I Have Almost Lost Faith With Football
What a soul crushing end to the season.
I’m just so exhausted from the events of the last few weeks, I really am. As a dedicated Arsenal fan I feel the highs and the lows after victory and defeat, but for some reason I just feel like I’ve almost had enough.
Have we ever experienced a rough period like we’ve seen over the last couple of months?
It’s not because of the performances of the team. You see Arsenal give absolutely everything in the games against Chelsea and Liverpool and get nothing but a kick in the teeth in return.
I tried to be balanced in writing the match report after the Liverpool game but the fact is I’m still gutted now. I just couldn’t believe it. Arsenal did fantastically well to score the equaliser with 7 minutes left and then another dodgy decision stole victory from us.
It’s not as if we would have won anything from last nights game, since there’s still a long way to go in the competition but the manner of the defeat is just depressing. I haven’t felt this down since the 1999 FA Cup Semi-Final when Ryan Giggs scored that wonder goal at Villa Park. It took me weeks to get over that one, and isn’t it strange that it involved a Dutchman and a penalty?
You see Arsene Wenger impose his vision for beautiful football and can’t help respect it. Wenger wants to play football in the right way, which is the correct attitude to have.
Football is entertainment and people pay good money to watch it. It should be aspiration of any top side to play beautiful football rather than just win matches. Of course, winning is important but will we end up with teams of robots who just play functional football?
But it seems like everyone hates us for it and people like nothing more than Arsenal to lose football matches. Kick Arsenal about to stop them playing is the attitude here. It’s a massive accomplishment if you can somehow stop Arsenal. Whereas in Spain it’s all about technical ability and playing football. No wonder the English National team is a complete shambles.
Then you have the referees.
They say decisions balance themselves out over the season but where is our luck? Ever since the Eduardo incident I haven’t seen anything go in our favour.
Clichy’s tackle at the end of the Birmingham game was a valid one and he won the ball, Liverpool seem to have some sort of penalty kick hoodoo and other bad decisions have really gone against us in an unreal fashion. If anything I thought the ‘bigger’ sides got preferential treatment when it came to the major incidents. The problem is the damage is done, and we might get 10 dodgy penalty decisions in our favour before the season ends but at this stage they woudn’t mean anything!
And Arsene has always been an advocate of helping referees.
He says that technology should be used to help officials who can make mistakes. That’s not a criticism, but a fact of human nature. Referees will make mistakes. Surely a guy behind a TV screen who has a benefit of a replay can instantly tell the referee on the pitch if it’s a right or wrong call.
And if this was implemented and players knew that every decision was based on replay evidence then they would stop cheating and diving, because they would know they wouldn’t get away with it.
Then you have the media.
How many times does Wenger get slated for not playing Englishmen? Every time the England National side is in the press all the attention focuses on Arsene Wenger. Why is he responsible for the state of the National team?
There does seem to be this anti-Arsenal bias in the media based mainly on things like the England team. Then that spreads to other criticisms.
And then there is the media and the referees.
Football is almost a 24 hour sport now and you need these kind of things to keep people interested. The Newspapers love it, the Sports Channels love it - it’s all part of the game they say. It’s pretty obvious officials won’t get the help needed to make football a fairer game because it would ruin the whole theatre that is football. What would Sky Sports News report about on their 24 hour news channel? What would the experts on Match of the Day talk about? The media have so much power that the use of replays and technology will never happen.
It’s all “part of the game”.
And the really annoying part of all this is all these bad decisions are just brushed under the carpet. The media will paint Wenger as a moaner, which sells newspapers. There’s nothing like a bit of controversy to sell right?
Wengers belief and motivation in his whole philosophy of how the game should be played is probably being tested like it never has been before.
He revolutionised training methods in this country and helped the Premier League reach another level as a whole. When he won the double in his first full season at the club it forced Fergie to improve his team and then he won the treble 12 months later.
Then there’s also the ex-Arsenal players.
Arsenal must have more ex-players in the Premier League than any other side. There’s Kanu, Campbell, Lauren, Diarra, Volz, Aliadiere, Larsson, Muamba, Ljungberg, Ashley Cole, Pennant, Bentley and Stuart Taylor. I’m sure there’s more but I can’t remember right now.
It’s like we’re a feeder club and making other sides stronger.
And what do we get in return? Players like Bentley, Cole and Pennant slagging off Arsene Wenger!
You would probably find it hard to find a man who has contributed more to football in this country and this is how he gets treated.
So is it too much to ask to get a fair whack at things?
And look at this weekend’s game with Manchester United. In any other circumstances, people would want the underdog to win so that it would setup an exciting finish as the title race comes to a close. But you get the feeling that everyone would love Arsenal to continue their poor run and get beaten once again rather than the league leaders lose.
People would just love it if we got tanked on Sunday.
I’ve almost had enough of it all. I’m not actually sure if anything I’ve written actually makes sense. I’m just down right now and you’ll have to excuse me. Thanks for reading anyway.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
We lost, get over it. The fact it was a dodgy penalty does not mask over the fact that we should never have let them get anywhere near the box so soon after scoring what should have been the decisive goal. Rank bad defending from the team cost us in this game. Football is full of highs and lows and we will be stronger for this season. Wenger is no fool and will know what needs to be done. Fuck the media and the authorities we are The Arsenal and will continue to head and shoulder above the rest. EIE
April 10th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Great article mate, uv said everything iv felt over the past few days. So much has gone against us from bad pen decisions, crazy amount of injuries (flamini just added to that list), media biased, etc. I feel like their is no justice in football anymore. Get video technology introduced ASAP, it doesnt make sense not to, then all these contentious decisions would get sorted out and the best team can win matches, not lose their lead in the prem and go out the champs league cos of s**t decisions.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Nice article!
I absolutely agree with you that the past weeks have been dreadfull due to the inept performances shown by the officials. And I am sick and tired of the biased media towards us and Arsene.
Lets all show our faith and togetherness on sunday and who knows maybe an odd goal in our favour would kinda reopen our chances of winning the league.
Come on Arsenal
April 10th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I am disappointed but not gutted. When Arsenal equalised I knew we would fuck it up in the last 8 minutes. I wasn’t the least but surprised Liverpool got their penalty. If they didn’t get the penalty they would have scored some other way because Arsenal are all over the place at the back and have no composure.
I think Wenger needs to look at himself and not blame bad luck. Bad luck is not responsible for 2 wins in 12. Senderos has been at the club over 5 years and has always been dreadful, what did Wenger expect? It was total idiocy to rely on this dreadful defender in such an important match. Talk about not learning from past experience.
As for Toure, he has let Wenger down VERY badly. This is his worst spell at the club, he is panicking all the time and acting like a buffoon. It cannot be tolerated. Next season Toure should be on the bench and Wenger needs to buy at least 1 powerful centre back who can at least deal with a set piece. Senderos should be sold to a Championship team, it’s where he belongs.
There is also other weaknesses, like Eboue - who is a liability and Diaby is no good playing wide left. He should play in the middle more and could have been used to rest Fabregas who is dead on his feet.
It’s all down to a bad transfer policy by Wenger and some bad tactics too. Hopefully he has learned his lesson. It would not take much to put Arsenal on the map, 2-3 experienced players - like Mertesacker and Schweinsteiger for example. Germans don’t bottle it.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
All you have written makes a whole lot of sense. I have completely lost faith in football. Somebody please tell me the difference between rigging an election and what happened over the two legs of Arsenal vs Liverpool.
We have lost before but the referees in the matches should be banned. They are rogues.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
spot on, this country is run by the media in case you dont know
April 10th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Nice to see you agree with my point in previous posts about us being a feeder club. AW deserves much of the blame for being the world’s biggest cheapskate and for his insane over-loyalty to pissed poor players like Eboue for example. How many times we have had opportunities to add to the squad but we didn’t. The Emperor has no clothes and finally AW has been found out. Let’s see if he can learn from his mistakes and make things right with a complete overhaul of the squad over the summer and spending some cash to buy good, experienced players. For me, I have given up hope on this happening a long time ago and I guess so long as the team continues to be AW’s plaything and experiment without ever fearing any repercussions from the Board for no titles, we’ll be stuck with this sick feeling that I feel in my gut for the last few weeks for seasons to come. Having been a fan since 1979 and having seen a lot of lean years I guess I can cope.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I think 2 fuckers got 2 go if we about 2 bounce wright back..!! DOM ASS “EBO FUCKING UE” and BIG ASS HEAD “SEN FUCKING DEROS” …!!! I hope they will not even bother by travelling 2 old traford on sunday …” AL FUCKING MUNIA” needs 2 be dropped ..bring “MAD JENS” BACK .
April 10th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Spot on!
Excellent article… it’s what we are all feeling!
Disheratened ain’t the word. I just feel Wenger needs to start over and get some players. People were writing Arsenal off for all the right reasons at the beginning of the season… its only now you appreciate what they were saying and whay they were saying it.
Bring on 08-09 because frankly this season has come to a bitter close.
I firmly beleive Wenger is to blame. He didn’t buy enough quality players to see us through…
April 10th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Only at Arsenal can 2 international goalies be on the bench while A(ccident Waiting to Happen)lmunia is the first choice goalie. Forget about Eboue and Senderos because AW is loyal to the literal death with certain players and unfortunately for us it’s these two and hypocritically not Mad Jens.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
sack wenger!
get rjikard!
April 10th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
We have been robbed since the B’ham game….simple as that. we get injuries that no other top 4 side get, although we should have a squad with enough depth to cope if/when injuries happen. It has been clear from the start of the season that if/when we got injuries to key players we would struggle, especially on the wings. What other major european side would have a right back playing right wing, a 4th choice central mid playing left wing, and then moving our starting centre back to right back. All this was doen due to lack of quality depth in these areas.
We as aresanl fans, and wenger of course, get labbled as moaners, etc. But could u imagine Sir Alex if Man USA had the kind of 2 months we have just had with bad decisions and injuries??!!!!! We wouldnt hear the last of it….but the difference is he would get sympathy from the media. arsenal and arsene get hammered for simply stating facts! Did anyone batter an eyelid when in the post match conference after the 2nd leg Benithez said he ‘didnt see the challange on Babel’? No. it has not been mentioned. But every1 has focused on Wenger saying it was a dodgy pen.
A few good singings in key areas and we will challange big time next year. Make sure eboue, senderpunk and gilberto play as little football for arsenal as possible.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
VACANCY AT ARSENAL F.C:
CLUB MANAGER
…………………………………………………………………
sack wenger!!!!!!!!
April 10th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
We the fans can learn one thing from the liverpool defeat!! i.e we can influence games! and the only way we can is to make some NOISE - the emirates is just too quiet sometimes. We need some drums etal in there to pump up the volume.
Its almost as if we dont have faith in our team and worry about the outcome of a match too much which then prevents us some singing our hearts out. Trust me if we made more noise at the emirates the refs get intimated, the opposition resorts to long balls (not like they dont already) and our players get fired up.
But the silence just fills the air up with tension which then transmitts to our players.
Referee bottled it in front of the kop thats why he gave. But toure is an idiot as well - absolutely foolish and clumsy - considering gallas was in front of Babel already!!
April 10th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Don’t expect any refereeing favours on Sunday though as it wouldn’t surprise me at all should they get dodgy penalty decisions at Old Trafford. Refs are afraid of Fergie and loud fans which explains why Babel’s dive was amply rewarded. Refs are afraid of death threats and as Mourinho is not our manager, expect refs to take the easy way out and go against us every time. Let’s hope we can keep the score down to 2-0 and not allow another 4-0 or worse. Looks like the only “trophy” we’ve won this season is AC Milan away.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
BRING BACK CARLOS VELA
BUY BEN ARFA
BUY ZAPATA
BUY CAPEL
BUY ROBINHO
SACK EBOUE (Knob on legs)
SACK SENDEROS (Cant defend to save his life)
SACK TOURE (Recently very very poor)
SACK FLAMINI (Money hungry little shite)
IF FABREGAS GOES… AS IS LIKELY DUE TO REPORTS IN SPAIN REPLACE HIM WITH ROBINHO.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Can people pls get some perspective with this whole ‘SACK WENGER’ crap that some “fans” keep saying!! Its pathetic! He has been a revalation to this club and brought more success to ‘boring boring arsenal’ than any of us could have dreamt for!
He has had to be tight with his transfers due to the move to a new stadium, the money generated from the move will become available soon so he will go and buy the players we need. For wenger to have maintained us as a top 4 side and competitive in europe (cup final 2 years ago!!!) without spending millions, like all of our rivals and alot of mid table teams, is nothing short of a miracle!
We have surpassed all expectations this year, and with a bit of luck with injuries/ref decisions we could still have been top of the table and in semis of europe!
SO SHUT UP AND KEEP THE FAITH ARSENE HATERS!!!
April 10th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Ahh another blind supporter who cannot see the naked Emperor, why am I not surprised?
April 10th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
PS. joseph beam…..u are a twat.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
wenger should be sacked.
had he been at any other big 4 club he would be sacked by now.
why should it be any different here.
SACK WENGER!
April 10th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
james , you are spot on , we can blame decisions all we like , yes we have had no luck with decision and injuries but defence is where are main problem is , babel got in front of toure within a minute of our goal which should not happen , senderos did,nt even look at the ball for there first goal. we need a big dominant centre half to play with gallas , look how good he was with terry and is with thurram. sell big phil and have toure as cover , rotation and cover for sagna. by a class goal keeper and an attacking scoring left mid player , play diaby where he should play , in the mid as cover and a well earned bloody rest for cesc. then my friends , we are in business , sell eboue , hoyte , gilberto lehman, buy 3 quality players.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Sack him…
I also agree that he needs to go. The only reason wenger still has a job is because he makes a profit on the transfer market and the shareholders love him for that.
Its his job to make a team play and win trophies, not feed the lifestyles of the board!
WILCOX get a life. If you don’t know then i will educate you.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Toure just needs a rest it seems like his been playing non stop for years. Still a quality player for me, and has more heart than most on this team! Wenger out is definantly harsh, but does need to change transfer policy slightly.
Someone said flam can go, his greedy, could it be that arsenal are greedy and don’t want to pay players.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Fabregas will leave.
its all over spain.
wenger will need to sell him to fund his spending spree.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Ok JJ, please educate me. The reason wenger is still in a job is because of the fantastic job he has done in his 11 year tenure. Has he not done a great job? Did we maintain our top 4 status while the grove was being built? Has any other major side had to bankroll such a move???
Lets see how Liverpool manage while they build their new stadium! I guarentee rafas spending will be significantly slashed.
Has arsene made mistakes? Of course, i feel he is far too loyal to eboue/senderos/gilberto. Mad jens should still be No.1, diarra should NEVER have been sold, and he should have bought cover for the wings. But he certainly has earned the right to correct his mistakes.
All the sack arsene bragade are little boys who have probably supported the club for 5 years or less. Any true fan knows arsene is the best way forward for the club.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Wenger needs to change.
Football has changes and so he needs to change his views. He can’t get by on the riff-raff anymore.
If he doesn’t change then he does need to be comprimised.
Arsenal simple cannot go on like this.
Its disgusting.
While our rivals go on spending sprees to bolster their squads we sit and watch, hoping to get by on the young inexperienced unproven kids that have been jelled together by Wenger’s so-called magic. Its all a dream.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Spending spree? Don’t make me laugh! I think you’ve confused our manager for someone else. Flamini is stalling so that he can do a Sol Campbell to us and get a larger salary at a big club without the transfer fee. Arsenal: Feeder club extraordinaire to the truly big clubs of the world!
April 10th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
i think wenger is greedy. he wants all the praise by ‘unearthing’ talent and being praised for it. what about us the supporters when we need to win trophies so we can stand up to other EPL club fans??? now we cannot say anything but to coil with our tails between our legs. fuck this crap about kids philosophy….buy established players cos we are not poor! the developing ‘kids’ would be best used as backups!!!!
April 10th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
believe me i had to take a hefty dose of valium on saturday night just to get to sleep.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
If Wenger is so happy training young talent maybe he should be youth development head and let Liam Brady have a chance to manage the first team!
April 10th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Wilcox… my boy… let me educate you…
The Arsenal shareholders have never seen so much money. I work for a merchant bank and have seen the dividends increase phenomenally in the last few years.
There is no re-investment. They just want to make themselves rich.
Yes Wenger is good… but likeToby just said football has changed. It is now about a squad rather than a team… which means acquisitions are essential.
While Arsenal fans dream of brining in even 1 star signing, their rivals are running away with all the glory.
I put this to you…. If Wenger was not making a profit on the transfer market and still failed to win silverware… Do you think he would still be at Arsenal. Hell no!
The saddest thing to happen to Arsenal was the departure of David Dein. He knew the real reason Arsenal needed a boardroom shake-up.
The money simply does not flow to the field… instead it feeds their lavish lifestyles.
WITHOUT MONEY, THERE IS NOTHING!
April 10th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
i agree with JJ.
No money means no trophies. simple as that.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Stan Kronke save us!
April 10th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
YOU LIE!
arsenal board havent taken dividends in years.
fact.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Love your blog because it expresses true passion and honesty of an Arsenal Fan.
I am so pissed off by the way Liverpool have progressed in this competition that I am going to support Chelsea in the semi-finals.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
ARSENALS NEW STARTING 11
1 FABIANSKI
2 SAGNA
3 GALLAS
4 CHRISTIAN ZAPATA
5 CLICHY
6 WALCOTT
7 FABREGAS
8 ROBINHO
9 CARLOS VELA
10 EDUARDO
11 VAN PERSIE
THATS A FUCKING LINE-UP
April 10th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
JJ….firstly, ‘my boy’…im 36 years old and way past being a ‘boy’. At least a dose of respect please.
I completely understand the financial side of football these days, and like they say, money makes the world go round.
I have never said that wenger doesnt need to spend, i have said that he has earned to right for more time. I am as frustrated as any other fan about the lack of quality players being bought and the over reliance on kids. I feel wenger understands the lack of quality now and will resolve this. I suppose we will see. If this time next year we still have a team of kids who have blown the league, cups, etc then yes we can turn on wenger. But for now, lets see what he does in the summer and fingers crossed. After all, according to Robinho’s agent.. if capello was still at madrid…Robinho would be at arsenal, and his fee would have been large. so we dont know the players arsene may have tried and failed to buy recently.
PS. i also agree the departure od Dein was a massive loss. great man and hopefully we will see him at arsenal again soon.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Sickking tired of beeing waiting last couple of years 4 a trophy…Sickking tired of every body telling me next year gonna be better..Call me ” CRAZY ” but I still think we can beat this ” MAN U SUCKS ” on sunday.!!! IF we only gonna play with this starting line up ..!! CHECK OUT …
MAD JENS
EBOUE TOURE GALLAS CLICHY
WALCOTT CESC GILBERTO HLEB
ADE RVP
April 10th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
ARSENALS NEW STARTING 11
1 FABIANSKI
2 SAGNA
3 GALLAS
4 CHRISTIAN ZAPATA
5 CLICHY
6 RICARDO QUARESMA
7 FABREGAS
8 HATEM BEN ARFA
9 CARLOS VELA
10 ROBINHO
11 VAN PERSIE
NOW THATS A FUCKING LINE-UP MATEY!!!
April 10th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
good luck goughy…
that will cost us at least £60million+
we will need to strip out all the dead weight to fund that…
get rid of:
eboue
flamini
toure
senderos
rosicky
gilberto
April 10th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I disagree. Wenger has three reasons why he doesn’t spend.
No 1. He likes the media and fans to have low expectancy because it reflects well on him.
No 2. He spent big on Wiltord, Reyes and Jeffers and they were all a waste of time.
No 3. The stadium project debt is £350m, and he doesn’t want to compromise the club when he believes he can save vast amounts of money.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
My first team line up next season would be.
Almunia
Sagna
Mertesacker
Gallas
Clichy
Schweinsteiger
Flamini
Fabregas
Rosicky
Adebayor
Van Persie
Bench (7 subs from next season)
Fabianski
Toure
Diaby
Denilson
Hleb
Vela
Walcott
April 10th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
WILCOX… apologies my fella gooner.
Didn’t mean to offend you mate.
Just got heated up with Gooner rage!
Ben Arfa looks like a possibility as does Vela’a return. Not sure about the rest Goughy. Saying that, the line looks awesome.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
guys , guys , i like it but wheres your defencsive mid player ? ricardo , ben arfa and vela ? all in the same team !? don,t those three all do the same ?
class keeper , zapata , yes please , one of the three to play left , keep flamster as your defending mid , then you have balance . we would then have a good bench ie rosi , ade bent , toure , diaby , bit better than hoyte
gilberti lehman ffs !!
April 10th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
I’m not sure about all this ‘Sack Wenger’ talk. He has made mistakes but to say he needs to be sacked is well over the top. He has done miracles in transforming Arsenal into the club they are today. I suppose the big question is can he be more ruthless in his approach.
I think he puts a huge amount of faith in players, but sometimes that method works against him. Unlike Fergie or Grant, Wenger won’t drop a player who’s playing badly. It’s fine putting faith in players like Fabregas, Vieira, Henry, Pires, Bergkamp and countless others who have played under Wenger but what about players like Adebayor, Gallas and Eboue?
Wenger continues to put faith in them but all they have done is let him down. There’s no problem with Fabregas, Flamini, Sagna and Clichy but players like Hleb have let Wenger down big time in the most important part of the season. We need more players with mental strength instead of people like Gallas who go crying after a football match.
Gallas is a disgrace and having him as captain is even worse. Do you think we would have lost 4-0 at Old Trafford and 5-1 at Spurs if Tony Adams was playing? Gallas just gives up to easily, and his reactions on the pitch are not the actions of a man who instills inspiration.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
SACK HIM
for one reason only… having too much faith in that useless cunt of a man… eboue.
he is shittest player on the team and a liability to the side.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
and also get some fuckin money!!!!
we’re representing north fuckin london, not some chavved up northern ghost town or village in the hills.
‘av it!
April 10th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
1 FABIANSKI (gk)
2 SAGNA (dr)
3 MERTESACKER (dc)
4 ZAPATA (dc)
5 CLICHY (dl)
6 LOIC PERRIN (Holding)
7 FABREGAS (mc)
8 HATEM BEN ARFA (mr)
9 CARLOS VELA (ml)
10 ROBINHO (cf)
11 VAN PERSIE (cf)
before you all talk, i took out Falmini as i genuinely beleive he will leave this summer.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
yes about the mental strengh thing robert , eboue , diaby , ade , as apossed to freddy , bobby , vieira , bergy , edu etc etc , no comparison though I think gallas is a good player with dominant c h with him .
dildo dean , can you be a little more specific ?? a little harsh i feel but eboue needs to fuck off.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
DILDO, about “EBO fucking UE”..I feel your pain man ..!!Because of this empty head punk I almost lost my R. hand last time i watched him play against “pool” ..!!! I had 2 punch the wall so hard every time he touch the ball …he’s a waste…LET’S “WACK” HIM….
April 10th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
this match made hate the scousers and i can’t really explain why,the pain of this defeat by an inferior side that performs an ugly football makes me feel robbed,mates.and this pain get even stronger when i recall the two perfect goals we’ve scored.
i used to dislike Chelsea the most but now i reckon that those lowlifes of scousers must be eliminated by some cockneys-))).and here’s the brand you liverpool anthem for them-YOU WILL NEVER WIN THE PREMIER LEAGUE.hope Chelsea or the mancs beat them and in the PL they lose the fourth place to the Toffees,thus next year there will be one shitty club less in Europe.Cheers to all the Gooners,head up,greetins from Odessa ,Ukrain
April 10th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
gunner 4 life…
if i was robert de niro and you were joe pesci… i would damn well make sure that low-life son of a bitch got ‘WACKED’ goodfells style….
April 10th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
I’m an arsenal fan in Uganda, East Africa. A regular reader of your blog, too. Arsenal has the largest number of fansin Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. right now we are all feeling very gutted after the loss to liverpool.
You are very right. It seems the press, the refs, the FA in England all hate Arsenal. the refs are shit.
wenger has done a lot for English football, but let me hope that he has learnt a lesson. the Arsenal squad is made up of talented players, but it is too thin. It needs stregthening in the summer. Players like Eboue, gilberto, lehman should be offloaded.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
scouse scum! i hate them.
never in my wildest dreams would i have thought we would have played so poor agains such a shit side.
i cant even look at kuyt’s face on tv or the newspaper.
i feel physically sick if i see the bent-footed little fucker. he epitomises everything i hate about liverpool.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
why are all you people of high genius claiming bringing mad jens back is such a vital piece of the puzzle? almunia has been one of our most consistent players. nobs
April 10th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Wenger is Moses….
he will lead us to glory!
April 10th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
are arsenal so cheap that they can’t give the flamster what he deserves. I bet you all the players in his position in all the top clubs around the world are getting much more money than him. If we call ourselves a top club why can’t we do the same.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
i party agree about sacking Wenger,it seems he’s great for the board but not for the Arsenal brand nor for the fans.i heard you’re paying the highest ticket prices in the world and the Emirates is always full.next season it’s up to you not to fill the stadium to the brim-)) by refusing to buy tickets,though as far as i know this club disposes of an army of blind supporters who will pay thier last 50 quid to get there even if the club is playing in the championship.thier loalty is commendable but it just postpones the agony
April 10th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
you are right henry.
Wenger won’t fail the fans. He is a god-send.
He’ll buy this summer and prove our worth. He is the King of Arsenal, no-one can say they are more Arsenal than he is!
Wenger for life… Arsenal forever…
April 10th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
JJ i dont know which merchant bank you work at but god help them in the future .I can only assume that you are the cleaner… ARSENAL DONT PAY A DIVIDEND TO SHAREHOLDERS NOW…THEY HAVE NEVER PAID A DIVIDEND TO SHAREHOLDERS IN THE PAST & I DOUBT THEY WILL EVER PAY A DIVIDEND IN THE FUTURE.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
vela is amazing. he needs to come to The Emirates.
He has so much pace and flair. In my opinion he is far better than Reyes. He has scored 20 goals in 24 league games and he’s a a winger. Reminds of a certain Portuguese player at Man Utd… whats his face???
Vela is going to blow up!
April 10th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
tunadog. go hump a horse.
I know what i know. but you think that you know. you can only presume to know what i know. So, if you dont know, dont talk, just walk.
By the way i’m not the cleaner. I work in the mail room dumbass.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
vela has scored 3 goals mate. And he’s not a winger, he’s genuine position is up front but he has been filling at left mid for osasuna.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
i agree. they should bring vela back from spain. he’s pretty quick and so energetic. i watched him play a couple of weeks ago. his pace is frightening.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
he completely destroyed sergio ramos, who is one of the best right backs in spain
April 10th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
i also watched that game. vela was excellent. he would be a great addition to the squad for next season.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
The reason Wenger is still in the job is because he’s done a fantastic job!
The board will literally never fire him because he has created so much shareholder wealth for them.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
look JJ i have been a shareholder since 1980 & have never received a dividend because Arsenal dont pay dividends. Please get your facts right before sounding off. You are just talking rubbish
April 10th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
& to all you guys slagging off Wenger. Is 3 titles & 4 fa cups in 11 years nothing. To anyone supporting Arsenal in the 60’s mid 70’s & mid 80’s they know what it was to see Arsenal struggle. The worst we have finished under AW is 4th..WHAT A DISASTER…Arsene Wenger is simply the greatest manager this club has ever had but he is human & makes mistakes just like everyone else. Lets focus on the positives its easy to be negative.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Couldn’t agree with you more. I can’t believe how Wenger is despised for trying to do the right thing. Fergie can call referees cheats for not giving his team a penalty and nothing is said about it, but Wenger shows a bit of frustration and he’s turned into a laughing stock and likened to Basil Fawlty? It’s disgraceful, disrespectful and I can’t wait for this team to mature and shove those words back down the throats of those hacks, pundits and fairweather glory-hunting ‘fans’ who join in with the ridiculing of a man who does not deserve it.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
i love the way the media talk about the roma penalty against man utd last night being ridiculous. this was even though man u won. ferguson was raving and ranting but nothing gets said about him. in comparison wenger gets ridiculed for justly claiming at two decisions that cost his team a semi final place
April 10th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Glad there’s some intelligent people on here. Sacking Wenger is a ridiculous notion. Now I know people go on about how much of a genius he is but that’s because it’s true. I’ll admit he has made some mistakes but on the whole surely everyone would agree Wenger has been amazing for the club. Anyone who says otherwise is seriously retarded.
The only problem with Wenger is that he doesn’t cheat enough. Look at Fergie - he basically scares referees before they even step into Old Trafford. He will say things like ‘I hope we get a good referee at the weekend’ meaning that the referee will be scared to give any big decisions against his team. Fergie is the biggest moaner in the league (after Mourinho left) and the media are scared of him. Fergie won’t speak to the press if they even make a valid critisism (notice he never speaks to the BBC?) so they basically suck his balls so he still does interviews and speaks to the papers. Wenger always does post-game press conferences and interviews.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
tunadog,
How much more vakuable are those your Arsenal shares now, especially since 1998?
April 10th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
TUNADOG…
u thick fool.
the reason the board have made shit loads of money is because of issuing extra shares.
Have you never heard of a bonus issue or a rights issue… well if you haven’t it is basically an entitlement to more shares FOR FREE using the surplus profit at the club to fund it.
What do you think happens to these shares subsequently… some of them get shifted to MUGS like yourself and they profit from it or they get given away to charities etc etc.
learn about business and then come and talk.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
MAN UTD DID NOT WIN CUP FOR 3 YEAR, THEY SUPPORTS STILL SUPPORT THEM, R’,MADRAID DID NOT WIN CUPS FOR 4 YEARS, THEY SUPPORT STILL SUPPORT TO THE BEST.
WHY CAN WE AS ARSENAL FANS SUPPORT OUR TEAM AT THIS TIME. ALL THE PLAYERS HAS DONE THERE BEST, SO SUPPORT THEM AND THINGS WILL GET BETTER AND IF WE CAN BE SINCERE TO OURSELF, NO ONE EXPECT ARSENAL TO BE IN THE POSITION THEY ARE AT THE BEGINING OF THIS SEASON
COME ON LET SUPPORT OUR TEAMS TO OUR BEST
April 10th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Did anyone else that after each goal we scored against liverpool, they scored with their first shot on goal. After Diaby’s goal it just happened to take them 13 minutes to put an attack together. Unlucky or plain useless!
April 10th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I don’t think that there is any coincidence that Arsenal has won nothing since the dawn of the ‘Abramovich era’. Abramovich single handedly turned a mediocre team into a championship juggernaut virtually overnight. Arsene’s philosophy has now become outdated - it stands to reason that a squad built in the traditional mould can no longer be expected to have the same degree of success.
It amazes me that so called Arsenal fans are calling for Wenger’s resignation. What he has achieved this season has been nothing short of remarkable. He miscalculated terribly and he deserves criticism for that. He should have purchased new players during the transfer window and sometimes proves himself to be tactically naive. Nevertheless Arsenal is loved and admired the world over (I’m from Trinidad & Tobago) for the beauty of their football. Arsene simply needs to modify his recruiting policy. He needs to dispense with the frugality (totally unecessary) and build a deeper squad.
Ferguson responded to Chelsea’s domination by purchasing Nani, Anderson, Hargreaves and Tevez. There was no guarantee that any of these would have succeeded, but Tevez was a proven player. Tevez wanted to join Arsenal. He would’ve been a great assest but Wenger preferred not to spend extra on a player who could have added skill, steel and stamina. Babel is a similar case.
Wenger needs to change his recruiting philosopy. I am guessing the utter heartbreak at Anfield will change his mind. Wenger wants to win, and he cannot be blind to the way his side self destructed over the last couple of weeks. Arsenal was unlucky, but bad luck had nothing to do with Arsenal’s shocking wastefulness in front of goal or schoolboy defending.
I personally would love to see Kaka at the Emirates - the Brazilian is an admirer of Arsenal, and Arsenal lacks goal scoring midfielders - another glaring weakness. But that might be pushing it!
April 11th, 2008 at 12:17 am
I have lost faith also especially after reading all the Arsenal fans saying Arsene should be sacked! They are also blaming us loosing on our defending, well the match was 2 all up until the penalty, no? So the fact that we did not get the penalty call at home was down to poor defending? Someone also said they knew we would mess up even without the fake penalty, dude can u please give me the lotto numbers in houston as i am tired of being poor. All we do when we blame the defense is let the refs off the hook. Man, this is like saying the cops should not investigate your house being robbed because you left the back door open! yes u were careless but does it seve u right to get ROBBED!!
Why not just support another team so Wenger being the manager, making wrong decisions and being cheap will not bother u. UNGRATEFUL AS HELL!!
Big ups to the true Arsenal supporters!!
Be Blessed still!
April 11th, 2008 at 4:50 am
Yes, Wenger has contributed a lot to Arsenal, and his contributions have been immortalised in the form of that bronze bust. However, for 3 seasons now, he is surely losing the plot and is too stobborn to change, so I say a change at the top is REQUIRED if Arsenal is to win anything at all. Why blame this and that player when it is the manager who acquires and plays them. The buck must end with Wenger. No one is indispensible; blind loyalty “Wenger knows” and filling the stadium week-in-week-out will only prolong the pain with no relief in sight.
April 11th, 2008 at 5:58 am
Sack Wenger!!!… Get Keegan!!!
April 11th, 2008 at 6:03 am
About time we bloody spend some of our so called ‘’war chest'’ money which we’ve all been hearing about.
We have boys with talent…but unfortunately no bottle or winning mentality we its truely needed.
Buy Eto’o.
April 11th, 2008 at 6:53 am
Podolski- not happy at bayern
Modric- good paymaker, can give Fab some breathers.
Robinho-has considered arsenal, will defn. want to come
Ben arfa- will definitely add huge to the team.
Zapata- available.
matersacker…….
Arsene you know, but react as well.
April 11th, 2008 at 9:27 am
It’s true that a lot of decisions have gone against us and that the media seem to have an anti-Arsenal bias that they don’t appear to have against other teams, but even if it is down to bad luck there have crucial lapses in concentration that have put us in these positions. I am the last person you’ll find wanting Wenger sacked but he does need to address the defensive coaching aspect if these great collection of players are going to win trophies at Arsenal. We need more of the beast in our play, capable of genius but up for a ruck if necessary. All great teams have had this in the past. And going back to the lapses in concentration, the best way to address this is to drop the player to the bench if it happens too often as I get the feeling that certain players are assured of a starting place (Eboue, Adebayor etc) that while potentially being good squad or impact players just don’t have the class or composure of other people in in the squad (I’m thinking of Adebayor here in comparison to RVP or Eduardo) but the unfortunate thing about Arsenal at the moment is that we just don’t have the quality of players ready to step in just now, and this is where Wenger is at fault. It’s fair to say we haven’t had the luck with either decisions or injuries in recent weeks but his job as manager is to try to minimise the impact these have on results be it by alternative tactics, imparting tactical discipline and to make sure you have a squad full of quality cover. All of which are lacking and this is where Le Boss needs to earn his cash (and fucking spend some of the clubs!!!) over the summer.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I completely agree with everything said. I’ve just not been articulate enough to put all these thoughts that are in my head into an as well-structured piece as you’ve done here because of how pissed off I’ve been with everything lately. Birmingham wrecked our season, it wasn’t just the loss of Eddy, it was the start of our terrible luck as well. I hope they get relegated to the conference for it. I know it’s sour grapes, but sod it, sour grapes make me feel better!
April 11th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Just a short comment on the ability of being able to see what happens from TV replays. I saw the manure vs roma quarter final on wednesday and not being a man u fan I would have to say that instead of roma being awarded a penalty, their player should have been sent off for a blatant dive. Because of some of the bad decisions coming Arsenals way of late I was not really supprised when the ref didn’t see anything wrong but I was gobsmacked when the TV commentators did seem to see it!
April 11th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I really feel this article is spot on, I also happen to think Andy (I know everyting about football) is another pundit who really hates us along with the Daily Mail, I am certain they are just jealous of our ability to play beautiful football, the rest of Europe tell us what a wonderful side we have have while all of the so called and pundits and media in this country do nothing but give us stick, it wouldnt surprise me if Wenger called it a day and left for Barcelona or Real Madrid where he would be appreciated and I wouldn’t blame him, they will only be happy when we revert to playing the game like Sheffield U. or Bolton along with some others and have eleven English kick and run merchants and we play on a pitch that looks like a cabbage patch. One final point I feel I must make Gallas is no captain and he certainly aint no centre back, he does nothing but moan and quite honestly he just gets bullied by all the strikers he comes up against. Right Ive had my say and don’t worry to much folks Arsene knows best.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
The Saint & JJ
Are you Spuds fans?
Clueless pricks
April 11th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Horribly and completely true
April 11th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
I know the best thing the two uphill sewage canouist could do is go and eat each other’s shit. Might keep them busy for 5 minutes.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
guys, guys, guys
I am one of you, a die hard arsenal fan and correct me if i am wrong isn’t it time for Arsene Wenger to retire. During our last twelve games we have been suffering from fatigue, all this could have been prevented if arsene wenger had signed, what maybee 2 or 3 players in the january transfer window. (And guys dont forget he made the mistake last season aswell).
Lets not forget all his successes but he has made 1.2 million arsenal fans left without bragging rights for 3 seasons now.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
The problem I have is that arsenal teams have never had a really strong strike force under Wenger and the team has to work far too hard to get points playing this way- the problem is we would need twice the number pf players we have in the physical English league. Sure we look world beaters against poor sides early in the year- but we have nothing left in the tank in the last 2 months of the season, and our results against the top 4 have been poor. We must play a more pragmatic style.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I agree with Goonergerry. How many goalscoring opportunities do we make, and how many do we score?
In an average home match (I’m not exaggerating here) we would probably create about 14/15 good chances and score about 2 or 3, if we were lucky. And on the other side, how many times do sides come to the Emirates, make 1 or 2 chances ALL GAME and still manage to sneek a draw against us? The fact is Adebayor is nowhere near as good as he thinks. He acts like he’s Thierry Henry after half a good season whereas Henry was at the peak of footballing excellence for about 7 or 8 years!
With the Bergkamp, Henry, Vieira, Pires team I would comfortably travel to Old Trafford, Anfield, St James’ Park and other tough away games and know that if Arsenal made a chance (and they always do) then they would score.
The best teams can score at any time. I always felt that the Manchester United of a few years ago (with Beckham, Van Nistelrooy, Scholes, Giggs, etc.) could score at any point in the match. I also had the feeling of the Arsenal teams of 2001/2002 and 2003/2004. We could score and change a game whenever we wanted. We have a solid defence in the invincibles season but our success was based on a real attacking threat whenever we had the ball.
Fabregas deserves a couple of world class strikers who will actually score the chances he carves out otherwise he might just have enough and join someone else.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
And if he did leave I wouldn’t blame him.
April 11th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Agree with Robert. If Arsenal have Tevez and Torres up front, this squad will be very lethal
April 11th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
our recent performance isnt really a surprise to me cos its the repercussion of some carefree transfer window decisions by AW. The truth is that our squad is too lean. A club of our calibre does not deserve the likes of hoyte, senderos, eboue, traore and song. Look at pool & chelski - their bench can actually win a tournament. but would possibly struggle to win the smallest teams. Adebayor has potential and can improve if he is trained well. i can remember Cristiano Ron. of 3 seasons ago. Drogba was also not as good as this when he started in chelski. AW needs to buy quality players - players that can win tournaments.
AW’s technical decisions are at times too naive. it doesnt take rocket science to know that Eboue & Senderos have cost us silverware in the last 2 seasons but why all this stubborn loyalty??? i really do pity cesc, flam &hleb. AW has put so much pressure on them this season bcos of the lean squad and they are exhausted from a long season. It would be a shame if we lose them to other clubs cos we have refused to pay them what they’re worth.
JJ, Saint and Tunadog, i feel you folks are going too personal. This is a public site and there should be some degree of respect for every participant. Our being rude defeats the essence of a blog like this. There should be a major rule here - don’t call anybody names.
April 11th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
JJ never have i read so much garbage. Firstly you state that Arsenal pay dividends which is total garbage.They have never paid a dividend. Then you state that free shares have been issued to the directors which is also total garbage. Arsenal had to increase their share capital when the North bank stand was built to allow the club to issue bonds. There was a change in capitalisation every holder of 1 share received 7 new ones & the share price was adjusted accordingly. If the club were to have a rights issue or a scrip issue every shareholder would be entitled to participate. There is a legal obligation. How do i know this ? Well ive been a shareholder since 1980 & a stockbroker since 1978. Now jog off back to the post room & enlighten yourself to the workings of the stock market.
April 11th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
here we go again!!!!
April 12th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Great article! I’m glad you have faith in Arsene when so many don’t. I have a few points to raise though.
We must buy! 2 quality centre backs. a proper left winger to complement theo. And that’s it! Maybe 1 other striker but I believe that’s all we need.
It’s saturday before the big game against utd. I did a very strange thing last night. It started on thurs. I played 7 a side as usual, but unusually i lifted my side to a rare victory scoring 2 goals and gee ing everyone up. I said before the game, ‘tonight, my names flamini’. As i was playing I released all my frustration of the last couple of months.
After the game I thought, what if the Arsenal players do the same? Surely not. But then another couple of strange things have happened. I am a red member and have no chance of seeing another game this season, until a friend of mine has given me readingeverton as he’s on holiday. then a friend who works for Derby county has given me 2 tickets up their, which will be my 5 yr old son’s first game. So I put £20 at 14/1 for the league. Mad or genius, I’m not sure. But never lose hope until all hope is lost!!!
April 16th, 2008 at 9:50 am
For me it’s the decision to let Diarra go to Pompey - he’s a class act and better that Gilberto - could have really done with him over the last few weeks.
April 18th, 2008 at 1:25 am
Great performance on Sunday, pity about the result. The game summed up our entire season really.
April 18th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Adebayor really needs to improve on his finishing. it was obvious on Sunday.
April 19th, 2008 at 2:11 am
Have you actually given up on football mate or are you actually going to post on here again? Hope this doesn’t end up like Nyssie’s Gooner Blog!
We need a world class centre forward who will put us where we should be. Missing those chances at Old Trafford was typical of our season. Goals win games and we create more chances than most Premier League sides!
Liverpool have Torres, United have Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez and Chelsea have Drogba and Anelka. And Chelsea’s midfield have goals all over the park.
Adebayor needs to go!
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:55 am
hello Robert. inasmuch as i admit Adebayors incompetence, most people have not noticed that he has a way of causing unrest in any defence. if we can get a world class forward to pair up with Adebayor, e.g. a David Villa or Eto, Adebayor does the dirty jobs and lays them up for our finisher. Adebayor can’t finish well but he certainly can trouble a defence.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
For the masochistic among you, consider how slight the margins were this season.
P Team Pld W D L Pts GD
1 Arsenal 38 25 11 2 86 45
2 Chelsea 38 25 10 3 85 39
3 Man U 38 26 6 6 84 56
This is how the table should have looked. Not after major alterations in our season, but if we had kept our concentration for the last 35+ minutes of the game at Old Trafford where we played them off the park. Instead we conceeded two needless set-pieces. That’s how close it was.
I know hindsight is always 20/20, and some will argue that if we had won, the other results may not have panned out they way they did, but that argument would also work in our favour, considering the morale boost a win over Utd would have given the lads. THAT”S how CLOSE it was!
Keep the faith Gooners!!
Ben Panther
gooner_panther@yahoo.com
May 19th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
yeah Ben. i feel you. we cant miss it next season.
May 31st, 2008 at 4:02 am
The good with the bad mate…. thick & thin!!
I’ve lived with the trials and tribulations all my life!! I WOULDN’T SWAP IT FOR THE FUCKING WORLD!! WE ARE A CLUB OF ‘TRUE FANS’…… not glory-hunting mancunts… when they start pasing the ball, withe guile, style & flair again… you’ll love ‘em…. like a long lost family member!!
If we had it any other way… we wouldn’t appreciate the ‘highs’ as much… cos we hadn’t endured the ‘lows’.
DazAFC EIE - SUPPORTER OF THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD…. WITH FANS WHO LOVE EACH OTHER AND THE TEAM… BECAUSE WE ARE THE ARSENAL!!