By Boris Mellor
July 22 2013

I attempted to use the football break for clearing up, I say attempted as often or not instead of throwing things away I end up becoming engrossed in the memorabilia. I don’t mean programmes back in the thirties, or my precious at Anderlecht away programme, no they are safely archived, but recent smutter, mail shots and the like.

I was just about to throw out my 2009/10 season ticket mailing when my eyes fell on the front cover with its slogan, “NOW IS OUR TIME Wherever Forever Arsenal”. On what was this optimism based? The answer came in the image, five to be correct.

On the front cover wearing the new strip for that season, looking mighty and determined into the camera was Fabregas, flanked by Theo and Nasri who were flanked by Adebayor and RVP. Not the greatest line up ever, but at the time not bad, actually it would be better than we had last season by a mile.

It then suddenly occurred to me, no not that only one remains, but the speed at which the other 4 departed. Indeed Adebayor was gone on the 18 th July that year (2009). What numpty in Marketing didn’t spot that one coming? I know most fans did, indeed they wanted him gone.

However, it’s not the first time that stunt has been pulled, after all they kept on arguing Nasri would stay up to the day he left, I don’t suppose they sold many shirts with Nasri on them as most fans detested him by then and they had already bought their season ticket, but they didn’t feel the same about his co escapee Fab who left a year earlier.

Wherever Forever Arsenal

Within four season of this particular brainless piece of marketing four out of the five had left. Forever did not apply to them, and wherever certainly doesn’t apply to RvP, Ade or Nasri, it might apply to Fab but we will know next year when he leaves Barca. The fifth became involved in a war of wills with the manager over pay, and actually won, but only after missing much of the first half of the season.

If I had dug into my archive I could find hundreds of players that spent a full career at Arsenal, even as recently as Dennis Bergkamp. Rocastle cried when he was told he was leaving. When Charlie George fell out with the manager he went to Derby not Spurs as he didn’t want to let down the fans. That was then, not now, and now is why I don’t particularly care about the players, and increasingly less excited by the Premiership.

A tip for marketing.

No doubt Marketing are not at all embarrassed by their numerous example of doing what they did in 2009-10, and many fans have the memory of a goldfish, so are not likely to hold them to account. Although that is probably an unfair comment as scientific evidence is beginning to prove fish have far longer memories than we thought,  in fact up to 5 months , which is longer than most fans including myself. Indeed I can’t remember who scored 3 weeks ago.

Nonetheless to avoid future claims of miss - selling I suggest a new slogan for season ticket sales.

Now is our Time for 4^th Place Whenever Whatever.

NOW IS OUR TIME Wherever Forever Arsenal

Discussion started by Arsenal Times , 22/07/2013 15:14

Arsenal Times
22/07/2013 15:14

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:07:30:17:01:48 by Padre Pio.

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Indiangooner
23/07/2013 04:12

Gordon wld be happy u put up an instant retraction on ur comment abt his memory

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weedz
23/07/2013 09:50

There`s also a general air of discontent of the rugby fan-base over here in NZ. Particularly the Super15 comp, at present, Padre.

It`s becoming `stale` and predictable. And we`re feed a constant diet of rugby for almost 10 months of the year.

When I read your piece above, my reaction was `You must change with the times, Padre. Then was then and now is now.`

But if the competition does not change and if it`s the same clubs that are dominant, as they were 20 whatever years ago when the FAPL came into existance, or the 15 odd years ago when the Super10 rugby comp began, why should you change?

In fact you shouldn`t, mate.

The standards have changed. Money changes every one of us. Those old standards are now memouries, but fond memouries.

Since the end of WW1, 1919, when the FA restarted its 4 tier football league, with Arsenal fc in the 1st div, there’s only ever been one club to have never been relegated from Div 1/ EPL.

Arsenal fc

Let’s keep making history

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AJ The Gunner
23/07/2013 10:21

amazing how all this happened in a flash indeed. i can't even explain how i feel any more except that i feel like a mighty fool believing something Massive will happen to kick-start arsenal as a title winning club..but we all no NOW IS NOT THE TIME...


GOOD ARTICLE

Can We Now Trust The Process 🤔🤷🏿‍♀️ or Should We Still Remain Cautious 🙇🏿‍♀️

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South London gooner
23/07/2013 11:47

Arsenal will not move forward until we sack Wenger. Fuc*ing fire that cu*t .

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tigerline
23/07/2013 14:07

Quote:

AJ The Gunner
amazing how all this happened in a flash indeed. i can't even explain how i feel any more except that i feel like a mighty fool believing something Massive will happen to kick-start arsenal as a title winning club..but we all no NOW IS NOT THE TIME...

GOOD ARTICLE

That Massive something will take place once wenger is gone.
HE is holding us back ... and the Board that keeps suffocating this club by keeping wenger around.

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RadioFreeArsenal
23/07/2013 14:17

But tiger that Board will still be here and has no incentive whatsoever to find a manager who will do things any differently. Really you think they're going to get a Mourinho-type who will demand and fight for every penny he needs and can get to improve his team? Come on.

This is like a doctor cutting off an infected arm but leaving the infection itself attached. And we aren't getting rid of the Board or the ownership hiding behind the Board now with a billion pounds or so.

This is why we need to address and challenge and protest the policies first. Get rid of the policies altogether and you get rid of the damage they do. getting rid of any individuals does not guarantee achieving that. Otherwise the manager would already be gone and probably before now frankly if you are correct in his being the sole or primary cause of these policies.

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Billythekid
26/07/2013 10:07

It's that old chestnut Radio, people know that corporations and the government are the enemy but they are an enemy that the people think they cannot touch and so they kick the unemployed instead.
People don't believe that they can change the policies of the board and so they ignore all of the facts and common sense and aim at the next best target.

What makes me laugh is that we have bid in excess of 40m for Suarez in the same year that sponsorship deals worth 60m every year for 5 years came into play, so it is not Wenger and it has never been, it was always a policy of the board a point which I have been making for about 5 years on this forum and the fact that Wenger wants Suarez and is ready to pay 40m for him proves it once and for all.

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Padre Pio
26/07/2013 11:22

And some of the tactics and crazy substitutions the board have made. And why the feck they bought Park I dont know. Free the Arsenal 1

"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.

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RadioFreeArsenal
26/07/2013 20:49

the Worst thing Billy is that while you are bang-on about the Board I'm not sure anything has changed. Bidding is the easy part. You and I could launch our own club and put in a 100 million pound bid for Suarez, and so long as he won't pay for the 100 GBP a week we offer to pay him we don't have to actually pay that 100 million a week and can bank it away and use it to push the share price upward if we like.

I swear I watched The Producers last night (the classic movie not the annoying musical version of it) and thought these guys could pull this scam off at Arsenal if they had wanted to the same way.

Springtime for Arsenal?

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