A Goodplaya reader says…
PERHAPS this is just lazy blogging, but these are the words of one poster on my message board yesterday. Leaving aside the compliments (always welcome), I think the words worth reading.
MexicanWave
18 November 2008 at 3:13 pm
“First, thanks to Goodplaya for the blog. Always interesting. The same can’t be said for many of the comments here. For a team who aspire to play - and still can play - beautiful football, we’ve got a surprising number of bottom feeders (in a fish sense) who claim to be Arsenal supporters. Why don’t you take yourselves up the road? That’s the team you deserve and which deserves you.
“Come on. We are the Arsenal. Anyone out there who stood on the North Bank throughout the mid 1970s and early-mid 1980s? After Wenger, as fans, we’ve been spoiled. It’s been a blast. And it still is. Last season was wonderful, until the Birmingham game. This season we’ve had Fenerbahce away, Mancs at home, and the two Carling Cup games, which (for you ‘big time’ fans) were pure joy to be at. OK it looks like this season in the long haul we are going to suffer, but we should still believe there’s going to be some beautiful moments. We’re not going to win the Premiership (and come on, who among us, looking at our squad at the start of the season, really thought we would?) but we could still go some in the cups. If we sort a few problems out.
“First, we have players in our squad who are just not Arsenal. Gallas, Silvester, this season’s Adebayor. I don’t think these guys should be wearing the shirt. For me, Cesc and Clichy are pure Arsenal. Don’t drive them away. Support them through a bad patch because these guys are Arsenal through and through.
“Second, our team is unbalanced, crucially, in the middle of the field. Say what you will about Hleb, but him and Cesc and the Flamster played superbly together. We need to find that balance again. And if Wenger isn’t prepared to put Ramsey and Wilshere into that mix, then he’s just got to go out and buy someone, the missing piece to pull it together. Denilson is trying and he’s not a bad player, but at the moment the partnership with Cesc isn’t working, it isn’t winning us games. Which Cesc, Flam and Diddle did.
“This was not meant to be a transition season, but our defence lost us the title last season, and we didn’t strengthen it. Our midfield is much weaker. So sad as it is to say, this season we just have to see it through and enjoy the beautiful moments. If Wenger can find a way to play Ramsey, Vela and Wilshere in this team, I really think sometime soon we can take off into (ahem) a new dimension. Because those boys can play. Vela in particular - what a player. Some surgery, some new blood, and we’ll be back. Come on, Arsene. Do it.”
19 November 2008 at 10:01 am
Thanks for reposting those comments (from MexicanWave) — I would have missed them and that would have been a shame. Yes there are problems, but we have been spoiled by recent successes and these problems will be resolved in time. If you are patient and take a longer view, then the balanced comments (and those of this and some other blogs) seem about right to me.
There will be some more terrific results this season, but we don’t have consistency. Calling for sackings, giving abuse to players and other Arsenal fans just undermines us from the inside and makes us seem more like other clubs that lack our class.
19 November 2008 at 10:01 am
Have been an Arsenal fan since early seventies so I am well aware of what we were like before the Wenger era. I think even his most ardent detractors would agree that he has revolutionized the team. However, I think what really pisses the fans off is his obstinate rufusal to buy experienced players that everybody (fans, media, rivals) can clearly see we need. He has told us he has the funds, so why doesn’t he spend?? To say that he couldn’t get anybody in is an insult. He had months to do that once he knew Gilberto and the Flamster were leaving. Plus we also lost Diarra in January.
If he came out and said ‘ Look, we haven’t a pot to piss in, we will have to bring in some kids an El cheapo Man u reject until we’ve paid for the stadium’ then personally I wouldn’t have minded at all. It’s the constant ‘we have the spirit’ ‘we lacked sharpness in the final third’ ‘we lacked concentration’ etc bollocks that gets my goat.
19 November 2008 at 10:13 am
excellent post, that last paragraph filled me up a bit, c’mon arsenal!!
19 November 2008 at 10:17 am
But how can a man who has steadfastly refused to play the other teams’ money-pissing-contest suddenly turn round and go back on his principles and spend £30m on a striker? He has built each one of his teams his own way; admittedly, this current crop are the youngest and most volatile but should he not be applauded for sticking to his guns (pun intended)? When he has bought after (in my opinion) being leaned on (cf: Gallas, Silvestre, Baptista) they have not been successful as part of the Arsenal team.
A cohesive team is what he wants; and the best way is for a group of players to come through the ranks together - witness the Carling Cup side. If we admit failure and throw money at the situation, we lose any moral face we may have had in front of Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool. I am happy to admire the work he is doing and accept that there are only so many trophies to go round. I would rather wait and win one the ‘right’ way than get a filthy billionaire to buy us Kaka. Patience is a virtue.
19 November 2008 at 10:18 am
(Sorry, that comment was in response to bobby p’s comment, not the original post which I wholeheartedly agree with - Ramsey, Wilshere and Vela please)
19 November 2008 at 10:34 am
Fourstar, am not talking about buying Kaka or ‘throwing money at the situation’ All i’m advocating is the need to replace players that moved on. Our squad was already thin and needed augmentin, yet we leaked four midfielders (including Diarra in Jan) and didn’t bother replacing. Conversely our three main rivals who had stronger squads anyway added to them. It’s not about patience. Like I said previously, I wouldn’t mind waiting if Wenger had been honest, but to say we can win the league with the current crop is just him not facing reality.
19 November 2008 at 10:43 am
fourstar,
Arsene brought in Vieira, Henry, Ljungberg, Pires, Petit, Gilberto and Lehman, among others. Did they come through the ranks ? Were they not cohesive ? He doesn’t necessarily have to spend big, just cleverly as he’s done in the past. The current first team has some players who are simply not good enough (or strong enough) for the very highest level, so why not reinforce the team now instead of waiting for the next prodigy to develop ? He would stengthen, not weaken, team morale by improving the squad where necessary and giving them a chance of achieving something.
19 November 2008 at 10:55 am
As recently as Summer 2007 the manager identified a weakness in the team and brought in Sagna. He must realise our weaknesses and know that we have to strengthen in January before the experiment falls apart.
19 November 2008 at 11:06 am
I take both your points but this summer he clearly thought he had the players to fill the gaps. He’s not an idiot; however, he is also not infallible and he may have been mistaken. I agree that we need to have a stronger and bigger squad, I just think he would rather they came from within. We’re all disappointed they (so far) haven’t.
So if we’re asking, who would /you/ shell out for in January?
19 November 2008 at 11:18 am
It is not wenger. The board must go. Yes the players as well as wenger must take a look at themselves but the board are not showing any great leadership qualities for not coming out to protect wenger in his most diffulct time. He has always shielded attention from the board intelligently and looks to be taking all the blame now. Do not let us kill wenger for his ways at times. Let us all see through the smokescreen and point the finger at the real culprits, the board. It is about time they sell up. There’s nothing they can do for arsenal any longer in my eyes. The need for change is not manger or players but the board. I hope all arsenal supporters share my view. The board out!! too old fashioned and behind in time
19 November 2008 at 11:55 am
As fans we want Wenger to be as candid as we are and want him to confirm that he agrees with us. The problem is he has a bigger agenda than just making us feel better. We all know he wanted to bring in an experienced central midfielder and that a deal was on the table for Alonso on transfer deadline day. It didn’t happen and we are where we are.
Wenger can either say that he is great faith in Denilson, Song and Diaby and try to build up their confidence or he can say he wished he could have got Alonso and that what we’ve currently got isn’t good enough. The latter will make us all happy because we can all say “Aha, that’s what I’ve been saying” but what will it actually do for the three players who are trying to fill that gap? Even towards the end of the summer when Wenger was clearly pursuing a new midfielder he continued to say that if he didn’t get one he was more than happy with what he had.
What’s more is that the failure to land the players we wanted was a failure but as always we do our deals behind closed doors so we don’t know how many players we were in for; how far the deals had progressed, or why they ultimately fell through. Clearly the gap at CEO is not helping but if Wenger had three players in mind and made decent offers for all of them and didn’t get them because their clubs refused to sell then what can you do? Sometimes it just doesn’t happen.
We all need to stop wanting Wenger to come out and say things just to please us. He has a job to do. He knows whats wrong, he isn’t a fool and I’m certain he will try to put it right. Until January we have the players we have and we need to do our utmost to support them.
19 November 2008 at 12:03 pm
@Pete: Well said.
19 November 2008 at 2:41 pm
great blog article, great discussion! None of the extremes of the AKB or AKN types (Arsene Knows Brigave v. Arsene Knows Nothing).
19 November 2008 at 3:07 pm
The Mexican Wave was spot on.
19 November 2008 at 3:33 pm
Yes this team has personnel problems, but the biggest problem would appeat to be in their mental attitude. I know Man Utd missed several good chances but then so did we, but with a good attitude and willingness to work hard we beat them. It is not excusable the following week to lower the effort level because the opposition is not deemed to be so good.
This has happened too many times already this season. We really miss not only the work rate of Flamini but the organisation and drive he provided in the middle. He did this all game like a policeman directing traffic at a busy junction. This does not come from the captain during a match and there is no natural leader in the current team.
I must also add that Cesc is one of the most important players in our team, how stupid was it to let his 3 best friends leave last Summer, especially when 2 of them were key to how he performs. I am sure that Nasri will be better than Hleb, but to let them all go at the same time was crazy. How many of us now wish Senderos was back, every little mistake of his was villified, but compared to the defending this year he was a star.
What makes the fans so upset is that we can see the potential is there, we are frustrated that the manager does not fix the small things that could make this team great. We don’t need a superstar, just a workaholic midfielder who can drive the team on and maybe a centre back and a replacement for Almunia! Not much to ask.
19 November 2008 at 3:52 pm
To the tune of that “o-le o-le o-le o-le” song.
Car-los … Car-los ..Car-los..Car-los
Vay-la … Vay-la
Car-los … Car-los ..Car-los..Car-los
Vay-la … Vay-la
Who’s with me? Let’s have a little fun, how ’bout and celebrate that we’re not f’ing Tottenham.
19 November 2008 at 6:52 pm
have you noticed how everyones really thinking about what to write in the hope goodplaya decides to publish it as his main thread? no? me either.
bobby p and anyone else,
what really gets to me and the majority of us is the fact we went from the “invincibles” to what we have now in the space of 4 years, only toure remains. Call it what you want but you cannot dismantle an invincible team which included the likes of henry, viera, cambell, bergkamp et al and replace with young / in-experienced / shite (song, diaby, sivestre, almunia et al) and expect to win things. Wenger should of built from then, not dismantled and tried to start again like we was his play thing.
We could of dominated this league, i know chelsea came along, but we were top of the tree and we should of went on from there.
i could write more but i’ll save that for the next blog, eh goodplaya wink wink.
p.s feel free to use this piece.
19 November 2008 at 8:02 pm
i read somewhere( on a arsenal blog) that wenger is more or less a fool for believing in this sqaud. And that this sqaud of players had no chance of wining the league.
It made me think of the time when wenger said he beleived that his team can go a season unbeaten. he was laughed at in the media all yr. the following summer we signed mad jens and the media said we would be relegated that season… of course the rest is history. i think that he may see the same in this team but weather or when they fill their potential is anyones guess!!!!
19 November 2008 at 11:52 pm
I
20 November 2008 at 1:00 am
Enough said, nothing done… zzzzz
Honestly, this job of hoping for changes as an Arsenal fan this season is beginning to be a tiring journey for too many Arsenal fans.
It’s going to be a long, hard and winding journey.
I am just looking forward to the Man City vs Arsenal match this weekend.
Hopefully it’s an open football with brilliant attacking stlye from both sides.
Man City could play like an Arsenal with Robinho magic.
And I promised myself not to get upset if Man City win the match, simply because if you love Arsenal you have to love Man City with their attacking football minus the defending.
With thisArsenal team, I’ll take a draw anyday asince a win is a bonus. Yup, this season winning is rare for Arsenal, lose is normal.
And always make sure you hardened your heart whenever Arsenal is playing this season, because if your heart is made of glass, it gonna be broken many times, once too often.
Again, my motto for Arsenal this season:
We are simple not good enough, period.
20 November 2008 at 11:16 am
Anyone else think he has a three-year plan? Make this new young team as good as it can be and win the domestic treble and/or CL in 2010.
Then he will go and manage France to Euro & then World Cup glory.
20 November 2008 at 11:57 am
Fourstar,
No nobody thinks that. Its silly and gay
20 November 2008 at 12:53 pm
Hear Hear, a few Mexican waves at the Emirates (pardon the pun) wouldn’t go astray. I’m ony jealous I didn’t post that, it articulates the current situation beautifully.
We are the Arsenal and we WILL be back. Maybe not this season, maybe not next but there will be moments to take your breath away in the meantime before that big trophy lands in the cupboard again. Come on you Arsenal!!!
20 November 2008 at 2:49 pm
Doughnut, ‘It’s silly and gay’ - that made me laugh.
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