FAN POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY by Uche
Hello everyone. Lately I have been wondering how Arsenal can improve as a team. The transfer window is closed, so clearly buying players is not an option. After exploring the usual areas of player, manager and board improvement, it just occurred to me that a huge aspect of our club that always flies under the radar is the fans. Football fans always feel like they are the only ones who have earned the right to be as critical and as petulant as possible. I suspect that it is because some wise guy once made the claim that the customer is always right. And of course season ticket holders are customers but beyond that, they are also fans and their every word carries a lot of weight.
The reason I am talking about this subject today is that I was raised to demand more from myself. Self-improvement is vital for every human being. So I try to demand more from myself as a father, professional, husband and sibling. Today I have chosen to demand more from myself as an Arsenal fan. What triggered this? Well, every issue these days seems to somehow boil down to our strikers. I am of the firm belief that we have given Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott so much grief and abuse that we have become a part of the problem ourselves. Just in case we have not realized this, our players read the things we write and tweet and a striker with battered confidence is of little help to the team. I watched Olivier Giroud come in as a sub in place of Theo Walcott against Stoke City and when he got that goal, the look of relief on his face and the burden he bears all day round with the constant abuse, brought tears to my eyes.
As a fan I have realized that Giroud and Walcott may never be Aguero and Lewandowski but they are hardworking Arsenal players and responsible men, who train every day with the intention of doing well for their club. They are not criminals. They are not corrupt politicians or terrorists. They are decent young men who turn up and try to do the job they were hired to do. If we truly love this club like we claim to do, we need to measure our words. Coming on here to abuse and ridicule Walcott may give us that immediate gratification that venting does, but it hurts our club. Our players are football fans too. They read football articles like me and you. They pray for Wenger to bring in world class talent like we all do. They hurt when we lose and guess what? They are the ones who hurt the hardest because they have to deal with the abuse and still turn up and play. I have a question for everybody on this site. Imagine being in a job where you are abused round the clock and taunted that you are not good enough, no matter what you do? How do you think this will affect you as a person and professional? It is a lot to deal with for the average person. The customer may always be right but when our players lose confidence, the fans also share the blame.
We cannot make Wenger buy a player if he does not want to or cannot get that player. We should have realized this by now. What we can do however is to make the players we have believe that they can do the unimaginable and actually win something. They have won two trophies now so I am convinced that they are capable even though it will be very difficult. As the parent of an autistic child, I have often had to sit my eleven year old daughter down and tell her that despite her limitations, she can develop her talents and be somebody someday. Like her father, she has the artistic gift and draws quite well. She has made unbelievable progress from age three when she could not talk till now. If you see her now, you will not even know she has a disability and she speaks very well. This is what can happen when someone in need gets the right support. We often claim that Arsenal football club is family to us. It is time we started treating our players like family, because those of us who are fathers and mothers of kids who aren’t geniuses don’t abuse our kids and remind them of how average they are.
Theo Walcott deserves our support. He has been injured for a whole year and you can see that he is hesitant going into challenges. It is not easy. We look at this guy and wonder why he cannot be more like Cavani or Henry but that doesn’t make sense. Every human being in this world has something that they are good at. Theo cannot dribble and offers little aerial threat. Sometimes you wonder if he is even on the pitch. But he scores goals. That is his talent. For a guy who has got us eleven goals in his last eleven games, we have to realize that this guy is our most reliable goal getter and not the Benzema that we don’t have. We are capable of supporting the players we have and give them the courage to perform above their perceived limitations. If we learn to do this, we will be doing our beloved club a lot of good. Our club needs us now more than ever.
I for one will never come to this site or any site ever again to abuse an Arsenal player. Never again. Peace.
Uche Edochie
Lagos – Nigeria
@Admin……… U’ve got a gem(Uche) on ur hands……. He knows how to touch a nerve!……. WeLL written!
Every player deserves respect, but not “worship”. By the way, respect must be earned at all times; and as much as respect can be gained, it can also be lost.
I doubt Walcott or Giroud would lose supporters respect anytime soon.
Well, that personal with you, I guess. All that fans want from players is hard work and efficiency. These players are paid to play, the fans pay to watch them and equally spur them. At the end of the day, when these players do well quite consistently, the ask the club to increase their pay. We spend all the time, fans pay for everything. Don’t you think we deserve some measure of recognition and respect????
Exactly. Which they do. They train hard every day, they work hard on the pitch. Is funny when you ask for respect when you don’t give any of it where due. Besides, you were saying respect is gained. So, first you should work hard and gain this one. And no, buying a jersey or a scarf does not count as hard work.
Budd, I cannot steal someone else’s money to buy jersey and scarf, I work for the money. Would it count as hard work if I stole the money? By the way, do you think stealing is easy??? One of the hardest thing about stealing is not the act itself, it is the decision to so do. Deciding to steal is harder than stealing. So, Budd, would you count it as hard work if I stole?
I have no clue as I don’t steal. You should do the same I assume. But let’s leave that aside. Thus you work hard in order to buy a jersey and because you do this you are entitled to ask for respect from players, club etc. Is that what you say? Because if that’s the case I can tell you right now that you don’t signing any agreement with anyone from the club by buying a branded product. You support Arsenal? Good for you! But show it. And no, buying a jersey is not showing that.
Hahahahaha!!! Budd, you should respect my hustle if you don’t want me to steal. Whatever I use my money to buy must be valued cuz if it aint valuable, I won’t buy it. Arsenel means much to me, so I pay to watch games, buy jersey and scarf.
ha….ha…ha budd, you and kickass fan made me laugh so hard while reading your long deadlock argument.
maybe you two should get married?
just kidding mate.
@Budd………are u saying pLayers are not of flesh and blood…….are they not born of woman?……..heLL! They were once fans in their Life……… The ideaology behind Leadership isn’t bout “LEADING” or controlling (the people) but actually bout “SERVING”(the people)…..
Start from Wenger to lean how to be little hash or aggressive to his players when they don’t play well. In all i think they need fans support to motivate them.because the players don’t feel happy going home to meet their love ones after bad result.
ONE LOVE GUNNERS
I guess you meant how to be lillte more harsh?
But a little hash after game would be kinda cool 😉
Respect must be earned?
Kinda stupid saying. You can give respect easily and if everyone started off by giving the type of respect they themselves would like to recieve then maybe the world could be a little better.
Theo has shown that he can score against the big teams and small, the stage doesn’t matter, he will score. When he last had a full season he played on the right and was prolific in attacking, he knew where the back of the net was and he was CONFIDENT.
Theo came to us as a CF, he adjusted for Wenger and played out on the right, is that not showing respect? Now he wants to move back to the middle and he gets abuse? I don’t think Theo has been given 8 straight gsmes in the CF role yet but he has scored! Thierry Henry took longer to score for us in the CF role than Theo!
Theo isn’t perfect, it isn’t worshiping a player just because you have belief that the player COULD develop into a more complete player once they have settled, let Theo settle as a CF and get more than an odd game here’n’there and then judge him.
I will be first to admit I have bashed our players several times, BUT only when they under perform and not unfairly.
This is normal even in our everyday jobs when someone performs below expectations. This works both ways, it either motivates someone to push harder and prove the doubters wrong or it totally demotivates other even more. Football is full of emotions for the players and more so for us the fans. I agree lets support people at the club 100%, but lets not pamper then into a comfort zone, we have seen our players get complacent in the past (West Ham, Monaco, Anderlecht game, etc comes to mind).
OK, then if you have a season ticket then I suggest you rally the people around you and make some real noise. We are not Barcelona where people come like they are coming at the movie. This team needs to know supporters are behind them. Every game.
From my TV screen or in pubs down here in Zambia I make enough noise at the point of irritating others. That’s how much I love my team. For those who have been following my comments they can testify I advocate for our fans to always turn up during games and be louder whether or positive issues or negative issues that can push our team forward.
My dream is to someday visit the Emirates stadium. Just hope the stewards wont throw me out because I will come armed with my vuvuzela and crazy Arsenal outfit and show the tea sipping fans how to really rally behind the team.
Vuvuzela, no. But what I can guarantee you from my visits to the Emirates is that the atmosphere there is nothing like what you see on this site. Especially once the game begins.
Budd, if ever you have been to the Emirates, I doubt it would be as a fan to cheer the team. You seem too corporate for such stuff. You often sound like a lawyer looking for a legally baseless case to argue.
Intimidated by my obvious and astute remarks? It can happen time to time, I admit. Sometimes I don’t recognize myself.
Ah, Emirates. It depends where I sit because you see, I don’t have a season ticket. Sometimes I cheer louder (I remember I was once on the long side in the first row where I got a hand wave from Walcott) sometimes even louder. People do tend to make some noise, is hard to describe as the sound on telly does not capture the atmosphere. It is like a kind of a continuous buzz, then a roar even if the game is stalling. TV does not capture the individual shouts from the stands like “c’mon Jack!”, “On the left!” etc but I guarantee you they are there. If you are a frequent visitor you understand what I am saying.
ADMIN COMMENT – Okay that’s enough of this convo. Let’s get back to football please….
It is really disturbing thinking that any member of the Arsenal board would ever thinking visiting an internet blog.
But to your question: I have no idea. I assume they have these fancy sky boxes isolated from the plebs so that they can count their money during the games. This is how I imagine Kroenke anyway.
No Vuzuzula???? That thing is so loud the whole of London would hear it. Guess I’ll settle for my small drum, my guess that wont be allowed at the Emirates too.
Wonder why the place is like a library. I suspect we are only second to City for having the quietest stadium in the land.
Among other things, I’m also into music production. I remember once I did a job for someone and gave to a friend of mine to evaluate (this friend of mine is very good at everything music). I was very pleased with myself that I had dropped “the bomb”.
We were together in his studio. He took the cd from me and played it. Then he looked at me and said, “Amigo, you made this stuff??? Thinking he was pleasantly appalled, I was like, “Yeah, man. I did”. Then he goes, “Jeeze, did you even listen to it??? The kick and the bass seem to be like Russia and America. And the hat, is that a snake hissing or a hat?”
When he said all that, I sat back, played it over and over again, then I realised he was very right. And I had to work on everything all over. I don’t play with that guy, his opinions maTter so much to me becuz he does not paint his words. And if he thinks something is good, it is good.
As fans, we should always show luv, but sometimes we must be tough too. For instance, how can we applaud a player who can’t convert 3 chances out of ten??? But we (fans) must be very stupid if we keep abusing our players, even when the whole world can see that they are really outstanding and delivering.
@KickAssFan……… Seriously!…u did record a Track?…….should have featured “snake girL” on it ……that could have solved the whole hissing brouhaha! L()L
Lol! “Snake girl”, is she your boo? Hahahaha
Wow nice one Uche i totally agree we should never show our anger to our players, if anyone remembers Thierry Henry’s first season it took him months to get his first goal and everyone was slating him and you all know what happened after,
i wont complain about an individual player but gloves are off when it comes to management, they are the decision makers that’s how they earn their money so they are in the firing line and this summer and last and the one before they F…ed up badly
Each time I watch our strikers waste chances I find it hard to rebuke them because I have played the game while in the secondary school where I got to know that if your effort was not enough to earn your team a goal but you were applauded for the effort you put in…….. You would want to do more when next you have the opportunity.
Please watch grand slam ( tennis) and see how people clap even when you missed a chance………. Arsenal till I rest in Peace
“We cannot make Wenger buy a player if he does not want to or cannot get that player. We should have realized this by now.” Does that not hurt? That Wenger can decide to do whatever he likes WITHOUT CONSIDERING THE FANS?
“What we can do however is to make the players we
have believe that they can do the unimaginable and actually win something.” Uche, are you trying to say fans are magicians??? Are you saying if we believe Giroud can score countless hat-tricks, that he will?
The simple truth is that no has the kind of fans Arsenal has. Before now, you never heard a fan of Arsenal say anything bad about Wenger. But it all changed when fans began to think they are being taken for granted. We love our club, we love the players, but we must not be blinded by “love”. To respect someone is not to shut your mouth and accept every nonsense the person does.
Fans are the least concern when the club is building the team. And how do you know that Arsenal didn’t listened to the fans? How do you know they did not tried to sign other players? Your logic is really twisted, sometimes I wonder if you really read what you write because it does not make sense any way you look at it.
In other news, keep dreaming. No one wants Wenger out.
You amaze me, Budd. Sometimes you sound like Admin, other times I just feel you are Wenger himself.
Yap, i suspected the same thing too.
But from his choice of pictures, you already knew he is a die hard wenger’s fans.
This is why wenger is in comfort zone, knowing that so many AKB’s fans out there enough to support him to undermine the WOBs pressure.
AKBs motto everyday: HAIL WENGER……HURAYY.
wenger’s loverboy.
Another one who knows me personally. No harm done, Fatty.
Ah, Kenya. Yes. I have upset them fans from Kenya because I suggested them to actually put some more interest in real day to day life, fighting corruption etc than to give advice to the Arsenal board. Harsh words. Which I obviously don’t regret.
Well said matey! ??
You can’t praise or kiss someones butt without them earning it! ?
This article is a well written joke ?
Wake up to the real world,
There’s too much pain and misery
going on to worry about some over paid footballers feelings when getting slatted for playing ?!!!
At the end of the day fan’s are paying good hard earned cash to watch these so called professional’s,
So stop handling them with kiddie gloves,
Most of these player’s won’t even give you the time of day,
If you bumped into them in the street.
Fan’s will always support their team no matter what and they have every right to complain or slate when it is rightly justified ✌
” WITHOUT CONSIDERING THE FANS”. You do realize there are many Arsenal fans in the whole world, everyone having a different opinion. Some fans may agree on one player, others may disagree on that. That doesn’t means that we should consider every fan and ask their liking.
And by that logic, last season during Christmas period, most wanted Monreal out of the squad, see what he did when he was provided the oppurtunity.
anyone ever heard of the bibLical quotation “spare the rod and spoil the child” ????………. Well it might be applicable ere….. Give credit where it’s due , Caution when things go wrong and take action when things don’t wanna change for the best!
True.
Respect is ReciprocaL………
Fans-pLayers
PLayers-Fans
CLub-pLayers
pLayers-cLub
Fans-cLub
CLub-Fans
Totally agree with the first comment. Uche your article weiting ability is the best on the site.
I wish people would learn what a football club is all about before bashing the team, the manager, the board aNd the club.
I fully support wenger for not spending stupid amounts of money on a player which isnt worth it, is cavani worth 70 mill, NO! Is he worth 50mill, maybe just about, it was offered and it was rejected.
Its not like arsenal didnt try and sign a striker.
However theo has great ability to score goals, i bet in all competition this year he will bosh out atleast 20, thats around the same figure benzema or cavani will get.
Yet we didnt waste 50mil we used what we already had and saved that money, for when someone is available.
Its not as easy these days to go out and buy the player you want. The best players are at the best clubs, the best clubs wont sell those players unless the recieve a stupid amount of money.
Is de bruyne worth 50 million? Did city buy for the sake of buying?
Support our boys, cavani, benzema, aguero, they All miss lots of chances, just because we didnt pay 50 million for walcott doesnt men he isnt worth 50million to a team with money to burn.
Failing to sign Benteke and Martial will come back and hunt us…
Enter Hafiz
well written Uch.
Key Word imo is “abuse”, i read a lot of comments sayin they wouldnt or would slam, criticize, Yell at, recirpocal respect etc.
But he actual key Word is abuse.
I agree with being objectively critic, but not with the abuse.
Nice read.
Uche you just hit the nerve. This is something that has been hurting ever since the season began. This was his second start for God’s sake, is one match against Newcastle enough to judge Walcott as an inadequate striker? If you base on the two or three chances he missed, how many chances did aguero miss against Chelsea before scoring his only goal this season? In summary Walcott has changed his style of play like Cristiano, he showed us at the end of last season that he can score goals if fit and also bench giroud. I don’t know whether stats are wrong but giroud scores in almost all games where he starts from the bench, no disrespect to him though
Jesus talk about idiotic …possibly the dumbest in a long line if dum ones .., when I saw the word hardworking applied to Walcott knew this was not to be taken seriously … One of reasons we won’t win a title … End of story!!!
Never Again