On 25 February 2001 Manchester Utd (later to become Manchester Bankrupt) beat Arsenal 6-1. Manchester went 16 points clear at the top of the table. Since 1991 we had won the league just once.
In those days we hardly had blogs at all, but the fanzines were hugely active in calling for Wenger’s head.
Had he said, “all right, you win, I’m off” there would have been cheers from the writers of such fanzines and those who booed our own players.
In 2002 we did the double, in 2004 we were unbeaten all season, in 2005 we won the cup. None of that would have happened if the reaction to the previous season had been taken to heart by the Lord Wenger.
Compare with the current situation. Last season we ended just four points behind, having been top for part of the year. This year we have been cut to shred with injuries, but the essence of our team is young and will grow with us. And still people call for Wenger to go.
I believe that the only answer to them is 25 February 2001.
Moving on, there is Mr Flamini. The year before he left Arsenal he said he was ready to go, because he was not being used enough – coming on with perhaps 30 minutes left in the games he did not play in.
So it is interesting to watch him this season. He has chosen to leave Arsenal, at the end of his contract, and there is nothing wrong with that. I make no complaint – I just like to watch the result.
This past weekend Flamini’s team played Roma. He was on the bench and came on in the 89th minute as a substitute for David Beckham.
Final point – it has been pointed out that the maths question in relation to posting can be difficult to understand first time around, so I have removed it for the moment. If it does increase the amount of spam getting through I’ll have to put it back, but we’ll give it a try.
(c) Tony Attwood 2009. I notice that one or two of my posts are once again being taken wholesale and posted elsewhere. To anyone thinking of doing this, this is a criminal offence in that it breaks the copyright owned on these scripts, and we are now starting to take action. It does take a little while to get the wheels rolling in each case, but you will hear from us.
yeah thats what it pays to be a stupid footballer who only thought of his interest instead of the arsenal fraternity.but he is now getting his dues YOU BETRAY ARSENAL YOUR FOOTBALL WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN IT BCOMES CRAP.
Did you mean any of that?
I wouldn’t mind him returning as the prodigal son.
Dealing with the Russians is not easy. The Italian Serie A teams that signed players from Russia and other Eastern Bloc countries say so. So we have to hope for the best that we get Arshavin. I think he will be a great addition to us. He is certainly at least a class above Palvyuchenko over at Spurs. Hiddink thinks he is good and that is some praise. Anyway I like to know how come we appointed an American to deal with player aspects including transfers? When one applies for a job one needs to have the relevant experience and qualifications amongst others. The American (Gazidis or somewhere close, forgive me) does not have the obvious experience, so what’s up with this appointment? There should be more transparency at the higher levels. Frankly after all this time, is he (appointment) the best we could get? What does he know about English / European or African/South American or indeed Asian football in order for us to ensure (Arsene listed and DDein used to get them) the necesary signings. This country is in shambles, we reward those who fail, we promote the incompetent, the blind lead us and the unqualified get the positions and the commmon masses pay (tickets, satelitte TV, jerseys, etc in this case). To say that it is because of Kroenke is too simplistic an answer. The other English (heaven help us if they carry on…) have more stakes in the club now don’t they, so couldn’t they overrule? Afterall, if they looked down as they certainly did on foreign investment then an American?? C’mon now, lets have proper answers. Arsenal Board listen carefully, Arsenal fans are not like most other clubs, we are thinking fans and we will challenge you if you choose not to inform us of what is happening. We have the right to know.
Why would someone do that Tony? Surely only to show that their own miserable blogs are superfluous to true Arsenal fans?
Wenger has never ever gone back for a player he has sold and i think FLamini is still a very avergae player who one lucky season! To play consistently throughout the years is something which remains to be seen & from the reports in Italy the lad does not get the games.
bad form on word theft! hands up if you would drive to Milan and bring back the Flamster. On injuries “This year we have been cut to shred with injuries, but the essence of our team is young and will grow with us.” – this is not a surprise, we never strenghten enough.
Apparently Arshavin is “interested” in signing for us – it’s crazy how the media spin things – what he actually said was “In some games last season, we played football which was very similar to that of Arsenal”… that doesn’t mean he wants to join us – Arsenal and Barcelona are renouned for having similar styles.
He then went on to say “I would prefer my present No.10 but in the team where I hope to move it’s not vacant. So I’m ready for any number they are going to offer me”, but pretty much every club in Europe has a number 10 – so how on earth does that mean he wants to sign for us?
Stoooopid media.
Well there is a method to Wenger’s madness. The problem is most fans (sometimes even me) get frustrated with his plan. Wenger is planning for the long term and I believe he’s come to realize that he won’t always be Arsenal’s manager so he’s building a squad for the future in the event that he does leave. I’m not saying he’s gone in the summer but age has a way of giving you perspective and Wenger wants to leave Arsenal in good hands for whoever his successor may be in the future. We have come to expect alot from Wenger and he’s a victim of his own success. I don’t necessarily agree whole-heartedly with his approach since United can find the balance between the old and new and still dominate world football, why can’t we? But I can see what he is doing and where he wants the club to go. I think however, that once Wenger achieves that elusive Champions League title he might retire from team management and take a seat on the Arsenal board that the club has reserved for him.
pacificworld, you need to check your facts first before you go off on a rant.
If you check the Arsenal official website you would find out exactly why Arsenal appointed him.
Firstly, he is not American (whatever difference that makes). His parents are Greek and he was born in South Africa. He studied and worked as a lawyer in the UK, living yards away from Highbury at one point to boot. He also played football for Oxford, the team Martin Keown coached until recently. On top of this he had a leading role in getting the MLS off the ground in America and was responsible for negotiating all player contracts as well as dealing with the commercial side of football.
To me that sounds like the ideal candidate. Of course we could have appointed someone because of his nationality but without the right experience and background. Maybe you would have been happier with that?
Tony, a lot of gooners like you don’t watch enuf of Serie A. You make glib remarks about Flamini at Milan that show you really don’t know what his season has been like at all there.
Flamini has played in two-thirds of Milan’s games this season, that’s 75% of games for a player in his first season at the club, his first season in a new country where he’s getting acclimated to a very different football culture.
How often does Wenger start a new player in every game in his first season at the club that’s also his first season in England? Very rarely. Sagna’s a rare exception.
Absolutely agree with NYMarcus. Sick of Arsenal websites who come out after every time Flamini doesn’t start & talk about it as if it’s the norm.If it was the norm you’d be saying it every week !
It’s just a poor attempt to try to show that we don’t miss him when in reality we do.Horribly. If he was still with us we’d be top of the league now; I have no doubt about that.
There’s a slight difference between losing resoundingly to a team with Stepanovs in your starting line up and a tactically superior manager than there is to being four seasons without a trophy, which is exactly where we are heading…should Wenger be sacked? No…but we should feel it appropriate to put pressure on him and to criticise what is essentially one of the weakest Arsenal squads I’ve seen for at least five seasons.
Please stop talking about Flamini, he’s gone, he’s not coming back let’s focus on getting Le Boss to sign Lorik Cana (who is a far superior player to Mattieu).
Manager Arsène Wenger has earned a well-deserved reputation over the years of having one of the keenest eyes for talent in the game. He buys players when they’re young, often times in their mid-to-late teens, and cheap, then brings them through Arsenal’s youth system and, if they develop sufficiently, into the first team. If or when they play well enough at the highest levels, raising their values, and if/when Wenger sees fit, he has the option to sell them off, thus making a huge profit on his original investment. He may then takes that money and spends it on more young players, and then the cycle repeats itself again. Wenger holds a Master’s degree in economics.
We’ve seen this type of thing recently with Lassana Diarra, who was sold to Portsmouth last winter, but perhaps most famously with Patrick Vieira (signed for $7 million, a relatively large sum by Wenger’s standards, then sold to Juventus for nearly $27.5 million) and Nicholas Anelka (signed for $1 million, then sold to Real Madrid only two years later for just over $44.5 million). We’re going to see it continue the future with players like Kolo Toure, who was signed for just $300,000 from Belgian club ASEC Mimosas, Cesc Fàbregas, who joined as a 16-year-old from Barcelona, and perhaps as soon as later this summer with Emmanuel Adebayor, who came to Arsenal from Monaco for a reported $6 million but could be sold for anywhere upwards of $50 million.
He is loyal to his players, but only to a certain degree. He’ll stick by them when it suits him and the club, but when he believes it’s time for them to go, even if they’d essentially devoted their lives to the club and contributed significantly to the club’s success like Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg, Robert Pirès, and Martin Keown all did, they go.
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