Trophy hunting or supporting a club – the choice is yours

Posted on by WalterBroeckx

By Walter Broeckx

Only some 14 days ago I wrote an article in which I said that some supporters were shifting their way of looking at things.

I said that some of the non-existing part of our fans firmly said that they were not trophy hunters at all. That they just wanted us to be competitive.

I then pointed out that whoever wins the league they still would never get to the same number of weeks of being league leaders as Arsenal have had this season.  From the back of my head I think Arsenal has been top of the league for 18 matches at that time, and no other team can match it.

Will we be league leaders at the end of the season? Nobody knows.  All teams will drop points and we recently had a bit of a bad spell. But what counts is what happens between now and the end of the season. This run of 10 games will decide it. That is 30 points available. So it will be down to us getting back to winning ways as quickly as possible.

Now for those who throw themselves on the ground after a bad result and start crying and shouting “told you so” it is strange to see how they suddenly change their tune. From “I’m not a trophy hunter” and “I don’t want us to win, I just want us to compete” it now is suddenly just the silverware at the end that counts. All the rest counts for nothing.

Like I said at the time I also would like us to win it. Not for my own personal satisfaction albeit that I will feel  a big personal satisfaction.  But for me it is the fact that this team has put up a remarkable fight against all odds so far that is the biggest satisfaction for me.

A team that has to fight bad referees, a team that has to fight more injuries than any other team in the league, a team that was predicted to fall outside the top 4 this season (yet again according to the pundits) and still that team has managed to stay on top more than any other team can do this season.

Bad refereeing has cost us points this season. And the impact of injuries is something that cannot be measured so easily but has affected us as well.  But losing two of our best scorers this season for large periods will surely result in Arsenal losing points they could have won if both these players had been more available.

I think that even most supporters of other clubs would admit that they could not have coped with losing players like Ramsey and Walcott. Would City have coped without Toure for 3 months? Or without Aguero for 25 matches? I doubt it.

Would Chelsea cope with losing Hazard for 25 matches? Or one of their most dynamic midfielders?  I doubt it. But that is the situation we find ourselves in.

Ramsey could be back in the next weeks and we sure hope that he will start like he did at the start of the season. But it might take some time to get back to this level. Walcott is out and we sure miss him a lot. And that for two players that those same non-existing said that never would be any good at all. And they call me deluded….

I know that if we don’t win the league I will be looking back at those injuries to key players as one of the main reasons.  Losing inform players is very hard to do and certainly when there are two that we lost. Two of the most dynamic players we have. We suffer from that.   And saying we should have brought a replacement for Walcott is one of the most stupid things to say. There is no replacement for Walcott. Except Gnabry and The Ox.  But they still miss the scoring part a bit that Theo has found over the last seasons. Something that will come with age.

Coming back to those who said that they are not trophy hunters but at the end of the day only want a trophy, it is time to make up your mind. I support Arsenal 38 matches in the league each season. I’m filled with joy when we win. And I will look at a draw with mixed feelings. Depending on how well we played and on the referee’s involvement. And I am bitterly disappointed when lose a match.  But that is part of football.

I will react to a loss with wanting the team to put it right next time. With hoping that the players will get it right in the following match. We can’t win each match even though that would be nice… but boring after a while I think.  But calling for heads as we can see once again is such a short sighted  way of acting.

I find it funny that after our defeat some came up saying: My patience is over. I’ve had enough.

Let me spell it out: nobody forces you to support Arsenal. And if you had enough, fine. Thanks for your ‘support’ and may you find many happy moments in whatever you do. But doesn’t that make you in to the trophy hunter that you proclaimed not to be?

People can give up now if they want. But it is because of people giving up that you are certain to be a loser. Imagine if the players had the same way of thinking as those non-existing part of our fans? We would have been bottom of the league for the whole season. But luckily our players and our manager are not like them at all.

I know they will do all they can to set things right again. And whether it will be enough at the end of the season remains uncertain.  And if you don’t believe in this group: fine.  But let us who believe that this group will do their best do the only thing we can do:  support them.

Together we win, together we lose.  If you can’t support them after a defeat, there is no use in supporting them when we win.  I will support them, win or lose.

 

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51 Replies to “Trophy hunting or supporting a club – the choice is yours”

  1. Agreed. So many fans act like spoiled children, as if they are owed something. We lose to Stoke and suddenly the fickle chaos resumes. Sigh.

  2. One of the most stupid things to say is “There is no replacement for Walcott”.

  3. What on earth are you saying ? I support Arsenal 100% to the bone and I’ve never seen such a lifeless supporter. Frustration and emotion is part of human nature and it contributes to competitiveness and fighting spirit. Imagine if all the Arsenal players adopt your attitude. Maybe you can tell them to choose either playing beautiful football or winning a trophy, if you get what I mean ?

  4. Well said, true gooner.
    You have to stand by your team through thick and thin and be with the lads.
    Have to agree that nobody want us to win, but a FA cup with a 2nd or 3rd place is a very good augur.
    COYG

  5. If supporters are treated like customers they will feel they have the right to complain about the product.

  6. Ross
    Fans are indeed owed something and that something is the maximum effort by the players and manager to perform the best to their abilities on any given day.
    The day Arsenal FC open their gates and let everyone watch their games for free is the day you could say ‘ fans are owed nothing’

  7. Supporters only can be treated as customers when they act like customers.
    I had the luck to be able to buy a ticket for the FA cup match this Saturday. Arsenal owe me nothing. The only thing they owe me is that there will be 2 x 45 minutes of football to be seen. That is all.

    There is no guarantee on the result or even on the match. It might be a classical match that we will talk about in 15 years or the worst match I have ever seen.
    If we win great, if we draw then I will have mixed feelings, if we lose I will be disappointed when driving the long way home.

    Come to think of it the only person that owes me something are the referees. They owe me an impartial refereeing performance. 😉

  8. Consumerism is a choice, football is a competative sport first and entertainment industry second you are not forced to attend in much the same way as any business a product is put before you and sold with certain conditions. A football ticket is sold as a means to view a match between two sides in a game as football, and as such it delivers what it owes. It makes no promises to the excitement or perceived entertainment on display in this sense you receive exactly what you are paying for.

  9. the club should endeavour to do the best possible with the funds they generate;
    our club is not doing that(please witness every farcical transfer window and waffle from our CEO).It is not any wonder that a lot of very loyal supporters want their voices heard.

  12. Lishman…I feel no loyalty to Sainsbury’s,British Airways,Coca Cola or Natwest Bank or a theatre production or a film or a band..I have never sung their name over and over again,written endless pieces about them,cried at perceived injustices,spent hours worrying about how they could improve,spent sleepless nights excited about seeing them the next day…so where is the comparison with any of these “enterntainment products” you compare my club to?

  14. “trophy hunters”…I personally started going in 1978 and have seen many a period where we had little chance of winning a trophy but it is only in the last few years that the club has managed to alienate a large section of the loyal supporters to the extent that their patience is worn down to the bone.

  15. Arsenal should aim to win and be competitive in every game.
    You all have that losers mentality just like your leader, Le Senile

  16. Gambon,not all of us have that losers mentality that is why there is such discourse;the club are not doing everything they can with what they produce,to achieve success.Leadership and direction has to come from the top(witness Dein and Fizman),we now have an asset stripping Yank who has a reputation for high prices and little success…why on Earth would we all be worried about his motivation?

  17. Walter this is one of the first times I totally disagree with you.

    First of all, I myself am one of the fans that don’t fall to either category – I don’t care about trophies, I don’t care about winning, I don’t even care about being competitive. I only care about putting up a fight, no matter what and no matter who is the opposition – be it a team of MMA fighters (Stoke), be it the best team in Europe (Bayern), be it a conspiracy to defraud (bent refs).

    Nothing, in my humble opinion, justifies not giving 140% for 90 minutes.

    And this is the other dispute between our point of views: Arsenal football club and the players OWE me their blood and sweat, for 2 X 45 minutes + extra time. They owe me to give out their best and to do whatever they can under the rules to win. If they didn’t – be it because the ref screwed us over, or be it because we played a better team, I am happy when I see that the commitment was not compromised.

  18. may I add Tommie as well,that our overpaid staff like Tom Fox and our marketing team and our CEO all owe us their blood sweat and tears,in order to make us as competitive as possible with the funds they have available?…so The Arsenal do owe me something..I will say tho that it is unuasual for me to disagree with one of Walter’s blogs but we will have to agree to disagree on this issue.

  20. That’s obviously true Walter. What you say makes complete sense and is totally logical. I agree. The only problem is when people use football results as a tool to boast in front of their mates after getting drunk. And then when it’s pointed out..oh but have Arsenal won? .. then their ego takes an almighty beating..and they turn up on Untold…and….the rest is well-known.

  21. There was this lady who was praying so intently in her place of worship that the others around her were impressed with her piety .
    When asked what she was praying for ,she replied ,”I do not want anything for myself ,but my parents would be overjoyed if their future son-in-law were to be really filthy rich !”

  22. My God is it true that Le Grove has been shut down???? Quick check it out guys you are lost over here. Surely there are other blogs where you can insult all and everyone related to Arsenal….

  24. What nonsense!
    it doesn’t matter how many weeks we lead for, if we don’t win it history will not remember this as our success, we were simply keeping the seat warm for another team.
    The sound of 2nd (or 4th which is realistic now) is silence…
    The only thing Wenger is doing so well that it becomes an art is making a mess of transfer windows, playing one dimensional football, incredulous substitutions and having zero reactive tactics during a game.

    I can’t believe there are still people that think he is the best man for the job, should have been shipped out years ago!

    He made a great start but lost his way along with our best players.
    Question: how many UTD players jumped ship on Fergie?
    Need help?
    Need more fingers?
    Nah you don’t, be talking 2 maybe, now do the same with Arsenal players jumping ship on Wenger.
    Don’t say they all left for money, a lot of UTD players weren’t paid big money but they didn’t leave.
    Remember these guys are closest to Wenger, they see the stupid substitutions and bizarre tactics, they see their few precious years slipping past and no trophies, no chance to win one.
    Wenger simply can’t beat top 4 teams, couldn’t do it last year, couldn’t do it this year, in fact he couldn’t beat any top 4 team from last year this year even though they aren’t top 4!!!
    Wenger is no longer a top manager, we live and die by results and we can see that Wenger is a consistent 4th best by the smallest of margins, a mere 1 point for 2 yrs in succession now, such a great manager that AVB ran him to a point on the last day of the season.

    Wise up and face facts, you are like the part Samuel L Jackson played in Django, Wengers house boy.

  25. I think this is about right !From…

    http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=392327

    Funny mathematical joke about “giving 110%”
    I got this from my dad, who probably passed it on from someone else, but it’s funny, and apt.

    This equation should be taught in all math [and business] classes!

    From a strictly mathematical viewpoint it goes like this:
    What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?
    Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

    If:
    A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is represented as:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

    Then:
    H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
    8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

    and
    K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
    11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

    But,
    A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
    1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

    And,
    B-U-L-L- S-H-I-T
    2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

    AND, look how far ass kissing will take you.
    A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
    1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

    So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that while Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it’s the bullshit and Ass kissing that will put you over the top!

  26. At The Bar – A Real Bad Day

    There was this guy at a bar, just looking at his drink. He stays like that for half of an hour.
    Then, this big trouble-making truck driver steps next to him, takes the drink from the guy, and just drinks it all down.
    The poor man starts crying. The truck driver says, “Come on man, I was just joking. Here, I’ll buy you another drink. I just can’t stand to see a man cry.”
    “No, it’s not that. This day is the worst of my life. First, I fall asleep, and I go late to my office. My boss, outrageous, fires me.
    When I leave the building, to my car, I found out it was stolen. The police said that they can do nothing. I get a cab to return home, and when I leave it, I remember I left my wallet and credit cards there. The cab driver just drives away.”
    “I go home, and when I get there, I find my wife in bed with the gardener. I leave home, and come to this bar.
    And just when I was thinking about putting an end to my life, you show up and drink my poison.”

  27. Tommiegun,
    Arsenal owe me nothing.
    The players do.

    But unless they don’t run at all I assume they do their best. It might work, it might not work. But when they do the running I think they do their best. And that is all I want.

  28. First Bj

    An AAAA walks into the bar and orders 5 shots of tequila. The bartender says “what’s the occasion?”

    The man replies, “My First BJ”

    The bartender turns and says “In that case, the 6th shot is on the house!”

    The man then says, “No offense, but if these five don’t get the taste out of my mouth, I don’t think the sixth one will either!”

  29. It beats my imagination that the true reason for fans’ agitation is missed by you. At the end of the season if we failed to land the title, we would look back with regrets as Wenger NEVER threw everything in the fight. This is the cause of the “Wenger out” call. Would Tottenham have been where they are if they hadn’t sacked AV? I guess we can never really know.

  30. Blind Bunny, Meet Blind Snake

    One morning a blind bunny was hopping down the bunny trail, and he tripped over a large snake and fell, KerPlop!, right on his twitchy little nose. “Oh, please excuse me!” said the bunny. “I didn’t mean to trip over you, but I’m blind and can’t see.”

    “That’s perfectly all right,” replied the snake. “To be sure, it was my fault. I didn’t mean to trip you, but I’m blind too, and I didn’t see you coming. By the way, what kind of animal are you?”

    “Well, I really don’t know,” said the bunny. “I’m blind, and I’ve never seen myself. Maybe you could examine me and find out.”

    So the snake felt the bunny all over, and he said, “Well, you’re soft, and cuddly, and you have long silky ears, and a little fluffy tail and a dear twitchy little nose… You must be a bunny rabbit!”

    Then he said, “I can’t thank you enough, but by the way, what kind of animal are you?”

    And the snake replied that he didn’t know, and the bunny agreed to examine him, and when he was finished, the snake said, “Well, what kind of an animal am I?”

    So the bunny felt the snake all over, and he replied, “You’re hard, you’re cold, you’re slimy and you haven’t got any balls… You must be a lawyer.”

  32. In fact most just confirm my article.
    In fact some of them don’t care about competing. The only thing is a trophy at the end.

  33. Unfortunately, most of this “does his best” is so speculative and subjective. At times doing something is best, at times not doing something is best. Sometimes it is best to work harder, sometimes it is better to work smarter. How do you judge that Wenger NEVER threw everything into the fight? When you have another game on the horizon and WE don’t know the fitness of the players. Stumps me, I guess some of the teams harshest critics have inside knowledge that the rest of us mere mortals don’t.

    For myself, I just know that I won’t give up on the Arsenal and not being a cynic, I won’t automatically assume the worst of our people when results don’t come our way.

  35. @Tytona

    Don’t understand your point. What do you mean by “Wenger NEVER threw everything in the fight”? Are you suggesting he bottled it on some occasions? As for Spurs. I think they would have been where they now are, in a challenging, but ultimately (as usual) failing position.

  36. So Jack is back. To the medical center ie…..stupid internationals. Stupid FA. Someone give them a good X-ray machine.

    Video clearly shows Agger having a look at who is getting to the ball and then having a lung.

  37. Aren’t Tottenham pretty much exactly where they are when they sacked Avb, except several million poorer in compensation to him?
    Tottenham are the poorest example possible of a stick to beat wenger with

  38. Ed,

    Question: How many Fergies jumped ship on Utd when the going got tough?
    Compare that to how many Wengers jumped ship on Arsenal. You need only one finger;)

  41. @UGANDANGOON yeah it was that bindipper scouse thug Agger with a nasty studs up challenge in the the first 15 minutes of that dire FRIENDLY??? last night.He didn’t even go for the ball just the player.
    cheating scum #banagger

  42. Blame agger for this one Ugandan, horrendous calculated tackle. Not to suggest stoke and most other teams we have played this season did not want a similar outcome.
    Ok, I have turned from being the purist, arsenal should this summer recruit someone who is less skilled than flam but bigger and stronger, and takes cards for the team to protect our players, that is the only way.

  43. You should all stop with this blaming thing. It’s becoming embarrassing for our club. Everyone calls Arsenal fans whingers and you all are proving them right!

  44. @Mandy

    I agree with your thoughts, the only problem is we get carded so easily compared to the Orcs of this world. We need to look at the source of the problem – Riley and those who employ him. I am not sure of the best way of doing this, but, there is always a key somewhere.

  45. Im with you, Walter. N all those idiots who says that we need to be competitive, put more effort on the field and Arsene needs to improve his tactics, better think before you judge. Arsenal players not only put 100% effort on the field but also 100% in training, thats why they get injured all the time. We bought the most expensive player in EPL this season, I suppose if Flamini and Sanogo still tied to contracts, they would have cost us a lot of money too. Thats competitive and commitment. We played and still play the best football in EPL, score goals from all over the pitch and Arsene invented the rotational midfield formation. What you guys are talking about? Perhaps you fellas should stop day dreaming and quit Championship Manager game. Because even CM game dont compute shit refereeing and idiotic supporters. Welcome to real life, you lifeless *********

  46. I see the simpletons and anti-Wenger AAA mob have infested UA once again! Everything is sooooooo simple for them….easily explained by quoting spurious so-called ¨facts¨ which are as nebulous and opaque as fog.
    Walter and fellow Gooners, please don’t feed these trolls…..they thrive on attention, even getting flamed satisfies their masochistic desire to be noticed.
    When we follow a Club, we do have the right to ask intelligent questions but do not therefore acquire the right to produce ignorant answers we invent to support our agendas.
    When we buy a ticket for a game, all we can expect is that the 2 teams will show up and produce an entertaining game. We also expect the officials to maintain a firm and fair exercise in applying the Laws. That’s the best outcome but sometimes it just doesn’t happen, however we all know that we aren’t 100% ALL of the time and neither are the players. Its life and mature adults accept this reality….whining is a waste of time and shows a shallow character and disturbed view of life.

  47. OMGArsenal – Thanks for that .I sometimes wonder why our regulars ‘engage ‘ those AAAA types and ended up getting enraged !They are a pain in the arse .
    Speaking of which…

    The Rectum Stretcher
    While she was “flying” down the road yesterday , a woman passed over a bridge only to find a cop with a radar gun on the other side lying in wait.

    The cop pulled her over, walked up to the car, with that classic patronizing smirk we all know and love, asked, “What’s your hurry?”

    To which she replied, “I’m late for work.”

    “Oh yeah,” said the cop, “what do you do?”

    I’m a rectum stretcher,” she responded.

    The cop stammered, “A what? A rectum stretcher?

    And just what does a rectum stretcher do?”

    “Well,” she said, “I start by inserting one finger, then work my way up to two fingers, then three, then four, then with my whole hand in. I work from side to side until I can get both hands in, and then I slowly but surely stretch it, until it’s about 6 feet wide.”

    “And just what the hell do you do with a 6 foot asshole? ” he asked.

    “You give him a radar gun and park him behind a bridge…”

    Traffic Ticket – $95.00
    Court Costs – $45.00
    Look on the Cop’s Face……………PRICELESS

  48. Stuff That Annoys Me.
    From…
    http://www.nerdtests.com/jokes.php?id=100

    People who point at their wrist while asking for the time. I know where my watch is buddy, where the hell is yours? Do I point at my crotch when I ask where the bathroom is?

    People who are willing to get off their ass to search the entire room for the TV remote because they refuse to walk to the TV and change the channel manually.

    When people say “Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too”. Screw off. What good is a goddamn cake if you can’t eat it? What, should I eat someone else’s cake instead?

    When people say “It’s always in the last place you look”. Of course it is. Why the hell would you keep looking after you’ve found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they?

    When people say, while watching a movie “Did you see that?” No dicknose, I paid $9.00 to come to the theatre and stare at the frigging ceiling up there. What did you come here for?

    When something is “new and improved”, which is it? If it’s new, then there has never been anything before it. If it’s an improvement, then there must have been something before it.

    When a cop pulls you over and then asks if you know how fast you were going? You should know asshole, you frigging pulled me over.

    When people say “Life is short.” What the hell?? Life is the longest damn thing anyone ever does!! What? Are they going to do something that’s longer?

    When people ask “Can I BORROW a piece of paper?” Sure, but please don’t return the favor! It’s one god damn piece of paper!

    When you are waiting for the bus and someone ask you “Did the bus come yet?” If the bus came I would not be standing here asshole!

    People who ask “Can I ask you a question?” Didn’t really give me a choice there, did ya buddy?

  49. Nicely said Walter.

    Paid agents, them trolls are paaiiidd agents.

    Hopefully luck is with us in the closing stages of the season. Crunch time. Hopefully Walter is the lucky charm this Saturday.

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