16 Sep 2020 07:46:15
Seems to me that Arsenal potentially could have a really good season. They have a young manager who in a short time has identified their weaknesses and bought the right players to strengthen their team. He has given the players a structure which plays to their strengths and all without spending stupid amounts. Shows what can be done with the right manager and management structure.

1.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 08:21:46
True Salford. Ideally you would need both, like City or Liverpool. But you would be able to do just about fine if you have atleast one of those, a structure or a manager. Chelsea seem to have a solid structure behind a rookie Lampard to help him out. Arsenal too have a good structure behind Arteta. We have a novice manager and a hopeless structure behind him for support. No wonder its 7 years since we last one a PL title because a strong manager would stand up to the board and demand like Jose did while a weak manager would toe the party line. No one would win that way.

2.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 08:39:41
a strong manager also got sacked shan. the owners don't give a crap about what happens on the pitch as long as the money keeps pouring in.

how long have they been searching for this DOF?


i saw something online about owners putting there own money into clubs in the last 5 years and we are bottom of the list with negative 89 million.

evertons and villas owners have more ambition and that's not slagging them teams off but we should have higher ambitions than to just finish in the top 4

the season starts on saturday and we have signed 1 player, we have seen this before with moyes and jose. won't be long before some get there wish and ole is sacked.

3.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 08:41:49
Salford7
Arsenal are on the edge financially owing largely to their purchase of Nicolas Pepe for a huge sum which they didn't really have. Another season without UCL football might see them in financial trouble. And they signed Willain who largely plays a siilar role to the said big money signing, Pepe.
Although Arteta has shown promising signs but still they aren't a top team yet. They do look lot closer to top 4 this season than they did last year but their transfers are driven by Kia Joorabchian.
But they do have some really promising young players so they have hope.

Mind you OGS also had a similar start to his tenure here and hasn't kicked on so let's see where it goes for them.

4.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 09:22:05
Thats what i meant too Bolger. A strong manager would demand and we saw what the amateurs did. If things stand as they are today, Ole would soon be going the same path.

The ambitions are defined by the fans as much as the owners. You could see the celebrations when we finished 3rd because it was a "step in the right direction" forgetting that we finished 2nd the season before. The fans need to be more demanding too else we will just be stuck in this vicious circle of top 4 and then not backing the manager and then we start again with a new manager.

I thought Liverpool winning the league would be a good kick up the back side of the United board but seems they don't really care.

5.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 10:02:20
Arsenal haven't won a league title in a long time, it been 16 years since they won the league and they won't win one anytime soon. Their structure is hardly great either. I agree with Chelsea, City and Liverpool recently. I believe we are taking steps in the right direction and we are a lot closer than people think. But the proof will be in how this season goes, hopefully we all get behind ole and the team and we have a good season.

6.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 10:06:11
Dont forget LVG -not everyones cup of tea but highly regarded throughout Europe for his ability to identify a clubs weaknesses, implement structure and development -things that maybe made him better as a DOF - and he was apparently shocked at how poor we were were in so many ares behind the scenes. Still great value if you catch him on dutch tv talking football.

7.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 10:11:13
oh sorry shan i read it wrong pal

for me i don't think that matters anymore shan, the club won't change the way its run for me until either we drop down the table or the owners leave.


i think as a fan i was happy getting 3rd because we have been in and out of champions league spots the past 7 seasons and everything that comes with getting there was only positive for the club,

attracting better players earning more money which we thought the club would put back into the team

we all had high expectations of this window, ole has given his targets months ago.

woodward and judge and who ever else is dealing with transfers are to slow. if they don't want to pay the money for sancho move on we should have all our signings sorted for the first game,

give the manager and players the best possible start for the season.

8.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 10:57:39
Arsenal may be in a difficult position money wise but they have still gone out and bought good players at sensible prices.

More importantly they have a good young manager who has transformed the players mentality and the proof is in the way they have beaten top teams recently and won something. They are undoubtedly on an upwards curve.

Look at their team now and you see a solid goal keeper a good central defence two good full backs. Decent midfield and a top finisher in Aubamuyang. Now compare that to our team. Keeper is ok. Left full back not as good. We still need a top centre half alongside Maguire. We have no winger and can we honestly say that we have a striker who is definitely going to get 25 goals a season line Aubamuyang? In midfield we have Pogba who nobody knows if he is really committed to the cause.

Then look at the way we play. Do we have a defined system. I don't think so. Also is Ole tactically as astute as Arteta. I am not sure he is.

Above all though is that we seem to lack leadership right at the top of the club ie the Owners, Board and Woodward. Leadership for Utd means setting the right example and being professional and expecting and demanding the best in everything you do. Seems to me that if the club cannot get deals done then they are failing the manager. Yes they have backed him with Maguire and Bruno but they need to address the other signings Ole needs and the structural problems which Ed 002 so often had commented on.

City, Liverpool, Chelsea and now Arsenal are showing us the way to do it. We either do things properly or we get left behind. I don't mind if we don't win a title as long as its only because we did our best and others were better. But it will really annoy me if we are the authors of our own misfortune by shoddy management.

9.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 11:49:29
Arsenal really 🤦‍♂️.

10.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 12:23:24
Salford would you rather arsenal's squad than our? I'd argue we are stronger than them and in a better position to challenge for the title.

11.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 12:57:23
Our amateur manager and amateur setup had a better season than both Chelsea and Arsenal last season.

12.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 13:33:20
Salford if you think they have a better squad then I’d highly disagree. They have made great signings but remains to be seen as to how they will gel and perform. I agree arteta probably has more tactical nous than ole having worked with pep but I think you’re just throwing the toys out of the pram so to speak as we haven’t signed an abundance of players.

There is still time, and if the right player isn’t available then I would rather not plump for the stop gap signings and get bitten in the ass in trying to get rid of them in a year or two.

We do need a right forward/ winger, and imo another CB.
Yes it’s probably amateurish not letting Smalling leave but even if he did there’s no guarantee we could shift jones and Rojo to make further room for a CB. Even with Smalling gone it leaves us with 7 cbs in the first team if you count mengi. If the players don’t leave we cannot justify spending a pretty penny on a new shiny centre back.

We are getting some way to shifting the deadwood and I would say arsenal are in a similar situation. They’ve made signings because they were right but they will still need to clear out the deadwood to create a title winning keeper.

I honestly hope arsenal do crack on as they would have done it in the right way but for now I see no reason why we cannot and will not be finishing higher than them again.

It’s easy to be envious when clubs are signing new players but maybe the upgrades we need just aren’t there so why plump for the same squad filling quality we already have?

We have the numbers we just need the quality. And they are rarely available this summer.

13.) 16 Sep 2020
16 Sep 2020 14:08:26
Title winning team* that should be.