Soccer/Football
Related: About this forumUpton
(9,709 posts)Transfer funds needed. Usmanov should be on the board. You can't win when you're selling your best players almost every year.
Barca/AC Milan..was much more unexpected and makes for a great return leg..
Ron Obvious
(6,261 posts)I'm finally there: it's time for Wenger to go. This Arsenal have no heart, no leadership, no 'over my dead body' mentality. Either Wenger's not capable of inspiring them any longer or else he's buying the wrong players.
They're probably the best-run club in the EPL from the business end of things which I admired, while being disappointed at seeing Van Persie, Fabregas, Nasri, Henry, etc leave to pursue bigger paycheques elsewhere. But then Wenger finally has a change of heart and they break the bank to keep... Walcott? Walcott, a player with no presence, leadership or charisma and who's anonymous for 5 games for every game he's brilliant?
Wenger's lost the plot. I don't know who should come in to replace him either, though.
Aquavit
(488 posts)It's not hard to understand why Arsenal have begun to slide down the table given all those names you listed in the departures department, but at some point Wenger's got to do something with the considerable talent he's still got on the team. If he can't make something happen, then it's probably time to start over with a new manager. As for who should replace him, maybe Paul Lambert? As a Norwich supporter, too, I'm sure he'd leave Villa in a second to coach Arsenal...but I don't think Arsenal fans would be very happy about it.
As for Walcott, he reminds me of a fast Mario Gomez (and I love Gomez). He is fantastic when he is on his game, but when something big is on the line he tends to disappear. I don't quite get the rationale for giving Walcott such a big payday.
Arsenal is being massively outspent by Chelsea, Man U, and City, particularly over the last 5 years or so. Heck, all those clubs now possess former Arsenal starters who left to get paid. One could argue the Gunners EPL ceiling is now 4th place. When you don't have the talent you can't expect the club to compete with the big spenders over the long run.
And while the losses to Bradford and Blackburn were inexcusable, I think Wenger is being used as scapegoat. Give him the kind of transfer funds Abramovich or the Sheik give their clubs and watch him start winning the trophies and subsequently get declared a genius again..