Sat 11th September 2010; 15:00, Emirates Stadium
Archive for Analysis
Realignment Of The English Footballing Order
Posted by: | CommentsWatching last night’s game between Middle Eastlands and Liverpool, I had this conversation in my head about what was going on. Part of me was kind of pissed off that Liverpool rolled over and let the Mancunian Chavs tickle their bellies, pat them on the head before sending them back home with a reality check.
Another part of me was pissed off that Arsenal didn’t bury a 10 man Liverpool last weekend. Like many, I’m rationalizing that a point at Anfield is a precious point during any part of the season; or I’m rationalizing that it was the first game of the season, Li’l Jack Willy showed a bit of understandable and acceptable inexperience in the lead up to Liverpool’s goal, Arshavin was just about getting out of the dressing room, we didn’t have our first choice squad on the pitch – yada yada yada.
Maybe it’s just easier to get pissed off with Liverpool for rolling over last night and letting Moneybags City bitch slap them all over the park.
But it’s worth observing that even this early in the season, the new order in English football is realigning itself and its going to cement itself very quickly. They say the table doesn’t lie, and I’m making an early prediction that the current top 4 will finish in the Champions League places at the end of the season.
If you asked me, I’ll unashamedly proclaim that the final order in the top 4 will be alphabetical; but then again I’ll ask – what the hell did you expect me to say?
Clearly, a few people have been drinking that cool-ade stuff down the Tottenham Lodge in preparation for their tussle with the Young Boys of Bern. The 28 minutes of the first half of last Tuesday’s match between the Spuds and the Young Boys was the best 28 minutes of football that I’ve watched in a very long time.
Even then, ‘Appy ‘Arry and Big Bad Billy G seemed to have drank too much of that stuff to propel them to delusions of grandeur that leads them to suggest that the Spuds can win the title .
There’s a vicious rumour going around Seven Sisters road that revenge of the 1913 revolution of North London is nigh. Or maybe it was Henry Norris’s wheeling, dealing and politicking that relegated Spuds to the 2nd division in favour of Arsenal staying in the 1st division that pisses them more than a move from South East London. I forget why the Spuds have such an inferiority complex.
Manchester United on the other hand are going through a very interesting period. I suppose those with a more sunny disposition might call it a rebuilding time for them. If I was cynical, I’d suggest that they’re following the Arsenal development model to the tee – only they’re what, 5 or 6 years late?
To be honest, I don’t think the powers that be at United would have noticed the Berlin wall falling if it hit them on the way down. We get reminded that their predicament is justified because of their successful haul of trophies in the last 18 years. We get told that if it wasn’t for the Glazer family, they would be well run and debt free. Yeah – blame the Glazers alright, but the end result is that Manure is a financial basket case.
The bottom line is that Manure bought the title when they had the chance and it’s kind of ironic that their so called youth development policy is now being lauded as a virtue. I suppose that’s why they’re now paying main street prices for relatively unknown players just like an old sage of ours does.
Either way, United is not the club that they used to be and it will show this season. I get bemused when it’s suggested that Arsenal don’t have strength and depth in defence, yet Manure and even Chelsea are threadbare beyond their first choices. But I suppose they have youth.
If you haven’t been around for a while, you’ll notice that Chelsea are already being coronated as the 2010-2011 Premier league Champions. If you believe some media houses, they’re on track to scoring 228 goals this season while only conceding a few goals here and there for good measure.
Chelsea’s defence is suspect – they’ve only got away with it this far because they haven’t been properly tested by the teams they’ve played.
“But they can only beat the teams in front of them”, I hear the murmurs in the shadows.
Well, as long as selective amnesia is not applied as Arsenal is accused of being flat track bullies. The Gunners too, can only beat the teams that they play – it just doesn’t apply to the Chavs.
Nevertheless, Chelsea’s dominance as the Moneybag specialists is being overhauled by Middle Eastlands; in the same way as Manure’s dominance as the model club is being overhauled by Arsenal’s organic development. It’s the new order of the footballing establishment.
The question is whether the virtuous cycle of building wonderful things from the ground up like Arsenal is doing will overcome the vicious cycle of buying things like they’re running out of fashion the way Middle Eastlands are doing it.
England’s Redemption Can Be Found At Arsenal’s London Colney
Posted by: | CommentsEver since the game between Ingerland and Slovenia mid-week when the 3 Lions scraped through to the knock out stages by the skin of their teeth, I’ve been a bit hesitant to follow the media coverage through the English media.
I suppose one reason is that I’ve reached saturation point with the sycophancy and vanity that impales the coverage of the fortunes of the England team by the media here in the UK.
By the very nature of the beast that is the World cup (emphasis being on the ’World’), I and many other football lovers around the world want to follow the fortunes of the many teams still in the competition, and would highly appreciate a balanced, objective and impartial media to tell us about the other great teams and the other great players also in the world cup.
But Hey!, I also want my council tax bill reduced but that ain’t gonna happen soon.
There was only one way out from the fever pitch madness and media coverage that led to, let’s face it, the mother of all bitch slaps and humiliations that England has ever faced on the international stage. The only way out for England to justify the hyperbole and narcissism that the media and establishment fuelled before yesterday’s game against the Germans was that England win and that they win comprehensively.
Not even the clutching of the Frank-Lampard’s-goal-was-disallowed-shame-on-FIFA-for-not-introducing-goal-line-technology straw can hide away from the fact that England has had a woeful World cup campaign and the players, management and the FA should hang their heads in shame.
A Dejected And Beaten England Team Leave The Field Following a German Master Class in International Football
I’ve covered most of my reasons why I suggest that England will never win the World cup until they come out of the Stone Age, so I’m not going to go over that ground and suggest that if you haven’t yet, you should read that article to get a sense of where I’m coming from.
It’s not about the disappointment and anti-climax of the so called Golden Generation. It’s not that Fabio Capello is a dictator who has added no value to the fortunes of the national team at a major competition. It’s not that the solution is to get an English manager like Roy Hodgson or Harry Redknapp who can understand the ‘English’ game in a way that a foreign manager cannot.
It’s not that (this one was a funny excuse by Graham Taylor) international competitions take place in the summer after a long hard season and it’s during a period when England players don’t normally play their games and in hot climates – shame on you Mr. Taylor for even uttering those words. It’s not that the team failed to show ’pluck and spirit’ and that good old fashioned English graft, grit and steel that is the cornerstone of the brand of English football that we’re told drives the best league in the world.
The issue here and something that I’ve preached on several times is that the underlying culture and philosophy of English football is rotten and stuck in the Neolithic age. When even Stand Collymore on his radio call in is asking Arsenal fans how England can learn from Arséne Wenger and the way he nurtures talent who are technically gifted and can cope with the way the rest of the world plays, then you know there’s a problem.
I submit to you that until England starts from the grassroots by changing the culture and moving away from the ’kick and rush’ brand of football that Franz Beckenbauer rightfully mentioned and was harangued by the English media for – Team ‘Ingerland’ have the mother of all mountains to climb.
It’s not enough to be a celebrity footballer, or believe the hyperbole about what ability you actually have. There’s a very big difference between being talented on paper as is suggested by all and sundry, and actually producing on grass.
And can we now draw a line under this nonsense of calling certain players world class. Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Terry and Ashley Cole are good and above average players, but let’s not push the envelope. I even agree with Robbie Savage’s (when was it I last agreed with Savage) that a player should only be considered as ’world class’ when they can sit on the same table as Pele, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Johan Cruyff, George Best and players of that ilk. Leo Messi is the only player currently warranting that badge of world class.
I was having a discussion with some friends yesterday evening as we explored what it is that ails English football (well, aside from the vanity of the media about the perceived capability of the team).
One of the analogies used to describe England in comparison to say Spain, Brazil, Argentina or Germany was that these 4 teams were like a gourmet restaurant that serves the best food and wine you’ll ever get anywhere on this planet, while England were proving yet again that despite the hype, they were just a kebab shop down the high street.
So many times, Arséne Wenger has been vilified by the English media for not having a team that was ‘English’ enough. This naturally came with the accusation that the Arsenal manager is one of the protagonists responsible for harming English football – as if Wenger is responsible for the cultural and philosophical deficiency of an entire footballing establishment.
Wenger famously stated that he won’t pay over the odds for English players whose price tags are inflated for no justifiable reason, yet they can’t deliver. His alternative was to set on a path that would allow Arsenal to develop their own crop of English players who played the Arsenal way.
The problem for Wenger is that visionaries are rarely lauded, let alone acknowledged and appreciated for many people don’t see the virtues of the said vision until long after the seeds are planted and the rewards are being enjoyed.
Take a look at the results of Wenger and Arsenal’s vision within the youth and reserve team setup at London Colney. Arsenal has the best crop of young talented players who are mostly English coming through the ranks. The youth team that won the double of the youth FA cup and the youth league in 2008-2009 had 9 English players in that squad of 15.
They‘re not just young and English, they’ve been brought together in a way of life since the young age of 11 and they have grown up in a culture that promotes the virtues of total football.
These young players are technically gifted and they can work with the ball with both skill and gusto. It’s also plain obvious to see that the issue is not whether all these players eventually make it to the Arsenal’s first team.
Not all of them will, but Arsenal get’s to decide whether they keep the best of the crop. For the rest, they are sprinkled around the football leagues and they get an opportunity to make their careers elsewhere while still reaping the benefits of the Arsenal way.
Those who graduate to the ranks of the first team are already showing the signs that they will be staking their claim to the England shirt come the 2014 world Cup in Brazil and the 2016 Euros in France and beyond.
The Arsenal Young Guns Celebrate In Style
It’s players like Little Jack Willy who has lit up Bolton on his loan spell to the Trotters from Arsenal. It’s players like Jay Emmanuel Thomas who are so versatile and prolific while being technically gifted, you can see him becoming the England midfield general for the next 10 years.
It’s players like Craig Eastmond, a young prospect from Wandsworth in South West London who feels nothing at the prospect of being thrown into a high pressure game for Arsenal and holding his own as a defensive midfielder. It’s prospects like young Kieran Gibbs from Lambeth who is already on his way to becoming one of the world’s best left backs.
Have I mentioned Kyle Bartley and Sanchez Watt? Or Henry Lansbury, Mark Randall or Tom Cruise?
The talent at London Colney is ridiculous and only a fool can’t see that the future is bright in the sleepy village of Shenley that hosts the Arsenal Academy in the heart of the Hertfordshire countryside.
When Reality Bites Sycophancy: Story Of The World Cup So Far
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s been a hectic week trying to catch up with everything inside and outside work after a long break. Naturally, I wanted to organize myself so that I don’t miss any minute of the race for the Coupe du Monde as the world descended on South Africa.
My strategy of focussing on catch-up until last Friday was not helped by the sheer suffocation I endured from the media as a collective, as everywhere you turned, a story of the World Cup was being shoved down the proverbial throat.
The coverage ranged from the necessary and quality reporting that covered team profiles and objectively looked at the chances of the 32 nations; to the shockingly incompetent, ignorant and lazy-assed views of BBC commentators who kept insisting that the ’Calabash’ (the inspiration in the design of Soccer City) is an African cooking utensil.
In between the two extremes was the customary sycophancy of the English media about the fortunes of Team ’Ingerland’. I suppose a degree of reporting is necessary so that we get to know how the team are doing, but I tell you, these guys are just stopping short of installing cameras in the hotel toilets as they seek to follow and anticipate every move that the England camp make.
It’s this obsessive self indulgence, naval gazing and mutual back slapping in equal measure that makes it harder to deal with the fall out when expectations are not met. I guess it’s easier to get bemused by the post-mortem that unleashes it’s wrath on a single player like Robert Green (bless him) for the mother of all howlers.
However, there is less of an objective questioning of how lacklustre the rest of the England team was. It’s fine making Mr. Green the ’Anti-Christ’, but I’d suggest that the entire team needed to look themselves in the mirror and heave a collective ”shame on me”.
Dare I even say they needed a bit of Theo Walcott in there; but then again, when an out of his depth James Milner and an out of position Sean Wright-Phillips are chosen ahead of a competent and talented Joe Cole, you do wonder what’s happening in the Rustenburg funny farm. Even Aaron Lennon was committing crimes against association football that our Walcott is normally accused of.
I was also bemused by the ITV commentator (can’t remember who it was), who raised the temperature of his commentary every time Rooney touched the ball. If I was in the next room, it was possible to think that Rooney was about to hit the back of the net, and this is the sort of sycophancy and self indulgence that clouds an objective view that most fans around the world would like to hear.
The truth is England were dire, even without Robert Green’s howler. Lampard, Rooney, Lennon, Milner, Wright-Phillips, King, Carragher et al were all passengers. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that Emile Heskey and Glenn Johnson were England’s best players on the day, followed closely perhaps by Gerrard.
Considering that Heskey might have been dying of embarrassment from his fiancées performance on Channel 4’s ’Come Dine With Me’ wags special a few days earlier, the boy done good with an assist and shot on target to add to his name.
I think some of these stars should get some PR advice before unleashing their wives and girlfriends to the public. To tell you the truth, I felt like hiding behind the sofa when Heskey’s fiancé é said she didn’t know who Martin Luther King was, yet she had a portrait of him in her living room….but I digress.
My prediction is that the semi-finals will be contested between Brazil, Spain, Germany and Argentina. There’s nothing I’ve seen so far to suggest that I’m way off base on this one. While Brazil, Spain and Italy are still to play, the 8 games so far have been mostly a guarded affair with teams preferring not to lose as opposed to trying to win the first match.
I enjoyed the Argentina vs Nigeria game, and was interested to listen to the comments of one of the Nigerian defenders who avers that Lionel Messi is getting too much protection from the referee. His view was that you can’t even touch the boy and he’s either on his way down or the referee is heavily breathing down your neck while rustling for his yellow card in his pocket.
I suppose you can understand the clamour to ’protect’ the world’s best player, but you can also understand the fear defenders have, especially since one yellow card could spell the end of your world cup with any simple subsequent mistake – there’s very little room for error.
The Germans were very exciting last night against the Socceroos. I was very interested in the fact that the average age of the German team was 26, and it made me reflect on where Arsenal will be when our team that has been growing together for this long hit their heights in their mid 20s.
Nevertheless, the Germans gave Australia a footballing master class (and where the hell did they get that Brazilian…LOL), immigration is a funny thing I tell you.
Rumour has it that Mark Schwarzer is on his way to Arsenal, and I’ve got to tell you I was a bit worried by him picking the ball 4 times from the back of his net. It was heartening that he at least tried to stop 2 of the goals but the shots were too powerful and went past his attempts, but all the same, it’s not the sort of resume you want to take to a new employer.
Group D with Germany, the Aussies, Serbia and Ghana is a very interesting one since the winners or runners up will meet England. I personally think it will be Germany topping the group and Ghana second, but I’m worried that either of these teams will give England a nightmare.
England and the Yanks should make it through safely, though Slovenia will want to say something about that, and they should be taken seriously for the simple reason that they top the group and have the bragging rights. If England can’t get out of this group, then the players only have themselves to blame.
I think it will be helpful though, if Capello stopped that Gestapo approach of secrecy and named the team early enough so that each player can prepare mentally. It would certainly give the chosen goal keeper time to kill the nerves and minimize any Keystone Cops moments.
Media Portrayal Of South Africa Borders The Criminal
Posted by: | CommentsIt feels like I’ve been away for ages and trying to get back into the groove at the Stone Cold Arsenal Towers is going to be a project in itself. Nevertheless, it was a good break and glad to be back.
I tried a time tested strategy of “staying away from the news” while tending to matters at the reservation; but I fell foul of those little USB things you plug into the side of your laptop and connect to the ether that is cyber space.
In between the hogwash that was Xavi Hernandez’s crusade to get his knees capped because of his bullshit about Cesc, Rapha Benitez getting a cool £6m while on holiday before taking the reins of power at Internazionale, and the English football establishment getting paranoid about England playing some South African Platinum team in a friendly; I did manage to get into the groove of the 2010 World cup.
To tell you the truth, I’m really excited and will be stuck to the telly, radio, web and anything that will give me up to date material on all aspects of the World cup. However, one aspect does sadden me, and that is the role played by the media in the systematic and negative portrayal of Africa as a cess pit.
I read an interesting report last week from Tom Cargill, the head of the Africa Programme at Chattam House, UK’s premier think-tank on International Affairs. IN this report, Cargill points out that the ‘West’ must change its approach to Africa and stop seeing it as a basket case that needs aid and development.
He urges the west to emulate the model taken by the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) who are engaging with Africa as trade partners and stimulating growth and the local economy. Africa has vast resources which the BRIC countries want to tap into, and many more like South Korea are also joining the party.
My belief is that the ‘Aid And Development’ industry (for that’s what it is) is a self serving, patronizing, neo-colonial sector that is run by the self interests of folks who have mortgages to pay, kids to take to school, debts to service – and you know, a livelihood to maintain. Suggesting that they’re in it to ‘alleviate poverty’ is like asking turkeys to vote for Christmas. Without poverty, the industry dies – it’s a self fulfilling prophecy.
The notion that a sector structured on a top down Neolithic approach to interacting with hundreds of millions of people from the continent that they say is “troubled” is a disturbing one.
I don’t know what is more dangerous; the misguided self righteousness of those in the sector who operate with the view that it’s their destiny to “save Africans from themselves”, or that there are people who think that the hopes and dreams of an entire continent lay firmly at the hands of two ageing rock stars in Bono and Bob Geldof.
I digress…but the point I’m trying to make is that I so agree with Tom Cargill in the view that we should move away from patronizing neo-colonialism and treat people like human beings. I mentioned his report because of the parallel I can draw between western governments and aid agencies, and the western media’s portrayal of Africa in general, and more recently, the build up to the first World cup being hosted in Africa.
It can’t be a conspiracy because a conspiracy suggests that there are people with a sinister view who have an agenda that they want to see through and they want to hide it from the rest of us.
The way the media has operated is far from conspiratorial, it’s criminal in itself. Fuelled by a substantive dose of ignorance of the highest order, an engrained culture of always looking for the ‘negative’ in anything to do with Africa, and an almost relentless determination to promote scare mongering and sensationalism.
I was listening to Jacob Zuma yesterday during his press conference, and I tried to recall a previous world cup where a sitting president has taken the pro-active view of “spinning” the country. It was masked as a lot more, but the bottom line is that President Zuma had to “spin” South Africa.
You don’t need to ask yourself why, just pick up any paper or tune into any report about the build up to the games and the usual suspects crop up – security concerns, terrorism threats, ‘African’s are too poor to afford tickets so the world cup is already a failure’, threats to the ‘western’ teams and their fans. You name it, you’ll find it in the most sickening and twisted reporting that should have some authors quartered for the crime of prejudice and ignorance.
I should know better really, but it still get’s to me. It’s not like South East London during the day is any safer than down town Johannesburg. We even have folks in sleepy towns now going ’postal’ because of whatever reason.
Imagine the reporting we’d be subject to if someone in South Africa went ’postal’ a week before the tournament.
The truth is that South Africa is more than capable of hosting a global event – as they’ve shown with their hosting of the Rugby Union and Cricket world cups in previous years. It’s just unfair to suggest that England fans are on their way to a cess pit (for that is the impression they give).
South Africa like many others in Africa is a beautiful country with breath-taking views, a rich culture, and a vibrant and growing economy. Perhaps more focus on the celebration of the football game and the continent will be more productive.
Mainstream media is bad enough in its negative reporting of Africa, and I shudder to think of sports journalists indulging in something they know little of.
I would hope that the reporting and journalism is focussed on what happens on the pitch. I can’t wait for Friday when Carlos Vela and his boys kick off against Bafana Bafana.
Arséne Wenger, You Stand Accused – The Finalé
Posted by: | CommentsThis is the final piece in this particular series. It maybe that you haven’t agreed with anything I’ve said, or only parts.
What I find strange is that Wenger seems to have divided people so much, that there are so many levels of feeling from; “I think Arsene’s made mistakes, but I think he’s the man for the job”, all the way down to people wanting him out now.
We are all Arsenal fans after all, and what I tend to find when I’m talking with fellow Gooners is that people will take an opposing stance to whatever is being said. It’s like a family member being criticised, we can do it, but no-one else can.
Before I complete my final case study, I would like to say that I don’t think Arséne is perfect by any stretch, there are things which I wish could be slightly different, but then I think two things; firstly, I’m an Arsenal fan and my first job is to support the team (to the END of the game), secondly, what manager does get everything right?
What manager is capable of a better job? What manager could have steered Arsenal through these delicate few years, continuing to establish crucial Champions League football, and also ensuring the youth set up is second to none?
My final argument covers what I consider to be the third major criticism of our manager.
Arséne Wenger – The Loser
There are two strands to this theme.
- Has Wenger “lost it” i.e. has he reached, or even past, the natural limits of his tenure?
- Does he have the capacity, ability & focus to return the team to winning ways after 5 years without a trophy?
It is hard to garner how popular these opinions really are, there are a lot of Arsenal fans in the world, and the internet is a place where extreme opinions and dramatic headlines catch the eye and flourish.
Plus, more often than not, it is not those who are moderate in their feelings that are heard, it is the ones shouting loudest. A good example of this is the headlines surrounding Cesc’s supposed transfer to Barcelona.
So has Arséne Wenger lost it? Has his capacity to coach and manage this side into a consistently competitive team gone? Is his vision clouded to what requires tweaking, where major surgery is needed, and what needs demolishing and starting again?
Previous Arsenal sides are often cited as examples of what this team lacks. Tony Adams’ name is obviously one which carry’s tremendous symbolic significance to all Arsenal fans. However, having already touched upon one sacred cow with the Invincibles (see part 1); I think it is important to also put this comparison into context.
The double winning side of 1998 contained some true Arsenal legends, Tony himself of course; Steve Bould, Martin Keown, Ray Parlour, David Seaman, Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn and Ian Wright are the most obvious figures.
However, all these players were significant members of an Arsenal team that went from cult heroes in 1989 and miserly winners in 1991 to years of mediocrity (finishing 4th, 10th, 4th, 12th and 5th before Le Boss came in, after which, we didn’t finish out of the top 3 until 2005/06), dramatic European Cup wins aside of course.
A lot of Arsenal fans use this period, or the barren spell in the eighties as a badge of honour almost, like they’ve earnt their stripes. Which they have of course. Had Arsene Wenger not become manager after this time, what would have really become of the club?
My point here is that although those players were outstanding competitors, they were by no means perennial winners. It was Arsene Wenger who tapped into and augmented this spirit, prolonged careers and harnessed little known reservoirs of footballing poise from players with a reputation for the more prosaic aspects of the game.
There is a relationship between great players and great coaches which often brings great success. A happy medium between the maturity, experience and bloody mindedness which was present at the club (along with a Dutch genius) and the innovations and vision of Arsene brought that period of success.
The playing squad was not in a position to have won without Le Boss at this point, even with Dennis, Tony et al. This is one of the reasons why Tony Adams’ goal against Everton that sunny day in 1998 is such a special and iconic moment, all that went before it was a contributory factor to make him standing there, arms spread wide with the sun on his face such a magical image in the history of Arsenal football club.
So, if such vaunted legends are capable of such failure (not necessarily my opinion, I am using this merely as a point of comparison), is it not possible that the current squad could turn around their fortunes too? There are parallels with the current side, which although probably only coincidental, do cast an interesting parallel.
Both squads had two league wins in three years (’89 & ’91 and ’02 & ’04) followed by a significant drop off in title challenges.
There is of course no definitive answer to this question until Arséne either wins the league, or leaves the club. I wonder though, should he not achieve anymore silverware, what his legacy will be perceived to be in some quarters.
But really, just how broken is this Arsenal team, and how much of its lack of achievement is down to Mr Wenger?
There are so many examples of clubs to illustrate the pitfalls of being a high profile club which has found itself in trouble, and slipping down the divisions. Leeds United, Nottingham Forrest, Newcastle United all immediately spring to mind. There are no guarantees.
Blackburn have faded from title winners in 15 years to being Sam Allardyce’s latest collection of brutes.
I have already stated that I think the future of the club has been managed impeccably, and it is hard to have a rational debate with those demanding success who do not take into consideration the historic changes which have occurred in this period. I think expectation is to a certain extent a more pressing problem than actual accomplishment.
So, we ask, having steered us through this step, is Arsene Wenger the right manager to take this team to the next level and lift a trophy?
This “5 years without a trophy” business is not a valid argument to me. How long are we prepared to wait? How long should we be prepared to wait? Just how successful an Arsenal are we entitled to?
Very simple answer here, we are not entitled to any. Even the argument about a club the size of Arsenal is not built on particularly strong foundations. We are blessed with a wonderful history, but, we are the third most successful club in England.
We do not have a great record of European cups, and there have been long stretches of little or no cup wins of any description in recent memory.
In the same way, why should England go into each World Cup with such a weight of expectation on their shoulders? They won it once, 44 years ago, as the host nation. The fact that England has some excellent players makes them contenders, but not tournament heavyweights of the likes of Brazil, Italy or Germany.
Of course one such successful club is currently living out a cautionary tale before our very eyes. What will become of Liverpool in the next few seasons should serve as a very chilling reminder to all Arsenal fans how different things can become all too quickly.
Perhaps you are one of the people who feel a different manager will have an impact. They could perform a little spring cleaning and bring in one or two new faces. Much like Scolari did at Chelsea, who then went on to…….get sacked.
There aren’t many examples of managerial change closely followed by success. As much as it sticks in the throat, Jose Mourinho seems to be the only real candidate who you could say would change the fortunes of a team on the cusp of greatness. But at what cost?
Real Madrid have twice engaged in excessive spending with a considerable lack of triumphs in return, and how many managers have come and gone in that time?
Personally, this is the crux of the matter. Just how important is it to you to win? How important is it to you how you win?
How much satisfaction would be gleaned from a league title brought with the roubles of an owner who cared nothing for the club, won by players with no loyalty to the club, played in a style in total contrast to the ethos of the club?
If the answer to the above is; I don’t care, then you either won’t have read this far, or we are never going to agree on this point.
I would infinitely prefer for Arsenal to win the league having built internally, played wonderful football, on a shoestring budget with a squad full of players who have been at the Arsenal for years.
Its comic book stuff. There is no fan in the world that could have any criticism of such a magnificent accomplishment. Maybe I’m a dreamer, but what’s wrong with that. I don’t watch football to be bored to death, I watch football for exactly those moments of mercurial wonder that you don’t get in everyday life.
I want to be inspired, I want to be delirious with joy, I want to be proud of my team, I want to be sat in my seat so happy I’m laughing after Cesc has just skipped through the Tottenham defence from their kick off to score. I want to sit down over a pint with my family and friends after a game and eulogise over another master class from RvP.
If we can’t enjoy these things, week in week out because we “haven’t won a trophy for 5 years”, then why are we going to games?
The teams you remember, the famous team’s people talk about for years afterwards like Barcelona last year certainly, or the Ajax teams of the 70’s & 90’s, the Champions League winning AC Milan team of 2007 was a poor relation to the team of the late eighties.
Anyone remember the horrendously boring final between Milan & Juventus in 2003? There aren’t just winners and losers; there are a great many shades of grey, degrees of victory. That is why we watch the games rather than just check the results page each week, or even at the end of the season.
Football has that capacity to be a truly great spectacle, and there are games which have supposedly amounted to nothing which stick in the memory. The Czech Republic against Holland in the last European Championships was a classic.
The style of a team can be as significant a legacy as its silverware, perhaps even more so. Holland 1974 anyone? How many teams have a reputation that they can’t shake? Weren’t we the victims of that not so long ago, or now even, as a team of foreigners who don’t like it up ‘em?
How will this Arsenal team be looked back upon?
As I said in the opening passage, I don’t think Arséne Wenger is above criticism, and he openly discusses the area’s he feels could have been improved upon. Season after season.
He is not a victim of his own success; he is a victim of a financially skewed playing field, and increasingly impatient fans.
The commitment of fans is something which should be as open to doubt as those of the playing squad. I simply couldn’t believe my eyes to see fans leaving the home match against West Ham, 1-0 up with 10 men. Unbelievable.
Yet, I have seen a fraction of the criticism that Arsene Wenger gets directed at the fans who are only interested in supporting this team only under these specific circumstances;
- They win handsomely
- They do this within 85 minutes (I wonder if the matches were reduced to 85 minutes, these fans would leave at 80 minutes and so on)
- They sign loads of big name players, irrespective of financial implications.
I would like a fraction of the energy expended online to be focussed on generating a more cohesive fan base, who STAY TO THE END OF MATCHES (are these the same fans who complain about ticket prices I wonder)?
Maybe Arsenal should look into charging by the minute? We need fans who sing at games whatever the score line, and who actually enjoy the process.
Do any of you know fans of clubs who support less successful clubs? Ask them if they’d like Arsenal’s problems. Which situation would Liverpool fans choose I wonder? It’s a shame we can’t set up a blind taste test.
If choosing a club was a less arbitrary process, and we were given a breakdown of a clubs history, infrastructure, financial stability and playing style, how many people would choose Arsenal?
Sadly there will be no closure to the debate about Arséne Wenger whilst he remains at the club. Only a few years after his tenure will the fairest conclusions be drawn.
I don’t think anyone doubts his achievements to date (even the staunchest anti-Arséne fans gives this credit), but what absolutely must happen is that every single Gooner gets behind our team next season and that every single game at the Emirates is a cauldron of noise for 90 minutes.
For me, to be honest, Arséne Wenger is something of a personal hero and a true gentlemen, I feel that the least he deserves from the remainder of his time with us, is the peace to continue the good work he is doing, the chance to enjoy the fruits of his labour (with the group of players coming through and the loosening of the purse strings), a fair level of criticism without unreasoned condemnation, and unremitting support during games.
The future’s bright, the future’s Red & White.
Arséne Wenger, You Stand Accused – The Sequel
Posted by: | CommentsFollowing on from the first part of the case brought against Arséne Wenger about the “dismantling” of the Invincibles, the second part is a discussion of his “youth project”.
Arséne Wenger – The Gambler
Arsenal Manager, Arséne Wenger
So, again we find another phrase which is becoming synonymous with Arséne Wenger and his stewardship of Arsenal. Arsenal currently boast the youngest squad in the league I believe, and I hear this used as a double edged criticism in several circles, both from fans and press coverage.
The principal concerns for those who seem less than convinced that this is a fitting way to run a club of Arsenal’s stature and ambition are that;
- The club should not be used as a pseudo crèche for developing footballers learning the difficulties of playing in the Premiership (as well as the other competitions) the hard way, whilst the fans suffer
- Younger players are incapable, or cannot be expected to achieve success at such a tender age as they lack experience and also the familiarity with the sensation of winning trophies.
What can be in no doubt is that the club has placed a dramatic emphasis on youth development over the last few years; this is not a particularly new concept under Wenger’s tenure.
However, whilst the stadium move has been the major focus of the clubs resources, along with the associated property deals, it has been necessary to place a keener focus on the players coming through the ranks.
Whether or not it can be considered an experiment to have taken this approach doesn’t follow however.
Is it that Wenger always intended to run the club in this manner, with such supposed frugality, with such stubborn zeal for his puritanical vision of his youth players playing Wengerball? These casual accusations levelled at him for taking such risks with our club, I don’t feel take into consideration several factors behind the scenes, and require context.
For starters, I don’t feel that this method of management is any more experimental than the “Galacticos” of a few years ago, or even the current set at Real Madrid. Or than what is going on at Manchester City, with the accumulation of a layered team of mercenaries (Adebayor & Robinho for example) and nearly men (Bellamy, Santa Cruz, Wright Phillips)?
Spending big is no guarantee of trophies, any more than a change of manager is; it is not a good way of generating a team ethic and a sense of solidarity in the squad. also I don’t feel that it allows for fans to really connect with the players and create a rapport the way we have with van Persie or even Eboue for instance.
In my opinion, the worst consequence of assembling a squad in this fashion is how it continuously damages otherwise excellent, or promising talent. So many decent players wasted years at Chelsea during the initial phase of arrivals. Wright-Phillips again, Kezman, Shevchenko, Glen Johnson and Crespo spring to mind, all otherwise good players.
I don’t think footballers of this quality can suddenly become bad players, just perhaps ones with no confidence. Or perhaps ones with bad attitudes.
One argument that has value is that many of these players who have much to achieve in football, have signed contracts which far outweighs their contribution to the club as yet. This needs to be considered against the backdrop of modern football. It does grate that a player of 21 can play a handful of games, and not seem to produce much by the way of effort or even skill sometimes, can be so extensively rewarded.
However, the club is producing swathe after swathe of talent, not all of these players will be good enough for the Arsenal, but it is important that the club has first refusal on the players who are of the standard and that it profits from those who do not make the transition to the first team squad for whatever reason.
I believe we have made handsome fees for several players from the academy in the last few seasons, Arsenal have ex-youth players at most of the clubs in the Premier League; Chelsea, Bolton, Birmingham, Aston Villa, Tottenham for example, as well as those in the Championship, and on loan. I would be very interested to see how many Arsenal players will play top level football over the next few years compared with those of other clubs academies.
So the contracts awarded serve two purposes; to keep the talent we have from being tempted to ply their trade for massive wages elsewhere, to ensure that a transfer value is retained in the youngsters who eventually leave.
A further point to consider is that Wenger HAS spent money in this period, since the stadium move Tomás Rosicky, Eduardo, Aaron Ramsey, Samir Nasri, Bacary Sagna, Andrey Arshavin & Thomas Vermaelen have all arrived for a combined value of around the £55 million mark. Granted we have sold, but these aren’t exactly the spending habits of a penny pinching old scrooge.
What they definitely are not, is comparable with the expenditure levels of the clubs immediately surrounding us. And there aren’t many, if any, examples of a club as well run, and secure as ours amongst them. Quite the contrary as we all know.
The lack of experience is a more complicated issue. Sol Campbell’s reintroduction to the squad has certainly been of enormous benefit. But then, hasn’t Silvestre won a trophy or two? The Chelsea team that won the league in 2005 wasn’t entirely peppered with seasoned winners. I think this comes more down to character rather than experience.
As another example, I feel that Vermaelen is a considerably more combative, competitive and a much more positive influence on the team than Arshavin. At the moment, what sort of influence does someone like Arshavin have on a player like Diaby for instance? Is his experience and age of benefit to a player like Diaby who is capable of wonderful displays of midfield play and attacking flair, or his is minimalist approach a poor example to be setting?
I think it’s hard to say conclusively that bringing in experienced players is unquestionably what this team needs. All our major performances are young; Cesc, Song & van Persie are our key figures, along with perhaps Vermaelen now and Clichy. All are young players, all with some experience now, all with very bright futures still ahead of them and all will be key to the success of the team over the coming years.
What people are really asking for is players with a winning mentality, and this is not age dependant. The most conclusive example of this is displayed in the efforts of players such as Lionel Messi, and probably more dramatically, Wayne Rooney. He didn’t learn to be so driven from anyone; he is just simply that sort of player.
Really, the “youth project” has to be seen as a side effect of the stadium move rather than something that was always the intention. It is often used as an accusation that Arsene is playing games with our club, risking nothing himself. But he isn’t risking the clubs future at all, and that is the key counter argument to this point.
Ivan Gazidis said it himself when meeting the Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST) last Monday. He and Le Boss could be heroes for a year or two, but we wouldn’t be thanking them in 4, 5 years time. By that he means that this would jeopardise all the hard work that has been done to keep the club stable.
The real risk is that Arséne Wenger has stood up for something, shown an ideal to be followed, and in an environment like the Premier League or the Champions league, that is an achievement in itself.
The Premier League is scattered with pragmatism, clubs trying desperately to cling onto top flight football at any cost, characteristics that I think Arséne might refer to as “negative aspirations” – wanting to avoid something, rather than wanting to attain something.
Perhaps in some cases, this is completely valid. By no means am I suggesting that all clubs must try to play attacking football no matter what the cost and risk all that they have worked to establish. What I find frustrating is watching teams play with no ambition, with no intention to create, only to smother.
Liverpool are currently the most depressing example of this, a club that has spent so much money, and has players of genuine class reduced to being on the receiving end of a huge “HOOF!”, every time one of their players launches a ball speculatively forward.
This, I think, is the really wonderful thing about the “youth project”. There is now a football philosophy built into every level of football at Arsenal, and it is of high tempo, technically adept, creative play.
A style of football that has been in the ascendancy for some time (both at club and international level), regardless of whether or not it is winning football, because winning is a side effect of doing something well. This applies to anything we attempt in our lives, from something as simple as cooking a meal to what we do at work, music, film, and all sports.
Arsenal’s “project youth” benefits the club in so many ways; it will soon benefit our national side immensely, which has been exposed horribly on several occasions against the likes of Spain or Brazil. I know I’m a better footballer now for watching Arsenal play.
I don’t know who it was, but there was a historian some years ago asked about the impact of the French revolution to which he replied “it’s too early to tell”. I think this is the case here, I don’t think Wenger is playing his own egotistical games with the club, and when success comes in the next year, 5 years, 20 years it will be in no small part because of the vision of Arséne Wenger.
Join us in the next instalment of this series when we demystify the accusation that Arséne Wenger has lost the plot.
Why Ivan Gazidis Is Arsenal’s Most Important Player
Posted by: | CommentsIn recent observations, I’ve suggested that the best signing Arsenal has made in the last 2 years was that of Ivan Gazidis as Chief Executive. It’s usually hard to notice progressive moves made by any new head honcho within the first year as different organizations adjust differently with change of leadership.
Gazidis however, has made tiny strides in securing some quick gains that have earned him some serious political capital both in and outside the club. Whether it’s the ’Arsenalisation’ program currently taking place, or the introduction of a high powered commercial team to focus on maximizing brand Arsenal around the world; Gazidis’s impact is slowly but surely setting in.
Arsenal Chief Executive, Ivan Gazidis
Without diminishing any gains Gazidis may have made in different quarters around the club, my sense is that the Arsenal CEO has had two significant roles this far, and during this critical time in Arsenal’s development, I believe that he has the most crucial role to play as a facilitator and enabler.
Firstly, I believe he has acted well as a counter balance and check to the inevitable power that Arséne Wenger wields at Arsenal. It’s not a secret that very few, if any people find themselves courageous enough to challenge the influence Wenger holds over the technical side of the club’s affairs.
Wenger in a lot of respects has earned the authority and right to his leadership and his record and achievements speak for themselves. However, since the departure of David Dein, it’s been clear that Wenger has seriously missed a reliable aide and confidant to share the load with and to assist him in the very critical task of seeing the wood from the trees.
A question has been raised as to whether there’s anyone at Arsenal who can pull Wenger aside and provide an alternative opinion. Take Pat Rice for example, is he capable of saying to Wenger, ”Actually, I think you should revert Song to central defence, and let Denilson hold the fort with Diaby and Cesc in midfield because the opponent are ball players and we’ll have a better chance this way”.
Part of the problem for the Arsenal board is that the balancing act of keeping the club as strong as it is with a move to a new stadium, as well as keeping the squad competitive year in year out is a very precarious and even career threatening job (if the manager fails).
In Arséne Wenger, the board have possibly one of the few managers in the world who is able and willing to take on such an audacious job with a hand tied behind his back. They recognize this and they will bend over backwards and kiss Wenger’s ass to ensure that he is happy.
None of them wants to contemplate the alternative scenario of having another manager who is not capable of operating at this elite level without screaming for big money in order to survive, let alone challenge. The point is that even now, but more so in the last 5 years, very few managers of a world class calibre would have agreed to do Wenger’s job under the same conditions.
The key challenge is therefore one of continuing the arduous task of keeping Wenger happy, supporting and encouraging him, while walking around with a big stick just in case. The man with that unenviable job has been Ivan Gazidis, and let’s face it, it’s not an easy job by any means.
So far, Gazidis has shown that he’s a class act, but now more than ever, he needs to earn his corn by helping steer Arsenal through this last mile that is proving elusive and challenging for this squad.
He needs to throw his full weight (well – the weight of his office and the furniture in it) behind the manager, while being comfortable to pull Wenger aside and apply the right amount of pressure at the right time; all without rocking or sinking the boat and losing the significant gains made this far.
He needs to be able to bitch slap Wenger at the same time as holding an arm around the manager’s shoulder and smiling with him in encouragement at the realisation of Arsenal’s audacious vision. When difficult decisions have to be made or supported, Gazidis needs to be able to tell Wenger to go to hell in such a way that the Arsenal manager looks forward to the trip.
More importantly, Wenger needs to feel and believe that he has a friend who not only supports him through this challenging patch, but can be a trusted sounding board and critical voice that will help move the club to the next stage.
That is why in my view, Ivan Gazidis has the most important role at Arsenal during this precarious period that demands that Arsenal turns its massive potential and stability into championship results.
This responsibility is somewhat related to the second key task that I think the Arsenal CEO has. This is the task of acting as a referee to the various protagonists on the board and the power play that is going on.
More often than not, it’s hard to know which side of the bread the different Arsenal board members are buttering. Not that we can control the eventual ownership of the club if the shareholders involved choose to swap around their stakes.
The thing is that this sort of high stakes poker has an impact on the rest of the club and the fan base in general. Gazidis has a key role to play here in keeping all the parties talking and keeping them focussed on what the operational issues are and how they will be impacted by their shenanigans.
He has already done this in many ways like insisting that he will continue to talk to all parties and try and keep the harmony; but again, playing referee in such a scenario is an unenviable task.
As we go into a summer with much promise of investment in the squad, Gazidis must exert his influence to ensure that the club has the best chance of starting the season with a strong squad capable of challenging. He must steer the board to achieving the right balance between debt repayment and squad investment.
He must support Wenger in whatever the manager feels needs addressing, while applying pressure on him to make the difficult decisions. Most importantly, he must take responsibility for steering the club in a direction that serves our interests long term, and not bow down to the pressure of popular culture and emotion of the day.
