It has been a bit of an enforced absence from me over the past few days, lots of assignments to be written and work to be done. Thankfully for you – I jest – I am back.
The atmosphere is full of rage and disappointment right now – which one probably depends on what clique you now belong to. From what I have observed over the past few seasons with increasing anger is the fact our fans seem to like to identify themselves as different from each other, like some kind of political party.
“Wenger is the best!!”
“Shut up!! Another member of the AKB brigade I see!!”
“Oh so you are one of the ‘Wenger out brigade’ I see!”
I’m sick and tired of reading this crap. Just because someone holds a certain opinion on the manager they are labeled and shamed like this is some kind of Arsenalised Apartheid and it is doing my head in. You can’t escape from the crap that is being spewed by many when it comes to catagorising certain supporters.
Tensions are high right now, I’ve seen myself a bit of fisticuffs in the stands between our own fans and it really is maddening, I have also heard first hand some of the abuse that members of the current squad get from their own fans, which is just as bad as punching a fellow Arsenal supporter in the mouth for holding a different view. So, excuse this little bit of hypocrisy when I say I don’t want to be associated with boneheads.
If you wish to label me, or this blog as pro/anti anything then go ahead. You are just another of those idiots I was talking about a minute ago.I’m not going to give it the big Mandela speech and ask for unity or anything like that – just a little bit of respect would do nicely. Agree to disagree, don’t abuse. Drop beats, not bombs, that kind of thing.
This brings me onto the next thing; the planned protest for the game against Villa. My understanding is that this is NOT an anti-Wenger march and is just a campaign for the fans to have more involvement and be more appreciated by the club. Of the many positive things they are campaigning for include split season ticket payments, the ability to swap seats with other season ticket holders and downgrading from a season ticket to silver membership – small changes but ones that may greatly enhance fans enjoyment and the atmosphere at the stadium.
Action like this has my backing, it is peaceful and as long as it isn’t hi-jacked by morons I hope it works. The AST support it and fans really do need to be heard now more than ever. Money for fans is tight and an ear pointed in their direction may be the difference between a season ticket or membership renewal or giving it up.
If this season had been more of a success I don’t think too much would be said of this protest, but as things are sour, it is built up and that’s when the Chinese whispers gets going and suddenly we have what is apparently a huge revolt on our hands. Twitter is a great thing, but when it comes to events like this false rumours are quick to spread.
Find the actual website of the organisation organising the protest. Read their press-release. Draw your own conclusions.
I won’t be on the protest, I will be in the pub with friends before heading to the ground shouting myself hoarse.
And now it seems I have to venture into the business of taking apart our 2-1 loss to Bolton apart piece by piece. Again, the effort was fine but the bit extra that would have stood us apart from them was missing once again, the team look tired, the manager looks ill and stressed and the end of the season just can’t come soon enough. We know it is all over, we don’t need telling that by United, Spurs or Chelsea fans – Its been accepted by me, for now it is about putting on a good show for the last few games, beating United and building towards what will be a simply massive summer for club and manager.
This is a magnificent read by Oliver Holt of Mirror Football. I urge you to read it..
For now there are a few more days for reflection and thoughts on what needs to be changed. For sure, players need to depart, quality needs to arrive. How much further does it go than that? Well, the manager has my backing for another season and I will judge after that.
However for now, we need to stick together and do what we pay to do.. support.
We are The Arsenal remember, **** all the rest.
Arsenal News 24/7
Are we? Doesn’t feel like it anymore to me … 33 years as a season ticket holder, I’ve never felt less engaged as a Gooner. Face it “THE” Arsenal is dead, we’re just another faceless corporate giant. I really have stopped caring … not because of the manager, the players or the board … I don’t feel that special bond with the other supporters anymore. We always have disagreed about players, tactics, managers … that’s all part of the fun. This feels so different … there is no “us” anymore and I wouldn’t blame any of the players for wanting to leave, not sure I’d want to play for the sort of people who turn up at the Emirates these days. Still, made the decision to sell my shares so much easier …
You hit the nail on the head with the separation of fans. Its really starting to look like political parties going at each other and the big problem is that if you keep calling someone something they start believing it. A fan might start thinking if he has something to say against wenger then suddenly he falls under the anti wenger group and thats that, he then takes that role, and vice versa. It gets to the point where people start lying to themselves in their opinions where they become too scared or confused to question their own judgement. I have little wrong with wenger, for a number of reasons, but that doesnt mean im blind, i do see his faults, i do see things i dont agree with. So according to everyone what would that make me? That ofcourse was a sarcastic question because people have all kinds of opinions and we need to kill off this whole pro vs anti bulls*** before it becomes rooted into the club. The gift of thought is that we can have multiple opinions and ideas, there are pros and cons to everything and we need to realize this. Im not pro wenger or anti wenger, im pro arsenal
i think most arsenal fans (especially the younger ones)over the past 20 years have been spoilt and don’t know anything about the real arsenal and our values,they bang on about no trophys and sack the manager yet have no answers to why we need a manager or who should be manager, any players they say should be brought in are players that been mentioned in the press or on goonersite bloggs, like hazard,whos unproven in top flight football but younger fans call world class.
younger fans don’t know what it like to watch arsenal win nothing over a period of time like most older fans, take 1952 to 1970 or 1972 to 79 then on to 87, they no idea what it was like under don howe terry o’neil, even bertie mee in 74 and 75 was bad ,watching us finish 17 in the league would kill off most off the fans today, they don’t apprieciate how well arsenal done over the past 6 years ,ok we not won anything but we been in the champions league now for 16 straight years, in the 70′s we hardly saw european football. they think arsene wenger the man wwho started this youth policy but are wrong arsenal have used this policey all the years i’ve followed them and it 45 years now i been a fan.
the board room with the exception of david dein have never spent money on players yet have always said in the media money is available.
i agree with minesy , the fans have lost that bit off magic that used to mould us together as fans, never hear any singing or encouragement from the terrace or any wise cracks,now just moans and groans i find it hard to enjoy a game at arsenal, mainly because thiers no atmesphere or comradry anymore amoung then fans it a shame but i guess thats just life.
I agree with a huge amount that is written on this website and would tend to avoid a lot of the vitriol banded about on football forums.
However I do feel that, whilst it’s important to put these things in perspective, it is equally important that as fans we show the club (and by that I mean the manager and players too) what we expect from them.
I can’t help but feel that waiting until the close season to demonstrate this is a missed opportunity. Time and again I, like many fans, have hoped during June, July and August we will see positive movements in both the transfer market and in the boardroom only to be disappointed come Sept. That’s why I feel we must put our case across now, in the media spotlight so to speak, rather than in the summer.
It seems to me that we need some sort of fans charter – a statement of intent that as supporters we can sign up to. Nothing unrealistic or dramatic but pragmatic and focused enough not to be swept under the carpet like all those AGM questions have for last year. We should be able to at the very least to prevent a rise in season ticket prices without an equivalent increase in investment on the pitch.
Arsenal FC is not a democracy but it is a business and like any business it should be asking it’s customers eg the fans – what they want. Rather than spending so much time bickering and infighting we should be focusing on how they can start to listen to us a lot better and quickly!
Totally agree with Minesy and Demongooner. The problem now is the fans, especially the home crowd. I too have supported Arsenal for over 45 years. I used to be so proud to be a member of the best group of supporters in the land. Now, often I’m embarassed and ashamed. It’s many of these fans, not the players, who don’t deserve to wear the shirt.
Hey martin you need to shut you mouth up and face the reality..I love Wenger so much and i do not want to see him loose his job but the dude needs to make some changes to the squad like Diaby been sold,Denilson,Aluminia.Djorou,Bendtner,Squlachi or whatever,they are no more relevant in the squad..Wenger needs to buy quality player in regards of thier prices but i do not support buying a player above 15 mil pounds so please i want the fans to protest aiight..
I have never in 40 years of supporting Arsenal felt so detatched from the players.people earning the huge amounts of money that they do have nothing in common with the supporters ,who struggle to pay for season tickets and follow them the length and breadth of the country.when they lose they trudge of the pitch ,apart from Jack Wilshire, without a glance at the supporters who have forked out half their wages to support them .In the days of Adams ,Bould Keown etc they would always show their thanks to the fans win or lose.This gutles band of mercenarys that we have now drive of in their luxury cars to their Wags,and disapear till the next shambles.bring in some British steel to back up the fancy Dans and we might win a trophy.
Everyone says our away fans are fantastic. Only they should be invited to the home matches perhaps?
IN ARSENE WE RUST,someone get the wd-40 out.
thx for this great post. I think Wenger has to go if we dont strenghten with world class but I am not completely against him. The march is needed cause fans needs to be heard now!!!
It’s a shame the people trusted as Custodians of the Club seem to have forgotten who we are and used us a s vehicle to push the price of shares none of them bought for more than 2.5K a share to just under 12K a share without investing a penny in the team and taking money out of the funds from the self-sustaining businessmodel to pay for projects that only helped push that share price up.
The people entrusted with protecting who we are forgot who Arsenal is, not us. You may say they cared more about Arsenal than Stan Kroenke might but who sold him the control?
No the indignity Arsenal is exposed originates from inside the deepest, most traditional parts of this club.
Too right Steve …. isn’t funny that we all seem to think we have a poor home support these days and at the same time the BEST away record in the league … surely no correlation …
People go on about all this so called deadwood we have but very few if any have featured in the last 6 games.
It’s the likes of cesc, nasri, theo, jack, djourou etc etc that have to take more responsibility.
The balance of out side is all wrong. Still. No height and no real pace bar one player. And let’s not start on the collective defending in the side. It won’t matter if qf cloned baresi we need to be better as a unit