the worst wenger side ever could be the best since 2006?

[Coney]

i dont mean luck in the literal sense, more in a idealised sense.

'Fortunate' might be the word you are looking for.

[Coney]

that comeback ability has been present in wenger's teams for the past few years, perhaps not the extent we have seen in the past few weeks as the previous comebacks were usually undermined by a panicky defence.

there are two kinds of mental resilance we need to have and one we have failed to develop since 05. Standing up and fighting the odds is one thing but to lead from the front and not be scared to look back is a quality not too many people, let alone groups have. without that being developed somewhere within the team, being naturally or through new players, it is a strength needed to win a trophy again.

I'm fairly sure that some of the resiliance of the team comes from purchases of people like Mersacker, Arteta and Benayoune (sp?) at the beginning of the season, along with the likes of Verm from before. But I am starting to think that RvP's captaincy is also a major factor in the teams performances. I think he is turning out to be a good leader that the players will respect and follow. Cesc was not like that - he was a great talent and I'm sure the players respected him for that and got on well as friends in a team, but it looks as if he did not have that 'leader' factor that RvP seems to have.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

And all SWAYR is saying that this has been said every season for the past 6 seasons yet nothing changes and people dont seem to think to clock on.

SWAYR has opened his eyes to the situation regardless of how we play and who we beat in one off games.

Time others did

And we get that FFS!
I think what everyone is saying that a quality core by itself will not get us to where we want to be. . .this time or next time ie next season we need to bring in a better supporting cast for Jack Oxo RvP to play with, a bench that can contribute.

We all know we have let down by this side of things and if we can/dare to get it right, we could be up there.

Letters is not saying this season has been great but he has enjoyed moments of it. . .we have produced some great games bit equally we have been poor, we need to address the poor side, the inconsistent nature of our past seasons. . . .shit it is not wrong to think optimistically, and there is reason to be so when you hope that a certain core lead by RvP will be around next year.

What is it with some. . .that just want to hear. . .so sorry for having an opinion, of coutse you are right!

[Letters]

It makes no sense to saw we're a shit team and then, when someone points out we're 4th, say "that's only because of RvP."
RvP is PART OF OUR TEAM!
It would be legitimate (and probably accurate) to say we would be shit without him, but we're not without him so it's irrelevant.

It's like saying "Novak Djokovic is shit" and when someone points out he's actually quite good saying "yeah, but that's only because of his right leg".
Well, that is probably true and without it he wouldn't be as good but, again, irrelevant. A body is made up of parts which are all needed to make the whole. A team is made up of players. Some parts/players are more important than others but the team should be assessed as a whole and, as a whole, we're 4th right now.

Clearly we're too reliant on RvP and need some signings, I don't think anyone is denying this. No-one thinks everything is suddenly fine, people are just pleased that we've strung a few results together and are pleased at the fight we showed the other night when we could have laid down and given up.

SWAYR - I've removed your sig. Grow up.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Then you're an idiot, frankly.



Is this the shit Milan who are the Italian champions and currently top of the Italian league?



That's not really relevant. The first leg was awful and we had very little chance of qualifying. They could have laid down and given up but they fought for it and gave themselves a chance when pretty much no-one thought we had one. This team who a lot of us, me included, have been so criticising this season fought hard last night and beat the Italian champions 3-0. It wasn't enough but the result, performance and effort on the night were fantastic. Pretty much no-one thought we could win 4-0 and now you're moaning because we didn't?

Good post Letters

Reading this thread from the top and SWAYR is starting to have a San Siro himself. . .

[Japan Shaking All Over]

1. excellent example set by big man once again, calling me an idiot and insulting posters just because they dont share the same view as him.

2. i dont take much notice that they are italian champions. their owner is nothing short of a well known crook so you cant justify them winning the italian league because its more than likely they paid off officials for it, like they have in the past.

3.

they won 4-0 at the san siro. we won 3-0 at emirates. they went through 4-3 on aggregate.

clearly it is relevant.

Point 2 - Do shut up!
I get your frustration but you quite clearly do not know what you are talking about. . .I think people think Milan are shit because they have a few golden oldies playing for them. . .I thought we would do Milan but not because I thought they were shit, the match in Italy did not leave me witth a lot if hope because we wete awful as many have said, but we gave it a good crack in the return leg and although disappointed I can still applaud the team and not crucify them for not being able to score a fourth

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Oh that is just laughable.

See?



This really is very simple. It was, effectively, 4-0 at half time. We could have thought "well, it's game over" and not bothered in the 2nd leg. But we didn't, we played brilliantly, gave everything and gave them a real fright. Ultimately it wasn't enough but you could hear the crowd's reaction at the final whistle. The players got a great reception and rightly so. All the Arsenal fans in the stadium were proud of the effort. If you weren't then, well, I think you're an idiot but yes you're entitled to your opinion.

Wrong again Letters!
The fans were paid off by Berrascolli to show fake love!

[Japan Shaking All Over]

oh my goodness.

oh.

my.

goodness.

you are wengers cousin. you must be.

this club will always be in a complete mess with fans like you.

How will the club always be in a complete mess with fans like Charlie or Wengers cousin. . .unless Charlie actually is Wenger or Wengers family is the board!

and since when has optimism been such a bad thing?

[Fist of Lehmann]

Just as a point of reference:

..............P.....GD.....Pts
05-06.....27.....17.....41
06-07.....27.....27.....52
07-08.....27.....36.....64
08-09.....27.....13.....46
09-10.....27.....42.....60
10-11.....27.....30.....56
11-12.....27.....17.....49

Subjective assessments are all very nice and meaningless, but in the final analysis it's results that count. And not in the cups either, those are unreliable indicators of quality. A pro-rata league comparison is about the best we can manage.

By those criteria this season is 2 worst and not far away from the 08-09 season.
(Note we went on to notch 26 pts of 33 during the remainder of that season so the flaw in comparing pro-rata is clear).

Even if we won every single game from now till the end of the season we'd still 'only' hit 82 points. 1 shy of 07-08.

[Joker]

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon is correct, RVP has contributed 34 of the 49 goals (including goals and assists) in the Premiership this season, close to 70%. No other club relies on ONE PLAYER to contribute so much in an attacking sense. This season has been pathetic, we're out of the Champions League in the 2nd round, out of the FA Cup in the 5th round, went out of the Carling Cup early and are scrapping to remain in the top 4 in a season when Chelsea and Liverpool have been dreadful. How can anyone say this season has been decent? Just because we've had a few good results shouldn't obfuscate the fact that we've regressed as a team again, and are no closer to winning a trophy than back in 2008-2009.

And it is entirely right to criticise RVP for messing up that chance against Milan. Arrogance cannot be justified when you're not winning comfortably.