Another season draws to a close. A season that had begun with the fans believing anything was possible is ending with blatant dissatisfaction among many of the supporters and a vociferous  angry minority demanding the departure of Wenger.

As a long-term supporter, it is difficult not to be amused by the appearance of the gathering anger clouds. A storm in a Carling or FA cup perhaps. In today’s money driven football world, both of these competitions are regarded as second-rate by the top cubs. Somehow, despite lacking the prestige  of years past,  they have assumed an importance in supporters minds far in excess of their actual worth.  A pot is a pot in the fans eyes;  whilst any pot other than the league or CL is insufficient return on investment as far as the board is concerned.

So what do we think the directors require of Arsene Wenger? Well, the Champions League is of course where it’s at, anything else is nowhere. Top four in the premiership is the specific target, first would be nice, top three preferable, but top four critical and non negotiable. Miss that and unless you win the CL itself, the manager’s position might just become less secure.

So how to achieve that? A squad reorganisation is inevitable, two or three players in, with probably half a dozen or more moved on from a mixture of,  the first team squad, loanees and reserves. Some big names I fear will be among those that leave, as Arsene raises the money to refresh the squad from outside.

We all have our ideas as to who should come and go and the shopaholic’s fury will know no bounds if in their enlightened opinion insufficient money is made available, to fulfill their expectations. After all, they will say, ticket prices have gone up and the debt gone down and yet,  the board,  still pleads poverty.

Expect then, demands from this section of the clubs supporters that we must enthusiastically embrace our Red and White Russian. Who is not only  the companies second biggest shareholder, but  has again this week reiterated his earnest desire to strengthen the squad, by making sufficient money available immediately, to provide Arsene with the financial clout to compete on more equal terms for  the big new players, in the upcoming close season bunfight. These  players are the stuff of  fans dreams at present, necessary as they see it for the success they crave, but way beyond our reach in the current scheme of things.

The price for our Knight in shining armours largesse?  Just the seat on the board he feels his investment deserves.  And why not? After all, he is, according to the Sunday Times rich list, the second richest man in the country. Why, they will say, don’t we take his money as others have done and are doing from their foreign benefactors? The antipathy of the board towards both that suggestion and the gentleman concerned will lead to interesting times I feel.

Strange then that not so long ago Kroenke our new American owner himself was told he was not welcome by our illustrious chairman and now owns 62% of the shares and a seat on the board. So the board itself faces a fight from without it seems  and how that will turn out is anybody’s guess.

The upcoming transfer window will, I think, be hectic, as our main rivals spread their millions around. The challenge for them all, is the same as ours, a top four minimum finish with the financial rewards it generates and the self-sufficiency that brings.

With the added proviso of course, that  for City and Chelski it is a little different, as winning the CL is the  avowed personal goal of their owners for which they are prepared to pay regardless of cost.

This is not to say that Arsene and the board do not want to win it. Of course they do, desperately, but must do so within the confines of a sustainable budget and with an eye for the financial future.

Not what most fans want to hear I fear. But regardless of the propaganda the club’s publicity department feeds to the market place, the bottom line is, like it or not, that it happens to be the truth.

Written by dandan

Written by Wonderman

I’m not going to waste time with a calm orderly build up to the match proceedings followed by detailed analysis of each half and an ending. In a nutshell Villa came to the grove (not for the first time in recent seasons ) with a game plan. Not only did they have a game plan, but they executed it perfectly, accompanied by our continued dose of defendinitus.

I was having problems getting the team news on my phone, so was a little surprised when I finally got to my seat to see Squillaci and Gibbs starting as well as the welcoming sight of TV. I must admit I wondered to myself about the wisdom of having a centre back who hadn’t played for 8 months and another who hadn’t played in a while in the centre of your defence with a player like Darren Bent lurking, but I dismissed it.

I was also still mulling over the scenes I had seen outside the stadium with the chants of ‘Hill Wood Out’ ‘We want our Arsenal back’ and ‘We hope you choke on your caviar’ that were being sung by quite a few fans at the roundabout near The Armoury on my way in, especially as when it mattered the Villa fans out sang us for large parts of the game.

10 minutes in Squillaci breaks his defensive line and is completely unaware of Bent’s whereabouts, we don’t press the ball, by the time he realises he is behind him, Bent  has chested the delivery down and nudged it past Szczesny 0-1. Not even 5 minutes later Sagna commits the cardinal sin of full back play by being behind his centre back’s  line therefore playing in Bent again  to slot through Szczesny’s legs  0-2 game over. We hadn’t started at all and Villa were nullifying both Sagna and Gibbs. Walcott and Arshavin couldn’t get in the game and we kept misplacing passes. Yes we had a shout for a penalty against Ramsey and we hit the post, but the first half was lethargic and one dimensional.

At half time the players were roundly booed off the pitch.

In the second half Squillaci was replaced by Chamakh with Song dropping into CB. The first few minutes saw a spark of urgency, but that soon fizzled out once Villa settled themselves, Chamakh had what looked like a perfectly good goal ruled out for a push and Van Persie continued his scoring run to make it 2-1.

But we have some real issues at our beloved. From my perspective when you have more enthusiastic chanting outside the stadium, than in it some of our fans need to look at themselves. Especially when the stadium rang out to the chorus of

“ 6% you’re having a laugh !!” several times. By the time the game finished and the players did their parade of appreciation the stadium was half empty ( not to say there were anywhere near the 60,000 that was announced in attendance ). But the most concerning thing for me was witnessing fans almost coming to blows because one guy decided to boo the players on their walk of appreciation to the exception of quite a few around him.

I am not a fan of booing my own players, because as someone who has ran several teams myself (albeit several levels below Arsenal) over the years. I can’t think of a less effective motivation tool

I understand the frustration of thousands but I believe we are turning our club into a Roman  amphitheatre…we have a critical summer ahead of us .

Written by Harry

{What if Wenger says  ‘Cela, Je Pars’, that’s it I am leaving}

It’s August 2015, 4 seasons since Wenger was hounded out of his beloved Arsenal, by the Black Scarf Brigade, after falling short of another trophy in a 6 year continual spell……

It was a bleak period in Arsenals History, empty stadia and trophy cabinets again left fans and club with little post season cheer, only staving off relegation on the last game of the 2014/15 season. But how did it get this bad?????

When the season had ended in 2010/11, Wenger had vowed to continue and show he could turn it around, but a section of dissenters had upstaged the final game of the season with a pre-match protest primarily aimed at the hike in season ticket prices, but in turn this was hijacked by the Arsène Must Go Boys, Arsenal fans turned on Arsenal fans……Arsenals standing was at rock bottom…..

At first, Arsène rose above it all, but after he returned from a 3week break on a sunny isolated beach somewhere in the Mediterranean, recommended by a close Canadian source, he called a press conference……Transfers in, everybody thought?

No good news, it was a shock announcement, he had come to a conclusion that he felt that the pressure to deliver a trophy would always hinder what he was trying to achieve and build and that the Black Scarf Brigade were  becoming too vocal…..They had been at the airport awaiting his return….Je Pars……!!  Wenger retired from Football altogether…..

With Arsène’s shock resignation and complete departure from the club, a replacement was sought, just before the start of the 2011/12 season the appointment of Louis Van Gaal who had been released from his contract by Bayern Munich was announced….

Renewed optimism, Black scarfs were thrown away, the red and white mighty Arsenal were back in their 125^th Anniversary year………The dissenters who craved change had got their way……

LVG only had a few weeks to deal with transfers, Fabregas had gone to Barca, Nasri to Inter Milan, both citing Wenger’s departure as too much, although Cesc had already agreed terms before Wengers announcement……

Also on the bus out were Clichy to Juve, Arshavin to Zenit, Bendtner to Munich and Chamakh to Fenerbache……..

Short term solutions were needed, using his dutch connections, in came Van Bommel, Huntelaar and Seedorf, experience pros with a winning mentality……

He tried to get Thomas Mueller from Bayern but was quoted £40million, so he tried for Mario Gomez this needed £30million, LVG’s budget was £20million, so both were out, Huntelaar was best of the rest available……..He did seek to convince Klose, but he chose Man City instead…..they needed a 6^th striker just in case……..

But Arsenal still had Wilshere, Ramsey, Walcott, Van Persie and TV5 amongst others….And also Denilson, who stayed buoyed by Fabregas leaving, Stating he would make the fans forget the Spanish Captain, who he felt was over rated and could himself surpass….

LVG’s team started well, 4 straight wins, but then United came to the Emirates, Van Bommel was sent off by Howard Webb, for a high foot in the chest of Rooney who missed the rest of the season whilst been nursed by Princess Fiona, 10man Arsenal were crushed 4-0…….

Showing little understanding and poor consistency, Arsenal crashed out of CC, FA Cup and CL in the early stages and limped to 6^th in the league, missing the Champions league for the first time in over 10years………The only plus side was that Tottenham finished 7^th, after their season fell apart when their Manager Harry Redknapp was arrested for fraud.

At the end of the 2011/12 season, LVG demanded money to sort out the problems, but again a minimal budget was put forward, he complained that this wasn’t enough and that he wasn’t Arsene Wenger, you need to spend money to stay at the top….Silent Stan sacked him and installed Sven Goran Eriksson as manager…….

His reign was blighted with problems on and off the pitch, Wilshere went to Eastlands and Ramsey back to Cardiff, worse still as off pitch rumours of an affair between Sven and Gunnersaurus were vehemently denied, Sven said he had more than enough dragons in his blackbook…….

Svens reign lasted 3years as Arsenal slipped further down the table, shining lights had left, journey men had come in, Arsenal’s captain, Denilson vowed he would restore Arsenal Pride after staving off relegation at the end of the 2014/15 with the winner from 3yds……that saw Spurs relegated……..

But he didn’t start the next season as Captain, Jack Wilshere returned with a few splinters in his backside after a miserable 2 year spell at the Eastlands Oil Refinery, and that wasn’t the only shock as Dennis Bergkamp was named as Arsenal Manager, after leading Ajax to successive titles and the Champions League final beating Barca 5-3 with total football……

In a statement  he said that he was lured by the chance to restore Arsenal pride and bring back the Wengerball style of football and show truly that it can work and that you must utilise the players from within……

In his first season in charge, Bergkamp took Arsenal to the title and the FA Cup double, followed the next season with the Quadruple………as Arsenal dominated the world of football once more………Bergkamp later revealed in his autobiography, that his inspiration was Wenger, and had indeed sought advice from Arsene throughout his managerial career………

Always remember, the grass is not always greener on the other side………………..

Be careful what you wish for ………..

Written by TotalArsenal

Your dreams are china in your hand…………………..

‘Don’t push too far your dreams are china in your hand’. The lyrics of this well-known, and somewhat tacky song by T’pau in 1987, came to my mind when I read recent comments regarding Arsène Wenger’s position on a variety of Arsenal websites. The song is (roughly) based on what happened to Mary Shelley after she published her world-famous book ‘Frankenstein’. Her enormous success created dissent and jealousy in her marriage and friendship, and in a way, she created her own monster. Are we perhaps pushing our Arsenal dream of winning major titles and being a world force in football too far at the moment?

It seems we have arrived at a crossroads. Most if not all of us, expect Arsenal too push harder for trophies and are not happy with our achievements in recent years. Quite a few are even calling for Arsène’s head as they are unhappy about his recent decisions on players he bought and/or nurtured, his (lack of) tactical nous at times, his chosen style of football etc, etc. However, there are also still a lot of supporters who would like to give Arsene at least another year, and there are even still a few who passionately argue that he has done very well, given the budgetary restraints since we moved to the Emirates, and that there is no problem at all.

Should we aim to push Wenger out, so we can give our desperate dream of winning major trophies another and different impetus? Or, should we be a bit more content with what we have achieved, and trust a man with a great vision to finally deliver the silverware? And, is there a risk we could push too far and too hard and as a result shatter the china once and for all?

What would be the benefits of Arsène Wenger leaving?

• The biggest initial benefit would be that scintillating feeling of a new beginning, of renewed hope. It has been a frustrating few years for most Arsenal fans, caused for a big part by our incredibly high expectations. More and more of us are complaining about the annual ‘Déjà vu’ syndrome. Recent seasons have shown a similar pattern towards the final months: during the course of a few weeks we lose out on all the trophies, and everybody gets depressed again. A new manager, with a few new signings and a few departures would, at least for the time being, fill our hearts with hope again.
• There would probably be fewer arguments, over time, between the pro-Wenger and anti-Wenger brigades: so maybe a bit more harmony between the fans.
• Success cannot be bought automatically, but by recruiting the likes of Guardiola, Mourinho, or Rijkaard our chances of winning trophies would probably increase, although there are no guarantees! And, if we were to attract these kinds of top managers, would the club be prepared/capable to give them the large sums of money they require in order to deliver the coveted trophies?

What would be the risks of Arsène Wenger leaving?

• The biggest risk is that whoever becomes the new manager, does not achieve instant success and we do not qualify for the Champions League in 2012-2013 and, possibly, beyond. Wenger, despite significantly increased competition over recent years, has been a safe pair of hands in keeping us in the CL. As we all know, this is of vital importance both for our finances as well as our ability to hold on to, and recruit, the best players.
• Key players could decide they want to leave when Wenger leaves (to join him at his new club, or just leave).
• We could become pragmatic and result-orientated and our style of football is sacrificed as a result (ok, I am being subjective here, but I am quite sure this will matter to a lot gooners).
• We could become one of the many clubs who keep changing their manager every 1-3 years because it is just not working out (look at Real Madrid, Liverpool, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Milan, Inter etc etc).
• As a result, we could even become a mid-table team who cannot get into the top-4 anymore for a long, long time.

This simple, and quickly produced, and I am sure by no means complete, benefits and risks analysis shows there are simply no guarantees that either Arsene Wenger’s staying or leaving will lead to trophies. In my view, the risks are higher than the benefits, but that does not mean we should not opt for change. We could take the risk just to make us feel better, and push our dream to the limit: all or nothing? But be aware, that if the dream gets shattered it could take a long, long time before we will be up there again. We could be on our way to producing our own ‘monster’.

Or we could stick with what we have and give Arsène Wenger one more chance, back off a bit, and let him complete his mission. Nobody puts more pressure on Arsène then he does himself, and recent adversity will only help him to focus on what needs changing to make the final step to success. Personal growth, managerial achievements and trophies for the club do not only depend on the manager’s ability to develop a vision, to lead and to dominate (which Arsène has in abundance), but occasional doubt, humility and willingness to make changes are just as important.

I am absolutely convinced that, after a short period of reflection and consultation with key people inside our club, he will make significant changes this summer.

A few weeks ago, I was adamant that Arsène should go: that it was time for change. Having thought hard and long about it, I now believe we should wholeheartedly give him another crack at the whip.

TotalArsenal.

I sat down in front of the game at 14.05 (kick off times are getting stranger and stranger), with a sense of optimism. I know that’s my default setting but I had good reason. We had got the monkey off our backs by beating ManYoo at home, right? A clean sheet against the league leaders last time and our superior record on the road this season led me to believe that we could get something. Stoke would also be preoccupied with their forthcoming date with destiny at Wembley, wouldn’t they?

A first half where we dominated possession, but failed to hit the target when we chanced a shot, and ended up going in at half-time 2 goals down ensued. There was, as always, some attractive link play with some individual flourishes, but in the end our performance was cosmetic, Stoke’s was surgical. There were positives: Arshavin trying to tackle back and RvP leading the line with spirit spring to mind but as the game wore on an image started to form… Stoke were playing like George Graham’s Arsenal side on their Cup Winner’s Cup run. They won every tackle, every aerial ball and shepherded our players back away from the danger zones. The team defended as a unit and wasted little time in turning defence into attack. And we had nothing to offer as a riposte, no tactics, no spirit. We couldn’t even muster a man on the near post for the set piece that led to their first goal!

Second half and Wenger brings on both Bendtner and Chamakh for Arshavin and Ramsey respectively. A bold move from the manager, who I have often urged to make earlier subs. But the combination of these two with RvP has yet to work in any game it has been tried and it smacked of desperation. And so it came to pass, or rather, we failed to pass well in the second half, conceding possession and trying to play Stoke at their own game. The futility of this approach got me seething as every dead ball situation was wasted, crosses didn’t reach their targets and Stoke cut out every threat with determination.

A lot has been said about Stoke’s approach to football, but what I saw was a far better team than the Allardyce-esque team of last season. They are confident, well-organised, neat and efficient. They can play ball to feet or in the air and allow very few risks to their own goal whilst causing our defence a real headache or two… from Pennant, Jones and Walters in particular, all of whom got on the scoresheet. I, personally, was filled with a hateful admiration of their strength and their belief in their game plan- I supported a team very like it 18 years ago!

Throwing yet more caution to the wind, the renowned game changer Tomas Rosicky came on for Alex Song in the 80th minute and shortly afterwards our best player on the day was finally played into enough space to score from just to the right of the penalty spot. “Thank the gods for Robin Van Persie”, I thought, hoping against hope that we could turn it on in the final 10 minutes. With that hope rekindled, I turned back to the screen to see Djourou floundering against Walters in our own box and instantly restoring the 2 goal advantage. Hope shattered, and so did my chair which will be kindling itself now I’ve kicked it to pieces!

I turned it off and walked out into the sunshine in disgust. If anything of note happened after that, please let me know in the comments. I had a fury towards this team that I cannot quite rationalize. Why should I be so upset when the actual result of the game was unlikely to mean anything? I put it down to 3 reasons:

Firstly, the team whose style of play I actually identified with was the opposition’s. I understood their formation, their strategy and desire. Their mentality was admirable and they played as a team with a common sense of purpose. Someone in the comments yesterday said that if we had Shawcross and Huth at CB we would have won the league. I am not sure that is the case. Neither of those players are better that JD and Kozzer in my view. The difference was the coaching they have received and the “no-one shall pass us” mentality that has been instilled.

Secondly, our team’s style of play- with heads dropping once the first goal went in- with the emphasis on individual skill and “trying to play football” yet getting turned over by a proper team of (less skillful) professionals reminded me of a team I have always hated. Yep, you’ve guessed it, they who shall not be named from down the road. We cannot continue in this vein. We are The Arsenal. We are in the business of winning games. The result is more important than the manner in which it is achieved. Were it the other way round, we’d go weak at the knees for players wearing lillywhite! (If we can win with style, so much the better and I will always be grateful to our current manager for having managed to do so for so long, but…)

Finally, it was evident from the way the players communicated with the referee and the way their heads dropped that we have a “victim culture” developing in the dressing room. This has got to stop. The worst tackles yesterday were perpetrated by OUR players, yet from the almost whinging way some of our players pleaded with the referee I discern that they felt it was the other way round. It was not a dirty game yesterday, but you could see that some of our players were saying to themselves. “not fair” like sulky teenagers.

I am angry, and I am sure it will pass. It always does. I love the club but the tactics in particular, and the heart and determination in general HAVE to improve. This is The Arsenal and THAT wasn’t good enough!

Written by CarlitoII