09 Jan 2025 23:07:19
Reading the posts below has been quite enjoyable. As a Liverpool fan I notice we get quite a mention. As your site seems less bitchy than ours I thought I'd give an outsider perspective that you can choose to read or ignore.
This league is far from over, 6 points is one bad week which can happen in Feb or May. You don't even need to underperform, a lucky deflection or yet another shocking referee decision will suffice. The only team capable of taking advantage of us is Arsenal.
They are a big strong team that can overwhelm and suffocate most teams. When they play at a higher tempo, they will dominate the ball and the game.
This season was yours for the taking, but for whatever reason, you don't seem on the ball. I hear injuries being mentioned, but you've hardly had a crisis worse than others. When you played us, you had 5 or 6 out. so did we. You probably had Odegaard and Saliba as 1st 11 missing maybe one more, hardly critical. yet all we heard was its a crisis. Liverpool had Alisson and Jota from their 1st 11 missing, but didn't bemoan it.
This is not an attempt at being critical, it's to make the point that maybe the difference is in the mindset, as this has been a key feature of the below thread. Arsenal are a big club used to winning, do you want to hear your manager bemoaning injuries? Or instead talking positively about the opportunities it provides for his other players?
Now all we hear is that Saka is missing, and how would Liverpool cope without Salah. Well I think we won every game last Jan when he was at AFCON, and was top of league when he returned from that and his injury in March. So fairly well is the response. But again it's the almost a resigned expectation that you can't play unless all stars are aligned, which rarely happens for prolonged periods.
I'm always fascinated to read fans opinions of their team that they watch more than I. They remind me of how fickle I and my fellow reds fans are. It becomes far too easy to lose context in disappointment. Without truly acknowledging the bigger picture. Your main rivals consider you our biggest rivals. You are dining at the top table, not just domestically, but in Europe too. You may well win one or both.
You have an exceptional team, but for me you've got a manager who isn't good enough. He's taken you far, but this over reliance on set piece and Athletico style tactics or cheating in my opinion (and that is intended as criticism) , just kills any momentum or tempo, which I feel Arsenal, like my team, need to be at their best.
How do you create that 12th man when your passing back or taking an age on throw ons instead of getting fans on the edge of their seats by going forward. Set pieces are part of the game and I wish we were as good as you at them, so I'll give you that bit!
Not many teams are perfect we've lost twice in however many games, yet we are screaming out for a left back, a striker and some back up for players like Gravenberch who will run out of steam well before the business end of season. So your need for just a striker seems like a luxury to us. And that's way before we ask where all our money has gone, we can only dream of 800 million on players, so be thankful that you've got a club willing to back your manager.
10 Jan 2025 01:12:12
That's a brilliant post, thank you Sirshanks. Lots of things to mull over and excellent to have an unbiased opinion of our beloved club.
Best of luck for the rest of the season.
10 Jan 2025 06:49:01
Great post Sirshanks.
The point I would like to point out that was made when Sirshanks said when we play at high tempo we can dominate teams.
That's the point that me and so many other posters have been saying, we have stopped doing that and gone back to tippy tappy passes.
10 Jan 2025 11:58:36
We play in patches at high tempo, forwards demand passing and running at opponents. Running on the outside rather than cutting in - when we do that, we look completely different, great to watch and dangerous. Even if we don’t score - we look dangerous and create chances.
We just aren’t doing it enough.
10 Jan 2025 12:00:23
Spot on Highbury! There's no urgency, no getting the ball up the pitch quickly. Basically, we pass it about till the other team have settled back in their half and then have to try and break down 10 players in the opposition half.
I don't get it. We were electric the past 2 seasons.
Anyway, when we have people blaming the fans, talking about "alleged" backhanders, etc. instead of focusing on how this team have literally gone backwards this season owing to the very simple observation you made, then it's time for a civil head and walking away from the conversation.
10 Jan 2025 20:00:11
We will soon be back to normal. The amount of games the teams are playing a lot of games those teams that can rotate and rest players or not playing that many games are flourishing. Let the players catch their breath and reenergise we will soon catch Liverpool and be crowned champions. Remember sometimes it’s better to be the hunter than the hunted. We did it the other way round and didn’t win maybe this time it it will be different.
11 Jan 2025 10:57:50
I agree Sy, we have had loads of moments this season against teams like West Ham, Villa, Soton, Man City before we went down to 10, etc where we have played like we knew we were the better team, and the result was always brilliant football. Totally dominant. What I don't understand is how we have seemed to become scared to commit ourselves lately.
I don't understand what changed. As Sirshanks said you can't really blame injuries, but to have lost what makes us a great team is a bit depressing as I thought this would finally be the year. Not an Arteta-outer (look at his progress over 5 years rather than just 2-3 and you'll see why) but I can't fathom why this incredible team has somehow become scared to play football in the last few months.
11 Jan 2025 10:05:29
For me clubs, managers and players earn credits from fans as Klopp did at Liverpool and Gardiola has at City and when they hit a bad patch those credits allow them breathing space with most fans to vairing degrees. The season after Klopp had delivered Liverpools first ever Premier league title the teams form severely dipped and despite having that first title and a previous champions league trophy with the club in the credit bank a very small minority of Liverpool fans were demanding klopps head before Christmas that season although the overwhelming majority of Liverpool fans remained 100% grateful and loyal to Klopp.
Obviously Arteta doesn't have a title or champions league trophy in his credit bank just two consecutive runners up finishes and currently being on course for his 3rd consecutive top 2 finish, but obviously still no cigar. For some fans like myself 3 top 2 finishes will boost Arteta credit rating with us but for an increasing number of fans I believe a 3rd top 2 finish without a trophy will be more than enough for them to declare him bankrupt.
The last thing Arsenal football club needs is another huge gulf between fans and another long drawn out hokey cokey period of in/ out in/ out that's what Arsenal are once again all about. The last two seasons have been fantastic the atmosphere and noise within the stadium has been like nothing seen before and the passion and commitment from players on the pitch at level not seen for a very long time for most of us it's been a hugely enjoyable time but thing's do appear to be on a downward spiral among many fans and personally I think Arteta does have a very big job on his hands to get those fans back he's already lost, an Fa cup win would buy him a summers breathing space from those who no longer want him as manager but the knives would quickly be back out next season after the first poor performance and result.
If Arsenal do decide to twist rather than stick with Arteta next summer then whoever replaces him will have to deliver a title or champions league trophy in his first season in order to unite the fan base because if the next manager doesn't hit the ground running we will very quickly be back to where we were 3 years ago.
11 Jan 2025 13:05:40
Hello John mate hope everything is good and the weather is not too bad on your manor.
When I been fortunate enough to get tickets last two seasons the atmosphere like you said has been absolutely banging. My son in law and my youngest daughter who have season tickets have both said the atmosphere though still good has not reached the heights of the previous 2 seasons. Fans are a great measuring stick of how the club is performing
Some fans remain positive despite what is going on and that in itself is great but our form/ ta tactics atm the moment is well below what we should be delivering. The slow tempo what we have adopted is tbh painful to watch. We have Ode out and now Saka but we should still be able to perform at a certain level.
I am not Arteta out man yet but if we were to lose tomorrow and lose Wednesday i think the pressure will become very big. We don't want to fall into the Wenger mindsight of top 4 is a trophy and even though you have finished 20 pts winners go and embarrass ourselves by doing a lap of honour.
2 seasons back 8 pts clear and the pressure told. Last season the 2 home losses against West Ham and the Villa proved costly. I was convinced like many other Gooners that this was our season, still could be but we need to find our form very very quickly. because even without Saka we should be winning games.
Arteta has had 5.years and he did have a lot of dross to get rid off first but has spent big money with no trophies to show for it. He has himself bought a few duffs like Tavares/ Lokonga/ Marquinhos so all the transfers have not been a resounding success. Fa Cup win in 2020 apart from Saka was with a completely different side.
Has I already said I am not Arteta out man yet but things need to improve.
We all love Arsenal despite different opinions so let's hope Mikel and the boys turn it around
Take care all.
11 Jan 2025 13:48:33
Hi Bill mate, I hope you and yours are all well mate, the weather here is very cold like everywhere else but we've been extremely lucky to escape the worst of it unlike many others have had to cope with who have not been so fortunate.
For me mate, it's a long way down from the dizzy heights of top 2 but there is only 1 possible place to go to improve yourself, but there are 18 places available where you can very easily regress to. Top 4 happy is most definitely not a place I'd ever want to see us go back to mate but equally I really do think we should be very careful not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
If we finish top 2 again I'm 100% an Arteta in man silverware or not but below top 2 and the fa cup for me personally would be a backwards step that in my opinion would make Arteta more vulnerable not less vulnerable long term. A cup win is a sticking plaster that very quickly loses its effect while consistently finishing top 2 to means you are definitely on the right track and still ahead of tte rest of the pack.
Again personally for someone to replace Arteta they would absolutely have to win the title next season to justify the change and that's an incredibly huge demand for anyone to take on. Let's wait until May and see where we finish because as we all know form comes and goes but consistency is key to long term success and currently we are consistently the best we've been for an awful long time.
11 Jan 2025 16:15:09
I also think we need to factor in whether getting rid of Arteta will have a detrimental effect on the group as a whole. They have seemed veinvested in his vision until now.
11 Jan 2025 17:22:57
Hi Sally, I think like everything else regarding letting Arteta go we won't actually know one way or the other what the consequences of that would be unless we chose take that very big gamble, but like all gambling it's never something you ever do if your not fully prepared to lose what you already have in the hope of getting something better in return, there are no sure things and the more you already have the bigger the gamble.
Southampton, Wolves Leicester Everton West ham and Man United had very little to lose by gambling but Forest, Newcastle, City, Villa and Arsenal have an awful lot to lose should they consider trying to better what they currently have.