With fans like these...

It's always hard to sort out the genuine, pessimistic Arsenal fans from the wind up merchants from other clubs because most of the time they're in total agreement.

Now I don't believe us fans aren't allowed to criticise our club, it is entirely our perogative but the vitriolic abuse that our players and manager receive baffles me. There seems to be no desire to get behind the team, no wish to look at the positives and in many cases a complete lack of any kind of grasp on reality.

Now I fear I may have lost some people by now who will have dismissed me as one of the 'Arsene Knows Brigade' as if there can only be two kinds of fan, those who blindly support Wenger and those who forcefully despise him. This is not the case. Wenger has made mistakes, every manager does, but in general I believe Wenger's mistakes are far outweighed by the good things he brings to this club.

"But what about the 6 years without a trophy?", you cry. Well what about it? 6 years isn't really that long. If we'd gone 6 years without challenging for a trophy then I'd be angrier but that's not the case.

In fact I'd go so far as to say the only reason you expect us to be winning more things is because of Arsene Wenger. What he did in the first few years at the club was remarkable and he hasn't been able to match that but he has raised our expectations massively. Under George Graham we were a good team, tough to beat and not a team you'd write off in any competitions but we were never favourites for anything. We were the underdog in most of our European games, we were a club who'd generally be towards the top of the table but if we weren't challenging for the title each year it was no great surprise. We were just happy to be out of the mid-table mediocrity that had beset us during the 70's. We were always a pretty big club rather than a massive club. A club with history and tradition but not on the level of the likes of Liverpool or Man Utd.

Wenger pushed us to aim to be at their level and for a few years we were, and more recently we've slumped. Perhaps Wenger should have splashed the cash more. But financially we've not been able to compete with the recent super-rich clubs and it's all very well saying £10m for Smalling wouldn't have broken the bank but if we'd put in a £10m bid for him who's to say Man Utd wouldn't have raised there's to £15m and we just can't afford to compete for every player in a bidding war. But Wenger still has sway, it was him who convinced Ramsey to join us rather than Man Utd. Very few other managers in the world have that sort of lure.

It's easy for us to shout about what we want to happen but are we so arrogant as to believe we really know better than Wenger about what's right for the club? Why didn't we buy Cahill and Schwarzer? Well is Schwarzer really so much better than the keepers we've got? And if he is why hasn't a bigger team than Fulham ever tried to sign him? And Cahill who would cost anything upwards of £15m really good enough to come straight in ahead of Koscielny and Djourou? And if he is would those players be willing to accept that they're 4th choice? I doubt it, which means we'd lose at least one of them and we'd be back to square one.

As I say there are areas that we need to strengthen. We need someone who can compete with Song as neither Diaby or Denilson are good enough in that position. I also personally think that if Wenger doesn't think Bartley or Miquel are ready for Premier League football yet then we need to bring in a decent young defender who'll be happy to be a back up but is ready to throw straight in to the big games.

Finally I'd like to point out the one thing people seem to be ignoring at the moment in order to spread their messages of doom. We're in a really good position in the league. We can be masters of our own destiny rather than rely on other results and we can win the league. We might not, but we can.

Wenger has once again put us in a position that our expectations have been raised and maybe we'll end up heartbroken but if you're not ready to have your hopes shattered then don't be a football fan. And remember compared to over 90% of clubs in this country we've got it really, really good. We are consistently one of the top four teams in the country. We've played and beaten Barcelona we've reached cup finals and we've fought for leagues. We play Champions League football every year. Most fans would give their right arm for even a fraction of what we class as a poor season. Arsenal in my eyes have always been a flawed diamond, and I like it that way.

I don't really go in for the pithy slogans that some fans use to describe their support but if you said I could have all Man Utd's success, I could have all Man City's money or I could have all Barcelona's skill my answer would always be the same.

I'd rather be watching Arsenal.

Adebayor or Hitler: Who is Wurst?

Originally posted on 606, re-posted here due to it's rather offensive content about chilis I presume)

Emmanual Adebayor and Adolf Hitler are very different people. One is the most evil man ever to walk the face of the planet, whose very existence has caused pain to millions of families across the world and is only counterbalanced by the ultimate force of good; Al from Die Hard whereas the other one is Hitler.

I'm joking of course. However if you had to say who you hated more right now who would it be?
Now let's look at the pros and the cons for them both:

Hitler - Pros
Vegetarian (which is a pro because it enables him to determine the strength of chilis just by the colour and size - very handy)
Banned Fox Hunting
Looks like Charlie Chaplin

Cons
Invaded Poland bringing about the most violent and destructive war of all time.

Adebayor - Pros
He's got a nice smile.
Scores goals.

Cons
Kicks people in the face.
Causes anger amongst opposition fans.
Greedy.
May or may not know his chillis.

So there you have it Hitler has less cons and more pros. This is as close as conclusive proof as your average 606er can cope with, without having some kind of embolism.

But the real choice is yours.

Who is worse or indeed wurst (which is German for worse, or possibly sausage, I'm not sure.)

Adebayor - Vote 5*
Hitler - Vote 1*

I would have to say the only way I could forgive Ade is if he came out the press and said "There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone and this old man is all that's left. I got to live with that."

But then Adebayor is no Morgan Freeman is he? He's barely even Denzil Washington.

A Rant and then a Little Ray of Hope...

Right, we lost. Not just that we were comprehensively beaten over two legs by a better team. So what now?

Firstly, I would like to point out that Ronaldo's performance last night, while undeniably good, was not something so extraordinary, so out of this world that no team could cope with it as the press seem to be making out. In fact to suggest so does Man Utd a huge disservice. They won because they played very well as a team. Ji-Sung Park, Fletcher, O'Shea all gave everything worked hard, knew their roles and supported their more illustrious team mates fantastically. The first goal was not made by Ronaldo it was made by the pass that released him, his cross was pretty much straight at Gibbs and on another night would have been cleared. His second goal was a great free kick but he is a taker of great free kicks rather than a great free kick taker. Once or twice a year he scores a screamer but the majority of his free kicks go straight down the keepers throat or miles over the bar as all his other efforts did last night. And the final goal was a wonderful break but given the situation of the game we had to leave our defence exposed and once again the goal was made by the ball to Rooney and then his perfect, and unselfish pass to Ronaldo.

This is not to take away from Ronaldo in any way he is clearly a great, great player. But last night showed that Man Utd are more than just one great player. They are a great team. And trust me I don't say that easily. Arsenal on the other hand were not a great team last night. We lacked creativity, more than any other Arsenal team since Wenger took over. Our problem used to be our profligacy now we don't even create the chances to miss.

So how do we bridge this gap? Well we already have to some extent. Andrey Arshavin is a creative player, a player that can change games, score goals and frighten defences. A bit like Ronaldo but without the sort of face you want to punch. With Arshavin in our side over the two legs it might have been slightly different. Maybe not enough to win the game but maybe enough to score in open play at least. We still need to add to our squad over the summer but we don't need wholesale changes.

I genuinely believe next year Arshavin, Nasri will give the support for Fabregas that we need. I think Song is developing into a top quality midfielder but we could do with some competition for the defensive midfielder spot which I don't think Diaby or Denilson will ever really provide. We need a better cover in central defence than Silvestre and we need a striker who will score goals week in week out. Hopefully a fully fit Eduardo will be able to do this.

The gulf between us and Man Utd is not as big as these games suggest. I'm sure we will be more consistent at the start of the season which will gives us the confidence to go on and do well next year, we aren't as naive as we were at the start of this year. Arshavin looks phenomenal and is experienced enough to know how to produce throughout the season and hopefully youngsters like Gibbs will come back stronger from this setback.

So we're out but I'm not down. I'd love us to have the success of Man Utd but if we don't it doesn't change a thing. Because Arsenal have always been, and will always be, by far the greatest team the world has ever seen.

In my eyes at least.

If Reality's So Good Why Don't You Go Live There?

If we look at the reality of our situation we'd have to admit we have an uphill battle to go through to the final of the champions league but sod reality let's just drift off into a fantasy world instead.

It was a fantasy in '89 that we'd be able to go to Anfield on the last day of the season and put two past Liverpool. It was an even bigger fantasy in the 89th minute that we'd still be able to nick a last minute goal to win the league. But somehow the fantasy came true.

And no one gave us a prayer in '94 against Parma but somehow Smudger pulled off a phenomenal volley to put us in fantasy land once again.

Then of course there was the '97/'98 season. We were dead and buried in the league, there was absolutely no way we could overturn Man Utd's lead but we put on a fantastic unbeaten run and in the end won it comfortably. Surely that couldn't have happened in real life could it?

And going the entire season unbeaten? Ludicrous! Never gonna happen. Except it did.

And surely a makeshift defence with Flamini at left back and Senderos in the middle could never get to a Champions League final? That's just cloud cuckoo land surely?

So don't panic Arsenal fans, we may be down but we're not out. We don't do things the 'real' way, we do things in a fantastical way, in a dreamworld way, in a we're-the-battling-underdog-not-got-a-hope-in-hell-Rocky-Balboa way, we do things The Arsenal Way.

What's that in Silvestre's pocket? Er...lint?

I'm not one to bash Arsenal players, I'll bash players from other teams, I'll bash other teams fans and occasionally I'll even bash the bishop, but in general Arsenal players are off limits until they've left the club and then they're fair game.

So here's hoping this is Silvestre's only season for us.

He isn't solely to blame for our defensive woes this season, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Gibbs, Fabianski and Sagna have all made mistakes which have lead to goals but every time Silvestre plays he scares the hell out of me.

Was he always this bad? Did he just look good in a great Man Utd team? Or has he lost his pace, positional sense or ability to tackle in his old age? Did he ever have these attributes in the first place? God knows.

I actually supported his signing, figuring he wouldn't play much and would give us some much needed experience in the changing room, but since he's been called upon I wonder what experience he brings. Gibbs was clearly jittery last night and not once did I see Silvestre go over and have a word or calm him down or even, god forbid, lead by example.

So he's not helping the youngsters and he's not doing the business on the pitch and sadly at the moment he's the only option we've got. Bring back Senderos, all is forgiven.

Either that or tell Bould to bring his boots for the next game.

Arsenal. We're all about the spitting.

"For their club captain Cesc Fabregas to spit at my assistant at the end of the game shows you what this club is all about."

The above is a quote from Phil 'the stain in my pants is a nice shade of' Brown. Regardless of whether the incident happened or not what the bleedin' flip is Phil 'brother of Charlie' Brown talking about? Why would one player, Captain or not, spitting at someone reflect the club as a whole? Last season was our club all about sitting on the half way line crying? When Henry was captain was our club all about looking vaguely pissed off every time we scored? Or when Tony Adams was captain was our team all about getting drunk out of their minds at every available opportunity? Well actually the answer to the last one is yes. But the points still valid. One man's actions do not tell you what a club is all about.

And if they did surely Wenger's actions would supercede the captain's? In which case Arsenal would presumably be about myopia. So is Phil 'I wish Whitney had married me instead of Bobby' Brown not the main focal point of his team? Do his actions not represent how he wants people to perceive his team? Is he in fact leaving the burden of that particular responsibility entirely on his club captians shoulders? And if so what kind of manager is he? A shit one, clearly.

Sod 'em then

Once again I have been banned from 606. My favourite part is that they give no explanation for it but they have sent an email saying my profile, only recently approved by the mods, was 'off-topic' this is a profile in which I stated I was Arsenal born and bred. This has led me to believe the BBC 606 boards are not a sports forum at all but instead are in fact a forum for the brainwashing of young minds.

I think the BBC believe if they can attract enough 16 year olds they will be able to mould them into non-offensive, humourless adults by the twin threats of pre-moderation and banning. In this way they can create the next generation of bland, safe broadcasters and the BBC will never have to go through the Brand/Ross debacle ever again.

The future is dull the future is beige.

Thanks for all the support but I'm afraid I can no longer be arsed with trying to get back on 606. I will probably keep scanning the boards (it beats doing real work) but I shall no longer be infesting the boards with my evil, subversive filth.

I will keep posting it here and on Dave's blog though. Incidentally did anyone notice that they said that both JJG and DP's comments were unacceptable? What did Dave ever do? Well apart from all the xenophobia, ignorance and condoning of violence masquerading as British grit? I always thought that was the BBC's core values.

And just to finish off this ill-focused rant: who exactly does necrophilia offend anyway? The dead? Well fuck them.