BrunelGooner wrote:I am sorry but some of you are complete and utter embarrassments.
But before anyone wants to accuse me of being up Emery's backside, please read my comments in this thread where I was severely critical of his tactics and team selection yesterday.
The usual suspects (Angelito in particular and others) have no sense of perspective or understanding at all.
I do not accept this revisionism of Wenger's latter years where we played "attractive football". No - the football we played was equally as drab and where we put in some of the worst, most gutless and spineless displays known to man. Where we passed the ball around with no intensity or purpose. Where any team that showed even a smidgen of physicality, we would fold like a pack of cards.
We already have more away wins this season than we did for the entirety of last season. It's only February.
We have more points and scored more goals than this point last season. We are also not cut adrift from the top 4 (though I do not think we will get it).
We are one of the favourites for the Europa League. We are a solitary point off Manchester United in 4th.
And this is despite us having one of the worst injury crises we've ever had, where 3 of our first choice back 4 are injured, 3 important players have had season-ending injuries, we've got the worst squad out of all the top 6 and we have strapped for cash (mainly down to self-sabotage admittedly).
People talk about us winning cups and competing for top 4 under Wenger when he's the reason the squad is in the sorry state it is in currently. Tell me - did winning 3 FA Cups in 4 years mean we had progressed? Were fans happy? Or were people calling for Wenger's head despite the cup wins because all they did were mask our structural deficiencies?
When other clubs were making movements, looking to improve and increase their chances of success, he was dithering because he didn't want to kill Giroud's career...
When you have ex-Arsenal players saying that the coaching staff at the club weren't good enough, yet Wenger persisted with keeping them anyway, is it any wonder we haven't seen any development in our players?
When David Ornstein - one of the most reliable sources of intel there is - is saying that people within the club felt Wenger had too much power and authority at the club to the point where he felt infallible, people are acting as if pastures new was not only necessary, but needed for the sake of the club's future.
It's Emery's first season, you're expecting him to win everything in sight when the main priority for this season is to get into the CL (which has to take precedence over a trophy in the short-term due to the additional income). He was always going to make some mistakes in his first season.
As for money being an excuse - people can say it is an excuse all they want, it doesn't change the reality. A HUGE part of the reason why we are in the mess we are in is because we wasted money on the wrong players either through transfers or contract extensions. Other clubs were bound to catch up. This has been an issue that preceded Emery.
Our defensive issues have been prevalent well before Emery was manager. In fact, it's been all people have spoken about us for the last 10 years. It takes time to change mentalities, let alone personnel.
As for having no recognised identity, I'm not sure what you want me to say. We were playing good stuff up until December time and since then we have not played that well, yeah. Injuries to your key players will influence that, though. When you then factor in the lack of quality and depth we had already, it doesn't exactly enhance our chances of playing good football.
So, considering all the external and internal factors, Emery's not done a bad job so far.
Is he faultless? Absolutely not. I have been critical of him plenty of times.
But I refuse to be drawn into this doom mongering when it is abundantly clear some of you never wanted him to succeed in the first place.
To which I say: go f**k yourselves.
Well said