Wednesday 3 February 2010

Fence sitting et al

There has been a fair amount of criticism of the team's performance against Manu and quite rightly so in my opinion, it simply wasn't good enough, especially defensively. I think most Gooners aren't bad at taking defeat on the chin, it was the manner of this defeat that hit home so hard. Ted talked of the fight we had when the likes of Nutty played, saliently Nutty has been commenting on the defending that took place at the weekend (or lack of it).

Obviously despite what one may feel about certain Arsenal issues, we should all get behind the lads, it goes without saying. However this most certainly doesn't mean that we can't say what we think is going wrong and how it should be fixed. Arsene has always been a very patient man and his patience has paid off in the past when persevering with certain players. He has some big decisions to make in the next year or so and one wonders whether all of the current crop will escape unscathed. Gunnerblog talks about Theo Walcott's situation, for me if he stays fit then he has to start delivering in the next couple of years. There are quite a few players in the squad who need to step it up, for example Denilson, Clichy, Almunia, Rosicky and Nasri have got to start performing consistently if they are to justify their wage packets. One wonders just how many seasons without success the squad can go before some of the dead wood is released.

A lot of the criticism of Arsene is way over the top, as it often is, and the calls for him to step down are simply ludicrous. However this frustration from fans is not all without cause, to just blindly carry on and ignore the problems we have is not wise either. The fact that the club has been built on a much more solid financial base than many others is something we should be very grateful in the current financial climate. The revolution in our young player development under Arsene has been simply fantastic, Wellington looks to be another potential star from the production line. The fact that we have lacked a bit of experience in the squad has been undeniable in the last few years and I bet if Arsene could go back in time he would do things a little bit differently in the transfer market in this regard, the retrospectoscope is a wonderful thing.

Overall Arsenal Football Club is heading in the right direction and for that I am glad, I can see recent setbacks in this perspective, I hope I am no reactionary lunatic. However I still reserve the right to point out where I think the club is going wrong, that's only healthy criticism in my eyes. If we were miles off then I wouldn't be so frustrated, but as supporters of one of the biggest clubs around I think we have the right to question some things that have gone on of late. We have one of the biggest turnovers, one of the biggest wage bills in the land, but are the players in our squad really delivering in this context?

Possibly our young players are paid a bit too much before they have actually succeeded, maybe this is partly down to a systematic problem whereby young talent is financially rewarded far too early. Maybe Arsene has got a bit carried away with his fantasy of beautiful football, he has lost sight of the real world in which it is not just pretty passing football than wins points. Whatever happens, Arsene is no fool and I am sure he is also very much aware of the same problems that we are, we are lucky to have such a wise man at the helm. Next up Chelsea at the Bridge, what a chance to answer one's critics.

10 comments:

Biggy said...

Having been on both sidesof the debate since Sunday, I can see where you are coming from. I am by no means in favour of firing the manager, but I think that he has a duty to listen to the voice of the the fans who love the club. There is need for balance between experience and youth, tall and medium height players, strong and just agile. The fact that this balance has been upset is no news. I would love to see this redressed by first removing mediocrity from the team and seeking out robust talents to take their places. Diaby is a great talent and is starting to deliver, Song has been delivery for a while now, Clichy can still improve but Denilson is useless.

tiredandemotional said...

Another 17 year old star of tommorrow, AND we've signed an unknown 19 year old Montenigran centre half so everything's all right then!
Please wake me up in 2015 when all these young stars are the core of a Championship-winning team. Assuming we've got shot of Denilson.

TCJ said...

Very sensible comments, wish fans would realise how far we have come though.I still believe AW is missing a trick though, having discussed the teams performance against Man U and down the pub....and we know best haha
So here we go!!!!
4411 formation.
Sagna,(Dju) sol, TV, Clichy(gibbs)

Eboue(walcott), Song(Diaby,) Gallas(Ramsay), Ashavin(sicky)

Fabregas() playing just behind RVP(Edu/Bentner)

Just need centre back for cover!!

Anonymous said...

"The revolution in our young player development under Arsene has been simply fantastic"
_____________________

Can you unpack this a little more?

Anonymous said...

I think you are far too positive in your tone. You present a reasoned argument, but AW is not fixing the fixable.

We need a big target (CF) and we didn't seriously try to get one in the last two transfer windows. Remy for 13 million is the most recent to fit the bill.

We need to support Clichy. He has been targeted, by Bolton and ManU spectacularly, and yet there is no tactical adaptation to solve the current LB problem.

Until AW fixes the fixable, it is every fans right and perhaps obligation to express their dissatisfaction.

Chinmay said...

Having heard all the views, some extreme, so not so, I think you are right about not firing the manager. But I dont want the club to be one-man-show anymore. I am surprised why Gazdis has still been so mum about everything.

It will be a dream come true if Wenger would listen to fans!

marcus said...

Hate to say I told you so but I did:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/chelsea/7158389/Chelsea-transfer-embargo-lifted-by-Court-of-Arbitration-for-Sport-after-Gael-Kakuta-affair.html

As I said in a thread on this site months ago, CAS will indeed lift Chelsea's transfer ban.

Drew said...

"It will be a dream come true if Wenger would listen to fans!"

Arsene should never, ever listen to the fans. As evidence I offer up the comments on this site and many other sites. Patience is not something that fans have, and Arsene rarely has knee-jerk reactions. That's why he is the boss of Arsenal and any fan is not.

Question: for anyone who wants a center forward, how many people had heard of Remy before Arsenal were interested in him? The answer: no one. Fans are making him out to be god's gift to football. Also, when we buy a new CF, what happens when RVP is healthy? You get a potential Ryan Babel situation where the player whines because he isn't first choice.

Also, lay off Denilson. He had a bad game, yes; he is not the worst player since Shevchenko when he played for Chelsea. Denilson has chipped in with some good performances this year, not to mention vital goals. Yes, I think Diaby should start in front of him, but he shouldn't be jeered, as none of our players should.

Obsinho said...

The players we have are the players we have, for the moment. Wenger, in admitting he almost signed someone on Monday, effectively said in public that h. Was not happy with his squad. That after he blamed the Utd defeat solely on them, and took no blame himself.

The view of most commentators on this site is that squad and Wenger were to blame.

If we beat Chelsea, and let's at least hope/dream/pretend we can for a bit, then we are right back in it. And we will play as big a part in the run in as the team.

Something I haven't read anywhere all week is on how the fans performed on Sunday. We were shit. Th noise going into the stadiumwas huge, but there was nit much palpabl belief. Relief that Tommy was playing, but not a team belief that the 11 out there could win. We made noise for the first 15, but were edgy with our boys already. When Almunia scored, that was it. Utter deflation.

Partially it was déjà vu of Gibbs falling over, but at that point we did not think we had it in us and stopped backing our team. That is piss poor, and I am as much to blame as the next fan. When Timmy scored, which sshould have given us hope, I turned round and shrugged my shoulders. And watched as no-one did the customary fight the keeper for the ball and sprint back for the kick-off.

So if we did nit believe in our team, our team did not believe in the team and Wenger doesn't believe in our team where are we?

Desperate to beat Chelsea, and desperate for some belief. So let's just kid ourseleves for 24 hours and see what happens.

Obsinho said...

Apologies for the spelling in that - who the fuck is Timmy?!