With no-one volunteering to write a match report following yesterday’s last game of the season at Craven Cottage it seems the disinterest in the final moments of our season have been cemented in silence. To finish fourth after being second for most of the season is hard to swallow.

The 2010/2011 season is over, we can file it away as another trophy less one and hopefully move on to the next with hope in our hearts. We do need some changes in our team in order to feel any kind of positivity and although the spin is 50/50 at the moment whether Arsene Wenger will spend money or not we have to hope that the shortcomings will be addressed sooner rather than later.

The question of Cesc staying or going needs to be solved early – if he goes there will be money to spend but if he stays how will that permeate through the team? Many of us said last summer that having him was stay was better than letting him go but we have felt all season that he may have not really had his heart in it. If he stays should he be captain? How will his team-mates feel about another summer of will he/won’t he? Could all be academic of course.

The management must be worried about how poorly the team have faired in the last ten games, dropping points as if it really didn’t matter. The worry that this team could not be motivated to succeed when it mattered must be sorted.

Hopefully some new blood will help to get the mojo back into our squad and we have many weeks to debate and get excited about who we would like those players to be. In addition there’ll be much drawing up of wish lists of who should be moved on.

The transfer window doesn’t open until the 1st July and we know that we’re at the back of the queue as far as spending serious amounts of money goes and that’s why I feel it would be good to know about Cesc early on, if we can get £35-40m for him that’s money to spend.

It would be nice to think that Arsene will treat himself to a holiday but we know from the worry lines on his face that probably even that might not help.

Hopefully we’ll have some good news to cheer us up quite soon but until then feel free to be as positive or negative as the mood takes you.

See you in the comments

Peachesgooner

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 ………..