UNTOLD ARSENAL

Funny old game.  At half time it was Bristol 1 Arsenal 0.  Or if you were watching the other one it was the Russians 1 Arsenal 0.

Given that Arsenal had won every single game this season, and last season the score at Bristol, where I was, was a bit of a shock.

You know those games where Arsenal attack, attack, attack, attack, and then the opposition get a couple of breakaways, and score in one of those; well it was that.  The Ladies mimic the Men.

Fortunately the ladies game kicked off at 2pm, so I was able to get to the pub for the men’s game, and having seen a fine recovery in the game I went to, I was prepared for what happened.

At Bristol, Arsenal made a change at half time (which I spent queuing for a hot chocolate, only to find out that they had sold out just as I got to the front of the queue).   And then it all turned around.  3 great goals, followed by a funny own goal, and Arsenal Ladies maintain the 100% record and saunter off 4-1.   Watching the bench after Bristol took the lead, no one seemed worried.  It was as if they knew what came next.

So, then into the pub to watch the men repeat the same trick, although the men only managed two in beating the Russians.

Probably we won’t hear too much in the next day or two about stubborn Wenger, and how he (very strangely) refuses to take the advice of all the knowledgeable bloggers and instead insists on going his own way, not buying defensive midfielders, not doing the same as the clubs higher up the league, and in fact not doing much at all except what he believes in.

Of course the win against the Russians was one game, and the only thing that is really proven at the moment is that all the bloggers who said that we would slip into mid-table mediocrity as soon as we started playing the other top clubs, were wrong.   “If we lose to Hull and Fulham,” they cried, “just think what Manchester Bankrupts and the Russian mob will do to us.”

Not too much as it turned out.   “Chelsea never concede a goal in the second half,” said Radio 5 at half time.  Ah well.  Sky weren’t much better in their pontificating.

There’s no denying the season has had its disappointments - none more so than the game against Aston Anti-Football, but today was a highlight, a real up-turn, and let’s enjoy it.

I would say that this team really is on the move, and although we have seen, and may well see again, some disastrous performances, this is getting exciting.   What’s more it can get better because of the players who are currently out, and the players who are maturing.   Of almost the entire team we can say for sure that they will certainly be better next year than they are this year.

And maybe we should have a moment to say a special word to those who said we should be out buying centre forwards because van Persie would never be able to play more than one or two games at a time.  I can’t think what the special word might be, but I know there is one.  Maybe its Eduardo.  On the bench on Tuesday?  Wouldn’t that be fun.

All in all it was a jolly day.   Bristol 1 Arsenal 4.  Watching in a tiny ground, open to the elements, it was bloody cold.   Russia 1 Arsenal 2 in the pub.  Rather good.

Now for Burnley.

The point of life is to keep changing.

(OK no one else has to follow my dictum of course, but that’s what has kept me going all these years, and it seems to serve me well).

So today I am venturing (in an hour or so) to do something very different. Instead of sitting watching the CSKA game on TV (I choose not to go to that match since getting done over some years back), I am going to watch Bristol Academy vs Arsenal Ladies.

That is, I will watch it if I find the right ground. I found the Academy’s web site, and there were details of a couple of locations there, so I thought I would phone them up. After 3 fruitless calls I got hold of someone and said, “can you tell me which ground the game against Arsenal is being played at?” and the person at the other end said, “Is this football you’re talking about?”

I don’t say this because I am having a go at Bristol Academy - far from it. As far as I can see, they were Bristol Rovers’ club, got disenfranchised, changed their name, and have managed to keep going without sponsor, and without a league club’s support, largely through the devotion of a local college. Now that’s what I call grass roots.

Anyway, with our team still with their 100% record in the league, we’re hoping for a jolly afternoon out. After which it will be a drive to a pub to watch the second half of the gentleman’s team on Sky.

Like I say, time for something different.

Well, that’s the theory. VAT comes down on Monday from 17.5% to 15% and there is, of course, VAT on ticket prices.

So will we see a decline in prices?

If Arsenal applied the discount then £50 tickets would be priced £48.94. Since they won’t do this then the club is in effect raising prices by 2.1%. The same is true of everyone else.

Arsenal could cut prices, because as noted before, Arsenal are in fact the only one of the upper crust clubs that doesn’t have money problems. The borrowing for the stadium is completely covered by the match day income and the marketing is getting better year on year, thus bringing in bigger and bigger returns.

CSKA meanwhile have an owner who is losing millions a day as his stocks sink lower and lower. Manchester B and Liverpool I both have strategies based on selling the club on because of ever rising interest in football, and neither have possible owners queuing up.

Which brings me onto one other matter. Manchester Bankrupts have relentlessly followed the approach of Real Mad in touring the world at every opportunity to enhance the image and brand. CSKA Fulham try much the same approach and are looking to develop their position in countries as diverse as Russia and the United States.

The idea is that the tour (somewhat to the detriment of the players’ build up to each season) will develop more fans, simply by the club being there.

As a strategy it is ok, but ultimately it is doomed, simply because if you don’t have a major megastar WHO IS LOVED, then ultimately the image fades. Whatever we may think of David Beckham, he was loved by billions and seen as the great icon. Whoever owned him, owned the rights. The same was true with Zinedine Zidane. The anti-French British press focus eternally on his final game but for the rest of the world, he is rightly remembered as the greatest of players, a player of majesty, the scorer of world cup final goals, a man of staggering brilliance. With him in the side, marketing took care of itself.

Now think of Manchester B. Who is the great god? Christiano Rolando? Wayne Rooney? Neither have the depth of image and sheer power of being that Zidane had, or the icon quality of Beckham.

Think of CSKA Fulham. John Terry? Ashley Cole? Nic Anelka? None seems remotely to fit the icon bill.

So what of Arsenal? The fact is that Arsenal is playing a different game. What it is doing is building a double reputation - the most gracious flowing football on the planet, combined with the most audacious use of young players. One after another they come, and just as soon as one child becomes a household name, another comes along behind him. Cesc is the youngest ever. No it is Jack. No, there’s this kid in the under 18s who is 12…

Those two facts of elegant football and young players are not just known in the UK. Mention Arsenal anywhere, and they know about these things. Yes, the icon of Henry has gone, and no other has emerged thus far. But that is not what is noticed.

The fact is that doing strange things with money in the style of CSKA, Manchester and Liverpool is not very appealing to a world-wide audience. People turn to the club that is working on completely new strategies.

What this means is that the marketing momentum year on year is with Arsenal. Year on year the marketing operation pulls in more and more.

We won’t see tickets at £1 cheaper in December, but we will see more and more money pouring into the club. And we know that the stewardship of the club is in good hands. No matter what the results are tomorrow, that is something to be proud of.

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Copyright (c) Tony Attwood 2008. For permission to reprint any of this in any format, please see the copyright notice.

This week Jonathan Neale forwarded me a great article on the new man Ivan Gazidis and from reading that it seems that everything about him is good. It is doubtful that after all this time Arsenal would have done anything other than get the very man they want, and that could mean some significant success in transfer arrangements, whether it is with younger players or more experienced players.

All of which is very nice, and made nicer by the fact that several players (Ade, Nasri, Sagna) should be back for the game against the Russians.

But what really attracted me yesterday was the game at Portsmouth against WC Milan Reserves. Poor Flamini, only picking up the odd game when they won’t risk the first team. Senderos too is hardly getting a touch of the ball - he played the whole game last night - but that’s not his fault. And then on left midfield for Pottymouth we had Traore, who has been getting some positive reviews - and is, wouldyou believe, a defensive midfielder.

Flamini - you will recall - wanted to go on to higher and better things - well if WC Milan’s reserves against Portsmouth in the UEFA cup is bigger and better, then he got it.

And overall I thought that was that, until I suddenly read on the ever excellent Young Guns web site that EDUARDO played in a friendly against Nottingham Fawcett. According to the web site (of whose news gatheringI am eternally envious) Arsenal put out the Carling Cup team for a game (as a warm up presumably for the trip to the wilder parts of the far north where the polar bears roam, and the icebergs grow and …. sorry, Burnley).

And thus I make my prediction of the week (or put it another way I make a wild guess) that Eduardo might just perhaps could possibly maybe be on the bench for the Carling Cup game. Wouldn’t that be something?

You can now get these wild and bizarre ramblings on your mobile phone without it costing a single penny. There’s an advert on the right hand side - just click there and you get this, plus news updates from other slightly saner sources. Buy now while capitalism lasts.

And not that anyone would want to copy this, but just in case it was mistaken for a real news service, it’s Copyright (c) Tony Attwood 2008. So there.

Consider this:

Manchester Bankrupt draw two games 0-0, and even Sir Alex F-Word wakes up to the reality of rotational fouling - commenting on the way it is done on C Ronaldo

Milan’s star player says he wouldn’t mind moving to the EPL to play for Man City, while the same C Ronaldo as above is still demanding more money and talking of a move.

Liverpool Insolvency find themselves booed by their own fans despite being top of the league.

CSKA Fulham are finding it hard to sell tickets, and are stumbling through the Champions League, while not being quite so all-conquering in the EPL

These issues all reflect matters that concern Arsenal supporters. The booing that went on at the end of the Aston Anti-football game, the fact that every six months all our players are apparently on the way to Real Mad, BabaBarca and WC Milan, and the way that rotational fouling is now the first thought of most teams in the EPL - all these things affect us.

It feels like these problems keep hitting Arsenal alone, but that is not the case.

In Manchester (to take one example) the tickets for games now tend to go on general sale, the waiting list for season tickets have evaporated, and some supporters are suing the club, and despite what we all have to admit (at least when no one else is listening) is a frighteningly good forward line, they aren’t guaranteed to score every game.

Which for no particular reason made me think of Italy. I can remember watching Milan sometime around 1995 and seeing a full stadium, passion, excitement, and by and large very good matches. It was the best football on TV. Now you can’t get Italian football on TV in the UK - even Bravo (which had it for a few months) don’t want it. Even Eurosport seem to prefer underwater bob-sleigh championships to Italian football.

In 3 years time I suspect English football will be different, and may well be a long way past its high point. Nothing stays at the top forever, and when the decline comes it is worth asking, who will be best placed to cope?

Arsenal, because it will still have wonderful young players and a manageable debt

CSKA Fulham, as long as one man stays interested and keeps the money flowing

Manchester City, if they can actually make a team out of the big name signings they will get

But not Manchester U and Liverpool whose debts will have overtaken them. Not Everton, and West Ham who are all likely to be very close to extinction because of debt.

Just because the world looks as it does today, does not mean that is how it looks tomorrow. I find that rather reassuring.

It has been a regular theme here that British football journalists make up stories morning, noon and night. I say that because in an earlier life I worked as a journalist.

During this time I worked for a year in Algiers where the main source of news for me was the French papers. From day one I was surprised how very different the French media were in reporting football. Instead of making it up day by day they actually tried to make sense of the stories, and to a far greater degree than the British.

This wasn’t just an issue of degree - this was a wholesale difference. Instead of talk about crisis, meltdown and the like, they would deliver reasoned argument and debate.

I haven’t thought of this difference for a while - until Manu Petite spoke up about what the British press had done to Gallas. This was followed by an article in Aujourd’hui Sport in which it was commented on the way the British press had gone out of their way to attack and destroy the credibility of William Gallas.

The British press, where they have picked up on this reasoned commentary, have treated it with their typical “silly Frenchy” approach, and laughed it off, but for me, the story is certainly true. At the very least it deserves a reasoned answer. None has been forthcoming.

It is not that the press are in essence anti-Arsenal, they are anti-French, and because Arsenal has a French manager and he chooses to employ a significant number of French players, the media looks for every way to boost their standard strategy of showing that there is something odd about the French.

This has been there for a long time - remember the way they treated Anelka? Or the way they treated Pires with the accusations of diving? Or the way they handled Vieira with the endless talking about his cards rather than his performances. Only Henry escaped - until they hit on the idea that Henry was a second rate player because he couldn’t hack it on the European stage.

And when that started to falter, they had a go at saying every few seconds that he would leave.

If that is not enough proof, think also of the way Wenger is treated, and compare that with Ferguson. He won’t speak to most papers, and never to the BBC, but he is treated with respect, while they run stories about Wenger not seeing things etc etc.

It has come to my attention that some people have copied some of my ramblings on this site and posted them elsewhere under their own name as their own work.

I can’t imagine why anyone would bother to pass off my work as their own on the internet - it just seems daft - I mean if you want to get yourself in print, just write a comment. Why take my work?

Maybe those who do it think there are no rules or laws about such things. Actually there are - it is called the 1988 Copyright Design and Patents Act. It doesn’t protect ideas, but it does protect the actual text. Anyone can quote a bit, but it has to be just a bit, and the source and author has to be given.

If you feel like me that taking someone else’s work, and then putting it on a web site as your own is not quite cricket, or football, and you spot anything from this site appearing elsewhere under someone else’s name, word for word, please do let me know. I will hound the perpetrator to the ends of time, and other stuff like that.

Sorry to be a bore with such matters, but I thought I’d just put up a notice about the situation, in case anyone really thought it was ok to copy hundreds of words of my work, and then put it up under their own name.

(c) Tony Attwood 2008.