The Humour Thread **Chat/Discussion = 24 Hour Ban, Mod Notes Post 1 (26/11)

The Curse of the Coats - We need to talk about Arsene
In the myriad of debate over Arsenal's recent on the field issues I feel there is an extremely important factor which has not been addressed. The issue is Arsene Wenger's winter attire.

Arsene Wenger was once a functional coat wearer. He wore a nice windsheeter. Not too big, not too long and it kept the wind and cold at bay while still looking the part.



However over the past couple of years Arsene has grown partial to the 'puffer' coats he sports on a regular basis. This dawdy jacket does him no favours. It looks terrible and he seems engulfed in it, powerless to give tactics or implement changes. It needs to go.



Its no coincidence that Arsenal's annual run of bad form happens as the weather gets colder, and thus the jacket comes out of the wardrobe. Would as a player find inspiration in a tough moment looking at someone who looks like a child in their father's jacket? I think not. I'm going to present further evidence of how the slide into unstylishness leads to a slide in results.

Example 1; Roy Hodgson. Here he is at Liverpool. He looks bad. He looks like a man isolated and lost in a big coat while carnage transpires around him, lost in the fog of war that is the English Premier league.


Now compare that with Roy as he took over Inter Milan. Roy looks slick, he looks motivated and he gained instant respect of the Italian people with his cool cream coat. I see a clear link between style and success.


Example 2; Kenny Dalglish managing Blackburn to a league title.


Kenny looks stylish, like he knows how to manage and generally looks the part. Unfortunetly for Liverpool, Kenny lost this by the time he was back managing Liverpool recently and he showed how much he too enjoyed functionality over asthetics.



Kenny looks bemused and doesn't look confident in himself. He looks like a man on whom age has taken its toll. Its no surprise that Ferguson has got even better and looks younger than ever before since he ditched the horrific club jacket and began to sport a slick black overcoat.



As a whole the argument is compelling. Those that wear a neat and tidy jacket do well. Men like Mancini, Mourinho, Fergusona and Guardiola all turn out natty in winter. The look well, they dress well and they manage well. The key however is not to overstep the mark. Phil Brown demonstrates here how not to look like a proper manager.



Essentialy Wenger needs to move away from the puffer coats. They do him no favours. If Wenger can do that, he will go a long way towards rectifying Arsenal's problems. It is all well and good talking about board this and selling club that, but as far as I'm concerned, if you don't look the part you're not gonna act the part.

As a final note, I'm going to leave an example of what Wenger, and indeed the whole male world, needs to do over winter. Dress well, look the part and you've half the job done. As Oscar Wilder once said; "“Looking good and dressing well is a necessity." Arsene Wenger would do well to remember over the upcoming Winter months.