Has Wenger really benefitted AFC since 2006?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Megson did OK in his first season, their great end to the season effectively saved him from the sack, obviously he rightly took the credit for keeping them up.

In his second season they were awful, he was on track to relegate them, he's a master at that after all.
Coyle has definitely improved them, not to the extent where they are a top 10 side...but they are decent enough none the less.

His second season was 08/09, they finished 13th then. Following season they were down near the relegation zone it's true although they had some games in hand but if I remember rightly it was the combination of not doing too well in the league combined with some fairly erm agricultural football. Early 2010 is when Coyle joined. In terms of league postion they've been around the same place, finishing somewhere between 6-9 points above the relegation zone, for a while now.

[Letters]

if you look at the signings and team's improvement over the last 5 years, then we have to draw a line and say tht AW has been a complete failure.

A complete failure wouldn't have kept us top 4 for so long.

[AKBapologist]

to suggest that McCoist or Coyle or Holloway would be better than AW is preposterous.

But! but! None of those managers would ever lose to united 8-2 or go 6 years without a trophy... 1896!!! 1896!!!!

[Cripps_orig]

But! but! None of those managers would ever lose to united 8-2 or go 6 years without a trophy... 1896!!! 1896!!!!

Well they havent lost 8-2 to Man Utd and with arguable worse team than ours

[Flavs]

to suggest that McCoist or Coyle or Holloway would be better than AW is preposterous. .

Didn't you just say that Wenger has been a complete failure?

Also i would suggest that when Wenger does finally retire/leave/get sacked/get lynched Arsenal wont go for a prestige manager or a so called "big name" but will go for a lesser known manager who can take what Wenger leaves behind and drive it on.

[Joker]

If we compare Coyle to Wenger as he is these days, I would personally prefer Coyle tbh. Like I said, Wenger is seriously lacking in tactical nous, which is why so many managers of teams from the mid/lower end of the Premier League have frequently out-thought him in the last 5 years. Remember how Bolton used to get so many results against us with Sam Allardyce? What about Stoke beating us on several occasions in the last 3 seasons? We lost so many points last season against teams that we should be expected to beat, like Newcastle and West Brom at home. Moreover, we've struggled significantly against teams who play a defensive game at the Emirates, while having sufficient technical ability to keep hold of the ball for periods in the game (like Sunderland) Wenger regularly whines that the reason we've lost points against these teams is that they play 10 men behind the ball, or are overly physical etc, but the reality is that Wenger is unable to devise a plan to break these teams down, and has failed to bring in players who are well suited to playing against these teams (which is why his lack of signings from the EPL is a big flaw) Sam Allardyce has managed to get so many points off Wenger by using the same style over and over again, and the fact that Wenger is unable to counter it is a damning indictment of his lack of tactical intelligence.

At the moment, Wenger is one of the poorer managers in the EPL if we look at the whole package (i.e. tactics, motivation, results etc) Coyle wouldn't be my first choice by any means, but if given the choice, I'd choose him above Wenger atm.

[AKBapologist]

Well they havent lost 8-2 to Man Utd and with arguable worse team than ours

Because it's by magic that our team is better than theirs?

/* actually it isn't that much better, beyond a few stars, players that leave arsenal generally flop else where.

[Joker]

/* actually it isn't that much better, beyond a few stars, players that leave arsenal generally flop else where.

If it isn't that much better, surely that's another indictment of Wenger? We're much richer than the Bolton's and Stoke's of this world, and yet we can't afford to assemble a squad that is significantly superior to these teams? What happened to Wenger's so called great ability to find talented players whom he can then groom into top quality footballers?

[Daniele]

Didn't you just say that Wenger has been a complete failure?

Also i would suggest that when Wenger does finally retire/leave/get sacked/get lynched Arsenal wont go for a prestige manager or a so called "big name" but will go for a lesser known manager who can take what Wenger leaves behind and drive it on.

he's been a failure for 5 years out of 15 and his time is up but Arsenal need a manager with vision, great personality and experience at European level. McCoist is a novice, McLeish got relegated with the Brums twice, Holloway is good at joking but has been in the Pl as manager for one season. There are better candidates available, people who would take the positives of the Wenger era and add the qualities that we need to get back to winning ways.

[Daniele]

some people see someone who shouts and says fuck off all the time sitting on the bench and think 'hey, that's what we have been lacking, x is a great motivator, unlike AW'. Ridicolous. Shouting doesn't mean anything. I don't believe in the motivational issue. When he won the league he was a good motivator and now he isn't?