Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play,
They've been going in and out of style
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile.
He's not Sgt, Pepper, but arguably Arsene Wenger has had the same influence on British football as The Beatles L.P. did on the music world and his Arsenal side seem to mimic the verse above.
Ian Wright said that the reaction in the dressing room to his appointment was ' Arsene Who?'. What they didn't realise was the immediate change he was to bring to everything that had gone before. He came in and implemented a new training regime that made the players physically sick with its intensity. An introduction to technical, possession and passing football was followed by a ban on the likes of Mars Bars and the banning of booze from the players' bar insisting they had water only with meals. He gave his players supplements to assist with their new diets and he had an eye for the type of footballer who could play in the style he liked, picking up the likes of Viera, Anelka and Thierry Henry for relatively little money.
Ray Parlour has said 'If you told the Boss you needed to practise something a bit more, he'd stay with you at the end of training to practise. He'd be there for an hour with you on his own. Not many managers would do that.'
Arsenal used to be known as "boring, boring Arsenal." Under Arsene Wenger, they quickly became known as the great entertainers. Quick, passing football with spectacular players and spectacular goals. Wenger, with his radical shift in style and philosophy, changed the whole philosophy of the club.
He also helped with the planning of the £350 million, 60,000 all-seater Emirates Stadium, helped with the budget for it and also had a hand in the design of it down to the fixtures and fittings.
Nowadays, copying Wenger, no leading manager works without a battery of sports scientists and analysts at his disposal.
Maybe it will only be when Wenger is not here any more will people realise how much he has been the catalyst for the way the game should be played and managed, the way it is now, in front of a global audience.
Arsenal used to be known as "boring, boring Arsenal." Under Arsene Wenger, they quickly became known as the great entertainers. Quick, passing football with spectacular players and spectacular goals. Wenger, with his radical shift in style and philosophy, changed the whole philosophy of the club.
He also helped with the planning of the £350 million, 60,000 all-seater Emirates Stadium, helped with the budget for it and also had a hand in the design of it down to the fixtures and fittings.
Nowadays, copying Wenger, no leading manager works without a battery of sports scientists and analysts at his disposal.
Maybe it will only be when Wenger is not here any more will people realise how much he has been the catalyst for the way the game should be played and managed, the way it is now, in front of a global audience.
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