- Why changing the manager mid-season generally makes things worse
- The media sinks into the mud as Arsenal rise to the heights
By Tony Attwood
Most fellow Arsenal fans I know are feeling rather good about this season. Yes we all know that the lead that we had at one time has been cut back and the Manc are getting close, but even so after the struggles of last season just to make it to second, this has been a lot more positive.
And yet and yet there is moaning. Take for example, “Reasons behind two lengthy stoppages to north London derby labelled ‘absolute nonsense’ by Gary Neville is the Daily Mail’s take. They seem unbothered by the football or the results and are focused on the technical issues with the communication system and something to do with the kit.
I can only hope those who got so agitated were able to get hold of some calming medication. But really, after all this time using the same sort of equipment and rules, you might have expected everyone at PGMO to be sorted out by now. And that’s the problem with PGMO – they are answerable to no one. There is no organisatioin that can penalise those who got things wrong, because PGMO runs itself. No one can even chastise them, let alone fine them, or ban referees or anything.
So they will claim that “Frequency interference and equipment issues” were the problem, and get away with it. And anything else. As ever, others will be blamed, for one thing we do know – it is never PGMO’s fault.
Thus, not being able to talk about the total failure of PGMO to do its job properly the media talk about how “Man Utd leap into top four” as indeed the Mirror claism to have found no fewer than five “talking points.”
As for the commentaries, Carragher seemed to forget he had suggested Arsenal could do without Viktor Gyokeres and so heaped praise on the player.
But behind all the headline shouting, there is a sense that there is a certain agreement with The Guardian which just reckons everything has gone downhill and tells us that fatigue is now the dominant factor in the game. This of course, is a preparation for the day Arsenal wins the league, and they can claim it wasn’t really won by Arsenal because everyone was too tired.
The notion that players play too many games is a very old complaint, although the logical notion of extending the blame to Fifa, Uefa and the general concept of countries playing each other much more than ever before hasn’t been taken up. Although maybe there are a few hints that this summer’s World Cup, which will have Donald Trump as a leading figure within it, might be to blame for some of the discontent.
There have been quite a few articles complaining about the prices of admission to the matches, and we were told that sales were slow, but that story seems to have run its course and isn’t being mentioned anymore. Maybe it has been whispered that Fifra has told the media that if they did write or talk about such issues, their accreditations would be revoked. I’ve no proof of that but I wouldn’t put it past them.
The FA Cup final is on 16 May. The World Cup runs from 11 June to 19 July. The Community Shield is on 9 August, which suggests that clubs playing in the Community Shield match will need to be in training from… oh, 19 July.
Now, of course, some players will play for countries that are not in the World Cup. But then, on the other hand, 48 teams are competing in the World Cup in the summer, so really it will be a time for hoping that countries that include Arsenal players get knocked out sooner rather than later.
But however it works out what it really means is that with the opening fixtures of the 2026/27 many Premier League clubs will be forced to put out reserve and backup players as some of their regular first teamers will be away on their summer break, or back at the club but working up their fitness levels.
Assuming that the rules about subs have not been changed for next season (and if it has and I missed it please tell me gently) then we stay with the rule that says each Premier League team may make up to five substitutions per match. These changes, however, can only be made during three stoppages in play and at half-time. But clubs can still name up to nine substitutes per match. Some clubs might find themselves short.
Arsenal currently show 24 players in their first team squad, although this number never includes players aged under 21. And there is a twist in this point since under-21-year-olds are not included on the 25-man squad lists, and as many as the club wishes can play in the first team or sit on the bench without it affecting the 25-man list.
For the 2026/27 season, under-21 players will have been born on or after 1 January 2005. It all makes me feel rather old.
