By Dr Billy “the dog” McGraw
You may remember, if you have a long memory, that Untold got a little upset by the Guardian journalist Amy Lawrence a while back. What frustrated several of us was her use of trickery to suggest that the statement that Arsenal having only two players who scored in double figures showed how awful the club was.
An analysis of the situation revealed however that this figure put Arsenal in the elite. 15 clubs in the Premier League had only one player who reached double figures. It was a typical piece of what has become contemporary football journalism – giving a fact without context in order to change its meaning.
So each year we keep an eye on this issue, and with still two games to go, Arsenal have three players who have scored in double figures: Lacazette, Ramsey and Welbeck. And with Aubameyang on eight and two matches left to play there is a chance this year we might have four such players.
What makes the figures even more interesting is that Alexis left the club having scored eight and Giroud seven. If either had stayed they could have entered double figures too.
Of course I am counting all competitions here, but there is a good reason to do this I feel because it does show that we do have a very forceful combination of forwards in the club now. Playing both Aubameyang and Lacazette together is working, and indeed it means that if either player is injured we still have a prime centre forward able to take on any defence.
Indeed such has been the impact of Aubameyang that the Guardian in a headline admits things have changed as they say, “Aubameyang can revive Arsenal”.
The paper also, in another article, have an interesting insight saying, “The scene after the final match of the season at Goodison, with Allardyce diplomatically absenting himself from a players’ lap of appreciation that took place in front of almost empty stands, did not augur well for next season, for the manager’s future, or for Everton’s eventual move to a new home.”
Interestingly, with Everton, we got the usual load of abuse for suggesting that the poor old tax payer might end up footing the bill for the new ground. But since then there have been admissions that given the way the council is guaranteeing the project, it could indeed happen. Certainly as the Guardian suggests, having a manager who absents himself from the occasion of the team’s lap of appreciation, and most fans not bothering to stay, things don’t look that good at the club.
But then if you must sign Allerdyce…
And Speaking of perception Jacob Steinberg says, “What could possibly make a club as chaotic as West Ham think they are above him?” The him being their current manager David Moyes. But apparently that is what they are thinking of doing as the club prepare to descend to the next level. After all once you have raped the tax payer, what next?
Finally, I am glad to see that Mesut Ozil rose above the rancid attack on him by Martin Keown, who said on the awful BT Sport, ‘These are crocodile tears I’m seeing. He’s not conning me. ‘I bet he doesn’t play again this season. He will have some emotional breakdown and won’t be able to play at the weekend. He wasn’t fit to wear the shirt for me tonight [the Europa League semi], and I have seen this a lot this season.”
Ozil in fact played with a back injury in that match. It was a gamble, and it could be argued that it should not have been taken, but it was, and indeed he missed this weekend;s game. Ozil will quite possibly miss the forthoming away games too.
But of course the sniping continues by the hour with the main fun being working out what psychological trauma the writer is displacing to make him write such stuff. Here’s just one to round off the prolonged holiday weekend…
The headline from the Transfer Tavern reads
Wasted talent: The Arsenal youngster that should really consider leaving the club this summer
“Unfortunately, though, whilst many players are likely to have a different experience under whoever comes in to replace Arsene Wenger, there are a couple of players that may be unaffected.
“One such player is young Gedion Zelalem, Arsenal’s talented young attacker. In truth, it’s hard to see any way of him getting into the Arsenal first team, and so perhaps it’s time for him to seek an exit this summer.
“After all, he’s already 21 and is yet to have a sniff at gaining a role in the Arsenal first team in the Premier League, and a couple of fairly unproductive loans over the last few years have done little to help his case.”
A little mention of the terrible injuries that Zelalem has had, his promising comeback on loan at Rangers… no these are mere details, and why should details matter when you can write a headline of such negativity?
It will, of course continue. The new manager knows what to expect.
- Journalists give Arsene Wenger a standing ovation at final press conference
- “He’s won more than you.” Stadium Wenger gives its creator a wonderful goodbye.
- Arsenal – Burnley : the high five goodbye from the Emirates…
How is any of this important? Honestly we’ve conceded 60+ goals this season that’s your problem right there. Do a pointless article on it try spinning that into a positive
Perhaps being negative the whole time is also unproductive.
Now that you have what you want, it remains to be seen whether you get what you want next season as well.
You may not miss Wenger yet, but let us see this time next year.
I entirely agree with Billy McGraw about displaced anger affecting the judgment of some pundits. Carragher’s monstrous slur against Gabriel last season and Souness’ attack on Xhaka last Sunday are other examples. Displaced anger also explains the vicious criticism directed at Arsene Wenger over the last few years by some fans. I also agree with Jigsol. Let’s see where we are this time next season.
You make a good point about Ozil and it is good to see goals being shared around. We have a lot of quality upfront. We bought very well in January .
However please don’t call out Amy Lawrence she is the biggest Gooner in football journalism but occasionally has to look critically at the club. Rumoured here yesterday she is to write Arsene’s autobiography with him .
Untold does rather tend to see barbs where they don’t exist . Newspapers aren’t fanzines
I have always said be careful what you wish for, the cretins who believed the £350 million a week red bus are probably the ones patting themselves on the back about Wengxit
So you’ve spent months accusing Amy Lawrence of Everything because she didn’t put her comment in context (even though she was only agreeing with Wenger). Now you make the same comment and refuse to put it in context too. Did you tell us comparatively how the other teams have done as regards how many scorers hit double figures? So it’s allowed for you to make that comment without contextualization, but Amy isn’t allowed? Can we conclude then that hypocrisy/ double standards is your modus operandi?
Marky the thing about both Wengit and Brexit’s bus is that at the moment they are still unknown .
When we leave the E.U we will see what happens to the money just as when we get a new direction under a new manager we will see where we get.
Neither has yet happened and only after it does will we know.
Billy , the problem with loans being unproductive is that you can’t control them. Generally players are taken on loan as squad fillers and spend a lot of their time sitting on benches.
As i said on a previous thread Martinez has had a wasted year playing only 3 games at Getafe , in fact from 2012 he has had 5 loans and has only played 36 matches . Loans for many players are always the best thing and for keepers they are only there to replace an injured first teamer.
Martínez was made starting keeper against Borussia Dortmund on 26 November at the Emirates, He kept a clean sheet , Arsenal won 2–0.[13] he made that week’s UEFA team of the week.
I hope this succesion of loans has not harmed his prospects because he has all the attributes to be a greast keeper in the future.
Ah, zam Leon Alex etc. PTO or whatever. What a trolling wanker you are
Fishpie, sad to see the level of abuse aimed at Untold Arsenal behind the scenes still reaching new heights. And some abuse against Wenger from the lowest possible sewer level….
Gedion being used as an example is interesting. He is another Arsenal player who I feel has suffered from the so- called English “kick ’em off the park if they show any skill” mentality. There could, for the better quality journalists, be a debate about whether this is a factor which is inhibiting young player growth and restricting their playing time at crucial parts of their careers. Sadly much of the emphasis in such change would rest with correct application of the laws of the game by Pigmob referees, so I am not expecting it to happen.
Yea and you’re a wet rag
@Zam I challenge you to say something completely positive on this site.
Henry Root, I don’t think that newspapers are fanzines. The article I have cited was, in my view, deliberately misleading, and I’ve stated why I feel this, and what the article should have said. It was my opinion that the article was deliberately misleading; I don’t think any journalist should be above criticism – they are putting forward their views in the public domain, just as in a much smaller way, am I.
How can you defend the sordid little hacks that pass as journalists these days ??? Haven’t read a paper for years, they lie and manipulate at every turn … and I’ve been in commercial sales for 27 years, I know how to use language to infer something !!!
Zam, if you’d read many of Tony’s articles, that quote for Amy has been very well documented and put into context … the use of it and the WAY it was used was deliberately negative and misleading … but then she’s a hack, that’s what they do …
Henry, I wouldn’t say newspapers came anywhere near fanzines in terms of quality …
Markyb – Just scroll over his comment, it honestly does make for a much more pleasant read. Although why he is allowed to continuously post through alt-accounts, I’m not sure.