 On no account suggest another blog.
At the last Blog Census there were found to be fractionally under an infinite number of footballing blogs, the majority of them about Arsenal. Indeed, the problem was so acute that mainstream news aggregators such as NewsNow had all but shut the virtual door to the addition of any new blogs to their much vaunted and hugely popular news feeds.
At around Xmas 2013, George (aka Pedantic George/Blackburn George/Positively George-from-Japan) got in touch to sound me and others out about the possibility of starting a brand new blog.
Great!
About Arsenal.
Oh.
But this one would be different from all the other blogs, more Arsenal – more pro-Arsenal – and according to George at least, that was something that was sadly lacking.
My less than sage-like advice to George at this time was to give the idea more thought as I felt it was unlikely to be a resounding success. The odds of a successful launch of a blog of this nature at this time seemed to me to be absolutely stacked against us.
George though was adamant that through the miracle of Twitter and NewNow we could spread the word and the word was Positive.
Obviously, I said “No.”
Not only that but I further suggested that NewsNow were most unlikely to ever take us on. Their current stringent admissions process, itself lasting more than six months, seemed drafted to keep the likes of us firmly out.
But I was prepared to promote the site to my army of almost 50 followers on Twitter, if he was prepared to do the same.
The genesis and much of the readership of Positively Arsenal came from A Cultured Left Foot, one of the first footballing blogs of its kind and, for many, largely unrivaled.
George wanted a new home for us.
This followed that Blog’s owner’s decision to express doubts in respect of the direction the club was going in.
The now famous ‘End Of Era’ post opened up ACLF to a more critical slant of the club – one that would have seemed utterly unimaginable even 18 months earlier. Although deep down I didn’t personally actually believe it was the end of an era, another disappointing autumn, which had followed the loss of Van Persie to Man U, meant that it really did feel like there could be some kind of sea-change taking place in the club’s fortunes.
I could understand the sentiment but I just felt it was a tad premature.
I certainly felt it was worth arguing the toss and believed there were still just enough of us pro-Wengerites around to make the case. So this was my response to George’s initial idea – that we should stay with ACLF and fight for what we believed in and yes, argue our case, even if we did take a hammering.
A few days later George was banned from commenting on ACLF and could no longer stay and fight for what we believed. George’s ban followed yet another fracas in the comments section which, by now, Yogi was weary of policing any further. So now with George gone and literally a handful of us left to fight our embattled corner, it was hard to argue against setting up a new site. It simply felt there really wasn’t that much left to lose – many of my personal favourite commentators had all but disappeared and Yogi had clearly lost his patience with some of those still prepared to put their neck above the parapet.
I’d always admired ACLF for the quality of Yogi’s writing, his insight and knowledge of the club and it’s wider environs. He also had the occasional guest posters and the best of these, for me, was the alarmingly youthful and generally just brilliant Birdkamp. I chipped in with a couple of posts of my own and these were kindly received.  But the ‘mood’ of the blog became progressively darker and gloomier and morale seemed to track the club’s wavering fortunes. There were very, very few commentators I actively disliked (and that’s remained the case to this day) but I found myself in disagreement with the majority of those whose patience with the club was all but exhausted.
With something of a heavy heart I agreed to take a backseat, low-key role (sweeping the floors and cleaning windows, mostly) with Positively Arsenal and promptly found myself writing the opening post.  I think by late January (the blog launched on 28th January), the ‘founders’ of PA were themselves somewhat exhausted by the negativity threatening to envelope the club – not just on ACLF but on Twitter as well as the wider blogosphere, the media and pretty much anywhere where more than one was gathered to comment on our beloved and by this stage somewhat beleagured club.
It was on this basis that George insisted that all commentators to the blog would be effectively by invitation only. I insisted that the first letter of each word in the title of each day’s blog should be capitalized.
With these two fundamentals firmly set in stone and with Steww, Frank and Adi alongside, we set off on Our Great Blogging Adventure. I didn’t expect all that much, to be honest; I thought the writing would be fine but I felt the furrow we were attempting to plough was such an isolated one that we were as likely to be marginalized and ignored as we were anything else.
How would anyone find us? And would they care if they did?
But a very wonderful thing happened.
Many of our old friends and former ‘allies’ from ACLF – some of whom had gone missing in action over many months and even years – pitched up having somehow found us. And, amazingly, from the earliest days, the site’s viewing stats (as provided by WordPress) were always substantial with ‘hits’ being recorded in volume from literally all around the globe.
It was all hugely encouraging.
For sure, many of those readers recorded by WordPress would not have been in agreement with much of the sentiments of what we felt the blog stood for but the sustained interest in the blog over days, weeks and now months – almost 9 months of them – suggests to both me and George that the site is chiming with a good number of our visitors.
It’s funny now to look back and think that our biggest fear was that we wouldn’t be able to replicate the comments section we once frequented on ACLF. Indeed, the biggest problem for most blogs is the absence of comment and there are some first class bloggers out there for whom solving this is still no nearer to happening than when they first started out.
Positively Arsenal is not without its critics of course and chief amongst the criticisms is the idea that we see ourselves as somehow superior to most other fans, that our determination to see the positives in the club we love somehow, in our own eyes at least, elevates us above all others.
Well, for this writer, PA is not about being a ‘better’ fan but it IS about being a different kind of fan. The Arsenal ‘family’ is a big one and it’s a diverse one. There is room for many different ‘styles’ of supporting. There are plenty of blogs out there to cater for all the other different ways of showing support.
This is ours.
And for me personally, it’s a hugely enjoyable way to experience the game, in the company of like-minded souls knowing that good or bad or indifferent, our players’ performances will be supported and encouraged – and above all else, understood, as best we can. I rest easy knowing that my faith in the club and its employees at all levels from Doris the Tea Lady all the way down to the directors and manager will be largely shared by my fellow readers and contributors.
And even when part of my beliefs are not universally shared (ie, I get things wrong), the howler is unlikely to be met with cynical aggression but more likely  discussed and reasoned based on the facts available to us rather than a process of random, unsupported speculation.
If that makes us the ‘sunshine bus’ then that’s fine with me though I understand it doesn’t suit everyone.
But it suits me and a good number of those contributing to the site.
On Wednesday, to my surprise, PA was, against all the odds, added to the feeds of NewsNow.
This despite their virtual ban on adding new Arsenal blogs to their roster. It prompted this article to be put together as George and I wondered the best way to mark this welcome development.
This brief retrospective seemed the right thing to do.
It just leaves me to end on an acknowledgement of every single poster and commentator we’ve had the privilege to have ‘join’ us.
PA is very much a collective effort and the diversity of its contributors – main posters and commentators alike – is one of its key strengths. In the course of this blog’s brief life, we have made many new friends both near and far, from India to Alabama and beyond and our lives and perspectives have certainly been enriched by this.
As we finally reach the autumn, Arsenal Football Club appears to have left much of the negativity behind. Whilst there will doubtless be ups and downs still to come, the good times do finally appear to be back with us.
It is a source of undented and undiminishing pride that PA was set up during what may end up being seen as the club’s darkest hour.
That we went through this awful phase together won’t be readily forgotten.
Long may Positively Arsenal – and all of us – continue.
Positively Arsenal 
Good morning my good man. As always very nice writeup and insightful.
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Nicely written Arsenal Andrew, and congratulations to you all on the new News Now status. Giddy heights indeed – almost a blogging trophy you might say. It always seems to me that unless you have known the dark moments (and there have been a few in recent years) you can”t really appreciate the better times. I felt awful last season at times, for my boy Daniel (now just 8) only really started to follow and understand The Arsenal at the end of the 2011/2012 season. His hero, of course, was he who must not be named, and it was hard for me to see Dan’s confusion as he left and joined the side supported by all of the boys in his class who didn’t support Chelski. For a while it seemed as if all would be well: Podolski was a new favourite, and he asked if for Christmas he might have an away shirt with Santi on the back. The early results were OK’ish too and he particularly enjoyed Kos’s equaliser at City. But then it started to go a bit wrong, and he had to endure some pretty unpleasant stuff at school as league places were dropped and cup oportunities were lost. But, and this is the key point, he remained aboslutely convinced that his team were by far the greatest team, and that although form may be temporary, class is always permanent. He loves those players, you see, in the way that only a youngster can love his first team. And because of that, I have also come to see that unless you can retain that curious mixture of innocence, hope and excitement you really have no place supporting a team that is not able to simply buy and buldoze its way to success.
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Congratulation In order for the acceptance to NEWSNOW. i hope it will attract many more quality commentators. I salute the efforts of you all and specially yourself and GEORGE. wish you tons of success in the future and i hope you guys are having as much fun and enjoyment bringing PA to us as we have reading it. And many thanks.
UP WITH THE ARSENAL!!!!!
UP WITH PA!!!!!
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FOREVERHEADY
what a wonderful tale about your son. At a tender age of only eight he has more insight and heart and belief than some so called grown UPS. God bless him..
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Morning GK. Yes, NewsNow is just like a trophy, I have never said to George! Although I HAVE urged him to spend some f****** money and get that Steww Black signed up on a watertight and hugely extravagant contract before his agent starts touting him round the other blogs.
Foreverheady – lovely stuf, thanks for sharingf; I trust Daniel is having a whale of a time this term!!
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Hahaha. Show him the money!!!!!
Just kidding. STEWW has integrity and won’t be a sell out.
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A heart felt and well written post. Top job.
And congratulations to everyone who contributed to the site being added to news now. I for one think the message this blog is sending out is crucial.
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Great work, well done.
One of the many things that makes me proud of Arsenal is that we have so many blogs. A literate lot, at least by footballing standards. The practical benefit of this is that everyone can find their cup of tea – and not come and piss in yours. Maybe even the blog that is furthest from your point of view serves a purpose – at least that lot aren’t showing up ‘ere.
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We’re in the (blogging) Premier League! Or is it the Championship? Anyway, well done Blackburn George and his Gang of Four. Or however many it was to start with.
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@ foreverheady September 27, 2013 at 8:31 am
Your boy Daniel is clearly going to grow up into a fine young man.
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Good News Everybody!
Arsene Wenger has been quoted as saying he wants to stay at Arsenal forever.
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AA
But what about the deadwood!?!
George paying £50,000 a week to some of the bloggers on here is taking the piss.
Us back-seat drivers aren’t having it.
(are smiley faces still banned?)
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What fantastic news, well done the gang of five!
Andrew
That was an excellent and timely piece placing PA in context. As I’ve posted before I value evidence-based debate and we get more of that here.The following quote from your piece, therefore, resonates with me:
“the howler is unlikely to be met with cynical aggression but more likely discussed and reasoned based on the facts available to us rather than a process of random, unsupported speculation.”
The news is increasingly good about the fundamentals of Arsenal. I hope it continues because it WILL end in silverware. This silverware will be added to the TROPHIES of the last eight barren years. What trophies you may ask? I say, the trophies of dignity, honour, strength of character and stability, giving us the best stadium in Europe, where some of the best football ever played in the EPL was, is and will continue to be enjoyed.
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It seemed prudent to sign Frank to a long term deal.
But he has stopped putting the effort in and is happy to sit it out on huge wages.
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Off topic, but here’s a good interview from SK, dispelling (again) a few myths.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/10337987/Arsenal-owner-Stan-Kroenke-gives-unequivocal-backing-for-Arsene-Wenger-to-extend-his-stay-into-third-decade.html
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“What trophies you may ask? I say, the trophies of dignity, honour, strength of character and stability.”
Well said Georgaki, well said.
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Yes FG,its a kick in the bollocks for our old friends and enemies alike.
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Apparently we didn’t win away at West Brom the other night. And yet mysteriously we have progressed to the next round.
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@ pedantic george September 27, 2013 at 10:23 am
“Yes FG,its a kick in the bollocks for our old friends and enemies alike.”
Did they say we were relegation fodder? That we’d be playing in the Conference league at best?
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It was never in doubt G
and great stuff Forever – you are right about having to preserve or rediscover an innocence to enjoy football
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We scraped a draw FG,I wonder who West Brom play then ?
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Congratulations!!
FunGunner September 27, 2013 at 10:20 am
the comments under that article are so ridiculous…. far too many stupid people supporting arsenal…..
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da-ta-da, da da da da,
In , a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum-security stockade to the Blackburn underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem…if no one else can help…and if you can find them…maybe you can hire…The A- Team.
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da-ta-da-da -da dada
Colonel Trautman: What do we do?
John Rambo:…Fuck ’em. [opens fire]
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@ double canister September 27, 2013 at 10:44 am
ha ha
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Mickey Finn
G.T.A.5 is out this week for the xboxstation thingy.
You wont be seeing that demographic showing their spotty faces around on Arsenal blogs for a while.
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Wowsa! Newsnow is like a trophy. Take that AA. ( Ha, Ha, Ha).
Bet as George said “its a kick in the bollocks for our old friends and enemies alike.”
Congratulations guys. I am by no means part of the gang of four but I have been around almost from the very first post and pledged my support to George privately and publicly. So I am particularly thrilled with your success. My mantra at the start was quality not quantity. I would like to think it is because of the quality of our support for Wenger and the club our numbers are growing. No doubt It is also due to the improved fortunes of our club after many the dark days following the loss of the cunt who shall not be named. As Wenger himself insisted, it is the results that count. Some of us insisted we were in transition and our fortunes would improve. This fell on deaf ears to the cassandras of doom at EndOfAnEra.com. Hopefully this will be a lesson to the doubting Thomases.
Quote of the day:
“What trophies you may ask? I say, the trophies of dignity, honour, strength of character and stability.” ( Georgaki-pyrovolitis September 27, 2013 at 10:17 am)
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G.T.A.5 is out this week for the xboxstation thingy.
i got it last week and when i got it playing i felt like i rediscovered a part of me which had died. those amazing years at university where you had 3 years to only worry about writing essays and getting marks…..3 years of holidays …ahhhh….. what a fkn game! …. epic!!..rockstar..respect!
in this version i will pretend that the cops are black bin bag arsenal protesters….
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good morning everyone, and congrats to all fans for the success of the blog.
great post this morning. its emotional really, almost like a struggle for justice for arsenal football club.
tumbs up to those who make this happen and kept it going.
i was at aclf recently and yogi was still saying he still believes that arsene is still at the end of his are at arsenal. but everyone needs to be reminded that the ‘end of era’ post has already failed. it was suppose to come to pass sometimes last season. when some people said wenger is no longer capable of inspiring the players let alone attract a world class player of ozil’s status. we are well into another season with wenger still in charge so no point of talking about end of era.
arsene is in his 17th season and we will be lucky to get him to extend his stay with us well into his 70s. my point is that if he chooses to leave ( though i pray he stays ) it wont be because of an end of era nonsence but because he feels it is time to retire. and the choice is purely wenger’s just as stan kronke said.
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double canister,
it applies the other way around too. let like play with like, says i.
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my point is that if he chooses to leave ( though i pray he stays ) it wont be because of an end of era nonsence but because he feels it is time to retire.
Or maybe because he is fed up having to deal with a bunch of unappreciative and classless media and fans groups staging inquisitions even for the silliest of reasons.
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Thank you Andrew. I’m deeply uncomfortable with naval gazing but in this instance the retrospective is entirely appropriate and beautifully crafted.
The only thing I have disliked on this blog is when people have used it to attack other bloggers. I find that unpleasant, negative and unnecessary. We have a strict door policy here and if we won’t allow folk the right of reply then we shouldn’t attack them. Simple.
Otherwise it has been a great experience. The only reason I haven’t signed my long term contract is because I’m waiting to see if the blog can match my ambitions. I have a little boy inside me right now and he says there may be more money, ahem, I mean ambition at Le Grove.
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Now that’s the darkside, steww
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Hunter
Perhaps you’ve been on the xbox too long recently.
I was deeply worried that Wenger was planning to let it all go at 65, but the latest news, (if true) indicates that he wants to stay at the Arsenal for the long haul.
Have a look over at the anti-positive blog (not the bear’s one) to see their take on the good news.
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Should that apply to all other bloggers Stew ,posters on other blogs,tweeters,Journalists?
I understand your concern,but they have all been denied the right to reply,so would you put them all beyond criticism?
You could say we should be better than that,but you could as easily say “Whats good for the Goose …..”
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excellent stuff guys
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double canister September 27, 2013 at 12:07 pm
Hehehe…….Would he really get on the phone to convince a 24 yearold about plans and futures and pay 42m if he were leaving?
He knows what he is doing…he is keeping the players motivated and focus too win for the club, manager, themselves….put the worry in them and get the best out of them…most (if not all) of these players would die for wenger now.
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xbox …no ….not really….ps…
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I think the occasional swipe at blogs that have barred a positivista is reasonable, as long as it is sharp. I am not too interested in tedious,repetitive ranting. I can go elsewhere for that.
I thought Stan was commendably ‘straightforward’ in his DT interview.
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A write up of Aaron’s Progress in today’s Guardian from David Hytner
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/sep/27/arsenal-aaron-ramsey-arsene-wenger
I shall overlook his comment that all Arsenal fans were looking for was big money signings in the Summer, the rest of the piece is good.
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Time for a couple of hours kip now.
See you all latter.
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@ anicoll5
that is a great piece about Ramsey, really understands him.
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Agree with Stew in respect of the naval gazing, but it did seem a good moment to acknowledge everyone’s efforts – the main point being to applaud the ‘collective’ nature that this place has clearly become as well as the exceptional quality of the comments and contributions all round. Pats on the back all round etc, but kudos to (sleepy) George for creating the space in the first place.
Also agree with Stew about the use of PA as a platform to attack others.
Fine if there is a general discussion point and it’s something worth covering here. And it’s understandable if the commentator has him or herself been the subject of direct attack and is unable to reply on another site.
But I’d prefer to think that overall, dignified restraint should be the order of the day in the main. If you find yourself unfairly demonised or abused then it’s worth remembering that such comments will be saying more about the abuser than the abused.
And if anyone decides to tease the PA Happy Bus in the round then that’s fine too; I’m flattered that they’ve taken the time and trouble to read our humble remarks.
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Hey, PG and Andrew, “Your a c***!” (sic)
Sorry, for a moment there, I thought I was on another blog (or Twitter).
Well done, all, for creating a fantastic environment.
Top post, Andrew. Somehow, I missed out on the schism. I was just left wondering where everyone went! Today’s post helps to fill in a lot of blanks – much appreciated!
I trust that PA won’t follow the path of countless bands who are terrific while they are (relatively) undiscovered, but then become rubbish as soon as they hit the big time. Don’t let me down!
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congrats to everyone for finally being on the map, although we don’t need to be. A sanctuary is just as good when it is elusive however at least for those positive lost souls feeling alone in the many seas of negativity being on newsnow will be like a beacon guiding them home. We as a blog and as a club are doing well now however i’m sure at the first sign of something going wrong le moan and its like will be back in their sacks of doom. Until then its nice to enjoy our club without getting slatted
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I let life get in the way of commenting on Stew’s excellent post yesterday, but I’ll be damned if I let this one get by. I’ll be late for work if I have to.
Thank you Andrew, for that wonderful post. Some of us (me, anyway) didn’t know the complete story of how PA came to be, and have only figured out bits and pieces over the last few months. I am grateful to George for having the vision, and for Stew, Andrew, Adi and Frank for helping him realize it.
My first foray into reading blogs came about this time last year, and I started at ACLF. I loved the writing (still do) but the comments section scared the hell out of me. I would never in a million years have felt confident enough to comment there. I remember my finger hovering over the Post Comment button the first time I posted here. Nervous, really. I was taking you at your word that I would be welcome. And boy have I been. What a great group of people you are. Ok, so this blog might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but that’s what makes the world go round. Happy Friday to you all. Now, let’s go kill some Swans tomorrow!
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Positively Arsenal came along like a lifeboat in the sea of despair. I had been swimming against the tide of abuse & negativity determined to keep going to support the Club I love. I sang to keep my spirits up….”I still love you, Arsenal, I do……” (you know the sort of thing) but my (it seemed at times) lone voice was in danger of becoming lost amongst the storm of discontent. The sight of ‘Positively Arsenal’ appearing on the horizon strenghtened my resolve & I knew I was not alone. In fact there were clearly many of us who still believed that supporting a Club meant just that…..we chose Arsenal
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(con’t)
so I would like to thank everyone connected with Positively Arsenal for providing that lifeboat for me. There may yet be choppy water ahead but I know mine is not a lone voice and the struggle to swim against the tide was worth it.
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Lovely stuff Andrew,I’m with stew on the other blogs thing,the whole back & forth sniping is a bit childish and frankly pointless-I actually think more people/other bloggers have a problem with George than they do PA, he’s bloody trouble than George!
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