Arsenal Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2011/2012

Frisbee · 16-01-2012 5:12pm

Underground wrote: »

Jaysus,2 defeats in a row and the "Wenger Out" brigade shows up already,madness.

People can criticise Wenger without saying they want him to leave.

No way in hell I want him gone but he's managed pretty much every one of the last six transfer windows woefully. He continuously goes for the cheapest possible option that will do just enough instead of going out, spending some real money and turning us into actual contenders. And now having done that year after year we now need to go blow a wad of cash just to have a go at fourth place as opposed to the title.

TimeToShine · 16-01-2012 5:32pm

Galvasean wrote: »

In the spirit of the times let my first post here say....

WE'RE DOOMED!!! :eek:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USHHQRodF88

Fuzzy_Dunlop · 16-01-2012 6:25pm

Wenger certainly deserves a large proportion of blame for the lack of signings needed (and quality) but an equal amount of the blame needs to be directed towards the board imo.

It seems like the board have restricted spending and let Wenger out on his own to an extent to deal with the ire of fans. Certainly this is the impression I get from the opinions of journalists who cover Arsenal and other people who have close dealing with the club.

The wage bill is quite high as some have mentioned but is Wenger even involved in that side of things anymore? And even if the wage bill is as high as our competitors, the actual transfer spending is far and away lower than any of our rivals. There should be plenty of money there to spend on transfers, so basically it comes down to why it's not being spent, and what will it take for us to spend it? (probably the fear of missing 4th)

Marty McFly · 16-01-2012 9:12pm

Ill admit I have been one of Wengers biggest critic in recent times, but its only because I dont see fourth place in the league as being satisfactory for a club of Arsenals stature, we should be aiming for 1st. Now we can all speculate on whos responsible for our transfer policy be it Wenger or the board well never know for sure until someone speaks out, but either way we can all agree theres a problem there.

My biggest gripe with Wenger is for the last few years we have not lived by his footballing philosophy and played attractive football, weve become flat and predictable in our style of play to the point were many a team now has us figured out and we have no plan b when it doesnt work.

Also were is the drive from the players he puts out onto the pitch we go behind all you see is heads dropping no fighting spirit at all no passion for the club, only one player springs to mind really from the current crop and thats Szczesny, were are the the days of Martin Keown in Van Nistelrooys face after missing a peno, the like of Vieira who never gave up and would do his best to get the team going again.

Its a managers job to pick the tactics and implement them, and to motivate his players so they have a desire to win at all costs, thats were he has failed Arsenal and the supporters. Yes you could say we havent got them type of players anymore leaders but that still falls on Wengers door.

Now im hoping he can turn it around and prove me wrong in fact id be delighted if he could but ive lost faith at this stage in his ability to do so. But if he does ill hold my hands up and say fair play. I say give him till the end of the season and see what happens no point calling for his head mid season.

GeorgeBailey · 16-01-2012 9:54pm

Frisbee wrote: »

We need two more players before the window closes or we'll be playing on Thursdays next season.

And of course the worst thing about that is that we could no longer call them Spursdays

Drexel · 16-01-2012 10:20pm

Have to agree with bulmers above about the lack drive and determination been shown by the players. Heads drop far to easily. The players are responsible for this but wenger has to take blame also. He just doesnt seem to be able to motivate them. Part of the problem i reckon is players seeing arsenal as a stepping stone to barca, city and other clubs like them and dont really give two ****s about arsenal in the long run

Fuzzy_Dunlop · 16-01-2012 10:29pm

jonny666 wrote: »

Have to agree with bulmers above about the lack drive and determination been shown by the players. Heads drop far to easily. The players are responsible for this but wenger has to take blame also. He just doesnt seem to be able to motivate them. Part of the problem i reckon is players seeing arsenal as a stepping stone to barca, city and other clubs like them and dont really give two ****s about arsenal in the long run

This is a fair point. Too many players that just seem to accept it if they're losing. The only players that I can think of that aren't like that are szczesny, vermaelen, jack, Koscielny and RVP.

the untitled user · 16-01-2012 10:38pm

This whole 'club of Arsenal's stature' stuff is something I don't fully get. You do realize that over the course of Arsenal's history they've had some successful periods, and some not so successful periods. And on average the wait between successful periods is around 7 seasons*.

Arsenal are only a big club in the modern sense because Wenger made them into one. Could have easily gone the way of the other sleeping giants i.e. Leeds, Villa etc. Fair enough we might do better with a new face but don't bite the hand that feeds and all that.

*: the wait between major trophies when we've gone 2 seasons or more without winning one, that's adjusted for WWII btw.

greendom · 16-01-2012 10:55pm

the untitled user wrote: »

This whole 'club of Arsenal's stature' stuff is something I don't fully get. You do realize that over the course of Arsenal's history they've had some successful periods, and some not so successful periods. And on average the wait between successful periods is around 7 seasons*.

Arsenal are only a big club in the modern sense because Wenger made them into one. Could have easily gone the way of the other sleeping giants i.e. Leeds, Villa etc. Fair enough we might do better with a new face but don't bite the hand that feeds and all that.

*: the wait between major trophies when we've gone 2 seasons or more without winning one, that's adjusted for WWII btw.

I think he's been a victim of his own success - both in how you describe above and in that when he came to England he revolutionised so much thinking in football. Before too long though clubs were copying his regimes and his scouting networks and its become harder and harder for him to keep his competitive edge. It hurts me to say this but maybe things do need freshening up a bit and Arsene should be moved upstairs to let a fresher face with new ideas take over.

Having said that the board will need to freshen up their ideas too and loosen those purse strings a little. I'm not talking Man City levels but surely if they'd been a bit bolder we'd be in a much better position now.

Drexel · 16-01-2012 10:57pm

the untitled user wrote: »

This whole 'club of Arsenal's stature' stuff is something I don't fully get. You do realize that over the course of Arsenal's history they've had some successful periods, and some not so successful periods. And on average the wait between successful periods is around 7 seasons*.

Arsenal are only a big club in the modern sense because Wenger made them into one. Could have easily gone the way of the other sleeping giants i.e. Leeds, Villa etc. Fair enough we might do better with a new face but don't bite the hand that feeds and all that.

*: the wait between major trophies when we've gone 2 seasons or more without winning one, that's adjusted for WWII btw.

a club that charges the most expensive ticket prices and has one of the biggest staduims in England should aspire to more then scraping a CL place each year. Especially with our most successfuly manager still in charge

the untitled user · 16-01-2012 11:14pm

jonny666 wrote: »

a club that charges the most expensive ticket prices and has one of the biggest staduims in England should aspire to more then scraping a CL place each year. Especially with our most successfuly manager still in charge

One of the reasons the ticket prices are so expensive though is because they overpaid massively for the land in order to stay in Islington (not only did they have to over pay the council for land used by a refuse centre, but they had to fund the acquisition and construction of a replacement location). I know that wont mean much to your average oversea fan like me, but the extent to which the club overstretched themselves to accomodate their local fan base has to be acknowledged.

All I'm trying to point out btw is that things are never as black and white as the average fan likes to think. An awful lot more tends to go into those decisions than the whims of an invidual.

greendom · 16-01-2012 11:32pm

I'm beginning to think we do all our shopping at Poundland or the local second hand shop

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2086419/Saad-Al-Mukhaini-arrives-Arsenal-trial.html

greendom · 16-01-2012 11:43pm

Here's some better news though. Wilshere could be back early Feb and Vermaelen and Sagna could be back for Man U. Sagna wouldn't start though, would he ? Not after 4 months out.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2087559/Arsenals-Jack-Wilshere-return-February-4-EXCLUSIVE.html

Could be losing Botelho though - thanks to his own stupidity

L'prof · 16-01-2012 11:56pm

greendom wrote: »

Could be losing Botelho though - thanks to his own stupidity

This is his 5th season on loan, he's hardly up to much!

L'prof · 17-01-2012 12:03am

Looks like we're offering van Persie trials to prove his worth.

gosplan · 17-01-2012 12:13am

Christ Samba hands in transfer request.

I'm not a massive fan of Samba, think he's been overhyped but he'd defo add to the squad. I know people will say you don't need another CB but in reality we could always use one.

Verm will see more time on the left wing in the near future methinks and we can't always rely on both Mert and Kos to be fit. I mean, he probably would have played yesterday if we had him.

Also, he'd be our second best striker.

tayto lover · 17-01-2012 12:17am

jonny666 wrote: »

Have to agree with bulmers above about the lack drive and determination been shown by the players. Heads drop far to easily. The players are responsible for this but wenger has to take blame also. He just doesnt seem to be able to motivate them. Part of the problem i reckon is players seeing arsenal as a stepping stone to barca, city and other clubs like them and dont really give two ****s about arsenal in the long run

That comes from lack of success. If they experienced success they would want more and fight harder a la Man Utd and Chelsea. Their players don't lie down and accept defeat like ours do. Their manager won't accept that kind of mentality so when they do lose they nearly always bounce back straight away. Arsenal need to win something but to do that you need a good panel of players who are prepared to knuckle down and fight when up against it. We don't have those players because our great manager and Board are happy with mediocrity it seems. As long as profits are being made who cares about the fans.

greendom · 17-01-2012 12:21am

gosplan wrote: »

Christ Samba hands in transfer request.

I'm not a massive fan of Samba, think he's been overhyped but he'd defo add to the squad. I know people will say you don't need another CB but in reality we could always use one.

Verm will see more time on the left wing in the near future methinks and we can't always rely on both Mert and Kos to be fit. I mean, he probably would have played yesterday if we had him.

Also, he'd be our second best striker.

Would have preferred him to Metersacker, truth be told. He certainly would have been more effective when he has to go in the opposing penalty area. It's a possibility I suppose if Squillaci does clear off to Monaco and they are mad enough to pay money for him.

Galvasean · 17-01-2012 12:31am

greendom wrote: »

I'm beginning to think we do all our shopping at Poundland or the local second hand shop

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2086419/Saad-Al-Mukhaini-arrives-Arsenal-trial.html

Wow, a player so obscure it was easier to find a picture of the guy who scouted him! :pac:

Underground · 17-01-2012 12:35am

Frisbee wrote: »

People can criticise Wenger without saying they want him to leave.

No way in hell I want him gone but he's managed pretty much every one of the last six transfer windows woefully. He continuously goes for the cheapest possible option that will do just enough instead of going out, spending some real money and turning us into actual contenders. And now having done that year after year we now need to go blow a wad of cash just to have a go at fourth place as opposed to the title.

Not saying he's above criticism or anything like that, of course he deserves a fair share of criticism for his part in what has been a disappointing season thus far.

Just can't see how we could get someone better, who could do any better given the financial restraints. I can understand his reluctance to spend as pretty much everyone decent is overpriced in January and the 2 record signings in Arshavin and Reyes both turned out to be disappointing.
Plus,he's hardly helped by some lacklustre performances á la Arshavin and Ramsey yesterday.

Galvasean · 17-01-2012 2:11am

Galvasean wrote: »

Book those tickets!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/16567387.stm

edit: Perhaps Kanu will be the next arsenal old boy to be brought back?

Actually, anyone else think Wenger responded to one of those 'Rich king of Nigeria' emails? :pac:

DB10 · 17-01-2012 3:05am

Mike Dean refereeing on Sunday ffs
Awful referee, loves United. Never forget that game where he sent Wenger off for kicking the water bottle. He also booked 8 of our players when we hadnt a bad foul and let Fletcher make 10 fouls and no booking. Was seething after.

Always Mike Dean, Dowd or Webb when we play United. The 3 most pro United referees. UGH UGH UGH

DB10 · 17-01-2012 3:10am

On another note I think we will beat United Sunday. Whats that you say Mr Negative being positive?

Well it reminds me exactly of the game last season against them. We were in such a terrible run, chaos and most importantly played them at home, that it was bound to happen.

We will beat them but sadly don't be surprised if we lose to Spurs and/or Bolton in the next few games. Thats the way we roll, thats why its the most frustrating team to support, one step forward ten backwards.

Anyway even with the injuries, Wenger off his rocker, the team playing ****e, the fans baying for blood, and United hammering us with 8 goals a few months back and with their no 12 Mike Dean togging out, WE WILL WIN.

Galvasean · 17-01-2012 3:17am

Well DB10, if we don't win I am holding you personally responsible!

17-01-2012 3:25am

DB10, Have you been on the Sherry? :P

DB10 · 17-01-2012 3:59am

Wait and see lads! :pac:

None of us thought we would win against Chelsea but we really turned the predictions on their head there.

I think in alot of these big games it comes down to on the day and what luck you get. United are comfortably better than us but they were last season also, and we won the match.

I just have that feeling again, surely the players have to have some pride or dignity in the jersey, we just lost two shockers against Fulham and Swansea, nevermind the humiliation United already gave us.

If the players aren't motivated for this game then I give up, but I just think they will be. We are capable of winning this game one off.

amacachi · 17-01-2012 4:02am

Rosicky has to start against United.

Noo · 17-01-2012 8:52am

amacachi wrote: »

Rosicky has to start against United.

Never thought you'd say that ay?

keano_afc · 17-01-2012 9:25am

gosplan wrote: »

Christ Samba hands in transfer request.

I'm not a massive fan of Samba, think he's been overhyped but he'd defo add to the squad. I know people will say you don't need another CB but in reality we could always use one.

Verm will see more time on the left wing in the near future methinks and we can't always rely on both Mert and Kos to be fit. I mean, he probably would have played yesterday if we had him.

Also, he'd be our second best striker.

We could do with some divine intervention alright

gosplan · 17-01-2012 9:26am

amacachi wrote: »

Rosicky has to start against United.

do you mean

Gah, rosicky has to start :mad:

or...

look lads, Rosicky has to start vrs united

Arsenal Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2011/2012

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