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This weekend’s NLD takes on a whole new meaning in my opinion.
St Tottering’s day is no longer a calendar event, and will probably be the same for the next few years :(
The power shift is underway so we need to find a way to beat them in order to bring them down a peg or two.
Finally, they are still in with a shout to win the league. How nice would it be if we ended their winning run and ended their title dream :)
(Just heard that Kos is a big doubt, oh dear). :(
I'd take a point right now.
Don't believe we have any chance of winning there.
Their record at home is P17 W15 D2 L0 F43 A8
Thanks for cheering me up Letters :crying:Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
Sorry :hug:
It's pretty upsetting but were it not for Chelsea going mental they'd be hot favourites to be champions. I hope we can put a dent in that on Sunday though.
Interestingly, the pressure is on them for a change. They know they're expected to win but how they deal with that will be telling
Not very optimistic but we have to do everything we can to halt their title challenge. I can accept that St Totts day is cancelled this year but for the love of god them winning the league is the stuff of nightmares.
The pressure was on last night and they won...ah screw it, we're going to lose aren't we?
Still think Spurs have it all to do, they have the far harder run in and are mostly away from home (where Chelsea are mostly at home) but they are the real deal right now.
Piss off, Wenger! :angry:
Form will (or bloody should) go out the window for the NLD. 50/50 as things stand.
But it depends who's ref if those odds are not to shift 100% away from us and towards Darling Alli Hotspur and the media wank session.
And, of course, there's Wenger to overcome. Could he, for once, just do the standard football things and pick the best side available and the most suitable formation and set out some rudimentary tactics (such as, try defending the goal, shoot at their goal,..)? I doubt it but perhaps even he will realise this is probably the final aspect of this season most fans give a flying fuck about. Could he get the fuck out of the way for just one match?
If we get a fair crack then we have just as much chance of winning as losing.
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistants: S Bennett, J Collin
Fourth official: A Marriner
I'll take that. Not happy about the assistants but the ref and 4th official should be okay.
They say that, don't they?Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
"Form goes out of the window for a derby".
It doesn't really, or ability certainly doesn't. Back in the day when we were a much better side than them we never lost a NLD because we were by far the better side.
Now, sadly, they are so we now rarely beat them. A point at best.
Chelsea should win it but with this wave of momentum behind them and some ridiculously in-form players, I think Spurs have the beating of everyone in this league. They are solid from back to front.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
they weren't brilliant last night, they needed Eriken's solo effort to get past Palace....they looked a bit tired and lacking in ideas
Spurs play well as a team, they are extremely well drilled and play a good pressing game which against most sides in the league is quite effective. But Chelsea wore them down in the fa cup semi final and won comfortably in the end.
How we perform against Spurs will be determined by how we start the game, if we keep the game goalless as long as possible i would even fancy us to nick it however as we know that's a very big IF.
:haha:Quote:
Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie
Fuck, I hope not! We're doomed if that's how it plays out.Quote:
How we perform against Spurs will be determined by how we start the game...
The only good thing about this game is it's on a Bank Holiday Weekend so I won't have to come into the office on Monday.
Not that we have any particularly rabid Spurs fans here any more. But still... <_<
Me too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
Let's face it, they trump us in every single position these days, that's the sad truth, they are better than us and by some distance IMO. They are very organised too...it's not the Spuds of old who would roll over, this Spuds team is a totally different type of challenge.
We won't be going there and picking up 3 points, I would be very happy with a point which would put a dent in their title charge.
Calm down guys, they won't win the league. The game will probably be a draw.
Could someone please return the real Letters?:(Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
No. He had his chance.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chippy
#LettersOut
What will be good for Arsenal football club will be absolute spanking from the Sp*rs. A win or a draw will be hailed as some sort of achievement, which it is not.
There speaks someone who doesn't live in London.
Winning at White Hart Lane is of course an achievement
Certainly this season. They beat Chelsea there.
It's not a "all is forgiven, Wenger" level achievement but no-one is suggesting it is.
Form and quality of the team doesn't play a big part in the NLD unless there is a chasm in class. They're clearly better than us, they look a much better team, are more balanced and have a better manager, but pressure, the fact it's a derby play a big part, they're expected to win and that weight heavily on teams.
I reckon it will probably be a draw, not because we're anywhere near as good as them but because of the nature of the game and the pressure on them and at this time of the season games tend to be tight as players tend to be a bit more tired. It's what I was referring to with the mini run, can see us scraping a few draws against the top teams despite being outperformed and then Wenger coming away from the season please with his seasons' work.
He's already pleased with himself and the great spirit we have shown during this 367th bounce back. And when it all plunges back into the pit again he'll say we need to show spirit and bounce back. And then we'll do that for a short while and he'll be chuffed again. And on it will go, bounce, plunge, bounce, plunge, the Wenger Cycle. At least 2 more years in yoyo mode, happy half the time, determined (following secret meetings) the rest of it. The 4th place trophy challenge, the spanking in the CL knockout stage, almost signing every star player, hanging on to second rate players and claiming they are world beaters. Everyone is painfully aware of the routine by now.
Problem is.. it will be spun as "all is forgiven, Wenger" level achievement. Frankly, people who want him to stay can spin anything and everything to make it seem like he is the greatest messiah to this football club.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
https://m.imgur.com/r/whitepeoplegifs/SF8MzIP
You are seriously misjudging the mood here.Quote:
Originally Posted by fakeyank
There is no way back for Wenger as far as most fans are concerned.
So by that logic they will spin it whatever happensQuote:
Originally Posted by fakeyank
If Wenger wasn't going to be here next season we'd know by now. So this agonising over whether a result buys him credibility largely makes no sense. Wanting the team to win doesn't mean backing the manager and constantly worrying that it will strengthen his hand is just silly, that decision is well outside of our control.
Not sure about that you know. I think this season has drawn in a larger group of people who now won't be persuaded that he can turn things around long term.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall Quinn
But if things start to settle in terms of results, the protestations will become less vociferous. People will be angry if he signs a new deal but they'll accept there is nothing they can do about it.
If however we lose on Sunday, lose to United, lose to stoke, lose the FA cup final.....any attempt to renew his contract and you will see absolute outrage.
He's bought himself time, but he's still on a very narrow tightrope.
He is done. Look at that crowd last night. And by all accounts the answer to "are you not entertained" was pretty obvious.
To be honest I doubt he is even capable of getting the results to settle down.
By who?Quote:
Originally Posted by fakeyank
In the same way people who believe Wenger is the worst manager in world football (an equally absurd suggestion as yours, and, like yours, one not really believed by anyone) spin anything and everything to suit their agenda.Quote:
Frankly, people who want him to stay can spin anything and everything to make it seem like he is the greatest messiah to this football club.
And so what? People will always spin things to suit their agenda.
Very few people want Wenger to stay now whatever happens this season and frankly we don't have any power to affect change anyway.
I'd like us to finish top 4 and win the FA Cup and Wenger to go out on a high. I don't think any of those things will happen.
Let's face it, he's going to be here next year. And unless he does the Double it's not going to change many people's minds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall Quinn
And if he does than people like FY and Zim will just double down and say he got lucky anyway.
Cognitive dissonance :bow:
Sadly that can't be quantified, he still seems to have his supporters, the bigger issue is that with every win he anger subsisdes people start seeing change and aren't that bothered whether he stays anymore, people are even noticing changes in tactics now as a sign of him changing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
We've seen anger before, yes maybe not on this scale but that subsided quickly enough after a few wins and it does appear to be happening again with every positive result, we're also seeing Wenger come out with some smug comments about proving people wrong, hunger and togetherness.
The way I see it in the last couple games we've won and there doesn't seem to be so many saying it's time for Wenger to go, so if anything it's becoming easier for him to stay and fan pressure is disapearing again. Nothing seems to stick to this guy.
That might be true but that doesn't mean people should just keep quiet and accept it, they can still make the same noises they were a couple weeks ago, if they appear content and don't voice their feelings about him anymore it makes his life and signing a contract much easier for him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
That's not what cognitive dissonance is.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
Wenger actually is the worst manager in football and considering he's proved it beyond doubt this season I'm not sure why you find that rather obvious statement troubling. I explained elsewhere why he's the worst manager in the game. Tell me why he isn't and name a single manager who's inferior. In fairness, this isn't entirely Wenger's fault because the managerial role at Arsenal is ludicrous beyond words and the board members here deserve comprehensive condemnation for abdicating all their responsibilities (except taking the cash). It's a total shit show and there's nothing like it anywhere else in the football world, nor will their ever be anything like it in the future given this cautionary tale.
Who on here has said he should stay after those wins? I haven't, and you know I've been more patient than most.Quote:
Originally Posted by Özim
Of course the anger will subside after a few wins. You always say how arrogant Wenger is, now you think a few boos or chants from fans will make him reconsider whether to sign a new contract?
Football fans live in hope and everything is relative. When massive investment is poured into anything, investors expect a return. The fans are the major investors at this club, something routinely overlooked. They pay the world record ticket prices, they buy the merchandise, they pay the sky high TV subscription packages, the buy goods and services from the sponsors. The official "investors", like Kroenke, shuffle money around but they actually invest nothing. He's parked his money here like it's a savings account with a 100% interest rate. Easy money and zero risk in boom (before the bust) industry. His only risk is knowing when to get in (insider information no doubt) and knowing when to get out (ditto). So the fans have a big emotional attachment as well as a big financial attachment, one way or the other. The fans are the ones who yearn to see the club do well, not for the cash return that will never come, but for intangibles, joy, bragging rights, tribal supremacy, (dare I whisper it) entertainment... On that basis fans are pretty delusional to begin with, investing their all in a sport hijacked by emotionless sharks. So the odd win here and there will fuel the delusion, even though we all know deep down that nothing can ever come from our risk averse owners or our cash obsessed manager. I think the fans who start mellowing as the results improve are not trying to pretend we are solving problems or making progress, I think they are consoling themselves with the thought that if they can't scrape a little return from a Cup and a few wins to see out a horrible season then there's probably no point being involved. Ollie Holt, Chris Wenger and Ty are probably the last people on the planet who genuinely view Wenger as credible.Quote:
Originally Posted by Özim
You think this season has proved something about which there is no objective measure?Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
Interesting.
PS: Reading a book about (partly) about cognitive dissonance at the moment, this place is a hotbed of it.
I wasn't necessarily referrring to people on here more the fans at the games that get interviewed really and those are the one who have the most impact. Yes I do think he's arrogant, but pressure does affect how you feel, you could see it in his interviews when we were losing, now after a win or two he's back to being the old Wenger, I know he doesn't care either way, but ultimately unhappy fans leads to poor attendances and less money and the club then become concerned which then puts pressure on the manager.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters