Sometimes the truth hurts.
“Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good.” – Lao Tzu
We all know I like quotes. Especially quotes with very direct meaning as does the one above by Lao Tsu (Laozi, Lao Tse), the Chinese philosopher who wrote the Tao Te Ching. At the core of this rather philosophical statement is the simple meaning – words often spoken truthfully are hard to take.
It’s part of what I want to focus on today because lately, Gooners have been wracked over comments made by players who at one time plied their trade for Arsenal.
There are a bunch of them, Alan Smith, Paul Merson, Tony Adams and recently, David Seaman. There are more to be sure. These just came to my head and two of them I want to focus on today. Now, sometimes the words are tainted, slightly. They are tainted with a desire to get one in on the boss.
Take for instance Tony Adams. Tony needs no introduction, his god-like status with Arsenal supporters is second to only Henry maybe not even him. Tony has all been too willing to discuss Arsenal. This weekend as a pundit he asked Arsenal supporters who were chanting “We want our Arsenal back,” which Arsenal that was, the one that Wenger built? And while he is supportive he can also be very criticial. Take for instance his comments this past September after the transfer window had closed:
“This time last year, it would have been a very interesting game. It’s a bit like us playing Manchester United before we sold our centre-forward, Robin van Persie, to them.
“It’s the same scenario with Montpellier and Olivier Giroud — we’ve become a feeder club and it’s like different levels of clubs all of a sudden.
“My experience is that when you play away from home in Europe, it is very important to be resilient and Arsenal are not known for being resilient.
“That can change but I’d say that in games they haven’t won, they haven’t done a professional job.
“We’ve not had the greatest success in Europe but I do feel that the whole team have got to be defensively solid away from home and I don’t think it is in a lot of these guys’ nature. Hence, when you open up, you can concede.
“There is no way in a million years Arsene is going to change his philosophy but I don’t think this team are good enough to win it.
“I expect them to score goals but they cannot win the Champions League with their current mentality. I hope they prove me wrong but against the better teams I think they will fall short again.
“I am not alone here — I think most of the Arsenal fans would agree with me. Strange things happen, like Chelsea winning with not the greatest team in the world, but they did have the whole team fighting to keep clean sheets.
“To actually think you are going to play Barcelona or Real Madrid off the pitch . . . I don’t think this team are good enough to do that.
“I think they will beat Montpellier but in recent years you just fear they cannot go away from home and do a professional job.
“The thing is, they have to do it for two or three years before they get that reputation back as a resilient side.
“They have sent out the wrong message piece by piece for seven years and it chips away at your credibility. Selling your best players is part of that.”
Now when this interview with Tony came out, a lot of people attacked Tony for it. Were they right for doing so? Should Tony not be criticizing the club that made him a legend? It’s the same question as any supporter who criticizes asks back to those criticizing. What was it that Tony said here that was wrong? Well we’ll get to that in a moment.
In addition to Tony’s comments from September, David Seaman, THE DAVID SEAMAN, (I have to do that) was recently quoted as saying this:
“Losing your captains all the time – like Van Persie and Fabregas – is like when Patrick Vieira left. It takes the heart out of the team. We used to be able to keep our best players and that’s why we were winning trophies, but at the moment we can’t do that.
“What are people looking at Arsenal for? Are they looking to advance their careers? They’re not looking to advance themselves financially because they know they can get more money elsewhere.
“It’s going to be hard for them to attract players and what’s happening is they’re getting players in, making them into great players and then they’re having to let them go.
“When Arsene came it was a given that they’d be in the Champions League all the time and we were winning things as well, but you can’t do what they’re doing at the moment and expect to win trophies.”
Not much different than what Tony had to say is it? Basically, Arsenal aren’t going to be successful if they continue operating as a development center and feeder club for other teams.
Here’s the thing – they are right. And therein lies the crux of the problem for Arsenal supporters. The truth hurts. And when confronted with the truth, the best thing we can do is defend against it, criticize the message deliverer and hope the pain subsides (secretly). But the fact remains their comments, like those of some in the press (notice I didn’t say all), and those on social mean ring with a certain amount of truth and we at times don’t want to face up to it.
Sooner or later though we have to accept the truth. The truth we have to accept at Arsenal is that something is very wrong. Regardless of who is setting the policies, the board, Ivan Gazidis, Wenger or a hodge-podge of all 3, the policies we’ve been under have been applied in such a way that the image of the club, the product on the field and the way we are perceived off of it has suffered – immensely.
But what is hidden in the words, often time painful as they may be is that we all want it to get fixed. Tony and David aren’t calling for Wenger’s head. No, in each case they’ve been effusive of the praise their former boss should get. The point is they care. They see something wrong and they in their positions want to say something. Maybe, just maybe in their positions as former players they will be heard.
Flipping the coin
“Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.” – Napoleon Hill.
We’ve all learned since childhood that we should “think twice before you speak.” We also know and generally accept as Gooners that Arsenal, for all their warts are generally run by some very smart individuals. However, just because you are smart doesn’t necessarily mean you should be in the position you are in.
However, in this case being smart means you should really know better when you open your mouth. As a marketer, professional communicator if you will, I am constantly amazed by the poor communication skills of our board and club leadership.
Take for instance Ivan Gazidis letting us know once again, that “we’ve kept some powder dry for January.” Did anyone in the PR department bother to check with Ivan about his comments? Well, if they had, they might have discovered he used the exact same sentence last season. And while I don’t think he was being insincere, it smacks of not taking the fans seriously. The simply ability to turn a phrase can make or break you and more times than not it has broke Arsenal.
4th place is a trophy anyone? I mean it’s an asinine statement to make. Sure, we all got what he was saying but what Wenger said and the way it was portrayed was completely different then the intended meaning.
Let’s not get started about our chairman who deigns us all fortunate to sit in an AGM in his exalted presence. And our owner, well he is saved from ridicule here because he doesn’t bloody well say anything.
It pains me to be critical of a club that I love and enjoy. But let me ask you all this question (it’s lengthy and I hope it spurs discussion) – At the time we moved into the Emirates if the club had told us the truth – said we are making this move because we see in the next 8-10 years it aiding in making us one of the biggest clubs in Europe however, it may mean some pain (lot’s of meaning in that word right there) in the near future. It may mean policies that may be considered unwelcome or damaging to the club. But its all being done with an eye to the future and the long-term stability of the club.
Had Arsenal been honest with us, the pain we endure right now may still be there (because who doesn’t want their club to win) but it may at least be softened.
Words have meanings. When we look at truthful ones, we are twinged with pain at the reality of having to face them. And words meant to assuage that are poorly delivered only work to drive the spike in our hearts deeper.
So I will close with a few choice words – I want my Arsenal back. What does that mean? Well I want the Arsenal that was dignified, glorified and heralded. Enough is enough.
Until next time – Stay Goonerish!
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It’s been smoke and mirrors for a while now. The chest beating about the ‘new money’ deals is a tad academic if the Arsenal manager (the spending decision maker) does not want to break out of his self imposed ideological shell. If he holds fast to his ‘principles’ you can be sure we’ll be chewing the same fat until his tenure ends.
Under Wenger we’re a team chasing CL qualification – no more. He’s happy with that. The Board is happy with that. The majority owner is happy with that. Only a revolt will unsettle the lethargy that has bedded in over the last 7 years. It’s true, and I’ve said on many ocassions, with Dein’s exit, we lost the critical balance – there was no longer any measured entrepreneurial risk to balance Wenger’s innate fiscal caution. You CAN’T win without entrepreneurial flair. The evidence is now conclusive even in the Arsenal sample case. And yet, human nature being what it is many folk will deny the reality until circumstance overwhelms us and them and even then some will still deny it. Dein encouraged Wenger to spend, without Dein Wenger is left to his own devices and is constrained by his own limitations.
So I’m totally unmoved by the new commercial deals. They’ll be helpful to the next manager, not this one.
On the question of the next manager, Guardiola seems a good fit for Arsenal. Perhaps a perfect fit for both club and manager. The unavoidable downside of Guardiola being so incredibly successful in his first managerial position is the sense of killing off much of the natural motivation that makes a manager move from role to role in search of greater success and/or a place to belong. Guardiola belonged and achieved success immediately. Where to now? After Barca, what role could even pique his interest let alone sustain it? It’s an amazing problem for Pep to have – quite unique. Hence why he could take a sabbatical and chill in NY for a year. He HAS achieved everything in a sense and so he needs to find a new and rare challenge.
Perhaps the suggestion of Chelsea as a home highlights why Arsenal are a superior and suitable destination. Chelsea offers limitless cash but comes jaundiced with the truly awful stench of zero feeling. Where Barca was all about style, substance and history Chelsea offers only a limited recent history of success soured by an owner who fails to understand the romance of football. Guardiola would poison his legacy by joining Chelsea under Abramovich.
Contrast Arsenal. Wenger in the lone role that has evolved is now a COO not a manager. Arsenal are a club that needs a manager with a bigger playing vision and Guardiola could be the manager Arsenal now needs. Arsenal needs a manager who wants to build on the stylistic legacy created by Wenger. And Guardiola, not constrained by Wenger’s inhibitions, could more effectively use the money that is increasingly available to add to the squad immediately. It would be a perfect combination. After 7 years in the wilderness Arsenal presents Guardiola with a canvass to paint his own version of style and success upon, one that develops on Wenger’s work without destroying it.
It could work well for everyone.
Great read, as usual Kiwi. I appreciate that you somehow still find the energy for these from time to time. (Mazza? You still out there, dude?)
To your point about Guardiola. I know United supporters who consider it fait accompli that he will replace SAF. My concern is that, if the Arsenal brand continues to accumulate this second tier (relatively speaking) tarnish, United will be an eminently more attractive option.
The recent Wenger quote that most interests me is his response about salary caps: that he is NOT in favor of them. Combine that with Sneezy saying (from today’s Arseblog) that Everton tomorrow night is a true six pointer and you’ve got the Fact of the Matter: We are a mid-table team aiming for 4th….
Management and Ownership are united on this front and it’s only the supporter or fan (many who came to the team during the early part of Wenger’s tenure) who are missing the writing on the wall. Like Stag says, we can vote with our feet, if not, it would seem, our typing fingers…..
Fred (from the last thread) eloquently places the blame on Wenger for killing football for him. I think that’s a step too far. Money is killing the game as we know it and the bond between player and fan (with the unifying force of the club) has been broken. Arsenal are a selling club, but (to me at least) the economic rationale is clear: Crazy money can be had for sparkly pieces of poo, or maybe quite decent ones whose “sell by” date is approaching…..
While it’s comforting, perhaps, to trot out lines about “winning” and “winners” and all that (and it sells papers….) it’s about corporate survival. Players have all the power and best ones, by moving clubs or threatening to (see Wayne Rooney) are reaping unprecedented rewards. Eventually the lesser ones who round out the squads will organize as well, and the best teams in the top leagues will have minimum salaries like we already have at Arsenal. (AW was ahead of his time on that one at least–winky face, for those who cannot stand such things…..) Arsenal’s strategy in this regard seems pretty strong….
Tribalism and the passion of English (and other) supporters is a terrible thing to exploit, but it’s also kind of cool in that it keeps the managers and players of the huge clubs on their toes, even if they’ve got the comfort of their contracts to keep them warm through the rest of their lives, when for example a minnow, like Aston Villa (actually the biggest club in England’s second largest city….) can eke out a draw with a team like ours at home, on a full week of rest/preparation…..(or Norwich can beat both us and United in the same season….) For the moment, at least, quality is down, but so is the dominance that you’d expect with all the money becoming so centralized. Sorry, but not real pity for Chelsea managers nor fans…..
Anyhow, it all adds up to a pretty ugly picture for the average Arsenal supporter (or longtime football fan), but I can at least find interest in it and plenty of parallels to the real world (of increasingly globalized capitalism).
If you can keep perspective I’d even argue that there’s a bit of fun to be had. Can we win at Everton? Why not? Play our best 11 uninjured (or not on their way out of the team for better money) players and, with a little luck, we might. At least Everton is on the same schedule as we are…..Jack and Bac and maybe even TV5 (who got the early winner in the same fixture last season) should be fresh, but so too should the Fro (Felliani, suspended vs Norwich). Likewise, can AW get the team competitive again or has the game passed him by? Hard to say….the first HUGE step will be when HE’S not the highest paid employee at the club….Or maybe that’s a line that we will not allow crossed, in which case I’d have to agree with the (majority here) saying that it has…..
Speaking the truth is what got us kicked off Arsenal America and led here. And how many years has that been now?
Almost 5 years
Interesting point. Since you brought up AA, how did DAG get in touch with the old folks from AA? Also, did anyone who’s on YAMA now play in the AA v BigSoccer Man U fans game in Chicago back in 2005. We lost 8-1, but, to be fair, they had Paul Scholes on their team.
5 years? Jeez. And then we spent the next 3 arguing about what The Truth was. Don’t have those arguments anymore.
@AA, the Arsenal America folks were keen enough that we take our, ahem, reality elsewhere, that when DAG industriously created YAMA, they didn’t mind when he used their board to invite us to join him here.
My biggest fears, and sorely hope I am wrong, is that even with more money at our disposal, Arsene will still not bring us glory.
Firstly, will he even spend it if we have it? In recent years he seems hell bent on trying to win on meager resources just to prove a point.
Secondly, although we are accustomed to him discovering hidden gems, in recent years his ability to spot talent has to be questioned. Denilson, Sylvestre, Almunia, Park, Gervinho, Santos, Chamakh, Squillaci, to name a few, are testament to that.
Thirdly, his handling of wage structure has now put us in an inflated wage situation for mediocre players. Rosicky and Djorou are constant reminders he has not yet seen the light.
Fourthly, his increasing arrogance in dealing with the press and supporters is not making for good PR.
Finally, add the above factors to previous weaknesses in addressing defense, man management and tactics, and it does not paint a rosy picture.
there is a big problem in arsenal fc at the moment. How can the fan be ready to turn against the team simply because the result was not what we wanted? We need our true fans back.
by true fans, you mean the fools that pay the highest prices in Europe, and watch the club make a fortune, while selling off its best players over and over again, while pricing out longtime supporters?
Are those the true fans?
The truth never hurts. It’s not letting go of the lie that hurts.
I think the most important point about the club at present, irrespective of finances, is that those running it , including Wenger, no longer have the ability to deliver success on the pitch. For me Wenger has taken on too many responsibilities, mainly I think because no one else at Board level has any grasp of the footballing side and lack the burning desire to win things. The removal of David Dein was for me the turning point in our fortunes, and has led to the situation of an over-burdened Wenger and a disinterested Board (other than money).
I totally agree, Mike. David Dein’s departure marked the beginning of our troubles. I do wonder, however, what the state of our club would be now if he was still here and if he had been able to convince the board to let Usmanov in. Would we be like Chelsea/City, essentially paying for trophies? As fans, amidst the celebrations, would we care how those trophies came to be ours?
The current situation with Stan and the board, but I wonder what it would have been like under an Usmanov-led regime.
How is it “paying for trophies”?
Does United also pay for their trophies? They’ve spend more money than just about anyone over the years… how about Liverpool? Did they buy that CL trophy?
I think about 98% of the teams who spend less money than Arsenal… say Fulham, or WBA, or maybe Everton…. probably think we PAY FOR the CL spot every season.
(that’s Wenger’s trophy anyway)
We have more and spend way more than most teams in England…
We could compete with anyone … if we held on to half the STARS we have sold in the past 5 years or so… or spend more wisely with the money we do spend…
at the end of the day, the teams have to WIN the trophies… WIN the games on the pitch… they buy nothing…
See the winners of last years Ligue 1 and Bundesliga… its NOT all about money.
But you DO have to keep your best players and spend wisely.
I don’t think there is a single true Gooner out there who could take issue with you. In the days before the internet, Gooners would show a defiant face to opposing fans, but we could ask the hard questions amongst ourselves, probably because we largely trusted those we spoke to. We were the Arsenal, so we were entitled to dissect the club and how it was run.
Nowadays, someone asks a question that necessarily admits that things are not right at the club, and a certain section of the fanbase closes ranks and treats that person they way we used to treat opposing fans. With distrust and open hostility. Its sad, we are all fans of the same club, but I fear it is an inevitable result of a forum where anonymous strangers come together to comment. In some places (one website in particular) it has become criminal to suggest that Arsenal should at least try to live up to its glorious past. What utter rot.
It is, as you say, painful to be critical of your club. But it is even more painful to hear people who claim to support the club say that we should not expect to compete even with some other London clubs – I truthfully do not know what club people who take that attitude think they support. They need to be reminded we are the Arsenal, not one of Londons minnows like Charlton Orient or Chelsea. And that still means something to some of us.
I have to say one thing though. Thierry Henry is the best footballer ever to ply his trade in Britain.
But Tony Adams is God!
I agree with you wholeheartedly, except for that last bit about Tony Adams being god… I think I used to see “god” #8 on shirts back in the day!
;)
Well said. I feel change is coming, because even as good a coach, Arsene Wegner is, Its becoming more difficult every year. The current team lacks depth and it showed against Aston Villa. I’m not giving up, but I hope they would sign three more quality players for the winter break.
Very well said my friend. Well written and hard for any intelligent person to disagree with.