*Official* English Football Season 2010-11

[Craig]

And yet anybody who dares to question Wenger's tenure at Arsenal...

Of course I don't think Wenger is a terrible manager, what he has done is fantastic, considering they don't have either rich Arabs/Russians/Yanks (as much as they try to take over the club) giving him a virtual blank cheque to play with. You guys already have a good squad, and some talented youngsters in the ranks, but it just seems so bizarre that Wenger won't go for somebody of real quality, even if it were to be the one transfer of the season.

 

[Ikki]

TBF, you have to appreciate their situation. His keeping Arsenal in a top 4 position despite a lot of financial considerations is massively impressive. In fact, I am not sure it is replicated anywhere else by anyone else to the extent of Wenger's success. I also think his non-spending has become a stick to beat him by in the press which has gotten him overly defensive about it. I say 'overly' because whilst he surely doesn't need to spend big to get quality (his record in great cheap signings is almost unmatched), sometimes he could have just spent a few million more and helped his side a lot (i.e. Schwarzer, or any top keeper).

 

[vcs]

Wenger does 90% of management very well. It's his blind spot concerning the last 10% (no-nonsense defending, bringing in quality GKs and defenders) which ruins Arsenal's chances. It's hard to see Arsenal winning a trophy if the status quo continues.

 

[sledger]

Honestly, Wenger seems to have a real blind spot when it comes to keepers. He was jammy enough to inherit a great one and signed one genuinely decent keeper in Mad Jens (who had his moments anyway), but that's an awful strike rate in 14 years.

Remember Rami Shabaan?

Only game I really remember seeing him play in was against Man Utd at old Trafford one year, think he lasted about 35 mins or so before injury forced him off, and was never really seen again iirc.

Richard Wright deserves a mention as another comedy Arsenal goalkeeper, though in fairness to Wenger he actually looked the business before he was signed. Alex Manninger also had a great first season as well before tailing off awfully. Seems to be a curse of sorts. Was always surprised Stuart Taylor wasn't given more of a go though, always thought he looked pretty good on the occasions I saw him.

 

[duffer]

You guys are so behind on the whole "Wenger might not actually know" talk. That said I do believe he has kept us competitive at the very top level while building a new stadium and the club is in a great position on the whole for which he should be congratulated.

Just sticks in the craw when you see we made a record profit this season but decided to penny pinch when it came to solving our biggest weakness. Inexcusable really. If Szczesny is all he's being advertised to be, then just play him. It must demoralise the **** out of the entire team not having any confidence at all in any of our keepers. Heh, this season will be brutal. He'll claim no one was available in the January window too.

 

[Ikki]

But is it that simple? Is the decision that obvious? The press and fans make it seem so, but I have a hard time believing managers like Wenger are that stupid to ignore what's in front of them. As a fan, I am more inclined to believe the manager knows what he is doing, and there may be some things we don't know about - for whatever reason - and trust in his decision.

 

[duffer]

He came out a week ago saying Fabianski had world class potential and he was going to give him opportunities to show it. Really.

edit: I wish I was making that **** up.

 

[sledger]

But is it that simple? Is the decision that obvious? The press and fans make it seem so, but I have a hard time believing managers like Wenger are that stupid to ignore what's in front of them. As a fan, I am more inclined to believe the manager knows what he is doing, and there may be some things we don't know about - for whatever reason - and trust in his decision.

I'm usually the same, but with this issue there surely must reach a point where enough is enough. The fact that he apparently went after several goalkeepers in the summer shows that this is a case of him realising there is a problem and attempting to sort it, rather than out and out sticking with Almunia and co. I think Wenger does know what he is doing, but I don't think it takes a genius to see that Almunia and Fabianski are just blatantly not up to standard, not if you are supposedly title chasers anyway.

 

[sledger]

He came out a week ago saying Fabianski had world class potential and he was going to give him opportunities to show it. Really.

edit: I wish I was making that **** up.

Think he's had enough chances to showcase his "World Class Potential" to be quite honest.

 

[Jarquis]

He came out a week ago saying Fabianski had world class potential and he was going to give him opportunities to show it. Really.

edit: I wish I was making that **** up.

He's like it all the time though, Diaby, Denilson, Song, Eboue, Bendtner and more have all been criticised by fans, all been told to gagf over the years by the fans and Wenger stuck by them all, which a lot of people criticised him for but he's starting to be proved he was right.
Bendtner has come on leaps and bounds from where he was 2 years ago, comparing Song nowadays to his Charlton days is lolworthy, Diaby is a world beater on his day, jjust lacks consistency. Denilson has progressed pretty slowly, but he's a better player nowadays and I won't dwell on Eboue for Uppercut's sake

The problem is, Almunia isn't a developing player, he's just a rank average goalkeeper. And when Fabianski makes the ****ups that Diaby, Denilson, Song, Bentnder et al made over the years, it inevitably costs us a goal.
It's pretty clear to see Fabianski won't ever be a great keeper, but there must be something to work with considering he was a full Polish International at such a young age.

 

[sledger]

I would say that Denilson has actually regressed to be honest, in terms of performances anyway, looked like he was full of potential when he first appeared. Nowadays it seems like he's a bag of nerves or just going through the motions most of the time. Still has time to get better again though, if he were a few years older I imagine he would have been punted by now. Still not convinced by Bendtner though, but will agree with you on the other players.

Fabianski does seem to have decent enough shot stopping ability (barring that howler against Spurs the other night anyway), and I agree that there must be potential (or at least the illusion thereof) in him. Problem is, as a goalkeeper it doesn't matter how much potential you have, if you make massive howlers week in week out and it costs the team points then you're not up to the job. I am sure a lot of his problem is confidence, but it's clear that the defence have no confidence in him and that is a massive knock on problem which can't go on. I really really hope this is his last run in the side, it needs to either work out that he goes on from here to become a solid number one or he fails and gets the axe, because enough is enough.

 

[vcs]

He's like it all the time though, Diaby, Denilson, Song, Eboue, Bendtner and more have all been criticised by fans, all been told to gagf over the years by the fans and Wenger stuck by them all, which a lot of people criticised him for but he's starting to be proved he was right.
Bendtner has come on leaps and bounds from where he was 2 years ago, comparing Song nowadays to his Charlton days is lolworthy, Diaby is a world beater on his day, jjust lacks consistency. Denilson has progressed pretty slowly, but he's a better player nowadays and I won't dwell on Eboue for Uppercut's sake

The problem is, Almunia isn't a developing player, he's just a rank average goalkeeper. And when Fabianski makes the ****ups that Diaby, Denilson, Song, Bentnder et al made over the years, it inevitably costs us a goal.
It's pretty clear to see Fabianski won't ever be a great keeper, but there must be something to work with considering he was a full Polish International at such a young age.

I would say that Denilson has actually regressed to be honest, in terms of performances anyway, looked like he was full of potential when he first appeared. Nowadays it seems like he's a bag of nerves or just going through the motions most of the time. Still has time to get better again though, if he were a few years older I imagine he would have been punted by now. Still not convinced by Bendtner though, but will agree with you on the other players.

Fabianski does seem to have decent enough shot stopping ability (barring that howler against Spurs the other night anyway), and I agree that there must be potential (or at least the illusion thereof) in him. Problem is, as a goalkeeper it doesn't matter how much potential you have, if you make massive howlers week in week out and it costs the team points then you're not up to the job. I am sure a lot of his problem is confidence, but it's clear that the defence have no confidence in him and that is a massive knock on problem which can't go on. I really really hope this is his last run in the side, it needs to either work out that he goes on from here to become a solid number one or he fails and gets the axe, because enough is enough.

And that's the problem in a nutshell (bolded parts). Goalkeeping is a position, where if you have aspirations being a top side challenging for major honours, you're better off cherrypicking the best available and let upcoming goalkeepers learn their trade by making mistakes at lesser clubs. Obviously, picking a Shay Given or Schwarzer may or may not work out - some goalkeepers look fantastic in a lower pressure environment but crumble at a big club where every mistake is heavily scrutinized and criticized. But that's a risk you have to take. I'm almost convinced that to win the big trophies, there's no alternative other than investing in a proven, worldclass goalkeeper, or hope you produce a gem like Casillas. Heck, even Victor Valdes looks like Gordon Banks compared to Arsenal's goalkeepers.

Fabianski is too early in his development to play at a club like Arsenal IMO. Almunia is middle-aged and will never get much better than he already is. I don't know much about Szczesny.

 

[sledger]

Too early in his development? He's nearly 26 years old! I know That's not all that old for a Goalkeeper in relative terms, but if he's not ready to play for a top flight team by that age then he never will be. Age and experience is obviously a factor to some extent, but I would say ability is the be all and end all, if you are good enough you are old enough etc... Which Flappyhandski regrettably appears not to be.

 

[vcs]

Wow I thought he'd be a bit younger than that.

The signs for Fabianski really don't look promising, Arsenal are lucky if he makes only one goal-costing blunder a game. At least Almunia only makes 7-8 bloomers a season.

 

[Uppercut]

He's like it all the time though, Diaby, Denilson, Song, Eboue, Bendtner and more have all been criticised by fans, all been told to gagf over the years by the fans and Wenger stuck by them all, which a lot of people criticised him for but he's starting to be proved he was right.
Bendtner has come on leaps and bounds from where he was 2 years ago, comparing Song nowadays to his Charlton days is lolworthy, Diaby is a world beater on his day, jjust lacks consistency. Denilson has progressed pretty slowly, but he's a better player nowadays and I won't dwell on Eboue for Uppercut's sake

I don't think you can say any of those players are anywhere near good enough to justify Wenger's faith in them. Not yet, anyway.

In fact I can't think of any example of a player that was heavily criticised in his early career that turned into an unqualified success under Wenger. Going from "lolbad" to "useful squad member" doesn't really count.

But at the idea of sacking Wenger.

 

[vcs]

I don't think you can say any of those players are anywhere near good enough to justify Wenger's faith in them. Not yet, anyway.

In fact I can't think of any example of a player that was heavily criticised in his early career that turned into an unqualified success under Wenger. Going from "lolbad" to "useful squad member" doesn't really count.

But at the idea of sacking Wenger.

Didn't Pires have a slow start to his Arsenal career?

 

[Jarquis]

I don't think you can say any of those players are anywhere near good enough to justify Wenger's faith in them. Not yet, anyway.

In fact I can't think of any example of a player that was heavily criticised in his early career that turned into an unqualified success under Wenger. Going from "lolbad" to "useful squad member" doesn't really count.

But at the idea of sacking Wenger.

I'd definitely say Song has. He's an integral part of out first team now.
The fact is that many of them are still developing, Song is just 23, Diaby 24, Denilson and Bendtner are 22.

But, last season Bedntner got 12 goals in 21 starts, not bad for a 21 year old who had to lead the line by himself last year.

 

[sledger]

Didn't Pires have a slow start to his Arsenal career?

It was slow certainly, but at no point was he ever genuinely crap.

 

[sledger]

I'd definitely say Song has. He's an integral part of out first team now.
The fact is that many of them are still developing, Song is just 23, Diaby 24, Denilson and Bendtner are 22.

But, last season Bedntner got 12 goals in 21 starts, not bad for a 21 year old who had to lead the line by himself last year.

Song definitely has improved massively and you are right that he is an integral part of the team, but his improvement hasn't really been substantiated by any tangible success, and I don't think his fortunes can be considered a drastic turnaround until it has. Great lad though, such a gun.

 

[sledger]

I don't think you can say any of those players are anywhere near good enough to justify Wenger's faith in them. Not yet, anyway.

In fact I can't think of any example of a player that was heavily criticised in his early career that turned into an unqualified success under Wenger. Going from "lolbad" to "useful squad member" doesn't really count.

But at the idea of sacking Wenger.

I'd say you could make a case for Edu being one of those to be honest. He was dreadful when he first showed up, but hit a real purple patch in his last two years or so. Not that I was ever particularly convinced by him myself.