This is not a thread for going over the slagging off of Arsene and all the rest of it.

All this talk of Arsenal's woes and even people questioning Wenger's reign got me thinking.

Just what would Wenger have to do in order to be sacked? not leave of his own accord. actually sacked.

by my reckoning he has the safest job in football alongside Ferguson which is understandable considering the service he has given Arsenal. but could this be a bad thing? could complacency creep in? does wenger need a bit of inside pressure to push him along?

how far would the club be prepared to go before they actually sacked him? missing out on CL? missing out on UEFA Cup? another 5 trophyless seasons?

is it a healthy environment to work in knowing that you are virtually unsackable?

Discuss...

(Edited ....)

It's a good debate because many Arsenal fans on here are blindly backing him, regardless of all the infighting going on and the trophyless seasons. J-Axe for example, would never sack him. He'd get into the sack with him, but never sack him. Wenger's done too much for them to be treated that way.

Sometimes a Manager can overstay their welcome - Brian Clough springs to mind. Personally, I think Wenger should be seriously facing the bullet if Arsenal didn't get 4th place and they went another season trophyless. It would represent a huge step backwards and show that his policy for continually investing in Youth and replacing top class players with kids as a total failure on the pitch, and that's where a Manager should be ultimately judged.

can you please edit that post so its easy to read.

thanks

also try to actually answer the topic. playing against Stoke has no relevance.

re-read my opening post and reply accordingly.

well i am not sure whether this topic is actually worthwhile ....by that i mean Arsene Wenger has a contract until 2010 i think which means he only has a few years left .. he is the most successful manager in Arsenal`s history so i think he is virtually safe in his job ..

I think if you are considered unsackable it is a healthy enviroment as the club must have done well enough to have the manager in that position ....not many clubs are happy to keep managers who dont bring success with them .

As for what it would take for Arsene Wenger to get sacked ....an incredible run of bad form ......ie knocked out both domestic cup competitions ......failure to qualify for the Champions League ....a danger of relegation ..

Even then ..unless we did get relegated i think he would keep his job ....

I think relegation would do it. Close to relegation perhaps would too but he could easilly finish bottom half (a total disaster for Arsenal) and still retain his job.

I don't think it's a bad thing Wenger has the safest job in football because.....

The fact he has no pressure on him isn't a problem for me. I know he's is such a bad loser which tells you what? he's hungry to win and be successful and to do it his way is his motivation. He doesn't need pressure from the board, he sets his own targets.

As a Arsenal fan it's extremely hard to get angry with Wenger and call for his head. While he continues to compete and finish within the top 4 and do it on a bootstring compared to other clubs it's not a problem for me.

The expectations for the F.A Cup and Carling Cup aren't high for Arsenal fans because we have come to learn that these competitions are used to mix youth and reserve players. And I and the fellow Arsenal fans seem happy with that.

Of course Wenger is sackable. But ok he hasn't delivered a trophy recently but he has single handily changed the way English football is played. Alright we have nothing to show for it lately but look at Mourinho, won a lot at Chelsea but was sacked because he didn't play attractive football.

Wenger hasn't won a trophy in 5 seasons. I wouldn't want anyone else at our club.

What conditions are those that Benitez is working under? If you think the media are pro-Benitez or something then you're mistaken.

Out of interest Ben, how many seasons will Benitez last while not ever winning a Championship? Wenger's done it. So has Fergie. Chelsea's done it under Mourinho.

Why aren't Benitez expectations set as high as Wengers I wonder?

Because he's got to two Champions League Final's in the four seasons he's been here? And also won the FA Cup in that time. I suppose that cuts him some slack. Plus he's not been here as long as Wenger, so is nowhere as experienced in this league, hence having lower expectations - and has had limited foundations to challenge from, inheriting a weak Houllier team, whereas Wenger has had a successful team to rebuild from (normal manager's don't just completely scrap a successful team in a couple of seasons, which has to be Arsene's downfall...). You can bring Mourinho into it all you like but the situations simply aren't comparable.

But pressure's on Benitez regardless, very much so. He nearly got sacked last season and the media constantly like to perpetuate the idea that he has to deliver the league title now or else. And no-ones saying Wenger has to win the league either. He's coming under pressure because after spending seasons rebuilding and having a good year last year he's gone backwards this season with Arsenal looking to not challenge in the league and having some terrible defeats so early on.

Look at the state of Arsenal Football Club pre-Wenger and look at the improvements since his arrival. The fact that he is not here for himself, he's here because he's now apart of the Club and he admits that he will always remain here.

He always feels the pressure to win. I don't think the board can strike fear into him by threatening him in some way with his job - that's ridiculous. Wenger is highly intelligent and fully backed by the board and the fans. Of course you'll get idiotic fans who can't understand basics, but that's football fans.

There is no reason to sack Wenger and there'll never be a reason as long as the Club is as healthy as it is. Financially secure and with a young team in a new stadium. Considering what he's won, he's proven himself as a winner and he's proven that he loves the Club and wants to make it bigger & better - which he has achieved.

There's no point thinking how low can we go before the board thinks about his job. I'm pretty sure it's secure as long as the Club is in good health - trophies or no trophies. But you're a fool if you believe Wenger doesn't intend to do everything in his power to create a trophy winning team. He's just considering the Club and it's health, rather than splashing cash in a market that has no real definite stability in order to get that little bit closer to silverware.

I think 2 or 3 more seasons without Wenger acheiving anything of note and the board will start to get a bit edgy with him but his service and commitment to the club will halt any move to oust him. Whether thats a good thing or not for the club is debatable.

In that case name me a Manager who would win us silverware without splashing cash and destabilising the Club's future finances? I think it's going to be difficult to challenge Clubs for trophies when they're dominating the market and buying World class players, leaving you the leftovers to consider.

There's no reason why Man City can't become a World dominating side. Richest Club in the World apparently - they could buy plenty of World class players and as they improve on the park they'll attract more and more top class players. You cannot compete with that, and splashing all your limited cash on the 'leftovers' if you like, won't say much for the health of the Club or it's progression on the pitch. Wenger is renowned for his ability to take nobodies and make them stars and make them winners at the highest levels - that's his tact now that he knows competing with the others by buying the best in the market is impossible.

Why are your clubs finances so sensitive? Would spending a bit really tip you over the edge? Unless what ive been saying about the stadium seriously affecting your spending is true?

Spurs and Portsmouth have managed to win trophies recently, are they richer clubs than Arsenal? Have they been outbidding you for the 'best in the market'?

Winning the FA Cup or Carling Cup doesn't make Wenger anymore of a Manager. The priority is the League and Europe and that's clear.

Spending "a bit" wouldn't damage the Club in any way - but we did splash out close to a record fee in the Summer if you remember. Spending more on top of that, which we did do anyway, isn't really something Wenger would be looking to do.

What part didn't you understand?

The premise of the your question i that Wenger is actually doing something wrong otherwise you could make the topic about any manager outside of the top four.
I can't think of a reason why such a ridiculous question should be asked ,other than that.You can sugar coat it anyway you want to by saying it's not a
What i think you probably didn't take into consideration judging by your opening statements is that wenegr has built a team with a fraction of the money the other teams in the top four have spent,which is any club owners dream.So that should answer your question instantly.

BUt do we actually believe Wenger himself would let it get to that point ?
I think not he's not like some of his counterparts who basically are like flogging a dead horse, the man has shown he has pride and a certain ethic that is above anyone else in the league.
I think the original question is really more of a dig at wenger than anything ,as he's really should be the last Manager in fact anyone should be looking at to fire.

Well if those two competitions are the priority then I think he is being terribly remiss in not spending some of the cash available to him because he cannot win those competitions without spending money on top players or atleast holding onto all the top playuers he already has.

We all know Wenger is a board members and shareholders dream. He keeps the Champs League money rolling in year after year with minimal investment in the squad.

But surely there comes a point where the other stakeholders in the club like the players and fans demand some success, some trophies. Its been too long for a club of Arsenals ambition imo, and thy need to win something this season or next in order to show those people they still are serious about this 'top european team' business and not just trying to keep the cashflow coming in a the smallest transfer budget possible.

I still don't see him getting sacked if we were relegated.

It'd NEVER come to that, so it's a silly question really, but if it did then I still don't think he'd be sacked.

I agree with the first part ,but i think Wenger has proven that you don't need to buy big players to be competetive.There are enough players hungry enough in the world today that could be bought for a fraction of the money of established stars who could make Arsenal world beaters. If you look at how futile a full sided Real Madrid were against Arsenal gives some indication friendly or not.