Sat 11th September 2010; 15:00, Emirates Stadium
Does Arsenal Have Supporters, Or Are They Customers?
ByI always have a healthy exchange with my Liverpool supporting friend Dean about all matters football and about our respective clubs. The fact that Arsenal play Liverpool tomorrow prompted a customary chat about the state of the football union.
He posed the question as to whether I’d been following the hysteria about Arsenal, quipping “Dude, you guys want to do a Benitez on Wenger”.
He of course was talking about the treatment Rapha Benitez got from everybody under the sun when Liverpool’s season was capitulating.
To his surprise, I told him that I switched on the TV at 4.00 pm on Sunday and turned the volume down, before switching to something else after the game was over. Since then, I really haven’t gone out of my way to read, listen or watch anything said about Arsenal.
Actually, I tell a lie – I re-watched the game on Arsenal TV and also watched Wenger’s press conference. I’m not into that kamikaze type nonsense right now of absorbing overly negative vibes to self inflict pain.
Both of us agreed that we expect nothing but drama from the media – for they have bills to pay. We were comparing notes on our actual fans and how the fans reacted in adverse situations.
It was then that I made the comment that perhaps Arsenal has customers rather than supporters. And in a media savvy world – let’s face it, the customer is king.
We were joking about it, but seriously speaking – are we getting to the age where fans are treated by the club like commodities where the expectation is that they will buy match day tickets, stadium hospitality and merchandize.
There’s also the small fact that the billions of pounds pumped into football come from the sale of broadcasting rights around the world for leagues like the English Premiership and the UEFA Champions league. The rights owners recoup their money by selling subscriptions.
Wenger has caused somewhat of a micro-storm in the footballing establishment in this past week by suggesting that he’d rather be 3rd in the Premier league than win the Carling Cup or the FA cup. The establishment’s translation of this is ”Frenchman doesn’t care and doesn’t give a damn about the historic FA cup or domestic cups – the arrogant fool. That’s why he hasn’t won diddly squat”.
But let’s face it – the FA cup and the Carling cup don’t actually pay the bills, do they? In the grand scheme of things, any romance they provide was firmly drop kicked into the long grass with the advent of mega bucks TV money.
We can sit and debate until the cows come back home and still conclude that the domestic FA and Carling cups are actually a distraction when it comes to clubs who need to draw in the mega bucks to keep afloat.
The ”Arsenal hasn’t won anything in 5 years” is a tiresome refrain that is already echoing the streets of Holloway and the alleys of Ashburton Grove. Mind you, such refrains are the pre-amble to the Post hoc ergo propta hoc (Latin for After it therefore because of it) pronouncements that Fabregas is now on his way to Barcelona.
The truth doesn’t always follow the idea that a second event always comes because of the first. Fabregas or any other player for that matter wouldn’t leave in the summer because Arsenal hasn’t won anything for 5 years. Far from that – if a time ever came for him to leave, it’ll be because the club agree to sell him or any other player.
What is more of an issue here is that the chain of stories and events following what’s now dubbed as ”yet another season without a trophy” is the classic shit stirring scenario.
For me, it’s part of the problem that makes me think Arsenal has customers. It’s these customers who have taken the view that they want a return for their money here and now and enough is enough. They are convinced that unless Arsenal win a trophy, the club is an equivalent of a failed banana republic that is headed to the dogs.
I guess in the last 5 years, Wenger could have fielded full strength teams in the domestic competitions, but I doubt that for the ’Arsenal hasn’t won a trophy in 5 years’brigade, a Carling cup or two will count.
I admitted to Dean that if there’s something I admire about the Liverpool fans, it’s the fact that they know when and where to remonstrate, and when and where to fully get behind their team and support the players like mad.
I sometimes feel we have customers who are more interested in getting a good return for their buck than they are in supporting the club through difficult patches.
Dean always reminds me of the Arsenal fan who committed suicide straight after the second leg of the 2009 champions league semi-final against Man United when Arsenal lost 1-3 at the Emirates.
He jokes that if Liverpool had such supporters they’d all have committed suicide by now if they had to wait 20 years to win the league.
Hi Darius,
First I must commend you on the website. I love the new look. To be honest the old one had my “least favourite colour” (for luck of a stronger word) and it was quite a task to read due to it.
I think we need better fans, yesterday I was having a conversation with a mate who is an “ardent” arsenal fan. He borrowed a placard and I was lost as to why he needed one. He told me he wanted to send a message to Wenger, the message “We should stop buying kids and invest in house hold names, Wenger you have cost us another trophy this season by not buying a striker in January” His idea was to rally afew pals and demonstrate in front of one of the major media houses here in the hope that it could be aired and get back to Wenger. He said he was tired of being laughed at by his manc/chav friends and being the butt of the suicidal joke, I am not so sure if he was joking.I told him it could be worse, he could be a portsmouth fan,fighting relegation and on the brink of liquidation or a spurs fan for obvious reasons.
These two past weeks have been bleak, with the garbage coming from all quarters of the media, the last thing our players need is attacks from the so-called arsenal blogs and their own fans.Those calling for Arsene’s head and saying project youth is a total failure are out of their minds.
Its always good to know I can come here or to ACLF and Untold Aresenal for some perspective. I hope our players have the mental fortitude to pick themselves up, dust themselves and fight the good fight to the end of the season. We might be out of reach but we still have a lot to play for and who knows, maybe fate will favour us and other results will go our way provided we play to our best abilities and win most games.
Tomorrow we start rebuilding and marching towards the finish line. It will be a difficult match since we have something to prove and Liverpool is getting back to form but I believe we can be victorious.
This team will go far, we may not be champions this year but the foundation has been laid and we can only look forward to a brighter future.A couple of reinforcements in the summer and we are set.
Darius,
I like reading your work so much because you often speak my mind!
There are many many people said they had to pay the big cash to see Arsenal so they need trophies.
You define them pretty much spot on-customers.
And you know as much as I hate their arrogance (and they are!) Liverpool fans are among the best when it comes to supporting their team through thick and thin. I mean after 20 years of no league title they are still bragging everyday of how they are the best team in the history.
While Arsenal customers would stopp us and call us morons if we ever bring up Wenger’s unbeaten season.
Teams are defined by a lot more than just winning right here and now.
Firstlady.
Let me confess something. When I started the blog, I just picked up the first football theme out there. Perhaps it was my naivity, but I guess I had to do something to match the growing popularity of this blog.
Glad you liked how well the blog has scrubbed up.
As for our customers, I’ve already alluded to the fact that I think the major problem is that most of the Arsenal followers who find it difficult to persevere through these hard times are selfish glory hunters and fair weather ‘Johnny come latelys’ who we don’t need.
Their primary concern is to avoid the embarrassment of being humiliated by their friends and colleagues. They call themselves true fans – yet they don’t understand the true essense of being a fanatic or supporter. One of the elements of being an ardent fan or supporter is the ability to get behind your team when times are hard. It’s not just for us to celebrate when we do wel – we have to fight when we’re not doing well.
With a lot of these customers, it’s easier to take the option of saying since I paid my money, I therefore want results.
It’s short sighted for example to suggest that not buying a striker is our problem. Arshavin hasn’t had any problem getting clear cut chances to score for example – he just hasn’t put them in. His inability to convert the last few guilt edged chances all of which could have won or drawn the game for us has nothing to do with a new striker.
A new striker couldn’t stop our defense going missing when defending corners or during counter attacks. They’ve just swallowed the lazy cheer leading of the media with the simplistic arguments about what ails Arsenal.
At the rate we’re going, there’s going to be a hell of a lot more folks committing suicide I tell you.
By the way, make sure you tell your friend about Stone Cold Arsenal. I would love the opportunity to debate is grievances with him and talk about the humiliation he says that he faces from his friends and colleagues.
Diceman.
If we set aside the said arrogance that I think we both agree on – we can only but admire that never say die spirit that the Liverpool fans show for most part.
There’s a level of pride they have about the team that seems to elude some of our fan base when times are hard.
What I wonder sometimes is where such fans were in the 70s and 80s when we could see neither hyde nor hair of any European football, let alone a league title.
Mature thoughts, Darius, Firstlady, and Diceman. My compliments.
Darius – I like your distinction between supporters and customers…it has a ring of truth to it, in this age of instant gratification & superficiality, where many things that once had value are now, apparently, disposable.
Whilst I’ve been disappointed by our last two league results, I’ve not given up hope and still believe, bigtime. My message to Arsenal and Arsene is: keep on keeping on, whilst improving the quality of our defending, both individually & collectively.
I think what has disappointed me even more than our last two league results was the hysterical, vicious and very personal attack that Martin O’Neil recently made on Arsene Wenger. It was highly disrespectful, and deeply unimpressive.
I’m not referring to MON’s comments made on the night of our away game at Villa Park, but, rather, those he made two days later, at various media conferences.
It’s bad enough witnessing the “full treatment” that Fleet Street dishes out to Arsene Wenger at will, but to have one of the supposedly more intelligent & articulate premier league managers’ join in as well was just too much.
Arsene did not deserve that (let alone the consistent crap he gets from Fleet Street) and I’m not happy that Martin O’Neil has got away with murder.
But tommorrow is another day. Let’s hope the team is effectively re-booted in good time for the game against Liverpool. The fightback starts then.
Ps: not sure what I make yet of your site redesign…but…putting a date somewhere near the main Headline of each post would be useful.
Darius, I salute you. I will not even omment on our ‘unfortunate customers’. I just wish that we can have some sanity somehow, anyhow.
LRV – I tell you I should start a campaign against Arsenal Customers.
Magneto – If the date next to the titles is all you have a problem with – then I guess it demands that I fix that.
…and so it is done – thanks for the feedback and hope it helps you embrace the new design.
Well I never read the papers or look at the TV after a defeat to Chavski or Man IOU so i can’t comment on the tripe being spewed apart from to say that I bet i wouldn’t be surprised.
Let me take a day to get used to the new blog look (I liked the old one!) and then I’ll comment. However straight off let me say content counts more than the look anyway so you win there mate.
This is the first football write up of any kind that I’ve read this week so I’m glad it’s sober and sane. I would rather watch us play Arsene’s way and never ever win a trophy again than watch us play one match like Chelsea play. When it works our way cannot be matched, Arsene’s teams will be up there with Brazil ’70 and Holland ’74, we just need to remember that winning and losing are often divided by a fine line. The way we carved Manu apart home and away this season was breathtaking. We will never know why we didn’t convert our chances. Only AA can know why he failed to look up and pass each time – those split second decisions make or break you.
i agree with diceman..
nice blog i liked the old one better though but seems this 1 is proving very popular
i agree with most of what steww said