A Miserable Old Gooner
The usual Mickey Mousers crowd were in for our match with Wigan and many had made valiant efforts to get there, with some still arriving as late as half time. There were lots of youngsters in the ground, which is always good. But clearly they don't get educated in the ways of football crowds nowadays presumably because their opportunity to visit the stadium is so rare.
First off the Mickey Mouse crowd which includes all too few season ticket holders always come out with far too many 'Stand up if you hate Tottenham' chants. It's boring and the only real point of this chant is to annoy stewards away from home. Despising those scumbags at the wrong end of Seven Sisters Road is no reason to stand up. Likewise vain attempts, as was the case at the Wigan game thankfully, to start a Mexican wave also get right up my nose. Mexican waves are for those who have a 30 second attention span or who don't want to watch the football. Mexican waves are an irritant and a distraction I can live without, as I'm quite sure can the players.
Amusingly, and I've no idea quite why it's amusing, there were two nutters in block 12 who were bare-chested for most of the second half. Showing off I understand, self-inflicted pneumonia I don't comprehend. Were they Geordie Gooners?
Far too many part timers stand up when there is absolutely no need. But it’s not the standing up that annoys me, or the fact that quite often they're doing so in front of small children at League Cup games, although it’s certainly not very considerate. No standing up is fine, and the kids can stand on the seats for all I care, just so long as they all know when to sit down again - i.e. as soon as is practically possible. As always at the Mickey Mousers there were plenty of people standing up when there was no reason or need, other than to stamp their feet for warmth of course.
All trivial stuff but sadly near the end of the game there was one young fan who ran down the pitch-side to shake Wenger's hand. Unlike some, I can relate to shaking Wenger's hand but any sort of pitch invasion, even if not quite on the pitch is a major no-no. Shortly after this incident another two young idiots thought it would be fun to run on the pitch and act like the arseholes they so clearly were. They then showboated for what can only be for the benefit of their mates. Very annoying because Arsenal fans usually know better. Way back when they would have been jumped on from a great height and got a good battering from the Old Bill to boot. Now they are just gently led away. I hope the silly little fools get a lifetime ban, or at least a ban until such time as they actually grow up.
An Arsenal spokeswoman said: "Regardless of age it is a criminal offence to encroach on the pitch, and as a consequence we will be actively pursuing a banning order for those involved in last night’s pitch invasions." Good.
One mystery, at least to me: what was that waterfall running off the North Bank roof all about?
