When will Arteta be sacked by

[Chippy]

Yeah he’s not going anywhere unless there’s a United style downturn. The hierarchy have bet the house on him and I doubt they will rip it all up considering how long it took to build.

We’re undoubtedly in a bit of a mess though and a long way off the standards we’ve set over the past 2 years. First real test now for Arteta in a long time in dealing with adversity.

It's not just the last few games. Even when we win the performance has been a bit shit. Rookie out!

[Mac76]

I keep saying they should have had an older figure at his shoulder just to steer him in the right direction and be old and experienced enough to be fearless about it - he's got no-one there to challenge him from a knowledgeable and experienced perspective.

[Letters]

Any updates on this?

I am famously patient with managers but he’s spent a lot of money and that did make us genuine contenders last season. Were we not up against the juggernaut - and, let’s face it, the cheats - of City we’d have walked the title. We were only one point down on The Invincibles, we were standing up in the big games and winning the pressure games. Most importantly, Arteta restored the fractured relationship between the club and the fans.

But we’ve regressed since last season. The obvious area we needed to improve was the attack and we didn’t. The defence which saw us through a lot of games last season is now looking shaky. I don’t think Arteta is going to take us any further. I have no beef with the guy, he’s done a lot of good work, but if we are ever going to take that final step and win the league then it won’t be with him.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

There have been moments when Arteta has delivered everything the fans have been asking for. A bigger, more aggressive squad. More direct play. An actual defence. Attention to the details like set pieces and throw-ins. Square pegs in square holes. And it has been fun to watch. But it's intermittent at best. He's too conservative and he needs to loosen up and let the team breathe a bit. He's too afraid to lose and not hungry enough to win. That needs to flip. I don't care if we lose (as in, sack the manager), I only care of we lose because we didn't turn up.

This (the whole post) is just perfect. I couldn't have said it any better.

[Chippy]

I am famously patient with managers but he’s spent a lot of money and that did make us genuine contenders last season. Were we not up against the juggernaut - and, let’s face it, the cheats - of City we’d have walked the title. We were only one point down on The Invincibles, we were standing up in the big games and winning the pressure games. Most importantly, Arteta restored the fractured relationship between the club and the fans.

But we’ve regressed since last season. The obvious area we needed to improve was the attack and we didn’t. The defence which saw us through a lot of games last season is now looking shaky. I don’t think Arteta is going to take us any further. I have no beef with the guy, he’s done a lot of good work, but if we are ever going to take that final step and win the league then it won’t be with him.

Sadly, you are correct, we will never win the league with Arteta at the helm.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

I keep saying they should have had an older figure at his shoulder just to steer him in the right direction and be old and experienced enough to be fearless about it - he's got no-one there to challenge him from a knowledgeable and experienced perspective.

This will be Ancelotti's final season in Madrid....he's always wanted this job and famously waited after he was sacked at Chelsea to see if he would get it.

He's the last of the old dons....and he does happen to know how to get the best from younger players.

We really need to consider if its worth sticking with this kind machine-like football, where every cog needs to be perfect.

We use to lose and it would be fun to watch (at least for a neutral), hell now even watching us grind out our usual 1-0 wins isn't fun, its all just soul sapping.

[Mac76]

To respond to Mac - I am as frustrated by the refereeing decisions that have gone against us as anyone, but there is nothing to be gained from howling at injustice. The simple fact is that with all of our reds we gave the officials an opportunity to punish us...and in each case this could have easily been avoided. So we circle back round to the first issue - the need to be near perfect. And this includes not giving PGMOL the opportunity to f*ck us.

I wasn't howling at anything, just correcting your statement that the reds were our fault - when our players are sent off for things thst no others are sent off for, that's outside our control and has little or nothing to do with our own team discipline

[Niall_Quinn]

A rowing crew I was following this week in a collegiate regatta progressed through the round to the semis against opposition that were a good 10s faster over 2K. The former had been improving each round, starting with a 7:38 and whittling it down to 7:20 by semi-final day. But the captain got the date wrong and they paddled up and empty river, the actual race was the Friday and there they were on the Thursday, having psyched up for their toughest race of the season. So they put in some splits anyway, just because they were there, and ended up on 7:10 pace which would have seen them at least give a good run against the favourites. Come the Friday, they posted their worst time of the regatta. They already peaked by the time they hit the water. It's a sport of very fine margins where timing, in every sense, is crucial.

Don't underestimate the disruption caused by the blatant cheating during a key period when we could have pushed on but instead found ourselves falling behind. The team should be big enough to put that behind them and go again and build the momentum again, but that's not how it always works out when fine margins are in play. It's not an excuse, there are plenty of other things that have contributed to the poor results, but don't discount the blatant cheating of the match officials and the resulting bullshit pushed out by the talking heads to cover for the blatant cheating.

I saw somebody on here say we can't get hung up on such things. True, we can't let it get the better of us. But neither should we ignore it. It should continue to be called out for the disruption it is, just as any injury is a disruption. People say, poor gypo, no Rodri. What's the difference between that handicap and the points that were stolen from us by corrupt officials?

[IBK]

I wasn't howling at anything, just correcting your statement that the reds were our fault - when our players are sent off for things thst no others are sent off for, that's outside our control and has little or nothing to do with our own team discipline

Should have made ir clear mate that that comment wasn't directed at you - more generically that while many of us feel aggrieved at our treatment from the match officials ultimately it won't make any difference...

[IBK]

There have been moments when Arteta has delivered everything the fans have been asking for. A bigger, more aggressive squad. More direct play. An actual defence. Attention to the details like set pieces and throw-ins. Square pegs in square holes. And it has been fun to watch. But it's intermittent at best. He's too conservative and he needs to loosen up and let the team breathe a bit. He's too afraid to lose and not hungry enough to win. That needs to flip. I don't care if we lose (as in, sack the manager), I only care of we lose because we didn't turn up.

consise summary of where we are