Tag Archives: Arsenal

The Arsenal and Me – Wazza’s Story

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My earliest memory of going to see the Arsenal is clouded by the mists of time. I know it was at Highbury, I know it was against Spurs and I know I went with my Dad and Mick the Milkman, I know we sat in the West Lower and I know Terry Mancini was at centre half for Arsenal. The year I think was around 1974 and I think it may have been a testimonial and I think we won. I’ve asked my Dad about it, but his memory is worse than mine. But I do know I was hooked from that moment.

After that, my Dad took me intermittently as I was to learn the misery that was following Arsenal in the mid to late 70’s and early ‘80s with the ’79 cup final being the shining beacon in a sea of mid table drudgery.

When I started secondary school I was allowed to go to Highbury on my own. My parents were reluctant but my argument was that if I could get myself to school and back on the bus then Highbury would be easy enough. It was a simple trip, 279 bus from Waltham Cross to Manor House, 60p return and walk from there. If was feeling daring I would stay on the bus to Finsbury Park, even though I hadn’t paid the extra 30p, I knew how to live life on the edge.

I had my first season ticket in 1984, £50 for the North Bank. This was also the year I started going away as well. Travel club specials run by Paul Johnson (and what a career rise he’s had at The Arsenal!), dodgy ham rolls served out of a black bin bag by big Nick. At this time I was going to most games on my own as all my school mates supported That Lot Down The Road, but there was always someone to talk to and share banter with. The one thing that remained the same throughout this was the mid table drudgery.

There was a glimmer of hope when Charlie arrived from Celtic. I was on the North Bank when he jinked his way through the Spurs defence in a 3-2 win. The team however, much like Charlie, flattered to deceive. A few good performances were interspersed by far too many poor ones.

Then George Graham arrived, and the mood around the club changed. As had I, I had now left school and was working. And As I was still living at home, I had money to spare so I started going to every game, home and away. I had also discovered beer and met Dicky, my future best man.

1987 and Wembley, I saw Arsenal pick up a trophy in the flesh for the first time, the Littlewoods Cup. Yes I was there when we f*&ked Rushies record up. Heartbreak returned the following year with Luton and Gus Caesar tripping over the ball and a missed Winterburn penalty. But this was different, the team was changing.

The following year we were to become Champions. Up to this point in my Arsenal career the thought of us being Champions had never occurred to me, we had never even come close. But on the 26 May 1989 we were crowned First Division Champions. I was there that night as I was for every away game that season.

The next few years brought heartbreak and joy. There was another league title with just one defeat; there was the domestic cup double and of course Parma in the Cup Winners Cup. On the downside we had a dire title defence, there was being thumped at home by Benfica, the Nayim Final and Wrexham away.

But I would argue that there has never been a better time to follow Arsenal away than during the George Graham years. I did every game home, away and abroad. I met a good group of mates, there was the afore mentioned Dicky, and there was also Chuff, Stodge, Groper, Thommo and Andy. We had some great days out. Wembley Cup Finals, Euro Finals, League wins, cup exits, Old Trafford punch ups and everything in between but we always had a laugh.

Some of the away trips were a bit odd as well. There was the plank at Shrewsbury station on the same day Tony was released from prison. We had seven hours in a Genoa car park before the Sampdoria game, sausages in Copenhagen, a three day coach trip to Vienna, three day stay in Paris red light district and too many more too mention. But nothing will ever top that Friday night at Anfield.

When George left, I moved to the East Lower, just in front of Tom Watt (no waiting lists in those days, we applied in May and were invited in June to go and pick our seats!). By the time Arsene came into my life, the future Mrs Wazza was also distracting me. Away games became fewer and fewer and disappeared altogether when I became a real adult and got a mortgage.

I still went to home games and made the move to the Emirates (row 13, block32, just behind the away dug out if you’re interested). The Graham years may have been the best time off the pitch, but the early Arsene years were head and shoulders above anything I’d seen before on it. Bergkamp, Overmars, Henry, Vieira, Pires and all took English football by storm as we witnessed football played by the gods. Doubles, cups, titles and unbeaten season all followed. That’s what makes the last 8 years so hard to take. Arsene gave us a glimpse of how football could be, and then he snatched it away from us. This year he may be teasing us again!

But in 2003 everything changed for me. A baby girl arrived in the Wazza household, I carried on going to home games but as money and time became more precious, and going to football became more difficult. In 2008 when baby girl number two arrived it became even harder, to the now impossible as I spend most of my weekends ferrying girls between ballet, swimming and parties (sadly I can now explain the finer points of ballet better than the offside law!)

I still have my season ticket, but it’s currently on loan to Dicky’s stepson and will be for the foreseeable future. One day I will be a regular at that the Emirates again but for now I rely on TV and the radio.

I still love The Arsenal, I always will, I’ve invested far too much time, money and most importantly emotion in them for that to change. I still feel the ecstasy when they win and the hurt when they lose, hell I even blog about them on a daily basis. But as I’ve got older the relationship between us has changed, matured you could say. But I will always be Arsenal ‘til I die.

If you’re a youngster starting out on your Arsenal journey and are moaning about a poor result against some bunch of oil rich mercenaries, have a word with your Dad and get him to remind you that once upon a time, when footy was a simpler game, we considered 0-0 away to Coventry a good result!

Thanks for reading

Warren

Warren’s Blog

If you would like to tell your Arsenal story, click here

Happy Anniversary Tottenham Hotspur

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50 years ago today, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club of Middlesex became a North London club.

On April 1st 1965, the Municipal Borough of Tottenham, within the County of Middlesex, which White Hart Lane sits within, was abolished and combined with other districts in the area to create the London Borough of Haringey under the London government Act 1963.

This jurisdiction change created a rivalry with London’s existing North London club, Arsenal, who had resided in the Metropolitan Borough of Islington, within the County of London before the boundary changes, for 52 years. Up until 1965, Arsenal were the only London Club. In fact, Arsenal were London’s first Football Club, having originated in the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, also in the County of London (and not the County of Kent as some think).

Arsenal did not protest about Tottenham becoming a North London rival, despite the move creating two clubs in the same area, and potentially damaging Arsenal’s London fan base.

Up until this point, North London was Red. Since this point, North London is Red.

So to our little sister up the Road, Happy Anniversary.

For further reading on the matter, please visit the brilliant blog by angryofislington

Keenos

 

Goodbye Theo Walcott

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I say this with a heavy heart, but the relationship between Arsenal and Theo Walcott has run its course. It is time for both sides to part ways. Say goodbye. Au revior.

These thoughts have not come suddenly, they have been building up over the last few months. Walcott’s performance last night was the final nail in the coffin. Yes, he was playing out of position, but with just 14 touches of the ball in 54 minutes shows what many have been saying for some time. He plays on the periphery of games

Walcott arrived at Arsenal in January 2006 (alongside Emmanuel Adebayor & Abou Diaby). He was labelled as the next big thing. Just 15 and costing £5million, rising to £12million, later revised to £9.1million, hopes were high. He made his England debut before his Arsenal debut and went to the 2006 World Cup.

Throughout his early Arsenal career, he was heavily criticised by many, but I defended him, he was still a baby in football terms, he would come good.

Walcott has always suffered with confidence. At times he does not realise how good he is. Maybe it is the mental block of having two serious shoulder operations, or the damage done by early criticism, but he rarely seems to have used his pace to beat a player one on one throughout his career.

Confidence seemed to be gaining and, after hitting double figures for goals in consecutive season, he finally broke through as an important first team player in 2012-13 with 21 goals (just 5 less than Gareth Bale who than joined real Madrid for a World Record fee). It looked like Theo Walcott had finally arrived. He was still just 24.

Fast forward 2 years and we are now at a crossroad for Walcott.

18 months of injury meant that Walcott never built on that season, and with 18 months left to run on Walcott’s contract, Arsenal have a decision to make on his future.

Where as in January 2013, Theo Walcott had the power when it comes to negotiations, the tone around the club is very different this time round.

In 2013, Theo Walcott was the star. In the middle of a purple patch of scoring, he was Arsenal’s best player. Having lost Robin van Persie, Alex Song, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy & Cesc Fabregas over the previous 18 months, the club could not afford to lose another star, especially on a free transfer.

Walcott could name his price. Arsenal originally offered him a 5 and a half year deal at £75,000 a week. He ended up singing a 2 and a half year at £100,000 a week, seeing him through until 2016.

It seems that his advisor are now pushing for more. With Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez both earning around the £140-150,000 a week mark, that is what Walcott’s advisors are aiming for. They still see him as one of the clubs gems. The problem is that is fiction. In reality, Walcott is a player on the wain.

Barely played in the last 18 months, he has struggled to get back in the Arsenal first team since his return. And his performances this year have mirrored that of his England performance last night. On the periphery. How can Walcott demand the same money as Ozil and Sanchez when he is clearly not in their class?

At the moment, he is not even on the same level as the likes of Santi Cazorla & Aaron Ramsey, players who earn a similar amount. He is not even alongside Giroud, Oxlade-Chamberlain and others, who are on around the £75,000 a week that Walcott was first offered 2 years ago.

Walcott is about to go rapidly downhill. Anyone who has followed football for any amount of time will know that players who rely on pure pace decline quickly in their late 20’s. Michael Owen and Fernando Torres are perfect examples of this. Of course, some players (Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry) add enough to their game that as their pace go’s, they can still operate at a high level, but Theo Walcott has not developed.

So where does this leave Walcott? I imagine Arsenal will offer him a contract. Arsene Wenger is loyal like that. But it will be a contract on Arsenal’s terms. The club will not want to offer him a long term contact on high wages. With his recent injury record, a 4 year deal on £140,000 a week (What Walcott is likely to want) will be crazy to offer. Tying up £30,000,000 over 4 years on player on his way down is just too much.

The best we should be offering Theo Walcott is the same contract as what he bullied us into agreeing in 2013. A 2 and a half year deal, £100,000 a week. That see’s him through to 2017. He will be 28 by then.

Personally, I feel this is even too much for him. It will still make him one of the highest paid players in the squad, whilst not being one of the best players in the squad.

It would be best for all parties if Theo Walcott was moved on. He could get a longer term contract elsewhere, and Arsenal would get a few million for him, which they could then re-invest in someone younger and better. There are plenty of options out there (more on this another day).

Theo Walcott. Your time at Arsenal is up. Arsenal are moving forward. You are moving backwards.

Goodbye Theo Walcott

Keenos