Manna for conspiracy theorists « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger; coach of the decade

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MANNA FOR CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

By Don McMahon

I recently and most regrettably came upon an article in the FootballTalk website entitled; ¨ Arsène Wenger Is Disrespectful To The Fans ¨ basing itself on the ¨testimony¨ of two ageing, purportedly Arsenal supporters who were cornered after the recent AGM was ending.

They were ¨interviewed¨ in the parking lot at the Emirates and the questions they were asked were patently leading and suggestive of ¨troubles¨ with Wenger’s respect for the fans and the Club’s self-sustaining model. The two gentlemen interviewed differed widely in their interpretation of the ¨questions¨ and, despite each being a different type of fan than the yuppie model often seen at games, held very divergent views as well.

The interviewer desperately tried to get the first victim to say nasties about the Club, Wenger or the Board but he steadfastly refused. The second was more cooperative but he sounded like he’d been rehearsed for the part and was prompted by the ¨interviewer¨ with an agenda.

Flushed with success after the interviews, the AAA ¨journalist¨ made vast and generic statements about how Arsène showed continuous disrespect to the AFC fanbase and how the Board had lost touch with their fans and the public in general, all this based on some discontent displayed in the AGM itself and the two geezers who were manipulated and guided towards the interviewers chosen conclusions.

Nazi Germany’s most pernicious and Machiavellian media manipulator, Herman Goebbels, was quoted as saying, ¨The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.¨ Its as if he was talking about the current British media!

I had a tendency to question our stalwart Untold Arsenal cohort who regularly maintain that there is a media and referee conspiracy to undermine AFC and AW’s best efforts, that is until this article appeared and the attacks that temporarily demolished the UA website occurred.

I am, by nature a conservative and cautious supporter and prefer to research what others say are the facts, but which to me appear more coincidence or serendipity, fortuitous and hazard. This attitude prevents me from believing nonsense simply because it is written or stated in a blog or in the media.

These last week’s events have motivated me to ask the obvious and crucial question; WHO would benefit from AFC and its supporters entering terminal meltdown? This is a very difficult question to discuss intelligently and fairly as it opens the door to paranoid speculation, AAA blamer-moaners and amateur sleuths whose ignorance of the facts is rivalled only by their ill-conceived notions about what is going on. So with that out of the way, here goes my hypothetical shortlist of possible candidates for the illustrious title of Arsenal arch-villains, in no particular order:

1)      The Sugardaddy and Oilygarch supported clubs seeking to destroy self-sustaining models,

2)      Hate-filled, ignorant and bitter supporters of competing clubs aiming at hurting AFC,

3)      Certain media moguls with an axe or two to grind seeking to diminish our stature and class,

4)      Supposed AFC fanboys who rejoice at the prospect of ruining AW’s image,

5)      Racially and xenophobically motivated hate groups taking aim at our multicultural Club,

6)      Organized criminals involved in illicit activities, who fear being unearthed by UA’s acumen,

7)      The PGMOL and Mike Riley personally, leading a chop campaign against AFC,

8)      The players’ agents seeking to remain hidden in the shadows of their unscrupulous deals.

There may be more candidates but for the moment lets look at these, one at a time and in the light of realism and some objectivity.

1)      There is no coherent reason for Rich Clubs to try and discredit or demean AFC but Barcelona did it all last season in order to get Cesc Fabregas so maybe this could be a sufficient motive. If AFC fail to maintain their current superiority, their top talent and youth will (according to this logic) seek greener pastures, probably at one of the rich clubs. Is that sufficient reason to mount a disinformation campaign. You be the judge but it has worked for Barca and City fairly well so far.

2)      While our WHL rivals can be Neolithic in their behaviour and hatred of all things AFC, it seems a dangerous and counterproductive approach to hurting the Arsenal, as this is a two-edged sword and can be easily turned against the wielder IF they are found out. I would not underestimate the depth and profundity of the Spuds stupidity however.  There is little or no proof that such a conspiracy has been generated by the Totts fans or Club but there are other Clubs who might be better candidates.

3)      I personally like this one as I can fantasize about Rupert Murdoch glowering in his multi-billion pound mansion, while he dictates the upcoming weeks anti-Arsenal theme to his breathless minions awaiting his slightest whim. However, this possibility has been mentioned by others and while it seems a rather tenuous possibility at best, it is a possibility as he does have the means and motivation to accomplish a character assassination of epic proportions.

4)      While it is clear that some of the most inveterate and irreconcilable AAA fanboys seek only the worst for AW and Arsenal, it is difficult to fathom them wanting to brutalize the Club they claim to adore to the point of fratricide. From what I and others have seen on the net, it is still a slim possibility that these dark creatures would go to such depths in their vitriol and hatred.

5)      This particular theory holds more water for me, but I live overseas in a very multicultural, generally welcoming country. I also live beside one of the largest racist and xenophobic countries in the world, the good old USA. Watching the latest headlines about Terry and Barton, it occurs to me that there are large swaths of the British public, and therefore a significant number of Football fans who support the xenophobia and racism seen in Football today. Are these ethnocentric cretins capable and willing enough to attack AFC because we have so many races, cultures and ¨foreigners¨ and have had such success with them under LeProf?

6)      As my beloved grannie would often say, ¨lift up a rock and the vermin will scuttle away into the shadows¨. She was, of course, referring to the politicians she hated but this holds true for criminals (including politicians) and their ilk as well. UA has been doing a bang-up job of shining a light on questionable practices in Worldwide Football and shady British machinations in particular. AFC represent values (as Wenger has said) that are antithetical to immoral and illegal purveyors of  money Football. We have made enemies and evil always bites back.

7)      Riley is vulnerable to pressure as Dalgleish showed recently. The PGMOL is not the most transparent or open organization in British football and has come under increasing scrutiny and criticism from numerous sources, including the British Parliament and the EP managers. Small men like Riley could resort to sneaky retribution for the crime of questioning their infallibility, but the vastness of this presumed conspiracy seems beyond them.

8)      While this idea has not been explored in depth, it offers one of the most interesting theories I have seen. Last season, agents made 72 million pounds in fees but paid almost no income tax on this income. Apparently HMRC is now taking a far more intense interest in these critters, as noted in this article from Footballfancast.com by Hamish MacKay:

So with the news that the FA will now be sending Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs full details of all the agents fees for the 2010/11 season finally we can see something done about the professionals in football who appear to give nothing back to the sport. It is estimated that the way that agents are paid their fees cheats the public coffers out of millions each year and HMRC are determined to clamp down on this tax evasion.

HMRC said that intends to audit all of the deals made last year in order to find out how to close down the current loopholes. Football is notorious for widespread corruption from the lowest to the highest levels and with the transfer market exploding at an exponential rate it is important that we propose checks for those involved in it so deeply, as agents are.

There it is, so lets start thinking about what we’re up against before it gets out of control.

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