Why I Don’t Want Arteta To Be Sacked by Dan
In my lifetime this is the most worried I have been about the club I love and if it will ever return to its former levels? So please understand that this is bigger than me saying ‘I told you so.’.
Last summer I was called negative for questioning peers who were predicting this squad were good enough to mount a title challenge.
When I pointed out that Stan Kroenke’s response to our worst start in decades was to slash the wage bill, I was accused of having an agenda.
When I factually pointed out we have gone backwards since Mr Wenger left, I got called names.
My loyalty was even questioned when I would challenge readers on arrogant statements that (before the Liverpool game) we were going to win every match in the run in.
I have read players be over-hyped, youngsters who haven’t achieved anything called great players, etc.
What you would have never heard me say or seen me write is that Mikel Arteta needs to be sacked.
I’ll challenge statements like ‘he’s tactically better then Arsene Wenger’. I’ll maintain he’s our manager because he was a cheap option, so happy to land such a high-profile vacancy he will accept limitations. Yet I have never called for the Spaniard to lose his job.
Just like I have never agreed that the greatest coach in our history should get pushed out.
I was harsher on Emery purely because I felt he had lost the dressing room.
Again this article is not about who is right or wrong. It’s about observing from afar.
About being so emotionally invested that you are able to read a person, not trust their motives and accept long term they will never change.
It’s like being introduced to your best friend’s partner who every few months seems to hurt your mate.
It’s not about your personal feelings towards that individual. You just want your buddy to be content and realising this person doesn’t not make him or her happy. You decide it won’t work, long before they split up.
The Kroenke Family first took proper power of Arsenal in 2008. Compare the squad then to now. Compare the brand of football.
Fabregas won a title with Chelsea (after we refused to trigger a buy-back clause from Barca), Van Persie went to Old Trafford to be a champion (after correctly disagreeing with the level of ambition in North London), Adebayor, Clichy, Touré, Nasri, Sagna all went to Man City who we became a feeder club for.
History will show that most of that money wasn’t reinvested, meaning we were no longer contenders for the bigger prizes.
At the time though, many (including myself) brought into the notion that once stadium debt was paid off, we could compete. To be fair that was a business model put in place long before the Kroenkes.
Arsenal wanting to be self-financed meant that once a year Mr Wenger had to raise funds while ensuring Champions League revenue.
The Frenchman’s love for the Gunners was manipulated. His employers played on his heart strings to keep him, but equally knew out of loyalty he take the bullets for them.
I predicted (and have been correct) that the day Mr Wenger left, we would realise how difficult it was to ‘only’ finish top 4 working for a man with zero ambition. Because even when we were so close and just needed to take that extra step, Stan Kroenke wouldn’t invest a single penny of his own money.
I remember being 5 points clear in January with Almunia in goal but our board refusing to spend 2 million on Schwarzer. It’s widely accepted that our stinginess cost us a Suarez and Higuaín.
We could have got Gary Cahill for 6 million but wouldn’t increase our bid from 3 million. That’s when we really needed a defender.
After we beat Villa in the Cup Final, and it felt like we had momentum but we only improved ourselves with Cech and no one else.
One of the biggest misconceptions within our fanbase was you either had to be passionately Wenger in or out. Like there couldn’t be a grey area.
When debating his qualities, I never insisted he was flawless or didn’t make mistakes. I just had zero faith in us getting anyone better so what was the point?
Were there younger coaches who could do better in 2018? Sure. Were we going to get them? No.
Luis Enrique and Allegri have stated they sat down for an interview and withdrew their application the moment they heard the transfer budget.
To me Wenger was the glue. Our worst-case scenario was at least we were looked after by someone who cared.
The likes of AFTV were so preoccupied by getting change, they didn’t ask ‘would that change be better.’ It wouldn’t make our owners any more ambitious. They will still prioritise value over quality (Ramsey). They will still let players run down contracts, slash the wage bill and only afford loans in January (Sanchez).
One of their best bit of business was this past New Year.
With us 10th, having zero creativity, they paid Ozil to leave and replaced him with a loan signing. Even worse they got the majority of fans thinking it was good!
So I sit here with deja vu.
For months, the Europe League was papering over the cracks. The moment we went out of Europe, the inquests would begin.
Should Arteta go?
It’s not even an issue to me because that would imply he’s responsible for our decline. He’s a rookie who’s been thrown in at the deep end. You get what you pay for. He’s a nice guy, his affection for the club is genuine. He certainly does not deserve the critics to be personal.
If I woke up and heard, he got sacked I couldn’t argue, with his record.
Yet here is all that would happen….
We get a new manager who would start well. The likes of AFTV would say how great he is.
Social media would get carried away over a new signing, even though they never heard of them.
He will play two good games and that will be enough to be labelled a great talent (he will be immune from criticism).
An academy graduate would play well in the League Cup forcing Gooners to claim we have the best youngsters in the world.
A fanbase would spend a year debating. One half saying how great our players are, the other pointing out our position in the table.
About December time, supporters will say get to January so we can get rid of ‘dead wood’.
When we get to January we will be told ‘we can only afford loans.’
In the background the wage bill will be slashed.
We will spend approx. net spend 50 -80 million. Manchester clubs and Chelsea will spend more.
Then, scared to admit we over-hyped average players, we will sack the manager and repeat the whole process.
It’s very rare that fans are wishing for a manager to leave and it not even close to being on the owners agenda. Maybe the Kroenke Family need Arteta to take some of the heat off them?
Unless the owners find a buyer ,or are serious about re-building the squad (and they haven’t in over a decade) then we may just as well keep Arteta.
Be Kind In The Comments
Dan
Wow I couldn’t agree more. Nice article. I do hope there is a change of ownership asap.
Which nice article. Arteta needs to go. This current squad is not that bad. This team deserves to be in top 6 in the league at least. A better coach would have achieved more than what Arteta is given us. He has nothing to offer this team apart from being mr nice guy
Just get bielsa … his humiliation of spuds as well as energetic quality attacking football (with a worse squad of players than us) is what we need
@Rw1
I never even thought about Bielsa, but if Arteta goes, that’s actually a great shout, and no transfer fee as I think his contract is up in the summer, which will also please the Kroenke’s haha!
Daniel Lewy might already have contacted him.
Yes we sure neef bielsa
Yes excellent choice. I wish we have him.
Makes sense, it could also be a good reason to keep him. My reason is simpler though, I simply see him full of new ideas and he hasn’t got his own CF yet
Besides, if the trophiless Rodgers gets more than two years, then Arteta should’ve gotten time till December. It will also be cheaper to sack him at the end of 2021
I think football is a game of 11 players not only with CF
And if he doesn’t have CF which suits his system then why the hell he gave mega contract to Aubameyang…
He could have save those millions of Wages…
He wanted Aubameyang and that’s why he got contract..
Arteta’s current system requires a CF with excellent hold-up play and Lacazette is inconsistent. After Arteta changed his tactic, Aubameyang lost the ball too many times and this prevented us from building our attack
Aubameyang must be rewarded with an improved contract after his brilliance gave us the FA Cup and the extension wasn’t solely based on Arteta’s decision. Aubameyang is also good from jersey and merchandise sales standpoint
Thank you Kedar for questioning this ridiculous take…if what he says were true then it makes Arteta appear even more incompetent
👍 Kedar
Rodgers have been fighting for the top 4 with lower budget year after year that alone is better than the fluke fa cup…
I think you are obsessed about that cup
Di-Mateo was sacked few months later after winning the first ever champions league title for Chelsea. Pulling one off cup trophy doesn’t make you great worst teams have won the fa cup doesn’t make them giants
Spot on bro…
Leicester City’s transfer budget isn’t small:
– In 2019/2020 season: Youri Tielemans 45 M, Ayoze Perez 33.4 M, Dennis Praet 19.2 M, James Justin 6.7 M
– In 2020/2021 season: Wesley Fofana 35 M, Timothy Castagne 20 M, Cengiz Under 3 M
In addition to those players, Rodgers inherited the following players Leicester bought in 2018/2019 season:
James Maddison 25 M, Ricardo Pereira 22 M, Caglar Soyuncu 21.1 M, Filip Benkovic 14.5 M, Rachid Ghezzal 14 M, Danny Ward 14 M, Jonny Evans 4 M
We can’t afford sacking the manager every one and half seasons. Chelsea can do it because Abramovich is a hydrocarbon fuel business oligarch
my take too. if chelsea never replaced lampard they would not finish top 4 or make it to fa and ucl final. arsenal gave wenger more time trusutng the process that ended in tears. 6th in the league. we need to learn from mistakes not reviving plan A
The squad as it has been pointed out numerous times is good enough at least to finish 6th at their worst but no they are probably going to finish in the bottom half.
This one is not on Kroenke or players, this one is on our play pretend manager. He does not have what it takes to manage in the premier league. Had he managed the likes of Aston Villa relegation was guaranteed.
I have lost all respect of him even as a person after hearing he is blaming the great Arsene for the shambles we are in.
This rookie manager (is he even a manager?), who is not good enough, a poor man’s Pep who have no idea what he is doing, who was above average player but way below average coach, HAVE THE AUDACITY to blame Mr Wenger for his lack of managing talent?
That is very cheap.
Like you Dan my only worry is arteta is sacked and players like Xhaka Bellerin holding etc are given a clean slate again, when they have proven they are not good enough to take us to where we want to be(challenging top 4/compete for the title) Saying that I am not against arteta being replaced by ten haag or graham potter who would play attractive, attacking, high pressing football and would relish working with our talented youngsters.
I would hope say, if one of those suggested managers came in he would clear out those said players and integrate saliba mavropanos into the first team and play martinelli more often added to saka, smith rowe, Gabriel, Tierney, you have a healthy core of youngsters to work with. Leno, mat ryan(who I would sign permanently) auba, mari and elneny are the experienced group then we need to add to the squad. Recruiting players with the right profile is crucial.
well said mate
That will not happen with a good manager he will see straight through them and DUMP them ASAP
I think it’s desperation and a new low for Arteta to start playing the blame game.
Agreed with everything you said, up to the comments that that he was an “above average player” Please back up that statement or prove by statistics or by achievement anything that Artetta has done in his playing career which can reinforce your claims that he was anything other than a bang average runaround player,, which is why he loves Xhaka so much, kinda reminds him of himself
Dan, if Arteta is retained and results continue on their current trend to the end of this season and into 2021/22, then expect a fan reaction when spectators are finally admitted to the Emirates. There will be a lot of pent up emotion.
If spectators had been allowed into football stadia, Arteta’s sycophantic relationship with the Kroenkes would not have saved him.
👍
With what I am seeing arsenal doesn’t attract young fans and are in a sorry state my siblings no longer wear our Jersey and no young person wants to have anything to do with the club…
Let’s keep destroying this club and hope the brand name will keep making us relevant for ever.
Mate I stopped reading after the first two paragraphs, it was all I pointed this out, I reciveied negative comments, I, I, I…..no need to tell us your thoughts and actions of what happened in the past. Just state your thoughts, opinions with logical conclusions.
So you don’t like reading someone write their thoughts or actions so go to comments to write ……your thoughts and actions lol
Dan. I agree with you, in my own opinion both the owner and the manager are the problem… Arteta is average to be honest, kroenke need to step down.
I don’t’ think Arteta could have any complaints about getting the sack, but as I pointed out a couple of months ago, this is a strange season. Far more experienced managers, with way better squads, and far less off the field problems, have faired a lot worse.
Obviously we need to look inhouse at what WE need to change to improve, but it’s worth pointing out the struggles of others:
Klopp – Has had a far worse a season than Arteta by a country mile! His team were EPL champions, and champions of Europe only 2 seasons ago, yet Liverpool have been dreadful, including an horrific home run at one point. They might not even be in Europe next season. Probably the biggest fall from grace we’ve ever seen!
Mourinho – Massively experienced manager, and serial winner, who knows this league better than anyone, from 4 stints at 3 different clubs in the EPL. Yet, he also struggled very badly season, and Arteta even outperformed him in Europe…if you can believe that!
Ancelotti – Another hugely experienced manager, who has spent money, but isn’t pulling up any trees. Style of play is also very flat, not interesting.
Despite these three managers being above Arteta in the table, although not far above us (and Spurs have just lost yet again as I write this, to Leeds), one can certainly say they are performing worse than Arteta.
I am not saying Arteta shouldn’t be sacked because of this, and Spurs probably did the right thing sacking Mourinho (although the timing was terrible), I am just wondering how much this weird season has been a contributing factor?
I think you’re a,bit cherry picking with the managers. Pep, doing well. Tuchel, amazing. Rodgers/Leicester and WHam/Moyes are all punching well above their weight. Bielsa, excellent for a newly promoted team.
Then there’s us. Expensive squad, no PL, not even a challenge. No CL (5 years running). No EL (first time in 26 years). No trophies. Every season finishing lower and lower in the table. Manager with zero experience.
People need to wake up and realise we are actually SINKING. Who really wants to trust our future at the hands of a rookie? A rookie who has guided us this season to 14 DEFEATS. A rookie who is seemingly not good with youth players (treatment of Guendouzi, Saliba, Mavropanos, Balogun, even ESR as he didnt start playing him until he absolutely had to). We cant afford to gamble our imminent future with a rookie.
@DaJuhi
Don’t even bring Pep into the conversation. He has the best squad, and unlimited funds. He SHOULD be winning all the time.
Tuchel has been outstanding since coming in, I will admit that, and although he hasn’t signed anyone, he did inherit a quality squad, which like City, was also assembled with unlimited funds.
Moyes is another example of how crazy this season has been. I literally cannot remember the last time he did anything, but out of the blue, West Ham could qualify for the CL.
Like I said, I am not saying Arteta is or isn’t the answer, but many other factors to consider, that have also been affecting better managers.
I like Arteta . I dont like some of the anaemic performances with players under no pressure playing sideways and backwards instead of taking some forward initiative. That has to change , players mentality. Give Arteta the remainder of his contract to deliver ‘the process’ and if it fails then at least the next manager might have faith that their own process will be given the agreed time to deliver , maybe a more experienced one at that. A summer window to revamp to his own ideas to prepare for a less cluttered schedule , injuries playing less part with a bigger squad than needed for a season , but still there to make sure of no crises.Stan saying sorry with a few bob to improve the strength of the in depth squad. Without euro comp the only excuse could then be the African cup.
And BACK THE TEAM without our usual toxicity most importantly.Next season we need that.
Good point on the weird season and it is a bummer that we’re unable to capitalize on the league. When big teams struggle all over, it’s like a silver platter for us to shine. Instead, we crumble together with them.
Good points TMJW except that finishing in mid table and potentially bottom half plus out of all competitions and no European football for the first time in majority of Arsenal International fans plus the probably the worst or one of the worst results in club history…..
…IS THE BIGGEST FALL FROM GRACE WE HAVE EVER SEEN!
@Highbury Hero
Actually no. Winning the league without losing a game (3rd league title in 6 years) then not even challenging for another league title for 14 years straight, under the same the manager, is a feat no other Arsenal manager will EVER match!
Arteta inherited an absolute mess, so there’s actually not been a lot of change since his arrival. During Wenger’s time there was a huge change, so that…IS THE BIGGEST FALL FROM GRACE WE HAVE EVER SEEN!
There you go again TMJW, suddenly remembering how to count 😂😂😂🐑🐑🐑
The biggest disgrace is your memory – forgotten the Russian roubles and the oil rich sheiks… or the fact that kronkie took over from 2008?
I notice you haven’t commented on MA since the “humiliation”. Thursday evening, care to give us your thoughts?
👍 Previous factors have caused the fall from grace; however the mess is now, not past.
Haha, my memory is fine Ken, I’m just realist unlike you. Hey, why don’t we get Wenger back? As you keep saying, he was never responsible for anything going wrong hahahaha.
I have already commented on Arteta actually!
TMJ, I am starting to think you are part of Arteta’s PR team. Even Arteta can not put spin on things like you do, it’s either that or you are one of those people who are on some really strong stuff 🤣😅😅.
Not as heavy as the stuff the likes of Ken are on when it comes to Wenger!
-Ancelotti started at the same time as MA Everton were 15th now fighting for European football
-Mourinho took over a month before MA with the Spuds around 12/14th when sacked he was just outside CL places with mostly the same squad the only additions were Doherty Reguillon Bale and Vinicius who has barely played
-Moyes at West-Ham who were fighting relegation last season are now fighting for European football
Smith at Villa battling relegation last season are now above us…do you see where I’m going with this?
I do
But apart from West Ham who have been a surprise then tell me how super star managers – Ancelotti and Mourhino have not got their teams into the CL, Siamois? Fighting for is a great example of maybe but not quite.
Arteta for all his failings isn’t as far behind as we all think. Not in anyway saying I’m satisfied because I am not but don’t rubbish his record over other non achievers this year.
What record Sue P? Oh he will be in Arsenal records book for sure but for all the wrong reasons. If you want to cherish those records of loosing home to teams we have not lost for decades, being out of Europe after decades of constant presence, loosing both home and away matches for first time to mid table teams….I can go on and on. Nope we do want such records.
Logic
You are entitled to your views as I was entitled to mine in answering another post
Teams we have not lost to for decades…. ok. Name me a team off the top of your head that hasn’t had a bad result against a so called inferior team
I have been watching Arsenal for decades and know that nothing should ever be taken for granted
SueP, what are the performance criteria and targets for Mikel Arteta given the treatment of Wenger and Emery and in the past Terry Neil?
Why is Arteta judged to a different standard?
Ozziegunner
I have no idea. I didn’t set the targets.
You have previously referred to the revolving door and maybe Kroenke decided on a more patient approach which up to now hasn’t delivered what was expected either
I just don’t think Arteta has been any worse than JM or CA as neither have materially changed the fortunes of Spurs or Everton in the way Tuchel has at Chelsea and they were seasoned campaigners, not a novice
The fact that Arteta hasn’t been sacked shows how the club is being run. Mediocrity is acceptable to Kroenke.
From the outset Arsenal should have got the best available. Arteta was the experiment many refer to that hasn’t worked
Progress SueP that’s what i was getting to forget about Smith because he’s been at Villa for a good while but Everton Spuds West ham and even Chelsea are now in a better position than they were when those managers took over!
What is your point Sue-P? That Tottenham and Everton should have been in top four under a different manager? Top four is four teams. Which teams would Spurs and Everton replace among City, ManU, Chelsea and Liverpool?
Dan, what a brilliant write-up!!!
God bless your brain!
I have been so overwhelmed by a lot of negative comments that I don’t even know how to reply. But this fine article has done a lot of justice.
Look, it’s so painful we went out of EL the way we did and Arteta made stupid mistakes but like Jon has always said, we are where we are because of Kroenke.
Take Ole for example, despite having Pogba and the likes, he was still struggling until the addition of Bruno.
Do you honestly believe Ole is a top manager?
I would go back to what I always say, you are as good as the players available to you. Debruyne was injured but Gundogan stepped up, City already have Rodri to replace the outgoing Fernandinho. I love using City because the Arsenal board wants to be like City but wants to do it cheaply.
We all knew we needed an attacking midfielder but they signed only Partey,if they had shown more ambition, it would not be as bad as this. They are only interested in the bare minimum and that will get us nowhere.
Harsh criticism on Partey who is having a tough transition from Spain to England in a terrible season due to Covid. Also, he went from playing alongside Rodri, Koke and Saul to playing with Xhaka, Elneny and the hapless Ceballos but he is supposed to perform magic anyway.
This club, as stated in the article is known for not doing enough and being reactionary.
Having said all that, what if we fail to play in Europe for the first time in 25 years? So what? Are we the first top club to suffer that? Is it the end of the world?
Let’s stop this do or die childish way of supporting a club, we are not kids!
Let’s hope this would force the Kroenkes to invest well or sell the club.
It is very simple, we need QUALITY creative players and we are good
Arteta has his first pre-season this summer, let’s give him more time to change things, I believe he has learnt alot with this.
Very soon, the same media will praise Arsenal for sticking with Arteta.
Onwards and Upwards!
@Goonerboy
Your comment about pre-season is also very key. Many have forgotten that Arteta has NEVER had a pre-season as a manager. He’s only ever had ONE main transfer window as well.
You both make very good points. These are much more balanced appraisals of the situation.
Arteta inherited a mess and has not been backed sufficiently. He clearly has ideas about how the game should be played but he needs a good enough squad to work with.
What mess, 3 losses in 8 and in 8th placd, still in the Europa League, when Ljundberg came in as caretaker.
Credit to Arteta for winning the FA Cup; however since he took over in his first full season Arsenal have had 13 losses, with the season unfinished, early elimination from domestic cups and lost semi final of Europa League. Terry Neil lost 11 games in a season and was sacked.
The photos of the Kroenkes must be good!
Whether the board sack arteta or not i would like to see the squad changed up as much as possible, especially players who have been here long enough to prove themselves but have fallen short of expectations
Out
Leno- if he wants to leave
Runnarson
Bellerin- 2 years left on contract/don’t renew
Holding – shouldn’t have renewed contract
Chambers – 2 years left on contract
Xhaka- 2 years left on contract/don’t renew
Kolasinac – 1 left on contract
Maitland niles
Torreira – 1 year on left contract
Guendouzi – 1 year left on contract
Nketiah- 1 year left on contract
Laca- 1 year left on contract
Willian
Cebollos
Odegaard
Luiz – don’t renew
Loan next season
Willock
Nelson
In
Onana gk
Atal rb
Duig lb
Bissouma dm
Locotelli cm
Buendia am/rw
Patson daka/Ivan toney/Andre silva st
If the board do decide to make a change then ten haag or graham potter would be good choices. No European football next season so a lot of time to coach the players to their style of play.
Perhaps if we hired a capable manager who could arrest the decline then maybe we could break the cycle.
Cheaper and better to hire a competent & proven manager than spending £200 million rebuilding and hoping 2 rookies (Arteta & Edu) get the right players.
Arteta got Gabriel (27 million)
Partey (45 million)
Willian’s enormous salary package
Plus 2 loaned midfielders salaries, loan fee, and no return value.
That’s well over £75 million, plus Mari and Cedric deals. It’s not lack of money, it’s poor judgement of talent by Arteta and Edu, period no one else.
Have we ever considered Nagelsmann before he moves to Bayern? Young, built 2 teams now on shoe string budget and youth, over achieved to be honest.
Ten Hag? Did we ever even try? Again, great results on minimum budget using youth to compete in CL.
There are more examples if you try and bother to look.
Arteta and Edu have failed at their jobs, time and patience will not change that.
Ownership failed by their tremendous indifference to their management structure. Fired Sven and we’re stuck with Edu.
Sponsoring a rookie coach at our most turbulent time in decades; a senseless and irresponsible gamble always doomed to fail.
We have enough good players to be better than this, problem is this in my opinion
1. Arteta has no clue how to get the best out of them and combine their strengths to make a competitive team
2. Arteta and Edu lack the experience and ability needed to build anything better.
Willian? Ceballos? Leno over Emi? How wrong they were with loans, both incoming and outgoing.
Rather than improving what they have they are window shopping and thinking giving another £80 million to poor decision makers is the answer.
👍
Very true, we are where we are because of poor decision making from both the board and the coach.
1. We all knew that we were lacking a creative midfielder and opted for Partey instead of Aouar
2. We paid 27M for Siba to only be loaned out without playing any single minute
3. We have become a club that buy and release players for free
Leicester sold Mahrez for £61m in 2018/19, Harry Maguire for £78m in 2019/20 and Chilwell for £45m in 2020/21 plus other smaller sales which they used to pay for new signings. Arsenal on the other hand give players away because we keep them past their use-by date and we have crooks & incompetence handling transfers.
Arsenal are run poorly. KSE are like absentee slum landlords of a property in an area they expect to be gentrified one day. Arteta and his erratic tactics and the general incompetence are a symptom of the problem which is that no one is in charge. No one is there to take responsibility to run Arsenal like a real business & club striving for success & achievement that’s measured in more than just profit.
Unaccountable to their overcharged ‘consumers’, KSE sees Arsenal as just a brand. They don’t even hide their disinterest. They know we know they don’t care. They cynically installed a novice manager that might have struggled to get hired by a Championship side because as a former Arsenal player we will at least believe Arteta cares.
BTW novice managers are more expensive than they may seem. Guendouzi was seriously devalued by over £20m by Arteta’s mismanagement of him. That money could have paid for an experienced manager to come in and keep us from dropping out of Europe or even got us into CL. More money lost.
Arteta will stay because KSE don’t sack people for bad management. They sack people to save money.
The only hope is that KSE are brought closer to deciding to sell the club by a combination of lost value from poor results & fan disruption & boycotts, lost revenue from no European competition and no ESL, and expected increases to capital gains tax in America next year. These together might create the perfect storm that convinces them to sell up for the right price. Since Wenger’s exit, they should by now have learned that owning a sport franchise in America is a much safer bet in an environment they can better control.
👍 Loraine, it worked out well replacing Emery with Arteta, as far as European income was concerned.
A very sensible appraisal of the current situation.Let’s hope the appointment of Richard Garlick who is highly thought of, brings a spark to reignite the embers.
Give the guy a break, let him clear out the rest of the deadwood. Let the youngsters come back stronger, fresh and more experienced next season. A year without Europe, a full pre season with fans back and hopefully no more covid laden weirdness. The squad can start to be aligned towards the next generation and we will see if the poor season was planning and restructuring the squad for the next 10 years. Klopp/ pep both had a poor first season before the players and squad were adapted towards their needs.
Positive thoughts, what happened to Leicester without Europe? They won the title. Maybe it’s the year we need to adapt, to play less games, travel less and to focus on the league and development.
Up the gunners!
Arteta can’t have any complaints. He has been afforded as much leeway as I have ever seen.
But he does not seem to be able to provide anything.
I wouldn’t mind if we got rid of him at the end of the season.
As ever,
There has to be someone better who can work within the constraints of the ownership.
He cocked up big time this week and I’m far from wishing him to stay but I’m torn between yet another change and more of the same
I know @SueP.
But we have got to be honest with ourselves. Arteta has failed at nearly each and every target on the field.
Failed at Top 4.
Failed to achieve Europa.
Failed to win the Europa.
Failed in the FA cup.
Failed in the Carling Cup.
Failed to get the squad fired up for anything. Just poor and inconsistent results all season.
We are stuck in 10th place.
We keep conceding goals.
We can’t create enough or score enough.
I seriously now don’t see what else he can add to the club.
The FA cup win was nice and him getting rid of some of our most toxic scroungers is commended.
But that’s just 1/10th of why he was hired.
Not complaining about your opinion at all.
👍 The worst failure has been not getting the best out of the available squad, demonstrated by match results.
👍
This is the first article which genuinly covers how I feel. I was Wenger In and could see this from a mile off. Our players are average. Our youngsters have a high potential ceiling but as of today they are average too. We are in major trouble unless Kroenke leaves.
Personally, I will support Arsenal regardless of who is at the helm. But when it comes to my feelings, I’m no longer enjoying anything from MA.
Just like Emery, the players don’t look like they are enjoying the football which they are playing. I get it, Arteta has got tons of ideas to try but the execution has been very poor.
The players look fearful of losing the ball. And if you look at Villarreal, they dare to pass the ball to someone in the middle surrounded by our defenders. The trust and belief among teammates is commendable for the lads in yellow. Meanwhile, we go sideways because nobody wants to be the one losing the ball.
This is hindering the players from expressing themselves based on the tactics assigned to them. Arteta has got vision – good. But man management and execution is poor. You need a balance of locker room harmony, a natural squad leader and happiness across the board to get mentally fit players.
The situation is like Henry’s spell at Monaco and his exit has seen the club return to competitive levels.
With that in mind, MA should go and leave the seat for an experienced winner that can, at the very least, make the best out of the players we have.
Dan
I do not get your point of view and it’s very masochistic to me. There are two ways in life for an illness….natural healing, in which I have participated for years, and surgery, which I’ve had for serious things. Arsenal need surgery…not faith that Arteta may magically become the Messiah. Arsenal need the scalpel.
But as long as you have owne r with zero ambition it doesn’t matter who manager is ?
Agree Dan
I had hoped for more from Arteta and thought he could turn it round. Thursday proved that he couldn’t do any better than Emery. Unless there are significant changes made to how Kroenke views Arsenal, then like you, what is the point of removing someone ?
Exactly Sue , you just end up on a cycle
If we have zero ambition anyways what’s the point ?
Don’t worry Sue P, I got your back
Look at Liverpool guys than criticise Arsenal if you can.
Boom and bust is Klopp’s managerial tactic he runs his players into the ground.
Arteta is a brilliant coach he turned this team around after Unai abysmal failure.
We did not play anything under Unai Emeri.
I only judge a team according to the style of play not stats or table position and with an eye to the future.
I see a great Arsenal in the near future if Arteta remains our coach and with just three signings we can challange for the title not just top four.
We badly need a striker that is strong in the air ,like Olivier Giroux was. Tammy Abraham fits that bill.
Two feisty midfielders , one should be Guendouzi the other one Maitland Niles.
Move Gabriel Magalhanes in midfield where he could be awesome.
Yes I do miss Wenger for he could challange for the title on a shoestring budget and enchant us with the flamboyant style of play unequalled by any other team.
Arsenal is the greatest team for me because it gives me joy and makes me suffer when we lose.
Only 3 signings away from challenging the title, one of them being Tammy Abraham.
Hahaha oh my the delusion..
Get ready to suffer some more then until Arteta and then Kronk go. Arteta is taking us to new depths.
Tammy Abraham 😏😏
May God heal u bro.
So you argue it’s not Arteta’s fault because of this and that and that it’s more Kroenkes fault.
So let’s split this up; on one hand let’s talk of Artetas record and ability as manager if AFC. The other discussion is whether Kroenke is a fit owner of the club.
That’s an easy one: ‘No’. Since turning the club into a passive income stream for himself and his moneyball franchise strategy where investment is not high on the agenda and which is at complete odds with being competitive and successful in modern football on the field, he should have gone a long time ago.
He helped tarnish Wengers footballing record by making him patsy to cover for the boards negligence and lack of passion and interest in truly putting the club at the top of world football despite their rhetoric.
As for Arteta; he is no doubt a good coach but he is obviously a noob and managing.
With the resources he has had he should have done much better. With a poor PL season and position and the ridiculous miscalculations and capitulation in Europe any club with true ambition would have him gone.
Stan of course doesn’t have that and whilst he remains Arteta Will too unless the heat from the fans and media gets to much and then MA’s head Will roll..
BUT it won’t be because Stan has lost faith with the footballing vision or that he is gutted by our decline and poor football. No..it will be to protect his investment (one of many) which as someone pointed out the other day quite eloquently that it’s like a income support for the Uber wealthy..no real effort needed just have this passive stream of income coming in from doing very little…
As I’ve said for the last 10 years or so #kroenkeOUT. I’d also say it’s time for MA to find a small club and to learn his trade..
Go get Bielsa, beg Allegri to overlook no champions league for a year and give him the funds to build a team that challenges for the PL and enters the Champions League…
Get Nagelsman…
There are options but is there the Will to ‘REALLY’ be successful. I know the answer to that one!
#EkIN
Arteta is a shambles, why are people wanting him to stay after the obvious weaknesses he showed against a distinctly average Villareal. People dont understand football if they cant see that was 100% Arteta and his philosophy. He is a shambles of a manager and ruining Arsenal. Support Arteta, support failure.
👍
👍 👍 If Arteta is the answer, what is the question?
With little effort Arsenal can attract either of the following two managers, currently unemployed:
Rafa Benitez, or
Lucien Favre
Both are respected experienced winners managing at the top level, able to manage world class players and develop youth and are multi lingual, fluent in English. They are both untied to clubs, so no contracts have to be bought out.
Either would be an upgrade on Mikel Arteta.
Fans need to understand Kronke is no hurry to sell as Arsenal is just one of his other investment portfolio and he is very stable finencial situation. So as long as we are making money and share price drive up he can actually buckle down even if there are some temporary finencial crises or someone comes up with extra ordinary bid. I also do not agree with this new nerrative which is shifting the blame from a failed manager to the owner completely. I know the squad is not a league winning squad but it’s also not also a mid table squad. We have some quality players proper internationals. So Thai excuse is not good enough that squad is shxt. When Arteta won FA cup with same squad no one here said that this squad is worst in last 25 years and have all the praise to Areta for winning the cup. Now we have failed miserably, all the blame has been shifted to quality of squad and Areta is stil the man to carry us forward? You can not have it both ways. Enough of this money not spent bullshxt as well. Ppl are just completely blind or don’t know how to read. Look at the facts and figures we are among the highest spenders in EPL clubs last 3-4 years. We bought Partey a £40 odd million accusation in summer straight up during pandemic when clubs like Madrid and Barca did not spend that much. We signed Willian on high wages, have Auba a bumper contract and also bought Cedric, Mari and Gabrielle. People have very short memory they forget last summer it was only Edu and Areta dealing with transfer there was no one else as Raul left. These too were solely responsible for buy selling players and handing out extensions. How can a club give extension to players when he is not part of manager’s plan. Arteta’s bad tactics and team selection has lead us to where we are not the owner, if there was one mistake he made since hiring Arteta then it was not to sack him early in season when we started sliding down wards. You Arteta fans are just next level of stubborn, so blinded by your love and trying to prove you supported the right guy that you put a spin on everything what next are you going to say Team performed bad because our mascot was not on touch line there to cheer us on.
Logic
Actually Kroenke is not doing well financially. He is losing lot’s of Money on his LA project, having to take massive loans to keep stability. Arsenal is no longer the safeguard against the failure of the Olympic Stadium/Rams/LA project. If a real bid comes in there may be shock.
“The billionaire Owner has reportedly made a loss of $1.4billion over the previous 12 months despite creating the fantastic $5billion Sofi Stadium.”
Everyone has lost money in this pandemic, but his worth suggests he can take few hits like these before the cat among the pigeon scnerio happens. I agree with both of you on him loosing money but I think he is stable enough to really wait for the offer he wants and is in no hurry to sell Arsenal on lower then his expected valuation. Another point to make here is even if that Swedish guy buys the club we will a fan owner of the club but he is not rich enough to buy the club after paying so much then invest in the club as well. We might end up in a situation where there are not enough funds available in transfer market. We need some one who deals in oil to buy our club or how about let’s sell it to Elon haha.
Kronk is 73 and looks ten years older. He look as fragile as Joe Biden. If he cares about his reputation after D he is in a hurry. Indeed. Now he can sell AFC and make millions of fans all over the world happy, and at the same time earn som nice hard cash. To me it sounds like a win-win. If the Kronk does so, maybe some people will remember him as Good Old Stan, not like something that the cat dragged in. We need a new owner, and a real coach. Arteta is just a corporal who want’s to be a general. He is not man enough to lead an army in the battlefield. How he got the job in the first place is a mystery and a scandal.
Give the guy a break, let him clear out the rest of the deadwood. Let the youngsters come back stronger, fresh and more experienced next season. A year without Europe, a full pre season with fans back and hopefully no more covid laden weirdness. The squad can start to be aligned towards the next generation and we will see if the poor season was planning and restructuring the squad for the next 10 years. Klopp/ pep both had a poor first season before the players and squad were adapted towards their needs.
Positive thoughts, what happened to Leicester without Europe? They won the title. Maybe it’s the year we need to adapt, to play less games, travel less and to focus on the league and development.
Up the gunners!
Leicester weren’t in europe to begin with.. And that season we should have won the league and we were top of the league for some time! But we bottled it specially after Cazorla’s and Ramsey’s injuries.. Because we only bought cech that season when we all called it to get a midfielder!
👍 Spot on, Rachid!
Who did we bring in mid season to bolster the squad? Elneny? What ambition.
It would certainly be another major error by the board if Aterta is not relieved of his duties now. How many other premier clubs would keep their manager for another season after such a horrendous display of incompetence – all season long. How do you think the dressing room feels now? Do you think the squad, and especially our impressive young players, are excited to play again for a clueless manager who doesn’t understand the basics of team set up, formation and style of play.
And then there is the matter of player recruitment for the future. Would you expect Arteta to recruit the right players, at the right price. to fit our style of play? Most importantly, would you expect top players from around the world to be queuing up at the Emirates to play for a mid-table team under an insecure, rookie manager? In other words, the long term damage to club could be significant if Arteta is not removed. Plain and simple, has to be shown the door. The process must end.
R.Francis
100% agree….on point.
RFrancis, I too worry about the future development of Arsenal’s promising Academy players.
I have been supporting Arsenal since 1980 and I have never been so disappointed and pissed off with an Arsenal manger.
I do not dislike Arteta as a player but the sight of him now makes me sick to the core. He is destroying my beloved Arsenal. Let me list down the number of wrongs or idiotic decision from this clown :
1) Selling Martinez to Villa when Martinez contributed greatly to our FA cup success last season and clearly a better keeper than Leno
2) Loan Saliba
3) Loan Maitland Niles
4) Signing Willian
5) Keep playing Willian when he is the worst performing Arsenal player I has ever seen
6) Playing ESR so late in the season
7) Selling Kola and leaving no cover for Tierny.. Switch Xhaka to left back.. what an idiot manager
8) Arrogant and cannot motivate player
9) No Tactics
10) Cannot manage
11) Favoritism to certain player.. keep benching Martinelli
12) Does not admit mistake… instead keep blaming his players
12).. the list goes on
If he has still some humility…please resign… don’t shame yourself further…
Get lost from my beloved Arsenal.
So true Sean. I thought 1980 was my lowest point as an Arsenal fan, especially after the FA Cup defeat to West Ham and Liam Brady leaving. I could see no light at the end of a miserable looking tunnel and it did take a long time to get out of that hole. The entire 80s in fact. Part of the problem were Terry Neil and Don Howe, as miserable a managerial combination as you could ever wish for. It wouldn’t have mattered who they brought in Arsenal would play the same negative tripe. Arteta gives me the same dark vibes. He sets his team’s up to fail safe and kills off all creativity with his micromanagement from the sidelines. Cut him off asap otherwise the wilderness years could go on indefinitely.
Joe. S, remember that Terry Neil was sacked after losing 11 games that season. Arteta has lost 13 and the season is incomplete, with records for poor performance broken every week.
Both Neal and Howe, have become intertwined in my memory. I’ll always remember an anecdote by Alan Ball regarding one of Neal’s first bonding sessions as an Arsenal manager. According to Ball , Neal lined up two
sets of toy soldiers against each other to try to reinforce an us vs them mentality. Ball claims that the entire playing group barely managed to contain themselves from bursting out laughing at such a feeble attempt. After all here was someone who had won a World Cup and League title with Everton forced to endure an unsophisticated novice talking nonsense. Neil was fired, eventually but he managed to under achieve with an Arsenal squad which if better managed and built on should have won more than an FA Cup. Something that Arteta has also achieved, ha ha.
13 and counting….
Yes Joe, I started supporting arsenal since the FA cup defeat to West Ham. Although we lost, I was impressed by Arsenal “never say die” attitude.
Long gone now, Sean. Pack of overpaid, pampered wimps.
Sean
100% agree too. I feel the same. It’s painful when you seen nothing getting done, but you know what needs to be done. Arteta has to go.
Excellent article Dan, one of your best.
That is exactly what every thinking Gooner has been saying for the past 10 years. I always knew that Wenger was the Kroenkes’ scapegoat. I just thought fans would realize this as soon as he left.
I’ll try to cut to the chase, whatever the cause, the owner, the players, MA, our team did not play the Villareal game like it was the most important game of the season where they only needed one goal.
The manager should be held ultimately responsible.
Arteta needs to be fired!
I have been loving Arsenal since 1971, and nothing will ever change my mind. I’m behind our team and manager because I don’t want to give our opponents any benefits at all🔴⚪️
We love you Arsenal we do!!! Ooooh Arsenal we love you!!!
We love you Arsenal we do!!! Ooooh Arsenal we love you!!!
We love you Arsenal we do!!! Ooooh Arsenal we love you!!!
Your disillusioned diatribe on systemic poor management aside, Arteta needs to go. Performances were traumatic. I would go so far as to start class action litigation against Arsenal for cruel and unusual punishment and demand they pay for therapy.
“The Frenchman’s love for the Gunners was manipulated. His employers played on his heart strings to keep him, but equally knew out of loyalty he take the bullets for them”
absolute rubbish…try the manager used our love for him, as the manager of our beloved club, to manipulate the fanbase into believing that if we were patient and paid through the nose, all things were possible
if you’re opinion is to be believed then one of the following two things would need to be true, either he was the highest paid rube in the footballing world or an egomaniacal liar who figured he could wield his magic, on a limited budget, so that if or when the “truth” ultimately came to light it would be a moot point anyways…neither is a very flattering option
please keep in mind, that not only did Gazidis brag on multiple occasions about our financial wherewithal, Wenger himself constantly expressed the notion that it wasn’t about having the necessary funds but about finding players of the highest “quality”…you can’t have it both ways
Wenger was a “micro-manager” of epic proportions, so to even suggest that he was left totally unawares of the reality of the situation is even more disrespectful than anyone on AFTV saying “time to go”
whereas, if the funds were readily available and Wenger chose not to utilize these monies because he was afraid or unwilling to concede any control to either superstars or more charismatic/vocal leader-types or he simply relished the notion of being fawned over by fans and pundits alike for taking a less-than-perfect squad to some semblance of prominence, the bulk of the blame still falls squarely on him for making wholly “selfish” decisions that failed to achieve their desired results
one a side note, it still makes me laugh, just imagining warm and fuzzy Stan Kroenke pulling on Wenger’s heart strings…how absurd
in the end, you fire Arteta and Edu because they failed to stay the course when it came to their original mandate, conducting an organizational “rebuild”…you can’t keep moving the goalposts whenever it best suits your particular narrative for any given moment…furthermore, what you don’t do is allow someone who’s already showed a propensity for making selfish decisions, over the long-term betterment of the whole, to continue in his present capacity, as the likelihood of this reoccurring seems increasingly likely considering the mounting pressure he’ll face if he remains in charge
THRVL, you are probably posting this to bait Ken1945 but there is a lot of truth in the above comments. Le Professoir’s record speaks for itself but he does have a lot to answer for regarding his dealings with the Kroenkes. Was he duped / deluded?into thinking he could fight the good fight, maintain fair play rules and still retain the club’s competitive edge or was he like Gazadiz a willing advocate in fooling the fans that the Kroenkes cared. Don Quixote or Devil’s advocate? I wish he had addressed these issues more honestly in his book.
Cheers Joe…I wasn’t trying to bait anyone in particular, but I certainly wouldn’t have been surprised if Ken, among others, had responded…Dan, much like Ken, has spent considerable time and effort trying to convince others, and likely themselves, of a “truth” that is simply inconceivable in light of the facts…I believe that until a good portion of our fanbase comes to terms with the actual circumstances surrounding the devolution of our club, at the complicit hands of our former manager, we will continue to struggle as an organization…the chances of turning the page, if half the fanbase actually wants to turn back the clock, is highly unlikely…the only way we can possibly escape this period of mediocrity is to come together and mount a unified “attack” against our common enemy, the abject indifference displayed by our absentee landlord…when accountability for one’s actions, or lack thereof, was removed from the equation, during the post-Dein era, any possibility of returning to footballing prominence left with it…btw I doubt we will ever know the full truth, as contrition is not a Wengerian trait
No matter how bad the club owners may be, Arsenal is still better off without Mikel Arteta than with him. Both Wenger and Emery did much better than Arteta with far inferior players.
Rightly put George but same fans who were quick to criticise Wenger and wanted him gone are the ones asking for patience with Arteta, making excuses on his behalf when he is easily the biggest failure at Arsenal for decades. How come being in champions League was not enough for same and called fit Wenger’s head but it is ok for them when we have no Europe next season.
👍 👍
Who is asking for patience with Arteta after what happened on Thursday?
Unfortunately many! How did arteta get these fan boys.. He’s not even a legend for us.. Giving him money when you are playing your worst football on the pitch is a recipe for disaster! Money should be given to proven coaches.. Hansi flick is availabke.. Ragnik is available… We will drown further with arteta.. You now know he lost it when he’s playing the blame game.. He talks the talk but can never walk the walk or back up what he says.. Selling you a dream/goal is easy and doesn’t take much other than sweet words and charisma, but working toward that goal is what seperate achievers from fakes and frauds
Well inked fellow gunner.
What we need to do now is to bring wenger back to arsenal and back him with plenty funds to take us back to glory days.
He needs to groom a successor with him when he decides to quit coaching.
Arteta is a nice man but let us face the truth which is his lack of experience to manage a team.Arsenal FC is not for learners.Arteta is not supposed to be a manager,he only needs to be a head coach bcus he lacks experience.
Now if u guys can check his previous statement about our new director of football he clearly stated his excitement about his arrival.He is trying to shift most of the other responsibilities to the director.
The kronkes has failed us.KFC,Edu,Arteta should go.
We need robust and experience coach with a better management which we can only find in wenger for now.
KFC out
Bring wenger back.
we want different owner who can spend wholeheartedly on us and can take serious action on head coaches when the fail to meet their target.
If u guys want to debate me on this contact me on whatsapp via this line +23278646910.
This article is a wow, and am really impressed with selection of words and the arrangement of points. Honestly speaking, if arsenal are ready then they should go for a high profile manager who will in turn walk out because of low transfer budgets, slashing of wages, sacking of integral members and all-round investing solemnly for profit. This what arsenal will stand to be. Kse out
Sorry for this rant, but I cannot stand the Kroenke’s.
Arteta may become a good manager if he starts in the lower leagues, lets go of his ‘control’ methods, and gets some years behind him. This ‘Experiment’ at Arsenal is disastrous, and dangerous and not working at all.
The stay away owners have no concept of what is going on, if they did they would relieve Arteta of his job very quickly.
Kroenke is, for all sincere Arsenal supporters, the devil himself. He liked the chase and hung around to buy the club. He spent more time at the club accumulating shares than watching Arsenal. As soon as he got ownership he buggered of into the sunset.
When all the old men and old women shareholders sold their shares to Kroenke and not Usmanov, you can bet your bottom dollar it was racist. That ‘fine’ American Kroenke, (provider of the murderous hunting channel) against the little Russian/Uzebek, Usmanov. Unbelievable! When Danny Fiszman and Nina Bracewell-Smith sold their shares to Kroenke, they sold the soul of Arsenal to one of the greatest scroungers in history. Until Kroenke is gone Arsenal will be mismanaged and taken for granted. Just a week ago Josh Kroenke was spouting how much he loved Arsenal…..and then promptly buggered off…..just like his father.
👍 How many games have they ever attended.
It all has to start with the Kroenkes out of Arsenal, otherwise it will be the Emirates,” a place where nothing ever happens”.
Just finished reading an article on Mary Phillip, ex female Gunner coaching Peckham Town. Crazy thought but at this stage I’d be game enough to want to see her take Arteta’s job. Fairy Tale stuff. What a romance it would be and Arsenal would also have their soul back. And she has more managerial experience than Arteta.
The question is Arteta good enough to be Arsenal coach,
No, we have much better players than what we showing for. We are so passive the way we play. Arsenal become so boring to watch, I never thought I would say this in my life time. Arteta must go, who will be his replacement. I will take anyone who play attacking football.
Just for thought, what about Southampton coach
Just look at this scenario! You have an investment and you put some people to manage it for you, at the end no positive returns on investment. It is either the investor is not good in investment or the people managing his business are not the right set of people. Arsenal is an investment of Kroenke, Kroenke is not a good investor and the likes of Edu, Arteta and co are the wrong set of people managing the business. The result; failure as we have seen now. So both the investor (Kroenke), and the wrong set of people managing the business (Edu, Arteta and co) should just quit.
Yes, I totally agree with you. Arteta is too full of himself, especially after the winning the FA cup. I thought our winning if FA cup has element of luck as the referee help us lot in the final vs Chelsea.
Arteta is Ok but what I hated about him was he kept experimenting with the players. Even in our critical time, he still wanted to experiment with the tactic. He needs to have his fixed first-11. good bench, and he can experiment with his tactic if we are not in critical time. I think I will give him one more season
I like the article and agree with much of it, the problem is: Wenger was always going to leave at some point. The decline was inevitable and had already begun when he was still here.
There is plenty of blame to go around but you cannot absolve Wenger completely. We started to focus on smaller, technical players under his watch, abandoning his pace, power, technique philosophy for signing players and also started going after bigger names (Ozil, Sanchez) to appease fans expectations, as opposed to making big names as he had done previously with smart signings like Anelka, Henry and Vieira. We also started overpaying less important players a long time ago; guys like denilson and Walcott were on relatively large wages without having to actually achieve anything and they largely failed in part because of this, in my opinion.
In any case, we can only look forward and I agree that sacking Arteta will do nothing to fix our current situation. Emery is a good manager but the nature of this club meant he was fighting a battle he wasn’t prepared for – which manager would be prepared for that now? I always said that Arteta wasn’t going to succeed so quickly – the summer will tell us if he’s (still) on the right path, but I honestly don’t know who we could bring in to improve this situation quickly.
How can you back arteta when for 18 months on the pitch he’s completely lacking and doesn’t know what he’s doing
He’s made some bad decisions, that’s for sure.
My point is not to back him in the sense of saying: I’m sure he’s the guy to take us forward. I just don’t think he’s had enough time for us to write him off (2 transfer windows without much money and still a number of problem players left over). I fully expected a lot of bad results and a mid table finish this year (while always hoping for more). I will maintain that a lot of the clearing out of players that he’s overseen will benefit the club in the long run, it’s just whether Arteta can produce a good team with what is left over. I’m not convinced but I want him to have more of an opportunity to see it through, and I don’t see us getting another manager who would be both willing to join us now, and be capable of turning us into a good side, at least not within 18 months.
Very astute post 🙂
Lol. What you say seems obvious to many of us, but yet still we have unrealistic supports that seem to only care about making outlandish claims. “I HATE THIS CLUB”, “ARTETA OUT”, “WE NEED A COMPLETE REBUILD”. Its pathetic and not evening interesting. Reality is, we need to look at a rebuilding over the long-term. Lots of Europeans and Brits have been dissing the “franchise” model of North American sports leagues (Canadian here preaching), but at least fans understand that you may go through some short term pain as long as their is a long-term plan for success. May take 5 years. I actually like AFTV and some of their contributors, but so many think that because we are taking a few steps back its impossible to take some forward. I’m not saying blindly “trust the process”, but be realistic and optomistic and give things a bit of time.