Defeat Is Spotlight on Failure of Arsenal Board's Ethos
Santi Consalato
By Boris Mellor
November 3 2012
Last week I wrote after the match against QPR:“I do worry about the sanity of football fans sometimes, for 83 minutes Arsenal had struggled against the team bottom of the Premier League, and then on 84 minutes finally managed to bundle in a scrappy offside goal, a few minutes later fans were singing, “The Greatest Team The World Has Ever Seen"-
I went on to say "if we get to sing that with justification at the Theatre of Dreams next week I will buy a Cultzero T shirt with it emblazoned on the front. Somehow I doubt I will be spending much on T shirts next week.”
I concluded “No need to contact Gamblers Anonymous I will not be betting on Arsenal next week”. Being sane I have not lost any money on wagers, which is about the only blessing to come out of this debacle. I predicted a 3-1 win to Man U, and if Rooney wasn’t so useless I would be top of the prediction league.
I do wonder on what basis many fans predicted a win for Arsenal perhaps it’s the fact that Man UTD have won nine and lost just one of their last 11 games against Arsenal in all competitions, and mistakenly bet on the non-existent law of averages, that somehow the Gunners were due a win. There again it might just be the affect of seeing the world though red tinted glasses.
Of course the result can be given positive spin, the performance was 25% better in total than last year, that is 75% less goals conceded, and 50% less goals scored. No doubt many feel some sense of relief that it wasn’t worse, or that somehow because Spurs lost at home then it’s all ok, but none of that hides the fact that the Arsenal had only 3 shots on target.
Surely this is one of the worst Arsenal performances in Manchester, with a first choice eleven playing, for a very long time. Yes 8-2 was a freak result, but this is par for the course at Man Utd now, gone are the days we genuinely expected to win, and often did.
It’s the ethos
Anyone who dares to criticise Wenger is often accused of wanting to spend more money than the club has, and it does have plenty, but that is to miss the point. Any money spent by Wenger would be wasted. Any newly acquired player will soon pick up the any old performance will do ethos that is now stamped through the club like Blackpool is stamped through seaside rock.
There was a time that Man Utd had to scrap to overcome Arsenal, but this was stroll in the park, they played with the handbrake on, whilst Arsenal never turned on the engine.
Ferguson is right when he says that it was a strange game, that Manchester could have won four or five one. He seemed almost nostalgic for the old days when Arsenal could give his team a real game, but now he faces an Arsenal that considers 2nd best good enough, and fourth place a trophy.
No wonder the players haven’t got a winners ethos when they have a board and management that are happy to aim for fourth year after year, and take the money. Wenger prefers to bleat about Wilshere’s red card than address his own failings. You didn’t have to be Mystic Meg to see that one coming. Meanwhile Ferguson took off his players who were under threat of a second yellow.
Strangely the loss of Wilshere saw the team perk up, perhaps the impact of a senseless sacrifice finally shook them out of their lethargy. At last we saw the team try, and we could enjoy another Cazorla special, but it was too little to late. To quote John Rattisethi:
“This is no longer a titanic battle between two heavyweights of English football, but a run-of-the-mill contest between one team that competes for the title and another that regards fourth place as comparable to winning a trophy.”
Arsenal fans can stop deluding themselves, or becoming too anxious about what or which trophy the club might win. The answer is zero until the club rids itself of a total lack of ambition, for if 4th equals a trophy then the FA will need to find a replacement reward for those who come first.
Without a change of ethos, the insertion of a real backbone and leadership this club will continue to decline. A fish rots from the head, the tragedy is that many can’t smell the rot as it is hidden by the rose scented aroma of Champions League Qualification.
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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012:11:07:19:08:42 by Padre Pio.
Wenger is in charge of all football decisions at the club and so he should pay the price for the mess he has created
*Signing Ozil is a signing Bergkamp type moment for Arsenal. It changes things utterly.*
This you must understand is a poor Untied side with the best manager this country has ever seen and yet we looked distinctly 3 levels below them.Do the players know this ,was that the reason the players went out and gave an insipid display or are they told "dont worry about other teams just go out pass the ball and you will win" and are this group of players realising this is not the case,just as last years set of players realised it? Or could it be that each year we seem to get the most poorly self motivated players in the world ? Or could it be that the motivation to give blood,sweat and tears is discouraged.Unlike last year I'm not suggesting its a player problem,this should have been sorted out by the selling of the lazy, arrogant and highly self opinionated Alex Song,Mr Billy big Boots himself,but sadly it appears the same team is sent out regardless of what is needed player and tactic wise.The problem must stem from the top,otherwise this years team with vastly different personal couldn't possibly perform in the same spineless,insipid and gutless manner as last years team,but you know what it has!!
Theres more,much more to say but you know what I'm like our team ...I cant be bothered!!!!
I think collective action is needed. A boycott? No not yet, but action that shows there is the base from which a boycott can be built which will not only get bthe Club's but perhaps more importantly the media's attention.
We need to organize somehow so that we can start at some point to take real action that can have real impact. If you wewait amonth or two that means another month or two or longer even before even a small actions can be taken.
Tiome is not on our side if we keep waiting to see what happens because if you wait till next may to talk boycott by then too many Gooners will have invested in two much saving for their renenwed tickets to let them go unrenewed.
And once a boycott is launched if it fails we have nothing in our pardon the pun arsenal to offer to force the club's hand to at least re-think things seriously.
We need to organize and to plan now and take actions ahead hopefully of any radical steps like a boycott and hopefully then those less radical steps will achieve what we want.
"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.
Quote:Padre Pio
I agree a protest is needed, getting it called is easier said than done
We need an organization to start with - to encourage those who feel that we cannot organize to join and then we can build a group of size and impact. So long as we all look at each other like "what are you gonna do? I don't know what are you gonna do?"
Let's do something[b][/b].
Theodore roosevelt - In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012:11:03:23:36:32 by RadioFreeArsenal.
Giroud is another in a long line of decent forwards who Arsenal make look shite.What is the point of having him up there and not giving him the support or service he requires.
Podolski is the best finisher at the club and he is handcuffed out wide left,again another baffling ploy of Wengers,AA ring a bell.
Then we get to the ludicrous choice of Ramsey wide right in the Bendtner role whilst Theo twiddles his thumbs on the bench wondering whether to join Liverpool or Man U.
What message (and I have raised this previously) does it send to the playing staff when your manager lauds finishing third/fourth and qualifying for the CL as a trophy like success,we just need the open topped bus tour of Islington.
No we have been in a tailspin since leaving Highbury,first the excuse was the new stadia then Roman and now Oil Citybut in that time we have neither progressed or stood still.We have lost players any team would covet and indeed did and signed many average Joes or worse downright rubbish and compounded matters by paying them so much we cannot be rid of them.
All this whilst listening to cliche and spin verging on the dishonest from all quarters at the Emirates,and being lambasted by the AKBs and their minions for daring to question Wengers recent credentials,well they are pretty poor for a club supposedly wanting to be the best and compete with the richest clubs in the world,the reason given for our move from our spiritual home.
No sorry I am fed up listening to the tripe that spews forth from Wenger,Gazidis and Hill Wood with an arrogance and disdain that is astounding,all this whilst feathering their own very affluent nests.
We have few at the club,players that is, worthy of putting on an AFC shirt they are underprepared and lack motivation and theat stems from and eminates from our manager.
Time he went.
if anything it ballows them to continue harming the Club and team to their personal benefit or Mr. Kroenke's personal benefit and hiding behind the transition to the new manager.
How do I know this? Simple five years ago another fourm where someone insisted we had to get rid of mr. Wenger because he makes every decision himself I asked directly and what would you do if nothing changed under the new manager would he then hold the board accountable and was told directly the Board would need five years with any new manager before they could be judged as at fault. No joke.
So forgive me if I suspect the Board wouldn't use the new manager in much the same way they are using the current manager because they felt they could get away with ti..
Radio - he said he is fed up with "wenger, gazidis and hill wood". We all agree with you that the board are greedy @#$%&. Well most people agree with that anyway. Stop telling us what we already agree with!
But I find your refusal to accept that wenger has to take a large portion of the blame really irrational. Even just on the football that we have to watch its clear he just can't motivate the players. His lack of tactics. His predictable team selections, substitutions and playing players on how senior they are rather than their seniority. The fact he plays players out of position and keeps persisting with plainly awful players for far to long just because he feels some sort of emotional attachment to them.
Notice that none of these few complaints are related to how much the club decides to spend or who the club has sold.
All I have said is it does not originate with him nor will the issues dogging the Club leave with him
As to your laundry list I think it is naive to pretend that that is perimarily what ails the team.
the fact is even in 2004 and before that many of those things were complained about as they are now. Especially the timing of substitutions and our lack of a plan B. I used to butcher him back in 2001 and 2002 for bringing on Edu to shut up shop too prematurely.
I think if we had the same quality of team as we did from 1998-2005 those would be annoying as they were then not sackable offences as you suggest now.
As for telling what you agree with Fine. So what do we do then? Keepeting them p.iss on us and then laugh in our faces?
We need to organize and stand up instead of just stewing and hoping for half-measures that might make us feel a little better for a little while. Players come and go. managers Come and go. Greeedy investors come and go
We are THE ARSENAL and we need to show them that while the opporuntiy is there. So let's do something besides agree.
"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.
I would happily work with any Gooner including well, you can imagine who I would refer to advance the cause of not letting Arsenal become some cold business that happens to play football.
I think really those wo let this be about well we don't like you or like how you say things are using that an excuse to not stand up.
How hard is it say for us simply to organize and puit our names on a letter stating our concerns? And if we really organized and put 1000 names or more on that letter and sent it not just to the Club and its officials but to TV networks and neswpapers not bring these issues to the forefront and force the Club to confront address and answer them on terms notm their own?
At the time I thought they were a bunch of clowns.
Wonder how many of those clowns will be marching under a new banner now.
"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.
[www.blackscarfafc.co.uk]#
is the site.
I think their growth is a hopeful sign no matter but do the simply want Arsenal back the way it was say 20 or 30 years ago as a lot of their positions suggest (and I agree with many times) or do they want to initiate the very real change that is really needed now to not destroy altogether the legacy of 1998-2005 if not that of Arsenal Wenger Himself?
I think we need to focus on the issues of what do we do to fix things now then worry about returning to a more idealized time.
I also hope this is more than a "spend some effin money" march really. That we need to spend some more is ridiculously obvious and he beenn some time now. We need to challenge them of why they have nort and why they have initiated policies that seemed designed to undermine that possibility.