How can any sane fan not be frustrated after 8 years without a trophy?

188 Replies to “How can any sane fan not be frustrated after 8 years without a trophy?”

1. Some fans forget our major signings before the trophies like Perry Groves (1986). Go back to the 1980’s with mariner,nicholas and hill fighting for a midfield place and then they would feel a bit happier what we have now

2. SIMPLE ANSWER
   Get a new manager that is not afraid to spend OUR money

3. Guffaw!

   13 out of 22 PL titles, yep splashing cash has really not helped ManUre has it?!

   I get it now, your whole point is that if you espouse spending money you are somehow less intelligent! Very insulting.

   So Boo, what do you suggest we do with 150m of extra cash? Build a throne for Wenger to sit on?

   You really are very silly!

4. I have gone to Arsenal games since the 1940s ,every year and I saw 16 years without trophy. I have had season tickets for over 30 yrs and was happy just supporting my team. But in those days I was charged prices that were in line with all other clubs.Now I pay £1300 for a ticket so just supporting my side is not on. Put the price down to half that and i will be happy with 4th or what have you. £1300 I demand money spent and 4th is nothing but failure.I support a team not a BANK

5. I doubt any Arsenal fans are jumping at the idea of us having the fifth-biggest market value in the world. Especially when so much of that comes from the most expensive tickets going that has resulted in a pile of money the manager refuses to use.

6. Uplifting article yes, we do have a lot to be grateful for.

   However its as Wenger himself put it so many years ago.

   “If you eat caviar every day, its difficult to return to sausages”

   We have been told by management that the resources are there, yet we dont act accordingly. We dont win trophies anymore because of what is stopping us off the pitch, that time has come and gone. Instead we sacrifice for other, unknown reasons and this is what kills the support.

   The work of the pitch has been marvelous but its time to return to what we all essentially at Arsenal for, to support and see our great club to glory.

7. AAAs think the grass is greener on the other side.Just think, Yids 52 yrs & counting!

8. Great article, very well put indeed!
   COYG!!

9. It’s quite easy to accept that there’s no trophy to show for the last 8 years.
   We’ve moved to a new stadium in the same period where rich owners started buying the trophys. We didn’t have the econnomy it takes to be a champion in the last 8 years.

   But let’s all just hope the tables are starting to turn…

10. I think most fans appreciate what Wenger has done, but I’m of the opinion that he has created a club which is too big for him to manage. Ferguson was able to do it at Man Utd because he delegates, Wenger doesn’t. You can see from the mess of a transfer policy that Arsenal need a Director of Football to manage transfer policy, Wenger would never agree to that. Allowing Arshavin and others to rot in the reserves on high salaries shows that Wenger isn’t the financial wizard some think he is, also that he can’t manage awkward big name players.
    Arsenal need a team manager to run the team, not a self appointed caretaker of the Stan Kroenke retirement fund. If Sir Alex hadn’t been given the resources to be competitive he would have resigned, Wenger doesn’t challenge a board driven by profit, not football.

11. We could at least seriously try for a trophy. I don’t get frustrated by not winning a pot, what is annoying is not properly giving it everything.

    Correctly you state that we are one of the top five or so clubs by revenue. That makes it even more shameful. We are similar to Bayern Munich by revenue, but that is where the comparison ends. They have a culture that demands winning, we most certainly do not. A football club of our level exists for nothing else but to win, however Arsenal are happy to fleece the loyal fans (of all opinions) and in return give mediocrity and deceit. This is where the frustration comes from.

12. The Football Supporters Federation should be joined by all fans so that they have the funds to fight for the return of Clubs to their supporters.
    At present the Federation receive funding from the FA, The Premier league and the home Office!
    This hardly makes it very easy to fight these organisations,
    The No 1target should be the scrapping of the Bosman ruling. It puts the fan, the Club, and loyalty last!
    2.bring back standing at the goal ends. At Arsenal everybody already stands, it used to be only v Spurs and Zmanu but last season it was nearly every game!
    3 lower prices. No other business could get away with prepaying one year in advance
    4 ban on different ko times and non Saturday afternoon football, why not make all Premier games Sunday 3 pm and all the other leagues could be free of TV rivalry on a Sat.

13. A really refreshing piece, which as a loyal fan I can agree with, mostly.

    Those that run the club, including AW, obviously, have been executing a well laid plan for many years now, probably since the new stadium was announced. They know what they are doing, and I honestly believe that they want to dominate english and european football, by doing it the fair and proper way (shrewd business, top quality management on field and off, exquisite development programme(s) etc). Obviously, in current times this takes some time to get going but we are on our way – couldn’t agree with you more on this. WHEN we take the top again, we will be the envy across Europe because of how we will have gone about it, and that makes me very excited.

    I do, however, differ from you on the frustration part – I think AW has to tweak his transfer approach because we have lost a top, top target in Higuain over a few million quid. I completely support AW’s stance on ‘money’ in football, but think it has to be balanced with common sense. Buying one player a little bit over the odds (although some believe he was worth £30m) is actually clever business if it makes an associated impact on the field, which it would have. Wenger frustrates the hell out of me on that because there is no valid reason, business or football, not to have got him.

    Anyway, all in all couldn’t agree more. AW just needs to make a couple of top out field signings, and maybe bring in a more mature keeper, and we’d be contenders again.

14. The author is the most sanctimonious bore that has ever had the misfortune to pick up a pen.

15. The sooner Wenger leaves Arsenal will be free of his suffocating presence which inhibits the club marching on.

16. Matt – amen brother! Thought it was just me…

17. Doofus,

    You can cry all you want but no one is ever going to allow you near Arsenal boardroom talkless of letting you make decisions for the club.

    I am still grateful for that fact.

    You have been lectured comprehensively about the £150 million. I am not wasting my time on a forgetful student. My advice: Go back to the last thread and read mine and Shard’s replies to you.

18. The Cabbie,

    I can’t recall Arsenal ever forcing anyone to buy their season tickets. Please spend your money on other things that give you joy and that you have more control over.

    I really don’t care that you were born in Highbury; if the club is disappointing you so much, withdraw your support. It is not by force.

19. Jammathon,

    You just read a piece by someone who does take pride in his beloved Arsenal being one of the 5 biggest clubs in the world. Your incredulity at the notion does not make sense.

20. SA Gunner,

    Be patient. Our time is near. Keep the faith!

    Besides, AW himself has acknowledge the need to strengthen. He will get people in before the deadline. Let’s be patient.

21. gvinny,

    Please tell them.

22. Matt,

    Thanks for the compliment!

    It does give me so much joy to steal whatever minutes of your life you took to read the opinion of the sanctimonious bore.

    Poor manners, low intelligence, full Matt.

23. Boo – Loving the way you’re dissing lifelong fans and st holders as they disagree with you.

    Do you have a st?

24. We all have our own views as to what is happening at Arsenal and these will obviously contain extremes. As the club nears the end of Wenger’s reign, it will be the fans who attend the matches that will set the atmosphere and make it easy or not for him to continue along the path he is on. The bad stuff that went on last year was met with a sullen atmosphere and thousands of empty seats.
    I would imagine that more of the same and worse will accelerate whatever will happen and this despite whatever is written on any number of blogs. If it all ends acrimoniously I think it will be a shame, but it will hardly be surprising.

25. Of course he doesn’t thats why he can hold the opinions he does because he only gets to the Emirates cup every year.

    If he was forking out thousands to follow the team every year he would realise there are lots of fans who follow the team who feel like the cabbie and myself.

26. Well said Adam. According to this site there were no empty seats or angry fans last year. Cuckooland.

27. This is the worst article I have ever read!!!
    It’s because of fans like yourself and Wengers bum chum Tony Attwood and his equally deluded followers we are in this mess!!

    Wenger is stubborn and deluded, every man and his dog can see that our squad is nowhere near good enough, and he keeps ignoring them year after year because of you AKB happy to plod along losers!!!!

    Wenger is better suited for the Korean national team!!

    Do us real fans a favour and start following HSBC or RBS should be right up your street!
    Meanwhile the rest of us should focus on boycotting games and protest until we get rid of this deluded old man once and for all!!!!!!

28. Having read the article I must say it is written in a strange version of English. Should this provide it with less credibility though? Might it somehow diminish whatever arguments it seeks to make?
    The one point I would make, among the many I could make, is the fact that, to me Arsenal never was ” Just another club in the upper half of the English Premier League”. Even my dear Dad, sadly now no longer with us, but a long-term supporter and Islington boy, could never have accepted such a crass statement.
    For so many, it seems as if Arsene invented Arsenal.

29. I always love your articles but not this one. I’m sure you will change your thinking if you live in Nigeria (Africa) like me and pass through what we had passed through just to watch live games.

    14th Feb. 2006 (Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal): I was nearly shot on my way from a viewing center at about 11pm. We lost the game, I was wounded and bruised.

    6th April 2006(Juventus 0-0 Arsenal) I almost died when I fell inside a suck away pit about 9ft deep on my way coming from the viewing house just to watch my darling team en-ruote to champions league final

    Same year a close friend and a fan was actually shot on his way home from watching a UCL game. He was bedridden for almost a month.

    Please justify why we deserve deceit and lies for following and supporting our Arsenal. Personally, I love Wenger but if his removal (including the board) will bring silverware I support it 100%

    For me, Football is my religion, Arsenal is my church, Tropies is heaven kinda!

    COYG!!!

30. different strokes for different folks. however, i take it that you think anyone not happy with arsenal’s state, is doing poorly in other aspects of life

31. Boo,

    Your story is not like any of mine in regards to late night footy talk while the wives shush and clean so we can blather on drinking pub juice all night long. The one critical difference is I am always on the defense because my mates love football but also hold allegiance to other clubs. Which seems the case here these days. Aye Doofus? Why are we always defending being positive here? This year of all years seems reasonable to be patient about transfers. Let’s see; Dempsey is gone from EPL makes Totts less strong, Bale may leave, United lose Fergie & Rooney is on the outs, Everton may lose Fellaini & Bain& Moyes making them less strong, City lose Tevez, Chelsea may lose Luis, Suarez is out for 8 more competitions & is now unsettled, I think Wenger is sitting back and contemplating his strengths while the other managers are consistently making thier clubs weaker. Doofus think before you babble

32. Oh dear Boo looks like you’ve been called out as a bedroom warrior. Sat at your keyboard and based in your ivory tower, insulting fans who contribute much more to the club both financially and time wise.

    Oh dear. How very… Odd.

33. By realising there are other fans who remember Arsenal going longer without a trophy. Also by realising they cannot name a single manager who could have done a better job than Wenger with the same resources, actually anybody else would have caused us to slip down the table. Nobody signing, everybody leaving, not a single reason to hope or think of ourselves as challengers.

    ANYBODY disputing this is free to explain why. Just be aware you’re not going to even name a manager who could have done better than Wenger, let alone say how they would have coped with the same resources. Mourinho and Guardiola have only ever inherited ready made teams, winning teams, with unlimited cash to tweak these teams. Neither manager would have won anything in the same period with Arsenal or have finished in the top 4.

34. Hartwick – you’ve listed all the leaving players, why have you not listed the 30 we cut loose?

    And why not list the many players coming in to each team, strengthening them?

    Idiotic comment.

35. Hartwick89

    You seem to be happy to mention where other teams have lost players, even though some of them haven’t happened yet. You also forget to mention where teams have strengthend as Chelsea, City and Spurs have. Also since when do Spurs & Everton count as clubs at the same level as us? With us having the 5th highest revenue in the world surely we are above these two – eh?

    The frustration is that in a summer of change at the other top 4 clubs we have singularly failed to take advantage and made it pretty obvious that there is no strategic plan for doing so.

36. I would regard your comment but I will likely sit and laugh at your blog name Doof.
    Care to explain who is strengthened? And, how it is we are not in of equal strength from last EPL season to now while other teams are quite weakened? Gloves off let’s go doof.

37. Marcus,
    I am simply defending but should not have to between the facts which are always clouded out by pessimism as though any of you can think past short term versus long

38. I will explain for him ga and lookd at list of PL transfers by club and you will see all clubs have brought in players except for Arsenal and United.Sorry i forgot Yaya Sanogo.

39. Let’s see here Chelsea are without the same manager and have signed Who? CITEH,New manager & are without Tevez and have signed who?

40. Matt,

    Did you forget that we have the same set up as last run in? Sanogo was pennies. We have the same brilliant manager

41. Look at the fixture line up for beginning of last campaign Arsenal, United, & Citeh versus the run-in. Se any logical explanation for a tough beginning and a thourough run-in. How about this campaign

42. Hartwick89

    I’m all for playing the long game. We have a youth team for that – tho they are getting spanked left right and centre at the moment.

    What we need to do at this time is take advantage of the change at the other top teams. Instead we are weaker with the loss of Gervinho, who did actually score some important goals for us last season.

    With our stability we should be in a position to set our sights higher and get into the title fight. Not happening, I’m afraid and that is what is causing a lot of the grief.

43. That’s your own opinion but for sure no fan will agree with what is happening with our team for heavenly sake, like in my Country Kenya on Sunday last week there was a comedian who started by enjoying arsenal fans that this season we are up steph competition only to finish with opening the drawers where the trophy’s are kept findings in was cockroaches and mouse while the Man u one is full of trophy’s. By that time i was seated with my cousin who is a man u fan think of that what happened as you understand them? we have ti feel since we’re fans and care please let us not be identifying players for others teams to buy them even when they are willing to play for us and we give excuse of high price. You don’t taste us by

44. My emotional Gooner log book:
    1948-1949 Too young to know really
    1950-1969 Pleasure being a gooner 10, sadness 7, happiness 8
    1970-1989 Pleasure being a gooner 10, sadness 6, happiness 9
    1990-2009 Pleasure being a gooner 10, sadness 5, happiness 10
    2010- Pleasure being a gooner 10, sadness 5, happiness 9

    I’m so much better off now than when I was a kid…and I’m just as frustrated by the lack of recent silverware as many. But then I support the pleasure that being a gooner gives me, even though I do throw the occasional frothy.

45. GF60,

    thanks for the 5 minute laugh and gasp for air; brilliant keep it light

46. Bootoome!

    Well said. “This eight year thing” is only a problem if you let it get under your skin?
    The only weapon rival supporters have to counter an argument?

47. @matt,
    totally agree with you there. what a booooooring article.

48. Marcus,
    The only thing I will miss about Gervinho is his forehead.

49. Basically your arguments to Bootoomee are “I put more money into the club, so my opinion matters more and I’m a better fan.” Just a reminder for your responses: Money does not buy class.

    At least acknowledge, the valid points in his article such as teams spending much less than Arsenal (Wigan and Swansea) won trophies last year. Arsenal built an amazing new stadium for season ticket holders and fans to enjoy watching the games.

    And your season tickets includes 27 games which includes 8 Champions League/FA cup games, plus discount league cup games. Here’s a response from a supportive season ticket holder:

    http://spamsport.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/f365-the-arsenal-ticketing-myth-putting-an-old-jibe-to-rest/

50. And his red card against brilliant Barto

51. 8 yrs without a trophy and guess what we are still a big club, in that period Chelsea have won the Uefa and countless other trophies and guess what they are still a smaller club, Liverpool, Wigan, Portsmouth, Swansea, Man city and a whole host of other clubs have won trophies but guess what we are still the second biggest club in EPL.

    The biggest is still Man Utd unfortunately, but relatively speaking this period without a trophy has seen the biggest growth in value of arsenal. By the way I’m not saying we shouldn’t be competing, this is just another way of looking at our trophy drought.

52. are you on drugs?

53. Sorry, but I’m going to rise to the bait. Arsenal existed as a successful club prior to AW. In the 8 years before AW they won the league twice, the FA cup once, the League Cup(or whatever) once, and a major European trophy once-which AW has never managed to do, at any club. To ignore this is, quite frankly, an insult to the success of those teams. Guess what, Arsenal existed successfully before Arsene Wenger. Yes, he succeeded in the first 8 years or so, but that was then, and this is now.

    Like the correspondent, I have a good family life, and exist outside football, but that should not detract from the irritation at the stagnation of a fine football club. 8 years without a trophy with no obvious chance of improvement is not a good performance. When we moved to the Emirates (7 or 8 years ago) it was supposed to make us competitive. Well, when are we going to compete?

    Its a results business, not a money business. Thanks for getting us the money and not the results Arsene, time for a change.

54. ToppeVille, Nigeria

    What happened on 15 August 2009. In case you have forgotten… Everton 1 Arsenal 6. OK we can all be upset at the bad games, but why not think about the good ones too?

55. Nizam, thank you for that detailed and insightful analysis

56. Getthedeludedtwatout

    Evidence? I can’t see any in your commentary.

57. @sha

    People attach a lot of value to trophies but the market doesn’t. During our trophy years, we still weren’t a big international club we won the league and doubles but we still weren’t bigger than liverpool now we are.

    Chelsea have won a lot of trophies but if we were to pay the same amount of salary players would prefer to play for Arsenal. Value counts, the stadium counts, how have we stayed at the top of the discussion in the media despite not winning trophies. Take away abramovic, and arsenal is a bigger club with a lot more revenue.

58. @bootoomee – well said and well argued. I could barely agree more.
    Before the arrival of industrial sized levels of financial doping elsewhere, Wenger delivered the most successful period in Arsenals history – and delivered it in style and by making a pretty much a self financing use of the lottery that is the transfer market.
    Having already got the new stadium that the likes of Spurs and Liverpool so desperately crave trophies will come as icing on an already fantastic cake.

59. Hart – I get it! You couldn’t be THAT stupid, do this is a wind up right?

    Go look at the list of transfers, it’s easy it’s on the BBC website.

    Then let’s have this chat like grown ups.

60. Careful Doof,

    Some of us lack intelligence through no fault of our own right? Go on what is wrong with my analysis which is two-fold. It isn’t just about the transfers which strengthen it is about the current state versus the previous. I fail to see how Wenger is getting it wrong. 1st window is still open second I provided evidence of other teams who are weakened from previous campaign right? Including the management. What is your evidence other than chastisement?

61. Swing – you are on drugs! Why did RvP leave? Lack of trophies, lack of reassurances we would compete for top players.

    Insider – jeez, think for yourself! When manure paid 30m for Rio in the 90s, was that financial doping? And you AKBs need to be more consistent. Spending money either does win you thints or it does not. You all keep saying us spending won’t guarantee anything but everyone else is doping! Maybe you mean we can’t trust him to dope properly!

62. @Doofus

    “Why did RvP leave? Lack of trophies, lack of reassurances we would compete for top players.”

    Can I throw in “more money” too?

63. ‘Mr Teacher’ needs to know how fans feel world over before spitting shit. Has he ever heard of the fan who died in kenya when arsenal lost ecl final to barca and another professor who died in nigeria while watching arsenal lossing final to birmingham city. No doubt the fact that more 90% love wenger but for how long will he keep the fans frustrated? No player who is getting enough playing time in trophy-winning team would ever think of coming to arsenal. Last, gradually tottenham is coming up. I hope arsenal won’t be overtaken in North London

64. @swing…r u mental??? arsenal WAS a bigger club than chelsea, liverpol even mancity but believe me when you lose to teams like blackburn, & some weird team from second division then quite obvious u suck
    can u imagine we were actuall struggling for 4th place!!!!! how long shall u dwell in the past i hear we WERE unbeaaten, we HAD the best team in the legue, we USED to be the top dogs in london….chelsea freakin took the champions legue heck even wigan has got a trophy to its name, its embarrassing to be like this about arsenal & PS big clubs have trophies not just stories like”BACK WHEN I HAD A FULL SET OF HAIR!!!!!”
    arsenal got its respect by winning trophies with a unique brand of football & we have lost the most important bit the last eight years

65. Hart – you need to balance equation, you mention city, let’s look shall we?

    Out: tevez, bridge, toure, maicon.

    In: fernandinho, navas, negredo, jovetic (total 90m)

    So you contend they are weaker?

66. @ Dogface

    Maybe, but i think the lack of trophies was the main reason afterall Arsenal were prepared to pay him a lot of money.

67. Matt it’s like a little bubble of unreality. No reasoning with them!

68. @Matt – there was a lot of speculation; I felt that RvP settled for Man U and it wasn’t his first choice.

    Personally I think that trophies are for the fans and players coming up for their final transfer/contract would want to get all that they can financially to see them covered once their career winds down.

    I seriously doubt we could have matched the salary he is on now for the length of contract he got at Man U.

69. @Doofus Shall I take my request to add ‘money’ to the list of possible incentives for RvP’s departure as declined then?

    There I go… in my little unreasonable ‘bubble of unreality’ eh!

    Here’s another speculation… why does Suarez want to join Arsenal – for trophies?

    I doubt it – I think he sees Arsenal as a career move, maybe even a stepping stone to a big payday like so many others who have breezed through our squad – it would improve his image rights if nothing else.

70. I read the articles on this website because they are often interesting, informative, and at the very least written from a different perspective than many other Arsenal blogs.

    Bootoome is the only author here who routinely attempts to belittle people in the comments who have divergent opinions. When I read a blog, I get as much enjoyment out of reading the comments as reading the article. Reading these articles is starting to remind me of reading Arsenal Truth, except from the opposite angle. I would like to believe this website has somewhat higher standards than that.

71. “…whenever there is a footy debate with an Arsenal fan involved, the topic would sooner or later become Arsenal’s trophylessness and the cure for it…”

    You can say that again. And you can bet the fans from other different clubs in the group/crowd will all be on one side, against the Arsenal fans. That includes even supporters of clubs that have not won anything all their lives as well, the mind boggles. In fact, if you want to bring together a Liverpool fan and a United or Chelsea fan just discuss Arsenal lol.

    And to spice things up a little, it also appears the Arsenal fans almost always sound the most logical in that group. Might just be a coincidence but I think its true; only last week when we got involved in a debate with some scousers here sure we all noticed how quickly the conversation degenerated into chaos. You can imagine having an argument with such a person in real life. Good piece Bootoomee.

72. i recently read some comments about this article. there are quite a few fans who think because they have season tickets that makes them care a lot more than the arsenal fans that live far, far from north london. i remember long before the internet and cable tv i had to go to times square to buy the newspapers from london to find how the arsenal fared that week. living in new york i see the baseball yankees about thirty times each season, i would never begin to think i was a bigger yankee fan than someone from europe, asia,or africa. i live and die for my arsenal each match and i know there isn’t a bigger arsenal fan than myself.stop whinging about because you are lucky enough to see the arsenal every match that you’re a better or know how to run the club than the experts. you don’t like how things are being run, than fucking leave. nobody is holding a gun to your head, give up your ticket. let a real supporter have it.get the fuck out and don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

73. @Tangent
    I’m not defending Bootoomee but I too get slightly impatient with some people who fail to articulate their arguments properly and just bleat about 8 long years all day long, throughout the whole year. I just don’t understand it.

74. With all the brilliant management, money in the bank, beautiful stadium, young and talented upcoming players and many more positives to talk about concerning our dear club. However questions will always be asked about our ambition as a club! Fans can’t continue bragging about cash reserves stocked in the bank and while we acknowledge that its better to have those reserves, overdoing it without necessarily spending at the required time is what has become Arsenal failings. Few Arsenal supporters i have talked to does not want Arsene to spend what we don’t have but if i may ask, “WHY HASN’T WENGER SPENT IN THIS TRANSFER WINDOW”? The answers can be varied but it can’t be far from the truth! Either we have no ambition as a club and are only waiting for remnant players or there is no cash to spent after all. Whatever the answer and with alot of respect to Arsene, i highly feel that Arsenal needs a new Manager to take it a head. The sooner the better.

75. Personally I’m not frustrated because I know the ability to win is there, if it was missing then I would worry. I also happen to acknowledge the various factors(EPL ’08, the 2 CC finals & ECL all lost through bad luck & some scandalous officiating, our players getting raided by other clubs, as well as a whole raft of other reasons I’m not going to go into now)that have contributed to us not won anything in this time.

76. Giddy
    You asked “WHY HASN’T WENGER SPENT IN THIS TRANSFER WINDOW”?

    Answer – THE WINDOW ISN’T CLOSED YET.

77. Almost all articles on UA these days have an undercurrent about who is a better fan than who.

    Anyone interested in discussing things like tactics?

    Guess not.

78. @A. Stewart, yes it hasn’t closed “but won’t it be better if the players were signed early to gel”?

79. @A. Stewart
    Think if some fans wouldn’t drag the lack of signings, trophies, etc into any debate everytime this wouldnt be the case.

80. Some real wacky weirdos on today , with their pathetic input.
    Sad .Nah ! Really had a good laugh ! Thanks Bootoomee !
    Why don’t you all gang up and collect some money and buy out this lot and show us ‘deluded ones’ how this club should be run .
    Oh , by the way please do enlighten us how you made your millions ,or bought or invested in blue chip companies or just
    send photos of you mansions , your posh cars or your holiday photos from chic locales .You know just to piss off us oldies.
    Please do this and give us all a good belly rollicking guffaw! That’s LMHOWROTF to you !

    One of the definitions of sanity is the ability to tell real from unreal. Soon we’ll need a new definition.
    Alvin Toffler

81. Giddy
    Maybe, but you don’t know why signings haven’t happened. Surely not all the blame can be placed at Arsenals door when it takes three to tango. And to be honest, this gelling thing, they are all world class footballers, they should be able to learn to play with other world class footballers pretty quickly. International teams seem to manage ok.

82. Stevie E
    ‘THE WINDOW ISN’T CLOSED YET.’
    But to sign players this late only shows a real lack of competence and professionalism. It seems Wenger has no plan at all, just sit on his hands and on his £7.5m a year.
    And to think Mr.Attwood was complaining that FIFA and the Confederation Cup could disrupt Arsenal pre-season…

83. Many thanks, great piece. I always enjoy reading the articles from this site, mainly because of the level headed, intelligent and informed opinions expressed. keep up the good work.

    To Matt…and this is sanctimonious, as soon as you stoop to making personal insults you lose any intelligent argument, or don’t you understand that?

    I could say a lot more to some of the so called “supporters” that have replyed to your post, but to honest I can’t be arsed, I just find them really boring and a pain in the said arse now. Everything that’s been achieved over the last ten years seems to go right over their heads.

    One more thing I will say though is this. The new season is about to start, and as Arsenal fans you have a duty to support the team and club through thick and thin in the forthcoming campaign. If you can’t do that then, to put it politely, bugger off we don’t need you, take your support somewhere else. There are real fans queueing up waiting for tickets they can’t get, you would not be missed. All you do with your toxic negativity is hurt the team, club and fellow fans. I find it amazing that there seems to be a blissful unawareness by you of the corrosive effect your negativity has. Opposition fans love you, that should tell you something. Personally I don’t care if you think the team isn’t exactly what you want, that’s life, you just need to suck it up and get on with it and get behind the team for the season.

84. From the files of the Medical Division of UA – Psychiatry

    A psychiatrist congratulates his patient with a progress in treatment.
    The patient: Do you really call it a progress? Six months ago I was a Napoleon and now I am nobody.

    At the psychiatrist:
    – Do you consume alcohol?
    – No.
    – Do you smoke?
    – No.
    – Do you use drugs?
    – No.
    – Do you play cards?
    – No.
    – Do you run after other women?
    – No.
    – So why did you come to me?
    – You see, doc, I have one little problem – I lie a lot…

    As I bid you all ( ok, not all of you !) goodnight with this important bit of advice ;
    Remember, when you are wishing your friends good health, you are wishing unemployment for doctors.

    You know what’s scary if that happens ! I’d have to write about football to make a living !!

85. ToppeVille, Nigeria,

    You cannot seriously be blaming Arsenal for the state of affairs in Nigeria.

    Whatever you may encounter in the course of watching Arsenal matches is not the fault of Arsenal. Besides, do you not live with these risks in everything else you do apart from watching Arsena play?

    The Super Eagles took 19 years to win the African Cup of Nations after 1994. Were you not taking risks to watch super eagles play all those trophyless years? Were you giving ultimatums or throwing tantrums when they falter every 2 years till they succeeded early this year?

    My final advise to you: watching Arsenal is not a do-or-die affair. Please for the sake of your family, watch the team play only when it is safe for you. I don’t think Arsenal winning a trophy is going to compensate for any fan’s death. Please be safe.

86. Haven’t read through the comments but I just wanted to say that this is a fantastic article. Well done Bootoomee.

87. Tangent,

    I am sorry that you see things that way. I am more combative than your usual AKB, I confess but I don’t go out of my way to belittle people. My style is the same however, whether I am commenting on the articles written by others or mine. If you want a respectful response, post a respectful comment.

    If you have indeed followed all the comments as claimed, you’ll see that my response is usually reflective of the commenters that I’m responding to. I read loads of articles that I disagree with and I am never shy about expressing my disagreement. But I do so in a coherent manner. I always respond to commenters who state what they disagree with in a non-disparaging manner.

    I am responding to your comment because I clearly understand what you are trying to say. And especially because you did not just post a line insulting me for holding a position that you disagree with. I am rarely civil to people who don’t show civility.

    There is nothing wrong with the standard of my writing other than probably the contents not reflecting your own perspective.

88. Arty – thanks for your comment. I do agree that the people who go in for straight abuse, rather like those who just say that Arsenal are rubbish and won’t achieve anything, without any backup or information, really do reveal quite a lot about themselves. That’s why we always publish their commentaries, unless they are engaged in threats of violence, or a level of personal abuse that goes to far.

89. BILL FROM MANHATTAN,

    Thank you so very much.

    A poster was mocking me for only attending Emirates cup when others have season tickets. And then people think that I get impatient and combative with such people! Where do we even start from? Arsenal has a very long waiting list. Some of us are still stuck in their but whenever we get the opportunity, we go and cheer like hell. I am a much better fan the ST holder who just sit and pout and then leave 10 minutes before the match ends.

    I don’t care whether you were born in Highbury or your family have been Arsenal fans since 1886. I care about your loyalty and patience with the club at this period of growth.

    But how do you explain this to people whose only position is: “Arsenal has not won anything in 8 years, we must splash the cash so that Arsenal can finally win something”. How do you do this without belittling them for their shallow reasoning?

90. Stevie E:

    The window isnt closed yet.
    ————————————————————

    It’s open enough to let a fly in.

91. @Bootoomee “Is it just me or do Man Utd fans tend to lecture other fans about how a club should be run?”

    Aren’t there many Arsenal fans especially those who frequent Untold lecturing other fans how a club should be or shouldn’t be run?

    @swing “…but relatively speaking this period without a trophy has seen the biggest growth in value of arsenal.”

    In fact it is not true. If you look at the numbers this is the period of lowest growth of Arsenal revenue and market value. It was actually one of the lowest in the top 20 and significantly lower than average annual market growth. Adjusted for market inflation Arsenal experienced negative growth during this period.

92. Actually, say it quietly, but I don’t believe the waiting list for Season Tickets is very long at all any more. But hey, if it suits your argument, why be concerned about facts.

93. Andrei,

    i think you are being disingenuous about posters here at “Untold lecturing other fans how a club should be or shouldn’t be run”. We talk primarily about our own team. I personally don’t care about how Newcastle United or Chelsea FC are run. In a footy debate with either of these sets of fans, I wouldn’t start lecturing them on what they need to do to win trophies or anything for that matter. A typical Man United fan would.

    Providing analysis of happenings at other clubs in relation to Arsenal is very common here, I admit but that is not the same as telling such clubs what they need to do to advance.

    I always find your ability to beat us optimist back down to Earth on Arsenal’s advancements very interesting.

94. Adam
    According the Arsenal.com there are over 40,000 on the waiting list. But hey, don’t let official club announcements get in the way of your argument. Much better to believe rumour and speculation.

95. Doof,

    I will assume for a moment that you are intelligent and I lack a morsel of it. If you want to talk investment and Citeh. Let’s go. Question is weaker stronger and monies spent to get so called stronger. Let’s start w the manager. We have the same..They have lost a manager who won two titles from two different leagues. Their new manager has never manged in EPL but has gotten smacked around many times including by the same manager called Wenger when yours was at Villa real. So in magement you lose. Wait there is more

96. Andrei. They seem like very relevant points. Facts are, after all often quite different from opinions.

97. Stevie E. according to the club the match attendances are approx 60,000 every week but you probably believe that too.

98. OK 90 million for what? Citeh lose Tevez who is been tested since West Ham has won two titles w 2 difft teams and replace him with Jovetic who is 30 mill? He has won nothing and has never been tested…Smells of a certain forward from Ukraine & left in shame from another blue colored team. Now NAVAS…He smacks of a certain Jose Antonio Reyes… (Homesick) He left Spanish training because he had anxiety and was homesick Wait there is more

99. Adam,

    Please enlighten us about how long it is. Please!

    Besides, other than the ST waiting list, being long or short, there other reasons why only a tiny fraction of Gooners can get to watch the team play at the Emirates. I lose it anytime, everytime, someone on the Internet brag about being a superior fan because they hold a season ticket. I could claim to hold one too. How would you know that I’m lying?

    Being born near Highbury; or into a family of life-long Gooners; or holding a ST make no one any better a Gooner than those who will never set their foot on England soil, talkless of entering the Emirates.

    No one makes my point better than the Running Man. Great fan and the club showed ultimate class and loyalty by bringing him over to London. I care more about things like this than trophies. It’s called class and values. Arsenal have abundance of both.

100. Navas versus Maicon? Maicon a seasoned Title winner from Brasil and a defender. Navas a homesick striker again a weaker side Jovetic versus Tevez again weaker. Negredo has not managed to win one thing not even a starting spot for Madrid. He is also a winger… You lose yet another tried and true defender in Kolo invincible Toure….. Who the blank is Fernandinho? I rest my case…. Anything else worthy of debate? Remember its not how much you spend is it? It is whether you are or you are not in a stronger position based on transfers in/out

101. Forget all that “pro-Wenger, anti-Wenger” rubbish – let’s all be adults and call a spade a shovel. Wenger has made some VERY big calls this summer. Everyone knows that our team needs strengthening in quality, our squad needs fortifying in number, and there have been a fair few available players that would have easily fit the bill. But he has refused to buy so far, mainly because it’s more important for him to stick steadfastly to his stringent, unrealistic valuations and principles than to pay the going rate for quality. When you make such ballsy calls, you deserve EVERYTHING you get. No point in hoping we fail or cr@p like that – If his gamble pays off and we challenge seriously this season with this wafer-thin squad and even win something, then Wenger will have pulled off something special and will deserve the highest honour imaginable. BUT… If we have more of the same – ie. being out of the reckoning in all competitions by March and scraping fourth or even falling short – then he has no right to make excuses. He will deserve every bit of ridicule he gets, and he must walk. Simple! It’s getting ridiculous now, and I’m starting to wonder whether it’s his decision-making rather than money that has held us back recently – I mean, is he the only sane one and are the rest of us mad? IMO, he’s already failed in this window, even if he does buy, because leaving it this late reduces the probability of new players having the desired impact ASAP. But hey! – he’s the main man, he’s been managing for over 30 years, he knows more than the rest of us, he shouldn’t be questioned… fair enough. I’ll just stop worrying myself and try to “enjoy” the intrigue of having no flipping clue about what this season holds. But oh Lord, Wenger had better know what he’s doing and, more importantly, he’d better be b!@0dy right!

102. Adam
     Wow, nice diversity tactics. Best not to debate a point, lets just change the subject. Clever.

103. @Bootoomee I didn’t mean it in a negative way. I don’t see anything wrong when a light banter is involved 🙂 That is what makes life of a football fan interesting.

104. Andrei,

     I like the fact you bring facts to debates although they are often downers but then we all need reality check every now and then 🙂

     I respect you for coherent and fact based opinion even if they don’t mirror my own. This is what I keep telling people. There is nothing wrong with having a different perspective. Let it just be fact based and coherently presented.

105. Well, first bootoomee, good article. I think it does put things into perspective. But on on the other hand, the frustration,etc. of some(half?) of Arsenal fans, seems quite understandable too. You see, in sports, and being sports fans, the greatest glory is in Winning and nothing less. Proving that you were better than not 1 or 2 or even 10, but all of them. But I understand, the way Football has become, with giant reputations and giant businesses, a stable business has to be there. So I believe, we are quite close to being a stable business, but the real glory lies in what happens on the pitch, every week, till May next year. And the marquee signings, in sports, are a great way to sound out a warning and prove your intent.

106. A nice read Bootoomee,

     It would have been great to keep the young assembled players together pre 2005 but the past is just that and we look forward to our new squad of players developing together.

     It’s one of the beauties of the sport, each season, those of us with a positive view of the club have hope in our hearts.

     I’m looking forward to our team challenging all comers.

     COYG.

     Hope they all come back from the friendlies, fit and healthy.

107. Digvijay,

     First of all, cool avatar!

     Thanks for your comment. Believe me, I share your sentiment. It is very painful to see lesser teams and bigger ones win trophies after trophies while we remain empty handed. I love your perspective and this is what is lacking in most of our negative fans. Our pre-season has been very good with the team showing good understanding of each other. We have a good chance of winning a trophy this year.

     No one wants Arsenal to win a trophy more than me because the moan of “no trophies in 8 years” is driving me nuts.

     On a personal note and back to your avatar, can you please enlighten me on how tag one of your choice rather than the one automatically generated by the site? Thanks in advance.

108. Adam,

     I have been worried about you but an avatar check has just cleared my worries. Another Adam had been posting AAA stuff and I was really wondering if it was you. Oh I am so relieved 🙂

     I agree about being able to keep the team from 2005 to present. Even from 2008 to present! But you whose fault that is?

     Arsene Wenger! He has refused to use that special clause created solely for Arsenal to be able to keep any player in our employment against their will.

109. Question: Don’t the new deals mean that we will have 70M or thereabouts in the vault for not just this year, but for a number of years running. Say 3-4 years? If so, whether you want us to splash or to conserve, can we agree that we are talking about a scenario with approx. 70M to spend each year (up to 3-4 years). If so, then we should not be making the tacit assumption that the 70M is a one shot affair. This said, there is room for guessing wrong and taking several big chances (as needed, of course, not splash for splash sake). And, if mistakes are made, we will be backstopped by next year’s 70M. Please indicate where this analysis is wrong, if so. I just want to take the angst over a catastrophic loss when that is not at all in play. Please clarify.

110. meant to say “do away with the angst…”

111. Oh, and doesn’t unloading all the players recently add significantly (at least meaningfully( to the 70M that was bandied about?

112. Yeah, I thought I’d better show my face (avatar) just to clear that up. I had an inkling there could be some confusion.

     I have tried linking my face book account to this site but cannot????

     Would make life easier.

113. i try to read all the articles on untold arsenal. i don’t really go on other sites because of the negative bullshit. untold used to be about real arsenal supporters who cared about the team. now it seems like half the fans who post are doom and gloom naysayers. they cry like fucking babies, no trophies, spend the money, i know, more than wenger, blah blah blah. stay the fuck off our site, tony, walter, dogface, bootoome, and all the other good people who spend valuable time writing positive stuff about our club deserve a big big shoutout. there are plenty of other sites where these fucking whinging crybabies can go to be among negative assholes just like themselves. it makes me wonder why they read and post on untold. they act like winning trophies is their birthright. the only sure thing in life is death and taxes. take pride in the fact that in the last 25 years, we have won the league, premiership, fa cup, league cup, on a few occasions. plus the cupwinners cup. take pride that we are a well run club with a fantastic new stadium.the glass can be half full or half empty. take your fucking negative bullshit somewhere else. you assholes know who i am talking about.

114. Bill, calm down. Relax, let other fans support how they feel and you do the same, and enjoy Arsenal your way.

115. Bill take your deluded self out behind the woodshed and shoot yourself. I hate old dogs. What is the excuse for not signing Gustavo? Seriously, what is the reason for not signing a player that would improve the defensive spine of the team? A player who has played in a Champions League Final. A player that starts for the Brazilian National Team. What is the reason for that?

116. Evening wengerites!

     Bill from wankhatton – seriously, you’ve slagged off season ticket holders, lifelong fans band local boys. George Graham won the CWC, so not a Wenger triumph. Forgot that you Americans like the fourth place trophy. seriously go fuck yourself.

     Boo – I smell hypocrisy! So if you’re not a St holder, you get to zero games a year right? So you watch on TV? So you are really not at all qualified to lecture anybody on the feeling at the em are you?

     So the biggest positive voice on here doesn’t actually go to games! LMFAO!!

117. Vance – and you could ask why zero signings with a cash pile of 150m in the bank?

     Wengerites never ever answer that. They bluster. They bullshit.

     So Boo – what do you suggest we do with the cash in the bank. And remember its SURPLUS so not needed for paying off the em, running the club, wages, etc. Etc. Its a cash reserve. The rest if the prem has 181m combined. What good is it in the bank, not on the field??

118. BILL FROM MANHATTAN (8.14pm),

     You remind of me – deep inside 🙂 Oh, I have to seriously calm myself everytime I’m posting.

     What really annoys me is that these negative fans are like stalkers. They are always looking for us positive fans with the mission to show us our collective delusions and convert us en masse to the cult of Deranged Hatred of Arsene Wenger. Untold Arsenal is my place of refuge from the negative Arsenal fans all over the Internet. I can totally see why you are mad when you see them polluting this singular place that us positive fans or AKBs gather to rub minds.

     I chuckle when they complain about being attacked, you know, like I dare go to any of their numerous sites to contradict their chosen slant without being hounded out with unprintable bile and insults, no matter how respectful my tone may be.

     We even accommodate them here, all thanks to the magnanimity of Tony but then rather than present their negativity in coherent non-abusive manner, they start comments on articles with insults and name calling directed at the author and the site.

     Then they whine like the cry babies that they are about Untolders being mean and uncivil back. Hypocrites.

     I love your feistiness Bill. Don’t allow yourself to be cowered.

119. And check this out. Forbes magazine, hardly the “biased” media.

     http://www.forbes.com/sites/zachslaton/2013/08/13/how-arsenal-are-falling-behind-and-living-on-luck/

120. Boo – seriously!! Your and his attacks on those of us who spend big on supporting the club are ridiculous and offensive.

     Keyboard warriors.

     You can’t even answer Simple questions, just offer made up psychobabble offensive filth dressed up as positivity.

     So what contribution do you make to the club then? Buy a pencil case? Mousemat?

121. I apologize all true Arsenal supporters for being a very poor supporter. I never go to matches because I am a pensioner on state pension so cannot afford it. Heck I can’t even afford to go to my local club Crawley Town. I am truly a bad supporter compared to you season ticket holders and I am full of shame, I didn’t realize that you had to go to games to have an opinion. I will refrain from expressing a view ever again.

122. Mick – read the posts. Cabbie was only saying that as he pays over 1300 a year for a St, he’s entitled to expect more than 4th. And he caught a mouthful from boo, who doesn’t even go to games.

     And your sarcasm? Nice. You AKBs have zero shame. Zero.

123. And now we have reports about Wenger not wanting to pay for a Brazilian international midfielder. And you lot worship him? He’s clearly lost any plot he once had. He has 210m Euros in the bank and won’t pay 20m for Gustavo. Pathetic.

124. Doofus,

     Yes, the old “I’m paying £xxxx so I must get a trophy” story is nonsense. I stand by my response to him. He does not have to buy the season ticket and if he has chosen to buy one, he cannot be using that to slag off the club or harrass the other fans with complaints. I don’t know if he was lying about having one anyway; have you seen his ST? On the Internet, anyone can claim to be whatever they want.

     Mick,

     Great response because this same doofus has been harping on about how we should all worship at the feet of the ST holders. Especially wretched souls like me who only attend the Emirates cup games.

125. Boo – pathetic. Those of us that go every week, shell out money we can’t afford every year for the club we love and pathetic bedroom warriors like you judge us and say you don’t have to go! Give up your ticket!

     Utterly pathetic. You are a disgraceful, contemptuous little man.

     And yes I do contribute more to the club than you. Fact. Boo. Fact. So should my opinion count more than yours? Damn right bedroom boy!

126. @ Bootoome

     Nice article, well done.

     @ Epicurean

     I’m just curious, on a previous article you said you were a Chelsea fan (which is fine obviously!) but today you say COYG!! Where does your heart lie?! There is no malice in that question, I am genuinely just curious!!

     And here’s a thought. Is Doofus really Oh Theo Theo??

127. Doofus,

     Yes, you go every week and I am Prince William, Duke of Cambridge 🙂 If you can tell a big lie, I can tell a bigger one.

     And you really go “every week”? You can’t even lie properly!

     Your little tantrum makes you come across like a little boy. Well maybe you are. Apologies if I made you cry. I don’t pick on children.

     Now go to bed before you hurt yourself any further.

128. Doofus
     I don’t know if you’ve been drinking this evening but you need to calm yourself down. Telling people to go fuck themselves is seriously out of order and I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve used the word pathetic to describe Wenger or other commentators or their opinion. You’re not going to win this argument with insults or abuse. If this was my blog you’d be barred by now, your attitude is disgraceful.

     Goonervance
     I honestly can’t believe you’ve told someone you’ve never met to go kill themselves. Shocking.

129. Ian Jenkinson,

     His name is doofus. He couldn’t have picked a more fitting moniker. It suits him real fine!

     Who knows? He might indeed be the notorious OTT. They are both filled juvenile thoughts and empty rage.

130. Goonervance,
     Maybe the player has to decide himself to come to us?
     Or do you believe in kidnapping, or slavery?

131. Oh, and fuck the kill yourself shit.

132. FFS
     It usually takes Arsenal 2 years to sign up players we already have.

133. @Doofus
     I will not take any lessons from you regarding sarcasm.

134. @ Bootoomee. This is a well thought out and written article from someone who by his own admission doesn’t consider being an Arsenal fan very high on the list of his priorities in life. Maybe that’s where the problem lies. Maybe it should be a prerequisite to be an avid Arsenal fan if one is going to write consistently about or for Arsenal . Maybe it should be a prerequisite to be an avid Arsenal fan to become an Arsenal manager, a board member (Bayern) or even owner, as opposed to just treating this club as a financial vehicle to enrich themselves. I visit this site often , even if I disagree with most views expressed here, and I always keep an open mind knowing that my views are just that- mine, and I don’t presume to hold a high ground from which to look down onto those whom I disagree with . Football isn’t just a game!!! It’s a global phenomenon that inspires people( unlike checkers for example ), stirs emotions, makes countries go to war with each other(regrettably so) . People the world over dont gravitate to it because of new stadiums or healthy balans sheets.I bet most Arsenal fans will never visit The Emirates in their live time , and Arsenal’s vast cash reserves are of little significance to them as well .If being the fifth world richest club is what tickles your fancy, perhaps you should submit your resume to “Financial Times” or” The Wall Street Journal” and leave the football domain to those of us who are irrational , impulsive and maybe even naive for holding Arsenal at the very top of our list of priorities. P.S. Some of us too live meaningful lives , have great families and well paying jobs.

135. @ Bootoomee. This is a well thought out and written article from someone who by his own admission doesn’t consider being an Arsenal fan very high on the list of his priorities in life. Maybe that’s where the problem lies. Maybe it should be a prerequisite to be an avid Arsenal fan if one is going to write consistently about or for Arsenal . Maybe it should be a prerequisite to be an avid Arsenal fan to become an Arsenal manager, a board member (Bayern) or even owner, as opposed to just treating this club as a financial vehicle to enrich themselves. I visit this site often , even if I disagree with most views expressed here, and I always keep an open mind knowing that my views are just that- mine, and I don’t presume to hold a high ground from which to look down onto those whom I disagree with . Football isn’t just a game!!! It’s a global phenomenon that inspires people( unlike checkers for example ), stirs emotions, makes countries go to war with each other(regrettably so) . People the world over dont gravitate to it because of new stadiums or healthy balans sheets.I bet most Arsenal fans will never visit The Emirates in their live time , and Arsenal’s vast cash reserves are of little significance to them as well .If being the fifth world richest club is what tickles your fancy, perhaps you should submit your resume to “Financial Times” or” The Wall Street Journal” and leave the football domain to those of us who are irrational , impulsive and maybe even naive for holding Arsenal at the very top of our list of priorities. P.S. Some of us too live meaningful lives , have great families and well paying jobs.

136. still waiting for an intelligent response or have you been banned

137. According to german press Gustavo has signed a one year loan deal with Wolfsburg. So cheerio the In Wenger we trust and will get his bonus now

138. Tom,
     Thanks for posting it twice, but I can’t distill what your point actually is?

139. @Tom
     Its hard to understand your gripe here. Take a deep breathe and read the story. Also be clear on what ails you.

140. @ Joe,
     so what? 20mill for what? Tell me some qualities in that player other than he played for BM and he is A CDM and he is Brazilian?

141. Joe
     That post is from a reliable German news source, since denied by another reliable news source.
     Tiss the era of instant news.

     Wolfsburg are 11th in the Bundesliga, and are likely to remain at that level. If Gustavo wants a free Volkswagon then he has probably signed up.
     There are only 2 options – BM give him more money and less game time or he goes to a club (nearly) in the CL and gets high profile game time before the World Cup in his home country next year,

     Keep buildind the rockets, Joe.

142. @ dbl canister who is that on your avatar?

143. at times i really hate the internet. i am old school i just got a computer 4 years ago. it makes cowards into brave m***erf**kers. these pencilneck geeks hide in anonymity. i guarantee they wouldn’t have the balls to confront me in person. on my short time in this world many have insulted me behind my back, very very few to my face. come on down to the l.e.s. that is lower east side to who guys not familiar with new york city and ask for the bill from manhattan. i aint to hard to find, and lets see all you bravehearts confront me face to face. as you brits say i will give you fucking morons what for. i will beat you down and then pimp your asshole on the street.

144. bootoomee, muchas gracias for having my back. i can only type with two fingers really slow. i am not very computer savvy. really like the way you express yourself. keep up the good work. in arsne we trust.

145. Bill you just sank in my book to the level of doof. You had it right before you got punk’d… I don’t see doof around relax and enjoy the piece

146. Tom,

     Sorry but I couldn’t read the whole of your comment. Long writings without regular paragraphs are difficult for me to follow. But I’ll respond to your first few sentences.

     My priorities in life are:

     1. My health i.e. my physical and mental well being

     2. My family

     3. My career

     4. My friends

     5. Arsenal FC

     6. Others

     For those who actually work for Arsenal, it should be number three on their list but you and I are just fans. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and mindlessly profess what we cannot back up.

     If any fan has a different set of priorities, I say good for them but having Arsenal above everything else is so utterly unsubstainable that I call out bull shit on anyone who claims such.

     You are a fan, set your priorities like a fan. If your priorities in life are misplaced, don’t blame Arsenal for your disappointments, blame yourself. That anyone will make a hobby their number one issue in life is irresponsible in my opinion. Football is a game, following Arsenal is a hobby of choice. Treat it as such and you’d have a better perspective of things in life.

     You don’t need to be a fanatical supporter to write about the club you love.

147. OK Sky confirms as well as other sources Huddlestone off to the Tigers. Spuds ouch your foot keeps getting shot. Making your team weaker which makes Arsenal stronger which makes Arsene sit tight…

148. hartwick89, like i stated before, i am old school. just got a computer almost 4 years ago. not familiar with these computer tricks such as punked. in my neck of the woods if you talk that talk, you better walk that walk. i have always walked it, the way i talked it. one of the problems with today is there are very few stand up guys left. i am just a dinosaur. if jose is the special one, i am the angry one. ha ha ha.

149. A small point. It is only because we have NOT spent the cash pile in previous transfer windows (to the intense frustration at the time of many I’m sure) that we have the money to spend now. If we don’t spend it this time it is not forfeit – we can spend it in a future window!

     Meantime, the existing squad continues to grow and develop. Importantly, all the key players have been retained. We managed 73 points last season, up on the previous two, and I am confident we can exceed that this time – particularly now that the injury nightmare over the previous 4 or 5 years seems to have eased. Just with the existing squad. New “marquee” signings would probably accelerate the progress – but the extra 10-12 points we would need to have a decent shout at the title may be slightly too far away?

150. Bill,
     Look at my post time as I comment. Also, my name is significant of my location. Idle threats don’t scare me but your age should do you

151. I am a long time reader and an even longer time fan of The Arsenal. I write this not to tell you that I love The Arsenal more than or am a bigger fan than any of you.
     Being a fan for over 4 decades, I have seen and felt the pain of bad times and have never wavered.
     The players will go. The managers will go. But The Arsenal will remain. Our reputation, our values, our contributions to the evolution of this beautiful game and what we stand for makes us who we are.
     I am troubled though. I don’t like the losses, but I can live with them while we are growing and aiming for a target.
     Are we compromising our values by trying to sign a player like Suarez? I know that Adams, George, Vieira etc. were never choir boys, but Suarez is on a different level.
     Are we losing our reputation for competency? Our recent activities in the transfer market points to it. Yes, I know that a lot of it is exaggerated and even made up by the media. Then perpetuated by some of our own fans!
     The narrative is that we lack competency and that troubles me. It troubles me because it will cause us players more than anything else!
     Is the perception becoming reality?
     A Gunner forever.

152. so that cabbie guy paid 1300 for a ST.
     A few seasons ago we had a person claiming that I was an unfit Arsenal fan for not having a ST and that I should “shut uppa my face”.

     I then did a calculation as I go 3 times to the Emirates in a season. One such trip cost me around 250£ per trip. That is 750£ for 3 games.

     I then added the fact that I pay around 25£ a month for my sports channel x 12 = 300£ a year. Subotal = £1050

     I then have to pay my internet connection as I need to see the games not shown live on TV on the internet and that cost another £25 a month= another 300 a year. Subtotal= £1350.

     And then come the final piece de resistance…. my costly time. I don’t know how much I could earn if I would fill my time with anything else but let me say that I could make some £20 per hour in working on something else.
     Per day I spend something in between 2-3 hours (minimum) on Arsenal and Untold. Writing, reviewing, researching, writing, reviewing, researching, reading, writing, reviewing, researching… you get the point. So that is around £50 a day I lose because I do my voluntary work for Untold and the referee decisions site of the website. Now I do have days I do nothing (like the last weeks being on holidya) but I think that is only for some 20 days a year. So you could say that I “work” some 340 days on average £50 I could earn when doing something else. That could bring me £17.000 a year.

     In total this is £18.350 that I waste on Arsenal. Me the not holding a season ticket bad fan of course.

     And to think of it that I demand nothing in return for this. I only ask that the board do all they can to keep Arsenal alive and well.

153. And for those not believing my time spent: one review alone takes around 3 hours time. So I think the 2,5 hours I counted are a low estimation.

     Oh and I don’t complain about it.

     Just stating the facts and showing that in fact “only” paying 1300 for a ST means that you are a lucky person. I would take his place in an instant.)

     Sorry Tony ;

154. Wanky bill – any time. Any place. You. Are. Full. Of. Shit.

     You and Boo and Walter – come down to the gunners before the game (yes I know you all have a long way to travel) and I can intro you to some fellow members of the “royal family” Mr duke of Cambridge. They’re a little upset about your collective dismissal of ST holders.

     What a disgrace this site is, full of bedroom warriors, typing their filth without ever setting foot near the club, spewing bile against real fans. Disgusting.

     And Walter, have you ever been to the em? Really?

155. You lot on here are everything that’s wrong with AKBs – remote control “fans” sat in front of the TV, masturbating over Wenger. Never contributed a penny to the club (novelty arsenal mug excluded) and you sit in judgement? Zero shame, zero credibility.

156. Doof,

     You are really getting stuck in tonight. Your logic is flawed when it comes to who you are. I would vote if every one had the opportunity to see your arse on another site versus staying here and harassing us we vote the former. I bet you are a miserable person outside of untold. Do you kick the dog and slap the wife and kids? You need to find a different outlet its killing you man or are you a woman? You should love life and the manager just try and skip one of these precious days.

157. harwick89, was not talking about you, was addressing the people who told me to fuck myself and to shoot myself. you did not do anything to me. if you think i am some feeble old man, a lot better men than yourself have made that mistake. ask the bartender at the kinsale tavern on 91st street in your neck of the woods what i did to those 3 liverpool assholes during a merseyside derby. once again i was not talking about you. on the serious tip, if you want to dance, it think i could fit you in my dancecard. i addressed you because you were right how those idiots got under my skin. but dont you ever think i ever ran away from anyone. never ran and never will peace out.

158. Bill,

     I get it. Doof is a one hit wonder. He probably never played ball and got bullied and took up Atari in the 80’s now he sits back and his life went by. Its all good up here! See you on the path to fun and riches and good livin

159. What I take exception to most in this article, and Adam has referred to it, is the fact that Arsenal was just another club before Wenger appeared. It seems to me you only started following Arsenal because Wenger turned up WINNING TROPHIES!

     Our club has a rich past and Wenger is not the only player in its history. Perhaps you should consider the achievements of our greatest manager, Herbert Chapman, who helped Arsenal reach heights unprecedented in the club’s history. So big was the club in the 1930’s they even had a film set around the club in which one of the players was murdered. Arsenal was known as the bank of England in those days, that’s how rich we were. Do you realize that Highbury was the Emirates of its day? And a far more attractive building than our current stadium. I have no issue with you lionizing our current manager, that’s your right, but do not think that Arsenal was some insignificant football club prior to 1998.

160. http://www.fakeposters.com/posters/cool-guy/

161. “Cabbie was only saying that as he pays over 1300 a year for a St, he’s entitled to expect more than 4th.”

     Entitled to expect more than fourth doesn’t come into it, it only entitles you to watch the game live, nothing else!

162. I hope this site does not turn into a foul mouthed slanging, insulting war of words site, that would be so uncool. It was pleasant to see people discussing their different opinions, sometimes a little heated, but always with respect of another person’s opinion. I do realise that the younger generations seem to like and embrace this sort of behaviour, but my experience tells me that “loud barking dogs, just have no bite.
     //
     Anyway, i too was once a disgruntled fan, who truly believed that i knew what was best for the club, could not understand the policy of the club and so on.
     Then one day i took the time to really read the “utterings” of the club and suddenly it all became clear to me what the club was trying to do. So i understood at last. Now this does not mean i do not feel a little pain when we lose, or when another says the “8 year” speech, but now i just smile and continue on on my way, just as the club is doing.
     Up the mighty Arsenal, the best club in the world.

163. @Stuart, true. But the club has to remember that without fans it wouldn’t exist. Now if prices go up and Arsenal are sitting on a huge wad of cash fans are going to get a little fed up. You can fool people for only so long. Of course diehard fans will never give their team up but there is only so long you can treat people like mugs, even the most resolute fans. I think we’ll buy a couple of players but I’m not sure we’ll get the players on Wenger’s A list, either down to dithering on the manager’s part or due to the fact he won’t pay the prices for the top players. Those are the most likely reasons though I’m sure there maybe others.

     I find it really quite bizarre that despite the assurances of Gazidis that we’d get our business done early we have not bought one player of note. I wonder if this was because we fixated on getting Suarez to the detriment of all other deals. Did we really think Pool are going to sell their best player to a rival? Just because we do it doesn’t follow that other teams will but I reckon Wenger measured Pool’s owners by his own standards.

164. @Stuart, true. But the club has to remember that without fans it wouldn’t exist. Now if prices go up and Arsenal are sitting on a huge wad of cash fans are going to get a little fed up. You can fool people for only so long. Of course diehard fans will never give their team up but there is only so long you can treat people like mugs, even the most resolute fans. I think we’ll buy a couple of players but I’m not sure we’ll get the players on Wenger’s A list, either down to dithering on the manager’s part or due to the fact he won’t pay the prices for the top players. Those are the most likely reasons though I’m sure there maybe others.

     I find it really quite bizarre that despite the assurances of Gazidis that we’d get our business done early we have not bought one player of note. I wonder if this was because we fixated on getting Suarez to the detriment of all other deals. Did we really think Pool are going to sell their best player to a rival? Just because we do it doesn’t follow that other teams will but I reckon Wenger measured Pool’s owners by his own standards.

165. @Stuart,
     Couldn’t agree more.
     I would much prefer our annual achievement of entry into the CL rather than winning the odd Carling Cup and playing in the Europa Cup.
     Yet there are Arsenal fans who wouldn’t share this view!
     Silverware is nothing more than icing on the cake and apart from the EPL, luck plays an important part in the winning of the remaining 3 trophies.
     I notice on Untold and on other sites, a sad increase in criticism of our great Club, rather than praise over the way it is admired all over the world.
     Near 100% of other clubs envy our business acumen, the exciting way we play and the history and reputation we have forged over generations.
     In giving total backing for whoever wears the shirt in the coming season, we must get rid of the “fickle” name-tag we have earned over the years.
     There is every reason to be proud of how Arsenal FC have performed since Arsene Wenger’s arrival, so why not show it in the support we give both home and away.

166. @Nicky, really, you’d rather be in the CL than win the FA Cup? I’d prefer to win the FA Cup simply because I think the CL is a bloated load of crap. It should be for league winners, no other teams. It’s the reason why fans celebrate fourth spot as some kind of success. It’s poison.

     And no doubt some will say if we don’t qualify for it we’ll not attract the best players. I’ve yet to see any great players roll up at our club, only leave.

     And look at Spuds, they finished fourth and they’ve made more interesting signings than we have, so far. I see finishing fifth has really made life difficult for them. And we have more financial clout than them. It does make you wonder what the hell is going on.

167. Also Bootoome you do go on about City not winning a trophy but wait a minute they finished second. Which means they go straight into the CL. Now isn’t that better than winning the FA Cup? Many on here would say so.

168. @hart,
     so by your logic can u enlighten us how arsenal is stronger relative to last season? AKB bullshit…

169. @Rupert Cook,
     I totally agree with you and have always felt that the CL should be restricted to the League winners of the participating countries.
     There wouldn’t be so many matches but at least only real champions would play.
     To analyse your other view, the FA and Carling Cups are so affected by the luck of the draw. For example, Arsenal once won an FA Cup without leaving London.
     With respect, surely you cannot compare that Cup to finishing 4th or better in our gruelling EPL and then taking part in the top football competition in Europe.

170. Rupert Cook,

     Nice diversionary tactic there but I’m experienced at this logical game.

     The whine about Arsenal is ALWAYS about not WINNING trophies because we are not SPLASHING THE CASH. Don’t change the complaint.

     The easiest answer is the Man City – Wigan one. When we start getting moans about finishing 3rd or 4th instead of 2nd, then I’ll take up your new rationale.

     And, lest it be lost in this comment, I agree that finishing 2nd or even 3rd is better than coming 4th. I knew this since I was in primary school. Also in the current football reality, coming 2nd or even 4th is better than wnning the FA cup. But this is not my problem, it is the problem of the trophy junkies.

     It’s very heart-warming to hear you state that a 2nd place in the league is better than winning the FA cup. You are welcome!

171. @Bootoome, I didn’t state that at all, I said many on here would claim it. Personally I’d prefer to win the FA Cup because it’s such a great experience watching your team in a final, especially the FA Cup because I loved watching it when I was younger, so selfish reasons.

     @Nicky, did you always think finishing fourth was better than winning the FA Cup?

172. @Bootoome, which teams in the last eight years have won the league without spending substantially? You spend money, you win the league. An unpleasant truth. All credit to Wenger if he can win the league without spending big money.

     We have 70 million to spend. As Bob Paisley said, “I’d rather have players on the field than money in the bank.” But the window is still open and we may yet find a few great players.

     Also I refer you to an earlier post in which I mentioned your seemingly disrespectful comments about Arsenal being just another club before Wenger turned up. Total rubbish. Read the history of our club. You could argue we were bigger in the thirties than we are now.

     Here’s my priorities in life before you start saying that I’m obsessed with Arsenal and their relative mediocrity causes my misery, which you assume so often when anyone moans about our trophy drought.

     1 My family
     2 My health
     3 My friends
     4 Literature
     5 Music
     6 Arsenal

     Maybe that makes me a poor fan. I don’t know and I don’t care.

     Like your avatar.

173. well i’d say if you’re spending your hard earned money on something it would be easier to sermonize and preach rubbish. sobif the cabbie’s spent his 1300 on arsenal he’s damn well within his rights to complain about the product. when you also pay for the priduct then you can tell him to shut it.
     @walter
     the ST holders spend 1300 above what you spend, cos their holding a ST doesnt stop them paying for internet and cable connection(which isnt solely for seeing the arsenal by the way, neither does the money go directly to the arsenal), it doesnt stop them from making the trip to belgium to see arsenal against anderletch, or to germany to see arsenal against munich. in other words 1300 is the minimum he pays and he does it directly into arsenal’s coffers. so you might want to get off your high horse

174. @bootoomee
     the whinge about arsenal not winning is not always about not splashing the cash, man city wigan didnt teach anybody anything, that lesson had been learnt for decades, if a refresher was needed, arsenal vs birmingham was enough. (or did birmingham outspend us too?), the issue is not doing enough with the resources at your disposal to win. like the biblical servant who was given one talent and did nothing with it

175. Rupert Cook,

     “Also I refer you to an earlier post in which I mentioned your seemingly disrespectful comments about Arsenal being just another club before Wenger turned up.”

     Here’s my quote from the piece:

     “Arsenal, pre-Arsène Wenger and the Emirates stadium, was just another club in the upper half of the English premier league. Yes, we won trophies every now and then but so did clubs like Leeds United and Aston Villa.”

     Disagree with this all you want but we were a yo-yo club like most of the other top half teams. We were never the second biggest club in England by any yardstick. Today we are. You go on like we were dominating the English league or something. The number one reason why there is so much expectations of Arsenal at the moment is because of AW’s achievements during that 1997-2005 period.

     We need not go on and on over this. You have your opinion and I have mine. I’ve heard you say more disrespectful things about the team but you are entitled to your opinion as I am to mine.

     Priority-wise, I think you and I are quite similar. At least you are not claiming that your life depends on Arsenal 🙂 I don’t understand why you’ll think that I could think of you as a poor fan as a consequence.

176. Rupert Cook,

     About the Avatar, Keown screaming at Nistlerooy is probably my all time favourite moment of passion by anyone wearing the Arsenal shirt. Oh I love that picture. Plus, it says a lot about the type of Arsenal fan I am 🙂

177. @Bootoome, it wasn’t that far in the distant past when we won the league or an European trophy before the arrival of Wenger. Yes we were quite ordinary the year Wenger came along but it’s also worth remembering that we bought Platt and Bergkamp before Wenger’s arrival so we certainly had ambitions. Wenger made an immense impact at the club, not disputing that, and his initial years at Arsenal were remarkable. Time will tell if he still has that magic touch.

     I know it’s easy to dismiss the 1930’s Arsenal because it’s not in living memory (for most of us anyway) but we were the biggest club in England back then. Let’s not pretend we were suddenly invented in 1998, let’s have a bit of respect for all our previous managers’ achievements as well as Wenger’s.

     I didn’t think you’d call me a poor fan but some might. I have a great affection for Arsenal because before I discovered the delights of literature and music they were my number one passion but that changed way back in the mid 70’s when I grew interested in other things.

     That Keown moment was a splendid one indeed. I can imagine Wilshire doing something similar.

178. Boo – would keown have accepted 4th place? Never ever. You defile his memory keyboard supporter.

179. @Doofus – WTF… “You defile his memory” has Keown died?

     PS – have you ever heard of the straw man fallacy?

180. DogFace,

     Don’t feed the troll.

181. of course if keown were here now, he very likely wouldnt. RVN would probably have laughed him to scorn the way evra. laughs @our kindergaten..maybe he’d be trying to swap shirts at halftime while being a goal down

182. Doofus
     This comment genuinely made me laugh out loud –

     “come down to the gunners before the game (yes I know you all have a long way to travel) and I can intro you to some fellow members of the “royal family” Mr duke of Cambridge. They’re a little upset about your collective dismissal of ST holders.”

     Why are you acting like some sort of gangster? Like there’s a group of sinister ST holders, all sat in a smokey pub in NL, waiting for word of disrespect from people on the internet.

     Somewhere, in deepest, darkest North London…
     *knock, knock*
     ST 1 “Enter!”
     ST 2 “Ah young Doofus. What news have you for us”
     Doofus “Well your Majesties. There’s this website. And in the comments section, some people are saying bad things about ST holders!”
     ST 1 “Really?”
     ST 2 “What website?”
     Doofus “Untold Arsenal Sires”
     ST 1 “Ah Untold. Yes, we have heard tell of this Untold. They support the Lord Wenger I hear..?”
     ST 2 “Not any more, they support the club, the players and the manager these days”
     ST 1 “Fair enough”
     ST 1 “So. Doofus. Pray tell what slanderous comments have you seen?”
     Doofus “Well, your Holiness. There’s this one guy who says if ST holders don’t like the way the club is run, just don’t go anymore. I called him a wanky bedroom keyboard warrior”
     ST 2 “Good insult!”
     Doofus “Thank you your Majestic Highness!”
     ST 1 “Anyone else have anything to say about the Highest Order of the ST?”
     Doofus “Yes your Esteemed Seer of all wrongdoing, Putter Right of all ills. There this other twat who says because he spends more travelling to a few games a season than the value of the ST, he’s as much of a supporter as we!”
     ST 2 “BLASPHAMY!!!”
     ST 1 “IT’S AN OUTRAGE!!!”
     Doofus “I’ve told them that! I’ve told them to come to the Den Of Justice (back room of the Gunner Pub, N5). I’ve told them that you are displeased. I’ve told them that Sirs!!”
     ST 1 “Wonderful. When can we expect this visit. I have a can of whoopass here which I’ve been dying to open since 1990”
     Doofus “Ahh, well, see there is a slight problem with that my Leige…”
     ST 2 “Problem? What problem Doofus??”
     Doofus “Ahh, well, you see the internet is a big place. Some of these people don’t actually live in the UK. I’ve said I appreciate it’s a long way to travel and understand if they can’t make it.”
     ST 1 “Doofus, are you fucking kidding me? You’ve revealed our shadowy lair to the wider world via the internet!?! Are you insane!!!”
     Doofus “but, but, but. They said mean things about you your Honorable Worshipfulness!”
     ST 1 “Doofus. You have again proved our moniker for you was chosen wisely.”
     ST 2 “Doofus. I regret introducing you to the Highest Order of the ST. Your mum said you were a good boy, but I’m not so sure. You’ve been nothing but trouble since we let you gaze upon our magnificence”
     Doofus “What are you saying your Majestic Highness?”
     ST 2 “You’ve called me that already. I’m saying I no longer think there is a place for you here.”
     Doofus “I’m sorry my Lordiness. I can do better. I can change”
     ST 1 “Get out Doofus. You have brought shame on the Highest Order of the ST…
     And leave your ST with Terry behind the bar on your way out”
     Doofus “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
     Doofus “BWAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
     *Door closes on Doofus’ pathetic shaking, shuddering frame as he scurries out into the bright sunlight*
     ST 1 “John, you think we were a bit hard on Doofus?”
     ST 2 “Nope. He’s not a member of the Highest Order of the ST. He’s just a very naughty boy”

183. Rupert, I was talking to my missus about choosing between the Arsenal and Music (or my version of?) It would be a close run thing.

     Walter, I like the way you have put things into a financial perspective. For me the cost to watch Arsenal differs. There is no way on this planet I could have a season ticket, I’d probably lose my job. Evening and Sunday Kick-offs are the most expensive for me. Saturdays a little less and Arsenal don’t play during normal working hours. But I don’t have set working hours, I’m on-call 24,7.

     I might keep a tab on money earned during Arsenal games and see how much I would lose, plus the price of the season ticket.

184. Stevie E,

     Respect man, maximum respect! That was hilarious 🙂

185. @BooTooMee

     “There is nothing wrong with the standard of my writing other than probably the contents not reflecting your own perspective”

     If a blog or other source of information on any subject perfectly reflected my perspective I would not waste my time reading it. I’m not the type of person who seeks affirmation of my opinions in print so I can feel righteous and validated. Much of sports writing is subjective in nature, so disagreement should be expected. Argumentation in good faith is quite valuable as it often raises interesting questions or premises I hadn’t yet considered.

     You say that you are combative; I’m just suggesting that perhaps on occasion that borders on derisory and that you may be more concerned with being right than facilitating interesting debate.

186. The core of our team is stronger through keeping them together, another year stronger, I just hope we get enough decent signings yo fill the gaps. We havent lost any key players though which is a positive.

187. Tangent,

     I don’t get paid to write at Untold Arsenal. Tony Attwood, the blog owner encourages visitors/commenters to send in their thoughts on Arsenal and he would publish them if they are not abusive to the club or its manager. I send him my musings and he has always published them.

     Considering that Tony is a published author and a noted writer, I feel quite validated that my writing is pretty decent. Are you a published writer? You question my writing without pointing out what I did wrong; how else do you expect me to interpret your objection? I am not insecure about my writing skill BTW, I just can’t accept unsubstantiated criticism.

     On my response to commenters: well, I don’t believe in being polite to rude people. A commenter wrote this:

     “The author is the most sanctimonious bore that has ever had the misfortune to pick up a pen.”

     How do you suggest I respond to him?

     This same commenter once told me:

     “Maybe you should spend more time looking after your your young children instead of writing on here and do us all a favour.”

     Should I be subjected to this kind of brain-dead nonsense just because I’m posting my opinion on a football fans’ website? How would you respond if you get crap like these thrown at you. BTW, each of these comments were on 2 separate pieces.

     If you are unable to look through the comments and establish context between exchanges, then your knee-jerk criticism of my style comes across like sympathy for these clowns probably because you share their perspective or style. Hence, my line:

     “There is nothing wrong with the standard of my writing other than probably the contents not reflecting your own perspective”

     How you decide what to read or not read is frankly none of my business but before you start criticising others, the least you can do is understand the rationale behind their actions.

188. @ Stevie E – Great stuff . Looking forward to more !