Peter Hill-Wood, who was the Arsenal chairman for over 30 years until recently, has jumped to the defence of Arsene Wenger after recent protests calling for Le Prof to be sacked. He certainly seems to be thoroughly angry with the “ignorant people” who are calling for Wenger’s head and is certain that the Board will not be listening to the “few hotheads”,
“Thoroughly ignorant people seem to have a say nowadays,” Hill-Wood said in the Star. “It is a few hotheads jumping up and down thinking they are being clever.
“It is the most ridiculous way to behave really because normal people are forever saying boards act too hastily when they get rid of a manager.
“Here we have a really good one with the team sixth in the league and into the last 16 of the Champions League for the 15th consecutive season.
“Arsene would be entitled to ask them, ‘what the hell do you want?’
“Frankly, I don’t think the club will be paying any attention to them at all.
“I don’t take too much notice of it and it isn’t going to influence the board, I am sure of that.”
“I think you must get a bit p****d off when you’ve done such a terrific job and work up to 24 hours a day and you get a whole lot of ignorant people jumping up and down and screaming their heads off,”
“Obviously, you’d have to be very insensitive not to be concerned. But, having said that, I don’t think it will be keeping him awake at night.”
That is quite an outburst from Hill-Wood, and being the old campaigner that he is, he is probably just used to Arsenal fans wanting Wenger to be sacked in the middle of the season, only for his support to grow again once the club fight their way back into the Top Four.
As Wenger said in response to the protests: “We live in a society of total opinion but we live off not what we say but what we do – and what we do is on the pitch,” Tomorrow night, Arsenal desperately need to “do what they do” and take all three points from high-flying Southampton to take some pressure off the manager and the players….
You lot didn’t really thought board would take seriously the banner, did you?
Yeah some people just dont get that the board wont sack him… I still think the board and their lack of ambition is Arsenals biggest problem. Not Wenger necessarily. He has no pressure to perform and thus has more chance to experiment with the players we have instead of buying top class players we need in certain areas
You should understand people have different definition for ambition. I don’t think Wenger can be at his age under any pressure of any kind. The man have seen absolutely everything in the game and it’s pretty difficult to impress him anymore. These being said I hope we get full strength squad around January so that we can challenge the 2nd position to which we do have a chance. But most of them all I would like to beat Chelsea with Mourinho there.
Peter….your cruisin for a bruisin
1.2.3.4 I declare a thumb war
Doesn’t he want to at least add the champions league winners medal to his collection?
Who is peter hill-wood?…is he a couch?….is he a tactician?…..for just that statement alone we can really see the board is ok with wenger…but the fans has the power to change everything cos we are the source of the water that makes Arsenal Greener…when the supply is cut off the trees wilder off……….we can all support the team now but once its 3 game to the end of season we can all strike with full force….banner everywhere, no buying of merchandise for any kind from the store….Protest outside Emirate on daily basis….but for now I won’t mind one or 2 banners every game
Sir Hillbilly Wood is the ignoramus by the sounds of it not us fans who care about the club not only no longer being No 1 in England but not even No 1 in London. What part of that does Sir Hillbilly not understand?
Hill-Wood is an old senile fart that sold himself out for sh!t loads of dallah! And now he has the balls to say that us fans should be humble for the results. So now listen Mr. Hills in the Woods…go back to your flippin’ mansion and live off your Arsenal cash. Us fans pay the most expensive tickets in England to watch and we demand a payback on OUR investment. The customer in always right Mr. Wood so go f@@k yourself!
The article makes it pretty clear what the board’s ambitions are. Top 16 champions league. Top 4 EPL. WOW!!! Is that all? We should be happy with that? Where’s the ambition?
so sad 🙁 🙁 🙁
😥 😥 😥 😥
the board should just listen to the fans and the media….
everyone wants Wenger out!!!!
think its time to remove the board tooo
No. You and other AOB’s want him out. Go read some articles on other sites, the press blogs and you’ll see that you’re actually in the minority. Most Arsenal fans respect the man and want progress, further investment and success to return. Not a wild, unwarranted character assassination of our greatest ever manager.
Why are so afraid of change? All I can hear is be careful what you wish for … It’s not like we can compare ourselves to Man U their were title winnig team we are not even contenders. So because we won 2 games against struggling teams is all rosy again. I don’t want pay so much for the ticket only to see my team fighting with Spurs or Liverpool. Past is past it is all about future and I don’t see it with Wegner.
@agnes9
Then who do you see there and how do you see us getting them? Or do you think it’s just so simple to sack AW then throw some money at whoever?
I’m curious…
No probs with change agnes9..at all.
If Wenger had a contract that was ending or we were at the seasons end and had achieved fa. However we are pre XMAS, Arsene has been a loyal servant and my objection, consistently, is the abuse thrown at him and attempt to hound him out. For what? Basically not agreeing with the views of a minority of fans who think their view is bound to be right.
For what it’s worth……if changé were to come (and I don’t deny it will one day), my preference would be that we adopted the Ajax model (they now have the de boer brothers, Bergy, Overmars and Stam) where they retain the philosohies of the club and manage it from top to bottom, but with passion and love for the club. The option for us is there by looking at the likes of Henry, Pires, Vieira (possibly), Bergy (hopefully) who all played for and greatly Wenger, know the history and love the style. That would give us 2 years to transition from Arsene (who I’d be happy if he took a role as dir or football) and implement the change with Arsenes support.
@Gooner100 You are as clueless as Popeye!
What press are you talking about?
I saw 3 online polls in recent news sites and they were all around 75% WOB 25% AKB’S.
I have seen some of the most pro Wenger sites change their since considerably.
Even the thumbs up/down show you are in the minority by some margin and that is after the more fickle fans have softened their stance post a couple of wins.
AKB’S live in denial.
Worry not about the proportions but numbers involved in the poll. 10 people can give you any proportion but will never be truely representative of millions of supporters. Also timing of poll has an impact on voting parttens. If you had asked man u suppoorters what they thoughr about lvg after leicester game the majority would have said lvg out. If you ask them now after three consecutive wins they would say lvg stays.
So simple polls will never give an indication of what football fans really think about mabagers, players, club management etc. You need a more scientific survey with mechanisms to minimize respondent bias. However I was surprised by comments on the guardian match report. Everyone seemed to think the banner lacked class.
@hafiz rahman
If the board did that, AFC would be languishing in non league football…
He has a very good squad but they are few lazy ones like ramsy and Guirod he needs to sale them off and another problem he has is the area of tactics he need to change it so he can get results also he needs just two DM and two DF that’s all
You suck! So because Ramsey hasn’t yet found his form, he has gone from our saviour last season to a useless and lazy player?
Am I the only one who is seriously seriously pi$$ed off with him comments?
Who the fcuk does he think he is? If I had it my way id get rid of this wnaker straight away purely for those remarks
No, We arent Ignorant, we are just smart enough to realise you, Wenger and the rest of the board are a bunch of money grabbing selfish arrogant cnuts who dont care about anyone or anything else except your own pockets.
If you want a manager to challenge for a title at least give him a squad that is capable of doing it.
In order to get a squad capable of doing it, you need to invest a lot of money.
We fans all want team to win big titles, and we do put in a lot of money in ticket price or buying merchandise but to be honest it is no where near the oil money other plastic clubs are putting in. Football is all about money nowadays – the more you invest the higher chance you win the title.
The problem is far more on changing the manager, without fixing the root cause – money and investment – we wont win anything major any soon. Good luck getting any world class manager as well, no manager want to take the job that ask you to win titles while giving you the budget of Europa League contender team
What annoy me the most is Arsenal keep making profit every year. Even as a corporate you need to take risk, put in heavy investment, suffer some loss, get good results then generate more revenue to cover the loss. This season is the best time to do that, given we have a good team and just win a cup so the momentum is clearly there. The manager should have enough money to go for DM and a CB. I used to partially blame Wenger for not buying but he had proved me wrong last 2 seasons that he will spend if he got money available. The greedy board is the main culprit.
Haha really? 7 of 15 raters think this is a valid comment? Get a grip gooners.
i can’t help but wonder where Arsenal would be right now if Wenger was more dynamic than the way he is now. We seem to manage to get top four and CL every season with the absence of tactics and caliber of players we have. Why can’t Wenger see that something is missing to get us to the level we should be? Just a thought.
“Here we have a really good manager with the team sixth in the league” – Hill-Wood…but we’re not really impressed by sixth, Peter
Kind of knew that reality check from Hill-Wood would not be accepted well…Lol
The AKBs are out in force today.
You sound offended..although I don’t think Hill-Woods comments were directed at you personally.
On the other hand, how do you think Arsene feels after so many years of loyal service but now being personally attacked daily by the vitriolic often deeply offensive idiots who carry the AOB mantra?
Difference of opinion is fine (even healthy) but unfortunately some of you guys (you may or not be one) don’t know where opinion ends….and delusional insults begin.
@ gooner100 …. “offensive idiots who carry the AOB mantra” …..really?….. Stop the abusive usage of words or u will be moderated…….i repeat, YOU WILL BE MODERATED…. #in the Admin’s voice#
Lol…I guess if that’s the criteria I’ll wait in the Q!
6th in the league and not much prospect of going higher. Last 16 in the CL but everyone knows we can’t win it. That’s just the point. Mediocrity has been accepted as, well,
acceptable.
To be fair to Wenger, this has only been his second season without financial constraint.. His so called nine “failed” seasons is on maintaining an “average” 4th position which to me is not so bad considering how many managers could do that.. If u ask me if klopp or simeone can do what wenger has done, pfftt.. I dont think so..
Lets look at the time arsenal started to be able to buy a world class. What did he give us on his ‘first’ season? An FA cup n community shield.. not bad right? And now is only his ‘second’ season and you guys are screaming as if he has failed his whole life..
Come on guys.. Hill Wood snapped is no surprise to me.. As he said, I think the protest is not fair on Wenger.. I mean, lets just get off his back and support the team as one arsenal.
Sincerely,
An AKB
@bazooka……… A Letter written with a wengeritic fingers…..what did i do?…. Picked it up, saw the address and threw it in fireplace …… LOL
@bazooka….Mancini won the league and got sacked the fol year…evry other BIG team is never jes satisfied with 4th place in the league…We have the highest ticket prices for wat – to watch our team finish 4th…and its not the players but AW’s tactics and purchasing skils that are stopping mighty arsenal from winning the league…so I don’t see why AW should be given so much slack…
@Gunner
Mancini was at a team that threw 1 billion of their own money into it. He was manager of a team, which in essence consisted of enough top players to be considered 2 top teams. Yet he faltered…
Man City is a team built overnight.. Mancini bought star players with stellar price like buying carrots and the board is hoping for instant success, so of course so much impatience there..
Like it or not, Wenger builds a team with a much longer vision in it, which might not necessarily transform into an instant success.. But that fact is also the reason he has been so consistent.
Sometimes us fans cannot appreciate the kind of manager we have. Unlike any manager, Wenger coaches the team like he owns it. That sense of ownership is also the reason he has been so careful in spending (though I admit that he is too stingy sometimes). Other managers would always try to finish their transfer kitty.. I mean come on, more players mean higher chance of my success in the coming season so might as well spend it. Anyway, it’s my boss’ money and the club’s financial status and its ability to spend in the future does not really concern me..
Some of u guys might disagree with me and my constant support for AW. But yeah, I cannot help it, because the first moment I breathed gun powder, this Monsieur is already sitting on the throne.. I can’t imagine an arsenal without AW, at least not for now 😉
COYG! Win something this season!
Never liked anyone called peter…
Peter crouch
Blue peter
List goes on
Re Hill-Wood’s comments. How dare you call Wengers critics ignorant. you and your family have lived of the Arsenal for years.I have supported Arsenal and paid to watch since the fifties. I am entitled to criticise the team,the manager because I have paid my dues.You,like Wenger are past your sellbuy date.Take your shares and profits and bugger off into the sunset.
go ahead, ignore us……at Least, u know what the fans are thinking……u can pretend u can’t see what’s in front of you…..and if u (the board) ain’t careful, u will be captaining a crisis on the Horizon…..CHANGE……and i mean, CHANGE or you will be CHANGED…….an adage says: “the voice of the people is the voice of God”…… THE PRESSURE IS ON YOU!…………….I REST MY CASE
You probably aren’t aware but the complete ‘adage’ you refer to reads…
And those people should not be listened to who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness.
Not my words…yours, but quite apt really! Thanks.
@gooner100………..can you please stop talking now….thanks!
Sure. Stop writing rubbish, misquoting adages, or abusing Arsene, all of which I feel compelled to respond to and I’ll happily do so. It’s ok for AOB’s to rubbish AKB’s but not for me to push back?
We are all arguing that Wenger should not be saked but why should we keep Wenger, Is just out of respect of what he did a decade ago , Champions League qualification and a single trophy in 10 years?
jes saying:
what will it take to keep Wenger from current position:
> above 4th in league
> semi-final CL
> FA winners.
& to get rid of him
> 4th or lower in EPL
> last 16 CL out
> Not even semis FA cup
…………which is more likely?
‘thoroughly ignorant fans’ I think I should thank this man (hill) coz he’s pilling on the long-term frustration I have undergone and he will soon feel sorry
Off topic…
I honestly don’t know why we don’t just sign Henry for six months. Drogba is 36, Henry is twice the player now that Drogba ever was.
So henry right now is twice the player drogba was at his absolute peak..
Ur high on ur own supply
At his best drogba was worlds best striker.
Twice that is basically megatron
People commenting here probably never paid to see Arsenal because if they did they will change their views. How I can accept Wegner and his bla bla bla every time he opens his mouth. And if people really think he is a great manager they don’t really know the definition of the word.
Asrene Wegner is a great manager. I know the definition of the word. Wait – which word?
arsenal are now in that 10 match unbeaten streak when alexis is pushed to his limits and gets injured and the ploy by wenger is to sign a striker for whom 30+ million rumoured to be allotted for which the budget is only 20 and wenger won’t sign a defensive midfielder cause Diaby,flamini and wilshere career could be over and the reason why fabregas was not signed.
They have made it clear to us what the club’s targets are; if after reading that article u still get so worked up when we seem so far from chelsea then its your own business; He has made it obvious that our problem is tottenham, everton, liverpool. It makes perfect sense because in d past 3-4 seasons the only time u see Wenger act desperate is when our top 4 chance is at risk. Fellow gunners, we should all read this article and try to be realistic with our ambitions given what d board wants.
this kid talks too much……what’s Arsene been feeding him lately?….. My best guess….Wengeritic breast milk!
Why should I respect Wegner because of what he did in the past?Yes agree but now is now so please someone explain to me why I need to defend him when he treats us like brainwashed idiots. After Chelsea game he is telling us the game was even really? 0 shots on target. After ManU we played well really Man Utd didn’t even try to attack us and when they did you know what happend? Win against Borussia and Sanogo is class today. He is paid 8 milons for his bla bla. Great job he has.
this kid(Gooner100) talks too much……what’s Arsene been feeding him lately?….. My best guess….Hyper-wengeritic breast milk!
Actually I feel sorry for people who try defend Wegner I’ve been there for a long time. But after Kalstroom(don’t really know what his name was) I realised that time has come to stop being naive.
Yeah, f*ck you too Hill-Wood!
Fans are only and uniquely interested in trophies and winning games.
Fans and your “ignorant” (because you are the ignorant fool) punk a** idiotic human being do not have the same agenda.
The fans are the one buying the shirts and paying for the most expensive seats (cannot believe I am saying that and not even watching a top team competing) in world football.
Hill-Wood should shut his trap and stay in the darkness… This is where he is more useful… Doing nothing and saying nothing.
Disgrace of a human being… He is the one who said that the “brand” was more important than the trophies. Stupid a** tool !!
F*cking circus goign on at Arsenal right now.
We are out of the title in November, yes NOVEMBER, and that deluded fool Wenger tells journalists he is creating something special…!!!!!
I did not know mediocrity and failures were qualities…!!
Something Special: This is a joke because after the FA Cup the same man told the fans this was just the start of things to come, look at Arsenal now out of the top 4 out of the League Cup No chance of winning the PL or Champions league our only hope is the FA Cup and I don’t hold out much hope with the present squad Arsenal have. Wenger is going backwards instead of forward.
Arsenal need a new Manager with fresh ideas but also a board that will spend instead of lining their own pockets.