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Fuck off 2009-2010

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Written by Lindsay Melrose Monday, 10 May 2010 11:16

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By Lindsay Sheehan

When the dust settles – Gooners need to look within
My mum always taught me if you can’t say anything nice then don’t say anything at all. Didn’t stop her when she wanted to comment on Mrs Jones’ across the road loose nature but hey it’s a good ethos to live your life by. So third place is secured and time for a quick chuckle at the new Champions League contestants 4-2 defeat at already relegated Burnley.
 I think most Gooners have found this season departed leaving behind a proper nasty taste in their mouths. When we started the year we all knew there were deficiencies in our squad. We all knew where exactly these deficiencies were. We all knew we would be lucky to challenge for the league and that a good cup run would be our only real chance at glory. After Liverpool’s second place finish last year it was us that were the likely candidates to finish outside the top four and pundits and papers everywhere were readying their scorn.
But by a miracle we were in it until the last month. It obviously wasn’t a miracle, Jesus/Buda/Mohammed/Insert any deity you like here, had not decided to bless us, I am assuming they had other things to do this year and therefore took their eyes off the Arsenal.   No it was because the Prem has been a nothing short of a disappointment this season. The top teams were definitely weaker, whether that was due to injury, (Torres, RVP, half of Everton) the selling of top players, (Ronaldo/ Alonso/Tevez) or red top newspaper headlines (JT, Wayne Bridge, Cashley) everyone suffered the collywobbles. Random results such as Wigan 3 Chelsea 1, Burnley 1 Man Utd 0 kept everyone interested because it seemed no one actually wanted to win the darn thing.
The Carling Cup saw the youngsters put in 2 decent shifts against strong opposition. The Liverpool game was a great example. That dream ended at Eastlands and the second heavy defeat of the season to Citeh.  The FA Cup saw that twat bag Dulap strike again in less than 70 seconds and a under strength Arsenal side crumbled 3-1. According to our filming most fans were disappointed that we didn’t give the cup the respect it deserves and have a good full strength crack at it. I am with them on that.
In the Champions League we showed real comedy (Standard Liege away first 10 minutes, Fabainski Porto away) and real class (Bendtner/Nasri Porto Home) But we drew the reigning champions and chuck in the fucking boring, many time mentioned, injury list for the away fixture and it was always gonna be an uphill struggle. Again denied a full team vs a full team battle, the tie became yet another case of what if.
Frustration with our manager has grown and even the most diehard in WWT or AKB fans has seen their faith severely tested. The community has buzzed with blogs and comments by Gooners venting their spleens at his perceived stubbornness or complete short sighted approach. On the other side conspiracy theories citing finances and board room unease and have also circulated wildly. I think the money has been a genuine concern. We’ve always been told there is a £30 million war chest ready to be opened but it never did burst its hinges. In a global recession where property prices and the housing market in general has been badly hit would it be a big surprise to find that our belt had to be tightened for a few years?  Would Arsenal ever make that widely known? Manure are up to their shaggy eyeballs in debt, Liverpool don’t seem to have a ha’penny to rub together, Pompey are in deeper shit than Ashley Cole’s mobile on a Saturday night, West Ham, Hull and of course lots of lower league clubs are all reporting problems. Without a rich Russian/Arab benefactor and a stadium re development to sell it would seem more of a shock if we did have cash funds.  But really could we not even afford more than £10 mil a campaign?  Whatever the truth, next season our manager will be watched as critically by fans and papers alike.
Finally I’d like to say that despite the disappointments this season, regardless of the so near and yet so far nature of our campaign what I saw at full time in the Emirates yesterday sickened me. Yes the lap of appreciation is a proper piss take. I am unsure what the point is other than just to thank the fans for their support but let’s face it – without a trophy in our captain’s hands it’s a pretty silly long walk round the pitch.  By the time the players came out, the stadium was incredibly empty. What the fuck is wrong with us? Cesc was leading the march.  Are we are so moany, so ungrateful and so bitter that we can’t even wait behind 10 minutes to clap a player who is probably one of the best in the world?  One that we have already labelled as our hero time and time again?  Did Eboue really not deserve a cheer from a full stadium for the effort and dedication he has shown since his red card at the Lane last season? Did Bendtner, in his first real step up season, not merit a few bars of his theme tune in recognition of his first ever hat trick? Should Nasri believe that his home support did not appreciate his attempts to fill the hole left by Fabregas?  Nor his wonderful goal against Porto?  Should Vermaelen not hear the fans roar as he roared against forwards when we needed him to in his first season with us? Should he not feel that we know he is an Arsenal hard bastard straight from the old school? Should Gibbs’ effort at returning some classy English to our left back position not be acknowledged once he got broken?  Should Sol and his mammoth performances  and  equally mammoth thighs not warrant a standing ovation? Are we punishing our manager for his lack of spending by showing him and his team a lack of respect? Fuck me I am as disappointed as the next person about how things have ended but  is this how far we Gooners have fallen? Are we now full of fair weather support? Has this stadium brought us football tourists ready to move on should their demands not be met?  Look down the road to the other lot, would that have happened there even if they had finished 15th? Never.
As much as at the moment we have to ask questions about the progression of our team. Honestly I think we need to also ask a few questions of ourselves.
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