A Big Week For My Other Club

1979 was a big year for me. I saw The Arsenal beat Man U 3-2 in the FA Cup final on TV and thought that’s my team right there. I heard Rapper’s Delight for the first time which ignited my love of hip hop and I was taken to Milton Road by my dad. 

I have a season ticket at The Arsenal, still listen to hip hop everyday and am proud to say I’m the N1 on the Cambridge City Exiles flag. ‘79 was a year that shaped me!

On November 1st Cambridge City fans heard the news we’ve been waiting for since 2012. Planning was granted for their new ground at Sawston. The final day of that 2012/13 season was a sad day. It was the day City were finally going to lose their Milton Road ground and become homeless but it was more than that to me and many others. It was a place oozing with memories of my childhood. It was extra special to me since my dad died in 1999. City were the team we shared and we'd spent so many happy times at Milton Road together.  In fact I found it hard to go to a game after he died as it was so intrinsically linked to him. He went with his same mates and stood in the same place every game. I’m not sure I went for 4 years after he left.

My first memories of Milton Road was the enormous wooden Wembley they played in. I’d push through the turnstiles and be allowed to wander around the terrace. I remember a dog track and The Arsenal coming for an evening friendly. I stood above the tunnel and was overwhelmed by the smell of Vaseline on a cold night. That’s it. That’s all I have of the old place and I don’t really remember it going to be replaced by the ‘new’ Milton Road. (I might even have my dates wrong and this could be before 1979.)

Anyway, it’s the new Milton Road I grew up in. We’d leave in good time so dad could get a space to park and meet his friends right opposite the turnstiles to the left of the Shed. Ged, Big Dick (an enormous, kind, gentle giant of a man, Grumpy (could peel an orange in his pocket!) and Wiz (always wearing headphones to keep up with the scores) were always there. We’d go around to Tony at the tea bar and order 6 teas ‘to the brim’ at half time before returning to our positions.

I remember driving home after a game one Saturday and asking dad what Wiz’s name was. ‘Wiz’ dad replied. ‘No, his real name?’ I persisted.  ‘No idea son. Worked with him for years but only know him as Wiz.’ I remember saying and trying to be clever, ‘So if Wiz died and you saw his name in the paper you wouldn’t know he’s dead.’

‘Of course I would. He wouldn’t be a work.’ A good point well made!

I remember Ged buying a slice of cake so stale he stuck it to the bottom of his shoe while congratulating the poor lady in the tea bar on her new cobblers job. I remember Big Dick getting stuck in the turnstile. I remember being taught to ‘encourage’ the officials on their wonderful work. I remember Butch Gawthrop asking me how the Arsenal were getting on when he should’ve been concentrating (& seeing him in the street at Highbury one night and coolly nodding an ‘alright’ at him like he knew me!) I remember winning the 50/50 draw, taking school friends, chatting to the ladies in the club shop, taking my girlfriend (now Mrs of many years) and eventually taking my own son (Mascot 3rd October 2009 vs Tiverton)

I returned a few years after dad died. Dick had passed away a few years before, grumpy had stopped going, Wiz and Ged were sometimes around. It was different without him but the love of the place and the club remained. Life goes on and my son was now taking his dad and winning the 50/50. This led to a magnificent night 5 years ago when they played MK Dons in the FA Cup 1st Round Proper.

                                          

The build up was so exciting and ramped up when it was announced it would be televised. Via Twitter, Phil, a stranger said he’d get me 2 tickets as I couldn’t get there from London and I now stand with Phil and his friends when I get there. We got a fantastic 0-0 before losing 6-1 in the replay. However, Dancing around the seats at Milton Keynes when the 1 went in is up there with Sol Campbell’s goal in Paris in 2006 (and i played Mark Strong's head like the bongos following that goal!)

Since 2012/13 season City have been lodging at Histon and now St Ives. There were moments when I thought they’d go under but they are alive and kicking and the news they can build a new home is magnificent. Following relegation they now have a great management team in place and are looking good. The news about the ground hopefully secures the future of this fantastic little non-League club. Congratulations to everyone who has worked so hard to make this happen. I can't wait (and it's so much closer to the M11!)

Good Luck @cambridgecityfc

 

Alien Feelings Away From Home

Sunday saw an early start to the day, hoping for a lot better then my recent trip to Liverpool. Having gone to Anfield early in the season, I was understandably apprehensive about a return to Merseyside. It started badly. Ed’s Dinner wasn’t open, the cash machine was broken and Jens Lehmann, looking splendid and tall in his club blazer, was running away from the trains north. You need a ticket Jens just like the rest of us! However, even though we have been terrible this season away from home, Everton have just been terrible. Walking around Goodison pre match you could sense the pessimism and speaking to some locals, they weren’t particularly upbeat ahead of this one. The match kicked off and you could see why. Early chances for Ramsey and then Lacazette, both saved by Pickford, made it feel like it could be one of those days.

This was then amplified when Idrissa Gana Gueye picked Granit Xhaka’s pocket and the inevitable happened; Wayne Rooney netting against us for the fifteenth time. My seat in the upper tier of the away section was right next to the home supports, and when this goal went in, I made eye contact with an older gentlemen and just started laughing.

Having already costs us goals in defeats at Stoke, Liverpool and Watford in similar fashion, there were question marks over the Swiss international but to be fair to him he did go on and produce an excellent performance.

Surprisingly, Rooney’s opener didn’t change the flow of the match and we continued to dominate before finally beating Pickford from a thunderbolt from Nacho Monreal. 1-1 at half time, a score that would’ve suited neither; you could feel the nervousness from both sets of supporters. At half time Everton switched from 3-4-2-1 to 4-2-3-1, which somehow made them even more open at the back. However, it did take a sublime goal to put the Gunners in front. A brilliant cross from Alexis Sanchez was flicked in by Mesut Özil and sent the traveling contingent wild. One thing I did spot in the aftermath of this goal was the passion from Grant Xhaka. Screaming, shouting and waving his arms around; maybe a sign of his passion or could simply be relief as he was culpable for the Everton opener. As soon as Idrissa Gana Gueye was dismissed for a stupid second yellow, even at only 1-2, you feared for the Toffees and hoped we would be able to see out the game which has been a problem in the past.

Goals number three for Lacazette and four for Ramsey swiftly followed and each was met by a mass Evertonian exit. Both these goals felt significant for the individuals involved. This was our record signing’s first goal away from the Emirates Stadium, which in previous games had felt as though it had been bothering him. As for the latter it wasn’t the scorer but the architect who this was a massive moment for. Throughout the game the previous week at Vicarage Road, despite not even coming on, ‘SUPER JACKY WILSHERE’ had been sung non stop and the same was heard again this week. In claiming this assist it’ll hopefully help Jack properly feel part of the first team again. I was worried when he went out on loan we’d never see him again.  Everton did pull a goal back and I have never seen any goal more half heartedly celebrated then this one. This was then swiftly cancelled out by a superb goal by Alexis Sanchez but again the defending from Everton was some of the worst I’ve ever witnessed. 

All 3 of Alexis, Özil and Lacazette grabbed a goal, with the two former also getting an assist each, and speaking to Arsenal fans in and around the ground, there was genuine excitement about watching this trio. It was worth the wait. The elderly Everton supporter across the barrier from me caught my eye and said, ‘the best team won by an absolute mile, and that’s not because you’re any good it’s just we are s**t.’ The game summed up very accurately? Maybe? We need to be shown this again against a better side and we know how that goes for us!  As we clapped our boys one very very drunk fan ran onto the pitch towards an applauding Jack Wilshere who charitably handed over his shirt. The lucky fan was swiftly removed to cheers as he waved his match worn shirt like a trophy!

The feeling was very different for the Evertonians I chatted to who were in a subdued mood as one would expect. When asked by me who they’d want to take over from the doomed Koeman the most common name was Sam Allardyce, maybe justified by their current predicament. One fan was even hoping for Liverpool legend Rafa Benitez, which would be controversial to say the least but a thing they all agreed on was they did not want to see the return of a certain David Moyes!

Overall, coming back on the train after an away day victory was an all to alien feeling and we didn’t really know what to do as we usually spend this time complaining about how terrible we were. Not to worry, there will be plenty of opportunity to do just that on the way home from my next away trip, when we visit unbeaten league leaders Manchester City. If that all goes wrong never fear …….. It’s Spurs at home! Ooh to, Ooh to be…..

Knock, Knock, Knocking on Arsene's Door

What the world needs now is love, sweet love. Instead it gets another blog about The Arsenal. I'm going to keep this brief. The perfect bog read length.

We are not in a total mess. We are not getting relegated or going bust. We aren't ground sharing miles from home. We are doing OK. However, when you dress yourself up as a big club you have to back that up. The Arsenal look like one of the biggest clubs in the world. The ground, the training facilities, the squad, the ticket prices. Everything is there apart from what actually happens on the pitch.

The biggest problem we have is the people above AW don't care about that. We have an owner who couldn't find the ground if he was dropped right outside it. As long as the money rolls in he won't even glance in our direction. But our biggest problem is we have nobody knocking on AW's door after pathetic performances to tell him that wasn't good enough. As much as I hate that man at Chelsea he'd be kicking the door down. That's why it's left to the fans to look like prats on ArsenalTV or to make banners as we have no one asking those questions behind the scenes.

There are no consequences for failure at The Arsenal. The players never get dropped, the manager never gets questioned. Failure? It's all relative but I f you dress yourself up like Arsenal do then 13 years without having a good crack at the League should be called failure. The Champions League has given Arsenal a good excuse to label anywhere in the top 4 success. I genuinely think the club doesn't see the league as worth winning. First, fourth, Whatever, the prize is the same.

Anyway, last night was truly pathetic but no more than lots of the absolute crap we've seen all season. I've witnessed people arguing about what's been our worst performance this year!

There is no appetite for change within the club so we will have to just get on with it. We aren't important to the club. It's clear AW will go when he's ready. And when he does go we've got a clueless bunch of clowns picking his replacement.

Now take that big club dress off and get to work.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:London Town

Relaxed At Wembley

Say what you like about the FA Cup but that was a day no Gooner will ever forget. Seeing the pictures of Arsenal fans worldwide brought home just how lucky I was to get a ticket to be at the game. The WhatsApp message a few weeks ago from Eastlower telling me I had the golden 'successful' next to my name will live long in the memory. Indeed my wife, son, Eastlower and his brother hit the jackpot too. A day of it was to be made with the best people to make a day out of. 

You'd think I'd seen too much to have a slightly sleepless night before a game of football but the FA Cup has that effect on old and young. If it's not the first thing you think of on the morning of the match then there is something wrong. But it was a long wait. As I sat having breakfast (see previous post) I just wanted to get there and get started. We were leaving at 2.30pm to park in a factory of a Tottenham supporting friend 5 minutes away from our seats. He kindly said we could park there and if we left a message of support for Tim Sherwood our wheels would still be there at the end!

Even a drive round London's least glamorous road, the North Circular, was exciting as glimpses of the arch kept teasing us. We parked. Deep breath. Check the tickets for the seventy third time and we were off down Wembley Way. 

The game was a joy. We were magnificent from beginning to end. How you pick a man of the match from that I don't know. We played how we know we can. Villa were awful but we made them look awful. No shots on target should tell you everything about them but also our defending. Our only concern was, at 0-0 we were missing chances and there's always a danger of a punt up field and we find ourselves a goal down. Why were we worried? Just in time Theo thumped a left foot past Villa's best player and we erupted. I have never been hugged quite so tightly from so many directions. That joy of a cup final goal is quite something. 

Thank goodness we got our breath back before our second. What a goal that was. Right up there with the best to grace the old/new place. It had the spirit of Ray. We've found our Chilean Parlour! You can imagine the explosion of joy in the stands. The game was won. The cup was ours. A dangerous thought but something was different with the team. They just never looked like it would slip. 

A third was added. We initially thought the ref had blown to stop the game as Villa stood still but no. The spirit of Linigan. Another hug all round and we were enjoying a cup final. Imagine that?! Enjoying a cup final. Eastlower and I even slouched back and reminisced about past finals as this one was going on in front of us. Relaxed at Wembley! The forth was met with cheers, laughter and handshakes. Splendid. 

The team danced as we bounced. The noise is impossible to describe. That joyous football crowd noise. We are lucky enough to know what that is like. The songs started one by one but nothing more moving than the 'Oh Rocky Rocky' one sung with such passion. The cup was lifted and the fireworks went off. We didn't want to leave. 

We headed home in the car with Arsenal songs seeping out the open windows towards hundreds of happy yellow shirted, flag waving Gooners. At 1am I have never felt so awake. The magic of the FA Cup. 

Sunday and the Eastlowers popped round for roast Lamb and a stroll down to the victory parade. 

What a weekend with The Arsenal. 

Lucky Socks

As I sit outside a cafe in Moorgate a man walks past in and old Arsenal shirt proudly advertising JVC. We exchange a nod. 

"Going later" he asks. 

"Of course" 

"Me too. Can't wait" and he disappears towards the City. Impressive exchange considering the only thing that gave me away was yellow & blue stripy socks. 

On no other day of the year would he risk a two word question to a plain clothed stranger in unusual socks. If you're not a Gooner why would you be sporting such an item. 

It's Cup Final Day that's why. 

All morning Whattapp has been literally buzzing with what to wear. Only day of the year this bunch of blokes care? 

I love that we are in yellow today. My first Arsenal memory and the reason I'm an Arsenal fan is seeing Alan Sunderland wheel away. It's 3-2!! I remember standing on the seats at the back of the stand at the City Ground in Nottingham with Eastlower & his brother many many years ago srreaming 'YELLLLLLLLOOOOOOWWWWSSSS' for as long as our lungs would allow. Michael Thomas. Yellow ribbons. 

Right, once this bacon has gone I'm off to burn a mixtape for the car. See you on the other side. 

YEEEELLLLLLLOOOOOWWWWWSS

Ah! The Magic of the Cup

In the words of Rodney P I've "been a Gunner since '79!" My first real Arsenal memory was jumping around the living room as Alan Sunderland ran, arms waving, swearing his perm off in the Wembley sunshine. The excitement was too much for a young boy. I was aware of Arsenal. I knew the players from my Panini book but that moment the ball sailed over Bailey and was tapped home changed my life.

That was it. I was a Gunner. No turning back now. Cheap replica kit from the market was purchased for my birthday & I was Sunderland or Stapleton in the back garden every afternoon. The ball would be lofted towards the shed. Shed would play it back to a running 'Stapleton' who would bury it and bring the cup home. They were alway cup games against Liverpool or Spurs. Never a goal that secures 4th place against Stoke or Newcastle. Never. Always the cup.

There are so many memories of the FA Cup. The pain of West Ham, that stooping header, Willie Young's assault. Then nothing. The early & mid 80s were difficult for a young boy. Nothing. Then the 90s turned up. '91 we don't count as apparently it's lucky for spurs when the year ends in 1. Look out for them in 7 years then.

1993. 4 trips to Wembley. Beating them in the semi. Milk cup win and then 2 dull, but not for us, FA Cup finals against Wednesday on Saturday and Thursday. We were "'Shoutin' for the Gunners!" On the Friday I bumped into Andy Linigan in the Arsenal tube station and said something stupid like, "Your nose looks sore. I was there last night."

In 1998 we were 'Hot Stuff' before we moved to our (nearly) yearly pilgrimage to Wales. They were fantastic trips. The FA Cup mixtape for the car was essential. Liverpool was forgettable apart from our friend telling a mouthy scouse child sitting in the Arsenal end to "Remember where you are sonny!"

I remember being huddled under the canopy outside Cardiff Starbucks playing Arsenal Top Trumps with @eastlower, his brother and the mate from above. It was raining. We were cold and a bit moany. A drenched Southampton fan walked past. Stopped and said, "This is the best day ever!" After 9 years I now know how he feels.

One of our best days was the 'only Ray Parlour' victory over that lot. After the game we parted ways and I drove back to London with just @eastlower's brother. I got home and @lovelymrs started to quiz me about him. Does he have a girlfriend? Where is he working? Question after question was greeted with 'I dunno!'
"But you were in the car with him for hours. What did you talk about?"
"Nothing" I replied, "We pretended to be Tim Westwood for most of it!"


So it's 9 years since we thrashed Man U on penalties and I can't wait. I hope the club realise how much we love this. The area is buzzing. The locals are talking about it. Have you got a ticket? Where are you watching it? Friends of mine of other teams wishing me good/bad luck. There are yellow ribbons on cars. It's a shame there isn't a cup final song. It's brilliant.

So tomorrow morning guess what will be the first thing you think about? We will win and on Sunday morning a while new generation will be playing that ball off the shed to volley home as Ramsey or Özil or Jack. I know I will....

It's Feverpitch who can hit 'em....oooh what a great goal.....(lies on back in the North London sunshine!)

12 days of The Arsenal.

Recently @arsenal asked on Twitter for suggestions for their 12 days of Arsenal. They rejected all of mine. Very hurtful after my son and I spent literally minutes on it...

On the 12th day of Arsenal my true love gave to me...

12 Champions League points

11 Mesut Özils

10 is always Bergkamp

9 months off for Diaby

8 years since a trophy

7 is Rocky Brady

6 points off Tottenham

5 quid for chips*

4 subs we've heard of**

3% price rise

Too many Bendtners

And a yellow card for Flamini.

*not entirely true
**see the bench a couple of months ago

Now if I were Gunnerblog I'd rap this and have a video but I don't. Sorry!

At the risk of the blog going all Sonogo again may I wish all the Gooners near and far a very merry Christmas and a title winning new year.

Up The Gunners.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iTelephone.

We Might Be In Trouble....

.....but we're not in this much trouble! Enjoy.

A Bucket of Stones

"Dad, Man U just made a tactical substitution. Imagine that! Imagine having enough players to do that Dad!"

In the seven seasons my son has had a season ticket he has gone from an innocent little boy who would jump on the spot with excitement at the thought of watching The Arsenal to a cynically sarcastic teenager fed up with the same old nonsense. One the one hand I admire his comment. It's the kind of thing I'd tweet. That's my boy! On the other hand it's a punch in the guts.

Going through yesterday's game is pointless. He did this. He did that. The ref....the crowd.....All pointless. It was only one game. We can recover and probably will but this is all about the bigger story. In many ways it's about how a teenager has had his hope eroded since the Highbury move.

Writing any Arsenal blog is getting harder and harder as we can only say the same stuff over and over again. This is nothing new. It's something I've spoken about to other bloggers since I joined in about 3 years ago. There are only so many ways to moan about losing your best every year and the desperate need for signings. This summer made a nice change. We didn't lose a gem to a rival but excelled ourselves in kicking an enormous opportunity in the groin. We all know this. It's been said a billion times by a million Gooners. The only people who don't respond to it are the tiny few who can.

I'm a huge fan of Arsene. If you are an Arsenal supporter you can be nothing else after what he has done for us. However he is making it harder and harder to defend him. I really worry, especially after yesterday's press conference, that he might be going a bit Brian Clough.

Getting rid of so much deadwood was essential but without replacements is madness and you have to ask who brought a lot of these players in the first place. Somebody saw something in them to bring them to the club. What happened? We're they good enough and destroyed or are we shopping at a level where that's what you get? Take Gervinho for example. I was amazed how misty-eyed people became over him when he left. He was clearly not good enough for us. He added absolutely nothing to the team whatsoever and missed open goals against division 4 teams. He was a nice fella though so it's OK to wish him well but he, to me, summed up where we are. A second tier team shopping in Aldi to save money. But who needs to go? If Arsene goes do we trust the board to replace him with the ambitious and trophy hungry dynamic manager we crave? Don't hold any breath.

The club and my son's hope has been slowly eroded. They have brainwashed us into thinking 4th a bloody trophy & fooling us into thinking we are still challengers because we have a big ground and free sticker books. I'm not even demanding a cup. I just want the hope back. I want to share that feeling of elation with my son when we score and moved back to the top of the league. I want to hope Man U lose because it helps our chances rather than because I just hate them. I want to kick off a season thinking we could have a good go at this. Nobody had that feeling at 3pm yesterday and how we felt at 4.45pm wasn't as surprising as it should have been.

To cheer myself up yesterday I went 'Arsenal fishing.' I walked up the pier and laughed at all the other fishermen with all their equipment and knowledge of how to fish properly. I had a bucket of stones. Free stones from the beach. I threw a hand full in. I must hit something eventually. Nothing. So I had one last go. I saw a big fish. I threw my big stone. It made a splash, missed by miles and he swam away. The other fishermen with their buckets full of their days work turned and laughed at my empty bucket. I left with nothing and hungry. Next time I go I'm taking someone who knows what they are doing. They might be able to help me make a tactical change if it's not working out. Imagine that.

Back (Where we belong)

I hang on to see England go one up in the Ashes before rushing out the house with youngest daughter excited pulling on the car door. We are off to her best friends birthday party which is why Arsenal's first action of the season was followed by texts from the lovely Mrs while I sat outside a hair & beauty parlour by the A41.

Ashes & football shouldn't mix. It's all a bit too early but I guess it is purely a money generating jaunt. Despite this it's televised and followed by us all across the world. My son's lack of enthusiasm was due to that special disease that our club can't seem to shake off - Lackofsigningsitus. The one chap we did win at the fair was off winning something so it was left to the old faces to wallop the first opposition 7-0.

See this as a short run out in the sun, a bit of blog per-season. The blog petered out last season just as the team decided to wake up. I've made no new signings but I'm raring to go!

It's July. It's 32 degrees in this lay by & football is back. Cricket and tennis are all well and good but we all feel a little bit more normal today.

Up The Arsenal.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hope (then Glory)

"Dad, I think I'll go to the party on Sunday."
"OK, err, right, so you're not coming to The Arsenal? Err. OK. "
As I searched my phone for the email invite I joked that The Arsenal can't compete with bowling and Nandos while my son seemed to be plucking up the courage for what he wanted to say.
"What's the point? We never challenge for anything."
He turned and headed back to the Xbox. I shrugged slightly wounded.

Now this is a difficult blog to write. My first since Christmas as I just ran out of things to say. The Arsenal have been part of me for what seems forever. Every room of our house has something Arsenal related in it. My wife is a season ticket holder. Fixtures are the first things to go on the calendar. There is no escaping it. It's a huge part of who we are.

My son had little choice. That is The Arsenal son and they are your team. His first game was at the tail end of Highbury. There are pictures of his huge grin as he looks on that immaculate pitch in awe. In those 7 years we have huffed and puffed to get top 4 and messed up a couple of cup finals. On top of this he's had to watch his favourite players, the names on the back of his shirts, leave. Why didn't I buy him a Gervinho shirt?

I'm worried that my apathy has rubbed off on him. Over the years since the move to our sponsored arena The Arsenal have started to lose me. The football has become boring to watch. There are less crucial games as we aren't challenging. The players have dropped in quality. Every year our club has been chipped away at. Our season now consists of trying to qualify for a competition we can't win & finishing above Spurs. It's a far cry from the days of kicking off in August with hope in your heart.

And to me it's the loss of hope that's changed everything. I don't think we have a right to success. I don't even crave a trophy as such but I do think we deserve the hope of one. We have no hope of a title or Champions League win. We have no hope of domestic cup success. This season's FA & League cup exits were shameful yet were just accepted by the club as is the gulf between us and the champions. Where is the hope we will sign players to correct this? We won't and next season will be the same as this.

It's a simple equation. The best players leave just when we are building something so we replace. They take time to settle in so every season we sod about for the first half. As the team finds its feet we finish strongly or at least scratch out the right results. I'm hoping this season the mould will be smashed as I can't see many in our squad who, if they left, would rip the heart out of the side. This summer we might actually build rather than replace.

You are probably expecting me to want us to fail to force change. I understand the perversity of that but don't agree. Why fall so low that recovery is impossible? Look at Liverpool. If we can keep the better players & add better ones the hope returns.

So on Sunday I really want us to win. Not for another pointless (yet moneymaking) go in the Champion£ £eague but because I hate those bastards who've sailed to the title above all other teams. We were once their rivals. Now they can pop over to our house and help themselves. Whoever had the final say on that transfer should never sleep again. However, he was right to leave. Until the hope returns it will keep happening. I'm bored watching a team whose only ambition is 4th. It must be equally dull playing in one.

This leaves us open to accusations of moaning gits from supporters of nearly every other team in the land. We might end up 3rd. Not bad eh? The problem is we are incapable of better. Maybe the real problem is we are doing well and we have a constant feeling of narrowly missing out. If we were 10th we couldn't claim to be a couple of players short.

I don't know what the answer is and I hate feeling like this but football has changed into a mass money making effort where the old fashioned idea of real success on the pitch is old hat. So if we get 4th and you stand to applaud remember what you're clapping. You're celebrating another round of revenue generating and probably tedious group games. If that's your thing then enjoy it but I've seen what The Arsenal can do and the lovely feelings they can give you and I miss that. I miss that a lot.


- Posted using BlogPress in a car park.

Happy Christmas!

It's been a while since I've troubled the blog. It's been resting. Maybe it couldn't face up to some of the horrors of some of the shows we've seen. Maybe it fell asleep at some of the others. Has it been a good year? Not good so much as ..... meh...

Yet somehow we lie 4th in the table. 3 wins on the spin thanks to the bottom team and a flurry of penalties sees us rise to our natural spot. Does it feel like a trophy yet?

Does this sound too downbeat? Possibly but the performances leave us all feeling unbubbly. We are rarely convincing and seldom exciting. Since my last blog we've lost to a Division 4 side, had one shot against Villa, were out passed by Swansea, squeaked past Wigan ...... You get the picture. Downbeat maybe. The problem is it's hard to enjoy watching this team at the moment.

But all is not lost. We are top 4 again and I hope that doesn't cloud the management's judgement in the January sales. We need more quality about the place. We need another striker as two would be great (don't count Walcott - not good enough up top in the middle.)

So one more game of 2012 to go and I hope we can go out giving us some hope of a pleasant new year. Here's to an actual trophy you can hold and have a picture taken with like the good old days. Tell the kids we used to do that and they just won't believe you.

Happy Christmas and Up the Gunners.

Strictly Come Prancing.

There was a minor argument in our house on Saturday afternoon when my daughter found out that The Arsenal would be showing on the big telly during Strictly. A compromise was made. The Saturday night Lycra festival will be postponed until Sunday morning and she could stay up a bit later than usual. Good parenting! She understands that The Arsenal will always beat Brucie (can we play him every week) but she can't fathom why me, my wife & son looked so miserably bored watching something that had bumped her favourite programme into touch.

This is difficult to write. I don't want to go on a massive rant. Much like the latest excuse I just don't have the energy. It's quite clear things aren't right. We now have 1 point from our last 3 away games. 20 points from 39. We are in course to finish on about 57 points which last season would've seen us settle in 7th! Maths doesn't lie. Unless we improve that's where we are.

Let's look at the last 3 games. 2 wins and an away draw. Not bad and it does seem overly grumpy to be critical. However against spuds we started very badly before the joyous red card was flashed. Against Montpellier we were shocking in the first half. Against Villa we were shocking in both halves. The results are OK but it's the long term prospects that worry us pessimists.

In all honesty we just look average and that's not good enough for The Arsenal. We don't challenge for the league anymore and the domestic cup are played with indifference. We have no Devine right to win anything but we do have a right to hope. I look at this squad and they don't look special.




Maybe we need to move our own goalposts. There was a time when a massive win against the spuds would've been not only lovely but a useful 3 points in our challenge for the title. Now it's just lovely. We are like so many clubs now where individual results are important. The bigger picture has faded away.

Yesterday was so lack lustre it was embarrassing. One shot on target all afternoon & lucky not to lose. The manager's odd substitutions said we were happy with a draw at a team that have a good chance of going down. Not good enough.

I'm not sure where to go with this now. We've all said everything that needs to be said time and time again. The one thing I've avoided since blogging is the manager's position as I believe what Arsene has brought to the club deserves our total respect. However, due to the merry-go-round this week it got me thinking about what would happen if Arsene walked away. Who on earth would take over? The board at the club are hopeless and I wouldn't trust them with a catering contract (look at the menus in the ground!) let alone picking the right man to replace a legend. What shocked me yesterday was, for the first time, I was backing the manager not because I think he's still the right man but that I can't see a viable alternative! If there was an alternative the Chavs would've appointed him.

Basically we need to back the manager and the team we have but we can criticise both without being disloyal. Without opinions football is pointless. We also need to accept where we are now. Things will change. They have to. They cannot maintain this mediocrity if they want the stadium full or the tills in the shops to keep ringing. That new sponsorship money will have to be used.

But before I go.....

The tired excuse of being 'tired' was trotted out again yesterday and it just doesn't wash anymore. Why the manager thinks we will sit back and go 'oh they were tired after an uninspiring midweek game against a very weak French team were they? That explains it' is bizarre. It does him no favours. Gibbs, in the Arsenal magazine, says he gets up between 8.30 and 9am every day! He must be exceptionally tired! It's a piss poor excuse that just makes things worse. Stop it.

So onwards to Everton. Let's hope they are bloody exhausted.

The Mirror Licker's Sadness

"Right, let's get this over with" was the last thing I said to the visiting Spurs fan and his son as we left the house. He could hardly believe my pessimism but it's been that kind of season. We were ripe for a beating. Little did I know he felt the same.

A few hours later and we were chanting 'Are you Tottenham in disguise' at a sorry bunch in the corner. That has always been my favourite song directed at them. No need to resort to pathetic child molester material. The good old fashioned piss take wins the day.

It could've been so different. We started poorly. Eventually we buckled with what I'm fairly sure is the worst bit of defending in the history of anything. It was so bad I had to watch the bloody goal again to make sure I had not made it up. AdeBuysWhores scored it. Of course he did. He was picked especially to wind us up. Proof, if indeed you need any, that their manager is a detestable mirror licking mug. He smugly sat on the bench pleased with his choice until, like a marvellous early Christmas present for us, it blew up in his face. An appalling studs up saw the ref reach for his card and the dickhead trudged towards the tunnel to a display of season tickets fluttering in the afternoon breeze.

There is no doubt that AdeBuysWhores did more for us in that moment of madness than he did in his last two years at the club. They had tickled the post just before and we had yet to attack. Suddenly the pressure was on. We could not lose to them with 11. Now it was unthinkable. Yet, still there was little confidence. I worried that it would take a while to break them down and frustration would restrict us. The BFG had different ideas with a massive unstoppable header. 1-1. Relief!

If the spuds had formed an orderly queue to punch Adebayor full in the face at half time I wouldn't be surprised. Going in 3-1 down after leading and playing well until his assault would be a jagged pill to swallow. To us? Very very funny. That does take a bit away from our own team. We started to play well and Lady Luck, who seems to have lost the new stadiums address, finally turned up. Poldolski's miss kick, last week, would've gone wide. Today it bobbled in. The third goal was just brilliant football. At 1pm I really didn't think I would be celebrating 3 times before the break but I was. We all were and it was lovely.

The spuds had a change around at half time and gave it a go in the second half. Cazorla scored a deserved goal but at 4-1 up we did that thing The Arsenal do and gave up a bit. I wish we'd go for the jugular sometimes. They were there for a seeing to but no. We prefer to let them back in it. Bale strolled through unchallenged to score their second. We are Arsenal so 4-2 up at home against 10 men leaves us uncomfortable!

We weathered the nerves and even stuck in a fifth to rub it in. 5-2 again! As the sign says 'over and over and over again!' The songs were sung. Happy faces everywhere you looked. Strangers talking again. This was by far the best home game of the season. This is how it once was. It's how it should be.

We all know that things aren't fixed by this. There are many problems with this squad. You don't have your worst start for 30 years if all is rosy and we saw some of the problems today but we needed to beat Tottenham today and beat Tottenham we did. For once put your thoughts on the board, manager or players to one side. Have a day off and enjoy this marvellous result. Will it kick start our season? Who knows? Time will tell but today we put 'them' in their place and we should bathe in the glow it gives you.

Their odious manager will be so upset the reflection in the mirror above his bed won't look so appealing to him tonight. He is sad. Alan Sugar will be angry. Chas and Dave will be silent. For all that,The Arsenal, we thank you. We thank you very much.

Up the Gunners.