Is Arsene Wenger still a “specialist in failure”?

You Cant Argue With Results by Neil

When you’re as arrogant and obnoxious as Jose Mourinho you have to be able to back it up or people will mock you. Two cups in one season, albeit one is the Mickey Mouse cup, says he is more than entitled to swagger.

When he accused the Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger of being an ‘specialist in failure’ he had a point, if you judge failure by his own high standards.

So in a week that brought such pain to the city of Manchester you cannot begrudge one of their teams the success in the Europa Cup final and whilst it wont bring back the lives of those innocent victims it is a distraction that many need at this time.

So back to Mourinho……He is absolutely on course to challenge for the EPL next season, given he has taken the approach to win a soft trophy in his first season several times before. He’s bagged the Europa Cup which has given him the added bonus of also being in next seasons Champions League. So what impact does this have on us? This……

A team who finished one place below us and unquestionably much improved, as have three above us, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs, will all challenge for the premier league crown. City have sustained a status of ‘good but not quite there’ for yet another season. If you’re a gambling person you would say, unless we make significant acquisitions, there are potentially five teams who start off next season in a better position than us : Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool, City and United. So if you would assume 6th is looking likely.

the Ox called it bang on this week. The teams above us have moved on but we haven’t. He neglected to include United in that assessment. So where will be in September without change? Any of you that have been in a relationship that ultimately fails will know there is always a period of it being rubbish before someone actually decides to call it a day. Whereas Chelsea, Liverpool, City and United don’t wait for things to get that bad, I rather feel Arsenal are simply the girl that hasn’t got the courage to chuck the boyfriend despite the fact she knows she’s simply delaying the inevitable….

So, referring back to the Special One, was he right when he labelled Wenger as a specialist in failure? I have to admit I believe he was….

39 Comments

  1. “Specialist in failure” is too harsh. Moyes, Allardyce and Neville have more failures than Wenger. Mourinho himself, the big mouth, got sacked three times.

    Wenger will still be in Arsenal next season, whether we like it or not. If that is the case, we should start the new season with positivity.

    Once Arsenal officially announces Wenger’s contract extension, the protests must stop. Unless the fans want to see another disappointing season.

    1. If you’re an arsenal fan then that criticism seems fair because he has specialized in not meeting our standard for quite a while.

  2. I still believe that despite the FA cup success the season he should be judged on the teams performance in the league.
    Wenger is not a specialist in failure – far from it. He is a specialist in stagnation, of never moving forward, of never changing how he does things. How long did it take for him to change his formation despite the fact that we struggled with this formation for so long?
    The truth is that its not all of his fault. Its the fault of the owners who have allowed him to run everything instead of doing what he was meant to do – manage the team. Its the fault of the fans for showing so much loyalty to him despite his glaring faults. Its the fault of the backroom staff who have stagnated with him. Its the fault of the players who took everything for granted knowing he would never criticise them for it.
    I hope that yesterdays success will be Wenger leaving on a high – remembered as a legend, taking his rightful place in history but I suspect it won’t.

    1. I agree he should leave on a high. We will all remember him and respect him as a legend. It is time we moved forward with new idea and new vigour.

      1. And two community shields in 4 seasons. Guys….we haven’t fared badly. I know we all want the EPL titel…and perhaps UCL. But I have learnt to always celebrate little successes. In their worst season…Chelsea did not even make Europa- talkless of a trophy. In their best season, Spuds achieved zero success anywhere apart from finishing above Arsenal (may be that pass for a trophy). With all the arrays of players, City & Pool had zero trophy. Guys….i do not know how many trophies Pool & Spuds won in the last four seasons but let me know when you are done counting.

  3. I don’t think he deserves an extension regardless of the FA cup..but for me if the board decides he should stay because they haven’t future proofed the club then so be it…but a DOF is a must ..
    We have to put structures in place so we don’t end up like Man Utd after SAF..

    Wenger won’t like it but he absolutely has to accept that its not all about him its about the club and its future

    If he insists on walking because he won’t accept a DOF and the other changes..then he never really cared about the future of the club anyway…just about his power and position..

    Besides I don’t believe Wenger can be truly successful with out a ”David Dein” someone to override him when he is making daft decisions..or dithering…

  4. Arsene should walk away.
    We thank him for all he has done.
    Time to move on.
    We need a manager that will not be contented with his playing staff thereby having the drive to improve.

  5. Please stay Wenger you are my god nobody can win FA cup like you. Is OK I know you not interested in other cups I’ll always support you all the way, this club belong to you we are just the followers.

  6. After a horrible season I didnt think I would feel any different if we won the FA cup. But I do. I love the FA Cup and am absolutely over the moon. I don’t care about top 4 because we are never going to win the CL next season even if we would have been 4th.

    But the cup is tangible success. And I think Wenger has delivered despite poor league form. But at the end of the day being first in the league is the only one that matters. No one remembers 2, 3 & 4. But we will remember this cup and on that basis Wenger is a success this season.

    I think he should stay. Ideally we would be stronger all around now but I think that if Wenger signed for 2 years he could definitely bring one or two more trophies in his next contract and for me that is a positive.

  7. Wat do u call specialist in failure? Wenger has single handedly built Arsenal one of the most beautiful stadium in d world; played an invinsible season; won 7 FA cup.Even if he should liv He has done well for Arsenal . Pls lets give dis man Kudos for once..

    1. Single handedly built us a stadium. Yeah he built it brick by brick this club had one 10 league titles and 6 F A cups before he came along. I respect what he has done but you new fans think this club would not exist without him. We where a big club before he came and we will be after he leaves. Time for a change maybe not this summer cause we are not ready but he should stay 1 more year so we can get the right structure at the club for him to go. Bring in Allegri and watch us fly again.
      #WENGER OUT
      #KROENKE OUT

    2. Single handedly built the stadium? If money was handed to him and given orders to supervise, is that his own work or he was just an employee? Then we should give more credit to the engineers who worked day and night from the scratch to the finished product.. you’d say the were paid, just like Wenger. The status of God that you people give him really makes me puke, as if he’s doing us a favor

  8. “Specialist in failure” wasn’t a sentiment regarding a season’s success or ailments but rather a meanscore in an individual’s work in his coaching career.Wenger has had quite a number of successes in his management we cant deny but are they as overwhelming as Jose’s? 20 years at a club with how many trophys to count.Mou hasnt been at a single club that long but success isnt measured by how long you stay at a club but by how many trophies you add to your name.20 years without a single European medal isnt a nice statistic to a manager who wants to be deemed successful.And getting so many Fa medals doesnt count in the eyes of world soccer elite.
    Comparering Wenger to Neville is abit naive if you trully are a soccer fun.Wenger should be in the same basket as the great Sir.Alex who accomplished so much in his 25 or so years’ reign,but we of lare have learnt that even Zenedine Zidane has toppled him off the charts….
    Poets dont win trophies…

    1. Very terrible logic. So you mean Roberto Di matteo and Zidane are automatically better coaches than Wenger simply because they inherited championship winning teams and won European trophies?
      You honestly believe Wenger would not have a European trophy to his name if he had coached a Barcelona with Messi or a Real Madrid with Ronaldo and Bale? Tsk…tsk…tsk….

      1. But a successful manager is judged by trophies he won, not how long he stayed at a single club. Wenger stayed for so long he should have a lot of European trophies by his status now, but none and a lot of FA cups and no EPL title for 10 years. He was good those days, but now he can’t assemble a winning team anymore, always having 2 or 3 players short to win a major something.. he’s still the specialist in failure

  9. I have always thought that “Specialist in failure” is a disrespectful and unfair label, so I have never called Wenger that, nor any of the other personal insults that many people throw at him.

    However, lets get something straight – Wenger is not working for Arsenal voluntarily. He isn’t like people that give-up their free-time to raise money for charity, or those who volunteer to work without pay, to help people that are sick or homeless.

    He is a top-level professional, on a top-level salary, and should be expected to do a top-level job, just like any senior manager in any top-level organisation. Being a top-level professional is about achieving the expected results. If you can’t do that, then there are lesser-paid jobs in organisations with lower expectations, where you can work at your comfort level.

    And that’s where the current problem is at Arsenal.

    Many fans (Like me) consider the remit of being the Arsenal manager is to (a) Challenge to win the top-flight domestic league (b) Challenge for European trophies (c) Win the odd domestic cup. George Graham did it. And Wenger used to do it.

    But for the last decade, nobody has been doing it. Therefore if you think the above remit for a top-level manager is accurate, then the last decade has been a failure. If you think only (c) is important, then perhaps in your eyes it’s been a success.

    1. everyone so easily forgets the years lost to paying for the stadium.. since that has been eased there have been 3 FA cup wins and a 2nd place .. this season is only one where we have not really challengeed but even then we were too before xmas.. I do think sanchez and Ozil have to take a lot of flak for not either committing to a new contract ot simply saying no we will leave but lets play for rest of season.. theyre the two best players and Wenger bought them remember.. but they were the fulcrum of the poor play from dec to marc because of their attitude…

      1. Years lost paying the stadium? Thought he said we are moving to the emirates to compete with the best and not move to the emirates to pay the debt and settle for less!! Who’s fault is it? He’s good at lying, he didn’t start that recently l

  10. Tell me now, if Wenger leaves. Which world class coach would Arsenal get at the moment?? Allegri won’t leave Juve bcs they are not ready to release him???? Who else would you get that’s better??? Unless you want to become like Man UTD fighting to build another team.

    I have one word for yesterday’s game. I respect Monreal …..what an underrated defender.

      1. So you think Ronald Koeman can replace Wenger. What a joke! I’m all for change but not for the worse. Is there any topnotch manager available atm? I think not. The few coaches that could be an upgrade on Wenger are not available and that blame lies entirely with the board. For now let’s make do with what we have and hope those layabouts start planning for life without Wenger. And for now let’s give Wenger the respect he deserves.

        1. Ronald Koeman was excellent at Southampton, and hasn’t done badly at Everton despite not having had a chance to build his team yet. Also he was a top-quality player for Barcelona and at international level. Koeman is a winner.

          With Everton’s new owners he will probably get some money to buy players, and won’t be far behind Arsenal next season, if not on-par with us. And that’s with a club who are not in the same league as Arsenal when it comes to financial resources. Just watch.

          1. Unfortunately, even Ronald koeman won’t come to arsenal. Imagine wenger, ozil and Alexis all gone next season. Arsenal broad gives you no money to replace them. Why would anyone choose to manager arsenal with fans expecting you to land the EPL trophy?

    1. For me it was never about Wenger’s tactics, it was about Wenger’s inability to spend big cache to get more top players ( in the last 8 years: arshavin, xhaka, Sanchez , and ozil). Some even may dispute the first two being top. So is it only ozil and Sanchez ? This is just not enough…..
      I mean just look at ball pocession in most of our games….arsenal players without doubt knows fast pace passing. The thing that we always seem to miss is some creativity in order to create more clear cut chances. The kind of creativity that top players bring. Year after year the topics at this time of the year were about what top players we should get. And the hopes that Wenger spends…..unfortunately that does not materialize for arsenal……and I always ask my self: how the hell does it materialize for the other top teams ? The answer is they spend ALOT and we don’t. I know for sure that arsenal had the necessary money. All along, my understanding is that us not spending is Wenger’s choice. So if this is the case and he continues the same way, then to be honest, I don’t mind any other manager that spend for a change. However, if I’m wrong and this lack of spending is imposed on Wenger by kronke or any other top management, then there is no point in changing Wenger.

  11. So when will a better manager come along so that Wenger can be replaced? Its either a decision is made fast and everybody gear up for the turbullence or wait and pretend all is alright with a record on FA trophys.
    The earlier the better.Man untd did it and are almost now getting out of the trobled waters.Arsenal waits while the world moves on and when they finally realise everybody is gone it will be too late

    1. Man United finished 6th and yet “they are getting out of the troubled waters”. Let me remind you that the previous seasons Man U finished 4th and 5th (with FA Cup). If anything they regressed this season in terms of results.

      1. Man Utd won a European Trophy this season, as well as the League Cup. That makes their season more successful than Arsenal’s.

        Also, Moureen hasn’t been there long. He’s still building his team. They will spend on top quality players in the transfer window, and most likely be challenging for the title next season.

        For me that’s progress.

  12. If Wenger is a specialist in failure then, by the same logic, Pochettino is also on track to be a specialist in failure if only he can maintain the Spurs current standard for another 18 years. That conclusion in my opinion would be ridiculous.

    If there is an obvious successor hiding behind the curtains then this would be a great time for Wenger to exit. If not, then even given his well documented flaws, then he is best to stay on for another year or so as long as there is a gaurantee that this “will he or won’t be” charade doesn’t reoccur in another 18 months.

  13. Arsenal 2-10 Bayern munich aggreggate Champions League knockout stage scores line leaves a question mark on a senior manager’s ability on a grand stage,doesnt it?
    Think about it gooners

  14. I agree that the title ‘specialist in failure’ is derogatory and inacccurate. Wenger has not failed BUT he and the team have not progressed either. You would assume, having a created the invincibles, we would marched foward and in that ten year period won the league at least once…..

    Its hard to gauge Pochettino or koeman becauae the circumstances under which they manage are completely different to Wengers in that they dont have the spending power Arsenal have. Lets not ignore what we spent last summer on Mustafi Xhaka and Perez. Poch hasnt had that freedom….nor Koeman.

    I think the board will want restructuring and Wenger wont agree to it. Its not inconceivable we will be without a manager by friday…

  15. Well, we can’t entirely say he’s a failure although he has not achieved as much as he ought. But to call him a specialist in failure is too much.
    Wish he can just leave peacefully on a high now as he’s tried for dis great club but I’m not certain hes leaving yet…

  16. l see Wenger come to the touchline on a wheelchair at his 100 years coz till then,Arsenal and his supporters would not have found a better replacement manager

  17. And two community shields in 4 seasons. Guys….we haven’t fared badly. I know we all want the EPL title…and perhaps UCL. But I have learnt to always celebrate little successes. In their worst season…Chelsea did not even make Europa- talkless of a trophy. In their best season, Spuds achieved zero success anywhere apart from finishing above Arsenal (may be that pass for a trophy). With all the arrays of players, City & Pool had zero trophy. Guys….i do not know how many trophies Pool & Spuds won in the last four seasons but let me know when you are done counting.

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