Not exact matches
nice to see you crawl out
of your hole just in time to offer your 2 cents worth once again... unlike yourself I started
following this team long before Wenger arrived on the scene and will continue to do so long after he's gone... in his earlier years I admired the cerebral elements he brought to the EPL, which at that point was more brutish than beautiful, and I respected the seemingly tireless efforts
of Arsene, Dein & staff to uncover and develop talent without sacrificing the product on the field... likewise I appreciated that such a youthful manager wasn't afraid to bring strong personalities and / or world - class players into the fold without being fearful
of how said players would potentially undermine and / or dilute his authority... unfortunately this all changed about 10 years ago and culminated in the removal
of all our greatest players, both young and old, without any real replacements coming in... from Henry to RVP to Fabergas and Nasri, it was easy to see that this club was no longer interested in competing at the highest levels... instead
of being honest, minus the ridiculous claims regarding the new stadium, Wenger chose to side with management and in doing so became the «
front man» for this corporation pretending to be a world - class soccer club... without the «
front man» this organization would have been exposed numerous years earlier, so his presence was imperative if the facade was to continue... it's for this reason and more that I despise what this once great man and Kroenke has done to my beloved club... the gutless, shameful and manipulative way they have treated the
fans, like myself, is largely indefensible and this is why I felt it necessary to start offering my opinion in a public format... trust me, I resisted the temptation for many years but as long as the same shit continues to exist I will voice my opinions and if you don't like it maybe you should look for a different team to pretend to
follow
In other news, our team seems to be rounding nicely into form, with a productive off - season and several new additions already settling in, there seems to be a renewed sense
of confidence in the air... our well - oiled machine has conducted business again early this year, so we can just sit back, kick our feet up and watch all those other suckers scramble to make panic moves in the 11th hour...
of course, we need to tie up a few loose ends but our team
of savvy negotiators, under the tutelage
of our faithful leader, will perform their usual magic with ample time to spare... I have to laugh when I look around the soccer world and see all those teams look upon us with envy and scorn as they struggle to mimic our seemingly infallible business model... thank goodness the powers that be had the foresight and fortitude to resist the temptations
of the modern football era... instead
of listening to all the experts and simply taking the easy way out by making the necessary improvements on the field and in the
front office, we chose the path never traveled... we are truly pioneers in our field... sometimes you just have to have faith in the people that have always conducted themselves in a respectful and honest fashion... most
fans aren't so fortunate, they will never know what it's like to
follow a team that treats everyone in and around the club as if they were an extended member
of the family... all for one I say... so when you wake up this morning, please try not to gloat when you see rival
fans pacing back and forth waiting for their respective teams to pull the usual panic buys, just say nothing and be thankful that it isn't you... like I've always said, this is why you stay the course... this is when the real benefits
of having someone in charge for over 2 decades really pays off... have a great day fellow Gunners
Let's get real here.It is very unlikely that ANY professional player will ever say anything derogatory about a teammate that has just left the club.If Jack had said about Coq - «Grew up playing with him in the Youth Team and have fond memories
of a player they though he had very limited ability he always gave his all.Very surprised and disappointed the club never invested in a World Class defensive midfielder that we have quite obviously been lacking for a number
of seasons and would no doubt have improved the defensive weakness we have shown over a number
of seasons» we would have echoed his thoughts entirely.If he had said about Theo - «A player who should have been so much better than he ended up being.He had everything needed to be a prolific player for our club but I can understand the
fans frustrations with his continued lack - lustre performances and total lack
of a football brain.I think this is best explained by the managers preference to play a player
of such limited ability as Alex Iwobi in
front of Theo pretty much says it all» we again would have all nodded our agreement.Although Jack never mentioned Alexis Sanchez I would imagine something along the lines
of «If the Manager had not persisted with players with such limited ability such as Francis and Theo and instead bought the world class players needed into the club then Sanchez would still most likely be here.The
fans must wonder what the hell goes on at the club as they pay fortunes for the privalage
of following our club but it seems the millions generated ends up purchasing a new Texas Ranch for the Owner or in a yearly renumeration
of # 9million pounds to our manager».
They will be desperate for a victory in
front of their own
fans, particularly
following the departure
of coach Alain Casanova earlier this week.
We have a lot
of people
following the ravens that aren't true ravens or football
fans so the worst thing our
front office can do is listen to them.
Making his first start in
front of the home
fans at Ole Miss on Sept. 1 was nerve - racking enough for sophomore Eli Manning, who carries the added weight
of being the only one
of Archie Manning's three sons to
follow in Archie's footsteps as a Rebels quarterback.
players like Ozil always present the
fans with a bit
of a conundrum, especially when times are tough... if you look around the sporting world every once in awhile there emerges a player with incredible skill, like Ozil, Matt Sundin or even Jay Cutler, who have a different way about themselves... their movement seemed almost too lackadaisical, so much so that it seemed to suggest indifference or even disinterest on the part
of the player... their posture always appears somewhat mopey and they generally have an unflattering «sour puss» expression on their face... for some their above average skills are enough to keep them squarely in the mix, as their respective teams try desperately to find a way to get the best out
of them visa vie player acquisitions or the reworking
of tactics... when things go according to planned the
fans usually find a way to accept their unique disposition, whereas when things go awry they become easy targets for
fans and pundits alike... in the case
of Ozil and Sundin, their successes on the international stage and / or with their former teams led many to conclude that if we surrounded such talented individuals with players that have those skills that would most likely bring the best
of these players success would surely
follow... unfortunately both the Maple Leafs and our club chose to adopt half - measures, as each were being run by corporations who valued profitability over providing the best possible product on the field... for them, they cared more about shirt sales and season tickets than doing whatever was necessary... this isn't, by any stretch, an attempt to absolve Ozil
of any responsibility for his failures on the pitch... there is no doubt oftentimes his efforts were underwhelming, to say the least, but this club has been inept when it comes to providing this prolific passer with the kind
of players necessary for him to flourish... with our poor man's version
of Benzema up
front, the headless chickens in Walcott, the younger Ox and Welbeck occupying wide positions far too often and the fact that Carzola, who provided Ozil with great service and more freedom to roam, was never truly replaced, the only real skilled outlet on the pitch was Sanchez... remember to be considered a world - class set - up man goals need to be scored and for much
of his time here he has been surrounded by some incredibly inept finishers... in the end, I'm not sure how long he will be in North London, recent sentiments and his present contract situation seem to suggest that he will depart at season's end, but how tragic would it be if once again we didn't put our best foot forward and failed to make those moves that could have brought championship football back to our once beloved club... so when you think about this uniquely skilled player don't be so quick to shift all the blame on his shoulders because he will not be the first or the last highly skilled player to find disappointment at the Emirates if we don't rid the club
of those individuals that are truly to blame for our current woes
The experinced striker also included the
following caption alongside a photo
of himself celebrating a goal with his teammates, «Unreal team performance, all that hard work in the week paid off, back to back wins, buzzing for all the boys and a dream come true to score 150 pl goals in
front of the most amazing
fans.»
Time for some brutal honesty... this team, as it stands, is in no better position to compete next season than they were 12 months ago, minus the fact that some
fans have been easily snowed by the acquisition
of Lacazette, the free transfer LB and the release
of Sanogo... if you look at the facts carefully you will see a team that still has far more questions than answers... to better show what I mean by this statement I will briefly discuss the current state
of affairs on a position - by - position basis... in goal we have 4 potential candidates, but in reality we have only 1 option with any real future and somehow he's the only one we have actively tried to get rid
of for years because he and his father were a little too involved on social media and he got caught smoking (funny how people still defend Wiltshire under the same and far worse circumstances)... you would think we would want to keep any goaltender that Juventus had interest in, as they seem to have a pretty good history when it comes to that position... as far as the defenders on our current roster there are only a few individuals whom have the skill and / or youth worthy
of our time and / or investment, as such we should get rid
of anyone who doesn't meet those simple requirements, which means we should get rid
of DeBouchy, Gibbs, Gabriel, Mertz and loan out Chambers to see if last seasons foray with Middlesborough was an anomaly or a prediction
of things to come... some
fans have lamented wildly about the return
of Mertz to the starting lineup due to his FA Cup performance but these sort
of pie in the sky meanderings are indicative
of what's wrong with this club and it's wishy - washy
fan - base... in addition to these moves the club should aggressively pursue the acquisition
of dominant and mobile CB to stabilize an all too fragile defensive group that has self - destructed on numerous occasions over the past 5 seasons... moving forward and building on our need to re-establish our once dominant presence throughout the middle
of the park we need to target a CDM then do whatever it takes to get that player into the fold without any
of the usual nickel and diming we have become famous for (this kind
of ruthless haggling has cost us numerous special players and certainly can't help make the player in question feel good about the way their future potential employer feels about them)... in order for us to become dominant again we need to be strong up the middle again from Goalkeeper to CB to DM to ACM to striker, like we did in our most glorious years before and during Wenger's reign... with this in mind, if we want Ozil to be that dominant attacking midfielder we can't keep leaving him exposed to constant ridicule about his lack
of defensive prowess and provide him with the proper players in the final third... he was never a good defensive player in Real or with the German National squad and they certainly didn't suffer as a result
of his presence on the pitch... as for the rest
of the midfield the blame falls squarely in the hands
of Wenger and Gazidis, the fact that Ramsey, Ox, Sanchez and even Ozil were allowed to regularly start when none
of the aforementioned had more than a year left under contract is criminal for a club
of this size and financial might... the fact that we could find money for Walcott and Xhaka, who weren't even guaranteed starters, means that our whole business model needs a complete overhaul... for me it's time to get rid
of some serious deadweight, even if it means selling them below what you believe their market value is just to simply right this ship and change the stagnant culture that currently exists... this means saying goodbye to Wiltshire, Elneny, Carzola, Walcott and Ramsey... everyone, minus Elneny, have spent just as much time on the training table as on the field
of play, which would be manageable if they weren't so inconsistent from a performance standpoint (excluding Carzola, who is like the recent version
of Rosicky — too bad, both will be deeply missed)... in their places we need to bring in some proven performers with no history
of injuries... up
front, although I do like the possibilities that a player like Lacazette presents, the fact that we had to wait so many years to acquire some true quality at the striker position falls once again squarely at the feet
of Wenger... this issue highlights the ultimate scam being perpetrated by this club since the arrival
of Kroenke: pretend your a small market club when it comes to making purchases but milk your
fans like a big market club when it comes to ticket prices and merchandising... I believe the reason why Wenger hasn't pursued someone
of Henry's quality, minus a fairly inexpensive RVP, was that he knew that they would demand players
of a similar ilk to be brought on board and that wasn't possible when the business model was that
of a «selling» club... does it really make sense that we could only make a cheeky bid for Suarez, or that we couldn't get Higuain over the line when he was being offered up for half the price he eventually went to Juve for, or that we've only paid any interest to strikers who were clearly not going to press their current teams to let them go to Arsenal like Benzema or Cavani... just part
of the facade that finally came crashing down when Sanchez finally called their bluff... the fact remains that no one wants to win more than Sanchez, including Wenger, and although I don't agree with everything that he has done off the field, I would much rather have Alexis
front and center than a manager who has clearly bought into the Kroenke model in large part due to the fact that his enormous ego suggests that only he could accomplish great things without breaking the bank... unfortunately that isn't possible anymore as the game has changed quite dramatically in the last 15 years, which has left a largely complacent and complicit Wenger on the outside looking in... so don't blame those players who demanded more and were left wanting... don't blame those
fans who have tried desperately to raise awareness for several years when cracks began to appear... place the blame at the feet
of those who were well aware all along
of the potential pitfalls
of just such a plan but continued to
follow it even when it was no longer a financial necessity, like it ever really was...
The Blues welcome Stoke City to Stamford Bridge this afternoon aiming to secure a victory in
front of our own
fans for the second time this week,
following the 2 - 0 Boxing Day win over Brighton.
He returned to the central striking role
following the departures
of Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie, but Anthony Martial has looked a more devastating force up
front for United this season, and now even young Marcus Rashford is showing United
fans what a dynamic and potent No. 9 looks like.
Once it was time to begin, JV and Allison came to the
front of the theater, thanked us for being loyal
fans, and introduced the Disney Infinity NEXT presentation,
followed by the movie.