By the time you read this it is possible that Jamie Vardy may have been announced as the second major signing of the summer. If so it will be an almost Fergusonian transfer. Buying the star striker of a top four rival, spending big to cover a temporary injury problem on a player with only a couple of years left in the tank. Aggressive, positive and short term. Well, possibly – that is one interpretation.
Of course Vardy might simply prove to be this summer’s Higuaín. A steaming heap of click baiting baloney providing social media know alls and bloggers like me the opportunity to spout ill informed bollocks about something which was never going to happen in the first place.
I’ll be up front with you; I don’t give a hoot either way. Similarly the Suarez transfer never interested me in the slightest quite simply because it never happened and never came close to happening. It was as worthwhile a use of our time and attention as a discussion on whether or not the earth is flat.
I no longer get angry when people follow up on the journalist’s daydreams and discuss them in all earnest – after all like the flat earthers they do no one else any real harm. They’re entertaining a fantasy which engages and amuses them. So what? The real transfers happen in due course and all the stupid pointless arguments and debates about the hallucinatory targets and fees evaporate like the hot air they always were.
So it isn’t the existence of the Vardy rumours which interests me. It isn’t even the moral debate which signing such a player, even in merely hypothetical terms, has provoked among my friends and other contacts. What made me prick up my ears was a conversation with my wife, a person with less interest in football than I have in macramé, as we traversed the car park of our local Lidl.
I’d outlined the problems people were having stomaching the thought of cheering on a man who has proven to be of dubious moral fibre. ‘But you can’t control that’, she said, ‘you have no say in the players you support. Someone else hires them, someone else picks them. In any case they change every year until after a while the entire team has altered and yet still you support it. Heck the manager and coaches change, the kit and the badge change and even the stadium can change, and still you support it.’
Then came the sixty four thousand dollar question. ‘What exactly do you support? If The Arsenal is like some huge, complex Trigger’s broom, what is it you are actually throwing your weight behind?’ My mouth opened and closed a few times as I absently stowed a half dozen bags of cut price and highly tasty groceries into the trusty Hyundai Matrix.
We can kid ourselves it’s the ethical nature of the club and quietly overlook the scandal of allowing people to work in and around the stadium on match days for less than a decent living wage. We can point to our players’ avoiding the tabloid excesses of those from other clubs as if they were saints rather than simply well drilled and controlled. We can dislike the politics of someone from Leicester City and assume none of the current or past squad are raving right wingers in favour of politicians who’s sole aim is the destruction of all that is decent in our society.
We can make a big deal of Arsène Wenger’s decency, the unquestioned statesmanlike dignity with which he manages our club, but then what if someone like Jose Mourinho was appointed in his stead? We wouldn’t stop supporting would we? We’d perform like moral contortionists, make our excuses and go on cheering for the team.
We stand on feet of clay and I suggest we have no option but to find shoes to fit them. It’s distasteful sometimes but what can we do? The only option is to support someone else and good luck finding another team any better or more consistent with your moral stance. I suppose one could just give up following the sport at all, but where would be the fun in that?
So what did I conclude in the supermarket car park? What exactly do I support? If not the players, manager, owners, stadium, crest or shirt then what? In the end I decided all I was left with was the name. It seems that I support The Arsenal. And like my marriage I do so for better or for worse.
Positively Arsenal 
I hope these Ultras know that Northbank 69 resides in the south of France.
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Ospina has made the quarter finals of the copa america with colombia
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UberArsenal™ @UberAFC 2h2 hours ago
Giroud has scored in his last 6 starts in a row for France, the best run of any French player in the last decade.
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TV3 in Ireland has Arsenal Ladies goalie Emma Byrne as one of their pundits for the Croatia v Turkey game today.
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Steve Gooner @Merse10 5h5 hours ago
MOTD spent 10 minutes bashing Giroud on the highlights of France game but brushed over Kane woeful performance lady night. Agendas
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A nice Post, steww, even if ‘moral maze’ questions are rather awkward in football in general for many reasons.
At the end of the day, I found the question ‘Just who do we support?’ rather straight forward to answer, from the standpoint of a rather simple fan.
You see, over the years I have admired and perhaps even ‘loved’ various superb players and have also been proud of gifted managers, not least Arsene and the naughty Georgie Boy, for their ability to produce excellent title winning teams from time to time, and I give them – players and managers – my unconditional support throughout their careers at Arsenal, and wish them well when they leave us.
That support, it follows, extends throughout all matters Arsenal.
But while that is easy to answer, I wonder if what you were really asking is, ‘who do we follow?’ And my answer is Arsenal.
You see players come and go, managers come and go, and since the creation of the club there have been very many players and managers who have graced Arsenal, and there have been very many owners of the club too – and in another hundred years there will be many more after I have long gone.
But I do not follow them as individuals as such. I am an Arsenal fan – always have been – always will be – and my admiration of individual players and managers and even my platonic love remains just that – but only because they have played for or managed my club – the Arsenal.
Who do I support? Who do I follow – now and forever? The Arsenal.
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Szczesny kept a clean sheet for Poland in their win over N Ireland.
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“perpetrated a crime against football”
that is how RTE Football reporter Tony O’Donoghue just described Henry’s handball in the France v Rep of Ireland game, for fucks sake build a bridge and get over it, the incident happened in 2009, and I’ve seen many Irish players, on many occasions, both before then and after then, “perpetrate a crime against football”, but oddly enough those on RTE would not dream of saying they had “perpetrated a crime against football”.
Jesus Christ, it was Ireland that “perpetrated the crime against football” that was the capping of Tony Cascarino, a full 88 times, and him not in any way, under the rules, entitled to play for Ireland at all.
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You are right, the Irish media should get over it, FIFA even compensated the FAI to the tune of three million…..probably with strings attached though.
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There have been some good games so far in this tournament with teams trying to win rather than play the park the bus game. I wonder if it will last past the group stages?
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What TH did was disgraceful, but I think France paid for it with their disastrous World Cup performance after it. I would say that was Karma in full effect.
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unless passenal you consider every handball, every deliberate foul, every single act of cheating disgraceful, every time a player appeals for a corner or throw in, or foul, knowing full well that the decision should rightfully be the other way, Every feigned injury, every bit of time wasting, then disgraceful is way over the top. Its odd that the Henry thing is still considered disgraceful by some, but they would never call all I listed above, that we see in almost every game played since, disgraceful.
I’m not great fan of Henry’s, but what I find disgraceful is the double standards here, Ireland have benefited from some very dodgy acts of cheating since 2009, (and before then too, as mentioned TC got capped 88 times, when not entitled to play for Ireland in any way, we’ve had a number of blatant dives given as penalties too, Robbie Keane and Shane Long are very good at diving) and our media, our pundits, our FA, our fans, don’t condemn it, and they would never ever think of claiming any of our own had “perpetrated a crime against football”.
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I wouldn’t call it a ‘crime against football’, but it was cheating and for a player of his stature it certainly tarnished his reputation. I’m not as familiar with the history of Irish football, so I can’t comment on the examples you cite, but personally I don’t like to see cheating, even when it benefits my team, which is one of the reasons I am not thrilled for AFC to be linked with a known cheat.
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It’s amazing how plundits encourage and normalize cheating by talking about ‘clever’ play and ‘looking for contact’. It’s so commonplace, the commentators think it worthy of note that there has not been any diving in this GER/UKR match!
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Fantastic assist from Mesut Ozil!
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Also that goal line clearance in the first half from Boateng was something else too
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Walïd Arsenal @1Walid1 39m39 minutes ago
Oh look. Lazy Özil sprinting down the wing in stoppage time and not performing on the big stage by getting an assist.
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Lucky you guys in Britain did not have the risible Stewart Robson to listen to during GERvUKR. He was doing comments on our American ESPN feed. Took the greatest of pleasure of totting up every real or imagined Ozil mistake during the game. Really setting up to give Arsenal fans the Counterfactual that some are so susceptible; i.e. Ozil is a failed Wenger signing in complete denial of his record setting number of assists last year. Well you know who had the pleasure of telling him to fuck off after that lung busting run and perfect cross to Schweinsteiger. Hope Vardy was watching.
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Brazil 0-1 Peru, and it means Brazil don’t make it out of the group stages of the Copa America,
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Kelechi Nwakali @KelechiNwakali 4h4 hours ago
New Life Begins @Arsenal. http://fb.me/7vKs8tiQM
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Late to today’s games. Did Bellerin start for Spain?
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he did not play any part
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the Belgium team are a weird looking shower of cunts
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The Italians have started this game in a very uncharacteristically un-Italian style! It’s quite pleasing from what I have seen so far that all teams are willing to attack and try to win games rather than play it safe.
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Not watching the games today *sobs* but it’ll be interesting to see which of the hyped up Belgium forwards manages to last more then two games this time round (none of them made their manager’s grade at the last tourney).
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lukaku a major flop tonight, but will remain a favorite for the malcontents
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< strikers not forwards
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Tbf to Lukaku two years ago he was still a better punt then a fifty five year old (no offence to anyone mysel included, one day..)!one legged Mendezian Mule. Yes that’s just a cheap dig at the specialist in signing players from special agents, but you all have to admit that Shirley still looks a better player then Cuadrado! Haha.
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< a better punt that a £30M fifty five year old…
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Polish national team doctor has confirmed that Szcesny is suffering from quadriceps contusion with suspected hematoma
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Stones on Giroud: “When he gets close to you, he can hold you off & his touch is brilliant.”
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In English?
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That was an entertaining game and well played Italy. That first goal was pretty spectacular.
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Formidable TEAM performance by Italy tonight and in the end a straightforward win against 10 talented Belgians (and Fellaini)
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fins it means Szczesny has a blood clot in a bruise in his thigh, likely to miss at least the next game.
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Michu, Bergovic, Fellaini…
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Now now Fins. Who can say what a twinkle-toed midfield maestro in the style of Tomas or Santi that Arsene could have created out of the huge hairy Belgian? It is not his fault he was trapped in the laboratory of Dr Moyesenstein and a crazed monster unleashed.
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A5, can’t see the Italy game can be seen as a straightforward win. The Belgiuches missed three golden opportunities to score which was driving Buffon mad. Yes the Italians played well but I didn’t see much difference between our game and that game except from Russia put their chance away.
I think had the game finished 1-1 the pundits would have been on a completely different tack.
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I must admit I only watched the first 45 minutes with half an eye. It seemed to me the longer the game went on, and the second half ran out for the Belgians the stronger the Italians became. I dont think if the game had gone on for three hours that Chiellini and Bonucci would have cracked. You’re right though that the Belgians did make chances even at the end Origi could/should have hit the target.
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so is Pep dithering, its more than a week ago that the Media reported city were signing PEA, and that they had already signed Laporte, but Dortmund say no contact made for PEA, and Laporte has announced today that he has signed a new long term contract with Bilbao
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Citeh’s long suffering fans don’t deserve this Eddy #PepOut
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Fins @ 10:05 – Will the uber bloggers, Twitter scouts and Football Managers ever learn? One season wonders. Add Courtois to that list btw.
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The Transfermongers don’t care about the story only the clicks. It’s the dysphoric Groaners who believe the funny papers that are funny ones (Michu, Fellaini…etc.).
Pep will be dithering a little more on Laporte, considering that he fractured his ankle in March and is therefore probably 12 months away, if he’s lucky, from the PL level conditioning required.
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Words I doubted I would say but Well Done Iceland.
It helped you were playing the odious Christiano and the contemptible Pepe – nevertheless a good go.
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https://scontent-cdg2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13450846_10154288613719914_1244901667874193480_n.png?oh=c4d948011c1da8f9efa0dd79ea7ec80b&oe=57C31477
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I fell asleep watching Iceland v Cristiano….
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http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20160615/arsenal-to-host-liverpool-on-opening-day
Start,nov,feb,run-in all difficult considering our record during these times. It is difficult to know which fixtures are hard or easier until they come upon us but the traditional difficult games dont seem at first glance to be at good times. This could all change when you then add in form or injuries however I would of hoped for better,
Hows that for sitting on the fence and argueing with yourself!
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what way does the fixtures fall before and after CL group games
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