Fan Views...
For our kids' sake
Being a kid brought up in south east London you were genetically obliged to support your local team - in my case I had the option of Welling United or Charlton Athletic. Neither would do though and as an affront to my mates at school I took the AFC route. These were the days when footy players were built like brick s**thouses not the almost feminine form of the modern day footballer. If you got tackled by Willie Young or Peter Storey you probably felt it for a few days. But I digress...
As a youngster I didn’t go too often to Highbury – didn’t have any like-minded mates to go with! As I got older I started to go alone. Think of that a kid being allowed to catch the overland from Bexleyheath to Charing Cross then onto the tube. Nowadays you can’t let your kids go to the end of the road!
Those first few games were frightening. Huge crowds, noise, that sense of anticipation. Strangely though it was also quite comforting – you felt protected, you were amongst people who shared the same hopes and dreams with you.
As you went more and more the love of the club increased at the same time. Sometimes all you did was think about AFC morning noon and night. You'd huddle around the transistor radio on a Monday lunchtime to listen to the FA Cup draw, always hoping (for me anyway) that you got your neighbours from up the road. If Charlton were drawn first then the crowd of kids would scatter until it was just me (AFC) and Jamie Naismith (Chelsea) waiting for our teams to be pulled out of the bag.
Back then it was a lot simpler. You listened to the radio, or watched MOTD, or Saint and Greavsie, or you went to the game. If you were lucky BBC radio would broadcast the 2nd half of a Euro game or a cup game. Remember that FA cup semi-final in 1980? Four games to finish the tie – nerves shredded and Brian Talbot an instant legend in my eyes.
In those days games started at 3pm on a Saturday. You had a routine, you stuck to it religiously and you never tired of it. Over time you started to recognise faces in the crowd. You never became their mates and very rarely spoke to them- just a quick nod and on you went. The walk to Highbury and the first sight of the East Stand and that amazing art deco facade would get my pulse racing..not on just one matchday...but on every match day..year after year. If you were on the North Bank you faced a veritable Everest of stairs to get to the top. At the clockend you had to stand your ground… you know what I mean.
I've never referred to Highbury as a stadium...it’s a football ground...a grand one but its not a stadium. There was too much history, tradition and long instilled values for it to ever be called a stadium. A mate once asked me when I got my 'Fever Pitch' moment. I told him I got it every time I saw the pitch… it wasn’t a one off, it was every time.
We went through many fallow years but we still came. We watched some proper rubbish and some real sublime moments. And we still came. Home and away legions of gooners would follow their team through thick and thin, rain or shine.
Then our fortunes changed slowly but surely. Adams, Wright, Bergkamp, Vieira, Henry, The Invincibles, Arsene… all of them staked their claim to be amongst the pantheon of Arsenal greats. But not only were our fortunes changing but the whole world of football too. Money was pouring in at a phenomenal rate. Sky TV now called the shots. Kick offs were now at various times. Saturday lunchtime, Sunday afternoon, Monday evenings, even Friday evenings. We had already lost the terraces now we were treated to the first signs of a corporate machine. We needed to ‘keep up with the Joneses’.
The first inklings of a move from Highbury started to come out. It was like a viral campaign- very clever to be honest. We were drip fed rumours and the odd fact. Amazingly people that I knew were all up for moving to a brand spanking new stadium (not a football ground but a stadium). I wasn’t sure but it was finally announced and we were faced with the fact that Highbury was soon to be no more. So on May 7 2006 the last game was played; a hat trick from Henry (who else?) gave us a 4-2 win over Wigan. Tributes were said, lots of free t-shirts, and a weird party atmosphere which seemed to hide the fact of the enormity of what was happening. No more Highbury… wake up everyone!
The Emirates is a stadium. Very American. Naming rights sold to the highest bidder. A huge concrete bowl with 60,100 seats. Executive tiers which generated pretty much per match as a packed-out Highbury. Upstairs and downstairs for the ‘poorer’ fan. No more peanut sellers – you now get a pizza slice or a “hand-crafted” chicken balti pie. No more spontaneity… the MC now leads the crowd into shouting the players surnames back at him. Are we considered that stupid? And as for Elvis… why oh why oh why is that the song the team comes out to? Answers on a postcard please.
Wherever you look, the income streams are working overtime. Millions coming in from the highest football ticket prices on earth, sponsorship, hospitality and incredibly the trading of players, selling our best and replacing them with wannabes.
We have lost our souls to the cash cow. At the same time all the values that we had learnt by our fortnightly pilgrimage to Highbury have been destroyed by the very same addiction to our team which the Board quite cleverly exploited. Now we are trying to win trophies by investing in youth. We've taken players from all over Europe and Africa and put them on long-term contracts. We now get the sight of a reserve player getting nicked for speeding in his £100k Mercedes. Someone must be taking the p1ss? Oh yes, it’s the club of course. Most of these same players will never make it to the first team – well not ours anyway. After 2-3 years they'll get sold on for a healthy profit. Meanwhile we get to see players like Denilson, Diaby, Eboue and Bendtner wearing the red of Arsenal FC. Note I say red not red and white. That went a while ago. No more white sleeves (give me the red and white Umbro kit of the early 80s any day!).
And while I'm at it how come its taken 4 years to get the clock back into the ground? Why did it take 2 years for the bowl to start getting some 'Arsenalisation'? Silly word methinks – Arsenalisation isn’t about sticking up some big pictures of former players and a huge logo (with the cannon pointing the wrong way by the way). If you want to 'Arsenalise' the ground then start by listening to the fans. Yes all of them but in particular those old lags like myself who knew what it was like to go to a proper football game. Talk to those fans who have held season tickets for generations. Refer to Arsenal in your financial report as The Club and not 'The Group'. I don’t care if it’s a PLC and I really don’t have time to worry about your property assets and property deals. All I worry about is if Cesc is staying and if he isn’t then will we get a decent replacement. I worry about the North London Derby being held in December as that means I can’t go as I’m always out on tour. I stress when my tube crawls the last 3 stops endangering my visit to Fat Harrys hot dog stand. I get upset when we don’t treat the FA cup with the respect shown by almost every other team. It's the biggest cup competition in the world and you the Board, you the manager, and you the players should hang your heads in shame. You've made me yearn for the old transistor radio days – you’ve made me miss Jamie Naismith!
Recently there’s been a small sea of change. Black and Gold has been seen on Gillespie Road, Avenell Road and Holloway Road. People out there are slowly starting to question all that was previously scripture. Questions are being asked and in time you will need to provide the answers. If you think this movement is just some sort of half baked idea that won’t last more than a few months then you are sadly wrong.
My one and only request to those in power at the club is simple: don’t lose sight of what made this club great. It seems you have, but you have the power to change that.
Don’t worry, I'm not stupid enough to think that we will ever go back to Highbury – those days are over. Great memories but memories are all they are. I'll even accept that ticket prices are never likely to be dropped but in return I ask you to listen to us, show us some humility, invest our money in decent players, respect us. Dont treat us like sheep because more and more of us won’t follow. Try to understand that without us you have nothing. You can’t rely on tourist and corporate sales forever especially if you’re not offering what they want to see on the pitch (and trust me Almunia aint a crowd puller!). Be honest – you promised us moving to the bowl would make us compete in the transfer market. The debt is nearly cleared so when will you make good on your promise. When are we going to see the next Henry, Bastin, Radford, Vieira, George, Adams grace the pitch? When??
Me and my Arsenal mates are getting on a bit now. I'm 44 later this year and more and more Ive been thinking that if things don’t change then I’m not going to waste my money going every week. Much rather have a couple of pints at a nearby pub and watch it on TV. The days of old are well and truly over. We’ve got kids, some of us grandkids and we have other priorities. But there’s a corner of our hearts that will always be Arsenal. Our kids are Gooners and we ask you to think about them and bring back the traditions and values that we all loved years ago. You may have failed us – but you still have time to change things for our kids.
As a youngster I didn’t go too often to Highbury – didn’t have any like-minded mates to go with! As I got older I started to go alone. Think of that a kid being allowed to catch the overland from Bexleyheath to Charing Cross then onto the tube. Nowadays you can’t let your kids go to the end of the road!
Those first few games were frightening. Huge crowds, noise, that sense of anticipation. Strangely though it was also quite comforting – you felt protected, you were amongst people who shared the same hopes and dreams with you.
As you went more and more the love of the club increased at the same time. Sometimes all you did was think about AFC morning noon and night. You'd huddle around the transistor radio on a Monday lunchtime to listen to the FA Cup draw, always hoping (for me anyway) that you got your neighbours from up the road. If Charlton were drawn first then the crowd of kids would scatter until it was just me (AFC) and Jamie Naismith (Chelsea) waiting for our teams to be pulled out of the bag.
Back then it was a lot simpler. You listened to the radio, or watched MOTD, or Saint and Greavsie, or you went to the game. If you were lucky BBC radio would broadcast the 2nd half of a Euro game or a cup game. Remember that FA cup semi-final in 1980? Four games to finish the tie – nerves shredded and Brian Talbot an instant legend in my eyes.
In those days games started at 3pm on a Saturday. You had a routine, you stuck to it religiously and you never tired of it. Over time you started to recognise faces in the crowd. You never became their mates and very rarely spoke to them- just a quick nod and on you went. The walk to Highbury and the first sight of the East Stand and that amazing art deco facade would get my pulse racing..not on just one matchday...but on every match day..year after year. If you were on the North Bank you faced a veritable Everest of stairs to get to the top. At the clockend you had to stand your ground… you know what I mean.
I've never referred to Highbury as a stadium...it’s a football ground...a grand one but its not a stadium. There was too much history, tradition and long instilled values for it to ever be called a stadium. A mate once asked me when I got my 'Fever Pitch' moment. I told him I got it every time I saw the pitch… it wasn’t a one off, it was every time.
We went through many fallow years but we still came. We watched some proper rubbish and some real sublime moments. And we still came. Home and away legions of gooners would follow their team through thick and thin, rain or shine.
Then our fortunes changed slowly but surely. Adams, Wright, Bergkamp, Vieira, Henry, The Invincibles, Arsene… all of them staked their claim to be amongst the pantheon of Arsenal greats. But not only were our fortunes changing but the whole world of football too. Money was pouring in at a phenomenal rate. Sky TV now called the shots. Kick offs were now at various times. Saturday lunchtime, Sunday afternoon, Monday evenings, even Friday evenings. We had already lost the terraces now we were treated to the first signs of a corporate machine. We needed to ‘keep up with the Joneses’.
The first inklings of a move from Highbury started to come out. It was like a viral campaign- very clever to be honest. We were drip fed rumours and the odd fact. Amazingly people that I knew were all up for moving to a brand spanking new stadium (not a football ground but a stadium). I wasn’t sure but it was finally announced and we were faced with the fact that Highbury was soon to be no more. So on May 7 2006 the last game was played; a hat trick from Henry (who else?) gave us a 4-2 win over Wigan. Tributes were said, lots of free t-shirts, and a weird party atmosphere which seemed to hide the fact of the enormity of what was happening. No more Highbury… wake up everyone!
The Emirates is a stadium. Very American. Naming rights sold to the highest bidder. A huge concrete bowl with 60,100 seats. Executive tiers which generated pretty much per match as a packed-out Highbury. Upstairs and downstairs for the ‘poorer’ fan. No more peanut sellers – you now get a pizza slice or a “hand-crafted” chicken balti pie. No more spontaneity… the MC now leads the crowd into shouting the players surnames back at him. Are we considered that stupid? And as for Elvis… why oh why oh why is that the song the team comes out to? Answers on a postcard please.
Wherever you look, the income streams are working overtime. Millions coming in from the highest football ticket prices on earth, sponsorship, hospitality and incredibly the trading of players, selling our best and replacing them with wannabes.
We have lost our souls to the cash cow. At the same time all the values that we had learnt by our fortnightly pilgrimage to Highbury have been destroyed by the very same addiction to our team which the Board quite cleverly exploited. Now we are trying to win trophies by investing in youth. We've taken players from all over Europe and Africa and put them on long-term contracts. We now get the sight of a reserve player getting nicked for speeding in his £100k Mercedes. Someone must be taking the p1ss? Oh yes, it’s the club of course. Most of these same players will never make it to the first team – well not ours anyway. After 2-3 years they'll get sold on for a healthy profit. Meanwhile we get to see players like Denilson, Diaby, Eboue and Bendtner wearing the red of Arsenal FC. Note I say red not red and white. That went a while ago. No more white sleeves (give me the red and white Umbro kit of the early 80s any day!).
And while I'm at it how come its taken 4 years to get the clock back into the ground? Why did it take 2 years for the bowl to start getting some 'Arsenalisation'? Silly word methinks – Arsenalisation isn’t about sticking up some big pictures of former players and a huge logo (with the cannon pointing the wrong way by the way). If you want to 'Arsenalise' the ground then start by listening to the fans. Yes all of them but in particular those old lags like myself who knew what it was like to go to a proper football game. Talk to those fans who have held season tickets for generations. Refer to Arsenal in your financial report as The Club and not 'The Group'. I don’t care if it’s a PLC and I really don’t have time to worry about your property assets and property deals. All I worry about is if Cesc is staying and if he isn’t then will we get a decent replacement. I worry about the North London Derby being held in December as that means I can’t go as I’m always out on tour. I stress when my tube crawls the last 3 stops endangering my visit to Fat Harrys hot dog stand. I get upset when we don’t treat the FA cup with the respect shown by almost every other team. It's the biggest cup competition in the world and you the Board, you the manager, and you the players should hang your heads in shame. You've made me yearn for the old transistor radio days – you’ve made me miss Jamie Naismith!
Recently there’s been a small sea of change. Black and Gold has been seen on Gillespie Road, Avenell Road and Holloway Road. People out there are slowly starting to question all that was previously scripture. Questions are being asked and in time you will need to provide the answers. If you think this movement is just some sort of half baked idea that won’t last more than a few months then you are sadly wrong.
My one and only request to those in power at the club is simple: don’t lose sight of what made this club great. It seems you have, but you have the power to change that.
Don’t worry, I'm not stupid enough to think that we will ever go back to Highbury – those days are over. Great memories but memories are all they are. I'll even accept that ticket prices are never likely to be dropped but in return I ask you to listen to us, show us some humility, invest our money in decent players, respect us. Dont treat us like sheep because more and more of us won’t follow. Try to understand that without us you have nothing. You can’t rely on tourist and corporate sales forever especially if you’re not offering what they want to see on the pitch (and trust me Almunia aint a crowd puller!). Be honest – you promised us moving to the bowl would make us compete in the transfer market. The debt is nearly cleared so when will you make good on your promise. When are we going to see the next Henry, Bastin, Radford, Vieira, George, Adams grace the pitch? When??
Me and my Arsenal mates are getting on a bit now. I'm 44 later this year and more and more Ive been thinking that if things don’t change then I’m not going to waste my money going every week. Much rather have a couple of pints at a nearby pub and watch it on TV. The days of old are well and truly over. We’ve got kids, some of us grandkids and we have other priorities. But there’s a corner of our hearts that will always be Arsenal. Our kids are Gooners and we ask you to think about them and bring back the traditions and values that we all loved years ago. You may have failed us – but you still have time to change things for our kids.
