By Walter Broeckx
The beautiful (I still haven’t found the right words to praise it) article from Paul Fowler about good supporters had made me think a bit.
Forgiving is indeed maybe a big part of what we as good supporters should be able to do. A good supporter can forgive a striker to have missed a chance. A good supporter can forgive a midfielder for not having been able to track back in a match at a certain time. A good supporter can forgive a defender for making a mistake which lead to a goal. A good supporter can forgive his keeper for making a terrible blunder.
I can understand that at the moment it happens we are frustrated and swear at that player. I wouldn’t do it but I can even understand that other people with other characters and temper would boo a player for his mistake. During the game our adrenaline is running high, we suffer, we are nervous, we have stress and because of this we could lose our reason for a while. After all we are just human beings.
Just as our players are human beings and can make mistakes. No player will make a deliberate mistake. I honestly believe no Arsenal player will come on the field and say to himself: “Hey, why don’t I miss a real open chance in front of goal today”. Or a keeper that will say: “Well why don’t I make myself look like an idiot today and let a stupid goal in”. If you really believe one of our players would think this and do it, then you can stop reading now.
Then you can stop reading and you could be thinking about yourself and how you stand in society. Because most of the thoughts we project on other people are just our own thoughts. Maybe it would be yourself thinking that way? Or maybe it would be yourself thinking: I have called Almunia a bad keeper so if he makes a mistake I could tell people: ‘See, I told you so”. You would rather have Arsenal losing a game, just to be able to tell: “told you so”.
This could be why some people even after every win are still always blaming players and the manager and still are unhappy with one players performance and feel the need to have a go at him.
But as Paul Fowler pointed out forgiveness is a mark of a good supporter so even I can forgive those people. We all have our different view on things and so if they are real supporters and are so depressed or feel the need to be depressed even when we win, who am I to tell them they cannot be depressed. So in a way I could forgive my fellow Gooners for being so negative towards all and everything linked with Arsenal.
So yesterday I did my rounds of the Arsenal internet world and as I stumbled on to the website which if you take its name in to Dutch and translate it you get the name “the rude” or “the abusive”. Until yesterday I didn’t realise it but it hit me when I read the comments the Dutch word came in my mind and my brains somewhat made the link.
I can accept that 95% of the people like on “The Abusive Rude” are real Arsenal fans. Be they “success supporters” or “life long supporters”. But the way some of them focus with their blinkers on and moan about buying this and that and we must do this and do that shows that they are short sighted or only care about winning. But I can forgive them for that.
I also do care for Arsenal being a healthy and financial stable club. And I can accept that to obtain this there can be difficult years and times. Most of them over there cannot accept this and think we have a god given right to win all the time. We don’t. Nobody has. But once again I can forgive them for that.
But when I was looking at what they were writing yesterday my first thought was: this is worse than nursery school.
You know when little kids talk about their father’s job and they are bragging about it and everyone wants to make the biggest impression on what an important father they have. And how there’s one that could silence them all by saying that his father was a general in the army. The boy’s dad was in the army but he was just a corporal and sitting behind a desk all day sharpening his pencils over and over again.
Yesterday on the Abusive Rude they were seeing who could make the biggest insult on Wenger. Someone started comparing him with Mugabe and the biggest bragger of them all ended up with Hitler (maybe someone came up with Stalin or Pol Pot but I stopped reading after that).
Now I can understand that one can be disappointed with us not getting a goalkeeper. I’m not that disappointed because the keepers that were discussed during the transfer window would have brought nothing more to the club than Almunia already gives us, IMO. After all I saw Schwarzer making a big howler right in front of my eyes at the Clock End in the Fulham game last season.
But any normal adult person who has a brain should be able to avoid lowering himself from comparing Wenger with all those people who have thrown a shadow over humanity. I can accept that some fans don’t like Wenger (anymore). I can forgive those fans for not seeing the bigger picture.
But the things I have read yesterday and the abusive and rude comparing of Wenger with those terrible persons out of our world history was so low I find myself suddenly a bad supporter. I feel it hard to forgive those people for doing this. It made me angry, it made me sad. It made me think how on earth can people sink so low. And even now they don’t have the excuse for the stress of a game, the nerves during the game or just after. No in the cold daylight they compare Wenger with those persons and they are even proud of it when people tell them they are going to far. I couldn’t as I am banned over there for being an AKB.
So forgive me but those are things I cannot forgive anymore. Those people who have been throwing around those stupid insults have not only insulted Wenger (who will not care I think) but most of all they have insulted millions of people who have suffered and in some cases are still suffering from those criminal minds. They have insulted the millions of people who have died under their hands and insulted the millions of people who have given their lives to free us from their tyranny. And this I cannot forgive that easy. And when I come to the Emirates this season I really hope those fans have done what they are threatening to do: to stop supporting Arsenal as long as Wenger is our manager. I can only tell them that would be the right thing to do in my opinion. Just hold on to your word.
If you support Arsenal from outside of the UK, do take a look at Arsenal Worldwide
If you support Arsenal from within the UK, you might care to show your support here
If you would like to know what it was like to support Arsenal 100 years ago, try here
And if none of that works, there’s the good old Untold Index
Walter,
How much ever it pained you on writing this, it pained me on reading it! It pains me everytime I read articles on Le grove and move to the comments section, there are some people there who abuse Wenger. Of course, he is our best manager post war, if you don’t like him, just opine that, but no one has the right to abuse Wenger. To me, Wenger is a role model of a man, calling him a c*nt and pedo, sends a dagger through my heart. I cannot stand anyone abusing the Manager, Board or players or anything Arsenal or any other football club for that case. I don’t know if I’m right, but I cannot forgive the people who have abused the players and the manager, when they come running in sight of silverware.
Well said Walter, I agree 100%, I cannot forgive it either, it infuriates me. Unfortunatly, in all walks of life there are morons like these who make you ashamed to be associated with them, if only loosely as in this case by following the same football team. Lets hope these spoiled children act according to their conviction and go elsewhere with their so called ‘support’. I hope Arsene does not read this vitriolic rubbish and if he does is not offended by it, I know I would be.
I believe in karma so in actual fact these guys who go around slagging off Wenger are surrounding themselves with bad vibes and asking for trouble. let’s hope they don’t bring this to the games with them –
Unless they are indeed part of the famed prawn sandwich brigade and have never seen a football ground outside of a HD flatscreen!
Walter – spot on. So many times we have said that it isnt the dissapointment, or disagreement, that is the problem. We all have different opinions. We all have different ways of doing things. There are always going to be different ways of seeing things and the internet is amazing for giving a forum to everyone. But when you start going down that avenue of insults, vitriol, hatred, OVER A FOOTBALL TEAM FOR GOODNESS SAKE, then that is taking it too far.
I mean, we are all passionate about Arsenal, aren’t we? When I was 22 my fiancee was leaving the country for a year and the last night she was in England I went to Highbury to watch us play Utd rather than spend the evening with her. She understood completely. She knew me. She knew my passion. I live in Canada now and still watch every single game if I can.
And if I disagree with something then I disagree with it. And sometimes I even get angry about it. In November 2008, after we’d lost 5 out of our first 14 games and looked awful, I was angry. But even then, the worst I would have said is “I think AW should go now, it is time” just as I did in the mid-90’s with GG (I totally agreed with his sacking). But to insult the man? To compare him to genuinely bad people? Just because his philosophy of football is different than some fans?
COME ON, MAN!!!!!!!! WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!
I agree, if these people cannot abide having AW as manager, if they cannot abide us being in the top-4 every season and making the CL every season, if they cannot abide seeing some of the most glorious football the English game has ever seen, then yes, they should give up their season tickets until such time as a manager more to their liking is appointed. And if they are not willing to do that, then they should tone down their insults and hatred and get some proper perspective.
The fact is, whether or not you agree with AW, it is impossible (in my opinion) to say that he has ever done anything with anything other than Arsenal’s best interests at heart. If he was in it for himself then he would have gone to Barca or Madrid years ago.
A slightly differnt topic but related.
Arsenal and Arsene Wenger have to think ahead. If we look at the list submitted by Arsenal, 20 players are “over 21”, 7 homegrown and none eligible for England. From the “youth list”, next season (2011/12), another 6 players are “over 21”; of the new 6, all are homegrown and 3 English. Therefore, Arsenal will need to off-load 1 more +21 than they acquire during 2011. Season 2012/13, another 9 – all homegrown and 5 English.
Hypothetically, in 2012/13, we can have a 25-squad list of 22 homegrown (8 English)…
I have known the Arsenal Team as a descent and discplined team ,win or loose Arsene has made us proud we the Sane supporters . I suggest these know it all supporters come up with their own club and do as they wish, they have no place being part of us. If not getting one or two players has made some supporters loose it , what about being relegated to the Championship ? , Grow up supporters
People who make such low comparisons, are just plain stupid. Really. To me, at this level, it has nothing to do with supporting a football team. I wouldn’t compare Sir Alex to Mugabe or Hitler, not even people who upset me personally in real life, let alone the manager of the team I support.
It’s just really, really low class, that’s all.
Godwin’s law proved once again.
To insult Wenger for me is like insulting your dad…. The guy is like a father to a lot of the Arsenal players, but sometimes a dad can disappoint you, make you cry, didn’t buy you the toys that you like…. Honestly and i’m not trying to make enemies here i am a bit disappointed in him, no need to tell why since everybody even Lord Wenger knows it already…..it hurts to see that we are struggling at the back but not to the point that i need to insult that man.
But i can forgive him since i love their playing style, it’ll be great if we could strengthen our defense. Anyway this is just my 2 cents worth of opinion.
walter..i have been following both your blog n the one u r talking about here..for quite some time..usually i just ignore the sort of comments u have highlighted coz i know such things can only be written by people who cannot express express themselves in a civilized n intellectual manner..but the way u have talked about it made me wanna say something too..i feel ur pain here..ur bit about the nursery school is spot on..those people were participating in some sort of a competetion to see who could throw more tosh on our great manager.what i really think is that before being a good or bad supporter..we are supporters..n we support the same phenomena..the arsenal..so y divide ourselves this way..we should be united to fight the utd n chelsea supporters n whoever else has the guts to stand against us..we just have different opinions..before being AAA or AKB..WE R GOONERS..SO LETS THINK OUR OWN WAY BUT STAND TOGETHER
Great analysis.
Those so called supporters that use such insults should be compared to players like shawcross, savage etc. just a bunch of thugs disguised as sweet mummy’s boys.
Most have probably never even worn a football boot or played any team sport.
I am completly gutted when I read Le grove.
Still this ” blog ” is highly popular. The guys writing there are not normal. These are no fans.
I got shocked when I check their Tweeting.
All day long, talking trash about either AW, players and more.
Where is the pleasure there?
That said we all have a personal blacklist of managers we love to errr … hate 🙂 Sort of, don’t we?
Sam Allardyce dark lord of anti-football anyone?
Phil ‘Fake tan’ Brown, ex Bumblebees scapegoat?
Mourinho ‘Love me im special’ the list goes on and on !
And people have the cheek to complain about Wenger?!?!?!
Walter what a top top post! It had me glued from start to finish.
The problem with all these small minded people is most are under 20 ( not saying all ) and don’t have a clue about what they are implying. I too hope these minority start supporting the spuds or chavz or just not supporting anybody. I can’t forgive these cretins, and I’m not sorry for it. I sometimes lose my temper with these ‘minority’ and say awful things to them, and I’m not sorry for it either. Time to get over themselves and back the team we got or jog on the lot of them
Unfortunately or fortunately, the intertubes allow every writer and commenter to have and express an opinion, no matter how uninformed. In the past we just sit in front of the tv or in the stadium and whinge. I keep my sanity by not taking everything I read personally.
What really galls me is how “fans” who do not manage or coach the team know which player to bring in; how people who do not know the financial health of the club know how much money to spend. I clearly remember the 2009 off-season there was a clamour for Melo(until he imploded repeatedly). I never believed we needed Sharwzer because I do not believe he is better than our No 1. I have seen every “great” keeper commit howlers: Yashin, Kahn, Buffon, VDS, etc.
The faith AW placed in Song, Eboue, Diaby, etc has borne fruit, and they have not achieved their full potential yet. I will continue to put my faith in him.
Goonerpower – nobody can blame you, but if you are saying they are mostly little kids then what is the use in hating them.
if they are driven purely by youth and that is the problem them hating them for it will exacerbate the problem –
Personally I think they are reared on it so it is difficult for most kids to avoid. People excuse morality in favour of following the law and politicians or their sporting heroes;
And let’s be honest they are not exactly the most angelic bunch are they?
Common sensi – I know your right, but sometimes I just can’t help myself. I once took on a whole blogs comments, I lost by insanity and gave in. Now I try to keep a low key, until that special comment that gets my goat.
@Walter- Very well said.
Sometimes such supporters just have to keep their emotions in control. Maybe the frustration of not winning the title for more than 5 years is gettin to them. But nonetheless, i hope they eventually change their outlook towards our legendary manager.
Well said Walter. As I’ve said in the past, the football comment on the internet today is very much like the comments you used to hear on the terraces in the ‘old days’. Back then, if you didn’t like what was being said (and you didn’t fancy a stand-up arguement) you just moved away and stood somewhere else.
It’s actually more difficult to do that these days now that we’re all seated but the online world remains like the terraces of old.
Just move away and make new friends with whom you can have a reasoned discussion. There’s plenty of us here!
Azzrddin – there is absolutely nothing wrong with being dissapointed, and voicing your displeasure. There is nothing wrong with being of the opinion that AW is past it and should be sacked. Come out and say “AW should be sacked” and give your reasons and even on this website everyone would respect yopur opinion, although many would try and argue with you and change your mind.
Many of us wanted a new goalkeeper this transfer window. So did the manager. We are all dissapointed that there wasnt a top-class goalkeeper out there who was available.
But there wasnt a top-class goalkeeper out there who was available.
So if there wasnt a top-class ‘keeper out there who was availble, why do people throw scorn and vitriol and insults towards the manager? That is the question that many of us are wondering.
I desperately wanted Arsenal to sign a world-class ‘keeper. But you know what? There isnt a world-class ‘keeper who was available this summer. Hugo Lloris and Igor Akinfeev, the two best probably, were not available. What can you do?
The manager cannot create players out of thin air. If they aren’t out there then they arent out there. Manchester United need to find a replacement for VDS as well. They couldnt find anyone either.
@Goonerpower
Of course human nature affects us older gooners just the same 🙂 I must admit actually to a slight shard of hypocricy as whenever I come across a forum full of kiddywinks bitching on; the temptation is massive to bury them with a load of big words they won’t have heard….
That is another reason Wenger is such a valuable man to football here in England … these kids need not only role models but strong ‘stubborn’ moral guidance and Wenger is the man for that I am sure!
These articles have been getting very very good recently; here here to the writers and the bloggers!
Getting back on topic; forgiving these cretins would be easy for all of us – if they actually backed their views up with something other than mislead vitriol; or alternatively dropped it and admitted that they were wrong.
That said I cannot ever remember ANYBODY facing their mistakes on this forum and this is probably why they NEVER EVER learn anything!
Thank God for the aged contingent amongst us 🙁 hehe well 25+ I think being as I am the wrong side of that number
Is it only me that suspects many of these “fans” are in fact spuds? Tony did an analysis of multi blogs from the same source having a go at the gooners. Let’s face it, these people don’t have much to boast about themselves, so knock the ‘enemy’. As most are quasi literate and knuckle draggers, it’s much easier…and North Korea is happy to let them get away with it.
Ahh man, then im definitely in the wronge age group! Hahah, to be fair, even among my family and relatives, I normally hang around with my uncles and aunties instead of my cousins.
But it is annoying how some people just can’t seem to see the bigger picture and how well Wenger has brought us through these tough times. Even now, when there is such a bright future ahead for Arsenal, there are still people showing such hate towards him.
I find it especially annoying when people keep on banging on about how Wenger didn’t bring in a world class keeper. I’m not gonna bother repeating what Paul C. earlier already said, as I’ve said it myself in countless number of blogs, but its just clear enough that there just wasnt a goal keeper in the market, that is better than what Almunia could do. Isn’t it clear enough that even Wenger wanted a new keeper?
Hi Walter, while I do not condone silly abusive language directed at any one, I think you and your blog also do not set a good example. Calling other Arsenal supporters AAA is equally childish on your part because you assume anyone that does not support what Wenger does should not be part of Arsenal football club. You have no right to dictate who or how another person should support a club. Many including myself have supported Arsenal long before Wenger came and will continue to support our great club long after he is gone. The club is bigger than the man – even if you think he is a lord.
I think your article and the comments this has generated distracts from the real issues. The main one being that Arsenal did not seem willing to spend more than £2m on a goalkeeper better than the mistake prone Almunia. As an Arsenal fan I have nothing against Almunia. If the manager is not willing to replace him with a better keeper, then it is not his fault, but that of Wenger who must be prepared to accept all the criticisms (minus the abuse) that may come his way if Almunia continues with his many mistakes. This club is the 3rd richest in the world so we will not be hurting our finances if we think of winning trophies for once rather than just making the lucrative top four.
……..and Jerom.J……not a keeper in the market better than Almunia ? Forgive me if I ask you to research your comments a little deeper.
@common sensei i dont think it is fair that u put all kids under one stereotype, im 15 bt that doesnt mean that i go around the blogosphere slating wenger i love the guy. Please dont think were all the same
I simply stopped reading LeGroan.
I realised that they gave me no news, nothing new, just dyspepsia. That I don’t forgive.
Name me some that were available to leave, and are actually better than Almunia that doesn’t cost silly money
To your last statement, he was right on the mark about Schwarzer being 2 million, why else would Fulham be looking for a replacement in Given? Fulham were willing to do the transfer, it was only the lack of replacement that was stopping them.
Gunner71, with all respect I do think that calling someone AAA is not the same as comparing our manager with Hitler and other massmurderers.
And certainly when AW himself had said that he was looking but if noone want to sell there is nothing you can do or he can do about it. And then to say he is a Hitler or Mugabe and god knows which names has been mentioned as I really have stopped reading after that, is something that is beyond me.
People call me an AKB and they can call me like that. In fact I think it is what we call a “geuzennaam’ in my language. A name first given and what was meant to be an insult is now for me a name I carry with pride. As I really do think that Arsene Knows Best and certainly far better than we all know and most of the people who insult him know.
And Gunner71, I do think I have written in my article using the phrase ‘I can forgive them’ that I have nothing against the supporter who is dying to win something and want to move heaven and earth to reach this. And yes they are also good Arsenal fans for me. I have a different opinion but fine for me.
I was only talking about the people who disgrace all the Arsenal fans in the world by abusing Wenger in such a way. Because by abusing Wenger in such a way they also abuse the average Arsenal supporter. Would you like it to be linked with Hitler because you are an Arsenal supporter? I dont. But if you say our manager (=leader) is Hitler than that means that we the fans are his followers and thus nazis.
And yes you are right: I cannot tell them to not support Arsenal no more but I cannot feel related to them when they behave like that. And I think I have the right to tell this to the world.
A right I have not on their website anymore. Not because I have insulted anyone (no it was me that got the insults but not of the Hitler type) but because I asked the wrong questions at the wrong persons.
Hi Jerome – a bit lazy to do the research ? OK I’ll do it for you. Maarten Stekelnburg, Marchelli, Lloris and Mark Schwarzer (better than Almunia)plus a host of others were not all exactly going for silly money were they ? Neither is Schwarzer the only keeper in the market. And what is silly money ? is £12m silly money for a world class goalie if you feel that money can help you win the premiership ? And to address your first point – in the market you try to make a player available by making an enquiry with the price you want to pay. The club either refuses it, expects you to come back with a higher price or accepts your price. This is what happened with Squilachi – or have you forgotten ? He was never available in the first place, Arsenal made him available !
And with all due respects Walter, I never compared calling someone AAA in the same breathe as raining silly abuses on a man who after all have done so much for Arsenal football club. I had already said I do not condone these immature behaviour, but what are our great manager’s real priorities ? Is it to satisfy the shareholders or field a team that can really compete for the major honours ? I believe Arsene Knows Best (AKB) for the shareholders that is why the board loves him so much. However, I do accept that my commoner’s views will be laughed off with disdain since Arsene did say last season that the board are his paymasters and not the fans. But I still owe it to readers to air these views.
I’ve already commented the part about Schwarzer being the right price already, and as mentioned by Paul C. already earlier,
“Hugo Lloris and Igor Akinfeev, the two best probably, were not available. What can you do?”
And to be frank, I dont think the like of Lloris and Akinfeev nor Maarten Stekelnburg is appropriate for Arsenal. As mentioned by plenty of other commentors before, they would only further stunt the growth of the younger keepers such as Mannone and szczesny.
Who is Marchelli? I can’t even find him on google..
Back to the bit about Schwarzer being the right price, and again having to repeat myself, Fulham couldnt find a replacement for him to make the transfer, or have you not noticed that David Stockdale was injured? Would you transfer out your keeper, without a replacement, if your 1st choice goal keeper is already injured? I’m sure even you wouldnt want to compete in the premier league with only 1 keeper and that be your natural 3rd choice keeper.
Gunner 71 – see, your post is exactly why people have to be careful about calling our manager names just because he hasnt done what YOU like. It is just opinion, and our manager must act on his own opinion.
For instance, my own opinion is that Stekelenberg is a lot of nothing. A very, very average ‘keeper who is only in the Dutch side because they do not have a good young ‘keeper to replace VDS. I do not think he is any better than Fabianski, let alone Almunia.
Marchetti – this is an easy one. His club put a massive price tag on him and NOBODY bid for him. His club made it clear he was for sale and NOBODY bid for him. What does that tell you? There were rumors we were going to bid 5m, and his club valued him at 12m. That is a massive difference.
Lloris – why do people keep bringing him up. His club said he wasnt for sale and he personally said he didnt want to go anywhere. End of story. Why would you blame AW for not getting Lloris. HE WASNT FOR SALE!!!!
Schwarzer – we bid and Fulham said no. End of story. You only go back with a higher price if you think the player is worth the higher price. The question was “is Schwarzer more than 2m better than Almunia?”. The manager thought he wasnt.
12million is a HUGE amount of money for ANY player. People have seen their expectations distorted by Chelsea and City and Real Madrid. To pay 12million for a ‘keeper you had better be sure they are Seaman/Schmeichel quality. Are you sure that any of the guys above are that quality?
Hey Walter they people dont belong to us,They just pretend to be gunners,they are not even “so called” supporters. IMO those are just anti arsenal sites them pretend to be supporters (which actually them are not) and just creating some fuss between the real Arsenal supporters.Well what i think is (Media or some spuds supporters are running those sites) cuz as far as i am concern a real supporter cant do those worse things which i have seen over and over again. if we are thinking that we should be forgiving our own Gooners so its not the case cuz our own gooners arent doing those things,its just some outside people whom are doing those anti things.I think we should come up with some different ideas to fight them back cuz ignoring them or forgiving them isnt gonna stop them.
Sorry for my bad english Walter and you all GOONERS.
Walter, believe me, human beings a basically fickle in their thinking. There are of course exceptions but fickleness is part of human nature. A lot of these moaning supporters joined the gooner family in the glory years. Now that we have not won a trophy in five years, they are exasperated. They are basically myopic.
In 3 to 5 years’ time when the youth policy would have started to divulged its fruits, these same vituperators would have done a 180% turn around and behave as if they are the best Arsenal and Wenger supporters of all times. Many a mouth will be made mute at the end of this season when the trophies start first, to trickle in, until the impending deluge of trophies.
I pray that we find a way to manage the avalanche of talents that will become established stars shortly. Arsenal will win trophies as well as become a selling club when we will not be able to contain our emerging stars.
world Teams will score against us,it dont matter who is in goal.Be it Swartzer,Given,Buffon or Almunia,Invairably a player has to have made a mistake for the opposing team to score.All this disecting of goals conceaded,under a microscope and whos at fault is becoming so obsessive to certain fans and some bloggers,that,if they were to actully think about what they are saying,is that no team has the devine right to score a good goal against us and let it be that.Already the knives have come out.Almunia`s fault against Liverpool,should have been postioned better,not the fact that Ngog blasted the ball nearly 100mph into the top right hand corner,that no keeper in the world probably would have stopped.Blackburn,even though we won,Koscielny should have done better(oh no what have we brought!!)start saying all the paranoid obsessives,then they start to look at the replays on MOTD and sees that Diaby should have gotten the ball off Samba(that Diaby,his shit he is)or Wilshere could have got him(hmmm we can forgive him for that one for now)not the fact that brick house
Samba managed to shrug off two challanges and give a bloody good pass.they are even jumping out of their prams because the spuds brought a dutchman we dont even need forgetting the fact we got one of the best in the world playing for us.In the words of Gorden Ramsey..Fuck me.
I was watching some documentry a few years back with Jeremy Clarksen(it was about speeed i think)he was explaining how we are now living in a microwave world.how everything has to be instamatic.I want it NOW!NOW,NOW,NOW,NOW…NOW!!!.If your broardband takes more than 5 seconds to get to page,your shaking the screan telling it to hurry up.The Mcdonalds takes more than two minutes to arrive and and the cashier gets all sorts of verbal abuse thrown at her.
this is the world we live in today i`m afraid,call it evolution,Americalisation or Rupert Murduch(for the sporting matters that is)
Arsene is no different(metophoricly that is)to the Mcdonalds cashier.How can you teach about patience and respect when those values are being swallowed up by the need for instant gratifaction.it dosent help with the Murduch media wheel,and the way it keeps churning out those gloryfied headlines,or,the way they go in search to get those headlines,beset on minipulating and fueling those gullable minds kown as the modern day football fan
Here is something that i have noticed recently.Over the blogosphere(if you went on newsnow and clicked on to other clubs you see what i mean)Man utd,the biggest club in the league/world has nearly no blog writers,none,well none that i can see anyway,even with the anti Glazer bridgade and their dwindling support no one says anything online.Liverpool,the same.Cheslea a couple,not many,but Arsenal,you lose count of the sites all giving their expert opnions.The point is.What do you think all these lazy jurnos sitting in thir offices are doing to try to find headlines and feel for opnions.you think that they stand outside finsbury park station doing interviews with supporters going down to the gunners store,yet they always seem to know what is being thought by us gooners,coincidence??all they do is go online,find a popular site,ANR for example(how i do not know).LE LE being another.Your very good,but nice headlines wont sell papers,pick up on a vibe and roll with it,there a story grows.Welcome to murduch world
@Paul C : i would double that.. fantasy manager has done a lot of harm to fans expectations 🙂 i mean how can you buy a goal keeper where none is available.
gunner 71 : make them available? you are sounding like manchester city!! for christs sake get behind almunia for a change!
Bullshit sites like this are ruining the chances of my great club.Why dont you retards fuck off and support Spuds who will never win anything than supporting the senile retarded waste of space of a spuds agent Wenger?
A couple of days back, i read this somewhere..
“When barca can win everything with Valdes at goal, why cant we win with Almunia”
Almunia can do a really good job. It is he who kept us alive in the first leg against barca last year. It is he who kept us alive in first leg against ManU in the same competition a year before.
He has spent so many years here patiently for his chance as No1 and I am sure, now, that when tat position of his has been challenged, he wont want to blow it up.
This season we will see the best of Almunia.
@Therealfan-
Why don’t you go to the team in West London crawling on your knees asking for trophies? You short-sighted idiot, yes, I accept Wenger is harsh at times, but you got to give respect to the Man that gave you the Invincibles, that has given you the Emirates, that is giving you great football week in week out, that will give you trophies with patience. You can have your opinions, you can have your likes and dislikes, but don’t abuse anyone. It just shows your lack of intellect and civilization. Constructive criticism is welcomed but not outright abuse. You get my point, if you don’t, then I rest my case.
@Walter- Whatever these fellas’ say, you have got one of the best Arsenal fan blogs around! I think most people would second that. And at any time one feels down and sad because of the team, they are back to their normal self by the rosy blog of yours. Positivity and Patience is what is required and irony is most good things come in less quantities!
Your right, they are a disgrace.
Walter, I agree with you that abuse of Wenger in such vitriolic and hostile ways is upsetting and I don’t like to see it. Those who make such remarks are drawing a most unfortunate analogy between Wenger (who they see as dictatorially running the club) and real murdering tyrants and dictators. It’s absurd and immature to do so.
However, interestingly, Paul Fowler’s article is about forgiveness toward the players and the club. It isn’t about the attitude of some supporters towards others. It seems that because you don’t have many (any?) criticisms to make about the club, the players, or its manager that you, like so many others sharing this approach, spend an awful lot of time attacking the views and status as supporters of others. I think that is most unfortunate, quite a waste of energy, and, as I said in my comments to the original article, against the lesson that the article so many people seemed to enjoy here was actually making. This polemical conflict against other supporters by people on either ideological extreme doesn’t serve our club and supporter culture well or, I think, represent the position of most Arsenal supporters.
Hah, i think some, whatissit, ahh common sense is prevailing. yes even in le grave. after reading this brilliant moving piece, and the subsequent mature (to draw a comparison) comments here i decided to take a dip in the tainted pool to know (knowing iss half the battle).
an lo and behold,
the first few comments out there are slagging off one of their own for taking the wenger out vitriol too far. i mean they were piling on this guy. there is light in the dingiest of places!
i think goonerpower is right, these so called supporters are mostly just a bunch of kids, with little perpective (maybe they need a little ride in the total perpective vortex…im just saying).
i think the best idea is to be a good supporter, and simply ignore the little kids with bad manners. the silent treatment.
its unfortunate the internet provides a gateway for a few despicable souls to spread there hate to the witless…but then again it’s been happening throughout the ages…hitler did it. (oh no i didn’t!!)
Why do you guys keep reading Le G. if it makes you so angry? I was happily unaware that it existed until this website pointed it out. I took one look, decided it wasn’t my cup of tea and left it.
As the only sites I read which I don’t like are places where folks blog or write ‘journalism’ about bombing the shit out of other countries, which is considerably higher up the pecking order of hatred than calling one man something not nice.
There are, after all, better ways of getting rid of PMs you don’t like. I wrote a football song about ACL Blair once, which read as follows:
Tony – you’ll soon be on the dole!
You’re a f**king c**t from a North East hole!
Gordon’s s**t, so let me give a tip
Why not let Ming and Dave just run the ship?
Pretty in your face, isn’t it?? But it didn’t kill anyone……and seemed fair dos for someone who fancied bugging my flat for years……..
It was sent to a select band in March 2006 and TB was gone within a year……….no ‘shock n awe’ necessary there, was there?
I did write a companion ditty about Man Utd called Friends: RE – United………but we won’t repeat it here. The Dutch keeper didn’t like it, quite right too. Piers Morgan and Stuart Hall thought it was quite funny though……I wrote it as a way to get back at MUFC fans who thinks it OK to punch someone for supporting another team in their presence……..
I do hope you lot here realise how racist your anti-England stuff reads……you might like to answer these questions:
1. Is it the newspapers who instigate stitch ups for new call-ups?
2. Do managers set them up to weaken their young players’ ties to their national side?
You might also profitably ask the following questions:
1. Is Arsene Wenger Arsenal FC or is the club a bigger entity?
2. Does Arsene Wenger wish to work with English players and, if not, why is he working in England?
3. If most of the paying customers at Arsenal are English yet large numbers of the players are French, is that not something which is worthy of questioning and, if necessary, criticism?
None of those questions are anti-Wenger or anti-Arsenal. They are legitimate questions which clarify the true goals and beliefs of the Arsenal manager and as such, are quite the most important questions which genuine fans of Arsenal FC should ask.
Since AW’s salary won’t be paid if those paying customers don’t go; the French players would get paid far less in France where they came from if the English customers didn’t pay up; and football clubs were, until recently, a symbol of a region; a town; a city.
Now, if AW’s true answers are:
1. Arsenal is my personal fiefdom and I will brook no challenge.
2. I find English working class players had to work with.
3. I will continue recruiting french players for as long as I want.
Then answers will be there.
What people get really narked about is if questions aren’t answered, if the answers don’t match the subsequent actions and if there is a perception that they are being discriminated about.
Think about that when commenting about other websites……
You’ll note that all my comments are neutral and any thoughts by you folk that they are not should alert you to the fact that you are non-rational about something………
@Gunner Farfar;
Apologies to you my friend, if I insinuated that everybody below the age of 25 was as thick skulled as some of the idiots we have seen on these blogs then I am happy to take that back.
The point I try to make however stands; and it is not an age specific one. it just so happens that most of the gabble that gets spread around on here comes from the younger generation – who have never known anything else but constant unwavering success …. and now that the heat is on and competing teams are getting ahead of us financially, we have seen a slight dip in fortunes;
But the older supporters will know that life is like that. With no lows you can’t appreciate the highs – and likewise if all you have ever known is highs then you cannot really gauge what is a ‘low’.
And not winning a trophy in 5 years is definitely not a low.
Not winning anything for 50 years, playing Boltonesque football and having a stadium that looks like a giants toilet is a low 🙂 Something us gooners will never experience whilst Le Prof is at the helm!