QUOTE(lostasylum @ Apr 16 2010, 10:59 AM)
arsene may be critical of himself because things didn't work out during the match, but perhaps his holding on to his methods to the point of being stubborn. and hence why i'm saying that if suddenly he had to deliver at least 1 trophy within the next 2 years, there may be some urgency to make some adjustments to his wengerball philosophy. i may be alone in this, but while i feel that wengerball is good, there are aspects that i feel that could be changed / tweaked which would really make arsenal to the next level... in my personal opinion lah.. i'm no manager so i don't expect wenger to start calling my mobile anytime soon... =)
like i said to toshio14, i feel that our sustained challenge has been due to the top clubs all not performing consistently, and the fact that we're still in contention may have led many to overlook the flaws of this current team and perhaps even the players to think that they're actually doing ok. i'm not downplaying the injuries that we've had, but i think every team has to deal with it... everton lost their entire strike squad last season to a point where cahill had to play striker, but they dealt with it, so i feel that arsenal should be doing the same. and again, even our second stringers i believe should be able to play better....i mean, rosicky used to strike the ball from distance and had a awesome strike as well, but he hasn't been doing that since he came back from injury. denilson doesn't take shots as well, neither does diaby... the 3 things that i highlighted that arsenal have forgotten how to do since our great start to the season (probably only until RVP came back against the spuds (i originally posted this after the NLD):
having said all that, i'm not saying that this arsenal team is totally crap lah. there's much potential and i do believe that we have improved this season, especially with the mental side of things where we don't just roll over and die when we are losing. i just feel that they had SO much more to offer and they didn't perform to the best of their potential...
We are actually on the same wavelength on this. It's agreed that there are much room for improvement for this current team, and there have been opportunities where we could have profited from but yet didn't. All we can do is hope that these get rectified and the players will continue to learn from their mistakes and progress into the players we expect them to be. There are many 'fans' who are too impatient for results or too narrow-minded to see the big picture, but as mentioned before we're only in the beginning phase of what Barca started almost a decade ago, and as long as we keep progressing we are on the right track.
As for us being in the title challenge due to the weakening of other teams, I think that's an unfair remark for our lads. Sure, MU has weakened with the sale of C.Ronaldo but Chelsea hasn't changed significantly while Tottenham and Man City have strengthened. Liverpool had virtually the same team without Alonso but they are currently worse than where we were last season. We can't control what happens in other clubs, but our lads have shown great strength and resilience that deserves more praise than flak.
QUOTE(dennis5585 @ Apr 16 2010, 05:23 PM)
Do you guys think Arsenal is really gonna buy some players to improve on next season ?
Or they will just do what they did for the pass 5 years (Buying unknown younster on age 15-19 and rely on current young players) ?
We will, but only if the right deal comes up. Sagna was a great deal, Andy was a difficult one but we showed our steel to Zenit's hard nuts, Vermy even better. If Chamakh really comes on a free then we may have pulled off yet another bargain instead of paying over the odds.
People often say we only buy youth, but it's a myth. Hleb was Stuggart's main playmaker, Gallas's heroics in Chelsea was well known, Rosicky was Dortmund's midfield dynamo, Dudu was kicking everybody's arse in Croatia. They have their fair share of problems AFTER joining Arsenal but those are things no manager could have predicted prior to purchasing.
Players like uncle Mik and uncle Sol were signed as covers, they were never meant to replace any of the first teamers.
Our policy of developing young starlets will never change (at least under Arsene); but it is separate from purchasing ready-made players suitable for the first team.
QUOTE(IEE @ Apr 16 2010, 01:14 PM)
Like I said before, Arsenal should have sacked AW long time ago.
Wow... And I thought you vanished into thin air after being absent for so long. There are a couple of new friends that share your perpetual negativity towards Arsenal, they may want to invite you to join their new management/coaching team to replace Arsene, Boro, and Patty.
This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: Apr 16 2010, 08:32 PM