Comments on: Arsenal Should Take A Leaf From Fergie’s Book

By: Jam

Jam — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:18:30 +0000

Exellent read. Great posts too.

By: denton davey

denton davey — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:48:41 +0000

Wenger has been under fairly tight fiscal controls as TheArse have had to spend very big to get their new stadium and the associated revenue flow. To be sure, that constrained his spending from 2003-2007 but it is hardly fair to say that he hasn’t “spent big” – J-A Reyes, Julio Baptista, and Eduardo were not exactly purchased from car boot sales, nor was Theo Walcott. What is more relevant to point out is that TheWninger has invested in very few journeymen professionals – Gallas and Rosicky and Hleb are the exceptions to this statement. This is relevant because squad depth has been the Arse’s Achilles’ Heel this year and last year and the year before that. When he has had to bring in Senderos, Hoyte, and the other young hopefuls, the team play has suffered. As we have seen with UTD, if you start chopping-and-changing then sooner or later the overall quality of the squad drops and things get tricky. That said, having Wesley, JohnnyO’ and Fletherinho in addition to Hargreaves and Carrick has given UTD excellent squad-depth and that has, I think, been the key difference between the two teams. SAF has a much deeper bench from which to choose and that quality gets borne out in games like last night’s when he gives a run-out to squaddies like Fletch, O’Shea, and LouiisLouisHaHa as well as someone very marginal like Pique. IF the Arse can make some additional signings to bulk up their squad then I can see them being a more consistent threat to our supremacy NEXT YEAR.

Right now, the Arse seem to be in a kind of late-winter doldrum/free-fall which is just about what they have experienced for the past few years. If they can get fourteen points from their remaining eight games then a season-total of 80 will be something of an improvement – and five more that I predicted !

IN contrast to the Arse, I think that the RentBoyz might be in a fairly parlous state as their team turnover this summer seems to be dangerously high – Drogba, Carvalho, Essien, Makalele and a couple of others seem to be on the way out. I don’t think that money alone could repair those cracks in their armour.

By: Anant

Anant — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:37:46 +0000

“Does anyone else share a strange ambivalence towards Arsenal ?”
yes . salford red . i share exactly the same sentiments . after all , its hard to dislike their brand of football. i have always said that after united , if there was an english team id pay to watch it would be arsenal (spurs also maybe – fantastic entertainment) . that said , the amount of hatred that goes into the making of a united-arsenal clash is difficult to stay away from . its just not the same when we’re playin the scousers or the rent boys . also , i share the same views when it comes to liverpool fans . theyre jus plain retarded . even though they’ve not won much since forever they go around claiming theyre the best in the land . i feel its not worth anyones while trying to argue with them . they will probably never see the light . hence , given a choice id say arsenal fans are much more level headed than the dippers and its a lot easier to involve them in a sensible conversation .
oh n since this is my first post here id like to commend scott on the brilliant articles this forum has to offer. honestly – the one about brown’s contract was an eye opener . cheers!

By: Tre

Tre — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:14:45 +0000

I think Fergie’s done a better job with his squad because he doesn’t make wholesale changes to his side, even though United is accused of spending a lot of money. At United we’ve seen a real gradual change from old-to-new talent. We still have remnants from 1992! (Thanks Giggsy). Giggs, Scholes, Gary Nevillie, Wes Brown, even Silvestre, and then youth players like Fletcher and O’Shea. We have a tenured team and our manager, along with these players, has really built the club around an identity that he is a part of. Meanwhile Arsenal’s most tenured player, Gilberto da Silva, only dates back to 2002! Even before that the faces of Arsenal were Henry, Freddy Ljunberg and Robert Pires; players who hadn’t been there long at all. Arsenal’s identity with Wenger stops with Wenger, who’s been there for a while. United’s identity revolves around Fergie, Giggsy, etc. I think there is a lot to be said about this. United is still the pride of the Northwest; Arsenal is a French Embassy.

By: Tom F

Tom F — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:45:52 +0000

It’s ok PG I’ll let you off as you are one of the more sensible Gooners on here

In all honesty, if Machester United do not win the league the only team I’d want to win it of the big 4 is Arsenal as the way they have played this season they do deserve it. I admire Arsenal for their playing style but that is all. I really do not like Chelsea and I hate Liverpool..

Last season (apart from Carrick) Manchester United did what Arsenal have done this season, yes we do have experience but Fergie trusted a team in development who haven’t won the title in a few years and we outplayed our nearest rivals Chelsea who always spend BIG.

It’s all about trophies and I like to see the big names as well as new young talent at United, we spent big on 4 players last summer and I was and still am delighted!

By: Tom F

Tom F — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:40:37 +0000

It’s ok PG

By: OMelhorDoMundo

OMelhorDoMundo — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:21:06 +0000

Great article yet again, Scott.I think I remember hearing that the average age of the team that beat Lyon at Old Trafford was lower than that of Arsenal’s team that beat Milan at the San Siro.
Anyway, my point:
United have a policy of playing young players as long as they’re good enough. Prodigious talent like Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs make the starting XI straight away while Beckham, Evra, Foster and so on are given time to develop.
Thierry Henry’s move was undoubtedly a good thing for the younger players at Arsenal but who’s going to give Clichy a pat him on the back when he makes a mistake? Vieira, Ljungberg, Henry, Pires? Only Gilberto and Gallas.
Sir Alex has the youth but doesn’t throw them in the spotlight straight away. Rather, players like Nani and Anderson are protected under Giggs and Scholes’s shadows and have less pressure to perform. Clichy has a bad game and all the pressure is on him. There are no excuses for making a mistake because he’s the most experienced left back on whom the responsibility of the left flank is heaped upon. Imagine Nani or SImpson starting regularly with their backups younger than them. What enormous pressure that must have on them? And if they mess up, would they be mature enough to deal with it? Especially if their captain, who should help, sulks at the centre circle?

Wenger is great at bringing up young talent but is it fair on Fabregas to have to lead the team through a bad patch? I think Scholes, Neville, Giggs and Ferdinand have the obligation to lead the team since they have won plenty of titles between them, they’ve been through every possible scenario as players. Fabregas, Flamini, Adebayor and Gallas who are the leaders of the team don’t have the same wealth of experience to keep their composure in tough situations as we saw in the Carling Cup final and against Chelsea and United this season. This is no criticism of Gallas as a player but who would want a captain that kicks another player for juggling the ball? I can accept Flamini and Hoyte getting angry about it but if the captain acts in such an immature manner, how can the rest of the team keep calm in the end of the season?

By: PG

PG — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:18:20 +0000

Actually surprisingly this is a far more balanced article than I have seen on this blog. And yes Tom F, the reason gunners land here is because it appears on our newsnow feed. One cant resist a good argument.

So back to this article, I think there are some factual inaccuracies. Arsene didnt always have the funds to spend. Remember building of the Emirates Stadium did mean a cut down on the spending.

Also, Arsene hasnt always been reluctant to spend money. We spent £15M for Theo, £17M for Reyes and even £8M for Francis Jeffers ( I know I know).

This season, the option was to either make some expensive signings or trust the players who have been with the club for 3 years. Fabregas, Flamini, Hleb, Van Persie, Kolo, Eboue have been there for a while. It was either give these guys a platform to perform or sideline them through an expensive signing. We have made signings like Rosicky and Eduardo who can fit in well with the team but not made wholesale changes.

All Arsene has done is trust his team to deliver. Yes, in hindsight it might look like an opportunity lost, but who is to say that a high profile signing would have been a match winner. Remember Julio Baptista ? Couldnt hit a cows arse with a banjo.

i think its too early to write off Arsenal’s season. You made the mistake in December and then we took a 5 point lead. So I suggest dont open the champagne just yet. The chavs are in hunt too.

By: Mick

Mick — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:13:47 +0000

Cracking read that. Thanks.

By: Salford Red.

Salford Red. — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:40:03 +0000

Does anyone else share a strange ambivalence towards Arsenal? Where my feelings towards the dippers are absolute regradless of there league position/current form, my feelings towards Arsenal depend on whether or not we are above them in the league. A couple of weeks ago my contempt for Arsenal could barely be contained. Mates who eulogised about their performance in the san siro were met with a curt “didn’t watch it mate.” My contempt for them never matched the heady days of the cup-semi in 2004, where i cannot remember pouring so much vitrol on an opposing team. Howver after we destroyed the “invincibles” in Oct 2004, my attitude softened to our effete cockney friends in the French colony of islington. After all they played great football. Their fans, on the whole, were still an affront to the principles of natural selection, but at least they were step up on the evolutionary ladder from the dippers. My feelings now are somewhat similar. What Wenger is doing at arsenal should be commended. Not since Cloughe, and currently Fergie, has one man completely embodied the ethos, spirit and attitude of a football club. I wager not a single gooner would consider for a second removing wenger from his duties. They are undoubtedly a work in progress. The only problem for them is that so are we. And we have the potential materials to create a true masterpiece, where arsenal meerly have the potential to become a very very good football team.