Heh, except at least we support our team, and don't boo the club just because we're going through a poor run of form with no full-backs and missing half your centre backs, the supposed most promising midfielder in the country injured, and unluckily the complete disappearance of Arshavin.
I was equally quick to tell Spurs fans that started talking about title challenges that they were idiots, and that Bale is an excellent left-winger, but Zidane (as he seems to think he is by playing wherever he wants) he is not! Oh, excellent at diving though, no Bobby Pires, but still mighty good
It's annoying, in that this year people thought we'd be out of it and had us down to finish 6th. Yet due to that fantastic run of form suddenly we were title contenders? To me there was always a blip coming, and it was how we recovered from it when it arrived. We were fortunate that Arsenal had so many injuries and issues, and that Chelsea seemed to implode, but as I kept saying, that wouldn't last, and at some point it would close back up again. Now I just hope we can keep it together until the end of the season, because if we don't finish top 4 it'll be the end of this Tottenham project. We'll lose the likes of Modric and Bale, possibly more, and without the Champs League won't be able to replace them without some incredibly good decisions on the sort of players that can become Modric, but equally can become Bilyaletidnov. Which, let's be honest, isn't likely to happen. Unfortunately, without a bigger stadium we also won't be making enough on gate receipts to cover the costs of rebuilding long term, and I only see a nigh on impossible task to maintain pace with the sides that will clearly strengthen whilst we can't. So, for me, this really is now a massive 8 games for Spurs, and the pressure on them far outreaches anything that pointless pundits like Hansen (guaranteed to predict whatever happens that week haha) or Pleat or time and time again, Shearer.
Oh, and you can't judge random football fans by the internet. I'm actually using my actual mates (seeing as I lived in North London for 20 years) for this analysis. Nearly every single one of them turned on Wenger, most of them are season ticket holders (which certainly explains the lack of noise!). This year despite me continually asking who would come in and do a better job I got nothing. Apparently one of them suggest Deschamps, at which point I had to leave before I pissed myself
Every week, every status was "Wenger out!" To which my response was to always post that whenever they won heh There were one or two good eggs, but those years of success, as you alluded to, brought a lot of terrible fans to Arsenal, although, let's not pretend your last stadium wasn't known as the Library for good reason.
Funnily enough what would be a combined XI? Why not.
Sczewhateverny
Walker, Kaboul, Vermaelan?, Gibbs?
Lennon, Parker (Wilshere if he'd played football in a year), Modric, VDV, Bale,
RVP.
I'd like to get Rosicky in there, because he's been awesome lately, but I think that's a fairly close looking side. Sagna and Walker are probably fairly interchangeable, but as it goes, I'd say both sides are pretty similar at the moment. I keep saying it, I like football, not geography.
So whilst Arsenal continue to be a club that try and play football the right way, run themselves financially the right way, give youth a chance, and don't rashly sack a manager who is pretty much the only reason everyone hasn't left, I have full respect for them and wish them every success. Just bugs me that the people that then get to enjoy that success seem to mostly be miserable buggers who think it's some kind of god-given right.
I guess a part of me sometimes hopes that Arsenal fans see the same thing, but so few of them do. I'd much rather both clubs finished above City and Chelsea, who are most definitely not doing anything to enrich the game of football other than by paying people ridiculous wages and skewing the entire system.
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Oh, and what the hell! At christmas I did assume that RVP would get injured at some point guaranteeing Spurs finishing above Arsenal, but what the hell??? The man's ridiculous
.
. Bit worrying how he was joint second top-scorer until Walcott's goal this weekend.
