Quote Originally Posted by Kano View Post
Absolutely, the better teams have dropped off but the organisation of the smaller teams, rather than any financial or technical improvements have meant they are able to compete weekly on a closer level. I don't think it's a coincidence that both Palace and Leicester ended last season very strongly and they have been two of the most noticeable teams making a mark in the top half of the table. And that level of organisation is a natural evolution when you consider the limitations of how much information exists for that side of the game.

As for ourselves, as a fan I see why the expectation is there to be better than we are but I understand why we're not and as many of those factors exist outside of our club as they do inside it. I won't buy the idea that City's players are disinterested or dropped off because of the situation around their manager. I don't think any modern player lets that affect them because they are used to players/managers coming and going, media speculation constantly swirling around them. When they join a club like City they know what sort of high turnover situation they are walking into. It's the same at nearly any club with pretensions of being big time (and will be here once Wenger leaves - whatever century that is in). Let's not forget City only finished four points above us last season and find themselves in a similar situation right now - underperforming.

In what many are calling a tougher league, with a new keeper we have picked up more points. City have remained static. As have Utd and Liverpool. Chelsea falling off a cliff is just bizarre. The overall quality of the product continues to resemble Sunday park football most weekends. It's a dirge and as such, regardless of the quality we are supposed to have in our team, we are in that swamp too. Let's not forget that our squad at the start of the season was not deemed good enough. And so it is proving to be the case that in an average league, with an average squad, we too look average. Three world class players are not enough as you need a strong squad, which we do not have. Only on paper. Think of how many games we've pubbed wins in the past couple of seasons. That isn't because suddenly all our technical ability has disappeared but the set-up of opponents have made games far more difficult. So many games are marginal now the knock on effect of teams like Atletico, Dortmund, Bayern and to a degree Barca has become integral to work ethic of many teams.

You won't be find me arguing at the end of the season if we screw this up again that Wenger has made mistakes. I was there at the start of the season but I made the decision to hold off and try to enjoy my football (despite its pub-style) until I see where things are once the dust settles. As much as I can see the flaws in our squad and manager I also accept that the league around us is also contributing to them.


I think you are putting too much emphasis on Leicester and Palace - and using their performances to justify your argument that all teams are getting harder to beat. Leicester are a phenomenon - and in many ways a one-off this season. Pardiola always has blue streaks - but Palace are not pulling up any trees this season now. Lower teams have undoubtedly become more organised, as their managers see that the way to unsettle teams that are technically better is to defend with better discipline and to press hard, but that's what football does - it moves in cycles - and its for rich teams with supposedly world class managers like Arsenal to adapt their playing style to cope. For every Leicester or Watford or West Ham this season; there is an Everton; Chelsea or Manure shedding points that they would not have been expected to in past seasons - plus we have taken points from Manure and Citeh that we have failed to do recently, so I'm not sure that our points total so far can be simply laid at the door of a generally improving lower half of the table.


I suppose the more interesting question is why Wenger cannot cope with the 'Sunday football' that you describe. To a degree this is nothing new. The EPL has always favoured footballing sides less than 'blood and thunder' - and its not as though our manager is not used to it FFS! And its even more frustrating when earlier in the season we seemed to have realised that a high pressing, passing game can be flawed and expose us to the kind of counter attacking football that has been our undoing many times this season, yet lately have abandoned this. I accept that to say we should be easily winning this league is to expect that the manager marshals his resources better to face the football that we are seeing - but I don't think this expectation is any less valid for it.