Yesterday afternoon beside the Thames at Craven Cottage proved a disappointing end to a disappointing season.
Theo Walcott grabbed an equaliser with the final whistle looming to salvage a draw. We had to win and Manchester City draw or lose away at Bolton Wanderers for us to finish third and thus avoid the Champions League play-off round. With Citeh winning at the Reebok Stadium, the point we scraped was small consolation. Another disappointing result in a disappointing and frustrating season.
Far, far too many players were strolling about with their heads on their holiday plans yesterday. That’s not good enough. For our all our crap form recently we started yesterday with a chance of finishing third. That was important for us. You wouldn’t have known it for the body language and attitude of some of the players. We also end up down nearly £800,000 in Premier League place money.
Skipper Cesc Fàbregas displayed a lack of leadership and interest yet again by preferring to watch the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya just north of Barcelona rather than watch our game. That’s just not acceptable. Even if he is injured – I have my doubts about that – he’s paid £5.72 million a year out of my pocket and yours. I know what my employer’s reaction would be if I told them I couldn’t be arsed to turn up for work.
Fàbregas has looked sullen, semi-detached and lackadaisical far too often this season. We’ve only seen his best in small flashes. If you’re not interested mate, bugger off. I don’t expect every player who turns out for us to love the club as I do. I do expect the very, very best they’ve got to give in return for the lavish salaries they receive.
Denilson tells us he’s fed up with not winning trophies and wants to do one. Again, bugger off. Your form, mental and tactical discipline has been woeful far too often this season. How often have you failed to track back and tackle, leaving our central defenders exposed? Far too bloody often mate. You’ve actively contributed to our failures whilst “earning” £2.5 million a year. You’re a spoilt ingrate. Don’t let the door hit you in the rear end on the way out.
Others who can leave tomorrow for my money are:
Manuel Almunia
Łukasz Fabiański
Abou Diaby
Emmanuel Eboué
Sébastien Squillaci
Marouane Chamakh
Nicklas Bendtner
Carlos Vela
Gaël Clichy
Andrey Arshavin
Armand Traore
Tomáš Rosický
Some of those listed have done their very best for us but just aren’t up to scratch. Others have let us down time and time again. Marouane Chamakh started very promisingly but has almost sunk without trace since the New Year. Nicklas Bendtner is become a cartoon with his constant ravings about how good he is. Stop talking the talk and start walking the walk mate, but do it somewhere else.
Gaël Clichy has gone backwards at an alarming rate. True he sometimes doesn’t get the cover in front of him that he should be able to expect but he’s been caught out far too often. Andrey Arshavin has seemed like a fish out of water for most of his time at Arsenal, despite a few isolated stellar performances. A bit like José Antonio Reyes, another big-money signing who flattered to deceive. In the case of Reyes I never detected a lack of effort and application, more a deep cultural dislocation. I wish that were true of Arshavin who has appeared to be playing on sufferance far too often.
For all Arsčne Wenger’s protestations otherwise about focus and spirit we’ve got far too many players who are far more interested in living la vida loca than buckling down and concentrating on what they’re paid so well to do. I have no problem with players having the occasional night out. None at all. When it becomes the principal way in which a player who needs to look after his body (and is paid millions to do so) occupies his time that player needs to be told in no uncertain terms that it’s not good enough and to cut it out lively. I’ve had reports I believe that one particular player has been spotted regularly falling out of a high-end London night-spot at breakfast time. That’s just not acceptable. Assuming its true which I believe it is, you’re treating us all like mugs mate.
The board, management and technical staff really have to get a serious grip. We’re falling into the trap of making excuses. With the club asking me to find an extra £130 for my season ticket next season I expect much, much better. I don’t demand trophies. I do demand that everybody at the club focuses on their part in achieving success. That’s not the case at the moment. Too many excuses, not enough remedial action. From some of the chants from the away end at Craven Cottage yesterday I’m not alone in that sentiment.
I do NOT want the club to spend money either on transfer fees or salaries that it hasn’t got. I do expect more for the huge salary budget we expend each season. A lot more. It’s time for a serious shake-up.
There are ominous signs that Samir Nasri and Cesc Fàbregas won’t be with us next season. Nasri appears to be holding out for a stupid amount of money. Fàbregas has looked like he’d rather be anywhere else for much of the season after returning from his World Cup triumph with Spain last summer in South Africa and all the subsequent tapping up by FC Barcelona.
I’d love to keep both players but only if they’re going to be committed to our cause. I won’t anybody staying on guilded sufferance. If they don’t want to get their heads down and soldier for us then they should leave, provided we can get the sort of fee they merit.
Which brings me finally today to the manager. Arsčne Wenger has been magnificent for us for much of his record fourteen and a half years in charge. He has however been lavishly rewarded for his service. His new contract is eye-wateringly high. He’s not backward in coming forward to look after himself. Fair enough. We all do that, but he’s got to accept that fans expect more than the plateau on which we’re currently stranded for their money. Yes, he’s badly let down by some of his players, but whose fault is that. He needs to address our obvious tactical and mental deficiencies and to ruthlessly clear out the malingerers amongst the squad.
In a few cases we may have problems getting players to leave due to their enormous salaries. That’s a headache we have created for ourselves and we need to find solutions. We need and want quality but we also need players who concentrate on their football and have a winner’s mentality.
<if Arsčne Wenger doesn’t honestly believe that he can achieve that then he should offer his honourable resignation. The world being what it is I don’t imagine that he will. Sacking Wenger would cost us in the region of £20 million to completely pay up his contract which runs to the summer of 2014. Not a move I would contemplate lightly but at some point the board and management will have to display some leadership.
I finish with my congratulations to AFC Wimbledon for their promotion to the Football League on Saturday following their 4-3 win on penalties against Luton Town in the Conference Promotion Play-Off at Eastlands. A fan-owned and managed club doing things the right way. They were told by the FA Independent Tribunal that disgracefully permitted the former Wimbledon FC to move to Milton Keynes that the formation of such a club “wouldn’t be in the interests of football” by the FA. They are all entitled to flick up the Vs in the direction of Wembley Stadium. The FA was one hundred percent wrong both in allowing the move and in trying to prevent the fans setting up their own successor club. Without fans there is no professional football. For once the good guys have won. My congratulations and best wishes for next season in Football League Two. I’d love to play them soon in the Carling Cup or FA Cup.
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