"Man City is not out of reach. It could be a tight fight until the end," said the Arsenal boss. "I'm not sure it will only be a fight with Tottenham," he added when asked about the battle for fourth. "I'm not sure the other places are not reachable. "Chelsea are just ahead and even Manchester City is not out of reach. It could be a tight fight until the end." Not exactly brimming with controversy and high-falutin' madness is it? He's asked about the battle for fourth, and he says it's still a battle for second. Fair enough.
I'm not sure it would - there's little you can do about the fortunes of the teams around you. The team that came 2nd in 2004-05 were 12 points off the top; the team that came 4th in 2010-11 were also 12 points off the top; any of us would be hard pressed to call the performance of the 10-11 team to be equal to that of the team of 04-05. Finishing with more than 70 points would be better than last year, though the team can only afford to drop nine more points to do this.
I told you I wasn't comparing them as mangers, people or Olympic cyclists. I was comparing two similar quotes they gave and the reaction to them. Is Bill's quote appropriate? For 'Arry trying to talk up our title challenge, yes of course, although 'Arry's failure had little echo of glory, more a dull thud of more failure. For Wenger aiming for second, no and if you think otherwise you don't understand what Nicholson was talking about. Not sure why people are trying to put words in my mouth but for clarity: I don't think Wenger said anything different to what many other managers would say. Hence why I drew the comparison to a comment from another manager but these quotes are often used by fans as an opportunity to mock. "Deluded" is usually the word that gets tagged to it. I personally prefer a team to prove that they're up to task on the pitch before talking themselves up in the media. I didn't like when 'Arry did it either although my main problem with him was that he simply talked too much in general. I, like some of your fans, think that 2nd is too distant now. I'm not saying that because I'm a Spurs fan, I don't rate our chances of finishing 2nd any higher. Not sure how it was so confusing in the first place, if I'm honest.
I don't want to get bogged down in this and certainly am not trying to goad you (this once ), but I read your initial post to mean that both managers making a similar claim would receive the same response. That said to me that you thought both share a parity in ability, or that others might think so. I think that wrong because it would be akin to suggesting that if Fergie & Fat Sam both predicted their respective teams might win the Prem title next year, both would receive the same feedback. As for the bit of the quote I posted & pedantics aside, I still stand by the sentiment. Always aim high. I agree that we have very little chance of finishing 2nd this year, but I dare to hope regardless.
Massive difference I'm afraid, to claim a team could win the title is completely different, especially when it's a team that has only won one title in 100 years, we finished third last season, so its not such a big physiological jump to think about finishing second, claiming teams can win the title is a different matter altogether. Spurs have a reasonable chance of finishing second, just as we have.
Yeah, cos City have won it loads of times! Utterly irrelevant and makes you sound like a Scouser, frankly.
As Treat has pointed out, these comments by Wenger were more in response to the question about finishing fourth, where he pointed out that the question extends to who will finish second as well as third and fourth. So I don't think they are on a par with 'Arry's 'Spurs can win the league' comments, which were pretty brazen to be honest. Comparing Harry Redknapp to Arsene Wenger is a bit like comparing Harry Hill with Arsene Wenger. And to think, Piers Morgan said that we should replace Wenger with 'Arry
The only teams that have won the title for obscurity in the last 20 years have had massive cash injections, and even then they finished in the top 3 the previous seasons, spurs have never even been considered title challenges for as long as I have been alive, almost 30 years, so yes my claim is relevant. The previous season city finished 3rd and then spent the best part of 100 million. You finished 5th and brought ade on loan.
Blackburn are a prime example of what happens when the money runs out.Lest we forget they were the first team to be bankrolled by a multi millionaire.
Exactly right. An even worse example was Leeds. They assembled a quality team but they had no money to support it. Their drop from grace was much worse.
I don't think 2nd is possible, Mancity aren't as bad as Chelsea and Spurs, but 3rd is now a possibility.
Thanks for this, Treat. His actual words sound far more reasoned than the "we can get 2nd" paraphrased quote, which of course we won't. Frankly, and I mean this in all seriousness, we have more chance of wining CL than 2nd in prem league. I hope Bayern keep on winning handsomely till we get there, and then come a cropper like only a team brimming with supreme confidence can.
I honestly think he's lost his marbles. We should be taking baby steps, lets try and finish 4th, instead of proclaiming we can compete for 2nd. If it goes wrong, he's just digging a deeper pit for himself.
