ARSENAL SUPPORTERS BEHIND THE SCENES

Morning all,

Now things have quietened down somewhat, and before Arsene starts to buy i thought i would just like to write about some of my Arsenal supporter friends, these friends are just the same as some of you, they have supported our fine club for ever, through the good years and the lean spells that we are experiencing at the moment, but whether winning or losing they are the mainstay of what you look for in a supporter, if of course you were looking. I have a friend who i shall just call Slim, Slim is about six foot four, built like a brick built shithouse, and he is Arsenal crazy, slim has been lucky in life as far as wealth goes, he worked in a family business and when the family decided they had had enough sold up and split the rewards up and were left very comfortable. Slim is loud and proud, his a guy that would help anybody out, and has to my knowledge many times, a lovely guy but Arsenal mad, he goes to as many games as he can, which is difficult as he lives here and abroad, but will fly over when certain games come up that he particularly wants to see. Facebook and twitter Linkedin get hammered by him before a big game and i must admit he takes defeat badly, just like the rest of us. In his company you will very rarely go to long before Arsenal comes up in the conversation, and his knowledge is quite staggering, an Arsenal man through and through.

Then there's my old school mate, we met at five years old at primary school, and have stayed close mates ever since, i will call him the Gudge he and his son have been season ticket holders for ever The Gudge even brought a brick in The arsenal wall and a bond holder as well, they very rarely miss home games and often travel away as well, The Gudge's son i'll call him Paul, Arsenal mad Probably picked it up from his Dad, I was in Paul's company just recently where he astonished me by admitting that he now, at the moment goes to the match with his Dad but leaves his Dad to watch the game on his own as he has taken to watching in a local pub because he gets so wound up watching us at the moment, and reckons that watching in the pub with other supporters, the atmosphere is much better than in the stadium, it also helps that the beer flows all the time, Paul has stressed that as soon as its not so frustrating he will resume his seat in the stadium, he said before i become an alcoholic i hope. But these two, definite Arsenal nutter's, The Gudge's wife and daughter are just the same Nutter's.

Then there's another good friend i'll call him Buckers he has four seats at the Ems, again all his family are Arsenal mad, now and again if one of the family is on holiday or sick i may even get an invite to watch with them, Buckers makes sure you have a good time He even feeds you at half time a proper Arsenal fan, he seems to take defeat better than the rest of us but i reckon when his on his own he kicks walls. but Arsenal through and through.

Now we come to Kev, kev is a gentleman never have i seen him lose it, calm and collective but i have sat with him when we lose and he must be gutted like me but very seldom will you see it, another man that has two or three seats at the ground and an Arsenal Family, Kev is calm but he hates to lose a golf ball he can spend more time looking for a ball than it takes to play a cup final, but he too, Arsenal through and through.

I have many more friends who are Arsenal through to the core, and also many who support other clubs with the same passion as us well almost. I often look at all my mates and when we play against their teams all the badgering that occurs before during and after the games, but we keep it friendly and stay good friends as we all have the same things in common, pity the rest of the world the ones that are fighting and killing one another couldn't sit down and watch a game and try and get on with one another, ah well funny old world Ah.

Then there's me Arsenal till I die, my Mrs reckons she's Arsenal, but moans when its on the tele, three daughters all Spuds what have i done to deserve this, as I said funny old world.

Now who have we signed Arsene another Arsenal Nutter

Written by Steve Palmer 

MORE CHANCE OF A CURE FOR CANCER THAN ARSENAL BUYING TOP PLAYERS

Morning Gooners,

My post today may upset one or two of you so I will apologise before you read it. I have watched Arsene Wenger since he joined us and have been one of his greatest admirers. Yes over the years I have called for his head, and could either be singing his praises or calling for his head again at the end of next season. Yes at the moment he frustrates me, no news is not good. A nineteen year old defender is not ringing my bells at the moment. Arsenal also frustrate me, less news from them than Wenger, in many ways Arsenal remind me of Charities, and one in particular comes to mind, Cancer Research, now i don't know anybody that has not lost somebody to this terrible illness, just in the last month I have lost two friends. Maybe I am a bit bitter but I can remember as a kid putting penny's in a cancer box, and later the name changed to Cancer Research. I was saying to my Mrs the other day, I said, I don't think they will ever get a cure for this terrible affliction you know, and she answered me with Whys that, I said, Because charities are a business, every Pound they receive a penny goes to the actual cause the rest of the money is paid out in wages and administration, just imagine the amount of people they employ, if a cure were found tomorrow, think of how many would be out of work. Cancer research I am sure, will keep paying some money in, working for a cure, but in all honesty if you were in charge of this multi million Business wouldn't you fend off a cure as well, well that's my view and i am sorry if i have offended you.

Arsenal as I said seem to be the same, I have Arsenal slippers Arsenal shirts Arsenal socks a tax disc an Arsenal Charm round my neck just to name a few, Many of you probably as mad as me, but that is just like Charity, they make these things for almost nothing and sell them to mugs like me and make fortunes, and because i was born a Gooner i have to have them, what do they give me back, cheap buys, empty promises, Arsene's vision for the future, I am sorry I believe I may be a victim of that deadly disease before Arsenal invest the money that's needed to make a difference, just like Cancer Research they take in plenty but give out little. Maybe I'm touchy because of my loss, but I get the feeling we are banging our heads against a wall, but hopefully in the near future, if there is a God up, then get your fffing finger out.

Now before all you do gooders out there have a go at me I know that Arsenal Football club do Charity work and try and encourage the players to put back a little into the community, and very commendable it is too, i only hope that more of the raised funds go to the cause. We have many corporate seats at the Emirates I wonder just how many of those seats are actually Arsenal supporters, I also wonder how many young kids are out there wearing their Arsenal kits, who's Fathers can't afford to buy them tickets to watch their team of choice, maybe something for the Board to think about, unless Arsenal are just like Charities and you know what they say about Charity, it starts at home.

I have worked all my life and paid my taxes and my National insurance, This Government should stop their Million pounds bombings of third world countries and use the money you and I have paid in to find the cures to help humanity, Arsenal take heed.

Written by Steve Palmer 

APPRENTICES TO SUPERSTARS

Morning all.

With all the media and the blog world going crazy at the moment, its amazing how supporters are getting more and more frustrated with the lack of news coming through from the club. I can sense the urgency coming from supporters, many I am sure are season ticket holders who are waiting for news of who they will be watching before paying their fee's. Well to all those that are waiting for that to happen, you will probably be wasting your time. Where the likes of the big money spenders The Manc Outfits and Chelsea and poor old Harry's outfit trying not to be left out, will be wheeling and dealing, our old Frenchmen will be taking his time, he won't rush as he never has done before, and i expect him to be exactly the same this time. He has disappeared to South America on a scouting Mission, while all the early running is being taken up by the wealthy owners.

As we all know there are only a relatively few players that are up for grabs and normally its smaller clubs selling some of their stars, so as to finance their coming season. Teams like West Ham have done this for years and will be involved again this year, bigger clubs will be buying and also thinning out their own squads to allow room for new hopefully better replacements. Now with new rules coming in, with fair play rules, teams will have to watch their spending, also try and reduce wages as well as this will eat up what money these clubs can use in the future, although these rules are not in yet, clubs are aware that the wages they are paying are exorbitant and will be detrimental to their future. Why i am explaining this to you is that Wenger has never been one of the managers that have had an owner that has unlimited wealth he has to run on a budget, and although this grates with supporters he has done extremely well, most though would disagree. 

Wenger has in my mind been a fantastic Manager yes some of you have heard me slate the man off on more than one occasion, and I am sure it won't be to long before I am at it again, but he has been frugal and disciplined in his actions, he knows that it won't be too long before the clubs debts are paid off, and with the new rules coming in the near future he realises that we will all be on the same level, well at least closer. If clubs cannot afford the likes of £50 million players, they are never going to be on the same level, so its as plain as the nose on your face that the chances of you competing goes down. Wenger has kept us competing, granted we have not won anything for a few years, but we were a lot closer last year than we have been for quite some time, was it Wenger's fault, I said yes because he never brought in the winter window I believed that was the difference to us winning or losing, but he didn't buy and we never won, but in all fairness, had the players kept up the momentum, we still could have captured something. The players run out of steam, Wenger lost his composure, and we got the hump.

In all fairness to Wenger he has not ever brought fantastic players he has moulded fantastic players. The likes of Henry  Pat Jack and Fab and a string of others tells me he is a man with forward thinking, he very rarely pays enormous amounts for players and I don't see that way changing, this year may prove me wrong, but I would be very surprised, he has a vision, and although it is not falling into place just yet, it will without question. Arsenal football club will be back in their rightful position very soon, and Wenger will again be hailed as a fantastic Manager. I know your frustrated as I am as well, but good times are just round the corner and as Wenger says, have faith and patience, and we will get what we deserve.

Wenger has acknowledged that we have a problem in the defence, why it has taken this long I don't know, but he has stated that he will buy to sort this problem out, at the moment he has signed two teenagers who play in these positions, I would expect another experienced defender to also be included, for the two youngsters to learn from, time will tell. We have young players either loaned in the past or playing reserve football who are ready for a move forward, and I expect this to happen, but what we have to take in, is that if we buy big name players, they would want to play every game, so our youth would stand about twiddling their thumbs and eventually move on. We have to stick with the plan and bring these players forward, and hope we have instilled in them what Arsenal football club expects from them, I also have faith in this way of doing things and expect returns very soon. We have many youngsters and they in my opinion are our future, learning their trade at one of the best clubs in the world starting on small wages building up through their training and eventually making them well paid superstars, isn't that how we all see apprenticeships  turning out.

Written by Steve Palmer   

ARSENALS PROBLEMS UP FRONT

I have been looking through recordings of some of our games this season, hoping to find reasons why were not scoring more goals than we are. We create plenty of chances but when it comes to actual scored goals, we don't score half as many as we should.
I know that the statisticians' out there, will throw figures at me to show that we are up there with the top teams, well that's not my concern. I believe the chances we create should produce many more goals.
Now I don't claim to be a tactician, I don't consider myself an expert but having played local football for over thirty years and watching Arsenal for fifty odd, has given me the right to criticise a little.
I love our club and I want us to win everything and I may be a bit touchy after a bad result. At times I want a new Manager and players but most of the time I just want to see more goals, spectacular goals, tap ins, headers, I don't care how they go in!
Watching us play for ninety minutes then a 0-0 result does my head in, especially when I've watched chance after chance result in misses.
No doubt like all fans, I believe we could so easily have a winning team if we lose a few players that have not really made the grade and replace them with players with the skills we need. I am not talking major changes, just in the areas that we all know we are weak in but that's getting away from my point about goals.
I think you would mostly agree that we move the ball reasonably well from the back through to the attacking midfielders, albeit with less pace than I would prefer. Up to this point our possession stats suggest that we are doing ok but I think it's at this stage we begin to stutter, through no fault of our midfield.
We all know we have good attacking midfield unit in Cesc, Nasri, Song, Jack, Rambo AA and Theo must come in there as well. That little group of players is quite formidable, so why can't they move the ball forward to the forwards to allow them to score?
Well for a start, the forward players do not work very hard in finding space for themselves, making it difficult to slip a pass in to them.
More often than not they are not in the positions they should be in to receive the ball and quite often they can be found on the wings or in midfield positions.  Hardly the positions to score goals from is it?
Our forwards should be in a position which allows them to clear their defensive marker and be free to collect a pass from our midfield players. When an attack is in motion our forwards do not get in the box quick enough and very seldom do we have more than one player in the box which again limits the option for our midfielders.
If players want to be called forwards then why are they not adopting the correct position?
If we use three forwards, then that three should be ready to go as soon as we break - so often play has to be held back owing to a lack of forward options and this should not be the case.
Whether this is the managers choice or not I am not sure but a goal scorer out of position is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
We are in need of at least two instinctive strikers, strikers that are both footed can shoot on sight and be accurate. Far too many shots end up being closer to the corner flag than on goal. A true goal scorer would rectify our problems and put us in more positive positions.
To hear a commentator say, it fell to his wrong side is not an excuse for a miss, if a striker cannot kick instinctively with either foot then he should not be used. Now this statement may enrage some supporters as their favourite striker is being criticised but look back on some of the games this season and look at the misses we have had, it may make you think differently.
Just a footnote:
Theo Walcott is a striker, a pacey one at that and he can use both feet. My view is we are wasting his talent shoving him out on the wing. I don't know where his preferred position is, he's possibly happy playing anywhere but, should he be seeking a striker role in order to fulfill his needs, will we see him playing there for someone else other than Arsenal?
I hope not.....
Written by Steve Palmer.

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MOST IMPORTANT TIME OF THE YEAR THE CLOSED SEASON

Morning all,
 Everything has been discussed and debated, so i dont intend to bore you with what you have heard before, i just wanted to share with you some of the things i have come up against in the last month or so, maybe you have had similar, it seems  that anything Arsenal seems to bring a smile on any one's face who is not an Arsenal fan, i have had txts, calls, e-mails, and even shouts from across the streets, from people i have not seen for years, ridiculing, so i have decided that this season is over as far as i am concerned, a daft thing to say when it is still mathamaticaly possible to win the most prestigious competition in our calender The Premier League so that i could then thumb my nose to them But with what i have seen of our team this year, i have convinced myself we are out of the equasion. So i have decided to write about what i consider the most important part of the year, the closed season.

I beleive that decisions in the closed season may well be the difference for us winning some thing next year. Decisions on whether Wenger will continue as Arsenals Manager, decisions on the sale of present players, future players, styles of play, whether we stick with the same backroom staff, bring in a defensive coach, as you can understand the closed season is a time for all involved to reflect on the previous season. Was it succesfull,did the squad live upto expectations, did the manager make the right calls, did his right hand man do his job with good advice. All these points must be discussed and debated over. The shareholders will want to know if their investments will be a sound bet for the coming year, And how much money the Board will put aside for investment in new players. So up untill now, we know that a lot of chat and Board meetings will take place, and finally the decisions they have jointly  come up with.

After all, Arsenal football club is a business, and judgeing by the profits, a very successful business, there must be VIPS who strive for bigger profits, more success and the thought of  new supporters takeing Arsenal as their chosen club to support for the rest of their lives. VIPs are aware, as are we, that new young supporters choosing a team to follow,  like to pick a winning team, and once chosen they pay to follow them for ever. Bums on seats and all that. So to be successful is of paramount importance, so the right decisions have to be made.

As supporters we hope these people know what they have voted for, and their decisions are put in motion. We hope that these ideas will bring more succes than the previous season. As supporters we know that some of these decisions are made before the close season starts, owing to the rise in season ticket prices being announced allready, maybe a sign of future investment. After all nothing can happen at all without the supporters paying their way. Writeing about the closed season has lifted my spirits some what, and i am starting to feel better already, the thought of new signings and a clear out off the old, a new season almost beckening and the glint of silverware on the horizon, supporters will again unite on the terraces with hope in their hearts and a song on their tongues, but wait just a minute, the last six closed seasons were also discussed by these same individuals, and i dont remember much success, but you never know do you.

Written by Steve Palmer

RESPECT, DONT MAKE ME LAUGH

Morning all.
Now that The Carling Cup and The Champions League are behind us we focus on The FA Cup, now before i proceed i would just like to add that although those competitions are behind us i don't believe we should just dismiss them just like that, i believe we should ponder on these losses for a moment, and reflect. The Carling Cup, we can blame ourselves for a mistake at the end of a competitive game and we allowed Birmingham in for a well earned victory no complaints, but The Champions league, now this is a different kettle of fish, i wont bore you with the intricate details as i an sure we have not heard the last of this game not by a long way, which brings me to the Word Respect, now the word Respect is emblazoned on everybody's shirt its an easy word to say an easy word to read, but what does the word mean, the reason the word was included on football shirts, was to show the world and the players, that Respect between the cultures of our world is paramount, it represents Black White Red and Yellow people, from the four corners of the world, so that they can play against one another without hate or malice, compete for the name of the sport they are in as equals.

Hopefully the days of bananas being thrown onto the playing surface and the songs about players mothers are behind us, many laughed and cheered but i hope a lot of it was banter but still hurtful. England has come a long way, allowing Mosques to be built, allowing foreigners to take over every corner shop in the country, every garage, and nearly all the restaurants, whilst not many CofE churches are being built in their parent countries. We have bent over backwards for different cultures and people, to play in our football leagues, the numbers are probably in excess of English players in the Premier League, so i believe we have tried our best to spread the word Respect. The football authorities have made it a campaign, to make the word Respect apparent in everybody's mind, by evicting people that show the lack of it from grounds all over the world.

So tell me, why were Arsenal FC  shown no respect  by the Officials and the Authorities over the abysmal decisions they incurred in their Champions League defeat in Spain. Arsene Wenger asked the referee about his judgement and subsequently receives charges from Eufa and possibly penalties, where is that word Respect now. Probably time to move on to the FA Cup, Saturday see's us at Old Trafford against old rivals Manchester United, i am expecting a very hard fought match, both teams have received losses of late but i wouldn't expect that to stand in the way of the battle, home advantage for Utd, which i never doubted, but our tails are up, and without any interference from the referee, hopefully a fair and Respectful match.

Written by Steve Palmer

THEY CAN CHEAT US BUT WE'LL BE BACK

Morning all,
Its beginning to look a little like last year, get knocked out of one tournament, and another follows. I am not going to talk about, how players react prior to the game starting, there has been suggestion that some of our players, showed a little to much affection for Barcelona's players hugging and kissing even smiling and grinning, well maybe they did, but in my eyes that means nothing. A soldier in a war can one minute be handing out food packages, but in the next shooting the same people, i see this the same way. I would rather talk about the injustice that television has brought to the publics attention, blatant cheating in one of the most watched games this century, the game was watched by a hundred and twenty odd countries, beamed to all the four corners of the planet, and they watched a debacle, they watched as a footballing authority allowed, in front of all those people, a referee  send a player off for absolutely nothing, Well it wasn't for nothing it was to make sure the right team won.

Every supporter will complain about why their team lost, i accept that, they even complain about a decision, maybe a tackle, some may complain about a kiss or a hug, but the fact remains the same, their team has lost, and nothing can be done about it. I was astonished by this referees decision i played it back over and over again what did he do wrong. Well the referee has said that Van persie Kicked the ball away after he had blown for an offside, Van Persie had picked up an earlier yellow card for an incident which could have been overlooked, but owing to the player throwing himself to the ground the Referee felt A hundred thousand fans must be right. But to get back to the sending off, Van Persie receives the through ball turns and shoots, in his rush to shoot it goes astray and robin is dismayed,he turns to go back to his position when the referee brandishes his second yellow and Van Persie is ordered to walk. The timing was recorded for all those that like stats, from the moment the whistle blew to when Van Persie shot was one second, yes one second. it took thirty seconds for a Barcelona substitution in the dying minutes of the game,and that was walking off, but that was acceptable, according to the referee.

We have to accept that the referee was right for his actions, to say he was wrong will bring the game into disrepute, touchline bans and fines have been issued to those that have, and so it must be accepted. I for one am disgusted at the media, after the game, television pundits Graham Souness Jamie Rednapp and Gerald Houlier talked after the game Souness said, At the end of the day the best team won, Barcelona was the best team on the night and in my opinion even without the sending off Barcelona would have continued and won, Rednapp and Houlier agreed in so many words. Well nobody will ever Know, yes Barcelona at that stage of the game had seventy percent of the play, they had been attacking for most of the game, but don't they do that with every team they play, and they don't win them all. They had the same amount of possession at the Emirates but we beat them.

I have now watched the game three times, i replayed certain parts may times, and i have deduced from that, that the referee was instructed by EUFA to make sure that this game went to Barcelona, we were constantly fouled obstructed with hardly any decisions going our way Van Persie said and i know he was embittered but he said, This referee is a joke, he has been all night. Van persie will no doubt be reprimanded for that comment, but he was right, the referee was a joke a sick joke, he shouldn't be allowed to ref kids games but in my eyes ,i can see he did his job and followed his instructions from EUFA so the right team won to the letter, in my eyes this man is a disgrace to the game, a cheat , and a fixer, the manager will not say it but we know, and they know we know.

We were 1.1 when Van Persie was sent off, we were leading the tie, a crucial decision and in my view the wrong decision, many Arsenal fans Talk about the George Graham Defence how strong and resolute it was, well tonight proved that this current  Wenger defence is as resolute, Barcelona had trouble penetrating it and needed the hand of God to reduce us to ten men before they could get in front. our boys worked their socks off defended with passion they fought to the last second, despite of what an ex Tottenham player Liverpool manager and liverpool player said we were cheated and that should not be allowed i am disgusted with the football ruling bodies and worse of all, so called Pundits. The football world is corrupt, it will always be corrupt and we will keep on knocking on that door and they will cheat us every year but they wont break us. Well done those Brave Cheated Players for i am extremely proud of you. Decisions will stop us winning but we will always be there.

Written by Steve Palmer