I Have No Idea What I Am Doing! – by ES
One of the most enduring images we all have is that of George Bush as the leader of the free world sitting, clueless about what to do next, in a nursery school reading stories to children for 15 minutes after being told that planes had been flown into the Twin Towers.
That is how he will be remembered by posterity, a clueless fool with no grip on reality and completely out of his depth.
There is a similarity in his deluded state and that of a dictator from an earlier time, Hitler, in his bunker calling for counter attacks from armies that had long since been turned to dust. There is one more man who I think of in the same way as the deluded dictator pulling his empire apart with his every deed: Arsene Wenger!
The man who once beguiled us with his football has now lost every last ounce of that magic, gone is the decisiveness in transfer markets and tactics on the pitch are now lost to him.
Gone is the advantage once gained from a different style of play and nutrition geared towards the sport, everyone else and I mean everyone else has caught up with Arsenal and an ever increasing number of clubs appear to be doing all of those things better.
Our youth academy is a joke, a quick look at the number of Southampton youth academy players in our first team vs Arsenal youth academy players makes somber reading.
One of the most worrying aspects of the current dynamic at the club is that there are worrying noises coming from the dressing room, this has been happening for some time, it is no secret that Wenger and RVP came to a head over Wenger’s lack of transfers to reinforce gaps in the team and make Arsenal competitive with the top teams.
However we have heard some quotes recently that would indicate that Wenger has lost his grip on the dressing room. Players can wax lyrical about his style of management all day but for me that is just rhetoric, spin for the fans and the media when they are probably feeling angry and frustrated but cannot voice their true feelings.
Wenger’s training methods and positioning of players are now been criticised by players themselves, this is a worrying step in the wrong direction. Wenger’s rhetoric has also become increasingly worrying, his press conferences have become abrasive events, when the clear reason for a loss is highlighted, he will snap at reporters asking legitimate questions. Even more worrying is that Wenger has begun to complain about or reply to criticisms by players in the media.
These are all clear signs that Wenger is losing the dressing room as fast as he is losing games.
The big question is, of course, how long can this continue? The board are highly unlikely to sack him and the chances of him stepping down are incredibly slim, he is simply too arrogant.
I feel the only way to get him out is through a concerted effort from the fan base or to get Kroenke out. Usmanov could be the solution to our woes; he would not take these obvious failings and would have Wenger out in a heartbeat, replace him with a competent manager and give him a transfer kitty to gel the team.
We can argue the pro’s and cons of an oligarch owner all day but if he invests in the club and makes a manager accountable and therefore do his job, can it really be a bad thing?