Wenger's Self Motion Illusion - train still in station.


Wenger thinks he'll do

By Boris Mellor
May 3 2010

Arsenal now have one point out of the last 12 available, the team have the weary look of a bunch of losers who don't know where their next win will come from. Yet Arsene Wenger can proclaim that this team has progressed since last season. After a defeat away at Blackburn, a team the Gunners used to beat for fun, Arsenal Times asks how does the season compare with the last?

Well last season the team garnered 72 points from 38 games, and now has 72 points from 37 games. Assuming they beat Fulham on Sunday that could be 75 points from 38 games. Now I expect them to beat Fulham as Hodgson has more important fish to fry than exerting himself against the overpaid win nothings of Wenger's five star rest home.

Compared to last season

So let's assume, for arguments sake, its 75 points, and third place is secured, surely that is progress? Last year was 4th place after all, so it must be progress. Well last year the team lost only six games and conceded 37 goals. Wenger promised a much improved defence, so far it has conceded 41 goals, and lost 9 games. The Gunners have conceded more goals and lost more games than last season, strange sort of progress.

The only bright spot is that the team have scored 6 more goals than last year, but on the down side failed to beat Man U, Chelsea or Man City. They also went out of the FA cup and CL competitions earlier than last season. Also the bulk of the goals were scored in the first half of the season.

How can Wenger think there is progress?

To understand his mistaken belief you have to understand the optical illusion of self motion. Have you ever sat in a motionless train and thought it was moving due to the fact that a parallel train on an adjacent line is actually moving? The passenger has the illusion that the train is moving, but the reality is it has never left the station. This is known as a self motion illusion.

An opposite feeling is when a train is travelling at speed so smoothly that the passenger doesn't feel the train is moving at all, but that it is the trees and houses that are hurtling by.

 I am not quite sure which of these two illusions Wenger is suffering from, but both could equally apply. However if we replace the hurtling trees and houses with Liverpool then it is certainly a self motion theory. Arsenal would appear to overtake Liverpool, when in fact having made no progress at all still appear to move forward.

If Liverpool had failed to hurtle backwards from 86 points to their present 62 points Arsenal would be in fourth place with the threat of being pushed into 5th place. Thanks to Liverpool, and I am grateful to them, 4th place is assured. Arsenal fans will have to hope that Spurs and Man City draw so we can feel the train is going forward, if not it could be squeaky bum time on the last day of the season.

Meanwhile the weakest top three in a very long time stumble towards the finishing line, none of them strong enough to finish off their opponents until the very last day.

That a team that has lost 9 games, conceded over 40 goals can finish third beggar's belief, to claim it is progress challenges credulity even more.

Wenger might think there is progress; unfortunately the train hasn't left the station.

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Wenger's Self Motion Illusion - train still in station.
Discussion started by Arsenal Times , 03/05/2010 20:54
Arsenal Times
03/05/2010 20:54
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:05:07:23:33:08 by Padre Pio.

SaltnPeppah
03/05/2010 21:04
The Arsenal train is not standing still, it's going backward.

BIGSNOOP
03/05/2010 21:11
so kolo toure wasn't the problem afterall.

Bergmars
03/05/2010 21:18
Defending is poor and no mistake,problem is the goals also dried up the last couple of months.

Big Guhnz
03/05/2010 22:03
wow 3 points better off if this was last year we would still be fourth and could drop to 5th ...if the top two hadnt been so bad we would be so close


fake progress/spin


its amazing to think our defense has been worse than last season!

how did that happen???

Chapman's Ghost
03/05/2010 23:16
Vieira, Pires, Henry, Bergkamp, Seaman. All in first
class on the Arsenal gravy train.

Now we only have Fabregas and RVP in first class and
the gravy has turned to gruel. ( Arshavin has been
arguing with the guard about the validity of his
ticket for the last three months).

Gööfle11
04/05/2010 01:04
Arshavin, Vermaelen and Gallas not first class?

Official 1000th poster in the classic transfer rumors thread of 2014.

Chapman's Ghost
04/05/2010 07:14
As I imply, Arshavin is but he can sometimes vanish
during games.

Vermaelen needs another season to entirely convince
me, not denying he's been good.

Gallas, yes you could argue he should be upgraded but I
feel he's been a little less consistent this year but
that's an opinion many will not share.

And will he be with us next season?

Padre Pio
04/05/2010 08:13
Arshavin made no impact yesterday, and he hasnt for a long time, before he was injured

"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.

Rambo_16
04/05/2010 09:21
I think many individuals have made huge progress, Diaby, Song, Bendtner, and even Fabregas have all been far better at a consistent level than we have ever seen before.

However I fail to see how as a unit, this team has moved forward. It seems to be the same problems over and over again that we just fail to adress. Keeper, defense, and a ball winner in midfield. How long have we been calling for these 3 area's to be sorted? I'd suggest the day Vieira left.

Not good enough

"Rome wasn't built in a day. But I wasn't on that particular job."

AJ The Gunner
04/05/2010 10:59
I have to agree that wenger is suffering from self motion Illusion adding to that is the fact that he may be suffering from a psychopathic illness(Sm112)(Sm112).

remember that a psycho sees eye popping smiley what he wants to seeeye popping smiley, feels what he wants to feels and is always in another realm were he is the supreme master(Sm28) and in most cases self destructs(Sm44).

wenger will not change from his self destructive plan...he has done this before and it took him being fired to put an end to it....

now i'm not saying wenger should be fired but either he has brainwashed the board who will readily agree to his obsession cos it suits their debt paying plan, or the entire board are really hallucinating/delusional if they can sit back and let this MADNESS CONTINUE................


wenger will only succeed in driving our star players out of the club.......we can keep believing that since most of our players that leave for greener pastures end up becoming failures as the moral ground to think wenger is right to keep toying with a players dreams and ambitions.....

for all i know a curse is placed on them to strike fear in the heart of anyone who desires to jump ship[this statement is purely me being very angry and irrational and should not be taken seriously]


unless something drastic is done to curb wengers excesses and put a stop to his FAILED DESTRUCTIVE PLAN!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE ON A DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF WHICH WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CATCH OUR FALL

first of all, building a team were all that matters is playing wengers style of football to the detriment of winning bothered on being out of touch with the game.winning is what matters; go and ask federer or nadal......

some of these players paraded are a big insult to what this club has achieved over the years and the fact that we achieved most of this under wenger is all the more damning....

this delusional train has been on a backward match and this madness has taken some of our good players light years backwards..... with no real competition and real positive progress they are bound to get worse.have you ever seen were a bright and intelligent child is placed in a class of dullards and the child improved?

ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB IS IN BIG TROUBLE ON THE PITCH...THEY MAY BE GETTING IT RIGHT OFF THE PITCH BUT THIS ASPECT MAY COME BACK AND HUNT US....

Can We Now Trust The Process 🤔🤷🏿‍♀️ or Should We Still Remain Cautious 🙇🏿‍♀️



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:05:04:11:14:54 by AJ The Gunner.

Merse'n'Smudger
04/05/2010 11:02
Without drawing out the standard excuse....the team sheet produced in the last four games (five if you include the Barca game) has been nothing short of a 'B' team....first choice CB's out, first choice MID players out, half fit RVP and woefully out of form other strikers....

That said...our deficiences of last term have been sprung out this year due to these injuries, and have shown Wenger has not learnt from the mistakes of last year. I hope he takes this summer seriously, otherwise we may fall behind those teams chasing and improving behind us.

Gooner_Mike
04/05/2010 11:27
Been saying it for five years and I get laughed at when I say we have been getting consistently worse each season, and the longer we go on with this lot, selling our best players, the harder its going to be to have an overhaul and get the team playing winning football again.

Now with the 25 man squads coming in, a good squad of players is a priority, we cant go on with 11 good players and the rest being potential or injury prone, we need quality here and now, there are plenty of players we could raid from the prem, and im not talking about the likes of silvestre, United have been doing it for years raiding the best players in the league.

But first things first we need to provide the team with players that give a toss and have a winning mentality, sell/sack everyone else, we want the ones that will move heaven and earth to get the win, not the sideways passing ponies we have at the moment.'

If its true about Jose wanting to leave Italy, then we need to make a move for him NOW, not in 2 years when he's gone to Man City or whoever else picking up trophies for fun with them while we wallow in the world of wenger, we need him NOW. Wenger can go up to the top if he likes, run the clubs finances, arrange sponsorship deals till his signature hand falls off, but we need a football manager, a ruthless winner. Its decision time and I vote for change.

Merlion96
04/05/2010 15:16
Quote:
Merse'n'Smudger
Without drawing out the standard excuse....the team sheet produced in the last four games (five if you include the Barca game) has been nothing short of a 'B' team....first choice CB's out, first choice MID players out, half fit RVP and woefully out of form other strikers....
That said...our deficiences of last term have been sprung out this year due to these injuries, and have shown Wenger has not learnt from the mistakes of last year. I hope he takes this summer seriously, otherwise we may fall behind those teams chasing and improving behind us.

You can't said that injuries had derailed us for the past 5 years since 2004/05 season.

The real reason is that Wenger will persist wth his "Ajax Model of Team Building" depending wholly on youngsters steeping into the squad and by December, they are seasoned, gelled with senior players and ready as an effective squad member, slotting into sneior team seamlessly.

A better anaology is that 2007/08 season is the Arsenal Train climbing an incline.

SPluttering on the incline in 2008/09 season, and the brakes are worn-out and by end-2009, the worn-out gear teeth are slipping, struggling to progress up the incline, barely keep in place, but now at the astable point of the incline...reaching its peak soon.

COme 2010/11 season.

Will Arsenal Train finds a stable location to start replacing its worn-out gearbox, its brake linings?
Repairing and replacing on a fly on the incline?

Or repair works cannot be done on the incline as the Arsenal Train must reversed and return to bottom of inclien to be repaired?

Or still has sufficient gear teeth to drive up the peak into a stable region with critical gears replaced safely without losing any pace?

Gööfle11
04/05/2010 16:28
I love the fact that people are getting really annoyed with Arsenal. You would have sucked my d*ck to still be in the title race until the game against Spurs, stop acting like whiney b*tches and get a life.

Official 1000th poster in the classic transfer rumors thread of 2014.

celine dion
04/05/2010 20:53
The annoying thing Tom is that so many of us could see we needed to build on the title challenge at Christmas, and we didnt.

Gööfle11
04/05/2010 21:03
Im sure Wenger thought we needed something as well. Im also sure Sir Alex and Ancelotti did. But nobody signed anyone in January.

We were not far off this season. We are now, of course, but we were right in it for a very long time. Fight back after fight back, but people ignore that.

They have made me proud to be an Arsenal fan many many times this season, and the same ones who have posted "Whatever happens, they have done me proud" are the ones playing 'Pull my tinkle' and crying like b*tches.

"No fight"? F*ck right off.

Official 1000th poster in the classic transfer rumors thread of 2014.

Padre Pio
04/05/2010 23:01
Quote: Fight back after fight back.
Yes against poor teams.
No fight against Chelsea, Man U, Barca.

no fight away at Spurs, Wigan, Blackburn,Burnely and Sunderland and Birmingham. Instead capitulation.

9 defeats so far. I am no glory hunter, I have seen worse and have supported the team well over 50 years.
Some of these players arent fit to wear the shirt, I dont blame Fabianski, I blame Wenger for putting him there.
Vela is another one.
This is a big club, it needs a big team, I dont expect them to win some thing every season, but I expect them to contend. This team gave uo after the 27 March, after defeat by Barca, they have packed in. There is nothing to be proud of, I am embarrased by them.

"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.

Gööfle11
04/05/2010 23:13
Well, you are an idiot.

Official 1000th poster in the classic transfer rumors thread of 2014.

Padre Pio
04/05/2010 23:17
Your the idiot if you are proud of yet another poor season.
You havent got enough sense to be embarrased.

"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.

Gööfle11
04/05/2010 23:33
ouch

Official 1000th poster in the classic transfer rumors thread of 2014.

SandyB
05/05/2010 06:15
Quote:
Padre
Your the idiot if you are proud of yet another poor season.
You havent got enough sense to be embarrased.

Quote:
Tom
ouch

Is this a father son kind of argument!! Tom, You don't call your father an idiot do ya?
(Sm113)

Bring back stepanovs!
05/05/2010 10:38
Your the idiot if you are proud of yet another poor season.
You havent got enough sense to be embarrased

(Sm152)

AJ The Gunner
05/05/2010 10:53
Its best we channel our irritation towards wenger who has chosen to play us like a fiddle for 5 years; selling us a stupid idea that will never work in this present era in football. as long as the board are ok with this stupid wenger obsession cos it goes well with their debt paying plan and wenger feels he has the backing of the fans to keep fooling us...he will never change...go ask monaco how they rescued their club from wengers madness....

for me; enough is enough...pity what i feel doesn't count in the sphere of things.....

Can We Now Trust The Process 🤔🤷🏿‍♀️ or Should We Still Remain Cautious 🙇🏿‍♀️

Gööfle11
05/05/2010 13:04
So the year after we won the FA Cup he started 'selling' us some dream? Oh grow up.

Official 1000th poster in the classic transfer rumors thread of 2014.

Padre Pio
05/05/2010 17:02
He did sell the idea of his youth revolution and no more stars.
He never said it was a dream, but if he had said it would turn into a nightmare of two ancient centrebacks (yes Campbell does play well) no strikers for nearly a whole season and two clowns in goal we might have given it a second thought.

"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.

sonofnorris
07/05/2010 09:47
gawan tom!!!!!
i think some people forget what wenger has done for this club and should remember that we have a NEW STADIUM!!!!!!
and play nice football most off the time
no fight against barca is that why it was 2/2 first leg.
did we not have any fight last day of the session against leeds the year after we won ur first double with wenger


big up the team and give thanks!!!!!

u could b loserpool

Chapman's Ghost
07/05/2010 09:58
Nice football! Never liked the word nice. Haven't seen
much of this "nice" football recently.
I'd rather we played effective football with a team that
showed heart and commitment.

Padre Pio
07/05/2010 10:43
As a season ticket holder who has attended every home match, I havent seen much nice football this season.
I have seen us struggle to beat bottom of league teams until 93 minute, and roll over and die for Man and Chavs.
Yes we had a few good games, but they are so long ago I struggle to remember them

"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.

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