Will Arsene leave at the end of his current contract

[Bumble]

With comments from Gazidis recently and also Wenger, I get the feeling that he might get a new contract and continue for a few more years at Arsenal. The board probably had a look at what happened to United and the amount of money they have had to spend just to finish 4th and panicked.

[Özim]

No sadly for us he's going to be around for a long time yet, which from a success and progression point of view isn't good news for us.

[Dein-machine]

Sadly, as usual, Wenger will do whatever HE wants to do with no pressure from above. The saying in football is "no-one is bigger than the club" - in Wenger's head, this doesn't apply to him.

[Letters]

No sadly for us he's going to be around for a long time yet, which from a success and progression point of view isn't good news for us.

Yeah :( We haven't won a trophy for literally months.

[Özim]

Yeah we haven't won a major trophy for over 10 years.

[GP]

Yeah :( We haven't won a trophy for literally months.

Excuse me?

http://www.thehardtackle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/04852010-1024x733.jpg

[Letters]

Sadly, as usual, Wenger will do whatever HE wants to do with no pressure from above. The saying in football is "no-one is bigger than the club" - in Wenger's head, this doesn't apply to him.

Wenger is under pressure, just not the kind of pressure man-toddler fans want him to be under.
I really don't understand this idea that Wenger is under no pressure and it literally doesn't matter how we do. Of course it does.
Had we slipped out of the top 4 (as the 'experts' on here have predicted year on year we would) then he'd have been long gone.

As to the original question, it is probably up to him. If he continues to deliver what the board expects (which I think he will) and thinks he can still do a job for us then he'll stay.
He's a far safer pair of hands than some of the laughable suggested replacements.

[Letters]

Excuse me?

:lol:

I mean a trophy that counts

(Obviously the FA Cup doesn't *really* count because if people assert that Wenger will never win a trophy for us again then we have to move the goalposts and dismiss the FA Cup rather than admitting we were wrong).

[Letters]

(Obviously the FA Cup doesn't *really* count because if people assert that Wenger will never win a trophy for us again then we have to move the goalposts and dismiss the FA Cup rather than admitting we were wrong).
:lol:

I wrote that before I saw Zim's post. Textbook.

[Power n Glory]

RVP spoke to Rio about this when he joined Utd. The mentality at Arsenal is that we’d like to win trophies but with United, the mentality is that they have to win trophies. Most of our rivals around Europe have this same attitude and we need to start thinking in that same way. If Wenger stays on he has to adapt. The Board need to put more pressure on him. He deserves job security but he also needs to know that we’re aiming higher and he must adapt with the times. If they don’t put pressure on him our only hope is that Mourinho indirectly helps us again with his constant goading. The ‘specialist in failure’ comments must have irked Wenger and spurred him to make Jose eat his words and I hope the rivalry continues. Wenger’s competitive spirit started to die when he and Fergie became bosom buddies.

[Özim]

:lol:

I wrote that before I saw Zim's post. Textbook.

ROFL it's funny cos you thought FA Cup was mickey mouse before we won it and now it's suddenly a major trophy...ROFL

[Letters]

No I didn't.

[dostoy]

Wenger will be here until he is 70.

He is THE boss, he does not have a boss.

His principles will hold us back for a few more years yet.

He does what he wants when he wants.

We cannot win the league or the CL with him in charge.

The fuck all cup is nice but nowhere near the PL or the CL.

[Power n Glory]

ROFL it's funny cos you thought FA Cup was mickey mouse before we won it and now it's suddenly a major trophy...ROFL

I recall discussion about the trophies worth a few times on here. I think when Wenger rested Arshavin when we played Utd there was a shit storm. I can’t recall everyone’s position but I do remember a few posters playing down the cups importance in the modern game and justifying Wenger’s decision not to take it so seriously. It also goes back to the whole ‘4th place is a trophy’ comment and how domestic cups had lost their value.

[Dein-machine]

RVP spoke to Rio about this when he joined Utd. The mentality at Arsenal is that we’d like to win trophies but with United, the mentality is that they have to win trophies. Most of our rivals around Europe have this same attitude and we need to start thinking in that same way. If Wenger stays on he has to adapt. The Board need to put more pressure on him. He deserves job security but he also needs to know that we’re aiming higher and he must adapt with the times. If they don’t put pressure on him our only hope is that Mourinho indirectly helps us again with his constant goading. The ‘specialist in failure’ comments must have irked Wenger and spurred him to make Jose eat his words and I hope the rivalry continues. Wenger’s competitive spirit started to die when he and Fergie became bosom buddies.

Agree with this but we all know that Wenger is unable or unwilling to adapt. This has been proven year after year. His way is good enough to get us top 4 & ofcourse a shout at the FA cup but not good enough to win the top honours.
I don't have to argue with the likes of Letters about this - the last decade proves all. Even now with supposed financial restraints lifted we are the laziest in the transfer market whilst all around us teams buy quality to improve.
All he can do is spend his time slagging off the other teams for their spending whilst sitting on his cheque book. Wake up Wenger & join the new football world. Unless you spend real money on real quality, you won't compete.

[Letters]

He's spent more than anyone bar Utd and City (and City weren't far ahead of us) in the last 2 years, since the new financial details were in place.

[Dein-machine]

Wenger is under pressure, just not the kind of pressure man-toddler fans want him to be under.
I really don't understand this idea that Wenger is under no pressure and it literally doesn't matter how we do. Of course it does.
Had we slipped out of the top 4 (as the 'experts' on here have predicted year on year we would) then he'd have been long gone.

As to the original question, it is probably up to him. If he continues to deliver what the board expects (which I think he will) and thinks he can still do a job for us then he'll stay.
He's a far safer pair of hands than some of the laughable suggested replacements.

The only pressure Wenger's under is from himself. When he gets beaten & its obvious to all why we got beat - he reacts with all his usual crap instead of addressing the obvious. Why - because it would prove he was wrong in the 1st place, he can't handle that - that's the only pressure for him, the constant battle to prove his way is the best way.
We've seen how he crumbles when he's actually under real pressure. The 8-2 defeat by Utd, what did he do immediatley after - buy 3 players, 3 weeks into the season!. When he went to the directors to ask for the money, they should have told him to fuck off. He had all summer to address the squad problems & he did sweet FA, telling everyone his squad was good enough. He got it wrong, terribly wrong & he knew it. Problem is, he didn't learn from that.
Few years later, after another terrible transfer window, not improving the squad we lose our 1st home game to Villa. Finally, the fans let him know their feelings - what does he do, he buys Ozil. Again proving to all, that his squad was obviously NOT strong enough, as he had suggested & he had got it wrong again.
Here we are again, even you must see the need for another quality DM plus the blatantly obvious need for a proper goal-scorer. Lets see what happens if he loses at home to West Ham.

[Dein-machine]

He's spent more than anyone bar Utd and City (and City weren't far ahead of us) in the last 2 years, since the new financial details were in place.

Basically on 2 players whilst not addressing the real problem areas on the pitch. Anyone with £50 mill to spend can buy the odd crowd pleaser but he continually fails in buying the right players to strengthen the starting 11.

[Dein-machine]

Wenger will be here until he is 70.

He is THE boss, he does not have a boss.

His principles will hold us back for a few more years yet.

He does what he wants when he wants.

We cannot win the league or the CL with him in charge.

The fuck all cup is nice but nowhere near the PL or the CL.

Simple but so true to all but Wengers disciples. Any man, in any job that does what he wants, when he wants is under no pressure & thinks of himself as bullet-proof. Its a bit like me at work to be honest.

[Dein-machine]

Wenger will be here until he is 70.

He is THE boss, he does not have a boss.

His principles will hold us back for a few more years yet.

He does what he wants when he wants.

We cannot win the league or the CL with him in charge.

The fuck all cup is nice but nowhere near the PL or the CL.

Simple but so true to all but Wengers disciples. Any man, in any job that does what he wants, when he wants is under no pressure & thinks of himself as bullet-proof. Its a bit like me at work to be honest.

[Dein-machine]

Wenger will be here until he is 70.

He is THE boss, he does not have a boss.

His principles will hold us back for a few more years yet.

He does what he wants when he wants.

We cannot win the league or the CL with him in charge.

The fuck all cup is nice but nowhere near the PL or the CL.

Simple but so true to all but Wengers disciples. Any man, in any job that does what he wants, when he wants is under no pressure & thinks of himself as bullet-proof. Its a bit like me at work to be honest.

[Dein-machine]

Sorry guys, my machine went on repeat mode!

[Marc Overmars]

I thought he'd leave at the end of his last contract and probably even the one before that, now I think it's fairly obvious he's here until retirement because Arsenal is his life's work, he's not going to manage another team after us.

[Globalgunner]

I thought he'd leave at the end of his last contract and probably even the one before that, now I think it's fairly obvious he's here until retirement because Arsenal is his life's work, he's not going to manage another team after us.

He couldnt even get another big job if he tried. Nobody wants a blinkered idealogue as manager. When I posited that he would get another contract last year, some scoffed. He could well be here another 10 years and we wont win the league or CL in that time. Im certain of it.

[Özim]

No I didn't.

Of course you didn't, I remember you playing down the FA Cup saying it had been devalued a lot, suddenly it's a big trophy again now that we've won it, odd that.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I think Letters is correct in saying that he is under pressure but not the pressure he should be under (he phrased it differently).

I don't need to repeat Chip Keswicks comment at the AGM we all know what he said and that tells you there isn't the oversight there should be.

Wenger come what may has to deliver top four football for us from now until the time he goes, but that is not enough we need to compete both for the league and European cup....something we haven't done meaningfully from start of the season to the finish for a long time (haven't finished higher than third in ten years).

[Letters]

Of course you didn't, I remember you playing down the FA Cup saying it had been devalued a lot, suddenly it's a big trophy again now that we've won it, odd that.

It has been devalued a lot. But it's still a major trophy. Those of us who can think in shades of grey can hold both of those thoughts in our head simultaneously.
You don't have a trophy parade for the league cup, not if you're a big club with any self respect.

[Özim]

It has been devalued a lot. But it's still a major trophy. Those of us who can think in shades of grey can hold both of those thoughts in our head simultaneously.
You don't have a trophy parade for the league cup, not if you're a big club with any self respect.

It's been devalued but it's still a major trophy? You had said top clubs didn't take it too seriously anymore hence the reason clubs like Portsmouth won it (you belittled the achievements of those lesser clubs I believe whenever I brought them up).

I still rate the FA Cup, however it's not one of the big trophies, those are the PL and CL, the FA Cup is a great trophy to win but we should be challenging for the other two.

[Niall_Quinn]

:lol:

I mean a trophy that counts

(Obviously the FA Cup doesn't *really* count because if people assert that Wenger will never win a trophy for us again then we have to move the goalposts and dismiss the FA Cup rather than admitting we were wrong).

That's a pile of bullshit Letters and you know it. It was great to win the FA Cup and I doubt there's a fan anywhere, bar Zim, who would have rather lost it just so some stupid media catchphrase could live on.

But Arsenal is a massive club that charges massive tickets prices (highest in the world I believe) and pays massive amounts to its players and the manager. So great, we won the FA Cup. I hope we win it again this coming season.

But now on to the real business of competition at the top of the top flight. When are we winning the title and the CL?

In fact, when are we going to seriously challenge for the PL and the CL?

Do you really think waving the FA Cup around invalidates that question? Or makes anyone asking it a man-toddler fan?

[Power n Glory]

Agree with this but we all know that Wenger is unable or unwilling to adapt. This has been proven year after year. His way is good enough to get us top 4 & ofcourse a shout at the FA cup but not good enough to win the top honours.
I don't have to argue with the likes of Letters about this - the last decade proves all. Even now with supposed financial restraints lifted we are the laziest in the transfer market whilst all around us teams buy quality to improve.
All he can do is spend his time slagging off the other teams for their spending whilst sitting on his cheque book. Wake up Wenger & join the new football world. Unless you spend real money on real quality, you won't compete.

I think he’s adapting but very very slowly. We’re now making more of our resources at least. We’ve broken our wage structure and we’re signing serious talent. I think Gazidis has helped put him at ease with the spending. We still need to move quicker on deals but at least we’re spending. Tactically, there has been a slight shift since Bould came into the frame. We defend more as a unit, we focus more on shape and can actually defend a 1 nil lead without buckling under set piece pressure and getting sucker punched. It’s far from perfect because we’ve seen games where we look like the Arsenal of 5-6 years ago where we couldn’t defend for toffee but it’s a massive improvement. The cup victories are testament to that. It’s why I can’t understand the Merts criticism but we all have our favourites. Wenger has even changed the way we do our preseasons and adapted when before he was against such tours.

There are signs that he is changing and adapting but I don’t think it will be enough to really dominate. Certain players he must cut loose and he has to be more ruthless and respond to flaws a lot quicker. I don’t want to see struggling players or struggling combination of players racking up game tallies even though we can see how much we struggle. We’ll see what this season holds for us.

[Niall_Quinn]

I think Gazidis has helped put him at ease with the spending.

Arsene - just relax and tell me - where did the nasty agent touch you?

[Power n Glory]

The only pressure Wenger's under is from himself. When he gets beaten & its obvious to all why we got beat - he reacts with all his usual crap instead of addressing the obvious. Why - because it would prove he was wrong in the 1st place, he can't handle that - that's the only pressure for him, the constant battle to prove his way is the best way.
We've seen how he crumbles when he's actually under real pressure. The 8-2 defeat by Utd, what did he do immediatley after - buy 3 players, 3 weeks into the season!. When he went to the directors to ask for the money, they should have told him to fuck off. He had all summer to address the squad problems & he did sweet FA, telling everyone his squad was good enough. He got it wrong, terribly wrong & he knew it. Problem is, he didn't learn from that.
Few years later, after another terrible transfer window, not improving the squad we lose our 1st home game to Villa. Finally, the fans let him know their feelings - what does he do, he buys Ozil. Again proving to all, that his squad was obviously NOT strong enough, as he had suggested & he had got it wrong again.
Here we are again, even you must see the need for another quality DM plus the blatantly obvious need for a proper goal-scorer. Lets see what happens if he loses at home to West Ham.

I agree with that. That's the slow reactions I'm talking about. He needs to cut it out.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

P n G, you used the word "dominate" i don't know in what context you use that word but i don't think it will possible under any circumstance for us to dominate beyond the confines of a single season regardless of what players or manager we have, I think the competition is just too vast. Since 2009 no team has retained the title, and although Chelsea may do it next season I think in future that will be an outlier rather than a trend.
At the moment the title is being passed about between the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea, all I ask is that we make ourselves the fourth team in the equation.
Don't get me wrong, it certainly should be an aim to "Dominate" but don't know how realistic a possibility that is.

[Letters]

But now on to the real business of competition at the top of the top flight. When are we winning the title and the CL?

In fact, when are we going to seriously challenge for the PL and the CL?

Do you really think waving the FA Cup around invalidates that question? Or makes anyone asking it a man-toddler fan?

I think those are reasonable questions and should be aims for a club of our stature.
But...oh, you know what I'm talking about. You see the hyperbole on here about how terrible things are.
A couple of years ago when we'd not won a trophy on so long patience was understandably wearing thin, but the new financial deals have enabled us to start buying a different level of players and it has yielded results. Not the biggest prizes yet, but we're heading in the right direction.
I'll be disappointed if we don't seriously challenge this year - I was a bit disappointed we didn't last year but the last two thirds of the season and the Cup win, especially as we had to go to Old Trafford en route - placated me somewhat.
It's debatable whether Wenger can push us on further but 2 trophies in 2 years should surely buy him some time to try.

[Kano]

Hopefully not but I have a feeling he’ll stick around.

We just need a change, really badly, an injection of new ideas is never a bad thing and that has led us to where we are now, stagnant and merely plodding along, accepting the FA Cup as the height of our ambition.

If he miraculously won the title, then he should leave on that note and allow someone else to build on that because invariably, he wouldn't.

[Özim]

Let's face it, the guy isn't going to leave for years, he'll get as many contracts as he wants the club make it pretty clear he can stay as long as he wants.

The club are happy with what he's doing and have always been and don't really care what the fans think or about being a top club in the real sense, the manager isn't overly concerned about the fans' opinions either.

There's no real pressure on him in that sense as he knows the only way he'll be leaving this club is if he chooses to, he also know that challenging for major trophies isn't a criteria he has to abide by to keep the board and owners happy.

IMO we have at least another 5 years of him in charge, which probably means challenging for 3rd/4th every year is our main target for the foreseeable future.

[Power n Glory]

P n G, you used the word "dominate" i don't know in what context you use that word but i don't think it will possible under any circumstance for us to dominate beyond the confines of a single season regardless of what players or manager we have, I think the competition is just too vast. Since 2009 no team has retained the title, and although Chelsea may do it next season I think in future that will be an outlier rather than a trend.
At the moment the title is being passed about between the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea, all I ask is that we make ourselves the fourth team in the equation.
Don't get me wrong, it certainly should be an aim to "Dominate" but don't know how realistic a possibility that is.

True but if true about not being able to dominate regardless of manager or player, what chance to do we have under Wenger?

I think we’re about to see Chelsea dominate the league. If Jose’s serious about a long term legacy it’s going to be a rough ride.

[Globalgunner]

Can someone please buy this man a horse?, anyone!

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

True but if true about not being able to dominate regardless of manager or player, what chance to do we have under Wenger?

I think we’re about to see Chelsea dominate the league. If Jose’s serious about a long term legacy it’s going to be a rough ride.

To be fair my comment had nothing to do with Wenger, it's based on my belief that I don't think one team will dominate....City and United will spend too much money to allow Chelsea to dominate. They may retain the title this season, but I don't see them winning it three times in a row.

[fakeyank]

He will be here till he is healthy parading 4th place trophy, QF CL trophy and a possible CC/FA Cup trophy.

[Power n Glory]

To be fair my comment had nothing to do with Wenger, it's based on my belief that I don't think one team will dominate....City and United will spend too much money to allow Chelsea to dominate. They may retain the title this season, but I don't see them winning it three times in a row.

Do you have a crystal ball? :lol: Chelsea don’t have to win three league titles in a row for dominance. If they get a 3 out of 4 record with the title I’d say that’s pretty dominant.

Yeah, I know that comment isn’t about Wenger but I’m firing one back because it’s something to consider. If you believe the league is that strong, what chance does Wenger really have here?

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

No that's why it's a prediction, no but like I said I think a team retaining a title will be an outlier rather than a trend in the next ten years....might I be wrong about that?....perhaps....but it's a prediction based on the present and future spending power of at least three PL clubs....Mourinho is not mega manager he won the title last season because he had the best team.

Again it's not about Wenger, my point is irrespective of who the manager is it would be hard to dominate. That's not a Wenger defence, with him at the club I don't think we can fufill my objective of being part of a big four. What I'm saying is we could have Mourinho and I wouldn't be confident of us getting the jump on the other three time and time again.

[Power n Glory]

No that's why it's a prediction, no but like I said I think a team retaining a title will be an outlier rather than a trend in the next ten years....might I be wrong about that?....perhaps....but it's a prediction based on the present and future spending power of at least three PL clubs....Mourinho is not mega manager he won the title last season because he had the best team.

Again it's not about Wenger, my point is irrespective of who the manager is it would be hard to dominate. That's not a Wenger defence, with him at the club I don't think we can fufill my objective of being part of a big four. What I'm saying is we could have Mourinho and I wouldn't be confident of us getting the jump on the other three time and time again.

So Mourinho isn't the best manager in the league with the best team? Whose better if he's not?

Again, you don't need to win the league 3 times in a row to be dominant. We've never managed back to back titles under Wenger but I'd still say we were at our most dominant during the Highbury years. I'm not expecting an endless streak of league titles under a new manager either but would at least hope if someone had a 6 year run with us we could at least see two titles, the CL and some domestic cups spread over their tenure.

[Dein-machine]

No that's why it's a prediction, no but like I said I think a team retaining a title will be an outlier rather than a trend in the next ten years....might I be wrong about that?....perhaps....but it's a prediction based on the present and future spending power of at least three PL clubs....Mourinho is not mega manager he won the title last season because he had the best team.

Again it's not about Wenger, my point is irrespective of who the manager is it would be hard to dominate. That's not a Wenger defence, with him at the club I don't think we can fufill my objective of being part of a big four. What I'm saying is we could have Mourinho and I wouldn't be confident of us getting the jump on the other three time and time again.

Chelsea had the best team because Mourinho was their manager. He saw the weaknesses in his 1st season back & dealt quickly with them ie Fabregas & Costa. This is what Wenger fails to do every year & is currently in the midst of doing it again.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

No that's fine, I said originally that it depends what context you use the term in.

He is the best manager in the league but like I say he's not Invincible, for the sake of argument if you said that in a period of ten years he won the league title four times in an evenly spaced out period, City won it three times, United won it twice and we won it once....that for me is not domination....even though it is being the most successful in that period.

Of course it's all determined by time periods, but I look at 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 when the three aforementioned clubs have won two titles each and that's not as disimilar from how things going the next five-ten seasons.

And that's where I set out my prediction that it will be difficult for one team to dominate

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Chelsea had the best team because Mourinho was their manager. He saw the weaknesses in his 1st season back & dealt quickly with them ie Fabregas & Costa. This is what Wenger fails to do every year & is currently in the midst of doing it again.

As you've stated that required signing two players, your opinion of our squad from what I could gather is that we'd have to burn down the forest and re plant the seeds.

[Dein-machine]

No that's fine, I said originally that it depends what context you use the term in.

He is the best manager in the league but like I say he's not Invincible, for the sake of argument if you said that in a period of ten years he won the league title four times in an evenly spaced out period, City won it three times, United won it twice and we won it once....that for me is not domination....even though it is being the most successful in that period.

Of course it's all determined by time periods, but I look at 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 when the three aforementioned clubs have won two titles each and that's not as disimilar from how things going the next five-ten seasons.

And that's where I set out my prediction that it will be difficult for one team to dominate

I agree with you on the domination point but surely we're talking about having a manager that allows us to compete - not dominate.
I have no doubt that if Wenger had bought a goal-scorer in the winter window of 2013 that had resulted in us winning the league, adding more quality last summer & then defending the title - then City & Chelsea would have probably gone out & bought Messi, Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema, Suarez etc. I agree it would be impossible for us to dominate, even if we let Usmanov buy us, but for a team with our resources it is not impossible to compete with the top teams every year. They can only have so many players in each squad.

[Power n Glory]

No that's fine, I said originally that it depends what context you use the term in.

He is the best manager in the league but like I say he's not Invincible, for the sake of argument if you said that in a period of ten years he won the league title four times in an evenly spaced out period, City won it three times, United won it twice and we won it once....that for me is not domination....even though it is being the most successful in that period.

Of course it's all determined by time periods, but I look at 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 when the three aforementioned clubs have won two titles each and that's not as disimilar from how things going the next five-ten seasons.

And that's where I set out my prediction that it will be difficult for one team to dominate

You can’t base predictions just on spending power and what we’ve seen since 2009. Just look how unstable management positons have been since then. Chelsea and City have switched managers a fair bit and Man Utd had just lost Ronaldo and Fergie was winding down to retirement. He didn’t assemble a better team than that bunch after that period. But saying that, although he never successfully defended a title after 2009, he never went two seasons in a row without the league title.

Anyway, let’s take the word dominant out of the equation because I don’t think it’s hard to understand what is meant. I return to a more competitive level where we’re winning more titles let’s say.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

It wasn't a defence of Wenger by saying it would be be difficult to dominate, in fact Wenger was no part of the point I was making.

By the way what would your view be of someone like Usmanov owning the club?

[Dein-machine]

As you've stated that required signing two players, your opinion of our squad from what I could gather is that we'd have to burn down the forest and re plant the seeds.

Not quite. At the end of last season my view was that we needed a quality goal-keeper, CB (Merts is past it), DM (Coq is still young, work in progress + cover for him) & a proven goalscorer.
I'm pretty sure a new manager would see things fairly similar ( as do most on here - because it obvious ) & would do all he could to address it, a-la Mourinho.
We have so far bought the goal-keeping part of this with a few weeks to go before the start of the season, a-la Wenger.
Thats the difference, quite simple but the difference between a real winner & someone who would like to win but only within his rules.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

You can’t base predictions just on spending power and what we’ve seen since 2009. Just look how unstable management positons have been since then. Chelsea and City have switched managers a fair bit and Man Utd had just lost Ronaldo and Fergie was winding down to retirement. He didn’t assemble a better team than that bunch after that period. But saying that, although he never successfully defended a title after 2009, he never went two seasons in a row without the league title.

Anyway, let’s take the word dominant out of the equation because I don’t think it’s hard to understand what is meant. I return to a more competitive level where we’re winning more titles let’s say.

I can base predictions based on stellar configuration if I want to, it's just a prediction.


There's absolutely no guarantee that Mourinho will be at Chelsea long time, he is quite a nomadic figure....he may well be, and if I were to guess I'd say he will but no guarantee.

There's nothing to suggest City or United won't install a manager for the long term in the next few seasons, City especially don't seem quite as keen on hiring and firing as Abramovich.
I could be wrong Chelsea may dominate in the short term anyway, I just don't happen to think they will.

[Dein-machine]

It wasn't a defence of Wenger by saying it would be be difficult to dominate, in fact Wenger was no part of the point I was making.

By the way what would your view be of someone like Usmanov owning the club?

I'm not sure on the Usmanov issue. On one hand its easy to say "We dont wanna get like Chelsea & City, buy success & say goodbye to all the principles we've stood for" but the problem faced by us & others is that this is the way football is going. The Premier league will become the billionaires plaything & we will have to decide to be part of it or not. If we say no, then we say goodbye to the high life & trophy aspirations. The City situation has proved how quickly big money can change your fortunes, so if Spurs, Everton, Newcastle etc all "do a City", then we'd be competing with what's left.
I'm proud of the fact most other fans, even those who hate us, say that Arsenal at least try to do things the right way but if others "do a City" & we get left behind - all that will be forgotten.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I pretty much have a firm line on Usmanov if he gets his grubby hands on Arsenal, the club will no longer have my support. I consider myself fairly pragmatic but you have to stand for something and this man is a criminal and human rights abuser.
The Right and proper ownership test is a joke and I have no doubt that, that fat Rapist would sail through it.

[Power n Glory]

I can base predictions based on stellar configuration if I want to, it's just a prediction.


There's absolutely no guarantee that Mourinho will be at Chelsea long time, he is quite a nomadic figure....he may well be, and if I were to guess I'd say he will but no guarantee.

There's nothing to suggest City or United won't install a manager for the long term in the next few seasons, City especially don't seem quite as keen on hiring and firing as Abramovich.
I could be wrong Chelsea may dominate in the short term anyway, I just don't happen to think they will.

True. I'm just saying it's flawed and there is more to it than just spending. City won their first title on like the last kick of the game in the last game of the season. It came down to goal difference, didn't it? Utd would have had 3 back to back titles if it weren't for that strike and we'd be saying something else. Heck, City were lucky win their last title in fact. Thank Gerrard for that. Money can place you in a better position to be more competitive but you need a skilled manager to dominate. I don't think it's impossible but agree that it's not easy.

Anything can happen in football. UEFA and the FA may grow some balls and tighten the FFP rules, so who knows.

But I'll stand by what I said earlier. If this is the way the league is going we need a better manager that can capitalise on openings when our opponents are weak and react faster.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I don't think I disagreed with you on your last paragraph, I just stated that the amount of money makes it more competitive to the point where teams as you've evidenced are winning the title on goal difference or the odd point, but that unpredictability that you cite for me only strengthens my belief that it will be difficult to Dominate (a fluid term apparently) and that even for Chelsea and Mourinho it's going to be a big ask to win back to back titles. If Chelsea win it at a canter again next season, feel free to remind me what I've just said.
The fact that we've not won the title for over ten years despite consistently finishing in the top four, suggests that Wenger doesn't have it to put us into the consistent mix but we've all read the back page headlines this morning so we can only hope that we are wrong.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Well either that or the board comes to its senses and realises that a successful business model is based on winning major titles without having Jabba the Rapist as the owner.

[Dein-machine]

I pretty much have a firm line on Usmanov if he gets his grubby hands on Arsenal, the club will no longer have my support. I consider myself fairly pragmatic but you have to stand for something and this man is a criminal and human rights abuser.
The Right and proper ownership test is a joke and I have no doubt that, that fat Rapist would sail through it.

If we go the route of the multi billionaire I doubt you're gonna get anything other than a guy who should be locked up for various crimes to humanity. But the key thing here is that if we sell to Usmanov ( who I agree is a Fat Russian rapist ) we lose you as an Arsenal fan which would probably mean you wouldn't post anymore - let me give this a bit more thought, I'm still torn on the issue!

[Power n Glory]

I don't think I disagreed with you on your last paragraph, I just stated that the amount of money makes it more competitive to the point where teams as you've evidenced are winning the title on goal difference or the odd point, but that unpredictability that you cite for me only strengthens my belief that it will be difficult to Dominate (a fluid term apparently) and that even for Chelsea and Mourinho it's going to be a big ask to win back to back titles. If Chelsea win it at a canter again next season, feel free to remind me what I've just said.
The fact that we've not won the title for over ten years despite consistently finishing in the top four, suggests that Wenger doesn't have it to put us into the consistent mix but we've all read the back page headlines this morning so we can only hope that we are wrong.

We see things differently. Why should it be difficult to dominate if your competitors keep switching and changing managers along with players? I believe all the chopping and changing can set a team back and it can take a year or two for a manager to get his team together. This is why I think Jose may have the upper hand.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

If we go the route of the multi billionaire I doubt you're gonna get anything other than a guy who should be locked up for various crimes to humanity. But the key thing here is that if we sell to Usmanov ( who I agree is a Fat Russian rapist ) we lose you as an Arsenal fan which would probably mean you wouldn't post anymore - let me give this a bit more thought, I'm still torn on the issue!

Ha

Seriously though, of course there is no one in this life who is going to accumulate vast wealth without getting their hands dirty along the way. I don't know what Stan Kroenkes wealth is relative to Usmanovs, but I'm fairly confident he hasn't been involved in organised crime, and isn't an apparatchik for a mobster head of state.

I don't like Kroenke I think he's a greedy old fuck but I can tolerate him being majority share holder despite not caring at all for the "For services rendered" payment of £3 million to KSE.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

We see things differently.
:lol: I come away with that impression every time we have a discussion