Arsene Wenger - Sad man now

[Not Andy Naylor]

I'm not a fan of Wenger. he always comes across as a prat.

I lost respect for him when he claimed one year (mid 2000's, i think) that Utd weren't the best team in the league...the year Utd won the league. Yes Arsene, now it's time for your sponge bath...

You're not confusing this with the time Ferguson claimed that Manchester United played better football even though Arsenal were top of the league? And when that was put to Wenger he came out with his 'Everyone thinks he has the prettiest wife at home' retort?

I always find that Wenger comes across as a genuine guy with a sense of humour, in contrast to a lot of managers. Some (Ferguson, Dalglish, Strachan) would always try to take the piss if they didn't want to answer a question while others (Allardyce, Pochettino, Adkins) have other ways of avoiding explaining themselves. I've seldom, if ever, known Wenger duck a question - apart, of course, from the ones about what happened when one of his players was shown a red card...

 

[Chicken Runner61]

Yes, because these are the words of a man that has "definitely lost it" :

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jan/23/arsene-wenger-motives-chelsea-juan-mata?CMP=twt_gu


Again, it adds even more context to what Wenger was saying, and also refers to the RVP situation, which has been mentioned in this thread.


Arsène Wenger fears that cynical short-term motives, together with fresh financial imperatives, have underpinned Chelsea's decision to sell Juan Mata to Manchester United.

The Arsenal manager expressed his surprise that Chelsea should do business with a Premier League rival, albeit one that is flagging this season, and he warned his Stamford Bridge counterpart, José Mourinho, that he could live to regret the decision in the longer term.

Wenger suggested that Chelsea considered the £40m sale, which is close to being finalised, as beneficial to their title challenge, in that Mata stands to be able to help United in their upcoming fixtures against Arsenal and Manchester City, who sit first and second in the table, ahead of Chelsea in third.

Chelsea played their second league match of the season against United at Stamford Bridge last Sunday, which they won 3-1 – Mata was an unused substitute – and, afterwards, Mourinho said with a smile that he now hoped United "beat all of them [the top clubs] to finish top four."

"He [Mourinho] sums up what Chelsea's thinking is," Wenger said, with regard to Mata. Wenger stressed that Chelsea had done nothing wrong but it was clear that he felt they had sought to manipulate the market.

"I am surprised because Juan Mata is a great player and they sell a great player to a direct opponent," Wenger said. "It opens [up] again a little bit the opportunity of this transfer market [in January] because Chelsea had already played twice against Man United so they don't play again. They could have sold him last week [before the United game].

"It opens, at least, the opportunity of the dates of this transfer window. Some teams have already played twice against one opponent and some others, not. If you want to respect the fairness for everybody exactly in the game, that should not happen. I just think you would want that everybody is on the same level. I can understand completely what Chelsea is doing. They do not do the rules but, maybe, the rules should be a bit more adapted to more fairness."

Wenger came in for criticism for selling Robin van Persie in the summer of 2012 to United. "Yes," he said. "That's why I was surprised [about the Mata deal]. In our defence, we were in a more explicable situation because Van Persie had only one year to go. He was 29 and had played here for a long time. It was not a club that I wanted to sell Van Persie to. I wanted to sell him to Juventus. But he had decided to go to Man United and, at the end of the day, you need the agreement of the three parties."

Wenger said that Mata was a player he "loved" – he tried to sign him from Valencia before Chelsea got him in 2011. The Arsenal manager does not see United as being in decline and he believes that Chelsea might come to regret moving him to Old Trafford.

"They could," he said. "I don't think about Man United like you think about Man United. It's a short moment in their history and I don't see Man United as a club in decline. This can happen to any big club but they will come up again, don't worry."

Wenger did take into account the size of the fee that United will pay for Mata – a club record £40m – and he veered from his slightly conspiratorial theme when he said that the money was the most persuasive reason for Chelsea's sale.

"That is the first time I come to that conclusion with Chelsea," Wenger said. "It means somewhere that Chelsea changes philosophy and they want to get on line with financial fair play. That is a good thing. They sold [Kevin] De Bruyne [to Wolfsburg for €20m]. And Mata. They lost £50m last year, disguised. Maybe it's more. If they get £37m now for Mata … "

Arsenal take on Coventry City in the FA Cup at home on Friday night and Wenger said that he would name a strong team in order to maintain the club's momentum. But he feels that something has to change on football's financial side.

"If you imagine 20 clubs in the Premier League with 20 multi-billionaires," Wenger said. "At some stage, they have to sit down and say, 'Look, we are killing each other just for the sake to pay higher wages, or do we make a rule that makes sense?'

"It will happen in the longer term, there's no other way. We had only one or two billionaires at the start but once we have 10, they have to respect some rules or they kill each other and it's endless."

Before Wenger LOST IT he got on with his job and didn't try and talk his team up and the opposition down. Now he spouts this nonsense and is so scared of losing players to other clubs he spends his time winging at the press putting other clubs down.

Funny how before the crash Arsenal and Wenger thought they were going to buy the best players and having millionaire owners wasn't a problem but since then they became a selling club and have struggled to buy players because of their "wage structure"

If Wenger spent his time worrying more about his players and club and less time trying to talk down other clubs he might actually have something worth saying again.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

Lost the plot completely here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f708uthj5Q

 

[keaton]

Exactly - and £37M for a player you don't play aint bad either

Also I didn't hear Wenger bleating when he wanted to sign Surarez

That wasn't halfway through the season and Suarez hadn't played against anyone yet

 

[Icy Gull]

I like Wenger and I love his footballing philosophy and loyalty to both his players and his club. Just do not understand the flak he gets, is it because he's French?

Give me his humble and honest approach over nearly every other manager in the FL.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

A man who's about to sign a contract worth £24m over 3 years ..... yup, I bet he's very sad about that.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Lost the plot completely here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f708uthj5Q

If that is your interpretation of someone losing the plot "completely", I think I understand where you're coming from, and why you think what you do.

I'm out.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

I like Wenger and I love his footballing philosophy and loyalty to both his players and his club. Just do not understand the flak he gets, is it because he's French?

Give me his humble and honest approach over nearly every other manager in the FL.

Absolutely and totally agree.

I think he is the most honest manager in the premiership, certainly of the leading clubs.

And he has a point. If Mata rejuvenates Man Utd, it could well have an effect on the destination of the championship. I think on here it is those who are saying he has "lost it" who have lost it. He is only reiterating a view that he has consistently held.

And if he has lost it, how come his team is currently top of the League.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

What a bizarre thread.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I think he has a point to be honest. He's never liked the January window, and this is a valid argument.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

I like Wenger and I love his footballing philosophy and loyalty to both his players and his club. Just do not understand the flak he gets, is it because he's French?

Give me his humble and honest approach over nearly every other manager in the FL.

I think thats the Wenger of old and thats sadly gone - shame because I think he was very good for the game then.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I think thats the Wenger of old and thats sadly gone - shame because I think he was very good for the game then.

I think you're on your own with this view so far...

 

[WATFORD zero]

Funny how before the crash Arsenal and Wenger thought they were going to buy the best players and having millionaire owners wasn't a problem but since then they became a selling club and have struggled to buy players because of their "wage structure"

I think you should have a little read up about the funding and spending of the top clubs over the last few years. It may change your opinion a little

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

I think thats the Wenger of old and thats sadly gone - shame because I think he was very good for the game then.

As per above, I still think you're wrong. According to something I have just read on the BBC Website, Manuel Pellegrini has today agreed and said something similar about the January transfer window.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Mata's move to Utd will certainly add spice to their matches with Arsenal and City, although on recent evidence you have to believe not even Mata can help Utd. Their defence is shocking and now they'll have a keeper haunted by a gaffe that cost his side a place at Wembley and 4 players haunted by costly penalty misses.

 

[Badger]

Can't Arsenal SWOOP in with a £37,000,001 bid?

 

[Brightonia]

Makes me cringe when people refer to clubs with stupid nicknames like " Manure" or "Loserpool"

How sad!!

 

[ElectricNaz]

Wenger does have a point, in that Chelsea have now played United twice, they are selling to United now and United still have to play the other top sides again.

What i'd like to see is:

Summer transfer window - Open in June & July. That's it. None of this rubbish with players moving in August after they've already played for their club or whatever. League can start a week earlier. Everyone can just play one less 'lucrative' pre-season friendly in Asia, simples.

Winter transfer window to coincide with a ten day winter break in mid-december, between the 15th - 25th: All clubs in major European leagues will have been expected to fulfil half of their fixtures, once against each club. Any postponements for force majeure can be excluded from this if necessary. Transfer window opens, all deals to be completed by the 24th. League play resumes again on Boxing day, everyone gets their Christmas and New Year football fix. Job done. European leagues can have another week off because they need a longer break, the lazy *******s.

During the winter transfer window / break is the only time clubs can be transferred to another player in the same division (applicable to all European leagues, at all professional levels), either on loan or permanently. The January window can still go ahead as normal for every club, but they'll be prohibited from buying players from other sides in the same division.