If you don't raise salaries due to potential then you risk losing those players if they fulfill their potential. I did a whole post a while ago on Bendtner, Denilson and Diaby and what they were actually doing when they were signed up on those contracts and given that money. All three were becoming integral parts of the team and playing a lot of games for us and playing well. If they turned out to be really good players and went off to better teams for Hardly any money, then Wenger would have also got slated completely. It is always a gamble and those players (Diaby more to do with Injury than anything) have not fulfilled their potential, but at the time I don't blame Wenger at all for trying to tie them down. So to beat him with that stick now is not good imo.
But the other stuff I agree with although we haven't won anything for 8 years, it really has been 4-5 years where we have been properly behind the pace, every season I feel we are about 3 players away from having a solid squad of players ready to mount a charge on the title (amongst other trophies) but every season, we stay in the same position and it is beyond frustrating.
I really hope we get 4th but I am not as certain as you that we will, Spurs look very good at the moment, Everton are going to be consistent I feel and Chelsea will regain their composure I think.
So it will be touch and go and If we don't Wenger is the one that needs to answer to why. It has been one of our least injury prone seasons and we are still struggling to get to 4th let alone challenge for the title.
I hope he stays, because as I said I feel we will do worse without him, but I am starting to get a bit weary from it all and he needs to start making some statements and moving forward, it is the right time to start doing it now.
Wenger made some gambles before, most of them worked out fine, a few didn't. But with this last batch of players too much went wrong. If they went on to move to other clubs and turn into world beaters then Wenger would get a lot of stick anyway. But to be very honest I never had much faith in those guys becoming really good.
Maybe it's more down to the players and their professionalism in the end. I never thought Song would have turned into a half decent footballer but he did thanks to Wenger. Now he can enjoy being benched at Barcelona and it looks like he is in the process of Hlebying his career. Or Flaminised? I can't decide which is the best term.
I think this year Arsenal will probably finish ahead of Spurs, if we consider that last year's task was much more challenging. That 12 point gap evaporated.
Now at this point we are only 4 points behind them, and 5 behind Chelsea. We still have a game to play at Spurs though. But overall Arsenal is more used to being up there in the table, whereas Tottenham get nervous or something when push comes to shove. It's just a feeling I have. I hope I'm right!
I'm convinced that Arsenal will pass Spurs.
Spur's first team is (perhaps) better than Arsenal's, but Arsenal have a better squad.
IMO Everton pose a bigger problem, but they still are vulnerable on certain positions (Heitinga should never ever play again, he was once again shocking saturday against Benteke, the first goal was maybe the worst defending i ever witnessed, that was not Benteke being good but Heitinga being spectacularly bad): CB, FW and what would happen if Fellaini would get injured (and he is injury prone) ?
I have an off-topic question. I remember that match against Birmingham and the horror tackle on Eduardo. I was also aware that 'something' was wrong with Gallas, but i never quite understood what exactly. Could anybody enlighten me about that...
Gallas not only could control the nerves of his teammates after that horrific challenge to a colleague (I'll admit that it was not an easy task), but he became the opposite of a leader after the final whistle. From what I can remember Clichy conceded the most stupid penalty kick ever in injury time. Gallas went storming in the opposite direction of our penalty box instead of hoping for a penalty save. Birmingham equalised 2-2 and then the game ended. Then William Gallas proceeded to sit on the pitch like a spoilt little kid and didn't talk to anybody. The team went to the dressing room and he remained there - instead of trying to lift their spirits, which other captains might have done.
This is only the tip of the iceberg, probably. What happened in the dressing room can only be guessed, but I think there was a lot of finger pointing there. After that the team was clearly shaky for the rest of the season. And then Wenger stripped Gallas of the captaincy and gave it to Fabregas (it was during that same season, if I'm not mistaken).
PS: that Benteke goal was actually funny how he could overtake Heitinga so easily. It reminded me when I was 10 years old and I played against a 8 year old
Everton does have a very good team, but I'm hoping they will feel the pressure of competing for those spots and Arsenal hopefuly will have an edge.
