By Tony Attwood
This morning ex-Arsenal player Stewart Robson made a very strong attack on Arsene Wenger on BBC Radio 5 Live’s breakfast show. His point was that all the problems at Arsenal were down to the manager who had completely lost the plot.
Unfortunately I was driving at the time the broadcast came on so I was unable to record it or make notes, but what struck me about the piece was that Robson made no justification for his comments (in that he did not give any specific incidents or issues that Mr Wenger had got wrong) but he simply spoke in a style that might well be called a tirade. By this I mean that he pointed to no specific occasion, or explained how the manager might have worked otherwise in this specific football and economic environment. He simply put the blame on the manager.
What I am wondering today is whether the BBC knew he would do this, and so thought it a clever idea to put in a one-sided report, or whether they simply looked for who was available and didn’t bother to check what he might say.
Certainly there was no mention that Robson had previously worked for Arsenal TV but had then been moved on. It is interesting incidentally that Robson’s Wikipedia page makes little mention of this, casting it in passing alongside his appearance on Absolute Radio’s Rock’n’Roll Football. It is as if this element of his past is being slowly whitewashed out.
Now obviously I have no inside information on why Robson left Arsenal TV, but I do know that just before he left there was a considerable level of pressure on the club to remove him, because of his persistently critical view of the team, again without much in the way of explanation as to what he would do if he were the manager. This is something that would have been interesting, given that he was assistant manager of Rushden and Diamonds at one time, along with several other clubs.
The point I would make is that in the build up to Robson’s appearance on the radio there was no mention of the fact that Robson had left Arsenal under what we might generously call “a cloud” or that he has a long history of being critical of the club for which he played 150 games over five years.
Of course we do live in a world where ex-footballers come on and give very biased views without any background or explanation as to how they would justify their views. But the BBC surely has a duty of balance given that they are the national broadcaster paid for by households in the UK with a TV. I have no problem with Robson being on, any more than I had a problem with with IRA being given air time, or a member of UKIP, or a member of a fascist group being on. Indeed such people should be on TV and radio so that we all have a chance to hear their views, even if we profoundly disagree with them
But we also need a context and a balance, and what the BBC is certainly failing to provide is any sort of balance over the issue of Arsenal and Mr Wenger.
To give but one other example, I recall a day or two ago hearing Perry Groves being interviewed in which he made the point that Arsenal had recently sold all their best players – mentioning in passing Nasri and Song.
OK that is a point of view – and I have to admit that I do find Perry Groves (unlike Robson) an enjoyable and amusing speaker at times. His speech to the Arsenal Independent Supporters Association’s AGM last year for example was great fun and occasionally insightful in terms of Arsenal in 1989.
But on the issue of selling our best players, there is another side to the coin – not least one that puts forward the point of view that Song has been voted one of the two worst buys by a Spanish club last summer, by Spanish supporters.
As for Nasri – well, he was one of the players strongly criticised by the management after the 3-1 defeat of his club at Southampton. He was dropped for the next game, and his contribution to Manchester C this year doesn’t look that promising. He scored on the opening day, but not since in the league, although he did get one other goal against Ajax in the doomed Champs League campaign. His performances have been called (in some quarters – I admit not by everyone) “tame” and not at all “match-winning”. And yet he cost £24m. He is not a bad player, but hardly a £24m player now, and there is a feeling in some places, I think, that City were conned into paying far more than the player was worth.
Arsenal have made a habit of “letting go” players who look good, but actually are over achieving. Hleb is a prime example. Flamini, who commanded no fee but got a sensational salary on leaving Arsenal, is another who slipped away, and found he could not repeat his one season of brilliance at Arsenal before ultimately also finding that he couldn’t get a transfer on after his time in Milan. Even Henry ended up costing Barcelona £250,000 a game because he wasn’t used that often.
These are points worthy of inclusion in the debate. Of course we don’t expect someone like Groves to have such facts at his finger tips, because that is not his style or approach. He is very amusing on George Graham and Arsenal’s history – we don’t look to him for insights into the present day.
But when the BBC have on one, and only one person to discuss today’s game, it seems odd that they should give airtime to such a biased point of view without then putting in a bit of balance. A blog like this one can put forward one point of view only in its pieces, because we are hardly a national institution paid for by the populace, but the BBC really should do better.
The books…
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC: crowd behaviour at the early matches
The sites…
- Referee Decisions - just what are the refs up to this season?
- Parent News - what is going on in schools these days?
- The weight loss programme: The only guaranteed way to stay fit
- The Arsenal History Blog from the AISA Arsenal History Society
Most of these replies are focussing on Robson. Robson is simply a symptom of media excess, say stoopid things and people will talk about it, speak intelligently, and people switch off.
Like the Sun newspaper far outselling the Financial Times,Telegraph or Times. Nobody could honestly say that the Sun is worth reading, but most of those who buy it would be lost on the Pink FT.
Talk sense and nobody listens; talk out of your backside and the whole world will argue about it
Wenger is the 2nd most succesful manager after Fergie. The sugar daddies funding Man City and Chelsea will be restricted soon and Man U have a crowd capacity of almost 20 thousand more than the Emirates. Man U`s commercial selling machine is where their cash is although many analysts are suggesting that Man U`s debt is going to cause them problems.
Cash is where success is in football
Building the Emirates whilst correct was financially crippling due to bad financial management(not Wenger), Wengers management has restructured Arsenal`s finances and we are financially 2nd only to Bayern Munich who leave us for dead in their commercial sponsoring success
There we are, I`ve just proved the point, talk facts everyone switches off as their eyes glaze; talk rubbish like my dad is bigger than your dad, or woble your boobs on page 3 and whoopee you have an audience
If we all got behind our team and became the 12th man, boy what a differnce instead of being so negative
I`m convinced many Arsenal blogs are written by Spurs fans, they are so negative
I’ve got no problem with Robson expressing his opinion,free speech and my grandad died in the war to protect those rights etc etc,but he says the SAME thing over and over ad nauseum.If i could have a tenner for every time i heard him say”Arsene wenger is a dictator” or “Wenger does no defensive coaching” i could flipping retire! He has become a parody of himself,the first person radio stations contact for a quote.I know what you think Stewart,change the record will you its getting boring.
Very true words terry. I remember reading Ivan was quite shocked at how poor some commercial deals were, but he is now clearly making his mark on these. We jumped in with stan offering what he wanted to keep others out, only time will tell how right or wrong this was. But all the while, wenger has signed up to whatever this extreme financial climate has thrown at him. In return, he has been well rewarded, and possibly, if some reports are true, given more power than your average manager. He has kept his council, not let on issues, kept optimistic and believing even in the darkest hours . He withstands character assassinations from friend and foe alike, but still does not break ranks or waiver. Impressive for some, frustration for others. But as you say, our lack of success is ultimately down to finance. I know we have more money than Bradford Blackburn and Birmingham, but where we have been has had it’s costs. We have a squad with several who for a number of reasons are no longer performing. Utd, city and Chelsea have up to four internationals in several positions, we do not . Not sure the blogs you refer to are written by spuds, but there are plenty of spud sleepers on them, say a word against their team and they reveal themselves very quickly.
A few minutes ago on the BBC general commentary for football today
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21508986
We have:
> 1920: Former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson on BBC Radio 5 liveArsenal v Bayern Munich (1945 GMT)
> “Obviously Arsene sounded very tetchy. I’m sure if he listened back to that press conference, he would regret the way he conducted it. But I would like to put a couple of things straight. With the contract situation, I’ve checked with the press office, He was trying to say there was a story in the national papers yesterday, and not one corporation checked it out with the press office. The truth is that story is not true.
> “I didn’t like what I heard today. Every half-hour on my drive here, I’ve heard Stewart Robson quoted criticising Arsene. Stewart is a guy who worked here, and is obviously a bitter guy because he’s no longer got employment here. You have to take into account why Arsene is feeling like he is.”
Arsenal 0 – 3 Bayern!!
Damage done in the 1st half. Why the hell we cannot play like we did in the 2nd half is beyond me. We seem to love to kick ourselves & then try to chase the game. Well at least we are out of our misery and chase the final remaining trophy.
Now for the final trophy
I think anyone would admit that we were beaten by a much better side tonight. The team did put in the effort and had a few good moments but our defensive failings cost us again. Bayern are one of the top 3 or 4 in Europe and it showed. Are we even one of the top 4 in England? For me the season now rests on how the team and the fans can at least stay together and give all of the remaining games their best shot. If it is to be two months of negativity, booing, and vitriol then my season is effectively over. Obviously there must be changes in the summer, but the Stewart Robson/Piers Morgan type sniping from behind the barricades contributes nothing to the rational decisions that the club has to make.
@Mandy at 12.23.
Thanks for that!
Terry White
Well said, and I didn’t switch off.
I’m convinced people would be more receptive to the truth if they got it more often.
The only players who would get into the Bayern side from the Arsenal team are Jack the lad and maybe Carzola.
Other than that forget it!
Wisdom of the ancients
Tacitus c.56 – c.177 AD -
“It is part of human nature to hate the man you have hurt.”
Marcus Aurelius 121 – 180 AD
1)”Mankind have been created for the sake of one another. Either instruct them, therefore, or endure them.”
2)”To change your mind and to follow him who sets you right is to be nonetheless the free agent that you were before.”
Pat,
I hope I solved whatever problem kept you in moderation
Dear Stewie ,
For your perusal .Enjoy ! Be enlightened !Repent !
John Locke 1632 – 1704
1690 – Essay concerning Human Understanding
“New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.”
“No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience.”
“It is one thing to show a man that he is in error, and another to put him in possession of truth.”
“Reason is natural revelation.”
“Crooked things may be as stiff and unflexible as straight: and men may be as positive in error as in truth.”
“All men are liable to error; and most men are, in many points, by passion or interest, under temptation to it.”
Good Afternoon Gooners, As you may guess from my user name I am not a Gooner, but I do listen regularly to Stewart Robson and I believe he is one of the very few who have seen the “Emperor with no clothes” He has been consistent on banging his drum about the dictator. I remember that Matt Busby was a God at United but any Red with a long enough memory will confirm that he also stayed too long. The result was relegation and a realising that any man has a shelf-life. It is plain to see that AW has reached this point. I listened to Bob Wilson, denegrating Stewart Robson on Radio 5 implying that because he was no longer employed by the club he had gone all bitter. That is patently NOT true, whatever SR’s faults might be he has been consistently been a lone voice in the wilderness on the theme of the “Dictator” I find it insulting, as a football fan, that Bob Wilson was allowed to spout his “Bitter Man” rant without any challenge from Mark Pugatch concerning the facts. The fact is Stewart Robson has been saying this about Wenger for at leeast the last 2-3 years. Are you still on the club payroll Bob ?????
Very good Brickie but bitter twat is good enough for me. I’ll remember him as a fantastic player whose career was sadly cut short by injury.
Re Jed @ 4.14
“Tony,
Likening Stewart Robson to the IRA, UKIP or fascists is defamatory”
I imagine the IRA and UKIP would be extremely annoyed at being quoted in the same sentence as Stewart Robson.
The twat’s all over Sky now chucking stupid shit around.
@ GranadaVillian – Being one of those of long enough memory , Matt Busby resigned in 1969 but ManUre were only relegated in 1974.
You may have indavertently ( or conviniently) forgotten the ‘contributions ‘of those managers who tried to replace him – Wilf McGuiness ,Frank O’Farrel and Tommy ‘Doc’ Docherty .But Busby did cast a very long shadow then.
As for Bob Wilson ,most of us regard him as a kind ,soft spoken and unassuming gentleman .For him to ‘rant’ could be due to the fact that even he couldn’t take the shite being sprouted by ‘ the lone voice in the wilderness ‘ !