I didn't even realise it until re-reading my own post, but below I'm literally saying that if the Athletic produces good click-baitey headlines consistently, then I will sign up! Hahahahaha
I am happy to pay a reasonable amount for value, and I am likely to take the plunge on the Athletic if I continue to see articles that make me feel like I am missing out.
The recent paywalling of the Herald is a great example. Pretty much negative coverage across the board, and it was never going to be any other way - the content never mattered one bit.
Content definitely mattered, they put S*n level bullsh*t behind the paywall. I wasn't so much complaining as I was laughing.
Trash paper.
Their emails are the best way to get a taste, they normally include about half of an article to read which definitely gets you hooked.
I think an interesting comparison in all of this is the way apps have handled this transition.
Initially we all hated paying for apps, so they put in ads and made them free.
Now they're normally using subscriptions, micropayments, ads, or a combination of them to make themselves profitable.
Conveniently with a phone Apple & Google provide the ecosystems to handle this.
Annoyingly on the internet this kind of centralisation hasn't occurred which means each providers creating their own unique billing platform and users end up with multiple accounts which is what makes it all a pain in the ass.
Obviously not going to happen, but would you take Pochettino?
I would.
Sol Campbell 2.0.
If I was Sanellhi I'd be going gangbusters to make that happen. The ultimate troll.
He'll probably head to ManU I would think.
Sounds like Mourinho is in at Spurs.
That will put the links with us to rest, PHEW.
I would but there's no way we would (Mourinho, Hudson, or anyone aside).
I would definitely take Poch. Imagine what he could do if he had Don Raul backing him.
I would definitely take Poch. Imagine what he could do if he had Don Raul backing him.
He has a great record with over achieving at small clubs on a limited budget so would be a perfect fit at Arsenal :)
thank fudge we didnt end up with Jose. I genuiely feel sorry for spurs.
We need to address the possibility of Mourinho succeeding at Spurs.
Spurs winning the title with Mourinho at the helm would pretty much be literal hell for us.
Despite everything, he is a winner. He even managed 2 trophies during what is generally agreed to be an unsuccessful period at ManU. Despite Pochettino doing very well at Spurs, he never managed that.
I saw a tweet pointing out that Mourinho's most glorious achievements were actually at the 2 clubs where he had the least money to spend (Porto and Inter Milan).
So yes, there is some glee in what has occurred at Spurs over the last 24 hours on my part, but also some very real trepidation......
Mourinho has issues, but Emery is still a far worse coach than he'll ever be. With us not looking to change anytime soon (or at least not until we're in the relegation zone apparently), I can see us plummeting quite quickly. It's going to be a tough couple of years - Auba, Torreira and Laca will all leave if something doesn't change; think that's quite clear.
Yes. Emery needs to go, he really does. I just can't see how he can pick this up from here. As you know I'm usually pretty optimistic about these things, this is out of character for me, but I'm convinced that the longer he stays the more damaging for our club it will be.
We can't afford to lose all these players - we currently have very real flight risks with Auba, Laca, Torreira, Bellerin, obviously Ozil and Xhaka, and even Leno if some rumours are to be believed.
At this point I want a new Manager in by January, simply because I think that would mean Xhaka and Ozil would both stay on until the end of the season at least. I'm not really convinced that Xhaka is capable of carrying a title-challenging midfield, but he is obviously a convincing leadership figure for our players. I think him leaving us right now leaves a hole in our dressing room, and gives us a very light stable of midfielders, particularly given the rest of the mids are so young (Willock, Guendouzi, Torreira, and even Ceballos is only 24).
Xhaka can succeed when you put guys around him who can put a shift in. I.e. when Torreira plays alongside him, i.e. when our wingers track back.
This 4-3-3 we've played with the expectation of the midfield supporting the full backs instead of the wingers is mental, especially when Torreira's not been starting defensively.
Go back to a 4-5-1 with Torreira deep, Ozil ahead of him, and Auba & Pepe playing from out wide.
If we had lost, Unai would be gone by now. We cant even do that right at the moment.
We made possibly the worst team in the prem look like Barcelona
Who is the fan with the "GO0NER" number plate at the game last night? Nice car!
The atmosphere is getting toxic.
He's lost the fans, and given the lack of celebration from that equaliser I think he's on track to losing the dressing room too.
For all his talk of change he's still getting it wrong tactically.
Also Ramsey is still riding the bench Juventus - what a clusterfudge that move continues to be.
He probably didn't count on Sarri turning up (move was confirmed when Allegri was still at the helm, iirc?). Admitedly I've not been following Juve all that closely, but Sarri likes to find an XI and stick with it.
From what I've seen (only a little) I thought Ramsey had done fairly well so far? On the bench in some games but that squad is pretty mental, so not unexpected. He has started a few games in a no.10 role and has been scoring and assisting.
I see in the last game Betancur came off injured early, and Ramsey played the rest of the game. Depending on the severity of that injury it might mean Ramsey is in the starting lineup moving forward, that's a guess though.
Overall the consensus seemed to be that he has started well? Perhaps someone who has been paying more attention can correct me.
The atmosphere is getting toxic.
He's lost the fans, and given the lack of celebration from that equaliser I think he's on track to losing the dressing room too.
For all his talk of change he's still getting it wrong tactically.
Also Ramsey is still riding the bench Juventus - what a clusterfudge that move continues to be.
This is the boards fault. We're out of sight for top 4 already. Small club mentality.
He probably didn't count on Sarri turning up (move was confirmed when Allegri was still at the helm, iirc?). Admitedly I've not been following Juve all that closely, but Sarri likes to find an XI and stick with it.
I imagine it must be quite nice to have a settled team and game plan.
I already don't remember what it's like to have a core philosophy...
Say what you will about Wenger, and there's no doubt he struggled in his last season, he at least always stuck to his principles. Emery doesn't seem to have any.
I already don't remember what it's like to have a core philosophy...
Say what you will about Wenger, and there's no doubt he struggled in his last season, he at least always stuck to his principles. Emery doesn't seem to have any.
Ramsey's only made 3 starts in the league. Should have had the arm band and a team built around him!
Some rumours coming in this morn that emery is gone and arteta is flying in for talks...
Some rumours coming in this morn that emery is gone and arteta is flying in for talks...
heard the same but with Allegri, not Arteta.
interesting if anything comes of it. Also, if they do it now, why the fudge didnt they do it at the start of the international window!?!
Ok rumours are expanding, arteta thing might be bogus, but the commonality seems to be that emery may actually be sacked quite soon
Long time since I've got involved in the discussion and unfortunately things have got worse since then. I was a big advocate of Emery at the start given the success he has had at other clubs, and I'd still like to see him given more time if there weren't so many negative factors that are influencing, however I now think he has to be moved on. Not sure if he's not got used to the English league or if it's another reason but things are definitely getting worse despite the reasonable season I thought he had last year.
I'd take easily Allegri over Arteta or Freddie as much as the heart would like to see them in charge.
Totally agree PoL. Theres no way Emery is a fraud, or is incompetent as some are making out, I feel that is very unfair, but it is clear that there's no real feasible way forward at Arsenal right now. I hope he goes well in his next job, perhaps he is best suited to la liga.
Bit of chat around regarding the wolves manager
Bit of chat around regarding Allegri
Bit of chat around regarding Arteta
Bit of chat around regarding Gerrard
Bit of chat around regarding Vieira
Bit of chat around regarding Ljungberg
Bit of chat around regarding Pochettino
Bit of chat around regarding Benitez
Bit of chat around regarding Howe
No chat around regarding Mourinho (yusssss)
Totally agree PoL. Theres no way Emery is a fraud, or is incompetent as some are making out, I feel that is very unfair, but it is clear that there's no real feasible way forward at Arsenal right now. I hope he goes well in his next job, perhaps he is best suited to la liga.
Nah, I think he is quite incompetent.
What is the #1 rule as a manager of a sports team? Make your tactics consistent. Make your talks consistent. Make each player know exactly what they'll be doing week to week. Sure, you can make small changes depending on opposition, but making major changes week to week is only going to end up with one result; confused players, confused fans and bad results.
We've gone from a manager with no tactical flexibility to one with too much. He changes literally every game.Back 4. Back 3. Diamond. Playing out from the back. Going long. He has no idea.
You simply cant be incompetent to have his managerial record, end of story.
At this stage, with this club, he is incompetent. I don't care what his history is, just like Arsenal's history from 20 years ago is irrelevant to how we're performing now.
I wanted him to succeed. There where times where I thought he might. He has not, let's move on.
At this stage, with this club, he is incompetent. I don't care what his history is, just like Arsenal's history from 20 years ago is irrelevant to how we're performing now.
I wanted him to succeed. There where times where I thought he might. He has not, let's move on.
a failure at one club doesnt mean he's incompetent though, it means things havent gone right or his plan hasnt worked.
At this stage, with this club, he is incompetent
Thats quite a bit different than just generally labelling him as incompetent, nd repeatedly calling him a fraud (which is frankly ridiculous).
I dont disagree about his competency right now, ive been a vocal critic of recent tactics as well.
I just think its weird to be that vitriolic when hes just doing the best he can. The club just needs to put him out of his misery - the club leadership themselves are appearing incompetent for not having already done so in my opinion.
I've enjoyed Arseblogs reflection on this that we can't expect him to resign. No manager just gives up, they'll keep going until they're told to stop - which ultimately puts this on the powers that be to make the decision.
Agree with your sentiments Paulm, the guys track record suggests this arsenal plan hasn't worked - but the Sevilla and PSG results suggest he's got talent.
The tinkering thing is out of character for him, as I understand it Sevilla used a 4-2-3-1 and PSG was a 4-3-3 most of the time. I'm surprised he hasn't been able to get either of those 2 formations to work with him.
Sadly I think we're at the point where we need to flick him without an appointment lined up. Freddie has shown with U23's he's got the ability to deliver a style, has a strong connection with the youth players and the respect of the senior lads. He can likely do a job with this squad in a holding capacity until we find someone.
Don't know enough about Aligri but agree we need established credentials over former fan favourites still finding their way.
Nuno would be interesting - he's done really well with Wolves but unsure if he can translate that into a team with more superstars.
My ideal would be Simeone. If anyone can sort out our defence and build a siege mentality into the lads it's him. Would love to see Simeone Arsenal vs Mourinho Sp*ds.
it seems to me that Emery has come in with a plan to try and take this team forward from finishing fourth to sixth every season to targeting the top spot. (that's what every manager wants right?) And I'm certain that his vision was one the owners bought into. Sadly for the club, Emery and the fans it seems that for some reason (or multiple reasons) the players have not been able to do what is being asked of them. Or they are doing what's being asked of them and the opposition is working it out and shutting it down. Either way, it looks like their is some personnel issues, which Emery may not get the chance to solve. The owners want to be winning and we are not so he is under pressure - and may not see the end of this season with the club.
I'm hearing now that it looks like Freddie will be caretaker - probably til the end of the season. But negotiations with Emery's team are ongoing, so it's only a matter of time regardless.
