The Dawn of A new Era - I Still Believe

piresistible · Post by **piresistible** » Mon May 18, 2009 9:29 am

Before i begin let me explain that i am in no way taken in by all this negativity that has surrounded the media and some of the people who jump on the bandwagon calling themselves arsenal supporters.

We are all Arsenal supporters. This simple fact, this state of being, has been a constant in my life for 30 years. It has brought me heartbreak and elation in equal measure from watching Tony Adams driving home the final league goal of a title-winning season to being curled up in the foetal position on my couch for 36 hours after Barcelona came from behind to crush our Champions League dreams in Paris.

In all that time I had come to believe that I had pretty much seen it allâ€¦..until these last few weeks.

In the last few weeks, I have watched hundreds of my fellow supporters come as close to blows as anybody could over the internet. I have listened in astonishment as players in the hallowed Red & White of Arsenal have been booâ€™d and jeered by their own supporters sometimes when they are warming up before coming on as a substitute
I have listened in shock while our most successful manager, one of the most respected figures in world football, had to endure a shareholderâ€™s meeting where participants were more concerned with taking cheap shots at our players than reasonable discourse. Imagine if you will, having the opportunity to talk directly to Arsene Wenger about various aspects of our club and its future direction and then wasting it by insulting him and our team. It beggars belief! Letâ€™s get something straight here. Jeering and insulting those who you you claim to support is tangibly oxymoronic with an emphasis on the â€˜moronâ€™ part.

How the hell did we get here? Have we become so demanding and so oblivious to our relative position in the football universe that we revert to tourette syndrome when events fail to unfold as we desire? Sadly, it would appear so.

What has changed over the years to make us thus? In truth it is probably a mixture of brainwashing from a partisan media, a nagging uncertainty about the future ownership of our club and the result of a diet of success that was far too rich for our own good for several years.

Here and now, every Arsenal supporter should ask themselves why they became a supporter in the first place. Was it to complain? Perhaps to facilitate writing abuse on the internet? Maybe it was to indulge in jeering the home team from the home supporters section. Maybe, but I suspect not.

What I suspect is that you became an Arsenal supporter out of love and passion for the club. It was this love and passion that caused you to put everthing else on hold come matchday. It was this love and passion that caused you to spend your hard-earned cash to see your team play live . It was this love and passion that allowed you to savour victory and success to to an opiate-like degree and that eased your pain when that success was fleeting, as it so often is in football.

It is now time to remember those things of yesteryear that sparked our love affair with this magnificent football club and realise that they are just as strong in us today as they were then. Complaining about our situation will not change it and the events of this year and others cannot be undone.

NOW is the time to unite behind our manager and behind our team. It is NOW during this bleak period that they need our support the most. We are their twelfth man and we are not matchfit anymore.

Letâ€™s have an end to all these ridiculous calls for Arsene Wenger to be replaced. He is going to be our manager for the forseable future so get behind him. When he eventually retires, he will greatly missed believe me. Letâ€™s also have an end to the incessant calls for him to buy players. OF COURSE HE IS GOING TO BUY PLAYERS! Not only that but he will buy the best players he can lay his hands on with the money he has available, which will most likely be substancial this year even though it hasnâ€™t been in recent years.

On top of that, when he does buy these players, make them feel welcome! Make up great songs about them, send them welcoming messages via the club and go and see them pre-season singing yourself hoarse in the process. Wear shirts with their names on the back. Show them that they belong and they will play their hearts out for you.

This seaon coming, RENEW YOUR FAITH IN THE ARSENAL! Wear your colours proudly! Drown out the voices of other supporters whether home or away with your singing! Roar your applause at every shot on goal whether it goes in or to row Z! Roar your applause at every substitute warming up and let them know that you are behind them and that their best will always be good enough.

You will see more of their best as a result. Increase your support to include the reserve matches, the youth games and our fantastic ladies team who are a national treasure. Go to their games come rain or shine! Break their attendance record until they have to put their matches on at The Emirates because they deserve to play there and they deserve you to be there for it. Make other supporters and other teams feel awe for the support that we give our team. Make the Emirates atmosphere the envy of the league! Lift our players and they will do their part and lift trophies. Raise your voices, lift your team and renew your faith.

Unity in the face of adversity.

Victory through Harmony.

We will get thereâ€¦â€¦.together.

mrgnu1958 · Post by **mrgnu1958** » Mon May 18, 2009 9:32 am

Great post fella..You should post more often.

ramon · Post by **ramon** » Mon May 18, 2009 9:35 am

spot on matey, i agree, there is too much crap in the media and unfrotuantely sites like this which are supposed to be backing our club are more concerned about slating it when we're dwon -

Postivity all the way

Post by **Belfast Boy** » Mon May 18, 2009 9:42 am

A nice bit of inspiration there bro - props

I_AM_GOONER · Post by **I_AM_GOONER** » Mon May 18, 2009 9:42 am

Spot on post!

FOXYARSENAL · Post by **FOXYARSENAL** » Mon May 18, 2009 9:55 am

good post that gave me a lift

Post by **flash gunner** » Mon May 18, 2009 9:56 am

I hope youre right

Number 5 · Post by **Number 5** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:00 am

An outstanding call to arms.

As one of the more vocal on here voicing my displeasure these last few weeks I must point out that I never bring it to the match with me. For the 90 minutes of the game the team and all the players get my full support. The times I've brought my boy to the game this year I've tried to instill that sense of faith in him.

I do think it is fair to question things when the dust has settled though. I'm sure even after another trophy laden year Man U will do the same. After winning golf Majors I doubt Tiger Woods rests on his laurels, he'll be analysing what went wrong, Nadal similar.

However it does seem to me a lot of this post is directed at the younger Wenger era fans. I'm sure the internet wasn't invented when I became a fan and for sure many others older than me this is true. Also I wasn't brought up on success. The first Arsenal game I recall attending I'm sure we lost and the first time I recall clearly Arsenal in a cup final was the 88 League Cup against Luton which we lost. Through all this I still became a staunch Arsenal fan and a lot of people I've met and talked to through the years have similar stories. What drew them to Arsenal wasn't glory but weirdly a defeat.

Still, a very very good post.

goonersid · Post by **goonersid** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:03 am

Your optimism and and faith are to be commended!

denhaaggooner · Post by **denhaaggooner** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:10 am

Very good post i started following the Arsenal in 1972 and i dont know why it was coz originally i come from sunny scunny it would of been easier to support leeds or any of the m62 teams but i was bought an arsenal shirt ( not like the modern ones btw) and i was hooked . my first trip to highbury was in 1980 and its that day i realised this club is SPECIAL i went home and away or for me away and away and i supported them through thick and thin mainly thin until recent history i give 100% support when i get to games not as often as i would like nowadays and i moan like fuck if we lose but i never boo or shout abuse at any of our team as i would like to think they are giving it their best although there is one who doesnt give a toss (seperate thread ) i will still be supporting them well after every current player has moved on i support ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB and not any individual >

Its Up 4 Grabs Now · Post by **Its Up 4 Grabs Now** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:12 am

Copy & pasted from some blog called Untold Arsenal... http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/ !

Mr Piresistible seems to have edited the first line or 2, presumably in the hope that would be the part someone might google to see where he stole his latest masterpiece from.

Other than that it looks pretty much word for word the same. Except for the bit at the end where it says Terence McGovern - as in Terence McGovern, the guy who wrote this piece originally.

And no Piresistible I dont believe you're Terence McGovern.

Number 5 · Post by **Number 5** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:14 am

Its Up 4 Grabs Now wrote:Copy & pasted from some blog called Untold Arsenal... http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/ !

Mr Piresistible seems to have edited the first line or 2, presumably in the hope that would be the part someone might google to see where he stole his latest masterpiece from.

Other than that it looks pretty much word for word the same. Except for the bit at the end where it says Terence McGovern - as in Terence McGovern, the guy who wrote this piece originally.

And no Piresistible I dont believe you're Terence McGovern.

What a *word censored*.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:15 am

Try reading Kev's On-Line editorial in response to Wenger's performance at the Shareholders meeting.

If Wenger can't stand up and justify himself for a couple of questions without becoming overheated it suggests - as Kev writes - that the whole business is getting too much for him.

Post by **flash gunner** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:16 am

Its Up 4 Grabs Now wrote:Copy & pasted from some blog called Untold Arsenal... http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/ !

Mr Piresistible seems to have edited the first line or 2, presumably in the hope that would be the part someone might google to see where he stole his latest masterpiece from.

Other than that it looks pretty much word for word the same. Except for the bit at the end where it says Terence McGovern - as in Terence McGovern, the guy who wrote this piece originally.

And no Piresistible I dont believe you're Terence McGovern.

I was going to reply where did you copy and paste that from (my usual reply to Ramons massive posts) but thought id give piresistable the benefit of the doubt

GunnerDude · Post by **GunnerDude** » Mon May 18, 2009 10:17 am

Great Post!