This is an article from an excellent Arsenal website (Shewore.com) who have been going for many years and also sell some great Arsenal shirts and original souvenirs which you can browse here.
The reason I am putting this up for discussion is because it was highly praised by one of our regular contributors (stand up Ken 1945 and I agree it is a very thought provoking article, and Ken was keen to hear what our readers thought about it. This is what Ken wrote….
Just read a terrific article on She wore a yellow ribbon – about Arsenal fans boycotting a cup final.
Nothing to do with Wenger, more about fans views.
Wonder if anyone else has seen it and what your views are?
Hope you will allow this Admin, as I think it is a great article and you might want to follow on with an article of your own.
Hope to see some views after its been read.
So are you willing to read it and comment? I did!
Why are Arsenal fans boycotting a final?
I have always found the concept of boycotting Arsenal odd. And I have found the need to tell everyone that one is boycotting even odder. Borderline attention seeking.
You see, Arsenal is a love. Till death do us part. Through thick and thin. The sign of a real fan is those that stick with the club during the bad times, and then can reap the reward in the good.
Manchester City fans are a perfect example of this. They stuck with their side through multiple relegation’s down to League One. They were still getting 30,000+ gates in the 3rd tier of English football.
When they were going to away game in the late 90s to backwater towns like Gillingham in the then Division 2, getting back to the Premier League was a dream. Winning the Premier League the impossible dream. But 13 years after relegation, their fans were rewarded with AGUUUUUERO.
OK, it might not be a Leicester City story, as Manchester City were pumped with dodgy Thai money before the oilmen came in, but who can begrudge the fans who stuck with the club when they were visiting a dump like Luton for a 1-1 draw?
Their loyalty has been rewarded, and I am sure they are every bit frustrated about the new (mostly foreign) fans who have attached themselves to the club since their success as Arsenal and other clubs are.
I have heard Arsenal fans in the past talk about boycotting “until Wenger leaves”. They do it in almost a boastful way. As if they are saying I am such a great Arsenal fan, that I am sacrificing going as a form of protest. Almost acting like by choosing not to go, they are a superior fan.
Many of those who have boycotted did not previously go regularly anyway, or have moved away from the London (or now have other responsibilities like children). Their boycott is not real. It is an excuse for no longer going. They would not go regardless of the state of Arsenal.
One chap I know who boycotted broke the boycott when he got free tickets at club level. Odd fella.
Another announced on social media at the beginning of the season that he “would not step foot in the Emirates again whilst Arsene Wenger is in charge”. He has been to more games this season then he has in his life.
I remember a fixture against Norwich a few years ago. A fans group attempted to organise a boycott, alongside a protest at Bear’s roundabout. A few fans who do not go to games turned up for the protest. Fair enough. But they then bought tickets to watch the game, taking advantage of their fellow protesters boycotting. All a little bit confusing.
Lets be honest, unless a boycott happens en masse, it is meaningless. And even if it happened en masse, the club would still have 44,000 fans worth of season ticket money for that game, and the remaining tickets on sale would still be sold on the general market. The club would not really care if a single person announces “I am boycotting.”
This brings me onto an articles I read by Layth Yousif in the Islington Gazette.
I have read the article a few times and I just do not get it.
Here we have someone who is a season ticket holder, who has been following the club for some years, making the decision not to go to the final. And whilst he attempts to justify the decision, I just do not understand it.
Football is about the moments, the memories, the success. The 3 FA Cup wins in recent years have been brilliant. Not just for the trophy won, but the day out. The early meets with your mates. Breakfast at Breakout. Beers at the Swan. Train journey up. The football. The Blue Check. Train journey back. More beers in Islington. Then home to bed.
The football is just a 2 hour part of a much bigger, much longer day. I remember looking round in the Famous Cock after the victory against Hull City. It as about 11pm. We were broken men. The day had taken its toll. Lads were falling asleep. It was time to go home. This is the reason we go to football. To have a cracking day out with mates old and new.
To deny yourself going to a final, whether it be FA Cup, League Cup or Europa League, is denying yourself the chance of a day out with your mates. A boozy day out. Hopefully a win. But if not, surrounded by people to drown your sorrows with.
If you are not at the game, and boycotting it, what are you doing instead? Gong round Westfields with the misses? Sitting in the Angel with your pint of cheap ale? Feeling sorry for yourself, playing Akon’s Lonely over and over in your head?
No thanks, it is not for me.
Regardless what you think of Arsenal at the minute, of Arsene Wenger, of Stan Kroenke, we have a final to play on Sunday. And the thing with finals is you never know when your next one might be.
For fans to think the League Cup is below Arsenal. Well that is just elitist. It is snobbery. It is BS.
Look at the likes of Aston Villa and Everton. These are big clubs. They have not won trophies for decades. Liverpool have not won a trophy since 2012. Tottenham since 2008. Newcastle for what has to be nearly half a century.
Those turning their nose up at the League Cup, it is just wrong. The next final might be a decade away. The next trophy 2 decades away. You never know what will happen in football. No club has a right to win things.
I always think those who declare that they are not going on Sunday have probably spent a decade moaning that Wenger has disrespected the cups. Yet what are they doing by not going?
To boycott, and almost be proud that you are boycotting, could be something you end up regretting.
If you don’t want to go to a game don’t go, but leave off with this I have to tell everyone I’m not going and then I expect everyone else to actually give two f*cks about it!
Personally, I am already buzzing for Sunday.
Keenos
Thanks for reproducing this Admin, it has already got some of us oldies remembering “the good old days”.
Glenn,seriously,it’s pointless and will accomplish nothing.The percentage ratio of Wenger OUTS against Wenger INS grows higher by the games/results/performances/Excuses/etc etc etc.There have been numerous marches over the past few seasons which have been embarrassingly low in numbers.The low turnouts appeared to suggest their protests were viewed by only the minority.This is not the case.The FANS who organised and attended theses rallies against this Manager and his Board were let down by the vast majority simply not voting with their feet.I feel I have let the supporters of these protests down by not joining these marches myself.If 200 were joined by 5000,10,000,20,000 the voices would be heard purely by the numbers.The sheer volume and numbers would be impossible to ignore and disregard.That is why I will now attend and join in with EVERY protest against THIS MANAGER and HIS BOARD until he is GONE and OUT OF THIS CLUB FOREVER.
While your own protest is admirable you must surely feel it fails to justify the end-which is you missing a Wembley Cup Final.Beg,Steal,sell the house/wife/kids to get yourself to the game and support the players of ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB in a WEMBLEY CUP FINAL.
Then join the next protest to swell the numbers and reflect the true opinions of the majority.
It’s what I,and I hope,20,000 others will be doing.
Phil i agree get to the game but i think the majority have enjoyed finishing top four playing beautifully entertaining attacking football and winning fa cups making it to another final this year also emirates and invincible a champions league final we sadly lost but hey made it there and wengers success is legendary hes a club legend somone arsenal fams will tell there kids and grand kids about but lets win and make it to the final they are special go arsenal
I’m not sure if I’ve said this before so here goes Wenger out ?
And who’s ken apart from a AKB supported
John0711,
Your right, I’m just me.
Like you I have an opinion and views.
You state I am a AKB whatever that may mean, but have you ever asked me if that’s the case?
This site is brilliant because it is so diverse in its opinions and thoughts, but so often opinions are seen as facts.
You say Wenger out and thats fine I respect your views.
I believe Arsene will see out his current contract and then he will go.
Not because of his record, but because (I believe) he will know the time has come.
If you listen to what he says, he admits he has made mistakes just like we all do.
One of the favourite nails to hammer him with is his salary. But what has stopped you or I getting the credentials required to become a manager and receive the same? I dont believe any person is worth a salary as obscene as the footballing world in general is offering across the world at the moment, but it is what it is.
But what I have said for as long as I have been on this site, is treat this man (and each other) with respect.
I believe the retoric used by some supporters on this site has no place within the Arsenal Football Club tradition. That’s my view, it could be old fashioned, but that’s what I believe and that is why I will always dispute those who think they can abuse others and not expect a response in kind.
Phil says that he will not rest until this manager and his board are gone forever.
Wenger’s spirit will never go from this club. Along with Herbert Chapman he has transformed this club into one of the biggest in the world. Their legacies will live on no matter what protests are made by whatever percentage of fans participate.
I am sorry that you have seen this as an opportunity to have another go at Wenger, that was certainly not the intention of the article but you have made it so.
I acknowledge the fact that you see me as a nobody who really doesn’t count.
I hope nobody ever dismisses you like that, but if that’s how you see me, then so be it.
It’s simply naive to divide fans into groups, AKBs or AOBs or whatever. I believe fans have the obligation to support the team, just like the ManCity fans did as the article said, through highs and lows. We’re having a final this Sunday, can’t we just get behind the team?
Like Ken said, I very much enjoyed the diversity of the views and comments on this site. I personally can not see how a new manager can turn things around in the near future, the same as how protests can change the board. I do see that the club is planning and implementing a new management framework for Wenger’s eventual departure. Wenger is not getting any younger.
So, the question is, if Wenger is leaving in the near future anyway, why would anyone still protest? I do think Wenger staying is to maintain a certain level of stability while the organizational changes take place. Until then, I think Wenger is still the best candidate for the job.
Go Gunners!
Well said ken and clam, sometimes there are unacceptable personal comments made by commenters on here against other commenters. My personal opinion is that Wenger should have gone before this season started and whilst I am hopeful he goes before the start of next season, I respect others opinions that he be given yet another chance. Unfortunately the snowflake generation of today cannot articulate and debate in a respectful manner and just resort to insults. If snowflakes take that personally I apologise but believe me, in years to come, when they are are older and wiser, they may come to understand that instant gratification is not a god given right of Arsenal fans. Everything goes in cycles, just look at Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City and spurs (small s ?) and how their fortunes have changed. Their fans stood behind the team during the bad times and didn’t boycott games so support the team, not the regime.
Ken ‘AKB’ stands for Arsene knows best
But Sue,
The man admits himself he has made some awful mistakes.
I believe he has made some as well. I see him as a stubborn man, who has had too much power and this has been bad for the club. As others are saying, it seems the club are readying themselves for a successor and I think that is right.
What I also see in Wenger is a man who has principles. His knowledge of the game is unquestionable and our club will be forever in his debt for his forward thinking.
As far as I am concerned this man does not warrant the personal, abuse he receives and that is why it might seem to others I am a “AKB”. but I will defend him when, for instance, he is called “a cancerous growth”…. that goes beyond the mark.
AKB?
What I am is a Arsenal supporter. I don’t care who owns the club, who is on the board or who the manager is as long as Arsenal are successful.
How did the article end up in personal attacks I don,t know as it was nothing to do with Wenger or the club, justabout us as a group of supporters following this great club.
Ken I only explained what it stands for… wasn’t being funny to anyone….you said whatever that may mean being called AKB
A lot of comments end up in personal attacks…
Sorry Sue,
wasn’t attacking you, re-read what I wrote and it does look that way.
Not my intention and I apologise.
Thanks for the info anyway.
No worries Ken. You don’t have to apologise ? enjoy the match tonight ?
Ken 1945
Football is about opinions to us fans and even though I never hide from my own views and will continue to do so,I totally respect you and your views no matter how divided they are from mine.
I would offer my respect for the manner in which you continue to reply to posts directly in response and totally against your own.
ITS CALLED CLASS
Well I certainly would not boycott the match. I want to win trophies. But even if we win, I still want Wenger Out
There were a lot more AKB a few years ago, but now it seems most of them have gone to the Arsene Out side.
I am very late to the party myself
I gave Wenger his last chance in 2015 to convince me he could build a winning side. I feel stupid for lasting that long. But 10 years was more than enough time. Now it’s 13 years
Wenger Out
Did we not win fa cups what do you mean by not a winning side would of won epl to if other big teams would of showed up against Leicester we were the only ones to beat them twice and up until last year qualified for champions league how is that not winning?
Don’t blame other big teams, why didn’t we win more games?
It’s not just winning the fa cup and qualifying for champions league. Look at the trend Thomas. Football is a competitive sport. Can you compare our growth to the likes of Liverpool and spuds. I think you have to look at winning from a relative and competitive point of view. There is no continuous progress under Wenger. Smaller clubs are catching up. It’s not rocket science to realise that it is the reason we are struggling and finding it almost impossible to qualify for Wenger’s favorite trophy (4th place). Wenger can’t inspire anymore. He doesn’t have the capability to take us to the next level. Fact!!
Yes, it’s wrong to boycott. But what else can one do. The way the management and the boardmembers are lying. It’s enough, boycotting is the least one can do.
Don’t bother, it never works. Kroenke wants Wenger in and that is all that matters. Wenger’s stay is down to what he decides it is and he will stay for as long as he wants. He said he wants 4 more years before signing his new contract and that is the minimum he will stay. Hopefully he will keep his word and quit after those 4 years are over.
First sorry to divert from article ken but wenger in and lets have him a few more years the man is a legend and as ken said brought us into the modern era as a worldwide club plus constant success and as the article states you never know when you might get another chance at a trophy and under weger we’ve had many of those wenger outs believe simply a utopia mind that we should win everything every year and your right ken they have the right to there opinion but back to article i dont understand how you can boycott a cup final newcastle doesn’t like ashley but they still show up to the games and a cup final is special if you do boycott give a ticket to the fan who loves arsenal and dream is to see them in a cup final because you never know when you might get there again like what might happen After wenger but he loves this club so much he has esp through colney and his success here put is in a good postition to succed after him or at least not fall into complete despair
The article almost suggests supporting Arsenal is an excuse for getting a day out with the boys or at least avoiding a day with the missus in a shopping centre.
But never mind.
I think the fact is, all fans are willing to support Arsenal FC as long as it is a football club trying its best to achieve results/success on the football pitch. After all, that is what a football club is supposed to be, and a real fan follows his club in thick and thin as written.
But the problem is, Arsenal is becoming less and less a football and today it is more a business focused on making money to the owners and in the process has turned the managers job into his personal playground totally devoid of responsibility for the actual football results.
So, I think maybe everybody have the right to choose whether to continue supporting a business regime (Arsenal Inc.), which is killing the football club (Araenal FC), or say “no thanks” and hold their support till the day Arsenal again become Arsenal FC.
I have not posted on here for a while mainly because of the abusive rhetoric and obvious trolling that seems to have come about since admin made this site available to all, not just arsenal fans.
I have supported afc since the sixties and been through all the bad times as well as the good times. No matter the regime or manager i have always supported the team. No matter my personal feelings i would never consider boycotting a cup final to make a point. My business commitments meant me having to relinquish my season tickets but at every opportunity i make an effort to get tickets to see my club play in a final…what i dont do anymore is line the regimes pockets further by purchasing merchandise, food or drink inside the ground on the occasions i go to the emirates.. If more supporters took this approach rather than boycotting games and protesting inside/outside the ground then the board would soon get the message when sponsors, retailers, concessionaires etc see a lack of income.
Support the club not the regime….dont boycott matches…life is too short you may not get another chance. I have fallen out of love for wenger and the kroenke regime but i will still be at wembley on sunday supporting my team !
I certainly wouldn’t boycott a final….. yes I’m frustrated sometimes, more lately than I ever have been but at the end of the day I’m an Arsenal supporter… we all are!!