Many will know that at the BSM we're passionate about getting a better deal for fans, and that part of this is to get an enjoyable matchday experience for those going to matches, supporting the team. One of our initiatives is 'Bring Back The Clock End' - a move to get season tickets in that area of the stadium, providing a place for like-minded fans who want to make a noise and get loud, vocal support going.

With season tickets not valid for League Cup games, it gave us a good chance of trying to do something similar, i.e. get a good number of like-minded supporters together in the ground. We therefore invited BSM members to get involved, and asked that they buy tickets in blocks 19, 18 and 17 - close to the away fans and not shoved as far away as possible, as the club did with the REDsection.

The idea was greeted with real enthusiasm from our members, and it was great to hear that a good few hundred had managed to buy tickets in this area of the ground. It was all set up to be an enjoyable night and on the concourse before the game, the songs started. The mood was positive and upbeat, and I was looking forward to taking my place in the ground.

Walking into block 19 a few minutes before kick off, our fans in that area of the ground were already in good voice. Volume was increasing and the atmosphere was building nicely. Of course with 9,000 away fans to our left we were up against it and it would take a decent effort to make a dent. But for the first 10 or 15 minutes we held our own and had some good exchanges back and forth across the divide. I saw some good stuff from fans on Twitter talking about block 19 buzzing, and some Chelsea fans have told me today that it was vocal back and forth at the start. But then, it began.

All of a sudden there was a constant stream of stewards up and down the aisle, telling people to sit down, checking tickets and generally causing a nuisance. This carried on all night but from that moment on, all that happened was arguing between fans and stewards over standing, noise, singing at the Chelsea fans, whether they had the right ticket - it was real disruptive tactics and in my opinion this was orchestrated by the stadium management. One female steward patrolled up and down the aisle with a notebook, furiously scribbling notes and ordering other stewards around.

Soon after this, Chelsea were gifted a goal and that invited their fans to start the provocation of our supporters. Standing on seats hurling abuse, acting brave and offering fights to anyone who'd give them some abuse back. When they scored, some Chelsea fans tried to light a blue flare but never managed to get it going. No action from police or stewards, which is puzzling when you think a fan of ours who did that at Stamford Bridge in 2010 received a £385 fine and was banned from football grounds for 3 years.

Don't get me wrong I am up for wind-ups and banter between opposing supporters. It's part of football and has been so for decades. But last night it was a one-sided affair with Chelsea fans allowed to get up to all sorts, while stewards and police caused endless trouble for our supporters with threats of arrest for anyone who "engaged with Chelsea supporters" (that's an actual quote from a policeman last night). One steward then said to the bloke next to me "Sorry, we're under orders tonight". That told us all we needed to know.

At half time I saw two people pulled aside on the concourse by police and get questioned. Apparently this was for being abusive to stewards, though I was informed no such abuse was given. Arguing a point yes, but no actual abuse.

On going back to our seats after half time, stewards then saw it fit to check the ticket of every fan trying to get back in. I've never seen this happen at any home game of ours in all the time I've been going - some 30-odd years. Naturally this caused a huge bottleneck of fans trying to get back to their seats, and many of us missed the start of the second half.

The rest of the game was just more of the same. Hassle from stewards and bugger all happening on the Chelsea side. Over came a bottle from their fans, our supporters reacted angrily and in came the police and stewards to threaten our supporters. Any stewards or police their side plucking out the person who threw it? Of course not. Truly laughable.

Overall, I have to give a big thanks to those BSM members who came along last night with the intention of getting behind the team, creating some noise and having a good time at football. I'm just sorry that an obvious ploy from our stadium management ensured that fans spent most of their time arguing with stewards and police, being threatened with arrest for the most ridiculous reasons, and some even being followed and told off by police after leaving the ground.

Every now and then we hear noises from Arsene Wenger and the players about the need for a positive atmosphere at home games. It's therefore disappointing that the club do all they can to stifle any attempts to generate loud vocal support. Last night it wasn't even a case of pissing into the wind, it was more like pissing into that St Jude storm while being battered with a water cannon of piss at the same time.

Needless to say, we'll be taking these events up with the club and we will continue to fight to get a positive atmosphere back in our stadium. The club may want a big group of people who sit there in silence, tapping away on their iPad or knitting (yes, that has been spotted), taking pictures and clapping every now and then. To us, that's not football. It's not the way football has ever been, or ever should be.

We continue, onward. A better deal for fans, that's what we strive for. It's our club, it's our game, and we won't give up easily. Football without the fans is nothing.

Up The Gunners

'Highbury Harold'

In short, it's "We've done a great job, but how can we push on?".

By now you'll have seen or read that we handed out flyers to attendees at today's AGM and as word spread to social networking sites, a lot of chat, debate, praise, moaning and the usual natter followed. Of course, we have our detractors who refuse to believe or understand what we're about and we knew they'd try to pick holes in the flyer, and true to form out they came. But for those who want to know a bit more about the thinking behind it, here goes.

Why Bayern?
People have asked why we're comparing ourselves to Bayern Munich. They receive funding from others, they didn't have to pay for their stadium, they're this, they're that!

Well as a memory refresher and for those who weren't around back then, when we were looking to move stadium, on more than one occasion our Board used the selling point that moving to a bigger ground would enable us to move up to the level of a "European Super Club". The term was held up there as the barometer; this is where we want to be and where we should be.

In more recent times, our Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis has used Bayern Munich as a barometer, showcasing them as a leader in European football. He's done so on more than one occasion. So if our Chief Exec is putting them up there as a model club, let's compare ourselves and see the gaps we need to close.

We're top of the league!
Correct, we are top of the league. Great, isn't it? But my advice would be to read the contents of the flyer. And as we've always said, at the BSM our focus isn't what takes place on the pitch. It's how the club is run and how the club treats its core support.

So yes it's fantastic we're finally getting a team that looks like it could challenge, this isn't what our group is focused on. We'd much rather get behind the team at matches thanks (come to the Chelsea Capital One Cup game and you'll see that), while outside of matches there are issues that we're looking at.

Stop moaning!
Again I'd say read the contents of this flyer. It's not a moan, it's actually saying what a great job we've done in getting to where we are, but how do we move on? How do we look forward and push towards being one of these European 'Super Clubs'?

Key point is that as a group we feel the Board is in need of change. The average age of our Board members is too high, and there isn't enough football experience there. I wrote an article two years ago touching on this, giving suggestions on how we could improve, and many of the points I still feel are valid today. You can read the article here.

Looking at the Bayern setup, they have ex-players at boardroom level - people who have the club in their blood, who understand the game, understand the fans. We feel that kind of influence would be of benefit to Arsenal.

As mentioned in the flyer, 87% of fans who completed our end of season survey felt the current Arsenal Board is out of touch with the fans, and that change is needed. Of course the usual handful of people have guffawed that it's not 87% of all Arsenal fans. We never said it was, however out of any Arsenal group who conducted a survey it's the highest response rate (around 2,500) and as a matter of fact, these results hit home with the club. After we shared the results with Arsenal they requested time to discuss in more detail the points about fans feeling less valued by the club, and the Board being out of touch. So if you want to try and poke fun, feel free, but the club have recognised the issue and want to work on that, which is great.

It's about the fans
Our ultimate message from the flyer is that while big stadiums, players and trophies are great and help promote a club's standing, it's the fans who make a club what it is. It's our supporters who've helped get this great club to the level it's at today. Loyal, hardcore fans who've paid thousands and thousands of pounds over decades, travelling up and down the country (and abroad) in their love of The Arsenal.

We've always said that the Board needs to recognise the value of its core support and do all it can to ensure our fans are treated fairly. While it's great the club engages with fan groups, there's a lot more that can be done and let's not forget that famous saying "Football without fans is nothing".

Ultimately, as a group we're all about making things better for our matchgoing fans. That's' it.

If you want to see the flyer in full, take a look below.

Up The Gunners

'Highbury Harold'