It's true that we are missing players, but it shouldn't be used as an excuse as much as it is. Dembele and Assou-Ekotto might, but Kaboul and Parker won't suddenly make us start creating chances. And it's not like we're the only club with injuries - Arsenal currently have Szczesny, Diaby and Gibbs who are all first choice players out, with Gervinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey and Rosicky who are all also important players all out too. They still scored 3 against Fulham and would have won the game if Arteta had taken a better penalty.
Even considering the injuries, I don't see how Dembele being injured has anything to do with macaronic decisions like putting Gallas at RB when you have a proper RB on the bench. And that's why I've lost patience. I'd lost patience by this point with Pleat and Gross, and I could tell something wasn't quite right with Santini. I was correct on all counts. And I don't see why AVB will suddenly stop making these ridiculous tactical errors when he hasn't learned from his mistakes yet. But at least after a few tactical nightmares he managed to turn things around in his last jo....oh right.
Sigh. How long have Arsenal had their manager for, pray tell?
And how many have we gone through in the same time period?
And, in regards to Arsenal's injuries, take out every player you've mentioned and they would still have:
------------------Mannonne--------------------
Sagna------Mertesacker-----Koscielny----Vermaelen
--------------------Coquelin--------------------
------------Cazorla---------Arteta------------
Walcott---------------------------------Podolski
--------------------Giroud--------------------
And that's without counting Wheelchair, Santos, Arshavin and Chamakh on the bench. (Even Oxlade Chamberlain, though apparently he's been injured)
Now, ten + years with a manager's system, and with that quality in the side, they will score against most teams.
Now, we won't use injuries as an excuse. Utterly ridiculous not to, considering Harry's defenders who often put the 'down to bare bones' thing in front of everyone, but let's ignore it.
----------------------------Friedel-------------------------------
Off-form walker---Unreliable Gallas---Caulker---Not an LB Vertonghen
------------------Sandro---------Unfit huddlestone---------------
Lennon--------------------Dempsey?----------------Bale--------
----------------------Unfit Ade/Defoe---------------------------
Against Aguero, Tevez, Dzeko, Silva, Toure and all the rest of them.
A team we lost 5-1 to at home last season. With Modric and Van Der Vaart, two players unavailable to AVB.
And the same team (minus Bale) against chelsea; a side that thrashed us 5-1 at Wembley last season.
While we still had Modric and Van Der Vaart.
And now, upcoming, the same team (possibly with Dembele) against Arsenal.
Last season, they beat us 5-2 at the Emirates, when we had; yup, you guessed it, Modric, a supremely inventive and surprisingly tenacious playmaker, and VDV, a master at finding the right spaces and making the right passes. Players again, unavailable to AVB.
We also lost 3-0 to United at OT last season. Without Modric, but with Van Der Vaart.
With the best team we've had for ages, our masterful manager achieved these spectacular results.
With a team stripped of many of the players who performed well last season, and arguably our weakest since 07-08, what the fudge do you expect of AVB?
He doesn't let players go out and express themselves, he makes a game plan that they have to adhere to. That takes time to implement.
But no, let's just sack him and bring in another poor sod who'll fail instantly before his system can take shape. And we'll sack him too, and the next guy, and the next guy. And then hire Tony Parks because no one else will take the job.
Ridiculous tactical errors, my arse. 4-4-2 at the Emirates was a tactical error. 4-4-2 at OT was a tactical error. Throwing away a ten point lead was the mother of all errors.
Not playing Defoe, or whatever other minor gripe you seem to have, is a doozie compared to the ones above. Still, let's sack him, because you have a gut feeling and as well know, having witnessed your wonderful judgement on Pleat, Santini and Gross (which I'm sure went against the grain; everyone else was obviously blindly supporting them while you alone expressed your doubts and predicted their failure), your gut feeling is never wrong.
