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He was right though, he said it over and over again, "We need more playa, we need more playa..." Pellegrini got more playa, a hundred million quids worth or something like that. Pelligrini has so many playa he might see a few problems when the jostling for world cup slots heats up and the mercs on the bench start moaning.Quote:
The window for well managed football clubs winning the league closed with Mancini's sacking.
Totally agree that we would have all given our left bollock to be in this position at start of the season ( right one aswell after Villa game ) & its finally good to hear compliments from others about the way this Arsenal team are doing but we are victims of our own success. This breeds expectancy amongst fans & why not when we're top of the league. However, we have a fucker of a month in March when we play Everton, Chelsea & Man City - when we played a cluster of the better teams recently ie Utd, Everton, Chelsea & City we came away with 2 points out of 12. With a far smaller squad & virtually fuck all upfront, by that time of the year we could be running on empty. The reason we are top is because City had a poor start away from home, they have rectified that now. Inevitably with all teams being strong defensively the league will be won by scoring goals, we are not in City's league & without Walcott scoring goals will be harder for us especially against the top teams.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
We have to buy a striker this month. I really hate the idea of us not doing all we can to win this title. Next year will be even tougher because I can’t see City and Chelsea having such wobbles now that the new coaches are settled. It’s possible but as seen over the past few months, they’re more consistent and really pushing their teams on. We lack fire power now but that doesn’t mean simply accept that and let the season pass us by.
I see what you are saying, but if there really isn't anyone available now at a sensible price, the clubs hands are tied. If we can keep this team together and make better planned additions in the summer, then we too will improve next season. The opportunity cost of acting now with no guarantee of success may not be worth it longer term.
Simple answer, No
Have your seen our schedule in March? Our form against the top teams has been average and I can see us dropping down the pecking order then.
A small chance of us winning it, would be, if we strengthened in this window... which doesnt look like happening.
It seems slim but nobody would have thought we’d sign Ozil this summer. You never know. There has to be a goal scorer available even if it’s a punt on a player like Berbatov. We didn’t sign a striker in the summer and that was bad enough. I don’t want to look back on this season and feel we didn’t do all we can in the market.Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve French
There is something different about this lot and in a normal season I think we'd have a great chance of winning the league. But we don't have normal seasons any more, we're not competing against normal clubs playing by normal rules. End of the day you can only put 11 players out there and ours are just about as good as anyone's. But nowadays you have the CL adding 10 games, there are too many games to put out the same 11 players twice a week in the last few months of a long season. Clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool have injuries and fatigue to cope with, City and Chelsea don't. They can just pull another few £30m players off the bench. It's like trying to win a 4x400m relay race on your own. For a while you can compete but over the long haul it's going to be too much.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
We've done very well to hold off City and Chelsea for so long but ultimately they will both overtake us IMO and no doubt when the eventual champions are crowned the media will cream themselves over their 'achievement'.
Chelsea have three tops strikers that are firing blanks so it’s not that simple. You’re not taking form into consideration. Too much tinkering and big egos on the bench can also be a team’s downfall. It’s better to have a young and hungry player on the bench over a disgruntled primadonna that feels he has nothing to prove and feels entitled. If injuries hit those clubs in certain areas then they’ll be vulnerable.
A prolific forward who can play across the frontline (because getting a special quality striker IS difficult in this window) and a solid back-up defender would help greatly in the run-in. We will definitely pick up various injuries, as ever, so for once it would be useful to have options. If the forward has the impact of a Reyes or Arshavin, it will instantly lift an already quite buoyant squad and will only make us a more potent attacking force. We have the money now, not spending to consolidate our position would just be the most glaring reminder of how negligent we've been in recent years. We've been averaging -55.7 on the riskometer since the stadium move, surely a couple of January signings (no matter how they turn out) won't hurtle us into the + column and completely ruin us.
Current squad with everyone bar Feo/Diaby back: will run City/Chelsea close. Maybe FA Cup.
Current squad + canny additions: Treble tbf.
While it's true that Chelsea and Man City have a big advantage, I think our current team can go up a couple of gears too. At the moment, one or two different players each game are stepping up but we're yet to see a lot of players hit top form. Only Ramsey, (possibly Giroud) and the defence have played to their potential. If, say, Ozil can find some consistency or Podolski gets a chance and starts finding the net we'll be a lot more dangerous.