As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
Its Up 4 Grabs Now wrote:
Fair do's mate. To be clear, I rarely read any blogs so I couldn't comment on whether or not your writing's changed pre/post any dealings with the club. I don't see any problem with you striking a deal with them, especially since it's ultimately a personal blog - I think people (readers & writers) sometimes forget they're just vehicles for someone's personal opinion & no-ones obliged to take them as gospel truth or the authoritative voice on any subject.
But even if it was all just a straight-forward business arrangement surely you can see why people might easily perceive it as a threat to the integrity of your writing - e.g. "bunch's" post above. You said yourself that you acknowledged after the invite to the training ground that the club was seeking favourable publicity in doing so. On one side you've got huge exposure for the blog and any future books you write, and got paid for that in the process, on the other side the club got something to put in the member's packs. It's such a brilliant deal on your end I dont think it's that fanciful to feel the club might have at least been hoping to curry favour and keep you on side. Whether they succeeded is another matter. Or maybe this place has just made me too cynical about Arsenal Football Club.
Not really sure what the point of any of the above is, but it's wasted another 5 minutes of my day.
I do understand that (and I'll address this to bunch as well who said something similar above), but I've been doing Arseblog for 11 years now. All I've ever done is give my honest opinion on stuff and I'll continue to do that (even if some people might not like it!).
I wouldn't compromise myself or the site for a few free tickets or junkets or anything like that. I guess people have to decide whether or not to take me at my word, but if it meant nothing to me I wouldn't be on here addressing it.
Anyway, thanks for letting me have my say, here's to Sp*rs shitting the bed again and hopefully we can make things better in the summer.
the playing mantis wrote:everyone openly hostile to said blogger, then said blogger slightly in with the club comes on and posts and there are a lot of brown noses about
i have no issue with arseblogger, i dont read blogs apart from peakfans derbyshire cricket blog, cos im sad. but it is reassuraing you are form ireland, rather than some islington, middle class, oh so annoying superfan, who i got the impression of you from here as (purely based on your not apparently crircising the club).
as for why the forum got shut down the 2nd time, well thats an interesting one. it could be linked in with this thread, ie a website owner who doesnt want to damage their relationship with the club and the potential junkets that brings, by spinning a pro club line. the website got shut down at a time of seething disenchantment (whats new) and its not beyond the realms of possiblity to imagine the club had a word (even though this has been denied) and the plug was pulled for a few weeks to quiten it down and make people lose interest/go elsewhere. well it worked quite well, as the forum went from having many many active members who were seething at the club, to a forum although still good, has a lot fewer active members seething even more at the club.
the recent disgraceful undermining of the fanzines editor would also point this way...
the playing mantis wrote:everyone openly hostile to said blogger, then said blogger slightly in with the club comes on and posts and there are a lot of brown noses about
More like all the cyber warriors have gone into hiding
Arseblogger then banned him ( surprise surprise ), and so he turned up on another forum, was promptly banned again, and so turned up on here, so you can blame Arseblogger for that.
