St Totteringham's day - IT'S HAPPENED AGAIN!!!

We play City coming off the Madrid game. Villa are 3 points for everyone so that is a win.

Chelsea away and Spurs could easily drop points without Alli too. Saints yesterday (and previous games against us/others) have shown they can have a good go at the top teams. Tough fixture. Finally Newcastle game could be them playing for their season and it will be away so that could be very tough.

A while back it seemed impossible but with each game it's gotten a little more likely. Spurs are bigger bottlers than us.

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experie...1898e54ded.png

Yay!

It is extremely unlikely we'll finish above them but if we could it would be a tiny, minuscule, vanishingly small crumb of comfort. The barest, meagre, absolute minimum possible. Wenger's speciality.

If they lose tonight, possibly. Otherwise, no.

Don't see it happening I'm afraid.

Though it would be fucking hilarious if it did.

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

Don't see it happening I'm afraid.

Though it would be fucking hilarious if it did.

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They'd be broken for all eternity if they fucked it up this year. I can't think how we could help them any more than we have.

Fucked up what?

The league has gone for them, even if they somehow win tonight it's only postponing inevitable

Will they regard this season as a success by finishing above us?

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Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie

Fucked up what?

The league has gone for them, even if they somehow win tonight it's only postponing inevitable

Will they regard this season as a success by finishing above us?

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This season is certainly a success for them, by comparison to the ones gone before. They have a manager doing the business, a team that leads the league in just about every measure (bar the points tally of course) and they are, yes, above us which I'm sure means a huge amount to them given how much we've rubbed their noses in it over the decades. They've done what we should be doing every year - compete. Well I suppose we have a whole bunch of excuses as consolation and with the Wengerdrones in full voice over the weekend we'll need to live on those excuses for a while yet I'd guess. The spuds are on the up and we are on the ways down. Inevitable, something had to eventually change for them and given who we have in charge there was always only one way we'd be heading.

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Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn

This season is certainly a success for them, by comparison to the ones gone before. They have a manager doing the business, a team that leads the league in just about every measure (bar the points tally of course) and they are, yes, above us which I'm sure means a huge amount to them given how much we've rubbed their noses in it over the decades. They've done what we should be doing every year - compete. Well I suppose we have a whole bunch of excuses as consolation and with the Wengerdrones in full voice over the weekend we'll need to live on those excuses for a while yet I'd guess. The spuds are on the up and we are on the ways down. Inevitable, something had to eventually change for them and given who we have in charge there was always only one way we'd be heading.

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:gp:

Pochettino is young and bright, up to date for the modern game, fearless against teams, and can get a team to beat Stoke away 4-0.

The squad is full of young and hungry players who play for the badge.

If they had a better squad to cope with the extra fixtures, they'd be first. Thank fuck for Leicester.

I don't know, I honestly don't think the fans of that club measure their success against us. Yes there is the champions league qualification but I think yes compared to other seasons it will be a success but I think they wanted the title and were hungry for it....so they will see it as disappointment come what may.
Unlike some of our fans who even finishing 4th will be an affirmation of the genius of L'Ouisseau

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Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie

I don't know, I honestly don't think the fans of that club measure their success against us. Yes there is the champions league qualification but I think yes compared to other seasons it will be a success but I think they wanted the title and were hungry for it....so they will see it as disappointment come what may.
Unlike some of our fans who even finishing 4th will be an affirmation of the genius of L'Ouisseau

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Of course they'll be disappointed. But they have concrete evidence of a big jump forward, so they aren't going to view that as a failure despite the fact they didn't land the title (whew). Certainly, it will have whetted their appetites. They won't be expecting to hang around for the next decade waiting for the next title charge. There's only one club in football that finds stagnation acceptable.

My Spurs mate is very happy with how their season has panned out, they never expected a title challenge. While he's disappointed they haven't been able to chase down Leicester and he's concerned the opportunity may not arise again, he's still excited about the future, after all it's only their 2nd ever foray into the CL.

Like them, if we had challenged for the title and seen clear and tangible improvement in the way we play, I'm sure it would be accepted as progress as well. The frustration for us doesn't come from not winning the league, it comes from not even being in a position to challenge for it when it matters. A fact made even more difficult to accept when we've had donkey's years to get our act together.

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

My Spurs mate is very happy with how their season has panned out, they never expected a title challenge. While he's disappointed they haven't been able to chase down Leicester and he's concerned the opportunity may not arise again, he's still excited about the future, after all it's only their 2nd ever foray into the CL.

Like them, if we had challenged for the title and seen clear and tangible improvement in the way we play, I'm sure it would be accepted as progress as well. The frustration for us doesn't come from not winning the league, it comes from not even being in a position to challenge for it when it matters. A fact made even more difficult to accept when we've had donkey's years to get our act together.

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:gp:

In all honesty, from the way the clubs are being run and managed, all their fans are happy and optimistic whereas our fans are divided. I genuinely am fed up of the constant shit Wenger is pulling and is able to get away with, and we're facing another summer of transfer misery where we don't spend the resources we've built up (in the right areas) to push us further (Wenger is working the Euros for French TV, his excuse already made). Wenger is also shot as a manager.

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Originally Posted by Munchies

We play City coming off the Madrid game. Villa are 3 points for everyone so that is a win.

Chelsea away and Spurs could easily drop points without Alli too. Saints yesterday (and previous games against us/others) have shown they can have a good go at the top teams. Tough fixture. Finally Newcastle game could be them playing for their season and it will be away so that could be very tough.

A while back it seemed impossible but with each game it's gotten a little more likely. Spurs are bigger bottlers than us.

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experie...1898e54ded.png

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No chance! We are getting desperate for some sort of silver lining.

They will lose tonight (or draw, can't see them winning) but we will drop points at city too so no point getting excited.

Al they need is a draw from their remaining 3 games to guarantee m 2ND place.

The OP should be in the mindless optimism thread. Or is that thread dead?

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Originally Posted by fakeyank

The OP should be in the mindless optimism thread. Or is that thread dead?

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Started to get insane in there with posts like, "I think we'll play entertaining football", and, "Wenger won't play Giroud today." There's a limit to optimism, even the mindless kind.

No it isn't.

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Originally Posted by Munchies

We play City coming off the Madrid game. Villa are 3 points for everyone so that is a win.

Chelsea away and Spurs could easily drop points without Alli too. Saints yesterday (and previous games against us/others) have shown they can have a good go at the top teams. Tough fixture. Finally Newcastle game could be them playing for their season and it will be away so that could be very tough.

A while back it seemed impossible but with each game it's gotten a little more likely. Spurs are bigger bottlers than us.

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experie...1898e54ded.png

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It's over! Lol!!

LMAO!

They'll finish above us this season, it's amazing how gash we've been...yet we're only a couple of points behind. The reality is that they have looked a much better side than us for quite a while now, definitely this Calender year.

Some of you might not want to hear this but if we don't do anything substantial (be it change of tactics, transfers etc) this summer then I honestly believe they will finish comfortably above us next season.

If we keep our manager they will definitely finish above us. And if Prof digs in his heels and refuses to buy whats needed and get rid of the dross. then Pool City, Chelsea, maybe Utd (if they drop LVG) will all finish above us. Leicester may not be able to repeat this season....but who knows.

I think saying something will be "definite" is making yourself a hostage to fortune

It's not to say it's anywhere near good enough, but come what may this manager always reaches top four whether we fall away from a title challenge to third or fourth or making an uphill mountain club to it.

We are set up to get that position and if it's ever under threat we'd spend in January, I'm not saying we will definitely get top four next season but to say other sides will definitely finish above us is questionable.

Will we win the title? Probably not because we don't have a manager prepared to do what it takes to win the title.

It's a certainty we won't win the title. There's zero chance. None whatsoever. After a decade of watching this shite we know very well we can't win the title. We know why we can't win it. We know how we'll lose it. We pretty much know when we'll lose it, although there's a little bit of variation in wondering whether we'll collapse over the starting line or the finish line. That's as exciting as it gets at Arsenal, trying to predict the timing of the collapse.

As for the top 4 trophy. Well that's ours. We'll definitely win that. It's what we do. We may have to up our game to do it. And we will. Top 4 is everything to this club. The whole operation is built around getting the top 4 so that extra cash comes in. As we know, £3million of that is already earmarked for Kroenke in return for his vital contribution to the club. What would we ever do without him?

I think there are too many things that definitely wouldn't happen that have to say anything as a definite

It is like I say incredibly unlikely that Wenger will buy the players we need to challenge, will appoint a coaching team and listen to their advice to get the best out of these players and flip the psychological block we have against some of the teams we play. Because if he was going to do that, he would have done it by now.

But there is always the small percentage which will make him think, I'm not prepared to go out like this and actually decide to make the effort. I think the chance he will are in the single digits because he is too entrenched but definite....never good to be definite about anything.

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Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie

I think there are too many things that definitely wouldn't happen that have to say anything as a definite

It is like I say incredibly unlikely that Wenger will buy the players we need to challenge, will appoint a coaching team and listen to their advice to get the best out of these players and flip the psychological block we have against some of the teams we play. Because if he was going to do that, he would have done it by now.

But there is always the small percentage which will make him think, I'm not prepared to go out like this and actually decide to make the effort. I think the chance he will are in the single digits because he is too entrenched but definite....never good to be definite about anything.

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Are you listening to him? He thinks he's doing a good job and that the players he has are all that he needs. He may be forced into the transfer market to keep the peace but I bet if you gave him an opportunity to do whatever he wanted without having to consider the consequences he'd opt to do nothing. Either way, his halfhearted approach, in fact open hostility, to the transfer window means we'll never be getting the maximum possible while he is here. Bare minimum? Yes, of course. That's what he does.

It is difficult to understand how even Arsene's most ardent admirer could think he is doing a good job.

A few years ago... quite a few actually, my kids are in their 20s now. We used to watch a certain cartoon. Wenger reminds me of the professor in there. He kept on experimenting in his lab fruitlessly to get a certain result. Probably mixing the same chemicals time and time again, maybe in varying proportions. But still the same chemicals and the same process but failed every time. It was until a loose chimp running amok in the lab accidentally poured in Chemical X before the desired result was found. He succeeds by divine intervention not by design, as he always starts out each season indulging himself in his idiosyncratic ways, selecting nincompoops and ne-erdowells in the team ahead functional contributors. Playing arcane formations bizarre selections with mindless substitutions. Not to mention our shot free football philosophy. Its only when injuries takes these useless ones out that he happens on the proper players.

Wenger wont win the league, next year or any year. It is beyond him. He will be left behind, out of his top 4, If he doesnt reinforce. Like it or not Sanchez and Ozil, along with Cech and smatterings of Kosc, who secured top 4 for us this season. If he doesnt buy anything close to what is required in the summer, both Ozil and Sanchez will switch off by December and we will freefall. Yes I am certain of it.

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Originally Posted by rodders

It is difficult to understand how even Arsene's most ardent admirer could think he is doing a good job.

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To play devils advocate, Wengers supporters take this view that between 2004 and 2012 he had virtually nothing to spend and that teams who ended up relegated spent more than us and that Wenger far surpassed what any other manager could achieve with such financial restrictions.

They believe that this entitles Wenger to choose his own departure date, that people who criticise him understand nothing about football and the reason he didn't sign players in the summer was that there was no one out there who could strengthen the team, in the sense they believed they are better players out there but the clubs would not have sold.

Not for a second do I agree with any of that, that's just what they think. But then again I don't agree with people calling him a retard either, he is a man who in almost any other profession would have retired by now and he's a man who has been given unprecedented responsibility and now has come to the point where he refuses to listen to any counsel but his own.

That's why I want him to go because I think it's unlikely he will change his way because he has switched off and thinks that criticism is ingratitude for the dedication he has shown to this club. Do i think he has the ability to change his ways and push beyond the minimum and challenge for major honours....I don't know....but with Wenger there is a difference between ability and willing. Carrying on the way he does there is no chance because he is blind to his own shortcomings and acts out of habbit rather than analytical thinking....and were it ten years ago and Wenger had not been placed on a pedestal by the club I think he might have approached things in a different way but who knows.

As people have alluded to on here earlier, Wenger without Dein is like Clough without Taylor.

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Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn

It's a certainty we won't win the title. There's zero chance. None whatsoever. After a decade of watching this shite we know very well we can't win the title. We know why we can't win it. We know how we'll lose it. We pretty much know when we'll lose it, although there's a little bit of variation in wondering whether we'll collapse over the starting line or the finish line. That's as exciting as it gets at Arsenal, trying to predict the timing of the collapse.

As for the top 4 trophy. Well that's ours. We'll definitely win that. It's what we do. We may have to up our game to do it. And we will. Top 4 is everything to this club. The whole operation is built around getting the top 4 so that extra cash comes in. As we know, £3million of that is already earmarked for Kroenke in return for his vital contribution to the club. What would we ever do without him?

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If they keep Wenger (they will) we won't win the league. Even if he does a stack load of dealing in the transfer window (he won't) I still don't think we will win it. Next season will probably be the first for many a deluded year for myself that I won't even think "maybe we can do it this season". I've always been a defeatist, but there was always a tiny little bit of me that had hope, but really I knew.
Next season I can't even see me having that. I will just hope we do fairly well and get to the top four again, which is getting more difficult each year.

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Originally Posted by rodders

It is difficult to understand how even Arsene's most ardent admirer could think he is doing a good job.

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http://i68.tinypic.com/25jgkrq.png

This is not on at all.

We would have to win our last two games which is impossible in itself and they would have to get only two points out of six which won't happen either.

There goal difference is far better than ours and we must accept that they have been the better team this season.

I hate it as well but you have to be realistic.

Let's f'n go!

FOYS

Won't happen.

:lol:

Nah.

The annoying thing is that we could easily have finished above them, despite how poor we've been.

The door is open now.

It's up to us to make sure we close it on our own faces.

lol. Still unlikely as we'd need to beat City and hope for Newcastle to get something but at least it's something to sort of look forward to for the next couple of games now that top four is nearly all but certain.

The door is closed and locked

We won't finish 2nd, Wenger has made sure of that with his starting line up

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Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie

The door is closed and locked

We won't finish 2nd, Wenger has made sure of that with his starting line up

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LOL at Ramsey & El Neny CM pairing, they were ripped apart by Citeh today. We were lucky Giroud had his good luck hair gel on today, otherwise that header would hit Joe Hart in the face. :coffee: