You're out of order mate, time for you to leave the thread. Leave these poor people to their Champions League, FA Cup final and seemingly endless suffering.
As I remember the CF last year we were 2-0 down in a short time & then had a job clawing it back. Hull played to defend their lead & almost pulled it off. We have always struggled to break down defensive teams because AW only has one plan & all other clubs know it.
There lies the problem. Wenger thinks that he can just win as long as his team plays well. It's a problem when the opposing team is defending in numbers and defending well. Yes we weren't playing at our best but did he try and shake things up? No. He did his usual late substitutions (one less) and thought that would make the difference. The thing is, our squad is quite diverse now and players like Walcott offer something different to our usual bunch. Why not change the formation to suit his pace? Go for a different type of attack, do something different for a change? Also, a number of our team members needed a break, maybe they were tired? We had enough quality on the bench to replace a few and have enough to win. The fact that Sanchez lost the ball a number of times in the first half was telling.
The only thing that matters is the name of the team engraved on the cup so the fact that we were 2-0 to Hull is inconsequential
Cym, we have won 1 trophy in 9 years. If we win it at the end of May, which is by no means a given, that's 2 in 10. When I talk about trophies, I mean Champions Leagues and Premier Leagues. The FA Cup was nice to win last season and of course it will be nice this season too, but it was meant to be a platform to build on so we can challenge at the top and we have failed to do so because of our indifferent start to the season. And the same thing keeps happening every year where we either start slowly and go on a run of form to secure CL football or we start well and end quite poorly. No matter how much the personnel changes, we always have the same problems. And there's only one constant in all this. The manager. He has to go, in my opinion.
He has to stay until we can find someone better in my opinion. A knee jerk reaction would be the worst thing.
It may be an age thing but I always think of the FA Cup as a major trophy There are only three domestic trophies that can we won and being that Chelsea have already won two of them winning the FA Cup would mean we were the second most successful club this season as we were last season
I lived in London for decades (now back in my beloved Durham) my neighbours had 3 season tickets and if one could not make I would go, and saw a lot of 1-0 to the Arsenal..loved Ian Wright etc. I am sure I am not alone in suggesting a few of your excellent managers blind spots. One is he has at times had money but has not spent it on proven quality..nothing wrong with 'young uns'' with potential but at times proven experienced players were needed. Second you were truly great with Paddy and Emanuele in midfield a but of toughness/hardness when it was needed. Thirdly winning ugly..trying to walk the ball into the net is not always necessary. Finally why not play Walcott more is he not for?
I'm glad that we haven't got a manager as bad as Arsene Wenger, or a team as inept as Arsenal, and 1 trophy in 9 years or possibly 2 in 10 . . . . that's blinking disgraceful. I'd hate to have all of that, 'cos I'd hate to be whingeing all of the time I thank god that I support a decent team, and have now't to whinge about Good luck in the cup final . . . . two in a row would be great
Cym, the FA Cup is a major trophy. I still classify it as one. But the salient point here is that I believe we are capable of competing at the top level amongst the best teams in the world and we are not doing so, so it is frustrating to see us not maximise the potential we have in the squad. It is frustrating seeing us make the same mistakes over and over again and we do little to rectify it. It is frustrating to see us cave when we have the pressure/expectation to deliver in big games or to give the top sides a run for their money. It is frustrating seeing the same tactical shortcomings holding us back. And this is why I want the manager to go. If he can't maximise the best out of his players, then he's not doing as good a job as he should be doing. Sunderland fans on here are trying to suggest that we have it very good. We do have it better than most sides in the world and I'm not denying that. But it is relative. When you have the resources and talent that Arsenal have at their disposal, expectations are naturally going to be raised. Sunderland don't have the resources, stature or talent that we do so naturally their expectations are going to be different to ours. Comparing apples and pears here.
Hence why when we went on that terrible run of form at the start of the season, I wasn't calling for him to go in mid-November, but at the end of the season. I stuck by that when we went on that 13/14 game run and I stick by that now. We have plenty of time to change manager in the Summer. I know it's not going to happen, but it's what I would like to see.
