Absolutely gobsmacked.

I write this amid the news that Andy Carroll is on the brink of moving to Liverpool for a transfer fee of £35m. This would make him the most expensive British player of all time, the 8th most expensive player in history (9th if you count Torres to Chelsea) and equal to the sum Venky’s paid for Blackburn – one whole Football club.

Now, there are mitigating circumstances. Liverpool are due to be flush with the thick end of £50m they are no doubt going to receive from Chelsea in exchange for Fernando Torres. Andy Carroll is young, English and it’s January. Also, Newcastle’s attacking strategy is based on Joey Barton’s delivery to the head of Carroll so his value to Newcastle is significant. All these things inflate the transfer fee. I accept all these factors. What I don’t understand is why Liverpool felt compelled to go along with it. They could have assessed these factors and thought “We may want a striker and we may want to make a statement but this is too much”.

They have just signed Suarez from Ajax and in doing so have replaced Torres. They could do with another forward but not so desperately that they need to break the bank for a player who has performed for half a season in the Premiership AND is currently injured. Also, there are clearly other options. Names like Benzema who is out of favour at Madrid or Suarez’s Uruguayan partner Diego Forlan could both realistically be dislodged for significantly less than it’s costing to get Andy Carroll to Merseyside. Presumably, to get the best out of Andy Carroll Liverpool will need to consider playing a lot of long balls towards him. If my club were to spend £35m on a striker I’d want someone who offered more than a long ball outlet. I don’t want to entirely disparage Carroll; he may turn out to be a good player. It is however unlikely, by common reckoning, that he will become a player befitting a record breaking transfer fee.

If you were undecided on whether Football had gone mad, surely this is the proof that it is finally gone certifiably mental!

Why the transfer market does not hold all the answers.

Ahead of the transfer window – my least favourite time of the year – I’d just like to get my thoughts down so that they are off my chest and therefore liberate me from the need to bite back at those who demand that our manager spends money.

Looking around the internet, specifically at Football sites, you’d be forgiven for thinking that anyone with an internet connection seems inclined to believe that Arsenal are only missing out on being Champions by Christmas because Arsene Wenger has failed to sign millions of pounds worth of players. The argument from those who would have you believe that Wenger has failed and that new signings are all that can save us runs roughly as follows.

Arsenal haven’t won anything for 5 seasons (some actually say 6 years, despite no trophies we could have won actually having been handed out yet) but have moved into a shiny new stadium. The sum of this, according to many Arsenal fans and amateur economists, is that we are now sitting on a massive pot of money. The players Wenger was obliged to develop due to the move are generally failures therefore, we must dip into our massive stash and buy ready made leaders. Simple really.

This logic is flawed on a number of levels. Firstly, none of us can say just how much money Arsenal have actually got. Although the new stadium is profitable and we have benefited from a fair few off field ventures, that doesn’t all of a sudden give us a City-style bottomless pit to delve into. We are financially secure, not necessarily rolling in it. In these times of austerity, security is a wonderful state to be in; it does not however afford you the luxury to throw money around. Keeping money aside and not over stretching ourselves is the key to our future.

Secondly, the logic that we need to invest in new players pre-supposes that the players we have aren’t good enough or that the players Wenger has worked on aren’t good enough. I would, in general, disagree with this. Manuel Almunia seems to now have been relieved of his place in our side, justifiably so. We now have Lukasz Fabianski in the Number 1 slot with confident deputy Wojiech Szczesny snapping at his heels. It seems to me that Fabianski has been more than competent since his introduction this term but is still suffering unfairly from the furore caused in the last transfer window. In the summer it was generally accepted that Wenger was after Schwarzer and Arsenal fans en masse therefore consigned all our keepers to history. Fabianski has bounced back and should be praised for having done so.

It is also often said that we need new Defenders. Whilst Koscielny and Squillaci have looked like they have room for improvement I have to say I think they are showing signs of being good quality Defenders. Age wise, Koscielny has room to improve, Squillaci less so. Squillaci for me has bought a cool head and can be blamed for relatively few mistakes this season. Add to that the impressive return of Johan Djourou and things don’t look that bad. Without our best Defender, Thomas Vermaelen, we sit second in the league with the 5th best Defence. This is another of my pet hates from this season; the idea that our Defence is somehow entirely calamitous. Ok, there is room for improvement, we have given away silly goals and lost silly games, but the risky attacking nature of our play will always make us vulnerable. All things considered we’re not doing too badly.

Going forward, we have scored the second most goals in the league, without Van Persie and Cesc for large parts. Regardless of what you think of Nicklas Bendtner, it’s hard to criticise him too much this season when he hasn’t been able to get a game.

Next up, some might argue that it isn’t necessarily actual technical ability or physical numbers we need, more that we need a couple of characters; a leader to take over from Adams or Vieira. I hardly need to reiterate that these 2 are certainties for Arsenal’s greatest ever team. Just where do you go to replace 2 of the greatest players ever to play in this country, let alone for our team? It is in fact a huge insult to suggest that players like this can just be bought. The winning mentality is not something you buy, it is forged in battle. There is no guarantee that if you bring in a player with a track record of winning things that he will transmit that to the other players in a squad who, in all honestly, have exactly the opposite experience. What is needed rather than a mythical leader is a togetherness that leads to positive results. Winnings breeds winning. Whilst I’m not hyper-ventilating at the possibility of wining the Carling Cup, I do believe that it could be a valuable spring board if we are still in a good position in other competitions come late February.

In practical terms, it is also difficult to just go out, find the right player and sign him. Given our first rate qualification record to the latter stages of the Champions League and consistent spot in the upper echelons of The Premier League, there are very few clubs in the World that are more successful than us. Yes there are some but not many. The chances are that if there is a player who would drive us on that extra mile he probably already plays for one of the biggest clubs on the planet and is therefore not available. Maybe we need Lucio, Puyol, Terry, Essien, Gerrard but seriously, what are the chances of getting them? Correct, Zero. As a result, in order to find players who would actually make us demonstrably better, we are fishing in a very small pool. There is little to no chance of us finding a player that a richer club doesn’t also want. We are left in the position we have been in for years, a position that Chelsea and United are also coming round to. That is buying affordably and developing the player. What other choice do we have? Until someone can name me a so called leader who would change the shape of our squad through sheer force of personality and then explain convincingly how we could get him to leave one of Europe’s great clubs or indeed turn down a club offering more money than we can afford, I will reserve the right to be sceptical about further signings.

Of course, as Wenger always says, a top side should always have an eye out for a great player and be prepared to sign them should they appear. I am surer Wenger is doing this; I’m also sure that real talent is relatively thin on the ground. Whilst I’m as angry as anyone when we lose a game or drop out of a competition, I do try to see things fairly. We as fans need to wise up and realise that a cheque book is not a miracle cure. You only have to look at Manchester City to realise that.

Happy Christmas & Keep The Faith x

Time to move on …

http://arsenalarsenal.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/time-to-move-on/

The case for the Defence.

It emerged on Monday that Thomas Vermaelen is ruled out of action until the New Year. Protracted lay offs and unexplained injury woes are not news to Arsenal fans however, this took on added significance as the Defence has been an obvious weakness this term. Many have suggested that Vermaelen’s return will go a long way to strengthening a Central Defence which, put diplomatically, can be vulnerable. Whilst I think an Arsenal side with Vermaelen in it is better than one without, I fear that his return, whenever that turns out to be, isn’t the vital missing ingredient that it might be interpreted as.

For several seasons, since the gradual losses of Sol Campbell, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Tony Adams, Martin Keown etc it has been lamented that Arsenal do not have a hard man who leads the troops through times of adversity. Then, last year, Arsene Wenger unveiled Thomas Vermaelen. A Central Defender with a propensity for deadly finishing in the box. TV5 immediately became a fan favourite. Commanding displays in his early games against Everton and Celtic gave us reason to believe we had the missing piece of our jigsaw. Whilst Vermaelen was an undoubted up in a season of ups and downs, I think it might be a bit much to tag him as our missing leader.

It must be remembered that last season we lost home and away to Chelsea and Manchester United, Away to City, Sunderland and, more understandably, Barcelona. All of these defeats were suffered with Vermaelen in the side. Whilst I don’t think it’s appropriate to blame the Belgian for a single one of those losses it’s equally unfair to lay any of this seasons misdemeanours squarely at the feet of any of the Central Defenders who’ve stood in for him. At times over the last year, all of the Defenders who’ve pulled on a red shirt, except maybe Mikael Silvestre, have put in excellent individual displays. It would be unnecessarily blinkered to argue that William Gallas wasn’t a consistently good performer last season or that Squillaci or Koscielny have been altogether disappointing this.

The overwhelming factor in our defensive frailty is the way we like to take the game to our opponents. We simply are not set up to sit back and defend. It is the manager’s preference to take calculated risks, leaving holes in defence, to try to overwhelm the opponent. Wenger himself has been clear in the days since our stuttering victory over Fulham that he believes this is necessary in order to assert our adventurous style on our opponents.

“Risk is part of the game – you have to accept that. I am a fan of that – I have a philosophy based on risk and I know it is part of the game. Nine times out of 10 you win, one time out of 10 you lose.”

Our defensive issues seem therefore to be an issue of tactics and not of poor quality personnel. Every time Arsenal fail to impress it is always attributed to a lack of heart or a lack of physical presence. These criticisms seem to me to be a bit tired and equally wide of the mark. I maintain that goals that have come from major defensive mishaps are few this season, as they were last season. Vermaelen, Koscielny, Squillaci or Djourrou, there is barely a defender in the game who could stand up admirably, time after time, to being exposed the way our defenders are. Criticising individual defenders for not being good enough is, in my opinion, lazy and inaccurate. As Andrei Arshavin remarked yesterday, defending is the team’s responsibility and therefore every player has a role to play. It was interesting to also hear Arshavin as good as admit that he, and perhaps other forward players, don’t take their defensive duties as seriously as they might.

The question should be whether Wenger is justified in adopting these tactics. Should he encourage our full backs to stay at home a bit more? Bearing in mind that it is their overlapping runs that create so many of our chances. Should Wenger stifle Alex Song and resign him to the one dimensional role of Defensive Midfielder? Alex Song is too athletic and ambitious to be held back. Whilst he does give the ball away in the attacking third more than we’d like, he is a valuable asset when trying to impose ourselves on opponents and press them high up the pitch.

Wenger’s philosophy has always been to attack. If Plan A doesn’t work, Plan B is to try Plan A again, only do it better this time. I for one am probably blindly loyal to Wenger but I don’t want to see traditional conservative full backs or the ubiquitous one dimensional, side ways passing, destructive midfielder in front of a back four. Of course, there are times when caution is advisable. We were cautious away to City and for large parts at Chelsea. I dare say we will be again at United but, when at home, I’d rather we set about pressurising teams like Fulham and taking risks that see us win games. If we were more cautious against Mark Hughes’s side, we’d have likely got a draw which would have been little use to us. We didn’t play at our best in general. Our passing was generally poor and ghosts of previous week’s inhibited us. These were the reasons for looking shaky, not a simple lack of quality at the back.

Supporting Arsenal has never been easy but rather than complaining that our Defenders are poor and that Vermaelen’s steel will solve the problem, I say we understand the style that we use at home and accept that we will have many more bumpy rides this season, regardless of who plays at the back. It’s the only way we know.

Time will tell…

Yet another crazy weekend in the Premiership. No surprises that the most unhinged behaviour came at The Emirates. Throwing away a 2-0 lead at home to anyone is painful but when it’s against your closest neighbours, it takes on a whole new level of despair. The free flowing, confident Football with which we started the game made way for nervousness that bore a painful inevitability when Bale scored at the start of the second half. This Arsenal performance and subsequent result displays in microcosm that conclusions are drawn all too quickly in the modern game.

At half time fans, who had turned up skin pale with nerves, were bouncing around without a care in the world. Many Gooners were already bragging, singing and goading the opponent. Personally, whilst I always have confidence in our own ability, knew that Tottenham were perhaps the last team we should be complacent against. We’d been here before. 4-2 up in the 89th minute – 4-4. Earlier in the season Tottenham had been cruelly exposed by Inter. 4-0 at half time they fought back to 4-3. They also just missed a comeback at Bolton a couple of weeks ago. Tottenham under Redknapp have a reckless, carefree attitude that comes from having been second best for 17 years and more. Battered by Arsenal and Inter they were not deterred. Without wishing to take anything away from Spurs, it’s almost as if they can’t quite believe they are in the Champions League and that they now pose a serious threat to the hegemony of the top 4. They have grown used to disappointment and know that defeat in big games wouldn’t be a surprise so they play without a fear of losing that escapes their more established opponents. Sadly, we didn’t reassert our authority and paid the ultimate price.

Our latest capitulation comes off the back of 2 resolute victories in the type of games we dread in November. After losing to Newcastle and bemoaning Arsenal’s typical problems, we got back on track. Arsenal fans and pundits alike boldly claimed that this was a new Arsenal. We’d learnt our lesson and we now had more heart and spirit. Come half past 2 on Saturday and the opinions had been reversed again. Arsenal are mentally weak, we need to sign 2 or 3 proven match winners, we need to sack the manager.

This ultimately brings me to my point. We as a club and a set of fans must realise that titles are not given out after 2 or 3 wins, nor are they withheld after a ridiculous defeat. Whilst Wenger rightly defends his players or explains his disbelief at Saturday’s horror show, I believe that the most damaging thing is to claim we have a strong mentality or a new found belief after 2 results. I strongly believe we will bounce back from this but, if we do, if we win away to Villa, we must avoid saying that we’ve bounced back. We should repeat the mantra that one result counts for nothing if it isn’t backed up by several more. All talk of winning trophies should be strictly off the agenda until we reach a final or at least enter the home straight still in the Premiership race. We must not pat ourselves on the back for winning games we should win if we want to win the title. The only time we can look back with satisfaction is when we’ve finally won something. It’s the position at the end of the season that counts, not now.

I have never felt as dejected as I did on Saturday but, after the other results came in and after I’d watched Match of The Day I realised that this could have been worse. Yes it was the same old problem and yes it was against them but we are still only 2 points from the top with plenty of games left. Our closest title rivals, despite what Redknapp says, are Chelsea and United and neither look as dominant as they once did. I stand by what I said last week. This is the best chance to win the league that we are ever likely to get. The time has come to stop talking and speculating and to focus on that prize. We can draw conclusions in May.

Arsenal presented with golden opportunity.

A week after a demoralising home defeat by Newcastle victory against Everton topped off an encouraging week for Arsenal, adding to the gritty 2-0 win at Molineux in midweek. Those results saw Arsenal climb above a Manchester United side who, although unbeaten, have impressed no one. Arsenal’s growing sense of confidence will no doubt have been enhanced by yet another unpredictable Premiership result, this time at Stamford Bridge. Sunderland’s 3-0 destruction of the Champions was not a fluke result; it was the just reward for a bold performance against a side who are revealing themselves to be nowhere near as dominant as we’d been invited to believe in the opening weeks.

That said, Chelsea are still a potentially formidable opponent. When Terry and Alex are together, with Essien partnered in midfield by a fully fit Lampard, topped of by the incomparable Didier Drogba, it is still likely that whoever finishes above them will be crowned Champions. The problem is that those players are showing the signs of age and of the physical pressure heaped on the core of a relatively thin squad. Chelsea were without 2, albeit exceptional, Central Defenders on Sunday and had to redeploy their right back and 3rd choice right back to fill in the gaps. Add this to the question marks which hung over Chelsea’s midfield after defeat away to Liverpool. Shorn of Lampard, and Essien they looked vulnerable and off the pace. The midfield trio who have now lost 2 successive games together incidentally came with a combined transfer fee of over £50m (Zhirkov £18m, Ramires £18m, Obi-Mikel £16m). This says, quite clearly, that Chelsea may be Champions again if they keep their key players fit but recent years of over investment in players who cannot carry the burden left by the established names may still be a deciding factor. Carlo Ancellotti blamed the defeat on a lack of fighting spirit. This seems disingenuous. To question spirit is something that people do when they are either oblivious to or trying to hide deeper concerns. It must be a huge worry for the Chelsea boss to think that 4 injuries results in a bench which only contains one genuine threat to the first team. As good as Bruma, Kakuta and McEachran may eventually prove to be, they are the type of kids that Alan Hansen spoke of not being able to win anything with.

So, if Chelsea have issues to address, what of Manchester United? We all know they will be there or thereabouts. The fact that they’ve barely played well this season and are still unbeaten may provide cause for concern amongst their opponents. On the other hand, you could argue that, apart from a 0-0 draw against City, they have yet to play anyone of real consequence in the Premiership and that the unbeaten streak will be blemished sooner rather than later. Wayne Rooney is either unfit or unhappy. Perhaps even both. Dimitar Berbatov, although occasionally sublime, is slipping back into the lethargy that saw him criticised in previous seasons. The likes of Ferdinand, Neville, Giggs and Scholes are good enough to beat anyone but, like Chelsea, will they be around to dictate games every week? United are, as ever, built on a set of players who work hard for each other and as a result will always be a threat however, if their backline continues to creak as it did at Villa Park, and if the likes of Hernandez and Nani can’t consistently take over the mantle left behind by Ronaldo and the Wayne Rooney of last season, we may finally be seeing the most vulnerable United side in years.

Perhaps this is a genuine chance for a reshuffle of the Premiership elite. The likes of City and Tottenham will look at the uncertainty at the top of the league and think that if they can only get some consistency, a genuine, sustained push into the upper echelons is up for grabs. This may be true but as long as City are overwhelmed by their managers conservatism and as long as Tottenham suffer the hangover of over indulgence on midweek glamour ties, the top 3 may well be preserved for another season.

You know where I’m going with this. In my view, Arsenal have the best squad in the league. Whilst the strongest Chelsea and United XI’s probably come down to a debate around 1 or 2 players, the Arsenal side would be far harder to choose if everyone was finally fit. It was mildly amusing to hear a Chelsea fan moan on Sunday night that they’d been stripped of their spine for the Sunderland game, conveniently over looking Peter Cech and the 3 strikers who were demolishing opponents just a few weeks ago. Arsenal are second, 2 points behind the Champions and without our main striker, our main Central Defender and have been without our Captain for significant chunks. The realisation is that the hard times, in which boys were cruelly exposed in a mans world, are now paying dividends. We have a genuinely strong squad that can win games, even when there are significant gaps in the recognised first team.

Perhaps the key to finally making good on the squads promise is to take the results of the last week as a foundation rather than as an achievement in themselves. Finally we have some proof that we do have the grit and determination to win games when our back is against the wall but that will ultimately count for nothing if we think the hard work has been done. We are realistically only one bad result from all the old concerns rising back to the surface. Arsenal must now realise that they have forced their way back into the title race but no more. Arsenal will lose again this season and players will make mistakes, all we can do is remember that this side do have the spirit and the talent to win the games we previously thought we couldn’t and that our opponents are not as powerful as we once thought. This is a great chance for Arsenal but it’s only the beginning.

Keep The Faith.

Arsenal must rediscover creative spark

Another November and another couple of defeats for Arsenal. You could also say, another set of enthusiastic under-dogs and another defeat for Arsenal. It also appears that some sections of the Arsenal support would also add “another physical opponent, another defeat for Arsenal” to that list of clichés. The temptation, whenever Arsenal get a bad result, is to fall back on the idea that we are too small, not strong enough, not committed enough. Yesterdays performance in particular had very little to do with a deficiency in size or strength.

Andy Carroll scored the only goal of the game with a committed and well timed leap however, if you look at the replay, it’s clear to see that Fabianski makes the decision to come and meet the ball but does so too quickly. He’s already arrived under the ball when he has to jump making it all the more difficult to compete with the onrushing striker. This isn’t something a towering centre half would have been able to deal with. It was a straight duel between Fabianski and Carroll which the Pole lost out on. You could argue that we should have had a defender drop onto the goal line to anticipate Fabianski not winning the punch but even so, this isn’t a question of size or strength but one of experience and focus.

At a goal down we came out well at the beginning of the second half, pressure built for the first 5 or 10 minutes and culminated in Theo Walcott hitting the cross bar. After that though, you would be hard pushed to come up with another spell of possession or pressure that would support the idea we deserved anything more than a defeat from this game. This was not to do with the fact that we couldn’t compete to win the ball but about our inability to use it when we had it. In the last 20 minutes in particular we seemed to resort to playing a series of long balls, most of which were off target. This would have been more easily justified had Chamakh been on the pitch but he wasn’t. It may also have been a reasonable tactic had we had Nasri and a fully fit Fabregas buzzing around feeding off the second balls however, by that time Nasri had been replaced and Cesc had shown himself to be far less than 100% fit. Fabregas was disappointing but it does beg the question, with a strong squad and bench, why Wenger felt the need to play our captain who was unfit or mentally below par. We had enough players fit to be able to win this game without him.

We didn’t lose yesterday because we weren’t up to a physical challenge. Squillaci in particular dealt well with Ameobi and Carroll more than competently. The fact that Newcastle scored from 1 of their 2 attempts on target shows that our Central Defenders dealt with the physical threat quite well. We weren’t over run in midfield by physically commanding players. Wilshere dug in and Song didn’t hide either. The problem we had was not being able to get ourselves up for a real test, shortly after defeat in Ukraine. We were always going to have to work hard with the ball to break Newcastle down, even more so after they took the lead. This asks more questions of our mental ability to remain patient and the technical ability to pick apart a resolute rear guard action. It’s fair to say we’ve struggled to do that this season. We lost to West Brom and scraped past Birmingham and West Ham. Only a naïve Blackpool side have rolled over.

Fortunately Chelsea lost which means we’re back to where we started, albeit now behind United. Arsenal, and perhaps most importantly Wenger, are now faced with delivering rapid improvement. Arsenal fans had been encouraged by a positive away result against Manchester City but results like this set the cause back further than the good results progress it. The challenge is now to see if the players can get themselves up for those bread and butter games that win you titles and to prove that they are ready to put in as much effort and invention week in week out. What better, or more challenging place to start than Molineux on Wednesday.

We were not physically weak nor were we comprehensively out played. We were complacent and jaded and bereft of the essential focus to win a game of this nature. The problem is that Championship winning sides are none of those things and we must immediately prove we have the resources to at least avoid defeat when things aren’t going well for us. The second half showed that if our passing is off, we aren’t set up to easily switch to a more direct game. Wenger must now see if he can reinvigorate a bunch of players who clearly have the talent to play top class attacking but most importantly he must inspire them to do so for the rest of the season, not just for a couple of good performances which represent another false dawn for this team. Just as we Arsenal fans must not react with utter despondency at another bad result we must also not react too hysterically to a couple of good results which, in reality, are only what should be expected of a side who should justifiably be aiming for the title.

Efficient Arsenal see off City.

Last week I wrote about a need for patience among fans and players alike. We have a wonderfully talented bunch of players which leads to some fans getting frustrated if we haven’t rolled over the opponents within the first 20 minutes. Sunday was a good example of the virtues of patience. City had Boyata rightfully sent off for a desperate lunge across Chamakh. This meant City were down to 10 with 85 minutes left on the clock. Arsenal were strong favourites to secure the victory but, it was always unlikely to be settled before half time. The Sky commentary team seemed surprised that City found an extra yard to cover the space and still offer a threat in attack. Credit to them for this but credit also to Arsenal who worked the ball well, waited for fatigue and mistakes to set in and clinically killed the game in the last half an hour. City are a good side built on hard working players. Even with 10 men it is no surprise that they proved to be resolute and committed.

Arsenal deserve great credit for not getting frustrated, for showing strength and determination of their own and keeping their collective head when the game got fractious in the first half. The midfield 3 stood up to a tough test and gave just enough back to avoid accusations of dirty tactics but also let their opponents know they couldn’t be bullied and wouldn’t react to provocation.

Finally, Mancini’s assertion that they would have won had they kept 11 men is a pointless claim and one that lacks substance. In the 4 and a half minutes it took to see Boyate dismissed, City had already been split wide open twice. The first instance saw Arshavin wrongfully flagged offside and the other saw Chamakh chopped down when through on goal. Our intricate passing later led to an indisputable penalty. It’s worth noting that City were down to 10 for a good reason, namely that they were already struggling to cope with Arsenal’s superior movement and passing. From the moment Boyate leapt in the game had change beyond measure however; it was Arsenals quality that was the catalyst for the panic in City’s defence so Mancini should perhaps focus on this deficit of quality rather than making hypothetical assumptions which do not bear scrutiny.

Loyalty, ambition & money.

In the wake of Wayne Rooney’s statement in which he iterated his desire to exit Old Trafford, Stan Collymore began an interesting philosophical debate via Twitter and TalkSport. In essence Collymore challenged fans who called Rooney a mercenary and asked them to think about this little conundrum.

@CallCollymore) – 20/10/2010 18:51
A question for you all and be honest,really honest.If i paid you last weeks lottery win to change who you support,would you?

Collymore’s argument in essence was that we live in a money driven society and everyone has their price. It is on some level at least, an impossible comparison to make, as Collymore himself admitted it’s not an issue that a fan has ever or will ever be faced with however, if we take the odd leap of faith it does raise a few theoretical issues.

Firstly, the main point that this question raises is that Football fans are fundamentally different creatures to Football players, at least at the top level. Most Football fans, the ones who go to games, support their club until the end. They may have different ways of showing it, some boo and some stay at games until the end even though they are 4-0 down. The one thing in common is that you never, ever, switch the club you support. You are, by some extent driven by an unspoken bond with your shared community. To switch clubs shows a weakness for which you would be berated forever by your mates. To make the change would be to accept an indelible smear on your character, all for the sake of fleeting reflected glory on a Saturday afternoon. The glory that you revel in when your team does well is not personal but rather a feeling of reward and pride for having stuck it out when times were hard, it ultimately says nothing about you and your effort directly.

This is where the distinction between player and fan is most evident. Players can leave clubs and have a direct influence on the fortunes of their new employers. Players have a legacy, a trophy cabinet and a bank balance to think of. Fans just have bragging rights and crushing disappointment. Apart from singing your heart out for 90 minutes, or demanding the manager’s head, there is only so much a fan can do. From the moment you realise you have talent as a youngster you are encouraged to trial with any club who will have you. No one would expect the 14 year old Arsenal fan to turn down a trial with Tottenham (speaking from experience I jumped at the chance to trial at Tottenham. Fortunately I wasn’t good enough to make the cut). From that moment you get your first contract you are looking to improve, to develop as a player. The higher up the chain you go, the more chances for different types of enhancement there are. You begin to hear about higher wages at other clubs, see players who aren’t as good as you with more medals, you must begin to think about switching around to maximise your ability. Football is not like it was in the old days. People travel all over the country, the continent, the World to seek fame and fortune as a Footballer; they rarely stay at their home town club anymore.

In many ways it is a shame, there is something romantic about cheering on a bunch of home grown lads who grew up a stones throw from the ground but, in the modern world, where talent is at a premium the net is cast further afield and players are bought in from all corners of the globe. Most players do not get the chance to forge a life long bond with a club. That bond requires longevity and the experience of dazzling highs and depressing lows. Players are traded and ask for moves when things aren’t going right for them or the club, they very rarely get to spend enough time at a club to really feel the intensity that fans do.

Whilst I wrote this blog with the intention of defending fans and criticising mercenary players, over the course of typing it out, I’ve started to see a different angle. Football is a changing sport that doesn’t reflect the romanticised view we once had. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t excuse Rooney for his fickle “Once a Blue always a Blue”, United badge kissing mentality but it does try to understand it. I still think the likes of Rooney and Ashley Cole in particular are terrible examples to young kids. You may be able to earn more or seek more trophies elsewhere but, when you’re earning astronomincal wages at a top club anyway, it’s a bit rich to want a few more pieces of silver and more ambition. Seriously, more ambition from one of the Worlds biggest clubs? That is frankly the most ludicrous excuse for wanting to leave a club I’ve ever heard. Perhaps even worse than when Robbie Savage moved to a club “to be closer to his family” and ended up further away from them than he was before.

There no longer seems to be much value attributed to knuckling down and dragging your club through the bad times. All the money and medals in the world wouldn’t make up for the pride you would feel at having achieved something, perhaps against the odds, at a club you cared about, surrounded by fans who felt you were a living legend. I would suggest that the Championship medals Thierry Henry won at Arsenal will mean more to him than the ones he won at Barcelona, because those medals were won off the back of his ability. Without him we wouldn’t have won them. Without him, Barca would have found someone else to fill his role and still won trophies. The same goes for Steven Gerrard. When he inevitably looks back on having never won the Premier League he might think he could have switched to Chelsea and ridden the wave to a few league titles. Then again, he might catch a glimpse of his Champions League medal and feel pride that that medal was his work. A true sporting endeavour.

In conclusion, it’s understandable that Footballers leave clubs and seek more money and more trophies but it’s not always justifiable. Football is still a sport and just because there is more money in it than ever before doesn’t mean you have to sell out, you can still play with some heart and integrity and earn riches beyond your wildest dreams. Top Footballers can have it all, it’s just that some want even more than that.

Finally, in response to Stan’s little poser, my answer is a categorical no. My girlfriend might ask me to reconsider but no. Not a chance. I support Arsenal and always will. For better or worse, I simply don’t have a choice.

http://www.football365.com/mailbox/story/0,17033,8744_6456642,00.html

This Chap Sitting Behind Me…
I just wanted to get this off my chest, apropos of nothing in particular.

Last night at Arsenal I was sat in front of easily the most irritating person I’ve ever encountered at Football. He felt the need to talk 11 highly paid professional Footballers through every second of the 90+ minutes.

His core phrases were as follows;

Every time a player received the ball he would shout “Time” even if they received the ball in a congested area.

If an opponent had the ball he would implore our player to “crunch him”.

On the rare occasions our players misplaced passes he’d shout “And win it back then”.

As the ball was played into a forward with his back to goal he’d shout “And turn”.

As our players advanced into any area within 50 yards of the goal he’d demand they “bang it”.

The final phrase also led his mate to reason that “He should be able to bang it from there, he gets paid enough”. The ‘he’ in question was Denilson who was in fact just inside his opponents half.

It’s these insights that Arsene Wenger needs to seriously consider introducing into his next training session.
Ben Smith – North Bank