WHO ARE YA? ARSENAL MAD OR JUST MAD?

April 10, 2013

Arsenal Arsenal Isometric Test: Don’t cheat!  Be brutally honest about yourself!

The test is pretty accurate and it only takes a few minutes.

There are 10 Simple questions, so grab a pencil and paper.  Record your letter answers to each question and then compare with the answer table.

1. When  do you feel at your best?…
A)   in the morning
B)  during  the afternoon and early evening
C)  late at night
2.   You usually  walk?….
A)   fairly fast, with long steps
B)   fairly fast, with little steps
C)   less fast head up, looking the world in  the face
D)  less fast, head  down
E)  very slowly
3.  When talking to people you?…
A)   stand with your arms folded
B)   have your hands clasped
C)   have one or both your hands on your  hips
D)  touch or push the person  to whom you are talking
E)    play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth  your hair
4.  When relaxing, you sit with?..
A)  your knees bent with your legs neatly side by  side
B)  your legs  crossed
C)  your legs stretched  out or straight
D)  one leg curled  under you
5. Something really amuses you, you react with?…
A)  big appreciative laugh
B)  a laugh, but not a loud one
C)  a quiet chuckle
D)  a sheepish smile
6.   When  you go to a party or social gathering  you?…
A)  make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
B)  make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
C)  make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed
7.  You’re  working very hard, concentrating hard and you’re interrupted, you?…
A)   welcome the break

B)   feel extremely irritated
C)   vary between these two extremes
8.   Which of the following colors do you like most….
A)   Red or orange
B)   black
C)  yellow or light  blue
D)  green
E)  dark blue or purple
F)  white
G) brown or gray
9.   When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before going to sleep you are…..
A)   stretched out on your back
B)   stretched out face down on your  stomach
C)   on your side, slightly curled
D)   with your head on one arm
E)   with your head under the covers
10.  You often dream that you are…
A)   falling
B)   fighting or struggling
C)   searching for something or somebody
D)   flying or floating
E)   you usually have dreamless sleep
F)   your dreams are always pleasant

SCORING POINTS: 
1.   (a) 2     (b) 4      (c) 6
2.  (a) 6     (b)  4     (c) 7     (d)  2   (e) 1
3.   (a) 4     (b) 2      (c) 5     (d) 7   (e)  6
4.  (a) 4     (b) 6      (c) 2     (d)  1
5.  (a) 6     (b) 4      (c) 3     (d) 5    (e) 2
6.  (a) 6     (b)  4     (c) 2
7.  (a) 6      (b) 2     (c)  4
8.   (a) 6     (b) 7      (c) 5     (d) 4    (e) 3      (f) 2     (g)  1
9.  (a) 7     (b) 6      (c) 4     (d) 2     (e ) 1
10 (a) 4     (b)  2     (c) 3     (d) 5      (e) 6     (f)  1

Now add up your total number of points.

OVER 60 POINTS:   Other bloggers see you as someone they should “handle with care.”  You’re seen as vain, self-centred and extremely dominant. Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you but don’t always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you.

51 TO 60 POINTS:  Fellow bloggers see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality, a natural leader who’s quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones.  They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once, someone, who takes chances and enjoys an adventure.  They enjoy being in your blogging company because of the excitement you radiate.

41 TO 50 POINTS:   Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who’s constantly the centre of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head.  They also see you as kind, considerate and understanding; someone who’ll always cheer them up and help them out.

31 TO 40 POINTS:  Other AAers see you as sensible, cautious, careful & practical. They see you as clever, gifted or talented but modest.  Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who’s extremely loyal to friends you do make, and who expects the same loyalty in return.  Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over if that trust is ever broken.

21 TO 30 POINTS:  Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy.  They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder.  It would really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then, usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.

UNDER 21 POINTS:    People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions and who doesn’t want to get involved with anyone or anything! They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don’t exist.  Some people think you’re boring.  Only those who know you well know that you aren’t.

Right – now that you have worked out what your scores/attributes are, can you put fellow bloggers into categories where you think they belong?

Written by Red Arse

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Posted by Rasp

The Ideal Arsenal Owner

April 4, 2013

Barely a day passes in the comments section without mention of our owner, Stan Kroenke.

Arsenal began life as a Mutually Owned Club under the name of Royal Arsenal. Our first sole owner was Henry Norris who engineered the move to Highbury in 1913. As we know, the poor fella had to quit to “spend more time with his family” as a result of some minor financial irregularities.

Then, along came the Hill-Woods (Samuel) and Bracewell Smiths (Sir, MP and Lord Mayor). In short, Samuel passed his stake down to Denis and then, he in turn, passed these on down to our current Chairman, Peter. Things got to their present state after Peter flogged his lot to the likes of Dein and Fiszman, and we end up where we are now with Kroenke on 66.76% and Usmanov on 29.9%.

So that’s a little history. So, what would we like right now from an owner?

It seems to me that there are two ways of going about this. The pie in sky fantasy approach, or the let’s face it, this is the real world we are talking about, and therefore the most likely. I can do both.

Being honest, that snake Norris did us proud didn’t he. Then again, the Hill-Wood Dynasty is what really turned the Club into the institution that it is today. They added The Marble Halls and gave us that aristocratic edge that has enabled us to look down our noses at absolutely everyone ever since. This may not sit comfortably with communists and revolutionaries, but it is a fact.

Alas, here we are in the modern era with The Kroenke “Sort”. I have to say, that I like the non-interfering type of owner, and whenever I hear the “couldn’t he just buy us two or three world class players”, I think, well where do you stop, why not sell out to someone you know will plough ego money into the place and be done with it.

Then, I think back to our roots and remember that we started out as a Mutually Owned Club, and think….Barca’ish? Fantasy. Naughty, but nice.

Doesn’t our present Chairman, Peter Hill-Wood, have a squillionaire Grandson? That’ll do me. Best of both worlds.

Written by MickyDidIt89

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Posted by Rasp

Arsenal caught in possession of toxic football

March 28, 2013

We’ve won our last two games, four goals scored, none conceded.

We’ve looked at these games to discover what the magic ingredient was that made the difference. Some think the defensive solidity was down to having Fabianski in goal rather than an out of form Szczesny, others believe that although Wilshere is a real talent, his presence somehow unbalances the midfield.

There is one factor that has not been considered but is something that has been troubling me for some time …… in both those games, the opposition had the greater share of possession. Bayern had 55% and Swansea 53% possession in those games. Our average for the season is 58.5%.

It’s an old saying that possession doesn’t score goals but with Arsenal I believe that prolonged possession also makes us more likely to concede. The pattern we’ve seen is slow build up involving over use of the centre backs and trying to get the ball forward via the wide players who often aren’t ‘wingers’ in the traditional sense and therefore we see the sideways and backwards passing that poses no threat to the opposition. The effect of this is to compress play on the outskirts of the opposition’s well guarded box and our back line gets drawn forward making us vulnerable to being hit on the break.

The result is that the longer we are in possession without creating chances, the more likely we are to concede – we’ve seen it many times. If you’ve got a Messi or Iniesta in your team you will have the guile to create chances even in the most densely packed defence – but we don’t.

The converse of this is that the team who have been starved of the ball are more likely to use pace and be direct when they get the opportunity to counter attack – just as we did against Bayern for the first goal.

Gone are the days when we delivered lightening attacks, when we were more likely to score after an opponent’s corner than our own. We have quick players but fail to capitalise on their abilities.

So what is the solution? Deliberately give the ball away to draw the opposition out of their tight defensive formation? Play more risky early balls through rather than the ponderous (tippy tappy) slow build up? Use proper wingers who can beat the fullbacks and deliver a good cross?

I don’t have all the answers, I suspect the remedy lies in the coaching – but maybe this hastily written post will inspire some ideas/responses even if you think I’m talking rubbish … over to you ….

Written by Rasp

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Posted by Rasp

European Super League. Inevitable?

March 27, 2013

To my mind, many aspects of Football are a microcosm of Society.

The reactions and behaviour of Fans, in many ways mirror social attitudes and the economic climate of the broader society. I also see this correlation within individual Clubs as well as between Clubs themselves. The concentration of power within a club, and then the concentration of power between a small elite of Clubs and The Rest.

Everywhere I look, I see the same model.

Look across Europe right now, and we see the collapse of Economies, Sovereign States, Societies and Currencies. The gap between the rich and poor grows exponentially wider. The call from citizens for their rights and privileges grows ever louder. Sounds familiar?

A quick look at the Power Brokers of European Football reveals to me, a group intent on preserving their own. Their Elite. Are Fair Play rules there to protect the grass roots of the game, or to serve the best interests of the few?

We have seen the back of the European Cup with single representatives from member countries. We have seen the merging of The Cup Winners Cup into The Europa League (yip, “League”). The lines between The Champions League and Europa are becoming blurred, with those falling at the first hurdle in the former being dumped into the latter.

Surely, recent talk of some kind of World Club Super League in Qatar is going to prompt some kind of response from our European Leaders.

Now, what could that possibly be?

Written by MickyDidIt

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Arsene Wenger Great Manager or an Enigma?

March 15, 2013

There are many Arsenal fans, even those who ‘hate’ Arsene Wenger, who will reluctantly agree, when pressed, that he was — note the past tense – once a great manager.

This admission will always be immediately qualified by the use of such terms as ‘He was good when he first arrived, up until 2005, but he is past his best and doesn’t know how to inspire his players or, how to coach them properly, and he is clueless about tactics’. Yada, yada, yada.

Comparisons are also frequently made between Wenger and famous managers of the past or, rather more gallingly, with contemporary managers like Ferguson and Moaniho.

So, fair enough, let’s look at a fantastic Arsenal manager of the early part of the last century, Herbert Chapman, and see if there are any parallels that may help us decide if Wenger’s reputation suffers by comparison.

It is simply invidious, and unfair, to try and directly compare athletes or footballers of bygone eras with those of modern times. Human beings, generally, have grown bigger and stronger because food and sustenance is in plentiful supply, and medicine has improved hugely with micro-surgery available to combat career threatening injuries of great sportsmen and women, and prescription drugs have been developed to help keep us all fit and healthy, compared to those living in the 1920’s and 1930’s, when hunger and deprivation were the lot of many unfortunate people.

That said, perhaps it is possible, none-the-less, to compare the circumstances under which Chapman operated, and see if there are any pointers that we can discern which would usefully highlight any similarities or discrepancies between the modus operandi of the two managers, despite the different eras in which they worked.

A useful starting place is the 1925-26 season when Arsenal finished a creditable second in the old First Division.

It is well known, that Henry Norris a notorious tight arse, had previously advertised for a manager with the infamous rider declaring that applicant wishing to spend money on purchasing players ‘need not apply’.

As a consequence, after his appointment, Chapman was unable to spend to strengthen the side he had inherited, and had to watch as Arsenal only managed to finish eleventh in the League.

Nevertheless, Chapman gained a wonderful reputation for tactical innovation, and introduced the world famous ‘WM’ formation for setting up his team, coupled with devastating counter attacking play.

This tactical innovation depended upon the abilities of ‘world class’ players such as Alex James, David Jack, Joe Hume, Cliff Bastin, and Jack Lambert, the Messi, Ronaldo Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamps of that long ago era.

Before long, this combination of lateral tactical thinking combined with some of the best players ever to grace the Arsenal, whatever the era, started to produce fantastic results, and trophies began to flow into the Highbury cabinet room.

Sadly, at the beginning of 1934, after a short illness that many ascribed to overworking, in difficult conditions, Chapman died still yoked to the prestigious job he loved, at the club he helped make famous throughout the world, and mourned by thousands.

So, can we see a co-relation between Chapman and Wenger?

Well, both men struggled with a lack of funding, but despite that, and by using players bought cheaply, or by bringing through youth or reserve team footballers, as well as revolutionising the coaching and tactical standards of the day, they each managed to produce trophy winning teams.

In addition, many of us have been concerned with the obvious stress Wenger has suffered recently and the effect on his health is of some concern.

An additional handicap for Arsene Wenger was the building of a fabulous stadium, and the traumatic move from the famous halls of Highbury.

It is enlightening to remember that Ajax, once seen as one of the best and most successful clubs in the world, noted for producing gifted and technically advanced young trophy winning teams, moved stadiums in 1996, and have never won any tournaments since.

So what of Monsieur Wenger when compared with the best managers of the modern era?

Arsene Wenger has a vision for the style and manner of the football all his teams must strive to play, which many have come to liken to a modern day ‘Barcelona’ type.

AW believes in his vision with his whole being, and cannot encompass any other style as being worthy of any team he is associated with.

His early Arsenal career, in some ways, mirrored the Chapman era, as he was forced to develop his idyll while short of funds, and having to revolutionise the playing set up, starting with building a state of the art training facility, changing the players’ dietary regime and training methods.

These remarkable changes soon produced astounding results with trophies pouring into the Arsenal, courtesy of a fantastic scouting system which enabled the purchase of cheaply acquired ‘star’ players such as Thierry Henry, Dennis Berkamp, Patrick Viera, Robert pires and many, many more.

In recent years, consequent with the building of the new stadium, finances to purchase new talent or to replace older players have become ever more difficult to come by, and indeed many believe top players have had to be sold, allegedly, to balance the books of account, to enable the club to meet its desired aim of self sustainability.

In turn, this has led to the dimming of Wenger’s football vision of slick, passing, attacking football, for without the brilliance of the aforementioned Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp et al, the team’s results, each year since they left, have become increasingly inferior when compared with other clubs who have recruited the best players from around the world.

What then of his ‘competitor’ managers?

It cannot be denied, that, based on trophy winning, Manure also have a ‘great’ manager and his teams are said to be imbued with his fighting ‘mentality’ which is portrayed by their ability to win games with ‘late’ goals, when needed.

Umm … there is a slight flaw with that view, because they didn’t do that when they were 2:1 down against Real Madrid in the CL recently, did they? Or, let me think, what about in last year’s CL in Basle when all they needed was a draw? Noooo.

Manure has ‘earned’ that reputation mainly against ‘inferior’ opposition in the PL.

Am I being unfair? Well, I am sure he should have also been able to instil this same ‘fighting attitude’ into his players when he managed at East Stirling or St Mirren …… but hold on those clubs were not known for any such attitude, or ability for late revivals. Why?

The answer is simple, it is because he did not have the players with the wit or ability to conjure any such results, or win any trophies.

So, how do Manure, and Ferguson, get away with the unquestioning acceptance that the club and their manager have this ‘fighting ability’ which, by inference, Arsene does not have?

Again, the answer is straightforward …… Ferguson goes out every transfer window, and regularly buys outstanding, expensive, match defining and sorry did I mention ‘expensive’ players capable of producing undoubtedly stunning results, and it is this that has made his reputation.

Who were these players I am thinking of? Think Rio Ferdinand, Ruud van Nistleroy, Wayne Rooney, Christiano Ronaldo, Sheringham, RvP and a whole host of ‘cheaper’ players who are way outside Arsenal’s historical spending limits.

And Maureenio? Well suffice to say, he has only really managed and made his reputation by working for ‘money no object’ Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

Buy the best (and most expensive) players, regardless of the cost, and the trophies will come looking for you.

Ask Ferguson – ask Maureen!

No!!

Give me Arsene Wenger any day of the week.

Give me a high class club, who eschew oligarchs and oily sheikhs.

Give me the Arsenal!

Written by Red Arse

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Posted by Rasp

When the going gets tough …….

February 21, 2013

Believe me, the going is incredibly tough for all true Arsenal lovers. We are watching our team crumble before our eyes. All too many people have the silver bullet – get rid of Wenger. Wonderful! What a great solution! Just who is going to replace him?

As I said in my post this morning, I think Arsène is a desperate man. He looks desperate and sounds desperate. Constantly referring to his 16 years of success has the sound of a desperate man. He looks old and worn, but, at the same time, he is a stubborn man.
 He also has an air of arrogance, but I wonder if it is in fact thinly cloaked desperation. Perhaps he would be pleased to be relieved of his duties. He is 63 and looks 83!

BUT – and it is an enormous BUT…
who would all of you calling for his head appoint in his place? 
The only manager in the PL I would even consider is David Moyes (perhaps Laudrup, but he doesn’t really have the necessary PL experience). David Moyes has done an amazing job at Everton. He is unquestionably a true motivator and tactician – something we clearly need and definitely don’t have. He has managed to “save” his team, in spite of constantly losing what were his top players (Lescott, Rooney, Arteta, Cahill – to mention but a few) and, if you look at some of the old, over-the-hill players he has in his team, it is an incredible feat for him to be where he is. I think he knows that Fellaini and Baines are off at the end of the season and so he has probably had enough and is perhaps looking for pastures new and a fresh challenge.

So many people appear to think that Arsenal can have their pick of new managers. I don’t think so.

Because now we come to the next truly ginormous BUT, which I believe will prove an obstacle to anyone coming to Arsenal. If Arsène stays on as director of football, his successor will never have a free hand. 
I think Wenger has become something of a megalomaniac (a huge understatement!) and, at the same time, he clearly has the backing of the board, because the club is making money. Maybe that would change if we fail to make it to the CL, which is looking ominously likely, but I have my doubts.

So what is the club to do? What awaits us, the true fans (not the ones who crawl out from under stones)? Must we now “do a Liverpool” and look ahead to so many barren years (at least in the PL)?

What do the other “reasonable, realistic” supporters think? I have no interest in reading the kind of critical drivel some posters submit!

Written by magic hat

About the author

Today’s author has been a regular visitor on Arsenal Arsenal for a while now and kindly accepted our challenge to write a post for the site following her comments yesterday. We asked for some background information on her support for Arsenal – this was her response:

I am British, but I live in Gothenburg, Sweden. I moved here in 1974. I go to matches with my husband and daughter, once or twice a year, but we watch every match on TV/streaming. I was introduced to Arsenal in 1957 by my dad, who took me to my first match at the age of 11.
I love Arsenal. I can’t express it in any other way. The club is an intrinsic part of my life. I cry when we lose and I am happy for a whole week when we win.
I could go on for hours…

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Posted by Rasp

We Used To Be Winners

February 20, 2013

Unsurprisingly no one leapt at the chance of writing a match report on last night’s game. The reason is obvious – we can no longer hide from the truth.

In simple terms, Bayern were a level above Arsenal. We had maybe 3 players worthy of the great Arsenal sides of the past – Bayern had 11 top players. Not only did they have the talent, they had the organisation, work rate and confidence to go with it. But most of all, they are a great team. We are an average team with some decent individuals.

We rarely perform as a cohesive unit and as a result are low in confidence, prone to mistakes and less than the sum of our parts. The movement from midfield that used to characterise AW’s teams is gone, we have players hiding from the ball and we have nowhere near the work rate that Bayern demonstrated last night.

Our players may be good enough to get us in the top four, but we are a long way short of being able to win the EPL or CL, there are at least a dozen better teams than us in Europe.

There are many great supporters on this site for whom I have the utmost respect so I am not going to risk upsetting you more than I have already with my recent observations on our plight by picking on any indiivuals.

These are the main factors that I believe have brought us to this point:

1. Although we have recently upped the price we are prepared to pay for players (£10-12m), this is not bringing in players of the level required to significantly improve the quality of the squad.

2. Our inability to sell on players who were overpaid in relation to their worth on the pitch continues to be major burden on our finances that affects our willingness to invest in the quality we require

3. Our coaching, particularly in terms of defending, has been pretty poor for several years.

4. The club’s pride in its prudent financial model and open admission that qualification for the CL is an acceptable level of success sends out the wrong message to the players, the supporters and the media.

There are a myriad of other points that could be added to this list. My conclusion is that we need a complete overhaul, a return to basics and a new spirit of leadership at the heart of the club.

We used to be winners – we are now perceived as losers.

Written by Rasp

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Posted by Rasp

Does what happens off the pitch matter any more?

February 15, 2013

Currently the news is ridden with shocking stories featuring famous sportsmen, and of course other celebrities. The doping downfall of Lance Armstrong, the murder inquiry of Oscar Pistorius, Chad Evans jailed for rape – these are the most recent scandals that have rocked the sporting world.

Are we still the classy club we used to be? Are we still above other clubs ridden with scandal, gossip, dubious dealings? We have our fair share of past and present infamous headlines of drink driving, night club striptease, cigar smoking, infidelity and allegations of rape. The latest gossip that hit the headlines was our own Arshavin, recently dumping his wife and 3 gorgeous kids for a model he met in London.

The era of Vieira, Henry and Bergkamp has restored Arsenal’s place amongst proud sporting institutions, a shining example of professionalism, high personal values and integrity. There were few gossips or scandals surrounding our finest, and even Thierry’s divorce hardly hit the headlines. Thierry and Vieira were teetotal, and Viera and Bergkamp devoted family men.

Does it matter to us how the players behave off the pitch? I have recently shared a little story with you about Diaby loitering with intent at the petrol station at 4 in the morning. I was delighted to hear that he was petrified that Le Boss would find out about him being out in the middle of the night. I believe that being a sportsman is a life style, not merely a job. Do you agree?

Written by evonne

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Posted by Rasp

Twelve EPL games left – Where will it all end?

February 12, 2013

With only 12 games remaining in the Premier League season my assumption is that the current top six teams are the only teams left with a possibility of making the top four positions namely – Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham.

Manchester United appear to have 1st place locked up so they will not be included in the analysis, but their games against the other five teams are included. Therefore the focus will be on Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester City and Tottenham – the five teams fighting for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th places.

In looking at the games remaining for each of the five teams it becomes apparent that the games they play against each other will have a major bearing on the final outcome.

Here are some of the facts about their games against each other —

Arsenal will play – Tottenham away and Everton and Manchester United at home.

Chelsea will play – Manchester City away, Tottenham at home Manchester United away and Everton at home.

Everton will play – Arsenal away, Manchester City at home and Tottenham and Chelsea away.

Tottenham will play – Arsenal at home, Everton at home Chelsea away and Manchester City at home.

Manchester City will play – Chelsea at home, Everton away Manchester United away and Tottenham away.

Arsenal have a slight advantage in the games left to play against each other as they only play 3 games whereas the other four teams all have 4 games to play. This means that Arsenal’s opposition will have a slightly higher risk of dropping points against each other.

Tottenham have the advantage in home versus away games as they play 3 at home and 1 away, Arsenal play 2 home games and 1 away, Chelsea play 2 at home and 2 away while Everton and Manchester City both play 1 home game and 3 away.

In terms of points won in their earlier games against each other Tottenham have the worst record getting 0 out of 12, Chelsea gained 7 out of 12 while Everton and Manchester City gained 5 out of 12 with Arsenal getting 4 points out of 9.

My prediction is that in their remaining games against each other, Chelsea will get 5 points out of 12; Arsenal will get 4 out of 9, while Everton, Manchester City and Tottenham will each get 3 out of 12. This is very significant because if my predictions are correct it would mean that Arsenal will drop only 5 points while Everton and Tottenham would both drop 9 points – that positive difference of 4 points could mean a 4th place finish for Arsenal.

Below are my predictions for all of their remaining games – I don’t claim to be a great forecaster so why don’t you make your own predictions.

GN5 spreadsheet

Written by GunnerN5

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Posted by Rasp

We Are The Arsenal

February 5, 2013

Arsenal Fans Are The Best!

We are The Arsenal, a club closely associated with classy attitudes, financial prudence and for famously decent, well behaved fans. Right?

Well, yes, in the modern era, that is essentially true, although for a relatively short time in the 1960s and 1970s we, as fans, along with the fans of nearly every other club, were swept up in the general social malaise and unrest of that era, which resulted in feral gangs who gloried in ‘unusual’ gang names and tried to terrorise the fans of other clubs.

But that was just a blip, would you not agree?

woolwich arsenal_1888_squad

Maybe, but were you also aware that the Woolwich Arsenal were the first English League club to have their collar felt, and have their ground closed for extreme naughtiness by their fans?

This happened in the late 19th Century for a period of 6 weeks in the 1894/95 season.

It happened as a result of the Arsenal fans taking it into their heads to thump a rubbish referee after a bad tempered, violent home game against Burton Wanderers.

They believed that the referee was an incompetent, cheating pillock, although some of us might not accept that that was really a sufficient excuse to beat up the fellow, because if this vigilante attitude extended into the current era we would be exhausted with all the rigorous physical exercise involved in administering corporal punishment to every miscreant official who officiated at the Emirates, but anyway, regardless of that, it was sufficient excuse for our naughty forebears to mete out their version of justice.

The original draconian sentence proposed, as a result of this kangaroo justice, was that the Arsenal ground would be closed for the rest of that season, but a short time later, cooler minds prevailed, no doubt with a little ‘nudge nudge’ skulduggery, and that sentence was reduced, after furtive negotiations with the FA, to a relatively minor 6 weeks suspension.

The FA having set a precedent, though, then proceeded to play fast and loose with their ‘justice’ system, and after another referee bashing incident, this time by the fans of Wolverhampton Wanderers, the following season, resulted in only a teensy weensy 2 week suspension.

Surely, this was a fore runner and a clear and early example of the rough and summary justice handed out to the mighty Arsenal. Five months reduced to 6 weeks, for us, but only two weeks for Wolves. Hissssss!!

Around the same time there were sporadic ‘engagements’ between Arsenal and Spuds fans, which became somewhat ritualised and led to a lot of bad blood, which even, astonishingly, led to an ex-Arsenal player, who had been transferred to the Spuds brutally punching out the lights of an innocent Gooner who was allegedly subjecting him to “foul and insulting language”! Ahh, diddums!!

It seems to have been the custom and the ‘right’ of disgruntled Arsenal fans to verbally abuse all and sundry, the referees; the away team; the away fans; the police and also their own Arsenal team, if they were deemed to have played poorly.

Of course the social and working demography of the time was very different from today, with the majority of the population working a sould destroying five and a half day week, so their precious ‘week end ‘ meant they wanted to let off steam, while also enjoying themselves, supporting their beloved club.

Part of that enjoyment was seen as their entitlement to dish it out, having paid their precious, hard earned entrance money, and yelling at and abusing anything and anyone at the ground was par for the course.

Home team players who were seen as playing rubbish, did not have to suffer the vitriol of the modern day internet, but because the fans had an intense sense of belonging to their local club and community, any player who let themselves down by missing a ‘tap in’ or letting in a soft goal, or left the club for another club, or in any other way screwed up, were subjected to extremely volatile and painfully humiliating abuse, on the premise that they were unforgivably also letting down their local club and community.

Tribal?

Yes, but perfectly understandable, and all the players understood and accepted this behaviour as a fact of life.

By contrast, the rather demure and civilized expressions of disappointment and betrayal aimed at Brave Sir Robin pales into insignificance by comparison.

Our forefathers were honest, hard working, decent men, but you messed with them at your peril.

It was from those modest origins that the classy, decent, special way our club is currently perceived came about.

Long may it last.

Up The Arse!

Written by Red Arse

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Posted by Rasp

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