ENOUGH IS ENOUGH….Don McMahon
Being a faithful follower of long standing and occasional contributor to UA and a loyal supporter of the Arsenal, there are things about Football in general, and the EPL in particular that consistently alienate me and occasionally enrage me as well.
UA is the eye of the storm when it comes to a haven of sanity in a constantly agitated, exaggerated and increasingly aberrant and irrational maelstrom of the authority’s BS, AAA ignorance and media’s pettiness, insipid mediocrity and stupidity.
This weekend, I finally had enough and for those of you who say, ¨so what?¨ It bears remembering that I never have seen AFC live, and have to suffer slow and often very poor internet or cable broadcasts hosted by blatantly biased commentators, whose sole fame to claim is that they played in the MLS! I know that I represent the majority of typical overseas fans and we outnumber home fans significantly…..so sit up and listen, you lucky sods.
Here is what has finally tweaked my tail, so to speak:
Manchester United played Leicester on Sunday and, because of some very poor officiating, and their own total incompetence defensively, lost 5-3. What really arsed me was the fact that the referee totally ignored two blatant fouls against United defenders, whose subsequent desire for revenge and lack of discipline cost United two penalties and imho, the game.
For God’s sake, where DO they get these guys from? If anyone had any doubts about what Arsenal go through each week with similar and more serious fouls being ignored, then they should watch the United game again. Enough is enough!!!
I am definitely NOT a United supporter as most of you well know BUT it really pisses me off when I see such injustice and game-changing incompetence on the part of an ¨experienced¨ official. When are the supporters and administrators of EPL teams going to raise their voices IN UNISON and demand that the PGMOL and its membership be held accountable for such pitifully inadequate officiating?
The PGMOL and the FA are happy to encourage inter-club’s antagonism and conflict principally because a house divided is easier to dominate. God help them if clubs and supporters ever decide to unite behind a common cause….they fear this above all else.
However the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back were comments from the champion of all things AAA, a poster named Sean. He even had the effrontery to criticize an Arsenal player after we manhandled Villa. Before then he was in full flow with his ceaseless whining and mocking of Wenger and Arsenal after our poor performance at Dortmund.
I am not saying that Arsenal didn’t deserve criticism but there is a limit and he superseded that significantly. My question is, do we need to have a pessimistic, chicken little, AAA cheerleader coming on UA and trying to demean, abuse and throw mud at everything Arsenal because he (or she) is suffering a nervous breakdown about a recent AFC tie or loss?
I am a staunch defender of freedom of expression BUT negative criticism 99.9% of the time without ANY substantial arguments to support such criticism and without ANY possibility of appreciation for what Wenger and the Arsenal have accomplished since 2005 is totally counter-productive, anti-Football and the certain sign of a person bent on destructive agitation rather than constructive dialogue.
I ask Tony and Walter to consider their options as administrators of UA and to choose the best strategy for this unhappy soul Sean and his ilk. There is no shortage of anti-Arsenal sites where his hypercritical monologues will be warmly welcomed.
Some people like Rupert Cook at least try and be positive above what they see that pleases them and we are not against an occasional statement of dissatisfaction when AFC don’t measure up but our job is to support them, not deride them almost without letup…..that is our opposition supporters and the media’s sole pleasure.
In short, I am seriously worried about the future of the Beautiful Game as I learn about corruption at the highest levels, of officiating errors that even a beginning referee usually won’t repeat, of Superegos who prefer 15 minutes of fame over Wengerian elegance and savoir-vive and so on. Enough is enough!
Today’s anniversaries and recent posts are recorded here.
Leicester’s second goal, via the penalty spot, was a farce.
My concern is, that after years of getting ‘game 50’ style refereeing, that ManU suddenly be seen as a victim. No club deserves to receive a call like that but if the pendulum swings back to start helping ManU…again, I shall not be amused.
It’s not to feel that utd were hard done by some dubious officiating. And when you consider the same ref has given 5 penalties against utd in their last two games he did, alarm bells go off.
As for the AAA cheerleader, I can’t think of a more miserable git. Even the anti Arsenal bias in the media temporarily disappeared after the masterclass at Villa, but he was still here whining.
Meant it’s not hard to see utd were hard done by…
As far as I am concerned serial shit stirrers and moaners should be red carded. I come on here to get away from the negative and nasty type coverage which is prevalent elsewhere. If I wanted to listen to that sort of garbage I would tune into Talksport. Why should my enjoyment of this oasis of common sense be compromised by the likes of Sean.
I agree Don.Enough is enough!
COYG! Aha and Amen!
It is very true that after a loss some fans – and I include myself in those – feel extremely frustrated and need to vent. I think its just a fan typology – some are like that, others are more calm and look to the future. However, I do not agree with venting on a site that is unashamedly geared up to be positive. them the rules, so to speak. Sean should be tempering his frustration when on this site, or go elsewhere. Simple really.
Am with you man, Enough is enough
Enough of cheating by EPL refs, and why was last night ref not an Epl one? He was way better than most.
Enough of this moaning and have some respext to our team and players, you (AAA) dont own them, you dont pay them, you think you are better, then go to Arsenal and demand a damn job.
Enough of this diving and time wasting, really this is cheating, Uefa , fifa , fa? What are u doing regarding this?
And ebough of this media sh*t, no really enough, it affects our players before our fans. And thank God we have Wenger, and not any other manager who would fall under pressure.
I don’t know about you, but I thought it was hilarious.
Leicester. Utd. Karma.
But take your point on the officiating.
Not sure what Tony and Walters take on the aaa visitors is….I suppose if these aaa abide by house rules and all that, though at times, think the administrators may be giving some of the more extreme enough rope to hang themselves….witness Walter vs Linz recently. However, many of them are just copy and paste merchants anyway…..often lifting posts from the forums….. if not lead articles of Le Bridge and Online Looner. Such people that cannot even come up with their own original thoughts on something they claim to feel so passionately about, not worth bothering about. Far more interesting people on here with far more of substance to post.
QUOTE: God help them if clubs and supporters ever decide to unite behind a common cause….they fear this above all else.
True, but it usually takes a situation to get to it’s worse state before “people” actually rebel en masse.
The above quote could also be:
“God help them if all people of the world ever decide to unite behind a common cause….they fear this above all else.”
in relation to world problems.
I agree that Clutterbug made some serious errors which helped the Manures to lose against the foxes. Further, he allowed the foxes to bully the Manures. I agree that no team should suffer such refereeing. The fact is that Arsenal are usually on the wrong end of such decisions and one would be expected to have empathy with the victim.
But, it is hard to have any sympathy with the Manures – they have benefited from too many wrong penalty decisions and for far too long they have been allowed to kick hell’s bells out of the opposition – are we now seeing some revenge from a bullied PGMO(L) – or is it just karma?
Karma or otherwise, what UAs want to see is fair and competent refereeing in every match – and to win or lose on the balance of play, or even with a luck factor built in – but not with a deliberately manipulated result.
Re Sean – if he is binned those who have a vested interest in undermining Arsenal and all who support Arsenal will organize another to replace him. That does not mean Sean should be tolerated, my view is have him binned & put the sinister version of the AAAA to the trouble of organizing the replacement.
Broadcasting and commercial revenues, have changed the English Premier League forever.
Jock Stein was correct, in his time, without the fans, a football club does not exist.
With the English Premier League, the broadcasting audience is now the fan base.
Once upon a time, hundreds and thousands were fans of their local club. Tony and Drew have proved it still to be true in the lower leagues.
For the clubs that attain European football competition, millions now follow these clubs.
For the clubs that can only aspire to European football competition, these clubs have to be satisfied with the crusts. Even if at times the crusts, are “doorsteps”!
On the subject of the AAAs, looks like the biggest one of them all, the twitter-trolling piers morgan’s past may have caught up with him. Let’s hope trying to defend himself in the latest phone hacking scandal will keep him busy and away from twitter for a while.
penalty are a matter of opinion if in the referee opinion it is a penalty then it is simple as that.Everyone else can fight it out in the pub.As for Arsenal again just opinion i have to agree with A.W we are all hostage to opinions in the modern world that’s my opinion for what it’s worth
The decision was farcical: the twin (not sure which one, how can you bother following a club that even MK Dons do not consider good enough to be your rival?) was fouled, and his legal shoulder challenge sent Vardy hilariously tumbling in the area.
It is a fact PL referees suck; mind you, the ref was Mark Clattenburg, the national number one.
I like the let-us-all-unite kumbaya stance, and I love what Wenger has done since his appointment, not only since the 2005 CL final, but I am absolutely certain that there is a lot of backstabbing at the top executive level; that fans unite or not matters little to these people, including some managers. we all recall Red Nose and his “it all equals out” mantra, and do not ever dare telling me that Jose would not hesitate to backstab Wenger for personal benefit, if due process to improve refeereing is envisaged. Essentially, we would lead the good fight, and others would reap the benefits.
So, my humble opinion is that Clattenburg, being the numeor uno in the PL, had decided to (as Red Nose would say) “even things out” not for the current season, but for several seasons, heck even for the history of the Prem. He may be daring Riley the sewer rat and Webb to challenge him. He is the poster boy, how would they dare say anything? He may have disliked things done to him by manure, the Glazers, the manure directors, or even manure fans, and decided to be selectively biased… He is daring Riley-Webb to take action against him as number one referee in the PL.
I would suggest that manure’s executives take the “good fight” and go for it; we should stand behind them, but watch our arriers if characters like Jose are behind our arse.
I somehow trust most of the PL outside Arsenal as much as I trust the PGMOL. The Prem and the FA have less power than the top seven (manure, citizens, mugsmashers, toffees, busstop, cockonaball, and us) so why do they not lead a group of teams to true reform? Maybe because, at the end, they manage to screw our chances at trophies, using the PGMOL and Riley’s fanatical stance against us.
Don,
I wish more people would follow your advice! Stupid commentators Moreno and crew on ESPN seems to be leading the witch hunt against Wenger. This is getting ridiculous! Arsenal is currently sitting above City, Liverpoon, United, and Spurs, but Mr. Wenger is the one that gets attacked. No body apparently can look at the standings and see that there only 2 teams undefeated left, but they have the audacity to say 1 of them should be fired.
I don’t watch ESPN – but are pundits on there actually saying that Wenger should be fired???? If so, that is beyond belief. I can’t recall anyone on the BBC or Sky ever suggesting that (happy to be proved wrong). Saying he is under pressure yes, but not that he should go now. I never listen to Talkshite so wouldn’t know about them.
Please translate this:
“UA is the eye of the storm when it comes to a haven of sanity in a constantly agitated, exaggerated and increasingly aberrant and irrational maelstrom of the authority’s BS, AAA ignorance and media’s pettiness, insipid mediocrity and stupidity.”
Do not think AAA will ever overstand it.
All teams get harsh calls. The standard of officiating is poor but perhaps it always has been. All credit to Leicester, they harried and hassled Manu throughout and deserved their win despite some calls that definitely went their way and were wrong. Must admit I enjoyed the thumping they got.
It’s clear to me that the AAAs and the media have influenced the referees and that’s why there is this massive anti arsenal bias by the referees.
Maybe it is time UA banned all comments.
Jayramfootball – no it is more than that. Criticising the players in the way that many people do harms the players and the club. Look back to Billy’s last article for details.
Tony – with the reach of blogs , forums and social sites I don’t doubt that criticism has an effect on players. However, in my opinion, that’s just their issue to deal with and if they can’t then they should be dropped.
As an example, the kind of fan portrayed in the book Fever Pitch is quite common. You are NEVER going to change that type, but they are massive fans nonetheless. Top sportsmen have to deal with criticism. It will always be that way.
Football is now a product, and footballers are well paid employees, nothing more. Do not ask fans to change their nature just because it might upset the little darlings.
Clatters overseas vicious assaults on Arsenal’s players.
Theo and Debuchy out for months.
And you know damn well that other Ars players are simply ‘lucky not to be currently injured’ – and that the next ref will see to it that those lucky ones still standing will get their shit-kicking as and when the opposition feel like it.
Who is doing the spuds match? And why?
@jayram
what you say is very true, criticism is part of football and footballers should learn to deal with it.
but players have good and bad batches, fans should learn to deal with it. Fans watch for entertainment and passion for the club etc… so… dont ask the club to change just because it might upset the little darling fans?
my point is criticism is something wont change and will always be present, players must learn to handle the stress! but same goes for fans, there WILL be GOOD and BAD patches throughout the season! fans need to learn to deal with it as well. what many fans do is just go onto the internet, forums etc and irresponsibly shooting down our own players, manager and club! that should not be the way to handle things and i understand that’s the angle untold is coming from. correct me if i am wrong~ constructive criticism is what is needed not mindless criticism and even worse, saying the players should be sold! fans need to wise up and not just blindly follow what the media have to say!
“…cable broadcasts hosted by blatantly biased commentators, whose sole fame to claim is that they played in the MLS!”
Isn’t it just the same here in England? For some reason TV stations decided that best pundits are ex footballers – WTH?
Aren’t there any decent journalists and other people involved in football who actually have something to say and CAN speak English?
Only about 1 out 10 players makes sense and almost all of them are seriously biased.
Rantetta,
It’s Oliver. Saw him one year ago, strangely he reffed the same match. Must be his vicious pleasure. His first half was relatively ok, but in the last 30 minutes he ignored all the shirt pulling Giroud was the subject of. He was probably waiting for a Dean moment that never came.
Florian,
Thank you.
Sort of…
I can’t believe he’s doing this match. I looked it up and you’re correct. Am I going mad? How many games has he done involving us this season? It feels like 3 or 4, but I must be wrong. Surely Beachball has done at least two?
Ah well – guess I’ll have to wait for the preview – and compare it to the last one.
NB: I think maybe I’m morphing Olly-beachball with Clattenbugger. Their reffing style is the same (anti Arsenal), and they both keep well up with play and see everything – but only react to what they want.
Both have also entered Premmy ref-dom at a relatively young age, and you don’t get ‘select’ status without ….
(fill in blanks).
This apparent “treatment ” of Manchester United by match officials, since the departure of that grotesque bully Ferguson, must surely be more than just a coincidence.
Nicely said, Don. I agree, Untold should cut out the AAA trolls. I would much prefer to talk to people who like to talk about football. Disingenuity though, that I do not like.
Trolls, ye be warned.
EIE 🙂
I have some sympathy for the groans from Pellegrini, that not-given penalty against Toure in the Stoke game was a real Stinker. But as said before,he thought that call stunk out the yard he should pop down to N5 more often!
Most touches inside the opponents pelanty area in the PL, least pelanty calls given for in the PL. I suppose it’s just another statistical anomaly/coincidence, along with all the others (too few refs, none from the SE, where most of the population of the UK play and watch their football) etc…
“God help them if clubs and supporters ever decide to unite behind a common cause….they fear this above all else”
BINGO!
Like, you know, asking for video replay tech to be used properly and not arbitrarily when some people feel like they are in the mood, which is what happens at the moment. A slightly uncredible circumstance for the worlds richest and most popular sport to find itself in given the history of sport in the US etc.
e.g.: cricket have used replays for nearly twenty years now. All who watched the recent Test series in England with India, including the Sky plundits, will agree that the contest, the competition, was adversely affected by the Indian boards desire to not have replays in this series with India suffering the most. The Indian board’s posture in cricket has nothing to with the predictable IPL shenanigans, nope! 😉
It is, what it is.
It’s on ESPNFC TV online, so I assume it’s on their broadcast. Their exact words are that Arsenal needs a change of voice.
@Jerry It was an egregious discussion aimed a slating Arsene Wenger. I should point out that one of the panelists was Stewart Robson… enough said.
Stewart Robson was on 5 Live last week (Danny Baker show). He said that he didn’t think he was welcome at Arsenal any more… good (and I am talking about my former favourite player now). Sadly, Baker sympathised with him – gone down a bit in my eyes.
Re penalties against MU. In some ways, this is reassuring for me. It seems that the old-pro MU-bias was more due to fear of Fergie (compounded by Riley’s craven acquiesence in exiling from MU games those who refereed fairly) than institutional corruption. But far too early to be sure. The acid test will be when Clattenburg next gets a MU game. I think we all need to watch for that. If it hasn’t happened by Feb/Mar time then we should start to be getting concerned.
Nice article ,Don ,but as far as I’m concerned , the refs along with the EPL , lost the plot a long time ago . This apparent payback rendered to ManUre for me is just a great source of perverse joy ! Their ‘caught in the headlights ‘ , ‘ this should not be happening to us ‘and ‘why us ?’ expressions are very mirthful !
As for the AAAA on here , just don’t feed them nor engage them . Instead just make fun of them and have a laugh at their expense . Its so easy to do !
Their presence here is a gauge of their stupidity and absurdity , and tells how far they are deluded. Makes our assesment of them very easy . If not ,god forbid ( shudders! ) we may have to go to their sites to see what they are up to !