Mark Halfpenny
Reading the recent article by Graham Perry, I was hoping that a Wenger supporter could put forward a convincing argument as to why he is the best man for the job. I have tried so many times to ask why some people ignore the evidence of the last 12 years but the response usually involves being told to, “Be careful what you wish for” or “Who could possibly replace him?” or my favourite, the pathetic “Piss off and support Chelsea / City / Man Utd”. Graham didn’t tell us to “Piss Off” but he may as well have done, as his article is so full of inaccuracies, wishful thinking and blindness to the facts.
It’s important to state at the outset that I, like every other Gooner, want Arsenal to be successful. I remember how I felt in 1989, 1991 1998, 2002 & 2004 and I want that feeling again. Sadly there is precious little evidence since 2004 (12 years and counting!) that Wenger will ever again win one of the big honours.
Graham starts by saying that “The media are loving it. They want fan fury and discord”. Sorry Graham but that is rubbish. The media report a split between Arsenal fans because there is a split between Arsenal fans. And that split is because thousands of long term fans like me have wanted Wenger out of our club for years due to his mismanagement, end of season collapses, chronic under achievement and wasteful spending on huge wages to rubbish players.
The British media are so in thrall to Wenger that he gets by far the easiest treatment of any top manager. Last Christmas, we were humiliated 4-0 by Southampton and on the same day Man Utd lost 2-0 to Stoke. All of the talk on Match of the Day, Sky and the printed media was how Van Gaal couldn’t possibly survive another defeat but the analysis of our match didn’t feature Wenger’s shortcomings at all.
It was “They lacked leadership” “The players let Arsene down” or “two or three more signings” - totally ignoring the fact that Wenger and Wenger alone is responsible for assembling the squad, picking and motivating the team, selecting the formation and managing each match as it progresses. In 95% of our media, it’s never Wenger’s fault. No other manager gets treated like this. It was exactly the same after the 8-2 at Old Trafford or the 6-0 at Chelsea or the regular thrashings in the Champions League Last 16.
Graham goes on to say that we should not judge Wenger on 2005 – 2013 and we should “shout Arsenal from the roof tops”. Why should I Graham? I’ve followed the team home, away and in Europe since the late 70s, spending thousands of pounds and thousands of hours. It was a huge part of my life and I sang myself hoarse in many a losing battle. But in late 2010 I gave up.
I sat through match after match, paying nearly £100 a time (well over £2,000 a year) to watch Eboue, Song, Squillaci, Bendtner, Denilson, Almunia, Gervinho, Walcott and many others poncing about, whilst collecting £50 or £60,000 a week. And all the while, Wenger sat on the bench fiddling with his zip. Wenger has had more money than most clubs – he just chose to spend it on too many sub standard players. Having paid thousands myself Graham, I have every right to judge the utter rubbish served up from 2005 onwards.
And that leads on to another glaring inaccuracy in Graham’s article – he tries to claim “No other club faced with our financial restraints had performed as well as AW”.
Sorry Graham but that is garbage. When Malcom Glazer took full control of Manchester United in May 2005, Man Utd were debt free. His takeover, however, was highly leveraged and in June 2010, Man Utd’s debts stood at £780million. That is far more debt than Arsenal ever had, and it should have been a huge barrier to success. But it wasn’t. Since 2005 Man Utd have won the League 5 times, the Champions League once, the FA Cup once and the League Cup 3 times. That shows what a ruthless manager can achieve. Furthermore, Man Utd seem to have addressed all of their weaknesses in just one transfer window, whilst Wenger once again swanned off to commentate on French TV.
Graham refers also to “knee-jerk haters”. Graham – my dislike of Wenger is built on seeing the same mistakes, hearing the same excuses, watching the same rubbish every year since 2005. It is anything but knee-jerk my old mate. I didn’t start out hating Wenger but I do now. One of many reasons why I hate him is because of the lies he tells. After the Man City friendly match on 7th August Wenger said “Physically we are ready for the new season” but after the Liverpool defeat 7 days later he said “We are not ready physically”.
When quizzed about why he is so far behind his rivals once again during this transfer window he snapped “Look at my face. Am I the face of somebody who does a panic buy?” (Oh no? What about Santos, Park, Benayoun and the permanently injured Arteta in 2011 ??)
And for years Wenger has claimed that nobody can compete with “Financially doped clubs” but this week he has stated “If you look at last season for example, it is not necessarily the club who bought the most that is in front”. The man is so arrogant and disingenuous that he will change his tune whenever it suits him and he has been doing it for years.
Graham tries also to claim that we have young players with promise. We’ve been sold that lie for years Graham or don’t you remember Merida / Lupoli / Owusu-Abayie / Vernazza / Grondin / Pennant / Emmanuel-Thomas / Aliadiere / Itonga / Randall / Bendtner / Vela / Bentley and many, many others. Wenger’s record at producing and managing young talent is woeful.
Just look at Wenger’s handling of Calum Chambers. Buys him for £16million, picks him, drops him, picks him, drops him, plays him out of position, drops him, sends him out on loan. And this is the man that Graham and co try to portray as a footballing genius.
I hesitate to get started on Graham’s “What ifs” but I can’t resist “What if results go our way?”. Everything went our way last season Graham – Chelsea were crap, City were inconsistent, United floundered, Spurs shot themselves in both feet, Liverpool played more like Blackpool but we still managed to have our usual meltdown in Spring and finish 10 points behind Leicester City. There is nothing to suggest that Wenger will ever recreate past triumphs. Even opposition fans sing “Arsene Wenger, we want you to stay”.
And then there is Wenger’s £8.3 million a year salary (whilst complaining about money in football) his defence of high ticket prices (the only Premier League manager to do so) and his dismal European record, given the funds available to him (3 European finals in 32 years of management – and all 3 ended in defeat). What is the point of finishing in the top 4 when Wenger doesn’t have what it takes to win in Europe?
To put Wenger’s European record in context - Brian Clough won the European Cup twice in four attempts, Bob Paisley three times in six, Ancelotti three times in twelve, Guardiola twice in five, Mourinho twice in eleven, Heynckes twice in five and Ferguson twice in twenty one. If Wenger was half as good as Graham wants us to believe, he wouldn’t have that glaring omission on his CV after all these years.
Wenger is football’s Tim Henman – good but there’s always someone better. He has had so much more time, money and leeway than any other top manager but still he finds a way to mess everything up, season after season. The problems at Arsenal are not the result of a media driven witch hunt. Nor are they a result of a shortage of cash. They are caused by a stubborn, arrogant, out of date manager that has too much power, is way behind his rivals and is more concerned with proving everyone wrong.
And that, Graham, is why I, and thousands of others, can’t wait until the day that Wenger finally departs our great Club.
