The Coach

By Boris Mellor
October 31 2008

Arsenal fans are angry and embittered over Wednesday's capitulation, and it is not really about just one result. Although it is important not to overreact the reaction itself cannot be seen just as a reaction to one result. Yes Gunners hate drawing to Spurs, but that alone does not explain the stunned reaction to the result.

  The conceding of two goals in four minutes brought back too many bad memories for fans to bear. That is the memories of a team that cannot hold a lead. The inability to hold on to a lead has happened on far more important occasions than conceding a draw to a bottom of table team.

The past weighs like a nightmare on the minds of the living

Last season leads were squandered in crucial league matches at Man Utd and Chelsea.  If those two matches were won Arsenal would have been champions, even draws may have changed the outcome. An even greater nightmare on the minds of Gunners was the squandering of the lead to Liverpool in the CL.  Whilst fans were still celebrating an Adebayor's goal that they thought had put Arsenal in the final the defence was flapping at the opposite end and throwing everything away. The team is often incapable of holding a lead, and that is why last season the best Wenger team in years ended up empty handed. Wenger claimed he was addressing the situation, but the match against Spurs made a mockery of that.

When a badly prepared meal leads to fight between a married couple only the most shallow would believe that the sole cause was the cooking. In the same way it would be shallow to believe that the reaction to Wednesday night was just about one evening's performance. Fans fear that this is what the future will look like. That every good result will be followed by a poor one. It is also possible that every poor result will be followed by a good one, but none of this leads to consistency.

So can Wenger relaunch this team?

On the rare occasions that Arsene's teams have conceded four they have bounced back. When the Gunners let in four against Man U at home in 2004-5, their reaction was to beat Villa 3-1 in the next league game. No doubt we are all hoping that Arsenal will do that at Stoke, but it would be well to keep in mind that Stoke have beat Villa and Spurs already this season.

Organization or Personnel?

If the problem is personnel then he has no chance, but if the problem is the utilization of players then there might be. Why did the team concede four so easily? Are the back four that bad, I don't think so, individually that are all reasonably talented. The main problem on Wednesday was organisation. It would be easy to blame Clichy for his slip, but there was still time to recover even after he fell. However no one covered him, our defenders do not cover each other. The goals all came from a long way out, yet there is a no man's land between defence and midfield.

There is a 15 yard wide strip left unfilled by defenders and midfielders that gives opponents a lot of space to shoot from. I do not blame Almunia for the Bentley goal, why was the odious wanabee David Beckham given all the time he needed to lob the ball? If a midfielder had marked him he would have failed.

Our midfielders don't cover for the defence, where did Song go after Clichy slipped? Can anyone remember - because I can't? Was Silvestre aggressive enough? He stayed back rather than enter the no man's land and challenge would be scorers. It is rumoured that Wenger is very angry with his two centre backs.

Whatever the case, I would suggest that rather than get over concerned with who played worse, it would be better to look at the team as a whole. The team attacks as a team, but it does not defend as a team. To my mind that must be Wenger's decision, alternatively players are ignoring his game plan. Either way Wenger has to get this team to play as a team and not as a bunch of leaderless individuals, which is what they became on the 90th minute against Spurs.

Only when the team can develop a leadership, commitment, and teamwork will they become consistent. Can the present personnel do that? Wenger says they can, I really hope he is right, because if they can't the stakes are high. As voices inside Arsenal are suggesting the coming games take place in the last chance saloon. That's not the press saying that, that's Arsenal players and management.

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Can Wenger get the Team Back on Track?

Discussion started by Arsenal Times , 31/10/2008 21:30

Arsenal Times
31/10/2008 21:30

Can Wenger get the Team Back on Track?

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weedz
31/10/2008 22:09

Correct. We`ll probibly not get a result this season, but he`ll `paint over` the cracks and say the team spirit and potential is enormous.

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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eduardo
31/10/2008 22:47

Arsenal players when things are going wrong remind me of guys I used to have as team mates and all you would ever hear from them when a score against us happened was "it was not my man who scored" this despite it might have been there man who laid on the goal or who dispossed them to start the move. it is always someone elses fault, in team meetings it was all well and good pointing out the faults of others but tantrums would be the order of the day once anyone dare point out a flaw to their performance.

these Arsenal players have for over a year now gone running to the media with the same old bull about unity, learning lessons, giving their all for the cause, not slipping up again, we must work harder etc etc but not once have I seen any one of them admit they could do better, well that is apart from Gallas, but hey we should not let that get in the way of blaming him for all our woes. I have lost count the number of times Ade has told the media what his team mates need to do to stop losing games but never has their been even a hint that he needs to work harder or stop getting offside or stop missing easy chances but hey he only tells the media whats wrong when he has scored, same with RVP and Cesc its always what needs improving in the team as a whole but no sign that they ever look at themselves and say hey I'm one of the stars of this team and when things are going wrong I need to do that bit more and inspire more from others

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Padre Pio
31/10/2008 22:52

Theyve got to start playing for each other. Even fab worries me, all this stuff about missing Hleb, funny he hardly ever mnentions Flam, but he was a work horse.

I think the talent might be there, its the application that is missing

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Optimistic Gunner
01/11/2008 00:42

The article is spot on, and I aslso totally agree with everything that has bee said so far.

The problems that have been pointed out are exactly thae same points that I have been saying about over a season now, some problems for over two seasons, and yet AW has failed to sort out any of these problems.


Like the article says, it wasn't only because of the results against teh s.cums that has lead me to lose all of optimism I had for this team but rather the problems that caused us to draw against the s.cums.

I sincerely hope that AW pulls his finger out his a.rse and fixes the problems before our season is over, as if we don't win a major trophy this season then things are gonna get a lot worse next season.

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Merlion96
01/11/2008 04:13

he can.

By selectign palyers that can play together and willing to die for Arsenal.

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Optimistic Gunner
01/11/2008 04:18

Quote:

Merlion96
he can.
By selectign palyers that can play together and willing to die for Arsenal.

But will he?

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