Match Reaction vs Mongs

[IBK]

There are some fairly logical reasons for thinking Wenger's taken us as far as he can and we should look elsewhere.
What annoys me is the hysteria.

Had we won on Saturday we'd be a point off the top of the table. I seriously doubt anyone would have been calling for Wenger's head then.
Fine, we lost, but that result shouldn't be the difference between Wenger and Wenger
I appreciate that one result is against a backdrop of 9 years of ups and downs and no trophies but at the start of the season, especially after the Villa game, the issue was could we stay in the top 4. No-one seriously expected a title challenge this year, that shouldn't be the criteria for success this year. IMO we've done very well to stay up there as long as we have. I am concerned about a massive collapse and if that happens then the progress we seemed to be making will disappear. Right now though we're 12 points ahead of where we were last year and we're in the FA Cup quarter final with a winnable home tie.
Concerns about the 'big games', squad depth and the ability to last a season remain and we can only really assess where we are in May.
Right now though no-one would sack their manager based on how we've done this year so far.

Personally, I think calls to sack Wenger - even in the context of all that has gone before - are wide of the mark, and he stays at the end of the season even if we end the season fourth and lose this weekend.

But I think that some 'truisms' relied on by those who defend Wenger need looking at. The first is the defeatism of bemoaning the billionaire teams - that I've dealt with on the other thread. The second is looking at expectations before the start of the season to assess the position of the team now. Before the season, we:

- Had no idea that Ozil would be signed
- Could not have guessed at Ramsey's improvement
- Would have regarded the prospect of Merts and Kossy staying fit as they have as unrealistic
- Could not have anticipated the importance of Flamini, or that he would join us on a free
- Would have laughed at the idea that Arsenal would be top of the league for a couple of months
- Could not have anticipated how bad Manure would be, or how many soft points Citeh would drop away from home

For me, its as legitimate to look at where we were in December as to look at where we were in August last year. And we could, and should have made a better fist of defending our lead than we have done. Liverpool now have a decent chance of challenging for the title given their form and momentum - their expectations prior to the season would have been lower than our's - particularly given the possibility of losing their star striker. Does that mean that they won't do everything they can to sieze their opportunity? Of course not.

We have choked this season, from a position of strength, as we have choked in so many seasons for the past decade. You say that winning the title should not be the criterion for success this year. Given the length of time Wenger has had to mould his team; our new found financial strength, the teething problems of those teams that have traditionally finished above us, the fact that we had clear water behind us in the Premiership as late as December, and our record in the second half of last season - should we have regarded winning the league as acriteria for success - hell yes!

I'm coming round rapidly to the belief that Wenger has indeed lowered fans' expectations so much that our first reaction is to look at excuses for failure rather than at reasons why we should succeed. And what's more I think that this attitude is becoming ingrained in a number of his players.

[fakeyank]

Personally, I think calls to sack Wenger - even in the context of all that has gone before - are wide of the mark, and he stays at the end of the season even if we end the season fourth and lose this weekend.

But I think that some 'truisms' relied on by those who defend Wenger need looking at. The first is the defeatism of bemoaning the billionaire teams - that I've dealt with on the other thread. The second is looking at expectations before the start of the season to assess the position of the team now. Before the season, we:

- Had no idea that Ozil would be signed
- Could not have guessed at Ramsey's improvement
- Would have regarded the prospect of Merts and Kossy staying fit as they have as unrealistic
- Could not have anticipated the importance of Flamini, or that he would join us on a free
- Would have laughed at the idea that Arsenal would be top of the league for a couple of months
- Could not have anticipated how bad Manure would be, or how many soft points Citeh would drop away from home

For me, its as legitimate to look at where we were in December as to look at where we were in August last year. And we could, and should have made a better fist of defending our lead than we have done. Liverpool now have a decent chance of challenging for the title given their form and momentum - their expectations prior to the season would have been lower than our's - particularly given the possibility of losing their star striker. Does that mean that they won't do everything they can to sieze their opportunity? Of course not.

We have choked this season, from a position of strength, as we have choked in so many seasons for the past decade. You say that winning the title should not be the criterion for success this year. Given the length of time Wenger has had to mould his team; our new found financial strength, the teething problems of those teams that have traditionally finished above us, the fact that we had clear water behind us in the Premiership as late as December, and our record in the second half of last season - should we have regarded winning the league as acriteria for success - hell yes!

I'm coming round rapidly to the belief that Wenger has indeed lowered fans' expectations so much that our first reaction is to look at excuses for failure rather than at reasons why we should succeed. And what's more I think that this attitude is becoming ingrained in a number of his players.