RW
I’ve been firmly in the Wenger out camp for over a decade. I remember being in Cardiff in 2005 for the Man U cup final thinking that it was the end of that period of rivalry between the clubs. Fast forward 12 months and flying back from Paris I had the feeling that the annual Cup Final two day jolly was over and despite a last hoorah in Cardiff for the League Cup Final I was proved right.
Ten years on and I get so bored arguing with Wenger’s disciples and football fans in general about the state of our club. Starting a new job in 2007 you quickly forge friendships with other football fans, in this instance a fellow Gooner and a lovely old boy from that mob down the road. Initially they couldn’t understand why I was anti-Wenger but by the time I’d left in 2011 my Gooner colleague had crossed the floor, whereas my Spurs pal wanted Wenger to continue for life! That’s been the theme of things with more joining the anti-Wenger brigade year on year. We all know it’s run its course and the noose tightens every single day around his neck with no one at the club having the balls to pull the lever! What a shambles!
Wenger likes his stats and one thing I’ve found over a decade of talking to his disciples is they too love a stat. “Our most successful manager”, “20 years of qualifying for the Champions League”, “Ozil has the most assists”, etc. I’ve never been a lover of stats. Criticising Ozil a few seasons ago about him being lazy I was countered with “he actually covers more ground than any other player” stat. I don’t know whether this stat was/is true but I’ve seen enough of him to know his heart really isn’t in it irrespective of his distance running capabilities. Wenger, we are told, relies heavily on assessing his players via the wealth of stats available to such an extent the club purchased StatDNA (a US-based football data analytics company) back in 2012. As Wenger contemplates his future maybe he should analyse his managerial stats.
* 33 years in management – 4 League titles
* In 20 years at Arsenal – won 57.28% of our games. Won 9 trophies at an average of 127.44 games per trophy.
Now stats don’t mean anything until you compare like with like.
* Ferguson – won 59.67% of games. Games per trophy 45.45.
* Mourinho (with Chelsea) – won 66% of games. Games per trophy 46.
* George Graham – won 49.02% of games. Games per trophy 76.83.
We can go on Paisley, Dalglish, Shankly, Kendall from years past all have much better stats than Wenger. Of recent league winners Pellegrini and Mancini easily outperform Wenger. Ranieri is currently at 72 games with Leicester for his 1 trophy, you can bet he’s pensioned off before the club let him get to 127.
The point is Wenger is statistically not a top manager. He’s a good manager but there is a whole level of managers above him. Wenger’s record is second rate compared to his contemporaries. The younger breed that we’ve missed out on such as Pep, Klopp and Conte have all outperformed Wenger. Those still linked - Simeone and Allegri - have similarly left him behind. So be careful what you wish for my arse!
