We were robbed against Benfica that's true, but while I don't follow Arsenal to anywhere near the intensity I follow Spurs, I don't think they got much in the final that night. Nor did Chelsea v Barca either a few years back, but hey **** happens. Must admit I'm still hurting about Benfica 50 years on, but nights like tonight remind me there's still the future for us, and I ope I live long enough for us to make a CL final, and mayb, just maybe win it. In the meantime winning the EL would make me ecstatic too.
Without wanting to stir things up........ ......Ensil's is wrong. Failed manager? 'Failed' is a post tense term, so would only be applicable to describe his tenure after it has finished. To correctly state your opinion about his current form, you should have said he is 'failing' 'Failed' = wrong
MOTD pundits have said "you won't win anything with kids", Wenger has failed to prove them wrong in 24 attempts (4 major comps x 6yrs). Ferguson is about to show him how its done.
No doubt Spurs fans must be praying that they could "fail" like him...3 Prem titles, 2 doubles, "invincibles" anyone? Not in your wildest dreams son...
Wiki entry of Marlon Brando's late career: "The Freshman in 1990 and Don Juan DeMarco in 1995. In his last film, The Score (2001), he starred with fellow method actor Robert De Niro. Some later performances, such as The Island of Dr Moreau (1996), earned Brando some of the most uncomplimentary reviews of his career" Hence Marlon Brando was of course a failed actor....ridiculous
Only 1 of the current crop of 20 Prem managers have won the Premier League in the last 6 years - the rest of the 19 (including ol arry!) are FAILED managers....yeah right. "Failing" I might accept as it describes a process but "a failed manager"?...methinks someone is having fun winding others up.
Wenger has obviously been the most successful Arsenal manager since Chapman in the 1930's (No! I don't remember it) However, he seems to have lost his way. He has become a victim of his own delusion, and obstinance. He has, as has been pointed out in the press, failed to learn the lessons of having solid foundations, such as the old back four of the Team he inherited. In other words, like most things in life, it's all about balance. The current team is, and has been, seriously unbalanced for some time now. Wenger has had this demonstrated to him numerous times by the failure of his teams of recent years to defend properly - or hold on to a lead. Yet he has ignored all of this, and ploughed on regardless. In that aspect - to use the correct tense - he is currently failing Arsenal.
The premise that Wenger is a failed manager is not only incorrect - it is a ludicrous assertion that smacks of bitterness. He may not have won any trophies for the last six years, but he has successfully steered Arsenal through a transition period of a building a new stadium, rebuilding the invincibles team, bringing through a new crop of young players, has been successful in qualifying for the Champions league every year and done it all without plunging the club into unmanagable debt. The fact that he has succeeded in this is a remarkable feat considering the financial landscape in today's game. *Note - Succeeded - the opposite of failed
Wenger is nowhere near a failed manager, he is a highly successful manager. More successful arguably than our own most successful manager, Billy Nick. He is certainly at his level of success, and any Spurs fans who thought Billy Nick was a failed manager would rightly be seen as delusional. AFAIK Wenger is the second most successful manager in Premier Lge history, only the amazingly successful Fergie, the most successful British manager of all time, tops him.
Sorry Piskie, but while I respect what Wenger's done for Arsenal, you can't hide behind finances. For most of his tenure he's vastly outspent virtually every team that's finished below you. The stadium was mostly paid for by property development too, so that's a bit of a red herring, as well. Wenger started very well and has had a massive influence on Arsenal's culture and he's kept you fairly competitive in recent years, but since your unbeaten season he's done no better or worse than he should have, given your spending.
Only if you're talking about a successor, as in coming after. Using the word in the wrong context makes you wrong again Wenger has been successful in the last six years for the reasons outlined above. Would you have considered Spurs' champions league qualifying season as a 'failed' one or a 'successful' one?
I'm not hiding behind finances, but given the landscape of billionaires pumping their fortunes into the clubs around us, I think we've done remarkably well to still be up there with them.
Spurs wage budget is about 60% of Arsenal's though, Piskie. No trophy in six years, despite being one of the big spenders, isn't exactly success, is it? You've been outspent by a few sides, but you clearly haven't excelled.
Why? You've dropped behind the two billionaire backed clubs, plus Utd's enormous wealth. Liverpool's behind the scenes problems did a lot of damage to them, so who else should've overtaken you?
