PALACE V ARSENAL - Aug 16th 1.30pm K/O

[Kano]

What's the alternative?

Well, obviously people's feelings will change as the season progresses - go on a run which sees us on touch, or even top, by Christmas, then people will be feeling less bleak. Ultimately though you can only really judge a season at the end.

The alternative? Give up on the manager but still follow the team as best as we can. That's what we're here for. That doesn't mean rooting for him to do badly either. People won't be swept up by going near to the top because they will believe it won't last, that we're only ever a game or two away from blowing it. Fans aren't deluded by temporary positions at the top of the league. We know the best we can achieve is 3rd because that is all we have seen and that is exactly what this comical start has brought right back to us, evaporating all that optimism and patience to wait for a season end assessment.

[Niall_Quinn]

The alternative? Give up on the manager but still follow the team as best as we can. That's what we're here for. That doesn't mean rooting for him to do badly either. People won't be swept up by going near to the top because they will believe it won't last, that we're only ever a game or two away from blowing it. Fans aren't deluded by temporary positions at the top of the league. We know the best we can achieve is 3rd because that is all we have seen and that is exactly what this comical start has brought right back to us, evaporating all that optimism and patience to wait for a season end assessment.

Killing momentum. He's brilliant at it.

[GP]

Brilliant match thread, this.

[Niall_Quinn]

Well let's hope for a win so it doesn't get even better.

[Letters]

We know the best we can achieve is 3rd because that is all we have seen.

Well, it's all we've seen for the last 10 years, but before that we were champions 3 times under Wenger and pretty much always in the top 2.
It's harder these days because of the two billionaire-fueled teams but now we've got the money we've bought players like Sanchez and Ozil. IMO we've got a better squad now than we've had for a while and we showed last year we can win games like City away in the league and Utd away in the Cup, games we'd definitely have lost a few years back. If we get off to a start like we did last year then yes, 3rd is probably the best we can hope for. If we can stay in the mix then we've got a chance. You cannot draw any sensible conclusions from one game.

[Kano]

Well, it's all we've seen for the last 10 years, but before that we were champions 3 times under Wenger and pretty much always in the top 2.
It's harder these days because of the two billionaire-fueled teams but now we've got the money we've bought players like Sanchez and Ozil. IMO we've got a better squad now than we've had for a while and we showed last year we can win games like City away in the league and Utd away in the Cup, games we'd definitely have lost a few years back. If we get off to a start like we did last year then yes, 3rd is probably the best we can hope for. If we can stay in the mix then we've got a chance. You cannot draw any sensible conclusions from one game.

Your point about what he achieved over a decade isn't relevant any longer. Football has changed and moved on. That's the issue here. Anyone with their head screwed on will always praise the man and show him respect for what he achieved but the line of evolution from then until now means only his legacy remains intact at Arsenal, not his managerial skills in this present day.

What you seem to overlook everytime is this isn't just about one game or one season. What happened last weekend ties into years of similar issues, moments in the PL when we've needed to show up and have gone AWOL. These moments have nothing to do with money, they are typically associated with poor set-ups and naivety in the team dripping down from the manager. Compartmentalising each season make little sense when we have the same players and manager and still suffer from the same screw-ups. Those two games away last season probably highlighted more about the problems with our opponents than it did about our own game. When you place that stat of one PL win against top four teams, which is poor enough in itself, into a wider context of the top 8 for example, we won a grand total of 3 from 14. You can see really, that win away to City doesn't demonstrate very much when we can't even put away the teams immediately below us.

The optimism before the last game was something we haven't seen for a long time ahead of a season and that has been absolutely trampled on. Ask fans how they feel about Palace and you'll get an unconfident response, rather than a certainty we'll bounce right back. That alone says a lot. Because underneath all the hope is the nagging feeling that we've been here before and seen the outcome. Sticking to a mantra of 'end of the season' isn't logic but a safety blanket to cling to, refusing to accept a dour reality that this season bleeds into the last, that bleeds into the last, that bleeds into...

[Letters]

Clearly the most relevant seasons are the most recent ones and in the last 2 we've won a trophy in each.
We need to push on now and challege for the biggest prizes.
Of course fans aren't confident about Palace, the optimism from last season has been trampled on by the opening game. But let's see what happens, this lot showed last season they're a good side. IMO they're good enough to challenge. One bad game doesn't change that.

Sticking to a mantra of 'end of the season' isn't logic but a safety blanket to cling to

No, it's the only sensible way of assessing any season and thus the manager.
That applies to any club.

[GP]

[Dein-machine]

Took me ages to make that you know

[GP]

Did they take your crayons away again?