I now think I know what the problem is for all good this man has done for our club he has handed us titles cups cup finals he has also hindered us mentally when I think back about the great sides we had have at the beginning of his tenure how the hell have we not done better and won more? There was a time when we had World Cup and European cup winners in our team why did we not do better? Yes he is are best manager we had but we have not won back to back titles since the 30s we have lost four Final yes we cannot win them all but to win three league title and then not win one for nine seasons. After winning the league in 1997-1998 and coming very close the following season(1998-1999)losing by a point. In (1999-2000)We just won't good enough after that losing by 18 points.(2000-2001)the season after that by 10. Winning the league the next(2001-2002) by 7 points and then not winning again till (2003-2004) yes we have had success in that time compare to other clubs but the other clubs wasn't in our class. Even in 2003-2007 we had a good side we went unbeaten in a hole season no one has been able to do that since so it shows you that we had a very good team. Is it the mental toughness was Man U that good was sir Alex so great was all the other teams rubbish till Roman came with his billions and changed the face of football in this country for ever. I will say we have a great manager but as the other teams have caught up, other new and younger managers have brought new freshness to the league is our manager still great? Has his scouting network still has the niche for finding gems and rough diamonds? Has our expectations just gone up since he's became our manager and won us titles and we should be happy where we are as everybody knows Liverpool and Manchester united are the biggest clubs in England , with Chelsea and Man City being able to buy anyone they like are we bless that we got Arsene Wenger as our manager? They say "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" but sometimes I wish you could! This is just my opinion and damn it changes day by day sometimes.
It is a massive question that does need to be answered sooner than later because, to state the bleedin' obvious, he aint gonna be around for too much longer. succession planning is, again somewhat obviously, needing to commence now if not already in place.
Basically Wenger is still very good and has exceptional qualities...BUT he's no longer great. As a young manager he was very progressive and ahead of his time but we cant say that about him anymore. He's become stuck in his ways and infexible, reluctant to change.
Still the best man for the job for me. Although he's not without his faults ... but who is ? I think Wenger will sign a new contract and try to win the title or CL before he retires.
I think when the last few seasons are examined objectively, a steady improvement can be seen. Wenger has become less dogmatic about bringing in experienced players, less patient with underperforming ones and broke the transfer record with Ozil. I suspect that had it been made clear that Suarez was unavailable from the start of the summer, we would probably have got Higuain. It was only after the Suarez saga was over that we began scrambling around for another striker. Wenger's attitude seems to be "I'll only fork out big money for a top class player." This is why a cheap deal for Ba was the only acceptable striker deal for Wenger at the end of the summer. Our pursuit of Higuain and Ba shows that Wenger is not content with Giroud as our only viable option up front and I feel confident he'll bring in a top striker this summer. Also, I think some of the football we've played this season has been the best since 2007/2008 and maybe better.
First off I'll start by saying I still think Arsene is the man for the job. I know some of that may be credit he's stored up with me but I still love him and think he can do the role required. However...I am concerned, concerned that his contract hasn't been signed yet. We hear nothing but positives from Gazidis about it but I don't think Arsene has ever once said he'll do it. I think he will re-sign, otherwise why is Gazidis so confident, but I don't like this delay. My main worry with this is that the board seem adamant that he'll put pen to paper, seemingly at the exclusion of having a plan B should he call it a day. What happens at the end of the season if he quits and we then have to search for a new boss? If new players take ages to bed then managers can take even longer (assuming you're board/owners aren't tw*ts who sack at the drop of a hat). I don't want to see us fritter away all Wenger's good work through a lack of contingency plans.
Don't see Wenger as being the type of bloke who would leave us in the ****. I'm pretty confident he'll sign a new contract and I'm almost certain that he's had that conversation with Gazidis and Chips. To that end I think that if there were any doubt that he was going to extend his contract then the board would already be negotiating with a new manager. Wenger has always been relaxed about his contract intentions, he doesn't see the need to speak to the media about it until it's signed, so I don't see it as any reason to be uneasy because he hasn't gone public about it yet. As Suker points out, there has been a steady improvement from Wenger and Arsenal over the last couple of seasons and we're definitely heading in the right direction again. There are always ifs and buts, but if John W Henry hadn't of been such a **** over Suarez we would probably be out of sight at the top by now and on our way to another league win. If Walcott and Ramsey hadn't been injured we'd likely still be at the top too, all of these things have been out of Wenger's control and overall I think he's done a really decent job steering this club through the difficulties of the last decade, back to a position where we are challenging again
Here's a simple way to put it, Wenger was good for us, then the times caught up and he refused to adjust, making him now bad for us
The way I see it is that Wenger wants to succeed but it has to be 'his' way. Ozil will be a one off we wont see Wenger spending that kind of money again. - Basing this statement entirely one Wengers comments ' I think if we dont win ANYTHING this year. Wenger wont re-sign.' He is not willing to change.. yet somehow still seems to want the best for the Club. Wenger could have been one of the greatest managers in history but its his own stubborness that holds him back. If only he could address his weaknesses in the same way Ferguson used to.
To be fair, Fergie just used to throw money at any weakness with Utd. He is rightly lauded as being one of the best managers there was, but make no mistake he was up there as one of the biggest spenders going. Also for every Rooney and Ferdinand there were expensive flops like Veron, Saha and Forlan
Yes and No - he was running the second wealthiest Club going. Never actually spent beyond their means. I mean dont get me wrong I cant stand the guy buy tactically he changed with the times, was quick to adopt new methods and he always addressed weakness in the team.
Don't get me wrong. I think the way Chelsea and City have splashed the cash has been sickening and whilst Utd may have spent within their means you can't underestimate the beneficial effect it has for a manager being able to spend the sorts of money that was at Fergie's disposal. Also, Utd's spending power protected Fergie from the negative criticism of expensive flops, because they could just go out and buy somebody else who was successful. Can you imagine the criticism Wenger would have got for spending 29m on somebody like Veron - and that was back in 2001 . How much would that figure be worth today ?
Mata's probably worth it though. He was certainly Chelseas best player for the last Two Seasons. But that's a Moyes signing.
I'd say u also can't negate the effect of being able to grossly outspend ur competitors between 1991-2004. And genius that he was it says something that the only teams that tried to match his spending - Blackburn, Newcastle, Leeds all ended up on such a financial mess that they eventually got relegated. As such until super rich owners came along the only prem winners in 13 years were a bankrupt Blackburn, Man U and Arsenal.
