Do you think Gareth Bale should shoulder the responsibility of not being good enough for Wales not winning the world cup? Do you think RVP should shoulder the responsibility of United being cack this season? The one constant in our reign of failure/underachievement is the manager.
No ALL the players should in that situation. Say tactics and manager all you want but at the end of the day who is on the pitch playing the footy? The players. But sure its not their fault we lose. Silly to assume that the players should also be held accountable.
For several iterations of players over 9 years, many of which have left and won trophies? Yes, they were the ones who didn't win when they were with us, but there comes a point where you've got to think there's another common factor to play.
Like restricted finances a new stadium and some new mega rich clubs? Not saying wenger could not have won the odd trophy in the last 8 seasons, of course part of the responsibility lies with him but there are other factors which have also played a big part. I also think some of the best players we have had in this trophy less period let themselves down in key games.
Everyone tries to pinpoint one single thing to blame but the truth of it is far more complicated with lots of factors playing a role.
Restricted finances my ar5e...have you seen our wage bill? There is one key factor continuous with our run of failure. I just don't see how you defend AW yet try to put blame on players who let themselves down. Yes, some players have, on occasion and they've been derided rightly and moved on (Denilson, Chamakh etc)... But AW has let himself down for years yet still gets your unequivocal backing. And there doesn't seem to be any logical reason as to why.
We have had restricted finances since the stadium move. I'm not saying wenger or the club haven't made mistakes. I just think there are several factors involved and it's not nearly as simple as your attempting to make it out.
This People want a scapegoat, a focus to lay the blame on because it's easier that way. Wenger isn't without his faults, but he's just one part of the equation.
Yes it's a combination of factors. But most of them - the signing of the playing staff, the motivation of them, the selection of them, the tactics they employ, the training of them - are ALL down to Wenger. How can people not see that he is the common denominator in all of this?
Looking at the bigger picture though, whilst I agree that Wenger has his flaws, if you look at the last eight years, you can't ignore the stadium move, the financial restriction that put us under, the break up of the invincibles, the billion quid investment into Chelsea and City, the players who wanted to leave, the chairmen who didn't want to sell to us, the injuries we've had, etc. I agree that Wenger has to shoulder the lion's share of the responsibility, but then you also have to say that there are significant external factors that have influenced Arsenal's standing. Also all of this said, we have still managed a top four finish every season and played CL football. Ask Liverpool and Spurs how hard that is ? Even despite them lobbing hundreds of millions at their squads.
The stadium move has no impact on player motivation or tactical ability. I want Wenger out because of his failings as a manager and his unwillingness to address squad problems NOW, not because of his inability to spend in the past.
That must explain why we didn't win anything that year then. Either that or AW's tactics and ability to motivate. But I'm willing to bet it's probably Diarra making 7 appearances.
"The manager is the most important person at a club. If not, why sack the manager when things go wrong?" - Arsene Wenger.
No money is no longer an excuse. Buying Ozil showed the ability to spend. New TV deal, new sponsorship deals, huge cash balances - a lack of money can't be used as an excuse this season, yet the same failing have remained. People asked to see how Wenger did when he finally had money - well, this is it. He showed the same ineptness that he did when he didn't have money. It's become clear to me, and to several others, that Wenger can't hide behind the "no money" mantra anymore. The problems we're seeing have nothing to do with money, and everything to do with the man himself.
To be fair, I don't think anybody has been saying that 'no money' has been an issue this season. But it definitely had an impact over the last eight years and you can't simply change it all of that in one go. Even with massive spending in one window, look at the spuds they spent a hundred million and ended up worse off. Also I still maintain that if JW Henry had honoured Suarez' release contract then we would be top of the league, so I don't agree that that was Wenger's ineptitude. I'm not saying Wenger is without his flaws as the big games have shown us this season. But the picture is more complex than simply 'It's all wenger's fault'
People are still using lack of funds as an excuse. I'm not expecting massive spending in one window, I'm expecting a decent quality striker when you've had 2 full transfer windows to bring one in. Liverpool said they wouldn't sell with plenty of time left to get another striker, but he didn't. Then he failed to get one in January, when Arsenal were doing fantastic in the league and had a realistic chance of winning the title. More ineptitude. It's not ALL Wengers fault but the majority is, and it's growing each time he gets hammered by a direct rival, or fails to strengthen an area that almost every fan can see needs strengthening. Arsenal have the weakest strikeforce of any of the big teams. For a team historically proud on its attacking prowess, it's smacks of inept management and poor decisions. He chooses whether to spend, he picks the transfer targets, he trains the team, he devises the tactics, he picks the team for each game, he motivates them. We can see the problems, but he can't. His stubborn refusal to address the majority of the problems that have been present for MULTIPLE seasons, spanning the entire move to the Emirates Stadium proves he no longer has what it takes to manage Arsenal, and I'm yet to see any sort of coherantly presented reasoned argument of why he should still be at the helm next season.
I repeat: "The manager is the most important person at a club. If not, why sack the manager when things go wrong?" - Arsene Wenger.
