Morning all.
Ideas for writing about Arsenal are running out. Run out really during this international break. The past is probably best left where is otherwise we’ll cry one minute, laugh the next, or get frustrated knowing things might have been better had George Graham not made the choice he did, David Dein and the board hadn’t had a fallout, or had Arsene Wenger left earlier than he did. Or not switched from strong and powerful players to small and technical ones. Whatever your own thoughts are on how things have gone during your lifetime of supporting Arsenal can be added.
My years of supporting Arsenal began in 1971 and since then, the club has gone from great to ok, great to ok and then a period of utter disappointment. Probably very similar to many other clubs really but because we are The Arsenal, I think it’s fair to say that “many” of us expect better. We expect great teams to be built on, to be maintained at least, and certainly not to disappear all together.
But history tells us that football doesn’t go that way.
As a club we’ve gone from being the best in London, to the club which has been playing second fiddle to Chelsea and dare I say, Totts. St Totts Day, meaningless as it is, hasn’t been celebrated for a while but hey, we’ve won silverware whereas they’ve won zilch. As far as winning the Premier League goes though, neither club has been a real contender for a long time.
1989/90 was the last time Liverpool won the League before their most recent success in the 2019/20 season. That’s a thirty year period of hope, waiting and disappointment. A Champions League victory in 2004/05 was to be admired but as far as maintaining a constant during a Premier League season goes, close but no banana. Even the year after they really did slip up, handing the League to Chelsea (I think) Rogers was gone because they went downhill. It wasn’t until Klopp was appointed that stability, squad building and Premier League success returned. 32 years after their last League winning season.
Man Utd have struggled since Alex Ferguson retired just as they struggled before his appointment. Managers have come and gone, their debt is ridiculous and despite throwing money around, they’re no further forward than the day Fergie left.
Man City and Newcastle will no doubt continue to spend what they like to make them bigger, better and more successful but Chelsea on the hand, might find it more difficult, depending on what happens I guess. Personally, I think they’re about to find out what it’s like to be like ‘the rest’ in this tough League. Yes, there is a rest, a lot too.
Whilst it’s frustrating that Arsenal have taken such a long time to look anything like a club on the rise, which I kind of think it is, without vast amounts of money, Chelsea and Man City wouldn’t be where they are today and Newcastle would be down with Everton, flirting with relegation. Everton themselves have spent their own fair share of money on players and managers but it’s not got them very far. City and Chelsea were nothing before Roman.
It’s only now, after a full ownership takeover by Stan Kroenke and the appointment of different staff, including Edu and Mikel Arteta, are we seeing some kind of stability and building of a squad which in my opinion, that only began last summer. Why it didn’t begin sooner I don’t know but at least we’re there now. Building I mean and not by any means the finished product. There’s a way to go yet before we as a club “get there”, if we ever do. Great clubs never stop building though and if Arsenal want to be a great team again, Arsenal need to do the same. Keep the players who’re the heartbeat of all the good things the team does and add as good as, if not better, players to the group.
See you in the comments.
That’s the guy Obi, Emery really wanted him but the club (Raul) signed Torrieira.
He really wanted N’Zonzi as well so you was right as well Rico, in fact I’m not sure that Raul actually signed anyone who Emery recommended? Guendouzi perhaps?
Morning Kev, all.
I don’t think he did because imo, Emery wanted players he knew and trusted.
You’re probably right re Guendouzi, I forgot he was at PSG
There is no doubt that Roman turning up at Chelsea changed things forever . There was a natural ebb and flow to football as teams came up and went down , they had their moments and then it was someone elses turn .
I came into the football world with the background of Wolves being the number one club . Stan Cullis was manager and Billy Wright was their captain , it was their day and since that team broke up they have been in and out of the top division .
Chelsea changed all of that they set the example that instead of your local butcher running a club for their community you could buy your way to the top.
, The Arsenal was known as the bank of England club but that was because of the people we had on the board . The Hill Wood family , Eton educated with sporting connections , MP’s , Business people , Merchant Bankers in the true sense but the club was run on a business model it was not artificially funded.
Roman set the example there was money that needed laundering and soon moguls from all over realised that football was a great way of getting a clean bill of health. and it’s not just in England it’s all over Europe too.
Becoming dominant in football is a thing of the past unless you either have large amounts to throw at it or you engender a collective spirit where everyone is satisfied with their lot and play the game for fun whilst making their cash at the same time .
This I believe is what Arteta is aiming for and seems to be on the road to achieving it.
Excellent Potter.
One day, and I’m convinced that day will come, football will do a complete turnaround. Foreign ownership will be more scrutinised and the days of bottomless spending will decline. Either that, or the big spenders bugger off to a super league and leave the rest to compete with on a level playing field.
Agree re Arteta too and it’s a good way to go. If players are happy, the football will be better surely.
Great post Rico, what a great year 1971 was, it was the season after Arsenal had ended its longest trophy drought in the clubs history by winning the European Fairs Cup (UEFACup as it became). That period between winning the League Championship in 1953 and Fairs Cup in 1970 was known as the ‘great sleep’.
As for Championship droughts there have been two previous to one we’re currently in, 1953 to 1971 and 1971 to 1989, both lasting 18 long years. That second one I remember so well because in the middle of it I saw some absolute garbage served up by Arsenal teams but I was young and enthusiastic and dreamed of better days which duly arrived via Millwall and that’s why George Graham will always have a fond place in my heart because he made me proud of being an Arsenal fan again.
This current drought will hit the 18 year mark this May so by next season we’ll be breaking new ground, not exactly a ‘big sleep’ because of the 4 FACup successes we’ve enjoyed and that has taken the edge off but as far as the League is concerned we’ve been dozing since 2004.
I sensed a bit of George Graham in Arteta, I have from the start despite the ups and downs and during the time it’s taken for him to rid us of the time wasters and piss takers.
We can now see the difference when we look at Man Utd…
We’re so close, this squad reminds me of 1987, 1988, when a young Arsenal were on the cusp, our young fans are experiencing what most of us have enjoyed for the first time, you kinda know when it’s working, you can almost taste it. Bon appertit
Thanks Kev.
I loved that Cup Final is 71. Charlie had me hooked. As did George Graham really and like you, he’ll always hold a special place in my Arsenal heart.
What possessed him to manage the neighbours though I don’t know. Arsene brought great entertainment but Graham, after Mee, build discipline. In football terms I mean, not off the pitch. 😂
I was just looking back at the team of 71. A tough bunch back then. Lol
Not just Utd though Kev although they’ve really gone downhill since Fergie left but most of the other clubs haven’t grown to be anything special or consistent. I’m not using that as a justification for our own demise but at least it appears that the club have had a massive sort out and are trying to build something much better.
The first 18 months of Arteta and Edu made no sense to me at all and I wanted them both gone but I’m kind of warming to them now.
Good day all, news from the England camp:- Saka has returned to Arsenal after a positive Covid test, ESR is not taking part in squad training as he recovers from “illness”. Ramsdale never joined up with the squad which leaves only Ben White as the only fully fit member of the original four Arsenal players called up by Southgate.
If youir going to catch it , now is as good time as any when we don’t have a game for 10 days . The boy thinks of everything his timing is superb.
United had a great team in the mid nineteen fifties it was their time and they were destined to have probably a dominating era for a few years as that team progressed . However Munich changed all that , From a club that had had some success they suddenly became a national treasure following the tragic air crash.
To their credit they have built on it and have created a financial giant riding on the back of a wave of public sympathy .
I think that Liverpool have tried to do the same with their Hillsborough tragedy but the public is a little more cynical now and despite all of the hand wrining many remember Heysel and know how their fans stormed gates and caused mayhem at turnstiles over many years and in fact still are doing it.
Yes, perfect timing for Saka. Just hope it’s the mild version.
As other’s have said, It’s a shame to hear that Saka has covid and ESR is ill let’s hope it’s only mild for both of them. but on the positive side Saka, ESR and Ramsdale all get a small break. hopefully Ben White had s good run and doesn’t get injured.
Yes Rico, I can understand the doubts you and others had regarding Arteta, there have been times when I’ve wondered myself but I guess I just wanted and still want to see him succeed.
Getting shot of the deadwood and deadbeats has taken longer than I thought but maybe Covid slowed things down and he ha£ to make do?
I hope that KSE continue to source more funds for Edu this summer, even if it’s loans, because two more of the right types up front and in midfield and we’re going to have one hell of a good team.
I’ve wanted him to succeed Kev, just as I did Emery and Wenger but with Arteta, and the football/attitude on the pitch, I just couldn’t see things changing.
New post up now, kind of touches on what you’ve said.