Untold Arsenal: Supporting the club, the manager and the team
"I believe the target of anything in life should be to do it so well that it becomes an art." A Wenger
Articles on Untold Arsenal are so good that they also appear on Team Talk. The same is true with much of our correspondence. The name of the “author” is changed on Team Talk. Team Talk have been told repeatedly, but won’t stop the activity, so, I think we should celebrate this situation. Read it here, …
Read More “There are 3 ways of running a top EPL club. (Two don’t always work)”
Doomsday postponed, but Paradise Lost, maybe. We now know it is to be EPSN that shows the Setanta programmes – probably charging us a fee per game. So the EPL have got their money – at least for this season. Although the small print suggests that there is a question about how much the 3 …
There’s a story that has cropped up a few times recently, and it goes like this… Arsène Wenger is on holiday or in the Far East or both, when he should be concluding deals in Europe. If he can’t take the club seriously he should be sacked. As has already been said here by others, …
After those of us with a bit too much time on our hands gave the Mirror and News of the World a bit of a run around over their “Everyone wants to leave Arsenal” campaign, they’ve retaliated twice – once with the old-fashioned “snub” standby, and now today with with Wenger clearout story. The “snub” …
Read More “Invented Arsenal stories + a rundown of all the clubs that have gone bust”
The first rule of journalism is fill you spacce with the official line – cos if you don’t someone else will take your space, and you might be asked again. The second rule of journalism is never apologise, never explain. So it is that as it has become utterly clear that only a handful of …
Read More “This Sunday we’ll tell Arsene Wenger what we think of him”
The BBC has taken the decision that last nights FA Youth Cup final in front of around 34,000 spectators did not take place. There was no mention of it at all in the first hour of its saturday morning news show on BBC Radio 5 Live, no mention of it on its teletext sports pages …
Read More “BBC embarrassed as truth behind anti-Wenger campaign revealed”
You would think that with the team scoring a fair number of goals, winning almost every game, going 20 unbeaten, regularly putting out half a reserve side, being in the semifinal of the Euro Thing, and all with a very young team, people might be ok about that. You would think that as the records …
The Red Flag and why the bloggers are wrong
One is obvious – we won and it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Pires was given the regard and respect that he should have – he was a significant part of the success that Henry got, through an overwhelming and perfect understanding between the two (apart from that time they mucked about doing a penalty …
Tricky thing this journalist business but I think I am get the hang of the headline writer’s craft. Anyway, it was on friday that I noted that both Radio 5 and the Guardian were saying that we had 3 of our back four out when I could only count two. As Ian said in correspondence, …
Read More “Jocular juvenile jackass journalist jinx Johan Djourou in jolly jailbreak jest”
Given that everyone and his spaniel is chattering away about tonight’s little event in Spain (quite naturally, I’ve already got my Arsenal socks on and I’m just watching it in front of the TV), there’s no point it adding anything else from me. So, just in case anyone is reading, what about the Under 18s? …
There were gasps of horror and amazement yesterday in the dim and distant north east as a bunch of men dressed in zebra outfits assaulted Arsenal players who were attempting to play a game of football. In one incident Arshavin was smashed in the face, while in two others Clichy was twice pulled down, once …
I have no idea if anyone who went to Rome ever reads my rambling comments, but if they do, I would like to say a very deep thank-you for last night. I couldn’t go because of work commitments, but to see them there, to hear the noise, and to watch the Arsenal players quite rightly …
Read More “Thanks for the away support, and the horror of Sky”
Of course the Lord Wenger might have asked for more respect at some time, but I can’t recall it happening. The nearest I can recall him getting to this was after the 0-0 with Fulham when in the usual media scrum he was asked if he was happy with the tactics he had used in …
Read More “Have you ever heard Wenger ask for more respect?”
One of my big interests in football is the way clubs are run as businesses – a natural interest since I run a business myself. I’ve written many times about the problems afflicting clubs as varied as Manchester Bankrupt and West Iceland Utd, but in the past not mentioned Leeds United. (You can tell …
Read More “Problems at Leeds; has the Lord Wenger “lost it?””
The new issue of Highbury High, on sale against Fulham tomorrow, has been declared a moan-free zone. It is an unusual move as fanzines are usually the ideal place to get things off your chest. So why a moan-free zone. Editor Ian Trevett explains “Having a good old moan-up has always been a part of …
I have just been struck by the number of players we currently have on loan. I suspect this must be an all time record for us – and maybe for any league club. Jay Simpson: WBA Gavin Hoyte: Watford Rui Fonte: Crystal Palace Henri Lansbury, Scunthorpe Utd Paul Rodgers: Northampton Town Rene Steer: Gillingham Armand …
In fact there are two types of person. Those who divide the world into two types, and those who don’t. But leaving that aside, there are also two types of Arsenal supporter. Those who believe that what is in the football pages of the papers is most likely to be true, and those who think …
Well not quite every time, but quite often. Like my call that Arshavin would join us, same with Nasri, Denilson being a great defender, and just before the Cardiff match, about Bischoff. I pointed out with calm and quiet aplomb that is the trademark of these ramblings, that he was rising up the ladder, noted …
In my story on January 26 I said that we were definitely signing Arshavin. I said this not because I thought the Lord Wenger was desperate, and not because I had deep insight into the workings of the KGB, but rather because of the array of people who had far too much invested in the …
If you have followed my ramblings in the past you’ll know I am rather critical on occasion of my fellow professional scribblers who, I suggest, have been known to take a list of players and a list of clubs, slide them up and down, and come up with links. It is easier than working. My …
Read More “Invented player to sign for Arsenal according to The Times”
On 25 February 2001 Manchester Utd (later to become Manchester Bankrupt) beat Arsenal 6-1. Manchester went 16 points clear at the top of the table. Since 1991 we had won the league just once. In those days we hardly had blogs at all, but the fanzines were hugely active in calling for Wenger’s head. Had …
We’ve just had seven league games unbeaten, including three matches against teams above us in the league. And this has been achieved while we have injuries to virtually all of the players whom we would expect to do everything they can to drive us forward and create the goals. And yet according to the majority …
And so we come to see the solution. At least the handful of us left who do not occupy their time, supporting professional journalists, writing articles about “Meltdown” and calling supporters who believe in Wenger “extremists”. I speak of the new process, forced on us by the incredibly awful run of injuries to Eduardo, Theo, …
Clubs rise unexpectedly, and clubs fall equally unexpectedly. With hindsight it is easy, but for the futurologist it is tougher. Take Wimbledon – who foresaw their rise to the 1st division all those years back? Take Leeds – we might have raised collective eyebrows over their insane spending – but they weren’t the only ones …
