Arsenal
Is Negativity to Blame? 2012-13 Mid-Season Management Audit
Oi ref
By Neil Fry
March 4 2013
Management Audit of Arsenal FC: This review is in four parts, the first part appears in the first section below, this first section of the mid-season review starts with a brief outline of its scope and terms of reference and is followed by a review of Arsenal’s delivery on the pitch since my full audit that was completed on 19 October 2012 and can be found in the archive section of this site.
This is a detailed and considered audit of the situation Arsenal is in, there are no sound bites or quick fire judgements here and Arsenal Times makes no apologies for the length of the articles that follow.
Parts 2, 3, and 4 will appear later:
Contents
Part 1
Executive Summary
Introduction
Delivery
- Mid-season review of results
- Players: 2012 – 2013 season
- Player leadership
Part 2 (To Follow)
Planning
- Ownership /Board
- Player recruitment policy – transfer spend
- Player recruitment policy – wage spend
Competence
- Defensive coaching
- Players’ contracts
- Second player recruitment policy, version 2 – young signings, British
- Scouting
Part three (To Follow
- Monsieur Wenger
Quality Control
- Monitoring and acting
- Benchmark / target setting
Part four(To Follow)
Matters of Evident Concern
- Player recruitment policy – wage spend
- Monitoring and acting
- Risk management
- Financial matters
- Benchmark / Target setting
- Monsieur Wenger
- Management succession
- Composition of Board
Part 1 Executive Summary
Arsenal’s chosen long-term direction appears safe under the custodianship of Mr Kroenke who continues to demonstrate his clear faith in the Club’s strategies and policies and manager Arsène Wenger. For Mr Kroenke appears to continue to act as something of a bulwark against the Club’s ever growing critics - including Mr Usmanov, many supporters groups, and supporters.
Indeed the increasing emptiness of paid-for seats at home matches and scuffles amongst supporters over the Club’s direction is testimony to the toxic unrest at the Club. Despite some reasonable recent transfer acquisitions, Arsenal appear less likely than at any time during the entire second period of Monsieur Wenger’s reign to end the eight year trophy drought – let alone compete with the top clubs in Europe.
There has been a very disappointing exacerbation of many of the following previously identified matters of evident concern: the socialist wage policy; the inability to remedy obvious problems in a timely manner; dis-proportionate risk management; the significant overstatement of financial prudence; poor and inconsistent benchmark / target setting; and the failure to remedy the composition of the Board. In addition, two new matters of evident concern have become increasingly apparent: Monsieur Wenger’s management of the footballing operation and the Club’s management of his chosen eventual succession.
Introduction
The mid-season review follows the close of the January transfer window and has been delayed to include the circumstances surrounding two crucial February cup ties. It updates my management audit of Arsenal Football Club during the second clearly identifiable period of Arsène Wenger’s reign, the 2004 - 5 to 2011 - 2012 seasons.[1] Again, it has not been sanctioned by the Club and is independent of any organisation.
Delivery
Mid-season review of results
At the last time of writing, Arsenal had enjoyed a solid start to the season. Then they went to newly promoted Norwich, struggling in the relegation zone and without a win [2]. Arsenal’s defeat brought about the familiar pattern of implosions that have dogged the second period of Monsieur Wenger’s reign (albeit earlier in recent seasons). The first Champions League group stage defeat at home since 2003 followed, well beaten by Bundesliga Schalke 04.
Brief respite soon followed with an extraordinary League Cup match against struggling newly promoted Reading. A 37 minute 0-4 deficit was overturned and the tie won 7-5 after extra-time. Theo Walcott, now part of a de facto reserve Arsenal team, scored 3 of the goals. Last season’s Captain and long-serving star player Robin van Persie very quickly brought Arsenal back down to earth and Arsenal were easily beaten by his new Club, Manchester United. Indeed in five matches against the Premier League’s established top three, Arsenal gained just one point (in September) out of fifteen.
A successive 5-2 Premier League win at home against local rivals Tottenham Hotspur was sandwiched by a poor home draw (3-3, Fulham) and home defeat (0-2, Swansea City). With the Club now 10th in the Premier League, Arsenal’s top place on their Champions League group, with one match to go, was put at risked by fielding a much weakened team at Greek league Olympiakos.
The penalty for the subsequent second place finish was a knockout draw against in-form German giants Bayern Munich, instead of Turkish League Galatasaray. With the pressure further increasing, only one of the reserve team that prevailed in the League Cup win at Premier League Reading was selected in the next round at fourth tier Bradford, 65 places below in the football leagues. Bradford prevailed in the biggest shock of Monsieur Wenger’s reign.
Three successive wins, against Premier League strugglers, including a 7-3 rollercoaster home win against a tiring Newcastle United, ended the calendar year on a more positive note. The 5-1 home thrashing of West Ham United and hard fought negotiation of the 3rd and 4th rounds of the FA Cup apart, January was - like last season - again disastrous. A very poor draw at Southampton lost the momentum of the Newcastle finish and was followed by sluggish starts and poor defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea. A typically schizophrenic performance at home to Liverpool, the penultimate evening of the transfer window, ended in a 2-2 draw.
After the relatively encouraging beginning, Arsenal’s capitulation was such that after 15 matches Monsieur Wenger - despite the very poor start to the previous season - had endured his worst ever Premier League start of his reign: 10th place with just 21 points. At the close of the 31 January transfer deadline, with the teams having played 24 of the season’s 38 matches, Arsenal were in sixth place with 38 points – 21 points behind their former rivals Manchester United. The league leaders were 7 points ahead of Manchester City with their title drive hugely indebted to the Premier League’s top scorer, Mr van Persie. Chelsea were third and Tottenham fourth (4 points ahead of Arsenal, in the crucial battle for European Champions League qualification). Arsenal had scored 48 goals and conceded 29 (both better than last season).
In February, Arsenal were also knocked out of the FA Cup by lower-league opposition, Blackburn Rovers, for the first time under Monsieur Wenger. It was the first FA Cup defeat at home since 1997. Three days later Arsenal were completely outclassed by Bayern, again at home, in the first-leg and seemed set to end an eighth successive season without a trophy.
Players: 2012 – 2013 season
There was a corresponding dip in form of a number of players. Of the previously unqualified successes identified, still at the club, Thomas Vermaelen, the new Captain, suffered a significant loss of form and confidence. Messrs Sagna and Szczesny suffered badly too. Michael Arteta was less effective as a defensive midfielder forced to cover for the un-replaced Alex Song. Of the qualified successes, remarkably, Monsieur Wenger selected Mr Walcott to start (when not suffering from minor injuries) in only three of the first 13 matches. Mr Walcott eventually thrived, occasionally playing in his desired centre forward position, and became a crucial team member.
Messrs Oxlade-Chamberlain and Koscielny both suffered from much reduced appearances. Of the remaining mixed successes, Andre Arshavin rarely started even when much weakened teams were fielded – such as at Olympiakos where he joined the rather less well remunerated Messrs Shea, Angha, Hajrovic, Monteiro, Akpom and Ansah on the bench. Of the unproven, Karl Jenkinson’s very significant success deputising for the injured Sagna, was such that he gained an England cap. The seemingly versatile Aaron Ramsey form was less persuasive.
Abou Diaby was soon injured again and, once again, denied Monsieur Wenger’s counter-intuitive great faith in him – given the medical evidence of his seven seasons at the Club. Goalkeeper Vito Mannone’s similar long service on the fringes also went unrewarded when he deputised due to injury and he joins Messrs Fabianski (now third choice), Gervinho, Chamakh (loaned out in January) in the growing ranks of the unsuccessful transfer signings. Only Sebastien Squillaci, from the previous list, remains presently at the Club – albeit as a non-playing squad member.
Following the abandonment of the second period transfer policy, the more experienced and established new signings Messrs Cazorla and Podolski bore more immediate fruits. Olivier Giroud had some success; however, the significantly less profligate Mr van Persie was badly missed on the team’s off-days (or halves). Nevertheless, offensively Arsenal were a lot better balanced than they had been for many seasons with the three main forwards sharing the workload much more evenly. Mr Walcott, from 13 Premier League starts, top scored with 11 goals and also had 7 assists. Giroud, from 14 starts, scored 9 times and had 2 assists. Podolski operating exclusively from the left flank, from 21 starts, scored 7 goals and had, the most, 9, assists. In addition, attacking midfielder Santi Cazorla scored 8 goals and made 6 assists.
Player leadership
Remarkably, having finally returned to the team after his long injury, young Mr Wilshere (whilst lacking in goals) quickly became as indispensable as Mr van Persie. Indeed, before the defeat at Chelsea, Sol Campbell, a former Invincible and also in the side that won the club’s last trophy in 2005, suggested that the 21-year-old midfielder was carrying the club. But, he warned, leadership must come from more than one individual and run throughout the team.
People like Jack Wilshere – he’s fantastic, he’s great for the future. He knows what it means to play for Arsenal and what it means to the club to win. He’s grown up seeing Arsenal win things and compete. So you do need a lot more of his kind of calibre, in different positions … They’re a great footballing side, Arsenal. They play fantastic football. But it comes down to those final moments where you need leaders. And not just one leader, you need five leaders up and down the pitch. It’s too much for one guy. You need four or five leaders to cement that winning mentality and hopefully make it change.”[3]
Thierry Henry acknowledged his initiation from the likes of Messrs Adams, Dixon, Winterburn and Keown into what it really meant to wear the Arsenal jersey.[4] Nevertheless, Monsieur Wenger believes the current Arsenal team “cared as much, if not more" than such Arsenal legends. Even after the shock at Bradford, leaving his side with just one win in six matches, Monsieur Wenger defended his players "I cannot fault the effort from my players … I don't think there's any psychological problem with the players when it comes to knockout ties. I don't think it's a lack of quality.”[5]
However, following Arsenal’s draw with Liverpool when their weakness at the back was exposed once again, Monsieur Wenger admitted that he believes his Arsenal players have developed a psychological frailty. This was particularly evident in the first half of matches and due, he explained, to the criticism surrounding the team’s performances this season. Indeed, the statistics show that Arsenal would be just 13th in the League table if they were based on results at half time (but second in the table on 46 points – just two behind Manchester City if it was purely based on second half performances).
The team has certainly been deeply affected by all the negativity and as well by the fact they are highly focused to do well. Everyone of us is affected by criticism. I didn’t meet one person who loves to be slaughtered. The team want to do well. But sometimes that can be a bit inhibitive. I think it’s mainly down to that.[6]
End of Part 1: Part 2 here
References
http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/arsenal-/s378/st179630/the-wenger-years-audit-part-2
[2] General references include:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/
[3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21108616
[4] Thierry Henry, Phillip Auclair. London: Macmillan 2012. pp. 149 – 150.
[5] http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21143842
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20689836
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Stumbleupon04/03/2013 19:13
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:03:13:07:45:55 by Padre Pio.
"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.
just a shame wenger can't see it.
Since the end of WW1, 1919, when the FA restarted its 4 tier football league, with Arsenal fc in the 1st div, there’s only ever been one club to have never been relegated from Div 1/ EPL.
Arsenal fc
Let’s keep making history
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