Footballers are idolised by millions, whether simply as a faceless body wearing the colours, or as a star player worshipped in his own right. Some would say that the money they get paid means they belong to the public or supporters and as such we can say and do what we like, but I wonder what they think as human beings.
I’ve commented on sites and torn pieces out of players because they have not lived up to my exacting standards and I am far from the most malicious in my approach. I know that the very worst of professional footballers must still be truly gifted and would make the average bloke look stupid yet I yell at the screen as though he’s some sort of deviant. As I write this I’m not absolutely sure where it’s going but I have been reading so many negative comments about players during the summer and it made me think of things from a different angle.
A professional footballer in the EPL probably earns between 20 and 120K a week so in that sense deserves no sympathy from the normal man in the street who struggles to pay his way whilst also finding funds to watch said “star” perform……However as a person has he asked for our money, our support, our allegiance ?
Players are not naive and obviously know what to expect but do they really deserve to be treated the way they are sometimes? Only a couple of days ago I wrote a short piece highlighting just how easy the job is and I wouldn’t dream of suggesting that these boys have a difficult life but it’s the hand they were dealt and are they not just making the most of their given talent ?
I think of players within our squad who have been ripped to shreds in this column alone for their individual performances over the season and wonder if they ever drop in on sites like this and see themselves slagged off by their “fans”. Just imagine for a second that as a young man you fulfilled your dream of playing in goal for the Arsenal, things didn’t go well, but the manager gave you another go and still it didn’t go well…. you logged onto a fan chat site and everyone was slagging you off. Would this fill you with the confidence to go out and show the world what you’ve got?
I suppose footballers are celebrities and like it or not you must accept both good and bad critics but put yourself in their shoes, did a young man who has worked from the age of 8 or 9 to get to the pinnacle of his career really just throw it all away deliberately in a mad moment or was it just a mistake? I don’t wish to defend or condemn individuals but merely wonder what its like on the other side.
I, like everyone, want the team to be all that it can be. Just for a second imagine if a young player who had a bad game were to look at a site such as this and see tens, hundreds or even thousands of messages of support instead of condemnation, I wonder what a difference that would make ?
Written by andy
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Hi all just to reproduce what I said at the tail end of the previous post:”Morning all, this is probably a bit late but the Metallica song Radders referred is, of course, “ENTER Sandman,” a track that has one of those tricky unpredictable riff progressions that messrs Ulrich and Hetfield are renowned for.
As for my choice of song to replace Elvis – it would have to be “All guns blazing” by Judas Priest. I’d be grateful if someone could put a Youtube link up for that as I can’t do it at the moment.”
Onto Andy’s post – one would suspect AFC would give the players some sort of media training in dealing with reaction from the media and other areas, namely the fans, but essentially the character of the player will determine his response to negative(and positive) reaction. In the heat of the moment we all say stuff that’s disproportionate and a tad over zealous, but ultimately we want the best combination of players available for our team playing at the peak of their abilities and effort.
Morning all
Just off to find chary’s preferred choice of Emirates anthem – could blow our brains out first thing on a monday morning 🙄
Hi Peachy – I reckon the Guns reference in it would siuit our munitions factory based heritage quite nocely. Plus it would get our relaxed, preaceful team’s blood pumping and put a bit of fight inot them.
Hell, even Song wouldn’t like he’d been smoking weed after that was played to him.
I’m sure the club try to protect the players as much as possble by advising them never to read anything about themselves in the papers and the same probably applies to blogs.
If Lazybarndoor had read what we were all saying about him before he left he may have tried to change, on the other hand considering how he behaved at the citeh ground against us he may have brought back the karate kick into the crowd.
Morning All, Long time no speak 🙂
Andy, Mate i doubt if even 10% of footballers know how to turn a computer on let alone read the internet 🙂
I reckon its safe to say most dont read whats written and are safely tucked up in their little bubble of self importance, All bar Bobby Zamora of course how did read what was said on Fan Sites and to be honest after getting the Hump he probably had his best ever season,
chary’s choice
The best way we can show our appreciation is to have a GOOD SONG for each player and sing it loud and proud – this is where we let the players down big-time IMHO
Good post andy, morning all, nice to see you chippy 😉
My first reaction is that you cannot wrap the players in cotton wool and the fans have a right to express their views.
It is apparent that confidence and form are directly linked and if overt criticism damages a player’s confidence and that affects their performance, the net result of the criticism is damaging to the team and therefore undersirable.
Good find Peachy – a live rendition would have exposed you to the full glory of Halford with his coolection of tattoos on his skull, they’d put Maire’s tattoos in the shade though !
Killer solos form Tipton and Downing as ever – they’d wake up the corporates in club class though.
Morning all
Interesting post andy.
I’m with Chippy, I doubt that most players know how to turn on a computer.
And even if they did I find it difficult to imagine that criticism emanating from blogs would bother them that much.
Hi Rasp,
And you mate 😉 It looks as tho we may be on for a couple of busy weeks transfer wise (well thats what im hoping) That will give us plenty to post about !!
I hope you’re right chippy.
Player transfers are often a bit like the housing chain – one or two signings at the top of the chain are holding up progress. In our case, Fulham may be waiting to see if they can get Green before they release Schwarzer.
I assume it is just the paperwork that is holding up the announcement that Koscielny has joined.
Morning Rasp
Housing chain……good analogy.
Chippy
What in the way of transfers are you hoping to see?
to answer your question,no
Morning London,
I actually don’t agree with the point that the player’s won’t know how to use a computer. These young guys have loads of money and plenty of time on their hands. All of my kids have been accepted as friends on Arsenal player’s facebook sites.
I reckon their heads are full of ‘play technology’ and I’d expect them all to have Blackberrys, Ipods, X boxes, laptops etc etc. Even if they don’t visit websites, they’ll have friends and family who do and would talk to them about it.
Either way they should be strong enough mentally to deal with criticism – it comes with the territory. It’s name-calling, insults and any of a number of prejudices and ‘isms’ that are distasteful – so they should love it on this site 😛
Rasp
Footballers and computers, I must admit that this was not a combination I had given a lot of thought to, although having read your comment I now see that you what you are saying makes a great deal of sense.
When it comes to prolonged victimisation of a particular player: it is only Le Grove that does that and they purposely do it to generate controversy; the “Song is Shit” campaign was blog rocket fuel, I can’t believe how much mileage they got out of it, although, now, that has obviously run its course and their attention has turned to Denilson.
As for this site, I think that anyone who has written a match report or even read one will know that it is the author’s view on which players had a good day at the office and which had a bad day that makes the report interesting or at least it does to me. The inevitable consequence of this is that some players receive a less glowing report than others, which raises the question: is that rubbishing a player? Not for me.
I would like to know what dandan has to say on the subject.
London,
I totally agree with your last paragraph. Part of the essence of being a supporter is the praise or otherwise of players. Your match reports in particular were top drawer and gave praise where due and also rightly pointed out when a player underperformed – without that it wouldn’ be a proper match report.
Although I am obviously absorbed by Arsenal’s transfer dealings, I must admit the pool situation is more intriguing. What’s going to happen with the likes of Torres, Gerrard and Mascerano? Chelski have already signed Benayoun as a replacement for Cole.
I can’t see Torres, Gerrard or Macherano staying and if I didn’t have as much respect for Hodgson as I do I would say that they are on course to finish below Fulham this year.
On a side note: Benayoun to Chelsea….seems a bit light weight…..still, they could turn that around and sign Torres next week.
Chelski are currently favourites to sign Torres. I think he’s a good guy and would choose chelski on footballing grounds rather than take an extra few £k a week from citeh.
Citeh have paid a lot of money for some very average players. 200k a week for Yaya is obscene, he’s not better than Song. They will get exactly what they deserve, mercenaries who don’t give a damn. Just look at how brilliant Robinho has been for Brazil. No-one can convince me that if a player doesn’t care he will still give his all.
When it comes to an Arsenal player who has been maimed by an opponent- and has hung in there then I feel sympathy- for Eduardo and Ramsey- yes. when it comes to a player who gives his all for the team I support- yes I feel sympathy.
Players like Flamini if he could be bothered would have seen the overwhelming support for him at Arsenal just prior to leaving- it didn’t stop him moving to AC Milan’s reserves though. Too many players are not committed to the club.
Good comment Gerry
Rasp
Do you really believe that 200k a week figure? Something is up here. My guess is that it is either city who are purposely putting that figure out to attract other players or it is the media trying to portray them as obscene but either way I find it hard to believe. I mean, who else wanted him?……..no one of any note, so 200k a week? Was he really in that good of a negotiating position to get such a figure?
No I don’t believe the £200K, but it will be in excess of £120k which is still ridiculous. It looks like they are going to keep Ade. I feel sorry for RSC, he could have been a great player were it not for injuries- another poor purchase for the skyblues.
The bar has been raised: by my estimate £120k is more or less the going rate for the big European clubs. And just to clarify (or someone will take a swipe at me), in my opinion, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter are big clubs in the sense they pay more than anyone else in wages so if that is where chelsea and city aspire to be, It follows that they will have to pay the same.
I agree, RSC is a spent force, it was quiet sad to see how slow he was in his cameo appearances.
If the report is true that Barca are signing Mascherano for £24m, that should be the end of their interest in Cesc for this summer apart from trying to unsettle him with a view to getting him on the cheap next year.
Morning all very interesting article worthy of some deeper thought. Why do we ride the individual when it is a team game.
What is a team.
A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of himself and his contribution to praise the skill of the others.
So watch the teams reaction to each other and you will soon recognise what his teammates think of the individual aka Denilson Highly respected I would say’
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships” Michael Jordan
When a great champion has the humility to recognise the importance of team, why do we as observers feel the need to create victims among our team. Criticise by all means but in a positive way, if we had the skill or the ability we would be playing, if we had the know how we would be managing.
And finally a quote which could be vintage AW but isn’t, but to me sums up his exciting philosophy
“What we need to do is learn to work in the system, by which I mean that everybody, every team, every platform, every division, every component is there not for individual competitive profit or recognition, but for contribution to the system as a whole on a win-win basis.”
W. Edward Deming
We are as much part of that system as the players.
Hi dandan,
Excellent comment and worthy of a post of it’s own.
What you say about the reaction of players amongst themselves when celebrating a goal etc. is very true.
It was apparent for a time that Nik B was not the most popular but his determination to prove the critics wrong last season won over his team mates too. EE has aways been popular with the players even in his low stages.
Rasp
I just had a look on El Mundo Deportivo, surprisingly there is nothing about the Mascherano deal although logic dictates that the move would suit both parties. There is the usual nonsensical debate as to which of Cesc and Robben would be a better signing for them but as I continued to scroll down I saw a photo that made me almost jump out of my skin — Sandro Rosell (Barcelona FC President) talking to Cesc’s mum, that scared the life out of me, although, it turned out that she has something to do with the Cataluña grand prix which he was attending. (I can’t resist the Castilian spelling)
Hey London,
Sorry for the late reply, Bloody customers can be a right pain in the Arse when your trying to post 🙂
To answer your question,
2 Centre halfs are now absolutley essential it seems one has been brought already and we may well be on the lookout for another which would be great,
Im undecided on the Goalkeeping as i can see no real purpose in bringing a 37 year old keeper in and if thats what they are planning on doing id by suitably unimpressed,
Id love to see an out and out wideman brought in,
We so lack any sort of penetration out wide hence good teams just funnel us into the centre of the pitch which in turns slows our game down to almost walking pace at times meaning they can defend our attacks pretty easily,
With a dangerman out wide they wouldnt be able to use those tactice so readily,Also with the signing of Chamakh we need somebody that can actually put dangerous balls into the penalty area,
Up front,TBH im quite excited about Chamkah when ive seen him (Not that often granted) He has impressed with his fight and ability to lead the line, with some good service he could be quite a signing,
Wouldnt mind a Top Central Midfielder brought in but may be pushing my luck on that front 🙂
Sounds like the story is ‘bovine scatophobia’ then London 🙂
Chippy,
‘Width’ is something we lacked last season. I expect AA will stay wide left and Theo on the right (no place for Nik?), so although I agree a proper winger would be great, I can’t see it happening.
Whats the difference between Cinderella and the England football team?
Cinderella wanted to get to the ball….
Osama bin Laden has just released a new TV message to prove he is still alive. He said that the England Team performance on Saturday was completely s**t. British intelligence have dismissed the claim, stating that the message could have been recorded anytime in the last 44 years.
I can’t believe we only managed a draw against a s**t team we should easily have beaten……I’m ashamed to call myself Algerian.
The England team went to visit an orphanage in South Africa this morning, “its so good to put a smile on the faces of people with no hope, constantly struggling, and facing the impossible” said Jamal Omboto, aged 6.
Fifa have released a statement saying the fan didn’t break into the dressing room after all, but was let in by Rob Green.
What’s the difference between Rob Green’s spill and BP’s spill? – Robert Green has got a cap for his.
Fabio Capello was wheeling his shopping trolley across the supermarket car park when he noticed an old lady struggling with her bags of shopping. He stopped and asked, “Can you manage dear?” To which the old lady replied, “No way. You got yourself into this mess, don’t ask me to sort it out…”
The FA have launched an inquiry to find out how a fan found his way into the dressing room. And another enquiry into how Aaron Lennon found his way into the dressing room.
Very interesting subject matter. I’ve always been interested in the topic of what it means to be a supporter or fan of your club. Stepping outside of the blog realm for a second, I think first you have to address those at, say, the Emirates who deem it okay to boo or harass their own players on the pitch (Bendtner, Eboue, etc). To me, this is what’s unacceptable behavior by a “supporter”. My guiding principle? If you love your club, I mean really f&^%ing love your club like your own family, then you probably don’t want to publicly belittle them or humiliate them. Like family, you keep the criticism of its members private, civilized, subtle, constructive and not at all personal. I don’t have problems with supporters coming onto these sites to chat about the club and offer criticism of individual players; it’d be naive to think the players themselves don’t overtly opine on the performances of their own teammates on the pitch. But if there were players that were on here and really reeling from the criticism they see, well, I have to believe that that would be proof that that player just doesn’t have the self-confidence or mental toughness necessary for success. As such, we can’t lose too much sleep about one of our players coming into these pretty small obscure corners of the web to see what thoughts most of us are privately harboring.
Hahahahahah love the ophanage one.
Hi Chicago
My guess would be that many people at the ground feel like they are surrounded by family — all 60,000 of them.
I can’t imagine for a minute that there is player out there who is concerned by anything he reads on a blog, these places really are for fans rather than players.
weneger cares a lot for his players especially his young players,,,thats why players like denielsona nd diaby still play for arsenal….
if we had a manager like mourinio then these players would be no where colse to arsenal..
Rasp,
I agree but i can but wish !
If Walcotts a winger im the Loch Ness Monster,
Goodness only knows where Nasri will be playing this coming season; I was just going through what my first team would look like in my mind and he didn’t feature anywhere near it.
Arse,
Sometimes Hard Love is the Greatest Love of all,
If you love your club, I mean really f&^%ing love your club like your own family, then you probably don’t want to publicly belittle them or humiliate them.
Since Football has gone Big Business and Clubs have become brands how else can the Fans get the message across that things simply are not good enough,
The Booing of Eboue was a culmination of many things, His shocking performances, Wengers decisions, The total lack of Fight in the club
Unfortunatley they all surfaced at that very moment, For what its worth ive never booed an Arsenal player and hopefully never will (Ive laughed at a few of them mind,Wheres Gus 🙂 ) But i fully understand why some did,
Nothing wrong with wishing Chippy, in fact, I would say it is our duty as supporters to wish that Arsenal strengthen the squad.
London,
Thats the reason i cannot see us signing cole hes just another technicaly gifted, injury prone midfielder with no defined role, We have an abundance of those already !!
It amuses me how everyone has forgotten how Gilberto used to get booed at Highbury.
Absolutely chippy, there is no way we are going to sign cole…..he has spud written all over him.
London,
Funny enough i was talking about that the other day he got it in the neck for a good half a season maybe more,
Then he got injured we conceded goals left right and centre and everyone realised what an important job he did lol,
Must say what an absolute Gentleman he was and always a credit to our shirt, Total model pro,
Chippy, I’d rather have a supporter not pay for a ticket rather than booing any Arsenal player. There’s probably no more effective way to send a message to management. To that point, it seemed as if there were relatively a lot of empty seats in the concluding matches of last season and the management would be brainless if they didn’t take notice.
Good post Andy
If i was a player i’d read blogs for personal development, i’m sure some do! Have we got any Walcotts or Wilsheres in these comments, Rasp come clean???
Charey sorry mate, I’m still a big fan of priest but its got to be “for those about to rock” for me!
Maybe the guys in charge of arsenalisation should have a listen to that war chant!
Hey Arse,
There was but the empty seats had been pre paid for so financially it didnt hurt them but as you say hopefully they paid some attention !
what formation do you think arsene will employ this season Mr London?
Afternoon all.
Nice post Andy. I like to think I give a player credit when he deserves it and crap when he deserves it.
TommyS – For those..is a great song, but don’t you think it has too many stops and starts to be an effective rabble rousing number? It’s a bugger to do at karaoke as I know to my cost(Highway to Hell is much better) but I agree Priest is probably too much for those of the crowd brought up in an era of rap domination.
Crikey, do I hate rap or what, but that’s another topic for a different type of blog.
Still think Maire would have liked Halfords head/face tatoos though 🙂
Afternoon Chary – My one, ickle tattoo will do me for now ha ha
Also, you must be the only person I know that accepts Lars Ullrich as a member of Metallica. Most seem to hate him.
Andy,
Excuse me but I just wrote this on another blog about the state of football and not neccessarily about Arsenal players.
I find it a bit ironic that the so called highly paid stars of world football by andlarge have not lived up to anything more than ordinary in this W.C. and the emphasis now is not the playing ability of any player that is being currently signed but the wages they will earn are making the headlines in so many posts.When Abramovich took over Chelsea(who already had the basics of a good squad) many said that they would dominate football indefinitely . Well that hasn’t exactly been the case, but generally they have put themselves into the top 2 clubs in the PL .Now we have the scenario with Manchester City which is raising the bar even further, but the main difference is that the owners are not looking for a return,it is of no importance to them, just prestige in an English football team.Of course the majority of players are over payed, and the sums now being discussed is making a mockery of the game.A prudent player need only play for 2 or 3 seasons and can then retire gracefully if he wishes, and all respective agents will endeavour to make their percentage without having any real interest as to where their man goes to.It just can’t be sustained, and all this is going on in the worst world recession in 75 years.Ultimately,the fans will have to pay more and more and will be lucky to have their new idols for a comparatively few seasons . Is that really what football is all about ?
SONG 4 ARSHAVIN-in the pirate song that scouse got 4 torres (dont know the name)
he came from Russia to London
Andre! Andre!
He came from Zenit to Arsenal
Andre! Andre!
he gets the ball he scores a goal,
and he gets assistes for the ARSENAL
its Andre Arshavin. Arsenals 23!!!
Afternoon kelsey, is there another blog?
The Malaga Evening Echo 🙂
Kelsey, do you think we dare ask Irish to the Military Tattoo, loads of Cannons there mate
Dandan, this tattoo malarky has been a bone of contention with my own kids.Since I stopped wearing my diamond stud earrings, the kids have had their own back with the odd tattoo here and there, but to be fair, quite discreet.
As far as irish is concerned, she is her own man (so to speak) and I definitely don’t want to have an argument with her, she can be a vixen,when stirred.
You calling her a foxy lady Kelsey LOL
The only Army I’d go see and bore my arse listening to drums would have been the Nazi army – but alas they are no more.
Hmmphhh Dandan creeps back into his hole and hides.
I don’t agree with Nazi ideology, they just fascinate me. You can be fascinated by something without agreeing with it.
go on irish, I am interested .
Kelsey – I’m mainly interested in the propaganda side of it and how little we as a human race have learned from it.
“Oh, we’ll never let anything like that happen again” – except Rwanda, oh and the Congo, oh and Zimbabwe. Yep, still happening but always too late intervening. But, oh we’ll go to Iraq 10 years too late to “liberate” them from Saddam Hussein – who, funnily, America were responsible for putting in charge…..
Also, as absurd as this may sound, at least the Germans had an ideology they based their invasions on, unlike certain Empires who invaded and took what wasn’t theirs based on simple greed and “want”….
Now, I think that’s enough.
World of Arsenal is reporting that Arsenal have signed Schwarzer for £2mil.
Fascinating Irish, so we have signed Schwarzer, Where is he going to play 🙂
The changes to the club level sound interesting, do they sell match packages to there, My wife has never been to a match might be good way to introduce her, bet she still wont go.
😆 Right-back
Hey Maire, I don’t understand this dislike of Ulrich – he’s a founder member of the group and co-writes most of their material!
Maybe the youngsters don’t like him, but I’ve been a fan of theirs since Kill ‘em all and maybe I see things differently.
Google Rob Halford though, the tattoos on his shved skull are a sight to behold.
“Alas” I think we should steer this one back towards Schwarzer…….hmmm £2 mil, can’t go wrong really.
What was the name of the blog that said they had inside information that the Cole signing was a done deal and that it would be announced on the 1st July……hmmmm what date is it? And the other one that said that Fizman is terminally ill……
Club Level looks so fancy… Wonder what the Diamond area is liked – lined with gold ha ha
Chary – I was a Metallica fan for like a fortnight a few years ago ha ha so this Ullrich thing doesn’t bother me, but he just seems disliked by many.
Watching football via club level is like watching football from the reception of a four star corporate hotel…..and I do not mean that in a good way.
Well I suppose being a fan for 2 weeks won’t give you that much of a long term view Maire. Shame about Cliff “The flares” Burton though.
He was a bassist with some character.
Its not like I was an avid fan of Metallica for 2 weeks and then never listened to them again, just wouldn’t label myself a fan of them but an occasional listener – I’m a “fan” of Lady Gaga, Rammstein, Combichrist, Eminem etc…
This site is so educational….I now know who Rammstein and Combichrist are. You like your Northern European Industrial metal bands Irish, I just can’t quite work out how Lady Gaga fits in there.
😆 Neither do I London, she just sneaked in a few months ago and has stayed BIGTIME. Some great disco songs and also some great piano songs – check her piano version of pokerface, its awesome.
Combichrist are playing Ireland next month but I can’t afford it 😦 – got my tattoo instead though 🙂
Rammstein can’t get insured to play in Ireland ha ha
London the boxes at Highbury used to be ok, how different are these at Emirates then
Would have seen you as more of a Lily Allen fan Irish, she likes her sport and music and is a bit of a rebel
I do like Lily Allen Dandan, L.D.N is a wicked tune. She has done one with Professor Green lately though and I’ve not liked him for 2-3 years and most people only heard of him in the last few months ha ha
But its okay, I forgive Lily.
I love how she rhymed “Tesco” with “Al Fresco” ha ha
If you’re into that stuff Irish, have you ever heard anything by Biomechanical?
Great post Andy. As DanDan said, very thought provoking.
Btw DanDan,…..thats a brilliant response from you at ..whatever time it was. (Noon’ish)
I’ve never heard of them Rasp, but I’ll check them out.
I must admit that my music lately is heavily influenced by my sister – I’ve always like Rammstein but she has got me into Combichrist, Angelspit etc
LOL, she’s that tattooed one with dreadlocks in her hair, who loves death-metal, plays metal on guitar and ……………………. loves Lady Gaga more than I do. 😆
Dandan
Not going into a box a Highbury frustrates me as much as not flying on Concord. The most annoying part being I could have and how much would I pay to be able to do so now. I have, however, been in a box at the Emirates on a few occasions and I quite like it, I certainly like it more than the Club level, although, if you were to be able to talk you wife into going then Club Level would work well, for a women who is not used to football the civility of it all counts for quite a lot. It is possible that I have read the situation completely wrong and she might fancy a good sing song, in which case I will wave to you in the red action corner lol
Oh, Peggysue are also great 😳
For irish …
Eeemh not really my cup of tea. I’d have to listen to more of their stuff but seem very 80s heavy metal and I’m more into European metal. Not that they are bad or anything, just what I prefer.
Having said that I’m very upset that Andrea Bocelli is playing Dublin and the tickets sold out before I heard about it – my music tastes vary dramatically. I just like what I likes 😀
Its OK irish, not my cup of tea either. I happen to know that they are excellent musicians, but its too much like brain damage for me.
Hocus Pocus IS, the best HM track ever.
I don’t do mosh pits – cos like I’d break my glasses – but if I did, I’d want to do it to Rammstein’s Du Hast, as we say in my parts, chooooooooooooon boi 8)
Put the wrong track up before – corrected now
Thanks Sharkey, I spent a working life building teams and running companies, which when it comes down to it are a number of teams within a team. Which probably explains why I tend to be optimistic.
London I saw the magic TA goal from the majestic MK pass, from a box, now that was some afternoon
Hello all, thanks for the comments. I know in the modern age that players will know what to expect and how they should deal with good and bad press but still some of it must register. Some thrive on the pressure of proving others wrong but others dont. On reflection I suppose you could argue that when running down an individual we are actually criticising the manager for sticking with a player who doesn’t have the quality which we demand, rather than the person himself.
I can’t see anywhere that we have signed Schwarzer,and I am sure you have read Messi speaking about how surprised he was that Capello left Theo out of the squad.ACLF and ArsenalWorld have the interview.Good reading.
Kelsey – It showed up on my Twitter and Facebook from World of Arsenal regarding Schwarzer – I know how much you love new age media 😉
So the ladyboy Ronaldo has a child, how long before it dives out of the cot.;)
What is a “Mosh Pit”? I know I am going to laugh at the answer.
Lady Boy Ronaldo is going to stick….he should be known as LBR from now on.
London, a “mosh pit” is the area just in front of the stage where a band play into which members of the audience (who manage to get onto the stage) dive back into whilst using the audience in that area as a landing mat.
The mosh pit is also an area where the audience kicks each other about in appreciation of the frenzied music.
Mosh pits took off in a big way after I finished going to concerts regularly – once I hit my 30’s I stayed in the seated sections.
Skipping over Metallica, Nazis and tattoos, and responding to Andy’s interesting post, there are contradictory things going on here: on the one hand, part of the point of football in our society comes from its theatrical quality and the ability of us obsessives to experience joy, rage, despair etc through it. Since the beginning of civilisation, there has probably been something similar, and at this stage in history, in most countries, it is football. In that sense, concerns over the impact of our more negative reactions on individual players are almost irrelevant, since the very point of football is to provide the masses with the drama they crave.
The fact that professional players in this country now earn such disgusting, repulsive, foul amounts of money only underlines the point. And has of course given many a fan a feeling of entitlement in his anger at a team’s latest failure: “I pay my hard earned money to that prima dona earning more in a week than I earn in a year, so I have the right to scream abuse at him”.
But what difference does the money really make once the players are on the pitch? I don’t often cite Ian Wright as authority, but I remember he wrote in his book (yup, I actually wasted some of my life reading it) that he just loved playing football and would play whatever money was on offer. So the money would help determine which team he played for but not his level of commitment on the pitch. That may not be true of all players of course, but the point holds, however pissed off we feel about how much these guys get from our hard earned money, one has to accept that his income is not really the point when we’re thinking about performance levels, or at least not the entire point.
I’ve always thought the life of a sportsperson or any sort of performer looks truly bizarre. I have a demanding job that amongst other things requires me to speak to audiences regularly, but the idea that in the middle of my working day thousands of people would cheer or abuse me depending on how well things go just seems the strangest and potentially most intimidating thing, however much money is available. I was lucky enough last year to be on a corporate jolly to Madrid and there was an event held at the Bernabeu. During the event, we were able to walk out to the centre spot – seeing that stadium form that vantage point was truly awesome. I hate Real Madrid and their fans but seeing the stadium from the players’ perspective was amazing, and showed just what it would be like to be the object at the centre of everyone’s attention.
I’m no shrinking violet but I am unsure I could cope with the whole crowd turning on me. The players are of course brought up to get used to it, but there are lots of stories of players puking or shitting themselves shortly before going out onto the pitch. And I can understand why, it must have a dramatic impact.
In that context, I think we are a pretty brutal bunch. Don’t get me wrong, I’m with those shouting and jeering (though I was absolutely disgusted with the treatment meted out to Emmanuel Eboue in THAT game, and nearly got into a fight with fans near me). But if my little boy one day (please God) becomes good enough to play professional football, I would be worried about the impact fans could have.
Thanks again Andy, an interesting topic raised.
The live version of Peachy’s 09.44 post:
26May89, that’s some response and a very illuminating one also.
I get stage fright speaking in groups of over 15 so one can only speculate as to how much most average people would suffer palpitations in front of a large crowd.
Heartily agree that turning on your won players during a game is a definite no-no, however you may feel about there supposed lack of effort and/or ability.
Again, great response and all the more so as you didn’t say to skip over the Priest.:)
*turning on your OWN players
Charybdis, best for us to steer clear of music taste, it’s not a conversation that can end well! But if you like the Priest, good for you, I’ll just stick to Stevie Wonder, the Pixies and Nick Cave! Am delighted to see 6music has been saved though.
The music side of it was a follow on from the previous post where the possible replacement for the Elvis number we get played just before the teams go on the pitch was discussed.
But of course, with all subjective arts there is no right opinion to have.
I do also like Austro-Germanic sypmhonies of the mid-late romantic era but nothing else(other than metal)as I’m odd like that.
http://younggunsblog.co.uk/2010/07/koscielny-trains-with-arsenals-youth-team/?
This must be driving some fans absolutely nuts. As the artidle says Arsenal.com hasn’t even announced the Coquelin move yet…. Lol
This is getting a bit silly now, but I’m not going to blow a gasket over it, just glad that we’ve got a tall CB in.
The last one Arsene bought was waaaaay too short to be any good!! 😉
I love this comment !!!
5 Jul 2010 @ 10:19 pm
comment by gooner0609
The Arsenal will announce when they are ready and when it can be done properly. There are two worlds. Old School Arsenal where business is conducted in the proper way and that which is inhabited by the Gutter press and the morons stupid enough to believe them.
So to those of you who want well known names and/or your asses licked by a football club to make you feel more important than you are, go F off and follow Manchester City. On the other hand if you want to feed your delusional brains there is always the Spuds, 50 years and the National Debt of a small African nation have not improved that woeful tank of wank.
The rest of us proper fans know exactly why we support this club. It has more class than all the rest put together, always has and always will. They will only be signing like minded individuals and getting rid of those who are not. Suits me fine. We don’t need to tell them, they know what they are doing.
Love it or leave it, no debate.
Morning Sharkey
You’re right that is a really good comment by gooner 0609.
Morning all
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