Wenger doesn't have a footballing brain

My balls hadn't dropped.

Yes it was a bit of a bottle job losing to Chelsea in the CL and Utd in the cup and we should have done the treble, but still for a side to go unbeaten must mean their manager has got a footballing brain.

Comment Deleted by Site Moderator

That's not the point I was going to make. The point I was making is if you were old enough to remember that team, very little of our success was down to tactical flexibility on Wenger's part, it was down to the sheer brilliance of the players he had recruited and developed, that could go out there and do the same thing every game and still not get beat.

In truth though, the team in 01/02 was better than the Invincibles, and won more, too. But they didn't have the luck the Invincibles had.

The point I am making though, is that he has never been tactically astute. He just had a wider scouting network than most clubs do now and had a better eye for talent, and was fortunate enough to have first dibs on the French market when they were in their prime.

Now, with inferior players, and with a far more level playing field in terms of player scouting/recruitment, he has been left behind. Tactically he is clueless and can't seem to rectify clear weaknesses in the team.

Now for somebody who has been fortunate enough to remember every single minute of every game in 01/02 and 03/04 seasons, I can vouch that Wenger has never been a tactical mastermind. However, people younger than me can't, and just assume that because we were once the dominant force in England, he was.

So to say really that him lacking a football brain is stupid, is ironically quite stupid in itself.

Wenger has never been a master tactitian but since when did that become the be all-end all requirement for a manager? There are tactical managers like Maureen and Rafa, there are managers who want to implement a playing style that is easy on the eye and requires barely any change of tactics against differering opposition e.g. Wenger, Pep, Rodgers etc, there are managers who instill sheer determination and will to win in their team ethos e.g Fergie, Clough the list goes on in terms of types of manager

Why are people here judging a managers ability solely on tactical nous ffs?

comment by 'Bats' - Dat Guy (U18355)
posted 27 minutes ago
That's not the point I was going to make. The point I was making is if you were old enough to remember that team, very little of our success was down to tactical flexibility on Wenger's part, it was down to the sheer brilliance of the players he had recruited and developed, that could go out there and do the same thing every game and still not get beat.

In truth though, the team in 01/02 was better than the Invincibles, and won more, too. But they didn't have the luck the Invincibles had.

The point I am making though, is that he has never been tactically astute. He just had a wider scouting network than most clubs do now and had a better eye for talent, and was fortunate enough to have first dibs on the French market when they were in their prime.

Now, with inferior players, and with a far more level playing field in terms of player scouting/recruitment, he has been left behind. Tactically he is clueless and can't seem to rectify clear weaknesses in the team.

Now for somebody who has been fortunate enough to remember every single minute of every game in 01/02 and 03/04 seasons, I can vouch that Wenger has never been a tactical mastermind. However, people younger than me can't, and just assume that because we were once the dominant force in England, he was.

So to say really that him lacking a football brain is stupid, is ironically quite stupid in itself.
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This is one of the most ridiculous things you have ever posted, and thats saying something.

Godfather: the managers you mentioned have built teams on billionaire money. Wenger hasn't. I admit his decisions of late mystify us all. No CD or DM cover, Ozil on the wing and no OX but I think the OP suggesting Wenger has no footballing brain is stupid. Now if he said he has lost his way and gone senile I may agree....

Whinger in

Wenger has never been a master tactitian but since when did that become the be all-end all requirement for a manager? There are tactical managers like Maureen and Rafa, there are managers who want to implement a playing style that is easy on the eye and requires barely any change of tactics against differering opposition e.g. Wenger, Pep, Rodgers etc, there are managers who instill sheer determination and will to win in their team ethos e.g Fergie, Clough the list goes on in terms of types of manager
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You believing that Pep or Rodgers do not change tactics relative to opposition tells me everything I need to know about your football knowledge.

there are managers who want to implement a playing style that is easy on the eye and requires barely any change of tactics against differering opposition e.g. Wenger, Pep, Rodgers etc, there are managers who instill sheer determination and will to win in their team ethos e.g Fergie, Clough the list goes on in terms of types of manager
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This statement, right here, shows why people should pretty much ignore the inane bile you normally come up with when protecting Wenger. Pep and Rodgers don't make tactical changes?! HAHA. What utter nonsense.

Take last nights game Bayern vs City. Pep must have shifted his tactics at least 3 times in order to break down City. We saw Alba go from Left wing to central midfield. We saw Lahm start in DM and move off to the right. We saw Pep use his entire tactical mastery to eventually get a win against a City side bent on parking the bus.

You see that's the difference between top managers, like Pep, Klopp, Mourinho, Ancelotti, etc, and Wenger. Wenger would just sit there, have no
idea on how to break down the opposition, keep a rigid formation, and on the stroke of 65 mins, then start to make substitutions. Wenger does no planning against the opposition. He has very basic understanding of tactics, which basically means he might as well not be there pitchside.

On the other hand, every top manager will plan the opposition down to the most ridiculous levels. Klopp had a sub-standard squad available for the game against Arsenal. Yet his tactics were so superior to the inept Wenger, that we might as well have been playing against the Barca side of 2010.

As for the history, I think Bats has summed it pretty well. Never in his entire career has Wenger been more than a novice in the art of football tactics. His entire success has been based on his scouting network and the quality of players he managed to assemble. In fact it's a stark fact that even with the stupendous talents of Henry, Bergkamp, Pires, Ljunberg, Vieira, Gilberto, Cole, Wenger never managed to win the CL, and never managed back to back titles.

Wenger is a dinosaur of a bygone era. He had one singular talent, the ability to spot a gem, and even that in on the decline.

comment by Welbeck is not from Russia…he is facking English and now a true red GOOOOONER!!!!! (U6483)
posted 12 hours, 53 minutes ago
Godfather: the managers you mentioned have built teams on billionaire money. Wenger hasn't. I admit his decisions of late mystify us all. No CD or DM cover, Ozil on the wing and no OX but I think the OP suggesting Wenger has no footballing brain is stupid. Now if he said he has lost his way and gone senile I may agree....
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So Pep built the Barca team of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, etc on Billionaire money? Mourinho won the CL for Porto and Inter on the back of billions? Ferguson won more than 10 league titles and 2 CLs by buying up all the worlds talents instead of naturing his youth setup?

Nonsense. You clearly have no understanding of history. Wenger is nowhere near the list of elite managers in world football. His only achievements of note are winning the league unbeaten (which had a massive element of luck involved) and finishing in the top 4 for 17 years straight.