Mails: Arsenal must learn from Newcastle’s mistake
Date published: Monday 13th February 2017 11:30
Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.
Leicester/Harchester
With all that’s happened in the past 12 months (Trump, Brexit, Celebrity deaths, etc.), I’m convinced the world is just some intergalactic TV show, with the writers desperately cobbling together more and more outrageous storylines in an attempt to boost ratings. And inspired by the greatest TV show of the past 20 years, Leicester City have assumed the fate of Harchester United.
My prediction for the rest of the season – Leicester get relegated, win the Champions League, and during their victory parade, a still-bitter Leanardo Ulloa blows up the team bus.
Mark AVFC (Villa’s story writer seems to have fallen asleep at the keyboard…)
Wenger the genius
Wenger remains a genius manager. To be level on points with Tottenham, and going further than them in the Champions League, with only a single player who would get into their team can only be put down to him.
Of course, it could just be due to how good Alexis is – but, as Garth Crooks points out, he is not as good as Kane. So it must all be down to Wenger.
Jaimie (unless Merson is talking bollocks, of course) Kaffash, AFC, north London
Wenger out, but with dignity
I haven’t written in to the hallowed F365 mailbox for some time – I’m an Arsenal fan, so there’s boundless amounts of noise that I don’t often feel I can add to. But today, perhaps, just maybe, there’s something that needs saying.
There’s a (surely bigger than I often think) section of us Arsenal fans who are not tweeting #WengerOut or defending him unquestioningly, though we seem a quiet voice.
On “the social medias” this morning there was the usual rabid response to Martin Keown’s interview on the BBC about Mr Wenger’s position. To be clear, he states that the club are not ready to lose him (they’re not, too many fingers in too many pies) but that their performance levels are disappointing under him (they are). Which leads to the simple question – how on earth could anyone argue with that?
Should the club have a succession plan? Yes, any business would, but has anyone else? Let’s take a look at the case of Man Utd to see how that went and…not so well. So he is right, there needs to be planning done before Wenger moves from the post. Sensible, rather than risking a Moyes/LVG type affair.
Now, to be clear, that planning needs to be happening. The attack always used to be about lack of transfer activity. Personally, I think that Wenger’s keeping Arsenal in the top 4 between 2006-2014 is an incredible achievement given the restraints financially. You can argue that getting a new stadium and financing it should not have been his concern, but it was and he did it admirably. But it is no longer about transfers or personnel. Yes, I am biased. We all are. But this current Arsenal squad should be strongly competitive on all fronts and playing convincingly well and the team is not doing so. What Arsenal seem to fall short on currently is drive, consistency and tactical clarity. Unfortunately, this is surely part of the main purpose of a head coach/manager. Wenger has not performed terribly in this regard, neither has he performed well.
The reason that we see such a ridiculous reaction to Keown’s interview is because the fans are sure it is one extreme or the other. It isn’t, both views are right, almost equally so. Arsene Wenger has been the best manager in the club’s history, and one of the best in the world and should be recognised as such. But it needs to be accepted that things have not been working out as well as they should have on the pitch for the last few seasons, so it is time to start planning for the future. A new contract should be tabled, but it should only be a further 12 months, with commitment to using the next 18 months to pave the way for a successor.
Wenger out, but with dignity and planning, because we want to respect what he has done and do our best to keep the club moving forward.
Adam, Gooner ( @adpgibson if there are any more of you rational fans out there…)
It’s like Sir Bobby’s Newcastle
Hello to all football 365 readers, first time ive sent an email to you all but i understand both sides of “the wenger out” campaign however from past experiences im more in favour of the “wenger out” side.
The reason i am is because as a Newcastle fan (yes i know somebody in this world had to be i suppose) and i remember back to the 2003-2004 premier league season, we played our last home game vs wolves (coincidentally giving this weekends events) and we drew 1-1, it wasn’t a good game, newcastle didnt play well and there was already a growing frustration in the crowd due to some lethargic performances the back end of that campaign.
Supporters felt at the time including myself, Newcastle United should be pushing on, should be consistently reaching higher heights than we were at the time (flirting between Europa league and champions league play-off place at the time…i know crazy when you see where nufc are now)
As i mentioned i was one of those fans and felt frustrated the club looked like slowly regressing although to the outside world it didnt look that way as the previous 2 seasons Newcastle finished in the top 4 and were going finish 5th in the 2003-2004.
And yes im not going to paper round the cracks at the time i felt the club could be in potentially be challenging for the title (hearing “deluded geordie” chants as i write this) and that the club was just standing still or slightly regressing…similar to arsenal now i feel
The worst part of all was that our manager at the time was the great Sir Bobby Robson, what a man he was and he transformed the club from the mediocre days of Gullit and Dalglish and brought the club back to similar the Keegan years, the problem was i felt under Bobby…like with Wenger the club was sitting still…not moving or pushing on to greater heights like i felt we should be and i thought it was time for him to leave Newcastle.
Ofcourse i look back on and then think “we got Souness in and look where we are now” but at the time i cant deny I felt a change was needed for Newcastle to push on as Bobby despite being an amazing man i felt couldnt take us to the next level)
…so can totally understand the Arsenal fans thinking exactly the same as Arsenal just like Newcastle were doing dont seem to be pushing for ambition and sleepwalking to 4th each season…and surely as fans we want our club be pushing more bigger heights every season? isnt that what fans should always be like even if it is a gamble and can go like what happened to Newcastle and regress???
Spiceman (long story about the name but never mind!)
We had plenty of these
Whilst I don’t want to go overboard on the views of Cormac reflecting a wider issue with a nanny state and the current issues of our ‘snowflake generation’ (I read the observer yesterday…I’ve been dying to use that phrase in intelligent conversation ever since…) that mail made me rage. Why should UEFA intervene if players decide to go and play in China?? Did other minor European leagues do the same when the premier league started throwing money around? Why on earth should someone stop an individual going to another country to play football for a lucrative wage?
Footballers, whilst not traditionally the sharpest tools in any shed, are not morons. They know if they choose the wages on offer in China, it’s coming at the expense of a high profile in Europe and potential international recognition. It doesn’t need legislating against, it’s up to them if they want to go.
Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean there should be a law against.
Pete, DRFC in exile, Suffolk
Hart v Bravo: continued
I have a few point in response to Lee’s criticism of Hart.
*You say Hart is sub par for an elite team. Hart has won 4 golden gloves. 2 of those were behind Lescott, so you cannot give all the credit to the back 4. The superior Lloris, who apparently plays behind the best CBs in the league, has won none. nor has the immortal De Gea.
*Hart can be inconsistent but this is true of many goalkeepers. Apart from the period when Hart was dropped by Pellegrini, he has always at the very least done a job for City if not more. At his best he has been unmovable. You will find his worst form has been for England. Yet no matter how bad he has played at any point in his career, he has never been as poor as Bravo has been this season. I have never sat there wondering how long a goalkeeper’s save drought will continue. I have never even comprehended there was such a thing as a save drought until Bravo.
*The fact is that Bravo in La Liga, would have been under little pressure outside games against the two Madrids either for his passing game or his shot stopping ability. So he lets in a goal. Barca will score three. He knows this. The opposition know this. No nerves. He can pass well but again, he has had little in the way of pressure on him from the opposition. press too high and Barca will cut you to ribbons. When his back has been up against the wall though, he has not stepped up. I think perhaps he has so infrequently needed to be a hero for Barca that he doesn’t know how to ‘play a blinder’. Hart has frequently excelled under pressure. (See vs Barca a couple of seasons ago)
*You are quoting how many trophies Bravo has won. That is a useless comparison as you should know. Bravo has played for Barcelona and a very good Chile side. Lloris has won a single French cup in his career. (to go with his zero golden gloves). Does that make him less than world class?
*This does not mean Pep is a fraud. He took a risk and it has backfired. Hart wasn’t his type of keeper. Bravo was. This is where i think the ‘knowing the league’ argument has been understated. Both Pep and Bravo figured this City team in this league could accommodate Bravo’s high risk passing game. I expect Mourinho in this case was sniggering behind his hand at that. Pep has admitted he has made mistakes. He’s clever enough to fix them. That might be with or without Hart involved.
*You mock Hart’s attitude. It seems we rate goalkeepers on how they come across in interviews now. I mean we can’t have an English goalkeeper who is emotional now can we? It wouldn’t be English. He brought some loyalty, fire and spirit to the club, irrelevant of his nationality, just like Kompany. This is not an emotional perspective. It brings the fans onside, it helps with team spirit and means the guy is capable of lifting himself to special performances when needed. A very valuable asset.
Nic, Lancaster
Small vegetable
I know he’s not had such an impressive season in Germany (although he looks back on song now) but why on earth did the likes of Leicester, Palace, Boro, Sunderland et al not break the bank to get Javier Hernandez in in January. Goals keep you up, simple as that. He is basically the Mexican Defoe. If he had signed for Palace or Leicester I would have been willing to wager a significant amount of money (sorry Jon Nic) that Palace would stay up comfortably. I appreciate he may not have been keen to come however money talks. Bung him a shed load of wages and an eye watering ‘staying up’ bonus and I’m sure a deal could have been done. By all accounts Leverkusen were looking to get rid.
This is one of many instances where looking from the outside in you can’t understand why no PL chairman can see it. Before Defoe joined Sunderland there was a bit of a bun fight for him and I said then that all a club had to do was pay him whatever he wanted and they were guaranteed survival. Sure enough it was the case and has been for Sunderland since. On a side note I’d be interested to hear of any other stark bleeding’ obvious solutions that fans have spotted a mile off but seem to be studiously ignored by the powers that be.
Banjo, Prague
Assorted thoughts
*My son went to his friend’s birthday party on Saturday afternoon, so by the time I found out what had happened at Stoke I had already spent an hour in a swimming pool with several of the mums from school, by which point I was apathetic. Bit like most of the Palace players.
*Crystal Palace are f###ed. It’s not just because we lost away on a cold, wet day in Stoke (not even a Tuesday night, for shame), but because all the teams around us lost and we couldn’t take advantage. This includes a 4-0 shoeing for the side that thumped us by the same score last week.
*Sam Allardyce claimed to be satisfied with the performance. The Eagles had one shot on target, and could have played for a week without scoring. There’s a joke somewhere about Mrs Allardyce shopping for Valentine’s Day, but someone else can do it.
The last time the atmosphere round the Palace was this toxic was Versailles in 1789. Hearing Allardyce and James Tomkins talk about how the Eagles limited City to just one shot in the second half would be more admirable if a) they hadn’t scored it and b) we’d had more than that in the entire match.
On Saturday morning, the front page of the Guardian’s sport section had a report about how Allardyce had brought in a psychologist to help his players get past “the fear” of playing at Selhurst Park. Regardless of the actual words, it is possible to see the subtext that the fans are somehow responsible for the poor performances of the players. However, if you think that the fans of your team are part of the problem, then maybe, just maybe, it might help to do something positive towards them.
It doesn’t help, then, that the response to going a goal down is to immediately take off Wilf Zaha for Jeffrey Schlupp, and to not bring on a second striker until the 87th minute.
I’m indebted to the Rednbluearmy blog for their eyewitness accounts on this, but other than Patrick van Aanholt, who gave his shirt to a young fan, most players did the bare minimum to acknowledge the people who had parted with hard-earned cash to watch their team serve up that dross. The exceptions were James Tomkins and Damien Delaney, two defenders who made one tackle between them in the match, but whose responses to the crowd were naïve at best and deliberately confrontational at worst.
*I’ve a growing suspicion that Allardyce will walk before the end of the season. The sympathetic media coverage of him focusses more on how his record of never being relegated is in serious jeopardy, rather than the club he is employed to manage. It all seems to be pointing to him deciding to cut his losses with a couple of games to go, before relegation is officially confirmed but too late for any new manager to do anything about it.
I don’t agree with anyone saying that Palace should have stuck with Alan Pardew – if anything, they should have got rid of him sooner. He was given plenty of opportunities to introduce a new playing style and turn the form around. He did neither of these. Allardyce was brought in for his reputation of dragging teams out of the relegation mire. He isn’t doing that, and isn’t making the sort of noises that someone who wants to stay in a job for a long time tends to make.
*Palace’s next game is at home against Middlesbrough. Another potential lifeline, and yet there is little to suggest they will actually make the most of it.
*City’s defence were very good, and very well organised, but they will have more taxing afternoons than this. Also, Joe Allen is impossible to dislike. Even if he does something bad on the field, you just remember that photo of him holding the chicken.
*Is that three red cards for deliberate handball that Hull City have had this year? There was definitely Jake Livermore and Ahmed Elmohamody, possibly in consecutive games. While individually you can understand why the players do it, collectively there cannot have been that many teams through the years who had handball as the most frequent of their red card offences.
*I watched Osasuna v Real Madrid and saw Tano Bonnin break his leg. It was horrific. Osasuna’s players must have been affected by it but they still gave it everything, and while Real’s quality ultimately made the difference, to quote the cliché, it was difficult at times to see which team was at the top of the table and which at the bottom.
That Ronaldo fellow looks quite useful – I wouldn’t be surprised to see him picked out by pundits in their “one to watch” features on upcoming Champions League games.
*On the Football League Goal Rush programme, I thought I heard the reporter refer to Coventry City as “Cov” – is this actually a thing?
In their Championship round-up, they showed Glenn Murray scoring for Brighton & Hove Albion, and then cut to Clinton Morrison in the studio. There’s no point to this, I just fancied being nostalgic for a moment.
*Dave, southern Scouser, Thwaites, asked if a defender has ever been a team’s highest paid player. I’ve no idea, but in another move that goes against popular convention, I’m fairly certain Peter Shilton was Nottingham Forest’s top earner for a while – Brian Clough used to say that it stood to reason as the goalkeeper was the most important player in the team.
Ed Quoththeraven
Doping
On January 27th Manchester City accepted an FA charge for failing to make their players available for standardised doping tests for the third time in a calendar year. It’s generally understood that the FA operate a “three strikes and you’re out” policy for this relatively low-level crime, and the punishment for this crime is going to be a fine. We don’t know how heavy a fine, but I would suspect it sits somewhere between “not high enough” for some people and “too high” for others.
That’s it then. Case closed. The news was so small-potatoes that it barely merited a mention in the major news sites, and certainly no click-based keywords were attached to the articles. The BBC ran this story, FYI, the article(s) are easily googly-moogly-able.
So let’s get this straight, one of the richest sporting entities on the planet, a team with a manager who anti-doping enthusiasts would dearly LOVE to find out more about, a team who play a high-pressing, high-fitness game and suffer far fewer injuries than their rivals, can systematically make their players unavailable for doping tests and all it costs them – one of the world’s richest teams – is a fine?
Plain-speaking Man City can thusly continue to systematically make their players unavailable for doping tests, whilst continuing to play the way they do and maintaining a largely fit squad as they have been, and just accept FA charges and keep paying fines.
And not just Man City for a semblance of balance. Any team. Any team in the English League system can just systematically make their players unavailable for doping tests until the FA impose anything other than a non-newsworthy fine.
I’m going to stop there as I know F365 doesn’t really like letters about doping.
Dale May, Swindon Wengerite
Lawro’s love-in
Taken from the excellent work in http://www.myfootballfacts.com/ you can see Mark Lawrensons Predictions history for the past 8 seasons.
He currently has Liverpool on for an unbeaten season, but this looks to be more than just a Jurgen Klopp love in .
Liverpool
2016/17 Predicted Losses 0 Actual Losses 4
2015/16 Predicted Losses 2 Actual Losses 10
2014/15 Predicted Losses 3 Actual Losses 12
2013/14 Predicted Losses 3 Actual Losses 6
2012/13 Predicted Losses 8 Actual Losses 9
2011/12 Predicted Losses 1 Actual Losses 14
2010/11 Predicted Losses 4 Actual Losses 14
2009/10 Predicted Losses 2 Actual Losses 11
Amazing.
In total:
Predicted Liverpool Losses 23
Actual Liverpool Losses 80
Barry, Wexford
Love for Johnny Nic, and many thoughts on gambling
What a wonderful piece on gambling by John Nic this morning. Gambling has become so accessible and part of our lives that it often gets overlooked as an addiction.
As a Gambling Addict I began to loath football because of my losses. I even emailed one football club after they let in a 93rd minute equalizer that cost me a big win and cursed them for not seeing out the game.
The love for the sport I fell for as a boy was gone, I didnt want to be Fowler or Keane or Shearer anymore I just wanted them to win when I had backed them. I no longer enjoyed watching football, checking the scores on the tv or later on on my mobile wasn’t about seeing who won or who scored it was only about those teams on that piece of paper I had scribbled on in the bookies.
I began to fall further and further into the blackness and nobody knew. I isolated myself from my friends and began lying to my wife where my wages where going, all the time borrowing more and more and stealing from friends to satisfy my need. And I believed myself too, I seen myself at the superbowl, at the champions league final as the go to guy for sporting odds surrounded by celebrities and sports stars hanging on my every word, all while I accumulated thousands in gambling debt from different banks and financial institutions.
The day my wife found out was the most horrible and greatest day of my life. I remember sitting on our bed feeling equal amounts of shame and delight. Finally no more lying and I could get help. Thankfully she stayed and helped me face this head on. Trips to banks to explain that I couldn’t pay back their money became a regular thing and thankfully they understood, they are just people too. Slowly I paid back it all and confessed to my family and friends about taking their money. Some still speak to me some dont. My punishment I guess for my behaviour for all those years.
Gamblers Anonymous saved my marriage and my life, strangers became friends, friends who would call you every day and tell you how brilliant you where doing, I know it’s a cliche but it really is one day at a time. I looked forward to the meetings, taking strength from people who had been bet free for 20 odd years and listening to their advice. I stopped carrying money to resist temptation and my wife began to carry my bank cards and kept a vigorous watch on our account.
Its been 4 years now since my last bet and I will never bet again. My family has grown with the arrival of my children and they are now my focus in moving forward. I now look forward to match of the day just to see the brilliance on display.
To any one reading this who is suffering in silence, dont, use your voice and tell someone. I didnt think I had a way back but you really do. Trust in your family and friends and you will be able to stop the suffering.
Anon.
Football gambling. FINALLY!!! Someone has noticed the impact that this silent killer is having on society. John Nicholson I applaud you for your piece and more importantly for feeling the need to address this epidemic. I’ve been battling a gambling addiction for about 5 years now after about 15 years of living with a gambling problem. Like most addicts, I didn’t realise I had a problem until I hit a very low point in my life. But deep down I knew something wasn’t right. So I started going to Gamblers Anonymous and finally I have my sanity back and a much better quality of life. Some people aren’t as lucky though and end up paying the ultimate price for a bet.
It’s only in the last year or 2 that I’ve noticed just how much gambling companies are taking over sport and quite frankly it scares the bejaysus out of me. Gambling is so accessible nowadays. I’ve lost hundreds of pounds just going to the toilet. Gambling is being pushed down the throat of anyone who enjoys watching live sports, especially football. Their target audience is anyone really, but aimed at young males who probably have a little more disposable income than older married men with more responsibilities like myself. I live in Northern Ireland which has one of the highest suicide rates in Europe amongst young males aged 18-30, coincidentally the target audience of these betting companies.
A gambling addiction is arguably more dangerous than a drug or alcohol addiction. A drunk will drink until they fall down drunk. A drug addict is only harming him or herself. A Gambler will keep on gambling until they’ve lost all their money and they will borrow more to feed the addiction. They can lose their house, their family, their life and they can do so completely blind to anyone around them because there are no visible signs of a gambling addict. In fact, most addicts can hide the addiction very easily and wear a smile in public. A mask to hide their internal struggles. It’s an extremely difficult rollercoaster of emotions to endure which has a very damaging psychological effect on the addict.
Our government needs to step up and do something about this now. Drugs are illegal and alcohol advertising is controlled so why are gambling companies allowed to freely market and make frankly ridiculous profits year after year? Lives are being lost. Families are being ruined. People are suffering. It has to stop.
MD (One day at a time) NI.
I have been working in the iGaming industry now for almost a decade. Currently, I am employed in one of the departments of the world’s largest online casinos for the Scandinavian market, and would like to give my opinion as someone who witnesses addiction from the inside.
While I agree that gambling is a problem, and one that must be tackled by all parties, I feel it is slightly unfair to blame the marketing scheme of said companies for the issues a lot of people face when it comes to responsible gaming.
Gaming companies have a plethora of rules to abide by when it comes to this issue. Every single regulator has rules on the topic however they are somewhat treated differently depending on the license. It is imperative that the companies hold policies to tackle responsible gaming and it is one of the priorities and stricter rules in the sector.
For example, if a player informs the company that they do have a gambling problem, the company must shut down the user’s account either permanently or for a cooling off period (depending on the license regulator). Also, the user must not be allowed to open any other accounts. If this is not done, the company could face massive consequences.
It is also imperative that we close down any accounts if we are tipped off by third parties that a certain user is a gambling addict, failure to do so will also result in legal problems and also, it is a company’s moral duty to take action. The agents who work in customer care are also informed of this and must abide by the company policies.
Also, one more thing, gaming companies do provide gambling addicts with help. They direct them to websites. The only issue I have with this is that sometimes, the information is provided in a very robotic, automated email. It could be a bit more human, however that is something that must be tackled under the company’s discretion.
Don’t think that gaming companies do not take gambling problems seriously, they really do. And do everything in their power to help.
Remember, gambling is a choice. No one is forcing anyone to do it. Marketing, better odds etc are there due to a massively competitive market.
Anon.
Great article on gambling.
I blew £3m in nine months. Mostly of other peoples money including family, friends and my employer. Which no longer exists and lost 6 people their jobs.
I did 3 years in prison and have 3 more on licence.
I was an educated, chartered accountant. Now I sand floors for a quarter of the income and treble the working hours.
If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. It’s never to late to get help.
Don’t be a bottler like me- own up to the problem if you have one. Gamcare are great. No matter how hard or bad you think it is, continuing gambling will only make it worse.
Good luck.
Lee- Darlington
I thoroughly enjoyed JN’s piece on football’s gambling problem. Just the other day my wife and I were discussing how gambling advertising should be banned so it was pleasing to read that someone else has the same thoughts.
However, I do wonder whether everyone else at F365 Towers shares JN’s view on this, particularly given that Cheeky Punt runs weekly and advertises several betting companies at a time.
Just a thought.
Ashley (still sixth) Metcalfe
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