Tag Archives: Arsenal

Stop sucking the fun out of football

There are a lot of things I hate about modern day football. Ticket prices, the lack of connection between clubs and fans, attention seekers who try to become YouTube / twitter celebrities, no beer at half time, LadBible fans, the PC brigade censoring our songs, no standing, no swearing. Basically no fun.

And it has become worse over recent weeks. Pundits and other fans have attempted to suck the last bit of fun out of being a football supporter.

We are no longer allowed to take the micky out of other sides when they lose.

Firstly we had last weekend. Spurs lost 5-1. To a team who were down to 10 men. Who were already relegated. And it resulted in Arsenal finishing above Spurs for the 21^st season in a row. And how we laughed. How we celebrated. And how we laughed even more.

But then the fun police appeared.

Robbie Savage on 606;

“They left Highbury all those years ago to compete with the best in Europe,” he told 606. “[Instead] they’ve scraped past Tottenham, are ten points behind Leicester City, and they’re celebrating. It’s ridiculous.”

So according to Robbie Savage, we can not celebrate finishing above our local rivals, on the last day of the season, in sensational style. Don’t have fun.

Ian Wright also got in on the act;

“Those Arsenal fans should be thinking about what could have been, not what is.”

Taking into account the passion he showed in an Arsenal shirt, and the hatred he often showed for the likes of Spurs, Man U and The FA, I was surprised by his comment.

You would think Wrighty would understand the passion of the fan. But no, he missed the point. Arsenal were not celebrating finishing 2^nd. We know it was a missed opportunity. We were laughing at Spurs, and celebrating at finishing above them. Again. The wheels coming off. Again.

We have previously seen it with the likes of Roy Keane, Jamie Carragher and others. Trying to dictate from a TV studio how fans should celebrate. How they should release their passion. How they should have fun.

According to these, you should only celebrate your own team doing well, and the only thing Arsenal can do well is win the league. Nothing else should be enjoyed.

On Sunday, we should have all gone home. Turned off the radio and TV, sat in a dark room and cried. We should not have been out having a drink up in the sun with our pals. Laughing at Tottenham. Singing It’s happened again. No having fun.

And then last night, how we all laughed at Liverpool.

1-0 up at half time and cruising. To then see 11 men go missing in the second half and Sevilla run riot in a 3-1 victory.

Most people had a laugh. Mocked the Scouser’s. Took pleasure in their defeat.

But then the fun police reappeared.

Should Arsenal fan’s be laughing won they won F*** All?

Klopp has done more this season than Wenger in 7 years, why are you mocking him?

Don't understand Arsenal fans gloating over the Liverpool loss last night. Look to our own deficiencies before judging other clubs..

— danders1888 (@TC1168) May 19, 2016

There were plenty of similar things said last night on Twitter.

Apparently, we should not mock Liverpool for losing a cup final despite being ahead because we did not make one.

It seems the footballing world has gone mad. We as fans are no longer allowed to have fun at other clubs expense.

Part of football is not just seeing your own team do well, but seeing other teams fail. Watching their fans cry on the tele.

I take tremendous joy in seeing kids in Tottenham shirts crying on the TV. I love seeing grown men crying on the terraces. I laugh watching vines of bingo winged women celebrating a non-existent goal at Newcastle.

Football is joyful. It is a release. Look at Birmingham City fans. Despite being in the Championship, finishing 10th, they loved Aston Villa getting relegated.

Please, pundits and fellow fans, stop trying to take the fun out of football. Stop trying to dictate how and when fans should celebrate.

If Crystal Palace win on Saturday. I will laugh. It does not matter that Arsenal did not make the final.

Keenos

Follow @KeenosAFC

No time for sentiment: Rosicky, Arteta & Flamini should not play

3 Replies

I am not one for sentiment.

Giving a player the penalty on his final game. Making a player captain after reaching a games landmark (or years landmark in Theo Walcott’s case). I hate signing birthday cards for people at work who I do not know. And do not dare ask me to donate to a leaving present to someone who has quit to go to a better paid job. Sod em all.

And today we at Arsenal we come to a game where sentiment is high.

https://twitter.com/DarrenArsenal1/status/731737793412640768

https://twitter.com/DarrenArsenal1/status/731737824207220736

https://twitter.com/DarrenArsenal1/status/731737847825367040

After this season, there will be no more Tomas Rosicky at Arsenal. There will be no more Mikel Arteta at Arsenal. There will be no more Mathiue Flamini at Arsenal. There contacts are expiring. They will not be renewed. They will not pass go. They will not collect £200.

There is lots of noise on Twitter. Wishing them all well. Video’s of their best bits, like Arsenal are suddenly a Saturday night talent show. And many, incredibly, calling some of them legends.

Lets get one thing straight first of all. Rosicky, Arteta and Flamini are no legends. They are just players who make up part of our clubs great history.

And now to the anti-sentimental bit.

None of them should play today

We are currently in 3rd place. Automatic qualification for next years Champions League not yet secured. We have a chance, if results go our way (c’mon Newcastle) to finish 2nd, above Spurs. We have plenty to play for. But what we need to do is our job.

And our job is beating Aston Villa. And to do that we need to put out our best team.

Forget about Rosicky, Arteta and Flamini. They are not.

Arteta has not played since the 30th of January. Flamini the 16th of March. Rosicky has played 19 minutes of football this season.

None of them were considered good enough to play previously, so why play them now when we still have much to play for, just because they are leaving?

I want to win, to beat Aston Villa. And our best chance of that is playing Elneny Ramsey and Ozil, not Arteta Flamini & Rosicky.

Alongside this, we should not be using this game to get Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla & Theo Walcott fit for the Euro’s. It is about Arsenal. Not individuals.

And do you think they really care about us?

Yes, Mikel Arteta did a great job for Arsenal when we were a club in crisis in 2011. And I felt terribly for the man when he captained us to the FA Cup in 2014, only for Thomas Vermaelen to snatch the cup off him at the last minute and lift it in front of the Wembley crowd. But his time has gone. His legs have gone. Thanks for the memories, but it is time to say goodbye.

As for Tomas Rosicky. This is a man who has spent nearly as much time on the treatment table as Abou Diaby. And I see people calling him a legend. A brilliant player, yes, and one who in 2006 when we signed him was, in my opinion, on par with Kaka. But injuries have ruined his career. In 10 Premier League seasons, he has averaged just 17 games a year. This will be the 2nd occasion in his Arsenal career where he has not played a single league game – unless sentiment get’s in the way. Rewarded handsomely to sit out injured. Thanks for the memories, but it is time to say goodbye.

Finally Mathieu Flamini. He loved Arsenal so much that he refused to sign a new contract in 2008, instead joining AC Milan on a free transfer. Cheers pal (thumbs up emoji thumbs up emoji). Why should we show him sentiment, give him a good send off, when he f**ked off at the first chance? Thanks for the memories, but it is time to say goodbye.

All 3 players have done a job for Arsenal at some point or another. They have played over 650 games between them. But today is not the day for sentiment. Today is the day to win a game of football.

Let them join in the walk around the pitch. Let fans clap them then. Let fans sing their names at that point. But to put it simply, for Arsenal to have the best chance of winning today, non of them should play.

Tomas, Mikel, Mathieu, Thanks for the memories, but it is time to say goodbye.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC