I’m sure I’m as honked off as most citizens of the Gooner Republic today. Talk about a roller coaster ride on Sunday evening. Let’s get a few things straight about yesterday:
Liverpool merited the point they got for effort.
Both penalties given in time added on were awarded correctly.
Arsène Wenger’s temper tantrum with Liverpool manager Kenny Daglish and referee Andre Mariner were embarrassing, at least to me.
The only way we can win the League now is for us to win at White Hart Lane on Wednesday night and at home to Manchester United. Even then we’ll still be relying on United dropping four points as they’re six points ahead, six better off on goal difference (38 to 32) and seven on goals scored (70 to 63). We now face a battle to maintain second place, never mind win the title.
Personally, I found Arsène Wenger’s dummy spitting bad grace at the belated final whistle embarrassing. His ever-increasing irascibility when things go wrong over recent seasons has been noticeable. You need to act your age, not your shoe size mate. About the only people he doesn’t seem prepared to blame are himself and his players.
No mate. That’s not our way. We’re the Arsenal. You need to show some class. I’ve blogged on a couple of occasions before on permitting off-field timekeepers controlled by signals from the referee with a stadium clock so everybody knows what’s going on with time remaining. It’s been done for decades in the elite level of rugby league, a sport with far less resources than football.
That said, the laws are as they are at the moment. Let’s be clear. We should have “frozen” the game after our penalty. Instead we panicked. Yet another Arsenal groundhog day. You can’t show that level of poor tactical discipline and expect to regularly challenge for trophies.
Personally, Arsène Wenger’s constant excuses and rejection – often ill-tempered – of any criticism are getting very, very old. I still treasure the trophies he’s won for us and the transformation of the club from what it was when he arrived. His isolation and insulation from the world in which the rest of us live is starting to really grate though. The man is starting to take on the appearance of a North African autocrat, totally out of touch with his people. We all know how that ended in Egypt and Tunisia, not to mention the current conflict in Libya.
Wenger is handsomely compensated for his work. I’ve heard estimates ranging from £5-7 million a year of the improved salary he received on signing his current contract extension which runs to the end of the 2013/14 season. He’s certainly not backward in coming forward to look after his own interest. You can’t blame him for that. A bit of gratitude and understanding would be nice however, rather than snarling and ill-tempered rejection of any criticism.
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Arsenal has already put up prices for Platinum Club level season ticket renewals. It appears that the club was all set to announce likewise for Gold general admission season tickets and match ticket prices for next season but deferred this after we lost the Carling Cup Final to Birmingham City. How cynical is that? Hoping we wouldn’t care in the warm glow of a trophy? Some things never change. The Club announced the Arsenal Bond in the aftermath of our 1990/91 League win.
I’m already alienated and skint enough through being an Arsenal supporter. The latest figures show that average disposable incomes in the United Kingdom will shrink by two percent this year as prices for essentials like rent, public transport, food, gas, electricity, water, etc soar and National Insurance Contribution rises kick in. I know the club faces many of these increased costs too but ticket prices are already ludicrously high, being amongst the most expensive in the world.
MEMO TO STAN KROENKE AND IVAN GAZIDIS:
NO FURTHER TICKET PRICE RISES. WE CAN’T AFFORD IT!
Last season the club faced a real struggle to sell the last few hundred Club season tickets. Around two thousand Gold season ticket holders didn’t renew. Demand appears to have topped out. We’re also in the middle of a horrible recession with “stagflation” (price rises in a stagnant economy) a real possibility.
Meanwhile, we need to pick ourselves up for a crucial Derby game on Wednesday night. Never mind the Title. Pride should be at stake. I confess I don’t think many of our current crop of players “get it”, isolated and cosseted from the world most of us inhabit as they are.
For the second time in recent weeks I feel unable to finish this blog with my usual exhortation to keep the faith. Too many at Arsenal appear too out of touch with the club’s lifeblood – us, the supporters.
Stan Kroenke needs to understand that the manager must be held accountable. Not micro-managed, but challenged to get himself and the team out of the rut into which we’ve descended.
Written by Vic Crescit at the excellent Arsenal Insider
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