Are we slowly turning into another Arsenal?

[Mindhunter]

It certainly seems that way with the gradual lowering of standards, lack of decisiveness, and the nepotism on display with the coaching staff.

We are forever in transition. A top 4 finish is seen as success. Our season is hanging by a thread but the owners are playing moneyball. New ideas and strong characters are rejected in the name of “United Way” and “tradition”. Low performance is tolerated in the name of “standing by our managers”. Fergie casts a perennial shadow almost a decade after retirement. We are afraid to bring in fresh ideas and always tend to hire our alumni or promote from within.

That’s clearly our trajectory. We will become the rich man’s Arsenal at this rate in a few seasons.

 

[Trequarista10]

Slowly?

 

[JB08]

Slowly?

 

[Bubz27]

If you buy into the theory the board are generally happy with top 4, then we became the new arsenal a long time ago.

If you buy into that theory.

 

[AltiUn]

Arsenal still win trophies, to be fair to them.

 

[UnitedSofa]

It certainly seems that way with the gradual lowering of standards, lack of decisiveness, and the nepotism on display with the coaching staff.

We are forever in transition. A top 4 finish is seen as success. Our season is hanging by a thread but the owners are playing moneyball. New ideas and strong characters are rejected in the name of “United Way” and “tradition”. Low performance is tolerated in the name of “standing by our managers”. Fergie casts a perineal shadow almost a decade after retirement. We are afraid to being in fresh ideas and always tend to hire our alumni or promote from within.

That’s clearly our trajectory. We will become the rich man’s Arsenal at this rate in a few seasons.

Our season is hanging by a thread?

Oh do behave, barely 10 games in, there’s loads of games left. Sure we’re pretty fecking dire at the moment, but we’re hardly having a season that would mean it’s hanging by a thread. There’s still time to rectify our position, Ole or not.

 

[Flytan]

They just won the FA Cup so no. We're more Spursy than Arsenaly

 

[Foxbatt]

Plus mostly under Wenger they played good football.

 

[Judas]

The amount of times I've said "it's time to go" in the last few months we're getting scarily close to Arsenal territory.

 

[Gehrman]

We've been like Arsenal for a long time now, bar all the fa cups.

 

[#07]

The amount of times I've said "it's time to go" in the last few months we're getting scarily close to Arsenal territory.

RIP Claude.

 

[Offside]

We remind me of Arsenal way back. Good team. Should get top 4. Either there is a massive threat we won’t or a potential title challenge that we will bottle. So much quality going forward. Can’t defend. Trophies eluding is because of it.

 

[TsuWave]

Guy said “slowly”

 

[Mindhunter]

Our season is hanging by a thread?

Oh do behave, barely 10 games in, there’s loads of games left. Sure we’re pretty fecking dire at the moment, but we’re hardly having a season that would mean it’s hanging by a thread. There’s still time to rectify our position, Ole or not.

Yes. The name of the thread is Ronaldo. Without him we would have been third in our CL group and probably lower down the PL table.

We won’t rectify our position if we try the same thing again and again but expect different results. That’s insanity. We need fresh ideas, new coaches, and a new philosophy.

 

[Welbeckham]

This is a bit too positive way to put it. We are much more of a mess than them in many ways.

 

[Nero]

No, because we still spend money and still attract elite level players.

The squad we have and our outlays are good enough to compete for major trophies.

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

Slowly?

Slowly?

Guy said “slowly”

Slowly?

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

Arsenal still win trophies, to be fair to them.

There’s that ego again.

 

[ThierryHenry14]

Impossible with the money available to Man Utd

 

[moses]

Impossible with the money available to Man Utd

I think we've given it a good shot while still spending a handsome sum.

 

[Revaulx]

Source Transfermarkt

These are the totals starting from the 2018/19 season to the present day.

For context - the preceding season to the onset of these counts, we finished 2nd with 81 points. Mourinho's last full season.

This post from another thread surely puts to bed the myth that either United or Arsenal are “playing moneyball”.

What they do have in common is owners who have no interest in football and no particular desire to win stuff.

 

[bosniamanutd]

We became an average team, winning is not our habit anymore.

 

[Wilt]

Arsenal won a few cups ….so not really

 

[AllGoodNamesRGone]

Slowly

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

Turning into?

 

[Sviken]

It's pretty rapid, mate.

 

[Ridwando]

My bigger fear is that we may be turning into the Liverpool of the 90s/00s, marked by consecutive wrong managerial appointments and an outsized influence of players from a previously successful generation.

 

[Ferguson’s Hairdryer]

Tbf Arsenal have not had a starting 11, yet alone squad, that you’d expect to challenge for the league in over 15 years.

 

[Blood Mage]

We've been Arsenal 2.0 since Fergie retired.

 

[Kostov]

Arsenal still win trophies, to be fair to them.

They win shit. Calling “trophies” the FA cup and the league cup is part of the problem. We need to be aiming to compete for the PL and CL trophies every season.

 

[Kaos]

We're essentially the equivalent of Arsenal now, albeit with a Gucci belt and no trophies.

 

[UnitedSofa]

They win shit. Calling “trophies” the FA cup and the league cup is part of the problem. We need to be aiming to compete for the PL and CL trophies every season.

….& herein lies part of the problem.

We want to win trophies!! No not that one!

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

I'm depressed as the next fan, but can this be joined with other depressing threads?

 

[Rightnr]

I think at this point it would have to be 'have we slowly turned into another Arsenal'. Sad state of affairs.

 

[V.O.]

the owners are playing moneyball

Well, they're not, they're doing the exact opposite. Brentford's owners are playing moneyball.

 

[Cloud7]

No we spend lots of money, play ugly football AND don't care to compete for trophies. We aren't really becoming an Arsenal. We're blazing our own trail.

 

[sp_107]

We should become more like Chelsea, Give short term contracts to top class managers in the business and fire them if it doesnt work !

Same applies to players, Do proper research before signing players but if they dont succeed then better get rid of them. At least we could have some success

We spent more than chelsea since 2013 but comes to trophies we are no where near to them shows their strategy is better than us

 

[Amir]

My bigger fear is that we may be turning into the Liverpool of the 90s/00s, marked by consecutive wrong managerial appointments and an outsized influence of players from a previously successful generation.

Oh, we're there. Right now we're at their Roy Evans stage - a nice, popular guy with history at the club who creates a team that can be exciting at times and looks like it's bringing back the good old days, but falters at the moment of truth.

I wonder who our Houllier will be.

 

[Andersonson]

When could Arsenal attract players like Sancho, Varane and Ronaldo during a transfer window?

We're ten games into the season, not out of CL and a victory on Saturday would see us level with City.

Yes we have been shit but it ain't even half as bad as the moaners on here wants it to be.

We will hit form and then we'll see what happens

 

[tenpoless]

If we reach that point I suggest RedCafe make it's own AFTV channel and rack up some profits instead of being miserable fecks.