Disillusioned Wenger

The manager is as aware of the need for change as the rest of us

10 May, 2011 10:00

Andreas Kokkinos 40 comments

Arsene: Let Down

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After the Stoke defeat I've got a certain degree of sympathy for Arsene Wenger. The players he has put so much, time, effort and belief in have really let him down. For the previous two season we have always suffered a string of injuries to key players at key times towards the end of the season. This season was different. We had all our key players bar one.

This was the season Wenger expected his players to deliver him the title. They massively let him down, let the club down, let us down. Of our top players only RvP can hold his head high at the business end of the season. Cesc, Nasri, Clichy, Arshavin, Rosicky the club’s senior players must take a long hard look at themselves. Jack Wilshere has put them all to shame. All five could go in the summer and to get rid of the manager and coaching staff will be catastrophic to the club. I have no doubt that if Wenger goes, none of the above players would stay, so, might as well cash in on the players and keep a manager who has toed the company line for the last five years, giving the club stability at a critical point in our modern history.

We have to remember the season before the "The Invincibles" became known as thus, they blew the league in the last few weeks of the season, despite being the reigning champions. We may hark back to those days through rose tinted glasses, but they also had three trophyless season whilst they grew as a team. They learnt how to win from some very harsh defeats, the 2001 Cup Final springs to mind.

Whilst I believe Wenger has been too blinkered in the belief that his players are better than they are, the last four games have woken him up to the reality of the situation. He comes across as being immensely disappointed, disillusioned, maybe even offended by some of the players’ attitudes and performance at critical times. As he said in the post match interview at Stoke, "It's a privilege to be a professional footballer, an even greater one to play for Arsenal". Sounds like he's had enough and will do something about it. Getting rid of Wenger after this season could be the worse thing the club can do since deciding to increase ticket prices.

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40
comments

2ndplaceisnevergoodenough!
May 11, 2011, 14:09 #6712

Anyone who thinks AW will change is fooling themselves..not a hope of a top 4 finish next year as Liverpool & Man City will strengthen in the summer..time for a chage
Jim
May 11, 2011, 13:45 #6710

wenger is useless and hopeless-period.He thinks his pass glories are enough but time is changing
Dan
May 11, 2011, 3:29 #6653

totally agree with u. lets just hope wenger is dissapointed enough to get rid of these idiots
Kevvy
May 10, 2011, 22:55 #6649

Wenger is to blame. If he can't change he should get out! If we play like we did this season, next year, we will finish outside the top 4. Some of Wenger's current squad are a disgrace.
Mandy dodd
May 10, 2011, 22:32 #6647

Wenger out well he has done better than your darling arry and on far less spending. Wenger has to fix things this summer but get rid of a man who keeps us where we are on what the board have given him! Back to the lane if you will.
StuartL
May 10, 2011, 21:03 #6645

Heard Martin Maddog Allen on Talksport the other day talking about a training drill that G Graham introduced at Millwall, where players had to defend the goalline without using their hands while other players blasted shots at them - testing your bottle / defensive grit if you like. Sagna and Vermaelen apart I reckon the rest of them would all duck. No heart, no sole = no trophy's.
Bob
May 10, 2011, 20:24 #6643

Wenger feels let down? Poor bloke. I hope his £6.5 million salary provides a small measure of comfort for him
wenger out
May 10, 2011, 19:21 #6641

He feels let down?? How does he think we feel? He is the one who has failed time and again by his own policies. No tactical nous, no plan B and an obsession with second rate (no make that third rate) players. Get Wenger out!
GaryFootscrayAustralia
May 10, 2011, 17:38 #6639

2 points. 1. Reverting to a 4-4-2 might help, but as we all knows it is much about the players that make a system work as the system chosen. Even a 4-2-3-1, with RVP as a withdrawn striker in the DB10 mould, which is where RVP should have been playing all the time anyway. Remember DB10 was effectively handing over his position to RVP for however many seasons, so for RVP to now be playing at the apex of a 4-3-3 doesn't make a lot of sense. To make that work, a goal hungry, greedy little bastard in the mould of Suarez or Hernandez (or Wrighty) is required, a real goalhanger who plays off the shoulder of the deepest defender. It should have been Eduardo but we know what happened there. 2. When all's said and done, Arsene's squad is exactly that - HIS SQUAD, and his squad alone. He manages and instructs them on playing style, is responsible for organisation and motivation, so ultimately it's up to him to produce results. That's why he's called the "manager"...
Gabe
May 10, 2011, 17:37 #6638

@A gooner 11:23am 10th May 2011 "Comparing the current crop to 2001 is an insult." Don't forget Manchester United 6 Arsenal 1 in Feb 2001 with Luzhny, Grimandi and Stepanovs in the back four. We finished the season 10 points behind United losing 8 and conceding 38. We went out that summer and signed Sol Campbell. Similar drastic action is required
BNG
May 10, 2011, 17:24 #6637

About a time an AKB posted a brain dead comment like " be careful what you wish for " or " go and support the Spuds " or funniest of all " Arsene Knows best " c'mon Akb's it's time for some blind faith or another 5 year plan...... here's a question for the AKB's how many 'more' last chances can your man you be given ?
Ando
May 10, 2011, 17:15 #6636

Sorry cannot buy any of the above. Every man and his dog knows we have been defensivly crap for about the last three seasons. (not only knocking our defence here, as football is a team game, we do not defend well collectively,we do not work hard enough, and don't have anyone who can actually head the ball and tackle well in midfield)((sorry Alex, but you are not a PV/Roy Keane or Gutusso)) Wenger's inability to fix that alone suggest he neglects aspects of his job.Can we be reminded about his remuneration package! He is more than well paid to know these things and he should take corrective action and not hope that he can plug a gap with some of the overated dross that wear first team shirts thesedays.
chrisy boy
May 10, 2011, 16:55 #6635

if any of us was given the chance to play for Arsenal on a 4 year contract and £50,000 grand a week we would all thank our lucky stars and not bother going back to our current job, what am i getting at i here you say, well here goes, all the players named in the above comments are clearly not good enough for Arsenal, but who brought them into our club, yes mr wenger, who paid and gave them massive contracts, mr wenger. Can we realy trust wenger in the transfer market anymore, for every Vieira, pires, or henry he finds, there will be several realy poor signings. We need a captain even if cesc stays hes not going to find one in the lower reaches of the french league, the likes of cahill and samba have been mentioned ok they are better than 2 of our current centre backs but thats not saying much is it. Wenger has got to swallow his pride admit he has got it wrong and go and sign 3 or 4 winners even if they are not french or 14 year old wonderkids
Rich
May 10, 2011, 15:44 #6631

The noises from Arsene are the same as always. At the end of the season it will be comments about buying in 'super super players' right up to the point of season ticket renewals going in. At that point Vermaelen will be like a new signing. Some of the young players will be back off loan and Ramsey and Wilshere gaining an extra years experience will mean that the team is stronger. Wake up and smell the roses. If the manager can't coach the players to defend set pieces correctly then he can't coach them to mentally handle a tough Premiership campaign. Every season is the same from Arsenal - the only difference this year was that United and Chelsea were kind enough to be a little worse so we looked closer to them! Facts are these - less points than last year, less goals scored than last year, likely to be more goals conceded than last year and an earlier exit from the Champions League. There has been NO progress in 2011 and yet still he talks of killing young players if we bring experience in. The more likely state of disillusionment is from our best players thinking that we have a manager that has no clue how to coach them properly!
Ramgun
May 10, 2011, 15:02 #6626

By the way, we won the FA Cup the season before The Invincibles.
Beero
May 10, 2011, 14:33 #6625

Can we get back to playing 4-4-2, since we have played 3 central midfielders we have won nothing.
Ronnie
May 10, 2011, 14:27 #6624

In America they call second term presidents lame duck presidents.They dont have to stand for relection they just go through the motions till their 2nd term ends.We have a lame duck manager.Wenger is under no pressure,there is no chance of him being sacked so all he does is just carry on regardless.He wont sign the players we desperately need.He doesnt have to win anything.Its an unbelievable situation at one of europes biggest clubs but somehow its being allowed to happen.And there is only one group to blame for it us the fans who have let it happen without any protest at all.The march on sunday should not just be about ticket prices but also about Wengers mis-management.
dan h
May 10, 2011, 14:18 #6623

It's been often said before but who at the club actually challenges Wenger when analysing performances.Lets face it he has selective views when challenged on anything he doesn't agree with.I really hope we move a good few players on but due to their highly inflated wages who is going to sign them? This has been a really frustrating season of missed opportunities & it won't get any easier next year.Wenger hasn't been ruthless enough & with the squad.RVP aside the other main players have let us down but you know what those players also know providing they declare themselves fit they play every week no pressure on their places.
chris dee
May 10, 2011, 14:16 #6622

Arsene disillusioned? I hope so,especially with himself.
Danish Goonerg
May 10, 2011, 14:02 #6620

Have you ever heard of contracts and by the way if they are only staying at Arsenal because of Wenger then good riddance to them.I would much rather have a John Jensen or Kwame ampadu with heart then this overpaid,overrated bunch of mercenaries.
Badgerhead
May 10, 2011, 13:51 #6618

Scaremongering rubbish? These guys were brought in by him, educated by him, owe their reputations in huge part to him. it is entirely possible they would either leave or agitate to leave and disrupt the team. Equally it is also entirely possible Wenger has lost the dressing room and they have had enough. I agree the players have been intensely disappointing at the business end of the season and I think everyone knows this is the end of the line. i think a lot will be cleared out and equally I think coaching methods will change, he has tried and succeeded in the past, this time he has tried and failed, next time I think he will succeed.
fozzys mate
May 10, 2011, 13:30 #6616

You forget there is such a thing as a contract which these players have most being paid stupid amounts when you look at what they deliver. He will never make the wholesale changes required. He created this team as he started breaking up the invincibles in 2004/D. He will not break this one up. I agree that if he is at last prepared to admit what is obvious in that most of this lot are not quite good enough mentally or physically to won major trophies, he deserves a chance to make good. This is his last chance to restore the faith we had in him. If not we must move on for the good of both parties, if not the club and fans will eventually tear each other part.
Mark
May 10, 2011, 12:59 #6614

english premier league doesnt work for french managers. aw and houlier's current teams have a resemblance in that they both lack balls for a fight and when it gets tough which in the EPL it does all of the time and you have to be able to stand your ground and currently our squad simply cannot. Rosicky, Denilson, Diaby, Eboue, clichy none of them can take a challenge without crying or falling over and none of them can tackle. we have talent going forward but no end product no plan b and we dont have backbone or basic defence in tough matches.
TeeCee
May 10, 2011, 12:59 #6613

Quite frankly, even if those players DID want to follow Wenger then let them - if they play for him again they will end up trophyless again because you'll be hard pushed to find a more tactically inept, non-motivational, negligent manager in the Premier League. Throwing £30m at the squad won't sort the issues because the main issues are all the fault of the man in charge. Wenger out!
no. 1 is perry groves....
May 10, 2011, 12:58 #6612

quality article, whilst wenger has his faults, he has been let down by a lot of the players
Kev G
May 10, 2011, 12:41 #6610

Still think nothing will change. He has created this monster of paying huge salaries to players who haven't done a thing in their career. Our Wage bill is on a par with the Uniteds and Chelskis of the world but we do not pay the £100k+ per week that they do (maybe to Cesc). It is because we pay lads like Lansbury, JET, Eastmond, Randall etc etc around £15k a week. Now I'm not using those named players to slate them in anyway just saying that they are all players who have barely kicked a ball for the first team and are all around 20 yet all have huge contracts already. My point is that if Wenger thinks he can cut out the Denilsons, Diaby's, Rosicky's, Almunias etc out of the squad then he will have a hard time becuase that lot are on about £50k a week and apart from Almunia and Rosicky, who have one year left, they have a few years left to see out their contract. Bo one in their right mind will pay them the same wages so therefore personal terms will never get agreed and they'll sit on their behind earning that money for doing nothing. We will still see the in the main same faces next year. Perhaps he can shift a couple but there will be no wholesale clearance. There never is. Secondly when cesc goes for £40m this money will not be invested wholly as he will say he has Nasri/Ramsey/wilshere/Lansbury to fill the void. Don't get carried away with any rumours he will sign two players maximum and they will not be household names
Ramgun
May 10, 2011, 12:39 #6609

What utter piffle. Only an AKB could possibly absolve the manager from any responsibility for the team he has taken SIX YEARS to build. There is absolutely no evidence that Wenger is about to change and six wearisome years evidence that he is totally unable to change. I don't believe a word spouted by Wenger or Ivan-The-Mouthpiece and that is particularly the case prior to the season tickets being renewed.
Billy
May 10, 2011, 12:34 #6608

To all those AKB's who think changing the manager would be a bad thing tell that to the Liverpool fans.Was replacing Hodgson with Dalglish a bad thing.Too many Arsenal supporters are judging Wenger on what he did up to 2005 and forgetting what has happened since.Three times we could and should have won the title in 08,last season and this.But we didnt because of Wengers lack of quality signings and because his players DIDNT have any mental strength for the run in.Its now become a regular thing come March and April.That has to be down to the manager.To not buy a CB last summer was stupid but to not buy a CB in january when he knew TV wasnt coming back was rank bad management.We all know Kroenke wont sack Wenger and that means things will not change and Man Utd and Chelsea will not be as poor next season.So winning the title is even more of a distant dream.If anyone had said in 2004 that Arsenal would not win the title for 7 years and not finish in top 2 for 6 years you would have been taken to the funny farm,but that is what Arsene Knows has achieved
GD
May 10, 2011, 12:29 #6606

To me it's simple. We give Wenger the summer to make changes. If we go into next season with the same threadbare embryo squad that we have for the last 5 years then we as a fan base have to 'spit the dummy'. We literally would have to force the club to make change through protests, vicious hateful atmosphere at the ground and I'd even go with organisied riots. The only way for change is through revolt. But like I say give him the summer to make some change. We'll see if he's capable.
Richard Ansell
May 10, 2011, 12:29 #6605

Yes at last we did actually hear some critiscism of the team's performance at Stoke from Wenger. No blaming of the ref or the pitch for a change and no mental strength nonsense either. How long have we waited to hear something other than bull**** from this man? Will he shake things up in the summer, if your analysis is right, and he has at last run out of patience with this squad of players? That is the billion dollar question. Another is should he be given the chance after taking so long to see the error of his ways?
deejay
May 10, 2011, 12:12 #6601

"I have no doubt that if Wenger goes, none of the above players would stay, so, might as well cash in on the players and keep a manager"... I dont understand this... You are saying if wenger goes the 5 players will go, so might as well sell them and keep the manager? Double Dutch?
Colin
May 10, 2011, 12:02 #6600

"The last four games have woken him up to the reality of the situation" Really didnt the collapses in 2008 and 2010 wake him up? Has he woken up that we need a CB like we did last summer?.No Wenger hasnt woken up at all.Remember he called this squad his best ever.Yes a squad that includes Almunia Flappy Eboue Squallaci Denilson Diaby Rosicky and Bendtner the best ever!!!Wenger always says judge him in May.Well its judgement day.And Wenger you have been found guilty of taking the club backwards.We may finish 3rd but our points total is down on last season.We got knocked out earlier in the CL.Will Wenger have the clearout of the deadwood we so desperately need and bring in quality experienced players?If he did he would be admitting Project Wenger has failed.And stubborn Wenger wont do that.Time for him to go
HowardL
May 10, 2011, 11:57 #6599

I too have sympathy for Wenger - he was getting the usual uncalled for abuse from the home fans again on Sunday - but one of his roles as Manager is motivation, particularly with a young and experienced, and he has fallen short. The Invincibles responded positively to adversity - this team has crumbled. The solution is elusive but we need to search for it. I'm beginning to wonder if Mr USA is the answer - I'm starting to think that we need someone with a bit more knowledge of football rather than soccer to move this on.
Joker
May 10, 2011, 11:55 #6598

Getting rid of Wenger could be the BEST thing this club could do. How funny to hear an AKB defend this tripe! You know all those rubbish players who let him down in 2007, 2008 and 2009? Well guess who gave them all new contracts? Who gave Diaby, Denilson, Eboue and Rosicky new deals? You're an idiot if you think Wenger is the one being let down. His rubbish management and lack of tactics is letting Arsenal down! You expect me to feel sorry for am incompetent overpaid clown, who is arrogant and classless? You want me to feel for a prat on £6 mil a year who experiments and tells us third place is achievement!? When people are getting laid off all over the country? Bugger off. Wenger Has to go. You've got no defence for him, there IS no defence for him.
CD
May 10, 2011, 11:51 #6597

Disagree with what you are saying, as he had exactly the same opinion this time last year, and as usual did nothing apart from adding one or two basement bucket bargains plus a freebie and we have gone further backwards as a result. What makes you think he will do anything different this time? In fact he is likely to lose a few we would want kept eg Fabregas/Nasri this time round, which in turn will make him keep the players we want out!!!!
dando
May 10, 2011, 11:33 #6593

Bringing in new players wont fix it, bringing in new staff wont fix it, Wenger needs to rethink his management style, start kicking butt and revert back to when he first started at the club - actually going to matches other than our own, studying the opposition, changing line-ups and tactics accordingly, playing players in their correct positions and leave managing the club to others so he can concentrate on the team. As we all know this wont happen so expect 3 players leaving (none of which played against Stoke), 3 players to join from teams and leagues other than England (all 3 we will have to google to find out about them) and the announcement of a new captain (the next player expected to leave instead of a true leader. BTW check out Einstein's definition of insanity and guess who fits the bill.
sleepinggiant
May 10, 2011, 11:23 #6592

What sort of utter nonsense are you talking? If wenger goes, then fabregas nasri clichy rocsicky and arshavin go? What? So if Ancelloti goes then Drogba Terry Essien Lampard and Torres goes. And when Ferguson callis it a day then Rooney Berbatov Nani Anderson and Vidic automatically do too? This is the most dangerous, sinister anti Arsenal rubbish that is currently doing the rounds. If what you say is true, then Wenger is the worst manager that has ever managed any club let alone ours - he has turned a giant into a minnow. Scaremongering garbage. Get real
A gooner
May 10, 2011, 11:23 #6591

Comparing the current crop to 2001 is an insult.
xnedu
May 10, 2011, 11:23 #6590

Change?! Can you really see Wenger getting rid of Almunia,Eboue,Squillaci,Rosicky,Diaby,Denilsson,Vela(yep,forgot about him didn't you),Bendtner and buying quality players including (good)replacements for Fabregas,Nasri and Van Persie if they decide to leave? I really can't see that happening.It'll be more of the same next season.
Jekyll
May 10, 2011, 11:18 #6589

He talked of 'taking a distance' and analysing the season properly once it's over. What that distance will allow is the opportunity for these games to fade from memory and Wenger to renew his faith in his current methods, unencumbered by the inconvenience of actual performances and results. He's done it the last few seasons and there is no reason to think he won't do it again. I don't know why AKBs worry about anyone getting rid of Wenger anyway. It's his club to do with as he wishes.