Boreham Wood v Arsenal. Football’s coming home. At last.

By Bulldog Drummond

Apparently, tomorrow in Glasgow there will be a capacity 50,000 crowd at Ibrox for the match between Rangers and the might giants of Macedonia: FK Shkupi of Macedonia.

There won’t be such a crowd for Arsenal’s opener against Boreham Wood but I think the match is pretty much sold out, and it is also on Arsenal TV on the internet.  So we should all be able to see it – unless Arsenal are restricting which countries can take the feed.  Sorry I don’t have information on that, but it is certainly worth a try to see if you can get it.

It was in June last year that Boreham Wood  FC announced the new 10-year agreement with Arsenal that allowed Arsenal to stage home games for Arsenal Youth Development and Arsenal Ladies at Meadow Park until the end of the 2026/27 season.

As part of the deal Meadow Park, the Boreham Wood ground had a range of improvements made, through the Football Stadia Improvement Fund which since 2003 has provided £1.1m into redeveloping Meadow Park, including the installation of a new all-weather playing surface, a 720-seater spectator stand, and a state-of-the-art changing pavilion.

They also got a new floodlight system, a new drainage and irrigation system, and new home and away team stadium dugouts.

If you have been with Untold for a while you’ll know we’ve always had an interest in non-league football and argued for more money to be put into the facilities available in lower league and local community clubs. 

While clubs like Manchester City have, through the investment of funds from their sponsors and owners built a second stadium for their women’s team and their youth team, Arsenal have taken a different route and worked with a nearby non-league side to give them and their supporters a much improved stadium which will have much greater use.  I think that is to be applauded.

As a result of this initiative Arsenal have really supported the grassroots game.  It is to my mind exactly the sort of thing the FA ought to be doing instead of throwing money at Fifa, but the FA seem to be happier working with big publicity projects rather than supporting the very basics of football in this country.   Indeed you may recall how Sport England removed funding from the FA for grassroots football after the FA sat on the money and refused to invest it properly (a story covered by Untold but studiously ignored by the national press).   That story appears here.

Boreham Wood’s first league match of the season is on  4 August v Dagenham and Redbridge in the National League which this season includes Leyton Orient and Hartlepool United, recently knocked out of the Football League.

Even though Untold has its head office (ho ho) in the Midlands we are going to try and get to a game or two at Boreham Wood to show our support.   The ground holds 4,502, making it one of the smaller grounds in the National League – although not the smallest, as that will be Maidenhead United, with a capcity of 3,377.

Boreham Wood’s rivals are St Albans City, their nearest “local” rivals in the league this season will be Maidenhead, and the Orient.

Indeed if you have been with us a while you’ll know we always argue that one should try and go to see one’s local team, (or another local team if you live in N5) when Arsenal are not playing.  So Boreham Wood are on the agenda for this season, along with our local teams in the East Midlands.

In the next piece on our build up to the game we’ll have a look at all the players we have lost in the past year (it is a much bigger list than I thought when we started pulling it together, and start trying to work out what sort of line up we might have for the big kick off.  Plus a brief look back to one notorious pre-season that we attended, and the debate we had after the game.

 

Supposing it had been Arsenal not England who lost to the minnows last night. What then…

The transfers of the top six clubs in the Premier League and across Europe

Boreham Wood v Arsenal this weekend. Who will be available for Arsenal as football returns?

 

8 Replies to “Boreham Wood v Arsenal. Football’s coming home. At last.”

  1. As I wrote on the Arsenal Belgium Facebook group : this Saturday is seeing us a milestone match or a historical match in football. No not England or Belgium trying to finish third in the world cup, but the first match for Arsenal after the Wenger era.
    The matches are played at the same time. But I know what I will be watching!
    Finally football is coming home and really starting again!
    My god it looked like ages this summer before I could look forward to a real match (even a meaningless friendly….)

    Thanks Arsène, good luck Emery! COYG!!!

  2. Football coming home? Well, it looked as if it will yesterday in Russia but suddenly changed course to keep going elsewhere until maybe it decides to come home in 2022 but just maybe.

    While Arsenal can continue to support grassroots football development to earn kudos, I think they can do better to take a bold step to buy up Boreham Wood’s Meadow park Stadium as a secondary Stadium mainly for the Arsenal Ladies and the Arsenal youth teams use. But allow Boreham Wood under contract deal to continue to use the ground for their home games with 10 years free without any payment to Arsenal to compensate them.

  3. I don’t like talking about Scotland, it’s depressing. So last night, China Town, absolutely messy, had my first actual proper night out since coming to London 2 summers ago, lol the dedication.

    Me the Malay and a couple of Ozzie sisters, one nymphet, with a big brain and small frame and her almost single mum sibling. Was a lot of fun, I have no idea how I got home, I have no idea how I didn’t lose everything I was carying, I have no idea when that photo was taken.

    But I do remember that I could barely see the game, but was otherwise entertained, for the most part. Then within moments of kick off I guess there was a goal for England, then I waited and waited and it came, and then in added time, the Croatians said not penalties again and football wasn’t coming home and normality resumed.

    So Croatia it is then?

    So to the football, Emery, I’m not sure I like this guy that much? As a person, genuinely, he’s been bugging me on and off with the things he says and it’s grating.

    Substance: OK so he talks double dutch, says things that make no sense, which OK maybe somewhat assistful with the media, but is frustrating for the fans.

    First he had 5 Key players, and named 2 of them, with three having contracts extended recently. What are the rest of the squad ot make of it?

    Now he wants to work with Leno, Cech, Ospina, Macey and MArtinez, so what are 4 of them supplimenting the back four then?

    As one wise untolder pointed out, if the Torreira deal is staggered, why we paid above his release, we haven’t spent the budget.

    The team is by no means complete, but judging on things, we are going very narrow, which is just foolish, unless you go 2 up top, which is very foolish, if you don’t have say Higuain, Dybala, Manzukic on your books, Danny is not any of those three.

    We are restricted to spend what Man City have on Mahrez, on the whole team, how many teams will outspend us? I think it could be more than 5 if he is to be believed, that his spending is done, bar something special.

    Why if we have no money, is Monreal not being sold, when he is in his last year and is going to be obliterated by half the wingers in the league? Wingers, that thing we don’t have, who are we, Liverpool or Spurs from 2 years ago?

    Why if we have no money have we got 5 f-ing goalkeepers? He says he’s thinking about the future, Why, Leno is at an age where he covers GK for a decade, so without a second goalkeeper who is developing, or past it then we are just wasting capital. Interesting he chose to answer the question on how many first team goalkeepers he will work with, saying 3. Which is just ointless.

    I hate yes men, this is a yes man. I don’t like people who talk double dutch, and if you are, then you better mix doble dutch with pure honesty effectively to get your severance, Conte style, good luck, he’s left by the way.

    I don’t like people who pit the team against each other, ith stupid comments.

    I don’t like narrow teams, it has been why we have been unable to break down opponents, then overload, then get countered.

    We’ve addressed the counter, we’ve addressed some of the back four issues, but the biggest problem, was individual errors and a slow left back, who was isolated instead of Per. Great to have you coaching family.

    You sell Monreal, 2 or 3 goalkeepers and consider selling Mustarfi if you can get in a replacement. You could sign all four of my targets in this way, especially if you old Danny or Perez or both. And I had time for Perez, don’t know what he did, but I had time for him, but I don’t question the gaffer.

    And I’m questioning the gaffer, he’s been told what he’s doing, he’s doing what he does.

    but this, this line, oh the mack of respect……

    Emery, into his second week with the Arsenal squad at their London Colney training ground, is yet to discuss his squad with predecessor Arsene Wenger and insists any advice the club’s boss of 22 years will be secondary to his relationship with the players.

    “I have my own personality,” he said.

    You don’t say that, you say that over 22 years at the club, Wenger will have a wealth of knowledge of the ins and outs of the club and any experience or advice he could offer would be welcomed gratefully. However you have your own ideas and philsophies and will look to implement these, but area lways open to changing and adapting things as you become aware of how things are going.

    The big thing in this is Aaron, this boy gives his all, he and Hector, and Koscielny, Mo, Mikhi, Auba, all for the Gaffer. Aaron is seriously thinking about leaving, knowing Barcelona would take him in a flash and he’d fit.

    And as things stand, I can’t blame him, something is not right. Very not right. The figures stink, the departure stinks, the sounbites stink.

    “In this moment I think the squad is complete, only the possibility for one player or two players to leave.

    “To sign [a player] in the next month? Only if he is a big opportunity.”

    Unless those players are both GK, they would need to be replaced surely? Unless Cohen is ready?

    I woke up happy, this crap from his mouth isn’t making me happy, he’s been told what to say and he’s following th script.

    But at least we have signed 5, can we sneak Adli and Meyer in? Golivin is seriously talented, and worth every bit of £22m and Diallo is the perfect balance for CB/LB

    What the, are the playing at????

    There is something disingenuine about the character, hidden by assertion. It’s what I’d expect of Stan, I’d honestly rathr Conte, if it wasn’t for the back 3. Ancelotti even, this gut is bugging me.

    Let’s see what Aaron does……..

    Willian is subject to a renwed £53m from Barcelona, so when something is accepted, I thin United may get involved. Why Barcelona want Willian is beyond me….

    For instance, Seri just went to Fulham, Digne is available at LB for 16 million euros, West Ham are about to outspend us, if they get in a couple new faces extra, they are due to complete the £35m transfer of Felipe Anderson, yes another very pacey winger for Monreal. So that’s on top of £18m for Yamelenko and £7m for Fabianski plus they scooped Pellergrini and Wilshere, they are doing very well. Need some full backs and a CB and sales.

    We need more, better players, it’s just that simple. But it was interedting, I posed a question as if Wenger were here, incidentally he answered it in the next conference…..

    I asked why couldn’t he explain that expenditure here and now, as in this window, why couldn’t it be used to curtail future spending, essentially as he saved most of the last budget and would have the coming one also, which amounts to around £90m, giving you nearly double that. Investing it now would make sense.

    The Gaffer then went on to say that that conversation was a long one, as it might be difficult to explain. It’s really simple economics, basic as 3.14 unless you wanted to extract cash value and increase asset value, then you would hide behind a self sustaining model, citing it as cause to avoid over extending.

    We aren’t serious………….

  4. Is it not usually that the youngsters plsy in this game?

    By the you have neglected barnet that also went down and are likely to be the closest to borehamwood.

  5. I will be watching the Arsenal match. Nothing against England, but the 3rd place match means less to me than the first match of new era at The Arsenal.

  6. U Know Who, U Know nobody reads your meandering offerings, don’t U Know…….

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