Wenger is starting to sound like Colonel Gaddafi

Arsene Wenger lost the plot during yesterday Q&A with the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust.

His deluded answers reminded me of Colonel Gaddafi and in many ways Wenger and Gaddafi have alot of things in common.

Both have been in power to long. Both refused to see the truth. Both refused to accept they are wrong. Both still have loyal crazy supporters and both are unwilling to do the right thing and step down

Here is the transcript from Friday’s written press conference…. Our comments in RED

Q: You’ve had a fantastic career here and no-one is disputing that, but can you understand why some supporters wish there was a bit more experience there, thinking about what you may achieved if there was?

A: “I’m against superficial judgement, that’s what I fight against. For example people ask ‘why don’t you buy central defenders?’ We have a better defence than Man United if you look at the numbers, but nobody mentions that. And should we kick Vermaelen, Djourou and Szczesny out? What for?

AA: I notice you didnt say anything about Koscielny & Squillaci? This has been going on for 3 seasons now?. You started this season with Almunia as your number 1 keeper. You should have sorted this out years ago.

Q: You said the team had done well for its age, so isn’t experience an issue?

A: “We’ve done well for our age as we’re second in the league. Is that a disaster for you? There are teams who invest ten times more than us, one player cost more than the whole team and they’re behind us. I don’t understand the way people think.

AA : Finishing the season in 2nd is not a disater. But when you are gifted a chance of winning the title and you dont even show the heart or fight to win it then it hurts. You talk about the mental strength of this team but in each of the last 3 seasons they have bottled it in the title run in.

Q: It’s what the supporters are thinking though, that’s the issue.

A: “Do not hide behind what the supporters think, tell me what you think. You do not know what the supporters think because what people write is only 5 per cent of what they see on the internet. There are 95 per cent others.

AA: Arsene most of the REAL fans lost faith in you a long time ago. You are just showing how out of touch you really are.

Q: But it’s not my money, it’s the supporters who are paying to watch:

A: “How many supporters are complaining?”

AA: As Mr Gaddafi said “No people are dieing”, “My people love me”… Arsene supporters are companining. Did you not here the booos after the Blackburn game? Dont you see the blogs on line calling for your head?

Q: But there were people complaining after the Blackburn match.

A: “At every game I find people complaining. What are you talking about? I don’t understand supporters complaining.”

AA: You clearly are a loon aint you Arsene?

Q: Compared to four years ago, they weren’t complaining, because it wasn’t so long without a trophy?

A: “Do you judge this season or the last four seasons? Some of the clubs behind us have done nothing for 20 years, yet suddenly they get a lot of praise. I don’t understand. We have eight games to go and are in a position to fight for the Championship so let’s give the maximum. If we’re disappointed at the end then okay. Why do you say it’s a disaster when we’re second in the league? Do the 18 clubs behind us have a fantastic disaster?”

AA: Arsene you said last season “Judge me in may”.. Well we did and again you are blind to the fact that your lack of spending is the main problem at the club. If only you showed some blottle in the transfer market this team might have won the league. You think you are doing a good job by finishing 2nd/3rd. That just shows you only care about making a profit.

Q: Are you a victim of your own success?

A: “I’m a victim of nothing. I try to do my job as well as I can, and that’s it.”

AA: Come on you was lucky when you first came to Arsenal. You had a world class GK and back 4 and since then you have not replaced them.

Q: But you are judged against your own success?

A: “I told you just now. To be consistent at the top level is the most difficult and important thing in our job. We’ve been in the Champions League for 15 years, and there’s only two clubs who’ve done that in this country. It’s Arsenal and Man United.”

AA: But you have won nothing in 6 seasons now and you think you are doing a fantastic job?.. I can see why the board give you £7m a year. Can you also turn this bottle of water in to win for us?

Q: Arsene, everyone respects the job you’ve done, but shouldn’t a club like Arsenal be judged on the trophies they win? And obviously in the last six years there haven’t been any trophies?

A: “Trophies are one way to judge a club.”

AA: Its the only way to judge a club, You judge it but how much profit you have made.

Q: Are trophies an over rated way to judge success?

A: “They’re not overrated as it allows you to say you’ve won a trophy, but would you swap winning the FA Cup for playing in the Champions League? Is it a trophy or not to be in the Champions League? Is it more important to win the FA Cup? We do as well as we can, and if it’s not good enough it’s not good enough. But what I deny is that everything is suddenly negative. We’ve built this club. Tomorrow, you look at the players in this team and I’ll speak to you in 10 years.”

AA: This just proves how out of touch you are with the fans

Q: We know you’ve had some fabulous offers to leave this club – Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City – if this continues will it make you think about leaving, if you’re not being appreciated?

A: “I don’t think about leaving. I love this club and do the maximum for them. I don’t think like that. When I make a commitment I give absolutely everything. At the end of the season I’ll look back and see what we’ve done well and not done well. We should not go overboard. We’re second in the league so it’s not a scandal. Where is the common sense there?

“I do as well as I can with the players I have. What’s important for me is how well we do. All the rest I don’t care about.

AA: You are very lucky to be at Arsenal and have fans like us and dont you forget that. Do you really think that if you was at Barca/Real Madrid and you went SIX seasons with nothing to show you would still be in a job?

Q: Where would this club be without you, Arsene?

A: “I don’t know where Arsenal would be without me, maybe better, maybe worse. I hope one day maybe better. I’m happy that the club goes on and gets better. But we shouldn’t think we have the right to be where we are.”

Q: I’ve rarely seen you so passionate, so upset, are you hurt?

A: “I’m not hurt at all, but I defend what we do here and the way we do it. That’s all. I don’t see why we should be negative when we’re going for the Championship. I’m having to answer why it’s a disaster. I’ll have to stop talking and you write what you want. If I cannot defend that, we’re second in the league and fighting for the Championship then I should stay at home, but I’m in a fighting job.”

AA: Maybe you should step down if this is getting to much for you….

Q: Arsene, sometimes there’s a criticism that you don’t sign the quality of player that you used to. Have you had a change in policy?

A: “Of course, we’ve had a change in policy to sign younger players. It’s important for football that there’s another way then to just come in, put money on the table and buy a star. I feel it’s very important for football.”

AA: In other words what you are staying is you wont pay the going rate for a player and wont to find players on the cheap.

Q: Can you expand on that?

A: “No, I don’t want to expand on that. The way we are doing things is right. Personally, I’m rather proud of this team, proud of the players, if I look at this team I’m proud of them, proud of the attitude of the players and the football we play. It’s only in this country that we have to face what we face. If you go anywhere else in the world Arsenal are given much more credit, I can tell you.”

AA: You wont pay over the odds as you wont to save the club money but you accept a £7m a year deal. Sounds about right..

Q: You spoke about the age gap to Barcelona as perhaps one reason why you haven’t won trophies, but how will that change if you’re always bringing younger and younger players into the squad?

A: “That’s why it’s important to keep these players together.”

AA: You have been saying this for five years now

Q: What about the stadium. It’s important to get into the piece, to be positive, to get into the piece, because that impacted on your spending and yet no-one’s talking about that? You haven’t then been able to sign big players?

A: “Nobody talks about the fact we built a new stadium. We have many big players in this team, and the future will tell you that. Whether they play here or somewhere else, you’ll realise they’re big players.”

AA: You told us that moving to the new stadium would bring in more money and we would be able to sign the best players in the world… What like Chamakh?

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Comments

Anon says:

April 9, 2011 at 9:06 am

Lets not be silly. Comparing to Colonel Gaddafi. Have some respect to those victims in Libya.
Danish Gooner says:

April 9, 2011 at 9:16 am

Shrinks call it denial.It is gonna be 3 wonderful years of Denilson and Diaby and squid and rosicky and an injured van persie etc,cant wait to next season.
Danish Gooner says:

April 9, 2011 at 9:17 am

Get over yourself Anon,you are as tightly wound as Wenger himself.
tolu says:

April 9, 2011 at 9:27 am

wenger has gone nuts..dts obvious!
eric says:

April 9, 2011 at 10:04 am

Struggle like a wounded animal, clearly shown that his day at Arsenal is numbered.
Giro says:

April 9, 2011 at 10:11 am

AW is right, trophies are not the measure of the success of a club. It is CL qualification. This is the only way to maintain a good team , because of the money it brings .
It may not be right , but it is the rule these days.
And it will be even more true with the new financial rules.
Would you call Portsmouth more successful than Arsenal because they have one a cup….? Andthey did so but jeopardising the whole existence of their club.
However, if a club does not win trophies, or more to the point does not seem to do it’s best at it, it will struggle to keep or attract the best players. This could threaten it’s CL status , and that would be bad for the business that is a football club.
It would also in the long run lead to either less fan following and a decrease of revenue that would also
Be detrimental.

If you cannot understand that a professional club is run like a business , I suggest you invest your ego somewhere than in a football team.
Adam says:

April 9, 2011 at 10:29 am

And you are sounding like Adolf Hitler from around 1935.
topsygunner says:

April 9, 2011 at 10:51 am

Sack him,,he dont know what he’s doing again,,,his words shows that.
Mohamed says:

April 9, 2011 at 11:03 am

Wenger has spoiled you fucking dickheads…..were would you be if he did not come at all……..please tell me!!

He might be fucked up now but remember you would never have been this consistent, winning the league 3 times and winning the fa cup 4 times.I swear i hate supporters like you not because you are whining all the time but thinking you know better and the lack of respect you show to this guy is UNBELIEVABLE!

Listen im not saying he is perfect, i get pissed off too am not against a potential sacking of Wenger but don’t act like Arsenal were Real Madrid before he came.Every team has had a rough patch,Barcelona did not win shit for 6 years.. Liverpool haven’t won the prem since it started…..sometimes i think you don’t appreciate what he has done for the club.

criticize his tactics and the mistakes he does…no problem but do not disrespect the guy and HATE him like he killed your family in front of you.I am not talking about this article specifically but the shit you write consistently.

lets see if you actually don’t delete this comment.
mike says:

April 9, 2011 at 11:10 am

i,m wondering why cant you see the real truth…..wenger is no fool …if he had all the monet needed he would buy experienced players …..obviously the board doesn,t want him to spend that much….so he does whatever he can to be competitive ….aren,t you curious why he hasn’t sell a player this summer…..because HE HADN’T TO … and the result is one position up.
gooner50 says:

April 9, 2011 at 11:12 am

AA – If you put as much effort into supporting the team and manager as you do trying to find fault it might help for the last 8 games. You are so keen to undermine the team your motives must be questioned. To compare a very reputable human being to a mass murderer would be infantile where it not criminal.
jason says:

April 9, 2011 at 12:00 pm

@ Mohamed , right on mate ! Agree to disagree , but show some class and respect Arsenal football club .
Odiegooner says:

April 9, 2011 at 12:03 pm

Nice one Mohammed.
Hope he doesn’t delete ur comment. I was waiting for someone to really stand up and say it the way it is. Ofcourse everyone’s very down and disappointed, but common sense should be applied when talking. Wenger’s equally as disappointed as we are. So just free him.
Gooning gooner says:

April 9, 2011 at 12:56 pm

Wenger lost the plot approximately 6 years ago, it has taken this long for some of us to realise this, he is so self absorbed and out of touch with reality that i even feel pity for him.

We will never win anything with this bloke and at the pace Man city are growing, coupled with revamped and renewed Chelsea and Liverpool sides, next season will be definately be a watershed moment for “Arsene fc”! Mark my words, the fans will vote with their feet!
pete says:

April 9, 2011 at 1:06 pm

Wenger sounds like a broken record, he should pack up n go back to Monaco with his troop of mediocre bunch of sissies! We need trully talented MEN with a winning mentality like Vidic, Buffon, JohnTerry, and Sergio Ramos not toddlers who almost historically lose a game 5-4 after leading the game 0-4 for almost an hour! Ridiculous
Jim says:

April 9, 2011 at 1:15 pm

I love ‘arsenal action’

Its the perfect site for when you just want to read stuff with an incredible lack of balance and perspective.

Jim
robel yonas says:

April 9, 2011 at 1:30 pm

hi, perspective people perspective…………………arsenal fans are buying in to english media rubbish which want arsene to leave as a losser……………….he is not a losser his a very intellegent person who unfortunately is french……..who works in englan where there are few writteres and people who think they know better for arsenal to be succesful than arsene…………even if he doesn’t win a trophy………..for the next three years i don’t want him to go………arsene forever.
Thomas says:

April 9, 2011 at 4:01 pm

WENGER OUT!
Goonerpower says:

April 9, 2011 at 4:33 pm

This is a disgrace, I’ve not read the artical and not going to. The headline and your comparison is absolutly out of order on so many levels. This is real life your talking about, not just some sick joke you can use to your liking. Hope your proud!!
Mannix says:

April 9, 2011 at 9:58 pm

Wenger said: We have a better defence than Man utd & i agree on that but funny thing Utd don`t concede silly goals that we do on much occassion, which means Wenger fail on his job to instill winning & fighting mentallity in this team as we used to witness during Vieara`s time. Wenger need to drop his policy & adopt like others or step down and save us embarresement.period!
realist says:

April 10, 2011 at 1:06 pm

what is causing the most anger amonst the fans, is the fact wenger first brought us teams that were passionate had desire to win were physically and mentally strong. teams that ripped the opposition apart with 3 to 4 passes. then he went and ripped up the blueprint for these teams, and started buying overrated dwarfs who think they are good, who pass the ball to death or should i say pass it to the opposition, they havnt got a clue how to take a shot from outside the box, cant defend are lazy as fuck. and worst of all are heartless and gutless and dont care about the fans, they only wanna line their pockets. why to fuck did he completely change his style of football and his choice of player, he bought players like viera, petit, anelka, henry etc all big players over 6 ft who were strong and athletic and had the amazing skill to back up their brawn, and when he bought smaller players like overmars and lungdberg they either had pace and strength or both, but more important they were up for the fight and had the desire to win. wenger was the best manager on the planet when he first came to arsenal the players he bought and the style of football they played was amazing to say the least, the excitment and buzz about highbury was electric, and the players they understood what it was to wear the arsenal crest, they put their heart and soul into winning every game. now look at what we have become, we are a bad version of barcelona we have the same small dwarfs only our dwarfs believe their own hype are lazy untalented , to be honest nothing but a bunch of pansy’s. wenger needs to get his head out of his ass, stop making excuses and go back to his original style of football and choice of player.
arsenalista says:

April 14, 2011 at 3:36 pm

Hey realist. That tone brings it all out exactly as it should be. AW seems to be regressing, that is, unless there is another way to describe someone who drops all the way from driving a Rolls to a rusty jalopy but doesn’t hide his admiration for his former lifestyle. Does anyone realise what kind of a club Arsenal would be if AW had kept the pace in 2004. Messi and every other hot players would be dying to come to the Emirates. Neymar would have refused to get out after the Scotland friendly. But look what is happening now. Wenger. Use your head for Christ’s sake