We want our Arsenal back

64 Replies to “We want our Arsenal back”

1. I want the Arsenal that wants to compete for trophies, not the arsenal that lines the pockets of Silent Stan, Ivan Gazidis and Arsene Wenger. Wenger used to have ambition to win things, doesn’t appear so now!

2. I can handle highs and lows but I can’t handle this apathy.

3. I can’t speak for others but I would like to see an Arsenal that celebrated it’s success on the field not the release of it’s accounts.

4. Great article and as you say a gragh says it all. As a very old Gunner who started my pain in 1950, I can honestly say I aciblem heartbroken that yet again our board have buggered up an incredible base to build from. Just look at your chart and see how many year (18) that I had to wait for any success, but we still followed them all over the country. After the 70’s when Bertie Mee broke up a great team to show how important ‘he & the board were’ we declined again until George Graham arrived and we replaced Liverpool at the top. But yet again the board deprived him of the funds to add top players to make us invincible. And here we are again….shareholder creaming off the profits under different names and watching Arsene take us back to where he started except his successor will have no great defence to inherit and certainly no wrighty or Bergy….how sad is that!

5. Missing the point slightly! I think the people singing “We want our Arsenal Back” are asking for a return to the successes of 1998 – 2004, to the time when the board allowed Wenger to sign the players he wanted (Overmars, Henry, Pires, etc) instead of having to settle for players who are not quite good enough. They are not singing for a return to the football of the pre-Wenger era.
   Here at Untold Arsenal you seem to think that any criticism is negative and you claim its all the work of the AAA. That’s not the case. Some fans are concerned about the lack of team investment, or Wengers claims they are still searching for the right players (really? What are our scouts doing all year?). Mostly I think fans are concerned that the club doesn’t seem too bothered about what they think. Look at Hillwood for instance – slagging off the fans who pay alot of money to watch a declining team. This does not mean that all those singing are anti-Wenger, or all AAA. Some of them are just passionate about the club and want to see the money they pay through the turnstiles reinvested in the team.

6. Maybe you should stop comparing our Arsenal with Chelsea and compare us with Man United. That’s a team we should see as a standard. If at this time and age, we think that our achievement should be viewed from the stone age, then there is a big problem with this article. Let the Arsenal we grew up knowing re-emerge!

7. It’s the ground hog seasons people are sick of. If the team was improving slightly every year it would okay but the way the club is run guarantees no success other than qualification (if we’re lucky). Under George Graham the Arsenal team was less talented but with the character of the senior players we still nicked the odd trophy and had the warrior spirit. I think it’s that more than anything the supporters miss.

   Players now know that they don’t have to win to keep their place in the side because winning trophies is not required. Wenger would love to win another big trophy I know, but he is not taking the necessary steps to achieve this, it’s not an easy thing to do, esp with the money other clubs have now but with more pressure and urgency at the club, even this squad could achieve more.

   I love Arsene for the great Arsenal man he is but there is such a thing as being in a job too long. That’s not being anti-Wenger as he’s a total legend and I would never boo or disrespect him but also at some point soon we as a club should be looking to the future. If Wenger left this summer I would be very sad to see him go but also optimistic about the change.

8. It seems we must all be fundamentalist now. One side or the other – either Wenger is God, or he can do nothing right. There is little or no room for Arsenal fans like myself, who feel that Wenger should stay, while asknowledging the man has very obvious flaws.
   Nobody is perfect, and Arsenes tactics and motivation skills leave a lot to be desired, as does his awful, horrendous wage structure.
   But the man has led us to success, overseen the biggest expansion we have ever witnessed, whilst keeping the club competitive on a shoestring. If there is any person deserving of spending available money, then its Arsene.
   I dont want my Arsenal back just yet, but Id like my Arsene Wenger back!

9. It seems your Arsenal doesn’t have a bright future. The press, fans are against your team and this is the toughest time for Wenger. According to many blogs and comments everthing and everyone at Arsenal is RUBBISH. Even the Man who made the Arsenal we are proud of today.
   I am in Africa, but if you ask many Arsenal fans from Africa, they became Arsenal fans just because of the beautiful and attractive football played by the gunners, the work of the great man. Why don’t Arsenal fans learn from Liverpool?They are always behind the team despite many dissapointments.Should Wenger go, expect the fall of the mighty Arsenal. No other manager can’t manage the team and achieve something with that small budget.

10. I think people are talking about Arsenal in early 2000 and just after, disapointments are coming from the way we recruit new players, not bad players but it always looks like these players can’t handle the role. It’s hard to get players who are playing for the crest more than cash, look at Wilshere, te lad is giving everything at every game, even Ramsey, it’s surely not our best player and far from that but something is truly appreciated about his games, his passion, giving everything he has in the box, can we really say that for some others in the team? Unfortunatly this is where Arsene has lost it, his tactics are not so bad but sometimes some of the lads are just giving up too quickly and the only few left who are ready to rock are not good enough (yet) to handle the job

11. Arsene wenger should go we are tired of younger players n talents, we want stars n experience players, wenger and the board should stop playing with we the arsenal fans because if it is in nigerian wenger won’t be able to even come out of his house to say anything because him and the board need serious beating am tell you guyz. Arsenal is fall down believe me after now spurs will take over and arsenal can not compete with any club in the premiership again let wenger go and pep should come in.

12. I don’t think ‘We want our Arsenal back’ means they want the team of the pre Wenger years back.

    I think what they are getting at are a number of things
    1) A team that visibly runs itself into the ground for the shirt.
    2) A team that is tactically asute
    3) A club that pushes itself to at least try and succeed
    4) A club for the people, not the corporate types we see now.

    I personally don’t think we have any of the above anymore.

    The players look half arsed half the time, like they don’t really care about winning or what wearing the Red and White really should represent.

    The team fails tactically every other week over the last few seasons. There seems very little effort going into fixing problems and we see them repeated over and over and over again.
    AW himelf has said on more than one occassion that he never adjusts for the opposition we play. Instead he likes to focus on his own players. This is unforgivable management in my opinion.

    Point 3, We leave so much unspent money in the bank, the fans are being fleeced and we always make a profit every transfer window. Just for once would it kill the club to speculate to accumulate? No one I know wants Wenger to spend “£50 on a player” or “buy Messi” as he like to say to us mere fans as an excuse for his non spending. All we want is to spend what we do have to try and close the gap on the top teams.

    point 4, sadly alot of die hard gooners I know can no longer afford to go to the games and have given up their season tickets.
    The prices go up, the squad quality goes down and this is not fair or right.
    I’m in the same boat myself, I have a massive decision to make on whether to renew next season. Over the last few years I’ve had to make big sacrifice for the privilege of going to Arsenal. I’ve pretty much had to cut spending time with some friends, give up hobbies and I still live at home with my parents (I’m 28) all because I want to go and watch Arsenal every other week, and they never seem to give anything back for the supporters faith.

    Wenger has been moaning recently about the crowd, well what does he expect when the long term die hards are being forced not to attent the games as they can no longer afford it. The ground gets filled with tourists (I mean genuine London tourists, not Arsenal fans over from abroad) so of course it’s going to dillute the atmosphere.

    That is the Arsenal people want back from where I’m sitting. A club that strives to compete to the best of it’s advantage with players on the pitch willing to die (read take a knock / give their all) for the team.

13. Walter,

    You’ve also lost it! Just like Wenger.

14. Gooner Pete,

    Very good post. Your point 4 appears to be the real crux of the “We want our Arsenal back” campaign.

15. Walter,
    When you spin this season away into the long-view, it strikes me, with all due respect, that people with shorter memory spans and intense passions for the promise of quality football to come of not more than three seasons ago, might have something like this in mind to stoke their frustrations: I quote from today’s Desi Gunner and wonder why you don’t revisit some (or your or Tony’s) recent (a)musings about how we score quite well, thank you very much:
    “Did you realize the Gunners have scored 57.5 percent of their goals in 20 percent of their games. Big scores against Reading, Newcastle, Tottenham, and Southampton have contributed 23 goals to the Arsenal tally. That means they’ve only scored 42.5 percent of their goals in the remaining 80 percent of their games. 17 goals in 16 games makes it barely over 1 goal per game.” This brings me no joy. But neither does your long-view deconstruction of AFC’s performance which, imo, serves the purposes of diluting and destracting from what ought to be advocacy for quality purchases, even above market value, to right the ship (which UA increasingly seems to suggest is not in such bad shape, as we head over the horizon line of a flat earth).

16. Yes, the Arsenal i want back is the one that will show me they are ready to fight.That’s why even when little Jack is not playing very well, you see in his movement and effort that he cares. If we could have five more Wilshires ( not the skill but the attitude), we could easily win either the league of one of the cups. unfortunately we don’t. Look at Rosicky, he cares, you could see it last season, but does he get to play nowadays? No!
    I keep saying that had I been in Arsene’s shoes last Sunday, we would not have lost that game, even if we were ten. Because it it needed was tactical changes which wasn’t done. You can’t hope to win every time, but atleast don’t become predictable as we have become. The real reason why we were going to win at Swansea last week was because for once, Arsene might have surprised them. Arsenal in known to be slow in movement and pass execution, but he endevoured to bring on fast players like Ramsey. Will he do it again tomorrow? We wait, we find out.

17. “The people singing ‘We want our Arsenal Back’ are asking for a return to the successes of 1998 – 2004.”

    Who do these morons think was the manager at the time? Arsene Wenger. The very man they want dumped.

18. Uncle Mike – You need to get out of this mindset of ‘We Want Our Arsenal Back’ being about sacking Wenger… it’s nothing to do with that. In fact over half the people that voted on the BSM’s latest survey said they believe Wenger to be the right man for the job but he needs to change his current ways.

    I am of this same way of thinking. For me Wenger over the years has proved to be a very good coach and when he has the right level of quality in the squad, can achieve great things. But his current, stubborn and extremely flawed methodology is hurting the club and whilst I’d love to see him stay and make it work… part of me thinks the only way for progressive change now is maybe to replace him as we have been consistently complaining of the same deficiencies at the club for the past 4-5 years and nothing has changed. SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE… FOR THE GOOD OF THE CLUB.

    I support Arsenal Football Club…. not Arsenes Football Club.

19. I think some are missing an important thing.

    The Arsenal under Wenger that was successful was a team that only had to fight one other big club.
    Now we have the two sugar daddy clubs that is playing in a different league.

    I think the problems that can be seen on the graphic are due to
    1. Arsenal building the Emirates
    2. the sugar daddy clubs (plural)

    The first is what you could call an inside element but the second is something out of control.
    The first one was foreseen, the second one not.

    As long as those two sugar daddy clubs can throw money around to buy each and every top player we will not be able to compete completely.
    They can always (ALWAYS) outbid us for any player.

20. I like d post bt there is a question i want arsenal fans should ask wenger(why did he change arsenal formation from 4 4 2,to me is nt about buyin d best players into d team bt d team formation matters alot.since we started playing 4 3 3 or 4 2 3 1 and copied or emulate barca style of play,we havent won anything just emirate and asterdam cup dat doesnt add to trophies won by clubs.for years now alex fergie played 4 4 2 formation and it kept on winning trophies 4 them.lets look at manu united 4 past years,is nt dat d team is filled wit exceptional and quality players,wat has been working 4 alex fergie or manu united is d 4 4 2 formation and playing d players at there suited positions they played in there previous club bt in wenger case,he changed arsenal winning formation 4 4 2,played most of d players out of position,wrong team selection,late team substitution during matches.To me wenger is arsenal great problem,even though d board gives him funds to buy players and he buys 7 players in d squad,sorry to say it will still be the same problem,since he is nt ready to change back d formation to 4 4 2,play d players in there rightly suited positions etc.i will love to see 2 or 3 players included into d squad bt dat is nt d solution,d solution is d formation.it is totally rubbish playing a lone striker in every match.

21. David,
    Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla are not young talents. They are seasoned players who are full internationals and top players in Germany, France and Spain.
    those are the last 3 buys from Wenger.

22. @ Walter

    Good points, but I’d like to counter it by saying that what Arsenal have done horribly is using the money we do have.

    – We have a number of players on massively inflated contracts that we now can’t shift
    – We still never speculate to accumulate in the transfer market, ever. Sure we can be out bid by the rich play things, but Arsenal are still a big club and still make big money. If the stadium repayments are fixed as they tell us then there should be more than enough free cash to strengthen where neccessary. The rich clubs can’t buy everybody.

    Then there’s tactics. Our tactics are all but non-existant and have been for a few years now. More should be being done behind the scenes to erradicate some of our flaws (set pieces, getting caught too high up the pitch, the shockingly slow tempo we currently play at, the constant individual errors etc). Currently we seem to see the same mistakes manifest themselves over and over.

    Yes Arsenal are at a disadvantage financially, I think the majority of fans don’t expect to clean up in the trophies stakes but what fans do want is to see Arsenal using their resourses to the best of their ability.

    I don’t think we are any where near doing that.

23. Arsenal fans are paranoic about Arsene. I don’t care whether he stays or leaves, he is going to retire soon anyway. What worries me is that the team lost its character, the style, respect, faith. Rebuilding the team and having fresh start will require much more effort and investment than 3-7 years ago.

24. To me wanting arsenal back,is also wanting arsenal winning formation 4 4 2 back.wat we fans dont realize is nt about d players we bring in or buy bt d formation they play dat matters alot.during graham era we played 4 4 2 formation both smith and wright in d attack,we won trophies wit dis formation and we were able to compete wit manu and liverpool 4 trophies.when wenger came in 1996 he continued wit d 4 4 2 formation and he was able to win 11 trophies and making arsenal a rival to manu bt since wenger changed d formation to 4 2 3 1 or 4 3 3 playing a lone striker in d attack we stopped been manu rival and competive in england,dat teams bound 4 relegation even comes to emirate to beat arsenal,wat didnt happen at highbury stadium.wat we should be asking wenger is why did he stop 4 4 2 formation or stop playing 4 4 2 formation dat won us alot of trophies at highbury.Fans keep on sayin wenger should sell d deadwoods,d players are nt to be blamed,wenger should be blamed becos it is nt all players dat can be converted to play positions they are nt used to or played in there previous clubs..instead of asking wenger to sell d deadwoods and to buy players,we are to ask him to change back d formation to 4 4 2,play d players in there suited position,right team selection,quick substitution during matches and stop gambling matches.wit dat arsenal will change back to winning trophies.once upon a time in d league dat we played two wingers,two attackers,two midfielder(dmf,amf),now a change story entirely 4 arsenal.d 4 3 3 or 4 2 3 1 formation will nt win arsenal any trophy

25. Walter, as you say, this graph says more than a thousand words.

    Still, people I have never heard of before seem to be expending many words on this discussion – most of them negative about our current Arsenal team under Arsene Wenger.

    In his comments after the Manchester City match Arsene Wenger said our current players are desperate to do well, are putting all their effort in, but possibly are not fully convinced how good they are.

    Are negative comments going to help convince them how good they are? I don’t think so.

    Walter, you are quite right to remind us that our three most recent buys, Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla, are seasoned and proven top players.

    They and the rest of the squad need – nay, deserve – loud support at every match and plenty of support on Arsenal web sites.

    This is the least we can do to counter the negativity oozing from the mass media.

    I’ve got my ticket for tomorrow’s cup replay and I intend to offer vocal support and no criticisms.

26. It’s getting depressing reading about Arsenal these days, not only is the media knocking us but our fans moaning that the club doesn’t do enough.

27. Very nice to see such a unified pull behind the team.

28. As a dedicated follower of our great Club since the mid 1930’s, it saddens me to read of the growing disatisfaction with the Board, the Manager and sucessive players in recent times.
    For those of us of mature years we have supported Arsenal through triumph and disaster, seen defeat plucked from the jaws of victory and vice versa.
    Arsenal, from the days of Herbert Chapman (to use a fairly modern yardstick) have continually had highs and lows in the pursuit of success.
    Those fans who long for silverware and the heady days of the Invincibles fail to realise that for the past 75 years Arsenal have never retained a Championship title.
    It is about time that the modern supporter, whilst striving for our Club’s success, started to accept that the Arsenal Way might just be one of ingrained success and failure IN EQUAL MEASURE.
    We Gooners of yesteryear (before the name was invented) have long learnt to support Arsenal 100% in all the forms it presents to its public because there is no other way for us.

29. Walter, you love your stats but you overlook that the past is no guide to the future. Come the end of this May your graph won’t look so clever, never mind May 2014. Wenger 2013 is a shadow of the man that came so close in 2008. The ability to spot a trajectory is crucial and ours is downhill from here if we don’t make the change pronto. It’s sad but then all good things come to an end.

30. A simple question why do you and your fellow writers try to convince your fellow Arsenal supporters ( or possibly more to the point yourselfs)that all is ok at Arsenal by seeking satisfaction in matters.
    This article for instance talks about Chelsea not having any history almost suggesting that Arsenal has a right to win things because they did in he past but therein is the point and the very reason why there are dissenting voices because supporters want to celebrate the here and now.

31. So most of you will get the pre-Wenger Arsenal back then. The one that many have known who are a bit older like Nicky.

32. Last line of first paragraph should read

    ok at Arsenal by seeking satisfaction in matters Chelsea

33. graphs and stats do not always tell everything, but this is on occasion where they tell quite a lot.
    Was thinking about this negativity,which like most modern hysteria, can , with some.. completely outweigh the reality. I think one of the things really fuelling this are the words of RVP in his statement, a statement which contained some inaccuracies, especially against the board, and was essentially a vehicle to stop the club holding him to the last year of his contract. There was a pathetic event last weekend whereby a couple of our IQ challenged fans were abusive towards Nasri as he entered the stadium, where he still has a box. To me, what VP did was much worse than anything Nasri did or said. RVP was calculated, and he had grown up as a fan of the club, Nasri is just a bit of an opportunist, if an annoying one.He is probably too wrapped up in himself to really mean the club much harm. RVP surely has a huge responsibility for his part stirring up all this negative shite, and let history judge him accordingly…and for his attempt to break Sagna’s leg again at OT

34. We want our football back more like. There is a genuine feeling of falling out of love with the game and the people in the game. It’s all about the money and the corporate growth (yawn) and it’s less about having fun. Footballers used to be heroes but now who would want to be like a footballer? The players and the board are so far apart from your average fan financially that in these tough times people are bound to find the whole thing distasteful. I love the Arsenal and spend more than my share of cash there but hate feeling like a customer instead of a fan.

35. Jed,
    the stats only show that we want our Arsenal back is in fact a rather stupid statement.
    The past wasn’t that good always.

    And besides that: the past is the past, nobody knows what the future will bring.

36. Walter, Nicky is not representative of older fans. My 86 year old dad has been attending matches since 1936 and is as frustrated as most of us now are with the same old problems not being fixed.

    I’ve already explained that your graph doesn’t cover the relevant period. The other point to bear in mind is that the game in the PL era is completely different from bygone times. Villa and Forest are never going to be Euro camps again. AFC is so much wealthier than most other clubs 4th is now par for the course not evidence of performance.

    There’s none so blind as those that will not see.

37. Thank you for this article Walter. The graph was rather revealing.

    My personal opinion about the current Arsenal squad is that it is very, very good. The lack of familiarity between the players and the continued insidious efforts of the league referees have conspired to push them back. But I believe that this squad is just waiting to explode.

38. Mandy Dodd,
    At which part of the game at Old Toilet
    did RVP take aim at Sagna? I want to go
    back and look at that on Arsenal Player.
    Cheers 🙂

39. @Jed,
    Of course your Father is frustrated, but by now I’m sure he is well used to Arsenal’s highs and lows, year after year. This hasn’t affected his loyalty.
    The point I made was that the older fan can cope more easily, quietly and more patiently with these.

40. If at first you don’t succeed, then sky diving isn’t for you.

41. I think what they want is a Arsenal with an innovative manager who was ahead others in his thinking not a manager who holds on to the past and has been usurped by younger managers who play more attractive football with teams with far less resources. Or a Manager who can fix the running out of puff in March/April problem of every year.

    The standard of Arsenal play now compared to even 3 years is much worse with some games being played in such a slow temp you can watch them in 2x normal speed and still get the same effect

42. When one considers that we have failed to beat Swansea on the past 3 occasions,with their 35 mill turnover dwarfed by our 227 mill turnover,when you consider that Spurs with a wage bill 50 mill less than ours sit 6 points above us in the league, one would suggest that our resources are not being properly deployed.There is every chance that there will be NO EUROPEAN football next season at all; if Swansea win the League Cup,and one of the top 4 doesn’t win the FA cup,only the 5th place team will qualify for the Europa League. There will be another exodus of players if this happens with some like Cazorla having many suitors.Meanwhile that money will have to be clawed back somehow;there will be no signings next summer.You see Walter,Arsenal has put all its eggs in the CL basket and a failure to qualify will be a disaster;this was NOT the case in the past.THIS is why people are concerned.

43. Here it is Bob
    http://footyroom.com/forum/off-topic/rvp-foul-on-sagna-39136

44. One more thing Bob, and hate to be conspiratorial and all that, the ref was mike dean who let that go. Last weekend, he, I believe rightly applied the letter, if not the spirit of the law on a couple of red cards, strange there was no red card for that one by vp on bac. Sagna was not long back from his second broken leg in close succession. A previous sagna broken leg occurred as a results of a horrendous and unnecessecary tackle by asshole ekotu at WHL and I stand to be corrected here, but I believe the tackle went unpunished, and the ref was mike dean….as it often is when we play the spuds.

45. Walter, a few years ago we were the most attractive team in the world- to watch. We used to create and miss 10+ chances every game. With the current model RVP up front then…we would have won the league at a canter.

    We had CMs who could pass, move, link, switch play and close down. They could do it with their heads up. Runners got the pass and then the support. What people are moaning about is this current experiment. The Caz, Art, Anybody axis does not work. Johan says it and it has ruined our season. That is not anti-AW or anti anything… except the belief that sooner or later people who are not PL CMs will suddenly turn into Fabregases!

    The pass/move of the ‘old’ Arsenal was seductively beautiful and is, I believe, what people yearn for. To see Chelsea, Pool and the Manure rolled over in the middle of the park was worth the 62 quid, even if we didn’t always win. We all want more of that and less of the current experiment surely!

46. I want my old Invincible Arsenal back! I also want my old other teams back to when they didn’t have the unlimited financial resources. I also want my old fair(?) refs back to when they didn’t, or couldn’t, do anything they want to destroy Arsenal and award the silverware(s) to manure and the red nose.

    But what I want the most is the ficking AAA and those ficking morons who can’t never see anything further than their noses just shut their ficking mouths up and do something else like (literally) banging their heads to the wall or something. A little bit too much, I know, but still want that.

47. Walter,
    This, by Rob Hughes in Monday’s NY Times, is another reason why people want; indeed, can insist they should have their Arsenal back. That is, we have the stadium; and a percentage of this shared windfall is coming our way: which can either be spent improving pitch-quality and/or silver line someone’s pockets at AFC. Glimpsing rosy finances (amidst world squalor), the fans do not believe the threadbare protestations of poverty and insist on taking the club at its own word — that there’s cash to splash. Here are the obscene numbers that bode well for AFC and put the lie to the can’t afford to spend mantra, as even the petro-boyz can only field 11 at a time. Behold:
    “For the three seasons starting this coming September, after a new televisions partner, BT, chipped in £738 million, or $1.19 billion, and Sky and ESPN increased their existing contracts, there will be more than double the money on the table for the 20 teams that share out the Premiership pool…The deals now are worth a combined package in excess of £3 billion. The pot keeps rising, in spite of economic conditions.” Do you think we cannot compete to have Arsenal back – near the top of the table (rather than 21 points back!).

48. Mandy Dodd, Walter,
    Thank you, Mandy. That’s an amazing video. If The Dean was indeed sadist-in-charge both at Old Toilet at WHL and served up no cards, then this is really an Untold major scandal. (Walter, consider telling it, would you?)

    Imo, if AFC had serious courage, and valued Bac for his immense service, this would have been trumpeted to the rafters. But The Dean is ever-busy servicing Rednose, and seemingly destroying (via a weaponized and cynical RVP) our best defender, Bacary Sagna’s career.

    And, realizing this, how could Sagna bear to endure another season in the EPL, at a club to which he’s given largely near/actual world class service; and for which he is under-appreciated by the fans and goes unrewarded financially by the club’s ruling bean counters. To be honest, I bite my tongue at what I would be willing to accuse those who (a) through cowardice (AFC) and (b) through malevolence (RVP, The Dean, Don Fungus) would not protect a true crown jewel of our former and sometimes brand of superior football.

49. Walter, Mandy,
    Can either of you check to see whether The Dean was in charge at WHL when Sagna’s leg was broken? It adds an important piece, along with the RVP attack, to The Dean’s willingness to run a wild west show that becomes a crime scene – I mean literally – with it never being brought into high visibility as this can do. This man is not just bad news. He’d have weaponized decision making, and some of the brighter bulbs among players (like Sagna and Fungus’ Mercenary) would know it well. The Dean is sowing karma that some day, just as it goes around, will surely come around.

50. Mandy,
    That clip is outrageous. I asked myself if Sauna wasn’t there and RVPtook the same line, would he have got the ball? The answer is no! That’s a straight red

51. Steve Jobs’s advice :

    Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

    Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

    As I’ve said before – Lead , follow or get out of the fucking
    way !

52. Its always refreshing to read Nicky’s take on all things Arsenal and most of you youngsters could learn a few of life’s lessons from his posts .
    Patience is a virtue .With the will and hard work all our dreams can be achived .Don’t be detered by friends’ taunting or deranged bloggers who are not real supporters .
    Supporters support ,come what may .
    To those who are unhappy , again I ask ,”What are you willing to do for your club ?” To just complain and shout or wear black scarves is not enough .You want change ? Tell us how far you are willing to go .
    Come on , start a movement for change in which you are willing to contribute more than just hot air .
    @ Adam @ Jan 15 -11.29pm – Nice ! Hope you get some lemmings,
    (sorry ) fans to volunteer to prove you wrong !

53. Stuart,
    That’s on The Dean’s watch, as Mandy points out, not showing a card, any card. If research turns him up as in charge at WHL when Sagna’s leg-break there went uncarded, what would you say that says about The Dean? That is, how far will this Golem-like creature (I think he was the model for him in Lord of the Rings) go, do you think, to literally crippling AFC? Or is it down to coincidence, ya think? I’ve just read that our record is 17-1 against us when he’s officiated us. Could it be?

54. These are photos from Kuala Lumpur ,Malaysia taken on the 13th of January 2013 .This is a movement for change .

    http://www.mmail.com.my/story/peoples-uprising-rally-picture-gallery-43605

55. Bob,
    Dean was the ref at WHL when Sagna broke his leg.

56. @Brickfields Gunners,
    “Patience is a virtue” you said and Gooners under (say) the age of 55 should be reminded of this.
    Since the end of WW2 the standard of living for most of us in the UK has improved at an amazing rate. Items like washing machines, fridges and dishwashers are now considered to be essential pieces of equipment. Cars are now per person rather than per household and so are TV sets and now computers and mobile ‘phones.
    Coupled with the introduction of the credit card, has meant the acquisition of material things in one fell swoop, rather than awaiting one item at a time via HP (as we crumblies did in the olden days).
    This natural impatience has spread, I’m afraid, to those younger element who support our great Club. They want success and they want it now. Qualifying for the CL as one of the top clubs in Europe, year after year, means little without the sight of some silverware. Playing some of the most attractive football in Europe doesn’t count to them, either.
    OK, we are going through a bit of a bad patch at present but we will survive and prosper…..we always do.
    Patience is a virtue, you said and how right you are. Patience for all of us who give 100% loyalty to Arsenal at all times.

57. “We want our Arsenal back” oh please give me a break, this is Arsenal this is football. I was born in 1968 since then only 11 teams have won the div 1/PL title Man U the most with 12 but only since 1993(25 years without the league title) next come Liverpool with 11 the first in 1973 but none since 1990(23 years without the league title) then come Arsenal with 6, 1971, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2002 & 2004. Looking at the rest Chelsea(3), Blackburn(1), Man City(2) & Leeds(3) have I think spent their way to most of their titles.

    Football used to go in cycles and I think Arsenal show this best a constant there or there about’s team rather than the all or nothing approach. I am worried for the future from the money men of Chelsea, City & QPR who are throwing money at the problems rather than growing the revenue. This way will stop the natural cycle of the game teams cant grow as soon as they get one or two good players these teams(and others) come in with silly bids and unsettle the side.

    The Arsenal these people want is not here anymore the last 10 years have seen a change in football that it has never seen before and unless the FFP rules come into effect and are regulated properly and to their full extent then The Arsenal they have now let alone the one thy want will not be around.

    There are in my mind to many FIFA13 fans(a huge sweeping generalisation) Arsenal should only charge this much for ticket but go out and spend this much on players, players wages should be this much etc etc etc there must be some well run businesses and football clubs in the UK at the moment as there are plenty of people who know how to run them on forums, twitter and in the media.

    Football has changed get over it if my dad can accept it and he’s 72 he can see how it’s changed and mostly for the good (except for the mega money owners) so should you. Arsenal are trying I think to plan for the future and if that means my children can go and see them play with me when I’m 72 then that’s great but a lot only seem interested in the here and now.

58. Steve, Well said. Couldn’t agree more.

59. Walter,
    Thanks for the info. Do you know whether the leg-breaker at WHL was given a card?
    Two seasons ago, I remember before one or just after one of his leg breaks, he was attacked on two separate occasions – in the same game – in front of the assistants and linesmen and the ref claimed not to have seen the assaults (nor acknowledged any communication from the helpers over the headphones). and then, a game or two later, Sagna responded to a hard tackle in an angry way and was carded for it – because he exploded with bottled rage because he had been so unprotected and violated in the previous game, and, of course, it hurt us and him in this game. This game might have been at Birmingham, or another agro club; and the ref might have been Peter Walton – I’ll try to find the time to research further, but if you have it more on tap, I’d appreciate if anyone remembers which match that was. I feel that targeting Sagna is no accident – with him down, out, or less than fully functional – especially at the top of his often world class capabilities – then we were/are far more vulnerable.

60. Bob,
    I will include them in a further article about Dean but he didn’t get a card.

    The attacks on Sagna was in the Birmingham – Arsenal game in the season 2010-2011. And you are right the ref was Peter Walton. The same ref that “assisted” the leg break of Ramsey at Stoke the season before that.
    4 days later Sagna got a red card for overreacting against Zabaleta I think.

61. @Bob,
    Of course the targeting of Sagna was no accident and the current targeting of Wilshere isn’t either.
    What worries me is the certainty that Jack is going to issue his own punishment any match now and we will lose him for a while.

62. @ Nicky @ 11.04 AM and @ Steve@ 11.46 AM – LIKE ! And am in total agreement.
    I tell myself repeatedly not to get worked up and to see others view points but I draw the line at ignorance and stupidity !Most especially when they don’t realise that they are being precisely that !

63. Case in point – this morning’s newspaper here in Malaysia informs us that Pep is on his way to the EPL to manage ManShitty ,when most of us knew last night the he had signed on to manage Bayern Munich . Ouch !
    Shades of this infamous headline –
    http://www.deweydefeatstruman.com/

64. Patience – knowing in the end you willget what you wanted.
    Old Turkey buzzard knows !

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APtr6qTaxGc

    http://www.funpic.hu/en/categories/gary-larson/6544_picture?mode=category&categoryId=12&position=294