Today’s post is by Blackburn George
It all seems so obvious …
If there is a stick to beat Arsene and Arsenal with then it appears to me that there are multitudes of halfwits ready to pick it up and brandish it with a flurry.
The opinions of agenda driven plebeians are picked up, digested and regurgitated as facts. Theories are accepted and embellished if they in any way make the club look bad. Rumours are started and accepted because dimwits want to believe them.
I’m sick of it and the moaning cretins who do it in the name of passionate support.
My old friend and ally Shottagooner (@shotta_gooner) said this and it exposed several of these misconceptions in a few short lines:
“Such a brilliant morning-after in my part of the world. That glow in the cheeks after a night of …. watching Liverpool, the pundits favorite, simply choke on hubris and self-entitlement at the hands of Tony Pulis and Crystal Palace. What the hell were they smoking in the dressing room at half-time?
Karma is a bitch as many of us said on twitter last night. The lying and cheating in the Suarez buyout affair for one. Even more galling was the gloating that they were succeeding without oil-money despite having the 4th largest net transfer spend in the league since 1992 (£287M according to transferleague.co.uk) was a stick the Arsenal 5th Column and the media was swinging heavily at our club.
All myths exposed and defeated in 10 minutes.
I must save a word for the pundits who are now hopping on the bandwagon of critics of Liverpool defending. Such amazing hypocrisy. I was monitoring the game online on the Guardian’s M-B-M service and later saw replay on America’s NBC network and all were urging Loserpool to go for more goals and put pressure on City.
Turned out very well, didn’t it.”
The thing is, it was not that Liverpool fans were churning out this drivel, or even that pundits were.
Oh no, our fans were at it with gusto.
Brendon was being hailed as a tactical genius, and that was evidence that Arsene was not! How is that looking now I ask you? Roberto was a similar cut above poor old inept Arsene, until he managed to lose 3 of 4 games at the business end. All the time our moaning fans were happy to ignore the fact that both were playing far fewer games than us and we had catastrophic injuries.
Then we have Maureen, dishing out masterclass after masterclass. A serial winner who couldn’t come up with the tactics to not get beaten by Sunderland at home, evidently can’t out-tactic Fat Sam (or even score a goal) – again at home – let alone Norwich.
So all these genius managers that are better than Arsene failed, despite the advantages they have had.
We have some malcontent going on Arsenal TV telling the world that Stan wanted to increase prices by 8% and had to be talked down. (No mention of the heroes within the club who talked him down, even if it were true).
When I challenged this and suggested it was no more than shit-stirring in order to make Stan look bad, I was told:
“We have people in high places at Arsenal who told us!”
Of course they would not tell me who these high people were, I suspect because they don’t exist. Now it is accepted by thousands of fans as fact, simply because some moaning malcontent said so.
FOR NO OTHER REASON; NO FACT, NAMES OR EVIDENCE OF ANY TYPE.
The AST had an analysis done (I suspect they were disappointed with the results) which proved beyond doubt that Arsene overachieves every year (with one exception) but this actual evidence is ignored in favour of a purely fictional notion that he does not.
Detractors point to the wage bill, claiming that we are the 4th biggest and therefore should expect to be 4th. They conveniently forget that we have a huge staff because we are NOW a huge club.
But more than that they disregard transfer spend as if it is totally irrelevant.
However, a big wage bill is the result of big spending in the transfer market. Simply put, big transfers in, expect big wages, and get them. So it’s the transfers that drive the wage bill. Not the other way around. Therefore it’s transfer spending that is the main measure of where a club should expect to finish. Not wages.
The wages are a reflection of the transfer spend! Got it now?
This though does not suit the detractors so it’s disregarded.
A stick, a stick – my kingdom for a stick!
We have experts telling us how much we have in the bank and jumping to conclusions about how and when it should have been spent, without one iota of knowledge of what plans may have been made – let alone cash flow considerations.
Don’t get me started on the pricks organising protests.
Just who the hell do they think they are?
All in all, it’s sad and pathetic what is going on.
You can tell George exactly what’s going on via Twitter @Blackburngeorge
Positively Arsenal 
Good stuff George and Shotta.
It’s been proven that the Özil deal was delayed only due to desperate shenanigans by Tottenham which ended with Levy’s ritual humiliation at the new Arsenal Stadium on the 31st August 2013.
Yet the malcontents chose to describe this signing as a fluke. They chose to deny themselves an appreciation of what happened to Levy, sitting their in the Arsenal box whilst the Arsenal execs were in Madrid laughing at Tottenham. It’s quite sad and slightly insane that they would chose to do so, for these Experts on transfers to not enjoy the funniest transfer of all time, but it is what it is.
After all they spent the whole of last summer bleating that Arsenal were not going to sign any players, which if you look at the record of Arsenal and Arsene in signing players every summer over the last thirty odd years is also an act of insanity. Yet some people chose to believe them!
I support all efforts at dialogue regarding pricing and seating and stuff, but as we discovered this season the vocal malcontents have been giving absolutely no support, over the many years, to the six members of RedAction. The Groaners have no credibility.
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Formidable George formidable
” we have people in high places” I had to laugh.
Bloke who cleans the gutters presumably – you have to admire these self publicising dim-wits in their desperate efforts to remain on the stage.
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Hahaha. Beautiful GEORGE. just awesome. Agendas drive the game. Anything and everything pickup turned inside out and feed to the masses and watch them simpletons lap it up.
trying to create something out of nothing. Creating chaos. That’s the name of the game.
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Well done George, I suspect you will get a lot of mud slinging by the countless morons that vent their anti Arsene/Arsenal feelings on a daily basis, the silent majority will I believe, agree with you.
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I really like the graphic In the post.
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Good one George.
I do think the sensible majority can see what’s going on in the round, and whilst a win in the cup will help, most of the people I speak to in and around the ground on matchdays take a more balanced perspective on our undeniable progress which can be favourably compared with the likes of those going backwards (Spuds, Manure, Newcastle) and those finding out life at the top isn’t as easy as they might have once imagined it to be (Loserpool, Everton, Chelsea).
It’s notable that the more the ground slides away beneath them, the more shrill the malcontents become.
Let’s not assume they are taking everyone with them because, put simply, they are not.
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Thanks for putting my exact mindset into words. The problem is not armchair fans, it’s the armchair chairman now. Delusions brought on by a bi-polar media. win 4 games = champions, lose 1 = impending disaster.
For me this was all summed up when a friend of mine called into TalkSport (for the non British of you, thats a radio station that covers all sport, but with a daily focus on football and the premier league) Now they have bashed Arsene and Arsenal for 8 years about lack of silverware, they laughed at us for celebrating 4th. All season they have said Arsenal will dip and miss Champions League qualification, Liverpool were the dark horses to get top 4 at our expense.
A friend of mine called in and asked, ‘If Arsenal win the FA cup and Liverpool finish 2nd, who has had the better season?’
Inexplicably the 2 hosts, Micky Quin (ex-Liverpool (aren’t they all)) and Adrian Durham (anti-Arsenal) decided that Liverpool had enjoyed the better season. Reasoning that they came from 7th to 2nd which was unexpected. Their hypocrisy was then pointed out, ‘surely a trophy + champions league football trumps just champions league qualification!?’ Apparently not.
So biased they don’t mind making themselves look stupid doing it.
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Thanks PG
It’s like pinning down mercury with a fork with that lot, you show them evidence that their points are wrong – then they go on about a bunchof new perceived wrongs Wenger and the Board have done to them.
As PG said on twitter – the don’t half keep moving the goalposts.
So – they are disappointed that Arsenal didn’t quite pull-off a Double this season? Arsene really has spoiled them over the years if this is the minimum expectation level.
Well get this:
For 2014-15 AFC will have the biggest warchest, and for once all the Zillionaires will have their wings clipped, we can compete to get the best players out there – if we need them.
We have given good pay rises to our best players, and nearly every one is on a long term contract. Remember when the malcontents bitched when we lost cashly, nasri, JVC for the same reasons? Give the club some credit, why don’t you? and where else do you think the 3% is going?
Next season:
Liverpool – will have more UCL games, an emotionally damaged side and probably no Suarez. Their midfield and back line are worse than ours and unlikely to get much better.
City – can’t spend more, and have a lot of players that aren’t as good as the media suggest – many of whom have to be kept on the books to adhere to the ‘homegrown player’ UCL rules.
The Totts don’t have another Bale to sell.
Chelsea- have their old guard ready for a mobility scooter parade, and even their own fans (and their better players) are beginning to see what the new Darth Jose regime will be like – a rich man’s Stoke.
Manchester United – under Van Gall has a lot of work to do to clear out the existing squad and won’t get anywhere near enough money out of the Glazers to rebuild the team.
Everton – will have 100 Europa league games, and in all likely hood Roberto Martinez will want to win it and go to a big club in Spain as a hero.
Southampton – A wildcard for the top 4?
Newcastle – hahahahahaha.
Arsenal will garner more than 80 points next season, mark my words. 2014-15 is looking rosy for us, and if some of our fans can’t see that Arsene Wenger and the board haven’t been aiming for this for years and knew exactly what was happening in our rival clubs they are even dumber that I give them credit for being.
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I enjoy the quality over quantity of this blog .like the wonga adverts “no hidden suprise” . my fav blog Untold arsenal is full of facts. Here we have general good positive story which cheer me up. It’s a shame most blogs are been taken over by “arsenal sands” yep I said sands not fans. Just like the desert sand they just flow with the blow of the wind “media” . Keep it up guys
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Great article! The amount of crap that I have to wade through on other blogs is unbelievable. As for the media I no konger listen or watvh the bbc as their bias is clearly bodering on institutional racism against arsene wenger. Maybe they could now give their great hope at the begining of the season – Moyes, a job.
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Tell me a true Gunner and I show you one. Thank you so much for this blog.
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“The Totts don’t have another Bale to sell.”
double canister, you mean bastard!
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It is a good time of year to be excited, with CL secured, Cup Final to look forward to, a World Cup to keep us entertained and then a bit of a break before the build-up to a new season. I suspect we will see two key signings plus a Sagna replacement that will change the look of the current team significantly, and will make us even more competitive than we have been this season. FFP will make a difference, and although I suspect the wealthiest clubs will still find ways to attract the top talent, it will be nice to feel that we will not automatically be gazumped at every turn. The future is bright and all that, so if the moaners still moan then it is indeed legitmate to ask exactly what their agenda is.
For some it is simple: Arsenal seem too establishment, too careful, too much like investing in a Building Society instead of boldly playing the markets. For others Arsene is just too old, too unsexy, at times too odd. I can understand all of that, and know that if they keep supporting their views about The Arsenal and football will change – just as their views about everything else will inevitably change. But for a few it seems that their moans are a deliberately orchestrated campaign to spread the insidious malcontent that may one day lead to regime change. So for them, any stick will do indeed. (Segue to stange and surreal vision of Le Grove and the Grovettes dressed in coats of many colours and humming along gaily to an Andrew Lloyd-Webber backing track).
But as the new dawn surely arrives and sees consistent challenges for the very top (with attendant bragging rights for successes against your Chelseas, your Cities and your Mancs) and maybe progression to the latter rounds of Europe, and all the time playing football with the pace and vision that leads to the goal of the season type finishes that Jack, Tomas, Aaron and Mesut have pleasured us with this year, then the groaners will find there is nohting left to groan about, and maybe the paymasters of the fifht columnists will see that there is no future here after all, and turn their attentions to other ways to link with respectability.
Great, great article PG and thanks to all and sundry who have kept me entertained (albeit at a distance) over the last week or so. I hope that come August there will be a chance to meet up with a few of you in person before starting the next episode of the roller-coaster ride.
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“but I’m entitled to my opinion”, even if it’s made up out of nonsense regurgitated around the internet by self-regarding fools?
No you’re not.
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Way to go George. Say what they will about you but you have a track record of vigorously and consistently countering the lies, deceptions and stupidity that so many peddle against one of the best run football clubs in the world.
Thanks for the plug.
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We got to laugh at both the media and our own whiny fans about our position this season. All I recall is the media sniping at us and ridiculing Arsene for not succumbing to the craze in the world of football i.e. spending like a drunken sailor and often just for the sake of it. We were told that Spurs, after flushing down the Bale windfall down the crapper, are going to overtake us AT LAST! I recall our own fans, exemplified by that nutter with the A4 placard screaming S P E N D !!!
As we led the league after recovering from our loss to Anthony Taylor on the open day, we got told REPEATEDLY that we were never going to make it because Chelsea and Man City are just too great. Ironic that the same doubt was not expressed when it looked like Liverpool were going to win it. So much for objectivity!
But after being told that we were going to fall behind Spurs at the beginning of the season and after being told all through the 17 weeks that we led in the league that we were not going to win it, it is rich to now hear the same cynics whine about Arsenal not making it. You don’t get to complain about somebody not making it if all you’ve ever done is say that they were never going to make it.
Whatever we do, I have come to the realisation that it will never be good enough. You see, it is not Arsenal, it is the detractors (both in the media and among our fans) that are the problem. The club might just do what it consider is in its own best interest and ignore the naysayers.
Oh, lest I forget, about that 3% increase, I hope I don’t come across as insensitive but virtually all my bills increase by higher percentages (than 3) every year and many of them don’t even give me the kind of joy that Arsenal does. My opinion is that if you can afford a season ticket in the first place, the 3% increase shouldn’t really be the bane of your existence. And should it be, you might have a serious case of misplaced priorities as your financial condition must be too uncomfortable to be parting with that kind of cash in the first place. Give the season ticket up and go once in a while like over 99% of the rest of the club’s fan base, the greater majority of whom may never get to the Emirates stadium in their lives but mainly support by buying merchandise, which – surprise, surprise – also increase in price from time to time.
I am sorry but hearing season ticket holders whine about a 3% increase is just very annoying to me, kind of like listening to people of privilege whining about how expensive their already expensive and exclusive toys are getting.
And the line about wanting the ticket to be affordable for every fan is bullshit. All they want is for the price to be low for them while simultaneously beating the rest of us up with the fact they are the real supporters on the account of being season ticket holders.
My apologies to ALL season ticket holders who aren’t whining about the 3% increase. Thanks for your great financial support to our club.
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Fucking brilliant PG and Shotta!
Just what I needed to read whilst killing time here in Bergamo airport waiting for my bus to Brescia…..
Just picked up a discarded Telegraph Sport section and read the piece about Shitty and FFP…..fuck me when Paul Hayward compares what the sheikhs are doing with all the other wrongs in the EPL one may have sympathy for Shitty…..
I expect no less from DC….an optimism I share….where would I be without PA and Untold Arsenal….
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Paul Hayward – Ferguson’s ghost biographer obviously looking for a new sponsor and one who is loaded
And these journos imagine we don’t know
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Compare Hayward’s piece with Barclays take on shitty and ffp. Common sense they call it.
http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/patrick-barclay-manchester-city-owner-sheikh-mansour-knew-the-ffp-rules-so-must-accept-punishment-9330415.html
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Great stuff PG and shotta. Incredibly some now rate Rodgers and Martinez above Wenger. One for almost winning the title and the other for almost making it to top four.
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Great great piece PG.
What a season!
Can’t believe how many chickens have come home to roost.
Practically every stick used against us has been turned to karmic gold dust in the reality department.
(Did no one else notice 2014’s a destiny number 7, if you’re into that sort of thing?)
A herd rarely ever has much of a chance against well-thought out agendas so I cut the minions some slack a while ago to allow my BP perform @ STP for the sake of the more important issues in life.
After another totally exciting season of Wengerball, we are on course for our 1st post-Highbury piece of silverware to be followed by a temporary ceasefire in goonerworld just before a world cup in Sambaville!
Ha! Such a b*tch of a life, eh!
To those that still don’t get it,
In Arsene We Trust because…
AW knows!
Congrats in advance Positivistas
Keep the flag flying.
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Aman
Destiny’s number 7 is Tomas Rosicky, thank you very much.
“Practically every stick used against us has been turned to karmic gold dust in the reality department” Brilliant.
People asked for a couple of squad fillers to be brought in in January, as if that would have really made a difference. Notwithstanding it was virtually impossible in a pre-WC market.
Christ – can they not see the level of player Wenger already has: do the likes of a Theo, Lucas, Olivier, Aaron, Mathieu, Alex, Jack, Mikel, Per, Bac, Laurent & Woj fall off a tree every day??
Nevermind a player like a Santi or Mesut – it takes years of planning to get one of these.
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Arsene Knows Better…..
….than me, or practically anyone else in the world about football.
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Boo2Me
“You don’t get to complain about somebody not making it if all you’ve ever done is say that they were never going to make it”
And they laughed at all the Positivistas’ at the beginning of the season, who were the only ones who believed great things were achievable.
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The fact that many of these pope claim to be Arsenal fans is what actually gets to me more than anything else!
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All in all a good year for football. Of the top five, four play attacking football. Abramovich is paying for the fifth, oh the joy.
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team spirit,
“The fact that many of these people claim to be Arsenal fans is what actually gets to me more than anything else!”
Same here pal. Based on the Gooners that I encounter in my real life, I just struggle to believe that many of these guys are not Spuds in disguise with the plan to cause disaffection within our ranks. True, I hear moans about trophies now and then but I never get any hint of the sort of visceral hatred that I see online. I read comments from supposed Arsenal fans at times and I am filled with shame.
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The 3% rise is wrong,there’s no getting away from that,but the ‘we’ve got friends in high places who talked Stanley down from 8%’ line is the work of straw clutchers.
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insiders all have different views and bits of information about the same thing normally. I have two mates who both have an “in” with the club, one is a scout for the academy and one is linked to one of the players and they give me info from time to time about the lower workings of the club. However the info is not always right and sometimes comes with a particular bias. It is very difficult unless you know Arsene or Ivan to collate the correct information. One of my mates told me that they are seriously worried about Aaron for the final and he definitely wont make Norwich but we’ll have to wait and see because obviously that could change hour to hour and so it could be as obsolete as a newspaper storey.
If people are leaking anti ARSENAL information then maybe it is they that should be ousted from their jobs as internal friction will never take us forward.
The pundits and commentators have to sign a clause in their contract that they will slag ARSENAL at every opportunity, its been going on for years remember the 71 team had no talent, the 79 team were to irish, GGs teams to boring, Arsene’s early teams to french and to foreign and then to frail, without leadership and this year well its changed depending on how well we did in in the last game, I think the current team celebrate too much apparently. Anyway another good post George
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Mel,
If you don’t mind my asking, can you please enlighten me why a 3% increase (a first in 3 years) is wrong?
I am not trying to antagonise you but as you might have seen from my earlier comment, I don’t get what the whole complaint is all about as I consider the increase to be reasonable. No one ever wants to pay more for anything but we all live with it as long as it is a reasonable increase.
I am willing to change my position on this matter with more information. I hope that you can provide such.
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Bootoomee,we already pay to much,the club didn’t need to put the 3% on,especially with the new added income from commercial deals,you can’t seriously thing that rise is a good idea can you?
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Mel, how many years would you want a freeze for ? Or how long do you think no increases could be reasonable ?
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George,I actually think prices should be reduced.
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As a generalisation it is fair to state that the cheaper tickets in other leagues are a result of the efforts of their FAs, not the clubs. There was a White Paper published by the UK government on football that many contributed to in 2010, including AISA and the AST. If that has been ignored, same as with most other White Papers, that is not a consequence of the actions of AFC. Could the club do more? Probably yes. Will that change pricing etc. in football? No.
http://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/white-paper/
Occasionally I remember to shed a tear for the energy white paper from the middle of the last decade. Not because it was ignored,that was predictable, but for the wasted efforts of those who contributed. A bit like the one in 2010…
I blame Vengaaaaaarggghhh.
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Actually the cost of going to football is exactly what the BSM should be concentrating on and nothing else. Remember this was the working mans game a game I used to pay for myself from a paper round. I know things have changed and Murdock and his cronies are trying to squeeze what they can from anyone showing a remote interest in football but essentially it was our game and unfortunately its going further and further away. Without getting too political have mean wages (not average) gone up 3 % no. As any economist will tell you your price rises must incorporate the ability of your target customer to pay for your product. While I’m not suggesting there woould be a problem selling season tickets, tickets are being split or being brought by people who will only attend a few games. As a result part of the core product, the atmosphere, is being eroded and I already fans lost to the club already.
Football is big business and the big money is from commercial and corporate strands. That is where the buck should be chased and the poor bloody stone left alone.
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@ dc and foreverheady
Haven’t read all the comments yet, but I agree with your points.
It’s true of course that if we get a trophy on the 17th, it will bring a lot of fans around to common sense. But what I find worrying is the number or otherwise rational and intelligent fans who firmly believe what is demonstrably untrue – like the Ozil purchase being a last-minute sop to the fans. Even if the club hadn’t come out with the story of how they pulled it off, I find it extraordinary that people would think that we could buy a player of that calibre at a week’s notice. Or Wenger “turning down” Yaya Toure – no matter how often the facts are related, they still prefer to believe an account which defies all logic and common sense.
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Dom, Adrian Durham is biased and stupid, period, he has a real problem with our club, whatever upset him about Arsenal and AW has risen to ridiculous levels with a slot in his so called program titled the daily Arsenal, which does nothing but slag off the club, players and manager. No doubt about it the guy is not right in the head.
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Mel,
My personal financial philosophy is not to pay for anything if I can get it for free. I will be the last person to cheer on any cost increase of any kind. Not even cigarettes and I don’t smoke. My issue is with the sense of entitlement of some Arsenal season ticket holders. Whether they were conceived and born in Highbury or not, whether they live and breathe Arsenal or not, being an Arsenal season ticket holder is a matter of choice and in my humble opinion, a luxury (compared to other life expenses).
I have great respect for fans who commit thousands of £ to the financial well-being of my beloved club and I don’t think that the club should increase ticket prices willy nilly. But with a 3% increase in 3 years, I don’t think that the club have.
I don’t mind a moan about increase in ticket prices. I think it will be unnatural not to but to start talking about organising protests is just petulant in my opinion. At the end of the day, Arsenal is a private company and their product is not mandated on anyone. Any season ticket holder who feels so inconvenienced by the increases can do what I suggested earlier. I don’t have a season ticket because it is something that I can’t currently afford. But if I had one but couldn’t afford the new price, I’ll give it up without malice. I love Sky TV packages but once they got too greedy for me, I moved to Talk Talk.
That is how capitalism works.
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It is high time the board of our club demonstrated decisive and positive leadership
Cancel Peyton’s season ticket
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And given the sums of money Uberbloogers allegedly earn out of slagging the club off day after day – yes I do mean you – these pious claims about standing up for the little man are bollox
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Bootoomee,my point is the club didn’t need to raise tickets 3%,if we were in dire straits at the bottom of the pile,someone like me would gladly cough up a lot more than 3%.
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Great read
Re the 3% increase
since 2004 when my season ticket was £895 it has gone up by 14% (including this latest rise). If Arsenal were to of increased the prices by inflation every season it would of gone up by something around 30%.
I watched the video of Reg from the BSM say about the 8% down to 3% but have been unable to find any evidence of this anywhere. It was apparently reported by a reporter close to the board? My main problem with this is why would somebody close to the board report this to the media unless it was an attempt to stir up trouble for Stan K. The demonstration on Sunday which I watched seemed nothing more than a Stan K out sing song.
Are fans being used in a power struggle between a certain Russian and Stan K, are fan groups being fed mis-information to help cause trouble in the media for the Arsenal board. With Adrian Durham on talksport and journalists like Neil Ashton finding fault with everything Arsenal, Wenger and the board do you do have to wonder who is pulling the strings behind this information?
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Trugun
He wouldn’t be doing it unless he knew that he had hundreds of thousands of gooners listening in, the radio station just love it when we all phone in about it – it shows the sponsors how many are listening to their messages so they can chare for the adverts.
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I wonder if the the 3% increase will be passed on to the thousands of Japanese tourists and Norwegian stag parties that attend the Ems every home game ?
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Mel
I can see that the ticket price increase is irritating to many. I don’t like the membership card increases either. People will say that all the new revenue streams coming in mean the club don’t need to raise prices again (blah blah highest in the world…).
New Money Streams –
>> Emirates Sponsorship
>> Puma
>> TV rights
>> More prize money
>> Gatorade, Carlsberg, Huwaii, Citroen, Paddy Power all those bit’s and pieces of sponsorships.
>> Apparently the matchday catering contract is well below the market rate.
People say that the match day revenue £94m is already the highest in the land and fans are being asked to contribute too much.
On the other side, it’s been reported that Ivan Gazidis had a major Q & A with the Bulgarian fan club (??) and stated that:
>> Much more money is available for new players (and more wages on those who we already have)
>> Major expansion and refurbishment of Colney, with new advanced training facilities.
and a new home for reserves games.
>> Massive increase in the youth coaching, medical and sports science side part of the club.(what the fan experts have been demanding!).
It’s a difficult balance – but our prices are similar to Chelsea’s, Totts too I’d imagine.
It’s also funny that the same experts are the ones who said we should have spent £70m plus massive wages to get Suarez.
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The sad truism that Football is now part of the entertainment industry, not a working class recreation ‘ont t’saturdays after t’factory closes.
Football, especially down ‘th ‘that London place is in the same bracket as a fancy night out in Covent Garden or seeing a West End show.
Some of the punters so often derided coming to the Ems, are probably here for the weekend to see the Lion King too. The club see them as the ones they can milk.
But for the money you get to see Arsenal versus the globally branded likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Dortmund, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juve or AC Milan on a regular basis. That is kind of a big thing, we often take it for granted.
People have to go to the Euro’s or a World Cup as the only other place to see this level of football and the superstars of the sport.
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Mel,
I get your point and my ire is directed at those organising protests because of the increase. I think, like you, I’d complain if I held a season ticket but I’d still renew after my whinge. All the increase notices on my utilities are received with a moan at my only audience: my long suffering wife who has nothing to do with them but is actually a fellow sufferer. But I always pay without inciting any trouble. Complaining about price increases is very natural.
You may be right that the club is rich enough to not need to increase its ticket prices but remember that it is these same season ticket holders that are always asking the club to go toe to toe with the Oil clubs in bidding for player (which includes wages). Well the money has to come from somewhere.
In summary, I am okay with fans complaining about the hike in price but I completely oppose those fomenting trouble over the matter.
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double canister,
Well said!
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BINGO.. Give the man a prize. Spot on.
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They might not be able to force SK out but could possibly make life so difficult to get the Uzbeks foot in the boardroom door. That has been going on for a few years now. The fans are being manipulated.
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