I had a feeling that we were going to lose, Bayern are simply a fantastic football side, packed full of classy athletes, so cohesive as an attacking and defensive unit, they were simply a class above us on the night. Sometimes one simply has to hold up one's hands and give immense credit to the opposition, and I think last night was one of those nights. Bayern were top notch and must have a great chance of being champions this year.
I haven't posted much recently and there has been a reason for this, although our recent form has been distinctly mediocre, this hasn't been the reason. Frankly I am sick to the back teeth of the way that the media and some Arsenal fans have been treating our manager, Arsene Wenger. As many of you know I am a regular critic of some of his tactics, signings and overall management. Still, nothing is an excuse for the rank lack of respect shown to him by so many people who should know so much better.
Nothing can excuse this lack of respect that results in disgusting abusive vitriol, that results in a really negative atmosphere at home games, that results in people laughing and joking at someone who is giving his all for the club, that results in factually incorrect news stories being printed because people can't be bothered to check the most basic of facts, and that results in some ridiculous hysterical comments which are so deluded they have absolutely zero grasp of reality.
The last few years have most definitely had their problems but is is ludicrous to see them as a total dismal failure, and it is equally flawed to ignore what has been achieved on a relative shoe string budget in recent years. Practically there are many things that Arsene would probably do differently if given another chance, the problem is the reality of the situation: several other clubs have almost infinite budgets, Arsene has had his hands tied in the transfer market, the support Arsene has had from the board has been grossly inadequate and Arsene has been let down by some rather dishonest ungrateful individuals.
In all honesty I am absolutely fed up with the attitude of many journalists and some of our own support. It is irrelevant how badly one judges we are doing, even if we were near the relegation zone, it would never excuse some of the pathetic vitriol that is being dished in the manager's direction. Bayern are a great club and gave us a lesson, let's give them credit, and let's stop acting like spoilt toddlers, if one can never appreciate what's in one's glass, then one becomes a fucking miserable pathetic bitter individual and that's not nice. Football is a sport, Arsene is a good human being and let's just show a little bit more respect for each other. Let's support the players on the pitch and treat our greatest ever manager with a bit more respect.
7 comments:
Well said, agree entirely!
We all have opinion, and not being able to share it could mean the people unhappy with that opinion are bitter!!
Some egg in your face if they are booted out in the very next round.
These Wenger Outers really are acting as though someone else led us to those 7 trophies from 1998 to 2005. Were his "tactics" "crap" then?
Or how about they cite him selling our "stars" -- who didn't win anything for us? (van Persie only started 3 games in our victorious FA Cup run, Fabregas no goals or assists in it.) And who the hell signed those "stars" in the first place, pretty cheaply?
It would not be too harsh to say that those who abused Wenger lack home training and are not better than animals fitted for the zoos and madmen good only for the asylum. If Wenger never won anything, I would still not expect such insults, but he won many things and so many innovations that he brought to the team and English football. Is the achievement of Arsenal under Wenger not better than a team that bought its first trophy in 42years with a cost of over £1b?. Has Tothenham now being compared with Arsenal ever finished above us or won something better than us during Arsene Wenger's era.? Has David Moyes being touted as replacement won anything for the past 10 years or has his team ever finished above Arsenal. With expenditure in excess of £1b, did Mourinho win anything more at Chelsea than what Wenger won. I feel that critics of Wenger did not take into the perspective the environment under which Wenger operates, even Ferguson would not achieve much under same condition and Mourinho would win nothing under same condition. Give Wenger enough money to built the team and the restructuring of wages, then give him a maximum of 3 years and see if he would not produce bountiful results. I only pity Arsenal the club that I love because some idiots are planning instability for the club and as for Wenger he would get a better job immediately either a club or a national team as he is a hot cake in demand. I want to submit that Arsenat team has the worst set of fans in the world because most of them are uncultured, uninformed and intellectually barren.
@marc newin
I think your missing the point of the article. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, of course. Anyone that thinks Wenger should go can think that and even say it. I think what the writer is getting at is the sick abuse being hurled Wengers way. I've seen so called Arsenal fans on other blogs calling AW a paedo among other sick names, people wishing him dead, people wishing him disease to force him to leave among other things, this is unacceptable. The man has devoted 16 years of his life to Arsenal FC, won trophies in style and steered us through a very difficult period with the stadium move. He's a legend pure and simple and people should respect that.
Booing at the stadium is unacceptable too. Stupidly counter productive and just feeds the gutter press.
Personally I think he has lost his way and his coaching methods outdated in this modern tactical age of football. He probably should leave (at the end of the season) but the level of abuse being hurled at him is sickening and makes me sad to be associated with these so called 'fans'
I'm the "Unknown" from yesterday at 22:21. (I don't know why it listed me that way.) Wenger's "tactics" seemed just fine when beating Tottenham 5-2 (twice), Chelsea 5-3, Barcelona 2-1 and AC Milan 3-0. Personally, I think people who complain about Wenger's "tactics" are the same people who demanded "entertainment" under Don Howe but were quite satisfied when "boring, boring Arsenal" became "One-Nil to The Arsenal" under George Graham.
It's just that, when Graham's teams gutted out a win like that, they were plucky, stout-hearted, hard-working. You know... English. But when Wenger's team does the exact same thing, they're overpaid, overrated loafers who should have won more. You know... foreign.
Yes, I do think there's some xenophobia involved. This is the same kind of mindset that leads some Arsenal fans to think that the Scottish Graham, just as it makes the English media think the Welsh Gareth Bale, is English. Never mind that the French have been Britain's allies for almost a century: Wenger will always be "that foreign manager" to many, including the refs, including the media, including many Arsenal fans.
But when you (I do not accuse anyone in particular) call him "a paedo among other sick names," you are, literally, doing what Tottenham and Man United fans do. Do you really want to be in with those lots?
Maybe a good-old-fashioned North London Derby in a little over a week is what we need to remind ourselves: We are The Arsenal. We are better than that.
Besides, has it really been so long since our current "difficult time" would have been considered "the good old days"? Wenger has given us 16 straight seasons (maybe 17) of finishing at least 4th. Arsenal's previous longest such streak? Five seasons, 1931-35. Six couldn't be done by Chapman, Allison, Whittaker, Mee, Neill or Graham; it's been done by Wenger nearly three times over.
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