Mike Francis
Kevin’s editorial on Sunday created quite a stir and especially his idea of how fans can push for change. If I’m looking for a positive, then the ensuing debate which has taken place on this website, on Twitter and on other blogs and forums, was a worthwhile one as Arsenal fans discovered their voices and got things off their chest.
However, there has been a lot of negative reaction as well and that’s something, as the owner (or publisher if you prefer) of the fanzine, I felt I had to address.
In the 25 years since I produced the first issue The Gooner has never claimed to speak for all Arsenal fans and, as long as I remain involved, it never will. I’d go further and say that it’s simply impossible for any individual, magazine, organisation or blog to speak on behalf of all Arsenal fans as we have a diverse fanbase which are never going to agree on every aspect of how the club is run or managed or the ability of individual players who don the red and white shirt. Well, OK, maybe we can agree on a couple!
What The Gooner tries to do is to give fans a platform to have their say and I’d like to think we’ve succeeded on that score over the years. One of my favourite sayings is that every contributor is a fan and every fan is a potential contributor. What that does mean though is that no individual – including Kevin and myself - can ever give a view which they can claim is The Gooner’s because that would be to ignore the thoughts of all the people who contribute to the fanzine, without whom the fanzine would not exist. However, I don’t think that means we should not be able to have a view at all for fear of it being regarded as Gooner policy although I do accept that’s a hard message to convey because it isn’t necessarily how other publications work.
Kevin is a fan just like the rest of us and therefore has as much right to express an opinion as anyone else. Of course, the fact that he’s also the editor of the fanzine and website does perhaps give him a higher profile than others, but it would be a strange state of affairs if that required him to dim his obvious passion for the team he supports.
We were all frustrated after Saturday’s result and Kevin’s piece reflected a lot of that frustration – perhaps too much. It contained his view that we need a change of manager, which has been his position for a while now and it’s one we know a lot of people agree with. Nevertheless, there are also a significant number of fans who strongly disagreed with the way he suggested fans could bring about the change he thinks is necessary, and the comments about Arsenal fans turning on each other. My own view was that it over-stepped the mark, but I don’t believe he encouraged physical violence between the fans with different viewpoints as some have claimed.
As I run the GoonerFanzine Twitter account, I received plenty of “feedback” throughout the day and responded to some, although not as many as I’d have liked due to a lack of time and also because I was reluctant to fan the flames of discontent. I’ve also stayed off Twitter today for the same reason, but have to admit to being dismayed and a little bit ashamed to see the piece in the Evening Standard on Monday night which reports that “The Gooner have called on Wenger to go and want supporters to protest”. That may be Kevin’s personal view, but it is not one I support and I know some contributors who won’t either. I hope they will not be offended at being grouped together under a single umbrella.
I accept I may get some flak from those who think Kevin is right to say what he did and I’m being weak willed by wanting to distance myself and the fanzine from the remarks. That’s fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I’ve tried to explain my reasons above.
As I mentioned to someone on Twitter recently, I don’t like conflict and do take criticism to heart, especially when it’s about something which has taken up as much of my life as The Gooner has. I’ve described it as “my baby” before and it hurts to read and hear some of the comments made about it. I am not a professional publisher or writer and started The Gooner because I enjoyed writing about my club (and as a reaction to a Chelsea fans boast for those of you who know your Gooner history). Many of the people who have contributed to the fanzine over the years have done so for the same reason, so whilst I’d be surprised if you picked up our latest issue and agreed with every word which was written, I’d also be disappointed if you couldn’t feel the passion of the writers in their articles and empathise with some of the views expressed.
In the latest issue we have talked about falling sales and how the future of the fanzine is uncertain. Perhaps the ease with which people can create and maintain personal blogs these days means there is less need for a fanzine to exist. If that’s the case, then so be it, but I wouldn’t want our reputation to be sullied at the final hurdle due to people not recognising that a personal view is not necessarily the view of everyone associated with the fanzine. I hope this article goes some way to ensuring that won’t happen.
