Sometimes you just can’t let it go
by Bootoome
I am not the biggest fan of Mondays. I don’t hate them but Friday and Saturday are my favourite days of the week. While I’ll just get on with it at the dawn of most Monday mornings, I hate that sinking feeling that I get on the ones following bad weekends for Arsenal. Something tells me I’m not alone here. On the other hand, I love Mondays following great weekends for Arsenal. I’ve been having lots of those recently thanks to the Wenger boys.
One of my daily rituals is reading the Metro newspaper during my train commute to work. I quickly flip through the pages, perusing the headlines for happening around the UK and the world. I always read the readers feedback on recent stories and issues about a third way through the paper. I love reading other people’s opinion of issues. It gives me a sense of where I am compared to others and every now and then, someone writes in something profound that changes my view of things. All of these though, are like forcing yourself to eat your vegetables so that you can have your sumptuous dessert in the end. Once I’ve read the readers feedback, I move on to the back pages. If any other story is important enough and not some celebrity gossip, it would be in the early pages.
The sport pages are my actual destination and I take time to read rather than rush through as I do with the other sections. I think Metro does not have any agenda one way or another on Arsenal. They mostly parrot whatever common wisdom is being touted about the club but their match reports and basic reporting on state of things are usually fair, in my opinion. Every now and then, they’ll write something annoying about my beloved Arsenal and I’d just wave it off and let it go. Well, sometimes you just can’t let it go. Today is one of those days.
There is a 2″ by 4″ snippet on Arsenal that is written by one Peter Wood. I quote the snippet verbatim below:
“Arsenal fan and Club Metro reporter Peter Wood is still feeling worried” – Metro’s introduction.
Peter Wood now says:
“You don’t win the league with 11 players, you win it with a well rotated squad. But Wenger has never been a fan of a big squad. So far this season, we’ve dominated with consistent performances and we have managed that because we have not rested players. The problem is, they are now starting to look jaded – they need a rest.”
If I or any Arsenal fan wants to be responding to every rubbish written about our darling team, we’ll not have time for any other thing in our lives. But crap like this just grind my gears. Especially because the writer is an “Arsenal fan”. I will now deal with each of the points raised one by one.
“You don’t win the league with 11 players” – No shit Sherlock. Who knew that you cannot execute a 38 game campaign with 11 players?
“You win it with a well rotated squad” – This is just like the mantra, “spending will help you win trophies”. While not entirely wrong, it isn’t exactly fool proof. Besides, it’s not rotation that helps you to win; it’s having quality players performing consistently in the key areas of the game. What is probably most wrong with this comment is that it is false. Arsenal have already used 25 different players in the league this season. That is 25 players in 13 matches! I don’t know the statistics for other teams in the league but I doubt many have used more. Also, rotating your team is not always a good thing, especially when you are winning. What happened to “never change a winning team”?
“But Wenger has never been a fan of a big squad” – Here is another bullshit statement that is not based on reality or any evidence. Prior to this season, there was a lot of noise about the “dead wood”, about having a big squad of average players and so on. Arsene Wenger has always believed in having a well-balanced squad. It is not really about numbers. It’s about what the members of the team can do and how many of them can do the same thing. In other words, versatility is preferred over huge numbers. A look at our bench last Saturday tells anyone who knows anything about the game that we have strength in depth.
This was our bench on Saturday: “Subs: Fabianski, Vermaelen, Monreal, Rosicky, Flamini, Walcott, Gnabry””
Anyway one looks at this statement, it is still bullshit that was not well thought through.
“So far this season, we’ve dominated with consistent performances and we have managed that because we have not rested players.” – First part of the sentence is basic statement of fact while the other is, well, silly. Only an Arsenal “fan” would write nonsense like this. Why should we rest players who are consistently getting us results? Should we rest Ramsey, the league’s current best player or Szczesney, the league’s current best goalkeeper? Which team did this in the past? Do Barcelona rest Messi or do Manchester United rest RvP, unless they are not fit to play? Apart from dishonest statements, I also loathe whining just for the sake of it. This is whining just for the sake of it!
“The problem is, they are now starting to look jaded – they need a rest.” – As you read this line, please remember that the writer is a REPORTER! I wonder what Arsenal team he has been watching but “jaded” is the last word that any objective observer would use to describe the team after Saturday’s game. This writer is one of those who actually put words in the newspaper for us ‘unenlightened’ folks! He doesn’t know jack! But sadly, someone somewhere would read that and start parroting the same and before you know it, it becomes common wisdom, especially if the writer is well known and therefore influential. Thank goodness he isn’t!
I understand Mr Peter Wood’s apprehension. Even the most optimistic of us (e.g. yours truly) have our moments of doubt but common sense and reality must still prevail. If the players and management are doing their best and succeeding on their way to win our first silverware in over 8 years, the least that we supporters should be doing is supporting and believing in them. We shouldn’t be allowing our own fears to cloud our reasoning to the point of jettisoning the confidence that our good and consistent run have created.
Thanks for reading. See you in the comments
The books…
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC: crowd behaviour at the early matches
The sites from the same team…
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- The Anniversary Files: January to June
- The Anniversary Files: July to September
- The Anniversary Files: October to December
- The Anniversary Files: January to June
Peter Wood is not a reporter’s backside. He markets himself as a social media expert, fancy name for a keyboard know-all. Why do you give this **** (also known as pedro from legrave) publicity? That is what he craves.
This twat is non other than Pedro from LeGrove and should not be given house room.His was the only negative blog comment I saw following the Cardiff win . The man is an idiot.
Didn’t look too jaded against Cardiff, we did finish rather well I seem to remember. We have theo Poldi and ox to come back into the reckoning…ok theo is back but maybe not match fit. We have Tv Nacho Gnabry waiting in the wings. Of course an injury to Giroud is a worry , partly for his scoring, partly for his huge work ethic, his ability, his link up play, and his sense of defensive responsibility but we are scoring for fun all from multiple positions. Another thing to mention about giroud, and I do not want to speak too soon, but his dealing with some refs who have looked quite keen to do him, we saw one last sat. He got a red at the vital end of last season from an identical situation in which the FA rescinded a red for Vincent kompany, giroud had no such luck, and when he plays, I am sure he is aware not to make a refs day. Arsenal fans in this day and age are nervous creatures, some need trophies to validate their existence, some believe everything the media feed them, some are mentally weak, some are just a bit crap, you will see all sorts in the papers and in the blogs, but the fact is, we are doing rather well aren’t we!
A jurno on the radio this morning.
“I’m not convinced about Arsenal yet because so far they’ve been lucky with injuries and unless that continues and they stay injury free for the rest of the season, which wont happen,I don’t think they have a big enough squad to cope”
All the assembled cast grunted their agreement.
Are these people for real.
Yep, it was talkshite talking there usual…….well, shite !!!!
Andy L & gary,
Honestly, had I known it was written by anyone having anything to do with Le Grove I wouldn’t have bothered. I feel duped. They are a waste of space.
But how did Pedro got around to writing for Metro as a reporter? What the hell!
Journalists don’t report facts but just their opinions, why let facts get in the way of a good story? Your better off getting a better picture of events from neutrals. Journalism has declined badly in the last twenty years and only going to get worse.
Jambug,
you need to come back tomorrow as I will mention injuries in one of my articles…. amazing what utter nonsense some can spout on the radio and that people swallow it without checking facts…
@ mandy..the refs are looking at how handsome he is and don’t know what to make of it!
i have read some of that pedro stuff on Le Grove and you have to wonder. it’s like he will take more pleasure from being proved right than Arsenal winning- and thats just wrong.
Good to see you commenting Walter. our thoughts are with you always gooner
Too much credence is being paid to the opinions of one man.
He’s a bit like Hansen, who spouts his views in a deliberate way to shock and irritate. In this way it’s self publicity…. which is the whole object of the exercise. We simply mustn’t rise to the bait.
Quality performance and a couple of excellent results leaves us looking pretty but by Christmas eve we will know if we really are serious contenders. A home game to Hull which would normally be a formality but having just turned over Liverpool, confidence will be sky high, so need to be up for it followed by the three form teams of Everton, Man City and Chelsea. If we can secure 8-9 points from these games we will still be sat top come Xmas and then we see a much easier run of games in January while our main contenders play each other. Whatever happens, Wenger must go out and splash the cash on another top drawer striker to ensure we have cover for Giroud and send a message the squad, opposition and fans that we are serious trophy contenders.
I just want to enjoy a great ride on the greatest roller coaster – Arsenal FC!
You will, elkieno; are doing, actually; a very exciting team to support.
Nothing they say or write will stop us from enjoying this moment. Whether we win the League or not is for the future, we will rejoice or mourn when that time comes. We just have to live for the moment and forget haters.
Squad rotation: Which team in the league has done it successfully this season???….None.
Rotating squads has resulted in dropped points for the oilers, with all their riches.
In the wining seasons did Manure rotate Vidić and Ferdinand? Chav Terry and Carvalho?
Squad rotation is nothing else than nice euphemism for replacing under-performing players. City,Tottenham and Manure rotate players a lot this season, but not because they are serious title contenders than because they still cant find wining formula, the ultimate 11. We were lucky to have it all sorted from beginning and that’s only reason for “not-rotating g”.
Prized players in EPL, if injury-free, are honed to play up to 50games per season for their clubs. Where the problem occur is feature congestion. That is, those phases in the season, successful enough to be pursuing more than 2 trophies have to play 3games in say, 8days. What is needed then is not so much a big squad but some super subs that can keep the team fresh and competitive during the period. I may be wrong but this is how I see it.
Were people fitter and talented then ? From 1944 ….
http://www.youtube.com/embed/61cY1ILv60k?rel=0&autoplay=1
You don’t have to agree with what the guy writes, but Peter Wood is a season ticket holder who loves Arsenal enough to run a blog and post every day on the subject. Sound familiar?
You have much more in common than you think, you’re none of you kids, why the animosity?
Stuart,
So, it’s okay for you to disagree with what I wrote without specifying what you disagree with but I should not make a reasoned rebuttal (whether you agree with my reasoning or not) on Peter Wood’s comments because he “is a season ticket holder who loves Arsenal enough to run a blog and post every day on the subject.”? Can you see the irony in your own comment? If you agree with Mr Wood’s opinion just say so, don’t shush those who disagree with him. His opinion on the team is no more valid than that of another fan who watches the team on live streams and resides in Mumbai.
Please kindly refrain from bringing people’s kids or anything of the sort into a football based debate. It is low.
A BIG NO NO to the video on this page. At least ONLY put it on the MAIN page, and NOT on the links, PLEASE.
I read two blogs. This one and Le Grove. I read Le Grove because it challenges my own views. I regularly post comments in the comments section of Le Grove – I’m probably tagged as an AKB there!
I think you’re giving Pedro a bit of a rough ride given recent posts on Le Grove. Fair enough you don’t agree with his views and I do get irked that it only seems to be the naysayers that get invited for an opinion but Pedro has altered his views somewhat as the passage of time moves on and he does make some valid points..for example the need to bolster our attack.
The previous editorial stance of Le Grove (i.e Wenger out, tactical ineptness and the derogatory phrase labelling anybody who disagrees as an ‘AKB) I disagreed with, still do actually. In particular I disagreed and still do with much that goes on in the comments section of Le Grove.
I try to change their views by commenting in the comments section of Le Grove. Why dont you do the same?
Gooner S,
And how is your quest to change their minds going? 🙂
Frankly, I think different fans’ minds are made up on how to support the team. That’s why we all flock to the blogs that mirror our concept of support. I know that’s why I’m here.
@ stuart…good question
Any Arsenal “fan” who can write that the team is “jaded” after the philharmonic concert in Cardiff needs a: (a) a new set of spectacles; (b) a little reminder that Arsenal play in YELLOW in away matches, and that it was Cardiff wore RED for that match.
Bloody hell, even the media said that we “Shone” and were “brilliant” in Cardiff.
The guy is a douchebag and should be ignored.
TommieGun,
He is a douchebag indeed! And now that I know his origin (blog-wise), I shall ignore him from now on.
@Bootoomee
Well you know what some agreed and some didn’t. Most didnt agree. But the point is I made an effort and gave my view. Still do. How’s that different to writing a blog? Not all that I would say. At the very least I would have made somebody think that has an alternate view. In the main you’re preaching to the choir here.