The Curse of Arsenal is a curse placed upon individuals and organisations in response to actions which are deemed by those involved in the Curse to be unacceptable.
It is used with caution, because of its immense power. But when it is used it can have a huge effect.
We have been recording the use of the Curse on two occasions from the past season – the decision to leave the club by Flamini, and the action of Martin Taylor in tackling and as a result crippling Eduardo.
In the latter case the Curse was quickly moved from Taylor himself to Birmingham City FC. Showing no compassion or remorse the club sought to deflect all criticism and blame. It sneaked Taylor back into a match after his 3 match ban – the same length of ban that Hleb got for a gentle tap on the face of an opposition player.
Since then the club has been relegated (something that was not a serious prospect at the time of the assault), the two top people in the club have been arrested by police on suspicion of irregular payments within the club, and the club has been raided by the police who removed paperwork. The club lost its manager also.
Clearly we make no allegation against the club, we merely report factual events. No charges have been brought as a result of the raid or the arrests.
However the Curse is still in place, and the effect of it was seen today as the co-owner of the club was moved to “categorically deny” that he had sexually assaulted a 26 year old woman in Essex. David Sullivan aged 59 had attended a police station of his own volition concerning the attack on a woman in Theydon Bois. The police have said that a 59 year old man was arrested and released on police bail.
Of course we don’t suggest Mr Sullivan is in any way guilty. The Curse doesn’t work that way. What it does is cause difficulty – and the situation at Birmingham City FC since the attack on Eduardo has been what one might call “difficult”, what with the arrests, seizure, relegation and further arrest.
Those involved in the Curse are considering their position vis a vis players who might leave the club this summer.
Some do like to suggest that the Curse is fantasy. But they may wish to consider what has happened to Birmingham City FC since the Curse was put in place, and compare it with what has happened at most other clubs. Few have had such disruption.
