a fúcking monumental position because of what Wenger has done, and should continue to do. believe it or not, Wenger is running the club closer to how a club should be run in the modern day than anyone. it's the template.

he just started doing it years before anyone else.

i know the modern football fan wants success now, i get that, and Arsenal haven't had a trophy in years, i get that too. but you are guaranteed to be at the top of the food chain for the next 10 years and probably beyond. and that's because of the ability of Arsene Wenger.

and it's a luxury many of the top clubs you see nowadays will not have. there's going to have to be an awful lot of change at a lot of clubs in the next few years if these rules are held up. look at the January just gone. business was down 70%. there's only one reason for that, clubs know they are going to have to comply with these financial rules for the good of the game.

he makes mistakes, yes. he's stubborn at times, yes. his persistence with Walcott's inconsistency is hilarious. his patience with Arshavin's laziness is ridiculous. his inability to change the gameplan when the opposition has his team neutralised is often frustrating. but they're all short-term frustrations compared to the long-term gain that he has earned for the club through his management.

Wenger should have a special knighthood bestowed upon him FFS, not kicked out the door.

Pepe LeFrits

From http://abehnisch.com/comparing-big-club-spending/

Chucky the tree

SlickRic wrote: »

so the option is to get Wenger out, throw out the current way the club is run, spunk money on big players, and go the same way other clubs are in terms of being in massive debt?

nobody could do what Wenger is doing currently on that model.

the stadium is paid for. a stadium my club Liverpool, for one, would give their right testicle for. Arsenal are made up for the next decade and more because of what Wenger has done.

you watch, if the FFP rules are enforced as they've been promised to be, Arsenal will be laughing at everyone else, especially Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool and the like, as they struggle to make it work, while Arsenal will have a massive state of the art stadium, bringing in more revenue than anyone (maybe bar Utd), and not be already running at a loss.

clubs have to be operating at a loss of no more than £45m when the FFP rules kick in. City and Chelsea are going to have to do some mighty culling to get that done because of what's been done to their books over the last number of years.

Arsenal are in a fúcking monumental position because of what Wenger has done, and should continue to do. believe it or not, Wenger is running the club closer to how a club should be run in the modern day than anyone. it's the template.

he just started doing it years before anyone else.

i know the modern football fan wants success now, i get that, and Arsenal haven't had a trophy in years, i get that too. but you are guaranteed to be at the top of the food chain for the next 10 years and probably beyond. and that's because of the ability of Arsene Wenger.

and it's a luxury many of the top clubs you see nowadays will not have. there's going to have to be an awful lot of change at a lot of clubs in the next few years if these rules are held up. look at the January just gone. business was down 70%. there's only one reason for that, clubs know they are going to have to comply with these financial rules for the good of the game.

he makes mistakes, yes. he's stubborn at times, yes. his persistence with Walcott's inconsistency is hilarious. his patience with Arshavin's laziness is ridiculous. his inability to change the gameplan when the opposition has his team neutralised is often frustrating. but they're all short-term frustrations compared to the long-term gain that he has earned for the club through his management.

Wenger should have a special knighthood bestowed upon him FFS, not kicked out the door.

When the FPP kick in will he then stop playing Walcott and Arshavin? Will he start actually buying good players that the team need and start working on a decent formation? No one has a clue, he might still continue down the same path of ****e he is sprinting town at a top rate of speed. His side have lost tons of talent and he's done very little to replace it. RVP could well be gone in the summer and if he is they are up **** creek.

If Wengers problems had only been surfacing for a year or two I'd say give him time but it's been alot longer then that. His team have lacked back-bone and mental toughness for so long and he's never bothered doing anything about it which makes me wonder if he'll ever bother doing anything about Walcott and the various other problems you mention.

KeithAFC

I think a lot of people seem to miss the vital point when it comes to Arsene Wenger and the club at the moment. If you look at the current team, it is a team which will struggle to make the Europa League, never mind Champions League.

The FFP league means nothing because you are trying to predict how it might go but you never know in football. Arsenal are struggling to compete in the now because of bad management from the manager and bad running of the club from the board when it comes to the football side of things.

The board is unambitious and Wenger is not helping with his tactical decisions and the signing of players who lack basic technique. Like Walcott. Wenger built a team which was full of technique in Pires, Ljungberg, Henry, Vieira and so on. Now it is Gervinho, Walcott, Song etc. Players who just aren't up to it.

Fuzzy_Dunlop

KeithAFC wrote: »

The board is unambitious and Wenger is not helping with his tactical decisions and the signing of players who lack basic technique. Like Walcott. Wenger built a team which was full of technique in Pires, Ljungberg, Henry, Vieira and so on. Now it is Gervinho, Walcott, Song etc. Players who just aren't up to it.

Its funny that's the exact opposite complaint as has been made by people in the not two distant past. That we had to many players who only had technical ability e.g Hleb, Rosicky, Nasri etc. The problem essentially is more so that he hasn't replaced the good players that have left with players of an equal or even better quality.

And what is the deal with people listing Song among the likes of Walcott? He's an excellent player for us, just because he's off form at the minute doesn't mean he's ****e.

KeithAFC

At least that team competed for the league title and got into the CL. A completely different level now.

kraggy

Having an awesome stadium is completely useless if fans become disillusioned and refrain from buying season tickets in the next few years.

Also, the point about there being loads of top clubs willing to take him on as manager is irrelevant when the team he's in charge of now is becoming staler and more disinterested with every game.

Morzadec

should at least be given until the end of the season imo, top 4 is still a real possibility for Arsenal.

even then i think it would be a bad move to let him go

LuckyLloyd

SlickRic wrote: »

you watch, if the FFP rules are enforced as they've been promised to be, Arsenal will be laughing at everyone else, especially Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool and the like, as they struggle to make it work, while Arsenal will have a massive state of the art stadium, bringing in more revenue than anyone (maybe bar Utd), and not be already running at a loss.

clubs have to be operating at a loss of no more than £45m when the FFP rules kick in. City and Chelsea are going to have to do some mighty culling to get that done because of what's been done to their books over the last number of years.

Accountants can do magical things to take debt off balance sheets. Particularly for non publicly traded companies.

SlickRic

kraggy wrote: »

Having an awesome stadium is completely useless if fans become disillusioned and refrain from buying season tickets in the next few years.

see IMO, then the fans deserve nothing.

if they're too short-sighted to see the bigger picture, then they don't deserve Wenger at all.

what is happening at Arsenal is far more important than a trophy or 2 right now.

SlickRic

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Accountants can do magical things to take debt off balance sheets. Particularly for non publicly traded companies.

potentially, yes.

i'm not naive enough to think otherwise.

but it's why Wenger has been vocal about these rules being enforced. because he saw this day coming IMO, where clubs running at a massive debt would eventually cause itself to implode.

he will lead the pressure on UEFA if it's not enforced properly.

either way, it doesn't take away from what Wenger has done at all. a fully paid for stadium with top 4 every year for over a decade, and always in the shakeup for trophies?

this doesn't negate his weaknesses tactically, and occasionally with players, but it certainly works a hell of a lot in his favour.

i'd prefer to be in Arsenal's position above pretty much anyone else's in the Premier League.

people who care about their club, want it to be sustainable and definitely exist in its present capacity, and better, for the longterm future should be heralding Wenger as the second coming.

trophies will come. of that i've no doubt. even though it's been 6/7 years.

NinjaK

Nay

I think this thread needs the poll reset!

Frisbee

I'd be happy to sit this out if I was sure UEFA would actually be able to implement their FFP idea. It's not going to happen though, the mega-rich clubs will find loopholes and we'll be stuck as also rans for years to come.

His lack of spending is brilliant considering how consistent we've been making the Top 4, but the times comes when you have to go out and spend a decent chunk of change on a player. His obsession with buying kids and hoping they reach their potential is getting ridiculous at this stage, as his is preference for cheap players who will be adequate rather than class players who could push us to the next level. And his stubborness in persisting with utter dross (Denilson, Chamakh, Almunia, even Arshavin at this stage)

If he could find some sort of middle ground between scrooge and 'SPEND ALL THE MONEYS!' we'd be set.

We're not going to make the CL spots this year. Not with the squad we currently have, it's just not good enough. We lost Wilshere for a looooong time through overplaying him, and the same with Vermaelen the year before. And we're doing the same to Ramsey this year which is retarded considering he's just come back from such a long term injury. Yes you can claim it's hard to buy in January and no-one wants to sell and no player wants to move before the Euros, but we needed to do some business this window, we're short up top and short of quality in the middle outside of our starting trio. But surely there was someone out there who is an upgrade on Rosicky or Diaby.

The board have come out and said they're pretty much ok with missing out on the CL places this year. Whereas last year it was 'a disaster' if we didn't make Top 4. And imo, that's because they know they have the Cesc and Nasri money to offset the CL revenue.

It's great having a busniess model that keeps your head well above water, but at some stage it has to be remembered that a football club isn't just about turning profits, it's also about success on the pitch.

Wenger also isn't making things easy on himself as how the 'Wenger Out' fans view him.

August: "You can't claim you are ambitious or a big club if you sell Nasri and Cesc." - We lost both of them within a couple of weeks.

Start of January: "It would be silly to lose points because we don't have a left back" - 0 poins in the league in January as we didn't have a left back. Wenger wanted a loan and didn't want to buy (which is fair enough). QPR got Taiwo on loan and we sat twiddling our thumbs and gave a trial to some 26 year old left back from the second division in Oman before sending him back to his club and telling him to 'work on the physical part of his game'.

You can pretty much time when he's going to make his subs.

Winger for a winger between 65 + 75 and a forward or midfielder on around 80 depending how the game is going. It's absurd at this tage. Both of our wingers could be having blinders (which I know is nigh on impossible considering Walcott plays runs around and throws píssy little strops for us and you'd still see Arshavin putting down his KFC bucket and waddling off the bench.

When Wenger came into football in England he was amazing as he introduced fitness technology, diets, attractive football etc. Over the years every other manager has adapted the technology and practices and advanced, whereas Arsene is still pretty much the same guy who wandered out of the mystical mists of Japan.

We're a van Persie injury away from missing out on even the Europa League ffs, he's the only one that can score. Every season for the last 5 or 6 Arsenal fans could say: 'We just need a top class <insert position here> and we could really contend.'
However we never bought who we needed and have lost nearly all our good players because of the complete lack of ambition. Can't see too many players being interested in signing for us next year either when all we have to offer is Thursday night football.

Royale with Cheese

Frisbee wrote: »

However we never bought who we needed and have lost nearly all our good players because of the complete lack of ambition.

Unfortunately that's bang on. It's extremely difficult for Wenger to fix the issue as it was mainly caused by not spending when he should have about 3 years ago. Unless he has a time machine I don't see things improving.

Raskolnikov

Nay

I think people are forgetting just how big of a club Arsenal are. In terms of revenue, they are the second biggest club in the UK and the fifth biggest club in Europe.