Tag Archives: She Wore A Yellow Ribbon

“Older” Arsenal fans discriminated against by @GayGooners

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It is not unusual to read discriminative language on twitter. The social media network has been awash with abuse for years. I have been called an “overweight ginger midget” enough times to not let the abuse bother me.

I was however disappointed to read this morning that Arsenal an Arsenal fan group set up primarily to fight discrimination was themselves tweeting discriminative nonsense on twitter

The Arsenal LGBT Supporters Group, aka the Gay Gooners, have come out in attack against members of the Arsenal Away Scheme.

Now for those that do not know, the Arsenal Away Scheme is pretty much an away season ticket. It guarantees you a ticket for any away fixture – as long as the away allocation does not exceed the membership; at which point members are put in a ballot.

For Premier League games, the club automatically buys you a ticket for the game via direct debit. No having to remember when games are up for sale, no logging on and waiting in a queue. You are bought a ticket for every League away game, are unable to opt out or return a ticket to the club for games you are unable to make.

You also get priority for cup aways, Euro aways and cup finals. There are about 1,200 members.

As someone who go’s home and away, the Away Scheme makes life easy. Knowing that I am guaranteed a ticket, I can buy my rail tickets as soon as the fixture is announced, taking advantage of cheaper rail tickets.

Most of the time, I do not realise a game is up for sale until I receive the email from the club informing me that I have purchased a ticket.

Anyone with a Gold Membership (or a season ticket) can apply to to be on the Away Membership. There is a waiting list, which is about 2 seasons long. You can also write to the club asking them to sit you next to other away scheme members. Between me and my mates we have 4 in a row.

The away scheme makes sense, and it’s members are often the most loyal fans who go week in, week out. So why an Arsenal fans group would attack it is bemusing and why they would you use discriminative language is baffling.

“Old people”

According to the Gay Gooners, the Arsenal Away Scheme is full of “Old people” and that is a bad thing. Because all the old people are touts.

Imagine the outrage if I said a pub was “full of gay people and that is bad”. The Snowflakes would be up in arms demanding me to be hung, drawn and quartered.

For a start, just because you are old, does not mean you are a tout, or do not go to lots of games. It is actually the opposite.

At games, the away scheme members usually sit in the same area as the club have allocated the tickets to them at the same time. You get to recognise people. The same faces. Often standing next to the same ladies or geezers. There are hundreds of “old people” who you see at games every single away game. They talk about how many stadiums they have been too. How long it is since they have not missed a game. They are our core, loyal fan base. For an anti-discriminatory group to generalise and abuse people based on age is shocking.

Secondly, when I look around, it is not just old people in the away scheme section. There are plenty of young faces who go week in week out too.

I am 33. Whilst I might be an overweight, ginger midget, I certainly would not class myself as “old”. Of the four away scheme members in my group, I am the oldest, the youngest is 24. Two are over 30, 2 are under 30.

3 of use got our Arsenal Away Scheme memberships 4 seasons ago when we heard it had opened up for new applications. Due to the lack of success, people had stopped renewing and the waiting list had dwindled to nothing. We got 3 Away schemes.

A year later a friend applied to the scheme but was then told there was a waiting list. It took him one year to get one.

A few more mates applied last summer, they were told to expect to wait for two season.

The away scheme is certainly not filled with old people who “rarely go”.

Touts

As explained, we are automatically bought tickets for every single game, even if we can not go. We can not return these tickets to the club, so if we are unable to make a game, we have to sell tickets on ourselves.

Now I am not naive to think that there are no touts with away scheme memberships who sell there tickets on for a profit, but I’d say this is huge minority, probably barely 10.

Then there are fans who when selling there ticket, perhaps do overcharge other fans. This is wrong. But again, this will be the minority.

The vast majority who are unable to go to games sell for face value. You do not overcharge fellow Arsenal fans for Arsenal tickets.

I have sold a few in my time. Last weekend it was my fathers 60th birthday meaning that I could not go to Everton away. I sold my £26 ticket to the son of a friend who is currently studying at Manchester University for £26. I did not even ask him to pay for the postage!

I am also unable to make the Burnley game.. I have sold the £26 ticket to a lady who works out of my compabies Manchester office for £26. I did not even ask her to pay for the postage.

Whenever I can not make a game, I try to sell the ticket to friends, or friends of friends first. If I am unable to do this, I will stick it on Twitter face value. I have helped out about half a dozen people over the years when myself (or one of my mates) is unable to make a game. None of us have profited. I often go out of our way to meet the people I am selling too. Not too long ago I had to go to Hammersmith after work to meet the chap I was selling my face value ticket too.

https://twitter.com/gaygooners/status/923591954847490051

It is disappointing that an Arsenal supporters group who fight against discrimination, abuse and for equality have decided to tweet discriminative abuse at older fans. You would think the Gay Gooners would know better than generalising a group of fans. I am not surprised, however, of the Gay Gooners attitude on this.

My previous dealings with them have been distasteful. They certainly feel an air of superiority. That they can say and do what they want because they are the Gay Gooners. They often shout that everyone should be treated equally, they rightly fight against homophobic abuse and demand everyone to be together on the issue, but then they tweet divisive, ageist abuse at older fans, and attack fans on the away scheme membership.

I do not expect the club to do anything about this. Nor will I be demanding them to do it. I am not a snowflake. The Gay Gooners will get all the abuse they deserve over these comments.

It is interesting in society that often those shouting loudest about anti-discrimination are those who discriminate against others the most. This is a perfect example of that.

For me there is no place in football for groups like the Gay Gooners. They want inclusivity but then exclude themselves by wanting to point out their sexuality at games. It is odd.

What is clear is that whoever runs the Arsenal LGBT Supporters twitter feed is a discriminative, abuse, chip on the shoulder bigot who need to realise that abusing people based on their age, or sex race or sexuality, is not acceptable.

What a horribly discriminative and misinformed supporters group the Arsenal LGBT Supporters (or at least their twitter feed) are.

There is no place in our game for discrimination. Unfortunately it seems our supporters groups set up to defend rights of minority groups are happy to discriminate against other groups.

Everyone remembers when the Ethnic Minority Rep demanded segregated areas in the stadium for men and women. He was there to protect the interest of ethnic minorities, but happy to discriminate against women.

All discrimination should be stamped out, no matter what it is.

Keenos

 

But who will replace us over The Arsenal?

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‘But, who will replace him’, probably the most overused question in our recent history. I think it would be easier to ask ‘who couldn’t replace him’, but that’s for another day.

The ‘who will replace him’ is no longer a priority for me, ‘who will replace us’ is by far a bigger problem. You see, it’s not just the Wenger in and Wenger out divide, it’s far more complicated.

On the way home from Watford one of my friends said ‘I am really considering not going to Everton’. This would have been a common conversation taking place on every train out of Watford, but it isn’t a common conversation from our lot. For us, we follow The Arsenal, that’s just what we do. I, for the first time ever said ‘I don’t know if I can do this much longer’. Watching another lacklustre display, the players begrudgingly giving a token clap to an away end divided by hate, anger and apathy, I stood there and forgot what it is I love about my club. How did this happen? How did we become a club where the fans are not just disconnected from each other but also from their common cause…. the one thing that is meant to hold us together.

It got me thinking about how much things have changed. Once upon a time we all wore the badge. Not a half and half scarf, not even a football shirt necessarily. My Dad always wore his yellow Ben Sherman to away games, he now wears his red Ascot cap. I wear the cannon, the cannon facing the right way. We don’t wear the badge now as it isn’t ours is it. We weren’t consulted, it was imposed on us.

Years ago it didn’t matter where you come from, what job you did, what age you were. We were all Arsenal. We had something so strong that we never noticed the differences. We didn’t need gay gooner banners, or adverts in the programme about racism in football, we were The Arsenal and that’s all that mattered. Accountants, builders, cab drivers, bank robbers….. we were all Arsenal. We got excited about going to Shrewsbury, Yeovil, Sheffield. We didn’t come out once or twice a year for a ‘big game’. We certainly never used phrases such as NLD.

We met friends for life. They stood with us all through the night as we queued for tickets. They gave us their season ticket when they couldn’t go without charge. We walked round every away ground together. We didn’t really want to look at the ground of course, we wanted to convey a message ‘The Arsenal are here’. I thought of this a few weeks ago when the Germans came to visit. We used to do that everywhere we went. Make a noise and make a point.

I always felt there was a subtle difference between North bank and Clockend. The Northbank was full of tradition. Older generations mixed in with youngsters. The Clockend however, was full of younger people, it was full of our future. For me it was where the next generation started to take ownership of their club.

These young people I stood with 30 yeas ago are the ones who I still see now at every game. They are the ones who, like me, live in the hope that one day we will see a glimpse of the club we fell in love with. Some of them I don’t even know their names, but I don’t need to, we have a history together that many won’t understand. We can communicate a full match report simply by eye contact. The problem is, these people are disappearing. I could name as many who have called it a day as I could who still go. They don’t feel as they belong anymore. I look now at where the new hardcore will come from and I honestly have no idea. We have a young guns enclosure that has not once sold out since we moved to The Emirates. How are these kids going to learn the ropes in there? Why are we segregating kids from their own fans who should and hopefully would look after them? How are they going to meet and experience the few characters we have left? Who will they talk about in 30 years?. We all knew the badge man, peanut man, The Knowledge and many others. We will soon lose The Gooner sellers, we will no longer hear the great chant of ‘Get your Latest Gooner, Up The Arse’.

At the age of 12 I was standing for the first half in the northbank and then jumping over to the east stand to get to the clockend for the second half where my Dad would be. 30 odd years ago a 12 year old girl at football was not the norm. But I was safe, I was with my family. West Ham away in the late 80’s I lost my Dad on a packed terrace. Within minutes I was taken care of. Mr Dainton saw me, recognised me and stood me in front of him the whole game to stop me getting squashed, ‘Mind the little girl’ he kept shouting, I didn’t really know who he was then, but I knew he was important. That’s just how things were then.

Travelling to away games now we reminisce. One of our regulars told us about the day he broke his back. He still somehow drove a few weeks later to our next away game. It was his job. It still is his job.

Ive never been one to think if you go to games or have a season ticket you are a better supporter. I know plenty who never go to games now who I class as ‘Proper Arsenal’. I also know people who live the other side of the world and get up regularly at 3am to endure 90 minutes of heartache. What makes you ‘Proper Arsenal’ is in the heart, it’s in your blood’. It’s about the memories.

Forget the manager, he’s an employee, forget the board, they are temporary guests….. we are the ones that we should be concerned about, the followers, the supporters, the characters, the story tellers and the history makers.

JD

Theo Walcott’s time at Arsenal set to end

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I know I am in the minority, but for years I have been a fan of Theo Walcott.

Injuries aside, he is one of the most underrated players, not only at Arsenal, but in the Premier League.

His issue is that he is not a pretty player. There are no step overs, he does not make the highlights reel, he is a very basic player who relies on pace and finishing.

Over the years, I have seen people rate the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andros Townsend and Yannick Bolasie above Theo Walcott. These players are a lot better on the eye then Walcott, and someone like Bolasie shows more tricks in a single game than Walcott does in an entire season.

But then a trick, a bit of skill, is only worthwhile if it leads to a goal – whether it be a goal for the individual, or contributes to a team mate at the end. A bit of skill that leads to nothing is pointless. It is showing off. It is something for the highlight reel.

Take Bolasie. He shows incredible skill, step-overs, fakes, dummies, yet he has just 10 Premier League goals to his name in 103 appearances. That is less than 1 goal in 10 games. What is the point of having that much ability if it leads to nothing?

Sadly, in the Banter Boys era of football, where fans get excited over a GIF of a player nut mugging an opponent, someone like Bolasie becomes vastly overatted, to the point sides are willing to spend £30million+ on a player who does not score, does not create, yet looks good on YouTube.

Theo Walcott, meanwhile, is not a player for YouTube, not a player for FIFA. He is much derided, called useless by many, and is currently struggling to make the England squad.

Walcott averaged 1 goal in 4 in the league, 1 in 3.5 in all competitions. These are statistics that very few wingers in the Premier League have battered in the last 10 years. Walcott has a better goals to games ratio than Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg.

Last year, Walcott scored 19 goals in 37 games. That was more than the likes of Raheem sterling, Marcus Rashford, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Danny Welbeck and Jesse Lingard. Yet these players are often put above Walcott as being better, being more influential.

Saying that, I feel Walcott’s time at Arsenal is quickly running out. His issue is not his own talent, he is still a clinical finisher, although his pace has dropped a little, but where he fits in within the current formation.

With Arsenal playing 1 up top, and a narrow two behind him, Walcott does not have the attributes to play in any of the current 3 attacking positions.

Despite early protests that he was a striker, Theo Walcott is not an out and out striker. Whilst he can be dangerous through the middle, he does not have the hold up play to be up top on his own.

The current holders of the two behind a single striker are Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil. Walcott is no where near as good as these players. And in that position, he is also behind the likes of Alex Iwobi, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere.

Walcott does not have the technique, close control or passing ability to perform in the tight areas that Ozil and Sanchez thrive in.

He is at his best with a bit of space to run in to, off the shoulder of the last man. That means playing out wide, drifting in the space between the opponent full back and centre back. The current 3421 that Arsenal are playing does not allow for a player to site out wide, off the shoulder of the last man.

Against Norwich, playing behind Olivier Giroud, Walcott was awful. He only looked a threat when he drifted outside and found some space – leading to a few marginal offside calls.

But in the 3421 formation, you can not afford one of the 2 behind the striker to want to spend 90% of his time advanced, on the last line. You need them to get involved in the build up play. To drop deep and create. This is not using Walcott to the best of his ability.

A bit like shoehorning midfielders into the wrong position, playing Walcott in the position he did against Norwich felt like a case of having to give Walcott game time rather than playing your best available players in their best position. The likes of Joe Willock or Reiss Nelson would have done a much better job in behind Giroud. Or push Jack Wilshere alongside Alex Iwobi in that position.

Playing behind a striker is just no Walcott’s game – I remember England tried this once to disastrous consequences.

None of this means Walcott is a bad player. 19 goals last seasons shows he is a good player. All this shows it Walcott is struggling to find a place in the current team, and if 3421 is going to be a long term formation, then Walcott becomes surplus to requirements – in the first team at least.

Where Walcott will still be important is he is still our best right winger. Better than Welbeck, Iwobi, Nelson and more. If we are chasing a game, and are looking to change formation from 3421 to 433, Walcott is the option to bring on at the right hand side of the front 3.

No matter what you might think of him, Walcott is more likely to get a goal than Welbeck or Iwobi. So Walcott still has a job to play within the squad.

The problem then comes to when we play the B team in the Europa League and League Cup.

Do you play Walcott out of position, to the detriment if the team, giving him game time so that he remains sharp and ready to perform when called upon for the A team. Or do you give the B team the best chance of winning the League Cup (or Europa League) and drop Walcott completely and just hope that he does not rust up due to lack of game time?

What is for sure is I would be very surprised if Walcott is at Arsenal for another longer than another 18 months. He has just become surplus.

Keenos