Message to Arsene Wenger and Like-Minds

 I think, only frustration, envy or self defence could make a manager to say what Arsene Wenger obviously said against Leicester city or Chelseafc.

It is a shame that some football managers would blame others or other clubs for their failures(or inability to achieve desired results at the end the season). Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho are among managers within this bracket.

Recently, Arsene Wenger of Arsenal FC said that clubs like Leicester city and Chelsea FC won English Premiership League(EPL) without taking initiative and play possessive(or attractive) football, hence football would lose fans(fans wouldn't come to watch football without possession). Obviously,  Arsene Wenger is blaming clubs like Leicester city and Chelseafc for his failure to add to the three EPL trophies he won (last one was in 2003/2004 season).

Since Wenger said that, I have been asking myself "football initiative is it all about possessing the ball(passing it around), creating chances sometimes (without scoring most goals, and losing or drawing matches)?" I believe that a team looks for the ball(possession of the ball) to create chances, scoring most goals and coming out victorious in most matches. Hence, when you could not do the above(with all your possession of the ball), you should have only yourself to blame, as it's your sole responsibility to create chances and score against your opponents. Do you expect an opponent to just open goal post for you to score easily?. For instance, it was the sole responsibility of Chelseafc to open up West Brom Albion's defencea(who sat very deep in their own half during yesterday's EPL encounter against Chelseafc) and score them. If Chelseafc couldn't score West Brom, it would be wrong of them to start blaming West Brom's style of play for their failure.

Football is now a very big business, everybody is looking for ways of outsmarting an opponent and winning the thing(s) at stake. As such, football stakeholders would be frustrated if their teams do not make use of their possession and win matches; many fans might even lose faith and stop coming to watching football matches to avoid disappointment(or heartbreak) of wasting their resources only to watch team that gets beaten after dominating possession. Possession or attractive football is mostly beautiful if the ultimate result( scoring goals and winning) is achieved.

Naturally, football matches without much chances created, hitting of woodwork and scoring of goals(no matter the amount of possession recorded) is more boring. In other words, a match without much possession but there are much threat to goal post(s) and goals will be relatively sweeter to watch. Hence, main thing in today's football is goals and winning matches, as football is a big business not a joke.

Also, it's hard for a football match to end in 50% : 50% possession. Most of the time, one team ends up having the ball more than the other( despite the fact that each of the teams would like to always have the ball), as football, like every other game, is a game of chance(probability). Forinstance, Bayern Munich vs Arsenal Fc; each team wanted to have the ball but one team ended up having the ball than the other. Now, the question is, what did you do with your own possession? Bayern used theirs scoring aggregate of 10 goals against Arsenal's two.

This, obviously, brings us to football match efficiency which I always measured with goals scored by amount of possession. If a team scores more goal with the little possession they have, it shows that they are more efficient than the team with higher possession but lesser number of goal.

Contrary to Wenger's claim, I believe that football fans will always enjoy watching football matches packed with moments of actions(hitting of woodwork, scrambling of ball inside 18 yard box and scoring of goals) regardless of number of possession, especially fans of the winning team.

I can't imagine a football match where sole or main goal is to possess the ball, and there are little or no action at the goal posts. Such matches would be naturally more boring to watch.

To be a champion(especially in English football), you have to be crafty or flexible with your football system. This is why managers like Arsene Wenger(especially), Jose Mourinho, etc are now finding it difficult to dominate world of football, as they only know and use one type of football system all or most of the time. They refuse to take the initiative to dig out different formations or systems given the situation their teams have found themself or opponent they are playing against. For example, Arsene Wenger will play possessive brand of football against Wigan Atletico, against Bayern, against FCB, against Chelseafc, etc. He is so dull to take the initiative to fashion out different strategies or formations to be used against each opponent, as they come. I see such managers as dull and lazy ones, who can handle different situations at thesame time; have no mental strength to crack out ways of winning matches in different conditions or situations.

I think, those managers that take the initiative to dig out strategies or ways of getting their teams over line(given the opponent or circumstances they find themself in, in football matches)are the real managers, hence should be praised not castigated.

Congratulation to Antonio Conte for winning EPL in his first season in English football; the 4th tItalian manager to become English champion!
Congratulation to Chelseafc players, more especially players like Victor Moses, Marcos Alonso, Michy Batsuayi, etc who are winning it for the first time!
Congratulation to Chelseafc owner, Roman Abramovich, for the 5th time of being English champion!, and
Congratulation to Chelseafc board!