It must take so much energy to be so depressing all the time DM lol
Gets real boring listening to the same old complaints. Third place was a result considering where we were in October.
Lets just see how we do and hope our players settle in nicely and we start the season firing.
We have got three good players come in, one leaving (probably). New defensive assistant manager. Personally I am really looking forward to the start of the season with or without RVP.
Third place wasn't a result compared to where we were in October, while everyone panicked their arses off in October, I realised that a starting trio of Newcastle, Liverpool and Utd with our current team wasn't likely to bring in many points at all. I'll point out again that we got MORE points in our first 19 games than the last 19 games, while everyone bangs on about our second half of the season being a massive comeback. Spurs scored embarrassingly badly in the second half of the season, and Chelsea were being run by a(nother) madman.
There was a slim chance we'd come lower than 4th last year, about the only reason we didn't was RVP's goals. Even with RVP's goals had Chelsea and Spurs not imploded we would not have gotten 4th. What was our single biggest problem last year, defence, what did we have, goals. What have we done so far this year, bought another in a long line of strikers to play on the wing, a guy who has only been in the french top league for 2 years at the age of 25 with a SINGLE good season under his belt(who won't play if RVP stayed) who was a replacement for Chamakh. Have we improved/fixed the defence in any way, no, are we losing our top scorer, yes.
Did anyone wonder why Podolski looked so poor on the wing in the summer?
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/gamecast?id=320993&cc=5739
At cologn he starts as a withdrawn striker, and his average position is bang alongside the "main" striker, he got 18 league goals, the "main" striker got 5, they played in a way that Germany don't. He played more on the wing at Bayern and for Germany and was great, for a couple years he's played closer to where RVP is and been great, but his wingplay has gone to crap. Yet we clearly will play him left wing and Giroud upfront. It's a role Podolski hasn't been good at for two years and he looked utterly ineffective for Germany.
So where have Arsenal improved as of yet, nowhere, we bought another upfront striker to play on the wing, that hasn't worked for the last 48 strikers, we got Giroud, one top year in a not top league, could be great, could be crap....
Santi could be a genuine improvement, but no where near Fabregas and what did we win with a better first team, better back up, better defence and Fabregas? Nothing, so why will we suddenly win something because we've got WORSE players than a couple years ago but slightly better than last year?
I'm happy to be optimistic about Arsenal, when we have a team capable of winning. The signings and potential signings won't fix a single one of the problems the team actually has, nor any of the reasons we haven't won anything for 8 years.
When I post I guess I expect someone, Arsenal or otherwise, to make some counter points, maybe I missed something, maybe Giroud was an epic prospect at 18 but showed loyalty when his team got relegated and that is why he was in ligue 2 till 2 years ago, I genuinely don't know that.
Point being, can an Arsenal fan or anyone else explain why when our defence is the biggest difference between us and a title, replacing our best striker with other strikers will help in any way at all?
We won't win a thing till Wenger goes and a new manager comes in and gets rid of the deadwood, its the guys Wenger plays in the first team or puts on the bench who aren't good enough that kills any chance we have, Walcott, Song, Diaby.
I don't think Park is good, but he was effective to some degree, the first year he's really awful he's gone, Diaby/Song/Walcott..... still at Arsenal, Rosicky, Gibbs, Squillaci, Djourou, still at Arsenal, denilson, Chamakh, Sagna, still at Arsenal.
If there was a choice in the past 8 years between keeping one young player and getting rid of one, Wenger has made the wrong choice almost every time. Get rid of Larrson, keep Walcott, get rid of senderos, keep Djourou, get rid of Flamini/Gilberto, keep Diaby/Denilson, get rid of bendtner/Vela, keep a whole ton of crap strikers.
