Tag Archives: London

The Arsenal and Me – Glen’s Story

Leave a reply

I am a glory hunter.

There I said it. At the tender age of 8 years old, with no football team to support & no father figure to follow, I remember the older boys on the estate talking about a game that was going to be played on a Friday night. For the week leading up to the game, the older lads played it out the on the estate. I was put on the Arsenal side to make up numbers. Friday night came.

May 26th 1989. I felt as if I had been playing and representing my mates and Arsenal on the estate so I wanted to watch it. There was a problem, my mum not a football fan, was not interested. That early evening I went to bed early climbed out my window and watched at my friends. That game, them moments of sheer excitement got me hooked. That was me I was an Arsenal fan.

As I grew older and my passion for the game grew, my knowledge got better, Arsenal signed a player called Ian Wright, something about that man that made me want to be him. I loved his style his passion everything about him. I was the white kid on the estate that would score a goal and “bogel” like he used to. I practised the one step penalty, I admired his ability, I was hooked on Arsenal. It was my drug.

Still at 10/11 years old I had not been to a game. I knew my mum would never take me and she wouldn’t let me travel to Highbury with the older lads as I was to young. not being allowed to do something got me itching to go more & more.

Aged 14 a few weeks before my 15th birthday, I though ‘Sod it, I’m’ going. Arsenal were hosting Norwich. HIGHBURY was my destination with £10 on me and no ticket, I took my chance. I can’t remember how much I paid to get in and I can’t really remember the game. I just remember winning and seeing it 1st hand what a feeling it was to see The Arsenal. that day we won 5-1.

From this day on, my aim was to play football & go to The Arsenal. I have been lucky enough to see us lift Premier League titles and FA Cups. I have also had the disappointment of watching us lose in finals … Liverpool, Birmingham, Chelsea. My love for the club still grows. I still get the same buzz now as I did when I was pubescent 14 year old lad.

There is something about going Arsenal that made me feel like I had the family I didn’t at home. Now I am a dad of 3 boys. I do it all different already; my boys come football with me and recently went on their first away day. Arsenal is now well and truly in my family and will live on for generations to come just how I want it to be . UP THE ARSENAL

Glen

The Arsenal and Me – Danny’s Story

Leave a reply

Writing this as a 15 year old whom has grown up with first memories of watching the invincible’s, to the 07-08 and 10-11 teams (both whom in my opinion should of won the league) I sit here now wondering:

1) What has happened
2) What has caused it to happen
3) Why has it happened? Why our great club, why not that lot up the road, or Chelski?

My first Arsenal game was the final day of the 01-02 season, a 4-3 win v Everton, I remember a party scene and a stadium full of happy people, everybody looked out for each other around where my dad sat, and it was one big family. Now that seems to have disintegrated.

As we left Highbury when I was 7 I don’t have the best of memories of the 10+ games I went to, however I remember going to the final game of the unbeaten run, and going 1-0 down v Villa saw me panic, “dad whys this happening? We’re going to come back right” just the reaction a 6 year old would have, however everybody was calm and knew we’d come back ( we won 3-1) something you don’t get now, people panic at 1-0 up let alone 1-0 down.

I first started going consistently and my first full year was the 07-08 year (the year my dad says everything started going wrong) remembering some of the best football in the country being played, however I agree with my dad, since then, it’s all gone wrong.

I, a 15 year old can see problems that people that people in 5 or so seats around me cannot see, the club are feeding us lies, and I for one can’t see how people can believe it, and be okay with it.

One thing I will give the club credit for is its junior gunners system which keeps the young supporters connected with the players well, and it has introduced me to 4 best mates who I now go home and away week in week out with, as well as giving me the chance to meet the squad.

Writing this 1 day before the football season kicks off, I feel we have once again been lied to and are a laughing stock not buying anybody, but we can only hope we can bring in the signings to do the job.

Up the Arsenal

Danny

(Editors note – This was sent to us before the season kicked off)

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

Time for train companies to be fair to football fans

2 Replies

Firstly allow me to start this blog off with an apology. Yesterday was the first day since the new site went up that their was not a blog. I blame National Rail for it as no trains back to London from Swansea after 7.30 meant The Arsenal away support had to spend the night in Wales. And what a night it was.

Millions of football fans travel up and down the country each week for football. Whether it is Arsenal fans using the London Underground to Finsbury Park, Manchester United fans getting a Virgin train out of Euston to go to Old Trafford, or the loyal away fans of every club getting a train from which far fetched corner of the country they live to whichever far fetched country they are going to. Football fans are hugely reliant on public transport.

The private companies running the trains also benefit big time from football fans. Were it not for football fans, there trains would be nearly empty of a weekend. I would estimate that football fans put over £100 million into the pockets of these train companies. We are key customers for them.

Therefore, I am questioning why we are treated so badly by the train companies. I will not mention the awful British Transport Police, as we all know they create more problems than they solve. It is the train companies themselves who get right up my goat.

The last 2 away days have been to Sunderland and Swansea. And what a nightmare they have been for the travelling fans. At Sunderland, you have to get the train from Newcastle to get back to London. East Coast trains decided to schedule their last train out of Newcastle to London at 5.50pm. This gave fans less than an hour to get out of the stadium, walk to either Sunderland or St Peters Station, do the 20 minute tram to Newcastle, walk to Newcastle station, buy beer and find the train. Talking to a few supporters, they were leaving the game 10 minutes early to ensure they got this train. Failure to do so would have resulted in a 5 hour 3 train journey taking you via Sheffield & Loughborough before getting into London at midnight.

It would have been very easy for the train companies to put on 1 more train at around 6.15, just to ease the pressure. Make life a little easier. But they did not.I bet if One Direction were playing in the Gateshead Arena they would have done, or if the athletics was on there would have been an extra train, but when it comes to football fans…no chance. The Sunderland train ticket cost us nearly £100 – more on this later.

This was not a unique experience. As mentioned, we had to stay in Swansea due to the lack of public transport after the game. The last train out of Swansea was at 19.32. Impossible to get unless you left early. All that was needed was a train 15-20 minutes later and everyone would have been all right.

But no, the train companies do not treat football fans like human beings. They clearly have a ‘stuff you’ attitude. Knowing that fans will attempt to get to the game not matter what, they become inflexible and do not do anything to help a fan out.

Then we come to the cost. The average away game outside of London costs £50-£100 to get to. When you take into the rising cost of ticket prices, you are looking at an away day now costing between £150-£200 once you add in food and a couple of drinks. I went to Benidorm for a week, all inclusive, including flights, for £250 a few years back.

And flights is another thing. Easy Jet, Ryan Air, British Airways, and more, all hyke the price of a flight up when it comes to away fans. Return tickets for Dortmund were north of £200 within minutes of the scheduling being announced. If you went another random mid-week, it would cost £50. How can they justify this? If it was not football fans, the European Commission would be getting involved and telling these companies that they can not fix prices like this.

And again, the airline operators should be grateful. If it was not for football, they would not sell any flights to Naples on a Tuesday from London. Rather then be happy with a few extra bob made from a football game, they have become greedy, knowing some fans will pay whatever just to go to the game. It is unfair.

Luckily we live in London, so can get nearly anywhere without too many changes. I do feel for fans over other clubs who often have to come into London just to get elsewhere. Adding to the cost and time.

Train companies, stop scheduling non-essential engineering works on match days. Put on later trains. And everyone stop putting up prices and screwing every penny out of football fans.

It is time the train companies helped the football fans out. Continually screwing them over is not good for anyone. They need us. We need them.

Keenos

Ps: the ironic thing is I’ve written this whilst my train has been delayed by 30 minutes due to overrunning engineering works between Clapham Junction and Twickenham.