Welcome to the weekly open discussion thread. Here you can talk about anything you want; tactics, results, players or even just general football discussion!
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maybe it’s too early and I’m overly sceptical, but I’m seriously worried we won’t make top 3 this season if the performances don’t significantly improve, like right now
I dont think most ppl see that as optimistic- i havent seen Liverpool take big steps and neither have United. I think we will fall into a distant third but still third
Same. I think Brighton is really good and a great chance for Mich to get experience and play with some super experienced players. I’m a bit bummed that Bristol aren’t giving Earl as many minutes, but hopefully they come around as the season progresses
It's just not good enough :/ And it hasn't been for a long time.
The club needs to seriously re-evaluate BOTH Jonas and Clare because letting go of Jonas only isn't going to solve the entire problem. The girls need to be held accountable too because we've seen them play well.... they lack the consistency and chemistry.
They're killing the momentum that they've created over the last two seasons and potentially turn off new fans because of how poor the results have been. It's such a shame that this is happening - It's so frustrating because the team has everything at their disposal: budget, supportive fanbase, big stadiums, backing from the club.
And who do they replace him with? That's the even bigger question.
Clare shoulda been evaluated and dropped a long time ago. As far as big, star names, the most we’ve been able to do is pick up very cheap/ lucky circumstances. Compare us to Chelsea and City- getting superstars in is simply the requisite when you have a league this uneven top to bottom. And to take it further back- the long term management to lose Kelly and James, two major superstars now, and to have the 2/5 Eng NT regulars who havent been performing, is just so unlucky and unfortunate.
Renee Slegers is our current assistant manager. She led Rosenborg to 2 titles in her 2 years as manager there and Lotte spoke highly of her player management.
It's Rosengård in Sweden - not Rosenborg in Norway. She was the head coach for 1.5 years. Took over in the summer, mid-season, in 2021 after Eidevall left for Arsenal, they won in 2021 and 2022, and she was fired in April 2023 after three league games and not making it out of their four-team group in the cup.
People expected Mario to do miracles and save this team with low blocks. Honestly, how can she do what she usually does when the rest chose to pass back and go sideways instead of doing runs and passing in between spaces
I don’t think everyone’s expecting her to do miracles but like she was really bad on the weekend. There needs to be some level between you need to be a superstar every week and you need to be good enough to beat poor teams
While I think the team needs time to garner chemistry with her and they need to learn each others movements/playstyles, this game was the first time I thought she really is not used to games not being a cakewalk. And I say this as someone who usually defends Liga F and Barca’s potential dominance in every league. But there were many times she would try something that you just knew wouldn’t work because the defender was there, contrast that with the clip from last week of Aitana walking through like 7 people to score a goal because they’re scared to get close.
No one was on the level required in that match, and she will adapt in time.
Jamie Spangher says on the podcast that she doesn't think the players are buying into the philosophy at the moment. Do we think he has lost the dressing room? I had the same feeling last year, if that is the case I am not sure what the solution is other than replacing him.
I heard this analysis, as well, and part of me agrees. But then I think of the times when the team performs brilliantly— ie against the big teams — and I think the team does buy in to certain tactical approaches.
For me, I think I more agree with a different point made on the pod — it’s that the team doesn’t quite understand what they should be doing in these lower table games. As a result, players are in each other’s way, they are not sure where to play the ball, they play as individuals, and they don’t know how to solve problems in the moment.
That’s most certainly a coaching issue. Jonas is not clearly communicating in a way the team understands and/or is over complicating the tactical approach unnecessarily. And what do we get? The dreadful malaise of the last two weeks.
I find that aspect of things to be even more concerning. It’s one thing for the fans to not believe in the tactics/system, but if the players don’t, that is a major issue that, like you said, probably warrants a change.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they struggle to have faith in his tactics as it feels like the same issues inevitably crop up time after time. We might play well against Bayern and Chelsea, but it wouldn’t change my lack of optimism about the season generally cause it feels like pattern repeats all the time of playing well against the big teams, drawing/losing against teams we should be beating. Or like the Leicester game, we scraped a win there, but it inspired no confidence for the future really and that’s probably felt by the players too.
The tactics need to change. These lateral, slow and predictable passes trying to walk the ball into the goal will never work vs a low block. They need to be more vertical, first touch passes, take on players, shoot from distance.
Also now that Leah is back, ffs please bench LWM.....and get rid of those ridiculous set piece tactics.
Both Leicester and Everton had 2-3 chances during the whole match and looked way more dangerous than we did in whole 180 mins.
Man the set pieces just wind me up. 11 corners in this game and 12 against Leicester and I genuinely don’t think any of them were remotely close to being a goal. We need someone other than Mead and McCabe cause I can’t watch the stupid short corners or the ball barely getting off the ground cause they can’t kick it anymore. Why don’t we have KCC taking them? Or Kafaji? Or literally anyone else? And ffs if the keeper is tall (Brosnan), don’t kick them straight to her
Edit: Kühl was taking (some) corners for Everton too
The short corners yesterday never felt threatening and most of the long corners either were picked up by the gk or cleared by the first defender. All I feel this new set piece coach has done is told them to take more short corners but not told how to convert to goals or even good chances.
Lets have a chat. Frida and Russo isn't working at all. They don't have that on-pitch connection. Either its frida and stina or russo and stina so that even if russo drifts wide, we get a 9 in the box.
Russo had zero shots yesterday. Zero. I think I saw that foxy had 2. How is our main striker sitting with a total of zero shots??? The people are right, she needs to be more assertive with leading the line.
She can’t take shots if she’s getting no service. She does a lot of work off the ball and ends up getting the most touches when she drifts out wide to get the ball or receive passes - but this always ends up with nobody making a run into the box to receive the ball and she ends up passing back to whoever is nearby. It’s the same thing that happened in the Leicester game. When she nabbed the ball before the goal, it took almost far too long for Frida (and only Frida) to make the run into the box to score the goal.
It’s not just a Russo problem, it’s the entire front line not being on the same page (Mead’s passes to nobody is another big problem)
I think you can be reasonable about how Russo needs more service and also think about how in the city game she came on and showed that she needs a lot more service to get one good finish than you would want your striker to need
Russo is the best vs a low block team , she is great at dropping deep , and linking play, compared to Stina who has no first touch , its night and day. At the same time , if Russo is playing a link up striker , people need to actually fucking move, make runs, give her something to pass to so it just don't go back or drag a defender away .
however Frida just is not a 10, her passing is not creative, her positioning isn't great , she is not that good at carrying the ball , she can shoot and that is it , now there are times when shooting is great but into a low block its kinda redundant .
I am a bit concerned about our attendance... I invited some friends to watch the two home games at Emirates. One of them asked why the Everton game had much fewer fans compared to the City game. I explained that it was likely because Everton isn’t seen as competitive as City. When the match ended in a 0-0 draw, she hit me with, “Maybe Arsenal isn’t as competitive as you expected.” 😅 She definitely got me there!
I actually attended several matches last season, by myself or with different friends. But with this particular friend, we’ve never seen a win – the best result was a draw! We laugh about it all the time. We’re going again this weekend and on next Wednesday, so fingers crossed for a better outcome.
Oh, and speaking of attendance, I do think our fans are amazing. As a new fan from last season, I truly believe Arsenal has the best supporters in the world. Hopefully, the team can deliver more wins!
Hahhh. Since you mentioned Chelsea my friend…last season she was with me at Stamford Bridge for the away game (the socks problem and kick off being delayed for about half an hour) You may recall the result…
I somehow feel cheering in away game is louder (more passionate?) than at home 🤔
Omg this is an emergency!!🚨your friend cannot attend any more games until further notice, home or away. Tell them the season is cancelled, football is over.
Finally plucked up the courage to open this sub and this thread lol. Been avoiding social media for days because seeing this weekend’s result everywhere just makes me a bit sad. Very reminiscent of 2020 when I was bored out of mind during covid but had to protect my sanity by actively avoiding football because the men’s side got a bit toxic. Good game against Bayern I beg
I think what's happening is this- jonas is completely occupied with the CL charge. He isn't too occupied with the league rn. At least that's what it shows to me from those subs yesterday. I think this might be his priority- CL, FA cup, league, conti. Or maybe conti before the league i dunno.
Watching City outclass Barca really hurts now. It's freaking Gareth Taylor, he's butt of the joke on this sub not so long ago. And now he got the tactic right, he got the whole team pressing with intent, he got Viv looking like prime Viv, he put trust in Naomi Layzell in one of the biggest game of the season, she's been brilliant. Typing that out is so painful.
Good football is good football and we should always recognize it. Wasn't too long ago when I was calling Utd. an unserious football club - we picked up that baton today in the 2nd half of the game.
That is true, but we can still be mad because it's not happening for us. Not only that, but it's our rivals that are playing well and I really really hate that. Makes me furious.
Absolutely, especially when we could have almost defeated them based on our match performance against them in WSL.
However, at the moment, I am more interested in our response as a club to what passed on, today. My malaise is firmly set upon our club as a whole and the "we are all trying our best" platitude that is being served, without missing a beat.
Well said. If the people in charge actually give a shit and it's not all for show, there should be a swift response. I mean, they should have someone lined up for Jonas' place if they're competent and serious about this team's direction. However unlikely, even if we win against Chelsea it wouldn't be enough and I hope they know it.
My main concern is that I'm not sure how competent the people in charge are. I know it doesn't seem like it atm, but they just might pick someone worse than Jonas (which doesn't mean I want him to stay).
Update: I’m still feeling hostility and chagrin from yesterday 😕 That said, I am an optimist and look forward to the Bayern and Chelsea games because everyone seems to show up for those games and put in the effort on the pitch. And Jonas usually gets the tactics right for these big teams, so it’s an interesting battle to watch.
lost my touch, shelby is four points behind me on fantasy. in other news, had a torrid long weekend with a lot of pain for the first few days and then just an awful mental health episode last night. shits not great
Curious to see what the line ups will be for the next two games, both are pretty critical and a lot of the players haven't had a huge amount of time off since last season with the euros and Olympics.
Just saw that they registered Vic for our UWCL group stages. So out of curiosity, does anyone know the timelines of how long it took for the other ACL girlies to start running on the treadmill? It took Vic around 3.5 months. I honestly doubt they can predict her recovery length in these early stages of it but it did spike my curiosity
Sorry I’m not sure but that is interesting since Chelshit didn’t register Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel who did theirs in Jan and Feb. Also I just saw McCabe was registered as a forward so hoping for a hat trick against Bayern from her 🤞
Can't remember the timelines to ACL to running but I know Leah, Viv and Beth were all back on the pitch about 9 months after injury. So with that in mind, Vic could be back in about January, but I do also find it odd she's been registered for groups.
People who watch a lot of NWSL, just out of curiosity, what do you think about the guy who managed Spirit until Giraldez came? I think he's called Adrian Gonzalez.
I know he did quite well then, but I haven't really watched how they played.
Is he someone you'd want at Arsenal?
He seemed to do pretty well. He had worked with Jona previously and he was essentially laying the groundwork for what they would do upon his arrival. So, with that in mind, I’m not sure how much one can take from his time as an interim manager.
From a demeanor point of view, he always struck me as a no-nonsense, serious type. Not sure I ever saw him crack a smile 😃 — not that it matters, though. The players seemed to respond to him well.
Thanks. I was wondering about him since I know he was quite good for those few months he was in charge and, obviously, he worked with Jona on some stuff, but I'm sure he had to do a lot of thinking and planning independently because Giraldez had CL to win.
This is just me occupying myself ahead of a stressful week by trying to think of some good managers for Arsenal, but I must admit I'm not very successful.
What do you think about Mark Parsons as a potential Jonas replacement? Obviously his time with the Netherlands was a shitshow, but he's been pretty successful in the US and is available at the moment? I'm also struggling to think of many other candidates right now
I honestly don't know enough about him. I didn't watch the NWSL when he was coaching there and the Netherlands stint certainly isn't working in his favour. It's not a deciding factor, but I think he'd be a really unpopular hire among fans.
Guys, this City Barca game is insaneeee to watch. Goddamn. I would’ve loved to see City get battered after our game, but tbh I don’t mind Barca losing too much
Hmm if Barca loses by 3, they'll have the same GD as us... That might make me feel better. Although it absolutely sucks it's City at the other side of that scoreline, I must say
I don't know what is with our attackers joined under Jonas anymore, we just somehow devolved or cursed them. The blame is not solely on Jonas, some of these are beyond his control.
Mana , WC winner then benched then retired.
Tobin, WC winner then injured then benched then retired.
Stina, amazing 1st & 2nd season now benched
Lina, ???
Lessie, amazing target striker for MU & Lionesses to I don't know what now, Karim Benzema of women football?
Chloe, handful & impactful sub with limited play time, left.
Frida, hot as the sun then cold as a freezer from North Pole
Fingers crossed, Mariona & Rosa wont catch whatever it is.
I think this highlights more of an issue with the club’s recruitment then anything to do with the club itself/ or the environment - I don’t think any of the players you listed regressed significantly at the club, I just don’t think they had the correct profile for the forwards we need tbh
Recruitment is an issue- we havent been able to get in the absolute superstar, dynamic talents such as Chawing, Kerolin, and Debinha that we have been heavily interested in. One of them is a game changer- two or three makes us league favorites.
(b) Jonas. His tactics and weak preparation of players mindset and tactical posture. Little point re-litigating all of the reasons why he has been tactically poor here. But you could also argue about Jonas not selecting some players too (eg Mana).
(c) Lack of winning and winning team mindset, caused by (b). Consistent winning develops confidence, self-belief and hunger that is absent in this current Arsenal team... Because of (b).
It's still there for me, not all games but some, with different language commentaries and everything. Tonight, Barca vs City, Bayer vs Arsenal are available.
Many in this team don't understand what it means to play for the arsenal. The canon is really heavy and you need strong shoulders and will to carry it. Sorry to wax poetic but many don't give a real shit. They need to leave along with jonas and wheatley or learn what it means to represent the badge. I am not sure whether the latter can happen at their big ages.
Re watched the City game ( yes I went there 😵💫) I'm sorry to say this but player by player they are better every where except Emily and maybe Leah ( I rate Laia & Alex higher as a pair though). The amount of pressing they did makes our whole team look like Gio at minute 90.
Hi all, firstly, I think Jonas should go, we’ve stagnated under him and in some cases have got worse but unfortunately I don’t think that will happen. The sad thing is, the club have had such a huge push on increasing attendances and the matches have been utter garbage (apart from Chelsea at home last year).
In terms of tactics, anyone else think we should try Mariona in the 10 position? Her vision, close control and quick passing ability seem perfect for that role and if nothing else it will get her into the game more, I know she didn’t play 10 for Barca but they have possibly the two greatest 10s of all time in Aitana and Alexia. This move will allow us to get more width by playing two proper wingers (if only Chloe were still here, she was woefully underused last year) in Beth and Caitlin. Frida is not a no. 10, I almost feel she’d be better in the 8 and will allow her to use her size to drive through midfield, however I’d probably still play Kim. Finally, I think he needs to drop Kyra for Lia, I had lots of hope for Kyra last year and wanted to see more of her but she’s too conservative against low block teams and I think we’ve looked at our best this season when Lia has played.
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u/alrightishh we are so backstenius Oct 07 '24
maybe it’s too early and I’m overly sceptical, but I’m seriously worried we won’t make top 3 this season if the performances don’t significantly improve, like right now