Wenger has achieved more than Redknapp has with one arm tied firmly behind his back. That arm is beginning to free a little and soon he will be able to use his second hand to chop Redknapp and co in the throat and then….

Good afternoon Gooners,

I feel a little sad and flat that we are at the end of the season, tomorrow will be the last time until August that we will watch our Gunners strut their fancy stuff in a competitive competition. You could argue that our stuff hasn’t been so fancy of late and I would have to agree with that sentiment.

There is a somewhat subdued feeling around the Arsenal world at present whilst those lot from down the road are jumping up and down in their briefs. Iron Man hit the nail on the head in the comments section yesterday. It is about expectations.

Arsene Wenger said:

Everybody finds it normal for us to qualify. It is not normal – it is the consequence of quality performances during the season and not because we are Arsenal that we are guaranteed that

Which pretty much ties into what I was talking about yesterday. Are Gooners supposed to hope for or demand success?

Like a few people have wrote on blogs and on twitter, Harry ‘the tax man’ Redknapp is being lauded for dragging Tottenham into the Champions League against the odds and should be in contention for manager of the year, pope, prime minister or whatever whilst Wenger has failed yet again to pick up silverware. Am I missing something here?

Since Harry Redknapp took over the reigns at the scum Tottenham Hotspurs, he has invested roughly £19,250,000 net spend. That is in two years at the club. The season before he took over, they spent £33.9 million. £20.8 million the year before and a further £17.5 the season before that. The pre Redknapp figures are just to give you an indication of how long they have been pumping cash into the club to get to where we currently are.

Meanwhile, in the time Redknapp has been at the Spuds, we have made a profit of £31 million (net)

Figures from http://transferleague.co.uk

Wenger has achieved more than Redknapp has with one arm tied firmly behind his back. That arm is beginning to free a little and soon he will be able to use his second hand to chop Redknapp and co in the throat and then…. not sure where I am going with this but you get my point.

I suppose I am getting a little annoyed by the vitriol directed at our manager while at the same time praise is being heaped on our rival manager with much larger resources.

We are the Arsenal and we should be winning trophies, I agree with that. Sometimes I feel some take that for granted. Nottingham Forest were a massive club in English football with a better European record than our own. Liverpool have won the league title more than any other English side, that record is probably set to continue, yet they have NEVER won the Premier League. Many other clubs have spiraled down the league or even divisions because success doesn’t always last. Manchester United were the opposite of Liverpool, not winning the league championship for donkey’s years until Ferguson finally got there. The reason why he got there was because he built for it. He prepared. He was given time to build and he got it right.

* In 2004 we were the front runners, everyone loved us. Wenger could do no wrong for Arsenal fans. Other clubs could not keep up with us. Wenger knew the club could not continue running the race, it was too far to go all the way around. He saw another route, through the forest and off the track. A few years later fans are still seeing trees and mud with no track to run on, some are feeling lost. Why are we not running on the same track as Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Liverpool, Portsmouth and now Manchester City, who currently taking preforming enhancement drugs (metaphorically speaking of course). Portsmouth have collapsed, they thought they could run further than they could and have collapsed on the road side. Liverpool are breathing heavy, looking for help all around. Manchester United are in danger of doing the same. Whilst Wenger believes he will come through the forest and join the track miles ahead of the rest with plenty still left in the tank.

Let us support the team until we get out of this forest. The club are taking steps so we do not become a new Nottingham Forest, Leeds, Preston North end or even Liverpool. In the short term we need to work out some of our problems but our problems are nothing compared to others who expect as we do.

Well done to the Arsenal under 18’s who have reached the Academy League Play-off Final by beating Manchester United. Emmanuel Frimpong scoring the decisive spot kick in the penalty shoot out. I am gutted that the youth and reserve games are no longer being shown on Arsenal TV. I guess it is to do with the hype that had been going round. I am sure the club would rather they kept their feet on the ground and develop without so much hype from fans and the media.

Still a crying shame though.

Wenger wants the players to go out on a high tomorrow after our recent disappointments and I must say that I feel a serious beating coming on. I shall talk about that in tomorrow’s match thoughts.

In the meantime, as Jerry Springer would say. Take care of yourself and each other.

* No magic mushrooms, alcohol or any other mind altering substances were consumed whilst writing this blog, although it may seem like it.

Back again tomorrow.

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