Arsenal
Wenger protest, media & the real world - I won't do that Pt1
Wenger protest
By Eduardo
May 16 2010
Emirates Cup protest. It is claimed that a group of Arsenal fans are arranging a protest at the Emirates Cup against Arsene Wenger if he does not buy a number one goalkeeper. I would point out that it's my understanding that Almunia has a better record than Buffon this season.
I would love to know will the protest still go ahead if we sign a new first choice goalie that they don't know anything about, or who they don't rate. If we sign a goalie will these fans then decide to protest because they want a winger signed, or a new midfielder etc.
I wonder how fans like these would cope with following a Pompey or Leeds. It's funny how the web is full of fans claiming to be Arsenal season ticket holders who are so outraged they will not be going back to the Emirates till Wenger is gone, or at least until he has spent vast amounts of money on the team.
However, a recent survey shows Arsenal season ticket holders are one of the most likely to renew their season tickets. They are more likely to renew than Man U or Chelsea fans, and most other Premiership club fans. It seems that those that actually go to games are far more loyal than those who claim to be season ticket holders
Supporting Arsenal and Wegner does not have to be one or the other
I have seen many times on Arsenal blogs and sites that anyone who dares stand up to the moaners be called Arsene supporters, and not Arsenal supporters, a good sound bite, but in reality just that, a meaningless sound bite, I have supported Arsenal, since the days of Bertie Mee, strangely enough not from the Fairs Cup win in 70 or even the Double in 71, no my support began with the League Cup loss to third division Swindon, one of our clubs most embarrassing big days.
I have supported Arsenal under the management of Mee, Neill (that was tough a lot of the time), Howe (was sad to see him leave, I thought he was building a good young squad - now where have I seen that since), Graham (some great times, some mind numbing times) Rioch (will never feel ill will towards him as he signed us Dennis Bergkamp) and now Wenger (has changed us totally in nearly all aspects of the club), there has been a few caretaker managers in there too, and I supported Arsenal all the time.
I defended each and every one of those managers when I saw fit to do so; and I will always defend our manger if I think he is acting in the best interest of Arsenal FC, not just the Arsenal first team. Of course Wenger's success (even if I think it should have been way more) also gives him extra time in my book, just as Graham got it from me due to his success.
What also gives AW more leeway with me is that much of his decisions in the last few years were not by choice, but by necessity. He did not buy more players because the money was just not there, players walking out on us, or demanding a transfer scuppered some of his team plans, the Webster clause added to the new tax rate also meant money had to be put to contracts and not signings, but despite all that Arsenal in the last two years have spent £40M on incoming transfers, and have extended the contracts of 17 players.
I won't do that
In the last year more than £120M has been knocked off the club's debt, something that as Wenger put it, "finally mean we have the money to buy the players needed". Wenger lost some of my support in the last few years, a fair bit of it this season, but I will give him this summer to see if he takes the action I think he will, if not he will lose a lot more of my support, but Arsenal will not lose my support, only thing that might shake that is if we sell out to a sugar daddy, I just do not agree with that.
Real World
Well I don't know about the rest of you, but going on some of the nonsense I see spouted by some about Arsenal's way of running the Club, I live in a different real world than you. In my world, just like Arsenal FC, I have to pay my bills, my mortgage has to be paid on time or there is problems, I have trouble borrowing more money out of the bank, especially if its so I can speculate to accumulate with a promise to the bank manager than if I'm successful I will then pay him back. I don't have a sugar daddy(a la Chelsea or Man City) who writes off my debts, I don't have a banker(a la Man U) who seemingly is happy to see me go further and further in debt as long as my customers keep using my business.
My real world is to live within my means, spend what I can afford on improving my business, yes I speculate a little, what I can afford to risk, I've seen too many other businesses go belly up in a foolish attempt to compete on similar terms with much richer competitors. I want, when I'm gone, to have left something that will last the test of time, that those who I hand it over to have something built with a strong foundation, good principles, a loyal customer base. Just one last word on the real world, Arsenal Football Club is a business, yes its main business is football, but if it's not run properly off the field it can not sustain success or even hope for prolonged success on it.
Media bias
One of Wenger's best interviews this last year was the one where he said the media no longer report the news, they now decide what is the news, what is worthy of the headlines, even if a far more serious story is about. In football terms SKY decide what a foul was, what is a dive, who deserves a ban, who should be hounded and who should be let off. You know its 20 years since Liverpool won the league but it's a bigger story that Arsenal have not won a trophy for five years, Liverpool along with the 20 years without a league are four years without a trophy, but even that combined is not seen worthy of frequent mention like Arsenal's five barren years.
There are many reason why the media in general don't like Arsenal, its not new, its not a Wenger era thing, its much deeper, but Wenger's knowledge on all things, the whole French thing(manager and players), the not spending big, are just more reasons why they media hate us.
The problem for Arsenal is that now, unlike years ago, our own fans are siding with the media, it's the modern era of next big thing, one day wonders, the pop idol and big brother type of instant fame for talentless morons. Football fans have now gone the same route, if we don't win every time we want to have someone to blame, we have come to believe we deserve to get what we want, no matter what.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:05:28:16:28:52 by Padre Pio.
Are you a complete cretin ?
Very good read Eduardo. Two thumbs way up.
a) The club could have SOLD to BUY. Why do we have so many midfielders, and two of our last three major purchases have been attacking midfielders when there are players like Merida and Wilshere in the reserves, but are prepared to allow such thin and low quality personnel at the back. So its immediately not a money issue and one of preparation.
b) Ticket prices are not those of a club drifting along in the middle bracket. You can put up any argument you like about not going etc etc. but if you invite people to a top restuarant and serve up a meal with gaping deficiencies you will get complaints, simple as that.
1 Merida and Wilshere were not ready yet for first team, Wilshere only turned 18 in Jan
2 The point on the season ticket holders is that most of those who claim on the web to be season ticket holders are not, and don't go to games at all, and like our tiny trotts troll are just mischief makers - the fact that the recent survey of all clubs season ticket holders show Arsenal season ticket holders are very likely to renew their tickets, so it is strange that so many of them say on the web they will not, also strange that so many of them are on one or two blogs, one is now referred to by us happy clappers as Le Groan, its tiny trotts troll central
Quote:celine dion
b) Ticket prices are not those of a club drifting along in the middle bracket. You can put up any argument you like about not going etc etc. but if you invite people to a top restuarant and serve up a meal with gaping deficiencies you will get complaints, simple as that.
If you invite people to one of the ten best restaurants in the world and they do nothing but complain then they can @#$%& off
Is dream of building arsenal with a young team without any experiences will always be a dream, now five years is ong enought, si taxi please for the professor.
lets face it the club is more important as one man view, and he's taken US as far as he can!!!
Now we have to move on!!!!!!!
Quote:angelomontreal
We need to go out and make sure The professor notice us!!!!
Is dream of building arsenal with a young team without any experiences will always be a dream, now five years is ong enought, si taxi please for the professor.
lets face it the club is more important as one man view, and he's taken US as far as he can!!!
Now we have to move on!!!!!!!
If you want to spout nonsense, i suggest you do it on your facebook page and not in a place where there is a bit more than teenage naivety.
I will take issue with some of this. For instance this supposed media dislike of Arsenal. Where is it exactly?
Wenger has been criticized for acting like a child, rightly,
in my view, on several occasions. He's a bad loser. Fine,
many of us are. But some of his excuses for defeats have been lacking in coherency.
I spoke to a Chav's fan last week and beleive me he takes an opposite view regarding press coverage. He is adamant that his team attracts vast amounts of negative press. He perceives Arsenal as loved by the press, our "wonderful" football is the toast of the media.
This obsession with media hatred because we don't spend big is nonsense. Many of the fans though are fed up with our
tentative forays into the transfer market.
You say the media focus on our lack of trophies in recent years and mention Pool's 20 years of waiting for a title.
Pool fans,it seems, want the title more than anything but
they did win a CL under Benitez and they have won a trophy
more recently than we have. But why do you think Wenger is taken to task on his recent lack of success? Because he's won
so much in so few years. With that sort of record many wonder
why the trophies are not forthcoming.
As to the business side, yes football is a business but tell me how many businesses could run with the sort of deficit Manu or Pool have and not be declared bankrupt? In other
words football is an extraordinary business.
Do you really think Arsenal would go the way of Leeds or Portsmouth if we spent a few million more on players?
You're not comparing like with like. I'm not suggesting we
are the biggest club in the world but we have deeper support
than those two.
The real world in football does not reflect ordinary reality,
at least not at the very top. If you want us to compete with
the Chavs, City, even Manu, we'll need a generous rich owner.
For the present that is the situation.
Anyway Wenger says we finally have the money to spend. So let's see him spend it. I can't wait to see what happens over this summer.
Like i always say, as long as fans are from different race,culture,tribe & tongue, as long as fans have different temperaments, they must react differently..sometimes in the most infuriating manner,sometimes in the must blind trusting manner....and sometimes in a very reasonable manner...the fact is, we all make a wonderful bunch of supporters.......
we can get livid with these media freaks all we want,the fact is; they are under pressure too to make news that sells or they loose their jobs....arsenal & wenger have given them the perfect tool they need and so life goes on.....
wenger has a firm grip over the club and he is by no means a man the board can toy with...he can be ruthless but always considerate...and he has shown and acted as though he is delusional, obsessive and damn right stubborn.sometimes he has acted like he is out touch with the reality of this footballing era....what i'm saying in effect is that if wenger says NO to the board they will listen....if he wants it any other way, the board will listen.....
should i blame him for what is happening? i say a mighty YES!!!! in business,when the same errors re-occur at an alarming rate and no solutions to solve it...who do you blame....the masses who pay for the services???...partly yes cos if they refuse to pay for the services the business suffers but majority of the blame goes to service providers
great read!!!
Can We Now Trust The Process 🤔🤷🏿♀️ or Should We Still Remain Cautious 🙇🏿♀️
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:05:17:15:03:48 by AJ The Gunner.
Gazides believes that is an investment for the future, if they leave they will command high transfer fees.
We shall see
"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.
there's no 'conspiracy', nobody thinks there is so people who go on about that are morons
there is, however, a clear dislike for a number of aspects of our club in much of the british press
the british press, in general terms, has a historical mistrust of, amongst other things, technical football, intellectualism, 'soft' players and foreigners (cheating or otherwise)
our club is seen as embodying many of these things. we aren't alone in getting abuse - drogba gets a lot, on and off, for example - but we do probably get the most. this obviously increases the longer we don't win anything because it encourages the media, and the people that listen to them, to think that they were right all along
of course on the other hand there are elements of the media who tend to side with us - southern softies if you like - but they're generally less hysterical and less listened to by the majority of football fans
dissent. Makes the club realise we haven't all fallen
asleep watching the team pass its way to the six yard
box.
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