By Terence McGovern
Allow me to begin by saying that I am not generally given to despair on any level or indeed on any particular issue, regardless of the severity of the crisis that may present itself. That said, I have found the events of the last few days disturbing in the extreme.
I am an Arsenal supporter. This simple fact, this state of being, has been a constant in my life for 30 years. It has brought me heartbreak and elation in equal measure from watching Tony Adams driving home the final league goal of a title-winning season to being curled up in the foetal position on my couch for 36 hours after Barcelona came from behind to crush our Champions League dreams in Paris .
In all that time I had come to believe that I had pretty much seen it all…..until these last few weeks.
In the last few weeks, I have watched hundreds of my fellow supporters come as close to blows as anybody could over the internet. I have listened in astonishment as players in the hallowed Red & White of Arsenal have been boo’d and jeered by their own supporters sometimes when they are warming up before coming on as a substitute!
I have listened in shock while our most successful manager, one of the most respected figures in world football, had to endure a shareholder’s meeting where participants were more concerned with taking cheap shots at our players than reasonable discourse. Imagine if you will, having the opportunity to talk directly to Arsene Wenger about various aspects of our club and its future direction and then wasting it by insulting him and our team. It beggars belief! Let’s get something straight here. Jeering and insulting those who you you claim to support is tangibly oxymoronic with an emphasis on the ‘moron’ part.
How the hell did we get here? Have we become so demanding and so oblivious to our relative position in the football universe that we revert to tourette syndrome when events fail to unfold as we desire? Sadly, it would appear so.
What has changed over the years to make us thus? In truth it is probably a mixture of brainwashing from a partisan media, a nagging uncertainty about the future ownership of our club and the result of a diet of success that was far too rich for our own good for several years.
Here and now, every Arsenal supporter should ask themselves why they became a supporter in the first place. Was it to complain? Perhaps to facilitate writing abuse on the internet? Maybe it was to indulge in jeering the home team from the home supporters section. Maybe, but I suspect not.
What I suspect is that you became an Arsenal supporter out of love and passion for the club. It was this love and passion that caused you to put everthing else on hold come matchday. It was this love and passion that caused you to spend your hard-earned cash to see your team play live . It was this love and passion that allowed you to savour victory and success to to an opiate-like degree and that eased your pain when that success was fleeting, as it so often is in football.
It is now time to remember those things of yesteryear that sparked our love affair with this magnificent football club and realise that they are just as strong in us today as they were then. Complaining about our situation will not change it and the events of this year and others cannot be undone.
NOW is the time to unite behind our manager and behind our team. It is NOW during this bleak period that they need our support the most. We are their twelfth man and we are not matchfit anymore.
Let’s have an end to all these ridiculous calls for Arsene Wenger to be replaced. He is going to be our manager for the forseable future so get behind him. When he eventually retires, he will greatly missed believe me. Let’s also have an end to the incessant calls for him to buy players. OF COURSE HE IS GOING TO BUY PLAYERS! Not only that but he will buy the best players he can lay his hands on with the money he has available, which will most likely be substancial this year even though it hasn’t been in recent years.
On top of that, when he does buy these players, make them feel welcome! Make up great songs about them, send them welcoming messages via the club and go and see them pre-season singing yourself hoarse in the process. Wear shirts with their names on the back. Show them that they belong and they will play their hearts out for you.
This seaon coming, RENEW YOUR FAITH IN THE ARSENAL! Wear your colours proudly! Drown out the voices of other supporters whether home or away with your singing! Roar your applause at every shot on goal whether it goes in or to row Z! Roar your applause at every substitute warming up and let them know that you are behind them and that their best will always be good enough.
You will see more of their best as a result. Increase your support to include the reserve matches, the youth games and our fantastic ladies team who are a national treasure. Go to their games come rain or shine! Break their attendance record until they have to put their matches on at The Emirates because they deserve to play there and they deserve you to be there for it. Make other supporters and other teams feel awe for the support that we give our team. Make the Emirates atmosphere the envy of the league! Lift our players and they will do their part and lift trophies. Raise your voices, lift your team and renew your faith.
Unity in the face of adversity.
Victory through Harmony.
We will get there…….together.
Terence McGovern
If you would like to contribute an article for Untold Arsenal which reflects our mission, as given in the banner at the top of the site) do email your ideas to the editor: Tony at Hamilton-house.com
Well Wennger once again proved that he doesnt learn from his mistakes or is too stubborn to admit he is wrong. For the last few games 4-5-1 with an ineffective lone striker has been our downfall – so what does he do yesterday – play 4-5-1 with Van Persie as a lone striker!! The logic in that was totally exposed when RVP had more or less a free header and put it miles overs – a chance a player more suited to that role would bury. But what that moment did show was Wengers incredibly poor tactical knowledge. This is coupled with his terrible choices as regards team changes and substitutions. How could he take off Ashavin and leave Diaby on, who has more or less proved to everyone that hasnt got the ability or commitment to be an Arsenal player. Hes another one who has repaid Wengers faith in him with a slap in the face – Diaby’s performances along with Adebayor and Silveste over the last few games has been unforgivable and there should be no way back for any of them. Wenger is at the moment living in a completely different world to reality and I as a fan feel alientiated from the club at the moment. He seems to think he IS the club and can do no wrong. Well sorry Arsene if you don’t change and admit last season and this one have been total underachievements due to your stubbourness and ability to admit when you are wrong – then you will have to go
xclnt post Terrence. Loved it.
What are people’s views of Giorgio Chiellini? I think he’s a right rough and tough defender, but he’s quite extreme in his tackles and very volatile! In saying that, do need a player like him? Maybe we do, someone to get into peoples faces. Looking at our team and I wonder whether some complacency has crept into the team, purely because we were close to winning the league last year, that we can automatically win it next year. Would be good if we could keep the team together, but my opinion is maybe we should sell a few players, because we know the impact new players can have if you make the correct purchase. I had posted on here some time ago to check the Ade interview on the BBC website, glad people have watched it, it certainly did give me some perspective on Ade’s mentality at the moment. Bit of a downer really!
I am one of those people who think that Adebayors effort and his commitment would never be appreciated no matter how hard he tries for Arsenal by the fans who simply love to hate him, even when the team lacked balance the fans have been quick to point that Ade lacked effort after havin not created chances for him. If you look at Arsenal you will find that Adebayor is a lesser problem to the club than Van Persie but even then i wouldn’t let Persie go because our problems as a football team are in; A-The Defensive midfield B-The Centre back position and C-The Goal keeping position. Dear fans before these positions are sorted you are always going to point a finger in the wrong direction hence remaing with never ending problems. But again before we fill those positions i suggest we sell first in those respective position i mention wisely and then buy.
Plus not sure if you huys have seen the below:
OBIN VAN PERSIE’S talks over a new Arsenal deal remain deadlocked and if the situation is not resolved soon the club may cash in this summer.
A £70,000-a-week, four-year offer has been on the table for six months but Van Persie has continued to stall.
The offer doubles his pay but I understand the 25-year-old Dutchman’s advisor have been pushing for a deal closer to £90,000-a-week.
Incredibly, they also want a get out clause should Arsenal receive an offer of more than 5million euros from a foreign club.
Arsenal have kicked out that proposal but could lose Van Persie for nothing if he opts to run down the final year of his contract – just as Mathieu Flamini did last season.
That is why the cub will have to consider any offers tabled this summer for a player they signed for £3m from Feyenoord five years ago. only 8mil Shocked
i think next season could be even worse than this one. adebayor and van persie sold, means our strongest front line last year both moved on. and now the story about wenger only having a 13mil transfer kitty. what can he do with that. im sick of this now, i think its time for a bit of foreign money to come in.
With only one year left on his deal, they would do well to get £8m for him.
Very well said, Terence.
I agree with every word. At this moment in time every Arsenal supporter is either with us or very much against us. There is no in between. I detest these shallow leeches, who have such an unrealistic expectancy & a fundamental lack of understanding of what football is. When our day does come,that’s if the spirit hasn’t been broken now, how can we celebrate with such ungrateful morons?
What a great article & your point is proven by the comments to date.
The anti support has probably cost us a good 6-10 points this season, because confidence is crucial, particularly to a young side.
What a tactical genious JLB is. Must be qualified to coach the boy scouts.
spot on, booing are own players should stop, i watched west brom liverpool on sunday and west brow fans were cheering their players and they got relegated and fans boo our players because we didnt challenge for the title whilst having many injury’s and spending less than spurs,villa,man u,liverpool, man city, chelsea etc
we had one the best teams the english league has ever seen a few years ago and we are not going to have another one if we dont support the team. And if you said to any arsenal fan in november after loosing to man city and villa ina row, would you take a forth place finish? the answer would be yes!
rant ova
Nice one terrence,believe me i know how difficult it is being a gonner. Like a told some man utd friends of mine,it is a lot easier to support man utd,everyday here in lagos, you try so hard to convince fellow guns that the team is good and will be better if we can only be better supporters of our team. And the response is the same, nothing u do over here (Nigeria) will affect what happens on the pitch. i don’t think so, i think we do connect and become one spirit, like a tidal wave, one big motion but when i see fools like this “James Le Beak” i wonder what he is about. if his tactical prowess is so sound , why is he on blogs instead of managing club.
Bravo!!
Finally some common sense on the internet. Well written and very good points. And indeed, it will be the saddest day of my life as a Gunner when Wenger drive out of the Emirates for the last time. And I hope it doesn’t happen any time soon.
P.S to JLBeak, if you honestly think that you know and care more about Arsenal than Wenger, then you are definitely the one who is “at the moment living in a completely different world to reality”.
Good post Terence. Totally agree with your sentiments.
I have avoided all Arsenal websites fro a week or two (this one excepting), because they just annoy me.
We lost to Man Utd and Chelsea in the space of a few days, which was painful. In the past I would want to avoid their fans for a few days (and I live among the Chelsea hordes, who all claim to have been going to games when they were relegated. I’m sure you all remember those huge crowds!)
This time I wanted to avoid Arsenal moaning blogs, bitter Arsenal fans on phone-ins and idiotic Arsenal comments on football sites.
Who needs enemies with some of our fans.
By the way, we do have great fans. Go along on Friday to the Youth Cup Final and you will find thousands of excellent Arsenal supporters. True Gooners!
I am interested in all the positive comments and declarations of support for Arsene. Trouble is that virtually all of that support comes with the caveat that our manager is going to make the changes that are so badly needed and quite obviously overdue. What evidence do any of you have that Arsene has the slightest intention of doing what you want him to do? As for the constraints on his spending in recent years are any of you prepared to accuse Danny Fitzman of being a liar? Nobody is suggesting that Arsene could have matched the spending of Man Utd, Chelsea or Liverpool, but he could have spent much more. My guess is that Arsene Wenger is currently unhappy with Gazides usurping some of his power. The manager should identify targets but not be in a position to act as club accountant as well. If we can’t afford a player then it is up to Gazides to tell Wenger, not the other way around.-
Extremely well written post. I agree with you totally. I think that ‘supporters’ like James le Beak should go. Now.
Great post Terence… Keep the faith.
There are many, many like minded supporters as yourself out here!
Ignore the Morons – hopefully they will be good to their words, and not renew next year, or not attend.
We need defenders, I dont care who buys them or if there Godly or not. We just need a couple of decent centre backs, is that so difficult?
Well written Terence. I agree 100% with your statements. It has become very difficult to deal with all this doom and gloom. There is very little tolerance left between the supporters and the anti supporters. I do not know where it will end.
I suspect a few clever minds at work spreading lies and half truths ad nauseam through blogs and the media, captivating the weak minded and those who love to runin packs. Motivation? A few for money, some for power and some ‘because they can’. A cocktail of much that is wrong with the wider world.
I really do believe that there are people out there, calling themselves Arsenal fans, who are plotting against our club. They want blood, drama and fame. they must be faced down.
Some of the anti-Wenger comments on here are nothing short of scandalous. People seem to forget very quickly what he has brought and what he still brings to the club. If he decided to leave now we would be in serious trouble next season and beyond. Our limited resources would make it difficult to attract an established world-class coach. Wenger goes and AT LEAST Fabregas would be out the door. We would be at risk of losing the beautiful footballing style we have and morale at the club would hit a major low. I’ve said in previous posts that we need to add only a dominant central defender and a defensive central midfielder – if we need to cash in on Adebayor then so be it, but mark my words, Wenger goes and we wont be anywhere near a trophy for a good while and our 11 straight seasons in the Champions League will be under threat. The man is a bastian of professionalism and the target of a number of top clubs around Europe. He was bang on when talking about the lack of support at home games and I think its sickening when the ‘fans’ round on their own players. Is that kind of reception really going to improve performance? Amid all of this, Wenger retains his dignity and is able to produce an undefeated run of 21 games. It’s not all bad – we have Rosicky and Eduardo back and (with any luck) fully fit for next season, they will effectively be like new signings for us. I’m not sure who will be available to buy in the Summer but someone along the lines of Senna, Alonso, Barry as a midfielder or a Hangelaand type at centre half and I’m sure we would be in a strong position to challenge on all fronts BUT ONLY IF ARSENE STAYS.
The comment was made earlier…
“Trouble is that virtually all of that support comes with the caveat that our manager is going to make the changes that are so badly needed and quite obviously overdue.”
I think this is the core of the matter. I don’t believe this, and judging from the daily correspondence I get via this site, I know that I am not alone.
Wenger has taken it upon himself to develop a young team, and to let them grow into their positions. Two perfect examples are Denilson and Song – both highly derided originally, and both accepted by many (but not all) supporters now as significant players.
If we assume for the moment that Wenger’s plan (if he feels inclined to stay in the face of the abuse he is now getting) is the same throughout, then we can take it that he believes Djourou is about to make the same step up, and that he can play alongside Gallas or Toure until such time as Nordveit (sorry I might be getting these spellings wrong) or another youngster is available. In the meanwhile Song can play there.
In midfield, no, we don’t all agree with you. Gilberto was a player like Denilson, and he was openly derided by Arsenal supporters, until he was out for a year, and then we suddenly realised what a problem it was not to have him in the side.
Buying or no all depends on who is coming through the ranks and what other twist to the norm Wenger is ready to introduce. Remember he gave us a team endlessly derided because it didn’t have anyone in the box. Over and over the critics said, “you won’t win anything without a centre forward in the box”. We had a centre forward who played on the left wing… and then… maybe you remember what that team achieved.
Or remember the three years of complaining that he had no plan B, until suddenly he came up with Ade playing on his own up front away to Man U to secure a 1-0 win in the last few minutes. Just three years ago. Now we have a plan A and a plan B and even (if you watch the reserves and academy teams) a plan C.
Wenger’s glory is that he breaks all the rules and does football in a different way, and I for one will be very unhappy if the unholy alliance of journalists and disgruntled supporters (ably aided by fans of Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid) force him out of the club.
Tony
Great post Terence. With a season ticket waiting list of over 40,000 I honestly feel it would do the club a huge favour if all the anti Wenger brigade do not renew this summer. We might then get some replacements who realise just how privileged and lucky they are.
Rundhel – We will not under any circumstances be buying Owen in the summer. To even suggest this means you require medication.
Gapuchi – How much foreign money would you like? What do we give up in return for this wind fall? The soul of the club? All first born son’s? Where would you find the money to repay this investment plus the interest that any investor would insist on?
Mr Gazidis, please have a quiet chat with Mr Wenger over organic wine and steamed salmon: please, please persuade him to buy experience for key places so that our team can avoid recent embarrassments next season. I wept openly at the poverty I watched yesterday. It was so obvious that we were juvenile in too many areas of the pitch. Sorry Fabianski but you’re too small and your reflexes are not good enough for the Prem – plus your distribution from the penalty area is too slow. We MUST have a decent second goalkeeper. We MUST MUST MUST buy an experienced, reliable and fit centreback. We desperately need a holding midfielder though Song has impressed me hugely in the past month or so. Like other youngsters Song will learn and grow but needs a guiding head. Fab plays well with Arshavin and so mediocrely without him. Class shows! He MUST have more class in his team. Goodbye Ade and spend the cash on a fit, proven, class striker, someone who can give us 20-25 goals a season. Another season of playing crisscross in front of the box will turn the rest of my hair white. And can Clichy, Nasri, Walcott spend pre-season practising crossing accurately – and Fabregas and Van P improve their corners. These are key areas where we have been poor.
And Mr Gazidis, ask Mr Wenger to debate tactics with his staff – we are SO-O-O predictable! Excuses like ‘unlucky injuries’, ‘diving’, ‘referee decisions’ are also too predictable. Arsenal is a club, my club, which deserves class players – right across the pitch. The recession isn’t simply finiancial; the quality of our team compared to the big rivals is also in serious recession. Someone has to shout ‘The Emperor has no clothes!’ If there is no action, we will fall back into mid-table mediocrity. Oh my god, please Mr Gazidis – chat to Mr Wenger.
I’ll ALWAYS support my team 100% but we fans have every right to voice disappointment.
That’s exactly it isn’t it.
For years we have indulged ourselves in our bragging about our unique style of football, our fantastic youth players and the homegrown element of our teamwhich has saved us tens of millions.
We have celebrated our youth team playing Carling Cup games in front of 56,000 supporters at the Emirates and beating premiership 1st team opposition.
Suddenly we have an element in our midst that no longer wants that development aspect to our club. They would rather exhaust our first team so that we could win a trophy, which most of us really don’t care about. Yes it is a …..viable trophy but really not one to show from an open-top bus eh?
I think we need to devise a 12-step program (hehe) that converts all these malcontented anti-Wenger pseudo-supporters back into cheering, positive and unconditionally true supporters of our great club.
Personally I can’t wait to see who Arsene Wenger signs whether I have heard of them or not because I know they will be great. If Adebayour goes I will not be unduly upset as I hold the opinion that he something of an odd man out in a team composed of close control at speed. However if he stays I will still cheer for him because he plays for me and all my fellow supporters.
Yes he is a bit fragile and off-key at the minute but he has a whole summer to work on it….or not.
It’s all good.
I would also recommend that everybody read Rod liddle’s comments about current Arsenal supporters in the Sunday Times online. It is not often that I agree with him but it is a good article.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/rod_liddle/article6301311.ece
Thank you for all the positive comments on this article. There were a few that missed the point but then again without people like James Le Beak, I would have had no need to write it.
Oh and James there is actually no such thing as ‘organic wine’. During production there is always a stage where a sulphate is added which makes the whole process possible.
IT is possible to obtain wine made from organically grown grapes but it is mostly Californian and not of the best quality.
I am certain that Arsene Wenger only drinks the best. 😉
(because he’s worth it (C)L’oreal)
Well said Tony. I don’t believe we need any new players – we have two, top four level players for every position except goalkeeper – and there the second string player can easily go an entire season without getting a game.
To justify my point –
• Almunia – as good as Reina & Van der Sar
• Sagna – better than Bosingwa, Neville and Aurelio
• Eboue – as good as Bosingwa, Neville and Aurelio
• Toure & Gallas – better than Alex and Skrtel
• Djourou – as good as Agger, Skrtel, Ivanovic, Evans and O’Shea
• Silvestre – the exception proves the rule
• Clichy – better than Arbeloa
• Gibbs – as good as O’Shea, Ferreria and Insua
• Song & Denilson – as good as Mikel Obi. Defensive midfielder is where the other top 4 teams are outstanding – Hargreaves & Carrick, Essien, Mascherano & Alonso. However, I would not see Alonso (assuming Barry goes to Liverpool) as being a big enough improvement to bring into a full squad.
• Fabregas, Nasri, Rosicky & Diaby – as good as Ballack, Lampard, Deco & Belletti, better than Gerrard & Leva, better than Anderson, Fletcher & Scholes.
• Walcott, Arshavin, Eduardo, RvP, Bendtner, Vela. Torres, Drogba, Ronaldo and Rooney are better than any of our lot. But we compare very favourably with Malouda, Joe Cole, Quaresma, Kalou and Anelka; Voronin, Riera, Benayoun, Pennant, Kuyt, Babel and Ngog; Berbatov, Giggs, Park, Nani & Welbeck.
I think that Silvestre is good enough to be a fourth choice CB or LB. However, I would rather that he left and we got a new fourth choice CB. Perhaps Huth?
Thanks for your wise words!
At the end of the day, does the actions encourage or discourage, Arsene and the Players.
It has nothing to do with Wenger made mistakes or is stubborn. All who have not made a mistake, please let me know, you liar!
Support is not about all things being perfect and doing what I think but it is an emotional attachment to the team that you CHOOSE to say you will cheer them on through the thick and thin!
Lets get it together for next season lest one of the best Person and potentialy the greatest team in Arsenal history call it a day as far as Arsenal is concerned!
ARSENAL!!!
Cape Gooner, like you I cant see the need for all these new players. We just need to stay healthy!
Apart from the strikers, RVP and Arshavin are as good as those you mentioned. Eduardo also but injuries have hampered him. Vela and Walcott, still very, very young, frightening already much less 2-3 yrs down the road.
Our team is loaded!
Lets not forget Ade, still a great player in my view
Will you forget this silly notion we only have 13 million to spend. If this was true do you think the press would know unless someone wanted them to, or someone was making it up. It’s classic Wenger, he does this every year to avoid spending money. Who do you think leaks these stories to the press, along with the Real Madrid stories. Wenger puts these stories out to protect himself. Every time the board say we have 40 million, a story appears saying no you dont, whenever Wenger gets a little bit of stick a Real Madrid story appears. It’s the same every year, haven’t you noticed the similarity with the way we conduct dealings during transfer windows. It’s just one lie after another in an attempt to pull the wool over our eyes and play for time until the window closes. Haven’t you ever noticed how Wenger looks scared stiff during the summer, when anyone can find him, and how happy he looks when the window closes. It will be the same this year, empty promises and excuses. Anyway if he bought Kaka he would play him at full back. He just needs to go now while he has a little respect in the game before he really becomes embarrassing.
That is rubbish, James Le Beak. Slightly embarassing in fact.
Wow James.
You really are completely deluded. Arsene Wenger has been taking flack on behalf of the board for years and do not kid yourself! They love him! He has effectively doubled their wealth in his time at the club. I have no doubt that part of his own contract is specific on his ability to quote figues whether it be salary or transfer fees/ budget. If you research this you will find that he has never quoted figures in this regard. The board cover themselves by saying that the money is there which it is but I would not be surprised if they were required to have it ‘there’ as part of their stadium and development finance deals.
That aside what are you trying to say here James?
From what I can see you will only support the club, the manager and our players IF they win.
That isn’t a supporter at all. That is somebody who has lost touch with the reality of being a supporter. That is sombody whose hubris and self-centredness has blinded them to even enjoying football anymore.
It does explain your miserable nature however. With your attitude, Arsenal winning merely feels normal and losing brings you rage. There is no scope for elation or even shared experience with other.
All that you percieve is negative.
I would recommend our forthcoming 12-step program for the “Negative Arsenal Supporters Anonymous” brigade which has I suppose been an unseen cost of increasing from 38,000 to 60,000 seats. The average quality of home supporter has been diluted somewhat.
This of course is nothing that a system of directed filtration wouldn’t deal with.If so-called supporters that jeer their own players warming up etc; were to lose their season tickets to the 40,000 on the waiting list, I’d imagine that that particular process would disappear entirely.
You either support your club or you don’t.
Get with the program James.
It’s interesting how pleasant paeople are to a bile filled idiot like James on this blog. On another site, where the struggle against the doomers has been going on for a bit longer, the response that he would have recieved would have been shorter and sweeter.
They get very tiresome you see. Logic does not affect them. Argument is pointless. I have never seen a doomer substantively change their perspective. They may vacillate in the face of concerted exposure to real fans but they always revert to type as soon as they read the next morning’s papers or another doomer blog.
They really are only happy when they are running with a pack. Arsenal means little to them except as a means to boasting to their mates. If we don’t win a trophy, spend billions or sack a manager, they really have nothing to talk to their chav mates about, do they?
I agree with Terence and I am so shocked by the hate against Wenger, I just can’t understand where they are coming from. I suppose they might realize it one day when Wenger is gone and then it is too late.
This team is on the verge of something great and I feel sorry for those who can’t see it. Also I feel the team would have won the league last year if it hadn’t been for the injury to Eduardo. To those who doubt, ask yourself this, how many teams in the league would have managed without so many of their best players. I think even ManU would have struggled. By the way, not all writers are bad. Patrick Collins column in the Sunday Mail sums it up rather well at the end, ” If he (Wenger) should be forced out by a combination of phone-in dullards and shareholding simpletons, then Arsenal would pay an appalling price, and so would English football.”
why do ppl resort to insults when they can’t handle an opposing view? I agree in principle with James. Besides I don’t see any comment from these Wenger worshipers abt his majesty flirtations with Real Madrid. Anyway I say if Wenger fancies sunny Madrid he can go.
Excellent article – shame about some of the comments from the usual suspects who just do not understand what supporting a football team is all about. They probably started supporting the team during the invincibles time and expect the team to never lose – even to teams with vastly more significant financial resources. Supporting your team should not be conditional. If it is, you really need to question why you bother.
afriX the fact that you are so ready to believe what is written by the anti-Arsenal media and immediately turn on a man of integrity on the back of it, says it all really.
The reason Afrix,that we have not commented on the Madrid LCD* rumour is because it is not going to happen.
The same way it didn’t happen the last time (2 years ago) it came up or indeed the time before that (4 years ago) etc.
I have decided that the first step in our NASA** 12-step program is to stop reading articles in the Daily Mail or on false themes that originated there. Piers Morgan had it right when he said that a tabloid editor’s job was to separate the wheat from the chaff and print the chaff. The Daily Mail’s editor is exceptional at his job it would appear.
* LCD => Lowest Common Denominator
** NASA => Negative Arsenal Supporters Anonymous. (It is distinctly possible that we may have some copyright issues with this 😉 )
Surely Arsene should have come out & distanced himself from the story just like Cesc does whenever he’s linked with Real & Barca. Sometimes I get the sense that those who support Wenger believe he’s bigger than the club. Why do they act so scared about the club being without him?
A timely and absolutely correct anaysis of what true supporters of the club can do to help our manager and our team achieve the best that they are capable of achieving. They need our loyalty, understanding, and support. Who benefits from open conflict between supporters and team? The answer is of course obvious, and it’s not Arsenal FC. Arsene Wenger’s integrity and credentials as a manager are first class and the time has definitely come to trust his judgement. But we, the fans, also have a responsibility to help him do his job to the best of his ability. At the Chelsea game, right from the start, the Chelsea fans made as much noise as we did, if not more. Our team has a right to expect more from us. If they don’t get our emphatic, consistent, and highly vocal backing naxt season, can any of us really claim to be surprised if their morale takes a nosedive and their performance fails to match their potential?
As another oldster (first game v Fulham, 1968) I’ve lived through some highs and lows; cup defeat against Walsall anyone?
I fully support the views of this website generally and thought this article was a useful analysis. As a point, perhaps it is the younger generation (the ‘want it now’ generation) that are just so impatient. Let’s not forget that Old Purple Nose himself was booed and jeered even in the very moment of his success! And not just any success but the one which equalled the record of the Scousers.
Just an observation but if it can happen to him then it’s hardly surprising that the Lord Wenger suffers too. I wonder if Newcastle, Citeh or Spuds supports would jeer in the same way? Just an observation.
I’m sure that the first comment by Rundhel was written by myself, on my own blog, Wrighty7.
http://wrighty7.blogspot.com/2009/05/michael-owen-on-free.html
Check it out.
I’ve also seen this fabulous article by Terence left as a comment on my blog.
For a start, If Arsene Wenger was to comment every time the partisan media published a undermining story like this based on half a quote*, then he wouldn’t have time to do his job.
The reason most of us fear him leaving is because we have been fans long enough to vividly remember what it was like before he came. You on the other hand appear to have jumped on the band-wagon after he came and now want to change rides because it isn’t heading quite the way you want it.
* The quote that is the basis for all the Madrid rumours ends with Arsene Wenger saying “but I am the manager of Arsenal football club” and goes on to dismiss the idea of him moving to Madrid.
I simply don’t know how it could possibly have happened that the mainstream media could have mistakenly omitted the second half of the quote. I’m sure that they are shocked and embarrassed that this could have happened.(yeah right)
Afrix if you continue to be led by the anti-Arsenal media there is simply no hope for you. I am giving you an LCD rating of 7 😉
hehe for LCD Terence, btw I started supporting AFC in 1991 when my heroes were the likes of Alan Smith.Paul Merson & Limpar. I know how Wenger improved things after the nightmare that was Bruce Rioch. Anyway this is quite an unusual story abt Wenger which warrants a response in my books!
Oh wake up, you people are so naive. The 13 million is one of Wenger’s own planted stories. Hill-Wood has reiterated this morning that that particular story is rubbish. He went onto state that there is far more money available than Wenger has ever asked for. Do you know anything about Wenger’s managerial career? He has never spent big money because big players will question his management and his tactical limitations, plus they will demand success. Wenger cant cope with that sort of pressure, he folds just like his teams do when the pressure is on. It was Wenger’s refusal to hang onto experienced players and replace them with youth that got him the sack at Monaco. He is a spent force, accept it and move on, we need fresh blood.
well said mate,well said
Dear me James how very contrary of you. For someone who apparently shys away from success AW has been appallingly unsuccessful! I loved this blog by the way and I’m glad I discovered it through Terence’s having to complain about it having been plagiarised on another gooner blog. I have been an Arsenal supporter since 1970 and certainly their winning the double a year later certainly consolidated my love affair with them these past 39 years – but truth be told it was more to do with Charlie George and the way he used to lay down flat aftyer scoring waiting to be raised up by his jubilant team-mates that did it for me. To get back to Terence’s point about why you are an Arsenal supporter – it’s got nothing to do with winning trophies year in year out – if not I wouldn’t have stayed the distance. Latterly for me, why AW is the greatest ever manager is that he gets his teams to play the most beautiful football and as long as we keep in the CL and stay in competitions where the dream is sustained (until at least the semis) while not compromising on this wonderful style of play then I am perfectly content. Sure, being knocked out hurts – and especially the way we went out in the CL semis – but do you know what, I know we will go the distance next year in at least one, if not two competitions – as long as the squad stay relatively uninjured. Even Ferguson would have struggled if he had lost the equivalent level of talent for huge parts of the season. The thing is, if we don’t then I certainly won’t be demanding AW’s head on plate. Keep the faith James and if you can’t I’d rather you reserved your warped cynical views to other blogs that seem to trade on your kind of glory-hunting idiocy.