Well said Gooner, the double standards of some Spurs fans is incredible. You'd have thought we'd won the lge, the jubilation amongst many Spurs when we made 4th. wenger does this and better, routinely. Redknapp would be hailed as a hero by most/all Spurs if he'd got 4th again last season and did it again this season. Wenger has done it for about 15 times.
Agree NSIS, that by Wenger's own incredibly high standards he is failing, but his 'failing' is still way better than most 'successes', including Harry's. Wenger is not a failed or failing manager, he is one of the most successful managers in the history of British football, and the second most successful of the Prem era.
Stop looking on the bright side, personally I would not call him a failed manager overall regarding his complete tenure with Arsenal, I would say he has failed to continue the early success. He created a side that went unbeaten ffs!, then systematically dismantled it to the point you're at now, refusing to accept a blend of experience, quality experience at least.
Yes we all know about the problems of competing financially against the likes of Citeh, and Chavski. However, I would still maintain that Wenger could, and should have done more. He has also made a few silly mistakes - Koscielny, Chamakh, to name but two. There is no doubt, in my view, that he has lost his way, somewhat.
1. You brought it up, I was just pointing out how your original argument made no sense 2. Plenty of managers in lesser leagues qualify for the Champion's League by winning their leagues, and also getting through the qualifying process - rather than finishing third (or, last season, fourth) and wittering on about how their football is better than the teams that finished above them like a sore loser. And that last word is the key word: "Loser", not "Winner."
It's more than that. It's a clear conflict of interest. The same guy, Sheikh Mansour, who headed the consortium that took over City, is also the head of Etihad. He also just happens to be the half brother of The ruler of Abu Dhabi, that just happens to own Etihad. If UEFA can't see the incestuousness of that cosy little arrangement, then we will have to abandon all hope of anything being done to stop these people taking over, and destroying, the game.
Yes, we already know that FIFA is the finest fooball governing body that money can buy. Whether UEFA turns out to be the second finest, we'll have to wait and see. Not much hope left for the rest of us, if they are.
The problem is that Wenger is being excruciatingly stubborn with his youth transfer policy and their playing aesthetics that he has taken his eye off wehat is actually happening on the pitch on a frequent basis. A few years back they might be expected to have a clanger against opposition who'd rough them up (notably Bolton, and sometimes Blackburn) but they'd make up for it throughout the season against the majority of their opposition. Now they're just not likely to do that, and a lot of it can be blamed on Wenger buying players for playing expansive, attacking football even though they're being caught out more often each season. (Whilst I'm on the subject, given he's spoken of as some great apprentice, why didn't Villas-Boas take notes from MUPLC's games with Spurs and Arsenal? Spurs didn't have a defensive midfielder available whilst Arsenal played their expansive game and both lost pretty convincingly, yet he sent out an attacking midfield regardless) Another thing that's a bit off is that one minute he says he'll stick to his principles, the next he suddenly splurges on Arshavin, or a player like Mertesacker who doesn't fit in with the vision he has for the team.
