Arsenal v Man City. 15th Feb. 19:30

[Letters]

Used to be that the same 11 played in every match, wind, rain or snow. Proper men. Now we have these modern players. Of course they can't compete on all fronts. That would be hard.

The game has moved on. I think we are on mostly the same page about that, a lot of the change has been for the worse. But the game is certainly faster now and that hasn’t happened overnight. The Invincibles weren’t the same 11 players week in, week out either. If I’m counting right 20 players got medals, meaning 10 appearances or more. But whether you think this is a good thing or not, football is more of a squad game now and we just don’t have the depth of City. And we all know how City have “achieved” that squad depth.

Difference between the Invincibles and whatever crap has been shat onto the field in the years since, The former took to the field and expected to win. That latter take to the field and hope to win. The former is about belief. That latter is a maybe, of a what-if, or a perhaps. Yeah, if other teams fuck up we might fluke a title.

You’re right about that belief. And it wasn’t just about us, most teams who played us expected to lose. I saw Parlour talk about how he’d see it in the tunnel before the game, he’d see it in the opposition players’ eyes. They knew they’d lose. And of course occasionally they would nick something because that’s football for you (like Forest yesterday who got a real pasting but contrived to get a point). But mostly it was almost job done before a ball was kicked. BUT, that winning mentality of our players and fear of us from other teams didn’t happen overnight. This was a side who had won the Double two years previously and really should have retained it the year after. It was one of the best club sides I’ve seen, our reputation was earned by results. Last year we spent much of the season falling over our own feet trying to finish in the Top 4. This season is much improved so far but that winning mentality and fear factor from other sides takes a time to develop.

But let's face it, what we're really after is the Top Four Trophy. Now the habitual collapse has commenced I doubt even that's a possibility.

That was certainly the limit of my ambition at the start of the season. It just felt unrealistic to expect a title challenge from a side who couldn’t even finish the Top 4 job last season. I now have loftier ambitions. We have been wobbling recently, hopefully yesterday’s result will get us going. Gut feeling is City will steamroll us but, again, we all know how they’ve “achieved” their success.

[Niall_Quinn]

Is it fluke if another team win the title if we fuck up?

Point re the 11 playing come what may. Whilst I get the poor pampered rich kids thing…in fairness, the game’s athleticism has moved on considerably from the good old days. I’m sure you’d be able to keep up though?

How can you say that when they spend most of their time strolling around the pitch playing bullet-proof safe passes? You need to watch an 80s game again to remind yourself. This current lot are a s queer as fuck.

[Niall_Quinn]

The game has moved on. I think we are on mostly the same page about that, a lot of the change has been for the worse. But the game is certainly faster now and that hasn’t happened overnight. The Invincibles weren’t the same 11 players week in, week out either. If I’m counting right 20 players got medals, meaning 10 appearances or more. But whether you think this is a good thing or not, football is more of a squad game now and we just don’t have the depth of City. And we all know how City have “achieved” that squad depth.


You’re right about that belief. And it wasn’t just about us, most teams who played us expected to lose. I saw Parlour talk about how he’d see it in the tunnel before the game, he’d see it in the opposition players’ eyes. They knew they’d lose. And of course occasionally they would nick something because that’s football for you (like Forest yesterday who got a real pasting but contrived to get a point). But mostly it was almost job done before a ball was kicked. BUT, that winning mentality of our players and fear of us from other teams didn’t happen overnight. This was a side who had won the Double two years previously and really should have retained it the year after. It was one of the best club sides I’ve seen, our reputation was earned by results. Last year we spent much of the season falling over our own feet trying to finish in the Top 4. This season is much improved so far but that winning mentality and fear factor from other sides takes a time to develop.


That was certainly the limit of my ambition at the start of the season. It just felt unrealistic to expect a title challenge from a side who couldn’t even finish the Top 4 job last season. I now have loftier ambitions. We have been wobbling recently, hopefully yesterday’s result will get us going. Gut feeling is City will steamroll us but, again, we all know how they’ve “achieved” their success.

Just like "democracy" has moved on. It's all bullshit and you know it. But for some reason you need to believe otherwise.

[Niall_Quinn]

Look Letters. I don't actually hate you. You need to know that. I'm using you as an archetype. I'm aware of the very fine line between courage and compliance and I'm fully aware of the costs the former brings. But, I'm telling you, if only the AVERAGE person would stand up - life would be very different. `it's not nearly as scary as you think and those unassailable authority figures live by very, very fine margins. If, for one second, you and those like you could believe that - the world would be fixed.

Yet you turn your fire on us instead. I forgive you because you do not know what you do.

Which verse is that?

[Niall_Quinn]

The bottom line. The same patterns are all there. We'll be lucky to get top 4. Other teams will have to fuck up for us to make it.

There's no spine, no guts, no fire in this team. They are just a bunch of girly-men turning up to go through the motions so they can justify they catastrophically immoral pay packet. There's no sign of a team and no sign of the desire it takes to prevail over groups of men who actually believe in the team spirit

The club has been fucked for years and it is still fucked. Just because it's a tame league does not disguise that fact. As we have just seen when it really mattered.

It's not about Arteta. Seems like he's a fairly decent manager by the lowly modern standard. It's about sport. Something that doesn't exist anymore.