Are fans becoming a little too much for the game?

by .

Late one today, because I gave myself a serious bout of fruit-juice poisoning yesterday. I’ve been leaving it behind radiators to make my own Hooch. Doesn’t taste like the stuff we were drinking as kids in the park let me tell you.

A FEW COMPLAINTS TODAY.

Firstly, would the whole of Scotland just grow the fuck up about Brendy leaving Celtic for a better life? The pathetic whimperings of the Scottish media and the English journalists who found out 23&Me that they are 0.00002% Scottish are absolutely unbelievable.

I get it, it’s really f*cking hip to make out you have a connection to a dog shit league, but come on, can anyone really blame any manager with a bit of ambition wanting to leave a country that just burgled his house because he enacted his right to take a better job? Not me. I am a really big believer in employment law.

Here’s the other thing. The romantic notion of Scottish football is a total myth. The entertainment value, the working class vibes, the lack of money… MONEY?! Are you kidding me Celtic fans? Average yearly wage at Celtic is £865k, at Rangers £466k, and at Aberdeen £138k. Celtic are possibly the most pound for pound (literally) dominant European club in their own league (I didn’t do the sums, total hyperbole). They’ve won the league every season since 2011. Other clubs have absolutely no chance. Celtic are a lightweight boxer beating on children, then romanticising the notion after an 8-year unbeaten run.

As for entertainment? Sure, I’ll give that to the SPL, the league is unpredictable… but the football is extremely poor. Even the Old Firm Derby is Championship Level (taking out the top 6 of the Championship).

Why would Brendan Rodgers want to continue in a one club league? What prestige is there in utterly dominating the most uneven playing field world football (hyperbole)? Leicester has an ambitious board, they have some great players, they have a really good setup and they’ve won the league in the last 5 years. It’s a great move.

Also, how fucking bad is the SPL when they’re crying over losing a guy who is one of the hottest memes in the game?

My second BEEF is with journalists identifying something fans have always done and lambasting it as a social ill. The latest one I’ve been reading about is blame culture in the game. Yep, there’s a select few old romantics who remember the game as it once was, devoid of passion, reasoned and balanced in critique. There was apparently a time when fans didn’t unfairly bully refs.

Are you fucking kidding? This eulogizing of yesteryear from 30 somethings is beyond embarrassing. I am a thirty-something, my first memory of football was asking my dad what a ‘wanker’ was because the whole stadium was viciously singing it at a referee. Remember, I am an Arsenal fan, a member of the Highbury Library, my entire football upbringing was spent listening to hilarious abuse from the stands. If I can remember it always being this way, no doubt every other thirty-something supporting other clubs must have witnessed it louder.

The over-analysis of football was always there, it just happened behind the scenes. The Whatsapp group used to be aggressive football chat over the phone (I’d call 5 or 6 people from work after a big game, back when it was socially acceptable to pick up the phone). Twitter was just shouting at people in bars. Transfer news was 65p a minute sent to TeamTalk. The social media didn’t make anything more intense, it just documented it and made it global.

As for blame culture in the game… it has gone on FOREVER. That is what sport is. Winners, losers and fat scapegoats sitting in the yard taking a whipping by fat fans in tight replica shirts.

Don’t even get me started on journalists getting angry at fans bantering the opposition… or being rash in their analysis.

The game is built on passion, stupid opinion and the constant back and forth dialogue about whether 27 is 28, whether pink boots are acceptable if you’re a shit player, whether Denilson shared DNA with a crab, whether Almunia really did have a thumb injury, or whether Tom Cruise and JET was the mightiest on pitch partnership that never really happened.

Blame culture is a social ill? WEST HAM FANS BURNED A BECKHAM EFFIGY FOR A RED CARD! BARCA FANS THREW A PIG HEAD AT FIGO! COLOMBIA ASSASSINATED A PLAYER FOR A MISSED PENALTY!

Football is about obsession (obvs not supporting assassinations). Slow motion replays. Disgust at BIAS refs. The Fergie referee corruption conspiracy. Wenger’s handbrake. Theirry’s light leg stroke of Jamie Carragher. Always has been, always will be.

If you find it uncouth… turn off your Twitter. No one will miss you.

Right, that’s me done, BIG LOVE x

P.S. What about the mighty Ajax last night? That’s a club with a philosophy and a plan to enact it. So many brilliant young players. Arsenal won’t be able to harvest their own youth like that in the short term, but we should be snapping up elite 17-23-year-olds and growing a team that looks similar. Also, fuck the ‘Madrid are shite’ commentary… that was Ajax being hungrier and more aggressive.

355 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Elmo

With the way United are back to annoyingly pulling results out of nowhere again, regardless of whether they play well or not, it makes you wonder how many more titles they would have won in the last 5 years had Slur Alex stayed on.

I hope Emery specifically watches all the Ferguson away victories at the Emirates in the latter years of the Weng man; that’s exactly what their tactics will be on Sunday, and we have to have a plan to overcome that.

Receding Hairline

Nothing embarrassing about it Pedro sorry to say. Emery was unfairly blamed for everything wrong with that basket case of a football club called PSG.

We have read how Tuchel had them purring, smiling, sending them touching messages individually, how he brought the human factor to go with the tactics, yet same old story against a UNITED reserve team.

Leftsidesanch

Picture siding with a twat like Steve/Thomas Pedro.

Ppl were attacking Emery but Tuchels just gone out to a makeshift Man Utd side that probably weren’t expecting much from tonights game.

azed

“Propping your manager up because another won lost isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.”

Is this your defence for propping Tuchel and him crashing???

HighburyLegend

Lolz shameless and very “wengeresque” performance from paris.

Marc

Bamford

Henry Winter is a cunt of epic proportions. The reason our NHS is so short of funds is the cost of having his head removed from Fergie’s arse a few years ago.

HighburyLegend

“The United of Solskjaer is the United of Ferguson”
Looooooooool

Dissenter

Tuchel …special sauce

He’s done worse than Emery
PSG is a poisoned chalice

Marko

Propping your manager up because another won lost isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. Hold on a second here but isn’t that exactly what happened here after the first leg? I can’t remember how many times the Ben Arfa comments about Emery never making it past the last 16 were mentioned and it was assumed sauceful Tuchel was about to go through with ease. Can’t have it both ways Pedro. If Emery is shit for the bottle job against Barcelona then Tuchel is equally as shit for tonight’s bottle job. I mean tonight’s way worse it wasn’t Barca with Neymar and… Read more »

Upstate Gooner

ManU players will be drinking for days now. Arsenal to win 8-2 on Sunday. As for Tuchel vs Emery debate – truth of a matter is they are both very average.

Marc

Doesn’t matter about Emery – Tuchel will be sacked in the summer. There just Man City in a one team league.

Does anyone think Pep would survive there if he didn’t win the CL?

Bamford10

Marc

Good to know. I did think that comment was a little over the top.

azed

I fully expect someone to blame the PSG loss on Emery.

If Raul can be blamed for signing Malcom, then Emery would also be blamed for this loss.

Dissenter

There will be a riot among United fans if OGS is not confirmed by tomorrow morning.

Marko

In saying all that no fucking way was that a pen. No way. Someone’s been paid off or something.

Bamford10

Marko

Equally shit? Emery went out to Barcelona. Tuchel just went out to a depleted and average United. No fucking way are the two failures “equal”.

Marko

Bam I did say tonight was way worse

azed

Pedro

Any news of the “qualidee” assistant coach PSG signed from Leipzig and his innovative data analysis, juice drinking sauce?

Fucking hell this love for solskjaer is disgusting. He’s got a 500 million pound squad 4th with the help of dodgy decision and massive slices of luck, yet people are acting as if he’s taking Crawley Town FC to the Premier league title.

Dissenter

Pedro
How many times did you quote Valentin’s slander of Emery based on rumors from the PSG dressing room.
Tuchel was supposed to be the man-manager right?
You ought to know that you wen’t too far with those PSG stories.

Dissenter

“Dropping a FOUR goal lead is the same as tonight?”

This is worse
United didn’t even bring their big boys on the field.

azed

“the most excited you and the sympathisers have been all season is seeing a better manager lose unluckily to United in the CL… ”

Pedro

Better manager? For someone who touts “data driven everything”, you don’t back up your opinions with data.

Show us the data that says Tuchel is better than Emery and we would all keep quiet.

Marko

Azed, the most excited you and the sympathisers have been all season is seeing a better manager lose unluckily to United in the CL… because at least someone else embarrassed themselves as bad as Emery.

Man you just sound so bitter. Better manager? As bad as Emery? Nah mate result was worse way worse. The better manager stuff is an obvious opinion. And it’s your opinion. And you’re a bit biased….soooo

Jay

Fucking hell pedro, thought tuchel was soooo much more awesome than emery.

Pedro

I love you man, but sorry Tuchel is worse than emery. You go on about emery winning nothing of note, well what has Tuchel won? Dortmund couldn’t wait to fuck him off. Emery might not be great but he’s still better than a piss poor Tuchel.

azed

“How many times did you quote Valentin’s slander of Emery based on rumors from the PSG dressing room.
Tuchel was supposed to be the man-manager right?
You ought to know that you wen’t too far with those PSG stories.”

On point Dissenter…

Emery was the guy who didn’t know what he was doing while Tuchel was from the “new school”

Marc

Pedro

Dropping a 4 goal lead against a Barca with Messi or a 2 goal lead against a ManU side made up of reserve players?

I also vaguely remember there being contention about some of the decisions given against PSG in favour of Barca.

DaniAltos

Legrove favorite tuchel lol….joke fans

Leftsidesanch

Dani, legrove has been a weird place all season I can’t make out if Peds is just trying to stir a reaction at times.

azed

“Dropping a 4 goal lead against a Barca with Messi or a 2 goal lead against a ManU side made up of reserve players?”

Correction Marc

Dropping a 4 goal lead against Messi, Suarez, Neymar, Iniesta and Xavi away vs dropping a 2 goal lead against Lukaku, Rashford, Fred and Young.

Graham62

Congrats to MU.

Graham62

Makes this weekends game even more special.

Marc

Bamford

There’s a football press review program on in the UK called Sunday Supplement – the presenter a journo plus 3 other journos talk about the Sunday paper back pages.

Years ago Winter went on a rant about why would Ronaldo leave ManU to join Madrid – there was no comparison – ManU were bigger better and Christ knows what else. He probably argued that it rained more in Madrid as well!

Winter is so biased it’s a joke. He would’ve been waiting with that headline for years now.

Jay

Deep down we all know it… If only Arteta was was in charge of psg

Marko

Dropping a FOUR goal lead is the same as tonight?

I think worse. Away to Barcelona with Messi, Suarez, Neymar, Iniesta and co compared to having a two away goal lead at home to United with McTominay and Pereira and Lukaku and Rashford playing and you lose 3-1??? Barca brought on Arda Turan, Sergi Roberto and Andre Gomes in that game while United brought on Dalot, Chong from Cheech and Chong and Mason Greenwood for his debut.

Marc

azed

I bow to your correction.

Marc

Marko

I thought the reverse was at PSG?

Graham62

I agree. For PSG this was a complete and utter disaster.

A bigger cock up than the Barcelona game.

Alex James

“Fucking hell this love for solskjaer is disgusting. He’s got a 500 million pound squad 4th with the help of dodgy decision and massive slices of luck, yet people are acting as if he’s taking Crawley Town FC to the Premier league title.”

Well said. Some of us will never forget 2003, when Sol got sent off, as a result of OGS’’s play acting.. This affected the title race. Hated him ever since.

Marc

Bamford

You don’t learn – Bamford will be Binford any minute now!

Elmo

There’s a good chance the CL QF line-up won’t include Real, PSG, Juve or Bayern.

RodneyKing

“I also vaguely remember there being contention about some of the decisions given against PSG in favour of Barca.”

Absolutely. PSG were robbed just like we were when RVP was sent off for simply kicking the ball after the whistle.

Champagne charlie

“Mate, no offense, but if you weren’t the author of this blog, you would be regarded as one of the sillier commenters here.“

Lol.. the desperate authority gives his piece.

PSG have went out because of two shocking errors and an embarrassing VAR decision.

Remember how Emery wasn’t at fault for Mustafi at the weekend? Course not.. because this ones about propping him up.

Marko

It was an awful decision that cost PSG in the end but make no mistake that result is on Tuchel. They went about the game with zero desire to finish off what was a patched up United side. They just went through the motions really.

Champagne charlie

Pedro, am I in the sin bin?

Marko

Chong has got amazing hair. I want it

Marc

Rodney

I was at that match – the noise was deafening no way RVP heard the whilst.

Admittedly I was sitting in the Barca end!

DaniAltos

Thomas, it’s a bit embarrassing.Propping your manager up because another won lost isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.

What’s embarrassing is people here hailing guys like tuchel(eliminated out of the French cup by Guingamp,a cup Emery won back to back)and pochettino who usually win absolutely nothing…and then going on to bash a manger who has won the most trophies after pep over the last couple of years on the basis that he lacks ‘sauce’

Jay

Graham62March 6, 2019 22:41:15
Congrats to MU

Really?

Fuck that team
Their fans
And everthimg about them

Jay

Very well said mate. Cheating Manc scum

Dissenter

Valentin

Where are you?

Where are you?

Where are you?

Tell us that silly story about Thomas Meunier went to complain about Emery and they PSG owner told him not to worry because Emery was being fired.
PSG are a joke club.
I told you from the beginning. A club that was founded 49 years ago can’t be placed in the midst of proper clubs, all the money in the world won’t change that.

HighburyLegend

Tuchel has been wengerized.
Terrible disease, really.

Zeus

ElmoMarch 6, 2019 22:46:41
There’s a good chance the CL QF line-up won’t include Real, PSG, Juve or Bayern

If man utd fluke their way past Barca or whoever for the title, I’m done with football.

And if that ref was at the Bernabeu, that decision would never go against Madrid. Poor refereeing.

DaniAltos

We have read how Tuchel had them purring, smiling, sending them touching messages individually, how he brought the human factor to go with the tactics, yet same old story against a UNITED reserve team.

Am guessing this is from a certain French correspondent on legrove who knows all the inner workings of psg?

Marc

Jay

With you 110% Would be 150% if you really went to town!

Receding Hairline

Isn’t the first time too…he bottled a three goal lead with Dortmund against a very average Liverpool side in the Europa league. Man has one German cup to his name yet is listed as a special manager.

I like Tuchel but the way some managers get praise above their abilities just for being good with the press is something I can’t stand. Dropping good quotes doesn’t make you a world class coach

Dissenter

It wasn’t a penalty though. The player was backing the ball and his hand was not far from it’s natural anatomical position.
Poor officiating. PSG were robbed again.

Dani Altos

Very well put

RodneyKing

Marc
“I was at that match – the noise was deafening no way RVP heard the whilst.”

I was agreeing with you by bringing up one of the many examples of how Barca have had their way in Europe for many years. I remember RVP indicating to the referee that he hadn’t heard the whistle because of the noise in the stadium.

Receding Hairline

Var doesn’t really eliminate the referees incompetence. The human factor is still there, he still has to make the call after the review.

Nelson

The lesson learnt. When playing Manure, we have to focus until the final whistle.

Receding Hairline

Or talk about Guendouzi’s hair

Marc

Receding

Well that would beat the shit out of talking about Danny Murphy’s lack of hair.

DaniAltos

Also embarrassing wasn’t a poster here hailing tuchel for the way he trusted youngsters and even used it as Stick to best Emery with?…The same tuchel who put 40yo old buffon,a 35yo right back in midfield and a centre back in midfield too….seems he doesn’t trust his young CMS in the academy because that’s a pretty terrible cm partnership..

RodneyKing

Pedro
“If you all took a second out from your clearly paid promotion of Emery, maybe we could talk about how exciting the win if for Arsenal?”

Ha Pedro! Seems like you’ve let the cat out of the bag. Finally, I should add. And I’m focusing on the phrase “paid promotion”, just in case you’re wondering.

RodneyKing

Scratch “focusing on”, should have been “referring to”

Tobs

Awful decision for the penalty, but the contest really should have been over well before then. Hopefully now we’ll get some rest from the incessant Tuchel praise.

Receding Hairline

Now anytime I see a player put away a high pressure penalty I think back to the nonsense from Auba on Saturday.

Didn’t we pay the big bucks for two strikers for big games like last Saturday?

mysticleaves

Redtruth
March 5, 2019 22:38:29
Bayern and PSG are clear fsvouritez to win thd Chsmpionz league followex by followex by Barca, Atletico, Juve and Ajax.

lol lol. i think I will bet against Bayern now

Marko

“How do you handball behind your back? Ahh.. go f*ck yourselves.”

Neymar is not happy

Marko

Nice to see you guys are all for time when it’s your man, not so much when it’s someone else? The agenda here is clear. You all disgust me.

Who’s this in reference to? You want us to give the manager of PSG more time? Done. Not really up to us but okay. You gonna give Emery some time? One Mississippi two Mississippi…

RodneyKing

RH, I thought the same when ManU and Porto both scored their penalty kicks tonight.

But I’ll cut Auba some slack. Even Roberto Baggio missed his at the WC final in ‘94. At the time, I thought he could do no wrong.

It appears that the most reliable penalty takers are often not the most technical.

mysticleaves

“If you all took a second out from your clearly paid promotion of Emery, maybe we could talk about how exciting the win if for Arsenal?”

Pedro, I don’t know but do you realise Emery, the man being talked about here is the Arsenal manager? Not Spuds or United’s manager. it’s really embarrassing from you and your ilk how yiu talk down a manager that’s proven over the years to be better than ALL the other managers yiu would have instead of him.

Marko

Atletico have a great chance to win it if they can get Costa in some form. Or fit. One or the other

mysticleaves

Rodney, honestly speaking, Auba doesn’t take great penalties. I told my mate at the bar he was gonna miss once I saw how shaky he was. Most penalties he’s scored have been down to keeper guessing the wrong way. It’s fairly easy to catch his pens

Marko

“These are still details, and it’s always the case at the high level. I think it’s a good time not to talk too much, as we say in Brazil it’s time to eat our own sh*t.”

Marquinhos taking the defeat better than some

gonsterous

Jesus, hate what football has done to the kids these days, went to watch the inter house football tournament yesterday at the school I teach in and every one was diving and play acting. The ref didn’t even have yellow or red cards as it was supposed to be a game for kids, yet they were asking for a yellow to be shown. I was shocked and appalled.
Back in the day, you got kicked in the shin, you would just walk it off..

Leedsgunner

Before the Ajax love gets too fervent just a note of caution. As much as I enjoyed Ajax teaching Real Madrid a footballing lesson remember that Holland failed to qualify for the World Cup. Too early to hail the renaissance of total football just yet. This result is more about RM not replacing CR7’s guile and goals.

PSG bottling it to Man Utd. Really? They had enough experience in their squad to know better. They have the money to buy better than Buffon. Perhaps we should offer them Ospina for £40m. 😂 😂

Leedsgunner

Tuchel, the German Brendan Rodgers. 😂 😂 😂

Tony

Pedro Just got to see the CL results this morning and am guessing you copped a fair amount of deserved Tuchel/Emery banter (haven’t read above). Still you still have unproven Arteta to fall back on. As lightweight argument as that is. So United beat PSG with best players missing and coming to us on a serious high Sunday. That will be an interesting game and one we’ll need a small miracle to get even a draw. Ajax and United would be a great game to see. And then there were some here who said our squad was as good as… Read more »

Leedsgunner

On another why didn’t Aubameyang just copy what Kane did in his penalty? Honestly how ever did we ever lose that game?!?

Still shaking my head over that one.

WengerEagle

Leeds

We drew mate. 😀

Sure felt like a loss though.

gonsterous

tuchel has been average for a while now. PSG beat some meh teams in ligue un and he was hailed as a renaissance man. He may have better man management but at the end of the day, he’s still in the average bracket with Emery.
If tuchel had come to arsenal and was where emery is now, I’m sure every one would be sucking up to him being a genius and over achieving with our squad.

WengerEagle

Mid-late noughties vibe once again with potentially 4 English teams in the CL QF, makes it all the more tough to stomach that we aren’t one of them. Never been convinced by Tuchel, another gaffer who’s teams lack bottle and are easily rolled over in adversity. Even by lofty bottling standards PSG took it up a notch tonight though, VAR or not how can you lose to that team that United put on out your own patch two goals up from the 1st leg? Absolutely farcical and shameful for a side as talented as they are. United steaming on ahead,… Read more »

Leedsgunner

WengerEagle

A painful draw if there ever was one.

You would have thought they would practice it until they were sick of it. Muscle memory should have taken over.

Killing me watching Spurs and United progressing in the Champions League.

Leedsgunner

Pick a side and make it count. Doesn’t Aubameyang play FIFA? 😂 😂 😂