by Tony Attwood
Arsenal could have done so much better this season, but thankfully there is still some of the season left so they might well have time to sort this out and make things right.
Here are just five of the failures of Arsenal thus far…
They have
1: Continued to hold press conferences at which Mr Wenger politely and diligently answered each question.
It is patently obvious that no matter what Mr Wenger says it is going to be twisted and turned and manipulated to mean something completely different from that which he has said.
What they could have done is brought in a robot and let the robot say standard phrases such as, “I have great faith in my team,” and “Whatever I say you will publish something different,” or “I don’t know why you bother to be here; you just make up your fairy stories anyway.”
A grave error on Arsenal’s part.
2: Failed to give the media an alternative story to the “Arsenal get the most injuries” tale.
This was an Untold project in which we made injuries a central part of our weekly analysis, long before physioroom came along. But even after all our work, and the fact that slowly a few writers did drop the ludicrous story that Arsenal had the most injuries of any PL club, there were still people around propagating the tale.
Talk Sprout were particularly to blame here giving free reign to every nutter who wanted to run the tale of two parts: Arsenal get the most injuries and it is all the fault of Wenger’s training systems.
There were even “analyses” which showed the hundreds and hundreds of days lost to Arsenal players which managed in one case to have something like 62 weeks in a year, and count as Arsenal injuries the injuries to a player who had been out on loan for four months.
Arsenal could have published their own version.
3: Failed to emphasise that it is the trophies that are trophies.
We had the stuff going on about “Fourth is not a trophy” for several years – the sort of anti-Arsenal Arsenal equivalent of “Horseradish is not a horse” or “Piccadilly Circus is not a flower farm” but now that has transmuted into the FA Cup is not a trophy.
Becoming the team that has won the FA Cup more times than any other club, with the manager who has won the FA Cup more times than any other, and I think (from memory) more times than Liverpool, is not enough.
Talking gibberish is not a trophy either and it would have been helpful if Arsenal had boasted a little more about their achieved. Flags around the stadium is good, but not sufficient.
4: Failed to get a secret team of investigators together to see exactly what the PGMO was up to, tap their phone lines and then reveal all.
We have analysed so many football matches from the point of view of the refereeing that there is not much point of going on any further. The people who don’t like evidence don’t want to believe it, so that is about the end of the road.
Except there must be one or two other clubs out there that are a bit fed up with referees not doing anything about diving, referees flagrantly breaking the rules, referees who just do their own thing, PGMO claims for over 100% accuracy, and notorious examples of one way bias. If three clubs that are the worst affected by all this nonsense came together, it is just possible something might start being sorted.
At the very least if the club took and then published through an outside agency its own figures on refereeing that would help.
5: Failed to score fewer goals (at least thus far) than Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham.
This was an absolute demand of the anti-Wengerians this season and Mr Wenger has failed on this count totally. A poor show really, although there is still time to make things better.
The newspapers have of course ignored the fact, but then that is what they do.
And to prove the press in-exactitude is not new, try this
- The managerial musical chairs. Where does it get anyone?
- Transfer window moved, 10 big rumours, Nketiah & Willock go beserk and bonkers awards
- Wenger protest, Chairman booed, anti-Spurs comments, Wilshere going, Big Sam’s instructions, Aubameyang warned.
Tony
5: Failed to score fewer goals (at least thus far) than Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham.
And to compound the error they’ve done it with strikers they are supposed to of ‘destroyed’.
Tony,
I am in sync with you 5 points and had a good laugh
Except for points 4 and 5.
In this regard I just do not understand Arsenaé. Fullstop.
It makes no sense to me at all. They have the ressources, the owner could go on TV and say : PGMOB are just corrupt and what could they do about it ? They are good with web presence yet don’t really push our FA cup wins the way they could have. it’s like if they were driving the Ferrari with a handbrake on.
With all their financial firepower, how can they not act, defend the club and the team. Or is there some secret contract with the PL that gives them no latitude ?
And just wait and see what happens in a few months when all will start to have questions about Mr Wenger’s contract (I’m willing to bet he’ll stay another 2 years). I just hope they learned from the errors of the past to get this issue settled ASAP.
Anyways. Maybe someone up there reads you stuff !
Chris
I just think the media are too powerful and way way too vindictive for Arsenal to be successful with any sort of counter action.
I think 3 of our players, Bellerin, Ozil and one I cant recall, have publicly hit back at media criticism. or referees performances, and the media have gone nuts.
Just google Wright and Ozil in the same sentence to see the level of his vitriol just because Ozil tried to defend himself against the totally unfair criticism Wright aimed at him.
Bellerin was labelled paranoid.
Wenger similarly has been labelled paranoid.
This from David Hytner in the Guardian:
“The accusation of some kind of premeditated campaign by referees against Arsenal is ludicrous – if Wenger is preparing his team for bad decisions, what does that say about their mindset?”
Yet another reporter criticising Wenger and the team for suggesting that the media are always criticising Wenger and the team.
Oh dear. I bet the irony went way over his head.
But there you have your answer Chris, one sniff of a fight back by anyone at Arsenal and the media go in to overdrive to p!$$ all over it.
Here’s a headline on a news feed :
Sloppy midfielder as strung together more Premier League starts than any other Arsenal player – …
Now read the story which basically does not at all reflect the headline
http://dailycannon.com/2018/02/xhaka-strung-together-premier-league-starts-arsenal-player/
Not ONE negative in the story. Not ONE
And now tell me there is not some bias, because as one can see from the typo (as instead of has), this one was NOT typed in by a robot………
Nitram,
sorry, but I respectfully disagree.
Arsenal ought to be ‘full-broadside-all-flags-flying’ against these nutters.
They have the means and the hell with it. There comes a point where enough is enough.
And to some point, backing your team, raising your colours, is more important.
Arsenal are getting hammered which ever way they go. So what is better, taking it in and shutting up or fighting back ?
Chris
You have a point.
But as bad as it is, it could get even worse.
If they did go on the offensive I would have no argument with it and would be with them all the way, but I honestly believe it is a fight we cannot win.
I’ll give you an example of how these people think.
At work I mentioned how we are screwed on penalties.
I got the ‘it all evens out’ and ‘every supporter thinks there team gets screwed’ response you always get.
I said, ‘but that’s just opinion, I have the stats to show we are hard done by on penalties, both for and against’.
When I showed him he said, but it’s THE WAY you attack and defend.
I said, but for over ten years?
Well yes, because that’s how long Wengers been there.
I said so it’s Wengers fault.
Yes, it’s your style of play, that’s why it happens.
At that point I gave up.
I should of known better because I’ve had ‘debates’ like that before. It just doesn’t matter what evidence you have, people ‘know what they see’ and that to them, is all that matters.
If people don’t want to hear they just don’t listen. You simply cannot win.
Nitram,
I see where you’re coming from.
But then, there is some romantic side in me that rather goes down running towards ennemy lines carrying a flag then staying on my foxhole.
And, frankly, the public at large… screw them.
What is important, is to get to PGMOB and the mafia running the PL.
Something’s gotta give.
Arsenal would be no worse off if they would go ont the offensive.
What is there to lose ? Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes. At least it would have some semblance of style….
Chris
Similarly I do see where you are coming from.
There is something to be said for looking your foe in the eye and saying ‘F**k you’ I’m not taking this any more.
Yes, you may end up with a black eye, but at least you can face yourself in the mirror.
Tony,
I’ve always appreciated your analysis and way of bringing things into perspective when, on the face of it, things are difficult/ dire/challenging etc. and when I’m angry that Kos or Mustafi or Xhaka have passed the ball to the opposition deep in our half …again! And I agree that we could all be more celebratory about the FA cup wins ( esp v Chelsea when Ozil was immense and Holding was a rock)..
BUT (you knew it was coming) – the failures have been
1. Conceding more than all above us, plus one below us and equal to two below us and one less than Newcastle in 16th place.
2. AW said last season that he knows how to coach a defence and this season he said the Liverpool opener was an accident. ( When big defeats happen on regular basis it can no longer be an accident).
3. I think that it is right to question AW’s ability to bring players on (OC and Theo)
4. Losing to teams we should at least getting a point from (Swansea, Stoke and others).
We have no divine right to win but we have a right to hope and wish for more consistency.
Nitram
06/02/2018 at 7:19 pm
I totally agree, I get aggressive at that point and swear like a drunken Truck driver.
Looks like we have Anthony Taylor as ref in the Spurs game!!!
Pochettino admitted to embracing diving
at least he is honest in that way
i wonder if we’ll see more of the same in NLD or the tide will turn
one thing is for sure, if that was not Liverpool! getting screwed the media would be quite
re point 4 i think Arsenal are well aware of what is going on, but some kind of agreement with FA is stopping them from admitting it
To 1 You could have added;
I just do not know what to answer, if i tell the truth of what i am really thinking i will get fined, and i really hate to make up stories.
1. I would love to have Steve Bould sitting next to AW at these press conferences , just staring menacingly at the reporters and chewing slowly on whatever he always chews.
And very often snorting derisively at the stupid questions , which would be almost always all the time ! Just imagine them asking any smart questions! That would go totally against the grain !
I would also love him to have his body tense up as though about to pounce whenever questions about our ‘defensive frailties ‘ is brought up. After all he was a key member of that world famous and legendary Arsenal back five of yesteryear .
The explicitly implied threat of GBH would stop all their stupid and moronic questions stat !
QUOTATION: You see things; and you say “Why?”. But I dream things that never were; and I say “Why not?”
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW, Back to Methuselah, act I,
http://www.bartleby.com/73/465.html
6.
Not improving our defensive record despite it clearly being an issue for several years.
6.
Ignoring the fact we have still never replaced Gilberto Silva after all these years.