afc The Mighty Transition: Why Arsenal Haven't Won Anything in 6 Years.

[TF S4DK]

[Bobby Reds]

Not giving Lass Diarra enough playing was a massive mistake, one of the worst thing to eva happen smh

This has got to be one of Wenger biggest mistakesa top draw DM is a must in todays game and Wenger f*cked up here.Even at the time I never understood why Wenger wouldn't play him

[Guest Portuguese]

Does Wenger really care for Arsenal fans?

[Heero Yuy]

It was his vision and ambition which brought this club forward with the times. Without him, them dinosaurs like PHW would have kept the club firmly in the past.

Wenger interviewed really well before Rioch was appointed and Dein wanted him, the board went with Rioch and a year later, Wenger was appointed. Says a lot tbh.Dein has his flaws, he gave Ljungberg 70k a week, but he knew everyone in the game and he was the guy no club could getaway from cos of his various positions. I remember reading how if Arsene wanted something from a club and they was showing some resistance and dodging calls, Dein would ring up and say he was ringing regarding FA/UEFA/G14 business, so they'd have to take the call, talk some sh*t and then get straight to what Wenger wanted out of them, this Gazidas can not do.

:lol:BAWSE

[Guest Portuguese]

If your board of directors cared about the fans they would make this happenArsenal are reportedly eyeing up FC Porto manager Andre Villas Boas as a future replacement for Arsene Wenger. The 33 year old Portuguese boss has guided his side to the domestic title in his first season and has done so without losing a game whilst also gone 12 games unbeaten to take his side to the Quarter Finals of the Europa League.Often likened to former Porto boss Jose Mourinho, Boas has worked as the Real Madrid manager’s assistant at both Chelsea and Inter Milan but has begun to earn a name for himself as a up and coming manager with a great deal of potential.Though Arsenal have no concrete plans to replace Wenger it appears that the club’s board have been monitoring Boas’s progress and may well look to bring the young manager in to replace their mercurial Frenchman. The current Gunners boss has been in his post for almost 15 years but has experienced something of a sticky patch of late.If the Emirates outfit fail to secure a Premier League title this term it would result in six seasons without silverware and the club’s support, though loyal to Wenger, may start to waiver after such a prolonged period without tangible success.Boas is known for his insistence that his players play a cultured style of football and could therefore be the type of manager the North London side turns too when the time is right.

[Captain Planet]

Oh bore off manAbout if the board...

[Mephisto]

Does Wenger really care for Arsenal fans?

[MrJibbles]

Sport.co.uk understands that #Arsenal will make a statement in the coming days which will relate to future of the club at boardroom level.https://twitter.com/sportcouk/status/55710146696974336The guy is an Arsenal fan, so I dunno we'll see.

[MF Cunt]

has it just dropped?i just skimmed past sky sports news on my way to the library, with Wenger saying not willing to spend X amount on players, and success to him is being able to achieve the "best" with the players he has

[TF S4DK]

No it hasn't dropped.

[MrJibbles]

This might be a good listen for some. Listen to one after the other.

Episode 69A State of the Arsenal nation special. Have things gone stale at the club? Arsene Wenger’s stubbornness. The manager’s changing relationship with the press. Have Arsenal fans been spoilt under Arsene? The changing tide of opinion amongst the club’s supporters. What happened to Wenger the sports scientist? Arsene the tactician. Did Wenger genuinely believe Arsenal could have eliminated Barca with 11 men on the pitch? Recorded on April 4th, the panel of Philippe Auclair (France Fooball), Amy Lawrence (The Observer) and Tim Payton (Arsenal Supporters’ Trust) are asked the questions by host David Oudot in the 69th edition of Arsenal’s The Gooner fanzine podcast, sponsored by Gooner Shirts.www.onlinegooner.com/podcast/0069_goonerpodcast.mp3Episode 70A second helping of our A State of the Arsenal nation special recording. Andrey Arshavin. Where to start with the rebuilding in the summer. The quality of Arsenal’s scouting. Should Arsene Wenger be so hands on in the transfer dealings. Arsenal have a director of football after all! Is the manager working so hard doing the club any favours? Is there any input from the board on playing matters? How significant was Martin Keown’s contribution behind the scenes in 2006? The serenity in the dressing room. Recorded on April 4th, the panel of Philippe Auclair (France Fooball), Amy Lawrence (The Observer) and Tim Payton (Arsenal Supporters’ Trust) are asked the questions by host David Oudot in the 70th edition of Arsenal’s The Gooner fanzine podcast, sponsored by Gooner Shirts.www.onlinegooner.com/podcast/0070_goonerpodcast.mp3Episode 71The concluding part of our State of the Arsenal nation special recording. What are the chances of Cesc Fabregas being at the club next season? The psychological tests carried out on the players. The failed experiment of Abou Diaby. Jack Wilshere proves it’s time to promote more from the youths. The need for a trophy signing this summer. The players Arsenal have missed out on. The significance of the injury situation compared with past seasons. Recorded on April 4th, the panel of Philippe Auclair (France Fooball), Amy Lawrence (The Observer) and Tim Payton (Arsenal Supporters’ Trust) are asked the questions by host David Oudot in the 71st edition of Arsenal’s The Gooner fanzine podcast, sponsored by Gooner Shirts.www.onlinegooner.com/podcast/0071_goonerpodcast.mp3

[Turkish]

WTFJust listened to Wenger's interview today. How can he say success is measured by what you can do with what you have at your disposal?Whats wrong with this guy?

[Natty]

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has claimed that if his team give their best that will constitute success for him this season and defended his "absolutely amazing" young team.The Gunners are seven points off the top of the table and look likely to go another season without lifting a trophy after being knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League.He told the press: "Success is to do the maximum with the talent you have, to be consistent at the top. It's not that you're good one day and terrible the next, it's that you can turn up every day you work as good as you can. That is, for me, success."If there is someone better than you, you have to accept it one day. If Manchester United is better than us, we have to say congratulations. What is important is that we give absolutely everything to beat them - and that is, for me, success."Wenger continued: "It's the crucial moment where we have to trust these players, show some strength and not listen to some opinions of people who have not worked half a day in football."They do not know how much work is behind a team like that, and how much mental strength is behind a team like that.[/b["It is important we realise this team is absolutely amazing for what they do at their age. One day people will understand that, but at the moment, I am not sure many people do."He added: "It doesn't hurt me personally, but it bothers me that the players do not get the recognition for what they have put in since the start of the season."How old is [Jack] Wilshere? 19. It looks like in England you cannot play without him. How old is [Cesc] Fabregas? How old is [samir] Nasri? Now it is a crucial moment where we have to trust these players and not listen to opinions of people who have not worked half a day in football."Personally, I am very proud of the attitude, the behaviour and the quality of our season. I will defend that until the end."We want to fight until the last game of the season."If there is a team that is better than us we have to accept it."I believe we do not have to be ashamed at the moment of what we have done."Rather, I have to be proud because if I took statements from all the people here at the start of the season we were not even in the top five. Now it is a scandal we are second."Wenger discussed the upcoming game at Blackpool on Sunday and the need to put in a better display after a frustrating draw against Sunderland last weekend."It was a disappointing result [sunderland], but we have to bounce back and come out with a good performance on Sunday," Wenger said."The way we respond now until the end of the season is hugely important for us because we have worked so hard since the start that is very important we battle until the end."Wenger added: "Nobody expected Blackpool to be where they are."They are going through a difficult period, but overall they have played good football and done very well."

i know hes protecting the team but f*ck OFF wengerif you don't have any money to spend then say so (even though we all know this aint the case), if not f*ck off

[Heero Yuy]

No defending that interview tbhHeard nothing but loser talk throughout the whole of itabout accepting that another team is better than you

[Michel Kane]

So happy the lady mentioned my boy Henri Lansbury.

[TF S4DK]

TBH I have nothing wrong with Wenger's comments, in the context of the last 4-5 weeks to the last 9 months.A lot of Arsenal fans need to be careful to not fall for the same sh*t Liverpool fans fell for with Rafa...

[Guest Awesome Kong]

Why not just be honest and say this was the plan?Why gas fans every year saying your going to buy world class when you don't EVERY year?Fabregas is the showpiece of this whole project, when he goes what happens to the plan?Djourou, Bendtner, Denilson, Diaby, Song, Vela are all vital players from the first and second 'waves' and are not good enough, we still force them into the team. What club has actually successfully done this project and maintained success at the top without spending?I understand what Wenger and the board have tried to do but when do you say this isn't working as planned and readjust. Fabregas is integral to us and last summers saga should of been the kick in the arse we needed to buy big where we needed and finally show intent. Right now in the 6th year without a trophy you can say Fabregas is as vital to this plan as Wenger.I love Wenger for what he has done at Arsenal. Changed our image, style, reputation, everything. Saying Wenger deserves to do as he likes and fans shouldn't get onto him is laughable when even Ferguson's job wasn't as secure after two 3rd place finishes.Like someone said in the Prem thread hes turned us into a team with a losers mentality. No effort, determination, hope, drive nothing.

Song & Djourou not good enough?I will not take anything you say seriously!

[Turkish]

With Song & Djourou everyone is talking about them EXACTLY the same way people hyped Denilson, Diaby, Senderos etc.The teams we compete against in the league:Man UtdChelseaMan CityThe teams we compete against in Europe:BarcelonaRealInterBayernACHow many of those teams would Song & Djourou walk into?Because I could name a HELL OF A LOT of players from them teams that would moonwalk there way into this Arsenal first 11 and squad.And to whoever said that interview is loser talk its true. I have never heard another manager come out with as much sh*t as Wenger does.

[TF S4DK]

Song has been a consistent performer for 2-3 seasons. I dont think you can compare him to any of those tbh.Song could play in a few of those teams first 11 tbh imo./Show me where the actual loser talk is?Infact f*ck it, let me grab the transcript, too many of you actually fall for what your sold in the headlines of a 20p paper... Think about that... In this day and age there is no excuse, as you have all the tools to look beyond the headlines...

[TF S4DK]

Here is the transcript from Friday's written press conference.Q: You've had a fantastic career here and no-one is disputing that, but can you understand why some supporters wish there was a bit more experience there, thinking about what you may achieved if there was?A: "I'm against superficial judgement, that's what I fight against. For example people ask 'why don't you buy central defenders?' We have a better defence than Man United if you look at the numbers, but nobody mentions that. And should we kick Vermaelen, Djourou and Szczesny out? What for?Q: You said the team had done well for its age, so isn't experience an issue?A: "We've done well for our age as we're second in the league. Is that a disaster for you? There are teams who invest ten times more than us, one player cost more than the whole team and they're behind us. I don't understand the way people think.Q: It's what the supporters are thinking though, that's the issue.A: "Do not hide behind what the supporters think, tell me what you think. You do not know what the supporters think because what people write is only 5 per cent of what they see on the internet. There are 95 per cent others.Q: But it's not my money, it's the supporters who are paying to watch:A: "How many supporters are complaining?"Q: But there were people complaining after the Blackburn match.A: "At every game I find people complaining. What are you talking about? I don't understand supporters complaining."Q: Compared to four years ago, they weren't complaining, because it wasn't so long without a trophy?A: "Do you judge this season or the last four seasons? Some of the clubs behind us have done nothing for 20 years, yet suddenly they get a lot of praise. I don't understand. We have eight games to go and are in a position to fight for the Championship so let's give the maximum. If we're disappointed at the end then okay. Why do you say it's a disaster when we're second in the league? Do the 18 clubs behind us have a fantastic disaster?"Q: Are you a victim of your own success?A: "I'm a victim of nothing. I try to do my job as well as I can, and that's it."Q: But you are judged against your own success?A: "I told you just now. To be consistent at the top level is the most difficult and important thing in our job. We've been in the Champions League for 15 years, and there's only two clubs who've done that in this country. It's Arsenal and Man United."Q: Arsene, everyone respects the job you've done, but shouldn't a club like Arsenal be judged on the trophies they win? And obviously in the last six years there haven't been any trophies?A: "Trophies are one way to judge a club."Q: Are trophies an over rated way to judge success?A: "They're not overrated as it allows you to say you've won a trophy, but would you swap winning the FA Cup for playing in the Champions League? Is it a trophy or not to be in the Champions League? Is it more important to win the FA Cup? We do as well as we can, and if it's not good enough it's not good enough. But what I deny is that everything is suddenly negative. We've built this club. Tomorrow, you look at the players in this team and I'll speak to you in 10 years."Q: We know you've had some fabulous offers to leave this club - Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City - if this continues will it make you think about leaving, if you're not being appreciated?A: "I don't think about leaving. I love this club and do the maximum for them. I don't think like that. When I make a commitment I give absolutely everything. At the end of the season I'll look back and see what we've done well and not done well. We should not go overboard. We're second in the league so it's not a scandal. Where is the common sense there?"I do as well as I can with the players I have. What's important for me is how well we do. All the rest I don't care about.Q: Where would this club be without you, Arsene?A: "I don't know where Arsenal would be without me, maybe better, maybe worse. I hope one day maybe better. I'm happy that the club goes on and gets better. But we shouldn't think we have the right to be where we are."Q: I've rarely seen you so passionate, so upset, are you hurt?A: "I'm not hurt at all, but I defend what we do here and the way we do it. That's all. I don't see why we should be negative when we're going for the Championship. I'm having to answer why it's a disaster. I'll have to stop talking and you write what you want. If I cannot defend that, we're second in the league and fighting for the Championship then I should stay at home, but I'm in a fighting job."Q: Arsene, sometimes there's a criticism that you don't sign the quality of player that you used to. Have you had a change in policy?A: "Of course, we've had a change in policy to sign younger players. It's important for football that there's another way then to just come in, put money on the table and buy a star. I feel it's very important for football."Q: Can you expand on that?A: "No, I don't want to expand on that. The way we are doing things is right. Personally, I'm rather proud of this team, proud of the players, if I look at this team I'm proud of them, proud of the attitude of the players and the football we play. It's only in this country that we have to face what we face. If you go anywhere else in the world Arsenal are given much more credit, I can tell you."Q: You spoke about the age gap to Barcelona as perhaps one reason why you haven't won trophies, but how will that change if you're always bringing younger and younger players into the squad?A: "That's why it's important to keep these players together."Q: What about the stadium. It's important to get into the piece, to be positive, to get into the piece, because that impacted on your spending and yet no-one's talking about that? You haven't then been able to sign big players?A: "Nobody talks about the fact we built a new stadium. We have many big players in this team, and the future will tell you that. Whether they play here or somewhere else, you'll realise they're big players."

[TF S4DK]

The bitter civil war threatening to engulf Arsenal intensified last night after chairman Peter Hill-Wood backed under-fire manager Arsene Wenger by launching an attack on his club's own fans.Wenger reacted angrily to increasing criticism of his managerial approach yesterday by telling supporters that they should be happy with a second place league finish.And Hill-Wood weighed in when the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust released a statement expressing bitter disappointment at the club's six-year trophy-less streak. "We are 100 per cent behind him," said the chairman."That is always a dangerous statement, but I can assure you it has not crossed our minds that we wouldn’t support him 100 per cent.“I simply cannot believe he will react to these stupid comments from these silly people. They are supposed to be supporters, but, in fact, they do quite a lot of damage.“We have set the bar high and everybody expects us to achieve that every year, but it simply isn’t possible.“If you keep changing managers every nine months, you get into even more trouble.”

[Taurus]

SMH.

[MrJibbles]

f*ck*ng hell, this is bonkers. ______ > Certain areas of the media, the level they will go to just for a story i.e. a tabloid using the title "Wenger Declares Ware On Arsenal Fans", f*ck off.Something needs to be sorted out!

Sport.co.uk understands that #Arsenal will make a statement in the coming days which will relate to future of the club at boardroom level.https://twitter.com/sportcouk/status/55710146696974336The guy is an Arsenal fan, so I dunno we'll see.

Rumour is it's Usmanov/Red & White Holdings related.

[TF S4DK]

And here is the TV Presser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sVecuWTCPo

[MF Cunt]

A: "Nobody talks about the fact we built a new stadium. We have many big players in this team, and the future will tell you that. Whether they play here or somewhere else, you'll realise they're big players." i think he needs to realize its the "somewhere else" part thats giving me heart burn tbh