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Arsenal's myths exposed by Liverpool

Magic8Ball

By Magic8Ball
in Liverpool FC

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Magic8Ball

Magic8Ball

Posted
Posted
3 games when Wenger myths were exposed

Attribution: Brian Reade 12/04/2008

 

Arsene Wenger reckoned those three games with Liverpool would produce a moment of truth for his team.

But when the truth was delivered he tried to swat it away with a lie. An embarrassing one at that. Blaming the referee for the 4-2 Anfield defeat was a lamentable diversionary tactic. Wenger failed in Europe once again because his squad wasn't strong enough and his leadership wasn't good enough.

A few myths were shattered in those three meetings about a team whose free-flowing football is hailed as the best in the land. Easy on the eye it undoubtedly is. But you don't win games by adding up the passes and you don't win trophies without a killer's mentality.

In the two games at the Emirates, Arsenal failed to score from open play and at Anfield Pepe Reina was hardly tested outside the two goals. Over the two European ties the Gunners threw away a leading position three times. Each time, very cheaply.

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Wenger has clearly needed to dip into his £60million war chest but refused to on the grounds it might upset the balance of a team of kids who were developing together. Another myth. Most aren't kids anymore. The average age of the starting line-up at Anfield was 25.

The Frenchman's real moment of truth will come tomorrow if he fails to beat Manchester United, meaning his trophy haul these past four years comprises one FA Cup. Benitez can match his FA Cup over the same period, throw in a European Cup and possibly add a second one next month. So how come Wenger is perceived in this country as one of the great managers of modern times yet Benitez is consistently derided?

The Spaniard recently masterminded wins home and away against Italian league leaders Inter Milan. Wenger beat their ageing Milan rivals (who lie 20 points behind them) in the San Siro but failed to do so at the Emirates. Yet whose achievement had English football in raptures? Wenger's of course.

The Arsenal boss rested five first-team regulars against Liverpool last Saturday to keep them fresh for Europe. It cost them the points which probably cost him the title but no one said a peep. When Benitez did that earlier in the season he was slaughtered for being a Tinkerman.

Liverpool clawed their way back into Wednesday's game via Sami Hyypia's free header at a corner, yet no one pointed out the deficiencies of Wenger's man-to-man marking system. Whenever Liverpool concede from a set-piece, Benitez is savaged for employing zonal marking.

Maybe it's time Benitez's legion of critics within football (and Anfield) faced their own moment of truth, and admitted he is not in his third Champions League semi-final in four years because he has pact with the devil, but because he is one of the modern game's great coaches, whose only failing in top-flight management has been an inability thus far to deliver the Premier League title to Anfield.

Maybe they should accept he's been up against clubs like Chelsea and United these past four seasons, with far greater resources, and recall it took Alex Ferguson seven years to win his first title.

Maybe, now the blood is drenching the boardroom carpets, they will realise civil war has been raging at Anfield all season, and Benitez has been caught in the middle. His mental health publicly questioned, judgments undermined, spending ridiculed and forward planning sabotaged. They even admitted to actively seeking his replacement.

Yet his reserve side has just walked the northern section of the Premier Reserve League league, he stands on the brink of a Champions League Final and qualification for next season's competition. I'm sure his many critics will dismiss it as a fluke. Just like his two La Liga titles and UEFA Cup wins were at Sevilla.

What did Gary Player once say about being lucky. The more he practised the luckier he became. In the biggest club competition in the world Rafa keeps getting plenty of practice.

Maybe one day he'll get lucky, unlike Wenger, and win it. Oh . . he already has.

Guest Prongsy

Guest Prongsy

Posted
Posted

You take your compliments where you can get them.

Lee W

Lee W

Posted
Posted

Wenger has been a brilliant manager for them, let's not get away from that fact.

 

Very accurate article though, and Wenger will have to start delivering at some point otherwise the pressure will build. Amazing, that he has all that money (allegedly) and refused to use it.

Swipe

Swipe

Posted
Posted

Good article by Reade.

 

Doubt the rest of the football press scumbags will take a blind bit of notice about the myths busted in the article

Ronnie Whelan

Ronnie Whelan

Posted
Posted
Yet his reserve side has just walked the northern section of the Premier Reserve League league, he stands on the brink of a Champions League Final and qualification for next season's competition. I'm sure his many critics will dismiss it as a fluke. Just like his two La Liga titles and UEFA Cup wins were at Sevilla.

 

?

Guest Ant

Guest Ant

Posted
Posted (edited)
Great piece. Good job there's no bias in it all. :cool:

 

Meanwhile over in RedCafe a disgruntled man utd fan posts a thread entitled Brian f***ing Read and how the Mirror has an Anti-Manc agenda.

 

;)

Edited by Ant
Swipe

Swipe

Posted
Posted (edited)
Meanwhile over in RedCafe a disgruntled man utd fan posts a thread entitled Brian f***ing Read and how the Mirror has an Anti-Manc agenda.

 

;)

 

Might be more apt if that article had anything to do with Man f***ing United.

Edited by Swipe
Guest Ant

Guest Ant

Posted
Posted
Might be more apt if that article had anything to do with Man f***ing United.

 

Doesn't stop us though does it?

Swipe

Swipe

Posted
Posted
Doesn't stop us though does it?

 

How?

 

I only see people on here complain about the treatment LFC get by the media.

 

How could anyone do that by moaning about an article that was about, say, United and Chelsea?

Swipe

Swipe

Posted
Posted (edited)
WOW. Liverpool fans in the media writing nice articles about us. who'd a thunk it.

 

A nice TRUTHFUL article!

 

But we would say that...

 

The comment about our respective wins over the Milan clubs was spot on.

 

Arsenal got heaps of praise, we got Keys calling Rafa lucky.

 

Beglin (think it was him) was talking about Arsena beating Milan, and actually described them as "Italy's best".

 

Ah well

Edited by Swipe
Guest Ant

Guest Ant

Posted
Posted
How?

 

I only see people on here complain about the treatment LFC get by the media.

 

How could anyone do that by moaning about an article that was about, say, United and Chelsea?

 

"No more so than any other manager who has won any trophies, ever.

 

Hvae you even heard Ferguson or Wenger referred to as lucky managers? Mourinho?

 

Its meant to sound derogatory and you know it. "

 

Posted by Si in teh Richard Keys thread.

 

It can be twisted either way, it was an attempt at humour, obviously someone has a chip on their shoulder.

 

_______________________________________

 

 

Anyway back on topic, for the record I like Brian Reade, his articles both on football and seperate issues are a good read, it's just if I was an Arsenal Fan reading that i'd be pretty damn pissed of, but since I'm not it doesn't bother me.

 

But what bothers me is the Hypocrisy of people praising this article, over someone like Oliver Kay or someone who doesn't have a love for Liverpool.

 

You can't have it both ways, we may think it's objective or a 'refreshing read' but I'd imagine some Arsenal fans might be abit annoyed at it. Like we would be had the tables been turned.

Guest Ant

Guest Ant

Posted
Posted (edited)
Beglin (think it was him) was talking about Arsena beating Milan, and actually described them as "Italy's best".

 

Ah well

 

They are the European Champions after all.

 

Would you like us to be called England's best if we won the Champions League?

 

Serious question

Edited by Ant
Rimbeux

Rimbeux

Posted
Posted (edited)

Wenger has been getting plenty of criticism this week, as well as plenty of apologetic sympathy. He's only been hearing the criticism hence his jaw droppingly paranoid ramblings about persecution and people lining them up for 10th place and telling him to get 10 players.

 

Objectively he's made some serious errors in his squad use, selection and assembly, has failed as a manager to address the defensive concentration that is consistently costing them (his old guard of Gallas and Toure have been just as culpable), and is hiding behind myths about age, a low cost squad and some aesthetic purity that he was happy enough to abandon in winning his only trophy of recent times and in getting to the CL final in 06.

 

The apologists, who fall for the myths and pretty football, will excuse him all day long citing errors from officials and an injury or two and age as the only thing holding them back. Benitez doesn't have anywhere near as many followers in the media, so there is less of balance in how his story is put across. He doesn't rope in followers with pretty football, the only myths in evidence are ones used to criticise him. Maybe he needs to make more like Wenger and Houllier and actively spin more hollow excuses into received media wisdom, at least more convincingly than he's tried to do with the money argument.

Edited by Rimbeux
Swipe

Swipe

Posted
Posted
They are the European Champions after all.

 

Would you like us to be called England's best if we won the Champions League?

 

Serious question

 

Englands best are the champions of the country.

 

Did we get called England best after Istanbul?

 

Did we f***

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