I write this in reply to a detailed letter that has been published on this site, which says why we should no longer support Arsenal. I believe the opposite.
Partly, because I am a naturally cheery guy (except when I am not) and partly because I am currently writing the history of Arsenal in 1910, and have just got to the bit where they were bought by Fulham, and went on to lose and draw the first six matches of the 1910/11 season.
But leaving that aside, why should we be cheerful just now?
1. Because we don’t have Benitez as manager. Remember this man is rated as a really tip top manager in Europe. He demands total control over the spending of the club (just like the Lord Wenger) and he picks the players, and talks to the press (just like most managers except Sir Alex F-Word).
But if you heard a recording of his commentary about yesterday’s game you’d have noticed the ravings of a mind completely out of control (and on this topic I speak as one who knows). “Crazy games” were blamed – but there was no definition of the meanings.
He then made silly remarks about Everton being a little club. How childish. Childishness is not for managers. It is for bloggers.
Can you imagine this man in charge of Arsenal? Can you imagine Wenger attacking the Tiny Totts or their idiot board? If we had Benetez as manager within one transfer window the club would be £200 million in debt, and the team wouldn’t be improved one jot.
2. We are not Bolton. Which of course is obvious – but consider this. Bolton under Fat Sam the Slug were a disgrace to football, slithering up the table by every illicit means possible, conning refs, feigning injuries, wasting time from the second minute of a game. This is the side that invented rotational fouling. Now the Slug has gone and they are managed by G Megson, who has made some modest improvement in the style of play. In an outburst today said of Bolton supporters, “My feelings about them need to stay private”
He then launched into this huge attack on his club’s fans in which he called Bolton supporters “pathetic”.
3. We sell out short-notice games against little teams.
We sold all our away tickets for Cardiff, and most of us had a jolly good time on the terraces. Then, I have to admit I suggested we might not sell out against Cardiff in the replay. It is short notice, it is on TV, (mark that – it is on TV) and it is against a team that has only a limited amount of gloss and voom and anything else. And you know what, we’ve sold out all the Arsenal seats.
4. We are 90% of the way to getting Arshavin, Rosicky, Eduardo, Theo, Cesc. What a team to bring in to the club! We are 9 games unbeaten, and we are going to introduce that lot into our team. That is just totally bloody amazing.
5. We don’t have Harry Houdini as manager. Imagine supporting a club that brings in super star managers like Oswaldo Ardiles, Glenda Hoddle, that bloke from Spain who didn’t speak English and Harry Houdini. The only one who was really much cop was that Dutch fella, about whose mother there was some doubt – he went off and took his team to the top of the German league.
6. We don’t have a board like the Tiny Totts, who want to sack a new manager every September.
7. We have a really good ground that is being paid for by a well-organised totally affordable mortgage – and that’s before we start bringing in all the apartment money. The Tiny Totts have a planning permission (and are bringing out the DVD of the planning permission to celebrate). Liverpool We Want Yer Money Wak can’t even get planning permission. Everton “just say no to local democracy we know what’s best for you” can’t sell their disused training ground.
8. We have no debt other than the mortgage. Compare with KGB Fulham, Manchester Bankrupt, Al Fayed Fulham, Liverpool Arab, Manchester Money, Newcastle Zebra and almost everyone else.
9. We have Jack Wilshere, Carlos Vela, Fran Merida, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey, Nacer Barazite…
10. We have the Lord Wenger.
For the latest on the injury situation, getting these wonderful blogs direct to your mobile at no cost, and other stuff like that, go to the main site page, if you are not there already.
If you see what I mean.
(c) Tony Attwood 2009.
word up!
What a load of rubbish…. Arsenal are in serious decline and the quicker everybody realises it the better! Let’s not live in a dream land like the Spuds, i want to keep a firm grip of reality – the reality being that we face Eufa Cup football on channel 5 next year if Arsene doesn’t admit fault and bring in the necessary faces to strengthen our weak and fragile squad. Yes we have a lot of class but not enough, no Thierry’s, Vieira’s, Pires’, Campbells…..
I’m GoonerVance and I approve this message
Agree wid u totally.
We have got the best manager of the world.
And remember we r not glory hunters.
Proud to b gooner
preachhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, why does it seem that our club gets the most talked about, isit because we have great players, great young players, a great stadium, a great footballing mentality and of course the god of arsenal, ARSENE WENGER. ALL OF THEM above arsenal is the envy of every club in europe, we sign the best talent on the market when they are made available, do they want to join manu NO, do they want to join chelski looooooooooool NO, do they want to join liverpool, ac milan, inter milna, juventus, real madrid, barcelona, A BIG FAT NO, when you walk around the street or wherever you go what football kit do you see on someone or what scarf, hat or any clothing, you see ARSENAL, the internet and these forums have given an opputurnity for some mugs who proclaim to be gooners to come on here, chat nonsense when things arent going how they should be, but when we win and do well you never find these same guys again praising us, i know we got to live with it, its annoying, childish but this is the internet, any mug can pay 50p for an hour in an internet shop and do what he or she likes. BOTTOM LINE is after yesterdays game we are still 8 points behind, WHEN we win on saturday well be only a few points off liverpool n chelski who play on sunday, we are 9 matches unbeatan right now, arshavin looks 90 percent on his way, walcott back next month, bendtner hitting form, djourou holding our defence, diaby and song manhandling the opposition, nasri only 21 in his first season at our special and great club doing amazing and ROBIN VAN PERSIE winning us games basically or literally on his own, not all too bad to be a gooner isit
Great points, although in point 9, right after Jack Wilshere, you have to mention Jay-Emmanuel Thomas [later to called JET]. The others are useless squad fillers.
Well said Tony. If The Arsenal were to go on this season to win nothing it would be but a trifling disappointment and no way would I trade trophies in the immediate for the long term successes that are on their way.
We are so close to a period of dominance in football – I can smell it. Dammit! I can almost taste it!
P*ss off you negative so-called gooners. We do NOT need mega bucks signings and we don’t need you.
What fool would want to give up on the best club in the whole damn world?
Nice article, as ever. And I really don’t care if people don’t want to support Arsenal anymore. All I care about is that I do. I’ve done so for years, and I’ll continue to do so, I’m Arsenal ’till I die…
Hallelujah!
Finally, a blogger with the spirit of a true Gunner!
Keep the faith…COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!!
Well said Tony. Watch out for the fifth columnists that usually post on LG and a few others attacking your site. They just do not want to read anything positive about Arsenal. Very strange.
God Bless You Arsene
Very good article, spot on….
You so called negative Gooners should really support another team perhaps Man City ?
A true supporter sticks to his team through good and bad spells, if you think we need to sign stars then again look for a team up north. We can all be disappointed but we get over things like these, if you truly love your club that is then you should know what it means to you.
I love Arsenal and always will stand by my team, poeple who think you can just support anoher team have no character and loyalty!!!
What’s this about abandoning Arsenal as a fan then? Nonsense! I’ll be a fan through thick and thin, good times and bad.
“Fairweather” fans can bugger off and they should keep their mouths shut while they’re at it.
I have been a gooner for a long time and as a child we where terrible no silverware for me between 1971 – 1979 and then between 1979 and 1987 the time I was at school. We where behind Spurs and West Ham every year if not Wimbledon! I never believed we would win the league and the highlight was two cups semi final defeats to Man U. Times are hard but not that hard, it will come back in some form at some time. Have faith and don’t just be in it for the glory of you might as well support Man U………………
At last something positive, i’m with you all the way mate.
In 2 – 3 years time ARSENAL will be the richest club in the world.
I’m an Arsenal fan and always will be but…
If you think Song, Diaby, Denilson or Bendtner (Bender) are capable of making the grade any time soon, you’re on another planet!!!
It’s because of these guys we are whaer we are. How many games have these guys under thier belt? alot, and yet they play like they have just arrived!!
Song looks heavy and clumsy (not athletic), Diaby plays for 15% of the game and goes shopping for the rest. Denilson has no creativity or notion to pass forward and Bender is a joke of a striker (the less said about him the better).
I understand that these guys are not usually the starting 11 but that also means our strengh in depth is just not good enough to compete with the top 3!!!
Will we win the league (or any silverwear) any time soon? what do you really think?
Goodness gracious me, we are at crossroad because on one hand we have a blogger who is sensing decline in our expectations- whereby we have to be exstatic to have nicked a point off Everton and meeting teams that come to our ground with aims of taking points off us something even Mancs/Pool or Chelski did’nt expect.
On the other, we have a totally disconsolate supporters who thinks its just as well to admit failure lest we become a Tottenham in disguise. Look how they are throwing money at the problem and still cant be anywhere near their neighbour.
I think I need to stay in the middle, supporting Arsene Wenger but also opposing his stance that appear to have turned us into a team of jokers. We cant beat teams we used to anihilate. For example we have’nt beaten Boro for the last 3 seasons. They’ve started budgeting points off Arsenal when we used to hit them with 4-1,5-1. We cant hold on to a lead against Villa or Tottenham and what does that say about our strength or lack of it?
Support your team indeed but fuck me, I cant be oblivious to the decline that is so fuckin obvious to all but a few nincompoops.
brilliant as always..i was disapointed with performance last nite, but on the other hand everton drew twice at “might” anfield. adebayor and song were rubbish last nite. just lookin forward to c tomas, theo and cesc back in action(hopefully soon)
so tony great piece! you made my day..cheers mate
There are 2 issues surrounding wenger and our decline and the 1st theory is obviously financial problems. It has been suggested that wenger has not got any money to spend and as a result is covering the boards ineptitude but I’m sorry but that doesnt quite wash with me. If you are operating on a limited budget why would you spend £15m on a winger when you have no strong commanding midfielder dominating in the middle of the park ? What is the point in having arshavin out on the wing but dependent on alex fcuking song to (a) win a fcuking tackle to get the ball & (b) be actually able to pass the ball to him ? Confused That to me dilutes any arguement about a lack of finances cos it shows a lack of awareness of where our problems and priorities lie and that is attributed to wenger and his coaching staff not the board.
It has also been suggested that wenger would be sacked if he came out and admitted that the board havent given him any money to spend but again that doesnt wash with me. We are all supporters who are witnessing a major major slide (although some dont realise how big a slide it is Rolling Eyes ) right in front of our eyes and are getting very frustrated as a result and are directing much of that frustration at wenger and the players – dont you think that the object of that frustration would change drastically if it turned out that it was all the boards fault ? Dont you believe that 60,000 would turn up protesting at the board and supporting wenger and that the board would rightly be afraid to sack wenger for fear of starting a riot ? Even those of us that believe that wenger has lost the plot want to believe that it isnt his fault at all and would be willing to back him over this Embarassed
My 2nd theory is tactical – some of you may look for financial excuses for wenger but you cannot excuse his woeful lack of judgement when it comes to some players. Prior to last night I had began to start feeling a bit more confident on our back 4 again with kolo and djouru looking like a good combination but for some unknown reason wenger yet again decides to restore gallas to the starting line up and if somebody can give me a valid reason (other than a fear of gallas demanding a move if he wasnt re-instated) then I would like to hear it Confused Wenger has spouted bullshit about his young players for 2 or 3 years now so why isnt he playing them ? Can he honestly say that ramsey isnt better than song ? Can he honestly say that vela or wilshire wouldnt offer us more on the wings than either eboue or bedtner ? Is he really serious than any big club can harbour genuine hopes of success with an almunia as 1st choice keeper ? These are all weaknesses in wenger’s judgement my friends and cannot be excused away by citing financial problems. Personally I would be much more willing to except our shortcomings if wenger was playing our vela’s, ramseys and wilshires instead of our songs, eboue’s and bedtners who are either nowhere near good enough or give a shit one way or another Mad
I have zero doubt that this board has past its expiry date and needs a total overhaul. At the moment they are trading on the confusion amongst the fans who dont know whether to blame wenger or the board for our problems and that is our fault and nobody else’s. We all talk about the need for clarity and honesty with the fans but how do we think we are going to get any of that from the board ? We certainly are not going to get it by discussing it amongst ourselves and imo it is way past the time where the fans need to get up off their arses and protest at the lack of investment in the playing side of the club but of course there appears to be no way that will ever happen cos we are The Arsenal and we dont behave like that Rolling Eyes
Im big on psychology in football & to me this isnt that Song doesnt give a hoot, but to do with team morale as a whole.
I remember last year when Rosicky scored against Pompey then him, Cesc, Hleb & I think Adebayor did some stupid celebration but all the while with massive smiles. They were in it together, as mates. If we’d put a 15 year contract in front of Cesc he would have signed it, he loved it.
When we score now we just go back to the centre circle. Theres no togetherness. Its not that they dont care, they arent happy in their work place.
Weve all worked with people that we hate & you start to think “why should I do overtime to help that tw*t”. Ive had a job thats poor pay but Ive loved the people & was happy to work harder because I wanted us all to succeed. Football is no different, they are together every day, eat, drink, train & travel. If your not happy, your not happy.
The side last year massively over achieved & I think people forget that. The character & togetherness shone through but that day in Birmingham tore a lot of that apart. They came so close to the league because they fought for each other. The reason Jimmy Bullard was wanted by so many clubs isnt purely down to his technical ability, its his influence on his team mates.
My overall point is that with the right characters brought in, players like Song will start to play with smiles on faces again. He is no different from anyone else at the club but clearly they are not happy as a unit.
Oh & worst player in 20 years? I can name a dozen worse…..
Scooter “What a load of rubbish…. Arsenal are in serious decline and the quicker everybody realises it the better!”
Totally disagree Mr Scooter. Few clubs match our ambition to wave goodbye to a much-loved but too small stadium to step up another level. Liverpool, Everton and Spurs talk the talk about stepping up with a new stadium but they are all hot air. Unless they sell their soul to Dubai, they are going nowhere.
So we have invested £360m in our future – hardly a club in decline. Okay so it means a few years of limited transfer budgets, but could we have competed with United, Chelsea and City if we had stayed at Highbury?
The Invincibles hit an amazing peak together, but in 2005 they were going off the boil. Today most are now well past their peak, so we would have had to change the team anyway. World class players aren’t easy to find.
Wenger is taking us on a journey to create a club that is a world power. No-one ever said it was going to be painless. But to say we are in decline misses the point. We are suffering a bit at the moment because we are so ambitious. It will be worth the wait.
I’m really starting to think the problem is not a financial one anymore. I think AW is just so caught up in this dream he has of producing a league winning team of homegrown kids that he has discovered that he can’t see clearly anymore.
That’s what I think at the moment – of course none of us knows what the real story is behind the scenes as regards money and it may well be he is financially restrained by the board.
I’m still prepared to give AW until May 2010 to bring this team to fruition because of what he has achieved for us in the past. But even my loyalty will not stretch beyond that date if we are struggling on the periferal of the top 4 and still watching the inept shite that is Song, Denilson, Eboue, Bendtner and Diaby…
Thank fuck for RvP right now. If he gets injured then I reckon even the UEFA Cup is beyond us.
We’ve even lost our passing game now – something I never thought I’d say.
And if he dares to mention the word “spirit” about tonight, the flat screen will be flying across the room
I’ll still give him to the seasons end and see where we finish and what he intends to do come next year.
But whether it’s 4th or 5th is almost immaterial. If all he promises is more of the same – and I can’t honestly see him changing his tune and admitting that 4 or 5 of this lot just aren’t up to it – then we need to say bye-bye.
Because otherwise all he’s doing is overseeing ‘decline management’.
The biggest problem is that we don’t know where the fault lies.
Is it that money is there and he won’t spend it or is there no money and his hands are tied? We just don’t really know.
Personally I don’t think it is there and he is having to do his best without it. If thats the case then I understand why we are watching shite like Song, Eboue, Diaby and Denilson. I also understand that it would be seriously counter productive for him to say to us that they are shite. It would destroy what little ‘belief’ they do have.
All I ask is that when we are poor he says ‘ we were poor tonight and the players know it because I have told them so’. Instead of that we get whinges about our opponents not wanting to play, 10 men behind the ball, poor pitch, tired etc. etc.
Assuming that the money is not there then I think he is towing the company line and will not dis his employers publicly. Again, in many respects I understand that too. My company is utter shite but when dealing with suppliers etc. I speak well of the business for which I work.
The board are the people that should be talking to us supporters and telling us how it is. Instead of this they treat us with utter contempt safe in the knowledge that their 40,000 waiting list will fill the seats of those that turn their backs. Complacency with regard to income generated by the fan base has created a board that feels it does not need to satisfy anyone.
I’ll always support this team as they are in my blood. The current problem being that they are causing it to boil far too often lately.
Some of the comments here are unbelievable (Yes Mason, Mak and Scooter I’m looking at you).
Last season The Arsenal were written off before the season began, from all corners. For the record so were man Utd – with many asking for Fergie’s head. They went on to do the ‘big double’ and we fell agonisingly short – primarily through injuries and bad decisions robbing us of a CL semi-place.
My point is that there is still a long way to go this season and what The Arsenal are lacking, apart from a few more fit players, is CONFIDENCE. Remember how we lost it after our unbeaten run – it happens! We know our first team can compete – look what we did to Man utd and Chelsea already this season!!
Please stop moaning, show a little patience and respect. But mostly stop pretending you are capable of second guessing ‘Lord’ Arsene’s ability – this club is in great shape and it is all thanks to him.
There is a reason why you are just whiny little people who write into blogs and he is considered to be amongst the finest managers in the history of the game. Who do you think you are?
Impatient fools! I trust you’ll be back and admitting your lack of faith and common sense when the trophies start flooding in again?
Thought not.
I don’t believe the squad is very good, it’s too young and we are far worse than we were last season. We are quite dull to watch.
Another Arsenal supporter chipping in to say I totally agree. The team lost confidence after a bad run early in the season, but they are proving that they have ‘bottle’ by grinding out results in the absence of some of our key players. You’re either with them or you’re against them. That is what being a supporter is all about. Slagging off and booing our players is totally counter-productive to being a supporter.
Tony,
I have only recently found out about this blog and I have to say I love your stuff. The amount of bullshit crap on news now makes me sick. You should be on news now.
Keep up the good work, nice to read a gooner who speaks sense.
ML
Another voice of support for this blog.
Anyone suggesting “that wenger should go” can bugger off to chelski, or whoever the latest plastic fantastic team de jour is.
Anyone suggesting that splashing money around will solve all problems instantly should take a long cold look at, well, take your pick from any of ‘arrys clubs, newcastle, man city, liverpool, leeds… etc
The problem is confidence as dont believe the hype rightly points out. we’ve had more than our fair share of injury problems, and so heads are down. BUT the season isnt over, we’re not going to go bankrupt, and we’ve still got the best manager for producing winning attractive football, and talented skillful players that we’ve ever had.
There are ups and downs in life, and there are only a finite number of trophies each year – therefore the vast majority of clubs wont win anything in a given year. we’re in a down patch, but we’re not out of the trophy hunt… get a bit of perspective people!