3 points yesterday and the world seems a happier place. A week back, and that was not quite the case. I wrote this long blog below on Arsenal then. The folks at
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Below is the original, "unedited" blog format.
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Murphy’s law states that if anything that can go wrong, it will
go wrong. Well, if you are an Arsenal
fan, like me, you could be forgiven for thinking that the footballing Gods are
using our club for proving it.
For Arsenal fans, the last six months or so have been extremely
disturbing, distressing, depressing and demoralising (and in that order).
During this period, the team has lost the art of winning football matches.
Somewhere over the last six years or so, the club has forgotten the art and the
desire of defending as well. The annual ritual of selling some of our best
players for small fortunes has made the coffers heavy , but the team extremely
light on the pitch.
A look back at the transition of the team from the days of
being called “The Invincibles” to the present bunch feels something like this.
Once upon a time, we had a team which had pace and power; a team which could
attack with precision & penetration and defend with both patience &
passion. Slowly, as the years went by, the team made a gradual transition, we
banked our game on the mantra of possession. Tippy-tappy, but rarely trigger
happy, the team got obsessed with scoring the perfect goal. Passing the ball and sometimes passing the
buck, somewhere it felt, that we got more obsessed about the means, rather than
the end. That it became more important to “play football” rather than win
matches. And now with, many of the best creative talents having left for
greener, richer, more ambitious pastures, what is now left is a disjointed, rag
tag, bunch of a team, struggling to find its feet and identity. It is a team
which has lost its aura and belief.
The slow decline over the last six trophy less years just
got accelerated in the last six months. Sure, the journey was not all downhill,
but there were fewer ups than downs, but quite clearly the limit of our
ambitions for quite some time has been getting a Champions League spot. And all
along, we have been also fighting philosophical wars, in a
cut-throat-competitive environment.
The global phenomenon, that is the EPL, was built on the
pulsating, riveting rivalry of Manchester United and Arsenal. Let there be no
mistake about it, but the advent of live football on satellite television in
the late nineties coincided with this thrilling rivalry and made viewers hooked
on to football and their respective clubs for life. Sir Alex Ferguson and
Arsene Wenger, Keane and Vieira, the British base of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham
and the Nevilles against the continental flavour of Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and
Ljungberg...this was a rivalry for the
ages. And what is more, while the two teams did have contrasting styles – both
were attack minded, which made it spectacular.
Somewhere, the economist in Wenger, realised that in order
to compete with United in the long term, the club had to move away from its
spiritual home of Highbury to a much larger stadium. A perfectly valid, well thought strategy. What
he could not have predicted that football was about to be changed forever, with
the influx of oil money. Roman Abrahamovic and his millions came in at Chelsea
and took the scene by storm. So, faced with a constrained budget at home and
seeing the competitors having almost unlimited pockets, the club took to
scouting talented youngsters and getting them in early at the club. But when, you are relying on youth, you are
taking a gamble as you cannot be sure of how a player will eventually turn out
to be. Will he blossom into a Fabregas or regress into a Denilson? Would Diaby
become the new Vieira or not ? And quite clearly, very few of the many youth
talents, picked up at bargain prices have actually gone on to become world
class players.
So, clearly handicapped financially and working on a risky
strategy of trusting on young players, the club has been further handicapped by
the salary structure that they designed. Wenger’s ideas of equitable pay have
meant that: a) The club cannot attract the biggest names; b) No big
differentials in pay between the better players and the mediocre ones at the
club – possibly leading to frustration for the good players and a false sense
of comfort for the not so good ones ; c) Difficulty in transferring out the
unwanted players, who are earning more than they deserve at the club because no
one else will pay them that much.
And so while Abrahamovic and Chelsea, pushed Arsenal down to
3rd, Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh and Manchester City have now becoming the
new galacticos and Arsenal today are struggling to even be 4th.
City, in the process have also become a favourite place for Arsenal players to
move on – with some of the best 1st team players in the last 5 years
being transferred there. Arsenal, also
face stiff competition from two other old rivals – Liverpool and Tottenham, who
while not quite having the matching finances of City and Chelsea, quite easily
outspend the Gunners.
Here’s what bothers me as an Arsenal fan. The club, even
after all its budgetary constraints, has been turning in handsome profits. The
club also charges the most from its fans, with very high priced tickets at the
new stadium. Deficiencies in the squad over the last few seasons have been
fairly obvious; the club’s refusal to address them has been disappointing. No
one wants the team to go down the Leeds United path, but the lack of some
experienced figures to bring together and solidify a team of youngsters has
been acutely felt, time and again.
Then we come to the matters of injury.
This
interesting blog, tells us as to how many injuries Arsenal had to contend
with last season. The club has suffered three horrific injuries – Diaby,
Eduardo and Ramsey in the last few seasons.
A counter argument that can be made is that other big clubs suffer
almost the same as well and injuries cannot be used as an excuse. The thing is
that Arsenal’s core group of players – who can keep the team competitive in the
league is much smaller than their rivals – the lack of strength and depth in
the squad is exposed with injuries. To look at it another way, Chelsea or
United – missing 6 or 7 starters can still put out a very competitive team, but
not Arsenal.
To come to matters on the pitch and it is sad that the
description of Arsenal as a football club have got limited to a few damning
stereotypes and clichés.
Arsenal play nice
football but have no end product.
Arsenal can’t break
down teams who defend deep.
Arsenal can’t defend a
lead.
Arsenal can’t defend
from set pieces.
Arsenal can’t defend
against the counter attack.
Arsenal can’t deal
with “the physical side” of the game.
Arsenal can’t do it on
a wet, night at Stoke.
I could go on and on, but I am sure, you can visualise each
and every one of these stereotype and remember plenty of moments, when we
validated them. The thing is that, while we have struggled against the top
teams such as United and Chelsea, we could be forgiven for not having the personnel
to match up with them. But the narrative has too often also been of Wenger and
Arsenal at war with the likes of Bolton, Blackburn and Stoke. These are teams
that play football in a different manner and offer a contrast to our method.
Their more aerial, more physical, more robust, and perhaps more English game
has roughed up, distracted and defeated Arsenal far too often. And what has
frustrated me has been our refusal to improvise, our reluctance to get on with
things. It would appear that throughout the club, there appears to be a sense
of moral superiority and self-righteousness about the way we play football. I
am sorry – but that does not entitle anyone to victories and points. We have
too often let our focus get distracted by players who can wind up the
opposition, and rather than allow our technical superiority to take over the
game, we have either wallowed in self misery or got ourselves embroiled in
petty conflicts and skirmishes. None of this works, what does is putting a few
past the opposition and going home with the three points.
The one constant in these tumultuous times has been Arsene
Wenger. So much of Arsenal’s modern history is down to the contribution of this
one man. The club owes him a lot for the glory days of the 98 double winners
and “The Invincibles”. He has given the club an identity, global recognition,
some wonderful, wonderful football on the pitch. He had the courage and
conviction to take a leap of faith and build a new stadium – something that
will serve the club well for the next 50 years. However, the last few months
have seen the club go backwards, unable to hold on to its most prized assets,
possibly unable to attract the best talents any more. A passionate and
committed football man, there have been times when I have actually felt
concerned about his health and well being. How much can a man take, to see so
repeatedly HIS players, let him down. Again and again, repeat the same
mistakes. It must be difficult to see HIS players not believing in his
“project” anymore.
I have long been a believer in “IN ARSENE, WE TRUST”.
However, that does not mean that he is beyond criticism or always right. I
disagree with his wage policies and have found his refusal to sign some
experienced campaigners in the last 3, 4 years baffling. Arsenal was much
closer to United or Chelsea then and a few more experienced campaigners might
just have seen us get over the line. A
combination of circumstances has meant that the squad (even after the deadline
day signings) is far weaker that it has ever been under Wenger. I am not sure
he is the man capable of turning around a squad, which is defensively so
shambolic at the moment, that it does not take much to turn up and score
against them. As someone said the other day – there are no transfer windows for
coaches – and I do believe that coaching room needs new voices and ideas.
There is one last thing about Wenger, which I have found
quite staggering and that is his steadfast refusal to criticise his players in
public. This is an almost unbelievable, noble quality in today’s day and
age. As an employee, if I had a manager
like that, I would be extremely lucky. And yet, has it always been in Arsenal
Football Club’s interest that he has been so protective of his players ? I am
not sure whether some public criticism would have actually fired up some
players, but it remains one of the most remarkable characteristics of this
manager.
You either die a hero
or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain – The Dark Knight.
I wonder if Arsene thinks along these lines.
These are also the times of social media, of blogs and
twitter. Arsenal is among the best followed clubs and there is great writing on
the club every single day. Movie quotes from The Dark Knight have actually
become very apt to describe the current situation at the club and were
frequently used in blogs. The night is darkest just before the dawn – we
thought. Assuming that the Old Trafford massacre was the darkest point. Is
Arsene Wenger the manager Arsenal need at the moment ? Or is he the one we
deserve ? Injuries (at Arsenal) are like
gravity. All they need is a little push ? J
Enough with the jokes, but things have gone topsy turvy for
us. From injuries to bad signings, to facing rivals with unlimited coffers, it
has been an uphill struggle. But Arsenal have never finished outside the Top 4
during Wenger’s tenure. Arsenal have qualified for the main stages of the
Champions League for 14 consecutive seasons. These are staggering achievements.
When you combine that with building a new stadium during the same period, the
achievements become incredible. However, right now, the team is in a bad shape.
From competing in 4 tournaments in March to – relegation like form this season,
the fortunes have changed dramatically. There is plenty of rage and fury going around
in the fan base. It only shows that people do really care about the club and
that it means a lot to them. It is
important that the club comes out and tells us – the true state of our
finances. What is preventing us from spending the money we earn from selling
our players. Come out and set realistic expectations, clear the air and get
back to playing football. We could be in a mid table scrap. We could be in a
relegation battle. Who knows ? I am not sure, how many Indian fans have
actually experienced relegation dogfights before, but that is what could await
us this season. I sincerely hope that it is only a once in a lifetime
experience, but you have got to back the team. The Club. The Arsenal. There is
no other way.
Six years is not that long a barren stretch. Who knows, the
next
Michael Thomas moment might be just around the corner
J
Fan 1: What about last season?
Fan 2: What about it?
Fan 1: They were rubbish. They were fucking rubbish.
Fan 2: They weren't that bad.
Fan 1: They were fucking rubbish last year. And they were fucking rubbish the
year before. And I don't care if they are top of the League, they'll be fucking
rubbish this year, too. And next year. And the year after that. I'm not joking.
Fan 2: I don't know why you come, Frank. Honest I don't.
Fan 1: Well, you live in hope, don't you
- Fever Pitch
I do.
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Vermaelen & Van Persie: Let's get the fighting spirit back |