Kevin Whitcher
It’s a gag I’ve used before, but it bears repeating. Why can’t you trust Arsenal to take your dog for a walk? Because they can’t hold a lead. I doubt many are laughing. Crying, possibly.
Still, let me get something off my chest first. The minute’s silence for Danny Fiszman and the recent anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster. As you would expect, the players gather around the centre circle for a minute’s silence… where they are joined in tribute to those sadly departed by a man wearing a giant dinosaur costume. I’m sorry, but this just isn’t appropriate. If the fool whose job it is to don the Gunnersaurus outfit does not wish to disappear from view at this juncture, then at least have the basic civility not to make a farce of the minute’s silence by taking centre stage in the middle of the playing surface. Arsenal are supposed to symbolise class, the right way of doing things. Yet you have this clown in a dinosaur costume cheapening what should be a moment of sombre reflection. If you had been unfortunate enough to lose someone in the Hillsborough tragedy, what would you have made of this total misjudgment? Did Gunnersaurus attend Danny Fiszman’s funeral in costume? Of course he didn’t so f**k off the pitch at such moments and show some basic respect. It’s not the first time this has happened, but I do hope someone at the club is reading this, has a word with the man in the costume and that there is no repeat. Basic decency and plain respect demand it. In the event that I encounter the mascot at some future event I will tell him my opinion and no doubt.
Shall we move onto the football? Mental strength. Ah yes. I haven’t seen anything of the manager’s press conference words, but I am sure that, on this occasion, he gave that particular phrase a wide steer. Because the moment Arsenal established a lead, they went to pieces, displaying the solidity and character of a jelly mountain. They haven’t learned. 2006: Gael Clichy rushes into a Villarreal forward in the Champions League semi final second leg, but is let off the hook by Jens Lehmann saving the spot kick. Some of the younger players rush to celebrate with the mad German as the ball goes out for a corner. Jens tells them to f*** right off and concentrate on defending instead of celebrating. Their mindset is gone, and they need to re-focus double quick. An experienced head ensures the players are doing what they should to get the required result. The time for high fives is after the final whistle.
In 2008, at Anfleld, Arsenal score the goal that should ensure passage to a Champions League semi-final against Chelsea. But from the kick off panic ensues, Kolo Toure makes needless contact with a savvy Ryan Babbel and this time the keeper (Almumia) is unable to save the day. 2011, and the Premier League title challenge is given a late lifeline by a Robin van Persie penalty deep into injury time. The celebrations are ecstatic and extended, the focus gone. Now you need a Vieira, a Gilberto, to calm things down and get the team concentrating until the final whistle. Central midfield at this stage consists of Song, Nasri and Fabregas. Pups in the greater scheme of things, with the bulk of their careers ahead of them. No authority, no leadership, no knowhow.
So then you get Eboue ploughing into Lucas with as much sensitivity to what was required at the moment as Gunnersaurus during the minute’s silence. Clichy, Toure, Eboue. Not much football intelligence there really, is there? As Lee Dixon said on ‘Match of the Day 2’, it was a penalty Nigel Winterburn would never have given away. And ultimately, you have to point the finger at the manager. Arsenal conspire to give away winning positions with such frequency because the players are not mentally capable of doing what is required to win football matches they should be good enough to. There have been a number this season, and it isn’t a new trait. It was happening in 1999 for God’s sake. It’s certainly happened a lot since the departure from Highbury and the break-up of the Invincibles. What significance that the one time the team established the ability to see matches through that Martin Keown was helping out the coaching staff? He was supposedly there to learn! What a joke. Wenger has always downplayed Keown’s role in 2006 because he does not want anyone else to take the credit for a fantastic run in Europe. It is the kind of selfish vanity that has brought us the frustrations that Project Wenger has now led us to.
People are seriously p***ed off, and word from inside the club is that apparently they are bricking it about the planned season ticket price rises. One suspects that they may seriously now consider only levying the 2.5% VAT rise instead of the 6.5% being asked for club level renewals.
Stan Kroenke was in attendance yesterday. I have a memory of his first game at the club being the 1-1 Premier League draw when Liverpool visited Arsenal in April 2008. Not much has changed. A red scarf was draped over Danny Fiszman’s seat in the directors’ box, although someone managed to dislodge it during the interval. It kind of symbolized the afternoon in many ways. Fiszman’s contribution to the club has been immense. In some ways he was as instrumental in the revolution the club has witnessed as the current manager. I have reservations about naming the bridges to the stadium after directors (Ken Friar Bridge does not have the aura of Sir Matt Busby Way) but Fiszman worked very hard to bring about a stadium that puts Arsenal in a position to compete with the top clubs. Granted, the value of his shareholding increased significantly as a consequence, so it was not a thankless task. However, credit is due for his efforts and obviously with his passing, the club has the opportunity to move on from the limbo created by his unfortunate health problems.
The chances of changing the manager are slim for the time being. Kroenke is aware of the bottom line – the balance books – and Arsene Wenger’s current contract means they cannot seriously consider replacing him until 2013 at the earliest. So it’s now up to the board to identify the repeated failings of the team, discuss these with the manager, and leave him in no doubt that change is required. There is unlikely to be a mass clear out of playing personnel in the summer, although that would be a very positive step. However, my argument when putting forward the idea that the club would be better served with a change at managerial level is that a different boss could get more out of the group of players currently contracted, through handling them differently, and critically better coaching methods. George Graham is too old to be taking regular training sessions, but defence needs to be worked on a lot more than it is. With the right approach, even these players could develop a winning mentality. Life is too comfortable for an Arsenal player today. As Myles Palmer has christened it, the ‘Colney Creche’ has created a bubble in which the players are not challenged, where adversity is never seen. Thierry Henry became the player he is because Martin Keown habitually kicked him black and blue in training.
So if Wenger stays, the board needs to insist on an overhaul in the coaching staff to bring in people who are going to make waves and make life a lot less comfortable, people who will hold players to account and challenge the manager in the areas he is getting it wrong, season after season. And if Wenger wants to throw his toys out of the pram and accept a role at a different concern, I won’t be shedding too many tears. There is a glass ceiling at the club now. Their ambitions are limited because the manager has built a side without the character, composure and basic intelligence to obtain the results required. He can get them within sight of the winning post, but as triumph nears, they bottle it, repeatedly. It’s a psychological problem now. Aside from the changes to the coaching staff, a different type of player needs to be brought in, and the tactics changed. Too often attacking moves are both laborious and lack numbers in the box to actually make the most of any balls that come into the centre.
Still, there’s plenty of time to rake over the coals of the changes that need to be made between now and next season. For now, I just want to see the AKB fantasists leave their comments about how Arsenal can still win the title, and that we should not give up yet. From the last 15 available league points, Arsenal have dropped more than they have gained. In that time they have played Sunderland, West Brom, Blackburn, Blackpool and Liverpool. Once the title is gone, and the pressure is off, the team will rally and play some sumptuous entertaining football in meaningless fixtures. Plus ca change, eh?
The current issue of The Gooner can be bought online here.
