Arsenal v Chelsea Match Reaction

[Letters]

I expect us to go into the penultimate game fighting for the title too, anything less is a failure IMO.

So you are essentially saying we can't improve upon Wenger right now?

I'm not saying that, but some of the names bandied around on here as replacements have crashed and burned elsewhere.
I don't think anyone will come in and we'll suddenly be sweeping all before us.

[Özim]

I'm not saying that, but some of the names bandied around on here as replacements have crashed and burned elsewhere.
I don't think anyone will come in and we'll suddenly be sweeping all before us.

The blunt truth is Wenger in the last 10 years has won two cups, that's it. 4th places are all very good but are pretty meaningless, if we looked at another manager and all they'd won is 2 cups in 10 years but had a history of coming 3rd/4th we wouldn't touch them with a bargepole, we'd think this guy is an also-ran never being able to deliver success.

2 cups in 10 years, that's it and put like that he's nothing special at all, 4th places only mean something in terms of money and the CL, but for any proper football club interested in being the best and success it's not much of an achievement.

4th place means nothing, especially when you consider what he's done when he's qualified for the CL,it would be different if he'd won the CL or got to the latter stages regularly, sadly that's not the case, on that basic his record is mediocre.

[Letters]

The blunt truth is Wenger in the last 10 years has won two cups, that's it.

You could say last 10 years, I could say last 2 years. Both are 'true' but neither paint the full picture. I do think we should have won a cup or two before 2 years ago, maybe a title. There were times when Wenger should have been sacked for his failings. But comparing the last couple of years to the 8 years before that is simplistic, it takes no account of the change in our financial muscle, it's no co-incidence that the trophies started being won after we started signing players like Ozil and Sanches.

We should have done more last summer, Cech was a good signing but we needed more. If that costs us a title challenge then Wenger should be sacked.
But saying 'challenge' is not a get out clause. I don't think we have a better squad than other contenders so why would I expect us to be waltzing to the title? I do think we have a squad good enough to compete, I expect us to. I don't think sacking a manager who has us level on points with the team many are proclaiming as champions elect is a sensible move. I do think if we drop away and fail to challenge till the end he should be sacked though.

[Özim]

You could say last 10 years, I could say last 2 years. Both are 'true' but neither paint the full picture. I do think we should have won a cup or two before 2 years ago, maybe a title. There were times when Wenger should have been sacked for his failings. But comparing the last couple of years to the 8 years before that is simplistic, it takes no account of the change in our financial muscle, it's no co-incidence that the trophies started being won after we started signing players like Ozil and Sanches.

We should have done more last summer, Cech was a good signing but we needed more. If that costs us a title challenge then Wenger should be sacked.
But saying 'challenge' is not a get out clause. I don't think we have a better squad than other contenders so why would I expect us to be waltzing to the title? I do think we have a squad good enough to compete, I expect us to. I don't think sacking a manager who has us level on points with the team many are proclaiming as champions elect is a sensible move. I do think if we drop away and fail to challenge till the end he should be sacked though.

I'm saying it on the basis of looking for a new manager, if we were looking would we consider a manager who has won 2 cups in 10 years (you would be looking at their record over a periord rather than 2 years to see what they had achieved at their last club IMO)?

I don't think so, we'd be looking for a manager with a record of winning titles, relative success in Europe in relation to their resources etc, we wouldn't be considering someone who'd managed a big club and picked up two cups and with an average record in the CL.

The reason we should win the title is simple, Chelsea have been hopeless, Man U are poor, Man City have been very inconsistent, Liverpool sacked their manager and are rebuilding.....in real terms any team who can string a few results together has the title available on a plate, in all honesty if we'd played like Champions and got results we should have got we'd be coasting because let's be honest our challengers have been poor this season.

The issue is time and time again we've dropped points when we should have won games, the last 3 games being decisive proof, the game at Liverpool was all but won, if we'd been professional we'd have held onto possession and seen the game out, against Stoke we should have gone out all guns blazing and done away with them (they're not Bayern Munich after all), instead we allowed them to dictate the tempo and yesterday of course, once again at home with yet another chance to pull things round we lose against a team who have struggled against most teams this season, worse still this was at home.

There's just too many of these results, 4 points clear of Man City at one point and despite them not playing well at all they are now ahead of us on goal difference, it says it all really.

You just can't believe in a manager who's teams have a record of collapsing when an opporutnity to lead the pack arises, it's happened far too many times for you to think it'll be different this time round, especially given our recent results.

[Letters]

There's just too many of these results, 4 points clear of Man City at one point and despite them not playing well at all they are now ahead of us on goal difference, it says it all really.

We were 4 points clear of them for about 5 days, we cocked it up on Boxing Day and it went back to 1. We're a month later now and it's now 0 points.
And they were 5 points clear of us at one point too.

The fact is no-one has been that good this year. The title's there for the taking. We've dropped points we shouldn't have but so has everyone else. Who knows any more?

You just can't believe in a manager who's teams have a record of collapsing when an opporutnity to lead the pack arises, it's happened far too many times for you to think it'll be different this time round, especially given our recent results.

I kinda agree but with Sanchez coming back I have some hope that we're going to improve - we usually go on a good run at some point, let's hope it's now.
The next 2 games are winnable, then it's Leicester at home which is an improbably 6 pointer.
Win those 3 and things will look a bit rosier.
Cock those up too and I'll probably contract ZD too

[Niall_Quinn]

We should have done more last summer, Cech was a good signing but we needed more. If that costs us a title challenge then Wenger should be sacked.

So if his irresponsible and negligent gamble pays off, because there's simply nobody else among the top dogs who can get their season together or none of the smaller clubs can maintain the pace, he stays. But if his irresponsible and negligent gamble fails, then he goes. Is that it?

Wouldn't it have been a whole lot better to have eliminated the gamble and used some of that "financial muscle" to bring in the players we needed for a campaign that potentially spanned four competitions?

I think he should be sacked for not doing his job in the summer. The fact we'll have to wait until 2019 for him to go is shocking considering the long list of managers at other clubs who suffered the realities of football for not delivering everything (not just something, but everything) that was expected of them. We've had title winning managers being shown the door, very harsh but a measure of what the owners at those clubs expect and demand. We all know what our lot expect and demand - profits. And fuck the football.

[Munchies]

So if his irresponsible and negligent gamble pays off, because there's simply nobody else among the top dogs who can get their season together or none of the smaller clubs can maintain the pace, he stays. But if his irresponsible and negligent gamble fails, then he goes. Is that it?

Wouldn't it have been a whole lot better to have eliminated the gamble and used some of that "financial muscle" to bring in the players we needed for a campaign that potentially spanned four competitions?

I think he should be sacked for not doing his job in the summer. The fact we'll have to wait until 2019 for him to go is shocking considering the long list of managers at other clubs who suffered the realities of football for not delivering everything (not just something, but everything) that was expected of them. We've had title winning managers being shown the door, very harsh but a measure of what the owners at those clubs expect and demand. We all know what our lot expect and demand - profits. And fuck the football.

Same shit all the time.

You'd think he'd learn from the Broken Back Kallstrom debacle

[Letters]

So if his irresponsible and negligent gamble pays off, because there's simply nobody else among the top dogs who can get their season together or none of the smaller clubs can maintain the pace, he stays. But if his irresponsible and negligent gamble fails, then he goes. Is that it?

I want us to compete for the title, I think we're good enough to, we've got the money to compete so we should be doing so.
It wasn't a 'gamble' last summer, he clearly tried to sign outfield players and didn't manage to. But if we fail because of that then he should be sacked.
If we win the league then it would be nice if he stepped aside, it would be a good way to go out. But I don't think many title winning managers would be sacked.

[GP]

I want us to compete for the title, I think we're good enough to, we've got the money to compete so we should be doing so.
It wasn't a 'gamble' last summer, he clearly tried to sign outfield players and didn't manage to. But if we fail because of that then he should be sacked.
If we win the league then it would be nice if he stepped aside, it would be a good way to go out. But I don't think many title winning managers would be sacked.

If he wins the league, he should go out on a high.

If he doesn't, he should be sacked, thrown into a wood chipper and then shot into the centre of the sun.

We should have a comfortable lead by now. We've blown it.

[Marc Overmars]

We'll be closer to 5th than 1st come March.

Happens all the time. Nosebleed.