Mark Halfpenny
Ivan Gazidis, April 2017. “Arsene Wenger must become a catalyst for change for the Club, if he stays”. Now, now - come on. Stop laughing! He’s got 2 million reasons (per year - plus bonuses) for spouting such nonsense. Here’s a quick grammar lesson for you Ivan.
Catalyst. Noun. An event or person that causes great change.
Change. Verb. Make or become different. an act or process through which something becomes different.
Oh dear Ivan – have you been caught out, doing that thing that slippery, devious politicians and crafty businessmen do? You know… that thing where they treat their audience as simple, ignorant beings that will accept something because it is said by someone in a position of authority. Although, having said that, we should probably just ignore Gazidis. After all, his boss Stan Kroenke does!
But I digress. Let’s return to “Catalyst for Change”. Around season ticket renewal time, the Club were planting the usual stories about Wenger being handed a £150 million war chest in papers including the Daily Star, and The Express, not forgetting The Sun.
However, as before, these “stories” were just that – stories. We’ve become used to a transfer window horror show but this one was far, far worse. In fact, the Chuckle Brothers would struggle to be worse. We turned down a £10 million bid for Kieran Gibbs, only to accept a £7 million offer from the same club at the 11th hour. Gabriel was sold at a loss just two years after arriving. Shkodran Mustafi (£35 million don’t forget) was desperate to leave after just one season.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain took a huge pay cut to get away, and he became the first player ever to make his debut whilst still playing for his old club. Lacazette joined for £52 million, only to get splinters in his poor old bum-bum. Kylian Mbappe was – ahem - “going to join”… but didn’t. Thomas Lemar was – ahem - “going to join”… but didn’t. And as for Alexis Sanchez, a dog’s dinner doesn’t come close to describing that situation. I didn’t think we could ever top the “trolley dash” in 2011, but we did.
And we’re not just a #shambles off the pitch, we’re a #shambles on it as well. Leicester saw the usual defensive lapses. At Stoke we had 77% possession, attempted 732 passes… and lost 1-0. Then the travelling circus descended upon Liverpool, to deliver Jurgen Klopp’s Christmas presents four months early.
Liverpool’s third goal will be shown for years, under the heading “How Not To Defend”. Our corner; lose the ball; our last “defender” positions himself 75 yards from his own goal; tries a bit of keepy uppy; gets the keepy uppy all wrong; gifts the ball to a surprisingly nippy forward; 12 seconds later we’re 3-0 down. Even my son’s under 9 team have learned that all 10 outfield players shouldn’t really try to be Pelé at the same time. As for the manager – well he just sat there. Just like he did when Crystal Palace thrashed us 3-0 last season.
And then we come to the excuses. The same old, tired excuses. The excuses that would be funny, if they weren’t so insulting. Gazidis has stated “At the end of the window, reviewing all activity, we have once again improved the depth and quality of the squad” – totally ignoring the fact that the squad is an unbalanced, overpaid, bloated mess. He followed that up with “Everything is coloured by results... a positive performance at Liverpool would have coloured this transfer window very differently”. Yes but we didn’t win at Liverpool did we? We got thrashed. Again. If I could run faster than Usain Bolt, I’d be Olympic Champion – but I can’t. And I’m not!
The manager’s excuses continue to be of “the dog ate my homework” variety. He speaks of a “Hunger Index” (stop laughing!!) meaning that players will focus and try harder in the last year of their contract. Just a few days later, he did what he has done so many times before and contradicted himself totally. This time he was calling for the January transfer window to be scrapped, so that players focus and don’t think “Where do I go in January?”
As for the majority shareholder, well – who knows? He’s like a crap Father Christmas – only comes once a year but never brings any presents. To Stan Kroenke, Arsenal Football Club is just another franchise in his sporting portfolio. He has shown time and time again that he is in it purely for the profits. His contribution to the UK economy this summer involved opening a vile TV channel that glorified trophy hunting. As if we needed any more proof that Kroenke is, on so many levels, the wrong man to lead Arsenal.
So – Catalyst for Change???? After the 8-2 humiliation at Old Trafford. The 6-0 “accident” at Stamford Bridge. The various 5-1 “setbacks” against Bayern Munich. The 2-1 “special circumstances” Cup Final defeat to relegated Birmingham. The annual Champions League humiliations. The chaotic transfer policy. The absent, greedy owner. The self-serving Chief Executive - what exactly has changed??
Our protests last season were not about one match, or one performance, or even one season. They were about systemic failure; repeated mistakes; one man having too much power; a chaotic transfer policy; watching the same gutless performance; hearing the same excuses; from a Club that used to stand for all that was good about football.
We used the term NO NEW CONTRACT. This wasn’t aimed solely at Arsene Wenger; it was aimed also at Stan Kroenke and the Board of Directors. But, to a man (a self serving man) they ignored us. In a way, I don’t blame them. After all, it is human nature to cling on to any kind of gravy train, especially one this lucrative.
Where we do take exception, however, is their complete and utter failure to realise that we are funding this gravy train and their performance has been woeful. We were promised change last season and it is already wholly apparent that change is the last thing on their minds.
So – what can we, as mere supporters do? Well - we can do exactly what we did last season and protest. The protest organisers are planning several more stunts, similar to the ones we arranged last season, but :-
Whether you want Wenger Out.
Whether you want Kroenke Out.
Whether you wonder what Ivan Gazidis does.
Whether you think it is time for the excuses to stop.
Whether you think Arsenal should be doing so much better.
Whether you think it is Time For A Change.
Whatever your reason, then please join us before the home match vs West Bromwich Albion on Monday 25th September. We intend to meet outside the wonderful old Marble Halls of Highbury’s East Stand just before 7pm and from there we will march together to the new stadium. It will be totally peaceful and all designed to let Kroenke, Wenger, Gazidis and Co. know that their time is up. And if enough Gooners turn up, we really can make this – TIME FOR A CHANGE.
We have started up a fresh campaign page to raise fighting funds. Last season, your contributions enabled us to fly planes over grounds, rent a mobile billboard, do projections onto buildings, stage a humorous protest outside London Colney, get banners produced and more. If you wish to chip in – here’s where you can donate…
