Arsenal 2013-2014: Insufferable & Unsuccessful -- And Worse than Chelsea

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Luis Taint

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People over at r/soccer are talking about the possibility of Cavani transferring, because of PSG's problems.
 
When you put it like that...then yes, I believe Wenger would rather remain true to his principles than whore himself out in pursuit of trophies. And when I think about it like that, this is why I'm ready for Wenger to leave Arsenal: he must be the least pragmatic manager in European football. Isn't that what the last 7-8 years of his reign at Arsenal have proved to us?
 
I know Wenger still brings a lot to the table, much of which happens behind the scenes and is difficult to quantify from afar, but I've now come to believe a new manager could make up for the loss of those positive qualities simply by being more decisive in the transfer windows and more tactically flexible before and during matches. When Fergie left Man Utd, nobody was going to be able to replace him adequately - he excelled as a manager in all areas. I just don't get that same sense with Wenger - his strengths and weaknesses are all too plain to see, and while the signing of Ozil made me think that perhaps he and the club had turned a corner, the penny-pinching over Higuain and Suarez last summer and the failure to sign anyone other than Kallstrom in the winter remain symptomatic of Wenger's inability to close the deals he needs to close for the club to be successful. I mean, we all know what Arsenal needs this summer: a world-class striker, a better/more experienced reserve striker than Sanogo, a replacement for Sagna at right-back, more cover in central defense (esp. if Vermaelen leaves), a reserve keeper, and ideally a proper (Gilberto-like) holding midfielder. That's six, maybe seven players if you count two central defenders (a position in which Arsenal was actually incredibly lucky on the injury front this season). Do you believe Wenger is capable of buying all of those players in one transfer window? He's already making noises about how the World Cup will effectively shorten this summer's window, when in fact he really ought to be looking at buying a player or two before it starts. (Rant over...)
 

JayMags71

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ConigliarosPotential said:
When you put it like that...then yes, I believe Wenger would rather remain true to his principles than whore himself out in pursuit of trophies.
I have a hard time believing this about any manager/coach in any sport, in any country. Everyone's a whore, it's only a matter of haggling over price.
 

soxfan121

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ConigliarosPotential said:
When you put it like that...then yes, I believe Wenger would rather remain true to his principles than whore himself out in pursuit of trophies. And when I think about it like that, this is why I'm ready for Wenger to leave Arsenal: he must be the least pragmatic manager in European football. Isn't that what the last 7-8 years of his reign at Arsenal have proved to us?
 
I know Wenger still brings a lot to the table, much of which happens behind the scenes and is difficult to quantify from afar, but I've now come to believe a new manager could make up for the loss of those positive qualities simply by being more decisive in the transfer windows and more tactically flexible before and during matches. When Fergie left Man Utd, nobody was going to be able to replace him adequately - he excelled as a manager in all areas. I just don't get that same sense with Wenger - his strengths and weaknesses are all too plain to see, and while the signing of Ozil made me think that perhaps he and the club had turned a corner, the penny-pinching over Higuain and Suarez last summer and the failure to sign anyone other than Kallstrom in the winter remain symptomatic of Wenger's inability to close the deals he needs to close for the club to be successful. I mean, we all know what Arsenal needs this summer: a world-class striker, a better/more experienced reserve striker than Sanogo, a replacement for Sagna at right-back, more cover in central defense (esp. if Vermaelen leaves), a reserve keeper, and ideally a proper (Gilberto-like) holding midfielder. That's six, maybe seven players if you count two central defenders (a position in which Arsenal was actually incredibly lucky on the injury front this season). Do you believe Wenger is capable of buying all of those players in one transfer window? He's already making noises about how the World Cup will effectively shorten this summer's window, when in fact he really ought to be looking at buying a player or two before it starts. (Rant over...)
 
The dark side is strong in this one....
 
Oh and you've totally misused "pragmatic" above or improperly used "least" instead of "most". 
 

DLew On Roids

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Everything I hear about Wenger is that he pretty much lives for football.  I don't think he'll be interested in retiring until his health doesn't let him manage.  
 
A lot of what will drive his fate this summer depends on things we don't know, especially his perception of Arsenal's actual willingness to spend.  If he thinks the willingness to compete is there and he just hasn't found the right pieces, I can't imagine he'd want to leave.  If he thinks Kroenke is tight-fisted, he could be lured to Barcelona or PSG.  There's been a lot of tea leaf reading around the intertubes about it, but I haven't seen him tip his hand.
 

soxfan121

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP7k1QkkhZk
 
Arsenal responds to mikeford-ian tweets.
 

mikeford

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Don't think Wenger would ever leave Arsenal for a job where he had lesser power and less clout.

Would Barca make him manager and defacto director of football too like he is at Arsenal? Sincerely doubt that.
 

sachmoney

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It's been a fun Premier League season. Most enjoyable performance from the Arsenal in some while. It's not like we didn't see the fading in the Premier League coming as it was hashed over and over again early in this thread. With a potential cup victory next Saturday, I'd still consider this a successful season with some significant progress. Last year, Arsenal was 16 points off the pace. This year, only 7. They also finished with 6 more points than last year. It was better, but you want to be in that Top 3 and you want to win the title. You want to go further in the Champions League.
 

mikeford

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Onto the final bit of business...
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG5l-8RRIVU
 
Video by a member of the Boston Gooners supporters club.
 

Luis Taint

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soxfan121 said:
 
What the fuck is this? You have at least ten of these in this thread. 
Sorry, ever since SOSH crashed that weekend, my IPhone hasn't been the same. It logs me off every 15 minutes or so, and makes me start back at the beginning of the thread. I put the period to get it to the last page, and try and edit to a make point or ask a question. I was trying to be as unobtrusive as possible, wont happen again.
 

sachmoney

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I'm not so sure. Sure, there'll be excitement at the start and people will be singing and everything, but if Hull can stay level for a while or even take the lead, I'd imagine that it'll get more tense and quieter. This is Arsenal. They rarely make things easy on themselves and especially the fans. Not exactly the greatest cup record either.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I'm going to be on a plane.  Its Delta and I'm about 95% sure that its going to have their onboard entertainment system, which should carry the game, but if it doesn't I'm going to be dying.  Wasn't exactly thinking about the FA Cup final when we booked these family vacation plans like four months ago...
 

fletcherpost

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My Uncle Ian and cousin David are Hull City season ticket holders. They're already in dreamland...they (Hull) got nothing to lose.  I'd love it to be 3-2 to Hull after extra time wouldn't mind Arsenal winning either. Watching BT Sport and they have as pundits: Ian Wright; Scouse Mcmanaman; Rio Ferdinand and Jimmy fuckin Bullard...who was the only pundit who tipped Hull, cheers Jimmy. Top bloke.
 

fletcherpost

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1-0 to the Arsen...sorry, Hull.
 
1-0 to the ArsenHull.
 
EDIT: Rio Ferdinand new to the pundit game he is, had it 3-0 to the Gooners.
 
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