Well, “the King is dead, long live the King”. The phrase that is well known when the Monarch dies and a new one takes his place. Unlike the replacement of a monarch, in our case, there will be no death to trigger the replacement or no election to replace him. Instead Kroenke, the King maker will take advice from those experts who are now tasked with finding the right person for him and then he will settle on the outcome of whatever negotiations he has with his favoured candidate.
In the Independent today I have read some useful comments, which the reader may find interesting. Firstly, I read that Kroenke in the final few months became acutely aware of the cavity, which had erupted between the fans who supported the King and those rebels who wanted him to be deposed. In the end, the rebellion was exacerbated by the fact that however much they protested, their opinion was ignored. The empty seats which burgeoned at every match bore evidence of the strength of their dissatisfaction. He could no longer ignore the situation and after further such evidence which was widely displayed on TV he had no alternative but to take the hardest decision ( his words ) that he and his son had had to make in any of his sporting investments.
In this particular occasion, the `Brexiteers` have triumphed and the question now is will the `Remoaners` get behind the team and the new regime to try to restore the stature of Arsenal FC?
The new Manager – I don`t say `King` because the new position will be much less all-encompassing than it was under Wenger. Apparently, Gazidis, and his team will be responsible for many of the tasks Wenger had monopolised. That has already affected the possible appointment of the favourite for the job. The favourite is Max Allegri of Juventus but when he was asked if he was interested in the job, he said that he was concerned about the management structure at Arsenal.
Luis Enrique, the ex-manager of Barcelona has been suggested as second choice but he is looking for an even higher salary than Wenger had, so I can`t see him getting the gig. Some of the usual suspects such as Ancelotti, Benitez etc. have been well tried and there is a definite doubt as to whether they would be any better than Wenger. That brings me to three younger managers who have all been mentioned lately. They are Eddie Howe, of Bournemouth, Julian Nagelsmann of Hoffenheim and Brendan Rogers of Celtic.
Eddie Howe has already been considered as one to monitor because of his success with Bournemouth, which has been phenomenal considering that, he brought them into the Premiership out of the lower reaches of the football league. Brendan Rogers is well represented on social media as a possibility and he has just as many detractors who think it is absurd to even consider him. Nagelsmann gets huge respect from the press and TV pundits in Germany for the brand of football that Hoffenheim play and the immediate improvement he made to his team since he took over.
Respected in Germany
Personally, I think that Rogers has been underestimated and undervalued for what he has done. When he managed Swansea, they were in a long standing decline and heading for Bankruptcy. He transformed their football and he made several shrewd signings. They were promoted into the Premiership by playing attractive football and until he left, they were a sound middle table team. He then went to Liverpool and after many barren years, Liverpool almost won the league but for a last ditch slip by Stevie Gerrard which gave away a goal that cost them first place instead of second. After Liverpool had signed Suarez by first selling a fading Torres for silly money, Rogers built the team around him. He developed Sterling and improved the present captain, Henderson. He has sort of ruled himself out of the running but that is before Arsenal have offered. I doubt he would be able to resist a return to the Premier League with The Arsenal.
He was replaced by Jurgen Klopp which appears to have been a match made in heaven, but in his first season, Klopp`s record was worse than Rogers and four of his best players were sold that season. Stevie G is on record this year of saying that Rogers is right up there with the best. He said that his man management was first class. Now he is manager of Celtic and though it is not a proper comparison with the Premiership, he has made Celtic more professional and they play good football. They are presently the kingpins of Scottish football but in reality they are probably nothing better than a championship team. Nevertheless, they are expected to win their league and/or the cup every year.
Endorsed by his former skipper
Therefore, of the three young candidates I think Nagelsmann is too inexperienced for the Premiership and I am not sure that he would come. Continental teams are watching him, including Bayern Munich and he may prefer to remain in Germany. Eddie Howe is still a possibility, but Bournemouth have been fighting relegation this year and they are not the surprise package, which they were last year.
I think Rogers has the better CV of these three and he has enough experience now to take on the Arsenal job. He also has tactical nous, which he demonstrated in his first year at Liverpool and virtually all his time at Swansea. He has been comfortable in his command of Celtic and guards the traditions of what is globally a big brand. Stevie G`s endorsement of him is good enough for me, unless we can get a really big known name. I would rule out Low, the German manager, because there is a world of difference in managing a Premiership club, to what is basically a part time job however good the team. Those of you who were not around pre-Wenger will not recall the managers we had before George Graham. Of those we had from the 70`s onwards how many would have had a CV better than that of Rogers? We need not seek another Arsene Wenger. There is none; and it is unlikely there will be another, so we have to be realistic as to who we get. I for one would not be disappointed to see Rogers in the chair.
A sophisticated, articulate Arsenal Man of Mystery. Aged 70 and a bit.
You credit Brendan Rodgers too much. He was not responsible for the purchase of Luis Suarez at Liverpool. Rather Suarez was already a member of the squad Rodgers inherited from the Kops ‘King Kenny’ as was Andy Carroll.
Thanks I have edited Victor’s poor research. Dave
Sorry if I was wrong. It was taken direct from an article in the Independent yesterday.