I made the mistake of listening to Talk Sport radio immediately after the Liverpool – Villa game last night. It was full of irate scousers demanding that Rogers is sacked.
This is the same man that took their team within a Gerrard slip of winning the PL last season. Now I know their stars aligned with Saurez being on fire, one game a week and few injuries, but still, he took advantage and even with a very poor defence, he almost made a miracle.
Liverpool have the 5th most expensive squad and the 5th largest wages,in all likelihood they will finish 5th, plus they have reached the semi final of both domestic cups. That is at least par or better. What do fans expect ? On top of that they do play, and try to play , expansive entertaining football.
Now I am not saying Rodgers is a great manager, what I am saying is that he is doing a decent job.
There is a proven 85% correlation between money spent and success across all major leagues. Of course that leaves 15% to buck the trend, and teams do. Southampton this year, Everton last. But is just stupid to expect a team to buck the trend every year. It seems though that this is what many fans demand .
The reality is that no team in the history of the PL has won it without having a sustained period of spending more than their rivals. People will point to United and claim they did it , but they didn’t, they just topped up their previous bigger spending on players that were still at the club and in their pomp.
Of course Arsenal did it , and did it three times, but we had Arsene and it was at a time where only United had a clear financial advantage.
People also point to exceptions in other leagues, Like, BVB, Atletico Madrid and Montpellier, but they are not in the PL, and have only one behemoth club (Two in Spain ) to contend with. Also Atletico have won it once in 20 years. That’s 5% of the time, well within the !5% exception rule.
Can managers make the difference? Yes ! But its in the margins.
Until fans accept that money is the overriding factor in modern football they are destined for constant heartbreak.
The “next level” that people want to reach can only follow the next financial level being reached first. That is why Arsene and the board should be praised beyond all others, Their planning and steadfastness have elevated Arsenal to that next level. The squad now reflects that and I believe there are great times ahead,
A final word on Brendan. Its hugely unfair to compare him to previous Liverpool managers who, at the time, were managing the richest club with no financial competitors other than the sleeping United. Look exactly what happened when they woke up.
Pedantic George, AKA @Blackburngeorge
Positively Arsenal 
cause truth is im not picking on mert or luiz…im picking on the narrative … and yes i challenge it with inconvenient examples/questions…the type that makes you go for the poster rather than reading properly
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next topic : suarez?
🙂
kidding…
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I am going to ignore the incipient bun fight re Mert vs David Luis and observe that unlike most of his peers Arsene has been very measured and patient about his signings. While the media and the AAA wailed and gnashed their teeth seeking to stampede the boss into signing any overpriced duff calling himself a central, the boss ignored donkeys like Mangala and Lovren, kept his powder dry until January and paid a snippet for Gabriel. At £11 million every gooner should pinch him or herself. Similarly the same forces were in a tizzy last summer that Balotelli was a great buy at £16 million. Scousers and their apologists said it was an absolute bargain, no way Liverpool would lose on the deal. If they get £10 million for him next summer I would be amazed. Rogers has spent £200 million in two year on transfers and may not even qualify for champions league this season. It is his spending, not his suspect “tactics” which may eventually cause him his job. On that score the jury is still very open.
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not you too…this is not any kind of bun fight.. and i hate that many of you present it that way.
i just challenged the narrative and criticisms in a very friendly and civilised manner just to discuss it…at no point do i use aggressive language or do i turn nasty on any fellow commentator or player.
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it is in fact very simple
i read x on player a and i ask if x applies for player b as well
how that is turned into a fight…lol…??… only gains can answer that….
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FK² @fkhanage · 22h 22 hours ago
From the stands it seemed Szcz made a blunder. Upon review of the replay, it’s a deflection off Gibbs that takes it away from Szcz’s dive.
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Arsenal U21’s lost 3-2 away to Middlesbrough U21’s
Arsenal had goalie Iliev sent off early in the game when he misscontrolled a back pass and ended up bringing down the forward, Middlesbrough scored the penalty. Iwobi leveled it from a Zelalem pass, then boro got 2 more to lead 3-1 at half time. Crowley scored Arsenal’s second, from a kamara pass
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Hunter: “I used the arguement of marshalling the defence…. a criticism on luiz … and asked if the same strict criteria apply for a more experienced defender.”
Of course it applies to Mertesacker. This criteria applies to him like it applies to any central defender. But here’s the thing about our big fucking German, he may have had a bad beginning of the season, as any player may have, but he got his shit together and is back to delivering the types of performances we’ve come to expect from him. If you don’t believe me go to Sqwaka or any other stats web site and you’ll see that he’s one of the most consistent central defenders in England. In fact, last season he was rated above Terry and Kompany even though we didn’t play with a traditional holding midfielder like Matic or Fernandinho.
Now to David Luiz. I know you don’t like to go back to the Germany defeat, but I think that game magnified what I’ve come to see as a typical David Luiz performance. In fact, last week he committed three mistakes which caused his team to concede three goals. He was twice nutmegged by Luis Suarez, in a crucial CL game no less, leaving his goal keeper completely exposed on one occasion, and conceded the silliest of goals against Nice because he was too fucking lazy to push up with the rest of his back line. The nutmegs reminded me of him lunging at shadows against Germany.
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In the current Liverpool team I’d keep Can, Ibe, Coutinho, Sturridge, Stirling, Lallana and maybe Manquillo due to his youth. Lovren, Skrtel, Markovic, Lucas Leiva, Borini, Mignolet, Glenn Johnson, Jordon Henderson, and all those no names Rodgers picked up from the Balkans, they’d all be let go as soon as the season is over. Oh, and I’d bring back Wisdom from his loan at Westbrom, Dude plays like Thuram.
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well then if it ‘of course applies to mertesarker’ then stop trying to make it look like im having a go at mertesarker.
got his shit together? oh so he lost his shit then…… and the team suffered as consequence…but lets laugh at luiz for the two incidents and ignore two-three months of abbysmal defending and poor leadership while laughing at others for failing to lead the backline….very mature!!!
and next time you fucking drag the discussion to a petty cock fight just cause youre eager to attack. i dont have a problem with mertesarker. i point out the contradictions in your attacks and criticisms.
three mistakes..three goals you say…from a non fit player…guess you need to go back and watch replays of anderlecht, swansea, liverpool away, monaco at home etc etc…
and again you use the game against germany where the ones around him were serious culprits ( marcelo for example is responsible for three goals ) luiz is only responsible for the 4th ( or 5th) and only becuase he gets dispossesed by hummels in one of his forward charges at midfield…
why not tell us about dante and maicon in that game ? lol..is it cause luiz cost 50 million for psg..is that the reason? …..
maybe its you whos fixated on luiz rather than anyone else having a go at players
since when is terry and kompany the standard to be judged? says who…squsqa and your opta or whatever stats…? ok………….
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konscielny for instyance is better than all of the defenders combined….. i doubt the stats show that…..
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Tense day at the Allianz today as Porto come to town. Nothing improbable about Bayern scoring two tonight but can they keep the back door shut ? I know which game I will be watching tonight.
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Arsenal’s U14’s beat Reading U14’s 1-0, AET, in the Nike trophy final yesterday
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Luiz and Metersacker are both good defenders who are probably at their very best when they don’t have to defend.
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Could I direct you towards the Positively Papal review of Arsene and all his works in today’s Guardian lifted from an article in Eight by Eight by someone called Corley Miller;
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/apr/21/arsene-wenger-arsenal-the-martyr-of-islington
Quite a long read but really very entertaining I thought.
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Please Everyone Read that!!!!!
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A Chelsea pal once explained David Luiz to me, that he was a good centre back that had the idea that he was, or at least would be, a good midfield player. He liked Luiz as did most CFC fans but there was always the sense that, because he had footballing ambitions, he had a moment of madness in him, a horrific game changing error lurking just below a calm surface.
Always struck me as an astute summing up of the player.
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So its Jon Moss to referee the FA Cup final, a surprise appointment given that he is a low profile official.
No previous convictions I can find in his Arsenal record. Over the last four seasons JM has presided over uncontroversial Arsenal wins away and at the Ems. In fact we have never dropped a point with Mr Moss in charge.
And they say Arsene does not do “tactics”
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Was just about to post same link as anicoll. Very good article, Nothing new to PA family really but it been a while an established paper published such a fitting tribute to the great man. Seems opinion is slowly changing, hopefully this article will help create more positivity among the more sheepish arsenal fans. That would help the team a lot.
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Brendan Rogers does the same mistake as all recent Liverpool managers. They try to win popularity votes by feeding fans the false presumption they are still a great club.
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Anicoll 11:48 am
Vermaelen did ok for us.
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ill take that momment of madness anicoll. one side of the copin is the singular mistake every now and again…the other side of the coin is the same madness that qualifies you in finals..even wins them.
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There’s a fun thread there to be had on the old football. Somewhere.
Mertesacker arrives at The Arsenal after that game at OT, a dressing room in tatters, and alongside Arteta he helps that squad to turn it around and come third. Quite an achievement, but ignoring that the immediate impact on the pitch was there for all to see. The best CB or defender in the squad that year without question. Of course he’s not been getting any younger, or quicker. The PL is a tough old league. We were always going to keep an eye on his old speedometer from his arrival onwards.
On the way to the final last season a Hull fan said he was hoping to see Bruce target the slower CB. And the thing is many have tried but few have succeeded. Which is why he has ended up with a WC winners medal and silver from the EC. Plus a hundred caps for a top team at 30 (Luiz at 27 had less then 50).
As it was Bruce went for three at the back and an up and under variant against Fabianski, he’d have spent weeks preparing his team.
For some reason I can’t remember the two heavy defeats last season.
Fast forward to the World Cup. Germany have three good CBs competing for the two starting berths, more if you count Howdes as a CB and not a FB! Although the BFG came into the tournament as an automatic starter, not forgetting the captain’s winner against England at Wembley. All in all last season was quite a year the the BFG. Boateng Hummles plus the BFG. Boateng and Hummels only took over after the QF game against the super quick Algerians. The Algerians were dangerous in that game. But they still lost.
And only then was he rotated out the starting eleven for one of the other options. He might just have been knackered, the Algerians may have tried and failed to target him? But his job was done. He could sit there on the bench through the SF, hundred caps tucked into his belt, cigar in his mouth, and enjoy the show. Because as AW said when talking about the silly balloon award, it’s a team game. Given the stories about the BFG’s inspiring pre-SF team talk, I think he understands.
For some reason I can’t remember the two heavy league defeats last season.
Was Boateng returning to the German super club a loss for City? Are they still struggling to replace him even though he is not one of the best CBs in history? Would they have been better off playing Sagna at CB this season instead of the mule and others? Did City only buy Sagna to try and weaken AFC and is that why they didn’t give their reserve RB berth to a younger cheaper player? Fair to say the answer to all the above is yes. I wonder if the City version of the AAA are groaning hard on that topic? It’s not like they have the austerity card to play in defence of their defence?
Good, mature, CBs must grow on trees? I don’t know, but I enjoyed Mertesacker’s performance opposite Sterling the other week. Sturridge although still immature and selfish on occasions has more experience. Only on one occasion did they slide their way through the lines and Markovic looked a few inches off a £20M player. Sterling, although his movement was impressive on the day, he is still too green (which makes even more a nonsense of those who call for him to play as a ten at this moment? Like the England manager?). It seems obvious to me that if you have three super-speedsters with good technical quality in your front line that you’ll trouble anybody. I wonder how Arsenal will play with an in-form front three of Sanchez-Welbeck-Walcott? I imagine not too different to some games we’ve already seen this season. The FA cup game against Tottenham was another good example from last season of the non-Giroud plan B (Or A? Or X?). I think Welbeck would’ve had more joy against Burnley then Reading, but it seems like he’s the Cup Striker, so he’ll have to use these games to learn and improve. And I could be wrong but I don’t think the club have developed Walcott to only let him go for his peak years elsewhere. Certainly the player was happy to celebrate Sanchez’s squirming winner, I believe Walcott has the right attitude to make a go of it with this squad. I think we can see that in the modern PL, especially for international players that they do need breaks during a season. There’s plenty of room in the squad. Not forgetting Sanchez is off to the Copa and will have another truncated pre-season and maybe he’ll need the first week or two of next season off.
At the back Gabriel will probably get a few games to show his worth now. And I haven’t forgotten Chambers who has played so well (with the medals to prove it!) when given the chance at RCB (a little less comfy at LCB!).
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anicoll5 at 11:43 am
That article could have been written by Steww. Extraordinary and of course welcome. That does recognise the fact that Arsene is not ordinary manager….
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Some people never learn do they. I am speaking of those who make a career of being Arsenal bloggers and opinion makers. They repeatedly question Arsene Wenger’s coaching and team tactics and despite being proven wrong over and over again resort to the same old tactic. Why? Friendly banter or to generate clicks via psuedo controversy.
I am speaking of a certain blogger who used today’s post to give credence to the idea that Santi Cazorla has no future at the club. This was the same blogger who spent all summer-winter questioning how Wenger would make an effective midfield combining the talents of Ozil, Cazorla, Ramsey, Wilshire et al. Now that the whole world has slowly but surely realized that Neil Ashton is an idiot as Mesut Ozil demonstrates that he is one of the finest midfielders in world, here comes the sage of Ireland to tell us that the future is Ozil and Alexis. As for Cazorla, “talk about a summer return to Spain doesn’t seem to be going away. It genuinely wouldn’t be a surprise to me if he went back there this summer. He turns 31 in December and if he wants a move back home at some stage he’ll want to do it at a time when he can find a club that still can fulfill some of his competitive ambitions.”
Who is doing the talking? Certainly not Arsene wenger who recently said the club has no reason to sell and expects 90% of the squad to be back next campaign
The idea that Cazorla, who has probably played more minutes than anybody else in our team and who makes the team click from his deeper midfield position, is somewhat expendable simply blows my mind. Surely some people have too much time on there hands and simply resort to mischief-making. I will just file that one in the b.s. file.
Merciful Bergkamp.
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I’ve never seen Mertesacker twined and twisted like Hummels in Euro2012, at least not resulting in a goal! At such an important moment. Touch wood etc.
Hummels, he’s not been injured during Dortmund’s slump has he? I wonder which club will sign Hummels for a ridiculous amount of Wonga?
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Meh Shotta. Transfer clicks leads to more hits! Oh yeah!
A bit like Amy Lawrence making excuses for Brendan Rodgers on 5Live last. Quite a contrast to her narrative elsewhere. Almost as of she is exhibiting the behaviour of a Little Englander: who could’ve imagined such things after those exclusive articles on Song, Gallas and Adebayor throwing Luis Vuitton manbags at each other, unimaginable behaviour in any dressing room.
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Please ignore that link above: here is the turn from Cassano
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Shotta, he just happens to be a very poor analyst albeit with a very entertaining writing style. A month or so ago he argued arsene should have played woj instead of fabianski in the final for his confidence. Totally disregarding 1) we..erm…won the final with fabianski in the goal 2) wojs current situation has nothing to do with his confidence. If it has it’s more a case of over confidence.
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Thanks Andy for that article: brilliant.
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Who is this unnamed blogging blighter Shots ?
Unmask the swine !
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Andrew re blogger. It is the grand daddy of all Arsenal bloggers, the sage of Belfast. Thats enough clues. I am not into a blog war but these guys have a history of preying on the fickle mindedness in our fan base and trying to ridicule those who expose them for pandering to this weakness.
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“chaps’ ” quote from the comments section of that article:
Wenger’s legacy is set in stone. Those looking for gold as evidence are looking for the wrong thing in the wrong place.
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the guardian article is a farce….. we have been writing same things and better and with more insight since 2004…….
it took them a decade and more to realise
that article is for the peasants who wanted the club to explain to them that they were sacrificing a good part of a decade to build the clubs future…..its also for the other weak minded peasants who didnt know arsenal’s trophy statistic and for those peasnats who get manipulated by media and mourinho fan boys.
and they still wont get it.
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gains: Now to David Luiz. I know you don’t like to go back to the Germany defeat, but I think that game magnified what I’ve come to see as a typical David Luiz performance. In fact,
…i’ll let others decide…. i remember once calling you goebells 69…. and most here had a go at me..lets take a closer look :
when you would bring up the germany game i am MORE THAN HAPPY to go through all goals..with tv highlights if necessary,..point for point …goal for goal…i have witnesses… why was i more than happy ? cause your eagerness to score cheap points took you off track and you were talking shit.
so please dont ever say things like ‘i know you dont like to go back to the germany defeat’
not only do i like it but it will make you look silly..your best bet is to count on george keeping me in check….
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Ed, I’ve always said that iliev is the worst of all our keepers and I know one mistake doesn’t make a bad keeper with him it seems to be lots of mistakes in lots of games. He doesn’t look confident in himself and whatever backfour play in front of of him also are not confident of him. I was surprised we extended his contract and others look like having to find careers elsewhere.
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Ancoll5
The Sage of Ireland? – well that’d rule me out, to be sure.
I’m more like Parsley.
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Boys
Regarding the merits of any good centreback, you will find any evidence you want from one game to another that proves they are either Franco Baresi or John O’Shea.
And even John has had one or two good days in the sun during his career.
(Beating Hummels too!!)
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I agree with Hunter at 5:38pm. This attempt to deify Wenger is over the top. Seems to me that the writer is suffering from some guilt complex after the Guardian and their stable of hacks have done everything to trash Wenger’s name and reputation over the past 10 years especially when the chips were down. Now as the club is “moving on up” they are jostling to get on the bandwagon. But it is so phony. Not even us at PA try to beatify Wenger.
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Atkinson in charge at the Allianz
120 minutes on Saturday on the Wembley turf and fresh has a daisy on Tuesday night – impressive
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21 minutes in and Porto flattened by a rampant Munich – and the visitors can be called lucky it ain’t worse
Err 26 minutes make that 3
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heh the martyr of islington ………
because arsenal not winning a trophy for 8 full seasons ( and while repaying a 450m investment) is a disgrace of indescribable proportions for the winners of finsbury park and tollington road …..
is amy still ‘telling’ us to get usmanov in ? hahaha ….
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40 minutes and 5-0
Slaughtered
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Porto is a tough team to beat away in the CL, it looks like Bayern are going through. Nice third goal.
Five now.
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i praise every ‘deluded plastic foreigner’ and his/her keyboard for standing tall when the ones who were supposed to stand tall were organising marches and allowed media and rivals to troll them.
if only we got there sooner………….
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Started watching Barcelona v PSG, but it looked far to one sided. Turned to Bayern v Porto and it was ridiculously one-sided…….I don’t know what to make of these performances….
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The scuttlebutt around the net is interesting. Klopp has just managed BVB into the relegation places in the Bundesliga against only 1 financially doped club, yet they have a hard on for him replacing AW now? Words fail me!
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“I don’t know what to make of these performances….”
“Money, money, money, must be funny, in a rich man’s world”
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“heh the martyr of islington ………”
I wasted 10 minutes of my life reading that garbage. I don’t understand all the praise that article is getting. It was truely awful.
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Its an article The Grauniad has borrowed from an American writer I think. If you read it carefully it is also critical of AW (in the way one might be critical of an eccentric Uncle). I enjoyed it for all sorts of reasons. I thought the final comment that the way you think about AW reveals more about you than anything else was spot on.
But well played the DPFs for flying the flag.
I think I have a free pass on the final day of the Premier League and am hoping to buy a ticket for the match. It would make it all the more fun if a few positivas got together before or after – or both.
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