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Tiste Simeon, on 18 April 2011 - 09:47 PM, said:
*FA Cup Facepalm*
You mean * FAcepalm *
Premier League '10-'11 Transfer Talk!
#382
KallorsUnusedMoisturiser 
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Posted 19 April 2011 - 01:43 PM
What do you think has happened to Wenger? There's no denying he's a damn fine manager, but he's lost the plot in recent years. He was known as the unflappable mr cool, never rising to the bait, and now he's arguing with everyone, blaming the world for his misfortunes, and refusing to change tactics.
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#383
Tapper
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Posted 19 April 2011 - 02:40 PM
KallorsUnusedMoisturiser, on 19 April 2011 - 01:43 PM, said:
What do you think has happened to Wenger? There's no denying he's a damn fine manager, but he's lost the plot in recent years. He was known as the unflappable mr cool, never rising to the bait, and now he's arguing with everyone, blaming the world for his misfortunes, and refusing to change tactics.
I think he is just too stuck in his ways to be creative anymore, too proud to go for big signings, and too embittered by his lack of success despite being the team playing arguably the most creative and attractive football in England. He's in a downward spiral until Arsenal finally wins something.
The problem is, you can't just fire him and appoint someone else, because the entire team is built up according to his criteria and specific ideas (and is reasonably balanced in that respect, too), and to his idea of football. So, basically, yuo'd want to fire Wenger and then hire Wenger again.
What Arsenal needs imho is a quality centreback to match Vermaelen (if you want to buy 'm young, go for Radkitskyi or Subotic), a good goalie and an accomplished, explosive striker for Van Persie to play besides or behind.
Rumours are Wenger will sell Nasri as he is in his last year of contract, and Archavin may want to leave of his own accord. That creates room in the first eleven for a striker like Benzema (although he'll be a tad bit too expensive... but there are plenty of guys like him. Sergio Aguero or Hulk are both be awesome and are still young enough to fit Wenger's search profiles.
Here's what the Guardian has to say:
Quote
Five reasons why Arsenal's season has unravelled
The Gunners are running on empty and Arsène Wenger's demeanour as manager is not helping
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David Hytner
The Guardian, Tuesday 19 April 2011
Article history
Arsène Wenger questions the officials after Arsenal's draw with Liverpool. The manager's tendency to blame referees has compounded his team's problems. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
1 Arsène Wenger's persecution complex
To the Arsenal manager's mind, this has been an encouraging season. Wenger's side have challenged seriously for the Premier League title; they have gone deep into both domestic knockout competitions and there can be no shame in losing to Barcelona in the Champions League, particularly when it was all down to the referee. Arsenal have, into the bargain, played some fantastic football to more than justify the admission prices.
Wenger is unable to accept any alternative readings and he has come to feel that there is a conspiracy in place to chip away at his club, to relentlessly beat him and the players. Everyone is in on it, from match officials and the authorities to rival clubs and the media. Wenger has propagated a culture in which Arsenal can never be to blame. He believes that no team are under such pressure, that no team must endure being written off so routinely. But the siege mentality is draining and not only to Wenger, who has withdrawn from some of his press commitments. The players have had to shoulder an onerous burden. It is hard enough to win and win well, without needing to defeat the world.
2 The psychological blow of losing the Carling Cup final
Arsenal had hardly hired the open-top bus and cordoned off areas of Islington but the English game's oft-derided secondary cup competition had assumed tremendous significance. The players considered themselves on a mission to win it; Cesc Fábregas had demanded to play in both legs of the semi-final against Ipswich Town and he was distraught when injury ruled him out of the final. The Wembley showpiece against Birmingham City was the opportunity for Arsenal to get back into the groove, to prove that they could win after five trophy-free seasons and to set themselves fair for a tilt at the bigger prizes. Yet they fell short and it was as much the manner of the 2-1 defeat. Birmingham's 89th-minute winner, which followed a calamitous mix-up between Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny, had Arsenal bent double from the kick to the guts. Since then they have suffered six dispiriting results in eight matches – Champions League and FA Cup exits, together with four Premier League draws. To Wenger's enormous irritation, the mental toughness of his squad has been questioned. What is it about February meetings with Birmingham?
3 Players running on empty through fatigue and injury
Wenger had said that Arsenal needed to beat Liverpool at home on Sunday or kiss goodbye to the title. But, after the call to arms, he saw a dreadfully flat performance and after the 1-1 draw, he admitted that "we were a bit jaded physically". It was the day of the London Marathon and it felt appropriate to talk of Wenger's men hitting the wall. Jack Wilshere looked like a player with 49 matches for club and country in his legs while Samir Nasri's form has been nose-diving for some weeks. Fábregas has grimaced through plenty of the season because of a long-standing hamstring problem. The injury list has offered mitigation, even if the number of niggling muscular problems remains a worry. Is it the way that the club train or condition the players? Or the way they rehabilitate them?
After the 0-0 home draw against Sunderland, Wenger had lamented his players' lack of a "change of pace" and he used the same phrase on Sunday. Arsenal have not played a midweek fixture since the Barça defeat on 8 March but the damage appears to have been done in January and February, when they played 16 matches. Wenger's core of 19 outfield players are struggling to the finish.
4 The absence of a focal point in the attack
Robin van Persie's statistics brook no argument. In 20 starts in all competitions, the Holland striker has scored 17 goals; his record is 13 in 13 in the Premier League. He is almost always wonderful to watch, the classic Wenger fusion of swiftness of thought, skill and technique. Yet in Wenger's 4‑2-3-1 formation Van Persie has sometimes looked ill-equipped to lead the line on his own.
His best position is surely as a No10, who can work off and with the main front man. Van Persie regularly drops deep and wide to seek out the ball but a lone striker ought not to be building up the play.
Arsenal have often had plenty of creators flitting around the edges of the penalty area, but then had nobody inside it. Wenger's vision is a take on Total Football; but has he got the team's balance right?
His back-up options in attack are more in the mould of the traditional No9 but players in that role have flattered to deceive. Marouane Chamakh has been awol since December and Nicklas Bendtner continues to talk a better game than he plays.
5 The high-profile lapses of the back five
It is the easiest hole to pick in Wenger's masterplan for the simple reason that when his goalkeepers or defenders make a mistake, it is often the sort that makes blooper DVDs. Arsenal have a better defensive record in the Premier League this season than Manchester United but, equally, Arsenal do seem to have the capacity to gravely undermine themselves at the back. Perhaps Wenger's attacking system leaves them exposed.
There is little doubt that Koscielny's central-defensive partnership with Sébastien Squillaci has been problematic – the pair have been together in all five of the club's league defeats – while the chopping and changing in goal has not been ideal. The recruitment of Jens Lehmann was one of the season's many outlandish story-lines.
The Gunners are running on empty and Arsène Wenger's demeanour as manager is not helping
Share
72
Comments (314)
David Hytner
The Guardian, Tuesday 19 April 2011
Article history
Arsène Wenger questions the officials after Arsenal's draw with Liverpool. The manager's tendency to blame referees has compounded his team's problems. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
1 Arsène Wenger's persecution complex
To the Arsenal manager's mind, this has been an encouraging season. Wenger's side have challenged seriously for the Premier League title; they have gone deep into both domestic knockout competitions and there can be no shame in losing to Barcelona in the Champions League, particularly when it was all down to the referee. Arsenal have, into the bargain, played some fantastic football to more than justify the admission prices.
Wenger is unable to accept any alternative readings and he has come to feel that there is a conspiracy in place to chip away at his club, to relentlessly beat him and the players. Everyone is in on it, from match officials and the authorities to rival clubs and the media. Wenger has propagated a culture in which Arsenal can never be to blame. He believes that no team are under such pressure, that no team must endure being written off so routinely. But the siege mentality is draining and not only to Wenger, who has withdrawn from some of his press commitments. The players have had to shoulder an onerous burden. It is hard enough to win and win well, without needing to defeat the world.
2 The psychological blow of losing the Carling Cup final
Arsenal had hardly hired the open-top bus and cordoned off areas of Islington but the English game's oft-derided secondary cup competition had assumed tremendous significance. The players considered themselves on a mission to win it; Cesc Fábregas had demanded to play in both legs of the semi-final against Ipswich Town and he was distraught when injury ruled him out of the final. The Wembley showpiece against Birmingham City was the opportunity for Arsenal to get back into the groove, to prove that they could win after five trophy-free seasons and to set themselves fair for a tilt at the bigger prizes. Yet they fell short and it was as much the manner of the 2-1 defeat. Birmingham's 89th-minute winner, which followed a calamitous mix-up between Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny, had Arsenal bent double from the kick to the guts. Since then they have suffered six dispiriting results in eight matches – Champions League and FA Cup exits, together with four Premier League draws. To Wenger's enormous irritation, the mental toughness of his squad has been questioned. What is it about February meetings with Birmingham?
3 Players running on empty through fatigue and injury
Wenger had said that Arsenal needed to beat Liverpool at home on Sunday or kiss goodbye to the title. But, after the call to arms, he saw a dreadfully flat performance and after the 1-1 draw, he admitted that "we were a bit jaded physically". It was the day of the London Marathon and it felt appropriate to talk of Wenger's men hitting the wall. Jack Wilshere looked like a player with 49 matches for club and country in his legs while Samir Nasri's form has been nose-diving for some weeks. Fábregas has grimaced through plenty of the season because of a long-standing hamstring problem. The injury list has offered mitigation, even if the number of niggling muscular problems remains a worry. Is it the way that the club train or condition the players? Or the way they rehabilitate them?
After the 0-0 home draw against Sunderland, Wenger had lamented his players' lack of a "change of pace" and he used the same phrase on Sunday. Arsenal have not played a midweek fixture since the Barça defeat on 8 March but the damage appears to have been done in January and February, when they played 16 matches. Wenger's core of 19 outfield players are struggling to the finish.
4 The absence of a focal point in the attack
Robin van Persie's statistics brook no argument. In 20 starts in all competitions, the Holland striker has scored 17 goals; his record is 13 in 13 in the Premier League. He is almost always wonderful to watch, the classic Wenger fusion of swiftness of thought, skill and technique. Yet in Wenger's 4‑2-3-1 formation Van Persie has sometimes looked ill-equipped to lead the line on his own.
His best position is surely as a No10, who can work off and with the main front man. Van Persie regularly drops deep and wide to seek out the ball but a lone striker ought not to be building up the play.
Arsenal have often had plenty of creators flitting around the edges of the penalty area, but then had nobody inside it. Wenger's vision is a take on Total Football; but has he got the team's balance right?
His back-up options in attack are more in the mould of the traditional No9 but players in that role have flattered to deceive. Marouane Chamakh has been awol since December and Nicklas Bendtner continues to talk a better game than he plays.
5 The high-profile lapses of the back five
It is the easiest hole to pick in Wenger's masterplan for the simple reason that when his goalkeepers or defenders make a mistake, it is often the sort that makes blooper DVDs. Arsenal have a better defensive record in the Premier League this season than Manchester United but, equally, Arsenal do seem to have the capacity to gravely undermine themselves at the back. Perhaps Wenger's attacking system leaves them exposed.
There is little doubt that Koscielny's central-defensive partnership with Sébastien Squillaci has been problematic – the pair have been together in all five of the club's league defeats – while the chopping and changing in goal has not been ideal. The recruitment of Jens Lehmann was one of the season's many outlandish story-lines.
Everyone is entitled to his own wrong opinion. - Lizrad
#384
champ
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Posted 19 April 2011 - 02:54 PM
Wengers problem is he's just too stubborn...
I think he's had so much stick over the last couple of years for not signing big that his attitude now is, 'right well I will show you ... just watch us,' shame is though that it's just not happening... Any man and his dog can tell you it's just not working, they don't have the physical presence/solidarity of the invincibles and that's what is needed in the EPL! He said to be judged after 5 years... his "5 year plan" well it's safe to say that's gone to pot!
I can think of 4/5 positions that they need strengthening but I just cannot see him changing... And whilst that is the case, the cup competitions may be a possibility but the league... I doubt it!
(waits for Arsenal to win the league this year... typical)
I think he's had so much stick over the last couple of years for not signing big that his attitude now is, 'right well I will show you ... just watch us,' shame is though that it's just not happening... Any man and his dog can tell you it's just not working, they don't have the physical presence/solidarity of the invincibles and that's what is needed in the EPL! He said to be judged after 5 years... his "5 year plan" well it's safe to say that's gone to pot!
I can think of 4/5 positions that they need strengthening but I just cannot see him changing... And whilst that is the case, the cup competitions may be a possibility but the league... I doubt it!
(waits for Arsenal to win the league this year... typical)
Tehol said:
'Yet my heart breaks for a naked hen.'
#385
Whiskey Bass
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Posted 19 April 2011 - 04:45 PM
Tiste Simeon, on 07 April 2011 - 08:48 PM, said:
How sweet will it be to beat Man City without Rooney, just to prove we can. 
roflmfao
sorry only just seen it.
the lad should learn to keep his gob shut for a change
#386
Thelomen Toblerone
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Posted 20 April 2011 - 12:00 AM
Far, far too pissed to make decent comment, but stubbornness is his downfall.
Yes, Szczesny's looking promising, but his discovery was a pure fluke after Alumunia (who he stuck with for so long) and Fabianski (who again, despite repeated fuck-ups, he stuck with til he got crippled) went down.
Yes, Vermaelen (unarguably our best CB) has been out all season. Yes, Djourou, our 2nd best CB, has been consistently picking up niggling injuries. But we knew that (by a long way) in the January transfer window, as we knew from bitter experience Koscielny and Squillaci weren't good enough. Yet he bought no-one abd decided to chance it. Big surprise, didn't work.
Song's great, but we have no back up at DM. Denilson has consistently proven he is unwilling to track back, mark, tackle or put in any effort Yet Wenger persists with him.
I could go on about various other positions, but in essence it's the same old tale. Our first team, if fully fit, is great. Unfortunately we've not had a fully fit first XI in a couple of years, and thus you have to conclude it's not likely with out glass manufactured team. So whinging about injuries is ridiculous, and refusing to buy backupz unforgivable.
I love Wenger for how he's transformed the club, and I'm content to let him continue until retirement as I'm not sure anyone could do better frankly. But that doesnt mean I cant criticise or spot obvious flaws, and so I will continue to.
Yes, Szczesny's looking promising, but his discovery was a pure fluke after Alumunia (who he stuck with for so long) and Fabianski (who again, despite repeated fuck-ups, he stuck with til he got crippled) went down.
Yes, Vermaelen (unarguably our best CB) has been out all season. Yes, Djourou, our 2nd best CB, has been consistently picking up niggling injuries. But we knew that (by a long way) in the January transfer window, as we knew from bitter experience Koscielny and Squillaci weren't good enough. Yet he bought no-one abd decided to chance it. Big surprise, didn't work.
Song's great, but we have no back up at DM. Denilson has consistently proven he is unwilling to track back, mark, tackle or put in any effort Yet Wenger persists with him.
I could go on about various other positions, but in essence it's the same old tale. Our first team, if fully fit, is great. Unfortunately we've not had a fully fit first XI in a couple of years, and thus you have to conclude it's not likely with out glass manufactured team. So whinging about injuries is ridiculous, and refusing to buy backupz unforgivable.
I love Wenger for how he's transformed the club, and I'm content to let him continue until retirement as I'm not sure anyone could do better frankly. But that doesnt mean I cant criticise or spot obvious flaws, and so I will continue to.
#388
Macros
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Posted 02 May 2011 - 11:23 AM
Chelsea to beat united to leave the run in really interesting would be tits.
Also, nearly pissed myself laughing at fergie in the paper today crying that the foul on Owen was a penalty. And it was, but his defence of the cheating fucker vidic was " well yeah, but it was hard to see"
Also, nearly pissed myself laughing at fergie in the paper today crying that the foul on Owen was a penalty. And it was, but his defence of the cheating fucker vidic was " well yeah, but it was hard to see"
2012
"Imperial Gothos, Imperial"
"Imperial Gothos, Imperial"
#390
Tapper
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Posted 03 May 2011 - 09:52 AM
Hehe. I dunno, but as a Liverpool fan, the current run plus the Guardian's Rumour Mill whet my appetite for the transfer period. Anything in between now and then is just gravy.
Must say though, Arsenal never looked like losing last sunday, and I do give Chelsea a chance at victory if they go at it with daring and a positive outlook.
Must say though, Arsenal never looked like losing last sunday, and I do give Chelsea a chance at victory if they go at it with daring and a positive outlook.
Everyone is entitled to his own wrong opinion. - Lizrad
#392
Tapper
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Posted 03 May 2011 - 10:34 AM
Cyphon, on 03 May 2011 - 10:15 AM, said:
I would never underestimate fergie.
True. But... while the starting line-up of sunday may be subject to some changes (I expect Giggs or Scholes), and maybe Nani instead of Valencia, where it creaks in the last few months (the centre backs, especially Vidic - he's been making really odd and high risk stunts on defense), Fergie has very few options.
Everyone is entitled to his own wrong opinion. - Lizrad
#393
Tiste Simeon
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Posted 03 May 2011 - 11:08 AM
Really we have Arsenal to thank for the news yesterday. After beating Man Utd, a bearded man in Pakistan was seen to run outside screaming "COME ON THE GUNNERS!"
A Haunting Poem
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
#394
Tsundoku
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Posted 14 May 2011 - 02:35 PM
"Fortune favors the bold, though statistics favor the cautious." - Indomitable Courteous (Icy) Fist, The Palace Job - Patrick Weekes
"Well well well ... if it ain't The Invisible C**t." - Billy Butcher, The Boys
"I have strong views about not tempting providence and, as a wise man once said, the difference between luck and a wheelbarrow is, luck doesn’t work if you push it." - Colonel Orhan, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City - KJ Parker
"Well well well ... if it ain't The Invisible C**t." - Billy Butcher, The Boys
"I have strong views about not tempting providence and, as a wise man once said, the difference between luck and a wheelbarrow is, luck doesn’t work if you push it." - Colonel Orhan, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City - KJ Parker
#395
Tiste Simeon
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Posted 14 May 2011 - 04:10 PM
Just so we can have the image up there again 
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This post has been edited by Tiste Simeon: 14 May 2011 - 04:11 PM
A Haunting Poem
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
#396
Tiste Simeon
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Posted 17 May 2011 - 06:27 PM
Hmm... It appears a Welsh team might enter the Premier League next season. Please let it NOT be Swansea...
A Haunting Poem
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
#397
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Posted 17 May 2011 - 09:15 PM
Tiste Simeon, on 17 May 2011 - 06:27 PM, said:
Hmm... It appears a Welsh team might enter the Premier League next season. Please let it NOT be Swansea...
After another gutless shithouse performance from the Bluebirds it is looking increasingly likely that the Jacks are going up. FFS Cardiff ! 2 years in a row we've had automatic promotion on a plate and fucked it.
I am disappoint.
This team will probably disintegrate over the summer and Dave Jones' ability to motivate, on paper, the best team in the league will come into question. Inquisition, retribution and turmoil will follow, mid table mediocrity for next season beckons. Bollocks.
Now all the friends that you knew in school they used to be so cool, now they just bore you.
Just look at em' now, already pullin' the plow. So quick to take to grain, like some old mule.
Just look at em' now, already pullin' the plow. So quick to take to grain, like some old mule.
#398
Tiste Simeon
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Posted 17 May 2011 - 09:22 PM
You are most likely right. I hoped all the way through the season that they would make something this year, but there was a voice in my head saying "they're going to bottle it again" And lo and behold... Reminds me of a joke I heard the other day...
A video of Bin Laden has been produced to prove he is still alive. He said "I can prove I am alive by the following: Cardiff have looked good all season and then failed epicly in the final stages of the season, screwing up their chances of Premier League glory." Experts are dismissing this video as it could have been made at any time in the past 4 years.
A video of Bin Laden has been produced to prove he is still alive. He said "I can prove I am alive by the following: Cardiff have looked good all season and then failed epicly in the final stages of the season, screwing up their chances of Premier League glory." Experts are dismissing this video as it could have been made at any time in the past 4 years.
A Haunting Poem
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
I Scream
You Scream
We all Scream
For I Scream.
#400
Tapper
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Posted 18 May 2011 - 03:09 PM
Wooohooooo, apparently (yeah, Daily Mirror) Liverpool's formally looking into buying Eden Hazard!
Now, ManU, Chelsea and the rest of the capitalist world also wants him, so chances are slim, but that's one sensational kid-star. A much better purchase than Ashley Young, imho.
Now, ManU, Chelsea and the rest of the capitalist world also wants him, so chances are slim, but that's one sensational kid-star. A much better purchase than Ashley Young, imho.
Everyone is entitled to his own wrong opinion. - Lizrad
