Thierry Henry is in news for what he said at the Overlap podcast hosted primarily by Gary Neville. Before we talk about it, here’s an excerpts from it that has riled some of the Arsenal fans.
The last three years, we have been in a situation where should at least bring a cup or be in a final. Man Utd played five finals in their last five years – the United that everyone laughs at. In the last three years of building, Arsenal didn’t reach a final. This year we didn’t compete with Liverpool. I don’t know what people think, but we didn’t compete, not once. I’m not saying this season was a disappointment, but it’s normal that people are raising questions now about what the team is doing.
source : TH14 via the Overlap Stick to Football podcast
Well, some of the fans are calling him naïve for it. Some of us feel that Henry said so to please the hosts, got carried away with the propaganda Neville and Carragher spits and that he shouldn’t have questioned the manager of the Arsenal football club who took us back into the Champions League, made it to the semi finals this season, competed for the title thrice in a row and is doing his best to get us to where we belong.
Let me start by pointing out a very big difference between you, me and Thierry Henry. He is a legend, has played for the shirt and won titles for us, arguably the best player in Premier League history, was part of the team under the best manager of that time, has got a fucking statue outside the fucking stadium and is as big a supporter of the club as rest of us. He has lived it, given his blood and sweat, played alongside the greats – Vieira, DB10, Ljungberg and there could not a better fan to speak about the progress of the club.
Now, everyone’s entitled to an opinion and everyone else is entitled to agree or disagree to it. But calling it a blasphemy because a legend of the club feels we could have done better only means that you have got sub-standard expectation in an elite, competitive sport. If you are happy with 2nd place finishes and Champions League semi-finals, go fuck yourself, please.
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Ok, lets put the emotions aside and break up what he said.
He told in his discussions that he understood the first 3 years because any manager that comes in, will need at least 4-5 transfer windows to bring in players to suit his style of play. Sounds good, we won a FA cup as well with a team that we had to de-assemble and let go. We spent heavily and Mikel go the players he needed to start delivering on the promises he made. We reached second in 2022-23 and everyone felt we are couple of signings away from winning the league. Man City were at their best and challenging them for the title was good enough at that point. Last season, we reached second again and it was blamed on the lack of depth on bench and the missing piece of a CF. Mikel did fuck all to address both the cases, we got Havertz and Merino playing up front, neither of them are a full fledged #9. With Gabriel’s injury in defence, we had to switch to Kiwior whom we were trying to sell in the summer window and failed.
So, we spent money but addressed none of the problems. We brought in a LB while our academy product in MLS played 21 of those 38 games this season, and could have played more if we have picked him up early in the season. We spent 65m on Havertz to fix the attacking midfielder problem, shifted him to the striker position and spent some more money to get Merino when it’s Declan Rice playing most of the time in that position. What in the actual fuck did we spent money on then?
Next, Legend wants us to compete and at least reach finals. Finals are nervy, anything can happen and it’s all about who gave their most on that day. It can go either way, so the legend says we should at least make it to the finals which we didn’t do. Anything wrong with that statement? None at all. He sees us finishing 2nd as not competing with Liverpool because we didn’t do. We competed with Man City last season, last 5 games decided who would lift the trophy, but this year, Liverpool were way beyond our reach in what, 30th week of the season? Again, you can call it a great job at competing if you are as mid as a Spud.
He is not saying season is a disappointment – because we still finished 2nd and we made it to Champions League semi-finals. But how many of you believe we could have done better? Every fucking one. We could have at least tried to bridge the gap by getting Watkins on cheap in January, or by trying Martinelli in the middle early on. We didn’t address it because we thought we will do it next year now. We were in the Champions League and either Mikel or the club prioritised the revenue from there.
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With recent revenue sharing stats from Premier League, we saw that finishing 2nd and 6th have about 10m revenue generating differences. That’s not a lot when you buy a player in 35m (Fabio Vieira) and not use him for exactly the position he was brought in. Champions League money increases a lot if you make it to the next round, and we were making that money before we could spend it. Fine if didn’t have some to waste it on Havertz who won’t have a place in the team once we get Sesko or Gyokeres.
I don’t see a tiny bit of wrongs in what Thierry Henry said. It doesn’t matter if he was amongst Gary Neville or Caragher while he was saying that, for all I care is, he is asking that we should have done better, and we should do better. We are not Tottenham for fuck sake.
Right, rant over. If Henry has same managerial aspirations to lead Arsenal at some point and he is spitting venom against Mikel to get him fired, I don’t give a damn because what he said was true. What he said is what we have been saying at London Is Red, and at this stage, after spending 800m and managing the club for 6+ years, if Mikel can’t get us a trophy, it’s perfectly fine to question his method, spendings and everything around him. It’s not entitlement, it’s calling the bullshit and setting a higher standard than finishing 2nd.
See you in the comments.
some bad signs are starting to emerge:
(1) articles talking about Skelly and Ethan as “like new signings”
(2) talk surrounding the notion of Watkins being our 3rd choice target…imagine trying to sell that to the fanbase after you were only willing to offer up a “cheeky” bid last January when we were beyond thin up top
(3) same old, same old protractive recruitment nonsense
fucking amateur hour
Watkins is the likely ‘bargain hunt’ striker we are likely to end up with. Viktor would not fit El B’s model and Sesko will demand being No 1 – he will also be expensive. If it hasnt happened already Berta will soon fall out with El B. Saka, Ethan & MLS will soon start getting frustrated.
“Sesko is understood to be relaxed about the situation and won’t rock the boat to force a move”
that tells you everything…not a single player has ever forced their way into MA’s little project…3 2nd place finishes in one of, if not the best, League in the footballing world and a couple deeper runs in the CL, yet no one of any consequence appears that interested…that speaks directly to the manager’s shortcoming when it comes to his man management and tactical pursuits
now there’s talk about our preferred Striker options setting the bar too low, with fears of us wasting all this time on those who could become the next Nunez or another Hojlund…not sure I totally prescribe to that notion, but it’s clear that our present targets aren’t in the same class as Isak or even Osimhen, at least not at this juncture
speaking of Nunez, there’s several rumours linking him to us, but that might have more to do with our amateur hour business practices…we’re the only one playing fucking checkers at this offseason chess tournament…in one article regarding Nunez, the author in question suggested “we could do worse”…imagine that being your fucking bar…get ready for a whole host of banter about the likes of Vlahovic, who’s already rejected us outright and appears to be a diminished version of his former self, and Watkins, who would only be a viable alternative if we bought 2 strikers in this window and he was the lower ceiling option
what are we fucking doing here???
The cunt and his crew of losers who rate the cunt can now blame the fixtures , when the inevitable happens. Already seen the words PGMOL carve up.
PGMOL deliberately got involved and doctored the list get mentioned.
Used to look forward to look at the opening fixtures, but this cunt has completely zapped any enthusiasm for it.
And has Berta sacked him yet or bought any proper attacking players yet?
Another useless cunt, here for the money.
So we have ManU, Liverpool, City and Newcastle all before the end of September.
Interesting start to the new season. Arteta is thumbing through the excuse book already.
It’s frustrating to watch what is happening to Arsenal and it’s supporters of whom I’m one. We’re already lining up the excuses for next year,talking about the fixture list being unfair,PGMOL lurking with intent, the unfair financial advantages of city,chelski et al,the difficult transfer window etc. Ready to defend inevitable failure. When will people realise that failure becomes inevitable because of such mindsets?
The role of the supporter is to support the club,yes,but not mindlessly. Accountability should be demanded also from those being paid millions of pounds a year to do a job that most of us would gladly do for free and think ourselves blessed to be given the chance. I’m talking about the players,the coaching staff,the board and the manager. Multi millionaires most of them. To expect them to deliver is not entitlement,it’s the primary function of the fanbase. If we don’t demand that they do their best by this club then who will? In five,ten years they’ll all be gone and win or lose they’ll have taken hundreds of millions of wages from this club with them. We’ll still be here,paying for tickets,memberships, jerseys,subscriptions. And ten years later the next lot will be gone,pockets bulging. And we’ll still be here.
So stop talking as if we owe the club something and start demanding. Trophies,great players to watch,exciting football. Arsenal are a gigantic football club that treats everyone in it’s employ as such. The best of wages,the best of facilities. Everyone except the fans for whom it seems a perpetual case of waiting for a process to come to fruition should be enough. We’ll it’s not. Don’t pay a manager 10 million a year and his players multiples of that and then tell the fans that we can’t compete in this financial climate. That’s just rubbish. And fans shouldn’t accept it. Unless this club is pressured otherwise by loud and bitter protest( Wenger’s exit, the European superleague) they seem quite happy to potter along claiming that competing is a privilege. Well it’s not. And we need to be clear on that. Don’t make their excuses for them.
Stuck that up on le grove,excuse making has to stop.
Almunia
AFC Forever and Mr Serge, among many others, will be going into full creative mode. In other words, KKS or Kim Kallstrom Syndrome.
To describe my thinking about it at the moment as apathetic would be a serious overstatement. I’m probably glad about Everton Cone Man Cunt’s inauspicious opening games but know there’ll be a plethora of lame excuses. Seeing those opening games ought to ensure that a CF is chosen and bought now so he’s ready to produce.
KP,
Afc forever passed away I believe but I remember antagonising him a few times,God rest him! I enjoy the debate on LG even though I have no love for the horrendous way Pedro treated people who didn’t subscribe to his doctrine,hence I don’t subscribe to him! Still now and again I feel the need to enter the discourse when I’m triggered! I’m inclined to believe that Havertz is starting no matter what so the striker debate is almost irrelevant. Apathy is real here also…… Supervising exams at the moment but when this is done I’m going to revive a pitch n putt career that has never shown any promise!
Almunia—a very well-reasoned and aptly nuanced post…as such, it will likely cause quite a stir on LG, where Pedro’s blunt instrument army tend to go ape whenever common sense enters the equation…their disdain for the truth never ceases to amaze…that said, the last time I ventured that way, there were several dissenting opinions being bandied about…likely newbies who’ve already been put to the sword
when reading the transfer headlines on Sky I saw this and it gave me cause for pause:
“Barcelona have announced the signing of Arsenal goalkeeper target Joan Garcia”
now I could be wrong, but it feels as if everyone is trolling us nowadays due to our inability to convince our preferred targets to hop on this slow-moving train…as such, there’s no doubt that anyone we covet will end up costing us well above the perceived going rate and likewise require considerable assurances…for all MA’s courting of Sesko, so as to supposedly make things smoother moving forward, it now appears that we’re going to pay substantially more this year than what was discussed during the previous offseason…the only saving grace will come if Sesko refuses to proceed without starting assurnaces, which would please me greatly, unlike those he clearly gifted to Willian, Havertz, Rice and Jesus
TRVL,
Starting assurances which we were told,lest we forget,top managers don’t give to players hence justifying Arteta’s outrageous decision to keep Leno and sell Emi Martinez. The big shock for me(shock in the ‘I can’t believe he’s done it again sense’) is the possibility that Partey may leave on a free. No return on him at all and a chunk of the budget will be required to replace him,a defensive minded player. Less money for offensive targets( at this point we should start considering the word offensive in both senses simultaneously!) Dominic…..take off that dress,you’re coming on!!
KP—I’m in total agreement with your Havertz assessment, which is a fucking depressing thought…this is why MA was fawning all over him following his rehab stint and talking so much about how our lack of depth was what hurt us down the stretch, when in fact nothing would have changed, for the positive that is, if Havertz and/or Jesus were healthy for the run-in…so this cake and it too mfer wanted to get a sweet deal for a still raw Sesko, instead of paying for a more veteran player like VG, who would require the starting nod, so that he could slow play his introduction into the 11
Almunia—much in the same vein as Tierney and probably Zinchenko, who will likely be sold for 20M less than his purchase price…as for the assurances racket, this is why MA’s most ardent supporters fucking depise whenever Emi’s name is brought into the mix, as even those obtuse fucks can see how MA’s early claims regarding such matters was a total load of shit…this fuckwad of a manager will move the goalposts whenever it suits him best
just have a looksee at the business City has already conducted…every single player was signed for less than or right around respective MVs (only Ait-Nouri cost more than his transfermarkt MV, which was likely due to the PL tax, but even he was only a million and change over)…Cherki and Reijnders were both purchased for less…it’s not as if other sides don’t know about their exceptionally deep pockets, it’s just that when City comes calling you cut a deal before the player forces the move for less…must be nice
on a side note, Nunes now has a 40M price tag on him…it will be interesting to see how that plays out…we paid 18 and sold him for 5, so even with a sell-on we won’t break even
The whole past season we were hanging on and hoping that in this summer TW we will get the striker that will get us the title and trophies. Because of the incompetence in the front office to get shit done like Liverpool, Chelsea and City we will again have to push our hopes on the 26/27 season. Our best hope is that the cunt El-B will be gone by then.
No self respecting club will put up with a 5 year failure of a manager’s project. Enrique explained his project to the players and in his 2nd year he won the CL. Last season there were 4 managers Company, Hansi Flick, Conte and Slot and all won titles in their 1st year. Don’t really care about what players they inherited, they still had to do the whole season winning games.
My only conclusion is that KSE doesn’t give a shit about Arsenal when comparing it to their US franchises. But that is still good as long as they bankroll the club’s players. Which only leaves the obvious a fucking retard as a manager.
Almunia, a few of the LG Kool Aid suckers passed away like Englands Best (RIP) and the village idiot Nigel is a welcome absence. Because Pedro decided to monetize his blog, many have moved on and don’t care about it anymore. Life is too short to spend your time with losers on a blog.
Killroy
You got it.
A world class manager and not a cunt goes into a big club and from day 1 thinks 24/7 how he is going to try and win the league within a maximum of 3 seasons. He will normally keep 50% of the old team and improve them and buy the other 5 or 6 players needed.
The really good ones, like the ones you mentioned even win it in their first seasons.
The cuntish ones and the frauds don’ t, they go and get a dog and call it the most stupidist name , you can think off and simply come out with excuses and try and tell us different.
The problem with this club , has always been the supporters, who are for the main unambitious and clueless.
Feck,you’re right,it was England’s best that died,I put Afc forever in his grave prematurely,genuinely sorry. I miss the old characters from a few years ago,you’re right,they seem to have retired from commenting. Hard to have a bit of craic nowadays.
Almunia—my earlier post regarding Havertz still being the presumptive starter, come the start of the season, was directed towards you not KP…my bad