
Red & While Roller Coaster ride!
Well, it’s been quite an eventful few weeks since I last wrote.
Three wins, against Stoke, Spurs and Leicester, and three defeats, against Dinamo Zagreb, Mike Dean and most recently Olympiacos.
If that doesn’t sum up the roller coaster ride that is being an Arsenal supporter then nothing will.
Not much point going over old ground as far as the football goes, pretty much every angle of everything has been covered by now. So, here’s the white knuckle ride version instead….
FFS Giroud! Oh look he’s scored!
LOL.
Still missed the easy ones though!
Six changes?! Arteta?!
FFS Giroud!
How were there no players available better than Arteta FFS?!
Costa you c**t!
Dean you c**t!
Mourinho you c**t!
If we lose at Spurs he’s gotta go!
MUST WIN GAME!
Play a strong side!
MUST WIN GAME!
Arteta and Flamini? hahahahaha We’re fucked!
Hahahahahaha FLAMINI!!!!!
FFS!
FLAMINI!!!!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!!
Here’s to you, Mathieu Flamini…..
FFS shit defending!
THEEEOOOO!!!
Alexis Sanchez baby! Alexis Sanchez WHOOOAAAHHHH-OOOHHH!
Cech on the bench again? WTF??
FFS!
THEEEOOOO!!
FFS!
Alexis Sanchez baby! Alexis Sa…..
FFS!
FFS!
Wenger Out!
As I write, the manner of the defeat at home to the Greek side means that at the moment we’re all a bit, erm, “arsey.”
Quite understandably, I guess. But let’s not forget it’s Arsenal FC, not Arsey FC.
Compare that to this time last week, after we’d not only knocked that lot out of the cup, but did it at their place with two goals from Flamini!
Yep, this time last week we were all more interested in how long it would be before the men in white coats carted Mickey Hazard off to the funny farm than how long it would be before it was revealed that David Ooooooospiiiiiiinaaaaa only became a professional goalkeeper after winning a reality TV show.
That sums up what being a football supporter is all about for me personally these days.
Enjoy the good moments while you can, don’t let the bad moments consume you.
I’m not sure of the exact moment in time when football became the social media circus that it is, but once I’ve finished building this time machine, I’ll be sure to find that moment and stop it happening. This could interfere with the space-time continuum and, you know, like kill us all or something.
Or, it might just change the way we live our lives in general.
You will have to go out to the shop to buy things, which you will have to pay for by exchanging money for said goods.
By money, I mean actual physical money, made from paper and coins.
To acquire knowledge, you will have to read these strange things called “books”, also made from paper.
Yes, it’s 2015, and paper is making a comeback.
Apologies, I seem to have gone off on a bit of a ramble there. Not that it matters, as the internet doesn’t exist anymore, and you are not even reading this.
In fact, you will have to go back to doing things the way you used to before there was an internet, including talking to people, which will be the best thing of all of this for the football fan.
The reason being that social media and the internet’s biggest crime is ruining the concept of arguing about football.
I mean, this is a tradition that should never be messed with! It might come as a surprise to some of you young ‘uns, but this actually used to be enjoyable.
We used to talk about the game in the pub afterwards, go home, then eventually get over it and get on with your lives until the next game.
There is absolutely no way at all that you would follow someone you didn’t know out of the pub, and continue the discussion for the rest of the week telling them that their opinion is wrong, and if you did see someone do that, you wouldn’t tag along just to listen, occasionally chiming in when you felt like it.
“I just don’t understand why you don’t feel the same way as me….you should feel the same way as me….my way is right…..”
“Ok, if I agree with you, will you please leave me alone? The game was on Saturday, it’s now Wednesday night, the kids are starting to ask questions about the strange man that’s following me around the house, the dog won’t stop barking, and on top of all that, I’m trying to have a shit.
Oh, and take your fucking mates with you, there’s not room for ten of us in here…..”
There are times for the briefest of moments that I think to myself “is it really worth it anymore?”
And this happens more often every season, as the game as we know it becomes a mere sideshow to the circus that is the modern game.
This is made none more evident than the fact that seemingly no press conference can go by without some lazy-minded hack trying to stir shit up between Mourinho and Wenger.
Ok, do it in the lead up or aftermath of a Chelsea vs Arsenal match, but to keep on every week about it?
Of course, one of the two actually laps it up, while the assembled lap-dogs of the press wipe his ejaculate from their collective chin.
Then I remember why I follow football in the first place, and it’s BECAUSE of all the things that make you question whether it’s worth it or not.
The ups and downs are what it’s all about.
The more that’s there to drive you away from it; the more you keep coming back to it.
People arguing online are just that; people arguing online.
Turn off your phone or whatever device it is you use (or wait for me to finish this time machine) and none of it exists.
All that does exist is you and how you feel about the game.
All that matters is what you take from it.
As I write this on Friday morning, Sunday can’t come quickly enough.
The usual pre-match rituals, meeting up with mates before and after the game, making the most of the day before it’s time to go back to work on Monday morning.
It’s a game that could put is right in there at the top, or have the world and his wife telling you that our title hopes are over for another season.
But, truth be told, I would be buzzing for this game as much if it were a mid-table clash against Mediocre FC.
The reason being, that I love football and all that goes with it.
Personally, if it ever came to the point where I couldn’t enjoy the good things any more, then it would be time to give it all up.
It’s got to a point now where I’ve come full circle and can enjoy football for what it is; a release from everything else, a chance to lose yourself for a few hours, or a day or so.
Whether that release is the euphoria of a trophy win, or Flamini banging in a couple against that lot, the gut-wrenching, heart-breaking feeling of losing a cup final, the wall punching frustration of watching us balls things up in Europe again, whatever.
It’s what makes being a football supporter what it is, and sometimes it has to get to a stage where you question whether it’s worth it any more to remind you of the most important point of all; it’s a game.
I feel I should state here, for fear of being accused of telling people how they should or shouldn’t support their club etc,etc….that this is simply my personal point of view, I’m not here to preach to you at all.
If you want to get caught up with all the bollocks that surrounds the game these days then go ahead. Whatever floats your boat and that.
Personally, I’ll get caught up in it for a while around the game, might get wound up a bit for a while, then leave it alone.
Perspective
Apologies for ending on a personal note, but the fact that football is “only a game” hit home to me this week.
On the afternoon of the Olympiacos game, I received an email from my daughters school, informing parents that a girl in my daughters year, a friend of hers, aged 13 had passed away from cancer that morning.
Shortly after, my daughter called me in floods of tears, absolutely heartbroken.
A few hours later, Arsenal lost a football match.
There’s perspective for you.
Until next time
Up The Arsenal
Islington born and bred, Arsenal through and through.
Published author.
Is Yours Gold? The Arsenal Invincibles Twentieth Anniversary – available now,
Over Land and Sea (and Lockdown), Arsenal 20/21 – The Corona Diaires – released 2021.
Clickbait: Life as a Modern Football Fan – released 2019
Spot on, Darren.
A good friend recently tweeted that one of the most long-standing recognisable Arsenal fans is not on twitter and does not even own a mobile phone.
I really envy him. The rest of us are riding the tiger, and can’t get off.