Your minimum expectation this season?

[Dez]

I dont think people are missing the point biggus, just that predictions and expectations by their nature are very similar. Both we believe because we have reasoned it out somehow. Our expectation and ours hopes are where the real difference lies.

Your point is well taken about lowering our expectations - perhaps we should. City aren't a threat yet and Sp**s are still crap. Man U and Chelsea have great squads but we almost beat them last season despite a horrible injury list. I firmly believe this team of players is very underrated by many fans and by the media.

Considering we challenged the title last season and this season I think we are of similar quality (debate for another thread) I expect us to again challenge for the title.

I think it is unrealistic to expect anything in the cups because we could get a horrible draw, have team be a bit jammy etc etc.

 

[Biggus]

I dont think people are missing the point biggus, just that predictions and expectations by their nature are very similar.

Well Dez here are peoples Minimum expectations, Bojed expects us to win the Carling or FA cups finish second in the PL, oh and if we've nothing else on in May appear in the CL final and hopefully win it.....Bluenaz agrees.

Feanor is easier to please, he only expects 1st or 2nd and the FA cup OR the CL (he's not fussed).

But TomasCR demands as a minimum The PL AND the CL!

Boy, and they say Wenger isn't under any pressure. These aren't realistic fair expectations for the team right now- they're the stuff of fantasy, If Wenger can get this lot to 4th place he is a genius. His mandate now must be just to simply keep us as a competitive top club- because there's a really danger that we might slip down.

 

[arsmile]

it's difficult to say wehn it coems to the minimum i want us to achieve- if we win any cup (domestic or cl)then a 3rd place league finish wouldnt be the end of the world- but if we dont, it would be extremely underwhelming so either a cup and 3rd, or none and 2nd...those are the 2 worst but acceptable outcomes for me- but i hope, and think we can, achieve more...like to win the league, surely we can?...yup definitely can

 

[Macho]

3rd Underwhelming?
Im actually used to it. 4th is underwhelming, 3rd is an improvement in Wenger's eyes.

I really think we should give the cup comps and proper go, thats the only way I can see us winning anything. We don't have the depth/quality to last the duration of the league.

 

[HollandGooner]

1) Finishing 3rd,
2) Quarter-Final CL
3) Carling Cup Winners.
4) Semi Finals Fa Cup

 

[TomasCR]

But TomasCR demands as a minimum The PL AND the CL!

Heh, it was rather a joke than a reality Biggus. Wasn´t serious there.

Actually I have no expectation at all, unless I could call 4th place in the PL expectation...

 

[arsmile]

3rd Underwhelming?
Im actually used to it. 4th is underwhelming, 3rd is an improvement in Wenger's eyes.

I really think we should give the cup comps and proper go, thats the only way I can see us winning anything. We don't have the depth/quality to last the duration of the league.

i could live with 3rd place...that's what i said- it is so clear that we are better than 'pool that our minimum aspirations must be for our league position to reflect this....that is why merely out performing liverpool and not winning anything else at all would be somewhat underwhelming, particularly if we are not in the title run in or finals of cups... also 4th would be a big regression from last year- we worry about that looking at our squad, but hope it wont turn out that way

 

[qs]

Qualifying for the CL is my only expectation, I think we can do alot more if things go our way though.

 

[tam1886]

Aside from what I think it almost inevitable qualification out the group stage, I now don't expect any more than a proper challenge in each and every competition, and the team and manager giving it their all in each and every game. I don't think it's realistic to expect to finish the season with the Premier League or the Champions League, there are just too many good teams in each competition to say that we should walk away with either at the end of the season. I do think we can still compete and we do have the ability to push all the way. I think we could be in a far stronger position to push all the way in each, but Wenger will face the reality of not investing in those players at the end of the season, whether he comes out and says 'I told you so' or not.

What is completely unacceptable to me, and something I don't expect to see this season is the manner of our defeats in the domestic cups. That was embarrasing, morale destroying and difficult to watch. I personally love the FA Cup. I want to win that every season, as well as the league and CL. It's still a magical cup competition for me, and I don't like Wenger's dismissal of how important it is. I understand it, but it's still a prestigious competition and at the end of the day it's silverware. Those defeats against M*n U*d and Sp*rs showed not only a lack of importance from Wenger, but more worryingly to me, the players. Regardless of the priority the manager affords the game, the players put out should be giving 100%, and we didn't always see that. If I was in any kind of position to be, I'd be demanding and improvement in that area, both from the players themselves and the coaching staff in motivating them, instead of sitting here hammering **** out of my keyboard. It wasn't good enough, and I hope Wenger will sort that.

As for Man City, I don't expect them to change much this year. They may in the years to come, but I don't think we'll be as affected transfer wise as the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea, or even Liverpool for that. We very rarely seem to be in the market for the same players, so I don't think we'll be affected too much, other than the usual inflation of prices these sugar daddies bring. We've never been in the market for the £32.5 Robinho's of this world, and now it doesn't seem like Man City will be in the market for the £7m Sagna's. We may even benefit if they decide to clear out some of their decent young players such as Johnson or the like. The arabian money came a bit too late in the day for them, and even with a team full of superstars I don't expect them to displace us in the top four. Now I mention it, I don't even expect Liverpool to displace us in the top three.

Like I said, I don't want to see anything less than full commitment from the team. I want to see the players give as much away to Rochdale in the Carling Cup as they would to Real Madrid in the Champions League. Players playing within themselves in unacceptable, understandable maybe, but not acceptable. In my opinion both Wenger and the players giving their all is as much as we can ask. After that it comes down to injuries and luck. There's no question of needing a bit of luck at the right times, if we get that, and manage to keep the right players on the park, then we may be good enough to celebrate some kind of silverware come next May.

 

[Clrnc]

My expectations of Arsenal.

Finish at least in the top 2 of the league
Semis of UCL at least
And a trophy

 

[dutchMasta]

My minimum expectation for an Arsenal team, who previously won doubles and won a league title unbeaten, going into their 4th season without a trophy, would be winning a trophy, coming 2nd in the league and semis for CL.

But I dunno, I feel I have to shift it slightly given the current team. Given what Wenger's done for the team, and his potential to make miracles, even though I know he's not bigger than the club, I'd change my minimum expectation for him.

I'd think a top 3 finish with us contending (basically like last season) in the league, CL quarters and either the FA or Carling Cup. If he doesn't do even that, but provides some early signings next summer to show that he'll admit that maybe the youth project hasn't worked out, then I'll probably want him to stay, but if none of that works out, I think it's about time he should be replaced.

One extra thing, if it turns out he didn't actually have the money to spend, then I'd like him to stay, but I still believe he does. Would be pretty ridiculous for pretty much every person of a high position at Arsenal to have lied to our faces.

My actual expectation is 3rd/4th, I'm not 100% confident of 3rd though there's a good chance. I don't think we'll get further than the quarters in the CL, and I don't think we'll win either the FA or Carling cup.

 

[General]

I think events over the summer inevitably has ramifications for our expectations and I’ve gone from expecting us to win the league this season on the basis that the squad would’ve been reinforced considerably over the summer to lowering my expectations(similar to others on here). Fact is, I’m more prepared to deal with disappointment this time around. I personally would like a trophy, irrespective of the competition and naturally claim a CL spot. I think silverware of any sort will give our current crop a huge boost mentally and in ’footballing’ terms.

If pushed, the FA cup and third spot in the league would be the minimum I expect. Anything else would be a bonus.

 

[Biggus]

And yet for relatively reasonable outlay (in today's market) we could have kept Flamini or captured Alonso and things could have been so different.

 

[awooga83]

Minimal expectation would be to qualify for the champions league there can't be anything less then that really, as for what I believe we should be doing at the very least being involved in the title race untill the last few weeks, quarters of Champions league and really some sort of trophy.

 

[kamikaze80]

3rd place and a trophy.

if i were wengers assistant, i wouldve kept flamini. then the expectations would be upped to 2nd place. for what its worth, i dont think its reasonable for any team to say their minimum expectation is 1st place and then specific trophies. cup competitions are a crap shoot and the league is too competitive for anyone to claim they have a right to the title.

 

[Anzac]

I still think this squad is a 'one trick pony' & as such our best result is CL qualification & Q/Fs in the Cups depending on draw & corresponding fixture lists.

 

[entropy13]

PL, CL, FA Cup, Carling Cup, FA Youth Cup, U18s League, Reserve League.

 

[Biggus]

I can understand very well how people can say- F**k Wenger, he's set up the stall, he's said "I don't need any more players, this group of players is good enough" so he f**king well better deliver......But this sort of bitterness and resentment gets us nowhere. It would be pointless asking for his head if we fail again this season, soon we'll have Man City offering 50-100M for players. I'm afraid Wenger is our only option now.

 

[Anzac]

I can understand very well how people can say- F**k Wenger, he's set up the stall, he's said "I don't need any more players, this group of players is good enough" so he f**king well better deliver......But this sort of bitterness and resentment gets us nowhere. It would be pointless asking for his head if we fail again this season, soon we'll have Man City offering 50-100M for players. I'm afraid Wenger is our only option now.

I agree - & pointless is pretty much how I feel about where we are going. Despite the result I still feel pretty much the way I did when I made my rant post in the "Wenger needs to step up" thread, and I guess I'm resigned to feeling that way for most of this season and the next.

 

[morpho]

I guess there is no one who can handle chelsea this year, so a second place is whats comming for us in the premiership. When it comes to champions league i can see us reaching the semi's... thats my minimum expectations anyway...