Yesterday was yet another predictable performance and result – so much so that I put a bet on Arsenal to lose 3-0 and 3-1, therefore making a tidy profit:
Thanks @Arsenal, the predictability has once again made me some money. Had bets on 3-0 and 3-1 to Liverpool so made a tidy profit ????
— Mike (@afc4life_uk) March 4, 2017
It’s the same old story with Arsenal isn’t it? In terms of guarantees, Arsenal have become so consistent it’s easy to predict what will happen in a typical Arsenal season.
Here are just a few of the following:
- Arsenal will challenge for the title until about February / March, at which point the wheels will come off and we’ll end up fighting for 4th spot.
- Arsenal will overcome some late scares and achieve 4th spot.
- We will reach the last 16 in the Champions League, and then get battered by Barcelona or Bayern Munich..
- We will lose at Anfield, conceding quite a few goals in the process.
- We will lose at Stamford Bridge, conceding quite a few goals in the process.
- We will travel to Old Trafford full of confidence and form, but either lose or draw because the Arsenal team have bottled it and couldn’t go and get the win.
I could go on and on, but won’t.
It’s reached a point where I’ve almost lost the will to live. I’ve not supported, but loved Arsenal since 1988. I’ve seen the George Graham years, the Bruce Rioch years and the Arsene Wenger years. They’ll all had highs and lows (except for the Rioch era where it was mainly lows) but what’s worse is the mind-numbing predicability of Arsenal.
We have no leaders, we need a world class striker, we’re missing a top class goal keeper, we have too many injuries – it’s the same old shit year after year, campaign after campaign, season after season.
Now don’t get me wrong, the consistency Arsene Wenger has brought to the club in terms of Champions League football year after year is impressive and whatever your feelings about the man – no club in Europe has enjoyed that kind of consistency of the last 20 odd years – even powerhouses like Real Madrid and Barcelona have finished outside the Top 4 in that time. If you asked any owners of any club, they would most likely snap up Arsene Wenger in a heart beat.
But for the fans, it’s just boring. We pay the highest ticket prices in the league (and I think in Europe actually) but don’t get the success. I think it’s got to the point where if you asked any Arsenal fan they would tell you that they would get rid of Arsene Wenger and risk finished 7th in the table just so that it’s something different. It’s the predictability and refusal to change and adapt which is the killer.
But why not make some money from the predictability? After all, there’s a lot of offers to get through these days.
But good news, Arsene Wenger is going to stay! Most of you will laugh at that but trust me, come back to this in 5 months and I’ll be saying I told you so!
Wenger has become a laughing stock by all the managers in the PL but he still thinks he’s the best manager Arsenal have ever had, yes that may have been true when he first came but over the past 10-15 years he’s continually failed to achieve anything of note i.e, we continually go out of the CL, fail to win the PL and yet the Board and Kroenke still back him and basically seem to beg him to stay for another few seasons and throw vast amounts of money at him in wages. It’s about time they grew a backbone and told him in no uncertain terms his time is up come the end of this season and bring a new manager, and from what I’ve read there seems to be an agreement between the Board and Allegri to take over next season!!!
After seeing today’s performance against Liverpool I am convinced that the Arsene Knows camp have no argument. Fabregas, Van Persie, Vieira, Henry, Ozil, Alexis,Sagna have all clashed with Wenger at some point and been part of frustrating nearly there teams. They were blamed for their loyalty and lack of commitment. The Arsene Knows camp say that the players let Wenger down. All of those players mentioned were trophy winners elsewhere and became trophy winners again when they went elsewhere(Henry-Champions League). Now let’s say at normal job like a bank an employee misses deadlines regularly-it’s not the manager’s fault. The employee was inept. However if we notice multiple cases of employees missing deadlines under a certain manager but have previously never missed deadlines or go on to never miss deadlines at other departments-will we still say that all the employees were inept? No, it is obviously a management issue at that point. Employees/players can only work under a system and if there are repeated examples of them flourishing elsewhere but hunching on their knees , jumping in frustration(Ox against Bayern, Gallas sit down, Rvp protest, Fabregas frustration) it is a management issue. The players are not letting anyone down. The management is inept in strategy and vision. If this is so clear in other jobs why is it not clear at Arsenal? If Wenger wanted to really play direct against Liverpool why was Iwobi on the pitch instead of Alexis?
The argument that there is no one to replace Wenger is bollocks. Real Madrid replaced a manager with years of experience with one whose only pedigree was being one of their finest players but absolutely zero senior managerial experience. He won them the Champions League and currently sit top of La Liga. Zidane earns 5.7m euro a year which is way less than Wenger’s 11.3m. And Arsenal refuse to pay the players on par with Chelsea and Real. Tell me what exactly has Wenger done to justify that salary over Zidane, Conte while the players are under a socialist system?
I know a Toyota is reliable but you cannot charge me Mercedes prices for it and keep selling me a Toyota saying how consistent it is and be careful what you wish for. Stan Kroenke knows that all he needs to do is buy prime sports teams in A-list cities. The lifestyle, emotions and the way humans are -they will always pay premium prices to go to those games. He does not need to invest or win. He needs to do the bare minimum to maximize the profits. Its why he moved the Rams from St. Louis to LA. Danny Fiszman must be turning in his grave for selling to him. At least the Russian, Arab and Thai owners watch and understand football. Danny Fiszman was probably just blinded by his hate for the nouvea riche and instead trusted an American snake oil man.
… but what good is the consistency of competing in the CL every year if you never win it?