for what it is worth...

[3rd Generation Gooner]

So the problem boils down to this...you can't have your cake and eat it.


Revolutionary manager...comes in and transforms your club...ground, training, style of play, everything. Rest of the country immediately begins to emulate it.


Only problem is unlike most aspects of life in our instant gratification society he has set down a long term plan and in order to do that without a Sheikh Mamoney it's gonna take time.


The problem comes when you you need to sell this to your public.


I don't have a problem with "this is going to hurt but it's good for you" but what I do have a problem with is trotting out the line that you are going to be able to do this and still be competitive.


tell you what...I don't want us to buy any more "good premiership players" and would rather we closed our doors to agents for the next decade and said "now we develop the youth academy"


imho

[71 Guns - channeling the spirit of Mr Hat]

in January imo. And Leighton Baines while we're at it. Whether they'd want to come is another matter entirely of course.

[3rd Generation Gooner]

[71 Guns - channeling the spirit of Mr Hat]

Fellaini on the wing and Baines as dm.

[Peter]

By convincing us that fourth place is the new title.

Lets assume you can convince the press and 60,000 fans.

You wont be able to convince a single professional footballer. Each and every one of them will come and go as it suits them. The second they can get a better offer they will want to jump.

A brief history of our last 5 years.

There is one other problem, which we dont talk about. Arsene is exceptional in many ways and is capable of building a side that can enthrall millions across the globe. Just like cesc, van persie, nasri et al, he is wasted at arsenal, trywing to bail water out of a sinking ship.

He isnt a magician. He cant make this work. Maybe, for his sake, we should let him go and manage a proper football club, where he actually has a fighting chance.

[andy smith]

He is quite old for a football manager and he's not really into short-term projects.

[Peter]

Am never going to see it again at arsenal.

I hve finally accepted that it is probbly the end of an era. I dont se him turning this around now.

Quite a nasty day for me. Like the day you find out that santa isnt real.....

[Camp Freddie]

[Bergkamp's Brain]

and it was an ambitious project, possibly over-ambitious, given the extra oney spent on the surroundings.

Of course that has little to do with why we are playing like a bunch of strangers. All our problems are on the field, right now, not off the field. Yes there are major question marks over the ownership and the chief executive, but that is having little bearing on why we can't create chances or why we can't defend. We have some good players, but they aren't being moulded into a unit by the manager because his style is to let the players work it out together. Unfortunately the players need to have a level of maturity in order to work it out, which few of ours do. It is quite clear that the manager needs to modify his approach a bit and that is our problem right now.

[andy smith]

I still think he's capable but it's going to take a long time. We are in quite a mess.

Having said that, we still have some good players. Our form is absolutely woeful right now but we will improve. I'm not saying we're going to challenge for the title but I still think 4th is achievable, if only because the teams we're competing against aren't that good themselves.

One thing's for certain - there is zero chance of him getting sacked. He's made the board serious cash and will carry on doing so. So he'll only go when he's had enough. Has he reached that point yet? I can't see why he'd want to carry on given the **** that's flying his way. But he's a proud man who has achived great things and won't want to go out like that. He also has ultimate belief in his philosophies and I would expect he will still believe he can turn this around.

[Bergkamp's Brain]

[Nicosia Gooner]

[Mack]

http://www.awimb.com/images/smiley_icons/smile.gif

[Nicosia Gooner]

[Bergkamp's Brain]

[redgunamo]

[Bergkamp's Brain]

but the squad is good enough. We shouldn't be 10th, but we are. The only consolation is that we are only 2 wins from 3rd

[Mack]

[redgunamo]

[Bergkamp's Brain]

[redgunamo]

season's top scorer (and title winner) in France, two erstwhile international captains and a young French prospect and an extremely promising English teenager.

Comparable, no?

[Bergkamp's Brain]

we do have a good squad, just that they have little or no direction, is my biggest issue.

[redgunamo]

dreamed of such riches, for example.