Clive P Thoughts - Keep Calm and Carry On

Ah well here we all are. Just where we didn’t want to be! – Doomsday scenario is getting closer.

Everyone keep telling us the season is over. We have made a signing for next season, we have the double player of the year doing wonderful acceptance speeches. Lovely. Then there is us, the fans, we are  bricking it. We know this team, we have seen so many let downs over the last five years that the fear is well and truly in our mind-sets.

Spurs 4-4
Pool CL Quarter finals away
Wigan away 3-2
Liverpool at home – Eboue strikes
CFC home CL quarter finals 2004

So much pain…

Still…. a lot of good things happening at Arsenal but it’s all about a win….

In nervous  times we start to look at ourselves – we look a others to see how they are feeling – looking for validation of where we are in the world…..just hoping for third!!

We have Spurs;

Spurs have finally stopped thinking they are Inter Milan and have gone back to basics. A back four, 2 in front (one a passer one a tackler) 2 wide, one up top and one in the hole. One thing Harry did was give them a playing identity. However as soon as they realised they were doing really well and potential title contenders – He started to read the press.

It’s then you have to hold your nerve – it’s then your squad is tested.

Imposter syndrome – Is the game up? Did you stumble on a style of play or was this planned Harry?

With Harry he has no plan. He manages in the popular moment. If it was planned he would have more than 2 wide men with pace in his squad. Whole system falls down with Lennon injured. He would be able to rotate RDV and not with Bale. Playing players out of position is not clever. To have your fans singing ‘he plays on the left, he plays on the left Gareth Bale he plays on the left’

Embarrassing – But enough about them!

Then we have Liverpool;

They strolled into the Emirates early season and beat us while we were dishevelled and eventually down to 10 men. Kenny lauded it that day – he thought his strategy had overtaken Arsenal.  But even then we all saw that it was only the fact that Frimpong got sent off which let them in to the promise land of a victory away at Arsenal – been a while since that happened. A team built on sand. Big names big prices, big history but I sense no plan.

Since then Comoli has been sacked and made a scapegoat for £100m of signings.

They have the global brand name – larger than ours but they are in some disarray on the pitchy. Only 5 wins at home all season,  behind Everton in the league but won a trophy. Could win another. Is that a successful season. It was for us in ’93 but today is about the Premier League and European exposure.

The so called new stadium has been more than 15 years in the making. As we know it’s not easy to do. We are still paying  a price 6 years after moving in and they have not laid a brick yet. Today they are 17 points behind Arsenal and many more years behind us in club development.

Liverpool have made a  £49m loss including £35m written off relating due to a stadium design - £35m wow – and this does not include those wonderful player purchases (Downing, Henderson, Adam )  More woe to come.

Then we have money bags CFC – moving to Battersea Power station – Good luck guys!

Guardian headline:

Chelsea bid to buy Battersea power station in £1bn stadium plan

• Chelsea out to build 'one of the world's most iconic stadiums'
• South bank of Thames site fits bill for 60,000-seat stadium

£1bn – Wow it shows what a great achievement it will be to finish ahead of CFC this season – their investment since 2005 has left us in a position of also-rans when it comes to dishing out medals. Two more finals this season and they have turned me into a serious Bayern Munich fan. The investment in youth levels is huge. There is so much more to their machine than you realise. Money creates this and is a serious threat to Arsenal and I’m glad we are responding.

It got me thinking – rightly or wrongly Wenger does not change. I admire his strong principles - I admire his stubbornness never to lose OUR game. We have an identity, the ‘Arsenal Way’

We use the same formation throughout the club and mould players to a style from an early age. All great except we have our weaknesses also.

We have a way of doing business. We are not perfect. I do think we have shown recently a naivety in recent transfer dealings and again Podolski shows we are learning to walk strong again in the market.  

If only I could sleep!

Not long now till it’s all over!

Clive P

Twitter #clivepafc