Picture this, and it’s an awful thought for any day, let alone a gloriously sunny Friday.
Arsenal no longer exists. Gone. No more. Could have been a large explosion from the kitchens, could have been an alien attack. Whatever the reason, your lover, your obsession has gone. End of.
Many, many years ago I remember having this conversation with some chums before a home game, and I voted Charlton Athletic. Reason was, I lived in London, and I thought they were low key enough not to be offensive, while being the proud bearers of a good history.
Fast forward a few decades, and I live four hours from The Emirates. I wouldn’t make the same choice now. My options:
- Become a fully signed up casual supporter of football without any specific allegiance
- Follow a local side with all the comaraderie that would eventually follow
- Now my ace. Go foreign. This needs further explanation.
Wherever you live, there will be an airport near you. From there will be a list of popular destinations. I say popular, because this is where you’ll find the bargains. Not uncommon to find last minute £50 returns to a huge variety of European Cities. I say, find the list, choose a Country, City, and Club that tickles your fancy.
Foodie: head to Parma
Drugster: Amsterdam
Culture vulture: Barca or Madrid
Sausage fan: Dortmund
Could any of you possibly choose an existing top six team, as I couldn’t, and hence my need to look elsewhere.
Written by Fat Elvis Viola-playing DidIt
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
I think I’d probably end up at option 4 – ditch football altogether.
If it had to be local, then Bideford Town maybe.
Abroad, I think Munich might be fairly appealing – especially in October. 🙂
(just imagine winning the League every season, it’d be like being in England with no seasons, just a perpetual summer)
My kinda girl
No surprises from you then, Chas 🙂
I must say, taking on a lover quite appeals. I’d select a team like Fiorenzi. There’d be the chance to learn a new language, really get know a new city, buckets of warm sun, and everything that goes with following football.
I’m not suggesting the foreign option means attending all home games, perhaps four or so a season, but you’d still make a connection and become emotionally engaged.
Micky. Thank you
chas makes a convincing argument 😀
The easiest choice for me would be FC København as they are 5 mins walk away BUT they play in front of half empty stadiums and I like atmosphere when I go to football so a full ground is important.
Crystal Palace? Brighton?
B. Dortmund is a very good choice but the city is so dull.
This leads me to Spain and Barca/RM but they are such despicable cheats.
Ajax could be the way to go.
Also, I don’t want to learn another bloody language
How about an MLS team? Support PV4 in New York or perhaps the Colorado Rapids.
Nope ….. it’s Crystal Palace. As long as they get rid of Pardew.
Thinking of managers, Eddie will choose Bournemouth
no Raddy, Eddie would probably chose Tim Sherwood or Mancini. Eddie Howe has something unpleasant in his otherwise handsome face.
No Arsenal.
1. Follow football without special alliance – what’s the point? Don’t care who wins or who loses, as long as I watch footy, eat pies and drink lots during match days. Nope. Good option perhaps for chas, but not for me
2. Local team ‘with all the camaraderie that would eventually follow’ – a definitive no, no!! Especially the camaraderie bit
3. Go foreign seems the only remaining option. One would probably need a visa to go anywhere but Scotland or Eire, so it would have to be Celtic. Yeah, I think I would like going there, winning most games and 1st or 2nd place almost guaranteed every season. Celtic, most definitely.
cheers DidIt
Erik
I’m amazed you didn’t go with the Italian option. Naples, Parma, Florence. An excellent choice for a man who likes fine living and sunshine.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20161014/festive-fixtures-moved-for-tv-coverage
https://twitter.com/MesutOzilClass/status/785046042584702977
Can’t do the O umlaut 10, but it looks good
What the hell is the option button
alt 0214
nothing
push the ‘effing buttons harder
nothing
I always google ‘o umlaut’ then cut and past the letter. 🙂
But I’m sure if you press harder still, it will work eventually.
No disrespect but this is a stupid please IMO
You need ‘num lock’ (top left of numeric keypad) on and use the numeric key pad on your right.
Ö
Ok
https://twitter.com/cox_tom/status/786892801350959104
Excellent stuff and that from a pro-Brexitter! 🙂
If this were to happen I would firstly buy up all ‘Arsenal Best’ DvDs I can find. We would relive in the past and rewatch a game every week, just like they were being played live. On a voluntary basis, Gooners could opt for a partial lobotomy, erasing any Arsenal game memories so we could enjoy it all as ‘fresh’.
My dad watches about 8-10 games per week. He does not have a favourite team but just loves football. I often envy him: no heartache or having to listen to dumb fellow Gunners and discuss my team’s imperfections etc… just enjoying the beauty of the game. I was like him before I gradually became a Gooner: the mighty red and whites seduced me into monogamy. So if Arsenal were to vanish off the earth in one blow, I would live off the past and enjoy the football of the present. If I were to miss the ‘camaraderie’ of supporting the one team, I might be tempted to support Athletico Madrid: it is simply amazing that they have fought themselves to the top and give the rich, spoilt bastards of RM and Barca a run for their money every season. That is some achievement.
My wife is really upset with me. she feels that I ruined her birthday yesterday.
But quite honestly that a lot of old cobblers – I never even knew it was her birthday!!
Total
Ha ha ha, you have no idea how funny your ‘camaraderie’ spelling highlight was.
My spelling is crap, I know it, and I only half care. Half care, meaning I couldn’t be arsed to look it up, but the other half was I stared at it for quite a while knowing something was wrong. Kept changing some of the middle letters around but not the o. Whatever I did the angry red line was still there, but I gave up 🙂
Chas
Some great bits and pieces.
I don’t have num lock or numbers on the right
I’ll continue to shout and press ever harder
I nearly changed it as I changed the typo ‘cutlure’ into ‘culture’ but decided I preferred it spelt as in ‘comrade’.
http://www.dummies.com/computers/pcs/how-to-use-the-numeric-keypad-on-your-laptop/
haha, Micky, my pc loves my spelling, but if it entetrained you, I am happy 🙂
https://twitter.com/JimmyRushmore/status/786900327450697728
Respect for the shark
cama|rad¦erie.
[ˌkaməˈrɑːd(ə)ri, ˌkaməˈrad(ə)ri]
NOUN
1.mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together:
“the enforced camaraderie of office life”
synonyms: friendship · comradeship · fellowship · good fellowship
TA 🙂
Chas
Getting really quite cross. Read your bloody “shit for idiots” and it says :Somewhere on your keyboard is a Num Lock key. It might be called NumLock, or NumLk, or Num, or it might even be labeled with a symbol
What bloody symbol??? I have prt sc, sys rq and scr lk, that’s it. No num lk and no symbol
Tell you what, right now I’m not feeling a lot of “good fellowship” towards the morons who write instructions for dummies
hahaha this is hilarious
Enable Num Lk.
You may need to simultaneously press [“FN” and “Scr Lk”] keys. That’s the combination for “Num Lock” on some laptops. Look at the picture – the “Num Lk”/”Scr Lk” button is highlighted there.
No, I won’t do it.
Proud to say I have never used an umlaut but if necessary I could do so easily.
Just cut and past as in my first 1.26. 😉
AM I desperate enough to watch Cardiff v Bristol City? No, I can hold out until tomorrow afternoon.
Trouble is Mrs Raddy will be watching Vild med Dans (work it out), and nothing, nothing will persuade me to watch that.
“Vild med Dans”
Go Wild with some Danes ?
Light afternoon porn scandi style?
Erik
Might Vild med Dans be streamed on some alternative sports channel?
Do hurry up, I have to go soon
No. It is the danish equivalent of Strictly. Totally awful and a crime IMO
Raddy 🙂 thank Dennis there are others who think Strictly is the worst show ever. How can seemingly intelligent people watch it? It is even worse than musicals, don’t you think? or am I weird or something?
I don’t expect much excitement tomorrow. Ours might be the best game in EPL played this weekend. Why and red Mancs and Pool playing on Monday?
oh, perhaps Leicester can outfox the Chavs to start it all off nicely
Eddie, you, weird?
Definitely not.
Strictly is shite unless you are a middle-aged English woman.
(or just happen to like it – which might apply to some)
chas. Do you realise that the gentleman who is 4th from the left is none other than the superstar John “Faxe” Jensen?
And yes …. I was there when JJ scored.
Haha, not a clue.
The danger of random Internet searches, I suppose. ☺
after the long interlull the Vines are bound to start nice and early – hit the road already?
Morning All,
Lovely – I have a PM to write and think about, preferably in the reverse order!
betting suspended on Conte being the next EPL manager to be fired. conte was laughing about that. He won’t be laughing if they lose to Leicester today.
I think I’d be laughing though
http://www.footballparadise.com/20-twenty-years-of-arsene-wenger/
Let’s hope we see Mesut do his sign this afternoon.
Sun. Match. 3pm KO.
Ok, last bit’s a bummer, but doable.
Morning fellow interlul survivors.
Not many of us left. regulars were inter lulled, let’s hope they recuperate
https://twitter.com/BBCSteveR/status/787197447709876224
There is a New Post
Chas
9.22. Who?
Tim Stillman