By Tony Attwood
I wouldn’t normally focus enormously on one particular blog and its commentary, but the headline today of “This is why we want you gone: these Arsenal fans can’t quite believe Unai Emery’s latest comments ” really made me wonder if there is any end to the madness, or
I was there with my pals for the Arsenal v Villa game, and yes we were all very down at half time – and thereafter. Another man sent off, going 2-1 down to a team who had lost both their previous away games, and Arsenal – the team with the superb home record for the past two seasons. It all seemed too much.
But we won, as you will of course know, and we not only won but we also climbed up the league table to the “not a trophy” spot of fourth.
Indeed since our aim is primarily to be above at least two of the standard top six of recent seasons, this is looking ok with just on 16% of the season completed…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 18 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 6 | 18 | 13 |
| 3 | Leicester City | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 11 |
| 5 | West Ham United | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 11 |
| 6 | AFC Bournemouth | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 8 |
| 8 | Manchester United | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| 9 | Burnley | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 8 |
Of course one bad result can turn things around, but if anyone had offered that after six games we’d be ahead of Tottenham, Manchester Utd and Chelsea, I’d certainly have grabbed that possibility.
OK our goal difference isn’t much to get excited about, but we’ve still got our first choice defenders to come into the team, and we have not only got our newly transferred players settling in but three terrific youngsters who are clearly more than able to step up to the occasion when needed.
Yet the “fans” (I don’t use the word in any normal sense) want Emery out because we are not top of the league and he has not come out and said Xhaka is useless.
So, let’s consider this. We have played six, we are in fourth, and three points ahead of three of our regular rivals. Yes it could be a lot better, but it is progress. And (and really this is the big point), look at what happened the last time there was a fan uprising against the manager: Wenger went and we got Emery. Now one year and six games on they want Emery out, and what will happen? We’ll get… well we don’t know who but with three of the top six suffering uprisings against the current incumbent there is no telling what we will get.
So what are the chances of the owners bringing in an all time really big exciting manager with fantastic technical know how, the ability to bring the best out of the youngsters who were signed and nurtured by Mr Wenger and bring in some choice extra players?
Somehow these clowns who write this stuff think that nothing can be easier than finding someone better and nothing can be worse than Arsenal’s current position. But try telling that to the supporters of Chelsea, Man U or Tottenham – they are each three points behind us.
And yet what do we find? There are commentaries about how Chelsea supporters clapped their team despite losing to Liverpool and slipping to the lower half of the league table. I can’t say for sure but they perhaps feel that the problem is with their owner are at the heart of the matter. It is indeed hard to find negative comments about Chelsea’s players and their manager – indeed the Star was pretty much out on its own with “Mason Mount pinpoints two damaging factors costing Chelsea’s top-four chances”
Manchester United however are suffering as Arsenal, are from a lot of negative commentary. Today’s top stories on the club include
- Manchester United release bizarre statement in bid to calm angry fans (
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“Most overrated player around” – Lots of Man Utd fans complain about “useless” youngster
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Gary Neville lists the five new players Man Utd need after West Ham loss (
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Neville criticises Solskjaer for bad decision vs West Ham (
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They spent £140 million in the summer so why are Manchester United even worse than last season? (
*This story is quite weird because there is no bizarre statement – rather the club has said they remain committed to ‘winning trophies at the highest level’ despite the club’s recent failings.
Meanwhile Tottenham are also suffering from the raging negativity of the media egged on by bloggers…
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“Better than Poch & is on the market” – Many Spurs fans agree on new manager if Pochettino goes
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‘Undeniable’: Some Tottenham fans think BBC Sport pundit is speaking the truth about Spurs
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‘Is it any wonder?’ Tony Cascarino names nine Tottenham players who are ‘unsettled’ (
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“Even Levy knows that”, “All day long” – Many Spurs fans split on idea of 41 y/o replacing Poch
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Concerns for Tottenham as Pochettino talks up his ‘dream’ job (
In essence Arsenal, Tottenham and Man U are all getting stories about a potential change of manager; only Chelsea are excused because of fans’ appreciation of their manager who played over 400 games for the club and maybe the realisation (that Arsenal supporters don’t seem to have) that it is the owner who is pulling the strings.
And if Arsenal, Tottenham or Man U get a new manager, what then? Arsenal and Man U will look like merry-go-round clubs endlessly moving from one man to another in the desperate hope of finding the right man – which will make it harder still to get the “right man” to obligingly sign on the line.
As for Tottenham, they have a manager who has given them a second, two thirds and a fourth-place finish in the last four seasons. Before he came along it was a quarter of a century since the club had had a third-place finish. So he delivers more than most supporters will have witnessed, and they want him out.
This nonsense is good news for Arsenal in the sense that it creates instability at Tottenham and Man U, but since Arsenal is suffering from it at the same time, it can hardly be seen as a positive for us.
I’ve written before as to why journalists and bloggers do it: it is for easy-to-get publicity and to satisfy their own bent egos, but we should be very careful about joining in this game of “get rid of the manager then it will all be ok”.
Having called for Wenger’s head and got him thrown out, to do it all over again, is ludicrous. We can let Tottenham and Man U go down that route, but let’s allow our manager to take Arsenal back into the Champions League, and then build from there.
In Unai we trust!!!
The black hole of endless negativity, the toxicity being generated by believing anything that goes across your mind and you present it to the world as fact, as evident truth, as reality, and you demand that others believe it, yes Tony, I will agree with all that.
I have a different problem. Mr Emery gives me unease. I fear that he does not trust the intelligence and the sensibility of his players, that he wants them to play as he trains them to play, that they freeze because of this, that the success he is having is coming because the players are fighting his mistrust and so have to come through wheras with Mr Wenger, success came because he trusted them, and allowed them to play without having him as a voice inside their heads they had to overthrow.
Hopefully I’m wrong. Maybe I’m thinking too much that Freddy has achieved such easy grace, skill and energy from the under-23s he must be encouraging them to play to the best of their ability.
Agree with the article and Zedsaunt. Every footballer and manager for that matter, understands that the game plan is that – a plan. The war on the field brings up challenges that can be coached like fifa 19. It’s up to the player to make the correct decisions and for the team to adapt.
If the team isn’t allowed this freedom good players freeze or stop playing. It goes against their talent and intellect. I think xhaka continues to play because he follows the script and doesn’t deviate. Emery likes this and maybe feels that the team should adapt like Xhaka. We’ve seen the results of that
While pre season friendlies are just that- we played with more freedom and fun. If you don’t have fun why play??
It’s really out of control now,the negativity, the vitriolic attacks on players and the relentless and petulant demand for change. What is really frustrating is seeing vicious attacks on players resulting in more desperate loss of form and confidence, and further damaging the team. Every goal conceded is shambles, and every mistake is reason to ship the players out of the club. We pay substantial amount of money for a coach to train and select players for matches, yet every supporter believes they have a right to orchestrate team selections, it’s just mad. We might as well conduct a poll on match days to determine who plays. The arrogance and petulance of some of our fans is just obnoxious. Change the manager, change the players they cry until the next manager and next set of players. Absolutely pathetic bunch!