by Tony Attwood
The “606” radio programme on BBC Radio 5 Live is not a particular favourite of mine, but I do listen occasionally while driving back to the Midlands from the Arsenal. However I don’t think I have heard Mr Savage ever insult a supporter who has taken the trouble to phone in, quite so much as when he called an Arsenal fan “pathetic, pathetic, pathetic” last night.
The cause of the repeated insults was the fact that the supporter was doing what we might expect – he was celebrating a victory against our biggest local rival, and celebrating another improvement in Arsenal’s performance. Savage didn’t seem able to get the notion of local rivalry at all, and appeared lost, disjointed and mindlessly repetitive.
Indeed it seemed he was (not for the first time) completely out of touch with what being a supporter actually means. To dismiss such rivalry as “pathetic” and to go unchallenged by his co-presenter is to show (also not for the first time) that increasing numbers of professional commentators on football are so far removed from the real world that they end up talking about some sort of fantasy created by themselves. PAYING customers seem to live in another dimension.
“PAYING” that is, in terms of the cost of the ticket, the transport, the programme, and everything else. SUPPORTING in terms not only of your team, but also your team against its historic rivals.
Indeed the distance that people like Mr Savage have travelled from the experience of actual football supporting, is enormous. For all their relevance to what happened yesterday they might as well have been watching pony trials.
Anyone fortunate to have been with Walter, Andrew, Blacksheep, myself and a rather large number of other supporters, will live forever with the memory of yesterday and its unbelievable unfolding. Indeed I was left ruminating as I drove home, on the fact that this was probably the second most emotional game I have ever experienced in a long life of emotional experiences at football matches.
I’ve often written that watching the last match of the Unbeaten Season had me churned up inside, hardly daring to believe (especially at 1-0 down to Leicester) that we could actually do it and go unbeaten all season. When we did there were tears down my face.
No tears yesterday, but rather utter disbelief. But here’s a nice little coincidence. Both games happened on 15 May.
Of course there was not disbelief that Arsenal won, nor that Arsenal got four, nor that Giroud got a hat-trick (I’ve never given up my belief in him), but that Tottenham could actually lose from such a position. But of course it can happen. And indeed, it happened again.
When the roar went up around the ground as the first Newcastle goal went in, it was louder and more prolonged than the roar for the first Giroud goal, simply because it was more unexpected. When the second went in, it was louder again, and more prolonged – and tinged with utter total disbelief.
When Tottenham got one back there was a sinking feeling, and a recognition of how many times we have seen a team come back from 2-0 down to snatch a draw (which is all Tottenham needed). For the third Newcastle goal there was delirium, by the fourth there was hysterics – and of course by then our victory was long since secured.
And then the Arteta goal – a real Would You Believe It? moment. I know the churlish souls without a heart will insist it goes down as an own goal by the keeper, but to push that point is to miss the sheer overwhelming power of what we do each weekend. We support OUR team against OUR big rivals, and the whole occasion is part of OUR lives. And this was one of OUR moments.
That’s why those of us who follow the notion of supporting the club, the players and the manager are so far removed from those who will join supporters from dozens of other clubs in calling for the manager to leave. We don’t do that because it is OUR club, OUR family, and truly OUR game.
It is indeed no surprise that R Savage on Radio 5 doesn’t come within a billion miles of understanding that, given the distance the media has travelled away from real football and real fans. Although even so it is a little surprising that the Corporation should think it is a clever idea to have an ex-player be paid to call a supporter “pathetic, pathetic, pathetic” and for everyone to think that acceptable.
But perhaps it is the start of the desperate attempt to explain away how a team denounced by so many journalists and writers of bloggettas as being the worst Arsenal team in decades, as being so awful, useless, pathetic, horrible, talentless, etc etc, should have won the FA Cup twice and then come second in the league in the past three seasons. If Mr Wenger is so awful, what does that say about 18 other managers in the league?
And not just that, but also the fact that Arsenal has come above both Manchester clubs and Chelsea, clubs that have infinitely more resources than Arsenal, and all of which were tipped by different people as league winners. Indeed while coming second, third or fourth is not a trophy as we are told every day, coming second, third or fourth is rather handy as a way of playing in the Champions League and two of those giant clubs won’t be doing that next year. Do they care? You bet they do.
This has been a season in which a bunch of people, aided by those who work in radio, TV and newspapers, as well as the little bloggettas that do nothing but tell us they can read the future (and the emotions) of managers, have once again predicted the decline of Arsenal – from the Daily Mirror to the Telegraph the message has been rammed home.
And once again they have got it very, very, very wrong. When on earth will they ever learn?
This is the era in which P. Morgan Esq has told us that we should have signed Martinez as manager. And Moyes. And most other people. But we didn’t – and thank goodness for that.
Of course for some people two FA Cups and a second place in the league is not enough in three seasons after building the Emirates, and maybe such people should go and support Barcelona or Real Mad in Spain, where trophies come along in convoys. That one option. But for me, I’ll take the sheer excitement and overwhelming joy of yesterday any day of the week, and look forward to winning the league next season.
| POS | CLUB | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester Curiosity Shop | 38 | 23 | 12 | 3 | 68 | 36 | 32 | 81 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 65 | 36 | 29 | 71 |
| 3 | It’s happened again | 38 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 69 | 35 | 34 | 70 |
| 4 | Manchester Airport | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 71 | 41 | 30 | 66 |
| 5 | Southampton | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 59 | 41 | 18 | 63 |
| 6 | Manchester Disjointed | 37 | 18 | 9 | 10 | 46 | 34 | 12 | 63 |
| 7 | State Aid United | 38 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 65 | 51 | 14 | 62 |
| 8 | Liverpool!!! | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 63 | 50 | 13 | 60 |
| 9 | Stoke City | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 41 | 55 | -14 | 51 |
| 10 | Chelsea will win the league | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 59 | 53 | 6 | 50 |
- guess what…?
- Arsenal v Villa. Only half the teams in the Prem next season were there 10 years ago.
- Arsenal v Aston Villa 2015-16 Season Finale – The Match Officials
New and recent series on the Arsenal History Society Site
- Arsenal in the 1930s – the new series has begun
- Arsenal in the 1970s – the complete review of every game
- Arsenal in the summer – the transfers, the friendlies, year by year
- Arsenal anniversaries – nearly 5000 entries
- The full index to all the series is on Arsenal History Society Web Site
The more annoyed Savage gets, the sweeter it gets too. Ha ha ha!
Hey Tony, are you daring to gloat? Oh gloat away man! You’ve ‘earned’ it, and so has every Untolder who has dared to believe that this team has the genes of champions in them. Yes they do! For the pathetic lot who want to argue otherwise, let’s suffer their tom-foolery till this time next year, so we can gloat some more!
Well done manager, good job boys, thumbs up fans! Victory through harmony is our watchword. Upwards and forwards!
Hi Tony well be back,if you chevk in the archives i said at the begining of this season that this is going to be a happier season ,so where are d morons,AAA and the sewer rats can we have a word of how they have seen this season and what they have in mind next season.
Robbie Savage? Who the f..k is that? Is he an amateur clown?
It’s not often that a man who has shown his qualities on the football field can transfer those same skills into the commentary box, but Robbie Savage has done just that.
He was a graceless clod with poor skills on the field, and he has successfully carried those traits into broadcasting. But isn’t the real story here the fact that so many apparent ‘experts’ have been left with egg all over?
I’d like to see a review of the punditry at each seasons end; what they said, whose colours were nailed to which masts, and whether or not the individuals concerned should be discarded by their respective rags and stations. This year everyone from Neville to Merson has been made to look like the political chameleons, ignorant oafs, and limited talents they undoubtedly are. Savage savaging a jubilant fan is merely an illustration of the desperation and frustration of their collective and abject failure.
Mike B – good idea about pundits, might be a big job to do, but I will have a look. If we can’t do it on Untold it is only because of the size of the task.
As a Gooner who appreciates what Wenger has done – and is still doing – for Arsenal, I would like to thank you for writing this. What unfolded yesterday (Happy St. Totteringham’s, sir!) is why I follow footie in the first place, and for someone like Savage to not only dismiss it but to criticise in such a heavy-handed manner only shows how removed he is from footie fandom.
And you’re spot on too on your assessment of Wenger, whose hatred by people who call themselves Gooners is fuelled by the so-called media experts and pundits.
The way I see it: We were hamstrung by the Emirates project (call it cliched but it’s a fact), but Wenger, who knew he would have to compete with one hand tied to his back, stuck on despite knowing that Arsenal may go on a barren run. But not only did he stay (I’m sure if he left the likes of Real Madrid and Barca would have pounced), he actually gave it a go. We actually COMPETED with a limited budget, with young players (some of whom became stars) and actually came close a few times. This, despite the emergence of teams with unlimited resources. Remember: our most expensive player during this period was the little Russian named Arshavin (15m). Yet, we remained among the elite, although our net spending would have put us at the bottom half of the table. In other words, I believe we overachieved during this period.
As soon as the purse-strings were loosened, he purchased Ozil and then Sanchez. That saw us winning back-to-back FA Cups. Then this year we came in second. So frankly, if I wanted to judge Wenger I would judge him based on the years since we could compete financially, since the signing of Ozil. And 2 FA cups and a 2nd place finishing in the league ain’t at all shabby. For those calling for Wenger’s head know this: the man has done more for this club than any living person today. I believe he loves this club more than you do, and has suffered much, much more. He deserves your respect at least if you can’t give him your support.
Savage conveniently forgets that he tipped Arsenal to win the Premiership before jumping ship. Perhaps Steve Claridge should remind him.
This whole pundit thing needs to be looked into, especially so as people here note that the licence payer is funding them.
We don’t need idiot co-commentators, it’s a US thing that works for them with their obsession for stats & silly chat during matches. Most European countries don’t use this system, and I’d replace the TV pundit panels with a pool of knowledgable professionals like John Motson, Jonathan Pearce, Gaby Logan, Garth Crooks, Eamon Dunphy, John Champion, Barry Davies, Amy Lawrence, Graham Taylor, Sven, John Gregory, Robbie Earl, Clive Tyldesley, Jacqui Oatley & Steve Claridge but NEVER Piers Morgan or Robbie Savage
Mr Savage is just that.
He has not yet made the jump from savage to human. 🙂
Well, prepare for next season when i wish that the team stops playing on 3 and 1/4 flame and become ruthless and determined to win PL.
No more hoping, no more having to depend on others but by being all Arsenal pulling out every ounce of skill, determination and effort and blowing teams away with the work ethic of the players.
Savage has the honour of being responsible for one of only two football books I’ve ever given up on before the end.
I normally finish them no matter how disappointing and read a lot of them for know-your-enemy purposes, but it was just too ignorant and incoherent.
Think Jeff Stelling may have taken top prize for me yesterday,though. Still high from the game, I watched five minutes of him and his pals sitting about, and poor Jeff was depressed as hell. He started with ‘I know they say the table doesn’t lie, but…’
On it went from there, Jeff seemingly craving reassurance and comfort, but none of them able to provide it immediately (a bit of regrouping needed)
Also, never invite Murphy or Shearer to dish out the medals on sports day:
Murphy: ‘First, brilliant; second, very poor; third, great
Shearer: Agreed. Only came second because the pressure was off. Should’ve been first because they’re better than..no, that can’t be right…because they’ve invested more tha…wait,wait…because their training is…no, can’t be that.
Murphy: Yes. We all know what you mean there, Al. Now (to athletes) you have to swap your silver and bronze medals, please. And switch around on the podium. Third is better this time.
Shearer: Yes, I predicted this, you know. Maybe not who’d come first, or second or third or that all the hot favourites would miss out but i did predict who wouldn’t come first so that makes me an expert predictor
Savage, Arry and Jeff: Hurrah
I dont see Y they celebrate finishing above spurs should be over celebrated, but i can imagine the fun when u look forewad for it to happen.
The best Tottenham team for a generation with the best manager in the league still finished below supposedly the worst arsenal team with the worst manager and the most useless striker????
Let us roll out savages long list of success, oh there isn’t any. An average player at best with a dodgy hairstyle. Some might even say a dodgy playing style. Such incidents do raise the questions about the need for pundits and show the clear anti Arsenal side of media. Match of the day was another bizarre moment with the breifest of mentions of the spud failure conveniently hidden behind their Arsenal should have done better rhetoric, whilst Liverpool! state aid united and their ilk have been magnificent and suitable parts of their anatomies are being kissed. Where was the snide laughter at the chavs and manure missing out on the champions league? Whilst for tottenham its happened again, for savage it has never happened for him at all
Savage as a player never got anywhere near Premier League runner-up. As a pundit, he is simply a gobsh..te.
In contrast, a brilliant piece by Bob Wilson on Radio5 early this morning.
You Sir @ Untold just made my day. Hurrah, its good to be Gooner and Mr Savage can go salvage his pea brain from the sewer where he left it! Finishing second above the spuds actually feels better than any cup!!!!!!!
Thank you Malaysian Gooner – completely agree
I hope all the so called experts choke to death on their sour grapes..
If they were right as often as they are wrong, they’d all be freakin geniuses.
Can we please stop this belief that clubs have more resources than us. It’s not true our 2 main shareholders have more ‘resources’ than both clubs mentioned, it’s the fact that we choose not to use them. Usmanov is richer than the the Russian owning Chelsea, that’s without Kroenke’s millions!
Savage by name..Moron by nature..
He was obviously too busy collecting all his winners medals to actually find out about the rivalry between fans..Oooops that can’t be right..he never won anything..Sad.
What do you expect from an average Savage who through out his footballing carrier never got beyond average achievement. He is surely envious of Wenger immaculate achievements of moving Arsenal to one of most beautiful modern stadium, winning back to back FA cup and since be able to compete again with the clubs with unlimited resources, our darling club has moved from third to second position. Do Savage ever attend any school to know what is called progressive achievement? I guess he school back to elementary school for proper education.
I loved the fact that on MOTD last night Murphy and Shearer actually put on super smug faces and claimed immense credit for being right about predicting Arsenal wouldn’t win the league this season. Well guess what, I predicted it correctly that 19 teams wouldn’t win it. And my prediction about which team would win it was considerably closer than either of theirs.
We’ve had to listen all season to how great the Spuds have been but when the season has finished and we’re above them, apparently they’re still great but we’re shit.
And on Radio 5, the pundit was “explaining” to us mere mortals that Man City were worthy of winning the league “but they didn’t bargain on Leicester City” FFS. He obviously forgot about the other teams that proved they were better than Citeh this year.
It completely amazes me that Arsenal take more stick than the three teams with shed loads more money who finished up to 21 points behind us. Savage is correct about it being pathetic, he just got the target wrong.
Nice article Tony, many great points. In support of my favourite, can I suggest we all club together to buy P Morgan a brain scan……just to see if they can find one.
@ Mike
Can you please stop this belief that there is always a good reason to slag off the club no matter what.
If people don’t like the club they should just go and leave the vast majority of us that do.
I don’t blame savage. He’s just doing his job? He will be delighted that he’s caused a backlash. The thing that would most hack him off is being ignored….
Quite a mad day for the media, and the majority of the pundits…including ex Arsenals players who had thrown their weight right behind Tottenham. Then there was Jamie “The table never lies” Carragher saying they had a better season than Arsenal!
The fact is, Spurs have resorted to thugball, and finally got caught out at the end of the season, by a PGMOL whose credibility had already been stretched severely over their leniency with Leicester.
This wouldnt have happened if Alli and Dembele had been playing , cried the distraught pundits, completely missing the point of what said players had got away with , and finally been banned for. Eye gouging should not sit well in the sport of football. Nor should the formers propensity for attacking opponents abdomen area.
Whatever your views on the manager, board,or whatever, that was a fun afternoon, a lot of people including Savage got a measure of comeuppance, and being small minded individuals, responded with petulance.
Not sure where the WOB Spurs love-in goes after this, checked a couple other forums, some of the posters on them do not seem very happy. Some of them will never learn
Yesterday was in some ways surreal . While watching the Arsenal game , could not resist clicking on to see the goings on in the other games , a thing I never, ever do .
Watching the events unfolding as they did , it became to me ,more and more crazy and hilarious . Spuds being done in by the Magpies , along with our crowd cheering their goals was really priceless .
The nature of our win and the raw emotions expressed by the players will long live in my memory . To me it felt that yesterday we achieved something special – akin to a cup win .
But then again by ending up in second place , we have now ( at least in the eyes of the pundits ) demeaned that slot ! Just as we did to the FA Cup the previous two years .
Am hoping that Crystal Palace can bring back its old charm and glory !
Am also wishing muay successo to Sevilla in their unique quest to a treble of UEFA Cup wins.
And to shut up those ex-Liverpuddle pundits at the same time !
I have been mocked by my spuds friends and a put 2-1 victory to Newcastle I had so much fun yesterday gloating! haha pathetic
Jamie carragher rednapp bad case of verbal diarrhea and Henry you suck ass as a poodit if arsenal are a big club and should have down better what about last years top 4?
And the anti- Arsenal editorial policy continued on MOTD … you notice how the injuries to the likes of Santi, Coquelin, Welbeck, Wilshire, Sanchez, etc, are never allowed to be an excuse for Arsenal …. yet for Spurs, the absence of Ali and Dembele, (FOR VIOLENT CONDUCT, NOT INJURY), is the reason they completely collapsed … you’d have thought we were pre-Season favourites for the title rather than third …
If I have a criticism of Mr Wenger, it’s that he doesn’t wade into the morons in the media more often … personally I’d make them pay for their seats in the press box 😀
Mike
With respect, it’s not that we don’t “choose” to use Kroenke or Usmanov’s money, but that we’re not allowed to due to FFP.
It’s probably true that our shareholders are wealthier than any outside the oilers, but it doesn’t impact that much (thank goodness).
From ‘Arry on the Telegraph:
“Being brutally honest, Arsenal are very lucky to have finished the season second and Arsène needs to buy some players over the summer to get anywhere near Spurs.”
So… 21 years of Tottenham being in Arsenal’s shadow, and we’re the ones that need to “get anywhere near Spurs”?
No ‘Arry. That’s not the way it works.
Savage disgraced only one person & not for the first time – himself.
The comments by idiots like Savage, the MOTD twerps and the Sky Chickens were for once not at all hurtful to Arsenal fans – they added to the enjoyment of the day.
I was particularly impressed by the sense of depression on Sky – very enjoyable.
As (we hope) reasonably normal human beings our first thought should be always to have some empathy with those who are distressed – but it is difficult if not impossible to have any empathy with those who have for years derided our manager, team and all things Arsenal. Yesterday they got a well deserved come down. Stick it up them! 🙂
It’s funny how retired players who never achieved much take other people’s achievements for granted!
That was some collapse by Spurs…..the Chelsea fiasco played a big part, but according to their MF, Eriksen, so did the Alexis equaliser at the Lane when we were down to ten men, and Dier had been let off a red card…again.
Make no mistake, this is going to damage them
The other day I made comments to the effect that Arsenal was definately on the up and gave the 2 fa cup triumphs and finishing 3rd in a row(assumed we would beat Villa and the Spuds would beat the Mugpies on the final day of the season). I also thought we would finish 2nd for several seasons before advancing to win the epl. A.W proved me wrong yesterday! Actually the match to winning the epl is faster than I thought. Since finnishing 3rd, we seam to be moving a position per season! Increadible how the Spuds imploded and succumbed to their biggest loss of the season when all they needed was a draw to finish above us for the first time in 2 decades. And that, against 10 men!!
Sunday morning I switched on my comp and nothing. Of all days to let me down!
Its Monday and I am listening to the ‘savage wonder’ Tony has written about. It is as already noted pathetic.
Yesterday rates with with those other years. 1953 1971 1979 1989 2004 and now 2016. Keepem rolling.
Thank you Arsene.
The 606 program is still running and the contradictory tripe the two of them are spouting is beyond belief.
I have a problem.
Last week I sent my spuds friend two emails and in both of them I congratulated him on coming second.
My problem is: What do I say to him this week?
He is a good friend so polite suggestions please.
Actually Spurs should dread the day Arsenal finish 17th in the league coz that’s the day they’ll go down. Can’t finnish above Arsenal, can they?
Robbie Savage is only being savaged on Arsenal getting a 2nd spot finish in the final table above Spurs yesterday.
Had Spurs broken the Arsenal’s reigning ST. Totteringham’s Day jinks on them yesterday which has now jinked them for the 21st consecutive seasons, Robbie Savage wouldn’t have shouted pathetic! pathetic!! pathetic!!! on BBC radio 5 to the hearing of that celebrating Arsenal fan. Robbie would have instead responded to a celebrating Tottenham fan… hilarious! hilarious!! hilarious!!! emphatic! emphatic!! emphatic!!!
So, Robbie Savage knew very well what he was doing. He’s an Arsenal hater not accepting the reason for which that Arsenal fan had celebrated yesterday. It’ll be good not to waste time to be too mindful of Robbie’s utterances against Arsenal.
@Colario
Send ‘Don’t worry pal. Sorry for missing on 2nd spot. The day Arsenal win the league 2nd will be available for you coz it’s below 1st!’ to your friend.
Finishing runners-up in the toughest league in the world.
And qualifying for next season’s CL, for the umpteenth consecutive time.
Mr Savage has never been the brightest tool in the box, but surely all Arsenal supporters have a right to celebrate such an achievement.
Why would anyone listen to any football show on the radio or watch any pundits on TV?
I appreciate you can’t always miss them when they’re showing a match but when it’s only them, I’d be retuning within a millisecond.
I did catch MOTD last night as I wanted to see Lineakers face, so I did see the 2 morons bragging about being correct that we wouldn’t win the PL. Clearly they missed the fact that we finished ahead of all the teams that they had predicted winning… So we can already see they’re prediction skills are rubbish.
colario, Don’t send him anything. It’s his turn to congratulate you…
Clowns like savage, caragher, etc, just knock Arsenal in order to stay relevant in the media. Wenger has the last laugh, again. And where are the WOBs? Crying into their cereals/beer I suppose. Thoroughly enjoying this 🙂
Al, from what I have seen, the extreme WOBs are pretty angry….. Spurs deserved it, Arsenal robbed them…Wenger this, Kroenke that…we will finish tenth next season etc
Great that the events of yesterday….from start to finish, have touched the nerves of so many people who have it in for Arsenal FC. Their reactions speak volumes
I am sure Wenger will do as he says, and see how things go next year before any extension of his contract, but hopefully, he will factor the positive aspects of this season into his thinking
As I Mature
I’ve learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.
I’ve learned that no matter how much I care, some people are just arseholes .
I’ve learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.
I’ve learned that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that, you’d better have a big willy or huge boobs.
I’ve learned that you shouldn’t compare yourself to others – they are more screwed up than you think.
I’ve learned that you can keep vomiting long after you think you’re finished.
I’ve learned that we are responsible for what we do, unless we are celebrities.
I’ve learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades, and there had better be a lot of money to take its place!
I’ve learned that 99% of the time when something isn’t working in your house, one of your kids did it
I’ve learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and all the less important ones just never go away.
Just seen LG forum, someone called Tom really winding them up!
A lot of anger out there after yesterday!
Mandy
Am tempted to go over there (LG), just to give back some of the crap they were spewing out here all season 🙂
But that’d be stooping waaaay too low, and even though the idea of hitting back for once is quite tempting, I will not reduce myself to their standards.
Calling Savage a tool is an insult to tools.
Looking at Woys England squad – Initial observations Drinkwater – red card waiting to happen. Jack – sadly, injury waiting to happen. He just hangs on to the ball too long. Some of the Spuds will learn officiating is different from the selective visioned PGMO. Vardy has a surprise coming.
The Spanish official in the last Barca game was a PGMO clone apparently. He let some nasty tackles go.
Here is a nice one about anger –
Parable of an Empty Boat
A monk decides to meditate alone, away from his monastery. He takes his boat out to the middle of the lake, moors it there, closes his eyes and begins his meditation. After a few hours of undisturbed silence, he suddenly feels the bump of another boat colliding with his own. With his eyes still closed, he senses his anger rising, and by the time he opens his eyes, he is ready to scream at the boatman who dared disturb his meditation.
But when he opens his eyes, he sees it’s an empty boat that had probably got untethered and floated to the middle of the lake. At that moment, the monk achieves self-realization, and understands that the anger is within him; it merely needs the bump of an external object to provoke it out of him.
From then on, whenever he comes across someone who irritates him or provokes him to anger, he reminds himself, *“The other person is merely an empty boat. The anger is within me.”*
Take time for introspection & search for answers within.
I see this thing in ball carriers. Like Wilshere. Alexis. When they are not at their level, they hold on to the ball a wee bit longer.
Even yesterdays game, when for Alexis there was a possible chance to pass forward he held on and then had to pass back.
@Mike
You and I have a very different view of how we view “resources”, that’s evident. We both love Arsenal, no doubt, but we have a very different take of what we love.
I love Arsenal not only because it brought so much joy to me by winning trophies, but also because I feel Arsenal has kept to its values, its principles, by always trying to do things the right way even if it meant we are bombarded with copious amounts of vitriolic, metaphorical ink (especially on social media). We try to play the game the right way, run the club the right way, earn successes the right way. I’m truly proud to call myself a Gooner because of this. And a large part of this is because of Wenger.
Remember, our motto is “Victoria Concordia Crescit” – Victory through Harmony – and I don’t think we have strayed far from it, if at all. We are a family unit – the club, the fans, the community – that knows what it wants to achieve but wouldn’t do it by compromising our principles, our honour.
See, when a ridiculously rich person comes in, buys a club, and then pours large sums of his money (pocket change for him, really) disregarding all sense of fairplay to win trophies, that means the club doesn’t belong to us anymore. It becomes a toy, a play thing for this man/woman. Sure, we would celebrate all the same but the success we achieve would then ring hollow, false, void of honour.
As a parent to a 5 year old, I wouldn’t want my kid to take shortcuts to success. I would want him to have principles, to become an honourable person, to achieve success by doing things the right way.
Even in businesses, you don’t see people throwing money. They spend responsibly within its means. And lest we forget, Arsenal is a business.
Leicester winning the league this year feels all the more sweeter to them (and for many others), and no one can take it away from them by saying that a rich man poured all his money into it. It is a victory done right. We are striving to achieve that, and if you can’t see that, I don’t know what else to say.
Great jokes and wisdom today Bricks, thanks!
There has really been no actual fan punditry since Danny Baker and Danny Kelly did 6 .06. despite one being Millwall and ther other Spurs they are still match going terrace standing/sitting fans and well understood the emotions of real fans. Once Baker transgressed and actually said things how they are and got replaced by an ex playing pundit the programme has deteriorated slowly but surely into an agenda driven mouthpiece.
Lisa, I certainly hope to encourage people to ignore him next season. Don’t know if I can do it, but I am going to try.
Love the article, and comments, but being that I am on a ship in the middle of nowhere I haven’t had this misfortune or watching MOTD, or listening to the radio, and choose not to read pretty much anything in the media so I have to ask this question; have these so called pundits, experts such as Savage, Shearer, etc… really said these things?
Not that I am massively surprised, just that I thought there might be some limit to how far the media would go to spout their poison, I mean it is so obvious to the masses what they are doing, but they are clearly playing to the minority, always good to know that I am paying for the privelage of them abusing my club…
Mike is correct in one point , it is the board that refuse to talk to Usmanov and therefor their decision not to utilise any help that he might have been able to give. It doesn’t just stop at buying players , money has to be found for many things and should he have donated a few million in one direction possibly at London Colney it might have freed funds for other expenditure possibly on the team. Board’s decision not to take the offers that he is reported to have made.
Yesterday I did the unthinkable…i actually sat and saw the cock being shred to pieces. I celebrated by having curry, kebab and topped it off with icecream on Tottenham crumble.
porter, Usmanov was absolutely clear that if he had any control of the club or funded any part of the club then he wanted a dividend to be paid.
Yes the Stan £3m payment may well include some form of dividend but on the amount of money they both have as shares, £3m is a peanuts dividend.
Usmanov may be a fan (but that’s still not 100% certain) but he’s definately a businessman and would run the club like a business, at best in a similar level to Stan.
The quality of the 2 MOTD pundits was made 100% clear when they said Drinkwater should go to the euros above Jack. Much as many of us would prefer Jack to stay here, even after only 1 PL start Jack has multiples more talent than Drinkwater.
If we had a decent National team then Drinkwater’s only role in the team would be assistant kit man…
savage is just a savage himself, He always talk rubbish for arsenal. He is the last person as he was useless in his time that is why John Terry said last that he can take advice to anyone except for him as he never achieve anything during his time in soccer, He is jealous , arsenal deserve to celebrate , anything is possible in soccer, Who guarantee that Spurs can be number 2 ?? What ever to arsenal to loose to the small teams also happened to any big team, We grabed the opportunity it was all about luck it was performance, shout up Savage and go cry with spurs
My objection to Savage is that he represents a drain on the BBC revenue and does not give value. It would seem to be a basic requirement of radio pundits that they must be able to express themselves effectively. Merely repeating the same word 3 times in a presumed attempt at emphasis, displays a paucity of imagination and a limited vocabulary. I am writing to the BBC to protest the poor quality of this ‘talent’.
Savage is a drain on, and waste of oxygen
Piers Morgan getting down into the sewer with Trump his mate. Hope he stays with the wealthy pig & doesn’t return to UK. He owes Arsenal an apology.
The pundits have no where to go. As someone who thinks that our manager is past his best, you are right, the table does not lie. I think our performances this year, when it has mattered have come up short. But the record book says, Arsenal runners up. If we had won the league, we would have got ‘they only won it because it was a poor league’ from the likes of Shearer and Savage. If the pundits are going to apply importance to Spurs finishing in the CL places and finishing above Arsenal for the first time in 21 years, then you cannot dismiss it the other way round. But that’s football. It will always make a fool out of you. And as for the pathetic jibe, along with anyone saying we should not celebrate finishing above the Spuds, then you never had the upbringing I had in a Spurs area. Those mugs would not have shut up all summer. Of course we should celebrate anything that is to the detriment of that club. Wenger can rightly point to a second place finish, as progression, even if I do not agree with him, because, his team ended up runners up, end of.
Andy I agree that Usmanov has always said that. My point was purely that the board made the decision not to accept any help from him and as such his wealth is immaterial. As far as Kroenke’s £ 3 million payments until the services we are paying for are made clear then suspicion will always surround them.
Copy from Wikipedia:
Ownership of Arsenal F.C.
The ownership of Arsenal Football Club is considerably different from that of other clubs in English football. It is owned by a parent company, Arsenal Holdings plc, which has relatively few shares which are infrequently traded.
Why do people think Stan owns Arsenal FC, I thought he is just a majority shareholder? As a public trading company I would have thought if the company need more money they would issue more shares? Am I missing something? Or are people expecting Stan to donate money to the club?
Thanks Tony and for another season’s coverage of this wonderful club. Untold, for me, enhances the experience of being a Supporter. You, Walter, Usama, Andrew, Bulldog and all the contributors deal in fact, something lacking on other sites and football coverage in general. And I’m proud to say we are Arsenal supporters not flighty ‘fans’. So, to everyone reading this: Congratulations and enjoy the moment.
I inadvertantly omitted Black sheep. Sorry, mate. How could I omit the one who worked so hard to get an Untold banner in the Ems? Thanks, Blacksheep, and everyone who helped with that bit of supporter pride.
Polo :- Rights issue was proposed in 2009 see below. Our board turned the idea down .
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/5919816/Arsenal-shareholder-Alisher-Usmanov-may-repropose-rights-issue.html
The future is now !
One of ‘them’ pointed to two drunks sitting across the pub from them and told his friend ,
” That’s us in ten years time .”
His friend replied , ” That’s a mirror you dipshit !”
Some fine advice for ‘them’ –
STOP START
Speaking -Listening
Planning – Acting
Complaining – Inspiring
Worrying – Hoping
Doubting – Believing
Doing nothing – Working hard.
Frowning – Smiling
Being suspicious – Trusting
Being rude – Understanding
Hating – Loving
Resenting – Being grateful
Can’t get upset that Kroenke takes out 3 million quid. Compare that to what the Glazers are taking out at ManU.
And, I agree with the majority that Savage has forgotten what a fan goes through. Every one of his critiques of Arsenal could be correct and he would still be wrong in criticizing the fan for celebrating. In fact, if all his criticisms of the club were correct, that would, in my opinion, make me want to celebrate this oh so small victory over Villa/Tottenham even more. You see, we the fans, understand that victory can never be taken for granted especially since we don’t control what goes on on the pitch. I attend matches for the enjoyment they give me and yesterday was enjoyable especially with the large helping of Schadenfreude.
Listen properly first …….
Little Johnny watched his Daddy’s’ car pass by the school playground and go into the woods. Curious, he followed the car and saw Daddy and Aunt Jane In a passionate embrace.
Little Johnny found this so exciting that he could hardly contain himself as he ran home and started to tell his mother. ‘Mom, I was at the playground and I saw Daddy’s car go into the woods with Aunt Jane. I went back to look and he was giving Aunt Jane a big kiss, and then he helped her take off her shirt. Then Aunt Jane helped Daddy take his pants off, then Aunt Jane…
…At this point Mommy cut him off and said, ‘ Johnny , this is such an interesting story, suppose you save the rest of it for supper time. I want to see the look on Daddy’s face when you tell it tonight.’
At the dinner table that evening, Mommy asked little Johnny To tell his story. Johnny started his story, ‘I was at the playground and I saw my Daddy’s car go into the woods with Aunt Jane. I went back to look and he was giving Aunt Jane a Big kiss, then he helped her take off her shirt. Then Aunt Jane helped Daddy take his pants off, then Aunt Jane and Daddy started doing the same thing that Mommy and Uncle Bill used to do when Daddy was in the Army.’
Mommy fainted!
Moral:
Sometimes you need to listen to the whole story Before you interrupt!
For the record “savage”was a manc.used to play for “manure” youth team.explains the inbred hatred of us & jealousy.they,Salford United hate all things Arsenal.you only have to look at carrot head scholes expression & dour opinion when asked to comment on Arsenal.whatever Arsenal do or acheive the media will try & pick holes in it or at best a back handed compliment…………still it makes it more fun knowing it winds them up!
@colario whilst yesterday was indeed a good day as an Arsenal supporter we must not forget that we end the season trophy less.
To compare 2016 to other great years in our history is quite frankly pathetic.
We have done little better than the past decade in reality.
Just how far is this Sp*rs Love In going to go…
In their “game” (Like in the Saw films?) against Chelsea, they got 9 yellow cards and their Manager entered the field of play. One player was seen by millions to gauge at the eye of an opposition player. Chelsea, for their part, had 3 players yellow carded. Both clubs were reported for “failing to control their players”.
The fines have just been announced and it’s £375k for one club and £225k for the other.
How do the FA justify those fines (It’s Totteringham who have been fined the lesser amount)?
It just shows that Mr Savage has no knowledge of the rivalry between fans of Arsenal and Spurs.
Personally I was not celebrating finishing second as much as enjoying being able to ridicule Spurs for finding another way to mess up finishing above us.
As a North Londoner I completely agree with Norsgeneral regarding what the reaction of their fans would have been.
The longer Arsenal FC keeps them quiet the better!!
I cant believe it’s JUST a fine, let alone those pathetic slaps on the wrist.
Given the precedent set back in 1990-91 I cant believe they haven’t both been deducted points, as we where.
This from Wikipedia.
“On 20 October 1990, Manchester United Football Club faced Arsenal Football Club in a Football League First Division fixture at Old Trafford, during the 1990–91 season. Arsenal won by a single goal, but the game was best remembered for a brawl between both teams. The Football Association (FA) took the unprecedented step of deducting league points from the two clubs.
The only goal of the match came moments before half-time, scored by Arsenal midfielder Anders Limpar. In the second half, Limpar was involved in a contest for the ball with Manchester United defender Denis Irwin; Limpar’s teammate Nigel Winterburn made a tackle on Irwin that precipitated a melee between both sets of players. All but one of the twenty-two players on the field were involved; it lasted no more than 20 seconds and referee Keith Hackett booked only Limpar and Winterburn for their actions.”
It lasted no more than 20 seconds, that’s TWENTY seconds, and we both got docked points, but for some reason Arsenals culpability was considered twice as bad as Uniteds, (there’s a surprise) with us being deducted 2 points compared to United’s 1.
What we saw at Stamford Bridge was infinitely worse than what occurred at OT.
Yesterday was one of those days that will live on in my memory forever. I can honestly say I was choked and damn proud of Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. After all that this team and manager has had to put up with it was a right kick in the balls to all the Arsenal haters and that includes media and sulky morons who Nick a living as so called pundits. To those who call themselves supporters you should hang your head in shame at the treatment of this team and Arsene Wenger. Bet there were many who were disappointed that we finished second and then those who had the bare faced cheek to celebrate after shouting abuse at the best manager Arsenal have ever had and the vile abuse of those who wore that red and white shirt all season trying to win this league against all odds with seeming the whole bloody world on their backs. Savage and his co presenters are clowns nothing more and nothing less. We showed them up and they loathed it. My Spurs brothers got a text from me yet again wishing them a Happy St Tottenerings Day and I won’t say what was texted back but I ended it by saying 21yrs and counting and asking how heavy that big black shadow over the Lane felt. One team in London and their eight year old sister picked the best and its forty four years soon and counting and the Arsenal has won more than Spurs could only dream of doing. Oh yesterday was so very very sweet, thank you Arsenal and Arsene.
Thanks Tony, and the regular, positive folk who post.