From Alex Barker: Ian Tanner’s points one by one
Dear Myles,
We haven’t had one of these for a while: an apologist for the current regime.
Let’s take Ian Tanner’s points in order, they are no doubt familiar to many long-suffering Arsenal fans who have had to listen to this stuff before.
“He’s already been very successful. Invincibles in 2004 and all that. So does the author think he’s “lost it” or that the skills previously required to be successful (that Wenger obviously had) are no longer relevant and that new skills are now needed?
That was 11 years ago.
Has the game changed since then? Yes. Have the managerial skills required to succeed changed since then? Yes. The game has become more tactical, defending has become more sophisticated, the overall standard of teams in the EPL has improved, financial resources are more widely spread. Players are wealthier earlier in their careers: motivation and man-management have become more important. These are all areas where, it could be argued, Arsene has not moved with the times until very recently, if at all.
“I’d count 18 years of continuous Champions League football as successful, especially as the financial doping at Chelsea and Man Citeh have virtually guaranteed two of the four spots are taken every season, leaving just two from 18,”
I don’t think anyone is denying that this represents a measure of success. The frustration comes more from the question: is the club doing everything it can to be more successful or is it happy with finishing 3rd/4th and making a profit? I.e. why is there £200m unspent sitting in the bank?
Why have we not signed any new outfield players during the past 2 transfer windows, despite finishing 3rd last season.
Yes, 18 seasons in the CL is an achievement, but is that the limit of the ambition given the resources available? The league title was there for the taking the past 2 seasons, with neither Champion in those years convincing.
Arsenal led the league for most of the 2013/14 season and fell apart at the end for the want of 1 or 2 players that everyone could see were needed… That wasn’t petrodollars blowing us out of the water – that was a refusal to rectify weaknesses in the squad in the transfer window when funds were available to do so.
And before he says ‘who would you buy, etc?’ Myles has pointed out the various quality strikers who have traded to less well positioned clubs for reasonable money in the past year.
Don’t tell me there is no one out there in the whole of world football better than Giroud that we could buy… And if you really believe that Giroud is the best out there, why pursue Benzema all summer, refuse to pay up for him, destroy Giroud’s confidence in the process, and then not even have a back-up plan B, thereby leaving yourself with only a demoralised player and even fewer alternatives up front… (but that’s another story)
“George Graham’s final home games in 1994/95 prior to his sacking: Played 14, Won 3, Drawn 7, Lost 4.”
So, GG was bad in 1995, therefore we shouldn’t replace AW in 2015? Sorry, but what has that got to with anything?
“That’s why Charlton Athletic sacked Alan Curbishley after 15 years. And we all know what happened to them.”
This old chestnut: because club X sacked manager Y and then endured a period of subsequent poor performance, therefore AW should have a job for life? One situation has no bearing on the other.
Again the question is: are the club making the most of their resources? Is the manager getting the most out of the current playing squad even?
Is the manager incentivised to actually win trophies or to make money for the club?
I think a better manager could get more out of this squad just by changing the awful culture of non-accountability and non-confrontation. What other clubs do in their own particular situations is largely irrelevant.
“As for “only” beating Hull City and Aston Villa in the last two FA Cup final victories. What lack of respect.”
Why did the club need ET and penalties to undeservingly beat a Championship side in the Semi Final? Why were we 2 goals down to Hull City in the final before we started to play? Why did we lose the Carling Cup final to Birmingham City? Why does this team so often not turn up for big games? Do AKBs consider these kind of questions to be too ‘dis-respectful’ even to ask of the great man? I don’t. I think these questions are worth asking.
” As you should know, Arsenal under Arsene have only been knocked out of FA Cup once by a team from outside the Premier League… AW has won it more often than any other manager in modern times, and is equal highest overall on six.”
Again, that’s nice but ultimately who cares?
It’s the FA Cup. For a club of Arsenal’s stature the League and the CL are the yardstick.
” We just need to score, and we have a pretty good record in recent times. And it’s interesting and encouraging to note that we are creating more chances than other teams,”
Does he mean the Leicester and Man U games? This seems to forget the recent run of 5 home Premiership games in which we scored in only one? A selective reading of recent history. Creating chances? Great, but why is the shot conversion rate one of the lowest in the league?
“It’s a great theory that the Board accept a lower level of success than the fans want. Why is it a great theory? Because it can neither be proven not disproven.”
See my first point. Bank… £200m… no players signed, etc
“the percentage of the “informed” British public that got the correct answer varied between 9% to 16% over the three surveys! People are dim, you see…”
Sorry, this is just a retread of AW’s, ‘you have never managed a day in football, therefore all your criticisms are invalid, etc, etc, no one can criticise me’, schtick.
What has the UK budget deficit got to do with anything? We are all too stupid to see that Arsenal don’t really actually need a topclass striker, more cover in midefield, and its all part of Arsene’s grand plan? Actually, we are all entitled to their opinion and to express it.
As you always say: the truth is on the pitch.
All things considered, I think the bulk of Arsenal fans have shown enormous patience and forbearance with Arsene’s more masochistic ideological obsessions. Dismissing anyone who disagrees with you as too ‘dim’ to understand is pretty weak stuff.
“Due to football inflation that has been stoked by non-market practices at Chelsea and their precious Man City, clubs like Arsenal have had to hike ticket prices in order to even have a chance of competing.”
Again, back to my first point. If you charge those prices ‘in order to compete’, you’d better spend the money on the team and not leave it sitting in the bank for possibly non-Arsenal related purposes to do with the owner’s other business activities.
Otherwise, either cut prices and give the cash back to the fans or try to compete with the other clubs and stop making excuses. Don’t be surprised if fans get upset having their pockets gouged and the money used or not used for completely separate purposes.
Still enjoying your pieces Arsenal and non-Arsenal. Think you summed it up best earlier this season when you said you would never bet on this side again because you just don’t trust them.
Great to see the good recent performances but I share that assessment.
Myles says:
Thanks, thanks, thanks!