As Arsenal are weathering the early home pressure and I search for ways to cope with the rising anger at the hapless biased negativity of the truly horrible commentary team, my thoughts drift to The Plan. Some people have called it Project Youth some have seen it as a series of decisions based entirely upon financial straight jackets while a frankly silly minority have attempted (unconvincingly) to propagate the belief that there is no plan. Personally I’ve never thought that The Plan was particularly complex, elliptical nor difficult to grasp. Arsène has always been up front and honest when it comes to explaining The Plan. Put simply, he has striven to build a squad of exciting young talent either bought in or home grown and to blend it with experienced players of international renown. He then adds a dash of stardust seasoning in the shape of one or two truly world class footballers. The over riding criteria being that whether callow or seasoned these players should be inventive, intelligent, clean living and good looking and able to adapt themselves to the wonder that is Wengerball. See? Simple isn’t it? Of course high profile defections in search of money and a sickening spate of injuries have often robbed him of both the older and younger players forcing him to promote, buy and borrow in successive rebuilding operations which have disrupted the personnel but never derailed The Plan.
I feel that the current squad may be the most perfect realisation of The Plan that we have seen. Others would disagree but yar boo sucks to them. This is my turn and I’ll paint the blog whatever shade of red and white that I like. If you take the defensive side of our team for example it really is the perfect encapsulation of The Plan in microcosm. I think of our defensive unit as comprising SzczÄ™sny, Bac, Gibbs, Per, Kos and Mikel Arteta. I include Mikel although the Flaminator could just as easily fit the bill. Either way the midfielder most likely to be found protecting the back four is an integral part of our rearguard. So that’s three young players either bought from obscurity or groomed from a very young age in-house and three massively experienced hugely knowledgeable footballers the whole shebang combining grace, speed, enthusiasm, maturity, skill, anticipation, acceleration, pace and power into a big gumbo of footy loveliness. As I say an encapsulation of The Plan.
One element of The Plan has undoubtedly been Project Youth. I don’t deny the existence of The Project. However this has never been, is not and hereafter never shall be the whole plan. Never ever ever no matter what you may have heard or thought, so clear your muddled head of such zany baloney. Any sensible well run responsible club will have a decent youth set up and will give very many young sportsman the best possible start in their sporting life and at Arsenal that’s precisely what happens. Some of those youngsters will gain first team experience and some will go on to become first choice. Not many of course but more than you’d expect to see in most top teams. But Project Youth is only a part of The Plan. The reason I highlight it here and the reason I believe our current squad to be such a fine example and realisation of The Plan is this. Project Youth takes time. Buying a player takes a bit of scouting, negotiating and cheque writing it’s true but this is peanuts to planting and growing your own young players. What age were Jack or Kieron? They were still in red and white nappies when they first started for us and it has taken a very long time to get to where we are today. Similarly Theo and Aaron. They were bought in for sure but before they’d done their GCSE’s. Or thereabouts. My point is it took time for them to bridge that boy to man gap. And now we are here. The vast wealth of experience possessed by the likes of Per, Mikel, Podolski, Tomas, Bacary, Santi, is now combined with youngsters who are now actually no longer boys but professional footballers just entering their best years. Look at Aaron. He is merely a junior member of the team. And he’s the best player in the country right now. By a country mile. And that’s my point. The youth/experience balance is still there but now the young players have enormous experience. Still learning of course but not kids. Not in footballing terms. Not any more.
57.27 seconds. Aaron Ramsay pulls off a tackle on the edge of our area that Bobby Moore would have boggled at. And then he instigates a counter attack that ends with their keeper making a good save at the near post from a Jack Wilshere volley. It just happened. At the moment that I finished writing the last paragraph. Kind of proving my point. There’s really only one ingredient missing as far as The Plan is concerned. The players need to know how it feels to win. Not just matches. They know how to win big and important matches. They need to know how it feels to win competitions. To know that together they can see the job through to the end. I see no reason to suppose they can’t do it and that their time is now. And as I typed that Theo banged it into the net. Like we all knew he could. And he also kind of proved my point. He is ready now, no longer a kid. His misfortune in hitting a keeper in fine form on Saturday counted for nothing when his chance came this evening. He is young, quick and a menace to defenders but he is also sufficiently experienced to have patience and perspective. Those precious commodities so transparently lacking in so many supporters and yet so absolutely essential in the psyche of a top professional sportsman.
Well it’s 71 minutes in and I’ve stopped typing so I can enjoy the last 20 minutes of the game. I wonder when Giroud will score. I wonder what will happen if he doesn’t? Will the ravens flee the tower? I wonder if Sky’s commentary apparatchiks ever lock themselves in a cubicle in the gents with their faces in their hands sobbing quietly at having to repeat such Orwellian doublespeak as “Arsenal have always drawn easy groups” and “Arsenal’s squad is looking thin”. I know they need the money, we all have bills to pay, but I’d like to think that if I was called upon to do something so blatantly immoral and clearly wrong in the course of my working day that I’d have the courage to say no.
I suppose if I told you I was wondering just when Aaron would score as the clock approached 83 minutes you wouldn’t believe me would you?
Still sat here concerned about the ravens though.
Positively Arsenal 
@DC
Well, I can understand where I am coming from. Maybe I am just jealous. We have what is one of the most beautiful stadiums in all of football, but not the atmosphere. I think the club simply deserves better.
@Kelly
Wow! That’s one of the best posts I’ve ever read on the subject.
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Fabulous, alabamagooner, especially this bit:
“I’m talking about beating up on a kid, just to make yourself sound funny or clever or knowledgable or whatever.”
You mention the fact that his wages are irrelevant to his suffering,a fact that some fans couldn’t get their heads around. I’d add that the virtual world of internet and DVD gaming has created alienation in some people and they can’t empathise with him because he’s not a “real person”, he’s someone they see on their screen. If it happened to a mate of theirs or a family member, they would understand.
And this sentiment.. “The bully may grow up and grow out of it, your child will get through and forgive and move on if you’ve raised them well. But you will ALWAYS hate that bully” is why I will never really forgive the “fans” who hated on the club, the players and the manager when they most desperately needed support.
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Great post Kelly; still looking forward to a long-awaited debutant guest post from you – I know it will be a corker.
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@FG
I think you hit the nail on the head why we here feel so strongly about it. It’s just difficult to pretend everything is alright now that the good times are around when it was preceded by not months but years of constant sniping at the players, the manager and generally everyone involved with the club. I can remember even the club photographer getting abuse on Twitter during the dark times*. The “support” knows no bounds.
*Just to clarify: even the dark times were marked by lots of things to enjoy as an Arsenal supporter. We didn’t do a Liverpool and went missing in European competitions, we didn’t do a Portsmouth and go bust, we didn’t do a Chelsea or ManU and fail to even get out of our Champions League group. We were always there or thereabouts, competing for the most part, always capable of beating any team.
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It is hard for thee to Kick against the pricks.
Acts 26:14, as sung by Johnny Cash ‘When the Man comes around’.
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Evil
Sorry to be a meanie.
I love it when the Ems is buzzing, and I think we all agree it should be more lively more often.
That’s the very least real supporters can do for their team.
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Where are the mooks who wanted Wenger replaced by Moe or Klopp now?
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That’s a fine post Kelly.
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Thanks y’all. I’m a bit passionate on the subject. You should’ve seen me typing away on my phone with one finger while trying to eat lunch.
@FG, I’ve never understood the idea that earning tons of money somehow makes it ok to heap loads of abuse on someone. And someone like Aaron? I mean there are certainly footballers who splash the cash and can make it difficult to empathize, but he’s just about the most down-to-earth one I can imagine.
@GP I’d love to join your virtual stadium, but it would have to be for one of these mid-week night games. I’m not exactly camera ready at 9:00 am on Saturday mornings. We Southern ladies can’t be seen without our faces fixed, you know!
@Andrew, thanks for the vote of confidence, but my problem is all my best writing is reactionary. I don’t have any original ideas! Plus, this is the only subject about which I feel qualified to espouse. (banned smiley)
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Kelly – everything I write is a reaction to something someone else said. It’s perfect inspiration. I’m with Andrew on this. Get it done.
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Bloody Frank has gone walk about again.
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You don’t boo a gunner when he’s down. All the assholes who are now apologizing for booing Ramsey should be reminded of this.
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They are not even apologising Gains,they think it was justified at the time.
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To be correct, the party line nowadays is not to apologise but to blame Wenger for playing Ramsey on the wing occasionally last season because that stifled Aaron’s development and he would’ve come good much quicker. Telling them that playing Aaron on the wing helped him improve his dribbling, add flexibility to his game and turn him into an allrounder is usually met with silence because it seems too difficult to comprehend that Wenger might get things right sometimes.
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Kelly
Try for the next mid-week game. Can you imagine, India, USA, and err, Chesterfield UK. Oh, and PG in Blackburn……Steww expressed an interest and Paul_n too….hey this is a really positive thing……
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Your’re right George.
I am reading a lot of that. They claim they were right to criticise him (they seem to have forgotten the screaming verbal abuse hurled at him) when he was on is Injury comeback. Nasty people. And of course it was all Wenger’s fault.
De Guzman ‘s free kick for Swansea. WOW.
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Good grief, there are some clubs from Eastern Europe in the UEFA league that even Ryanair don’t fly to. I’m pretty sure I saw teams from Narnia and Rohan tonight.
We play the team from Mordor on Saturday.
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Dont we play Sunday?
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Sorry, my mistake, George.
My diary is all wrong. I thought we played Napoli next Wednesday too.
Double wrong.
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@ double canister September 19, 2013 at 10:36 pm
“Good grief, there are some clubs from Eastern Europe in the UEFA league that even Ryanair don’t fly to. I’m pretty sure I saw teams from Narnia and Rohan tonight.”
ha ha ha
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Excellent post KELLY. straight from the heart. Something the two-faced slating know it all’s don’t have. They also don’t have integrity to come out and say I did it, I was wrong and I shall never do it again. Which brings me to the point GAINS 69 made.
YOU DONT KICK OR SLATE ANY PLAYER WEARING THE RED / WHITE WHEN THEY ARE INJURED ON THE FIELD. OR WHEN THEY ARE TRYING TO GO THROUGH REHABILITATION TO GET BACK TO 100%.
only the lowest of the s o b will resort to to this and big themselves up. Scum have more class……
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One thing is the frustrated fan hurling cheap insults against any target, including Emmanuel, Aaron, Abou, Theo, Denilson, so many others, and always Wenger by default, to vent their infantile anger at not being at the “top table” of trophies for a rather short spell, without thought of incredible ambitions the club had already achieved, was in the process of achieving, and had set its sights on, and the calm, decent manner it was going about all this. Despicable and stupid.
Then what does one call the informed and erudite fan, who knowingly, willfully set out to manipulate malleable, weak minds with outright lies, selective lies, omission of facts, outrageous claims (often dressed up as modest, humble appeals for change and “end of an era”), manipulating and flinging about all manner of base emotions, with the objective to erode team and club morale, it’s achievements, and get Wenger out?
And then what does one call more influential individuals and journalists, pundits, ex-players, football establishment types, who conjured up and fabricated an entire anti-Wengerball culture, week in week out, appealing to Arsenal’s time-honoured (British) traditions and glories, and so set out and all but conspired to use their influence to destroy Arsenal’s achievements during a vulnerable period of building for the long term?
Does Arsenal’s ambitions scare or threaten some people?
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Spot on dear ZIMPAUL
SPOT THE F••• ON……
Its not the sheep that get my blood boiling. Its the bloody intellectual type with word art at their disposal that are the real wolfs in sheep clothing. Shame on the whole lot of them. Backstab the team and the manager when they are in their neediest. Do about f•••••• face and celebrate when it doesn’t go their way. The same team and manager that were being doubted and cut down on daily bases through out the last year and this summer. And to have the audacity to call themselves GOONERS.
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pedantic george September 19, 2013 at 10:08 pm
apologise for what? in the end of the day they motivated him and helped him turn his career around. The organisation called arsenal including coaches managers physios doctors teammates and other people in the club had nothing to do with ramsey;s rehab period. i just wish to thank the progress of mankind and civilisation and the discovery of twitter, without it ramsey would still be that useless midfielder who holds on the ball too much and tries fancy backheels…
ZimPaul September 20, 2013 at 7:48 am
first paragraph : neanderthals
second paragraph : spurs trolls
third paragraph : f.a, sky, daily mail, and the Arsenal Sulking Twats
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goonerkam September 20, 2013 at 8:37 am
dont know if it was you or fungunner who said it the other day …’they make you feel like a mug for supporting your club manager and players’..hahaa…very successful comment.
im at a loss for words and cant understand why some want to seperate our fanbase into arsene fans and arsenal fans….isnt it the same?
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It absolutely is. Support is support. Of the team members, manager, the club and the organization. Its the two faced back stabbing goal post movers that want to have the cake and eat it too. Abandon you club when they need you most then change face and be happy when none of the dooming predictions you made come true. And the club is successful, not because of you two faced supporter but do to the heart each member of this team has and the most unbelievable mental strength shown by the manager. Not to mention the road map laid out by the board for decades to come as opposed to your short sighted visions that only want quick results in the next six month. Ah forget them. Its not worth anyone’s efferts. Deluded lost souls.
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They can’t see past they own nose. This ARSENAL organization has planned it out for the next three decades and they complain. Unworthy scum.
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I’m feeling elated at this run of games. May it continue for the foreseeable. HUNTER post us one of you special football video montages. Your favorite player . Its been a while. Make it from dailymotion.
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my favourite player?
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or players ?
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For someone who decries it isn’t worth the effort Goonerkam, you sure seem to devote a hell of a lot of your energy to it.
Unworthy Scum?
Really?
Your increasingly blind vitriol does your “argument” no favours whatsoever. Such an approach reminds me of some of the folks you profess to hate. One should be always be wary of labelling anybody “scum”. Let alone vast swathes of disparate people you’ve never actually met. No matter if you agree with their views on the manager or not. And most of the time I don’t myself, but I always chose to reserve my venom for those who verbally abused and denigrated the great man. They deserved nothing but contempt. Not those who merely voiced concerns (Are they unworthy scum as well)?
When the going is good again, as it is at the moment, and hopefully as it will be in the future, the naysayers argument will fade along with it. It’s always been that way. People have short memories. And y’know, that’s ok.
Just sharing a though as I’m passing through. Enjoy your weekend. Here’s to a lovely win against Mar Ooze’s and his marauding neanderthals. Weather should be good on Sunday, looking forward to it.
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Hahaha, I knew it. BAGGIO will do just fine. The Italian magician.
Bless you HUNTER.
now I watch poetry in motion.
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Next week. ROMARIO. one of my favorites….. And each week after that, a different legend. Just stay away from Ronaldo Jr. One trick pony.
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“im at a loss for words and cant understand why some want to seperate our fanbase into arsene fans and arsenal fans….isnt it the same?”
Nah mate. Not same, innit? Can’t have no accent or “L” . Bleedin’ anti-pedant, you!
Sorry. I’m trying some humour.
Steww, I read this article shortly after it appeared yesterday. There were only 4 comments at that time. During the day I looked at this site in order to catch up with any further comments. I also started typing, but found I had nowt new to say – due to the quality of the replies.
This is yet another example of superb writing, and frankly, I’m at loss as to what to say, given the aforementioned “quality” of those who respond. Will “Thank you” suffice?
Thank you.
I’m truly touched by many of the comments, and it seems almost wrong for me to pick out certain ones, but ZimPaul at 7:48 am – f**k yes, and Kelly, YES (without the ****, as I wanna try and remain polite).
I can’t understand how the “support” moved from – raising money for that fabulous “One Aaron Ramsey” banner – to where it actually went. Well, I can, in some ways. Simplistically, it is simply Lack Of Support. Lack Of Support via Shawcross being phoned by Slurgy/Pulis saying shit, and having the press on his side/Sky Sunday supplement having only one pundit who thought the tackle was reckless/constant sniping, for years and years about Arsenal’s sinking ship/ the richest man in Britain wants to take over our club and appears to do all he can to legitimise attempts to de-stabilise The Arsenal.
Of course, there’s so much more, but I did say “simplistically”.
All this booing shit is unbelievable. It really hurts me. If Arsenal didn’t buy Ozil I wouldn’t have cared. Cos I love Arsenal and the players they have. (I love it that Ozil’s here, too).
Sorry to go on but my eyes still water when I remember Eboue being booed. WTF!
How very ****ing dare you. Bastards. Sure, he came on and ****ed up a few passes, and it could’ve ‘cost us’ on the day, but I think you’ll find that players of any club who are returning from injury – do not have definitive touches/games straight away. They have to ‘get back into it’. Same for Ramsey, and the Ox – when he comes back, and Diaby/Rosicky – Arsenal.
I’d better go. Thanks again.
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HARRY my point of attack isn’t you. You are a good soul. It is towards the scum who point to this site saying we are a bunch of deluded souls on happy pills masturbating to each other. I dare bet if you were attacked in such manner you would take up arms. My other point of contention is you are dealing with folks with little or no honor. Nothing irks me me more than when someone instead of admitting they were wrong to blast the team and the manager earlier, come out with , I never said this or that. Basically moving the goal posts again and again. Even taking credit when it’s not due. That to me is as low as it gets. Except when so nenee slates an ARSENAL player who is down on the pitch doing his best and rolling around injured. Yah, that’s pretty effin low.
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Do boo Shawcross on Sunday, (the England player – called up on the evening of his magnificent tackle, and eventually playing a wonderful debut against Ibrahimovic, haha. Ryan’ll surely be on the plane to Brazil). What did you think of Fellani’s ‘tackles’ last season, Ryan?
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double canister September 19, 2013 at 12:29 pm
“TGSTEL has made up most of the bad press for himself.”
No DC. Arseblog (followed by and his yes-men in the Asenalsphere) made it his mission to ridicule Bendtner and drive him out of the club as far as they could. They did it to Adebayor (a proven ass-hole eventually), Denilson and Eboue, all while they were wearing the red and white. How the f*ck can they in good conscience support Bendtner to come good as our back-up striker. Thank heavens for Wenger, who knows EPL-ready strikers don’t grow on trees.
As Alabamagooner (Kelly) said, “I’ve never understood the idea that earning tons of money somehow makes it ok to heap loads of abuse on someone. And someone like Aaron? I mean there are certainly footballers who splash the cash and can make it difficult to empathize, but he’s just about the most down-to-earth one I can imagine. ”
Good times are ahead but we will have setbacks along the way. No wayshould we forget the fifth columnists who are stealthily slipping back on the bandwagon ready to do another hatchet job as the opportunity arises.
As ZimPaul wrote earlier:
“Does Arsenal’s ambitions scare or threaten some people?” Hell, it does.
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hi harry! i would like to discuss this with you if you have the time…but when some are calling wenger inept, a liar, a past it and a has been, and questioning whether he is delivering as per company’s targets is not what can be termed as “concern” ….. disrespecting what the club and manager have been trying to do with elegant words doesnt mean that an offence/insult hasnt occurred.
as for genuine halfwits who couldnt get what was happening the last 8 years to suddenly turn around and call all those who understood and remained patient and supported as deluded, or call them ‘wenger fans’ … what do you have to say about that then? not much huh….
cause if these halfwits – who were wrong by the way and its slowly and gradually being proven in front of their very eyes – can label fans who kept quiet and with a perspective and tag them and categorise them and offend them and insult their intelligence and call them deluded…..wouldnt you say thats a bit extremist?
is it not extremist to seperate the fan of arsenal in a black /white : wenger/arsenal …..WHO instigates these ways of thinking? cause to be fair and to put it as politely as i can right now harry, some of them cultureless arseholes you defending are the ones who forgot all about victoria concordia crescit……and instead considered their dumbarsed opinions and thoughts more important than the wellbeing or the long term stability of the football club.
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I am with Goonerkam @11.01.
I know this is a blanket statement to make, but there seem to be more people in the world with the mental age of a 13 year old than those who are mature, calm and rational.
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Don’t forget HARRY, I came to your defense once or twice when you were being abused by the usual suspects not two months ago. Go back to the aclf archives and you will see some of the posters there are on the ” happy bus ” now. That should tell you a thing or two.
In the end I have to say , I’m Live and let live kind of guy . But you try bulshivic abuse and you shall get some back in return.
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and you know what else harry, and this is the honest truth
Wenger is a lot smarter and successful in his career than Yogi, Bob, Jon-Jon, Kelsey, Bill,Goonerandy etc ….so why is it a bad thing to support and trust a far more knowledgeable and experienced person in Wenger than those clowns who do nothing all day but sit and release bigotry on someone who for 16 years has carried Arsenal on his shoulders and taken us to places we would never had thought possible.
Dont know how you feel but when i read some random character on arsenal sites moaning about optimal seasons i wonder if that person had same CONCERNS when Wenger wasnt around? Id love to see what he had to say then about ambition….haha..
can you please explain to me why someone who knowingly trusts the work of Wenger is something to be laughed at in Arsenal supporters blogs ?
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oh well enough with that shit…..
goonerkam!!! here..
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rantetta September 20, 2013 at 10:52 am
you damn extremist who dare you ….!!! 😉
gkam
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i have always called it when ramsey wasnt playing well.
i said many times he has had a bad game and that he was slowing our passing tempo.
however every single time i said anything about ramsey i always said a man with such great determination, focus and attitude with always come back strong.
he is now the best player in squad (form wise atleast).
I hope bendtner does take the example of ramsey as i truly believe bendtner has got the potential too.
If arsene thinks bendtner deserves a second chance who am i to say otherwise eh? 🙂
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Hunter, I genuinely haven’t the time today. And let’s face it, you wouldn’t really be listening anyway. I’ll just say there is no bigger admirer of Arsene than myself. And I’ve always, always understood the bigger picture and the need for patience. As do most of the folks you’ve just mentioned. To say someone is beyond critique is so ridiculous that i don’t know how to respond to it. Do you apply that rationale to all walks of life? to politics? good luck to you then.
Goonerkam, I’m long in the tooth, and blessed with an awful memory to boot, but I don’t remember being verbally abused on there. I’m not that easy going believe it or not. The odd cross word with certain folks perhaps, from time to time, but no harm done. You can’t always see eye to eye, be f*cking dull if you did.
Anyway, eventually it all amounts to the same thing: we want Arsenal to do well. Regardless of who is right or wrong. Wait and see. Just enjoy the football (and the banter). And ease up a little on the constant abuse and ideological battles ffs.
Ta ta.
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You’re the man. Keep them legends coming periodically. Maybe a video of Dortmund, Marseille or olympiacos fans at a game so our fans take a lesson In game atmosphere. So to speak. Morning SENSATIONAL ARSENAL, trust you are ready for the game against stoke village. Lol.
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Batty goallllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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There who said we don’;t allow heated debate on here?
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its a good thing you forget easily. I am enjoying the football in a big way. Are you kidding. I have been waiting six or so years for us to emerge from the eye of the storm and can’t wait for our period to start. And no , I’ll never forget or forgive those who added extra weight to the allready hugh load the ARSENAL teams and AW were carrying. If you didn’t walk with me and give me strength in my times of hardship , nay tryed to destabalise me some more, I sure as hell don’t want you around when things start going well for me. Some of these folks don’t deserve THE ARSENAL nor AW nor the organization in general.
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Even stoke village is too much for them….
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