Would love this to be true
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There were some rumours of that on twitter too, but is this actually that common?
Surely that’s not the crystal palace first team?
Nope it wasnt it was mainly the team members that didnt play in their match. But i would say it is quite uncommon to schedule a game behind closed doors just after a defeat to go over things with the first team must of only been a day or so after the defeat.
That game must have been arranged before we played Man City.
I can’t see how it’s possible to get in touch with Crystal Palace and persuade them to play at the Emirates, behind closed doors, in that amount of time.
Saying that, it’s great that Emery is trying to change and implement his style of football.
All Wenger would have done is sent out the same team, with the same tactics, thinking there would be a different outcome, against Chelsea.
Hope we beat those chavs now
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If true, that is certainly “maximizing game-like conditions” from a practice standpoint, which I am a big fan of…
And even if it is pointless from a short-term effectiveness standpoint, it helps the psychology of the team if they are doing this sort of extra work.
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I love listening to his press conference. He sounds very smart and eager compared with the last Wenger.
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OK I’m glad you have changed your mind but 12th and flirting with relegation is a far cry from 6th and Europa League still and is more than marginal - its huge.
And though you may be making (good or bad) points about how many of out team currently could get into a rival team and how many other clubs had issues with booze and drugs in the mid 90’s - its not really relevant to the point being discussed as we are talking solely about comparing different Arsenal teams.
And to be honest - we wont be able to tell if this team is as bad as you perhaps think until we find out how Emery does. If he wins the title - the squad would be better than what GG left undoubtedly and the debate irrelevant no…? (Wenger had a great squad but was getting little out of them etc etc)
So much like many statements on here currently its more of a reaction post based on opinion and feeling rather than what the reality is. I know its easy to get sucked in due to the fickle crazy nature of our fans but reality is we are in a much better position than many have said.
One thing I would point out though is I do think your point
“For me Wenger was the best and most innovative manager in the PL, while we were at Highbury, but in his last few seasons his position, compared to other rival managers in the PL, was reflected by his league position, and wasn’t about to change.”
Does forget about the job he did after we did move, where he worked on a budget and kept us in the CL.
Nope not wildly inaccurate. Yes I known we gave him his marching orders but he would have walked if we had not got there first. I remember it being the hot topic and talking about it at the time…
He wanted to clear out players like Wright who were limiting our options tactically - as Adams said as well (in his autobiography I think) we were not going to win the league hoofing it up to Wright every time and we needed a change. Wright had a big bust up with Rioch about this and disagreed (not for the first time either) and wanted to leave handing in a transfer request as well.
Rioch was also desperate to clear out the booze and drugs players. Having been thrown into it day one of his first season with one player threatening suicide on reporting back to pre-season after a massive comedown and then having to deal with so much during the season he had enough.
Its quite well known about how he was a very strong character - went in full pelt on challenges on his own players in training and was very opinionated and headstrong never fearing to voice his opinions with anyone from players to pundits to suits running the clubs. And its also quite well known that he got absolutely sick of being the psychiatrist and nanny to these misfits and said so openly in the Marje Proops quote.
He went to Dein who he was already clashing with over transfers targets and said I want new players to replace these misfits as well as Wright sold so either back me or sack me.
And lets not forget he had just been convinced to sign a new contract a month earlier with Arsenal after steering us from 12th and flirting with relegation to a very strong 5th - and that at the time the fans were backing Rioch over Dein as all we signed in the Summer of 96 was a free GK (Lukic)
We might have got the paperwork there but make no mistake - he gave up on us not the other way round.
Fine. Factually inaccurate so.
Barely a fortnight after Bruce Rioch finally signed his, after a year’s vacillating, he is sacked
Good article and think it hit the nail on the head which we all were 99% sure of at the time. He just rubbed to many people up the wrong way at the club and when crunch time came - I don’t think he had the support within the club to follow his rather than Dein’s vision of the future and how he wanted to achieve it.
And fuelled up after being convinced by PHW to sign a new contract - he obviously went into that summer meeting and over estimated his hand and found his bluff called by Dein.
I think he deserves credit for what he did though through the season - but ultimately he must have been aware of the transfers and how they would be conducted before he took the job such was the scale of the GG Bung issue to the club.
And Dein can rightly point to AW and how he conducted himself with a more harmonious and warmer style of management, changes to the players lifestyles and training and the success he had - as proof it could be done successfully without a whole new team as Rioch was after.
I personally thought he was a bit much booting players about on the training pitch - I remember hearing about him getting into a kicking match with Steady Eddie McGoldrick and them kicking lumps out of each other to everyone’s amusement but it was not uncommon from him to do this though as he was that kind of Marmite character.
There we go though - and apologies for the delayed replies…
I’ve liked his subs so far, and his in game management is good, but he keeps making the same wrong mistakes in his starting lineups.
Needs to change those, can’t change nothing and expect a different result
Xhaka, Bellerin out the next game at the least, please.
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Unai, no te comés el turrón.
When you play like a relegation team, you get what you get.
We didn’t, we lost two tough matches that most sides will lose and there are positives from today for sure
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In the second half yes we did. We parked the bus waiting for something, don’t know what.
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I’m willing to give the manager considerably longer than 2 games before I start to judge his performances that’s for sure.
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Right now I am only concentrating on how players step up to make a starting place claim to Emery.
So far nothing suggests that these players have that second gear in them apart from what we have already seen.
Xhaka is Xhaka
Bellerin is forgetting basics
Mustafi is uninspiring
Ozil is luxury player as usual
Cech, Iwobi, Mkhitaryan are ones who are trying.
I will wait till January at the very least to make a call on Emery
Amen.
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Yeah difference being they werent playing the current champions and another top team that were recently champions with a team that needs extensive rebuilding.
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It’s a tongue in cheek stat mav haha