It’s usually regretfully that I take pleasure in comeuppance. It’s an act of taking satisfaction in someone elses failure and the reason why it’s so satisfying to watch is because you took pain from losing in the first place. A little “he got what was coming to him” would never be required if he never did anything wrong to you in the first place. It’s like admitting you lost once but now you’re taking pleasure in someone elses loss.
This week I indulged and god damn stepping down from the moral pulpit felt so so good. Watching Mourinho’s post-match was incredibly satisfying. As John Cross put it:
Jose pleading for his job, saying he should be judged on reputation not on current results. Didn’t he have a go at someone else for that?
— John Cross (@johncrossmirror) October 4, 2015
Maybe he wants the results to speak for themselves and if that’s the case great! Let’s replace Arsenal’s current season with Arsene’s worst ever Premier League start, it turns out he would have outperformed Mourinho to this point.
Enjoying this spectacle was made extra special as over the past few weeks I’ve been driven mad by the media and this week was no exception. As one journalist was applauded by a few Tweeters and pundits for taking a brave line of questioning during a press conference with Arsene, Jose’s team collapsed to their worst start in 20 years.
The hate chasing for headlines like “Arsene still fuming over Costa” is frustrating for several reasons. The acrimonious feeling between Wenger and Mourinho does not need stoking and it’s a story that has raged for several weeks. Worse still the story has played into Chelsea’s hands as the Eva Carneiro story was washed over with their superficial rivalry. The media waisting readers mindshare on a play-fight while there were claims of Mourinho referring to a female staff member as a whore and then taking actions to demote them for doing their job. These are the kinds of behaviours any self-respecting unionised workplace would sack a manager for. I look forward to Mourinho being sued into next week by Carneiro but my goodness is the media in general missing the forest through the tree’s. The big story is over there ladies and gentleman, not in this conveniently created distraction.
While I’m upset about the coverage and why there have been a total lack of questions about Jose’s distraction tactics I do think the journalist was right to question Arsene. It was a brave line of questioning and the journalist could have been kicked out of the presser. Perhaps if the writer had have kept Jose out of it he would have got an interesting answer. The worst part is it’s a question I’d love an answer to.
The fact is we don’t know what sort of pressure Arsene is under. Fans chanting for change at Stoke Railway station is no indication what the internal politics of the club are or if the club feel like they’re being sensible sticking by him. A brilliant article in the Guardian summed up the hierarchy challenges that would be faced if Arsenal were to bring in a new manager through sacking the current one highlighting the conundrum that United faced after the retirement of Ferguson. Of course there could be a difference in that after Ferguson’s retirement David Moyes came in and summarily sacked almost everyone on the training pitch and assistant managers to Ferguson.
As we approach this years AGM the pressure question is one I’d like to see answered internally. Surely an institution as prestigious and lucrative as Arsenal have a KPI to measure the manager on. Why not share it with the fans to temper expectations and answer the claims of lacking ambition. What are the clubs plans to replace Arsene when he retires? Is the club reducing his responsibilities outside of the first team with new coaches such as Jonker? Ferguson resigned after a discussion with his wife who was mourning the loss of her sister which United could never have planned for. It would be wise for us to learn from their mistakes.
There are questions that we need to see answered and this is a critical time for Arsenal as a whole. If Wenger wins at United it is not only a regular set of three points, but a statement of old dogs beating new tricks and will soften the tone at the AGM. If we lose however the AGM will no doubt be filled with hard questions needing to be answered by a mob fed up with nearly men.
The Guardian Article on Ferguson leaving United: http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/oct/03/arsenal-fans-wanting-arsene-wenger-to-go-should-heed-uniteds-travails
Arsene’s worst start in a Premier League Season, article taken from Think Football: http://www.thinkfootball.co.uk/is-arsene-wenger-responsible-for-arsenals-worst-start-to-a-season-in-32-years/
Moyes article outlining staff from Everton to United: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/man-united-confirm-new-coaching-2015034
the Reasonable Gooner 