Tag Archives: Spurs

Stop sucking the fun out of football

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132There 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 21st 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 2nd. 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?

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.CixDD_NWYAM8nR4

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

1232

A Tale of Two Seasons

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Arsenal are a club in crisis. A club in a downward spiral. The future is bleak. There is a civil war. There is fighting on the terraces. Animosity towards the manager. Anger towards the board. Disdain towards the majority share holder.

Less than 4 miles up the road, the story is different.

Spurs have had their greatest season of recent times. They are on the up. The manager is a genius. A supportive board. A new stadium on the way. Young English talent coming through. The future is bright.

You could not get two contrasting atmospheres. On the face of it, A Tale of Two Seasons.MI0003581164

Yet the reality is, with 1 game to go in the season, just two points separate the two sides from North London.

Both sides have actually had very similar seasons.

Both flirted with a title challenge. Arsenal for the first half of the season. Spurs for the last quarter as they came up the rails with others going backwards.

Arsenal led for 6 weeks. Spurs led for 13 minutes.

Both went out of Europe at the last 16 stage to the first decent team they player. Arsenal in the Champions League/. Spurs in the lesser Europa League.

Spurs were knocked out of the 3rd round of the League Cup, to Arsenal. Arsenal lost in the next round against Sheffield Wednesday.

The FA Cup showed a similar story. Spurs made the 5th round, losing at home to Crystal Palace. Arsenal one step further, the quarter final’s losing at home to Watford.

On the balance, you could say that Arsenal have had the better season.

They played in the Premier European competition, and were in both cups for longer. In the 3 games the two met, Spurs failed to beat Arsenal, with Arsenal winning once.

Yet it is Arsenal who have had an annus horribilis whilst Spurs are riding the crest of a wave.

It perhaps shows the difference in expectations of the clubs that Arsenal would see finishing 2nd as a failure this year, whilst Spurs would be very happy finishing 3rd.

Tomorrow we go into the last day of the season. Two points between the two sides.

Arsenal finish 2nd, it will be 20 years in a row. An era of dominance never seen before, and that will probably never be seen again. yet the fans will not celebrate much. In the pubs after the talk will be of disappointment. Of what might have been.

Spurs finish 2nd, they will be celebrating up and down Tottenham High Road. There will be DVD’s. There will be open top bus rides. The locals will get the bunting out.

And that probably sums it up. Finishing above your rivals once in 20 years is the equivalent of the fat ginger kid getting laid for the first time in 20 years. Most people would not really care, but they will never stop speaking about.

Tomorrow back the team, be loud. Let’s do our job, and hopefully Newcastle do theirs. And then its happened again…

Keenos

1232

 

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