From Banner : Deja Vu-Simon Lambert email
Let us see how the summer has gone so far.
-No new keeper.
-Only 1 centre half brought in after losing 3 to free agency
-No new warrior in the middle to protect the red Smurfs
-Wenger to sign new Arsenal deal “very soon”
-Wenger telling the fans to believe
-Half the squad is out injured & we have not even hit September yet
-The only true star on the squad is being forced to stay
How is this summer any different from the past 5 years? Simon Lambert’s email is the only realistic email I have read on ANR from a fan. How can Gooners be so naive?
From Vineet : Indifferent
Hi Myles,
Love reading your opinions and, like many readers, like them more when I agree with them!
I haven’t been following the Arsenal for as long as many other fans, but have followed them loyally since 1998-99 – in different continents and with different mainstream media (TV, radio, internet radio and of course ANR).
I read The Professor and enjoyed it as it covered a heady successful period in Arsenal’s history.
Now, I must admit, although I still follow Arsenal and like Arsene Wenger (and give him the benefit of doubt because there are several sides to every story), I am getting close to indifferent.
The main reason is the lack of heart in the side since Vieira left.
Before Birmingham in 2008 you just knew (or I did) we weren’t going to hack it and get over the line as winners, ditto 2009. Although there are some fighters in the team, the 2003-04 had winners from Lehmann to the back four, Vieira, Parlour, Bergkamp…..
I hope the situation changes – and like you have said several times, I watch what the manager does, not what he says – and will enjoy seasons again when I believe we have the talent and the heart to win. At the moment, sadly, I believe, arguably, that we may have the talent, we certainly don’t have the heart (with apologies to TV, AA, CF and in my opinion, RVP).
Best wishes
Vineet from Shanghai
From A sceptical Gooner : Steve in Vancouver’s AKB style defense of Wenger
So, Arsenal need a big keeper, a mature one, one who comes out for crosses, one who can be a mentor to others etc. etc. Fine points.
But, Wenger has had 4 years to look for such a keeper. What was he doing in these 4 years? Handing out one after the other spin about first Almunia and then Fabianski. Had the board had any balls, they would have never let Wenger get away with fielding Almunia for 2 seasons. And claiming that one day we will all see what a great goalie Fabianski is – yes, he made that claim last season after another one of Fabianski’s cock-ups.
What was Wenger doing for so long about the defense? We have needed a couple of CB’s for 5 years now. He played Cygan, then handed out familiar spins about Senderos, then bought AND retained Silvestre and in desperation signed a 36 year old Sol.
That Sol turned out to be the best of the lot last season is indictment of Wenger’s thorough mishandling of the club’s defensive strategy.
Wenger, and his band of yes-men, cannot coach defense (in 6 years they have not been able to plug set piece goal leaking) nor are they willing to buy defenders who know their job because that would be a huge departure from Monsieur’s idealistic “vision.” Wenger inherited a great defense courtesy of GG, and in his 13 years managed to sign one world class CB and one decent one in Vermaelan. Compare that to Fungus’s record of defensive signings.
Wenger has consistently lied about knowing what is wrong and fixing it. His idea of fixing is to head straight to France to pick up unknown French or French-speaking players and stick them into Arsenal where he spend the next few years spinning yarns about how he “believes” in his players – he “believed” in Cygan, Senderos, Almunia, Denilson, Rosicky and Diaby (who even got contract extensions), Walcott, Greedybayor and the likes. There’s a reason he’s won fuck all for 6 years (that FA cup was such a fluke it’s not even funny) and that will be 7 years of fuck all in 2011
And what do the board do to hold him accountable? Reward him by falling at his feet to sign a contract extension
No wonder Arsenal are a laughing stock amongst the elite clubs of the world.
From Benth : Time to cool the engines ?
Some younger (and even some older, these days) gooners seem to believe that our club has some kind of a divine right to win titles. All the time. But not so.
This soon to be 125 years old club has won the league 13 times, equals one title each ten years in average. A little less than Man Utd and Liverpool, but not by mutch. Other English teams are not even close.
Mark my words: Some years from now, the work of Wenger done during the last few years, will be regarded as the work of a genius.
From a historical point of view, five years without a major trophy is, well: nothing. Nothing. If – if !!! – this drought we’re now experiencing, is the cost of the fundation for success in the future. Then it’ll be MORE than worth it.
No, I don’t think all the big man does is as brilliant as it could have been. He is not almighty. In Norway we have this saying: Trees don’t grow into heaven. And I’m told that not even the tall French ones normally does that.
But building the new stadium was in fact much like getting a higher education – like getting a degree from the university: It takes time, it takes money, and it takes a LOT of hard work.
Yes, you DO have to sacrifice some to get it.
But once you’ve done it, no one can take it away from you. You’ve got it, and you’ve got it for life. You have moved up a level. Was it worth it ? You bet it was worth it !!!
I think we all realize that the arrival of ultra-rich owners from all over the universe, crowding the PL like flees on a dogs…well, you get the story, has changed the stakes a bit.
Not even Wenger could have anticipated this. And it sure make some gooners rather nervous, these days.
But when the new financial regulations start to work some years from now, there will be at least ONE club on this continent in a healthy financial condition. One club in between all the clubs lying around with broken backs.
Always the future, you say. Always the future. And what about the youngsters – the young players? What if they don’t have the patience to wait another year? What about Cesc? And the commitments we have for HIM ???
Let me quote Michael Jordan on this one before I’m finished: “There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and never win titles. Most of the time, those players aren’t willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team.The funny thing is, in the end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual goals more difficult to achieve. One thing I believe to the fullest is that if you think and achieve as a team, the individual accolades will take care of themselves.Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”
Tomorrow it starts all over again. I guess that means it’s about time to heat the engines…
Regards from Norway, Benth.#
From Mark Roberts : Simon Lambert paints a dark picture
I think Simon Lambert is going a bit overboard in his email. It is foolish to suggest that Wenger/Arsenal didn’t contribute massively to Fab4’s immense talent. He makes it sound as though Fab was so obviously a world- beater when we got him. I wonder why Barca let him go then?
Also, don’t forget about the raft of talent that was the Arsenal team when he joined us and began his apprenticeship. He was surrounded by some of the hottest players on the planet.
Lastly, let’s not depict Fab as the old man hanging upside down in the dungeon in Monty Python’s Life of Brian! “You lucky, lucky bastard! Oh what I’d give to be thrown to the ground and spat at!”
He’s a pro footballer, surrounded by good friends in London and on a wage that is truly out of this world.
I think he’ll be OK.
From Duck : Reply to Paul
I think Arsenal FC’s main goal is not to invest heavily in the squad but to pay off the debt as soon as possible.
The Board should get a higher price if the club no longer carry any debt / lesser debt. Arsenal will be more valuable. As long as the club stays in Champions League football and a reduced/no debt.
Then it will be the most valuable club to purchase, as the income per game is quite high.