if AW spends big and we get a torres, what happens?

[Ollie the Optimist]

not sure if i have seen this dicussed before on the old site, but what happens if wenger goes out, spends a fuck load of money on big names, parkers, cahills etc etc and they all fail like torres did? will you jump up and down on his back screaming at him cos he failed again or would you be content that at least he spent the money.

[adzzzbatch]

:lol:

Not gonna happen, this is Wenger we're talking about!

[Flavs]

"man you could bring Bernard King on here"...

Doesnt matter who we sign, until the fundamental issues with the playing style are addressed we will fail

[Marc Overmars]

I'd be content that he showed he is willing to change his approach, if he still fails then I'd just accept that he probably doesn't have it in him anymore to succeed. There are no guarantees to whatever method you use, we put balancing the books first every summer but that hasn't done us any good on the pitch, so I don't see much harm in maybe spending a bit more within reason, that's all I and most Wenger critics ask. No one is asking to go and spend ridiculous amounts on stars and their wages, I don't think I'd be comfortable with that. I just want Wenger to move in line with the modern transfer market and be prepared to pay if he wants to land some established quality.

[LDG]

I think he ought first to announce changes to the back room staff. Defensive coach etc. Like MO says, it's the approach first and foremost.

Yes, players can suppliment the squad, and yes they are needed....but if we're going to adopt the same failed philosophy, it doesn't matter how many players you buy. The fundemental basics will still be left to chance.

[Arsenal Fan]

not sure if i have seen this dicussed before on the old site, but what happens if wenger goes out, spends a fuck load of money on big names, parkers, cahills etc etc and they all fail like torres did? will you jump up and down on his back screaming at him cos he failed again or would you be content that at least he spent the money.

or the more likely situation we'll have awesome new players who will win us the league.

[Niall_Quinn]

The ideal solution would be for Wenger to resign (not re-sign, just in case they try to pull that stunt) and a manager who knows and cares about the fundamentals, such as defending, set pieces, etc, comes in and spends the money. We could sign Utd's back five and Wenger wouldn't have the first clue what to do with them.

It has been 6 years waiting for Wenger to correct the basic problems that kick us in the arse season after season. I'm sensing that some are already buying into the, "next year it will be better, next year we have a chance", illusion. If we stick with Wenger we are guaranteed a repeat of the last 6 years. Just saying. Everyone knows what's wrong except Wenger and Wenger is still living in some fantasy zone where he believes this team can compete. You have to weigh the evidence against Wenger's ongoing denials. When you do that the outcome is predetermined. Wenger won't changed so the club needs to change Wenger and the only way that will happen is if he's not here any more.

[Toronto Gooner]

not sure if i have seen this dicussed before on the old site, but what happens if wenger goes out, spends a fuck load of money on big names, parkers, cahills etc etc and they all fail like torres did? will you jump up and down on his back screaming at him cos he failed again or would you be content that at least he spent the money.

I think that the responses to your question give a pretty good idea of the answer your question. It will make no difference whether the high priced players do well or not, Wenger is to blame.

[Syn]

It means nothing. If he doesn't lose interest like Arshavin, he'll probably get injured for 6 months and we'll be back to where we were. The reason the top player would 'fail' would be down to the manager. It's not some random process that determines whether a player does well.

[budesonide]

I think that the responses to your question give a pretty good idea of the answer your question. It will make no difference whether the high priced players do well or not, Wenger is to blame.

I am sorry TG, with all due respect that is utter bollocks. As I have said time and again -- if you put even messi in this team he will give up after a season. Why? because the entire set-up and system with WENGER is broken and has taken us as afr as it can. Vieira saw it coming and he got fed up; Henry saw it coming and he got fed up. Fabregas has seen it too and he wants to fuc*k off too. So who is to blame? Wenger!

He could inherit the real madrid team and they will defend like muppets unless their backline is already grilled and drilled like the one he inherited when he first got here.

So if signing torres,ronaldo,kaka,messi eyc doesn't solve the problem then the blame will still lie solely at wenger's feet. As ancelotti and he will tell you that.

[selassie]

Not that he will but I don't even trust Arsene to spend money correctly these days.

If we spend he'll go looking for junk in Ligue One that nobody else wants just to prove that his way is the right way.

Arsene will probably spend a bit of money this summer he just won't spend it on the right players.

[Letters]

I am sorry TG, with all due respect that is utter bollocks. As I have said time and again -- if you put even messi in this team he will give up after a season. Why? because the entire set-up and system with WENGER is broken and has taken us as afr as it can. Vieira saw it coming and he got fed up; Henry saw it coming and he got fed up. Fabregas has seen it too and he wants to fuc*k off too. So who is to blame? Wenger!

Whoa there. We chose to sell Vieira, he didn't get fed up and walk out.
Henry left but he was past his best and had family problems.
Cesc...not sure about him but he's made no secret of his desire to go to Barca at some point so him going would be no surprise.

I agree with a lot of your post but to say these players could see the problems and left because of them is just plain wrong.

[Toronto Gooner]

I am sorry TG, with all due respect that is utter bollocks. As I have said time and again -- if you put even messi in this team he will give up after a season. Why? because the entire set-up and system with WENGER is broken and has taken us as afr as it can. Vieira saw it coming and he got fed up; Henry saw it coming and he got fed up. Fabregas has seen it too and he wants to fuc*k off too. So who is to blame? Wenger!

He could inherit the real madrid team and they will defend like muppets unless their backline is already grilled and drilled like the one he inherited when he first got here.

So if signing torres,ronaldo,kaka,messi eyc doesn't solve the problem then the blame will still lie solely at wenger's feet. As ancelotti and he will tell you that.

Thank you for making my point, budesonide. I deliberately said that Wenger would be blamed, regardless of how the high priced players do. Unfortunately, I could not find the Sarcasm smilie to add to my comment.

Reading your comments suggests to me that nothing Wenger and Arsenal could do in the next 12 months will change your position: In your opinion, Wenger has to go and that is final. Now everyone is entitled to their opinion, so we will leave things at that.

[budesonide]

Thank you for making my point, budesonide. I deliberately said that Wenger would be blamed, regardless of how the high priced players do. Unfortunately, I could not find the Sarcasm smilie to add to my comment.

Reading your comments suggests to me that nothing Wenger and Arsenal could do in the next 12 months will change your position: In your opinion, Wenger has to go and that is final. Now everyone is entitled to their opinion, so we will leave things at that.

TG, If wenger could own up to the serious deficiencies in the team and stop shifting goalposts every single time, I am sure most people will be forgiving. "we will fight till the end" --- then we end up with more of the same. "we are unbeaten in the last 11 games" (willfully ignoring that we had drawn most of the games in question) which is then followed up by relegation form.

He tried to redefine success with our tentative spot in second place and used that to silence any questions about serious flaws in his team. What has followed is now history. "we will fight till the end" --- in the end we were saved by the fact that we ran out of games to drop out of the top four altogether.

[budesonide]

Whoa there. We chose to sell Vieira, he didn't get fed up and walk out.
Henry left but he was past his best and had family problems.
Cesc...not sure about him but he's made no secret of his desire to go to Barca at some point so him going would be no surprise.

I agree with a lot of your post but to say these players could see the problems and left because of them is just plain wrong.

In vieira's last years he also hinted at the at the fact that we were not being competitive enough to win the CL. He should have left the year before he actually did. I am not saying he walked out -- he wanted out. You can spin that to say we sold him when we wanted to, but he wanted out and you know it. And so did henry. Perhaps henry was most vocal about it all -- he came out with the fact that promises were made about the strengthening of the squad which never came to pass -- he even publicly declared we should go out and sign wright-phillips to signal some ambition. Goonersweb turned on henry claiming he has become bigger than the club and that his beviour was stifling the development of the youngsters.

You couldn't possibly believe cesc's behaviour is new, could you?

[Letters]

In vieira's last years he also hinted at the at the fact that we were not being competitive enough to win the CL. He should have left the year before he actually did. I am not saying he walked out -- he wanted out. You can spin that to say we sold him when we wanted to, but he wanted out and you know it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4433324.stm


"Arsenal did nothing to keep me. The bottom line is they could have kept me. I saw myself finishing my career at Arsenal. I thought I would be at the club for another three years. I don't know if they needed the money for players or the new stadium, but it was their decision to sell me."

:shrug:

I remember this sort of story from the time. We chose to sell him, he said so himself.

[budesonide]

[QUOTE=Letters (TPFKA WWTL@WHL);1723]http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4433324.stm

I shall also try finding the news articles to back up my post.

Have you conceded the henry one then?

[Letters]

Have you conceded the henry one then?

I'm not sure what you're saying about Henry. We had his best years and he certainly wasn't critical of the club when he left:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6233928.stm

He also left around the time of his marriage breaking up, that may have been a factor. He certainly gave no indication he was just fed up of the way things were going and walked out.

[Niall_Quinn]

Thank you for making my point, budesonide. I deliberately said that Wenger would be blamed, regardless of how the high priced players do. Unfortunately, I could not find the Sarcasm smilie to add to my comment.

Reading your comments suggests to me that nothing Wenger and Arsenal could do in the next 12 months will change your position: In your opinion, Wenger has to go and that is final. Now everyone is entitled to their opinion, so we will leave things at that.

Surely the fact Wenger and Arsenal have done nothing in the past 60 months is the big problem? When each outcome is the same as the last people start to spot a pattern, some sooner than others. A few posters here had Wenger sussed a long time ago. The rest of us, myself included, have been slower to catch on. Some still don't see it at all.

[budesonide]

I'm not sure what you're saying about Henry. We had his best years and he certainly wasn't critical of the club when he left:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6233928.stm

He also left around the time of his marriage breaking up, that may have been a factor. He certainly gave no indication he was just fed up of the way things were going and walked out.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/vieira-hits-out-at-arsenals-lack-of-ambition-349069.html

http://www.wldcup.com/news/2003May/20030510_18129_world_soccer.html


"If I see at any time that Arsenal don't do everything to try to win trophies, that their ambitions no longer match mine, then that's it." -- Patrick Vieira



http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/1487068.stm

[budesonide]

Surely the fact Wenger and Arsenal have done nothing in the past 60 months is the big problem? When each outcome is the same as the last people start to spot a pattern, some sooner than others. A few posters here had Wenger sussed a long time ago. The rest of us, myself included, have been slower to catch on. Some still don't see it at all.

:gp:

[Niall_Quinn]

Letters, Wenger is a loon, face it. He's got these dumb statistics coming out of his arse and they all amount to a pile of shit in the end, as we've seen. Plus he's got this stupid phobia about over 30's, it's almost as if he's made it his mission to sabotage this club on the pitch. He's let great players go, at the right time according to media and yet we've never replaced them. He's brought abject shite in instead, what other "top" club would have the likes of a past-it Silvestre or Cygan or Chamakh or Squillaci stinking up the place? Wenger's the problem, plus that money grabbing board he serves so diligently. The evidence is screaming now. Persist with this guy for just one more year and the damage might be terminal.

[Letters]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/vieira-hits-out-at-arsenals-lack-of-ambition-349069.html

http://www.wldcup.com/news/2003May/20030510_18129_world_soccer.html


"If I see at any time that Arsenal don't do everything to try to win trophies, that their ambitions no longer match mine, then that's it." -- Patrick Vieira



http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/1487068.stm

ALL of those articles are from way before Vieira left. They may contain quotes where he complains about this or that after a disappointing result or season but I don't see how that's relevant. The quotes I posted are from when he left which is what we were talking about. When he did it was our choice to sell him, not his choice to leave because of frustrations about how things were going.

[Letters]

Letters, Wenger is a loon, face it. He's got these dumb statistics coming out of his arse and they all amount to a pile of shit in the end, as we've seen. Plus he's got this stupid phobia about over 30's, it's almost as if he's made it his mission to sabotage this club on the pitch. He's let great players go, at the right time according to media and yet we've never replaced them. He's brought abject shite in instead, what other "top" club would have the likes of a past-it Silvestre or Cygan or Chamakh or Squillaci stinking up the place? Wenger's the problem, plus that money grabbing board he serves so diligently. The evidence is screaming now. Persist with this guy for just one more year and the damage might be terminal.

I said in the other thread I think he should go. But your hysterical nonsense about him is ridiculous. You're acting like he just got us relegated.

[Niall_Quinn]

I said in the other thread I think he should go. But your hysterical nonsense about him is ridiculous. You're acting like he just got us relegated.

That's what he said when he was trying to persuade us being second best was acceptable. The thing that makes me most angry is he won't even admit he is wrong. It's like he has an ability to blot out every disaster. The guy's got something wrong in his head.

[StamfordBrdige]

not sure if i have seen this dicussed before on the old site, but what happens if wenger goes out, spends a fuck load of money on big names, parkers, cahills etc etc and they all fail like torres did? will you jump up and down on his back screaming at him cos he failed again or would you be content that at least he spent the money.


Torres did not fail.

The Torres thing is symptomatic of our crappy season. Our midfield was bone awful and had as much creativity as a vacuum. Torres is a type of striker who thrives on passes played in behind the defence that he can run onto. What he got instead was team-mates mistaking him for Drogba which is most perplexing. If the team actually play in a manner which utilises his abilities properly then he will kick ass.

I fully expect Torres to score tons of goals (assuming he's not perma-injured) next season providing we realise he's not Drogba MK2.

[Toronto Gooner]

I said in the other thread I think he should go. But your hysterical nonsense about him is ridiculous. You're acting like he just got us relegated.

Agreed, Letters. It is not the demand for change that bothers me, it is hysterical cries for it that are worrisome.

[Niall_Quinn]

Torres did not fail.

The Torres thing is a symptomatic of our crappy season. Our midfield was bone awful and had as much creativity a vacuum. Torres is a type of striker who thrives on passes played in behind the defence that he can run onto. What he got instead was team-mates mistaking him for Drogba which is most perplexing. If the team actually play in a manner which utilises his abilities properly then he would have kicked ass.

I fully expect Torres to score tons of goals (assuming he's not perma-injured) next season providing we realise he's not Drogba MK2.

We've got Chamakh, so in your face!

[budesonide]

ALL of those articles are from way before Vieira left. They may contain quotes where he complains about this or that after a disappointing result or season but I don't see how that's relevant. The quotes I posted are from when he left which is what we were talking about. When he did it was our choice to sell him, not his choice to leave because of frustrations about how things were going.

we barely managed the FA cup in his last season didn't we? I shall dig up more.

and, re: henry, you are speculating or merely deducing 1+4 to be equal to ten. I assume that is what you originally accused me of?

[Niall_Quinn]

Agreed, Letters. It is not the demand for change that bothers me, it is hysterical cries for it that are worrisome.

You think the board are listening anyway? The "hysteria" is nothing of the sort, it's anger at seeing a bunch of greedy bastards and their uncompromising tool make a laughing stock out of the club. All for want of a few quid invested and a teeny, tiny concession to reality. You said somewhere else that fans calling for Wenger's head halfway through this famine were behaving unreasonably. I don't think so, I think they were just sharper at reading the writing on the wall. Now it's scrawled fifty feet high in bright red paint. We are in the window that allows for either more of the same or a new direction. We've all seen Wenger fail time after time, why anyone wants more of it is a mystery. Very frustrating. It's like trying to run a car with a broken engine, you change the wheels, change the stereo, take it to the car wash, but no way do you change the engine.

[Ironing]

WE'RE BUYING TORRES? :loveblush:

[LDG]

WE'RE BUYING TORRES? :loveblush:

That's a big statement to make as your first post.

[Niall_Quinn]

That's a big bold statement to make as your first post.

Capitalising on the new forum, by the look of it.

[Letters]

we barely managed the FA cup in his last season didn't we? I shall dig up more.

and, re: henry, you are speculating or merely deducing 1+4 to be equal to ten. I assume that is what you originally accused me of?

What's the point of digging up anything? The article I posted was his comments when he left which is what we're talking about.
He did NOT leave because of lack of ambition or because of anything he saw wrong at the club. He was sold and he said it was our choice and he wanted to stay.

I'm not speculating about whether Henry had marriage problems, that is a matter of public record. As for whether it was part of his leaving, well maybe but again I posted his comments on leaving and nowhere did he say he was leaving because of a lack of ambition at the club and he predicted we'd do well after he left (and actually the year immediately after he left we did do better).

[LDG]

Tbf, he wanted to win the CL before he left. I know that's speculative, but it's not a great leap of faith to imagine that he knew we wouldn't win it in his time with the club, so he left for somewhere that would win it.

[Ironing]

That's a big statement to make as your first post.

http://i56.tinypic.com/oir7h1.jpg

[LDG]

:lol:

[Letters]

Tbf, he wanted to win the CL before he left. I know that's speculative, but it's not a great leap of faith to imagine that he knew we wouldn't win it in his time with the club, so he left for somewhere that would win it.

I think that's a reasonable assumption/bit of speculation, yes.
That may well have been a factor.

[Marc Overmars]

I recall Henry calling for some signings during his last season with us, it was during that period when he was crocked in the autumn. I think Gilberto might have said something similar too but I can't remember that for sure. When Freddie joined West Ham, he said it wasn't the same at the club anymore because all of his Invincible buddies were shipped out. It's not too much of a leap faith really to think that these players, particularly ones of the stature of Henry had no interest in wasting time with a bunch of youths...the icy stare said as much.

I think it was all collective though, the break down of his marriage, injury problems, decline of the team etc, that lead to him leaving.

[budesonide]

What's the point of digging up anything? The article I posted was his comments when he left which is what we're talking about.
He did NOT leave because of lack of ambition or because of anything he saw wrong at the club. He was sold and he said it was our choice and he wanted to stay.

I'm not speculating about whether Henry had marriage problems, that is a matter of public record. As for whether it was part of his leaving, well maybe but again I posted his comments on leaving and nowhere did he say he was leaving because of a lack of ambition at the club and he predicted we'd do well after he left (and actually the year immediately after he left we did do better).

No, you are speculating that it was a reason (or part of the reason) as to why he left -- if not why mention it? Else, you are doing exactly what you claim i am doing. Vieira wanted to win the CL, henry wanted to win the CL -- with the latter (as i said earlier) being the most vocal about it in his last few years as to the lack of ambition being shown by the club. MO and LDG's posts suggest i am not being revisionist.

I fully accept the quotes by vieira you have posted to suggest otherwise just as I accept ashley cole's autobiographical account of his time here.

[Power n Glory]

We decided when to sell Henry and Vieria but let's not pretend that there wasn't something wrong before they left. If Cesc left this season and made a statement saying he wanted to leave because Silent Stan now owns the club now, things aren't the same and he just broke up with his girlfriend so he wants to go back to Spain, would you believe that rubbish? If the club tried to spin it that we sold him because he was constantly getting injured, would you believe that?

Pay no attention to the PR statements. Paddy didn't want to leave things sour with the Arsenal fans. He was flirting with Real Madrid for seasons, told Cashley to demand higher wages and wasn't all that happy in his final days. He wanted a move to Real Madrid, not Juve. Also, how can forget the day Henry was dropped for the Spurs game and came out saying we should sign SWP? The statements from the club and players are just for show. Denilson made a statement about wanting leave last week. Anyone here really think he's winner and has decided to leave because he wants silverware? We all know he's been frozen out of the team and the writing on wall as our season was falling apart. Speculation about him being sold was all over the papers and I'm pretty sure he's read them and decided to jump before being pushed. It's like handing in your resignation before getting fired. You get to leave with some dignity at least.

Back to the original topic. If Wenger were to sign a top quality striker like Torres and play him as a winger, then yes, I will blame him. I think everyone has realised that the problem goes way beyond spending money. We shouldn't need a player worth £50m to beat teams like Birmingham!

[budesonide]

We shouldn't need a player worth £50m to beat teams like Birmingham!

And that, my fellow gwebbers, is the crust of the mass 'hysteria'.

[Darth Vela]

Frankly, if he were to buy a Torres I guess the reasons would be that he was the wrong type of Torres. It'd leave the guys who continually bitch about having to pay top prices but never getting any big signings without a leg to stand on but they'd move onto something else cos by that point it'll be obvious that not buying a Torres wasn't the issue, as I and pretty much everybody around here realises.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Torres did not fail.

The Torres thing is symptomatic of our crappy season. Our midfield was bone awful and had as much creativity as a vacuum. Torres is a type of striker who thrives on passes played in behind the defence that he can run onto. What he got instead was team-mates mistaking him for Drogba which is most perplexing. If the team actually play in a manner which utilises his abilities properly then he will kick ass.

I fully expect Torres to score tons of goals (assuming he's not perma-injured) next season providing we realise he's not Drogba MK2.

He failed at Liverpool and he failed at Chelsea. In fact Liverpool seemed to thrive after he left.

[Cripps_orig]

Depends on what you mean by fail.

He scored lots of goals at Liverpool but won f all.

Shite at Chelsea though agreed

[Elreactor]

If a Torres is not the only one to arrive, I suppose it´d be for good of course.

[Cripps_orig]

Then id be delighted

[The Verminator]

I distinctly remember watching Sky Sports News the day Henry announced he would be leaving Arsenal. He was on tour in Asia for one of his sponsors and he stated Wenger leaving the club was why he was leaving. Shortly afterwards he gave other reasons.

Did a quick Google and couldn't find the video but I'm 90% sure this is what happened.

[Power n Glory]

Has anyone every worked for a company with a high turnover of staff and every so often there is some sort of leaving party in the office? Usually, in places I've worked, the person whose leaving gives a speech. I've never once heard someone stand up and tell the cold hard truth about the company when they leave. You'll never hear how they hated their role, were underpaid, hate their boss, staff or whatever. In my experience, you get spin or out right lies. They've enjoyed working for the company, learned a lot, will miss everyone....some of that is true. But it's not the whole truth.

Think of Henry's speech in that way.

[Ironing]

Has anyone every worked for a company with a high turnover of staff and every so often there is some sort of leaving party in the office? Usually, in places I've worked, the person whose leaving gives a speech. I've never once heard someone stand up and tell the cold hard truth about the company when they leave. You'll never hear how they hated their role, were underpaid, hate their boss, staff or whatever. In my experience, you get spin or out right lies. They've enjoyed working for the company, learned a lot, will miss everyone....some of that is true. But it's not the whole truth.

Think of Henry's speech in that way.

Why burn bridges like that

I think my boss is an alcoholic cunt, but if I ever left the company I'd want him on my side within our industry

[Power n Glory]

Exactly. Henry wants to come back to Arsenal one day, he loves London, loves the fans...it would be a mistake to come out and say he's leaving because the club lacks ambition and he doesn't believe we can win silverware again.

[The Verminator]

I was just noting it as what I believed to be the correct course of events as opposed to what was previously posted.

[Elreactor]

What about the Benzema talk? And Falcao? I´d become gay if both arrived. It sounds impossible. :(

[Boss]

Don't think there's any chance of us getting Benzema, I also highly doubt he's worth anything upwards of 20M (even in this market) and would struggle if he came to this league.

I'd like to see Falcao here though, he's pretty fucking good. We'd need someone that could cross to take advantage of his great heading ability though, something we don't have.

If we were looking at someone cheaper, Barrios from Dortmund could be a good bet, he's great on FM done reasonably well for Dortmund the last two years and could be the poacher we need.

[Toronto Gooner]

I'd like to see Falcao here though, he's pretty fucking good. We'd need someone that could cross to take advantage of his great heading ability though, something we don't have.
I suppose that the question here is whether the inability to cross is a consequence of not having someone in the middle capable of taking advantage of a cross?

[Power n Glory]

It's about the quality of the cross. Put David Beckham into our team and the strikers would anticipate a cross from deep and act accordingly. It becomes routine. Runs into the box, near post back post movement would become natural instinct. At the moment, you don't know what your going to get from our players.

Theo and RVP have formed a good partnership and they've come a long way. I remember all sorts of mix ups between the two in the early days. RVP's movement was chaotic and Theo just had his head down, after burners on and wouldn't know when to release the ball. Now, the two seem to know what they're doing and you hardly see them shouting at each other over a breakdown of communication. Theo's delivery is miles better and RVP knows where to go and where Theo's likely to give him ball. Before, he didn't have a clue when he'd release it. If you trust a player can deliver a certain ball, you'll make the run.

We need to work on our fullbacks. It's 50/50 with those guys. You just don't know if they'll cross or pass it short, if will be a good cross, or bad cross that sails right across the pitch or into the stands, if it will beat the first man...they're just not consistent and you can't develop a routine and pattern like that.

[Darth Vela]

It's about the quality of the cross. Put David Beckham into our team and the strikers would anticipate a cross from deep and act accordingly. It becomes routine. Runs into the box, near post back post movement would become natural instinct. At the moment, you don't know what your going to get from our players.

Theo and RVP have formed a good partnership and they've come a long way. I remember all sorts of mix ups between the two in the early days. RVP's movement was chaotic and Theo just had his head down, after burners on and wouldn't know when to release the ball. Now, the two seem to know what they're doing and you hardly see them shouting at each other over a breakdown of communication. Theo's delivery is miles better and RVP knows where to go and where Theo's likely to give him ball. Before, he didn't have a clue when he'd release it. If you trust a player can deliver a certain ball, you'll make the run.

We need to work on our fullbacks. It's 50/50 with those guys. You just don't know if they'll cross or pass it short, if will be a good cross, or bad cross that sails right across the pitch or into the stands, if it will beat the first man...they're just not consistent and you can't develop a routine and pattern like that.

:gp:

More about understanding than our forwards being shite in the air or the rest of the team being unable to cross, ofc for most of them that's still true but that's not the point.

[Ernesto]

We need another summer of 2001.

Ooh, for the summer of 2001 again :cloud9:

So close to winning the cup before the Scousers robbed us forced Wenger to go mad in the transfer market. In come Jeffers, Campbell, Inamoto, Richard Wright, Geo van Bronckhorst. Out, no-f***in one.

THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout.

[Toronto Gooner]

We need another summer of 2001.

Ooh, for the summer of 2001 again :cloud9:

So close to winning the cup before the Scousers robbed us forced Wenger to go mad in the transfer market. In come Jeffers, Campbell, Inamoto, Richard Wright, Geo van Bronckhorst. Out, no-f***in one.

THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout.
The problem with that list is that only Campbell was a real success; van Bronckhorst was okay, and the other three were bigger flops than Barcelona players with an opponent within 10 m.

[Power n Glory]

Was going to say the same thing. But the new signings could have pushed the existing squad members to play harder to keep their first team status. It showed Wenger's intent. Mess about and you're spot is under threat.

[The Wengerbabies]

Was going to say the same thing. But the new signings could have pushed the existing squad members to play harder to keep their first team status. It showed Wenger's intent. Mess about and you're spot is under threat.
It will kill them, and we don't want that do we?

[Niall_Quinn]

We need to work on our fullbacks. It's 50/50 with those guys. You just don't know if they'll cross or pass it short, if will be a good cross, or bad cross that sails right across the pitch or into the stands, if it will beat the first man...they're just not consistent and you can't develop a routine and pattern like that.

A bit unfair, the FBs have been extremely consistent with their crossing over the past season. Both have been beyond the pale diabolical.

[Boss]

A bit unfair, the FBs have been extremely consistent with their crossing over the past season. Both have been beyond the pale diabolical.

On a more serious note, your sig rocks.

[Özim]

Our crossing is pretty awful on the whole, clearly something else we don't put much focus on in training. The full backs can't cross for toffee, seems like they just take a swipe at the ball, hit and hope merchants tbh.

[Darth Vela]

Tbf, Sagna hasn't been so bad this year and given the amount of players most teams have in the box at any given moment when playing us, a half decent cross can look awful as it clears the first 5 men but is nodded away by the 6th, Clichy though has had about half a dozen decent crosses in 3 years which is slightly worse than shite.

[fakeyank]

Our crossing is pretty awful on the whole, clearly something else we don't put much focus on in training. The full backs can't cross for toffee, seems like they just take a swipe at the ball, hit and hope merchants tbh.

Whats the point of crossing in the box when none of our players are ever in the box.. everybody is hungry as a hyena outside the opposition box waiting to play pretty triangles