We can be our own worst enemies

[Alexone234]

Sorry, this is a big post, but skim read and share your thoughts

While the last few years have been great, we have not done enough to solidfy this position and have been, to a degree, our own worst enemy.

Here's why:

1) Defenders - While we got Sol, we have not done enough to create a strong enough back four. Toure came from nowhere, but we should never have discovered this being that Sol should have already had a solid, reliable and quality partner. Why are we in a position that Cygan and Serendos are our only back ups for the CB position?

2) Goalies - Now I know that we got in Lehman, we should have brought in quality a long time ago. Seaman, while aging, had no proper number 2. For some reason Stack and Taylor don't seem enough for Wenger, and I think that we should have groomed both to take over from Seaman.

3) Midfield - Until Gilberto came, we had no quality partner for Vieira. Pat was doing all the work and running the show. A solid partner for Pat once Petite left, should have been a priority and could have helped us win the league in 99, 00 or 01 and especially 03, which leads me to my next point.

4)United - can anyone tell me why they're still around? I can, because they won the league in 03. Had we brought in players to support in all three areas, we would have won 3 league titles on the bounce. Mentally, this could have been a stunning blow for United and could have finished them off for good. RVN would not have a winners medal, and United would have forgotton what success feels like. We could have turned them into Liverpool and should have done so.

5) Chelsea - Because we have not strengthened enough, especially in defence, Chelsea have capitalised on our mal-form. It is the fact that our team is now thread bare that has allowed us to lose form, and this has allowed Chelsea and pretty easy ride. Had we brought in solid players in support, we would be winning the league this season, which would have been our forth on the bounce. The Chelsea millions would look badly spent and cast questions over their whole project. As it happens, Chelsea now look good for their money. Their first trophy was always going to be the most important, and we should have given everything to stop this happening.

don't get me wrong, one we have our new stadium and our young team ages a bit, we are going to be a big club, but we should been loooking to be an Internationale or Barcelona size club. I think that our golden age will come when me move stadiums, and we will certainly see glory again in a big way.

 

[patrick42uk]

wenger spoke this week of how chelsea improved a team that finished second last year and got a semi-final cl spot by adding 7 to 8 players. from that, you'd deduct that wenger knows the value of augmenting your squad to build upon the success/successes of the season before. we didnt do that, instead releasing a large number of players. it would have been a catastrophic mistake on the part of wenger to expect inexperienced kids to be the factors in improving a championship winning side but i dont believe it was a choice wenger wanted to make. i beleive the cost of the stadium took its toll and we are paying the price for that now. as you say, ashburton cannot come soon enough as at least there will be higher gate receipts which perharps will give wenger breathing space in terms of a transfer kitty. i'm worried about this summer because its clear we need to purchase players. i think we will have to sell at least one star player to fund that.

 

[Gazza Martinez]

1) Very true. The emergence of Toure was pure luck. We still don't have a defender that can hold things together in Sol's absence, which is what Sol's partner should be able to do.

2) One of Wenger's few big mistakes

3) Also true

4) 02/03 was a nightmare. We would've cruised it if not for cruel injuries and suspension. United deserved the title, but only because we didn't have enough in the tank to limp over the finish line. I agree we should've killed off United's challenge long ago, but you have to credit the glasweigan alcoholic, his players are a resilient lot.

5) Complacency has definately played a key role in us not retaining the title this season. If you stand still, you're going backwards, and that's what has happened to us.

However, Wenger has made a conscious decision to buy for the future, and I'm positive that by the time we move to the Grove we'll reap the dividends of the sacrifices currently being made.

 

[Alexone234]

We do have money though. I just wish we could put more onus on buying some quality defenders.
I don't think that we need sell anyone, but we just need to be a little more agressive towards other clubs. United didn't ever give two craps about other teams, they just went about their business. Personally I have no love for any other club. We should have mugged Chelsea off for Gallas or Terry before they got silly money in.

 

[RockyRocastle]

Good post.

After we won the league in 98 we didnt strenghten the squad. Same happened in 02 and last year. We stood still, and only brought in young players or ****e. Big mistakes.

Not replacing Wright, Seaman, Petit and Adams/Keown has cost us dear.

Playing players like Grimandi, Diawara, Vivas, Wreh, Luzhny in the years after the 98 double were big mistakes.

 

[KingReyes]

Wenger has been mainly forced to reduce the wage bill, I don't think he was willing to let an experienced forward like Wiltord go to be honest. But Wiltord's demands could not be met by the club. I think the reduction of the wage bill and no big transfers is shown by our backup. Its fairly young therefore fairly cheap to afford. i think Wenger knows he took a big gamble relying on youth as his reserves but as he said in an article I read recently...

"But that's sometimes part of progress. We have a much younger squad now and part of improvement is sometimes to accept that you must drop a little bit to come back again."

Also the latest deals given to Sol and Lauren is just another indication of how cautious we have become with our spending. The stadium has cost a fortune both the board and manager have to ensure there is a balance between income and expenditure.

However I do agree that surely there was a bit money to go and get at least two experienced players to replace Keown and Parlour. At least thats what I thought, could money be that tight or is Wenger really that stubborn to make the same mistake he did in 98 and 2002?

 

[Mark]

Some very good points from everybody. I especially agree that United shouldn't be around anymore. We are a hell of a lot better than them and yet they're now ahead of us. It's just ridiculous. Admitedly, it never seems after we win the league that we need to strengthen our squad, but we find out when it's too late that we did need to. It drives me mad and really makes me think that we must have next to no money.

 

[Alexone234]

You can't expect to win the Premiership with a 16yr old and a 20 yr old as your midfield duo. You can't expect to win the CL with Cygan and Serendos as your back up CB duo
You can't expect to win anything with a goalie who was out on loan at second division spanish club, who were doing a very poor job at staying there.

The fact that United over took us tonight was a poor show because they have Fortune and Djumble Djimbo in their side, and neither player would make it into my sunday league side