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BRADFORD, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 11: Arsene Wenger the Arsenal manager looks on during the Capital One Cup quarter final match between Bradford City and Arsenal at the Coral Windows Stadium, Valley Parade on December 11, 2012 in Bradford, England.
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has come out in support of under-fire Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and stated that the ‘sensible’ Arsenal supporters should back Wenger rather than ask for his sacking. In his weekly Daily Mail column, the Englishman has come out in support of the Frenchman and stated that frequently switching managers does not guarantee success also blasting former manager George Graham for his ‘Arsenal will never win the title again’ comment.
Neville made a very good point about stability, saying that neither money nor a change of personal in the dugout can bring sustained success for a long time, as has been the case with Liverpool and Chelsea, fans these days have lost patience and even a fortnight of poor results has them calling for a ‘sack’ but in the case of Arsene Wenger they should know better than to be so fickle.
Football has become a soap opera, which, of course, is partly why the Premier League has become so extraordinarily popular and is one reason why it is beamed around the world. But the actual football can get lost in the drama. For some people the main act can become the sideshow.
It is true that Arsenal have not won a trophy since ’05 and that has been bogging the fans, the players and most importantly Arsene Wenger. It was interesting to note Neville’s comment that Arsenal are not Real Madrid, Celtic or Benfica which are clubs expected to win trophies every season and where any season without one has serious consequences on players and managers alike.
Arsenal, however, have had periods of monumental success followed by decades of dormancy. Early in the twentieth century, they were a great side under Herbert Chapman and even won three consecutive league titles under him. They remained a dominant side in the thirties and a little later till after the second world war till 1953 after which the fans had to wait nearly twenty years before winning a league title in 1971. This was again followed by mediocre performances until the late eighties when George Graham came along to bring success to the North-London club.
All great managers have had their periods whereby the fans have had to rely on faith and they have come out of adversaries with flying colors, such was the case with Alex Ferguson early on at Manchester United and with Bill Shankly at Liverpool in the late sixties.
Arsene Wenger has proven his prowess as a winning manager capable of achieving great things (speaking in lieu of his unbeaten title winning campaign in 2003-’04) and he needs the faith and support of his fans to build a new and youthful team. Its’ tough to digest Arsenal being mid-table under Arsene Wenger still at the helm but Arsenal fans know come the reckoning time at the end of the season and they have always been up there in the top four. With young talents like Wilshere, Chamberlain, Ramsey, Jenkinson and Gibbs being regularly featured and there is genuine hope of a bright future ahead at the Emirates.
All the fans need to do right now is sit tight, back the Frenchman and not jump to conclusions for success comes in cycles and Arsenal’s cycle of success will come for sure.
