4th Place Trophy

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Also, our saving grace has always been the fact that our 4th place contenders are all shitte.

This season is no exception, only that for the 1st time we genuinely look to be beating them at their most common trait. Never have I seen us being so shitty.

[Letters]

absolutely no way

We're 5 points off 3rd place with less than a third of the season gone and there's absolutely no way we can finish in the top 4.

Really?

[Letters]

I don't give a fuck.

I just want someone to believe in again. A team that makes mw want to cheer them on, rather than make me cynical.

It's all fucked anyway. Who gives a shit.

[Joker]

I'm struggling to get too excited about finishing 4th, the lack of ambition at the club has sapped most of my enthusiasm. However, I think we'll probably end up blundering our way into 4th place as we always do.

[Marc Overmars]

Whatever happens it's not going to be comfortable that's for sure because there's no real 'go-to' guys anymore in this team.

[Syn]

We're 5 points off 3rd place with less than a third of the season gone and there's absolutely no way we can finish in the top 4.

Really?

I don't think there's much point looking at the gap at this stage. Stoke are 4 points off 3rd place, and we would think there is absolutely no way we can finish in the top 4.

It's all about the perceived level of quality in the team. Our competition will probably be: Everton, Newcastle, Swansea, Tottenham, Liverpool. While it is clear that the likes of Cazorla, Wilshere, Arteta, Podolski, Sagna, Vermaelen etc. won't be good enough to compete against the top 3 teams, I think we're playing well below the potential of the players. But at the moment the issue isn't about quality (we could do with more, but, obviously this team is better than 10th place in the league). I think Wenger is having a very hard time motivating players and getting them to do what he wants because they've lost faith in him.


Slightly off-topic:

For all we mock Wenger's interviews, he's right when he keeps saying there is a 'lack of confidence'. Confidence is absolutely crucial to a team that wants to play good football. Confidence isn't about taking players on and having a crack from 20 yards. It's about playing passes first time and passing it to your teammate in impossible situations because you know he'll get you out of this mess. Right now, players take 20 touches because if they pass it first time, they're worried: 1) they'll misplace the pass themselves. 2) their teammates won't be able to trap it.

When Wenger tells Cazorla or Wilshere or whoever that this is a good team and you will be able to pass it forward quickly, they don't believe him. Each one of them thinks they're playing with fairly average players. And you can see that lack of trust every time you watch us play now.

[LDG]

[Fist of Lehmann]

While the manager emphasizes self-determination, spontaneity and freedom of expression in our play philosophy we will always be susceptible to these runs of bad form due to loss of confidence.

We're streaky. We have a creative temperament.

A system that had more structure, in which players always knew their jobs would be much less vulnerable to a loss of confidence, because you don't question your decisions or the abilities of you teammates. You just mechanically execute what you're told.

IMO.

Anway, 4th. Yeah whatever. Don't care.

[IBK]

Re OP. That's just it. We have been brainwashed into even debating this. And our club is realising that actually we are football fans.

[IBK]

I don't think there's much point looking at the gap at this stage. Stoke are 4 points off 3rd place, and we would think there is absolutely no way we can finish in the top 4.

It's all about the perceived level of quality in the team. Our competition will probably be: Everton, Newcastle, Swansea, Tottenham, Liverpool. While it is clear that the likes of Cazorla, Wilshere, Arteta, Podolski, Sagna, Vermaelen etc. won't be good enough to compete against the top 3 teams, I think we're playing well below the potential of the players. But at the moment the issue isn't about quality (we could do with more, but, obviously this team is better than 10th place in the league). I think Wenger is having a very hard time motivating players and getting them to do what he wants because they've lost faith in him.


Slightly off-topic:

For all we mock Wenger's interviews, he's right when he keeps saying there is a 'lack of confidence'. Confidence is absolutely crucial to a team that wants to play good football. Confidence isn't about taking players on and having a crack from 20 yards. It's about playing passes first time and passing it to your teammate in impossible situations because you know he'll get you out of this mess. Right now, players take 20 touches because if they pass it first time, they're worried: 1) they'll misplace the pass themselves. 2) their teammates won't be able to trap it.

When Wenger tells Cazorla or Wilshere or whoever that this is a good team and you will be able to pass it forward quickly, they don't believe him. Each one of them thinks they're playing with fairly average players. And you can see that lack of trust every time you watch us play now.

I said AW had lost the dressing room. This is how.