When it comes to Arsene Wenger, it seems the Arsenal board have done their job, but the fans, at least many of those here at ArseAm, haven’t.
Since Wenger took over only one club, Man U, has been as (more) successful. Like Arsenal they have had the same manager over that time. By sticking with Wenger those who run the club have maintained the high level of success. Sure, it might have made sense to go in a different direction after two straight fourth place finishes, but they’ve stuck with him.
Now, my question is, why do we, the fans, question Le Boss after every match that doesn’t end with a glorious Arsenal victory?
I read the same complaints after every loss or draw: Wenger got the tactics wrong.
So, victory = right tactics; bad draw/loss = wrong tactics?
Wow, this truly is a simple game. The other team never plays well. Our opponents never play a blinder. Arsenal players never fail to execute (accept due to the poor tactics of the manager.
Of course, after the match is over, sitting at your computer or at the pub it is easy to say, “He got the tactics wrong.” But in a sport where the difference between a draw and a win is eight seconds (dribble…cross…header…goal) pointing to the tactics every time is a little tough. If this were, say, chess where tactics make up roughly 98% of the sport, then yes, I could understand the constant criticism.
It also goes back to the unrealistic expectations that Wenger himself has created. Regardless of the competition or circumstances, anything less than a victory is the result of any error by the manager. Guess what? Every team (apart from Arsenal four years ago, and that’s the problem) loses sometimes.
So next time the Arsenal fail to get a win, let’s try chalking it up to something other than poor tactics.
26 Responses to “The thankless job of the manager”
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December 27th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
I’m personally tired of all the whining.
First of all, no one of us believed this team would be doing this well at this stage of the season but Arsene, even if he didn’t believe it, articulated his believe and we’ve seen a glimpse of what this team can do. The invincibles are that: invincibles (and gone)! This team will either be greater or lesser not equal.
Second, even the invincibles sucked sometimes. I’ll never forget Batigoal scoring against us after Patrick V decided to attempt juggling the ball in the 6yard box or a bunch of other painful loses. But in hindsight that team was great b/c they won some trophies anyway and produced some of the best soccer along the way.
This team hasn’t won nada (’cept you count 2005 fa) and perhaps that xplains the whining. But I still think it’s shocking how easy fans would turn against players of their own team. But we’ve got a coach that’s been at the top before. Maybe it’s been a while since we won the league but it’s been a while since Man USA won too prior to last season (and they had enuf help from the ref, fa, and all that). So hang in there fella’s
I’m pretty sentimental about Arsenal so maybe that xplains why I always seem to post apologies on Arsenal’s behalf… but really let’s have some faith shall we
December 27th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Thanks Rick, for standing up defend the boss.
Sometimes I wonder if AW did follow any one of our regular here’s suggested tactic/formation/players picked, what the outcome of any particular game would be?
It’s easier for us to say 451 wouldn’t work in a particular game, and 442 or better. Or we should play who and who instead of who and who. ‘cos we will never find out how the ACTUAL outcome would be. so everyone sounds like an expert who knows better.
Yet somehow i do suspect even a manager like Billy Davies, whose team had been crap and eventually got sacked, would know better than ANY one of us here when comes to being a football manager. Let alone the top boss like Arsene Wenger.
I always believe that fans’ thinking is very one-dimensional. Say, if a particular player failed to perform, we would think another guy on the bench is better.
If we fail to score goals, let’s go and buy a striker.
Yet we do not ask ourselves that say, a 442 formation on paper would help our attack, but how about the defence? How about the controling of midfield?
Or, say buying a new striker/winger/defender of course would add to the depth of our sqaud, or offer “comeptition” for places… yet how would it affect the current players’ morale?
I also look at the sceniro at Liverpool. the livepool fans been complaining their manager rotate his players too often, or change his tactic too often. While AW is Rafa’s opposite, yet you also got the complains that his tactical approach is too “inflexible”, and he tends to play the same set of players.
so yes, as your title suggested - it’s indeed a thankless job. everyone knows better, apart from the manager himself of course.
December 28th, 2007 at 1:17 am
Yes, I’d say he is a victim of his own success.
I didn’t think we had a prayer of winning the league this season, yet here it is… half-way thru the season, and we have been top of the league for most of the season, and definitely can win the league, the CL, the FA, and CC.
Hindsight is always 20/20. Easy to point fingers after the match.
All the cliches.
But as supporters, it is part of the fun to play manager.
We shouldn’t blindly support everything that happens with the club, on and off the pitch. However, not sure how we can complain about much of anything Wenger does after watching this team… this season.
If Gallas had scored the winner in the last few minutes… and he easily could have… we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Or… we shouldn’t be, because we’d have won.
A draw at Portsmouth… in a stretch of 3 matches in the Christmas frenzy? Is that what we’re complaining about?
Yes. We’ve been spoiled.
How’d you like to be Fulham or Derby… play abysmal football?
December 28th, 2007 at 1:40 am
Yeah, it wasn’t even a defeat. Portsmouth so far has only lost once at home. Man U were also held to a draw there. and in fact they played very well themselves, and could have nicked it (with one of their strikers rounded our keeper, only for Kolo or Clichy to bail us out late in the game). so a nil-nil draw is by no mean a bad result.
i recall what DannyT said early of the season - it’s nice that we started well, and it has raised the expectation. but with great expectation, we also need to be a bit realistic. This is virtually the same side as last season. We are one year more matured, and improved a great deal this season. But it’s a bit unreal to expect this side all a sudden just go out there and beat everybody week in week out.
December 28th, 2007 at 1:45 am
i think this is a smack topic…….unlike MOST of you here…. i absolutely knew we had the quality BEFORE the season started and i said it SEVERAL times…..when a lot of ppl here thought we would be 8th.
i predicted we would come second….because after looking at the squads i thought only Man U had a bit more quality than us. i expected that only a lack of maturity/experience or severe injury problems could cripple us.
so dont get at me with the whole “nobody expected it” thing. i always knew we had the quality ….since july.
those that didnt think we had the quality in the first place are the ones who are most ecstatic with our position now…..while people like me who knew all along we were NOT shit are a bit more nitpicky.
in late september, when a lot of people were in shock that we were winning games we are supposed to normally given our quality, i was already in the nitpicky stage - complaining about not enough directness and goals from hleb and rosicky.
anyway, the result is not the end of the world. i just dont want a situation where a bit of inflexibility that goes on for too long hampers our flow and derails a title bid.
so i always thot this season was a season too early for the title, there is no reason not to make a proper fist of this….because one never knows what next season will bring with regards to injuries, loss of form or stupendous increase in form of a rival.
ofcourse despite the fact i think he is tactically inferior to other top managers i would still rather have wenger as manager indefinitely because wengerball is the only one that entertains me. infact arsenal matches are the only ones i watch from start to finish these days.
December 28th, 2007 at 1:54 am
ManU lost at Bolton. Is it ok for us to lose there?
Arsenal lost at Boro. Is it ok for ManU to lose there?
It’s not that straight forward, is it?
December 28th, 2007 at 1:58 am
@ andez: yes, its true, with a great start comes over-hyped expectation. but it is also not easy to put in the performance week in, week out.
the thing is this team was ALWAYS quality….only severely lacking in responsibility. henry’s departure was always going to liberate them a bit.
in the beginning they handled the “liberation” very, very well….but now, as things are heating up, its getting a bit heavy - physically and psychologically.
i think this is where the manager comes in. he should play a formation that relieves them a bit, without tasking them too much physically.
December 28th, 2007 at 2:15 am
About blaming defeat on tactics, I don’t think that’s been the case. People have been talking about the 4-5-1 long BEFORE the Portsmouth game. Tactics depend on each game and should be talked about only in that context.
Like vs Chelsea, even at home, it made sense to start with 4-5-1 as we had too many players returning from injury. Against Spurs, it made less sense as their defense was decimated with injuries. Vs Pompey, even though they are seen as having a strong record, the reality was they had only two wins, 5 draws and hadn’t scored for 4 game in a row. Now, why would you not want to attack against such a team?
Secondly, even if we start 4-5-1 in games, by half time (latest by 60 min) you know what is happening. Why not switch then giving enough time for the new formation to work? Why keep Bendtner (who was on a high after the Spurs goal) on the bench till 80 mins?
Just because people are questioning Wenger’s tactics doesn’t mean they are not supporting the club or think that he is not the right person to lead the club. At the start of the season, Wenger made better subs (remember we were winning lots of games in the last quarter hour) and I think everyone lauded him for doing that.
December 28th, 2007 at 2:45 am
Perfect post Rick..Fully agree with you.
Was about to post my say as well but stag has pretty much summed up what I would have said.
As one of my friends pointed out …Portsmouth have succeeding in holding all of Man Utd, Liverpool and now Arsenal at Fratton Park..probably says more about their defensive ability against big teams rather than a question mark on Arsenal’s performance.
While i am not defending Arsenal’s poor performance in any way….it’s always better to put things in prespective first before we dissect tactics etc
And in any case….i believe we will only be able to arrive at an opinion on Wenger’s performance and his tactics once we are clear on where we will finish this season….at this moment this is not clear..the season has a long way to go yet…we are still in all competitions and definetly in contention for the title. Given this i find it hard to be overtly critical of the Manager and the team.
December 28th, 2007 at 4:04 am
Well we played lot of 4-5-1 this season and won. And we played lot of 4-4-2 and lost last season. And we played lot of 4-4-2 and won in 2004. And we played lot of 4-5-1 during the trip to Champions League final. In any case, it’s the players’ performance matters most.
December 28th, 2007 at 4:09 am
The reason Wenger get’s crap is because he, just like anyone else, is only as good as his last f*ck-up. Earlier in the season he made good tactical changes early enough to make a difference where in seasons passed as well as in recent games, he’s made these changes too late or not at all. He seems to be reverting to this old behavior again. Fans criticizing him for that is nothing new.
How many times this season have Walcott, van Persie, or Bendtner come off the bench and give us the lift or tactical change that we needed? I think everyone respects what Wenger has done for Arsenal and English football but that doesn’t make him beyond reproach.
I have a problem when the team loses games they’re supposed to win because of poor tactics. That means the players can work their asses off with no possibility of a just reward. If we employ tactics that give our team the best chance to win and still fail to win, then that’s just the way football goes sometimes (like CSKA last year). But when your tactics allow an inferior team like Middlesborough to not only win but dominate your team then you’ve got to call that spade a spade.
Arsenal have good players but we shouldn’t expect them to pull a rabbit out of the hat every single game. Sure you need a little bit of luck but you can’t rely on luck to win all your games. People are giving Wenger crap because the players have given everything to win but still failed due to tactics. It’s like, sure you can use a butter knife to cut a steak but why would you do that when you’ve got a steak knife available? Wenger, put the butter knife down.
December 28th, 2007 at 4:30 am
“The reason Wenger get’s crap is because he, just like anyone else, is only as good as his last f*ck-up.”
Yeah right, that’s what seperates the truth fans and the plastic.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:13 am
so a true fan is one who never criticizes? thats stupid.
ofcourse all those stupid blogs that are going OTT are just doing that to get as many clicks as possible.
but when a manager starts with a formation that is not creating any chances and have zero penetration…….waits and does nothing till the 81st minute….he deserves a bit of stick.
if the players create and squander 15 chances there is nothing the manager can do about that……but if the team does not create at all and your lone striker is extremely isolated up top, then it is more than fair to ask the manager to re-think his formation.
that my friend is not called being a “plastic”.
December 28th, 2007 at 6:24 am
Well..i’m just a football fan…not even a manager….and judging by some of the posts regarding tactics…it seems like the answer to our problems is pretty much crystal clear
I’m surprised that Wenger with his years of experience as Manager (with lot of success) ..across various teams….with his really able assistants ..and with his daily access to all our players to assess strenghts and weaknesses..is not able to comprehend such a clear answer to our problems…beats me
On a serious note….while i do agree that we as fans do need to be critical when the team does not perform upto expectations…I absolutely don’t agree with people saying that a 4-4-2 was the ONLY Correct way to play at both Boro and Portsmouth and the 4-5-1 was crap … For one we have not seen how a 4-4-2 would have performed under similar circumstances..and secondly we are assuming that the opposition would not modify their tactics suitably to take on our changed formation.
Lastly changing formations is not as easy as in FM or Fifa…..the players have probably trained in that formation for the past week…..if we are in the midst of a tight away game..and just because we haven’t scored till the 60th minute the manager decides to make a change to the formation ..the whole team mindset will need to undergo a change..mebbe it might take 5 minutes to get adjusted to…but 5 minutes is enough for the opposition to sneak in and get the goal. If we are ready to risk losing in order to gain 3 points in an away game i guess then probably Wenger should have gone for it. But i’m pretty sure that if wenger had tried that and this resulted in us giving a goal away..he would have heard no end of it.
He played it safe and we got the point. I’ll probably accept that. Sure he could have acted sooner and made a few substitutions for players who were not as effective…but that’s about the only thing that i can fault him about.
Cheers
December 28th, 2007 at 6:31 am
It really depends on the level of criticism - and to be honest from certain people on here it is often excessive. You can’t criticise the team EVERY single time they lose or fail to win a game, that’s ridiculous. If your expectation of Wenger is that he has to win every single game then you’re a plastic.
Teams lose games for many reasons, the opposing team plays well enough to stop them, tiredness, 2-3 players off form, injuries, tactical mistakes. A defeat can be a result of all or some of those things in unison. It is not Wenger’s fault if Fabregas or Hleb don’t turn up one day on the pitch.
You can make certain criticisms, no manager is immune to that - but recently certain people have been extremely harsh on the manager and players, leading to the obvious conclusion they are either impatient glory hunters or completely ignorant of the game that is football.
You can have the best players in the world, that does not entitle to you to win every single game you play. What a manager is looking for is a high level of consitency, and that is what you as a supporter should be looking for and overall that is exactly what Wenger is delivering.
I agree that Wenger is poor tactically at the highest level and always has been, that’s not likely to change. I suppose it’s like asking Gallas to dribble past 3 players and smash it in the top right corner, as good as he has at defending, he can’t do everything as a footballer, and no manager is good at everything either.
You have to look at the situation and ask yourself, who could have done a better job or who is likely to? For me, Wenger is perfect for Arsenal and has delivered incredible success and massive entertainment over a consistent period - long may it continue.
Criticism is fine, but put things in perspective - don’t just piss and moan EVERY time Arsenal drop points. Some times it might be warranted, but not EVERY time.
December 28th, 2007 at 7:13 am
Let me re-phrase supersapien, the reason ANYONE, including Wenger, gets crap is because they’re only as good as they’re last f*ck-up. Sure Wenger has fantastic accomplishments but this is a business that won’t allow you to rest on your laurels regardless of how phenomenal they are.
Fans have criticized tactics because everytime we’ve lost this season, that was the reason why, except for the Sevilla away game. Sure, opponents have had to be smart and play hard but we’ve made it much easier for them with our poor approach. Hell, there are games we’ve won that the tactics were bad. Fortunately, for us, we had players like Gallas that did the unthinkable and refused to lose. Just because you win, that shouldn’t allow a professional player or coach to be satisfied with their poor performance.
It’s plain to see the 4-5-1 works best when Hleb is on song. It’s also plain to see that Adebayor, being so young, is much more effective when he has a strike partner. Even Henry struggled as a lone striker. Any CB will struggle to cope with Ade or Henry 1v1 but 1v2 makes it very easy for opposing defenses. Also when Ade (or Henry) drifts wide, with another striker, we still have a point of attack in a central area; meaning we still have a cutting edge on our attack.
Lastly, tactics is more than just a formation. It includes managers using and manipulating available resources to get the desired effect. If your original plan fails then you need to be able to make adjustments that give you the best chance to win. My criticisms have been playing a team with one striker and only defensive midfielders, or playing conservatively against a weak defensive team. Those kinds of decisions have cost us and that’s not the players fault.
December 28th, 2007 at 7:20 am
My other criticism has been Wenger waiting too long to make necessary adjustments. Credit to Wenger, he’s done that better this season making more definitive changes around the hour mark and giving them time to take on the desired effect. It’s not about winning every game but as a manager giving your team the best chance to win by making smart and timely decisions.
December 28th, 2007 at 9:07 am
@mike: my post didnt get put up at all … it was more or less on the same topic … am i allowed to only make previews??
December 28th, 2007 at 9:13 am
haha maybe u r LDE!
December 28th, 2007 at 9:32 am
its sad Andez…second time its happening…maybe I should not write posts at all ..and just post previews….
December 28th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Joshuad said: I think everyone respects what Wenger has done for Arsenal and English football but that doesn’t make him beyond reproach.
Actually, yeah it does. At least the type of reproach he receives here. I think when a manager comes in and delivers pretty much the greatest 10 year run in the history of the club, a history that goes back more than 100 years, that yes, that pretty much puts him beyond reproach.
Multiple league titles? Check
Multiple double trophy seasons? Check
Trips to multiple European cup finals? Check
Undefeated season? Check
Most exciting, beautiful style in Europe? Check
Develpment of fantastic players? Check
Sound fiscal management? Check
Plays with honour and fairness? Check
Helped lead us to new stadium? Check
Since Wenger took over Arsenal has been the second best club in England. Second only to ManU who are still in an era that will likely go down as one of the top 3 in English football history.
If Wenger wins just two more games (albeit the two European finals) he probably goes down as the greatest manager in English football history. Christ, two games! And what was the score of those two games? UEFA Cup final went to a penalty shoot out and the Champions League final was lost by 1 goal, WITH TEN MEN, against one of the truly great teams of the last 10 years.
Sweet Jesus, what does this guy have to do in order to please some people? How about, just once, after a loss we say, “Well, they got us today, let’s go out and get ‘em next time!” instead of saying, “Wenger blew it again with the tactics.”
Yes, he is not perfect. As DannyT pointed out, Wenger has strengths and weaknesses just like everybody else. What point is there is poking a stick at his weaknesses every freaking time! Good Lord, who would you rather have as manager? Graeme Souness? Sammy Lee? Glenn Hoddle?
December 28th, 2007 at 11:49 am
Rick, the thing is, they didn’t get us. They played for a draw and with our formation and set of players we played for a draw too. Wenger should have changed something earlier if he wanted to get the three points, coz for 80 minutes Arsenal played just like Portsmouth.
December 28th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Personally, I try never to second guess our esteemed manager. I like to believe that with over 600 matches under his belt at the helm of our beloved club, that he knows a thing or two more about football than I do.
I might be guilty of the occasional “wish”, as in, “I do wish he’d put in Bendtner in a bit earlier”, but am confident that Wenger carries the sum total of all Arsenal America members’ football knowledge in his big toe.
When people start giving him stick, I am reminded of a quote by George Burns (at least I think it was George Burns), “Too bad all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxi cabs and cutting hair”.
December 28th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
There are some refs and linesmen who have handled many games. Shouldn’t these people get the respect of managers? If they get one call wrong in a match, why do some managers complain about the officials? Why can’t the manager simply say “today the ref cost us, tomorrow he may help us, so lets get on with it”.
When some teams employ negative tactics and kill the hell out of players, why can’t managers and even fans just ignore that? Not all teams are kickers. Some actually play football. Why can’t everyone just get on with it?
Why do fans go on and on about events that happenned 50-70 years ago? Shouldn’t everyone only care for the current season and not about what happened decades ago? Shouldn’t opposing playes treat every game as a derby and be professionals? Why do some teams only raise their game in a derby and lie down and let the others walk all over them?
Why do fans insult the opposing manages and players? Even though some of these opposing managers and players have done good in the past, don’t they deserve some respect?
December 28th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
It’s not just tactics, although that is a not Wenger’s great strength by any means. He basically has a system - a philosophy - of playing, which he drills into a certain type of Wenger player and sticks to it with the odd, generally horrible, reversion to ‘batten-down-the-hatches’ at Villareal games.
It is not often he makes the early bold substitions, preferring to let his existing onfield players swap wings, switch around etc.
This season we have seen more long ball tactics, but this is only occasionally successful with a lone striker. And we have seen much more overlapping wing play at home games on the wider Emirates pitch.
I think a key area to address is Wenger’s ability to gee up players. At Portsmouth it was clear within 20mins that the players were not up to speed. In the second half they got a bit quicker, but they only really found the necessary urgency in the last 5-10mins. If they’d started the half like that, they would have pushed on for the breakthrough goal as they have done previously this season.
I see Clichy admitting the team were tired. Well, that is another quality necessary to be champions - finding the extra push. Let’s hope they drink some Red Bull before Everton!
December 28th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
I am with Rick on this one. Also Danny.
What do people expect? Pre-season predictions that we will finish behind Spurs yet they are unhappy that we are one point behind Man Utd at the top of the table with Spurs nowhere to be seen.
Roll on St. Totteringham’s Day. Even if we win nothing, it might come earlier than ever before - worth at least one trophy!!!!