Guest Post – Two’s company. Three’s a sponsorship deal
May 1st, 2015 by 'holic
Another guest post for you this evening. A topical piece from our very own Snowy (good man Snowy!) on an aspect of commercialism that loomed large this week. Don’t just look away. Snowy makes a number of valid points and we aren’t playing until Monday night so take time to read the piece and comment, respectfully, in the drinks that follow. Thank s all, and thanks Snowy.
In a week where football commentary looked likely to be dominated by Chelsea’s monotone defence of their dreary style of play, and an ostrich-related breakdown by the Leicester boss, a small news item popped up on Arsenal.com that caught my eye, and for entirely the wrong reasons.
Now in general Arsenal.com is not a place I suspect any of us would turn to for fashion news, should any of us be looking for such news at all. But it must be said the recent appointment of Lanvin as Club tailors has had a rather refreshing effect on the demeanour of the first team as they turn up for games. They look smart, polished, every inch the professional. And what’s not to like there?
So it was something of an unwelcome surprise to see that the photo accompanying a few paragraphs of PR puff, about a Lanvin photo shoot with some of the players, was quite possibly the creepiest thing I have ever seen on the Club’s website. And I mean really, hideously, skin-crawlingly, creepy.
I’m not entirely sure what was more disturbing – the sight of some of our most respected first teamers leering ‘Benny Hill With Money’© style as a female model spindled before their jauntily seated selves, or the fact that said model was so painfully thin, that I am actually concerned for her health.
I realise that, in the grand scheme of things, a bit of fluff such as this is but a trifle, and we have many more pressing concerns. But it did set me to thinking about whose company we are all automatically keeping as Arsenal takes the shilling from our growing list of sponsors.
Most drinkers in this bar, whilst clearly holding many different political views, likely agree on many of the broader ethical issues of our time with respect to human rights, homophobia, sexism, child labour, and so on. Some of us may also make everyday purchasing decisions based on those types of ethical considerations too.
And that’s good, because generally we have plenty of choice, and can avoid brands associated with child or convict labour, poor worker safety records, or any other aspect of their practice we might object to. But football is different. It’s not a brand we buy. It’s a brand we join. And once joined (with the exception of the herds of plastics) we tend to stay for life.
Of course, by and large this is all fine. The various sponsorship deals in football come and go, and either enhance or impair our relationships with the sponsoring brands as they do so. I’m sure I’m not the only one who back in the day only purchased TVs and videos that were adorned with the letters JVC. And I may not be the only one who refused to drink Holsten (then) or purchase a Samsung phone (now) for very similar reasons.
So what’s changed? Well for one thing the benefits afforded to sponsoring brands have probably never been higher, and the reach never wider.
In the aftermath of last season’s FA cup triumph a rather charming video went viral which included celebrations from supporters clubs around the world. Everywhere we look – from last week’s clever little interactive map of Twitter supporters, to a glance at the Club own website, confirms the extent of our global reach.
Clearly all of this increases the Club’s appeal to potential sponsors, and will inevitably result in the number of brands and companies who want to be associated with the Club growing ever larger. Which is good, surely? Money is money, and we need the revenue streams. So who even cares?
Well I care, because I’m pretty bloody fussy about the company I keep. And I really hated that Lanvin puff piece on the club website, not just because it made members of our senior squad look stupid, but because it gave a very public platform to a key participant in an industry that is associated with utterly despicable behaviours, ranging from a long history of hideous labour practices and abuse of minors, to near universal eating disorders.
Put simply that’s not company I wish to keep at all. And it is singularly inappropriate company for a Club that has previously taken great pride in improving the prospects of errant players by enforcing good nutrition and healthier lifestyles as well.
Once upon a time it was just the two of us – supporter and club. Gate money played a massive part of the Club’s finances, and emptying terraces saw things, occasionally, change. Now that the sponsor has muscled in I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m beginning to feel a bit crowded out of the picture.
Of course I’m glad we have good commercial deals. We have after all been crying out for improvements in that area for years. Is it too much to ask that they are reputationally appropriate as well as commercially viable?
And if we don’t like them, is there anything we can do?
Not Only, But Also.
If you want to help some disadvantaged kids out with a design competition please read comment/drink #34 that follows. This pdf (click on KIDS below) contains the designs they have come up with and on which they would like to receive some feedback. Thanks.
75 Responses to “Guest Post – Two’s company. Three’s a sponsorship deal”
A thoughtful piece Snowy and it is good that aside from the huge love we have for the club we can detach ourselves enough to consider how we feel about the commercial relationships the club enters into.
I’ve always considered Arsenal to be the epitome of class, a football club that always considered ethics as well as football pragmatism. Frankly the multiplicity of brands we have now leads me cold. I couldn’t tell you who most of them are but that shouldn’t mean that we become more relaxed about the sort of brands we associate with. Frankly the other aspect is that very few supporters can afford a label like Lanvin and the tie- up has little relevance or meaning to the average supporter.
The more tie- ups the less commercial impact most of them have . I would have thought this also suggests that supporters will have less interest too but it should be the case that every brand Arsenal associate with is screened for appropriateness. Maybe a Brand Ethics committee made up of supporters might be a sensible idea?
A definition of “appropriateness” established by committee? Not likely to be very meaningful if the overall objective is to get money. I would be all for changing “The Emirates” to “Arsenal Stadium” for what it’s worth.
Beyond whatever Lanvin consider appropriate …. WTF were the AFC PR team doing approving and promoting that photo??
Nice post Snowy … Doesn’t have to all be ra ra cheer leading ….
But I didn’t see the Lanvin ad. Snowy makes valid points and there should be a mechanism for supporters to weigh in on the ways the club chooses to define itself, including inappropriate advertisements if they indeed objectionable.
Thought-provoking piece, Snowy. To be honest I’ve never really bothered about who sponsors us or not(probably because we haven’t really had any seriously controversial one of note), even though I’ve been fairly opposed to been owned by Usmanov,
But just like you I would really hate to see Arsenal associated with any brand I consider to be among the bad guys.
Snowy nails it, as always.
I think it’s still very much just supporter and club – I care nothing in particular for Citroen (I don’t drive; you’re welcome, Chicago residents), Lanvin, Nike, Puma, Emirates (jaysus, are they expensive). Hell, I don’t even care too much for the individual players – in my defence, I think we’ve all been burned by attachment in the not-too-distant past.
It’s fair enough to find that ad cringe-worthy and embarrassing. But it’s all part of transience: it’ll all pass, and (hopefully) we’ll still have The Arsenal. Excellent write-up, by the way.
Good man Snowy! But, but, but……….. football sold its soul to the devil many years ago, and the fashion world back in the stone age (remember 1 million years BC, fury bikinis a go-go).
I simply don’t find the issues of over-commercialisation of football and the objectification of the wrong shape of women’s bodies, by means of hanging clothes which simply wont fit 90% of the world’s female population, on said wrong shaped bodies, connected in any way. They are separate symptoms of the same disease.
If we stomp around in our branded club shirts, proudly advertising the national airline of a country, ruled by a brutal, dictatorial and repressive regime, and continue to buy produce from an organisation which refuses to pay its staff the ‘living wage’,I feel we really have little room for manoeuvre, when it comes to picking and choosing what is most distasteful.
Thanks to the Guv for putting this up, and thanks for the kind words folks.
And thanks to Esso for @8, because there are many more issues we should be mindful of, and if the Guvnor is willing, I think this is a great platform for sharing our thoughts on them at some appropriate point in the future.
My greatest wish is for supporters (not just of our club) to take care about the organisations their clubs choose to be involved with. Because there are many good clubs that have come a cropper through bad choices.
The clumsy, tacky Lanvin piece royally pissed me off. It was so wrong I could have written a much longer piece about its rubbishness and its alignment with a truly vile woman-hating bunch of stuff that is probably not quite the right thing for discussion on this site right now.
But what the whole tacky Lanvin thing did was really make me think long and hard about who we want to be associated with. And to be honest, it’s a new thing for me. In decades of supporting the Arsenal I never had to think about the wider impact of my football supporting choice and what that demonstrated to the wider world.
And we all should. Because our support sends a message, whether we are intentionally trying to communicate or not. And we should have an opinion about participants in the sponsor entourage, and I’d like us to be able to voice any concerns about stuff that’s around us that we feel uncomfortable with.
If ISIS or Boko Haram wanted to stop murdering and pillaging for long enough to set up some Arsenal supporter clubs, would we feel happy that they could sit alongside Lars’ fantastic Swedish colleagues in the pantheon of supporter groups? I’d like to think not.
I’d bet good money that the Club hasn’t even started to think more broadly of the impact it’s affiliations have in the new world of instant global communications. But it should.
Magnificent post Snowy, well said.
I’ve been involved peripherally in some of the tie- up with Vitality who are a client of mine. They are a very appropriate sponsor for a football club and wrote to me today to tell me that their latest arrangement is with new Premier League side….Bournemouth! Their objective is to speak to as many individual supporters as possible but their affiliation to Arsenal , or any other team, is miniscule. Jessica Ennis ( who Vitality use) is a very healthy role model for teenage girls to emulate and was pretty vocal about her own team employing Ched Evans a few months ago, so there does come a point where individuals won’t represent brands that they consider inappropriate. I wonder if any of this concerns the average Chelsea supporter just about to celebrate a title financed by the very dubious cash reserves of Abramovich? Frankly most of the Neanderthals at that club wouldn’t give us a toss. …but Arsenal are bigger and better than that
Top work TTG. On the side of the angels.
If I were the brand or relationship manger at Vitality responsible for the Arsenal sponsorship, I’d be poking my Arsenal contact in the chest and asking why my health brand was publicly being associated with shit involving photos that could be interpreted as involving eating disorders and sponsor employees adopting the demeanour of sex pests.
And moving my fountain pen away from the part of the next cheque that requires a signature.
Just sayin’ like…
I endorse the disagreement, ethical choice, aesthetic perspective (that was tacky) and general sentiment of disgust articulated in the piece.
However I think, unfortunately, the horse has bolted. No matter how much we try to make ethical choices the domain and scope of those choices to be made in a manner fully aware of all the consequences and all that had preceded have become so extremely convoluted and intermingled we are hardly left with any true choices.
How many of us would be able to boycott the desert World Cup in a few years’ time? Knowing full well that the infrastructure for that is being built on immigrant “labor” (read slavery) with an alarming death toll and the deal had involved a suspicious amount of backdoor activities. What are our main sponsor’s record in employment discrimination against women?
Snowy, I’ve spent a fair amount of time working out my true response to your post.
This is clearly an issue that has really upset you and it is a genuine sadness to see such a brilliant supporter as yourself so angered by the club you love.
I completely agree with your general sentiments that in a world of far reaching and instant telecommunications, the club should take care over the products and practices it allies itsself with.
I have to confess to being a bit surprised though at the depth of feeling in this particular case, and to this particular photo. I am a bit worried that I’m apparently going to find myself a little out of step with so many people whose views I respect and usually agree with.
I only had time for a very quick look at the photo in the week and I can no longer find it on dot com for a further appraisal. At the time though, it didn’t really occur to me that the players were “leering” at the model, who I assumed was there to promote Lanvin women’s products, rather than to merely be the object of their collective desire. I imagine the importantly fully dressed model was paid handsomely for her appearance in a photo-shoot she wanted to do, as opposed to being forced into it in any way.
I’m sorry if I have misjudged the issue – you can persuade me over a Guinness at the Swansea game – assuming you’re still talking to me!
Maybe I just didn’t have enough time to judge the issue properly but I have spent two full days this week in hospital with my daughter undergoing brain and heart scans and neurological testing, following some sort of unexplained seizure / breathing difficulty on Tuesday morning.
Probably left me not thinking straight.
Great stuff from Esso and Ttg @11 too.
There has been some sort of movement against Skinny Model Syndrome in recent years and a number of countries have enacted legislation to control the worst excesses. In fact France is currently considering an act that would require agencies to provide medical health certificates including proof of a BMI of 18 or above. But I’ll believe it when I see it, and until then share snöwy’s concern.
Personally I have never understood the attraction of skinny models. I know it makes the clothes hang better, but surely hanging them on an attractive model would make them even more appealing? But then I’m not a woman, so ill-equipped to gauge their often eccentric world view.
On a possibly more contentious commercial note, are we still promoting a certain middle east country as our ‘official tourist destination’? A surprise to say the least when it hit the news a few years ago, although not something to debate here.
Öskar
Trev, that’s awful news about your daughter. I hope the test results allay all fears and some simple explanation presents itself. The very best of good luck with that.
Öskar
Trev — really sorry to hear about your daughter’s health concerns. Wishing her a speedy recovery and a simple explanation for her problem.
Human rights? What’s that?
Homophobia? Sexism?
Yes, please.
Galore Utd.
Trev, I hope your daughter heals well and quickly. I can imagine that your week has been damnably rough. A toast to you, and the Trevette’s health.
Snowy, well written and thought provoking, thank you. I am a bit in the “horse bolted” camp, but would be terribly disappointed if the club tied in with companies like The Gap or H & M (for example) that knowingly use 3d world child labor to pad their profits. For all the unctuousness of that picture, Trev is right, girl got paid, and could have turned the job down but for the sake of her own decision. The “skinny model” thing does disturb me, though it’s hard to say it’s more objectionable than underpaid and abused child labor…
Well played Top Man Snowy, good piece.
I knew what I was going to post half way through your article, but Esso has already done it. He’s spot on, our soul has been sold way back.
I know we all like to think that our club is morally superior, and compared to some it is, but we are far from clean. It’s the nature of the game I’m afraid, if money talks, then”dirty” money absolutly screams the bloody house down and football is awash with it.
You have taken issue with the, leered at, stick insect in a skirt, and rightly so, but the other side of the spectrum is just as bad. MCDonalds and Coca Cola are major players in footy, not exactly healthy products though, are they? Arsenal have their own beer sponser (well, that’s what they call it) and I know from personal experience that consumption of such product does not a healthy shaped body make.
Ciggerette companies are persona non grada, yet betting companies and pay day loan firrms are splashed across many a kit, I’m sure they’ve caused just as much pain and suffering as Messrs Benson and Hedges, yet somehow seem exceptable. we can piss and moan about the oil money all we want, but with Emirates not only blazened on our tenue but also doning our stadium we really should be a little more wary of the glass house we reside in.
The ship has not only sailed, it has sunk.
Finally, wasn’t Benny Hill a milionaire? 😉
Thoughts and best wishes going out to you and yours Trev.
Stay strong mate.
Trev
I do hope your daughter is ok. Thoughts are with you
Echo all those sentiments about your daughter Trev, hope you can enjoy some good news soon.
Love this site, and its ability to promote thoughtful debate amongst the Arsenal cognoscenti.
Its the fucking dogs bollox innit?
This well worth a read as well;
http://www.aclfarsenal.co.uk/2015/05/02/go-not-quietly/
@ Esso.
Yep, good piece.
Futher testiment to the fact that our “soul” has died.
Very ethical piece Snowy – and it obviously resonates deeply with you considering you’ve written such an articulate and considerate piece . One can only hope that the club somehow overlooked these matters and that it wasn’t a conscious decision.
Trev – I can only imagine how distressing this week has been for you and your family. I really hope that your daughter receives the best possible outcome and that you and your family can return to some normality.
Trev, so sorry to hear about your daughter. All the best to you and your family.
“The horse has bolted”. Yes, it has. But even a stampeding horse can be reined in and made to calm down.
I’m with Snowy all the way on this one.
They used to have a supporters restaurant at Hughbury House but it was closed to accommodate more offices for the marketing staff. I guess those sort of decisions kill the soul of the club
Great piece, Snowy. And excellent observations Esso and H2H.
Thoughts with you Trev. Hope all goes well.
If this is the photo I can see what you mean about the leering, but she’s not exactly twiglet thin or got her norks hanging out.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/04/30/16/282BD81800000578-0-image-a-45_1430406397772.jpg
Anyway, we all know she’s about 18 stone and photoshopped 😉
Trev – I hope all goes well.
Best wishes to Trev and family. Hope your daughter will be up and back at ’em soon.
A favour people. I won’t make a post out of this as it isn’t entirely relevant, but I have been asked if we could help out a group of kids with a design project for sports bags. Let Laura from the body explain.
“I work for a charity and we are currently running a project for 19-24 year old people not in education, employment or training. Many of them also have additional needs or barriers to finding work etc.
Our project is geared towards enterprise, meaning that the teams are working to take a product from conception to the point of sale. This time around, they have decided on a sports bag, which will be getting manufactured by our partner Cooper and Hill (http://www.cooperandhill.com)
By close of play this Thursday (30th April) we will have three designs for sports bags drawn up and I was wondering if I would be able to send these to you to send any critique or feedback? This will then be passed to the participants as industry-specific feedback and will be incredibly helpful for them to continue their product development.”
So, if you have time could you check out the attached pdf, and the notes below, and provide any feedback to me, goonerholic@virginmedia.com before the match on Monday, and I will forward it to Laura. Thank you if you can.
PLEASE SEE THE PDF INCLUDED AT THE FOOT OF THE PIECE ABOVE, THANK YOU.
“Some of the drawings didn’t quite convey the intricacies of all the bags so I also have a paragraph from each team about their designs.
1. Sian and Char – “Women’s sports bag”
Look and feel of a handbag, doubles up as a work bag
Shoe compartment, doesn’t allow dirty trainers to mix with the rest of the bag
Integrated thermal drinks container on the side of the bag
Different internal pockets for different purposes – money, phone etc.
2. Dave and Matthew – “Generic sports bag”
Removable compartment for dirty washing – internal pocket comes out of the bag, bringing washing with it and then fold back in for the next trip to the gym
Doubles up as a work/college bag so it has place for laptop, phone – to avoid having two bags.
Headphone hole in the top
Side pockets for easy access – money and jewellery
3. Ryan, James and Nathan – “Martial arts sports bag”
Water bottle fastener on top of the holder, to avoid bottle falling out
Straps on the outside for holding certain martial arts sticks (adjustable)
Internal (attached bag) that sits flat and empty at the bottom of the main bag, it can then be filled with boxing gloves (for example) and can dangle to the side of the main bag, meaning the main bag can be filled up again.
Must Barcelona be destroyed so long as they continue poaching Liverpool’s best players? Three goals for Bitey today in an 8-nil romp finishing a half decent week for the Catalans with two wins, 14 goals scored and none allowed.
@H. Wish I could help on the feedback mate, but after packing up cricket well over 15 years ago, I cant comment on the usefulness or design of any type of sports bag. However looks a really worthwhile cause and I would encourage any active youngsters in here (there must be some!) to help out if at all possible.
Thanks for the thoughts one and all.
It is a truly horrible thing knowing that your child is being scanned for possible brain damage and heart abnormality.
Fortunately the scans were clear but it really is true that you would take any disease yourself just so they could be ok.
It’s not explained yet but it doesn’t appear to be anything really nasty.
Poor old LVG! Looks like Liverpool might catch them now!
I have read many truly excellent pieces on this site we all love. For me, personally, this one is close to the top of the list.
When it comes to views, values and opinions which are not necessarily relevant to Arsenal’s defensive performances (for example) and therefore do not get a full airing on this site dedicated to The Arsenal, there have been few posts I have read here (or anywhere else) that have resonated so strongly with me.
Thanks Snowy. I was moved.
There have been some wonderful responses which have added lots of depth and insight to the debate that has been kicked off. Seriously high quality from everyone and an array of considered and relevant opinions and points that really look at the situation as it stands.
I do wonder how much sway we, as supporters, may be able to influence going forwards? Maybe not much/Maybe more than we think. The longer this sort of thing happens and we do nothing the less influence we will be able exert in the future. Continue to let it slide because we cannot do anything anyway? Or some other option? Snowy has got me wondering how helpless we are? How much are we willing to see happen in the name of Arsenal before we act against it? How much has commercialism tainted us? Can we reverse this?
If we leave it too long and it continues like this then our only option will be to abandon Arsenal because the time to object to the club’s activities has passed but we can no longer agree with what the club stands for. Has it already happened? Or do we let Arsenal get away with things we would not accept in other walks of life? And where would that lead..?
I feel, unbelievably naively, like I have not paid enough attention to this issue until so far down the line. So, whatever may or may not change simply because I have woken up to an important issue, I thank Holic and Snowy for there efforts to raise the issues that effect our club.
Trev, all the best. My thoughts are with you and yours mate.
Drinks all round. I wish the very best to the Landlord and to all who drink here. It is always a pleasure and a privilege.
Victoria Concordia Crescit.
Good news about the scan results, Trev. Sorry, too late to offer best wishes, but hope tests for nasty things continue to be negative.
And now a word of sympathy for ManYoo fans everywhere…
On second thoughts.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
COYG.
Trev – been there with seriously ill child — stay strong – thinking of you.
Snowy – brilliant piece — heartily endorsed here. Well said.
Holic — where the fuck did you find such an erudite and intelligent fan base?
Kudos to you.
Trev, happy to hear that it doesn’t appear to be too bad after all.
ttg: four points with three games to play is of course not at all impossible to overhaul. And imagine how much Liverpool must be kicking themselves over the Hull game now! Let that be a warning to us, anyone thinking we can just show up and get the points is sorely mistaken. Hull will be fighting tooth and nail for every ball so there is no room for complacency. In many ways I’d say this is the most difficult game we have left because it is all to easy to fall into the trap of thinking “we’re on a good run and they aren’t a top team” and drop a bit and then the opposition will hurt you.
GSD, top drink there @39.
Lars
Too true, I never take games at this stage of the season for granted. We have by and large done extraordinarily well in them over the last few years but Monday will be difficult. Personally I hope Newcastle go down because then the cash cow can’t be milked by Ashley so easily. I think we have a great chance of second and wish my friends from the Swamp a postponement of St Totteringham’s Day for one more week .
Hull 0 Arsenal 1.
82nd minute Ramsey replica of the FA Cup winner last season.
But it will NOT be easy before or after. Quite the opposite in fact. We should be on alert for flying tackles coming from every which angle, and if any club should know that Hull are a good side, it is Arsenal.
Great post GSD.
Trev – delighted to hear things have worked out somewhat. Hope every other concern is alleviated in time.
Lars, I echo your thoughts on Liverpool. They’ve been given so many chances by Manu the situation is actually laughable now.
Seconding what Joe said about Trev’s daughter’s good health.
Thirding…
Öskar
Interesting to see Messi letting Neymar take the late pen so he would also get on the score sheet, rather than take it himself to complete another hat trick. How many would have done that I wonder. Not Cristiano I’m betting!
Öskar
Best wishes, Trev.
And yes, Barcelona must always be destroyed.
Hope the news is good Trev.
..and F MU!
Up The Arse!
Trev: Sorry to hear about your daughter. Thoughts and best wishes with you, her and the family. Hope everything is starting to point in the right direction. Never easy.
Snowy: A most thought provoking post about something we don’t think about often, if at all, in connection with a football club (and props to the Guv’nor for giving it an airing). Like some others in the bar, I am in a somewhat ambiguous position. There is a connection that seems increasingly undeniable about advertising images and young women’s body self-image that in some cases leads to eating disorders and other unhealthy behaviours. There is also some evidence the same trait is being seen in boys. This is a charge to be laid at the door of advertising in general, not just the fashion industry. That all said advertising sponsorship is largely about transmitting corporate values by brand association (and as others have noted that particular ship has not only sailed but sunk). On the face of it an association between Lanvin and Arsenal works on the brand association level. What seems egregious in this case is the image used on the club site. Is there a need for a model at all? I note that on the Lanvin site, she was not used — just a picture of Giroud, Alexis and Ozil.
Snowy, a fine, thought provoking contribution, and thanks to ‘Holocene for posting it.
Back to football: the sheer stupidity of the FA for appointing Moss as the cup final referee was underscored by his performance at the Boleyn Ground yesterday. Needlessly sends off the defender who conceded the penalty when in fact there was ample defensive coverage. Pressure will be on to score quickly and often so he doesn’t get a chance to muck things up.
I can not for the life of me understand why they appoint the cup final ref more than a month ahead of the game. It puts enormous pressure on him, every decision he makes will be scrutinised to death and only make him perform worse in the final because by then he’ll be mentally drained.
Good point Lars, it does seem unhelpful at best. And John Moss needs no extra pressure on account of his already being, y’know, not a very good referee.
I think Moss’s performance at Wet Spam was par for him. No evidence of added pressure at all. The man, as GSD notes, is simply not very good. He has a track record of inept, bizarre and erratic decision making that goes back for years.
Moss got the final because they didn’t want to give it to Clattenberg because of politics in the Referees’ organisation and because the best ref this season, Oliver, is regarded as being ‘too young’. The Culture Club drummer of the same name would be a better choice.
John Moss always looks like a little fat fellow running after a bus that he is unable to catch. I
Am guessing this appointment is the refereeing equivalent of a gold watch as I would imagine he is close to retirement age. Don’t know what we are worrying about. It’s not as if a referee has ever cocked up big time against us when playing Villa is it……..? Oh dear!!!!
As Holic often says – I love you lot.
Thanks again for all the good wishes. Still waiting on a full scan of the spine but the brain and heart are clear at least.
Very kind of you all to take the trouble.
Ttg – “John Moss always looks like a little fat fellow running after a bus that he is unable to catch.”
Indeed, ttg, and he never seems to be able to stand up to pressure.
In fact. – the rolling Moss has gathered no stones. 😉
Trev, good to see some good news if not the prayed for all clear. Thinking of you both.
Insipid football from Chelsea today.
Nah, bt8bgfg, insipid is ten years without a trophy.
I’m sure now they’ve wrapped up the title we’ll see a much more entertaining Chel$ki, with many of their youth team players getting starts in the Premier League. I just hope we’ll be able to see all this what with the pigs flying in front of us and all.
COYG
Thanks Holic.
Pangloss I couldn’t watch the second half, for risk of retching, but Chelsea’s mighty first half display seemed to consist of trying to keep Palace from playing.
Unsurprising, 8ball, but mark my words, it will all be different when Che$ski visit the Hawthorns for their penultimate match on May 18. That match will be a feast of entertainment with their up-and-coming youngsters providing flowing football.
All by the light of a lovely blue moon.
COYG
Happy St Totteringham’s day to one and all 🙂
I know it is technically still possible for the Spuds to catch us but swing of 25 goals is really out of the question for the goal shy team from Shite Hart Lane
Nine points and 26 goals. Three to play for that lot.
Start making that lasagna, boys and girls!
Roll on next season, even though this one is not over yet.
Bored shitless all day watching pointless games.
A recently discovered Sakespeare play, King Gabriel 5 includes the following speech, spoken on the eve of St Totteringham’s Day:
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our Arsenal dead.
In the close season there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of Premiership blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour’d rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o’erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O’erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill’d with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest Arsenal.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call’d fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in Shenley, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your training; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry ‘God for Gabriel, Arsenal, and Saint Totteringham!'”
Just saying, like.
COYG
Blimey, Pangloss. The bard is all Arsenal and nothing but. Stirring stuff. 🙂
As Falstaff once said, “What did she wear?”
*Girds loins against the slings and arrows of outrageously scheduled fixtures.*
Henry IV Part 1 Act 5
The death of Hotspur
O, Harry Redknapp thou hast robb’d me of my youth scheme.
I better brook the loss of brittle life
Than those proud titles we hath never won ;
They wound my thoughts worse than sword my flesh:
But thought’s the slave of life, and life time’s fool;
And time, that takes survey of all the world,
Must have a stop. O, I could prophesy each season,
But that the earthy and cold hand of death
Lies on my tongue: no, Wenger thou art dust
And food for———
Dies
The Bard knew
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