2012/13 Season Reaction

A thread for our thoughts and opinions on the season just gone.

First of all: Sperz. :pal:

I say that in relief though, because the joy of today for me is getting one over them, rather than qualifying for a competition I know any progression in is regarded as a bonus.

IMO it’s been a hugely forgettable season, exacerbated this time by not even having the consolation of good football to keep us remotely content.

Generally our matches were often turgid and tight affairs. We’ve become a workman-like side now but the positive to come with that is our defence surprisingly found a bit of resilience, I don’t know the stats but I’d wager we’ve probably kept our highest number of clean sheets for a while, it’s just a shame that it took our season reaching its nadir for Wenger to be proactive and make some changes, with the key decision being to drop Vermaelen for Koscielny.

Our defence is certainly the reason we’ve made the top 4 this season, because I feel our attack is the weakest it’s been in a long time. Theo and Giroud would often follow a great game with 5 bad ones, they’ve both shown glimpses of what they can do but they’re incredibly frustrating and limited players, I’m praying we’re looking at bringing in a top forward this summer.

Less said about the cup exits the better, they weren’t acceptable on any level.

Overall, just relieved we’ve scraped in again and I’m glad to see the back of this season.

Lastly: Sperz. :pal:

My review: Shite tbh

A poor season on the whole, I don't see qualifying for the UCL and getting knocked out of the Cups so early as success. You're right, the football on show has been shit on the whole, offensively we really lacked creativity and the ability to break down stubborn defences. While in the past it was the defence that was the problem despite the fact we played some really enterprising football, now we've found some solidity defensively at least, and the back four after the Tottenham defeat were excellent on the whole.

However, it is now 2 seasons in a row we've just about scrapped into the UCL, and if we don't strengthen in the summer, we may not get so lucky again.

A poor season.

Premiership - scraped in to the top 4 yet again. We need to improve cos we will eventually finish outside the top 4 if we go on as we are.

FA cup - dont remember who we beat but the loss at home to Blackburn was horrific. Embarrassing.

Capital One Cup - goals galore v Coventry and Reading led us to believe it might be our year. We didn't reckon on the mity Bradford. Losing to them was bad enough. Being outplayed was terrible. Wenger should have walked.

CL - Failed to win the easiest group in CL history which led us to face Bayern and we got our asses handed there.

Playernwise, Theo was our best player overall over the season. Goals and assists. Hes widely regarded as a legend in the making amongst true gooners. We do need a striker urgently though. Giroud has failed. Unfortunate but expected. defensively we were a little bit awlsome even with a retarded keeper and right back.

In conclusion, same shit different season

Agree MO. We have largely pubbed it in truth. The real dynamic football and skill was rare. Understandable, obviously, in line with how the squad has changed. The positive was finding a way to win games in the latter part of the season in spite of this - the only attackers who were consistently in the team were Walcott and Cazorla and they scored a lot of the winning goals. Conceding twelve fewer goals than last season is a good achievement. The team and Wenger showed some adaptability tactically when a lot of people didn't think they had it. And in spite of everything we still finished above Spurs which is hilarious.

For next season it would be great to have some exciting players in attack, trophies or no trophies.

As funny as it is to get one over Sperz, last season they were unfortunate to see Chelsea fluke the CL (and we employed agent Fulop), and this year they amassed a points total which would have been good enough in any other season. The competition is very fierce and if you keep on playing with fire eventually you'll get burnt, so we really need to kick on this summer and bring in some quality. There are no more excuses given 13/14 was the fabled season of fruition.

Whisper it quietly but there is the basis of a #decent team here, the way we keep on coming back from adversity is an invaluable trait. It's just down to Wenget now to give us the best possible chance of stepping up, in what could well be his final season.

Meh - same old same old, for me. IMO a lucky season given our transfer business last Summer. That's not to say our team is shite - but some serious building is needed. Not holding my breath, though.

And we won't be as bad as we have been recently. Probably. Possibly. Hopefully.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Suarez Is Boss

And we won't be as bad as we have been recently. Probably. Possibly. Hopefully.

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Coutinho will probably be one of the best in the league next year tbf.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Suarez Is Boss

And we won't be as bad as we have been recently. Probably. Possibly. Hopefully.

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Make or break for Rodgers next season....hear he's changed things somewhat massively. Should kick on...

Little bit shit until the last 10, when we found some bollocks for the first time in years.

Team (in terms of quality) is sub-standard for a club our size.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

As funny as it is to get one over Sperz, last season they were unfortunate to see Chelsea fluke the CL (and we employed agent Fulop), and this year they amassed a points total which would have been good enough in any other season. The competition is very fierce and if you keep on playing with fire eventually you'll get burnt, so we really need to kick on this summer and bring in some quality. There are no more excuses given 13/14 was the fabled season of fruition.

Whisper it quietly but there is the basis of a #decent team here, the way we keep on coming back from adversity is an invaluable trait. It's just down to Wenget now to give us the best possible chance of stepping up, in what could well be his final season.

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Podolski, Giroud, Arteta and so on were good to help us maintain the minimum standard as most were ready to deliver decent performances from the get-go. But after a couple of windows of consolidation the players that have the extra ability and higher ceiling are the ones that are needed now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

Coutinho will probably be one of the best in the league next year tbf.

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I'll give it 1, 2 at the most, before he gets tapped up.

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Originally Posted by IBK

Make or break for Rodgers next season....hear he's changed things somewhat massively. Should kick on...

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Nah. Next season he'll still have leeway, the season after will be.

Hopefully Everton fall away, Spurs stagnate and City implode and it returns to the tradition top 4. I'd take that....

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Originally Posted by Suarez Is Boss

I'll give it 1, 2 at the most, before he gets tapped up.


Nah. Next season he'll still have leeway, the season after will be.

Hopefully Everton fall away, Spurs stagnate and City implode and it returns to the tradition top 4. I'd take that....

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Didn't mean in terms of sacking. You lot are loyal. But if I were a fan, I'd grant him this season's bedding in/changing the regime, and expect to see a marked improvement next term after his own transfer window. If its more of the same questions are going to be validly asked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvBbF8wPL30

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Originally Posted by GB.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvBbF8wPL30

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Damn beat me to it.
We've been boring, squeaky bum wins, not looking even close to winning any silverware but we finished ahead of Spurs, damn we're small time, big signatures over the summer...WUMger might get Rooney to sign his scrapbook of near misses :rolleyes:, but yes I will renew :trophy:

Rating out of 10:


1 WOJCIECH SZCZESNY - 4
2 ABOU DIABY - 4
3 BACARY SAGNA - 5
4 PER MERTESACKER - 7
5 THOMAS VERMAELEN - 1
6 LAURENT KOSCIELNY - 9
7 TOMAS ROSICKY - 6
8 MIKEL ARTETA - 5
11 ANDRE SANTOS - 2
12 OLIVIER GIROUD - 6
14 THEO WALCOTT - 7
15 ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN - 4
16 AARON RAMSEY - 6
19 JACK WILSHERE - 3
21 LUKASZ FABIANSKI - 6
22 FRANCIS COQUELIN - 3
25 CARL JENKINSON - 3
27 GERVINHO - 4
28 KIERAN GIBBS - 6
LUKAS PODOLSKI - 3
SANTI CAZORLA - 7
NACHO MONREAL - 6

shit season

disappointment again

celebrating like we won the league today shows how far we have fallen. quite embarrassing.

no world class players left

wenger still here

yay

Worst football we have played in decades, that's what stands out. Highlights, the 5-2 over the spuds, pipping them to the CL again (even though there's no real point us being in it bar the money), nothing else springs to mind. Season was over before a ball was kicked following sale of RvP, the ultimate low point during this barren spell. Major investment in the team needed, but that has been true for years.

At least it ended better than it started

We sold our best player before the season started and still ended up finishing in the same place. Job well done as far as the board is concerned. Makes you wonder if we would have won something if we'd kept RvP, but that is not important. We made a tidy profit on the RvP sale - That is what really matters

Another mediocre season IMHO, but part of the problem stemmed from before a ball was even kicked. We had another poor summer in terms of player recruitment/improving the squad.

Fair play to the lads, once they got their act together we pushed on and achieved our target. It wasn't pretty though and whilst the early makings of a decent enough team are there, we have major work to bridge the gap between us and the top 3.

Domestic cups: A truly terrible season.

Champs League: We lost to a pretty special team tbh. No complaints.

Prem League: With losing RVP and Bale becoming an absolute beast I think we did well to get 4th.

i guess the main reaction is one of relief and being able to laugh at spurs.

not been a great season in terms of quality but i have loved the fight for 4th with spurs. with them being our rivals, it makes it more important to beat them to it and i have to say i enjoyed the run in.
there have been some great performances, city away, spurs at home that stand out but most have been fighting for our lives to leave with a 1-0 win. towards the end every player was putting their body on the line to get us over the line, some players really stood up, per, ramsey and kos especially. it was brilliant to see them fighting for the shirt. look at the defence for example towards the end, composed, assured and fucking brilliant. ramsey has been a huge improvement and a key player in 2013, there are platforms all around which we have laid the foundations for this season. nothing special, but foundations to build on and really push ahead

while this season hasnt been that memorable, no cup runs or title challenge, just the 4th place trophy, i genuinely believe we will look back at this season as the season that gave us the platform to do something special. we got to 4th because we deserved it at the end of the day, now its time to push on, spend that cash on the right players, take advantage of the fact that 4 of the top 6 have changed managers and that there is no more fergie.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

Coutinho will probably be one of the best in the league next year tbf.

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We missed out big time. in 13 league appearances he has 3 goals and 5 assists. wilshere has one goal and 6 assists in his entire arsenal career. And people have the nerve to talk about wilshere?

Although I predict a win every game we play . . .our best shot at sliverware was domestic cups and we bombed those.

The PL and CL were probably always out of our grasp but it was those two trophies that saw us dig deepest. . .and scratch our heads as to why the team cannot put in those kind of performances and effort week in and week out. The run at the end of the season and taking the away to Bayern ar what we need to see on a more regular basis.

Wenger saw maybe the worst year of fans opinion about him and a more trigger happy board would have shot him in the head long ago. . .he will be aroud next year and fans being fans are trying to spin that fact with new optimism (well some of us are ) as we are told we have money to spend.

It was the summer transfer activity that caused me the most heartburn, started off ok and its not that we didnt brig in a 30mil player, it is that we didnt replace what left or address squad depth. I said all year I thought te suad was better and more balancd and we got more goals from different players not just one guy but what we did miss was a matchwinner. . .and those calling for world class to b bought are spot on. . .lets hope the call does not go unnoticed

Terrible season all round but panned out the way most of us expected it to after our transfer dealings last summer. Losing two of our of best players from the previous season and not properly replacing them was always a recipe for disaster and I believe most people predicted fourth would be the best we could hope for at the start of the season.

Cup finals were absolute disasters. Bradford City and Blackburn at home, really?

Positives

- The main positive has been our improved defence which barring a dodgy spell mid season and against Spurs away has been amazing, especially in the pressure matches at the end. Mertsacker and Kosicienly have been excellent.
- Kosiceinly's form. See above
- Jenkinsons' development
- Wenger prepared to drop Chesney and Vermaelan
- Still managing to finish above the scum despite Donkey Kong being on world player of the year form
- Wenger finally realising how substandard Santos is


Disappointments

- Vermealen. Awful decision to make him captain with hindsight.
- Ox hasn't developed as much as I'd like
- Theo seems like the same Theo as before. Too hit and miss.
- Wilshere's injury woes plus lack of form
- The amount of tripe still on our books that we can't get rid of
- Wenger relying on Diaby :facepalm:
- Whilst Ramsey has looked decent recently, he doesn't look like he'll reach the level or quality I thought he would have when he first joined. Thanks a lot Shawcross you dickhead.
- Gervinho. Spineless git


Main signings

Santi's been a major positive. Real quality in the midfield and someone who can create chances on a plate. Possibly the best import signing of the season (I'm forgetting loads of transfers so I've probably said something silly here)

Monreal's a thousand times better then Santos. Happy there.

Podolski looks like an expert finisher and has a habit of getting scrappy goals when needed however too often he goes missing and doesn't contribute.

Girioud is the opposite. Better build up and overall play but his finishing is neither clinical enough nor his threat up front enough to cut it at the level we want to be at. I wish we could combine the best qualities of Podolski and Giroud into one striker.



All in all a pretty forgettable season apart from the last day dramatics and hopefully the final one before we push on to the next level.


P.S. I agree about Countiho. He looks quite tasty (no homo) and a lot better then Borini. Though there must be a reason why no one else went in for him - want to see how he does next season before fully judging him. Might get second season syndrome.

2012/13.
3rd or 4th with no interest in trophies.
Got a bit fruity at the end.

Meh