Kevin Whitcher
Okay, so some self-publicity for the fanzine that funds this website, its podcast and itself. First up, a word about where The Gooner is now in these changing times. Print media has been suffering a significant downturn for a while now (did you know Arsenal’s matchday programme sells fewer copies now than it did at Highbury?), and The Gooner is no exception. It’s fair to say that our future is uncertain. The last time the cover price went up was before the year 2000. Additionally, there is hardly any advertising in our pages. Granted, some readers may not agree with the view in my editorials that change is needed at the club, but there are 46 other pages with a genuine range of opinions, nostalgia and humour. We are an open church that publishes submitted views from all ends of the spectrum of Arsenal opinion. We believe for £2 we give value for money.
The internet and social media provide content about Arsenal that is both free and more immediate, and indeed we have this very website and a twitter feed (publisher Mike Francis is our tweeter there). However, the continued existence of the fanzine is what underpins all media that is produced under The Gooner umbrella. So the long and short of it is that, if you want us to be around for the long term, we need to be selling enough copies of the fanzine to ensure we are not pouring money into a black hole. So please consider buying the issue and encourage all your Arsenal friends to support us if you want us to stick around, by buying a copy at the ground, or subscribing to receive issues by post - you can do that online here. You can also just buy the individual issue to be sent by post if you do not wish to subscribe right here. For those who now do their reading on computers, tablets or phones, you can help us by purchasing the e-version of the fanzine (also available on as an app through iTunes). Maybe the days of the printed football fanzine are nearing their end. Who knows?
Regards the issue on sale tomorrow, there are features on…
Memories of spot kicks missed against the Gunners
Departed players that should have been retained
Whether referees are genuinely biased against Arsenal
A hated XI (a team of opposition players to despise)
Opposition chatrooms spied on for the game v Stoke
Whether Wenger & Kroenke are our Batman & Robin or a Bonnie & Clyde
Spurs 1 Arsenal 1 remembered from 1992
Getting your kids to support your team
Review of Arsenal’s January transfer window
Bacary Sagna’s season so far
Nigel Winterburn celebrated
The job being done at boardroom level
And much more including all the usual features and columnists (except the Spy, who we use in a kind of Paul Scholes role these days!)
Fair enough for £2 of your money? Please support us if you agree.
