What are the barriers to success? Is it holding onto a lead or is it playing at a high tempo? We all talk about hunger and desire but are there barriers in the current set up at Arsenal that act against the real quest for victory in football games. I am going to air some of my thoughts. Some controversial, others quite predictable. But something has to change.
Arsenal football club have 19 players out on loan, and the wage bill at Arsenal is increasing just at the time when we have declared a 6 million operating loss in the six months up to November. Has the time come for serious scrutiny of the playing staff? There are players who have not made the expected improvements, and others whose on field performances fail to live up to expectation, game after game after game. What should we do about these players? Selling them on would be a sensible way of balancing the books, but there is a problem.
HIGH WAGES MEANS LOW DESIRE
I have repeatedly said that the lack of fire in our bellies is directly linked to the high wages being paid by Arsenal, and the real absence of competition for places. Why be bothered about playing if you get £50,000 a week just to train and see out your contract. How much longer should we wait for late developers when the likes of Jack Wilshere can be fast tracked? What about if the rate of progress shown by Jack Wilshere is used as the guide thus leading to difficult and painful decisions being made to reduce the also rans. The loan arrangements often mean that Arsenal still either pay the salaries in total or contribute heavily as the loan clubs often cannot afford to pay Arsenal wages.
NO COMPETITION MEANS LOW DESIRE
I can think of at least 10 players who should be moved on in all positions in the squad. I would love to know why they are being kept at the club. Wenger is extremely loyal providing you are not a goalkeeper, and one thing that bothers me is the thought that the club is being held to ransom just when we are getting more than adequate replacements coming through the youth ranks. The youth experiment is definitely not over and those players who have been around for four years should be experienced enough to show leadership. But this is sadly lacking at the moment, sending the players out on loan is a valuable means of getting them playing time, but reduces the competition for places.
ARE LEADERS BORN AND NOT BRED?
Leaders are respected by those around them, and leaders often lead by example. So in footballing terms that player has to be better than those who choose to be led by him. There are many different leadership styles, but when the heads are down after an on field set back, or the team is not playing well, we need individuals who can stand apart and take the team by the scruff of the neck and get 100% out of the rest of the players. Hard work is required by all real leaders are those individuals who are able to make the right judgements as to when they should abandon the team mentality and be ruthless and decisive and lead by example.
THE PROBLEM OF LATE DEVELOPERS
The real problem relates to the rate of development of some players as opposed to others. The common excuse is give them time, they are young, assuming that most football Players mature and reach their prime around 25 yrs of age. But the Fabregas, Wilshere and now Miyaichi phenomenon proves that World Class potential is usually evident early on and once they reach 21yrs of age with this select and rare type of player the decision to fast track them should be easy to make. But what of the others? How much time should we give them before closing the doors on their Arsenal careers? I don’t know the answer to that, but I am rather pleased that the door wasn’t closed on Song’s career when he was being subjected to some very negative headlines early on.
SUCCESS BEGINS AT THE BACK!
Success means winning things, that is the obvious solution to creating the desire to win more titles, but until we do lift that elusive trophy we need to concentrate on winning games that the form book state we should win in competitive terms. Arsenal players need more ruthlessness and should be trying to press home advantages and not sit back and bask in the after glow of scoring a goal. In order for that we need confidence in our defence and confidence that when we are ahead, we are able to hold onto our lead and shut the game out. This again requires collective defensive experience and having good leaders on the field who understand the importance of not conceding and how that will translate into the success of the team.
CHANGING THE MINDSET
The typical Arsenal player has excellent close ball skills and is comfortable receiving the ball under pressure and has natural attacking flair. It is not so easy to define the typical Arsenal defender. Yet one simple tactic that I rarely see employed in tight games is the natural ability of Arsenal players being able to run down the clock by doing what they do best, maintaining possession of the ball in the opponents half. We rarely pack the box when the ball is out wide at the conclusion of an attacking movement in contrast to Manchester United. We rarely shoot on sight, preferring to take the team ethic over the goal line. This mindset has to change in my view. Let us have more individual flair and hunger in front of goal please.
WE NEED TO WORK HARDER
Pressure on the ball means closing down our opponents and regaining possession. Barcelona are good at this and work extremely hard. There is energy and commitment and physically this is very demanding. Some players show it, but I am often struck by the desire and lack of fear shown by our younger players as opposed to the measured strolling pace of our more experienced players. The Premier league pace is break neck and every few clubs have the playing squads that can maintain that intensity for 90 minutes, but Arsenal achieve results when they play at a high tempo. We need to play those members of the squad who are prepared to give blood for the cause. Again Leaders on the field must ensure that every player does his bit. If necessary Arsene Wenger must change his substitution policy and not wait until the 65th minute to change the team.
IN CONCLUSION
The barriers to success are complex and this season we have had to suffer injuries to key players and are remaining squad players have not been able to replace the quality or consistency. The frequency of long term injuries is somewhat baffling and no-one is able to explain why we seem to have a high number of injuries to key players. I firmly believe one of the main barriers to success is that Arsene Wenger has taken the egalitarian approach to football too far. It is almost political correctness gone mad. It contributes to our high wage bill and kills Individual flair and desire, which also contributes to our lack of ruthlessness in front of goal. How many times have you seen us rather pass the ball sideways from four yards out instead of finishing the job and putting our foot through the ball. We also fail to work as hard as our opponents, and this really needs to be addressed. The lazy continental style is great for Europe, but on a cold wet night in the North of England, it will not produce results. Many say that the lack of leaders on the field is the problem, but good leaders are hard to come by, so we need a quick fix and my remedy is as basic as it is simple. SUCCESS BEGINS AT THE BACK! Fix our defensive problems and confidence will flow through the rest of the team. What is clear is that we have run out of excuses, and now we must change the mentality before it is too late. Let us start with a six nil annihilation of Leyton Orient, followed by a four nil thrashing of Sunderland, well at least I can dream…
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