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Arsene Wenger – Book Review And Competition

Dec 16th, 2014 by 'holic

On the day that Thierry Henry retires from football I have the good fortune to get a look at the latest biography of the man that was so influential in his career to hit the shelves. I say late, but Arsene Wenger, The Unauthorised Biography Of Le Professeur, is in fact an updated reissue of Tom Oldfield’s 2009 book.

With no autobiography yet on the horizon, this biography will satisfy demand for insight into one of football’s most discussed managers. For those who have the first version of this and the other biographies of Arsene (I have the books written by Rivoire, Rees, and Palmer, the biter of the hand that fed him) then you will be primarily interested in the most recent years and months.

Of those authors Rivoire was closest to the man, though few and certainly none of the four could be considered confidantes. Tom Oldfield, neither close nor disaffected, appears the most objective I have read thus far and does rightly lean heavily on Rivoire for reference.

Should you not have bought any of them and want to learn more about the man then this will not disappoint. His early career, the influence of Max Hild, and his first management role at Nancy prior to the seemingly inevitable move to Monaco, now our opponents in the last sixteen of the Champions League in 2014/15.

Of course it was at Monaco where he began to work with some big names who would go on to talk in glowing terms of him as a coach, and also he encountered the match-fixing scandal with Marseille in 1993. Then to Nagoya, and Tom covers the influence of the J-League on Arsene.

The Arsenal years, however, are what really concern us, right? Let me tell you the chapter entitled ‘Arriving At Arsenal‘ starts on page 33 of 421. That in itself should tell you something. Of course the early years of his reign are covered thoroughly, for this author knows his target audience. Uniquely thus far we do have an insight into recent seasons, and the turning of some against Le Professeur.

The issues surrounding the fallow years from 2005 to 2014 are addressed, the recent years relatively briefly, but not surprisingly. They have been something of a recurring theme, after all.

In summary, if you want an up-to-date biography of the manager of Arsenal since 1996 then yes, this is something of a combination of the best two, and at a budget price too, if you check the Amazon ad in the sidebar.

Win A Copy Of Arsene Wenger, The Unauthorised Biography Of Le Professeur

The good folk at John Blake Publishing have provided us with a copy of the book for one ‘holic reader to win and enjoy. To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is to answer this question. Against whom was Arsene Wenger’s third Premiership title confirmed? Was it…

a: Manchester United

b: Tottenham

c: Everton

Please send all responses to competition@goonerholic.com along with your Twitter and/or Facebook handle (if available, otherwise your email address will be fine) by midnight on Monday 22nd December, UK time.

Good luck, all.

Posted in book reviews, competitions | 58 Drinks

58 Responses to “Arsene Wenger – Book Review And Competition”

on 16 Dec 2014 at 11:58 pm1scruzgöonér

wow, first and i even read the post!
on 16 Dec 2014 at 11:59 pm2scruzgöonér

hope you’re doing better, guv. this place helps keep me sane, and clearly i’m not the only one. thank you.
on 17 Dec 2014 at 12:39 am3Thundertinygooner

Palmer makes me utterly sick. I presume he got the brush- off from Wenger and decided to write his poisonous little column as his sort of pathetic revenge. He had little access and I think,only Philippe Auclair could be considered a confidante.
Wenger has promised us the inside story of several key moments in his Arsenal career and it will be very interesting to read it. I think I might leave this one for the time being although Arsene’s book won’t be ready for a few years yet
on 17 Dec 2014 at 12:40 am4geraldgoonzales

i can’t wait for the autobiography. Only because of the numerous times he has said “one day, i will tell you about this
on 17 Dec 2014 at 4:29 am5behind the 8 ball but gunning for glory

Heartfelt praise, Song for Henry.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2876603/Thierry-Henry-hailed-King-former-Arsenal-team-mate-Alex-Song-France-legend-retires-football.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
on 17 Dec 2014 at 9:11 am6ATG

Nice post Holic and a very interesting book, sounds like a good read indeed!
on 17 Dec 2014 at 9:50 am7Lars

Oskar from the last session:

the quick free kicks straight in the goal (subsequently disallowed, why?)

The quick free kick has not been disallowed, but I have noticed refs these days are much quicker to insist on not allowing the kick to be taken before he’s blown his whistle again. It is entirely up to the ref to decide if the kick can be taken at any time or if the attacking team must wait for a second whistle (indicated by the ref holding his whistle in the air and pointing at it) and these days they always seem to do that for any free kick anywhere near the area.

and most of all the moment when the opposing keeper tossed the ball in the air about to punt it downfield only for TH to hook it away and put it in the net. Why was that disallowed? He never touched the keeper and the ball was in play, surely?

No, that is not a legal goal. These are the rules about kicking/throwing the ball for the keeper:

* It is an offence for a player to prevent a goalkeeper from releasing the ball
from his hands
* A player must be penalised for playing in a dangerous manner if he kicks or
attempts to kick the ball when the goalkeeper is in the process of releasing
it

“The process of releasing it” includes the whole movement when kicking, i.e. even if the ball is in the air for a short moment just before the kick is taken you can not nick the ball in that moment.

Slightly related to this, btw, is that these days the ball is considered to be under the control of the keeper as soon as he has any part of his hand on it. This means that it is NOT legal to poke the ball out from under the keeper’s hand under any circumstances. Even having one finger on the ball is enough for it to be illegal for opposition players to touch it.
on 17 Dec 2014 at 11:36 am8Trev

Morning Holic,

Nice review but will you please pack it in !

The reviewing, NOT the blog ! You somehow manage to make every book sound irresistable and I simply don’t have time to read them all.

Only just had time to have a bit of a back drink covering the last couple of days, and from the previous bar –

Great work from N7 @154 – really rendered further words unnecessary – and H2H, particularly.

And, hopefully, enough well deserved kind words to convince you that you are still very much in the middle stretch of the race !
on 17 Dec 2014 at 11:58 am9Trev

What a great pity it is that the game we all invest so much time, passion, oh yes, and money in is run at the highest level by such a hopelessly corrupt gravy train as FIFA.

To paraphrase from this morning’s press and quoting where necessary – the legal bits – i found this little lot regarding the ridiculous awarding of the Russia and Qatar World Cups –

Michael Garcia, FIFA ethics investigator, has been told that his own appeal against his own findings which cleared Russia and Qatar ( and by implication FIFA I would imagine !) of dodgy dealings, is “inadmissable”.

Garcia claimed that a statement by ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert on his report on the two bids contained “numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions”.

However, FIFA’s appeals committee said that Eckert’s statement was not a legally binding decision and, therefore, could not be appealed.

There are enough lawyers around here who may be able to paint this into a fair picture, but I am certainly not one of them.

To uneducated me – and this is a personal opinion that in no way reflects the views of the author of this blog – it stinks.

Moreover, m’lud, I think the appeal falls down at a much earlier hurdle.

That is quite simply at the description of Garcia as the investigator of the clearly oxymoronic “FIFA ethics”.

No further questions.
on 17 Dec 2014 at 12:39 pm10Lars

Trev: FIFA are becoming a parody of themselves.
on 17 Dec 2014 at 12:40 pm11Gunnersaurus Stunt Double

Cheers H. Your efforts are greatly appreciated as always.

Lovely place this.
on 17 Dec 2014 at 1:40 pm12Joe

Trev,

I heard that same report in the media over the past few days and I can assure you, you don’t need to be a lawyer to very concerned about it.
It is in my view, a paltry attempt to bolt the stable door long after the herd have galloped on through. I have little confidence in anything FIFA do and expect the Garcia report to buried in due course. Of course, much the same could be said of the general game, the diving, the “refereeing”, the stupendous sums of money, the ticket prices……the appalling treatment of proper fans (BtM) even by their own clubs. Its all stinks and football is in a very poor place.

In relation to the book – I do hope that one day Wenger gives a “warts and all” account of the game and his experiences. Auclair is probably one of the few who could do that story justice. And while it might not change anything, it would shine a respected light and raise awareness in how the game so badly needs to change.

In my other life, I enjoy a good game of Rugby and am a devout Munster fan. Jerry Flannery has returned to Munster as the Scrum coach from being a strength and conditioning coach with AFC. Forced to retire early from calf injuries, he played his entire career for Munster. While rugby players get paid, its nowhere near as much as footballers. And its why I think the true values of sport are still more evident in rugby than football at certain clubs today. When you played for Munster, you generally came from the province. You grew up with the players. You played for your people, your family, your friends. The expectation to deliver didn’t come from a pay packet. It was a trait that defined who you were as a person and who you represented. While that has changed a little, by and large, its still the same undercurrent with the players at Munster today. It was once with AFC too: “Remember who you are, what you are and who you represent”. That day is gone now I feel. Money and media are so influential and it has destroyed everything in my view.
on 17 Dec 2014 at 2:01 pm13Holloway2Holland

Cheers Guv’.

An unauthorised biography, sounds naughty. 😉

Trev.

The only reason that there was any kind of report is because FIFA themselves commissioned one, the honourable Mr Eckhart did what was requested of him and found absolutly no wrong doing by the squeeky clean beacons of virtue that we are lucky to have running our game.

It therefor leads me to conclude that Garcia is a very bad man, as he has failed to do what he was handsomely paid for, ie clear FIFA of any wrong doings. Such a person can not be trusted and anything he says should be deemed inadmissable.

This in legal terms is known as the Cartman defence.

“It’s my ball, Screw you guys I’mmmm going home.”
on 17 Dec 2014 at 2:39 pm14Trev

Joe,

What a coincidence ! I’m a huge Munster fan too.

Herman was my favourite ! 😉
on 17 Dec 2014 at 2:51 pm15North Bank Ned

FIFA are becoming a parody of themselves.

You don’t need the ‘becoming’, Lars.

As Lord Acton said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” There is so much money in the game now. FIFA’s top officials treat it with impunity as their own honeypot. They probably can’t believe what has fallen into their laps and are have become blind to their own greed.
on 17 Dec 2014 at 2:52 pm16North Bank Ned

H2H knows.
on 17 Dec 2014 at 3:24 pm17ATG

Has anyone got a better copy of this image at all?

http://www.soccersouls.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/438a2695-cb74-4086-acc1-b6d920227142_08afb9c9-2e44-46b9-8010-527658047ceb.jpg
on 17 Dec 2014 at 4:00 pm18Trev

ATG,

There are a lot of stunningly attractive people in that photo – not.

Amazing how evolution stopped 1mile down the Seven Sisters Road. 😉
on 17 Dec 2014 at 4:27 pm19ATG

Trev,

There are a lot of empty faces on that photo that is why I love it so much!
on 17 Dec 2014 at 4:40 pm20i- Bathgooner

Waiting for the definitive autobiography here. Hope I have to wait a very long time. 🙂
on 17 Dec 2014 at 5:14 pm21BB

Amy Lawrence’s piece on Henry : http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/30440922

🙂
on 17 Dec 2014 at 6:08 pm22scruzgöonér

atg, take your pick:

https://www.google.com/search?q=thierry+henry+tottenham&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=aMaRVJnuBszmoATI3ICwAg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=2069&bih=1178#imgdii=_
on 17 Dec 2014 at 6:32 pm23ATG

Scruz

Thanks man appreciated I was looking for a very good copy in 1080p for my desktop at work 🙂
on 17 Dec 2014 at 6:55 pm24scruzgöonér

no worries, arthur. glad something came up you could use. it’s a brilliant moment.
on 17 Dec 2014 at 7:04 pm25ATG

Indeed Scruz it’s an amazing moment! 😀
on 17 Dec 2014 at 7:11 pm26Goonerholic

Agreed bath 🙂
on 17 Dec 2014 at 8:32 pm27ATG

Sorry I have to write this!

Come on Barcodes! 😀
on 17 Dec 2014 at 8:39 pm28ATG

Now this piccy is EPIC!

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/314407617709676766/
on 17 Dec 2014 at 9:20 pm29scruzgöonér

and this, arthur:

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o125/goonerak/09122011018.jpg

so similar 🙂
on 17 Dec 2014 at 9:28 pm30scruzgöonér

and now monsieur garcia has resigned.

http://www.espnfc.us/fifa-world-cup/story/2203377/world-cup-bid-investigator-michael-garcia-quits-fifa-ethics-committee

this after revealing that the FIFA executive committee raised “a failed complaint of unethical conduct” against garcia in september.

now, that just shows the corruption in FIFA: they hire a guy to investigate the ethics of FIFA, put him to the task, get nervous that he’s doing too well and pushing to shine light on too much of the muck and mire, then raise an ethics complaint and try to have him disciplined by FIFA’s disciplinary panel…who reject the attempt. no doubt they’re trying to discredit him before the report comes out, and distract from what he’s actually found…until they realize that their own guy, eckert, gave just perfect information to make the report useless, so they give garcia “a seat by the window” and he decides to bail.

gotta love it. this too: “No independent governance committee, investigator, or arbitration panel can change the culture of an organization”, garcia wrote. well, duh. if FIFA were yoghurt, the bacterial culture would be rightfully sour, but unusually sick-making and corrupting.
on 17 Dec 2014 at 9:46 pm31behind the 8 ball but gunning for glory

‘holic, the contest question really ought to be this:

Against whom will Arsene Wenger’s FOURTH AND FIFTH Premiership titles be confirmed?

It may not be too easy to figure out the winner of the contest in the near future but at least the answer cannot be found in Wikipedia. Personally, I vote for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Come to think of it maybe I’ll check the odds. 🙂
on 17 Dec 2014 at 10:13 pm32Goonerholic

Two, and only two things on the bucket list.

bt8bbgfg one is certainly winning the title at the Bridge.

But the big one is Big Ears, Only one I haven’t seen us win. Do it soon FFS, I’m on the return journey. 🙁
on 17 Dec 2014 at 10:32 pm33Cynic

I fear your bucket may remain less than brim full, ‘holic.

But at least it will never be as empty as mine 😉
on 17 Dec 2014 at 10:41 pm34scruzgöonér

at least he has you and a malt, cynic 🙂
on 17 Dec 2014 at 10:51 pm35Silly Second Yella

Scunthorpe!
on 18 Dec 2014 at 12:03 am36behind the 8 ball but gunning for glory

Scunthorpe?
on 18 Dec 2014 at 12:21 am37Goonerholic

Smilin” 🙂
on 18 Dec 2014 at 1:12 am38bt8

Why did Man City hire Vieira? To make it easier to tap up our players and he seems to be doing a highly effective job of it. With all these overtures from Henry I say get him on board now before some other club hires him to tap up our players. He has already shown he has a soft spot for Barsa.

SSY. Don’t speak too loudly because Scumthorpe could be our bogey club in the Cup if not in the League before Wenger retires. Not sure they are on his bucket list though. 🙂
on 18 Dec 2014 at 1:24 am39bt8

Atletico Madrid up, Borussia Dortmund down.

It is dizzying, the pace of change at the moment. Blink too long and you might miss Arsenal trying on a larger set of ears.
on 18 Dec 2014 at 3:36 am40behind the 8 ball but gunning for glory

I would settle for some real competition though, especially if it means Arsenal are more competitive.
on 18 Dec 2014 at 3:37 am41behind the 8 ball but gunning for glory

bt8. Be nice or I’ll rename your FFL team to Tough Titties FC.
on 18 Dec 2014 at 4:43 am42Öskar the dog

Thanks Lars (and Bathgooner in the previous round) for clarifying the rules. The point I was highlighting was TH14’s approach to the game, always looking for an edge over the opposition.

The free kicks within range situation is reaching absurdity, imo. It’s like we stop playing football and engage in a couple of minutes of combined rugby line-out and all-in wrestling, until the ref is satisfied everyone (himself included) has had a nice rest.

Öskar
on 18 Dec 2014 at 4:57 am43behind the 8 ball but gunning for glory

Hey Oskar, nice to see you. Doesn’t mean I won’t stop disagreeing with you though. 😉

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMzW42zZVN0
on 18 Dec 2014 at 4:58 am44behind the 8 ball but gunning for glory

Actually, I do agree with you sometimes, including what you said just now. 🙂
on 18 Dec 2014 at 8:16 am45Öskar the dog

Always nice to see you too, 8ball.

In this crazy world of football NZ today came within one stroke of luck of facing Real Madrid in the World Club Cup final. And not even the only professional club in the country, Wellington Phoenix (as distinct from my fantasy football team Wellington Booters). No, some club called Auckland City, a bunch of amateurs who took the Argentinian champions to extra time in the semi-final. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/30475903

It would have been a bit like my hometown team, Leatherhead FC, meeting Arsenal in the FA Cup final! I’d never even heard of Auckland City before the country went a little potty this week when they made the semi. I can’t believe they beat Australia’s best to even qualify for the event.

Öskar
on 18 Dec 2014 at 8:26 am46Cynic

Forget all those other clips of Henry, Bergkamp or all those other pretenders to greatness, THIS is the greatest football incident of all time. It may never be beaten.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgP1TXY7RiY#t=21
on 18 Dec 2014 at 11:35 am47I-bathgooner

Scunthorpe?
on 18 Dec 2014 at 1:24 pm48Holloway2Holland

Cynic.

Would of been better if he was playing against Wigan.
on 18 Dec 2014 at 2:15 pm49ATG

Cynic @ 46 Heh?

Ha ha ha ha ha… poor fella!
on 18 Dec 2014 at 2:19 pm50ATG

H2H

That made me chuckle ha ha!
on 18 Dec 2014 at 2:49 pm51bt8

Auckland FC?
on 18 Dec 2014 at 4:14 pm52behind the 8 ball but gunning for glory

Cynic @46. Just wondering if this helped or hurt Cargill’s professional career or if the scouts were looking more at his feet. 😉
on 18 Dec 2014 at 4:36 pm53I-bathgooner

Looks more like an antipodean spider than a wig, Cynic.
on 18 Dec 2014 at 4:37 pm54Cynic

Sadly this is not hair extensions in the style of Francis Rossi, it was a bandage of some sort. Booooo
on 18 Dec 2014 at 4:49 pm55Holloway2Holland

Meh.
on 18 Dec 2014 at 5:10 pm56I-bathgooner

A sheep?
on 18 Dec 2014 at 7:41 pm57scruzgöonér

if it were a sheep, bath, he’d’a said “baaaa”…
on 18 Dec 2014 at 7:57 pm58Goonerholic

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Goonerholic

Eat, sleep, breathe, drink, Arsenal

Arsene Wenger – Book Review And Competition

58 Responses to “Arsene Wenger – Book Review And Competition”

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