Wenger Referendum: Yes Or No

[fakeyank]

I don't know, Spurs are Spurs and it's always fun to laugh at their pitfalls, but to be honest i think most of us would honestly say that if we didn't support Arsenal we wouldn't hate Spurs.

Chelsea and their manager however are a cancer on football, and for them to lose games for me is not only a good thing, it feels like a victory for football.

I don't think the possibility of having to stomach Spurs winning the title is something we have to ponder on too much, it's about as likely as Lord Lucan handing himself in at Kensington Police Station.

Pretty much. Me not being from 'the area', I do not have the inherent born hatred for Spurs. I do despise them since its a part and parcel of being an Arsenal fan but Chelsea are really what is wrong with football- corrupt owner, biggest douchebag of a manager, racist captain and fans, divers, glory hunting and racist fans. There really is nothing good about that club... I think if Roman goes bankrupt, the satellites will actually have pictures of the earth smiling!

[Letters]

Still has to go at the end of the season. You know what might make me reconsider my position? 3 things:
- Challenge for the PL till the last day of the season or at least the last month
- Have a realistic chance of winning the Champions League or being one of the big dogs
- Beating Chelsea under Mourinho

The first two are not going to happen this season. I would be ecstatic with the last one... IF AW can come up with a game plan to defeat Chelsea, then that means we have seriously made progress.

I think that's a pretty reasonable position, but I don't think Wenger deserves the abuse you give him.

I don't know what to make of this season, we started so poorly and even recently we've been pub-teaming it a bit but the two results in Manchester have been outstanding. It's the first time for years we've won games like that, especially on Monday when it was against a rival in game which really mattered. The accepted wisdom, with some justification, is we always lose those games. Was it a sign that maybe we're finally getting over that mental block? Especially after last season when as much as we wobbled in the semi-final and final we did manage to finish the job and win the Cup.
It's been a confusing season because till recently I've had said we look worse this year, but there have been a couple of signs of progress in terms of winning these 'must win' games.
What we do need to do - and that comes back to your point about a title challenge - is sustain this sort of form over a whole season.

[Letters]

Oh, and winning the Cup or not is far too simplistic a way of deciding Wenger's fate, IMO.
There are such fine lines in football, if we get to the final (we had bloody better!) and play Liverpool, on current form that's a game which could go either way.
We could play very well and lose because of a poor decision, a lucky deflesction or just good play by the opposition, that's no basis for sacking a manger or not.

[Heisenberg]

Oh, and winning the Cup or not is far too simplistic a way of deciding Wenger's fate, IMO.
There are such fine lines in football, if we get to the final (we had bloody better!) and play Liverpool, on current form that's a game which could go either way.
We could play very well and lose because of a poor decision, a lucky deflesction or just good play by the opposition, that's no basis for sacking a manger or not.

I completely agree. By the same token, the argument for Wenger to stand down sooner rather than later still stands even if we win the cup again. If there are systemic issues in the team and his management, winning a trophy like the cup (however pleasant, and it is very pleasant) doesn't solve the underlying issues, it only papers over the cracks. What should determine his fate are things like his ability to strategise and motivate for the big games, being able to sign players that we need and challenge seriously for titles.

[Letters]

I completely agree. By the same token, the argument for Wenger to stand down sooner rather than later still stands even if we win the cup again. If there are systemic issues in the team and his management, winning a trophy like the cup (however pleasant, and it is very pleasant) doesn't solve the underlying issues, it only papers over the cracks. What should determine his fate are things like his ability to strategise and motivate for the big games, being able to sign players that we need and challenge seriously for titles.

Wouldn't winning the cup 2 years in a row show that some of those underlying issues are getting better? Last year we managed to win the thing, getting the 'no trophies' monkey off our back and finally managing to finish the job in a competition. This year if we win it we'd have that again and we've had to play Utd at Old Trafford on the way, exactly the sort of game which we 'always bottle it' in. There are some tentative signs that some of the old mental frailties are getting better. Agree with FY that we need to mount a sustained title challenge, but things like this are a sign that we might be able to do that.

[Heisenberg]

Absolutely. We've also won away in big games now, which we hadn't for a while, including getting the United curse off our backs. If we win the cup again and qualify for the CL, it'll be hard to argue against giving AW another year, for me.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

It'll be hard to argue against giving AW another year, for me.

I love how completely and utterly academic that statement is.

[Heisenberg]

Almost like it's just a fan's perspective.

[selassie]

He should go at the end of the season regardless of what happens. We need a new man in charge with fresh ideas.

[Niall_Quinn]

How come he's still here? He's clearly been voted out!

46 - 14

The 14 being idiots who simply don't get it - though in my defence I thought it would be different this season now we have a few quid.