Daily Archives: October 22, 2011
A tribute to Arsene Wenger: Vision, Principles and Continuity
Arsene Charles Ernest Wenger was born on the 22nd of October 1949 in Strasbourg, France and he has left a legacy that will be remembered for generations to come. In his playing days, He was a defensive sweeper that played for FC Mulhouse were he notched up 56 league appearances and four goals in two years (1973-1975) before making a move to ASPV Strasbourg from 1975 to 1978 amassing a total of 80 appearances scoring 20 goals in the process.
He ended his playing days for his hometown club RC Strasbourg before delving into football management in AS Nancy Lorraine in 1984. His spell in ASNL had a very bad twist in his third and final season because they finished the season in 19th place and was relegated to the second tier of French football.
Arsene Wenger’s managerial career turned for the best when he took over at the helm of affairs of AS Monaco in the 1987/88 campaign. The Masters Degree holder in Economics guided the club from the Principality to a Ligue 1 crowna and he achieved this feat while having a talented squad that had the likes of Youri Djourkaeff, Jurgen Kilnsmann, Glenn Hoodle and the 1995 FIFA Golden Ball winner, George Opong Weah. Wenger also guided AS Monaco to the French Cup trophy in 1991.
His success at AS Monaco made him a media favorite for the Bayern Munchen job in 1994 but the Board of AS Monaco denied him a move to the German juggernauts before sacking him after the post had been taken.
Wenger put that disappointment behind and moved over the Pacific Ocean to manage Nagoya Grampus Eight in the J-League. In his 18-month stint with the Japenese outfit, he won the Emperor’s Cup and was honor with the J-League Manager of the Year award for 1995 making him the first ever foreigner to receive such an accolade.
On the 30th of September, 1996, Arsene Wenger took on a job that he has been with till date making him one of the longest serving managers in club football history. He marked his Arsenal start with a 2-0 win against Blackburn and he ended his first season in third place. He also welcomed Patrick Vieira to the club and the lanky holding midfielder spent the best part of nine magical years serving Arsenal making 279 appearances and scoring 28 league goals.
In his time under Wenger, Vieira lifted the Community Shield four times (1998, 1999, 2002 and 2004), the FA Cup four times (1998, 2002, 2003 and 2005) and the Premier League three times (1998, 2002 and 2004).
In Wenger’s second season in charge, he achieved the unthinkable with a League and Cup double despite being 12 points behind Manchester United at the turn of the year. The double winning squad had a water-tight rock solid defense in an all-English affair led by Tony Adams. He was supported by Steve Bould, Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown was somewhere in the mix.
Wenger also had the great David Seaman as the custodian between the sticks and the midfield was blessed with Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira while Dennis Bergkamp and Nicolas Anelka did the business upfront.
Wenger’s sale of Anelka to Real Madrid put him in the Guinness Book of Records for the highest transfer profit made but Sir Alex Ferguson’s sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to the same Real Madrid smashed the records to bits. In the turn of the new millennium, Manchester United became a dominant force and Arsenal had to settle for second place but Wenger came close to glory in the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) in a penalty loss to Galatasaray while Liverpool had the upper hand in the FA Cup final of 2001.
Wenger’s squad had a fresh outlook with the injection of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Fredrik Ljungberg and Sol Campbell. Arsenal overthrew Manchester United in the sweetest possible way in the 2001/02 double winning season with a win at old Trafford in the penultimate game of the season.
Manchester United exerted their revenge the next season but Wenger’s class of 2004 achieved immortality by being the first team to go through an entire season unbeaten and the record extended to the next season only to be ended by the old enemy, Manchester United. In the 2004/05 campaign, Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich unveiled Jose Mourinho to the Premier League and the Portuguese manager wasted no time in sweeping Wenger and Ferguson aside to win Chelsea’s first title since the days King Arthur Pendragon ruled Britain.
Sir Alex Ferguson stepped his game up to win three titles in a row but Arsene Wenger’s side fell from glory and started struggling for third and fourth place. In the pre-Mourinho era, two names were mentioned in the Premier League but Liverpool’s Rafa Benitez joined the clique and was very close to ending the Reds barren spell in the 2008/09 campaign.
As at January last season, Wenger’s men were eyeing the quadruple but the club’s demise in the Carling Cup final created a downward spiral that saw Arsenal lose in the Champions League and FA Cup in quick succession. With only the Premier League to fight for, Arsenal were nine games away from winning the league if they could win them all including a game-of-the-season tagged match against Manchester United in May.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s men were involved in the FA Cup as well as the Champions League so it was expected that fatigue would play a slight role in the final charge while Arsenal who had just Sunday matches to play were to emerge as potential Premier League winners.
Arsenal started the 9-game run with a bore stalemate against Blackburn before a nervy yet convincing 3-1 win over recently relegated Blackpool. There was some late drama when Liverpool visited the Emirates and the match against Tottenham was enthralling. Arsenal had managed six points from a possible 12 so they needed a win at all costs against Bolton to keep the title flame burning but it was doused by a Tamir Cohen header in the 90th minute.
All other matches turned out to be formalities but the Gunners still managed to lose two more games to Aston Villa and Stoke before closing the curtains with a 2-2 draw against Fulham.
In his 15 years at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger has won three Premier Leagues, four FA Cups and four Community Shields and he has been unlucky in the Premier League on five occasions, as well as one FA Cup final loss, two Carling Cup final losses, two Community Shield losses, one UEFA Cup loss and of course, the 2006 UEFA Champions League final loss to Barcelona.
He has also made certain principles that have been praised by some and criticized by others but Arsene Wenger is a manager that is highly respected by the Arsenal Board, Arsenal and football fans, his own players as well as other players and of course, his fellow football managers.
Should Sir Alex Ferguson decide to retire today, there’ll be a manager that will be regarded as the longest serving manager in football. A manager that’s chased closely by Werder Bremen’s Thomas Schaaf and Everton’s David Moyes.
A manager that has been honored in Great Britain as an Officer of the British Empire,
A manager that represents vision, principles and continuity,
Happy Birthday Arsene Wenger.
Sayonara.
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10 reasons to look forward to Arsenal’s clash against Stoke
Since their ascension to the Premier League in the 2008/09 campaign, Tony Pulis and his goons have slowly become a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League. They’ve been dismal in their Premier League travels but the Britannia Stadium has become a fortress for the club because teams always struggle to get anything out of the game anytime they visit the ground.
Stoke City finished in 12th place in its first season in the Premier League and went one better the season after. They also brought their own style of football that has favored them in their three seasons in the top flight.
Every team has a special weapon that it utilizes in every match and Stoke City is no different. Arsenal can drag about its Robin van Persie while Manchester United can utter enough noise about Wayne Rooney but Tony Pulis’ men have an Irish athlete that possesses springs on his hands.
The mere mention of his name has trembled more teams than the likes of the juggernauts we all know and it’s awkward to know that he has played only 11 games for the Republic of Ireland. When Stoke’s wingers are on the flanks, full backs get scared to concede throw-ins because they know what will come up next. Arsenal can at least attest to the greatness of the Pelter of modern day football, Rory Delap.
Arsenal has a better head-to-head record that their opponents today but I’ll like to give 10 reasons to look forward to the feisty encounter.
Arsene Wenger’s birthday
The Professor of football turns 62 today and has been at Arsenal since he was 47. The Gunners will want to turn on the style to give their boss the best birthday gift he can ever ask for, three valuable points.
Arsene Wenger told the media Vultures that he’s not a milestone man when his Arsenal career turned 15 but today has to be a special day for the boss because another year has been added to his life and that’s something to be thankful for.
Ryan Shawcross
Every Arsenal fan worldwide will never forget the 27th of February, 2010. It was the day where Ryan Shawcross snapped Aaron Ramsey’s leg like a twig to give him an injury that halted his progressive career for the best part of one year. Like Dan Smith and Martin Taylor before him, Shawcross got into Arsenal’s bad books and a lot of gooners will love to see him falter today.
An own goal won’t be a bad option though.
Ramsey’s reaction to the game
Aaron Ramsey forgave Shawcross after that incident and he did extremely to work hard whike recuperating and he didn’t give up on himself. So many good footballers hung their boots after suffering the long –term trauma being on the sidelines for a considerable period of time.
Ramsey played Stoke at the Britannia last May and even played a role in of the goals Stoke scored in the 3-1 win over Arsenal and he’ll be determined as ever to prove a point to Arsene Wenger because his place is not guaranteed yet.
Three more points
If Arsenal wants to stand an outside chance of qualifying for the Champions League football next season, they need to become a formidable force at the Emirates and a win over Stoke will go a long way to help Arsene Wenger’s side.
While Manchester City is sitting pretty at the summit of the Premier League with 22 points, Arsenal has amassed a meager 10 points from eight games. Therefore, three points are very important for Wenger and his men.
Resurgent Arsenal
A club that couldn’t put together a string of good performances at the start of the season has recorded four wins from their last five games and the momentum is back on the side. The match against Chelsea is just around the corner; Arsenal has to pick up victories against Stoke and Bolton (Wednesday) to give them that edge that they desire.
Transition to the Premier League
Arsenal is a club that involved in every competition football as a sport has to offer but it’s evident to everyone to see that it’s time for the Premier League again after the Champions League adventure over Olympique Marseille in the mid-week.
Shortly afterwards, a Carling Cup fixture will be the next in line before Arsenal Gunners visited the home ground of their rivals from London, Chelsea.
A win over Tony Pulis
Tony Pulis isn’t really the sort of a manager you’ll see having a glass of wine with Arsene Wenger long after the match over. Both managers have played mind-games on each other in the past over each and Aaron Ramsey’s double fracture sparked another war of words between the gaffers after Pulis reiterated that Ryan Shawcross was the kind of a player that could even hurt a fly.
Wow.
Football vs Rugby
Two sporting cultures will be only display at the Emirates Stadium today. The home side will gear themselves up for some entertaining, sultry and telepathic movements with the ball while today’s away side will bring their gym equipment ready as well as towels for the man who can throw a ball from Mars to Jupiter.
The last time both cultures clash in Emirates Stadium on the 23rd of February, 2011, Football prevailed over Rugby at the cost of Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott who lost their places in the Carling Cup final that was lost four days later.
Rory Delap’s long throws
He might have been better suited as a cricket bowler but he chose that path of football. He was a javelin champion is his school days so it was no surprise that he’ll be renowned as the most feared thrower of the ball in England and probably the world.
His career spanned through teams like Carlisle United, Derby County, Southampton, Sunderland and Stoke and he has amassed a total of 42 assists from his long throws from 1997 till date. Even the great Paul Scholes of Manchester United managed 33 assists in 17 years in service to the Red Devils. Delap has gone nine better with his hands in 14 years.
Incredible.
Previous Records
Stoke City inflicted their first blow on Arsenal in November 2008 in a match were Rory Delap handed two assists with his special weapons of mass football destruction. Arsenal exacted their revenge on the final day of that season were Robin van Persie scored his 20th goal and Vito Mannone made his league debut.
Arsenal and Stoke played each other in the 2009/10 campaign but Stoke drove the nail in Arsenal’s FA Cup coffin in March 2010 even if Arsenal had the bragging rights in the league. Last season, snow halted the December fixture between both teams but it was rescheduled to February 2011 and Sebastien Squillaci scored what proved to be the winner.
However, Johan Djourou had a stinker when both sides met at the Britannia in May.
I just gave 10 reasons for you to look forward to the match against Stoke. Don’t forget your 3-D glasses and popcorn because it will be one hell of a match.
Sayonara.
