Why Arsenal Annoy Me

A wise lady once said to me: Unless you strive for perfection, you’ll never achieve it. And I think it was economist Adam Smith who said about 200 years ago something like: If everyone was happy with the poorest clothing, worst housing and meanest food, that’s all there would be. In other words, why put…

1972: Football Ruined By ‘Weirdies’

These are some extracts from a publication called League Football, ‘The official journal of The Football League’, that was given away stapled into various club programmes in the early 1970s. This particular edition was in the programme for Crystal Palace v Arsenal on October 21, 1972. It’s an odd publication, with a mix of general…

Arsenal Wages Breakdown – Where Does It All Go?

Arsenal’s wages are a source of endless fascination to many, especially with Arsène coming out recently and defending his ‘socialist’ model. All kinds of figures get bandied around as to who exactly gets what, so I thought I’d have a quick go at some elementary maths myself. (As that is the only kind I can…

Arsenal Back On Track?

Arsenal 5  West Ham 1 The Arse win! Not just win, but win convincingly despite going a goal down to West Ham, who looked dangerous early on. There were several good points about this match, and I’m not sure which was the best, so let’s have a top 10 good things in no particular order:…

Are You A Greek God?

No one’s interested in Arsenal news at the moment, are they? There isn’t any anyway, no one is being signed except an overpriced winger who was there already, and we’re losing most matches, so I’m not that bothered myself. I’ll talk about something else. A few months ago I posted this piece about Ray Parlour’s…

Arsene, the Dandy Highwayman

Arsenal have one point from three games, so I’m kind of off football, but in case you are still interested, here’s what The Times said about the Arse on Saturday. Apparently Walcott has a new contract. Really? They kept that quiet, didn’t they? I hadn’t heard a mention. Having stunned us with that revelation, it’s…

Does Arsene Wenger Overachieve Compared To His Spend?

As we sit in the middle of the transfer window, tumbleweed crossing the corridor outside Dick Law’s office and moths making a home under his telephone receiver, arguing about how many millions of pounds are available for the manager to spend, we need to pass the time somehow. I have passed some time considering the…