Tag Archives: She Wore A Yellow Ribbon

The Cathedral of Disappointment

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Emirates_Stadium_east_side_at_duskIt was a throw away comment said in jest last night. It was 8:50pm and the train was just going through Finsbury Park. Having been a long day up to Sunderland and back for a dull 0-0 draw, I turned to my pal and said “We will be going past the Cathedral of Disappointment in a second”.

We once played in the Home of Football. Highbury. The Arsenal Stadium. So many memories. So much success. So many great nights. Since the move from Highbury to Ashburton Grove, we have had a decade of disappointment, and the new stadium is the cathedral that the disappointment has been built on.

2006/07 – The first season since the move. We lost the League Cup Final and finished 4th, 21 points off top, having won just 3 of our last 10 games.
2007/08 – We should have won the league, top for so long, but it all unravelled when Eduardo had his leg broken. A run of 1 win in 8 in the run in saw us lose a 5 point lead with 12 to play.
2008/09 – Spanked at home in the Semi Final of the Champions League against Manchester United. Losing a 1 nil lead in the FA Cup Semi Final against Chelsea.
2010/11 – Another League Cup defeat.
2013/14 – Top of the league in February, 4th in May.
2015/16 – More disappointment predicted

When Ashburton Grove was proposed and built the promise was simple, it was to be Arsenal’s Field of Dreams. Build it and they will come we were promised. It would allow us to compete for the best players in the world, compete with the best teams in the world. Instead, Holloway Road is now a Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

I still believe moving was the right thing to do. Anyone that disagrees only has to look at Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea & West Ham, all of whom are moving, expanding or planning to expand. Staying at Highbury in the long term would have seen us slip from where we are. Down towards Everton, maybe even Aston Villa.

But there is not point moving, generating the extra income, if it is not going to be used. We should have signed 3 outfield players in the summer, we signed none.

Everything is set up now for us to take a step forward and compete on a regular basis, but until we have a manager who will spend, who will get in the best players, we will not move forward. We will continue to be disappointed.

It took 18 years for Arsenal to win the league having moved to Highbury – with a break for the war. What changed Arsenal’s fortunes was getting in Herbert Chapman, the greatest manager in world football at the time.

Arsenal need to make the same change now. To transform the Cathedral of Disappointment back to the Home of Football.

Keenos

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How big is the Arsenal – Tottenham gap?

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Spurs fan’s, being ahead of us in April, or even finishing above us this season, does not alter over a century of North London dominance.

Forever in our shadow you will be.

Arsenal still not out of it

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There is a nightmare scenario coming up at the end of this season which could see Spurs finish above Arsenal for the first time in 20 years.

Without entering the debate as to whether finishing above a rival once in 20 years signifies a massive power shift (hint: it doesn’t), there is something I would like to discuss.

It is being written by many in the press that this is Spurs best chance to finish above Arsenal in 20 years. This simply is not true.

10 years ago, the last season at Highbury. Spurs went into the last game of the season a point ahead of Arsenal. And we all know how that finished, despite Teddy Sheringham deliberately missing a penalty, Spurs shat themselves, and Arsenal ensured they would go into the new stadium with Champions League football.

That has and still is the best chance they have had in the last 20 years of loosening the Arsenal strangle hold on North London.

Looking back to that season, there are so many symmetries.

On the 11th April 2006, Arsenal were 5 points behind Spurs. We had 6 games left to play, Spurs 5 points. Currently we site 6 points behind with 6 and 5 games left to play respectively.

Spurs had just beaten a team from Manchester at home – 2006: Manchester City; 2016: Manchester United. Whilst Arsenal had just dropped points at a trick away – 2006: Lost at  Manchester United; 2016: Drew at West Ham.

In 2006, Arsenal still had to play WBA (H), Sunderland (A) & Manchester City (A). 3 of Arsenal’s last 6 fixtures in 2016 are identical, including playing Manchester City away with 1 game to go.

In 2006, Spurs had a team for of young English talent, Paul Robinson, Michael Carrick, Jermaine Defoe, Michael Dawson, Ledley King, Jermaine Jenas, Aaron Lennon, Tom Huddlestone, Anthony Gardner & Calum Davenport. It is similar this year.

So in 2006, Arsenal overturned a 5 point deficit to finish 2 above Spurs with 6 games to go. In 2016 Arsenal must over turn a 6 point deficit.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility. In fact, as we see, history favours Arsenal.

It is not over till the fat lady sings.

Keenos