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.
DB10GOONER wrote:
Chesney was back to his arrogant, smiling at the oppo, trying to be too clever, fucking worst last night. I was hoping he had grown out of that shite but it seems it's still there under the surface.
Totally. There is a strong corellation with him acting like a cock and us playing badly. That frigging kick straight on to higuain's head... ffs
Glad I opted to dodge the trip, given that 2nd half collapse by us. We didn't look like scoring but should've taken a 0-0 away from that and group winners.
Anyone who went know how many supporters we had out there? Any trouble etc.
Robin_L wrote:Glad I opted to dodge the trip, given that 2nd half collapse by us. We didn't look like scoring but should've taken a 0-0 away from that and group winners.
Anyone who went know how many supporters we had out there? Any trouble etc.
Haven't heard anything out of the ordinary yet, so that probably means they've all been stabbed
augie wrote:don't you think that you should want more and expect more when it is on a plate there for you ?
augie wrote:That being said, I know that last nights game wasnt on a plate as such :
Augie, I respect your posts a lot mate but sometimes things tend to go awry
I made the first statement earlier, got pulled up on it and then accepted that to say that it was done and dusted might have been a slight exaggeration on my behalf but that it was ours for the taking......I do talk shite on here at times but don't see how that is one of those times Anyway to change your mind on here isn't just an accepted practice, it is actively encouraged
You have to give credit to the Gooners that made it out there. I'm presuming there was only a few hundred or so...great to hear their singing at times on TV last night.
augie wrote:don't you think that you should want more and expect more when it is on a plate there for you ?
augie wrote:That being said, I know that last nights game wasnt on a plate as such :
Augie, I respect your posts a lot mate but sometimes things tend to go awry
I made the first statement earlier, got pulled up on it and then accepted that to say that it was done and dusted might have been a slight exaggeration on my behalf but that it was ours for the taking......I do talk shite on here at times but don't see how that is one of those times Anyway to change your mind on here isn't just an accepted practice, it is actively encouraged
Although in fairness to you augie, most of the conditions were in our favour in that it was 3/4 (at best) filled stadium that mainly lacked the hostile atmosphere most feared; the Napoli team were out of form coming into the game; Benetiz's comments prior to the match was that they would be looking for the win but not necessarily by 3 goals (meaning they weren't going to go all out and try and blitz us - thankfully, as it turned out!!) and we had held them relatively comfortably in the first half while playing in 2nd gear. The very least we should have got out of it was a draw and the fact we didn't means we will have to suffer the consequences of a tougher draw and an away 2nd Leg tie during a difficult time of the season, rather than the easier tie at home that was within our grasp.
Having said all that, I feel that if we play well we stand a decent chance against PSG, Barca or even Real (providing we don't lose in the Home tie) and would be more concerned with drawing Bayern or Athletic, who have managers that may tactically out-wit Wenger. Mind you, it doesn't take too much to do that!!
[quote="augieI made the first statement earlier, got pulled up on it and then accepted that to say that it was done and dusted might have been a slight exaggeration on my behalf but that it was ours for the taking......I do talk shite on here at times but don't see how that is one of those times Anyway to change your mind on here isn't just an accepted practice, it is actively encouraged [/quote]
OK mate 1-0 to the Augie
Robin_L wrote:Glad I opted to dodge the trip, given that 2nd half collapse by us. We didn't look like scoring but should've taken a 0-0 away from that and group winners.
Anyone who went know how many supporters we had out there? Any trouble etc.
Club have released a statement
Arsenal Football Club has released the following statement:
"We are aware of the problems our travelling supporters had on Wednesday night and in particular their late arrival at the game. We are very disappointed for our fans that they had a difficult evening but the circumstances were beyond our control. We have launched an investigation to work out precisely what happened."
Intresting
Think that the text has been edited though - here is the initial version
Arsenal Football Club has released the following statement:
"We are aware of the problems our players had on Wednesday night and in particular their late arrival at the game. We are very disappointed for our fans that they had a difficult evening but the circumstances were beyond our control. We have launched an investigation to work out precisely what happened."
DB10GOONER wrote:
Chesney was back to his arrogant, smiling at the oppo, trying to be too clever, fucking worst last night. I was hoping he had grown out of that shite but it seems it's still there under the surface.
Totally. There is a strong corellation with him acting like a cock and us playing badly. That frigging kick straight on to higuain's head... ffs
He needs a fucking slap. Thinks he's fucking round on FIFA not wearing the cannon.
758 teams entered last seasons FA Cup (according to wiki!)...and realistically at least 700 have no chance of winning it - yet seem happy enough to take part and have the odd chance of glory along the way. So why should we bleat about getting through the Group Stage of the CL even though we too have little or no chance of winning it...? There are plenty of fans out there who support their teams for 30+ years and see them win fuck all. Are they all wasting their time...?
Ask those fans who were in Madrid when we won 1-0, or Dortmund this season. Or at the Grove when we beat Barca... I'd still rather be in than out.
MK Gould wrote:758 teams entered last seasons FA Cup (according to wiki!)...and realistically at least 700 have no chance of winning it - yet seem happy enough to take part and have the odd chance of glory along the way. So why should we bleat about getting through the Group Stage of the CL even though we too have little or no chance of winning it...? There are plenty of fans out there who support their teams for 30+ years and see them win fuck all. Are they all wasting their time...?
Ask those fans who were in Madrid when we won 1-0, or Dortmund this season. Or at the Grove when we beat Barca... I'd still rather be in than out.
Hi Mick - good to have you back on here, mate.
I'd counter your argument by saying it's down to the old cliche of expectations. Should someone supporting a small club like Luton or spurs and maybe paying less than half for tickets than we do, have the same expectations as us? As you know, we pay some of the highest ticket prices in the PL. We pay our players huge wages that quite often are not deserved or have not been earned by many of those players. Our manager "earns" £7million a year. We are The Arsenal. We are a huge club, world renowned.
So I'd say, for me anyway, whilst I certainly don't expect to win everything I do expect to win something every now and again. I also expect the club to use its money better. Better transfer market performance, better wage structure based on performance would be a start.
And whilst I too can take serious enjoyment from a single result it doesn't mean I can't be angry or complain when the club/team/manager gets it wrong surely? The two aren't mutually exclusive.
MK Gould wrote:758 teams entered last seasons FA Cup (according to wiki!)...and realistically at least 700 have no chance of winning it - yet seem happy enough to take part and have the odd chance of glory along the way. So why should we bleat about getting through the Group Stage of the CL even though we too have little or no chance of winning it...? There are plenty of fans out there who support their teams for 30+ years and see them win fuck all. Are they all wasting their time...?
Ask those fans who were in Madrid when we won 1-0, or Dortmund this season. Or at the Grove when we beat Barca... I'd still rather be in than out.
That's only one stage away from the argument that we should be grateful as there are normally 16 other teams in the league who would swap positions with us. It's all about relativity, of course if somebody like Villa were qualifying year in year out you would say that is a fantastic achievement and they shouldn't be too bothered that they're not going to win it but they don't have the wage bill, ticket prices or players that we've had and they're nowhere near as big a club. Also of course the bitter pill that we are constantly reminded how the mere fact of qualification constitutes (a substitute for) success.
And of course it does impact on the rest of the season, how many times has our FA Cup campaign gone to shit because we've prioritised the CL and still got nowhere near winning it?
MK Gould wrote:758 teams entered last seasons FA Cup (according to wiki!)...and realistically at least 700 have no chance of winning it - yet seem happy enough to take part and have the odd chance of glory along the way. So why should we bleat about getting through the Group Stage of the CL even though we too have little or no chance of winning it...? There are plenty of fans out there who support their teams for 30+ years and see them win fuck all. Are they all wasting their time...?
Ask those fans who were in Madrid when we won 1-0, or Dortmund this season. Or at the Grove when we beat Barca... I'd still rather be in than out.
That's a small club attitude and regardless of ticket prices, shouldn't we aspire to more than to hope we can beat a "big club" ? I do understand the point that you are making but we are far too big of a club to have to accept being also rans
You have to give credit to the Gooners that made it out there. I'm presuming there was only a few hundred or so...great to hear their singing at times on TV last night.
I went to the game and I think there were about 700ish fans (so i have been told). In general Naples is a dive and I never felt safe out in the open, but following the clubs instructions I always felt safe, which was the most important part of the trip. Pre-drinks were in a secluded part of the port away from any locals and with a strong police/steward presence in the vicinity and we were ushered onto the coaches from 6pm onwards (for an 8.45pm kick off and a 30-45 min journey). I got onto one of the coaches at 6.15pm, after having my ticket checked against my passport and a thorough search by the Naples police. All coaches were at a standstill until 7.30pm when we eventually started making our way to the stadium with a police escort surrounding the coaches-. After taking what seemed like a very odd route (according to google maps). We were close to the stadium about 15 mins prior to kick off but started just circling around the stadium until 15 mins after the game had kicked off, this got a lot of fans very wound up as they had been over 2 hours and yet found themseleves still late for the game. Once we did arrive there was an inevitable rush for the entrances is where we were held up again and by this point most fans were furious, although we did all eventually get into the game (albeit 20 minutes late).
After the game I spoke to a few fans who had heard that there had been trouble around the ground prior to the game and a few fans were injured and taken to hospital, which helps explain why we were circling the ground for 30 minutes. It was quite frustrating at the time but from my point of view our safety was the most important thing to me. I still feel it was poorly organised and that the coaches should have left earlier and the Italian authorities should have done a better job of ensuring a safe entrance for the away fans.
I have been on a fair few european away trips and it always seems that we get treated poorest by the authorities in Italy, which is very disappointing and frustrating as I dont feel our authorities would get away with treating away fans that visit the Emirates the way that they do. The most upsetting thing is I take 2 days off work, spend a fair amount of my hard earned cash to go and support the team I love in a foreign country and like to feel safe enough to explore the city, make my own way to the ground in good time to soak up the atmosphere in the build up to kick off and I just didnt feel that was an option in Naples.
MK Gould wrote:758 teams entered last seasons FA Cup (according to wiki!)...and realistically at least 700 have no chance of winning it - yet seem happy enough to take part and have the odd chance of glory along the way. So why should we bleat about getting through the Group Stage of the CL even though we too have little or no chance of winning it...? There are plenty of fans out there who support their teams for 30+ years and see them win fuck all. Are they all wasting their time...?
Ask those fans who were in Madrid when we won 1-0, or Dortmund this season. Or at the Grove when we beat Barca... I'd still rather be in than out.
If those 700 or so teams abandoned all of the other competitions they played in then your comparison might be a valid one. Doncaster Rovers might well be delighted reaching the 5th round of the FA Cup, but they won't play a weakened side in a League match the week before in favour of it.
The problem with the Be All and End All is that it is a competition that excites owners because it makes them rich. Everytime There's Only One gets us through the qualifying round and then the group stage Kroenke must rub his trousers Vic Reeves style as another £25m comes rolling into the bank account. Sod the fact that the fans who paid to watch us play Blackburn at home in the cup were treated to Forehead up front.....who cares about winning something when the prize money is only a couple of million eh ?
That's the difference between a club like Arsenal in the Be All and End All and Yeovil in the FA Cup - although neither club can win the competition, one sacrifices everything else in its path in the name of cash, and the other treats it for what it is.....a bit of a glory run but not one worthy of throwing away everything else
Kroenke and the Windowlickers might get an almighty boner at the prospect of earning £25m before being whipped in Munich or Milan, but as a fan I find it the most predictable, long winded and boring fucking process of the entire season
Last edited by SteveO 35 on Fri Dec 13, 2013 7:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Massive credit to you all for going, surely should be a partial refund by the Napoli establishment for this, maybe send the bill to Platini who needs to get the situation in Italy for away fans sorted out ASAP
Anyway to change your mind on here isn't just an accepted practice, it is actively encouraged 
and maybe paying less than half for tickets than we do, have the same expectations as us? As you know, we pay some of the highest ticket prices in the PL. We pay our players huge wages that quite often are not deserved or have not been earned by many of those players. Our manager "earns" £7million a year. We are The Arsenal. We are a huge club, world renowned. 
