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Thursday 10 March 2016

Stick your boycott up your a**e

This is what a crowd can do to players


Sunday's game is the eighth home cup-tie of the season so it is not included in the season ticket price. As such Arsenal have given people the chance to "opt out" of taking up their seat for the match. Certain "supporters" groups have seized this as their opportunity to give Stan Kroenke a bloody nose by organising a boycott of the game. If they think Kroenke would be remotely bothered then they are crazy. Nevertheless they claim to have had great success in terms of people deciding to not go to the game. Whether that is true or not you can judge for yourselves based on what I write further down.
Among the main people calling for this boycott are the Arsenal Supporters Trust and Red Action. The AST have long been a target of my serious dislike. They are fronted by a spokesman who seems to think that putting on a big rosette and turning up at the AGM makes him number one fan. The man in question is Tim Payton and he talks utter b******s. His groups advocating of the boycott is no surprise - the self-publicists among them will be champing at the bit in the hope of getting their ugly mugs on Sky or an interview with Radio Five. The fact is that if Payton doesn't turn up then nobody will notice the difference - he spent the last Ashes tour in Australia at the height of the football season, so he was almost as absent as Silent Stan himself. Equally deplorable are Red Action. Here we have a group (albeit of no more than a few men) who claim to want to build the atmosphere at Emirates Stadium. How do you propose to create an atmosphere from your living room? Today, having announced they will not be attending the game out of protest they want people who do turn up to help display one of the crowd surfing flags before kick-off. I hope Arsenal tel them all where to go from now on - there are plenty of fan orientated people employed by the club who could easily take on the job.
I have to say at this point that I am not going to the match. However, I am not boycotting it. I never would. I am working on Sunday so my ten year-old is taking my place in the stadium. If I wasn't working then I'd be attending. I don't care how much I disagree with Arsene Wenger, or with the way Kroenke is having the club run, I go to support Arsenal. The only thing that would stop me from going is being priced out. I'm fortunate that I have a decent job that means I can still afford to go. I'm also fortunate to have been brought up by a Dad who has supported Arsenal since 1950 and has been going for over 60 years to watch the team play. On the way back from the Swansea game an acquaintance of ours said on Twitter that he won't be renewing his season ticket as he "has better things" to spend his money on. His choice, obviously, but he is clearly nothing more than a glory hunter. Having gone through the 50's and 60's, the mid-70's an early 80's, my Dad has seen plenty of lean times but, in his own words, "I've never considered not going" - and that is exactly how I feel. Arsenal is my club, my team. Win or lose, thick or thin, it is going to The Arsenal that is one of lifes pleasures. Why would I deliberately choose to not go in order to "make a point"?
It would seem that this boycott is doomed to failure in any case. A brief look at the website this morning shows limited availability for tickets. It would appear that not many are boycotting after all. If they are, then the silver and red members are lining up to take their places. Red Action are back-tracking this morning with their Twitter feed describing a full stadium as a "win-win" as the team will get the support while Kroenke won't get their £35 in his pocket. I think they realise the game is up. I hope that those who do turn up create a real cauldron to support the players - you can be sure the 9000 Watford supporters will be right behind their boys. 
I am not anti-protest against Kroenke. However, turning your backs on the team is simply not the way to do it. What is the way? That's not for me to decide. I would be more than happy to join in with proper protests outside the stadium that were directed at the majority owner. The fact is that share holders have ample chance to make their feelings genuinely known by making a stand at the AGM. Whatever the protest may be it shouldn't be one that involves not supporting the team. How can you expect the players to turn up on the day when you make a conscious decision not to? I also hope that anyone boycotting the game by opting out won't be expecting a ticket for Wembley if we are lucky enough to get there again.
We shouldn't underestimate the role that fans support can play. You hear all about the hostility in many of the away European grounds. Look at the effect of the "yellow wall" in Dortmund, for example. I chose the picture at the top of this post as a reminder of what the Arsenal fans can do to an opponent at a crucial point in the game. If you can't appreciate it from the photo then here is the video of it - just look at the North Bank, and then compare that with what a half-empty Emirates would be like...

8 comments:

  1. ok mate u stay here critisizing some exploited passionate fans seeking a means to get the message straight to Stan Kroenke. My question to you is what have you done to kick against the exploitation,years of lies and deceit, inconsistency from both the board and manager and so on...?? Boycotting the game might not be the best option but it is definitely one of the most potent ways to get a message across to our greedy club owners and ever arrogant manager.. I dont respect people who stand at a corner waiting for a change to happen but yet do nothing about it... Mate this protest is a step forward for the fans who use their hard earned money to purchase season tickets, well i am not surprised at you because you claim to have a good job .. Good luck to you.. Arsenal is a big club and should be winning big, no real fan will settle for anything less including the F.A Cup.

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    1. It's great to hear from a "real" fan such as yourself. I coudn't get through the day without this kind of input from such a great supporter. I'm truly privileged that you've taken the time to contribute to a blog written by someone who, from what you've written, is not a proper fan of Arsenal.
      If you don't consider the FA Cup as "big" I can only assume you're some kind of fucking mong. How long you been going to The Arsenal? Learn your history before you start typing. Twat.

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  2. great piece and ignore the idiotic first reply. "no real fan will settle for the FA Cup"??? seriously? no "real fan" would stop supporting even if the club got relegated you idiot.

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  3. Obviously the first reply failed to understand the point of the article and is not a regular follower of the site. Agree 100% mate, okay we know I know you personally bit we still agree to disagree on occasion, but this article is bang on. In response to no real fan will settle for anything less including the FA Cup, go and ask the supporters of all the other clubs in the English leagues and see what their expectations are. I can guarantee two and half league's worth of clubs will never ever win a trophy, football is more than the the Premier League. Are they not real fans? The dedicated followers who travel all over the nether regions of England in all weather's to see to be quite frank some awful football at times in dilapidated stadia. You haven't a clue what a real fan is. Ever been to Brunton Park on a freezing night in February? Getting back to the point of the article, by all means demonstrate against the board, but get behind the team, the board won't miss a few thousand no shows. And I'm no AKB I can tell you.

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  4. Longtime reader - first time poster. I have to disagree with your article here. How else would anyone protest and if not here then when?

    At the moment, with Kroenke as majority shareholder, there is little an average fan can do, but vote with their feet or hold up banners in stadiums (which some disagreed with as well). If anything, this is probably the first time that the three supporters groups (including Black Scarf as well) have actually stood with each other to do something. Granted, it really should be pointed at the elephant in the room (Wenger), but at least it is a start.

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    1. You're entitled to disagree - that's what it's all about. The problem I have is that any protest that could harm the performance of the team on the pitch is a bad thing. Surely we want to be doing all we can to help the players win?
      Protests should be organised outside the stadium as far as I'm concerned. As I wrote on Twitter last night, don't blame the players for not turning up if you choose not to yourself.
      Please feel free to post more often, especially when you're making a coherent point like you have, unlike our friend at the top of the comments!

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