Matt Windmill seeks to separate the men from the boys in today’s guest post.
After hard fought back-to-back 1-0 victories, is it just possible the Banner and Black Bin Bag faction now have their Arsenal back?
Perhaps we can look forward to another stellar season like the one that the 1994-95 vintage squad delivered us? Isn’t this what the BW Brigade want? (Banner W**kers for those wondering).
A 12th placed finish in the league, which at one point actually looked like it could turn into a relegation scrap, were it not for a late run. George Graham sacked after a bungs scandal and Paul Merson missing for three months while he underwent treatment to combat drug and gambling addictions.
Sounds great doesn’t it?
It got me thinking though, where were the banners and protests then?
Where were the supporters’ groups telling us what to think, telling us what we want, and then representing ‘our’ views to the club? Where was the booing in the stadium of such performers as Ian Selley, David Hillier and the howls of frustration at wing wizard Glenn Helder? If the vocal minority are moaning and whinging today, back then they must have been apoplectic with rage!
Or maybe there is another possibility.
Perhaps they only started supporting Arsenal once the good times had actually returned?
Perhaps it was only after Arsene Wenger arrived and revolutionised English football – and more importantly – our great club.
Transforming The Arsenal into one of the top 10 clubs in Europe, doing away with the “Boring, boring” Arsenal tag and producing the most exciting brand of football the English game has ever seen.
Overseeing the construction of arguably the best football stadium in European football.
Whilst consistently challenging for honours at the top of the English game.
How happy the BWs must have been in 2004, with the delivery of an historic unbeaten season, by a team capable of beating any opposition, right across the globe.
You see – as any glory hunting supporter will tell you – it is easy to follow a team when they are winning. Just ask the majority of Manchester United supporters.
But the arrival of Russian and Arab billions has changed the landscape forever, and made it extremely difficult to stay at the top. Surely anyone with a smidgeon of intelligence can work that out.
Can’t they?
No, not the BW brigade!
Of course, they well know only ridicule would come their way if they were to actually change their choice of team to support. But the anger that seeps from their pores, manifests as screamed abuse of frustration. The logic of this ruinous mentality culminates in the ridiculous notion of them putting themselves up as those who somehow know better than one of the greatest managers in our club’s proud history.
Where am I going with this, you ask?
Well at the start of this piece I suggested, with tongue firmly in cheek, that the BW’s now have their Arsenal back, but do you know what Arsenal I want back?
I want the Arsenal back without them.
Perhaps our lean spell, trophy wise, has a silver lining?
Perhaps it separates the men from the boys. Perhaps we will see a return to having only those fans who are there just to support? Those who smile just at the thought of walking up to The Emirates with its ever improving, ever impressive décor and its carpet-like pitch.
And one of the best teams in Europe gracing it.
That’s what I want – comebacks from 4-0 down, 7-3 victories, attacking football that, back in that 94-95 season, I dared to not even dream about.
I don’t want my Arsenal back, because it has, and never will, leave me. I fully intend to make the most of every single game I go to.
And hey, if I am lucky, the BW brigade will be nowhere to be seen.
Positively Arsenal 
O agree with all that AA but it seems the BW’s will only leave if we are consistently mid table or below. Under Arsene I cannot see that happening.
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-O +I
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Re-posted from y/day
Sav
I don’t think our Frank is the same guy. Frank Stubbs is a member of Maidenhead Gooners. They follow Arsenal all over the world and he has been writing for Arsenal.com for a few years now.
So we gave Mike Dean AGAIN tomorrow. The number of times he is in charge of our games is staggering.
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BW ..hehe brilliant!!!
“A 12th placed finish in the league, which at one point actually looked like it could turn into a relegation scrap, were it not for a late run. George Graham sacked after a bungs scandal and Paul Merson missing for three months while he underwent treatment to combat drug and gambling addictions.”
yep this is the arsenal i remember before arsene, not to mention the style of football which was..how can i say….a bit primitive….
that is why i laugh when i hear “fans” slating modern arsenal. i still have nightmares over the saragosa final……and fans blamed woijech and konscielny for the stupid cc final…what about that one? uefa final ffs…with the best back 5 evah ? perspective has gone missing in todays arsenal fan.
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is that true dups…..important cup game right before important european fixture…why dean? so that he fucks us up for both ?…. koooooooooonts !!!
he will allow blackburn to kick us to death thus forcing arsenal in a tough game, he will punish arsenal players as strictly as he can for minimum of offences, mess with our minds ..players will have to go for the extra,,possibly injured/knocked…and if the result aint favourable there will be a knock on effect on the psychology for the bayern game ….
ivan time to get busy! ……. call f.a and say that arsenal refuses to play the cup game unless there is a change in the referee …we will pay the fine no problem, but we wont let cunts officiate our games… stand up ivan! its your job to protect the team on the pitch..not arsene’s.
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the levels at which arsene has kept arsenal are unthinkable for a club that invested 450 million on club infrstrtucture in the modern era just 7 years ago and especially when you consider the two new “players” murdoch zahavi blair and brown invited in the league……
those who complain are frankly speaking…….les miserables….
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bravo arseblog re” van persie /santos shirt swap.. said same a few days ago….
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Dups, (8.54 am) – no neither can I!
Just to clarify – it was a guest post from Matt, I merely put the post up on his behalf.
Thanks Matt; regardless of the practicalities of getting shot of the half-hearted ones, I think Matt makes the overall point very well. I for one never imagined supporters of Arsenal losing sight of the bigger picture.
Maybe some people are just standing too close to it?
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it just goes to show andrew how media and rivals taunting have polluted the mind of a gunner…. g69 allured to ti a few days ago about being two types of fans..one who follows the football and one who follows the trophies.
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what i also dont understand is how arsenal fans urge the manager to abandon europe and european competitions to focus on domestic cups ….. in which universe does winning the f.a cup or the copa del rey or copa italia mean more than participating in the last 8 or 4 or two of europe ? i dont get that at all. i guess it goes back to the superiority chip the establishment has. i hear people saying “whats the point of getting into champions league if you aint going to win it”….well whats the point of engalnd participating in a world cup then since they aint going to win it either, why not focus in a birttish nations cup, maybe they have more luck against ireland, scotland, trinidad & tobago, new zealand, and the rest of the commonwealth nations? funny how the goalposts change all the time….
even the financial rewards between f.a cup and european participation are of a different level…and still they complain.
i think it was in arshavins first half (season) when in a fa cup semi wenger went with the same team that had lost against chelsea in the league match. people slated him. few got the intention of the manager of putting the same team on to redeem themselves…. as if fans completely disregard that wenger;s emphasis is to grow them players into characters first, BEFORE winning things….
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Matt – The problem these days is not the crass and vulgar doomer who will gladly hanker for the days of a boring 1-lnil to the Arsenal, it is the insidious middle-of-roader who is impatient for a trophy. We are familiar with their tactics.
…. Wenger is a great manager but in the last seven years ….
…. Wenger may have qualified for the champions league every year for the last 15 years but ….
….. Wenger is a great offensive coach but he inherited his defence from ….
….. Wenger may have an economics degree but he is out of touch with ….
….. Wenger may have signed Henry and Vierra but ….
I could go on but you get my drift.
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Good bit of writing Matt
My sixpence worth;
First it aint just Arsenal it is life mate – life -as in politics, religion, business, the law – is some great fucking reality TV show where the “viewers” think they have the right to vote people in and out of the game based on their whims, their shit for brains media spooned opinions, and cos they have no patience and no ability to enjoy football – they never learned (or much else).
Second, the advent of social media and 24 hour rolling sports news magnifies the self importance and the exposure of the malcontent – sour little bloggers announce marches and bib bag protests, the media love it, the bloggers love being loved by the media so act up more, a vicious cycle.
Third, season tickets – in the old days if you were pissed off at the club you would utter the words ” I am never coming here again until XXXXXX fucks off etc” and you would duly do other things on Saturdays until you had calmed down, be that a process that took weeks or months. Now however you are tied in, a season ticket holder – you have shelled out a big £££ wedge – you aren’t going to not go, the ticket cost too much, you cant flog it in the current market, you are stuck – NO EXIT- and you are not happy. BOOOOOOOOOOOO
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In fairness, I know the boys that take that banner. They go to every single game home and away, I see them. They don’t vocally barack the team, their ‘protest’ as it is, is a silent one. I don’t like or agree with the banner, though I believe strongly that they have the right to unfurl it. It’s not offensive and doesn’t pruport to represent anyone but it’s bearers. I don’t like it personally, but I can tolerate it because we’re a democratic society after all. But you can’t call these boys glory hunters, they’re not.
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great post anicol…you reminded me of wenger’s words about the irresponsible telling the responsible how to act ..via twitter…
people with no idea on the game or finance feel entitled to press enter once theyve typed shit on their keyboards.
and the final paragraph is my philosophy too…since these “customers” arent getting rewarded for their ticket investment they can simply eff off and not pay a dman thing ever again.
the idea that paying for a ticket gives them licence to abuse and demand change is so laughable they should be taken to task by the reasonable ones. wherever /whenever they are found.
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This is such a good post and something that’s frustrated me for a while. Fans actually hurling abuse and fighting each other over differing opinions is just so classless and not becoming of the sort of club I have supported my whole life. Neither do I want our fans to be showered in glory so we can entice Chelsea and Manure type plastic supporters who moan at the slightest bad game. Remember when Manure fans used to shout abuse at Ryan Giggs – they’ll deny it now, but it happened. It’s shameful we all know it is, but how many fans give Ramsey, Gervinho and Walcott a hard time each game when they should be getting behind them.
Yep, leave my club alone and go support a club full of fickle fans only interested in glory.
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Lovely stuff Matt. Couldn’t agree more.
I understand what Shotta means, there is no such thing as middle ground as far as supporting your club goes. You either do…or you don’t. I’ve never had a problem with constructive, insightful and respectful “criticism” of club/manager/players (at the right time). Alas, usually it’s anything but. And there is this insidious alliance of fence-sitters whom also have a divine right “to an opinion” and foist it upon the rest of us ad nauseam, who cloak their frustration for silverware and bragging rights under the guise of “being reasonable”. Slow death.
The venerable Mike Dean (yet again) tomorrow? we must not grumble as there are no such thing as conspiracies of course, and everything is above aboard and ship shape. Oh yes. That’s what they tell me anyway.
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Excellent post, Matt, and very well written. Also agree with Shotta, and anicoll5.
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fungunner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
seems all the former good MIAs are converging here? has maria showed up?
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Not so far Team Spirit but we live in hope!
I think Anicoll has indeed nailed it at 10.49. Social Media and 24 hour news etc is now the monster in the nest with an unquenchable thirst for more followers s and an appetite for ‘information’ which is as impossible to satisfy as it is to filter or apply any kind of quality controls over. Essentially, it is anarchy.
Which means that it’s even more important these days to pick one’s friends wisely and moderate the company you keep …
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Superb Matt, wouldn’t it be great if the bannerwankers and miserable bastards just buggered off and left us lot who enjoy Arsenal and all it entails to it, this place is an oasis in black bin bag laden desert, fuck em.
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Maria has gone missing from twitter for a few months now.She was in the West Indies I think
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@ Team Spirit
hey there! Long time no see.
@ Mel
“bannerwankers”. ha ha – I like it.
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Little Dutch 10.59 am
Hi Tim.
I will take your word for it that they are not glory hunters.
However ,they are incredibly stupid and to say its not offensive ,is a stretch at very least.It certainly offends me.The tone of the banner is designed to offend,
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In the field I only have a walkie talkie for communication which makes access to social media a little awkward. However I have just found that if I attach a decoiling spondyloid which I found in my pocket to the dimstat I can connect to Positively Arsenal…..which is great.
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I personally think counter protests are the answer, for the black bin bag mob we should counter em with black stockings & suspenders placed on seats(a sexy protest) and for the banner wankers something as equally juvenile as their banner like “your mum”.
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What?
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Am I in the right place? Black stockings…’your mum’? Shit I have entered a parallel universe. Must give the spondyloid an extra twist.
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I too think it’s misguided, but they clearly don’t. It’s the people that have disagreed that have actually instigated violence over it too. My action would always be just to ignore any banner like that that you don’t agree with. They’ve had it for over 18 months and the only reason everyone knows about it now is because someone punched them for having it. Publicity is oxygen.
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Can’t we just wear our red and white scarves and vigorously spin out rattles?
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So Blackburn tomorrow – and like most of us I am expecting a smooth performance and a win – anything else and the mob will be forming
My recollection of games over the past few years makes me a bit cautious – some massive wins, a couple of very frustrating draws although it is a very long time since I think it was Edu put through his own goal (twice ? ) to send the northerners back to Pie Land with the points.
Memory from the last game against Rovers at Highbury with a recently unmasked by the News of the World SEXUAL ATHLETE EXTRAORDINAIRE Dwight Yorke playing for them. Every time he touched or got near the ball the bloke next to me was on his feet shouting ” You dirty bastard – you filthy beast – you dirty, dirty old man – get it back in yer trousers, you horny bastard ” and many other words on the same theme.
Eventually even Yorke laughed
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Tim ,we knew about it before they got punched.
I don’t believe you should just ignore idiots.They need to be told.Of course most of them cant or wont comprehend what you tell them.I have however found that everybody understands the meaning of a punch in the mouth.I believe they were threatened weeks before they got punched.To anyone with half a brain,that would have been notice to leave the banner with their Mums.
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Thanks for all the nice comments guys, much appreciated.
If the banner isn’t offensive, why did someone feel the need to give the oiks brandishing it a slap?
I have also seen the guys waving it at games – and heard shouts of ‘Wenger out’ from the vicinity – in fact, one of which was The Highbury Spy of The Gooner – – For someone with such a high profile as a writer / supporter I do indeed find that offensive.
In my opinion their time and effort could be spent in a far more positive way supporting the team – surely positive messages on banner are more likeley to inspire the team than reading negative shite and hearing booing and abuse?
Seems simple to me.
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I must confess once again that with this blog, I have my appetite for reading Arsenal blog back.
Like I wrote a few days ago, those who think the club is not being run the way they want it can simply bugger off and support the well run clubs and allow those of us who appreciate hw the cub is run alone to support the team and club. We love Arsenal because it gives us lots of joy and hope.
@ hunter, I simply love your love for the club and everything abt it.
@George, I simply love ur undaunted support at all times.
And to every other poster on here, I simply love ur round the clock posiivity.
Sincerely, it’s “VICTORY IN HARMONY.
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Waving banners in a stadium in which Arsenal football club are playing the target of which is players, the managers or the board is out of order – Seems to me to be the opposite of a silent protest.
Seems to me to be a “Everyone Look at Me” kind of protest – and who exactly is the audience supposed to be anyway ? Arsene ? The players ? The board ? Stan ? Sky ?
Embarrassing is what it is
Identify them, cancel their season tickets in May, put the poor suffering creatures out of their misery. I am a humane man.
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Does Blackburn still have holes in it, George?
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Wonderful Matt!
“I don’t want my Arsenal back, because it has, and never will, leave me. I fully intend to make the most of every single game I go to.”
Wicked mi yute!
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Support inside the stadium will not improve until the club retract several thousand season tickets. So many season tickets went on sale for the new stadium that many went to people with money but with very little passion for the club. Many of those supporters do not attend games or at least very few games but insist on holding on to their tickets. My prediction is that at tomorrows game we will see 45-50,000 seats filled. The gaps will be in the season ticket areas. Meanwhile the non-season ticket areas will be crammed with fans singing their hearts out.
I know one such fucker,he actually supports the Big Mancs but keeps his season ticket for big games in London. He says he is a commodities broker and it has always surprised me that he can make so much money from breaking toilets.
The club does have the information system to spot which seats are occupied from one game to the next. Imo three no shows in a row should get you a warning with the real threat of withdrawal of the season ticket if it keeps happening. If you really can’t make it then your only salvation should be if you phone or txt ahead and allow the seat to go to a local youngster for a nominal fee. The local youngsters can then turn up to a particular queue on the off chance of a no show ticket.
Carmon Arsenal Carmon Arsenal Carmon Arsenal
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Excellent article btw Matt
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Quite brilliant articles from Steww, Bradyesque, Andrew and George too. I don’t mean nearly brilliant or only just scraping brilliant. I mean fucking extraordinarily brilliant.
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Funny that Mr Little Dutch always stands up for the anti-brigade. If it is not Stewart Robson foul-mouthing Walcott and Arsenal he is trying to protect from our insults, it is the BW. Why Tim? Why do they have a right to be heard more than the positive guys? Why are you on a mission to protect their “rights”? If they have the right to criticize Arsenal, Wenger or any player, surely we have the right to criticize them? If you want us to leave them alone, why don’t you do the same towards us? Double standards?
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…and a hundred thousand gitanes to Gainsbourg for his comments on that horribly dull game on Wednesday night. What an abomination.
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@ Mel February 15, 2013 at 2:07 pm
ha ha
****
There may be a place for banners like that, but the stadium on match day is not it.
Many of us are lucky enough to live in a democratic society and democratic societies need an organised opposition to the government for the time being in order to be healthy and avoid sliding into tyranny. However, we are talking about a football club here. Following your football club is not life and death, it’s a leisure activity to which we’re emotionally addicted, but in which none of us are forced to participate. Wenger can’t put the fans in prison, tax us or stop us getting jobs. He can’t take away our children or tell us whether we can put in a new window. He’s the manager of AFC, not the Prime Minister. A manager is more like a war-time general than a political leader or head of state. While a manager is in place, he makes the decisions, not the fans. If a manager does well, he stays on, if he doesn’t, he’s sacked. The opinions which the manager takes into account are those of his staff, not the fans. That is quite right, it seems to me. And the level of passion of the feelings we fans have about what he should or shouldn’t be doing does not change any of that.
***
And I echo Frank’s words about the quality of writing on PA. All that quality and humour, too.
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Fungunner? Goodness me I thought my tired old eyes were failing me. Excellent to see you on here….and Team Spirit too. Kind of like the magnificent seven here…everyone is rallying around the flag. The Positively Arsenal flag. Well done, George. Well done, Adi
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..I don’t actually think there was a flag in the magnificent seven.
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Tired and old? I pooh-pooh such a suggestion. Good to see you, Frank, and of course Harry Flowers.
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I expect one of the boys had a flag that he wrapped his lunch in.
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Good lord, Hawkeye was on here again too. Le Longue Carabine. Natty Bumpo. What a supporter,
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Yes a Mexican flag perhaps. Positively Arsenal is like an adobe church with a clanky bell and a cro…figure of a bronze cannon set into the stonework of the tower
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“… based on their whims, their shit for brains media spooned opinions, and cos they have no patience and no ability to enjoy football – ”
anicoll5 you nailed it.
Great piece Matt. I never want ‘my’ Arsenal back as I always feel so fortunate that my seven year old self decided to support ‘The’ Arsenal.
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Apparently Blackburn Rovers was first set up by a group of handlers in a dog’s home in Blackburn…and they were going to be called Blackburn Lassies.
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