My point is that i personally were I in Wenger's position would probably be just as selfish.....there is definitely no question that he's being selfish. But i can understand why he'd want to stay, but unless they are not looking at the bigger picture and just kicking things into the long grass it's hard to understand the board or the majority shareholder either from a football or financial perspective wanting this to carry on.
I get that, but if looking from the other side of the coin and taking a more personal perspective, as done with Wenger, I can understand why they’d not want to see him leave under these circumstances. I think most people around football can. With Wenger, I can understand staying for the money but he’s spent years building his reputation as a man with principles and a purist. A man that loves football and not money. From that perspective, I would have thought he’d have moved on to a club like Madrid, Barca or even PSG and try to win the CL. Lesser managers have won that trophy as discussed with Barca and Madrid. Why take the flack here where not wanted and try to spend your last couple of years going for the ultimate prize?
Destroying a legacy and reputation it’s taken decades to build is pretty stupid and especially if it’s just to accumulate a bigger pile of cash. He’s 67 years old.
I don't understand what Wenger's getting out of this any more.
Money, obviously, but he's already a multi-millionaire. He doesn't want for anything. I don't think he's too fussed about the money actually, I think he'd do it for free - he's addicted to the whole buzz of it.
But as things turn more sour with the fans and results increasingly get worse it clearly takes a toll on him Surely someone close to him should be saying "Come on, fella, you've had a good run - time to call it a day".
I think if he went at the end of the season, win the FA Cup or not, in time when people have calmed down they would appreciate his legacy. The longer this drags on the more damage it does to that. Shame.
It really does sour his reputation. He doesn’t have to retire. He could easily get the football buzz that he craves somewhere else and maybe successfully mask his short comings as a manger. A few years at a Madrid or Barca and he must be able to get away pull in some sort of silverware. Or go to France, Italy or Germany and takeover one of the biggest clubs that has the most money and best players. Pull a Pep with Bayern! Or if the pressure of winning trophies is too much, take on an underdog team and bask in the glories failure heaven. Another project club that needs reshaping…he has options. But the longer he stays at Arsenal and fails he only exposes himself and opens himself up to more criticism.
I'm not so sure it's about money, it's about the fear of having nothing else left.
He is according to so many people the first one at London Colney and the last one to leave, managing Arsenal FC is the totality of his existence there is nothing else.
Looking at it from an outside perspective it's easier to look at it rationally and objectively and say "i don't get what he gets out of this". The answer is because this is all he has, now do I think that's anyone else's fault but his own? No of course not. But putting myself in his shoes I would think i've given this club everything and I'm owed this.
Looking at it dispassionately no he's not owed anything, he was given three years with more money to make some improvement and there's been none.
So I'm clear on this, it's not that i'm saying Wenger deserves any less stick than the board. It's just saying from Wenger's point of view there is more rationale for wanting to stay than there is for the board wanting him to stay.
Last edited by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie; 28-04-2017 at 11:50 AM.
It's a bit like how some footballers dread retiring because they're late 30s and it's all they've known since they were in their teens, so what is left? What can replace the buzz of the big game?