Buy the time we play our next game we could be 3 points behind City and only 1 point in front of the other mancs. Which puts pressure on us against a West brom team who will just frustate us.

Yeah, things do not look good. All records and good things must come to an end
Its not even that though, its that we qualify every year and always get knocked out so easily and every year I give less of a shit Should I blame the manager, players or myself? I dont want to stop supporting the club, but I found lately its easier to not get so emotionally involved

I was watching the Ajax game yesterday before we were playing. They're challenging for the title and were up against a everton/stoke equivalent. They too are known for 'attacking' footy but were wasteful and lacking cutting edge, while dominating possession. They went behind and de Boer made changes, but Utrecht doubled the lead with 5 mins to go. De Boer changed again and put a tall centre back up front, they scored twice and salvaged a draw that got them back on top of the league. Admittedly, the 2nd was a dodgy pen, but he changed tactics and got the result. That's what I'd like to see ODL do, but that will never happen.

We need a new man in charge...

Thing is, the old chestnut I know, but you see things differently when you're younger. I've been going to football since the mid 70's, and in those days we'd go with out scarves around our necks with a big group of mixed school mates, pay peanuts to get in, hot dog or burger outside and then talk about it all the way home on the bus! Although we really wanted to win, for me I didn't really delve into the managerial and behind the scenes stuff, no social media in those days of course. What I'm trying to say is, for me anyway, expectations were lower.

I think this will happen anyway. Unless you're going to bring in a Guardiola type manager with an impeccable CV, we're going to go through a transition, much as Utd are now. I mean Fergie's record was incredible, and not many managers will be able to replicate what he did.

I'd be happy to see a complete re-build myself, even if that meant dropping out of the top 4 for a year or two.

Exactly. There was more of a connection with the club back then. Players were approachable before and after home matches. We were never really expected to win the league under Terry Neill but it didn't really matter. It was affordable and wasn't the corporate money grabbing business it is today.

We are now a stop off for the tourist fan. The demographics have changed dramatically. Until there is a mass demo outside the club on a match day which is unlikely then nothing will change.

It's called perspective. I wasn't very old when Terry Neill was in charge but it was a different time and so I'm not sure it's a fair comparison. Even so though, I think people who have grown up with Wenger in charge are spoiled. No club is guaranteed success forever. Football is cyclical as Liverpool and now United are discovering, good things don't last forever ... and how boring would life be if they did?

So what if we don't achieve top four for a few years, we'll come back and success will be all the sweeter for it. And I really don't get your obsession with 'that lot'. Sure it's great to beat them in an individual game but if we ALWAYS finish above them then that isn't a rivalry but a domination. If they are always beneath us where is the challenge and the feeling of 'f-you' when they fail.

I support Arsenal and not Arsene. Arsenal would be better off without him and so anything that helps achieve that is fine by me. It might not get rid of him, who knows, but it will increase the pressure tremendously and that's something he is getting increasingly bad at managing. As for the supposed 40,000, well I suspect the performance of the club over the last few years will have reduced that number significantly and the proportion prepared to put their hands in their pockets to see this team on a regular basis may be far fewer than you imagine at the moment.

Your problem is that you're taking this far too seriously. Football is a GAME not a matter of life or death. My best moment watching Arsenal was on the 26 May 1989 and it was all the sweeter because we did something nobody expected us to do and won the championship after 18 odd years without. It was glorious and unbelievable and there hasn't been a single moment in the Wenger years (as good as some of them were) which comes close to that.

I hope you have the chance to experience that at some point but you sure as hell won't under Arsene. If all we do is aim to finish in the top four every year that's not worth watching for anyone. Have some ambition. Have some confidence that to go forward sometimes you need to go back first.

Incidentally, any reason why we are playing on Thursday this week? There are some PL games on Wednesday. Struggling to recall the last time we played on a Thursday evening not including Christmas fixtures.

Guess because it is on Sky. This is the slot they had for it. The other days have games on Sky sports.

There is one big difference though. Despite the signs that the Utd squad was in need of major surgery they were still winning trophies regularly.

Think people are being harsh on Gabs and i will include myself in this. we have to remember he has not played a lot of games and he has not built up a defensive partnership as Odl keeps on messing about. I think if him and Kos were top 2 from the go, things would be different.

Yes but since Fergie left they have won nout and been woeful.

But he had numerous chances to make the tackle and chose not to for some reason. I agree with your point that Gabriel should have been given a run in the first team alot sooner than he has been given.


I would put that to bad appointments in Moyes and Van Gaal rather than anything else. Also it's hard to better a manager like Fergie unlike our situation with Wenger imo.

The Utd team was on the wayne in Fergies last year. So it showed the manager he was. The board should have given him money to spend in his final season to better the team and leave the next man a great squad. Tbh neither Moyes or LVG inherited a healthy squad. Unlike our new manager will inherit a great bases and will just need to touch up.

This should've happened years ago, those late run-ins with Spurs should've acted as a means to push on.

It's just depressing that the same things keep happening, and Wenger isn't too bothered to do anything radical to stop it.

Can't see much changing tbh. There's no indication from the club that anyone is in anyway concerned. I was so disinterested yesterday that I don't even bother to watch it. I just don't see the point. We know what we will get. It gets to something when you agree with Jason Cundy. He says we are a club that permanently treads water. We don't go forwards or backwards just stay where we are.

Tbh i knew from when he said a few weeks ago how "we need to start looking behind us" It was top 4 the main target. He and the players knew the league was gone long time.

Yep, but they don't seem in the slightest bit bothered about it. I think that's what winds everyone up.

Maybe preparing us for Europa league football.

Thursday's ain't Spursdays no more!

Henry Winter tweeted a couple of weeks ago after the fan forum (or whatever it was) that they were similarly dismissive of a bloke who pays £125,000 for one of the boxes when he dared to bring up his dissatisfaction with the way the team is being run at the moment.

This is going to come back to bite them. The sheer number of empty seats yesterday should be warning enough.

I'm not a member anymore, but I've just had an email to offer me West Brom tickets. Nothing to really play for and not a tantalising fixture I know, but tickets aren't selling so quickly.

St. Arseingham's Day gets closer and closer.

They can defend and score goals. Two things we're sh*t at.

Painful seeing them play better football than us 😡

Aye depressing indeed. Mighty impressive team.

Dare I say it Poch has done a great job.

They remind me of Wenger's early teams that chased United down, scored plenty and looked strong when the season came to an end.