Saturday, December 8th, 2012 « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager
By Walter Broeckx
In case you are one of the supporters who sings his heart out each game to support the Arsenal: no need to read any further. This is not about you. You might read further and if you read critical things about the support: this is not about you.
When you read what the players have been saying in the media it always comes down to one thing: The need to stick together to come out of this bad spell.
Bad spells are part of football. Each team has it during the season. I think the only team who had no real bad spell was the invincible team. But that is a once in a lifetime in the PL and so we have to know those things can happen. Of course as a supporter this is not a fun part of the season. But it is part of football.
If you also read what players have been saying the last years it also gives a message : when the supporters really get behind the team they can produce wonders. Did you remember the way the crowd stood behind the team when we beat Barcelona? Do you remember when we came back from 0-2 down against Tottenham last season? Even this season when going 0-1 behind the crowd reacted to lift the team.
Last Saturday before the game we had the protest march. So the feeling before the game was one of unhappiness. According to people who were in the Emirates one could say that the atmosphere was rather down before the game and maybe the supporters were too busy quarrelling about the ticket prices, safe standing, the board, the manager, the players. And I can imagine as a result half of the Emirates just sitting there not getting behind the team and the final outcome is what we have seen.
In fact it is rather disgraceful that players have to come out after a game where the support was great and strong for the team and have to speak in great words of the crowds support. This only shows that ….the crowd not always gets strongly behind the team. The players are not used to having a 12th man in the stands and when they do it makes them play better.
Now of course you can come out with all kinds of reasons for your lack of support.
You could say you don’t support the board and there fore just sit in the stadium in silence. Fine. No reason to support the rich owners. But… the board is not on the field playing for Arsenal. It is the players out there. It is them that need your support. By shouting for the team on the field you don’t give your support to the board. You support the team.
You could say you don’t like the manager and so you just sit there. Fine, nobody wants you to love the manager. But it is not the manager out there on the field playing for Arsenal. It is the players out there. It is them you need to support. You support the team.
You could say you think the players are not good enough. Fine, that is your opinion and who knows maybe you are right, maybe you are wrong. But if you just sit there in the Emirates wasting your expensive ticket and don’t support the players out there… then why do you come? Then why do you bother? Even if you think the players are not good enough… they are on the field to represent the club you seemingly love. By supporting the players out there (even when they are not good enough) you will help them.
You could help them a few years back to come back from behind to beat the best team of the past 5 years. Your contribution does matter.
The players have been saying it for years. When the crowd really gets behind the team it will lift them. The contribution from the supporters is valuable for the players. It gives a boost to the team. And yet too many just sit there. Not singing, not shouting, just sitting there in silence or waiting for the first misplaced ball to start moaning about player X not being good enough to wear the shirt.
Now our club has a bad spell.
You can blame the board, you can blame Gazidis, you can blame Wenger, you can blame the players. But do you ever blame yourself?
You can say they don’t deserve your support as they are not good enough. But are you as a supporter good enough?
We can have our differences. We can say what we don’t like before the game. We can say what we don’t like after the game. But during those 90 minutes there is only one thing that counts : Arsenal must win the game they are playing.
And YOU(who are in the Emirates) are part of it. For the moment winning a game is not about the 11 players on the field, the manager on the bench or the board in their luxury seats. It is about 11 players on the field AND YOU!
Each of us sitting in the Emirates has to take his responsibility. We can help the team when we want. So if you just sit there don’t say the team let you down. NO, you are letting the team down. If you just sit there don’t say the players don’t give it all. NO, are you giving it all? That is what you should ask yourself.
If you don’t give it all, don’t blame the players for not giving it all.
So time to make up your mind: are you really a supporter of this club? If so and you all claim you are: let me hear it when I will be sitting in front of my TV. I can’t come to this game but I would have loved to come over and to shout until I have no voice left. But you who come to the Emirates: time to do what you have to do and get behind the team on the field.
Are you a true supporter? Time to answer that question next Saturday.