Quote Originally Posted by Letters View Post
I've done it repeatedly in the last few pages, the usual suspects have just resorted to personal jibes and insults.
The "point" seems to be "the last 10 years" but that "point" makes no sense when things change constantly in football, the new financial deals have seen a new level of signing and those players have clearly made a difference. Belittle the FA Cup all you like but it's a start and 3rd and the FA Cup last year is a pretty decent season. Yes, we need to push on and challenge for the biggest prizes, yes the lack of a major signing up front will hamper our chances. But over-reacting after 1 game makes no sense. 5 games in and we're doing OK, Saturday was a good performance. Lose the Chelsea game and yes, it's back to square one but FFS give the lads a chance.
Football does indeed change, no arguing against that. And it has changed over the past 10 years.

BUT IT IS THE MANAGEMENT OF WENGER THAT HASN'T CHANGED. That is the problem. Yes he has signed better players now he has access to more funds. That's a good thing and everyone agrees with it. But even with these players he is still making many of the same old mistakes he has been making for a decade. This is what stressed out and pissed off observers are keying on. Bad tactics, bad formations with players out of position, seemingly zero appreciation of the opponent (and for Man City, which apparently the players managed themselves anyway, you can point to a Monaco and call the former a one-off), penny-pinching when he no longer needs to, HIS ideas about what represents value even though, as you correctly point out, the game has changed and the whole notion of value has gone out the window. All the signs that have foretold a failure to compete in the league or put up a respectable showing in the CL are still there, including this season. The 10 years are important, despite the new signings and FA cups, because the same patterns are consistent over those 10 years. The game has changed, the manager hasn't. There lies the problem. You have actually stated it yourself, probably without realising. That's what people mean when they say fresh blood, fresh ideas, a manager who realises the game has changed and is suited to dealing with those changes. Agreed, it won't be easy to find somebody suitably qualified, but we should be looking. We mustn't drift into a situation where 2017 arrives and there's no viable alternative so Wenger signs up in a fait accompli. Rather like the striker situation, years to sort it out but again we are hearing his excuses about nobody being available THIS season. Convenient but it's a framed excuse that ignores the past.