Wake up...

WAKE UP...!


Arsenal supporter... aaahhhhh... not the right time to tell that you are an arsenal fan.! Bradford, Swansea, bla bla bla... we have seen it all.. there is no need for me to get into this.! With all the outrage that followed after the Bradford tragedy i was amazed to see the reaction of our fans.!

Should we be dissapointed and angry.? YES ..

Should we call for Mr.Arsene Wenger's neck.? HELL NO..!!

There have been few amazing posts that instill positive belief, the bright side of the picture. I hope people,especially arsenal fans do read them. This one though is going to talk about the ugly picture.!

How easily has the media conquered the sporting world, the passion of football, just for money making purposes, they put words in our mouth like (Wenger Out) that we would never say , seed an idea in our minds just like inception that we would never think of. Where has our thinking gone in all this.?

As a matter of fact in these barren 7 years of no trophy at Arsenal , we have achieved a lot.! We have won trophies, which nobody can see. Instead of Mr. Wenger being sacked i'll introduce you to the main culprits who ought to be sacked from whatever profession they are into.! Football Pundits.! Time and again they said Arsenal will not qualify for the champions league, in-fact they said that almost every year. We did qualify for the champions league in all these years, some of them in crunch situations and some wonderfully. Why should we fans go with all these football pundits opinion when they have a track record of 7 years of consistent failure.? It was Arsene and Arsenal who had the success all these years. the score line reads

ARSENAL & ARSENE 7 - 0 FOOTBALL PUNDITS

Somehow we still want to use the words that these pundits put in our mouths.? I mean,seriously..???

Next, If you all are aware of all the boardroom politics that has been going on at Arsenal for all these years, the best thing to have happened to us in all this, is Mr.Arsene Wenger. He has been the only constant . With no money, no players(departing stars), no support (us, fans the culprit here) , full criticism , humongous competition levels - he has still managed to deliver.! I dont think there is a single manager that could perform like our manager. We as Arsenal fans should not forget all these variables. It was an easy decision for Mr.Wenger to have left Arsenal like all the players, but he stood by his ground , like the captain of a sinking ship. He has been our real captain , someone who we should thank for these 7 years and i'm sure for the years to follow. 

I know trophies count and nothing else, but if it were not for these barren years in which i think Arsene has brought us more success by keeping us stable, consistent champions league place, very good financial position we could well be fighting the relegation battle. 

One last thing, Losing one's own creation is the worst feeling that a man can have. Our manager, has had it all. His creation .. sorry... creations... Flamini, Helb, Adebayor, Nasri, Cesc, Van Persie, Alex Song have left him.! If all of these players owe something at all for everything they have achieved , its Arsene Wenger. All the hurt that we fans have suffered to see them leave Arsenal, i'm sure its Arsene who felt the worst pain.! I fear that the decision of all the above mentioned players and also of the one's i've forgotten , Arsene might well lose his faith on youngsters forever and all other consequences that would follow.

This post is not to force you to think about what i said, its just to make you open your eyes and see the world as it is and not what the pundits,media portray us to be.! 

Thank you.

True Love .!

This past week has defined today's football. It has not exactly defined the sport , but everything that is wrong with today's football. Starting off with Arsenal's FA cup match against Aston Villa at the Emirates. At Half time the scoreline read Arsenal 0 - Aston Villa 2. Shocking ? yes.! But to me and also to a few other people more shocking was the boo's with which the Arsenal team was greeted when they were leaving the field. The Emirates Stadium , One of the best stadiums in the world, home to One of the Greatest team in the world (some faithfuls would tell - By far the Greatest team in the whole wide world) has become a not so happy place because of all the boo's.

It is understandable that things are not going right , we are not used to this , but there is a time and place for everything. In spite of all odds and boo's Arsenal came out and won the game 3-2. Fantastic job by the team. What happened in the dressing room might be a secret forever but what happened on the pitch was there for all to see. Big win and a Big leap to the next round of the FA cup. But this match reminds me of Arsenal's game against Newcastle last season. At 4-0 we were cruising at Half Time, the final score read 4-4. It was very bad for Arsenal and also for the refereeing standards, but it was great for football, what made that possible.? It was the fans. The Newcastle supporters on that day defined what supporting a team means. Something to learn for us Gooners. Such a moment with Arsenal came after the 8-2 defeat against Manchester United, where the away fans showed real love for the team. What they did , made me feel a proud, proud Gooner. I wasn't scared of my friends anymore who would jeer me about the scoreline. It was the fans that gave me enough strength and reason to feel proud to support Arsenal Football Club and forget the score.

Roll on to the next fixture. Bolton vs Arsenal . We played well, good enough to get 3 points but for our finishing standards on that night. The chances we created were awesome , we could've scored atleast 3 goals. Somehow we managed to finish the game at 0-0. The reaction after the match from the fans was not good, just to remind you "yet again". I agree that the team hasn't been doing enough to get a comfortable finish in the top 4, but there are 15 more games to play for. I'm more than confident of a top 4 finish. The problems have been accumulating for quite a few seasons now, but i dont see any reason to panic. We have such a strong foundation now that we are on the brink of success. Jack Wilshere, Walcott, Ramsey, Ox, Miyachi, Coquelin, Frimpong, Szczseny, Jenkinson, Gibbs, etc., all still very young have shown us enough quality to be enthusiastic. Its only a matter of time till they start firing on all cylinders with consistency. They are all going to become Superstars. Which other top team can boast such high class up-coming talent.? that's not all, Which team with such talent can also boast that they are financially stable and strong.?

All in all , ask yourself this question which an Arsenal Legend, Dennis Bergkamp rightly stated “I really like Arsenal. But you, do you really like Arsenal? Or just with trophies?”

The team may not finish in the top 4 this season , may not even win any trophy this season , but none of this is going to stop me from supporting Arsenal. I love Arsenal because of the way they play, the way they advertise the sport called Football (for me its the best , better than Barcelona, claimed to be the best team in the world , because we do not deceive the referees) , we play the sport with the spirit it requires, we have rather been punished several times for being honest. I am sad when we are not playing well, and not the times when we are not wining anything. I would love to see our team coming back to winning ways but definitely not at the cost of the scintillating stuff on the field. I'm angry when we are betrayed of a deserved victory only because of a foolish mistake by the referee who is unbelievably consistent in his job and not when the team is struggling.

We have been struggling , but it is not due to the methods implied by Mr.Arsene Wenger , neither is it due to the lack of transfer activity. We have been killed by the injuries and players who have opted to leave Arsenal when they started to achieve stardom(there are a lot of names in this list). For all that is on Earth we cannot do anything to just get away from this Injury Curse.We have not won a trophy for so and so years, but its not that we have not been competing for top honours. Arsenal have definitely suffered from all the boardroom politics, and have still been performing very well. With all that's going wrong at the top level management , we could've miserably finished outside the top 4 before a few years. Thanks to Arsene, we have still been in the top 4 , competing in the top competitions and unfortunate for missing out on them by a close margin. The sad part is that the fans dont even know where we could've ended but for Arsene Wenger.


Its not the time to boo your team when it is going through a tough phase, its not the time to fight among ourselves, its the time to make ourselves count, its the time to cheer for them and play the role of motivator, the role which the team played in our lives. Hats off to the Away Fans you make us proud, as for the home fans - now its your turn to make us proud and show your love. keep it classy people, cause when Arsenal wins, it wins with style.!

Come on you Gooners.!

WHY..?

January 3, 2012. What a journey this has been for Arsenal Football Club this season. From being low down in the table at the start, to fighting it out for the 4^th place now. One victory yesterday night against Fulham at Craven Cottage would’ve lifted us and may be given us a chance back in the title race just 6 points behind the leaders. That was the stature of the game played last night, and how does all this end after the final whistle.? Dejection, Frustration – every gooner running through different thoughts, trying to give his opinion, and not to forget the blame game.!

Most of you would agree that after the 1-0 defeat against Manchester City, you felt proud of the team, for their performance and spirit. Not the same after this game. But since that game against city I’ve been amazed by the consistency shown by the referees. Its not that it has happened all of a sudden. Witnessing all this for the last 4-5 years, and even before that but yesterday was the day I’ve run out of all my patience and calmness to this issue. Its just unbelievable to see how at the expense of a particular group of men’s decision making the course of history has to be something that is, and what could’ve been.

If at all the refereeing standards were above decent say 75% for all these years I don’t see us facing this long trophy drought, I certainly don’t see Manchester United winning trophies and Barcelona being such dominant force as they are. To err, is to human. I can accept the fact that mistakes do happen. But what boils me up is the impact that it makes. Managers have lost their jobs, Teams have been kicked out of competitions which is worth millions, trophies being won by teams who have unfair treatment given by the man with the whistle, millions and millions of people having mood swings (majority of which is negative) , all this and still no reaction by the concerned authority.!

It is a well known saying that when someone is patient, tolerating all the unfair treatment that is being directed towards him/her , not showing any anger or dissent and just waiting for the right thing to happen naturally – that person is treated more badly. There is a limit for everything. Unless some retaliation is shown, they will be tortured and are mistaken to be powerless.! The time to get some answers has come. I’m not talking about this just as an Arsenal supporter. It’s for the game that we all love so much.

Refereeing Consistency :

I’ll highlight a few incidents that I remember as well as I remember my name.

v 2004 – Manchester United vs Arsenal – award of a penalty to Rooney, who knows how long our unbeaten run would’ve lasted.

v March 2008 – Birmingham vs Arsenal – last minute penalty being awarded, again who knows how our that particular season would’ve ended, also the psychological impact that it left behind.

v April 2008 – Arsenal vs Liverpool in champions league – denial of a blatant penalty for pulling Alex Helb.

v 2009 – Chelsea vs Barcelona – several penalty decisions not given. 1 thing for certain is that Barcelona wouldn’t have won the champions league for sure.

v 2010 - The World Cup- England vs Germany – Lampard scores to equalize but referee missed it. Nobody knows how that game would’ve finished.

v The list seems short but trust me there are a few thousands more, but due to my limited memory power I cant remember them all.

I’ve attached a video about how much refereeing decisions cost Arsenal last year. This doesn’t have the Rooney elbow to a wigan player and a no-show from the FA.

Now to this season. It started with the same consistency levels displayed by the referee’s and the FA in previous years, I’m talking about the Grevinho-Barton incident in the very first game. We have been lucky once. Szczsney not being given red in the 3-5 win against Chelsea. But More recently 4 matches in a row we have been denied clear penalties. If u r an Arsenal supporter u r pretty angry by now that u could’ve got at least 9/12 points , now we r at 4/12 points from these games. What really killed my calmness was the false yellow card being given to Vermaelen in the game against QPR and not a single word spoken about it. It did not affect the game, but that’s the sort of silliness you don’t want to see. Referee’s blunders have just multiplied over the years. I am no expert to give ideas to solve this, but the people who can make a change are still quiet.! Why does a player/team/manager have to suffer for a mistake of the ref.? Why is the referee given so much protection from the media.? Why does the FA hide always? Why cant managers talk about the ref, if the ref is doing everything possible to ruin his team? Why cant a manage let out his anger on the ref’s bad decisions, when his neck is on the line? Why is there no change? Why does a team face so much criticism for something when its all happening because of the ref.?

“Respect the Ref “ campaign was started by the FA.. Well, I cant respect the ref because he is literally killing my faith in the game and in fair play.! The season is just entering into its exciting phase. A single refereeing decision could make or break any team’s season undeservedly. I’ve been hoping for good refereeing all these years, now I’ve lost that faith. I am pretty sure that even this season referees will ruin the season for a team – be it Champions League or Premier League.

I know a few readers will tell I’m blaming the ref for the drought, every defeat. Yes there are days when the team plays so bad that they just don’t deserve to win, but there are majority of days when a deserving team or even a tight game with no clear forerunner is decided by bad refereeing decision. All I want is the game to be decided by the god damn performance of the players on the pitch and not by the highly mistake prone man in black, wandering around the pitch with a whistle in his hand.

I wanted to write this blog just to let out my frustration and hope that somehow it is read by people who can make a real change to the consistent refereeing performance. Here’s someone hoping for a positive change so that my love for the game doesn’t die because of the consistently wonderful performance of the ref.!!