Lost In The Forest Without A Map And Compass
Jan 8th, 2018 by 'holic
Right, enough of the moping around. It’s time to look at the positives from yesterday. I had an amazing vegetable curry, and liquorice sambuca is delicious. That’s that, now for the post mortem, although so late that there is probably not much left to be said about the game.
First off though I should deal with the selection. It was largely as I had expected pre-match and I was happy enough with that to go positive on the ‘holic pound. It would therefore be hypocritical of me to express dissatisfaction after the event, other than to bemoan the lack of quality on the bench. That was a strong enough team to win the tie as long as they went out and applied themselves. They didn’t, and that suggests a couple of things.
Firstly that they lacked the oft-mentioned mental strength that the manager is keen to boast about after we have won a tight contest. There was a collective malaise that spread through them all it seemed. When your best player in a 4-2 defeat against a struggling Championship team is quite possibly your goalkeeper then that speaks volumes about the rest, summed up by Per Mertesacker.
“It’s difficult to take because for those players who played today, that was probably a last chance to show up and show the manager that they’re ready to play more games. It’s not the case anymore.”
It also hints at a collective failing of the manager and his coaching staff to prepare the side for the task ahead. It was a surprise to see a flat back four when the personnel on the pitch could quite easily what has been our formation of choice this season. It was awful to watch us being pressured into mistakes all over the pitch and being run ragged by an 18 year old striker only playing because of injuries.
I would like to say 24 hours on that it was a rare defeat, the manager’s first in the third round of the competition he has won more than any other. It was our second FA Cup defeat in five seasons. Somehow though it seems like yet another failing against a team from a lower division. That just didn’t happen in Arsene’s early years, but now they are totting up. Burnley, Ipswich Town, Blackburn Rovers, Bradford City, Sheffield Wednesday, and now Forest. Arsene admitted to Arsenal Player that we were second best on the day.
“I am very disappointed by our performance because Nottingham Forest were the better team out there, the most dangerous and won many challenges. I can congratulate Nottingham Forest because they were the better team tonight. It hurts very much. I’m very, very disappointed because I love the cup competitions.”
The clamour for Arsene Wenger’s removal have understandably followed. I argued for him to go last season and still remain of that opinion, but I would rather focus on supporting those with the cannon on the chest in the big matches to come. The FA Cup may be gone, and along with it any semblance of a title challenge. However the Carabao Cup is a realistic target and we should put our strongest available eleven out against Chelsea in the two legged semi-final. The Europa League also, as it now seems to be our most likely avenue of returning to the Champions League.
Surely we understand by now that this board does not have the plums to change the manager mid-season. Personally it is horrible to see his grip on the club being eased from his grasp by his own shortcomings. He transformed this football club in his first decade in charge, steered us through difficult times following the stadium move, but this has been a tough season for him and it seems to have taken it’s toll.
Once again there is deadwood to jettison as well as the contract situation with key players to be resolved or otherwise. Our previous financial prudence may have to be stretched over the coming months in order to rebuild the squad. The signs right now are that Sven Mislintat has been tasked with starting the rebuild, but we will need a lot more than a twenty year old Greek central defender to come in, and we will need to replace likely departures like Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Mathieu Debuchy, and Francis Coquelin.
That is as much venting of the spleen as I can muster for now. It’s time to prepare for the bus stop in Fulham on Wednesday, and bringing the possibility of another Wembley day out in February a little closer.
56 Responses to “Lost In The Forest Without A Map And Compass”
Do I say FIRST ???
Have to say that the selection was entirely responsible.
A collection of players who never play, alongside a few kids, with nothing on the bench is terrible management IMO.
Add to that the continued use of AMN at full back (it worked once with Lauren, so it will always work. Right?) and relying on Iwobi to be the creative driver of the side and it’s a recipe for disaster.
Yes, the players should have applied themselves much better than they did but Welbeck is never going to a striker to carry any real threat, Walcott is hot and cold even when he plays a lot, Holding was pretty much having to cover three positions because AMN was AWOL for 90 minutes in defence and Mertesacker was woefully out of touch because … he never plays.
Debuchy was ok, in the main, Ospina was ok. The rest were poor, or shit if you prefer, but the tactical set up and selection was really the problem for me.
Great measured write up.
Needed that after an hour of Talk Sport hysterics in the car.
What a day to forget to grab a CD on the way out…
liquorice liquor is lovely , ‘hol
a specialty of mine
raisin swally too
https://mobile.twitter.com/AMAZlNGNATURE/status/949268693929811969
Lick ‘er what?
“oooooooooooh ”
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU4CNT7ZqXY
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/derry-girls/on-demand/59741-001
sorry
oops
*ten bob in the meter*
“who’s the bastard in the black !”
I hear the VAR will be in use for our 2 leg semi final against Chelsea,and Mike Dean has admitted he made a mistake on the West Brom penalty,and Referee boss Mike Riley has said that if VAR had been in use,the decision would have been overturned.
Interesting.
.
.
steve T late last next door
100%
smart mod
(well they are aren’t they)
Indeed they are, cba. ?
As NDR@3 said, that was a great, measured write-up, ‘Holic. I think not having more firepower on the bench in case it was needed, which it was, desperately, was the main selection mistake.
did ye watch Derry Girls ‘holic ?
get in on the ground floor
it’s a goodun
.
.
anyhoo
?
I didn’t cba. What channel was it on?
get it on all4
Good man, after this Seagulls v Eagles I’ll be there. ??
As per my previous drink in the last post, we don’t mix it up enough throughout the season hence those players are rudderless when things get tough. It’s a gamble which should have been addressed before kick off. Time again we never learn or does that fall onto the manager again?
I’m sad for him in a way as he’s tarnishing his legacy, time again we are in the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Everywhere you look it’s Arsenal this, Arsenal that and the other. It’s really hostile out there for any Arsenal supporter.
According to Arseblog News, Mike Dean said he made the wrong decision regarding the penalty against West Brom. It’s all too late for that now as you can’t take back what Wenger said to him, however they should at least revoke Czech’s yellow card because he only asked for an explanation and since it was a blunder by the ref they should also be held accountable!
Great report Holic very calm and true in every word.
Bring on the Chavs!
yup indeed
bring on the caramac cup !
.
oy
Looks like Coquelin might be off to West Ham?
good chipper beside the tube
can’t blame him
Valencia…
Stick your head between your legs and whistle up your Barcelona.
A popular song in May 1980.
Interesting, Clive, but everyone knows it’s far more important to keep a civil tongue in your mouth while questioning referees than for referees to get critical decisions right, so no rescinding of AW’s touchline ban or fine I’ll wager.
Same with Cech, ATG, you can’t go questioning a ref’s decision however wrong it is, the game would go on all night if that were allowed. Cech clearly upset poor Mr Dean and was lucky not to be banned for life.
Please note I am not defending Theo, even if the service from midfield was non-existent. It was a team disgrace with at least 8 others just as poor.
cba, you my friend, are a f*cking star. (Pick your vowel of choice!)
Laughed on an evening when I didn’t expect to laugh. ?
eff off
never liked ye
*reapplies lipstick*
.
.
.
nonchalance cba nonchalance
.
.
“cheers ‘hol”
At the bleakest moment yesterday Holic I craved an express report from you as you have the gift of bringing sanity . I wrote two very critical comments yesterday and deleted before sending as a kind of therapy.
I am very much wanting Wenger to leave and am getting increasingly impatient and losing a degree of respect for a true Arsenal hero because he seems to have no sense of his own fallibility .
The defensive set-up yesterday was naive in the extreme. In the last few games we’ve been incredibly vulnerable to a punt up the centre. Brereton rang us ragged and Forest were well worth their win.
I’m not sure what Wenger brings now. I think he ruins the likes of Iwobi and Nelson and yesterday didn’t help AMN either. We crucify Theo here but how have we developed him?
The other big question is WTF does Steve Bould do? The defensive set-up for their first goal was ridiculous. Does he have any input to that side? The club needs a root and branch coaching reform , its one of the worst coached defensive sides I’ve ever seen.
The key focus now should be the Europa League. Let’s get Sanchez and Coquelin out and Walcott if someone will buy him. Wenger has destroyed millions of value with his decision- making. And please Arsene leave while reasonable Arsenal fans remember you with affection.
Iwobi has been pictured at a rave at 3am on Sunday morning. Hard to credit from a young man who is going backwards at a rate of knots
Under Wenger, we’ve gone progressively from league and cup double winners, through to regular CL participants and past finalists to this season which will see us winning nothing. My money’s on a top six finish, and if Kroenke was at all interested in winning the top trophies, Wenger wouldn’t be here now. I will repeat that NONE of Kroenke’s american sporting franchises EVER wins the big trophies, leaving Arsenal as by far his most successful team. Since he has said he wants to pass Arsenal on to his family when he croaks, the future looks dismal. Welcome to planet Dystopia! Some reports are suggesting that Alexis could be at City by the end of the week, which I don’t believe BTW, but if accurate, would mean selling him without any replacement, thus weakening our team just when we are desperate for major reinforcements. I’m afraid it’s looking grim.
TTG, I suspect the Europa League is our only salvation this season.
The Carabao Cup would be a bonus.
Maybe I am not the only one praying one or other or both comes to pass?
“the key focus now should be the
Europa League”
Now there’s a phrase to make
grown men weep and small
children flee for the safety of their
ever-loving mothers arms
“the Carabou Cup would be a
bonus”
Another phrase that turns to acid
on the tongue.
Beggars cannot be choosers ?
personally
i give nairy a monkey’s tit about cups of names various
.
A.Sund.79 notwithstanding
.
Well said, Holic.
Sad here.
We’ve been good, bad, brilliant and awful in my time as an Arsenal supporter. We’ve had the best of times and the worst of times. Whatever else we were at any given time, we always fought.
I have never had so little expectation of the Arsenal going into games as now. We appear to be in transition on and off the pitch but where will we be allowed to go and led by whom ?
Bizarre selections, players out of their normal positions, some out of semi-retirement, a squad woefully short on quality, heading for the top of the injury league again. Hopelessly devoid of defensive discipline and a recognisable playing style, apart from pass the ball to death and hope something happens.
This is all threatening the respect and dignity that should be the barest minimum requirement for Arsene Wenger when he goes – whenever that happens to be.
He was a manager of innovation and vision but seems to have been immersed in every detail of the club for so long that he has lost sight of the bigger picture. New assistants, new coaches, new players, new academy managers, new spending power – but a decade of issues remain unaltered.
Personally, I think he is still desperate to keep trying to improve the club he loves so much. The love, though, is no longer being returned. That becomes destructive and a good friend needs to point it out.
Sad indeed.
pull yerself together
people worry about
the wealth on their dinner table
.
it’s a fuckin game
(early adopter – oooh – cuts off hem of garment )
four fifty an inch !
You’re right, cba, it’s a fuckin game and right up there with war, sky-diving without a parachute and keeping your virginity for life as ultimate thrills.
AMEN brother zealand
ya hoor ye ?
*reattaches eyebrow*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_uq61U90Xs
Carabao Cup?!
Now that’s a Mickey Moose cup if ever there was one..
😀
Have to agree with Trev@34. All very sad. However, the football gods have no compassion.
CBA@21,
Brilliant.
It wasn’t that long ago we were all laughing at the Spuds for over- celebrating their 2008 League Cup (and yes it is still called that chez NDR) ‘triumph’ over the Chavs.
Ten years late and how times have changed…
I don’t know if there is a mood in the bar for an away report, but here goes anyway. I have deliberately waited for almost 48 hours to allow tempers to cool.
The great pity is that until just before half time it had been a really good day out. Nottingham is one of the easiest grounds going if you are driving, with lots of off road parking available for a few quid either in the various small hotels or indeed at Trent Bridge cricket ground. Happily parked up five minutes away, we skirted round the cricket ground to a cracking little Indian with a really interesting and authentic menu and very nice staff. 90% of the customers were Gooners, the locals seemed more interested in a long queue into Wetherspoons (the Trent Bridge Inn) opposite. A nice curry and a couple of pints of Kingfisher set us up for the game.
Five minutes walk to the City ground. A hot chocolate to warm us up and then into the seats. Opposite us on the aisle of the same row was Alex Brooker of the Last Leg. A proper fan, you often see him at away games with the other away supporters (I believe he drinks in the Tolly at home games).
One of the features of the first half was the top class banter with the Forest fans. Their hard core support is placed very close to the away support. We’d been running a sweepstake on when their chant would kick in and it came for the first time seven minutes before kick off. “Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that”. We responded with “Champions of Europe, you weren’t even born”. Non stop singing in the away end with lots of call and response with the Forest fans. Great stuff. When they went one nil up they sang “one nil to the famous team!”. We responded “you’re not famous any more!”
I suppose I’d better add a couple of points about the football, although that’s been done to death elsewhere. Ospina utterly at fault for the first goal. All the senior players, without exception, were terrible. The goal just before half time shouldn’t have been a killer, but was. We started slowly second half and got slower. Can’t understand why we hadn’t put Ozil, Sanchez, Jack and Laca on the bench. Eddie squirmed his way to a great chance but just failed to lift it over the goalie. Can’t comment on either pen, both at the other end. We missed chance after chance.
It was all working up to be a great day out. Unfortunately it was just embarrassing second half and the singing stopped after a while. the mood was resigned rather than poisonous. I could be wrong, but from where I was standing I thought the Wenger out chants were coming from the Forest fans – our lot just couldn’t raise the passion.
Ho hum. Back in the car and dropped my son at nearby Leicester for the start of the Uni term.
Reading this back it’s not as upbeat as usual. Both my away trips this season (Stoke and Forest) have been shockers. Maybe it’s me?
I think he ruins the likes of Iwobi and Nelson and yesterday didn’t help AMN either. We crucify Theo here but how have we developed him?
This is what Tony Adams was talking about when he said Bellerin will be the same player in five years time that he is now, if he stays at Arsenal under Wenger. I got coated for posting that the other week but it is absolutely true.
As for Iwobi there’s three things we should do with that young man.
Fine him, drug test him to clear up the rumours, then drop him for partying.
If the drug test is positive, sack him.
Great report thanks C100. Glad
you enjoyed at least half of it!
Brought back memories of my last
trip to Forest – we got whacked
that day too. Of course I’d actually
heard of all their players then.
May as well take the 50 while I’m
here as it’d be rude not to.
Countryman
Thank heavens for supporters like you. I’ve done some London away games recently but it wasn’t easy to work up the enthusiasm. Nice to hear of the banter with Forest fans. Hopefully we will never lose this in the game.
I’m 67 soon and my remaining football ambition is to see Arsenal win the Champions League. In the mid noughties it seemed a matter of time. At the moment it seems light years away. We could go to Forest in twenty years time and the banter wouldn’t have altered in this respect.
Keep up the love Countryman. I have my retirement party tomorrow. It gives me an excuse not to watch
According to AW it seems Iwobi
will be fined and disciplined.
Last time Forest scored four against us was in 1957.
I wasn’t even born then.
cba@10.
Excellent point. I agree with every word.
Great report as always Countryman.
You never fail to send me down memory lane to my away day trips with my Dad back in the 60’s/70’s.
Some epic failures in those days,not often outweighed by sterling victories.
Keep up the good work.
How do we win at the bus stop? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>