The Anti-Wengerians have not gone away, they are just hiding

52 Replies to “The Anti-Wengerians have not gone away, they are just hiding”

1. Stewart Robson is a knob jockey.

2. After the game I decided to take a listen to Talk Sport. Someone phoned to give us a great revelation, it was hiked up as something that none of us ‘ignorances’ could possibly have thought of.
   The difference between our defense in our Dortmund home game and last night was down to Arsene allowing Steve Bold to ‘take charge of our defense’ The caller went on ‘Arsenal has finally got the message, you must have a good defense’.

   The two presenters rode this donkey for all they could. They were still doing it when I switched off.

   So now we know, the defense of Arsene’s first double, the defense of the second double, the Invincibles, not forgetting Arsene’s other two cup final wins was the doing of Steve Bold.

   Sometimes (and last night’s spill was one of them)Arsene’s critics leave me speechless.

3. Although the Spurs game is always the one I care most about United away comes a very very very close second and I’d even be tempted to say now if there was one game we could win this season this would be it.

   The way we’ve gone up there and been completely embarrassed the last few years hurt a lot, especially when I (like everyone) have about 20 mates who are United ‘fans’ and despite having no perspective or genuine passion never miss a chance for some smugness. Win and I think just about everyone would acknowledge that with the addition of a quality striker we’re capable of being thereabouts in May – lose and it will be deja vu for us as suddenly United don’t look in such dire straits with us, Liverpool, Citeh and Chelsea under their belt.

   For their poor start and dire football under Moyes the one thing you can bet your bottom dollar on is that he won’t be tactically naive and if we’re going to get a result up there we’re going to have really graft for it. We ain’t going to go up there and be allowed to play them off the park in an expansive fashion all game, we’re going to have to play in an uncomfortable fashion for most of the game and make the most of it when we get our chance to play.

4. Oh, dont worry they will be back, and thats just the Arsenal fans in the AAA, some of the others support a team playing some of the most dour negative football in the league at the moment, so some of them are bound to make trouble whenever they can. As for our own, they have chosen to believe the Sun, Talksport and fools like Robson…with his proven coaching/managerial acumen over a man with 30+ years experience, our most successful manager who lives and breathes for this club, not just that, but a man who is a winner, and has achieved something unique in the modern era at this level. These fans have no mental strength, they are plastic trophy hunters, they need everything here and now or the toys come out of their prams. Some lack things in their life, some just lack intelligence so they blame the Club. Well, for now they can sit and stew in their own juices, they will pounce when things go wrong, and celebrate with the best of them when we start winning trophies again, but even in the clubs success, their emptyness and bitterness will lurk very close to the surface. I wish some of them would join the likes of Robson, and the AAA members who do not support Arsenal…a long way away from this great club.

5. Haha,
   Just browsing an arsenal news aggregator when i spotted your headline (highlighted, of course), it caused me to look for negative ninnies of old, LG, not that i am encouraging traffic to their bile generator of a website, but crikey, the one they call pedro, was almost entirely complementary about last nights result, i can be corrected if not,as to be fair i only skim read, looking for comments directly berating our manager.

6. So there’s too much peace and harmony among Gooners for your taste? You’re now resorting to INVENTING an “enemy” for your loyal readers? Very nice, old-school Cold War thinking…there’s a new Red Menace for you to hunt!

   Nice one, McCarthy…

7. Very thought provoking article Tony. Yes, Charlton …

   Great victory. I’m looking forward to reading the papers. Hope there’s a good photo for the scrap book.

8. Sorry TONY but had to post this….Ramsey steals the bounce…

   http://d3j5vwomefv46c.cloudfront.net/photos/large/775095792.gif

9. Oh the above link was picked up from Bergkampesque.

10. Great link ARSENAL 13, don’t you just love football, the facial expressions on those fans are priceless. Agony to ecstasy in a split second or vice versa as in this case.

11. Oh sure Mick, we do love football, the emotions. When Ramsey scored, I just laughed, punched the air like Mr Wenger does, and continued laughing……

12. By my reckoning Steve Bould must be a miracle worker….he has gone from Wenger not allowing him to work on the defense (according to Robson and the rest of the lunatic fringe) to doing over one of the best attacking sides in the world such that he said last night he thought we were defending with 4 legs!!! Now the fact that Bouldy can do this, instill the structure and positioning while not working with the defense, and presumable simply by casting his “aura” over them to the obvious chagrin of Arsene (I mean some stupids obviously believe this to be true!)

13. Wenger got his tactics spot on. Both Dortmund and Chelsea had taken advantage of our eagerness to play in the others half. However, this time, Wenger was having none of it. Wenger was not sucked into the trap of ‘sit, contain and counter’ that is often used against us. If the other team doesn’t want to take the game to us, we shouldn’t be obliged to take it to them. The same must be applied at United this week. Deep down Moyes and even United fans will admit we are the better footballing side, United will keep their structure above having a go at us. We must do the same and not fall into the trap. Their the home team, there Man United, let them come to us.

14. Note how you start the article referring to a Stewart Robson report on the History Site, the place it should be.

    You don’t start articles referring to your obsessional Referee reports on Untold Referees. Instead we have to have them stuffed in our face on Untold Arsenal because you know hardly anybody goes to Untold Referees.

    Still whining about fellow fans more than anything else despite me not seeing any fans dissing Wenger or the club. Sure, if I want trouble I’ll LOOK FOR a pub where a rough bunch of people hangout, just like you LOOK FOR anti-Wenger fans on questionable sites.

    If you avoid such sites you will not see these people => then you won’t protesteth too much and look as daft. I’m pretty sure you don’t say your rubbish to the faces of fans.

15. According to Sky Sports stats:

    Shots on target: Dortmund 3 – 2 Arsenal
    Possession: Dortmund 49.3% – 50.7% Arsenal
    Interceptions: Dortmund 21 – 26 Arsenal
    Passes: Dortmund 455 – 476 Arsenal
    Tackles Won (%): Dortmund 73.7% – 85.7% Arsenal

    Arsenal didn’t mug anyone. They went to college, studied hard and got a good degree. Used it to get a respectable job. Worked hard at the job, including overtime and weekend work. Went for an interview, got the promotion. Saved up a little from the paycheck every month and then finally went to the football shop and bought that win.

16. “Still whining about fellow fans more than anything else despite me not seeing any fans dissing Wenger or the club”

    This statement leads me to think you could HAVE been in hiding mate, coz I have certainly been seeing such comments on here(e.g, Newcastle 2×0 Chelsea, why can’t Wenger get one over maureen, how Jenkison, Rosicky, etc. etc. needed to be shipped out pronto after our loss to Chelsea in the CoC)

17. I awoke this morning fully expecting to see positive headlines emanating from Usmanov, Red and White, Dein, Robson, Tim Payton, The Daily Heil,TalkSpite and Alan Hansen. Imagine my suprprise when I actually found none of the above.
    It’s funny how some people really say nothing until it agrees with their agenda isn’t it?

18. magaon

    Thanks for those stats, just goes on to show we played a good game yesterday. I’m still struggling to see why some think it was a smash and grab job, your stats prove it wasn’t and we deserved every point we got out of this match. Not just that, they prove WE were the better side, stats don’t lie:)

19. Most intelligent people know that received or conventional wisdom is the enemy of actual wisdom.

    What Arsenal did against Dortmund last night questioned several conventional football fallacies about Arsenal, and the beautiful game in general:

    1) Arsenal can’t defend: Dortmund had, as the Sky commentators reminded us about 73 times, failed to score at home only once in 60 games. Arsenal were bound to concede, lose. It was a question of how many. Coming off our Liverpool result and the 0-2 against Bayern last season, can this be put to rest now?

    2) Arsenal are bottlers: The Arsenal League Cup final defeat to then relegated Birmingham is oft-quoted as the ultimate example of bottling it, but how many people even remember, never mind talk about, Man City bottling it to then-relegated Wigan LAST season in a bigger stakes cup? The FA Cup. That, and our recent big-game results, surely suggest we can stop talking about that League Cup final now.

    3) Arsenal are a team of foreigners: undoubtedly true at one point. Now we have a plethora of British players, including the Welsh wonderwall, Aaron Ramsey. English, talented players also include Theo, Wilshere, Gibbs, the Ox, even Jenko. Conveniently – despite successful United sides having British players who were great, not so much English players – the narrative has become the paucity of English players in a team, not British players. It was never a problem when Giggs and Hughes were smashing it for United. Now we’re lumped in with City as an example of sides not giving English players a shot. Name another top side who gives this many British or English players a shot.

    And another question for you:

    4) Why is a foul after a player has had an attempt on goal in the penalty area never given while the ball is still in play?

    Ponder on those and then wonder why no-one is giving Arsenal a shot of winning anything.

    All the best to everyone,

20. I think some of us have been spoilt by the team to the point that nothing but vintage Arsenal will do. They can’t even see it when we play a strategic game and out-think the other team, as long as we don’t overrun the opposition then we were lucky to win/didn’t deserve to win. What a way to look at things….

21. ARSENE, oh he is tactically naive…..

    People, watch ARSENAL vs BVB.

22. Arsenal1Again = Crack Head

23. Sorry to Tony/Walter for copying and pasting the below from Sky, but i found this tribute to AW from a Southampton fan moving;

    “I truely hope Arsenal win some trophies this year… One of the best coaches in the world who is MASSIVELY under appreciated in the EPL. Every world class club in the world has offered him a job and he has stayed with Arsenal and worked wonders. I’m Southampton fan.”

24. Not hiding at all. Over the moon about results so far this season. Praying they continue. Will never forget all those years of winning nothing due to managerial failure. Or have you chosen to ignore. The difference now is we can defend. And do you really think that is due to Wenger ?? LMFAO. Of course not. Otherwise we would have been defending well in previous years when he did not have Steve Bould and Per Mertesecker … who actually know how to coach and play defence. For 5 years Wenger did not even have a genuine dmf. nor a decent keeper. Now we have both.

25. Interesting Post.

    I have often read comments and articles and heard ‘phone in’ calls from people unhappy with Arsene Wenger.

    Now there is nothing intrinsically wrong with that stance as everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, whatever that may be.

    Where there is a problem is two fold.

    First, many of those angry or unhappy fans present themselves as ‘experts’ or realists annoyed that Wenger does not understand the mistakes he is making that they themselves find glaringly obvious, and rage at his perceived incompetence.

    These people seem to be oblivious to the indisputable fact that Wenger has spent most of his life as a well regarded, top professional football manager while his protagonists are …………….. what?

    That brings me to the next issue, and no doubt I have already fallen foul of it.

    It seems that if I or anyone else states the obvious, that I prefer to trust the knowledge and expertise of a professional, like Mr Wenger, or my qualified dentist or my qualified doctor over someone I do not know and has no discernible track record in top level football management, dentistry or medicine, I will be dismissed as a Wenger lover or AKB, whatever that means, whose opinion is therefore deemed to be worthless.

    I opened this comment with the statement that people are entitled to their own opinions regarding AW, but perhaps I too should be entitled to mine, even if I have a different view.

    OK, I am not holding my breath while waiting for agreement. 🙂

26. There is also the point that the success last night was achieved without Theo, Jack, Flamini, Podolski…

    How the hell will they ever get in the team?

27. Oh and Arsenal1Again, about me speaking “in the faces of fans”. I guess you don’t count my occasional radio work. But still, I’m not sure if you have been to any AISA meetings, but I have been known to make the occasional speech there.

    I made a speech about tactics in the AGM of AISA at the Emirates a short while back, and then there was the speech about challenges to ownership which I made at the AISA meeting held at the House of Commons…

28. Tony

    You forgot Oxlade-Chamberlain……

29. OT: Knee injuries

    The BBC is running a story, that I think a lot of people who rag on players after they have been injured, should give a read.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24826323

    You would assume that the knee was fairly well known (according to the article, knee surgery goes back to at least 1879). 1879 is just the first time, there was a hint that the ALL (anterolateral ligament) existed. Going back to my copy of Joint Structure and Function, Norkin and Levangie, 1983 there is no mention I can find of the ALL.

    Anyway, the BBC article says that between 10-20% of knee repairs are not successful. Well, if you failed to repair something that was broken, because you never knew it was there, that would help explain that.

30. Let’s be honest, there were a lot of ppl who didn’t like AW from the moment he came to England. Their reasons were many: didn’t like his face, his attitude, his general looks, his nationality, the fact he’s very well educated, his humour etc.
    The truth is that all this negativity never disappeared and it still exists. If we take also into account the rivalries between the two main club’s shareholders, we can easily understand why the anti-wengerianism is so well supported.
    It’s unfortunate that an organisation like AST, that pretends to support the club, is in fact one of the most bitter opponents of AW. So, don’t worry, if we lose this weekend against MU (God forbid), we’ll see plenty of commentaries from all the “nice” guys like Robson, Payton, LeGrove, maybe R&W.

31. Arsenal13 the fans in that gif are wearing Wembley tops.

32. @Ben La,
    Perhaps because they were at Wembley in the final last year?

33. Hey, I am one of Arsene Wenger’s critics and am not in hiding. My purpose is for Wenger to do the right thing because I love Arsenal. It’s pressure from people like us that forced Wenger to go for a quality player like Mesut Ozil. The same pressure forced him to release dead wood like Squillaci, Chamakh, Santos and Almonia. It’s sad that supporters with warped thinking give AW the wrong impression that things are ok when they are not. I was actually happy to see the sign after the Villa defeat: SPEND, SPEND, SPEND! Now we have quality in the team and things are going as expected. We want a quality striker, another central defender, and an established left winger. Bendtner should be the next one out.

34. yes other sites were saying the gif was from that game at Wembley not yesterday’s match.

35. Related to injuries, concussion.

    If a manager happens to also be a M.D., by all means let them take the responsibility for making a snap judgment with few if any diagnostic tools on the extent of brain injury in the event of a concussion.

    Outside of that unlikely scenario, I think all managers should be required to remove a player from the field of play if they have suffered a concussion or lost consciousness on the field of play under the order of the referee. The player can be replaced without cost (in terms of limited substitutions).

36. @Chris 2:03 pm

    Glad to see you are happy that we are winning now. We haven’t won any trophies for 8 years…true and we didn’t have Per Mertesacker nor Steve Bould. Assuming that we can attribute our defensive soundness to them, I ask you, who brought them in? If Arsene Wenger is to be blamed for our failures then should we not give him credit for correcting them?

37. This from the Daily Mail on the Dortmund game.
    “Naming the famous Arsenal back four is easy: Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny and Gibbs. It has taken Arsene Wenger years to replace the brilliant defence he inherited when he took over in September 1996. He has finally done it. Whether it is by luck or judgement, he has four defenders who are old school in their approach: they simply do not want to concede goals.”
    ‘
    So we can forget the back four of the ‘Invincibles. They didn’t want to concede goals. However they made one very big, big mistake.

    They allowed themselves to be ‘Arsene’s back four.’ WE can forget about them becaue they cannot be any good!

38. @colario,
    Classic!
    “He has finally done it. Whether it is by luck or judgement, he has four defenders who are old school in their approach: they simply do not want to concede goals.”
    Ha Ha, I see what he did there, praise then he slips in “luck” to keep it an open question, we wait sir with bated breath tell us more.NOT!
    quite why people fork out every morning to read this filth and believe it, is beyond me.

39. N.T. Gruduah (@3.43pm),

    As the American politicians and public personalities say when patronising their veterans:

    “Thanks for your service”

40. The result last night was a major milestone and if Anti Wengarians exist then the faction that were on his back because they genuinely were disappointed in his performance over the last 8 years have to at least say now that he has finally found the formula. The results in 2013 can not be denied.

    I would rate Wenger as underachieving for 8 years – yes I have heard all the arguments and kept my view the same. No need to debate them again. However, some serious changes have been made and Wenger can only be applauded for 2013.

    Stuart Robson is just a bitter little twisted shit – so entrenched in his hate that he will never acknowledge anything good about Arsenal. Morons like him are few and far between though.

    Make sure you don’t generalise when it comes to fans who have been critical. If you lumped me in with Robson I might just have to bop you on the nose … just kidding 😉

41. @magaon at 1.24 a.m.

    I like those stats!

42. Sorry, 1.24 p.m.!

43. At jayramfootball good call. This site does exactly that puts everyone who dares ever question in the Robson camp, robson is pathetic with his endless tirade at Arsene. Arsene has done great things for our football club, given us great moments great seasons, and great football. That does not mean he is beyond question some of his signings and the wages these guys earn. The inability to protect the back four. I want success with arsene at the helm but I want him to use all resources to make us the very best we can be I am loving our start but know there is a long way to go. We need that striker back up and a defensive midfielder then I believe we an really compete with the very best. I have never been anti wenger but not always pro him its not that black and white.

44. Magaon….in answer to your question: 4) Why is a foul after a player has had an attempt on goal in the penalty area never given while the ball is still in play?

    If the foul was to be punished by a direct free kick against the defenders (a penalty) but the referee gave advantage, (very rare and very dangerous)then he cannot award a penalty retrospectively. Similarly for an indirect free kick where advantage was given. That said, if the referee gave advantage but another foul is committed by any player, then he must award a free kick against the offender, even if he allowed advantage to the attacker.
    The concept of advantage is to ensure that a stoppage of play to award a free kick and possibly a caution, should not take away a clear goal-scoring opportunity for the offended team. Hope that answers your question.

45. @N.T.Gruduah,
    Thank you very much for Ozil, although i wonder if i should hold back my thanks to you critics as i cannot remember any of you specifically asking for Ozil, in fact to most of us, it was such a curve ball it took about a day to sink in, i walked around pumping strangers hands going “Mesut fucking Ozil, Yes” for about a week after the announcement. The fact that this was also one of those long drawn out affairs which began in Ozil’s teens, apparently we tried to sign him when he was 17 or even younger the first time! quite why it thrills you that we we signed him after a loss is beyond me.
    No,i’ll save my thanks for the manager and the people at arsenal who actually make these fantastic things happen, the club and board have been open and delivered on all the promises, in fact it made all that criticised ridiculous, it’s almost as if you lot lived in a parallel universe and continue to do so, i wonder if you have an opinion as to whether Arsenal are title contenders this season?
    Also,i don’t know if i am entirely happy with calling the players you mentioned “deadwood”, but none the less, every single one of them at some point contributed to our success, and i remember most of them fondly, certainly a lot more fondly than people who deserted us for greener pastures, destabilising the team and leaving your “deadwood” to fight for the shirt. I am one of those fans for whom that was more than enough, we punched above our weight and took some licks along the way and we felled a giant or two in our turn, we cannot be prouder of what the manager and his teams achieved during the lean years,ignoring the parallel universe that some inhabited.
    In short, the earth orbits the sun not the other way round, the club will exist and carry on it’s business, regardless of your informed suggestions, time will(is beginning) to prove them right and you wrong.

46. I can’t believe some dopey ‘fans’ think they pressured him to sign Ozil? Hahaha Ozil was a surprise that aw tried to sign many moons ago…
    So stupid its crazy!

47. @Ben, Yup, I saw that too (wembley), my bad I dint go through the details, but who cares….. That was how they reacted to Ramsey goal. The whole stadium went silent, After that it was all “away gooners”…….

48. After reading some ‘shrewd ‘ observations from the armchair fans and experts and having a good laugh ,came across this gem about the blind teaching the blind from
    http://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?emailid=5177&source=viral_box#.Unxr0ifyQTE

    The Six Elephants…

    There once was a small village in India where all the residents, due to a rare illness, were blind.

    One day, six of the village’s residents went on a walk and met, on their way, a man riding an elephant. These people have heard much of elephants, but have never been close to one of the hulking beasts. They were curious, and asked the rider to allow them to touch the animal, so they can return to the village and explain to the rest of the blind what the elephant ‘looks’ like.

    The rider agreed, and so, each of the six blind men approached the elephant, each selecting a diffrent spot to touch, so they can understand what it’s like.

    An hour later, they arrive at the village center and call for everyone to join them, excitedly telling them about the elephant.

    six elephants

    “So what is an elephant like?” Asked the curious blind villagers.

    The first man, who touched the elephant’s chest said: “The elephant is built like a huge, sturdy wall!”

    “Nonsense!” Cried the second man, who touched the elephant’s tusk, “The elephant is short and stubby and smooth to the touch, with one sharp end! More like a short spear than a wall.”

    The third man, who touched the elephant’s ear, was very surprised at this and said: “But these are all wrong, the elephant, after all, is like a giant leaf made of thick wool which bends in the wind.”

    “Untrue!” screamed the fourth man, who put his hand on the elephant’s trunk. “I’ll tell you what the elephant is like – a giant snake!”

    “no no no!” seethed the fifth man, who touched one of the elephant’s legs, “wasn’t it clear to you that the elephant was like a short stump, round and thick?”

    “None of you got it right,” said the sixth man, who rode the elephant’s back for a short while. “The elephant is like a flat, moving mountain!”

    The villagers were very confused at this, and legend tells us that till this day, no one in the village knows what an actual elephant looks like.

    And so is often the case when people argue – they each have only a small part of the picture, but insist that only they can see it in full. Sometimes it takes the combination of all opinions to lead us to the truth. All you have to do is listen for it…

49. To all those who consider yourselves ‘ experts ‘ ,take a sobering walk into reality with this oft quoted piece .

    http://gpraveenkumar.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/has-the-water-entered-my-ship/

50. I also take this opportunity to thank all those who used their influence to get AW and Arsenal ” to spend some fucking money !” And thanks to the club for not skinflint, unlike this guy …..
    From…
    http://www.ba-bamail.com/Content.aspx?emailid=6173&memberid=763708#.UnxrpyfyQTE

    This Is Going to Cost You…

    One day while walking through the Garden of Eden, Adam looked up to the Heavens and spoke to God. “Father this place is great, but there is one thing missing”.

    “What is that my son”, God answered.

    “Well it would be nice to have a mate, I’m awfully lonely down here and all the other animal have mates but me. All I’m asking for is a creature more beautiful than the Garden, one who has a sex drive like mine, never has a headache and one who will cook, clean and be at my beckon call morning, noon and night.” said Adam.

    “Wow that’s a tall order, but I have just such a creature in mind, but it’s going to cost you”. said God.

    “Oh yeah, how much?” said Adam

    “An arm and a leg.” replied God.

    Adam thought this over for quite some time and then asked “Well, what can I get for a rib?”

51. Agree with Jayramfootball and good points Henry B., yes everyone is allowed an opinion without a barrage of abuse if it differs from another’s view.

    Though Jayram I’d say that the win in Munich last year was perhaps the significant milestone.

    As no one has all the facts regarding Arsenal, that is our financial clout, who is coaching the defence, why we stuck with certain average players etc. these arguments can never be resolved. People have opinions which they try to wrestle into facts. Ask Arsene, and maybe he’ll reward you with the facts.

    There’s no doubt we can’t spend as freely as City or Chelsea . The amusing thing about this fact is that one minute this is used as a reason for our lack of success and then when Chelsea or City don’t win a trophy the same people say that money can’t buy you trophies. Which is it?

    Anyway there’ll always be people who disagree with a manager. Plenty of Spurs fans aren’t happy with AVB. I’m sure the same can be said of Brendan Rogers and David Moyes.

    Right now Wenger is doing a great job. And not just because he spent 42 million on one player but because he found one for less than half the price, Ramsey, our star of the season.

52. Just as I don’t believe that the AAAAs can be trusted , still let him who is without sin….

    Marital Joke . .
    A man ordered for a voice automated robot car that did
    anything he told it to do correctly without any error.
    He got the car and started sending it on errands. He became very proud of what the car could do without mistakes.
    One day, he was home and his wife told him to tell the car to go and pick their 3 children from school as she was very tired.
    The man agreed and said to the car, “Car, go and bring my children from school.”
    When the car didn’t return in time as expected, they knew something must be wrong. Several hours later and still no car, the man became apprehensive.
    He got dressed and was ready to lodge a report at the police station. As he and his wife stepped outside, they saw the car with a full load of children.

    The car parked right in front of them and said,
    “Here are your children, sir.”

    In the car were their landlady’s two daughters, their choir mistress’s two sons, his wife’s best friend’s daughter, their pastor’s son and their neighbour’s two sons.

    The Wife said, “Don’t tell me all these are your children?”

    The man asked her calmly, “Ann, you tell me this first. Why aren’t our children in the car?”