Have You Enjoyed This Season?

[Letters]

I kinda have :lol:

It's been a ridiculous roller-coaster but after the horrible start we got it together and in the end we've finished 3rd.

We finished below Utd who have a lot more money than us and, frankly, a better manager and a side who have just gone and bought the title (the price tag is a billion pounds now, bit pricey but I guess if you’ve got it, flaunt it). I don't think that's such a bad outcome, especially given that at one point we were 10 points behind Spurs, 3 behind Chelsea, and 2-0 down to Spurs at home. We shouldn't be as far behind the top 2 as we are but it's no disgrace to finish below either. I note that some of the people who were predicting a mid-table finish all season are now dismissing 3rd place as not being much of an achievement.

We've rather stumbled over the line and partly because of other teams' failings but it was a run of 9 wins in 10 which got us in a commanding position and that shouldn't be dismissed. Some of the same failings are still evident - defensive lapses, a worrying mentality which saw us only just limp over the line having had plenty of chances to make the last couple of results moot. Overall though I think a 3rd place finish is pretty respectable having lost our two best midfielders last summer and the car-crash of a start to the season.

There have been some awful moments this season but some great ones too (Spurs at home, the late Newcastle winner, the late win at Anfield, the AC Milan home game, City at home, the crazy game at Stamford Bridge). In a strange way I've kinda enjoyed it. What about you?

[GP]

Thoroughly.

[Kano]

of course, brilliant season with a great ending - no bitterness or anger toward city either.

you would have to be completely detached from football with no idea of what being a fan is to not have enjoyed the past 9 months.

[Flavs]

Nope

[Cripps_orig]

Not really.

It was more a case of same old shit, different season

We did the bare minimum again and whilst thats fine for one or two seasons, for 7 seasons in a row with no improvement? We've stagnated as a club and this season pretty much showed that.

We'll have high points and low points in every season. All clubs do. Even relegated clubs. Look at Blackburn, high points were beating us and Mancs. Would you say their fans enjoyed the season?

Its been a tragedy of a season but thankfully we had a blip where we won 7 in a row and managed to get 3rd. Not bad but not good enough overall.

Lot of work need to be done.

[Letters]

Not really.

It was more a case of same old shit, different season

We did the bare minimum again and whilst thats fine for one or two seasons, for 7 seasons in a row with no improvement? We've stagnated as a club and this season pretty much showed that.

We'll have high points and low points in every season. All clubs do. Even relegated clubs. Look at Blackburn, high points were beating us and Mancs. Would you say their fans enjoyed the season?

Its been a tragedy of a season but thankfully we had a blip where we won 7 in a row and managed to get 3rd. Not bad but not good enough overall.

Lot of work need to be done.
You said we'd finish 10th and you're not happy we finished 3rd?

[Cripps_orig]

You said we'd finish 10th and you're not happy we finished 3rd?Im happy we finished 3rd

Didnt enjoy the season though

[Letters]

Im happy we finished 3rd

Didnt enjoy the season though
Fair enough. I agree with some of your post although I don't think finishing 3rd could be described as a 'tragedy' of a season, especially after last summer and the start we had, and Spurs lording it over us for much of the season.

[Syn]

I've really enjoyed it. I don't think we've done very well and we all want the club to do better but lots of little moments and games have been incredibly exciting.

Henry's winner against Leeds the highlight, IMO.

[LDG]

Yeah, been alright. Been nice to see us do some of the basics right, and have a bit more team spirit / fan connection.

It'll be all for nothing if we don't build on it though.

[Xhaka Can’t]

It's no 92/93, but overall I enjoyed it.

We have played some of the shittiest football I have ever seen, and we have played some good football too. That I never could be sure which Arsenal team would turn up, kind of kept me on my toes all season long.

But really, some of the amateurish football and tactical naivety we have witnessed this season has been embarrassing.

[Letters]

It's no 92/93, but overall I enjoyed it.
:haha:

[Flavs]

It's no 92/93, but overall I enjoyed it..

*Shudder

[Fats]

Thought we would finish 6th so 3rd is a bonus(or rather Van Persie's form is).

Still lots to do. Need a change, maybe Bould and Banfield will do the trick but it may be a smokescreen in which if nothing changes we MUST call for Wengers head!!!!.

Not enjoyed the season at all. Inconsistant and you never know who is gonna turn up.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Hell no.

[Letters]

Hell no.
:lol:

[Grebbo]

I didn't enjoy it.

The big difference this season is our style of play and quality of football has been shit. REALLY SHIT.

At least with previous seasons you could argue that we played the best football and with one or two defensive tweaks we could challenge. Remember Barca at home? Damn we could play. Not now. Now we need a complete overhaul to challenge and we all know that we're not going to get a complete overhaul.

However, how can anyone not be happy with 3rd? Do people still think the league is as easy as the early 2000's? Hell no. To finish 3rd is an achievement - you expect Arsenal to finish above Manure and City????

To finish above Chelsea and Liverpool AND Spurs is definitely an achievement.

[Marc Overmars]

No I haven't enjoyed it personally but I do give credit to the team for hauling themselves back into the top 4. I thought we'd finish 5th because if I was asked whether we could win 7 in a row, which is exactly what we needed to do at the time, I would have said no chance in hell.

There were some individual moments to remember, smashing Chelsea and Spurs, the late wins, Henry etc.

It's not enough though to gloss over how generally turgid I found a lot of our football to be, the fact we weren't competitive when it mattered again only exacerbated the frustration.

We even did our best to undo all of the hard work we put in, I mean CL football was out of our hands for 24 hours and we needed a bloody favour from Villa against Spurs. Even yesterday we weren't particuarly great and needed the worst goalkeeping performance in history to seal the deal.

The up and down nature of the season still suggests to me that we're as far away as we've ever been at getting back to the level we all dream of again.

My feeling now is one of relief and I look forward to the summer and hope Podolski is the first of a few quality signings.

[Letters]

The style of football point is a good one. At times it's not been bad this year but at others it has been bloody awful.
I think it was the Bolton game where Gary and me exchanged texts saying how it reminded us of the latter of the GG years.
2nd half though in that game we were pretty good. Weird.

[AKBapologist]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsqJFIJ5lLs

[McNamara That Ghost...]

When we won, yeah.

When we lost, no.

[Flavs]

Now we need a complete overhaul to challenge .

No we don't

[Syn]

Our style of football or approach play or whatever you want to call it...it's just confusing. There doesn't really seem to be a gameplan. Everyone just goes off and do whatever they want. Apart from Arteta who has some discipline. We don't play attractive football. It's very sluggish and the flicks and intricate stuff that is tried never comes off. I think our players are stupid. Genuinely stupid. Song - utterly thick as fuck. They can't think fast enough. It's nowt to do with mental strength or confidence. Their mind just doesn't react quick enough. What I mean by that is the 'second touch is a tackle' sort of thing. We can't get a move going because every touch is unplanned. I don't particularly like Fabregas but he did at least have a clear idea of the bigger picture. We have no-one who makes us tick atm. Best thing to do now is just get a powerful midfielder and stop pretending like we are a Spanish tippy-tappy team. We're not good enough for that. Get some pace and power in the side, boot it forward and chase it down.

[-Xs-]

I think Wilshere is that player, but alas, he's dead. God rest his soul

[selassie]

On the whole I've not personally enjoyed the season. We've had some really bad spells mixed with some excellent spells but we've never really competed for anything, not even the domestic cups or CL.

I'm delighted we've secured 3rd place, for most of the season I didn't even think we'd make top 4 so that is a bonus and I admire the turnaround of the team.

I do however think that if we don't significantly strengthen the team this summer we may not be so fortunate next season as I don't think there is much if anything between us, the spuds, newcastle or chelsea. All of those teams will most likely strengthen their squads, especially chelsea & the spuds.

We're a long way away from challenging and I do think Arsene has a massive job on his hands this summer, he needs to rid the squad of a lot of high earning rubbish and needs to bring in quality, certainly in Central Midfield & Attack.

Podolski is most definitely a step in the right direction but we need more....

[Grebbo]

No we don't

Er yes, yes we do.

Team can't defend.
Team can't score other than one player who might be leaving. And if he doesn't leave he's going to have to repeat this season for us to finish in top four again.

We need a complete overhaul.

[Flavs]

Er yes, yes we do.

Team can't defend.
Team can't score other than one player who might be leaving. And if he doesn't leave he's going to have to repeat this season for us to finish in top four again.

We need a complete overhaul.

You think a team that finished 3rd needs a complete overhaul?

Fuck, glad you aren't the manager

[Grebbo]

You think a team that finished 3rd needs a complete overhaul?

Did me saying that we need a complete overhaul twice in this thread not make my thoughts about us needing a complete overhaul clear enough?

If we want to do better next season then we need a complete overhaul.

[Niall_Quinn]

Some good points but I missed the entertainment value in our game. We play pretty shit football now, quite boring and one paced. There were a few games when we seemed to pick it up, maybe 4 or 5, but that was it all season. Milan was a rollercoaster and a ridiculous example of the extremes this club is capable of. Finished above the spuds so all's well that ends well.

[Syn]

We need to be smart about. A few fresh faces will do as long as they're German. We've already doubled the number of goalscorers at the club. Going from having 0 good DMs to 1 good DM would be quite nice too.

[Flavs]

Did me saying that we need a complete overhaul twice in this thread not make my thoughts about us needing a complete overhaul clear enough?

If we want to do better next season then we need a complete overhaul.

In that case I am definitely glad you aren't the manager

[Flavs]

Some good points but I missed the entertainment value in our game. We play pretty shit football now, quite boring and one paced. There were a few games when we seemed to pick it up, maybe 4 or 5, but that was it all season. Milan was a rollercoaster and a ridiculous example of the extremes this club is capable of. Finished above the spuds so all's well that ends well.

In these 4 or 5 games where we picked up, did we win?

[Niall_Quinn]

In these 4 or 5 games where we picked up, did we win?

We did! Including stuffing Shrewsbury Town.

[Flavs]

We did! Including stuffing Shrewsbury Town.

But did we concede goals as well, like the Chelsea game as an example?

[Coney]

If enjoyed means something like having the school bully beat you in the head for 9 months, after which you find you are alive and can still walk after all, then yes, it was most enjoyable.

[Cripps_orig]

Lows have been ridiculously low

Highs have not been particularly high

All in all, makes for an average season

[Niall_Quinn]

But did we concede goals as well, like the Chelsea game as an example?

Yes we did! But at least we were playing with a bit of pace and on the odd occasion we even resembled Arsenal. Last few weeks have been pitiful in terms of entertainment.

[Super Ghel]

As an overall spectacle with the sheer unpredictability and big LOL moments, this premiership season has been one of the most entertaining imo. It’s not always about the destination for me as an Arsenal fan, but the journey as well. And the journey has been quite incredible.

A trip down memory lane below

http://www.arsenalvision.co.uk/articles/4063-happy-st-totteringhams-day-season-articles-a-photo-special.html

And on a separate note, just found out I’ve won the premiership predictor for 2011/12 out of several hundred entries. :d

Me :bow:

Gonna spend it on :wine: and :titsup:

[jelgoon]

I think its been a shit season and Im fucked off with the way that the board hails Wenger as some kind of hero and he laps it up. I also think he talks shit about 90% of the time these days, particularly when he goes on about our spirit and mental strength, neither of which we have. I think he is past it, that we will never win anything major with him again ( we may win the CC or something) and that he should be replaced.

[Flavs]

Yes we did! But at least we were playing with a bit of pace and on the odd occasion we even resembled Arsenal. Last few weeks have been pitiful in terms of entertainment.

This is the problem with the way we play and our personnel, when we try and open up and play with pace and "verve" it ends up being a scoring contest, the game at Stamford Bridge was epic but some of the defending was a bloody disgrace.

At the start of the season we seemed to have changed, we were playing a lot more direct and with width but over the course of the season we have gone back to playing the centre of the park, slow, tippy-tappy bollocks that doesn't work without Cesc.

We are never going to play counter attack football as we cant defend and prefer a high line but we should definitely move the ball from back to front faster. If we buy M'Vila i have a feeling Wenger will go with a sitter, a blazer and a creator in midfield. Dont know how that will fare in the Prem.

[Flavs]

http://www.arsenalvision.co.uk/articles/4063-happy-st-totteringhams-day-season-articles-a-photo-special.html

Very good :good:

[Letters]

I think its been a shit season and Im fucked off with the way that the board hails Wenger as some kind of hero and he laps it up. I also think he talks shit about 90% of the time these days, particularly when he goes on about our spirit and mental strength, neither of which we have. I think he is past it, that we will never win anything major with him again ( we may win the CC or something) and that he should be replaced.
You don't think we've done well to finish 3rd then?

[jelgoon]

Not really. If we had won a few things in the last few years then maybe but we havent. As I have said repeatedly on here, if just once someone at the club came out and said `its not good enough not winning a trophy' Id have a lot more respect for them. But this constant shit about how we have qualified for the CL for 100 years on the trot is just irrelevant now. One last thing, Wenger's reputation itself is becoming diluted by our lack of success. At the end of the 2005 season, he had won 3 league titles, 4 FA cups and two doubles in 9 years - an incredible record. Now its 16 years and not nearly as good. Its his own legacy he's fucking up.



You don't think we've done well to finish 3rd then?

[Japan Shaking All Over]

I have. . .the same way I enjoy sticking pins in my eyes, which is what it has felt like watching the boys plough their way through the fixture list at times!

Seriously though, I do think that although we have had some shockers there have been some great moments too. . .and I think if we only had a bit more talent in depth, a bit more confidence and consistency we could have been up there more. . .although we cant mask the fact that we were still miles behind Manc x2

But we did better than last year and I believe showed more balance than in ages. . We need to look at the good and bad, and learn from it. . .a good start will not to fanny around with transfers both in and out this time around

Hello Hello we are the Arsenal boys hello hello

[DJ Philosophe]

Yes. But my frustration level has throughly been tested. Having only been a fan since 2000(when games became available to watch in US for me), I've never witnessed anything like it. So glad we pulled it together enough to make 3rd in the end.

Still, lots to change this summer if we want to challenge Manchester(s)/Chelsea/Spuds/Etc....for the title. Ready to hit the reset button and start with a clean slate for 2012-2013 season.

[Boss]

I've definitely enjoyed a lot of the ups of this season, most notably Henry's return and the thrashing of Milan, Spurs and Chelsea. The lows have also been quite pathetic on the other hand - think the 8-2 loss to ManU was my worst ever day as an Arsenal fan and the 4-3 and 4-0 against Blackburn and Milan were quite humiliating as well.

Season as a whole... I'm still not sure. I'm pleasantly relieved to have finished 3rd and like the bottle and fight a few more of our players have, but we still had no chances of trophies and this was clear from the start.

[fakeyank]

Dismal season tbh. Was out of running from all the competitions by February. There were some great games though- Chelsea away, Spurs home, Milan home and the biggest of ALL- TH14's goal against Leeds. That goal was good enough to make this season decent actually.

We can go back to the season before last or the one before that and its been the same.

[hobson's choice]

Honestly not really, most games were just boring. The only thing that kept me interested in most of the games, were the match threads.

[-Xs-]

I haven't watched a game all season. So no.

[GP]

It's been a rollercoaster.

Much like the Saw ride at Alton Towers.

Book in advance for fantastic savings.

[LDG]

:haha:

Wouldn't say it's been top class, but I do love the endeavor from players like Arteta, Sagna and Kos, who have all shown a bit of bollocks. Something we've lack for some considerable time.

[Flavs]

Sagna's "right let's stop fucking about and twat the twats" goal against Spurs is my number 2 highlight of the season

[Letters]

Dismal season for glory hunters tbh.
:gp:

[Joker]

It was a pretty poor season to watch tbh, there were a few really good moments (like Spurs at home, Chelsea away and the first half against Milan) but it was extremely frustrating watching us make the same mistakes that we've been making over the last 5 years, and Wenger continuing to pretend that we've actually improved our "mental strength" and defensive capabilities when we've conceded more goals than many mid table sides this season. It didn't help that the football itself was pretty dull for the most part. There were so many games where we seemed to lack any imagination or idea of what to do. This was punctured occasionally by an excellent pass by someone like Song to create an opening (like against Everton at home in a game we seemed to have no idea how to create a chance) but in general, it was turgid stuff for the most part.

We need to improve a lot next season, for one thing it is unacceptable that we got outplayed by teams like Swansea, QPR and Wigan. It would be slightly more acceptable if we were banging on their doors and someone lost those games despite dominating, but we deserved to lose those games. We do need to bring in reinforcements in the summer to make us more competitive, otherwise I don't think we'll get so lucky next season. We relied on Chelsea and Liverpool having extremely poor domestic seasons, while Tottenham had an incredible collapse. All three teams will improve their squads in the summer and if we stand still, they will overtake us.

I hope Wenger's not deluded himself into believing that finishing 3rd was justification for his belief in the squad. We had to rely on other teams to bail us out.

[Alan B'stard]

I kinda have :lol:

It's been a ridiculous roller-coaster but after the horrible start we got it together and in the end we've finished 3rd.

We finished below Utd who have a lot more money than us and, frankly, a better manager and a side who have just gone and bought the title (the price tag is a billion pounds now, bit pricey but I guess if you’ve got it, flaunt it). I don't think that's such a bad outcome, especially given that at one point we were 10 points behind Spurs, 3 behind Chelsea, and 2-0 down to Spurs at home. We shouldn't be as far behind the top 2 as we are but it's no disgrace to finish below either. I note that some of the people who were predicting a mid-table finish all season are now dismissing 3rd place as not being much of an achievement.

We've rather stumbled over the line and partly because of other teams' failings but it was a run of 9 wins in 10 which got us in a commanding position and that shouldn't be dismissed. Some of the same failings are still evident - defensive lapses, a worrying mentality which saw us only just limp over the line having had plenty of chances to make the last couple of results moot. Overall though I think a 3rd place finish is pretty respectable having lost our two best midfielders last summer and the car-crash of a start to the season.

There have been some awful moments this season but some great ones too (Spurs at home, the late Newcastle winner, the late win at Anfield, the AC Milan home game, City at home, the crazy game at Stamford Bridge). In a strange way I've kinda enjoyed it. What about you?

its had its moments but only because we'd been so inept. Its like saying its a great feeling to learn that, having tested positive for lung cancer, and thrown yourself in front of a bus, you never had it cos they mixed up your scans with someone elses,and the bus somehow swerved past you.
This season has been piss poor.

[Letters]

its had its moments but only because we'd been so inept. Its like saying its a great feeling to learn that, having tested positive for lung cancer, and thrown yourself in front of a bus, you never had it cos they mixed up your scans with someone elses,and the bus somehow swerved past you.
:shitpost:

it's been absolutely nothing like that.

[Young Guns 11]

One of the most traumatic seasons ever. But yeah, still kinda enjoyed it :lol:

[Alan B'stard]

:shitpost:

it's been absolutely nothing like that.

piss poor season. Though it throws into Sharp relief how smalltime spurs are when its still better than their bessiest ever season of all time (TM)

[fakeyank]

:gp:

WUM of the season tbh.. You show Joker what a novice he is!

[Özim]

Other than the odd moment like beating Spurs 5-2, not enjoyed it at all, like most people it seems. All those defeats and awful draws not to mention being knocked out of everything by February really was woeful, we got 3rd but almost gave that away after getting a helping hand from the press it seems.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Id have taken 3rd at the start of the season so on that front its been ok. On the whole one of the worse seasons the club has had since I started supporting them.

But we have had some good moments this season the 5-2 vs Spuds, the 5-3 Vs Chavs. beating City at home. Going out the cups early was a disappointment but not shocking never thought we'd win a thing this season anyways.

[Xhaka Can’t]

It's been a rollercoaster.

Much like the Saw ride at Alton Towers.

Book in advance for fantastic savings.

That log ride was hell on everyone.

[alexander]

Well i have been mega pissed of with this lot of cretins more than I have been happy, so no, not enjoyed it.

The one positive I can take is that this team, probably one of the most annoyingly inconsistant in the recent past, was still better than the Spurs team that all the media were whacking themselves silly over.

You lick balls spurs. big hairy man balls.

[IBK]

I dunno. Seemed to me that there were more noteable achievements (Chelsea away; Citeh at home; Milan at home) that weren't expected than last season?

[Gubby Allen]

No. Some of the individual matches have been very good, but they're all tinged with the lingering stance of the club "that 4th place is the first trophy" and you end up with the same season over and over again.

It might take a different route to get there, but the start & finish are always the same and invariably the trophy hope as gone as soon as we've faced someone decent and again failed to genuinely compete in any of them.

[fakeyank]

Other than the odd moment like beating Spurs 5-2, not enjoyed it at all, like most people it seems. All those defeats and awful draws not to mention being knocked out of everything by February really was woeful, we got 3rd but almost gave that away after getting a helping hand from the press it seems.

:gp:

[Coney]

That log ride was hell on everyone.

Sounds like shit.

[forsberg2110]

Finishing third was the worst thing that could happen to Arsenal. The board will now think because we came third we are so close and good enough to get first, with the squad we have. So they and AW wont buy shit. They will let RVP walk because they bought Podolski and they want the 20 million for only god knows what. I would rather see the club tank and do terrible. Then maybe changes will happen..