Football has always been about opinions.
In the olden days we would sit around in small groups and moan about certain players. We might also blame the manager for poor form. It was always thus.
Now though we have taken moaning to new levels. There are those who have taken to attacking everything at the club to professional levels.
There are those that write blogs, tweet and podcast that have large followings and they have become Uber-Fans.
Based on what?
You might well ask! Well in most cases it’s based on no more than their mistaken belief that they are experts on err, umm err… well, everything really.
If you listen to podcasts, follow twitter or read blogs, they’re full of annoyingly pretentious ill-informed pillocks seeking to impress the gullible and the equally ill-informed. They pontificate from a position of ignorance on all matters relating to the club.
So now instead of it just being a few of us moaning about what our eyes have seen, it’s thousands moaning about things they know bugger all about.
These Uber-Fans are like contestants on The X-Factor who are prepared to make absolute idiots of themselves simply to become a celebrity. They seem intent on showing how smart they are at the expense of the club.
The problem being – they are not that smart at all. They are just loud.
Of course, I don’t want to tar everyone with the same brush. There are those who know a lot and talk a lot of sense. Every week I look forward to reading The Tim Stillman (@LittleDutchVA) column on Arseblog. Tim offers ideas on tactics, players and the manager that I find both interesting and even educational. However, he does not preach or insist that his ideas and opinions are definitive. In short, he doesn’t profess to be a know-all. I might be wrong, but it looks to me that he also understands that he has a responsibility to be balanced. There are others, but they are thin on the ground.
The tone of many bloggers, tweeters and podcasters is provocative, snide and almost bitter. You might think winning the FA Cup, signing the likes of Sanchez and Ozil, or even the appointment of a new fitness supremo would have mellowed the tone of these uninformed experts, but no, none of it. Everything from tactics and formations to the timing of substitutions and how many sugars Doris is putting in the tea, is savaged and rubbished.
Here are some words from our own Arsenal Andrew:
“There is an irony not lost on many of us here in having a man with the brilliance of Wenger hounded by the likes of those for whom the lights may appear to be on, but who quite clearly, are no longer at home.
The genius of Wenger is conversely offset by the rank stupidity of a noisy band of barackers, modern-day hecklers who long ago forgot what it meant to support, who today visit upon the club as disconnected strangers sadly oblivious to the maxim of supporting through thick and thin.
Together this limp collection of disbelievers rally together with the single hollow bond of those claiming to love the club to the ends of the earth, but who in reality, as Bergkamp memorably observed, love merely the version with trophies.
They lightly skip, trip and stumble over what they would have us believe are the issues of the hour. Meanwhile the club grows and develops, moving purposefully and with grace, ever forward towards a goal and a destiny born of breathtaking ambition.
A destiny in which we, the fans, had just one job.
We just had the one job.“
I was hoping that the fight was over, that the clear and present improvement of the club would allow us to just get on with that one job.
Seems I hoped in vain.
By pedantic george aka @Blackburngeorge
Now. Part 2 from Andrew @anicoll5
What used to be bizarre to my sight to the approach of the Uberbloggers and their flocks of credulous sheep was the incessantly changing targets of their dissatisfaction. As Tim has rightly said above yesterday it was Stan paying £3m out of funds of the club he owns, in relation to work he is entitled to for services rendered, into another business that he owns and which performed that service. The day before it is something else, the day before that some new perceived calamity that Arsene or the cub or some poor unfortunate player has maliciously heaped on the poor suffering fans, blah, blah, blah.
Gaze backwards a few months. The Uber bloggers whine was “Spend some farking money’ “Sign a farking forward” ” that Giroo is farking useless” “that Thomas Vermaelen is deadwood – get rid ” Their sheep baa’ed the message they had been fed loudly across the digital world, the phone in lines buzzed with self important discontents.
But we know the club gets on with its business buys and sells players. The strikers are bought, damn fine players. Do we hear any jot of pleasure or contentment from the Uber bloggers and the flock ? Not a bit of it. Now it has moved on to “Sign a farking central defensive beast” “Sign a farking defender’ “Why did you let Tommy V go for fark’s sake” etcetera etcetera etcetera.
I won’t bore you by taking you through fifty other examples of whining about commercial revenue streams, sponsorship, players signed, players not signed, deadwood kept, deadwood not kept, we have to win a trophy, oK we won a trophy but that don’t count. It is a constantly changing target of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Nothing Arsenal football club does is ever good enough, there is no joy or contentment in these people’s lives. They live to moan.
And then the mists cleared and I understood.
Now I suspect there are some Uberbloggers who are literally farmers of this discontent, and who understand that they can make a living by peddling material that attracts hits on their websites and £k’ching in their accounts. In a sense I admire them. They have identified a market and have devised, over time, a service product that satisfies and earns them a reward for work undertaken. They supply the sheep with a constantly changing themes of the wrong that Arsenal football club is doing to their fans, a daily diet of alleged crimes to top up their grievance levels. Peyton and Le Grove etc are service providers.
And the sheep themselves, this great baa’ing credulous mob prepared to turn on any player, any manager, any fellow fan who fails to join their abuse of the Club, who engage in strange clothing rituals of black scarves, like some form of jihadist sect! Who are they ?
Well I suspect a significant proportion of them are suffering from a mild form of a condition called “dysphoria”. That is a state of mind in which the individual is pathologically unable to enjoy or to even gain contentment with their circumstances in life, or in this case with the football cub they believe, and probably sincerely believe, they “support”. Those suffering dysphoria externalise the mixture of anxiety and depression they experience. No matter what changes in the external world however, how their personal circumstances might improve materially or emotionally, they will not be happy because that healthy psychological response is not open to them. Even if a long term demand is satisfied today, by tomorrow morning a whole new set of dissatisfactions will have been created, or as I explained above, been provided by the “service providers”.
So no George these people are not out to destroy Arsenal , the people are sick.
Positively Arsenal 
Leading on from what Shogun said earlier is there really a Arsenal FB group with 10,000 members of which 9,500 spend their time slagging off the club ???!!
Now that is, anyway you look at it, odd.
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testing 1,2,3….
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finally!!!!
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ok so who is going to the game saturday?
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bellerin: proper footballer…thank you barcelona
clyne : you bastard…do that again…shoot 100 times if you want…
pololski, well…. he is warming up for may 😉
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have to say …right after ospina made the save on his low left in 2nd half in one of their free kicks he immediately played a long pass to the left, ball came back to him and he played it right. 100% accuracy. awesome footwork.
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joel cambell…this is not fucking olympiakos…. hehe…wenger will explain to the boy that cl appearances and titles won with that outfit of crooks, essentially mean fuck all….
georgaki!!!! yuvarlakia and pints.
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i also believe that an essential part of being a true arsenal fan is laughing at manure ( irrespective of my respect to lvg) and that short guy with his perukini shouting at his teammates and robin going through 50 shades of grey in mind body and soul…cunt.
rafael….?? hahaha
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however th most important hing…. ….get well soon ZENpaul, sir!
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These Uber-Fans are like contestants on The X-Factor who are prepared to make absolute idiots of themselves simply to become a celebrity.
muahahha
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Home from your travels at last Paolo ?
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Given my dismissal of the Groaners above I am a bit embarrassed to say I wont be at the Ems this Saturday evening.
A few months back (and before the PL fixture list came out I must emphasise) the tickets for Wolf Hall at the Aldwych went on sale and I can’t resist blokes in tights. I shall find a boozer to watch it in.
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Not one but two excellent posts. Thanks guys.
It seems that there are indeed digital meltdowns over silly things involving Arsenal. And it seems that, to quote anicoll, some are farmers of discontent.
What’s the solution? That is a question I would really like answered. Maybe there is none.
The only – legal – thing I can think of is that the club become more tech-savvy and have their own uber-bloggers to engage with the Arsenal bloggers and twitters, etc., in new and innovative ways. Maybe – operative word is maybe – this would undercut the farmers of discontent.
But I guess some people are just unhappy. Or kids acting like they know something.
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anicoll5
September 25, 2014 at 4:04 pm
hey A…i blame the sifu…in his website update he used the logarithm from LOST .eventualy, the black smoke was locked in the ‘looking glass’ sector on the northwest side of the island….buscemi says hi though…riot!
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What’s the solution? That is a question I would really like answered. Maybe there is none.
strength of character
but how do you do that when the most commercial of arsenal blogs follows the amy/ast routine…….
the enemy within.
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the solution is growing up and accepting that football is a business and that arsenal before wenger was a hot dog vendor on the streets and now we are a 6 star casino-hotel-show room in las vegas playing poker with madrid bayern united barca etc…..
anothe roslution is …again growing up and realising that football is justa sport .. a game and that teh poeple who govern it have realised opur psychological dependance and are milking it ( rightly so) and thats the way it is in a system of capitalism where profit is god
a further solution is to humiliate all those who talk the romantic horseshit of club / fans relation of transparency.
lets face it…arsenal fans …and society in general…need heroes…..peopel suffer everyday trying to meet ends means..football, their escpae is not delivering those “fuck you ” momments you want to give to your rival mates/colleagues etc.
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Because many of the Groaners actually suffer from an identifiable although not particularly serious health problem I think the best we can do is to sympathise with their mental health difficulties Sav and recommend they seek professional help. We must emphasise to them that just because they feel irrational, constant dissatisfaction with life now now and have for many years their condition need not be endure. Chronic is not neccesarily lifelong.
A prescription of anti depressant medication in tandem with psychological therapy, 15-20 seasons say of cognitive behavioural therapy (the poison of therapeutic choice this decade), would probably restore then to some sort of reasonably balanced function as Arsenal fans.
Perhaps the greatest risk is, once cured in relation to AFC, they will simply transfer their dysphoria to a new target, a religion or political creed perhaps. Still ,small steps.
On the balance of probability I see the prognosis as positive for most, subject to them being willing to engage in treatment willingly.
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owever sav…had arsenal been a BIG club….fans would act big too. trust me …i have experienced the winning of 6!!!!! european titles ( albeit in basketball) …there is no other team in team sports that has achieved waht panathinaikos basketball club achieved with zelimir obradovic as coach. the goonies have no fucking clue how to support, then again they have ever seen their club conquer europe in any way shape or form……… look at the kop..are they ever silent? never! always there. why? theyve seen and experienced epicness….arsenal’s fans epicness is fucking 89…lol..thats small league in comparison.
think big, act big.
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you might laugh now …but in 1996 when arsene first came …panathnaikos was playing last 4 champions league against ajax of seedorf litmanen…etc…up until 1996 panathinaikos was bigger and much richer in history than arsenal…..
if i tell that to some typical arsenal fan who has only knwon finsbury park all his life he will dismiss it as some typical arrogant arsehole “ohhh th egreeks play football too?” …yes you cunt we play football too, now shut up and respect the WENGER you cunt!
muehehehe..dont take my aggression seriously…ask A 😉
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Trying to groan on about AFCs history and the poverty of English gritball and to argue with someone who had “GRIT” as their avatar for about five odd years? Fuck me.
Hunter: you are a right old plonker.
It’s not the adolescent aggression that is annoying, it’s the imbecilic desire to argue with others here in the haven George made for AFC fans on PA, it’s the self-defeating arrogance, the ignorance and the stupidity. HTH
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“Hunter: you are a right old plonker.”
Very polite Fins
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I can’t take someone who attempted to try an defend the laudry fee paid out for Dav1d Lui7 upon these pages seriously. What a personal nadir that must be for someone who says they understand and respect AW, and what he and AFC stand for in Football. Nothing more for me to add.
Plonk plonk away.
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> laundry fee
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and now for a song that united us all
youre a cunt robin…youre a cunt……
youre aucnt robin….youre a cunt….
youre a cunt robin…youre a cunt…OHHHHH ROBIN YOURE A CUNT.
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fins!!!! hey man!! whats up!!! you coming on saturday?
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it’s the imbecilic desire to argue with others here in the haven George made for AFC fans on PA, it’s the self-defeating arrogance, the ignorance and the stupidity. HTH
what? lol…whats that all about ? hummels and luiz are betetr than djourou man…sorry but its the objectve truth….just cause im good at proving my case dont mean im evil dude…. perhaps others shoudl stop pretending to be the ‘experts’? ..just saying…. any case..peace.
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Jesus H Christ, Lesson not learned it seems.
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i still stand by ebverything i said fins..100#% ..youre just mad cause deep down you know im right. 🙂
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but i didnt do anything george…fins started…punish him…hehe..ok im out ..see you guys on saturday ( whoever goes tot he george)
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“ays they understand and respect AW”
ok youre pissing me off now………
respecting and understaing wenger also falls in line with undersdtanidng that with almunia, djourou and 21 y.o cesc its near to impossible to win major titles against drogba and giggs and xavi …………….right? 😉
and like you said…i respect and understand wenger… …you and agins though you use wenger and hide behind his words/actions….
just cause wenger shows faith to say almunia does not mean we can not see what the plan is…almunia was fine for top4 …not if you want to beat bayern madrid chelsea and united though…but wenger was not in there to beat them was he? he was there to gain the positions that would make arsenal’s financial plan viable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in that sense …yes a djourou will do well for that time being…. now stop antagonising.
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fucking hell…lock me out george… lol
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Hunter’s back.
Thanks heavens for that!
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Mmmm
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Sorry: got confused with the part 2 and over-excited with Hunter’s return. Hadn’t realised that this was a new post and thanks to Andy Nic for it, and also t’other Andrew and George for the first parts. All good stuff and I like the thought of pathological misery as an identifiable disorder.
But I am not sure I can stomach a blog that complains bitterly about the money allegedly purloined by Stan K while also advertising on the site and thereby making money out of the discontent it consistently ferments. However much George claims to like the fellow.
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My index finger has missed the workout of madly scrolling through the comments…
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FH, I think he has fallen out with me. I wonder why?
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PG, the Amy Lawrence dame, has accused Deloitte (the auditors) of failing to identify a Related Party Transaction correctly!
KSE LLC , are registered in the state of Delaware, USA, under 2 File Numbers. I will peruse the company’s filings, IF i think they may be interesting.
I have not seen the Full Accounts for 2013/2014, as yet.
As for Hunter, I have nothing against the geezer. Very wicked, I flick by his comments.
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I don’t mind reading Hunters’ point of view at all.
In smallish doses, mind you.
H13, I’ve been promised an evening with Ms. Calamity Jane in the Tolly after the game on Saturday. Me and 50 other suitors I guess.
And your’re right, Fins started it.
Bad Fins.
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Hah ha he back, Hunter is back!
Great post from yesterday Coll. I thought as much at the time that it should have been the main piece.
I listened to the entire podcast of Geoff Arsenal v Moh (you spend we spend) or something stupid like that. Moh needs to come down to Earth. He really is not the well informed fan or intellectual he thinks he is. So full of contradictions and inconsistencies…..
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PG and AN5,
Thabks for the articles, I agree 200% of course.
One aspect I think you may have missed out on is how ‘cool’ and right-on most of these malcontents think they are. Being a negative shithouse is edgy, I can’t think of another explaination.
Teenagers must think being a WOB is sexy.
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You wouldn’t believe the abuse this little blog gets in Twitter and elsewhere.
I couldn’t imagine a sounder, more sensible, stoic and braver bunch of supporters than is found on PA.
Apart from meltdowns over David Luiz and Johann Djourou, of course. I can’t imagine ever seeing a timeline like that anywhere else! Old George had the patience of every saint in Wells Cathedral.
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This site has everything and I love it
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Apparently Man U have an injury crisis.
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Does anyone want to do the NLD or do I have to publish Frank again?
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How can that be, FH? Everyone knows they have a tactical genius running the show these days.
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PG I’ll write up the posh match, on Monday ish.. Unless a better writer emerges. O Levels will do.
Where is Frank?
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@ anicoll5 September 25, 2014 at 4:49 pm
Hehe lmao
@paolo/hunter
I was thinking more from the point of view of curing the blogs and twitter overloads. I am not sure how to change the general non-blog football supporter but I suppose supporters associations play a part. I hear groups like Red Action are doing something to improve the atmosphere, so maybe more groups like that and more support from the club to such groups over other groups that undermine the club and what it stands for. But its easy for me to say, I am sure the relevant AFC executive is looking at this situation and there must be issues to contend with.
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Man Utd – its a bit cosmic justice, karma even. I suppose they might need to spend more money. That fixes everything apparently.
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This article is so true. I find these “fans” disturbing. Its one thing to critisize a player or manager when that critisizm is justified, but the downright nasty things these people say about those players and our manager is spiteful and disgusting. Le-Grove in particular is a breeding ground for these disgusting comments and Pedro the master of the moaners. And u can see by his tweets and his writing that he is happiest when he is moaning.
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pedantic george
September 25, 2014 at 9:30 pm
what do you think of totenam?
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