The Club

A history lesson for moaning Arsenal fans

|

The gooners used to be such a good set of fans. I remember standing on the clock end when the north bank was being rebuilt with a number of contributors to The Gooner – Matt and Charlie, the now legendary Amy Lawrence. Back then it was about Arsenal. It was about turning up in the cold, wet, hail, snow or sun and supporting your team. It was about camaraderie, and about being a fan.

It wasn’t about thinking you could run the club yourself. It wasn’t about thinking you could do better than the manager or the board.

I distinctly remember a fans protest when we sacked Don Howe. Don Howe, the man who hadn’t won anything for years. The protest was about stitching up an Arsenal legend, and a man everybody in football had absolute respect for. In came George Graham, and many people muttered that he hadn’t done much in the past, and what is an ex-Millwall manager going to do to change things? He was pretty laid back in his playing days, do we need a manager like that to get the club moving?

How stupid that would seem now. GG was the man who came and toppled the Liverpool domination. He won the title for the first time in 18 years. Yes, 18 years. Makes complaining about 6 years a bit stupid doesn’t it. The football wasn’t pretty. But we won a few things. It was horribly dour on so many occasions. But we won a few things. Such a shame when he got the boot for the bung. Although in reality, we know that was just an excuse. We knew he had lost the plot slightly (Chris Kiwomya). We also knew that his way of grinding out results was not going to take us into the elite of the new premier league.

Then in came Bruce Rioch. Yes. Bruce Rioch. He did alright. He got us into the UEFA cup, just. He was only a stop gap while we waited for Monsieur Wenger. David Dein knew this. He knew we needed someone who could come in and do a job for a season while Wenger saw out his Grampus 8 contract.

Continue to page 2 of this article

Then came Wenger, anyone heard of him? Not at the time. I would suggest that 90% of Arsenal fans knew nothing about him. But have we looked back since? I remember it well. He came in as we lost to Borussia Munchengladbach. He could see we were lacking flair and ingenuity. He solved this by making several signings in his first pre-season. Petit, Grimandi, Garde amongst others. Anyone heard of them? I would suggest that 99% of Arsenal fans knew nothing about any of them. He changed the way we played and the way we were presented to the now global audience the premier league attracted. He won the double. He turned a once sleeping giant into a European force. He changed the way all premier league clubs trained, fed and treated their players. He won the double again. He built a team that went the whole season unbeaten in the league. A whole season unbeaten!!

He was mocked the season before ‘the invincibles’ for saying we could go a season unbeaten. Remember that? The press was on his back, the mocking t-shirts, the general ribbing by other fans. AS IF Arsenal could go a season unbeaten. Then we did it. One of my favourite memories after the 03/04 season was Wenger holding said T-shirt (based on comical Ali, the Iraqi press officer during the Iraq war) aloft with the biggest of grins on his face. He then won us a cup final we had no right to win. The biggest stitch up in FA Cup final history. Wenger knew that wengerball wasn’t going to win that final, so he pulled a swift one by reverting to the GG style of play and Fergie had no answer on the day.

He then got us to the final of the champions league. The FINAL! When had we even got close to the final of the champions league before? Never, is the simple answer. Mad Jens did a nutty one and then we were left playing with 10 men for 70 minutes. We still almost won. Had Henry smashed it home when clean through at 1-0 up we would have. Can’t blame Titi, he was knackered like the rest of the team, having run his socks off for the last hour a man down.

He built a new stadium. He built a new stadium costing 400 million quid whilst keeping us in the upper echelons of European football.

He keeps finding players, some 10, 20 million pounds cheaper than the ManUre’s or the Chelski’s and now Citeh will spend on a player of similar ability.

We have a treadmill of fantastic youngsters constantly coming through, holding their own. You think Jack Wilshire’s good? He’s the first. The first player to come through the ranks entirely under Wengers reign.

Continue to page 3 of this article

This is just the start people. Anyone calling for Wengers head has no idea about the real world of football. We have no right to win things. Just because some teams act like they do doesn’t make a difference to anything. When Fergie goes, Utd will not be the same force, no matter how much money they have. Chelski will never have any history, and in the same way they almost went bust when Harding fell out of the sky, the same will happen when Abramovich gets bored. You can only play championship manager for so long. Citeh will be a good team. They’ll never be a great team. Who wants to fight when you get 200k a week regardless of the outcome. Too often they fail purely based on effort. Take Tevez out of last seasons team and the are mediocre.

So it’s about time all you moaners took a lesson in the history of football. Maybe watch the centenary video (yes, video) as I would suggest this will give you an idea of what we really are. We are a team. We are Arsenal. We have always done things our way. We are the only team in English football to keep coming back. The only team in English football to sit at the top for such a sustained period of time. We are Arsenal. We are great. And we have Monsieur Wenger to thank for keeping us there when we could so easily have fallen by the wayside. We will be at the top again. He will make sure of that. We do not need Uzbeki billions to do that. We just need Wenger. I am blessed, because I have witnessed the Wenger era. And all I hope is that he stays at the helm for the rest of this contract, the next contract and the one after that.

The gooners are still a good set of fans. But it’s the fans I’m talking about. Not those who continually tell us what we should change, who we should sign. You have no idea how to run a football club. You sit on the outside making sweeping claims that you can never back up. Leave it to the professionals and start supporting your club. Stop moaning about how much it costs. Everything cost these days. If you don’t like it then go elsewhere. Orient or Barnet is still pretty cheap. Just get behind your team, because a unified team is a winning team.

Share this article

0 comments

  • Borthy says:

    Well said sir, very well said.

  • Allan Michaud says:

    Well said, I am thoroughly sick of the backstabbing so called fans posting vitriolic crap online, they are only are succeeding in trying to drive out top class players like Nasri. I have 42 years as a gooner and will always support them, no matter what. I lived through the miserable mid seventies and terrible years after chippy and Frank stapleton left. Those of you moaning out there need to get some perspective on things and get behind the team.

  • Nicholas Arthur says:

    Thank you so much. I get so disheartened by some of the scathing comments. All while Wenger persists is bringing us the most respectable game of football on the planet. Its nice to know that the naysayers are just the loudest in the room, maybe not the majority.

  • anon1 says:

    I was just cleaning out the loft and came across the old arsenal programmes and a ticket was in there…. price on the ticket was 5 pounds!

    This article is ridiculous! Talk about living in the past, how about the concerns of the present and you dare tell fans to stop moaning.

    You are as past it as hill-wood

  • para says:

    All this complaining about 6 years without a cup is so silly. Fans need to wake up and see where football is going, and be glad that AFC is preparing a solid foundation to be able to cope with that. OK, it is disappointing without a cup win, which we could have had last season IF we had sold Cesc before last season, as i strongly think that Cesc being only half there cause a MASSIVE upset in the dressing room and amongst the players last season, and if he is somehow there next season, i hope to god that he has relinquished his “dream” and now is determined to be Arsenal fully, declaring this publicly
    or he is left out of the team, because we cannot go through a season of unrest for the players again.
    Its time for Cesc to stand up and choose now, no half measures, and for AFC to continue their ascent either WITH or WITHOUT him.

  • para says:

    If Cesc is sold NOW, then i think Nasri will sign his contract immediately. If he really wanted to go i think it would have happened already.
    At least i hope that i am right on this issue.

  • Raymond says:

    Thank you very much sir. I became an Arsenal fan not because of the number of silver wares but because of the way they play. Win or lose they are so beautiful to watch. We lost this last season league because of our home record. The extra adrenaline the home fans were supposed to help the player to get was not there, it was always one complain or the other. I will like to agree with this writer that if you are not happy with way the manager id doing his job please go to other clubs. I JUST LOVE THIS CLUB AND I AM PROUD TO BE A FAN COME RAIN COME SHINE.

  • Daniel Marino says:

    No one is back stabing Arsenal. We all are fans and we all get screewed the same except that you make more out of it… I am talking to the writer. What you forget is this… we were told “arsenal menatl strength was not there to win”. Now I guess the strong one in that fragile process were Cesc and Nasri. Now you telling me they are selling just to cash profit and that is ok for all of us. Think like this we get 80million from 4-5 players (selling). Arsenal prepared to spend 17 on GC. 12 on Ivorian, 12 on samba and say another 30 that will be max £75Million. What happened last years profit on Adbayo, kole toure and the rest.

    My friend this years is not about me and you and it is not about players. It is about building an icon and image. I am afraid, Arsenal lost on both fronts. 1. Losing on Iconic players, and not intending to pay them. 2. aiming at profit but not to be seen even for hoax biding on Tevez or Ronaldo, or Messi. People see now how the other teams are trying to do. Building immage of a chmpion on EPL and Europe. But Arsenal trying to compete as underdogs just before we start. I am not saying we can not win. I hope our luck changes just like Man uts worst game year but won the title and become second in Europe…where they should not even be ther from the display they showed. Please do not be ignorant even though you are blessed

  • Bobby Pliers says:

    Excellent post! I too get fed up with the constant negativity, fans though tend to get sucked in by the media and believe everything that gets broadcast on Sky, Talksport etc. The latest last night was “Manchester City has a significant interest in Samir Nasri”, I have a significant interest in Cameron Diaz, it doesn’t mean she is coming to my house though does it!

  • nicky says:

    As an Arsenal supporter for nigh on 80 years, I have rarely read such a measured, commonsense article about our Club. All Gooners, particularly the moaners, would do well to read and re-read the warning that too much uninformed carping can only harm the Club. For instance,none of us are remotely aware of the behind-the-scenes decisions on tranfers yet there is continual criticism over the choice, cost and delay of possible new signings. Remember we are not qualified to say who will be bought or sold….that is decided by the Club. All we are asked to do is trust them and put all our energies into supporting our Club through good times and bad.

  • Eamonn says:

    Very well said sir

  • Wez says:

    Ahh the Arsene tinted glasses are on here then. Unfortunately we dont live in the past we live in the here and now and the here and now Arsenal needs improvement and u soppy old farts reminising over the good old days arnt doing the club any favours when u think u actually are.
    Before u start saying I support my team through thick an thin, so do we. The difference is we want our team to push on, improve and yes maybe actually win something. People like u are never going to push the board and wenger into strengthening our team with your acceptance of failure. We can open our eyes and see that the team needs a defender a hard midfielder and possibly a goal scorer. We are the ones who are putting pressure on wenger to buy these type of player. If the club was supported by fans all like you wenger would sell Fab, Clichy and Nasri and not bring anybody in to replace them instead he would look to youth within the club.
    This is the bit where u tell me to “go an support another club” very predictable as thats all u lot seem to say. But why dont u go and support another club who has lower expectations than ours coz your just holding us back!

  • Rosdan says:

    For all the haters, if we lose this season, u can support other club next, because u cant stand the ‘bitter’ side of Arsenal, u didnt put ur heart on it, u just put ur mind, peace

  • Foots says:

    I tell you what gents.Some of us can take the pressure and some can’t. We have been spoilt in recent years by the invincibles team and a fantastic defence to a team that has no real backbone. They play good football fair enough but they have been embarrased by the boards lack of commitment and mentality. You say we moan but we don’t ask for much. We needed a world class defender and a goalie. We got nothing but humiliation. I don’t want to tell anyone how to run the team but the weaknesses are there for all to see. Never before have we been in such an embarrasing situation. We are hurt not ungrateful. We are dissapointed that we are being left behind. In any business you need someone with vision to be successful. Our vision is now for profits of the field, property etc. What we are about isd on the field and it may fall apart. It all started with the Abramovich era. We couldn’t compete with that so we decided to rely onyoung talent. Smart but unsuccessful. It won’t take a lot to get there. We’re nearly there my friends. We just need vision and a shrewd cheif exec. I’m sorry but I do not rate Gazardis one bit. We are the Arsenal win or lose but we don’t need to be fobbed off with an old has been board and no one inspirational to bring players in or keep the ones we have. I started to talk about pressure because it is horrible not knowing your future will we won’t we? Have we, haven’t we? But what we feel is pressure is a small thing compared to what Arsene is thinkin or feeling. Unless he has lost the plot, which I do not think as I see him making more sense when having after match interviews. He is becoming a realist. I think he sees what we see and knows what he needs to do. I’m not a football manager and I don’t see what he sees at Arsenal, as he is in charge I’ll leave it to hime but I do hope he will relieve some of this pain and give us a team that fights for every point, is solid in defence and makes those quick paced attacking runs. That’s what made us invincible, taht was the initial vision. Can we have it back please. Love to all my gooner brothers and sisters we might argue amongst each other but it’s all for the love of our team. Some are calm and can handle pressure some are irrational. Wenger is our Manager so win or lose lets be united and have faith in our Arsenal.

  • webbs says:

    What you have to understand wes is we are the most stable club in the prem because we havn’t gone out and spent huge sums of money on average players like all the foreign owned club billionaires do. What do you think will happen when the owners leave these clubs?? They’ll all do a leeds.
    I’m happy he’s apparently spending a bit of money this transfer window but its not because of fans like you saying he needs to. In your dellusional mind do you think he listens to your player requests? The comment about fab, clichy and nasri being replaced by youth if it wasn’t for fans like you, if you truely believe that your clueless!
    Go on wenger!!!!

  • luke says:

    i could do a better job fir my armchair lol

  • wez says:

    Look webbs, trust me when I say this, the balance is tipping and after another trophyless season the slight minority of the fans that are not happy now will be the massive majority by the end of the season and if ivan g is a man of his word the voice of the fans will spell the end for Wenger. 1 fans voice is silent but many will be heard!

  • ivoryGoonz says:

    Do you realise that what you wrote just justifies sacking Wenger as you just illustrated that we can always bounce back after a bad period trophyless with an outdated manager and win trophies again…

  • ivoryGoonz says:

    Another thing: Howe resigned. He wasn’t sacked. After 2 years as caretaker.
    These days people are judged on different standards. Or Wenger would already be gone. You also forget it’s Howe who brought Tony Adams (although he didn’t win trophies with them, he still maintained the team 6-7th) but he did resign after 2 years without results. At least he was not purely stubborn. And that’s coming from a French.

  • smkndaherb says:

    wenger needs to spend and i believe he will. We have a strong financial foundation, now lets make the most of it. i would tell fabregas he can do wat he wants, stay/leave but remind him, the grass always LOOKS greener on the other side. pay whatever nasri wants, he’ll be our best player shud captain fab leave. but im sure wenger has a contingency plan for every outcome. lets not forget wenger brought us the likes of henry/nasri/cesc so the next one could be on the way.

  • nicky says:

    @Wez
    Your moaning minority becoming a fanciful majority next season(you hope) will allow some of the 40,000 true supporters to get season tickets. And good riddance to those who think they know better than Wenger and Co.

  • Sigg says:

    Nice comment.

    We have to stand behind the team through good and bad. The players praised us for being supportive and making atmosphere during the first barcelona game. Thats the way it should be in all games, even if its rainy and we are down one. It is the only way we can have an impact on the team. Is is the only way we can make the players appreciate and love the club, and play with passion.

  • xx says:

    This is article is old and shameless. Forget about the past and focus on the present and future. The club has not won a trophy in six years and something has to change. The board and manager must go. Silent Stan should sell to someone interested in bringing in a winng team. I am disgusted by the mediocrity in the boardroom, on the sidelines and on the pitch. Enough of this drama already!!

  • nicky says:

    @xx
    I don’t think you read the whole article. Read again the last paragraph on page 3.
    Incidentally, I thought your suggestion “Silent Stan should sell to someone interested in bringing in a winning team” hilarious. How would he find this genious? Can you imagine the interview of a candidate with Stan trying to explain the off-side rule to a Chinese investor with bags of money and no knowledge of our national game!

  • JJ says:

    I may well be wrong but what I think he is saying is that we have no right to win anything. We have been spoilt under wenger, Chelsea and man city are one bored man away from being nothing, in the long term wenger has made us into a club that is the second strongest financially (man u will always have the most fans)

    What wenger has done deserves a bit more respect and more than that there are too many idiots who get on 5 Live haven’t got a clue what they are on about. Wenger won’t pay over the odds, Harry did that, he got the FA Cup but nearly ended the club.

  • j_logis says:

    This is one of the best arsenal article i’ever read, simply because it strucked so many important sentimental points. Its because of WENGER I follow Arsenal. I’ll stand up behind the club, behind the team, behind him.

  • Heffy says:

    I agree with writer. Been a gooner for 22 years and I’m lucky to have seen what I have in the last 11 or 12 years.

    I don’t think it’s wenger that is wrong, it’s really the board. People talk about profits going missing, it really is to pay off the debts and then to the board yes? We keep blaming wenger like he’s the sole shareholder. He has limitations and has done absolutely professionally for not taking the board out in public for the constraints they put on him and then letting him take most of the blame.

    come on gooners, lets push the team ahead, support them and wenger, and sack the board!

  • Neo says:

    Refreshing!!! It is easy for plastic fans to forget what Wenger has actually brought to the club!!!
    With the comments on how to run the club you would imagine these Arsenal ‘supporters’ run fortune 500 companies in their spare time!

  • fspmiringukenya says:

    many have lost faith in wenger and what they are doing they are putting alot of pressure on him and i think he cannot take it any more.may be the problem is not wenger , it is the board that doesn’t want to support him.it is good that we stop all this brame game and be supportive to our club in all way possible and pray for the success and for those good old days[invincible/double]..

  • jay says:

    Let me break it down 4 u guys. Tyson gets recognition for once bein a great boxer. He was the knockout king some hail him as the greatest boxer of all time. Do we wanna see him box now no. His days are over throughout the end of his career he couldn’t win a single fight yet he had done remarkable things in his youth. Just like tyson wenger has done remarkable things and will b remembered for these but his glory days are over he doesn’t seem to b able to bring to the table wat he once could so unlike tyson who carried on fighting for yrs without winning a single fight wenger should do the right thing and resign being remembered as one of arsenals greatest managers instead of one who dragged the team down because he couldn’t see his time was up

  • Jim says:

    A history lesson for us is to look at what happened at Monaco under Wenger’s reign. Same script, same experiment, same Project Youth. Except that Wenger was sacked at Monaco but is now having a job for life at Arsenal to carry on with the experiment that he was forced to leave off at Monaco.

  • WillyG says:

    Come on, we have three senior players leaving when we actually need to sign three more on top of them. Nett, we need to sign six, to be more competitive than last season, at least three at par to the leaving trio. Now, where are going to find replacements for Cesc and Samir?
    And,that is just on our front.
    On our opponents’ front, they are all improving their personnel from last year. Add Nasri and Neymar and all the other superstars available to them and not us, I don’t see Arsenal contending for 4th place in a very long time. Wenger has to go.

  • josh says:

    wenger is a great manager,no doubt abt it.he has done alot,i agree.but seven seasons ago,we were just 2 epl trophies below man u with 15.now we ar 6 trophies behind n u goons ar tellin me to jst shut up n watch as a club i luv is ridiculed bcos of d greed of its management.since when did gooners become so shallow minded.we av waited anxiously for years believin in monsieur wenger to deliver a trophy but to no avail.last season,i watched ars win barca only to lose the carling cup to a relegated birmingham.wat about d matches against lfc,bolton,wigan,sunderland and so on not to talk abt our home defeats.i am beginin to
    wonder if d writer is a true fan.ars dnt deserve d massive support he has.wat is wrong if a manager tries his best to do d right things,if not for himself atleast for d fans who stil believes in him.every matchday,i try to look out for d expression on his and i begin to wonder if wenger still have more to offer afc.i only hope i am wrong so we dont end up lyk d legendary club,lfc.

  • wale says:

    Gooners or moaners. Think i will be a moaner. The only constant thing in the world is change. Football today has changed feom the era of GG. What i want as a moaner is not for AFC not to go for Terry or Vidic but stability like cahill, samba. If united can sign 3 players after a relatively successful season, then why can’t we sign 6 players. AFC needs change desperately. Fringe players should go. New, eager-to-play, football hungry players should be signed.
    Yours,
    Moaner 4 change

  • Charlie says:

    Excellent post. Our success has attracted glory-hunters who care only about bragging rights down the pub and moan rather than cheer in the stadium. Go ahead and sell your season tickets, there are plenty of us ready to take them and make some noise for our club.

  • Charlie says:

    Did it ever occur to any of you moaners that if the players aren’t eager to play it might be because there own fans are constantly getting on their back, even when they’re doing well, and not showing enough support for them on the pitch ?

Comments are closed.