Thursday, 24 May 2012
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Desperate Wenger is living off his reputation

By 2012/01/23 40 Comments

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Three loses in a row

Arsenal fans who argue that Arsene Wenger should not be sacked can only come up with one reason – “He’s our most successful manager ever”. Others might also point to his unearthing of talents like Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. The theme here? It’s all stuff from an increasingly long time ago.

Wenger himself resorted to this sort of petty, defensive attitude today when explaining the inexplicable decision to take off Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, our best player against Manchester United.

He said: “I’ve been a manager for 30 years and have made 50,000 substitutions. I do not have to justify every decision I make.

“I can understand that the fans are upset about the substitution, especially when it doesn’t work, but he had started to fatigue.

“You have an 18-year-old kid making his first Premier League start and a player who’s captain of his country and they are querying the substitution? Let’s be serious.”

So there we have it. Wenger is the expert and the fans know nothing. How about your captain, Arsene? Van Persie was another who was visibly annoyed at the decision, a player who is crying out for other good players to provide him with assists.

Just as the team was really finding some momentum, mostly provided by Chamberlain, Wenger took the lively and exciting youngster off for Arshavin, a player who hasn’t provided anything in most games this season. To say it cost us the game would be a bit far-fetched, as we are always prone to a) missing easy chances and b) giving away stupid goals, but just as we were getting on top of United, Wenger removed a key component of that domination.

Was he really fatigued or at risk of injury? Considering he has hardly played this season I imagine he should be full of energy. Compare that with Arshavin, who plays at limping pace. I just don’t think that’s a good enough excuse, and I think Wenger knows it, which is why he is clingint to his “I have been a manager for 30 years” line.

If Arsenal fans think Wenger is still a great manager, then maybe George Graham is still a great manager? Maybe Liam Brady would still be a great midfielder? No. People change, and people can lose it. People can crack under the pressure, or people can become complacent, and believe their past success excuses their mistakes now and will somehow make everything right again.

Wenger is not perfect. Even when his start at Arsenal was beyond his and everyone’s wildest dreams he made mistakes. And now, having cleared out positive influences and old heads in the dressing room, he has a bigger job to do and is not up to it.

One positive is that he made a bold decision and started Chamberlain today. Perhaps this means we will see more of him. But can you be sure that under Wenger he won’t just stop doing what comes naturally, and pick a cowardly pass back or sideways over a run, trick or shot?

The list of talented-looking players that have gone backwards under Wenger surely now excedes those who have come from nowhere and flourished. At first he brought us Vieira, Petit, Anelka, Ljungberg, Pires and Henry, but in recent years he has brought us Eboue, Denilson, Walcott, Squillaci, Almunia, and Diaby. Not only that, he’s stuck with them through YEARS of repeated mediocrity.

It’s time for everyone to start living in the present. Wenger is no longer a manager who delivers great players or trophies. The way things are looking at the moment, he’s not even a manager who delivers Champions League football.

We did not sign up for some failed youth project. In 2004 we were in a very good position to dominate English football for years to come and we threw it away. Thanks for the memories, and thanks for moving us to a brilliant new stadium, but we didn’t move here to finish 5th.

For more of my thoughts on Arsenal and other football, follow me on Twitter @markbrus

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I'm 23-years-old and currently living in Bristol, studying to be a journalist. I've been hooked on Arsenal since I was about 10, and as much as I sometimes wish I could stop, I can't give them up. Favourite player of all time would have to be Patrick Vieira for the sheer passion with which he played the game.

  • http://twitter.com/cafenueve cafe 9

    Well done Mark you have hit the nail on the head. Wenger has not changed with the times. 

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  • montreal gunner

    horrible substitution .

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  • Riospin

    3 things observed and one or a combination or all holds true.

    1, Wenger is a secret gambler and should be investigated.
    2, Wenger has gone insane and a series of mental test should be carried out on him
    3, Either Wenger or Wenger and the board are involved in match fixing and should be investigated.

    Take it or leave it…enough said.

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  • Bad Company

    Couldn’t have said it better myself Mark, but you’re going to get grief from all of the whiners on here who don’t believe you’re entitled to an opinion if it differs from their’s. I believe Muhammad Ali was once the greatest, but he too had to pack it in when the time’s started changing and the losses started to add up. If you’re living in the past then you’re past it, which is what Wenger is now.  

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  • Ignatius Begumanya

    Tired AW should go if he does not want to buy new players.

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  • Rozariorc

    Alex’s substitution was plain stupidity. He was probably one of the most effective players on the pitch.
    Wener’s excuse is just plain ridiculous!

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  • Rozariorc

    ManU was never near their best …. they were plain lucky!
    Wenger’s subsitution was just plain stupid [PERIOD]
    Arsenal could have won that game with more effective defence and attacking players!
    Arsenal needs an all round player upfront!

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  • gunnerbill

    i dont believe that the substitution was the fault of the goal ,but more our very own so called fans.
     when has anyone ever seen manc fans shouting abuse at their manager in a top profile game like that poised at 1-1?utd are like predators to this and sense the nerves in our team because of this ,and so we gave them another “soft” goal .the momentum of the game was within our grasp if we had only got behind them a bit more ,for fuck sake wake up you dicks that get off their backs ,we had to use fringe players today ,no choice that means they arnt A1 but with a bit more support could suffice !
    OUR OWN FANS LOST US THE GAME!  

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    • Broken_homes_5

      go fuck youself you man city fan in disguise

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    • Carlitos71

      Arsehole.

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  • Moses

    Arsenal is privileged to have one coach who bets against the side he manages. HE has never been effective with substitutions. HE boasts of making 50000 substitutions in his carrier at Arsenal but can he also remember how many have been instrumental. I bet he only remembers when he lost the plot. Stupid man indeed. Arsene u are our saboteur.

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  • Somoche

    Sack this stupidy manager who fails to win anything for seven years!!! Go out of Arsenal useless manager..

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  • Ljunberg23

    Arsenal fans are a disgrace, no class whatsoever. Abusing walcott the whole match,booing arshavin even before he kicks a ball, those fans who do that should really learn a thing or 2 from liverpool fans. A player who is rated highly by wenger,capello,guardiola and messi aswell gets abused the whole time by people who think they know everything about football. Clueless people who have never played the game or anything. This is the team we have at the moment, whoever doesn’t like it can either not go to the matches or go support some1 else, that’s much better than comming to the stadium to hurl abuse at young players

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    • bigsy

      Learn a thing or 2 from Liverpool fans, what like singing IRA songs, pleading for justice all these years later when they done the same to italian fans in heysel, moaning and groaning about Rafa who won them the champions league, their treatment of Roy Hodgson was shocking and are they really any better now under dogleash..your knowledge on football is shocking fella !

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      • SuperRob7

        also that’s not how you spell ljungberg…

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      • Jenny

        You are such a horrible horrible little man.
        I feel  sorry for your wife and thats if you have one which i doubt very much.  IN ARSENE WE TRUST! 

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        • bigsy

          I am married 14 years, with 2 lovely children and all is well, Jenny rather than make adoring statements of wenger, why don’t you actually talk football for once, you have followed a great team, a great club and still have 2 or 3 world class players, but the rest around them is rubbish, now the club stand by the fact they have money, wenger stands by the fact they have money but refuses to spend it, how do you stick by Arsene when you are witnessing some of the least dedicated players to pull on an arsenal shirt in my 40 years on this planet, now who is motivating them ? and who is staying loyal to people who cannot return the gesture ? every way it points to Arsene ..what exactly are you trusting here ?

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    • Angelo1971

      I’ve never booed anybody, but deep inside I understand those who did so. I was also furious. You have to show those long time wankers the door. Enough is enough!!! Arshavin, Djourou and company. How long have they been shit. Nearly 1 year (or more, depending on the person)!!! Not fucking 2-3 games or even 2-3 months. Squilacci always (apart from his initial 3-4 games last season). Enough. And when I see Squilacci my balls are shrinking. Walcott always looks like a clueless Forest Gump, Arshavin totally disinterested. The Ox should have stayed on. Wenger lied. The youngster did not know why Wenger took him off. I watched him in the MOT after coming home. Was he tired? Bullshit. To blame the supporters is the privilege of the mentally ill.

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  • bigsy

    I guess Berg10 and JIN may not appear on this page it appears to be the feeling of the true fans, Arsene made mistakes yesterday, but the most shocking line of all for me was what I saw this morning “I am glad the fans moaned because it means I got my initial starting line up right “..now that is unprofessional and gives off an attitude of total and utter arrogance..remember guys you all support Arsenal FC there is nothing wrong with being angry when someone is absuing your trust, you do not wear wenger shirts you wear arsenal shirts..well done lads for once I stand alongside you and admire your stance.. 

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    • Berg10

      Yeah and aren’t you loving it mate, a spurs fan with a following of AFC fans, keep stirring it, you’ll turn us all against each other.
      You’re embroidering facts with your personal issues.

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      • bigsy

        Oh hello as if by magic with a bit of support they appear in unison

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    • Mashman147

      Not sure why you havent seen the obvious Bigsy. When we are winning, these fans are nowhere to be seen. There are many fans of Arsenal who love to moan and criticise. These are not the real fans. But if you want to suck up to them, then that is your choice.

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      • bigsy

        I’m not sucking up to anyone, i just feel the points 3 or 4 of us have been discussing came home to roost yesterday, if that brought everyone out of the woodwork then thats up to them, I have been consistent all along, don’t rate Mertsacker, don’t rate Walcott, Don’t rate Arshavin, don’trate djorou, but think Kos has improved, just don’t see what wenger is achieving to be honest, just lots of unrest.I don’t need to stir anything the pictures on sky tell me all I need to know

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        • Mashman147

          Nothing came home to roost yesterday. Djourrou was awful, as was Arshavin. That is not something new. Walcott has gone way off the boil. You look at the last 12 months and see who has assisted the majority of RVPs goals. You will see it was Walcott. You may not rate him and that is your choice. Take 10 like for like players out of your team and tell me who your line up would be.

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          • bigsy

            my wanky 11, Gomes, Corluka, Bassong, Gallas, Ekotto (don’t rate him) .Pienaar, Krancjar, Huddlestone, Livermore, Pav and Kane 

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  • Jamkar

    I’m not sure what the hell is going on behind closed doors at Arsenal. Is the money there or not? Is the board with Wenger or not? But the one thing I do know Wenger looks like he is making all decisions and is not up to the task anymore, when David Dein was there Wenger had someone to bounce his ideas off and someone to question his reasons. Its no coincidence that since Deins departure Arsenal as a club have folded. Wenger is a great manager but needs to be policed. and another thing maybe a change to the assistant manager every few years would keep things fresh, might help it works for Ferguson?

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    • SuperRob7

      The money is there.

      The only question is who is refusing to spend it.

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  • Frimpong

    One of the most galling things, amongst the circus of yesterday, was time and time again the team showing their backs to WS13. That was the heartbreaker for me.

    It’s the fight in the dog, and ManUre were there for the taking, with their most disjointed and frankly nervous team I’ve seen since the 80′s.

    To see 10 men not WANT that ball and see if hoofed upfield so wherever it dropped landed the nearest with the responsibilty was criminal. Only the OX consistently put his hand up. Where is the pride? The bottle?

    RVP will be onto his agent today and I don’t blame him. Playing on his own, trying to bring down hoofs, no-one there to create the chance if he won it. Rosicky and Pat Rice PLEADING with the team to press and harry. JD20 getting dragged short EVERY TIME. Who was telling him to maintain the width? Pat Rice was. He ignored him. PM4 should have grabbed him by the throat to let him know where his position should be. But, like so many in recent AW teams, fierce pride and never-say-die are absent. A shrugging culture, a moving-on approached that is as blind as it is irresponsible and in insult to the likes of me, £1250 a year worse off. Why did Yennaris not start? He had a great game IMO. Bit of London can-do about him. Good luck.

    See Frimpong on MOTD? Before he got clattered he was at the centre of everything Wolves did. And playing in a more advanced role! Boy can play football! Why is he out on loan? There are rumours it’s a slap-down, as he has too much to say for himself in the dressing room. Probably about pride, commitment and being willing to put your head where others wouldn’t put their faces – to represent the club. I would pay my hard earned to watch ten players like that than to witness the constant surrender of these past years.

    Wenger must take the blame. These are his players and he created the culture and atmosphere they play in. Times change and we must change with them. Sir Alex and all top managers constantly rotate their coaching staff, to keep it fresh, to keep learning, to never sit on their laurels.

    ‘It’s not new ideas I’m afraid of, It’s old ones’ – John Cage

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    • Mashman147

      You make lots of good points. I hope that now AW has seen that there are players he has backed 100% time and again, are letting him down every time they play. It is time he is brave enough to get rid of them or remove them from the squad. He has done it with Denilson, Bendtner and Squillacci and Almunia. Time now for Djourrou and Arshavin to join the list.

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  • Crazy Horse

    Wenger’s team = Wenger’s fault.  I just can’t see where all this support for him is coming from.  He was once a good manager, God only knows what’s happened to him since losing to Barcelona in 2006 because his sanity seemed to have left him ever since.  The excuses he keeps coming out with after every defeat just don’t add up.  Of course he’s not to blame for the injuries but HE is to blame for the total lack of understanding in that back four – no matter what position they are playing in.  All four of that starting line up on Sunday were experienced international players ffs!  How many times were TV (who I really rate as a CB) and Johan Djourou (who I wouldn’t rate if he was selling programmes outside the ground) were  pulled out of position?  They are both experienced enough to have known better.  Time and time again they were watching the ball and not the player they were supposed to have been marking.  That defence – no matter who’s in it – should be better organised.  Yet still nothing is done.  And that has got to be down to Wenger.  I’m not saying he should try to compete with Man City, Chelsea or Man U, we clearly can’t, but surely to god we can find players better than Djourou, Mertasacker, Arsharven, Rosicky, Diaby, Squilachi, Almunia and Chamack?  If the money really isn’t there then where is it?  If Wenger was truly worried about his legacy wouldn’t he be speaking out about the lack of funding by now?  I would just like someone – anyone – to tell the fans what exactly is going on at the Arsenal!!!!   

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    • Angelo1971

      You sum up my feelings.

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  • Roachy

    Seriously, I cannot believe the negativity and hostility towards Wenger, Arshavin, Djourou and Walcott. That game could have gone either way and it didn’t go ours. With all the injuries to our starting 11 we still should have won the game but a bit of bad luck, complacency and inexperience combined to deal us the cruel blow.

    Does that mean we listen to the Spud supporters who cannot get off this site? Does that mean we boo our own players and manager?

    To all those who booed their own on game day, completely out of order and unacceptabl;e.

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    • Woppadon

      What bad luck did we have to lose this game? Every supporter
      has their podium to cheer or boo. It is their right. At the end of the day we
      pay their wages. If the board and manager don’t comply with what the fans want
      then are we supposed to shut up and take it. I think that all the supporters
      that say those supporters who boo their own team is unacceptable are spineless
      gutless turds that are happy to accept drivel. You may as well go and support
      the spuds lol.

      Football is only a game. Some people treat it more than that. It is the persistent
      lies that emanate out of Arsenal that riles most supporters. That’s what the
      fans are booing for. The constant lack of transparency. Where is all the money going?
      Why aren’t we making signings while it is clearly evident to everyone else
      apart from Wenger and Co. that we need to? Why persist with some players while
      it is clearly evident they arent good enough. Wenger is not perfect. Sometimes
      I do think that he does think so. Like to come out and say after the United match
      that he wouldn’t blame Arshavin for the winning goal. Total crap. What sort of
      manager is Wenger when he won’t criticise when it is clearly needed. This molly
      coddling is the main reason why Walcot thinks he is a star when he is not. We
      need help in our defence. Arsene get Keown or Adams in as a coach. Bite the
      bullet and your pride and spend some money or revenue will dwindle as fans wont be prepared to watch mistake after mistake.

      I still cant believe Wenger left it so late to let Cesc ans Na$ri go. It totally ruined our season. Now he insists we wont spend in January. He didnt replace them in the summer and he wont now. Roachy tell me this, who fault will it be when we dont get into the champions league? Will it still be the supporters as they booed.

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      • bigsy

        Any fan not capable of getting out of their seat veins standing out of their neck and hurling abuse is not required down the lane thank you, we may be shit 90% of the time but our supporters are the best in the land so please don’t send your light weight silent worshippers anywhere near the cauldron of noisde thank you fella

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    • bigsy

      how many games have you been involved in that could have gone either way ? and haven’t ? that is not unlucky that is poor concentration, you are now conceding within minutes of scoring which is even worse, in days gone by Arsenal FC have scored late goals aplenty your trophy cabinet is littered with late goal achivements, that was down to will to win, never say die, positive attitude, and you think different now do you ? nonsense wake up man

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  • Rotten Tomatoes

    Wenger is not King Of England. He does not have a job for life.
    Plenty of other great coaches out there. He says he has made over 30,000
    substitutions and managed more than 3,000 games and yet he is stupid
    enought to say he substututed an 18 year old playing his first game for
    the captain of a national team. Yeah Arsene. Give me Pele at 18 and you
    can have the captain of Finland. Those substitutions have been tactically naive. He somehow knows more about football
    than 60,000 die-hard fans and millions more watching on television.
    Wenger has lived a charmed life. Henry, Pires, and Viera were lucky signings. Project Youth is another con job. Only Jack and Fab are true diamonds. Wenger is not King of England.

    And even if he was am I not allowed to chop his head off? I have every right to do what I like. I can clap and cheer the team on or I can piss on the team. All this rubbish about loyalty and in appropriate behaviour is nonsense. Where is it written that I have to jump and down and cheer on my team like a stupid monkey? Arsenal fans are not sheep to a con man. Am I meant to cheer and clap and encourage dumb millionaires like Wlacott, Eboue, Djourou, Diaby, Arse-shavin, Chamakh, etc etc every time they stroll around the field thinking they are gods. Maybe you want me to bow down and get on my knees. Maybe I will when Jack, Nico, Le Coq, Chesney, Koz, are joined by other great players and poor blood for the team. Untill then give me tomatoes to throw at the dug-out.

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    • bigsy

      Absolutely spot on, precisely the free voice and right you have when supporting a team that you are paying for..

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  • Jgwaris

    Fans will always sympathise with you if you make reasonable things. Can it be true that most fans are wrong to urge Arsenal to buy  players that will make a change for the better at their club!!! Almost every commentator  has  hinted on Arsenal weak Defense and we should keep on saying its OK???????? NONONONONONONONONONONONO!!!!!!!!!!!!! we need change Its true the quality of our defense team is poor it must be strengthened Wenger knows better

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    • Jamkar

      At one time I would have said Wenger knows better but the writing has been on the wall for the last 4 seasons that the defence is not good enough and everyone else knows it apart from Wenger. I couldn’t care less if we didn’t win another trophy for another X amount of years but the current team lacks Organisation,The Basics, Passion Etc,Etc. I think that Wenger thinks his job as manager is safe and with that comes complete arrogance. I love what Wenger has done for the club but I’m slowly getting sick of his sanctimonious dribble.

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  • bigsy

    I have it on very good authority that Jose Mourinho will be the new Spurs Manager next season, he will be leaving Madrid in June and arriving at the lane next season, He is desperate to return to London and wants to come to Spurs, behind the scenes Levy is working away to finalise things and has promised him a war chest of unused champ league money and funds supplied by the owner to make Spurs a super force by the time we move into the new stadium…Jose has a real point to prove in London and to Chelsea and his arrival at white hart lane would be appealing to him as he likes to take clubs on with a view to taking the final step…this is not a wind up this is solid information from within the club..

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