Arsenal Times - It's the hope I can't stand

It's the hope I can't stand

Cold up North

By Boris Mellor March 28 2008
Every day I read an Arsenal player, or the manager, saying something on the lines of "we can still win the league if we win the next seven games". Now I don't know about you, and this is not about apportioning blame, but I think it is very unlikely that a team that has just failed to win five premiership games in a row is just about to win the next seven.

Now I would love to be wrong, I hope I am wrong but it is most unlikely. Of course if they win the next seven in a row that could help lift the gloom that has descended on Chez Boris. However I knew the game was up when we failed to beat Boro, if you can't beat Boro at home you are not on your way.
To make it worse Sagna, our best defender all season, is now crocked, so ever since Eduardo got injured, and apart form AC Milan away, each day has brought ever increasing misery for Arsenal and Gooners. Not only that but we are now being punished by Referees, they are making Arsenal pay for complaining about shit decisions by imposing even more of them.
I am not going to analyse what caused this parlous state, that should only be done when the season is over and we know for sure how well or poorly the team has performed over a whole season, not just the March nightmare.
Now we are off to Bolton, after International week, and we are always poor after a break, and just before the big CL game on Wednesday. Wenger says he is concentrating on the league, quite right, but I wonder whether the players will? Imagine the choice throw everything into the Bolton game and risk injury and missing the big stage, or wing it and hope the boss doesn't notice. What would you choose, oh come on, they are only human, worse than that they are only footballers. What are you hoping for? Me, mainly that Arsenal get back without any new injuries.
Well you have guessed by now that my hopes are not that high, have you noticed that the more our players talk up their chance the worse it gets? I find that hopeful kind of talk irritating, you know it will go belly up. All this hope and expectation becomes very wearing, indeed unbearable. But now that the hope is gone I feel relaxed and can laugh at adversity.
Abandon hope it's the way forward
That's what the team needs to do give up hope, realise they fecked it, blew it, just admit it and stop crapping on about winning seven games. Is that showing the white flag? Of course it is, saying that Man U will win it and we wish them well is clearly surrender. The last time Wenger publicly conceded that Man U had won the title, Man U fans collected from the bookies, and Arsenal collected the title. It probably wouldn't work twice, but so much more refreshing than all this hope crap. Did I say "It's the hope I cant stand". Apologies to the inventor of this phrase (I think it was a Sunderland fan), but it's the only way I can sum up how I feel.

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