Untold at the AGM; what Mr Wenger really said

27 Replies to “Untold at the AGM; what Mr Wenger really said”

1. @Anne
   Thanks for that. 🙂

2. He made a great speech, almost a call to arms like quality. I think even some of his doubters amongst our fans will appreciate that.
   And by all accounts, got a standing ovation.

3. Sitting at the AGM and listening to the speech, it struck me that by putting those two references to the media in between the call for fans to support the team, Mr Wenger was saying something very clear:

   You can support the media’s view, in which case you take the line that we are hopeless, and that will affect the players seriously

   Or you can support the team on the pitch.

   I think that is so clear, and I believe that to be totally true. Everyone engaged in the harping on about poor quality players is simply making matters worse.

   It is like the funny question about whether we will get a discount next season if we are not in the Champs League. What good will that do the club? None at all – it is simply a way of sniping at the club, and ensuring that we fall, never to recover.

4. I just saw the speech through the official website and read this entire piece as well. It was really heart warming and direct. 2 points that i personally feel about the way Arsenal is treated –

   1) Some section of the Fans – I try to hold multiple discussions with those who believe Arsene must go, and Arsenal have an incorrect policy. The reason I started it was to try to change their minds, but for doing that, I needed to first understand their reasoning, which to be honest, is not very clear to me. Finally I feel they do it because they feel they have to. Rebel for the sake of it or something like that. (and no speaking louder than the other person is not a great argument like most people seem to believe)

   2) Media (I dont mean just the English Media) – This is what probably hurts the most, as I feel this feeds the above category. I follow Arsenal gossip (I would dare not call it news!!!) in the English papers online. Its like they hate us, and I mean really really hate us. I’m not sure why. Now this is also evident in papers that I read here (Singapore and Malaysia) as well. What is it that we are doing wrong here. Simple Example – Yesterday Arsene gave a statement that RVP has agreed to start discussions on an extension (he was quoted on BBC) today there is an article in the paper which says, RVP is moving to Man City. WHY ALWAYS US?!!!! (No pun intended 😉 )

5. what he didnt say but should have

   I am to blame for the summer transfer chaos. I knew they wanted to go but deluded myself they wouldnt. I then bought replacements not of the same quality as those that left. Just like i did in each of the past 7 years.
   I have not spent the money that has been available to me because i wanted to reduce our debts, and kept my fingers crossed we could still get in the CL. one year we did it courtesy of bad lasagne, not because of my skill as a manager.

   I am also calling for you to support the team more because i am trying to stop you criticising me and the board. It is unlikely we will get in the CL at the end of this season, but that can wait till next summer, when i will make some more lies up about bringing in super super quality players.

   Sorry fans but i have fucked it up for some years now

6. Thank you so much, Anne, for posting Arsene’s speech. It is so good to read it direct not filtered through the media. He was honest, but then, he always is. He even addressed directly the matter of the price rises. And of course he is absolutely right about how important it is to be united. That is the basic minimum for us to succeed. I’m very happy with the way the team is gelling at the moment. And it was exciting to succeed in the Carling Cup this week with two young defenders. Very positive for the future.

7. What is interesting about Silentstan’s post is that there is no evidence as to why he should have said any of this, or whether any of it is true.

   The writer might believe this is all true, but if so, must have a very very sad life indeed deep in such misery with no belief in the future, and no feeling that maybe any evidence is required. Or maybe the writer is trying to be funny. Who knows – we are top of our champions league group, in the quarters of the league cup…

   Actually if we were Tottenham, and following their approach we would do as they did in a press release put out one December which says

   Tottenham are still in this year’s FA Cup.

   Now that was funny. (Actually Mr Wenger also didn’t say we have won 7 of the last 8 or whatever it is. Nor did he say, as one questioner said, we have picked up the same number of points from the teams we have played in the league as we did last year (substituting Swansea for WBA).

   Funny ol game.

8. That was a great speech from Wenger. The self sustaining model is the way to go. maybe I understand a bit why some fans are so frustrated. We live in world where the economy is in peril, a lot of depressing news, negativity – I admit Arsenal winning gives me a high. A bad day at the office can be salved when Arsenal scores a great goal, etc. Anyway, I still think Wenger is still the best person to lead us under the current circumstances.

9. Oh some of our fans have brains i like that unlike our neighbours(spurs)….well wenger we still blv in you we just worry when you dont replace quality with supa quality,,,mertesacker suspect…get samba and get a genuis steel midfielder a fighter then pavylunchenko we will chllenge for something….

10. I would like to point at this sentence which reflects why over here some people started the Untold Media watch: “Usually I speak to you through the medias, and they don’t always reflect what I say…”

    Just in case you missed it: “THEY DON’T ALWAYS REFLECT WHAT I SAY…”

    And then I see some “””””””trustful””””” media sources having a dig at Wenger today…. I think his words were bullseye. The truth hearts and so today they tried to kick back.

11. This silentstan = spudsstan 😉
    Sill not over 6 seasons ago… 🙂

12. Thanks.

13. Silentstan……your AAA rant is full of errors as follows:

    ¨I am to blame for the summer transfer chaos. I knew they wanted to go but deluded myself they wouldnt. I then bought replacements not of the same quality as those that left. Just like i did in each of the past 7 years.¨ – This statement alone is totally and patently exaggerated and false. There was no ¨chaos¨as you so fondly reminisce about but a long,drawn-out but ultimately productive planning for the departure of Nasri and Cesc. Yes he wanted desperately to avoid their leaving but he was NEVER deluded (you are however) about their choices and always respected them. He did bring in quality replacements that were affordable and together are giving us a new, winning approach to the game. It wasn’t about finding exact replacements for Cesc and Samir, but in bringing in skilled and worthwhile players who have skill,ambition and a desire to win, which he managed to do.
    ¨I have not spent the money that has been available to me because i wanted to reduce our debts, and kept my fingers crossed we could still get in the CL. one year we did it courtesy of bad lasagne, not because of my skill as a manager.¨ – this is utter rubbish and you know it. Your statements are rotten, not the lasagna. He has, by dint of careful transfer planning and youth development, kept us in the CL and competitive in the EPL on a limited budget. By the way, what money was available to him? Nobody knows the exact figures but if you’d taken the time to check your claims against Swiss Rambler’s website and Untold’s analysis, you’d see that he used what he had and got full measure for his spending, but that doesn’t fir your AAA hypothesis does it, so you ignore the truth for fiction.

    ¨I am also calling for you to support the team more because i am trying to stop you criticising me and the board. It is unlikely we will get in the CL at the end of this season, but that can wait till next summer, when i will make some more lies up about bringing in super super quality players.¨ – What part of his statement, ¨And that does not mean that I am not to be criticized. I accept that,¨ do you NOT understand. Wait,I know, the entire sentence sticks in your craw because you think he’s a liar, a deceiver and a clown but you are the one he’s talking about when he says that some ¨supporters¨ are living in fear. You are so afraid that he’ll succeed…thus making you look like the fool you are….that any criticism of his managerial skill, approach or philosophy is justified to your blinkered eyes.

    Justify your nom de plume and stay silent Stan as posts like your only serve to paint you as a biased, prejudiced and misinformed ignoramus!

14. Personally, I’m curious to know what Arsene was referring to when he said that it was understandable to feel afraid, because:

    “we live in a world where we fight with people who have extremely high resources.”

    While this could be read as simply referring to higher-spending clubs, Arsene seems to have left the statement open-ended and ambiguous, and I’m inclined to believe that this was deliberate. So, who else could he have been referring to?

    And along these same lines, I believe that above should be read in conjunction with the following:

    “We want as well to be very brave, because I believe that this club has always been very brave in its decisions. Courage is a quality that I admire because it’s a very needed quality in the modern world.”

    When I was listening to Arsene’s speech, I personally took heart at these words. Because I see them as a message that applies not only to Arsenal as a club, but also to us here at Untold, with all of the things that we’re attempting to do.

    And I also believe that the message is equally applicable to the many Arsenal fans out there who are trying to do the right thing and support the club, in the face of other forces who are trying equally hard to pull us in the opposite direction, to the overall detriment of Arsenal FC.

    So, courage lads! 🙂

15. @Dom:

    Thanks. It felt kind of cathartic to read that 🙂

16. @Aditya:

    I believe that your questions about the media and some sections of the fanbase may be directly related to the same quote that I highlighted in the post above…

17. And just one more follow up to that post… It appears that the bbc actually edited Arsene’s above statement to eliminate the ambiguity that I referenced… So, just to lay it all out, here, again, is what Arsene actually said:

    It’s understandable to feel afraid, because:

    “we live in a world where we fight with people who have extremely high resources.”

    The following is the bbc’s “edited” version of the quote:

    “I see fear and discontent amongst you and I understand it,” started the infamously short-sighted manager, “but we fight against clubs with high resources”.

    “Clubs” with high resources, as opposed to “people” generally…Interesting, no?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mattslater/2011/10/arsenal_agm.html

18. @ Anne

    It was an excellent idea to post Wenger’s speech in full, especially as many of us will not have the opportunity to attend the AGM. In such circumstances it much better for as many fans as possible to read exactly what Wenger said rather than an abbreviated or distorted media summary.

19. Anne @ 8.44 pm – that is really interesting because the BBC’s edit of that sentence for me completely changes the meaning and tone, and surprise surprise, is accompanied by another dig at Arsene’s character.

20. Thank god for untold, really fantastic job guys

21. Very good work Anne.

    My mum once told me “Son, you read too much into the media view of things. If you are not careful, you will end up with a distorted view of the world… And a very slanted view of your role in it. Be craeful.” So, thank goodness, I don’t live my life a slave to the media.

    People like -‘silentstan’ up there, who should really give a thought to his cognomen, have truly become slaves to the media. Their minds are completely controlled by it. Perhaps he, & others like him, should declare love & support to their puppeteers in the Red & White Holdings rather to Arsenal Football Club.

22. I have been a great supporter of this great club and this great coach, Le Prof Arsene Wenger. I think at the AGM I appreciated what he said that ‘…lets criscize each other internally but but lets be united to the outside…’ powerful words. When I look at the current squad:
    1. We have 2 of the best young upcomming goal keepers in WS13 and Fabiansk…even Mannone has a lo of potential.
    2. Our defense is being criticized especially on last season’s performence BUT no one acknowledge we ha the best away record in the EPL, we had our 3 best players injured for the greatest part of the season Cesc04, RvP and TV05. No one dares to explain that shifting Alex Song to the back means creating a problen in anchouring role. What I mean is I believe a defense of PM4, TV5, BS3 and AS11 and Alex sitting in will be difficult to breach once it gels. Besides we have LK6, JD20, Gibbs, Jenkison – who I think are very good covers for back four. The only flops is Squalaci. I also see a lot of positivity in Frimpong and Colquin. Still we have a Denilson to be reviewed.
    3. Midfield – this dept is spoiled of choice because we only need 2 player since we play with 2 wingers and 1 out and out striker. For the 2 slots we have MA8, JW19, AR16,AD2,TR7,YB30 – tell me 6 players for 2 positions what more do you want. True a Hazard or a Gotze will add to what we have but I still believe we have enough players to deliver, AA23 is still a central player I have realized.
    4. Attack – RvP is given, I after watching Ju-Young Park, we have a option for RvP and Arsene must start giving him games with the captain on stand-by to like he did against Stoke. Gervhinho is a live wire. Theo needs to improve. Not so much worried abou that because we have Arshavin and AOC15 & YM31 as options! Beside change in the mid avails Ramsey who did so well @ Marsaille from the wing (as stop gap measure).Chamk???? a good striker but not sure he is better than Bendtner in the Arsenal type of play.
    5. We have the budget to buy players in January and I know Wenger will always buy quality most of the time.
    GOONER TO THE MARROW

23. Arsene is a genious. End of. That is why some people do not even get close to what he says.

    @ Anne, I think he meant to leave the statements open to also show that Arsenal don’t operate with dark forces or “GODFATHERS. Much as I would like to believe otherwise, I am of the opinion something FISHY might be going on in EPL!

24. @bjtgooner:

    That’s exactly why I posted it. It’s really kind of amazing that, with all of the press coverage that this speech received, I didn’t come across a single article that truly conveyed what Arsene was actually saying.

25. @Passenal:

    I agree. The BBC’s edit does completely change the meaning. I’m glad that you immediately picked up on that as well.

26. This was the first AGM that I’ve not attended in a few years and it’s interesting to hear and read others’ interpretations of what was said or implied.
    The frustration that appears to be greater this year seems to come from not having an understanding of why we couldn’t hold on to ‘world class’ players in the face of outrageous tapping up and exhorbitant pay offers. Those of us old enough to remember the departures of the likes of Brady, Stapleton, Anderson etc. etc. have, of course, been there before. But the key difference these days is the circumstances that exist at Chelsea and Man City.
    Before those two clubs had virtually unlimited funds made available to them we duopolised the EPL with Man Utd. In order to squeeze their way past us the two, newly financially doped, clubs needed to spend upwards of half a billion pounds each – a significantly large proportion of it specifically aimed at weakening us directly by taking players from us.
    Cold logic says that in order to resist that strategy we would have needed to spend as much – either to increase our wage bill to an unchallengable level (whatever that might have to be) and to outbid those clubs for players that we thought might improve our squad.
    Where exactly would this half a billion pounds have come from?
    Doubling ticket prices? Obviously not. Shed loads of debt? No thanks – it doesn’t seem to have worked anywhere else so why should we be different. Our own financial doper? Well we can’t criticise Chelsea and Man City for having lost their souls (if they ever had one) or for being the playthings of rich men who buy players as much for reasons of vanity and sack on a whim and then say we want to be the same.
    Arsenal have stuck to their long term strategies and reacted in the right way to a change in the market by moving to a new stadium and filling it by playing highly watchable football.We know it’s the right way to do it because everyone else (even Chelsea) are trying to do the same and wished they’d adopted ‘the Arsenal model’ years ago.
    The only worry I have is Wengers assertion today that he is concerned about UEFA’s lack of clarity over FFP. If those restrictions don’t come in then we will suffer relative to the financially doped. But for many other clubs it will be a complete disaster. We at least will survive and, relatively, prosper. Many other will simply die.

27. Many thanks for posting the transscript from Arsene. It was a very fantastic speech he made.

    It makes me feel more positive about Arsenal.