Match Reaction - Spuds 2-2 Arsenal

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Originally Posted by Letters

Disaster :lol:

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We've achieved precisely nothing intended from a project designed to propel us to the top of the European game. Nothing. Except riches for the owners and past owners of course (mustn't overlook that massive success). We are further away from a CL final than ever. We no longer routinely secure the winners or runners-up placing in the domestic league. Our once lauded style of football has vanished. After all the effort and the sacrifice of the fans we're actually behind where we were before this project began and with no signs at all we are ready to move forward.

If this is not disaster then what should it be? Epic failure? Pointless waste? Legalised robbery?

I doubt we'd have stayed in the top 4 had we stayed at Highbury. The fact that the billionaires rolled in ans bought up trophies left, right and centre just at the time when the stadium move did somewhat hamper us is not Wenger's fault. That said, we should have some trophies in that era. Now we have the money to compete there were some promising signs but Wenger has failed to push us on and for that he should be sacked. But he'll leave us with a squad which should be able to compete with a few additions and enough money to allow us to stay competitive.
Things could have gone better but they could certainly have gone a lot worse.

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Originally Posted by Letters

I doubt we'd have stayed in the top 4 had we stayed at Highbury. The fact that the billionaires rolled in ans bought up trophies left, right and centre just at the time when the stadium move did somewhat hamper us is not Wenger's fault. That said, we should have some trophies in that era. Now we have the money to compete there were some promising signs but Wenger has failed to push us on and for that he should be sacked. But he'll leave us with a squad which should be able to compete with a few additions and enough money to allow us to stay competitive.
Things could have gone better but they could certainly have gone a lot worse.

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You're still going to use the money excuse then? Even after this season?

What Leicester and West Ham and even Watford have shown us is if you give an outsider just a tiny bit more of the pie then they can do great things. Well we may not have had as much cash as the chavs and the gypos but we certainly had more of the pie than Leicester City, and for a lot longer than a single season too.

The money excuse is gone. Exposed. Dead.

What has top 4 ever actually done for us, btw? Has the CL been prestigious or embarrassing for us? Yes I know we got the cash, but how much of that was spent at the key moments when we could have really improved? When we were just a little but short? So many transfer windows.

Wenger kept us in the top 4 but consistently failed to do what it takes to go on and at least try to win that competition. A decade ago we made the final with players like Henry and Vieira in the team. Ten years on, what exactly does this Top Four Trophy give us? It has attracted the likes of Ozil and Alexis, but what have THEY given us?

I'm not trying to blame the players or anything else except one thing. One person and we know who it is. No more excuses for him.

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Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn

You're still going to use the money excuse then? Even after this season?

What Leicester and West Ham and even Watford have shown us is if you give an outsider just a tiny bit more of the pie then they can do great things. Well we may not have had as much cash as the chavs and the gypos but we certainly had more of the pie than Leicester City, and for a lot longer than a single season too.

The money excuse is gone. Exposed. Dead.

What has top 4 ever actually done for us, btw? Has the CL been prestigious or embarrassing for us? Yes I know we got the cash, but how much of that was spent at the key moments when we could have really improved? When we were just a little but short? So many transfer windows.

Wenger kept us in the top 4 but consistently failed to do what it takes to go on and at least try to win that competition. A decade ago we made the final with players like Henry and Vieira in the team. Ten years on, what exactly does this Top Four Trophy give us? It has attracted the likes of Ozil and Alexis, but what have THEY given us?

I'm not trying to blame the players or anything else except one thing. One person and we know who it is. No more excuses for him.

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I reckon that over time greater resources will translate into greater success. But what we have seen this season is that this is not necessarily the case season by season, and the fact that we have failed to exploit the underperformance of the big spenders tells you everything you need to know about the real reasons for our lack of success.

This season is undoubtedly a (relatively speaking) disaster. To the point where even if a miracle happened and we won it, half the fanbase would probably still want him gone.

Whoever is manager after Wenger we risk having the same problem again if they are allowed the same autonomy as Wenger
Wenger is far from being unique in his flaws, the problem is that he is allowed too much responsibility. The next manager must first of all be totally beholden to Ivan Gazidis not the majority shareholder.

They must be part of a large coaching team, they decide who they want to buy but it should be the board not the manager who worries about how much is spent and the resale value, if the manager wants to award a player a new contract it should be a negotiation team working with the board that determines what contract that player is deserving of.

Statistically we know that most of the time it's the money spent rather than who the manager is that determines sucesss.

It's the biggest factor, our frustration with Wenger aside we know full well that Pellegrini has not been instrumental in what city have won. Mourinho is a factor at Chelsea but only because the instability at the club makes success difficult without someone who is a specialist at walking in and delivering instant short term success.

But Arsenal has become Wengers personal fiefdom when he should be a club servant.

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Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie

Whoever is manager after Wenger we risk having the same problem again if they are allowed the same autonomy as Wenger
Wenger is far from being unique in his flaws, the problem is that he is allowed too much responsibility. The next manager must first of all be totally beholden to Ivan Gazidis not the majority shareholder.

They must be part of a large coaching team, they decide who they want to buy but it should be the board not the manager who worries about how much is spent and the resale value, if the manager wants to award a player a new contract it should be a negotiation team working with the board that determines what contract that player is deserving of.

Statistically we know that most of the time it's the money spent rather than who the manager is that determines sucesss.

It's the biggest factor, our frustration with Wenger aside we know full well that Pellegrini has not been instrumental in what city have won. Mourinho is a factor at Chelsea but only because the instability at the club makes success difficult without someone who is a specialist at walking in and delivering instant short term success.

But Arsenal has become Wengers personal fiefdom when he should be a club servant.

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The big problem is going to be the transition from a club where one man seems to dominate in every aspect of the club to one where there are different, and effective functions. I have real doubts that our supine board; disinterested owner and a chief exec who hasn't been able to function autonomously have the wherewithal to manage this.

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Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn

You're still going to use the money excuse then? Even after this season?

What Leicester and West Ham and even Watford have shown us is if you give an outsider just a tiny bit more of the pie then they can do great things. Well we may not have had as much cash as the chavs and the gypos but we certainly had more of the pie than Leicester City, and for a lot longer than a single season too.

The money excuse is gone. Exposed. Dead.

What has top 4 ever actually done for us, btw? Has the CL been prestigious or embarrassing for us? Yes I know we got the cash, but how much of that was spent at the key moments when we could have really improved? When we were just a little but short? So many transfer windows.

Wenger kept us in the top 4 but consistently failed to do what it takes to go on and at least try to win that competition. A decade ago we made the final with players like Henry and Vieira in the team. Ten years on, what exactly does this Top Four Trophy give us? It has attracted the likes of Ozil and Alexis, but what have THEY given us?

I'm not trying to blame the players or anything else except one thing. One person and we know who it is. No more excuses for him.

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So 10+ years where the 3 highest spending clubs have mopped up every title going and a one off season shows that the 10 years were just a fluke? Neither Chelsea or City had won a title for what, 40 years? They start spending a benefactor's money and suddenly they're champions. Co-incidence? Money and success have been highly correlated, I don't need to argue that, look at where the trophies have ended up.

What Leicester are doing this season is inexplicable, and brilliant. I hope they win it. What they're doing shouldn't be possible in the modern game. They've shown it is possible, but that doesn't mean the general point that there is a correlation between spending big and achieving success is invalid. It clearly has been. You and many others have called for Wenger to sign big players. Why? If the 'money excuse' is just that, an excuse, then how will that help?

It's interesting that the same people who are saying that what Leicester are doing shows that the money thing is just an excuse are also saying we should finish above them because we have spent so much more than them :blink:. I've no idea how you hold those two thoughts in your head at the same time.

Wenger's record in the CL is indefensible but what it has done for us, apart from the money, is help us attract players like Sanchez and Ozil. I'd rather be in there that not.

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Originally Posted by Letters

So 10+ years where the 3 highest spending clubs have mopped up every title going and a one off season shows that the 10 years were just a fluke? Neither Chelsea or City had won a title for what, 40 years? They start spending a benefactor's money and suddenly they're champions. Co-incidence? Money and success have been highly correlated, I don't need to argue that, look at where the trophies have ended up.

What Leicester are doing this season is inexplicable, and brilliant. I hope they win it. What they're doing shouldn't be possible in the modern game. They've shown it is possible, but that doesn't mean the general point that there is a correlation between spending big and achieving success is invalid. It clearly has been. You and many others have called for Wenger to sign big players. Why? If the 'money excuse' is just that, an excuse, then how will that help?

It's interesting that the same people who are saying that what Leicester are doing shows that the money thing is just an excuse are also saying we should finish above them because we have spent so much more than them :blink:. I've no idea how you hold those two thoughts in your head at the same time.

Wenger's record in the CL is indefensible but what it has done for us, apart from the money, is help us attract players like Sanchez and Ozil. I'd rather be in there that not.

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Who said the money is not important? You did, when putting words in my mouth as always.

I said the money could no longer be used as an excuse for Wenger's abject failure (in football terms). He's supposed to be a top manager. He's got a huge amount of resources, not as much as the dopers that's true but still huge by comparison to a club like Leicester, he's had a stream of talented players come through the club, he's had a decade to deliver. Zero titles, zero Euro cups. Leicester, in the first year where there's a bit more cash (but still a fraction of Wenger's budget) hire the right man to do the right job with the right players and the right mentality. A one-off? Most likely. Inexplicable? Impossible? Hardly. Are we now refusing to believe our own eyes such is the desperate need to defend Wenger failures?

If he's a top manager then why, in every one of those 10 years, has he failed to deliver? 20 opportunities and he's 0 from 20. That's a 0% success rate. He has failed 100% of the time. Isn't this the criteria by which any "top" manager should be judged? Or when judging a manager in light of the evidence available, should we seek out as many excuses as possible when judging his 0% success rate and 100% failure rate?

But even if you wash away the last decade (which is your constant preference), finally this season (for whatever combination of reasons) we can remove money from the equation. The gypos, chavs, utd, all collapsed. Their money meaningless in the context of the league positions. So ignore them, they are gone.

What is left?

A few weeks ago Arsenal was the richest club challenging Leicester (a comparative pauper) and the spuds (a wealthy club but not in Arsenal's class) for the top spot. Arsenal with Ozil and Alexis and Cech and a host of talent that should have been able to mount a serious challenge based on football factors alone - because the money is gone now remember? Or we can say it's gone but in reality and with respect to the 3 clubs in contention now we're the big money club.

What has happened?

Answer. What has always happened under the management of Wenger. We have collapsed. So you take the seasons where the dopers are running away with it, you take the season where the dopers have collapsed. There is a constant. You know what it is.

You object to the word "disaster"? It may not be a disaster for you, but for Wenger it has exposed him completely. If he doesn't view this season as a disaster then that's just another in a long list of reasons to shove him out the door.

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Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn

If he's a top manager then why, in every one of those 10 years, has he failed to deliver? 20 opportunities and he's 0 from 20. That's a 0% success rate. He has failed 100% of the time. Isn't this the criteria by which any "top" manager should be judged?

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And yet, 2 years ago, when we'd just won the FA Cup - which was our first cup in 9 years and you're now dismissing as a 'minor' trophy' - you reacted with "good stuff" when Wenger signed a new contract.
Why? It had still been 8 years of 'failure to deliver'. Why was one 'minor trophy' enough? And the answer was it hadn't been 8 years of abject failure and you knew that.
The money had clearly been a factor and while we should have won more in that period it seemed with the new money that things were on the up, we'd signed Ozil, we'd won the Cup, onwards and upwards.

The most of the rest of your post is about our failure this season which I've already agreed he deserves the sack for. The money is there now, we've been signing a level of player who should push us on, this season in particular the title was an open goal and, fittingly given our strikeforce, we've missed it. Wenger should be sacked for the last 2 years where we haven't pushed on, not for the last 10.

"I have no problem to cope with everything but I find that a bit boring in the end. I always have to convince you that I am good enough. I worked for 35 years at the top level.

"What I find just boring is always sitting here after 19 years to face, 'Do you think you are good enough?' If I am not, somebody will tell me."

"Look, I have worked here for 19, 20 years and I'm always sitting here having to justify that I'm good enough to do the job," he said at his news conference ahead of an FA Cup fifth-round replay at Hull

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Originally Posted by Letters

I doubt we'd have stayed in the top 4 had we stayed at Highbury. The fact that the billionaires rolled in ans bought up trophies left, right and centre just at the time when the stadium move did somewhat hamper us is not Wenger's fault. That said, we should have some trophies in that era. Now we have the money to compete there were some promising signs but Wenger has failed to push us on and for that he should be sacked. But he'll leave us with a squad which should be able to compete with a few additions and enough money to allow us to stay competitive.
Things could have gone better but they could certainly have gone a lot worse.

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You doubt if we would have stayed in the top 4?. Where relatively speaking have Spurs and Pool and Everton been pre 2004 and now?. Only Pool can be said to have regressed and been usurped by the new money teams....... On second thought, in actual fact I agree with you. If we had stayed at Highbury we would have dropped out of the top 4 and long been overtaken by said Spuds and Liverpool because the dunce in charge of this club needs at least 2 world class players to save his bacon each season just to stay in the top 4. He has always had at least 1 in the form of Fabregas, Arshavin, RVP etc. If we had still been buying sub £20m players like before at Highbury, we would be wallowing in mid table obscurity by now, conversely maybe the muppet would have left or would have had to come up with a new spectrum of lame excuses.

If we had stayed at Highbury the moustached Vampire may also not have bought the club..... What is that Jane Austen quote about Highbury again?

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Originally Posted by AFC Leveller

"I have no problem to cope with everything but I find that a bit boring in the end. I always have to convince you that I am good enough. I worked for 35 years at the top level.

"What I find just boring is always sitting here after 19 years to face, 'Do you think you are good enough?' If I am not, somebody will tell me."

"Look, I have worked here for 19, 20 years and I'm always sitting here having to justify that I'm good enough to do the job," he said at his news conference ahead of an FA Cup fifth-round replay at Hull

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I don't doubt for a minute that he works his arse off, cares deeply for the club, desperately wants to succeed and try to analyse things when they go wrong.

But it's clear that he cannot analyse himself so well anymore and his best isn't good enough to do anything other than maintain the status quo. That is key part of any self-analysis he cannot face up to.

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Originally Posted by Globalgunner

You doubt if we would have stayed in the top 4?. Where relatively speaking have Spurs and Pool and Everton been pre 2004 and now?. Only Pool can be said to have regressed and been usurped by the new money teams....... On second thought, in actual fact I agree with you. If we had stayed at Highbury we would have dropped out of the top 4 and long been overtaken by said Spuds and Liverpool because the dunce in charge of this club needs at least 2 world class players to save his bacon each season just to stay in the top 4. He has always had at least 1 in the form of Fabregas, Arshavin, RVP etc. If we had still been buying sub £20m players like before at Highbury, we would be wallowing in mid table obscurity by now, conversely maybe the muppet would have left or would have had to come up with a new spectrum of lame excuses.

If we had stayed at Highbury the moustached Vampire may also not have bought the club..... What is that Jane Austen quote about Highbury again?

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You lose points for not calling Wenger a c***

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Originally Posted by Letters

And yet, 2 years ago, when we'd just won the FA Cup - which was our first cup in 9 years and you're now dismissing as a 'minor' trophy' - you reacted with "good stuff" when Wenger signed a new contract.
Why? It had still been 8 years of 'failure to deliver'. Why was one 'minor trophy' enough? And the answer was it hadn't been 8 years of abject failure and you knew that.
The money had clearly been a factor and while we should have won more in that period it seemed with the new money that things were on the up, we'd signed Ozil, we'd won the Cup, onwards and upwards.

The most of the rest of your post is about our failure this season which I've already agreed he deserves the sack for. The money is there now, we've been signing a level of player who should push us on, this season in particular the title was an open goal and, fittingly given our strikeforce, we've missed it. Wenger should be sacked for the last 2 years where we haven't pushed on, not for the last 10.

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Didn't we do this yesterday? Does hitting reset disqualify what we've already discussed?

2 years ago we were supposedly coming out of the alleged financial restrictions Wenger has voluntarily accepted. 2 years ago we'd finally managed to land a trophy, silencing the league wide mockery that had accompanied every other trophy challenge that went before. We were no longer a laughing stock and it looked like we had money and Wenger would finally get a chance to show what he could really do with resources at his disposal. Most fans were on board, pretty optimistic, waiting for the future that had been promised prior to the stadium move. These were the days when the money excuse was still very effective because there was no conclusive evidence against which to test it. Now we were going to use money to level the field on which Wenger had previously been disadvantaged.

Two years on we all know what has happened. Wenger has actually done worse. In the last 2 years many fans have snapped into the harsh reality of the main and overwhelming reason for our failures on the pitch. How could they not? The truth was already dawning before this season kicked off. This season has settled matters beyond dispute. Wenger stands hopelessly exposed. Nobody believes his bullshit any more, well almost nobody.

This season has provided the long missing evidence that can be used to judge the real reasons for our failure over a decade. You say no, everything was understandable prior to this season but now some terrible anomaly has occurred. I say that doesn't compute, because the terrible anomaly looks identical to all those seasons gone before. Before you meandered off into every distraction you could muster I said the money excuse had finally been blown away. You say, oh no, that's not the case at all. This must mean you believe something radical has occurred this season, some significant reason why Wenger has so desperately underperformed.

If we stick with the now discredited idea he failed to deliver in prior seasons because he was financially disadvantaged, then what's the excuse this season when the money factor has been removed? And why does this season look the same as all the others?

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Originally Posted by Kano

I don't doubt for a minute that he works his arse off, cares deeply for the club, desperately wants to succeed and try to analyse things when they go wrong.

But it's clear that he cannot analyse himself so well anymore and his best isn't good enough to do anything other than maintain the status quo. That is key part of any self-analysis he cannot face up to.

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Funny that in 25 years Fergie never faced the same questions....Why because he was his own harshest critic, always striving to beat the rest, to change, to adopt new ideas. Not Le Prof....he knows everything apparently.

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Originally Posted by Globalgunner

Funny that in 25 years Fergie never faced the same questions....Why because he was his own harshest critic, always striving to beat the rest, to change, to adopt new ideas. Not Le Prof....he knows everything apparently.

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Are you questioning Wenger? That's boring. You shouldn't do it. You should get your wallet out and support the team.

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Originally Posted by Globalgunner

Funny that in 25 years Fergie never faced the same questions....Why because he was his own harshest critic, always striving to beat the rest, to change, to adopt new ideas. Not Le Prof....he knows everything apparently.

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:lol: Utd went a couple of years without winning a trophy and fans were screaming for his head back in the day.

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Originally Posted by Globalgunner

Funny that in 25 years Fergie never faced the same questions....Why because he was his own harshest critic, always striving to beat the rest, to change, to adopt new ideas. Not Le Prof....he knows everything apparently.

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No, what you're missing here is the ability to self analyse sufficently. I'm sure Wenger does. Most humans doing their job do that. Its stupid to think otherwise.

But how effective that analysis becomes is the key part. Fergie I'm sure asked himself enough difficult questions to remain on top. Wenger probably doesn't go far enough or doesn't rely enough on people around him enough to face some home truths. Whereas Ferige probably did do that.

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Originally Posted by Letters

:lol: Utd went a couple of years without winning a trophy and fans were screaming for his head back in the day.

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And then he won stuff again because he adapted.

I watched the presser yesterday with Wenger and it was genuinely quite amazing what lengths he went to absolve himself. Not only that but his whole demeanor was one of "how dare anybody question me or what I have done in the game".

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This season has provided the long missing evidence that can be used to judge the real reasons for our failure over a decade. You say no, everything was understandable prior to this season but now some terrible anomaly has occurred.

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Hang on, now who is putting words into whose mouth? You picked me up on that.

The new money has yielded some results, it's yielded Ozil, Sanchez and Cech and two FA Cups. It was a good start but he's failed to push us on and if he can't win the league this season then I doubt he ever will. So yeah, he should go for that, not because of the period before that when you agreed he earned a new contract.
He deserved a chance to push us on. He's failed to and so he should go. But he's failed to because he has flaws (as will the next bloke of course). And those flaws were always there. But when his fitness methods and knowledge of the European game meant we were better than everyone else it masked those flaws. Now other clubs have caught up and overtaken us, the edge Wenger once had is no longer there and he's not been able to step up. But he has his strengths too, I doubt many managers could have overseen a stadium move that complex and kept us top 4 with a (relatively) limited budget (whether self-imposed or not). He'll leave us with a very good squad and with plenty of money in the bank to ensure a successful future if the new guy spends it wisely. The last 10 years have not been particularly successful but neither have they been an unmitigated failure or disaster.

To be fair yes Ferguson did adapt and change but when would he have ever admitted that to the press

Wenger isn't going to admit he's fucked up publically even if he thought that was the case.

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Originally Posted by selassie

And then he won stuff again because he adapted.

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Yes. He was better than Wenger. I was merely responding to the assertion that Fergie was never questioned by the fans. He was.

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Originally Posted by Kano

No, what you're missing here is the ability to self analyse sufficently. I'm sure Wenger does. Most humans doing their job do that. Its stupid to think otherwise.

But how effective that analysis becomes is the key part. Fergie I'm sure asked himself enough difficult questions to remain on top. Wenger probably doesn't go far enough or doesn't rely enough on people around him enough to face some home truths. Whereas Ferige probably did do that.

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I think that the problem is Wenger's criteria for success. Seems to me that he has lost sight of the main issue. So he focusses on consistency of league position over a period; financial stewardship and footballing 'purity' and sees his performance in this regard as justifying his existence, and neither he nor anyone else focusses on whether his methods are effective enough to win things any more.

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Originally Posted by Letters

Yes. He was better than Wenger. I was merely responding to the assertion that Fergie was never questioned by the fans. He was.

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Fair do's. I personally think Wenger could and should have done more over the past what 10 seasons and should be judged over a longer time frame than the last 2 seasons, money plays a part in success and there is no denying Wenger has significantly strengthened the squad with the world class additions, but as you rightly said his flaws, which have been there from day one are still manifesting themselves. Given that we're discussing this I think it's highly appropriate to discuss Wenger's performance over a time period longer than 2 seasons.

It's not as black and white as Wenger has failed over 10 years or whatever it is, but you could argue that he could and should have won more over the years. Even when we were financially handicapped and some of that has been severely questioned as to whether that was self imposed by Wenger himself.

TBF I was calling for Wenger's head around 4 or 5 seasons ago, my calls have just got louder!

Agree about the "purity" thing. He's trying to recreate Barca but doesn't have the players to do it.

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Originally Posted by IBK

I think that the problem is Wenger's criteria for success. Seems to me that he has lost sight of the main issue. So he focusses on consistency of league position over a period; financial stewardship and footballing 'purity' and sees his performance in this regard as justifying his existence, and neither he nor anyone else focusses on whether his methods are effective enough to win things any more.

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I think that's right but in an ideal world I think Wenger's philosophy isn't so bad. He is right to say that the pursuit of ultimate, glorified, singular success has sent the world crazy and that ties into a wider anti-neobiberal arguement. Success in your personal or wokring life isn't solely defined by being the absolute best at what you do. There are many defining factors to gauge happiness and achievement in that sense. That is the basis of his belief, or at least the argument he poses to defend his position.

But Wenger doesn't work in that world. And the simple matter is that if he doesn't like the expectation or the questioning, then he has to make the decision to leave. Because it won't ease up, even if he reaches the very top again. Success and failure will only intensify it, either way. Football clubs taking in such a level of fans money and reaping such huge financial rewards are expected to achieve the ultimate. Nothing else will do in modern sport. Right or wrong, that's the way it is. So if it doesn't match his personal philosophy and the questioning of that dements him, he only has one option left.

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Originally Posted by selassie

Fair do's. I personally think Wenger could and should have done more over the past what 10 seasons and should be judged over a longer time frame than the last 2 seasons, money plays a part in success and there is no denying Wenger has significantly strengthened the squad with the world class additions, but as you rightly said his flaws, which have been there from day one are still manifesting themselves. Given that we're discussing this I think it's highly appropriate to discuss Wenger's performance over a time period longer than 2 seasons.

It's not as black and white as Wenger has failed over 10 years or whatever it is, but you could argue that he could and should have won more over the years. Even when we were financially handicapped and some of that has been severely questioned as to whether that was self imposed by Wenger himself.

TBF I was calling for Wenger's head around 4 or 5 seasons ago, my calls have just got louder!

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I don't disagree that he should be judged over a longer period. Well, he should be judged over his whole career with us.
Although the billionaires muscling in right at the time we were somewhat hamstrung by the new stadium and poor sponsorship deals was a factor - I actually think he'd have won a title or two in other circumstances but we'll never know - I do agree that there were times he could and should have done more. He did well to keep us in the top 4, he did badly not to win any trophies.
IMO he should be judged differently now though. We have a new financial muscle, it's a myth that he's not used it at all. We've signed 2 big players, 3 if you include Cech, and had a significantly bigger net spend than we'd had the seasons prior to that.
It's yielded a couple of FA Cups and that was a promising sign but we really needed to push on. He arguably should have been sacked last year, IMO the retention of the FA Cup earned him one more try but the failure to sustain a title challenge can't be defender. Especially as it's at the expense of Spurs and Leicester.
He needs to go but the last 10 years haven't been a complete disaster. They could have been better but they could have been a lot worse too and we're in good shape for whoever takes over.
I just hope he doesn't stay too much longer, it could get ugly if he doesn't go soon.